Buffalo Bills: Defense Motivated by Nightmare 2015 Season
By Paul Taylor
After a fall from grace last season, Jerry Hughes and the rest of the Buffalo Bills’ defense are focused on returning to the form of previous years.
To say the Buffalo Bills‘ defense struggled in 2015, would be considered somewhat of an understatement. After all, we’re talking about a unit that dropped from fourth in the league for yards and points allowed in 2014, to 19th and 15th respectively last season.
Perhaps the most dramatic evidence of the Bills fall from grace came with their sack total. After leading the league with 54 in 2014, they finished with just 21 last season, second-fewest in the NFL.
Certainly, this return from the defense was not expected, especially with Rex Ryan taking over the controls. Renowned as a defensive guru, it’s fair to say he failed tremendously, during his first year as Bills head coach.
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Not that all the blame can be placed on Ryan, as certain high profile members of the defense failed to get on board with his system. Mario Williams and Marcell Dareus were among the more vocal of the dissenters, publicly voicing their frustrations with the media.
It didn’t help that Ryan’s schemes are more complex than the ones previously run by Jim Schwartz. Regardless, Williams in particular should have put more effort in and kept his complaints in-house, especially with how much the Bills were paying him.
Heading into this season, it helps that Williams is no longer with the team, while Dareus at least appears to finally be buying into what his head coach is trying to do. Not that he has much choice, with Ryan now implementing a full transition to the 3-4.
Taking everything into account, It isn’t much of a stretch to predict the Bills defense will be better this season, especially with more familiarity with the setup. However, professional pride will also play a part, with Jerry Hughes for one, still embarrassed by what happened in 2015.
Speaking to The Howard Simon Show on WGR550 earlier this week, Hughes said: “It still sits with me now, just because I have yet to kind of get back on the football field and make amends for last year.”
The frustration for the 2010 first round draft pick is understandable, especially after seeing his sack total drop from 10 to five. Throw in the fact he had the second most penalties in the NFL (14), and he is supremely motivated to bounce back this season.
Hughes said: “I understand how its bothering me so, as well as the other guys on defense, which is great. We need that, we need that fire and tenacity so it will get us ready for Sundays.”
In some respects, last season might have almost been a blessing in disguise for the 27-year old. He now realizes he has to be less selfish, and put the team’s needs ahead of his own goals.
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Hughes said: “I looked at myself on film and saw all the yards I’m giving up, more opportunity, more time on the field for the other team. That’s just helping them out and we don’t need that.”
One final factor which should help the Sugar Land, Texas native, is his move to left outside linebacker. As he recently told Bills Insider Chris Brown, he’s happy in his new role.
Hughes said: “I’m really just not that traditional down-in, down-out defensive end. You can have a lot more fun I’ll say when you’re out in coverage, when you’re out coming off the edge, really just playing with that look to kind of just mess with offenses’ heads.”
Overall, things look good in general for the Bills defense, especially when you factor in Ronald Darby‘s year of experience, along with Stephon Gilmore playing for a new contract. However, you get the feeling Hughes will play a significant role in turning things around on the defensive side of the ball.
Next: 5 reasons the Bills will return to the postseason
In theory, it’s not much of a stretch to say the Bills’ defense will be better than last year. Regardless, how much of an improvement are you expecting this season? Let us know in the comments section below.