Inside The Bills

Wannstedt to be upstairs on game day

Bills defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt already knows where he’ll be stationed on game day and it won’t be on the sidelines.

“I will be in the coach’s box,” said Wannstedt. ”That’s where I was all of the years at the University of Miami, Oklahoma State, Dallas and some of the other places. There is not a call happening that you are not on top of or involved with. I am kind of excited about it; We have great assistant coaches and a nice formula set on how we will communicate and get the information back and forth, which will work smooth.”

Wannstedt will presumably make use of both defensive line coach Giff Smith and linebackers coach Bob Sanders to deliver plays from the sideline. Sanders is a former defensive coordinator from his days in Green Bay.

Mario didn’t mind flying private

The Bills pulled out all the stops to get Mario Williams signature on a contract with the club and succeeded. The private plane they used to pick him up in his native North Carolina didn’t hurt.

In a one-on-one interview with Williams, the six-year vet told Buffalobills.com his initial reaction when informed that the Bills were flying down to pick him up and take him back to Buffalo.

“It was huge. I had no idea,” he said. ”I thought I had to get on Continental or something and get my own flights out to places. When I heard they were coming I was ecstatic. I was really excited and then on the plane I was like, ‘What am I going to sit here and say.’ It felt like I was back in college or high school and being recruited, but it felt great to have them there when I got to the airport.”

GM Buddy Nix, Dave Wannstedt and defensive line coach Giff Smith all made the trip.

Coaches expecting better run ‘D’

Buffalo’s players are expecting to be a better run defense in 2011, and signs have certainly been encouraging in training camp. The Bills coaches are also expecting marked improvement, which is why they’re just as anxious to see where the unit is at Saturday night in the preseason opener.

Bills defensive line coach Giff Smith made his expectations clear, but he’s also going to keep a close eye on the rookies to see how they handle things when the real bullets are flying.

“My expectation going into the first preseason game especially for the young guys is to see if they get wide-eyed and lose focus of the technique and the fundamentals that we worked hard on,” Smith told Buffalobills.com. ”But I expect us to go out there and perform the way I think we can. We’re better than we were last year. Now you’ve got to prove it when you go out there against an opponent. It’s 11-on-11 and you’ve got to shut it down and make them a one dimensional offense and make them throw it, then we can heat it up and have some fun.”

Dareus brings more than talent

Bills top pick Marcell Dareus, who signed his rookie contract Friday to report to camp on time, is going to bring a whole lot more to Buffalo’s defense than just playmaking talent.

According to Bill GM Buddy Nix and coaches on the defensive side of the ball, Dareus will be bringing a certain swagger and attitude to that side of the ball.

“He’s got a unique swagger to him because he’s very respectful and very unassuming, but he’s got that edge to him too,” said Bills defensive line coach Giff Smith. ”When it comes time he’s going to perform. Kyle (Williams) has that edge and Dwan (Edwards) has it, but with Marcell it’s a little bit different. He might be a little more vocal and obviously once you produce on the field it adds more to it, but he’s going to bring an edge to our defense.”

Kyle Top 10 eye opening

For those fans that have actually asked me via email what kind of difference Kyle Williams really makes on the field for the Bills needs to watch our latest installment of Top 10 Performances of 2010.

A lot of times fans naturally just follow the ball when watching a football game. For those that fall into that trap here’s your chance to see just what Kyle Williams is doing to disrupt opposing offenses as we take a closer look at his huge game against the Steelers last season with some expert analysis from defensive line coach Giff Smith.

Top 10 series returns

The Top 10 Performances of 2010 series resumes today (Thursday) after a brief hiatus due to the unveiling of the Bills new uniforms. Part 4 of our series features Bills defensive line coach Giff Smith who breaks down Dwan Edwards Week 7 performance against his former team the Baltimore Ravens.

Seasoned staff so far

It’s pretty clear that in addition to wanting good teachers and communicators on his staff, Bills head coach Chan Gailey wants experienced coaches based on the hires announced Wednesday.

Here’s a rundown of the years in coaching for the members of his staff thus far.

Giff Smith - 13 years
Curtis Modkins – 15 years
Bob Bicknell – 17 years
George Catavolos – 25 years
Bob Sanders – 30 years
Joe D’Alessandris – 37 years

Only offensive quality control coach Kevin Patullo is young in his coaching career, which is usually the case for assistants in such positions.

Also almost all of the coaches hired thus far have NFL coaching experience.

Report: Smith to coach OLBs

According to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the Bills are hiring a member of Chan Gailey’s former staff at Georgia Tech.

Defensive line coach Giff Smith is reportedly going to join Gailey’s staff as outside linebackers coach. Smith also served as Tech’s recruiting coordinator.

He has a long coaching career, which to this point has been at the college level for almost 20 years. Most of his background has been with the defensive line, but he also has coached defensive backs and receivers.