Kyle update
Bills defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt, who spoke to the WNY media Thursday, was asked about DT Kyle Williams and how his rehab is coming along after Achilles surgery late last season. Here’s his update.
“Kyle was in town last week and he came back just for his checkups and everything is right on schedule,” said Wannstedt. ”There has not been a setback in any form or fashion. When he’s going to be cleared to do something and how much, I don’t know, but we’re looking forward to him having a great year, we really are.”
Coples gets to 10 for Bills?
Tags: 2012 NFL draft, Kyle Williams, Mike Mayock, Quinton Coples, Shawne Merriman
North Carolina pass rusher Quinton Coples looked like a man among boys at the Senior Bowl by most accounts. Many draft prognosticators have him off the board no later than the seventh pick (Jacksonville)… until now.
NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter has Coples making it all the way to the Bills with the 10th pick. Here’s what was written.
Dareus on leadership
Tags: Fred Jackson, Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus, Ryan Fitzpatrick
While injuries were largely chalked up as a main reason for Buffalo’s slide out of playoff contention in 2011, Marcell Dareus said it was the leadership they lost to injury that perpetuated the slide which went seven games.
“The locker room felt different,” Dareus said in a SiriusXM NFL Radio appearance Thursday. ”I can’t even explain it because I had never been through it. We tried to keep that fire going, but without our leaders in there like Kyle Williams. When he got hurt he went back home and he wasn’t there and then Fred Jackson went down. Those are our two captains and when those guys were gone it made it harder.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick called Jackson the heart and soul of the team, so his loss took a lot out of the Bills in terms of talent on the field as well as emotional leadership. Sensing a void in leadership, Dareus became more vocal himself down the stretch including some pre-game speeches.
When asked about whether he intends to take on more of a leadership role in 2012, Dareus didn’t shy away from it.
“I’m going to try my best,” he said. ”I lead by example, but with our captains down I felt like we needed a voice of reason in the room. So I stepped up and did the best I could for whoever was willing to listen and whoever was willing to follow.”
Kyle Williams update
Tags: Kyle Williams
Kyle Williams agent tweeted earlier this week that his client had successful surgery. Here are a few more details.
Buffalobills.com has confirmed that Williams had bone spurs on his heel, which can be painful enough in their own right. Those bone spurs were then pushing on his Achilles tendon. The bone spurs were so painful that Williams had a hole cut in the back of every one of his left-footed cleats to make the pain more bearable while he was still playing.
Williams played with a foot problem last season and was able to perform at a Pro Bowl level. It’s unknown if this foot problem was the same as the one that plagued him last year, but after three weeks in an immobilizer boot the problem was not alleviated.
So Williams had surgery to have the bone spurs removed and get his Achilles back in line. Head coach Chan Gaily told Buffalobills.com that Williams is expected to be fully recovered in plenty of time for the 2012 season and back to his normal explosive, disruptive self on Buffalo’s defensive line.
Surgery successful for Kyle
Tags: Kyle Williams
Bills Pro Bowl DT Kyle Williams had successful surgery Wednesday on his foot.
That according to his agent, who said as much on his twitter account.
AlbertEliasMGMT ESM Clnt & Bills DT Kyle Williams has successful surgery today…Drs very pleased-look for KW to make full recovery for 2012 Bills Football!
Kyle having surgery
Tags: Kyle Williams
Chan Gailey confirmed that Kyle Williams is having surgery today on his ailing foot.
Williams was placed on injured reserve Tuesday.
Kelsay, Hairston questionable
Tags: Aaron Williams, Chris Hairston, Chris Kelsay, Demetrius Bell, Kyle Williams
Both OT Chris Hairston and OLB Chris Kelsay are listed as questionable for Sunday’s game following Friday’s practice. Head coach Chan Gailey had an update on both players.
“Kelsay was limited again (Friday) and he’s probably going to be a game time decision,” said Gailey.
Gailey also said in watching the practice tape from Thursday that Hairston’s play and movement wasn’t as good as he initially thought.
“I think there’s a chance he’ll make it,” said Gailey. “I’m going to go watch today’s practice on film. The plan is still to possibly have him play some.”
Out for Sunday’s game for the Bills are Demetrius Bell, Aaron Williams and Kyle Williams.
MRI for Kyle
Tags: Kyle Williams
Bills DT Kyle Williams will know a lot more about his chances to play in the second half of the season on Monday.
Williams is scheduled to undergo an MRI, the first since his foot was placed in an immobilizer boot.
“I’m going to have an MRI on Monday and see where we are,” said Williams. “I’m optimistic as much as I can, but I’ll tell you exactly how optimistic I am Tuesday or Wednesday after I hopefully get to move around a little bit.”
Why NT not foreign to Dareus
Marcell Dareus started at nose tackle for the first time in his NFL career, but he looked very comfortable in the center of Buffalo’s defensive front. There’s a reason why.
“He played so many different positions, he played nose, he played tackle, he played end, he played all over the place,” said Chan Gailey. ”I think he is comfortable at a lot of spots. I don’t think that we saw that that was going to be the answer, if we’d thought that was the case, we would’ve made that move a long time ago. I think he is good in there and he did create some problems in there and I think he’ll continue to create some problems in there.”
“I think I did pretty well, but that’s just something we did in college,” said Dareus. ”We just kept rotating at multiple positions. The more positions you can play, the more ready you are up front. That’s what we did, and it wasn’t that hard. So it was just staying at it and keep chopping that wood.”
Dareus is expected to man the starting nose tackle spot as long as Kyle Williams is sidelined, which will continue this week against the Jets. After Williams is healthy enough to play again Gailey said he’ll have a good problem on his hands as to how to line up them up.
Kyle out again this week
It comes as no surprise since head coach Chan Gailey said from the outset that Kyle Williams could miss another game or two coming out of the bye week. That has proven to be the case as Gailey ruled him out for this Sunday’s game against the Jets.
“He’ll miss this week, and then we’ll re-evaluate,” said Gailey.
Williams is dealing with a persistent foot injury that’s robbed the Pro Bowl DT of his trademark explosion. The athletic training staff obviously believes staying off it completely could significantly improve Williams’ condition.
We’ll soon see what another week of complete rest can do for Williams’ affliction. With Williams out one can expect to see Marcell Dareus lined up at nose tackle again this week.
Troup still not right
Bills DT Torell Troup played in Sunday’s game against the Giants. It was just his second appearance of the season and with Kyle Williams out did not even start.
Kellen Heard got the nod, in part because Troup’s lower back still is not right. Troup could manage all of about 10-12 plays last Sunday.
“He’s not 100-percent or anywhere close right now,” said head coach Chan Gailey. ”He’s functional but not at top form.”
Knowing how hard Troup worked in the offseason to make himself a better player has the second-year player frustrated by this persistent back problem. It’s unclear if the bye week will do much to improve his condition, which unfortunately puts him in a similar position as Kyle Williams, whose nagging foot problem is unlikely to go away the rest of this season either.
It leaves the Bills precariously thin at nose tackle for the final 10 games of the season.
No official update on Kyle
Kyle Williams did not play against the Giants this past week due to a nagging foot injury that’s plagued him since training camp. Heading into the bye week head coach Chan Gailey didn’t have any definitive update on his status.
“Don’t know,” Gailey said when asked about Williams. ”Let me get some more information back. He’s getting a bunch of tests and they’re looking at it to see where this thing might go.”
Troup-Heard combo?
Tags: Kellen Heard, Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus, Torell Troup
With Kyle Williams very iffy for today’s game against the Giants, the Bills have options at nose tackle.
Buffalo is expected to have Torell Troup at the healthiest he has been all season as he practiced fully the entire week for the first time on the year. If Williams winds up being inactive, Troup is expected to start in his place. The Bills also have the luxury of having the very capable Kellen Heard as a rotational nose behind Troup.
Depth up front has been a problem in recent years, but fortunately that is no longer the case for the Bills. And if for some reason Troup’s back issues resurface in the game don’t be surprised if Marcell Dareus kicks inside to help fill the void. Of course this is all predicated on if Kyle Williams is inactive.
Williams dressed for practice
Tags: Kyle Williams
Bills DT Kyle Williams is dressed for practice for the first time this week.
Williams missed Wednesday and Thursday’s practice with a nagging foot injury. He appears to be limited, but we’ll get a full update on the extent of Williams participation after practice.
Kyle to be game-time decision
Bills DT Kyle Williams did not practice again on Thursday and head coach Chan Gailey said they’ll make a call on him come Sunday morning.
“Yeah, he’s going to be a game time decision,” said Gailey.
Earlier in the week Gailey said a decision on Williams’ availability for Sunday could hinge on how healthy fellow NT Torell Troup is for Sunday’s game. Troup practiced fully on Wednesday and again Thursday.
“He looked like he did alright out there,” said Gailey of Troup. “He got better.”
When asked if Troup will be able to go Sunday Gailey said, “I think so. It looks like it to me.”
Williams still out
Bills DT Kyle Williams is not practicing for a second straight day due to a foot injury. Here are the other non-participants.
Donald Jones
Aaron Williams
Da’Norris Searcy
Demetrius Bell
Chris Kelsay
Kyle not practicing
Bills DT Kyle Williams will not be practicing Wednesday due to his foot injury.
That according to head coach Chan Gailey.
“He’ll sit out today and then we’ll see where we go from there,” said Gailey of Williams.
Williams is dealing with a foot injury that has been bothering him since training camp and it was further aggravated in the third quarter of last Sunday’s game against Philadelphia. More on Williams’ intentions for Sunday on the home page of Buffalobills.com later today.
No lunging at Vick
Knowing how elusive Michael Vick is as a quarterback, the Bills defense, though eager to bring him down or apply pressure whenever they can, realizes they have to be disciplined in their pursuit not reckless.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time the first guy back there he’s going to make him miss,” said Kyle Williams. ”That’s something we’ve talked about. With him you can’t just go take your shot. You need to break down and try to slow him down and get in his face. So we’re going to try to get after him and disrupt him.
He will stay (in the pocket) as long as he has to but it’s obvious, and you can tell, he likes to get out of the pocket and make things break down and then throw the ball. The scary thing about him is it might have been last week or the week before, they get in a 3rd and 15 or 3rd and 16, he gets out of the pocket, makes it look like he’s going to throw and then runs it for the first down. Those are the things that are going to kill you.”
Williams said the problem defenses have is when they try to rush upfield around the edges to hem him in, but get too far upfield and he steps up past them through the pocket and is off to the races.
“When he really hurts guys is when you blitz and rush and you’re behind the guy and you create these big seams in the defense or open up the field to him,” said Williams. ”That’s when he hurts you on deep balls or with him running. It’s a big test for anybody when you play the guy.”
Kyle on the pass rush
Tags: Andy Dalton, Kyle Williams, pass rush, Tom Brady
While Buffalo’s offensive line has been great out of the gate ranking first in the league in sacks allowed per play, Buffalo’s defense is at the opposite end of the spectrum ranking 32nd in sacks per play as they have two on the season. However, as Kyle Williams explains facing a pair of top flight running teams followed by a quick throwing Tom Brady getting pressure on the quarterback hasn’t been the focus.
“We want to hit the guy and we want to disrupt the guy more,” said Williams. ”I think some of it is you have to look at what we are doing defensively and you have to look at what they’re doing offensively. I’m not making excuses or anything like that, but the guy we just played (Tom Brady) he gets rid of the ball. If you look at the game he’s hitting a lot of crossing routes and different things like that. So, it’s a little bit above but it’s something we want to get more out of as we have opportunities to do it. When guys get one-on-one you have to win. You have to get pressure, hit the quarterback and disrupt his lanes.”
Againsts New England Buffalo rushed just three and four a lot committing more players to coverage while the down linemen clogged passing lanes in an effort to deflect passes, which worked (See: Marcell Dareus tip).
Facing Cincinnati rookie QB Andy Dalton this week could present more opportunities.
“I think with something like that you have to be able to give him different looks,” said Williams. ”Maybe get him confused a little bit not knowing what he’s seeing. Maybe he holds the ball a half second longer and that’s lot of pass rush you know it’s holding the ball a half second longer where hits turn into the sacks, non pressure turns into pressure. But with them they are going to hang their hat on running the football. And if we can’t stop the run we aren’t going to be able to give him different looks and get after him throwing the ball.”
Pass ‘D’ looking to rebound
Tags: Chan Gailey, Kyle Williams, Leodis McKelvin
Buffalo’s pass defense surrendered a handful of big plays last Sunday against Oakland and allowed Jason Campbell to complete 70 percent of his passes en route to a 323-yard passing day. But if you ask the Bills players there were different factors that went into why the Raiders were so successful in rolling up passing yardage.
DT Kyle Williams explained that Buffalo’s approach was squarely focused on Oakland’s ultra-productive running game, which left them in less than ideal pass rushing situations to help the secondary on the back end on passing downs.
“We had just a couple of blitzes that we ran that really came free,” he said of last Sunday’s game. ”They picked up a 3rd-and-8 on us, really just a chuck and duck the guy caught it. And then a couple of other times we ran and were able to get some pressure he threw the ball in the ground. We ran a lot of under defense (Sunday). I was playing the shade and Marcell and Dwan played a three (technique) and a five (technique). Not your most favorable pass rushing position, but I think we were going in thinking that those guys rushed for over 200 yards last week and they’re going to pound it and we have to be ready for it.”
Williams said to the Raiders’ credit they audibled to some short pass plays to counter Buffalo’s focus on the run.
“They were in some running personnel and got us on some quick passes and they max protected and got the ball down the field when we were in an under defense,” he said. ”It’s a tough row to hoe, you’re going to get doubles and things like that. We didn’t throw a big package at them. We were focused on getting McFadden down and slowing that down.”
And the Bills did that with McFadden managing just 72 yards on 20 carries. Facing a much different Patriots offense this week that leans more toward the pass the Bills believe the approach will be different as pressure on Tom Brady is essential to disrupting the New England passing game.
“It’s different every week,” said Williams. ”We’re going to have to carry some different things with those guys going into the ball game. With their three tight ends and one back, two tight ends and two backs, they run a lot of different things.”
Head coach Chan Gailey has also challenged his defensive backfield to go make a play if the opportunity is there, and his defensive staff is likely to have a more aggressive plan as well.
“Go out and expect to be great in the game,” said Gailey in reference to what he told his players in the secondary. ”Don’t go play defensively, and I don’t mean that in the wrong terms. Go be aggressive on the field. We’ve got to go compete for the ball when the ball is in the air. We’ve got to study what they do. We’ve got to be good tacklers. All those little things that make a secondary good, that’s what you’ve got to do. It’s not a major overhaul, we’ve just got to get better at what we’re doing.”
“We’ve just got to go make plays,” said Leodis McKelvin. “That’s all it is. Most of the time we were in position to make a play so when we’re there we got to go make one.”
