‘Contenders: Buffalo: No team has done a better job in the salary-cap era than the Bills. Now they have to show they can do it without the veteran leadership of Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed. They also lost three other starters from their defense that was ranked No. 1 last season and didn’t sign a single unrestricted free agent. On offense, quarterback Rob Johnson has to prove he can stay healthy and keep Doug Flutie on the bench.’