Part 3 of this review deals with the Buffalo Bills’ defense and special teams. The defense was the driving force in the team winning 9 games, while the special teams were competent for the entire season. Jim Schwartz stepped into the role of defensive coordinator and did an outstanding job of not only maintaining the efficiency of a good unit but improving it. Special teams coach Danny Crossman’s units were sub-par in 2013, but GM Doug Whaley stocked the roster with better ST players in 2014, and the bomb squads were improved in all aspects. Here are the position by position assessments of the defense and special teams:
Defensive Linemen
The Bills’ front four consisted of four Pro Bowl-caliber players, even if only three of them actually were voted into the game. Tackles Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus and end Mario Williams were all elected to play in the annual all star game, and the other end, Jerry Hughes, could make a case that he belonged there also. There was great depth behind the starting four also, as backups Stefan Charles, Corbin Bryant, Manny Lawson and Jarius Wynn all got significant playing time in the D-line rotation, with very little drop off in performance. Bryant is a restricted free agent so the Bills can bring him back if they choose to. It’s interesting that in the season ending game at New England, Wynn got the start in place of Dareus instead of Bryant (and played well), which may say something about who they keep around. Both Wynn and Hughes are unrestricted free agents. Hughes looks like he should be a top priority to get signed, but then again his habit of playing undisciplined and taking foolish penalties could diminish his value, especially if the Bills hire a new head coach who has no patience for it.
Linebackers
Linebacker was a position that needed a major upgrade going into the 2014 season, and things got worse when Kiko Alonso, their prize rookie of 2013, got hurting working out prior to the season. Whaley went out and signed veterans Brandon Spikes and Keith Rivers in free agency to bolster the unit. Spikes added a winning attitude to the locker room and at times showed a much-needed physical presence on the field, but his play diminished as the season went on, and he’s a candidate to not be re-signed for 2015. Rivers never made much impact at all, but luckily two young players, Nigel Bradham and rookie Preston Brown, rose to the occasion and not only nailed down starting spots but played consistently well all season. Add their play to the fact that Alonso will return next year and the Bills have the makings of a solid linebacking corps. Reserves include Ty Powell, Larry Dean and Randell Johnson. Powell played a major role on special teams and seemed to get the playing time edge over Rivers as the year wore on. Dean was strictly a special teamer who is a free agent and not likely to be back. Johnson showed early flashes of brilliance, especially on special teams, but fell out of favor with the coaching staff, like a lot of players seemed to do under Marrone, and was barely visible the second half of the season.
Defensive Backs
The Bills had the second highest rated defense in the AFC, so the secondary must have done a lot of things right in 2014. The biggest story of the Bills’ defensive backfield may have been the improvement of cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who finally started to live up to his top draft pick status as a cover corner. The other starter, Leodis McKelvin, had an up and down year that ended early due to an injury, but he is a competent player who, in my opinion, would benefit from being freed from his punt return duties to concentrate fully on his cornerback responsibilities. Corey Graham not only strengthened the special teams but played a key role as a backup and sometimes starter at both corner and safety. Reserves Nickell Robey, Ron Brooks and untested rookie Russ Cockrell make this a deep unit going into 2015. The play of both starting safeties, Aaron Williams and Da’Norris Searcy, was inconsistent. They both had their golden moments but also had some disappointing games. Backup Duke Williams, a young player who has become one of the hardest hitters on the club, seems destined to eventually take over one of those starting spots, most likely Searcy’s since he is an unrestricted free agent. Of the other safeties on the roster, Bacarri Rambo had a game for the ages against Green Bay to put his name in the mix for 2015, while Kenny Ladler and Jonathan Meeks are both unknown commodities.
Special Teams
All of the Bills’ special teams units were head and shoulders better than the 2013 ones. Kicker Dan Carpenter was pretty much money in the bank on field goals. Marcus Thigpen handled kickoff and punt returns late in the year and should be considered for those roles next season, taking the pressure off McKelvin and filling the kickoff return void left by Marquise Goodwin’s inability to say healthy. Graham, Boobie Dixon, Duke Williams, Brooks and Marcus Easley were all valuable kick coverage players. The Bills kept two kickers and it’s questionable whether keeping kickoff specialist Jordan Gay for another year is worth it. Punter Colton Schmidt started out fine but faltered late in the year, which probably warrants bringing in some competition for him in 2015.