Pittsford, NY -- The Buffalo Bills are coming off a winning season. They have a famous head coach recognized for witty quotes and strong motivational methods. Andre Reed is on the sidelines. Many fans are in Bills tank tops with Zubaz pants or shorts, and neon sneakers are clearly in style.
No, this isn't 1991 Bills training camp, but everything about the 2015 version feels like the football gods endowed the gates of Growney Stadium at St. John Fisher College with time-traveling powers.
Buffalo's second practice of the summer didn't draw as big of a crowd as the opener on Friday; however, Rex Ryan was still greeted with a cascade of cheers when he arrived on the scene.
Beyond his refreshing candor, jovial personality and child-like enthusiasm, Ryan is a defensive genius. The New York Jets roster gradually deteriorated following consecutive AFC title game appearances after the 2009 and 2010 campaigns, but under Ryan's watchful eye, Gang Green's defense never finished worse than 11th in yards allowed per game and finished in the top five in that stat category three times.
He's likely salivating at the defensive talent he inherited when he took the Bills job on January 11.
Defensive linemen Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus all made the Pro Bowl for the second-straight year in 2014, and the only member of Buffalo's "Cold Front" who didn't receive a Pro Bowl nod, newly re-signed Jerry Hughes, has tallied 10 sacks in each of the past two seasons.
In a recently aired Bills yearbook video made by NFL Films, during minicamp, a mic'd up Ryan said the following to long-time secondary coach Donnie Henderson:
"We can cover them, and we can rush. This reminds me of back in the day, and this pass rush is better than any I've been around."
And the fans know it.
While waiting for post-practice autographs, Dennis Hobbins of Rochester, dressed head-to-toe in Bills gear while holding his equally decked out 3-year-old son, remarked on the excitement that's currently bubbling over within #BillsMafia.
"This is definitely the most excited I've been, and all my family and friends have been, for any season to start," said Hobbins.
"Rex brings a great new element. This is the best team the Bills have put together in a very long time. They have all four defensive linemen in the Top 100. I'm really excited about that. There's just a lot of energy right now. I can't wait to get to the stadium."
Hobbins' next comment was slightly more impassioned.
"I'm looking to go to the Patriots game. I was hoping Tom Brady was playing so we don't hear any excuses after we crush them."
Everyone realizes how special the defense should be. But it's equally as well-known that the offense must do its part to help end the NFL's longest playoff drought, which has now stretched to 15 years.
This is where Reed steps in.
After going from overlooked wideout out of Kutztown State to perennial Pro Bowler to Hall of Famer, Reed has now injected himself into the coaching ranks with an internship with the Bills where he is teaching wide receivers the intricacies that were vital to his incredible consistency and longevity.
Discounting the 1995 season, which was marred by injury, Reed caught at least 50 passes and accumulated more than 700 yards every season from 1986 to 1998.
Though not passing the torch in the traditional sense, the time-traveling element of Bills training camp was on full display as Reed spent time at the beginning of Saturday's practice demonstrating press coverage-beating moves to Sammy Watkins and free-agent signee Percy Harvin.
Regardless of where the coaching internship takes him, Reed will always be remembered for his reliability as a player and his suddenness in the open field, and he'll forever be an icon to Bills fans.
Selfies and Twitter weren't around in 1991, so witnessing Reed snap a selfie with fans over the weekend would certainly fling anyone who'd been in a nostalgic daze back to the present day.
Buffalo's offensive weapons are aware of the task at hand, too.
"We have a lot of weapons on offense and a great coaching staff," said third-year receiver Robert Woods.
"The defense saved us many times last year, now we just have to play our part and finish out some games with offense."
Harvin chimed in on the atmosphere and the offensive responsibility: "I'm enjoying my teammates, I'm enjoying the coaching staff, definitely enjoying the coaching I'm getting. I'll do anything that keeps the chains moving and puts points on the board, I'm all for it. A lot of offensive guys feel the same way... whatever we need to do to help the team win."
Fortunately for the Bills' crucial offensive obligation, after a decade as a team bereft of skill-position talent, the roster is now emanating major star power -- and significant depth -- at running back, wide receiver and tight end.
Out wide, there's Watkins, Harvin, Woods, Olympic speedster Marquise Goodwin, Chris Hogan and versatile threat and pricey free-agent acquisition Charles Clay. In the backfield, there's All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy, perennial overachiever Fred Jackson, Anthony Dixon, Bryce Brown and thunderous rookie Karlos Williams. They'll be led by fullback Jerome Felton, formerly the human lane-paver for Adrian Peterson.
That talent collection has Bills fans of all kinds amped. Even farmers.
Stokoe farms in Scottsville, NY, 17 miles southeast of Bills training camp headquarters, attempted to usher in the Rex Ryan Era the best way a farm could... by designing an exquisite corn maze.
Regardless of the buzz surrounding Buffalo's football team that's rightfully spread across the entire Western New York region, from the revitalized shores of Lake Erie to the Finger Lakes just south of Rochester, the Bills' success will almost assuredly hinge on the quarterback position.
The job is currently up for grabs, and the starting candidates aren't exactly Jim Kelly, Doug Flutie and Jack Kemp.
Ryan hopes hand-picked offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who most recently spent time with a highly successful San Francisco 49ers organization, can get at least Alex Smith-level competence out of either EJ Manuel, Matt Cassel or Tyrod Taylor.
"We were together a short time in Baltimore. I knew right then that this guy gets it. He's all about wins. Going to three championship games and a Super Bowl speaks volumes. When we had the opportunity to get him, we got a hold of him as fast as we could," said Ryan about Roman, via BuffaloBills.com.
The quarterback competition will surge on over the next few weeks at training camp, and at times, it'll be a nauseating roller-coaster ride.
But with Rex Ryan steering a ship loaded with gifted players on offense and defense, Bills fans will carry an unbridled optimism into the regular season not seen or felt since, well, 1991.