PITTSFORD, N.Y. — A year ago, the Buffalo Bills opened training camp as everyone’s favorite to win the Super Bowl.
This summer? Not so much.
After their ugly divisional-round playoff loss against Cincinnati last January, capping a lackluster second half of the 2022 season, the Bills have lost their status as the NFL’s presumptive top dog.
Fans and media are projecting that even if they win another AFC East title, it will be more of a struggle because the competition in the rest of the division (namely Aaron Rodgers with the New York Jets) is stronger. They’re also projecting that regardless of how they reach the postseason, they still won’t clear either of their likely biggest hurdles: the Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs.
Dion Dawkins has a response to such assumptions.
“Who cares? Who cares?” the offensive tackle told reporters Tuesday at St. John Fisher University. “The people that sit at their desk, eat Twinkies and eat all types of stuff, ordered DoorDash and never been on a football field? Some have respect, but who cares? I don’t care. Like look, bro, we’re in the now. You can honestly only focus on the now.
“When you think about the past, that goes into memory. When you think about the future, that goes into imagination. You know, like, are you imagining life or are you being in the present moment? In the present moment, I mean, the Bills are up. You know, the people could say what they want. We don’t have to be your favorite, but we're going to be our favorite and we’re going to win games.”
‘People are gonna talk’
Dawkins’ comments reflect an us-against-them mentality that has found its way into the Bills’ collective thoughts.
This is the way they like it, of course. It’s the way every team, especially when it’s good enough (as the Bills are) to be a serious contender, likes it. It increases the edge while reducing the size of the target opponents place on you.
Being the hunter is always better than being the hunted. Not that the Bills are going to sneak up on anyone, but they’re getting their share of shade from critics. And that’s just fine with Dawkins.
“People are going to hate, people are going to talk,” he said. “People are gonna say, ‘Oh, you had another hold!’ Who cares? I’m still there. They’re still on the sideline, in the bleachers, eating hot dogs and drinking beers. And they’re still coming (to games).
“Who cares, man? We’re going to be the Buffalo Bills the way we’re taught and coached, the Sean McDermott way. He’s our coach and we’re a representation of him. And our minds are here, at the moment.”
‘Always urgent’
That doesn’t mean Dawkins and his teammates are taking a casual approach to camp or the season.
They understand their Super Bowl window isn’t quite as wide open as it was last year … or the year before. They understand their roster has undergone changes, as it does every season, and that age, with its accompanying wear and tear, isn’t a friend to NFL players.
There are prime-time games galore, beginning with the Sept. 11 Monday Night Football opener against the Jets at MetLife Stadium, and the resulting challenges they present to daily and weekly routines. There’s more demand on everyone’s bodies and time.
“It’s always urgent, because we’re here to win games, so we’re here to win now,” Dawkins said. “The urgency is always there. … That’s what the NFL life is. We live on a schedule, so everything is urgent – practice, dinner, recovery, weight-lifting. Everything is an urgent mindset, but we handle it in a calm way. But our mindset is urgent, like now, not later.
“It’s truly mind, body, and soul understanding that we have to be where our feet are. As a Buffalo Bills team, we understand what opportunity we have in front of us. And it won’t always look like this forever. … Just take full advantage of your opportunity and go when it’s time to go. When it’s time to chill off of the field, chill. But when it’s time to go, go and don't miss an opportunity because the window could either open up extremely big or it can close extremely fast.”
‘Let’s rally’
If the Bills needed additional incentive to make a Super Bowl run, Dawkins felt they received it during Sunday’s practice.
That was when team co-owner Kim Pegula, who has not been around the team since suffering a cardiac arrest last year, was spotted sitting in a black SUV parked on the track surrounding the field.
“It was a beautiful sighting,” Dawkins said. “It was a sighting of relief. It was a sighting of answered prayers. It was a sighting of just true push, you know, because she’s pushing and we’ve got to be pushing, too. Because for anybody that has to get medical help of any sort, which means something is wrong, not good, but something is wrong.
“So, you know, she pushed through whatever she had to and that gives us the strength to push as well. Like, if our owner is doing this, come on, bro, let's rally. You know? And she's here. Come on, let's rally.”