Part 3 of the Bills’ 2013 season review will take a look at the current roster of defensive players. I thought it would be interesting to look back on part of a statement I made in regards to the job Dave Wannstedt did as coordinator of the Bills’ defense in 2012:
” It just looked to me like the players were put in positions that appeared to make them robotic, and not instinctive. I really believe the players on the defensive side are mostly gamers who play hard, but they really underachieved as a unit in 2012. It will be a tough job for the new coaching staff to sort out what they have on defense and try to forge a respectable unit in 2013.”
Well, they weren’t the Steel Curtain, but new coordinator Mike Pettine’s defensive unit certainly was markedly improved, and much more aggressive, than what Wannstedt put on the field. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but in only one season the unit appears poised to become a strength of the team, rather than a liability. Here is a position-by-position analysis of the Bills’ defense:
Defensive Linemen
The new more aggressive defensive scheme rejuvenated the players on this unit. Mario Williams and Kyle Williams had career years, while Marcell Dareus came into his own and became the player the team thought they were getting when they drafted him high a couple years ago. The Bills had three D-linemen with double-digit sack totals, if you include Jerry Hughes, who is listed on the roster as a lineman but plays more of an outside linebacker role. Dareus also added 7.5 sacks, a tremendous total for an interior lineman. The loss of Alex Carrington to injury early in the year was a blow, but his replacement, Alan Branch, filled in well enough to get a contract extension from the team. Two free agents picked off the waiver wire the last couple years, Corbin Bryant and Stefan Charles, looked good in reserve roles, especially Charles, who made plays in limited playing time after joining the club late in the year. The team signed a future prospect near the end of the season named Ikponmwosa Igbinosun. Good luck to the game broadcast announcers if he makes the team.
Linebackers
The gem at this position in 2013 was rookie second round draft pick Kiko Alonso, who played at a Pro Bowl level for most of the year and will undoubtedly be one of the major building blocks for the future. Free agent signee Manny Lawson played pretty well at one outside linebacker spot and Arthur Moats and Nigel Bradham shared time on the other. Neither had much of an impact, although Moats is a contributor on special teams. Another mid-season addition to the roster, Ty Powell, is the only other LB on the roster at this point, so this should be an area the team targets in the draft and/or free agency to try to upgrade. With the studs the Bills line up with on their defensive line, the linebackers should be the guys roaming the field making plays, and out of the current group only Alonso seemed to be doing it. Adding some playmakers here would also hopefully help cut down on the defense’s penchant for giving up huge chunks of yardage in the running game.
Defensive Backs
If they can get star safety Jairus Byrd re-signed, the Bills will have a deep, solid group in the secondary. Pairing Byrd with Aaron Williams at the starting safety spots would give the team one of the top safety tandems in the NFL. Williams, who struggled in his first couple of years at cornerback, was a revelation after being moved to safety, and only got better as the season wore on, becoming a real leader on the defense. Jim Leonhard and Da’Norris Searcy provided depth at the position and both made plays in their limited opportunities also. Two promising rookies, Duke Williams and Jonathan Meeks, are waiting in the wings for their shots also, although they mostly played on special teams this year. At cornerback, Stephon Gilmore struggled early on after coming back from a wrist injury, but his play improved by leaps and bounds late in the year. Leodis McKelvin was the most consistent performer overall, and with undrafted rookie Nickell Robey forcing his way into major playing time with some huge plays, the team looks solid at the corners and in their nickel packages. Ron Brooks played well on special teams and showed some ability as a corner also, so there’s a good amount of depth there as well. It would help if the team’s defensive backfield position coaches worked with these guys on their ball skills, as they still seem to find themselves in the perfect position in coverage, only to look lost and get beaten when the ball arrives. Granted, in today’s pass-happy NFL, it’s a league-wide problem, but the team that can build a dominating defense that stops the run and snuffs out opposing passing games will get the edge on the rest of the league. Although at this point they’re certainly not a dominating or even a “physical” defense, the Bills are right on the cusp of being able to do that, as long as they work to get better and not settle for the status quo.