Inside The Bills

Beating Brady blueprint started by Pettine

Pittsburgh Steelers S Ryan Clark appeared on ESPN NFL Live in the ESPN studios in Bristol recently and talked about how defenses can successfully throw Patriots QB Tom Brady off his game.

Clark told ESPN NFL Live the following.

“In 2010, we saw it start with the Jets in the playoffs,” he said. “When Tom Brady gets pressure and when you’re man-to-man and bumping those guys and making it hard for him to throw, he sees ghosts.

“Even when guys aren’t around him, even when he’s not about to be sacked, when his clock goes off in his head that the ball should be out, we’ll see him duck, we’ll see him flinch. When you get Tom Brady doing that, the whole New England Patriots mystique goes away.”

Everyone knows that the Patriots offense is based largely on timing. That’s why it’s little surprise, as ESPN AFC East blogger James Walker points out, Brady’s completion percentage drops from 68.2 percent to 42.3 percent when he holds onto the ball three seconds or longer.

What’s most encouraging is Clark references the Jets approach in the 2010 playoffs. That approach was largely drawn up by Bills current defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.

Add in the fact that Wes Welker is gone and Rob Gronkowski coming off the arm injury and the season opener at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sept. 8th could be a very interesting matchup.

Fan Friday 5-3

Well Bills fans it was a heck of a draft, one that I think will serve the team very well based on their positional needs. Let’s get to the latest edition of your questions from AskChris@bills.nfl.net and on Twitter @ChrisBrownBills.

1 – Hi Chris,

Thanks for your coverage of the NFL Draft this past weekend. But of course I have a question. I’ve been watching video on Jeff Tuel and I can’t for the life of me understand why or how this kid wasn’t drafted…I mean, I’m glad he wasn’t because that allowed Buffalo to pick him up. But this kid can make ALL the throws, throws that a lot of NFL QBs can’t. He has a GREAT arm, he’s really athletic, can thread the needle, throw on the run, and throw touch passes on the run. Just hope he gets a legit shot to compete and takes full advantage of it. What do you think?

Thanks,
Jerry
BillsFanInFl

CB: There’s no question that he has the physical tools to play in the league. What soured NFL clubs on Tuel was he had trouble with injuries. Personally I thought some of his injuries were related to the poor protection and poor talent around him. He does have a solid arm and as Bills scout Brad Forsyth described, “sneaky athleticism.”

The fact that he lost his starting job as a senior scared off NFL clubs. To me he was a victim of circumstance more than anything else. I’ve got no problem giving a prospect with his tool a chance. He just has to stay healthy.

2 – Hello Chris,

Nice call on the EJ pick in the first round…I have a question about Byrd and his agent…I have heard rumors that they are asking for $9 mil per year…That seems a bit steep…How do you think Buddy Nix would handle a holdout situation?

Thanks

Jimmy from San Diego

CB: I appreciate the kudos. Thanks. Regarding Byrd, I think your figure is a bit off the mark. Buffalo has already franchised him and that figure is $6.9M. Though his agent is a guy that is very good at getting fair market value, $9M per is exorbitant, especially for a position like safety.

I think it’s going to be interesting to see where this leads between Byrd and the Bills, but as Buddy Nix has said the ball is in Byrd’s court seeing that he has yet to sign his franchise tender.

3 – Chris,

Thank you for you is in depth coverage leading up to the draft.  I really enjoyed listening to you on WGR550.

There may be some merit to the idea of letting Manuel sit behind Kolb for a while as he develops, but there could be additional incentive to starting Kolb in 2013.  Many people seem to be hopeful that Kolb will revitalize his career in Buffalo behind a much better O-line than what he had in Arizona.  If Kolb starts most of the 2013 season and looks impressive, he could end up having very high trade value at the end of the year.  Do you think the Bills staff would take something like that into consideration when making the decision?  Am I thinking too far ahead?

-Joe

CB: First, thanks for the kind words. All of us at Buffalobills.com bust our tail to bring you as much as we possibly can on the Bills and the draft during that three-day pick parade. I think your theory has some validity. Much of it however, will hinge on how fast Manuel comes along. If he is quick on the uptake and is playing consistent football in training camp and the preseason he could get the nod.

At the same time even the Bills brass has admitted that Manuel is not a finished product. So unless he’s outstanding in his first camp and preseason I do expect Kolb to start the season under center. Knowing New England is the first opponent it might make Kolb an even more likely starter. He beat the Patriots in New England last season while with the Cards. If Kolb plays well he’ll stay in, but I think you know as well as anybody else it all comes down to winning games.

4 – Chris,

Many thanks for keeping us in tune with what is happening with players/coaches and the draft.  I am interested in the status of the proposed improvements to the Ralph.  Will any be completed prior to the start of this season and if so how much?

Keep up the great work for the fans.

Bryon B.
Plattsburgh

CB: The initial phase of plans deal mainly with the infrastructure or bones of the stadium. That will begin this fall, but much of it won’t be noticeable to fans attending games in the stadium. The more cosmetic improvements (new scoreboards at east end, west end pavilion) won’t begin until 2014.

5 – Hey Chris,

I was just wondering what your thoughts on the Alan Branch signing.  We have seen the Bills try to do this before,  last year they added Mario Williams to Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus and Chris Kelsay/Mark Anderson.  That one took a few weeks before it looked like they defensive line we all thought we would have.  Also before the 2008 season the Bills added Marcus Stroud to the D-Line that already had Aaron Shobel, Kyle Williams and Chris Kelsay/Ryan Denney.  That one seemed to never workout and Stroud was gone by 2010.  Why do you think the Bills organization thinks that this one could be the one that works?

Thanks for all you do,
Josh,Syracuse NY

CB: My feeling is with a defense that’s going to be attacking a lot they need a player that can command double team attention and fit well against the run. Marcell Dareus is one example of that. Torell Troup could be that, but is unproven. Alan Branch can line up in that edge defensive tackle position for Buffalo and hold the point effectively.

He might not make a ton of plays in that role, but he’ll allow players like Mario Williams and Kyle Williams and Dareus to make more of them.

Fan Friday 4-5

Another week closer to the NFL draft. Keep the questions coming at AskChris@bills.nfl.net and on Twitter @ChrisBrownBills. Here’s the latest edition for you Bills fans.

1 - Chris,

Due to the advent of a new coaching staff, at what point in time can the Bills coaches give information to existing Bills players with reference to new terminology or verbiage that will be used in calling of plays? Also the new playbook, which would take even more time to put together. Is the timing this kind of information contractually limited by the CBA or otherwise? Or is it simply delayed until all is put together by the staff?                                                         

Thanks, Bill S.
CB: The new coaching staff does get the benefit of an additional voluntary camp here in the spring. Buffalo’s additional camp will run from April 15^th to the 18^th prior to the draft. At that point classroom work is permitted in addition to on the field work. The offseason conditioning program began on Tuesday. Yes, the timing is contractually limited by the CBA, as well as practice time (e.g. limited time on the field per day, days per week, etc.) So it does present a great challenge for a new staff coming in with constraints put on the amount of practice and classroom time.

2 – Hey Chris,

I was wondering if you might be able to enlighten some of us on practice squad eligibility & whether or not if in any way it counts towards the cap? Or is that a cost that is separate from the cap? I know those guys have to get paid but am unsure about the inner workings of it. Last year that was where we had David Snow stashed at right & I know he went back & forth for a bit, so how much longer would he be eligible?

I do know that they are not secure with the team once they are put there & can be signed away, but can the team offer them more to stay? Or once an offer has been made by another team or are they just gone? I know that in the past we have picked up a few players from other teams squads such as Brian Brohm & have tried to pick up others that either didn’t want to leave or were offered more money by the team we were trying to get them away from to stay – I guess?

I was just wondering if you might be able to clear some of that up for those of us that aren’t as well verse on the workings of that part of the team …

Thanks as always for your time !!

Mr T from Fort Myers Via Nashville

CB: First, practice squad players do not count against the cap. Only the top 51 player salaries count towards the cap, so the two lowest paid players on the 53-man roster don’t even count let alone the practice squad players.

Players are eligible for the practice squad for up to three years provided they do not appear in nine regular season games in one year. If they are in the third year of practice squad eligibility and they’re on the practice squad, whenever there is an opening on the 53-man roster they’re the automatic promotion (See: Gibran Hamdan).

You’re right the players on the practice squad can be signed to the active roster of any other NFL club at any time. There are instances where the team that he’s been with tries to retain him by putting him on their active roster.

It’s funny you mention Brian Brohm because that’s exactly what Green Bay tried to do when they found out the Bills were going to sign him off their practice squad. They offered him the same money that the Bills were offering on their active roster, but it’s the player’s choice. He thought he had a better chance to play in Buffalo with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. Hope that helps.

3 – Chris:

It would seem that player evaluations can hinge on subtle differences, to me a player who doesn’t beat or come very close to their 1st 40, may not have the competitive spirit needed to succeed at the next level. I’d rather have someone who fights to the final whistle. Some of the QB’s did not impress at this, I’d rather have a not as developed player with desire, than a strong arm and quit in him. How would you and the coaches evaluate the two 40 times?
Jim from Florida

CB: While I don’t dispute for a second that it’s better to have a player that fights to the final whistle or is supremely self-motivated, I think you may be putting a bit too much weight on a player’s second run of the 40 at the Combine or a pro day.

There are several reasons why a player might run a slower 40 the second time. First, perhaps their get off wasn’t as technically sound. Their footing may not have been as good off the line. I realize this might sound a bit unrealistic, but players will tell you there is a fatigue factor involved from the first run.

I’m sure there are instances of some prospects that don’t fight to the final whistle, but that will be far more noticeable in games on tape than in their second run of the 40.

4 – The off season though the combine has been frustrating because once again I have no clue what the defense is going to look like, so I have no idea who I should be paying attention to. OLB seems to be a glaring need, but is it? It looks to be Bradham and that’s it, but because of the uncertainty surrounding the scheme,  I’m left asking are Kyle Moore, Mark Anderson & Mario Williams DEs or OLBs? Should I be paying attention to the interior D Line guys, guys that are projected as 3-4 DEs? Right now the only projected first round front seven defender who I’m sure can fit into whatever D they run is Ogletree. I used to love this time of year. Any light you can shine on this situation would be appreciated.

Pete Howell
Fairport

CB: When coach Pettine says his scheme is going to be multiple he means it. Gone are the days where you can sit in a 4-3 or 3-4 and not change things up. A perfect example of this was the way that former defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt chose to sit in the same 4-3 front last season. Despite having great depth of talent on his front line, the same looks became easy to block and counter for opposing offensive line, which is why they weren’t all that effective last season.

Pettine knows to be effective you have to be multiple. Just as it’s difficult for you to not plug DEs and OLBs into roles, Pettine wants opposing offenses to have that same difficulty. He doesn’t want opponents knowing where anyone is going to line up on any given play. Keeping an offense guessing while also possessing an attacking mindset unnerves an offense.

All that being said I think they will line up more in the 3-4 than the 4-3, but roles will shift and change from week to week. Manny Lawson might be a true SLB on first down, but he might shift to a third down pass rusher in passing situations and Mario Williams might kick inside. That’s just one example.

5 – CB, 

Buddy had mentioned following the way the Bengals drafted AJ Green and Andy Dalton. Do you seen a scenario where the Bills go QB in round 1 and WR in round two? What do you think of the possibility of Geno Smith and Justin Hunter? I think these two are the might be the best players available when the Bills will pick in rounds 1 and 2. What are the scouts saying about Hunter, can he separate from DB’s at his size/speed? 
CB: I think this could definitely be a possibility in the first two rounds. Buffalo needs to add a quarterback early. And the value at wide receiver in this draft begins in round two and lasts all the way until round four. Hunter has some intriguing physical skills. He ran a 4.36 at the Combine and is 6’4”, but he’s just 196 pounds and has a lean build, which means he’ll be limited in the bulk he can add.

He also has a reputation for inconsistent hands. That’s why despite first round physical skills he’s expected to last until round two.

As for his separation ability, he’s not considered very good run after catch despite his speed because he’s a straight line speed guy. Elusiveness is not a strength.

Personally I’d prefer Clemson’s DeAndre Hopkins in round two if he’s there for Buffalo.

Fan Friday 3-15

College pro days are in full swing. Pre-draft visits will soon follow, and free agent visits as well. Let’s get to your questions for this week’s edition from AskChris@bills.nfl.net and on Twitter @ChrisBrownBills.

1 - @ChrisBrownBills would Bills take a flyer on Kolb?

Cparkin2009 12:33pm via Twitter for Android

CB: I’d be surprised if Kolb is on Buffalo’s radar. The Bills have been hard at work this week with a full court press on the quarterback prospects in this year’s draft. Landry Jones, Geno Smith and Tyler Wilson all had pro days this week. Though I wouldn’t rule out the Bills kicking the tires on a veteran free agent, it seems to me that the draft is where their focus lies with respect to quarterback right now.

 2 – Hi Chris,

Thanks for keeping us updated all off-season. If the scenario of Geno Smith falling to the Browns at #6 happens, do you think this would finally be the year the Bills trade up to land the best QB prospect? Andy Reid can probably work with Alex Smith and with the Eagles re-signing Vick it looks like they may not draft a QB but the Cardinals will most likely be looking to draft a QB right before us.    

Thanks,
John

CB: I agree that the Cardinals could still draft a QB despite signing veteran free agent Drew Stanton and jettisoning Kevin Kolb. But Arizona needs help in a lot of places after cutting some high-priced vets. Cleveland has addressed some of their most pressing defensive needs early in free agency, so I don’t think ruling them out for adding a quarterback can be assumed. I realize they drafted Brandon Weeden last year, but they have a new coaching staff and new ownership.

Reporters I’ve talked to in Philadelphia also won’t rule out Chip Kelly drafting a QB, though I don’t believe it’ll happen in round one with the fourth overall pick.

As for trading up, Buddy Nix traditionally does not like to move up and down the board. Now he moved up two places last year to grab T.J. Graham in round three, but it’s a whole different ball game in the top 10 and knowing the Bills only have six picks this year, it’s hard for me to see Nix giving up picks to make a move up higher in the top 10.

3 – Chris,
With Mike Pettine being the defensive coordinator now I assume the Bills are going back to a 3-4.  I was wondering what that means for the defensive line?  Will we see Dareus or Williams move to the end again?

CB: Personally I think Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams are both versatile enough to play end or DT in Pettine’s system. But I’ll let coach Pettine handle this one since he was recently asked about his defense in an appearance on Bills flagship station WGR Sportsradio 550 this week.

“We’re not going to be true 3-4 or 4-3 as far as how we’re doing it,” said Pettine. “We’re going to be multiple in our fronts that we run. It’s a work in progress. We’re going to highlight in our playbook what we do well. So again it’s going to be more roster based.

“We have our base concepts that we’re going to run and those have been put in from a playbook standpoint, but we’re still trying to rebuild it. As a new staff we took what we built over four years in New York and then add the experience of the other coaches on the staff. We’ve basically hit the reset button on everything. I didn’t want to come in and say, ‘This is what we’re running.’ Over time you accumulate a lot of tweaks and adjustments. We wanted to go back to the baseline and say, ‘Here is the way we’re going to teach it and then understand that these are all the variations of it.’”

4 – Chris,

What are the odds that the Bills pass on a quarterback in the early rounds this year? And pick one next year in the early rounds? Are there any prospects in next year’s draft that are better than this year? It seems to me that at least this way we can get the defense squared away and add a receiver or tight end and have everything in place for a QB next year. Thanks . I enjoy your column.

Sam from Tupper Lake , NY
Sent from my iPhone

CB: I think with Ryan Fitzpatrick no longer on the roster it’s pretty much a must that the Bills draft a quarterback somewhere in the first two rounds of the draft. Obviously what falls to them will say a lot in what is ultimately done, but with a thin free agent class at QB and the draft class at QB not tremendously deep the Bills have to land a QB early as I see it.

5 – Chris,

I’m wondering what type of offense the Bills will run given coach Marrone and Hackett’s system at Syracuse. During the season last year Nassib was quoted as saying that their success with the no huddle spread offense was due to the fact that they run to set up the pass. This is an unusual description and quite the opposite of a west coast system. Yet, newly resigned QB Jackson was quoted as saying he’s looking forward to playing in a west coast system. What type of system do you think the Bills will run?  Thanks for your insight. Go Bills!

Joe
Sent from my iPad

CB: I think it’s safe to say the offense will be heavily rooted in West Coast principles, but it will have its fair share of power running. That’s coach Marrone’s influence being a former offensive lineman. He and coach Hackett wanted to take the best elements of a number of different offenses and incorporate them into one system. Essentially their offense is a multiple system with West Coast roots.

Defensive staff meetings going very well

Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine has the luxury of having two former defensive coordinators on his defensive staff in Donnie Henderson and Chuck Dreisbach. That will a host of other top assistants has Pettine very happy with how their meetings have gone in the first couple of months at One Bills Drive.

Appearing on the Howard Simon Show on Bills flagship station WGR Sportsradio 550, Pettine shed some light on just how far along the staff is in completing the defensive playbook and how they took a fresh approach in putting all their concepts together.

“It’s a work in progress. Again I don’t think we’re going to dial in on it 100 percent. We’re going to highlight in our playbook what we do well,” said Pettine. ”So again it’s going to be more roster based. We have our base concepts that we’re going to run and those have been put in from a playbook standpoint, but we’re still trying to rebuild it.

“As a new staff we took what we built over four years in New York and then add the experience of the other coaches on the staff. We’ve basically hit the reset button on everything. I didn’t want to come in and say, ‘This is what we’re running.’

“Over time you accumulate a lot of tweaks and adjustments. We wanted to go back to the baseline and say, ‘Here is the way we’re going to teach it and then understand that these are all the variations of it.’ We still need to have a base way to teach it and we’ve had great meetings.

“I’m just thrilled with the knowledge and experience we have in the coaching staff. It’s a very open discussion that our guys have on there being more than one way to do it. It’s been very productive. I don’t think the playbook will be finalized until we’re ready to go to training camp.”

Obviously the coaches have to see what the players are able to execute consistently and effectively before deciding what stays and what goes and what’s used more often and what’s used less often in their scheme. Until they see their players’ level of execution they can’t finalize the playbook.

Pettine: Lawson an underrated pass rusher

Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine has not commented on any of the players he has on his side of the ball on Buffalo’s roster. He and Buffalo’s other coaches have understandably been reluctant to comment on what they think of their personnel, preferring to get on the practice field with them to see them up close before passing any judgment. The case is different however, with free agent acquisitions and after the Bills signed OLB Manny Lawson, Pettine commented.

Appearing on the Howard Simon Show on Bills flagship station WGR Sportsradio 550, Pettine provided his thoughts on just what kind of player they believe they have in Lawson.

“I think he brings a guy that has some explosive ability. He’s a tall, rangy guy, a set the edge type defender,” said Pettine. ”And even though we’re not going to be true 3-4 or 4-3 as far as we’re doing it. In our multiple fronts that we run we do need some bigger edge players. So I do think he certainly fits that bill for us. I think he’s an underrated pass rusher. He didn’t get as much opportunity to do that in Cincinnati as much as he did in San Francisco. But he’s a guy we liked coming out (in the draft) years ago and just admire the way that he plays, the effort, the energy, the passion he plays with from afar. So when the opportunity came up for us to evaluate the outside linebackers in free agency he was at the top of the list.”

Lawson barely rushed the passer in his two years with Cincinnati, but it sounds like that is going to change in Buffalo. Even in his press conference Lawson indicated that after speaking with Pettine briefly that he believes he’ll have the opportunity to get after quarterbacks, much like he did earlier in his career.

What Lawson add means for Bradham

With the Bills signing free agent OLB Manny Lawson to presumably play on the strong side at linebacker it will likely mean Nigel Bradham is on the move.

Bradham, who showed a lot of progress as a rookie as the 2012 season wore on, is a very athletic linebacker in his own right. He appeared in all 16 games, but started at strong side linebacker the last 11 games of last season.

While Lawson is a solid coverage defender in the pass game, so too is Bradham, which probably makes him a very good candidate for the weak side where Nick Barnett used to line up.

Bills head coach Doug Marrone has said that every position will have competition, so Bradham could very well compete with Lawson on the strong side, but it’s seems more likely that Bradham is moved to the weak side where his range will serve him well to make plays in Mike Pettine’s defense.

Bills Lawson can play coverage

For those that are wondering if Manny Lawson is athletic enough to cover tight ends and running backs out of the backfield you don’t have to worry.

Lawson is a rare athlete. In addition to football he was also an accomplished track athlete in high school competing in four events, the triple jump, long jump, 55-meters and the 55-meter hurdles.

At the NFL Combine as an incoming rookie in 2006, Lawson put up some pretty impressive numbers for a guy that stood 6’5 1/2″ and 240 pounds. He ran a 4.43 40-time, had a 39 1/2-inch vertical, a 10’4″ broad jump, a sub seven-second three cone drill (6.9) and 23 reps on the bench despite having very long arms.

Buffalo has a strong side linebacker that can do just about everything making him a legitimate three down option for defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.

Fan Friday 2-15

Hey Bills fans, NFL Combine week is coming up and we’ll have wall to wall coverage on Buffalobills.com with daily video reports, video interviews with prospects and members of the Bills front office. We’ll also have the John Murphy Show live in Indianapolis on Wednesday and Friday night from 7-9 pm with the podcast on Thursday evening. And of course plenty of written content for your to peruse through the course of the week. Keep it here all next week with our coverage of the Combine on site beginning on Thurs. Feb. 21^st. Now to your questions from AskChris@bills.nfl.net and on Twitter @ChrisBrownBills.

1 - Chris:
Q:  With the new coaching staff taking over how much of an impact will Coach Pettine and some of his former Defensive Jet Assistants have on providing (Coach Marrone) insight on the Bills current Offensive Talent since they had to prepare for the Bills two times a year?

CB: I think there’s some validity to that point, but I think coach Pettine or any other Bills defensive coach will only provide input on a Bills offensive player if it’s asked of them. Generally the coaches stick to evaluating their side of the ball, but are certainly open to offering opinions if they’re asked of them. I  think this could be one of those unique circumstances where Pettine, Jim O’Neil and Anthony Weaver could have something to offer the offensive staff on their players.

2 – Chris

I am a statistic guy by nature. I was very surprised that George Wilson was the 2nd leading tackler on the team. He did it very quietly. What I did notice is that he didn’t have the big plays from years past.

In fact neither he nor Searcy had any interceptions. The only linebacker with any interceptions was Bryan Scott. Tackles by linebackers were mostly by Nick Barnett.. Sheppard seemed to get lost on most run plays.

He and Moats early in the year couldn’t fight off the blockers. A middle linebacker should be leading the team in tackles. Like Poz did while he was here. Sheppard should have 30-35 more tackles for the year.

Moats seemed one dimensional, in that he could rush the passer. That was Aaron Maybin’s downfall.

Nigel Bradham was making plays and hustling on every down. He can only get better. 

Where do you see Buffalo drafting a linebacker this year? Will it be middle or outside? 

Thanks 
Gary in Indianapolis

CB: I think tackle statistics can be misleading at times. Often it’s where on the field the tackles are made rather than how many of them one makes. It’s kind of a moot point now regarding Wilson and Barnett now that both of them are no longer here.

As for where Buffalo could address the linebacker position, I believe it’s wide open. I think they could go inside or outside. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if they drafted one at each spot.

There is some premier talent at the top that would be worthy of the eighth pick like Georgia’s Alec Ogletree, who I like a lot because of his versatility and elite athleticism. He was a safety that became a linebacker and made it work. I know that makes some fans skittish sometimes to see that. Ogletree is athletic enough to play OLB or ILB. He lined up inside for Georgia.

Oregona’s Dion Jordan is another athletic anomaly that could go that high, though he’s coming off an injury. I like LSU’s Kevin Minter who is a late first, early second ILB. Alabama’s Nico Johnson is another ILB option in the third round. On the outside, Arthur Brown from Kansas State and Khaseem Greene from Rutgers are good day two picks though they might be on the short side for a 3-4 scheme at 6’1”.

Southern Miss’ Jamie Collins and UCONN’s Trevardo Williams are two other OLBs that could figure in the third round.

3 – Chris,
Who would you like to see the Bills get at QB, Glennon is getting all the hype, but Nassib is a Marrone guy.

RR21RaceFan

CB: You’re right that Nassib played for Marrone and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett for that matter. What needs to be kept in mind is they know all they need to know about Nassib. Now they have to determine where he fits in the entire class of QBs. If there are prospects that they rank considerably higher than him and they have the opportunity to take the higher rated prospect that’s what they’ll be compelled to do. If the difference is marginal they might lean in favor of Nassib.

With the quarterback class a bit muddled with no consensus top talents I think it helps Nassib’s chances of being considered among the top signal callers. I’m still trying to watch more tape of these guys and I’ll admit it’s hard to like one considerably more than the other with what I’ve seen so far. It’s not nearly as easy as it was last year.

4 – Chris –

Is Marquise Goodwin a possible target for a WR spot in the draft?  He’s an elite athlete who competed in the 2012 Olympics and was the big play threat in the Texas offense.  He’s also a value as a kick returner.

Also, would his teammate Alex Okafor be a target if he’s there in the second?  Is Buffalo still looking to upgrade the end position?

Mike
Bills fan in Texas
CB: I don’t know that Goodwin, who projects as a third round pick is a guy that fits the profile of what Buffalo is looking for at the receiver position. At 5’9” and 179 pounds he’s not a fit to play outside and beat physical corners for jump balls and such. The Bills already have this kind of receiver in T.J. Graham. So I do not see him as a mark for the Bills.

As for Okafor he’s an interesting prospect and did well at the Senior Bowl. The problem I see there is he’s considered a DE only and my suspicion is the Bills are going to be looking for defensive ends that can also line up as OLBs to allow Mike Pettine to be multiple with his scheme. Okafor doesn’t have the athleticism to run and cover as an OLB in a 3-4 or a 4-3. He’s strictly an up on the line end in a 4-3 by most accounts, so I don’t know that he works for Buffalo either.

5 – Chris,
Thank You for keeping us updated each week, my question is with Leodis McKelvins contract being up and Aaron Williams still developing and not known, is there a chance we could go after FA Aqib Talib?

Thomas Neaverth

CB: I don’t see the Bills pursuing Aqib Talib. He just doesn’t fit the character mold for a player that the personnel department looks for. He’s had some run-ins off the field and twice had fights with teammates in Tampa Bay. So while talented I don’t see him as a target for Buffalo.

Bills LBs Coach goes way back with Pettine

The new Bills coaching staff wrapped up another week of personnel evaluation as they continue to settle in at One Bills Drive. But Linebackers Coach Chuck Driesbach is already pretty familiar with his new boss.

In an appearance Friday night on The John Murphy Show, Driesbach said he goes way back with Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine and his family. In fact, Driesbach played high school football in Eastern Pennsylvania at Central Bucks West High School, where Pettine’s father was the Head Coach.

Driesbach told host John Murphy he still uses many of the football and coaching lessons he learned from Mike Pettine, Sr.

“He’s a legendary coach,” Driesbach said. “I still find myself coaching like his dad—very fundamentally sound, making sure that what you expect out of these players is what they do. You don’t let them get away with anything, and it goes a long way. It was a great foundation for me.”

Driesbach is a coaching lifer, with 36-years in the business. And almost all of that time has been spent in college football. The Bills job is his first foray into the NFL.

“It wasn’t anything I set out to pursue. I just love coaching. I’ve been in the SEC, the Big Ten, the Big East. I’ve even been in the Ivy League. I got just as nervous before the Ivy League games as I did before the SEC games. I just love to coach, and when this opportunity presented itself, I was fired up.”

Driesbach was out of coaching last year, taking a one year sabbatical. But he did spend some time with the New York Jets and Mike Pettine, Jr. and that gradually led to his job with the Bills.

“This past year, I was not coaching at Rice. I went up and spent a week with the Jets at training camp, got a chance to sit in the meetings with the coaches and players,” he said.

“I did a little work for Mike in terms of film study, not for money, but he was doing it as a favor for me to keep me in football. And, he respected what I might be able to tell him, to help. It was a good re-connect, because when this job came open, he thought of me. So I’m real excited that happened.”

The entire interview with Bills LB Coach Chuck Driesbach will be available Friday night at buffalobills.com\johnmurphyshow.

PFF suggests Bills free agent targets

The film reviewers and stat crunchers at ProFootballFocus have put together a list of suggested free agent targets for the Bills this offseason as they try to assess some of the team’s most glaring positional needs.

PFF goes into their assessment under the assumption that Buffalo’s defense will largely be a 3-4 scheme, which if you heard anything from defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, is not a safe assumption. He’s preached being multiple and explained that in this day and age you can’t definitively be a 4-3 or 3-4 front defense.

In any event they list OLB, DE and TE/slot WR as the positional needs that could most effectively be addressed in free agency. Among the players they list are Baltimore’s OLB Paul Kruger, NY Jets DL Mike DeVito and NY Jets TE Dustin Keller as options to fill those roles.

Kruger had a solid season, but benefited from opponents keying on Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs after he returned to the lineup in 2012. DeVito is a solid, dependable run defender. Keller is an interesting option knowing it’s very iffy as to whether Scott Chandler would be ready to return by training camp coming off ACL surgery.

Pettine: A privilege to coach Ray Lewis

Super Bowl XLVII between the 49ers and the Ravens will be the last game in Ray Lewis’ lengthy NFL career. Three of Buffalo’s coaches spent time on the Baltimore staff during Lewis’ playing career. Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine coached him for four seasons as one of the team’s two linebacker coaches. Knowing he coached one of the greats leaves him feeling privileged.

“To me when I look back at some point over my coaching career, the fact that I can say I was part of coaching Ray Lewis will be one of my highlights,” he said.

Pettine, who coached Lewis, and Bills defensive line coach Anthony Weaver who lined up with him as his teammate for four seasons in Baltimore reflected on Lewis’ career with Buffalobills.com. Their comments are part of a story on the home page of Buffalobills.com today.

Pettine on what makes a successful LB

Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine has worked with some pretty special linebackers in his NFL coaching career, most notably Ray Lewis. So he has a good idea of the kinds of qualities that he feels are needed to be a successful linebacker at the pro level.

“First of all is the mentality and the passion,” said Pettine. ”They’ve got to love to play. When you have that mentality it shows up how you prepare to play. I was fortunate to be around Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs and Adalius Thomas. To the guys with the Jets and the common theme was they were guys that loved to play. You’re not necessarily looking at great athletes, but I think the mentality has to be there especially to play linebacker.

“You see a lot of guys that have the talent to play in this league, but they don’t have the intangible stuff. When they have both that’s when they’re special.”

Marrone was zeroed in on Pettine

When Bills President and CEO Russ Brandon wrapped up a press conference announcing he was taking over day-to-day control of the organization, he and GM Buddy Nix, Asst. GM Doug Whaley and Sr. VP of Football Administration Jim Overdorf hopped a plane to Arizona to interview head coaching candidates, they quickly knew who they wanted to hire. Once they hired Doug Marrone less than a week later, Marrone took a similar approach in landing his defensive coordinator.

In introducing his coaching staff, Marrone confirmed that after his own press conference announcing his hiring a couple of weeks ago, he took off for New Jersey to meet face to face with Pettine

“I think what you’re looking for is someone that has caused a lot of problems for offenses around the NFL,” said Marrone. ”Someone that you don’t ever want to play against. I think when I was going through my mind and talking to people in the league they kept coming around to one name. You talk to Russ Brandon or Buddy, my main priority that if I was going to be their choice as soon as we had gotten this done literally, after the press conference that day I jumped on a plane and went right down to see Mike. I couldn’t be happier with that choice. I couldn’t be more excited with the staff we put together. Obviously we’re going to work hard and take it from there.”

Fortunately for Marrone, Pettine was in a situation where his contract was expiring with the Jets.

“I’ve always been an admirer,” Marrone said. ”You’re always looking to attack defenses even at the college level. To me what I had in mind was a system schematically that I wanted to run. That came from an origin like our offensive system. When I was looking at people that grew with that system and kept growing with that system and kept pushing that system, it just led to one person.”

Bills DC “thrilled” with way staff was built

Bills head coach Doug Marrone was naturally pleased with the way he was able to assemble the coaching staff. He did it with a specific purpose in mind. It was focused more on the offensive and defensive systems that will be run rather than name power, and his coordinators could not be happier.

“I was thrilled that Doug wanted to build the staff that way,” said defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. ”That he didn’t want to play fantasy football with the coaching staff. Let’s bring in this guy and this was his resume and let’s bring in this guy, and all of a sudden it’s well his style is a little bit different.

“Instead he made a commitment to the coordinator and then said, ‘Okay let’s hire the staff based on that system.’ So again he certainly wasn’t interested in building the type of staff that was going to make a splash with big names. To me I’m thrilled with the way we put the staff together because it’s based on love of the game, the ability to teach and guys that are willing to put the work in for you.”

Pettine on Bills ‘D’: “We are a multiple front”

After switching back and forth from a 3/4 defensive front to a 4/3 front the last couple of seasons, there’s a lot of speculation about the type of defense new coordinator Mike Pettine might bring to the Buffalo Bills.

In an appearance on The John Murphy Show Thursday night, Pettine says he’s not committed to either the 3/4 or the 4/3. In fact, host John Murphy asked Pettine if the perception that the Jets were primarily a 3/4 front during his tenure there is correct.

“I would say that’s inaccurate,” Pettine responded. “I’ve never been a guy to characterize what we’ve done as 3-4; 4-3; ’46.’ We are a multiple front, multiple coverage defense. And my foundation has always been, we are going to build what we do defensively based on the talent that we have. I’m not one to say, ‘this is my system, and you guys have to run it.’”

“We’re going to run the Buffalo Bills defense,” Pettine continued in the radio interview. “That means taking advantage of the strengths, and that will be the job of the staff we put together. We’re going to look at what do we do well. And let’s make sure that we highlight what we do well.”

During his four year run as the Jets Defensive Coordinator, Pettine’s team finished in the top ten in total defense each year. And one of the trademarks of their defense was pressure on the quarterback. They did that through mixing up their blitzes and giving opposing quarterbacks multiple pressures.

“You can’t be predictable in what you do,” Pettine told John Murphy. “The days of playing defense that way—if you line up in a simple front and play simple coverage behind it, your talent better be better than everybody else’s. And even then you’ll still get beat.”

“I think you have to have a healthy combination of scheme, where you have to exotic, you have to change things week to week. You have to be able to bring it from the field , the boundary, up the middle. Show like you’re going to blitz, and then back out. Show like you’re not coming, and then send it late. I think you have to have all that, because you have to have offenses guessing.”

The entire interview with the Bills new Defensive Coordinator airs at 8pm Thursday night.
The John Murphy Show airs weeknights from 7pm-9pm on the flagship station of the Bills, WGR Sports Radio Radio 550.

Pettine: We’re going to pressure you

Mike Pettine in an exclusive 1-on-1 interview with Bills play-by-play man John Murphy explained the vision for his new Bills defense.

“We’re going to be smart, we’re going to be tough, we’re going to be relentless,” said Pettine. ”We’re going to pressure you. We’re going to force you to make decisions under uncomfortable circumstances. If you’re going to make decisions you’re going to have to make them quick.

“Our other thing too falling under the smart category is we’re going to disguise what we do. NFL quarterbacks are too good. They know what you’re in pre-snap it’s over. If they’re going to figure out what we’re doing, let them figure it out post-snap, so disguise is a big part.

“To me the foundation of what we do is going to be based on fundamentals. You could have the greatest playbook in the world. Draw up all these exotic blitzes and there are five guys coming the field and it’s two safeties and a corner, you can have all that. But if your guys can’t tackle, can’t get off blocks and play with good fundamentals then any playbook you have is worthless.

“To me where we felt we’ve had success before one of the reasons we’ve been able to put together a top defense every year is we’ve found the blend and been able to mix old school football fundamentals with cutting edge scheme. That’s what we’re bringing here to Western New York.”

Pettine also said he’s not married to the 3-4. He said the defense will be “all of the above.” So it sounds like a multiple front defense based on the strengths of the players he has in his lineup.

Pettine on defensive philosophy

Bills new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine was asked in a 1-on-1 interview with Buffalobills.com if he’s married to the 3-4 base defense coming to Buffalo. Here was his response.

“I’m not. Again it’s a situation where I think people try to compartmentalize too much and just broad stroke it 3-4, 4-3, what are you? And my answer to that question is yes to all of the above,” Pettine told Buffalobills.com. ”We are a multiple front, attacking, pressure-style defense. We’re going to play man coverage, we’re going to play zone coverage. What we’re going to do defensively is take advantage of what our players do well.

“I’m not bringing in a defense, this is going to be the Buffalo Bills defense. It’s going to be built around the explosive athletes that are here. Again starting with the front and that’s the solid foundation here and moving to the linebackers and secondary stacked behind them. It made the decision so much easier for me looking at the roster.”

Pettine’s ‘D’ fared well against Bills

While Mike Pettine will certainly be an asset for Buffalo’s defense, his subtraction from the coaching staff of a division rival in the Jets, will make an opponent they have to play twice weaker. Just looking at what Pettine’s defense against the Bills over the past four seasons is hopefully an indication of what’s to come in Buffalo.

Between 2009 and 2012 Pettine’s defense faced the Bills eight times helping the Jets compile a 6-2 record. What’s more important are the average figures for Buffalo’s offense over those eight games.

The Bills averaged just 17.6 points per game over that span, converted just 32 percent of their third downs had 20 turnovers (9 fumbles, 11 INTs) and an average time of possession of just over 27 minutes (27:07).

Pettine’s defense totaled 13 sacks in those eight meetings as well as a pair of touchdowns.

Report: Jets Asst to join Pettine w/Bills

Immediately after reports came out that the Bills are going to hire Mike Pettine as their defensive coordinator there were subsequent reports that Assistant defensive backs coach Jim O’Neil will join Pettine on Buffalo’s defensive staff.

That according to New York Daily News Jets beat reporter Manish Mehta.

More changes for the Jets. Assistant DBs coach Jim O’Neil will join Mike Pettine as a member of his Bills’ staff, per source. #nyj

— Manish Mehta(@MMehtaNYDN) January 9, 2013

O’Neil worked primarily with the safeties under Jets DBs coach Dennis Thurman, who is expected to be the Jets new defensive coordinator based on Rex Ryan’s comments at his season wrap up press conference Tuesday.