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Alaina Getzenberg, ESPN
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — How did Sean McDermott set expectations for the Buffalo Bills defense after adding coordinator duties to his job as head coach?
He revisited his past, showing the unit examples of a Carolina Panthers defense he coordinated from 2011-16.
“In the spring and stuff like that, he was showing us some tape from Carolina, ‘This is how we gotta play X, Y, Z, bring this intensity,'” defensive back Cam Lewis recalled. “… So, I feel like we got the gist of it. We got the message early, so we just trying to go out there and perform.”
In four of the six years that McDermott was defensive coordinator of the Panthers, they ranked within the top 10 in yardage allowed. Over the six-year period, the Panthers ranked second in sacks (261).
“Guys at every level just smacking s—. It was game time every practice almost,” said cornerback Josh Norman, who is currently on the Bills practice squad and played for the Panthers from 2012-15. “So, it was when we got to Sundays, it was just chill … I can feel that starting to usher and creep into this defense and everybody feels there that.”
During the combine in February, the Bills announced that defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who had been with the team since McDermott’s first year as head coach in 2017, was taking a year off from coaching. Frazier is currently working with NFL Network as an analyst.
About a month later, McDermott announced at the annual league meetings that he would take over the defensive playcaller responsibilities, adding that dimension to his plate for the first time in his seven seasons as head coach in Buffalo. While the unit always had his mark and input, this would be a big change.
Through the first seven games, the Bills defense has experienced ups and downs, but now faces some major challenges. A unit that looked like among the best in the league to start the season is hurting, with three key defenders on injured reserve. Now, leading a 4-3 team into a key three-game primetime stretch starting with Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video), McDermott’s abilities as a defensive playcaller and leader are being tested.
“Sean does not waver from his beliefs, from the way that this program has been built and we all understand that it starts with him …” assistant head coach/defensive line coach Eric Washington said. “You’ve gotta understand what is going to happen over the course of a season and how the great teams respond to it.”
WHAT DEFINES A defense called by McDermott compared to prior seasons?
Aggressiveness is the answer from multiple players who pointed to McDermott’s playcalling style.
“More calls that are just kind of like getting after the quarterback,” nickel corner Taron Johnson said. “Whether it be blitzes, whether it be stunts, movements, just different things to try to keep offenses on their heels.”
Johnson said that style of play keeps offenses uncomfortable and unable to get into a rhythm during games.
The Bills have the fifth-most pressures in the NFL, but have only blitzed 52 times this season (20.6% blitz rate) which is tied for the fourth fewest in the NFL. However, 31 of their blitzes (60%) have included at least one defensive back, which is the highest percentage in the NFL this season.
Last year, 54 of their 130 blitzes included a defensive back (42%). Buffalo is currently second in the league in sacks (25) and turnovers per drive (19.2%).
McDermott also brings a “blue collar” mindset and an intensity to the job, reflecting his personality. Defensive end AJ Epenesa said family members have asked him if McDermott ever smiles, which Epenesa reassured them he does indeed.
“[McDermott] has that edge to him,” Epenesa said. “He demands greatness, and not that our other coaches in the past haven’t, but he just has a different feel to it.”
McDermott’s experience as a head coach has given him insight he didn’t have the last time he ran a defense in Carolina.
“The fact that he’s probably been involved with the offense as much as the defense has given him a different perspective on how the offensive side of the ball kind of sees things,” senior defensive assistant Al Holcomb said. “[It] gives you another set of eyes, so to speak or opinion on how they view defenses.”
While his perspective has changed, the scheme he’s running hasn’t changed much. Norman noted the foundation is the same from back in the Carolina days, building off what those teams had.
Taking over the defense has meant McDermott spends more time one-on-one with players.
“I think one of the byproducts that I saw in the spring was just getting around the team a little bit more,” McDermott said during training camp. “… That’ll be the pull for me really is making sure I’m in both places at once. But I think the byproduct is getting closer and building closer relationships with the players and with the coaches, which I look forward to.”
THE BILLS DEFENSE started the season strong in the first four weeks. Buffalo allowed an NFL-low 23.8 QBR and had a league-high eight interceptions.
But in the last three weeks, the defense has had to shift personnel and the performance has suffered. In this recent stretch, the defense is allowing the sixth-highest total QBR (67.7) and has not recorded an interception.
The questions reporters are asking McDermott are about his role in all facets of the team — including the offense. How is he managing a team that has lost two of the past three games and had two one-win teams (the New York Giants and New England Patriots) take the Bills to the very last play of the last two games.
“From a head coach’s standpoint, I’m involved [in the offense],” McDermott said. “I also believe in allowing my coaching staff to do their jobs as well. I try not to micromanage. I do step in when I feel like I need to and there’s been increased communication over the last few weeks and whatever area it is, I’m not going to just stay quiet.
“So, it’s all about making sure we’re doing things the right way and getting better as we move through the weeks here.”
McDermott’s staff has several former coordinators on it, and he often emphasizes the role these coaches — in addition to those who help with gameday responsibilities — have played in allowing him to both coordinate the defense and be head coach. But the added responsibility still means he’s stretched more thinly.
“It’s the Monday through Thursday are the hardest days,” McDermott said. “Because you’re game-planning and you’re dealing with people from a leadership standpoint and a head coach standpoint, and that’s kind of the thicker mud of the week, if you will, that you got to work through — just the grind. But once you get to Friday, it usually lightens up a little bit. And so that’s something to look forward to at least.”
But you can’t prepare for everything. In a two-week stretch, the Bills lost three defensive starters to long-term injuries — cornerback Tre’Davious White, linebacker Matt Milano and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones. All three are key players, but Milano especially is vital to so much of what this defense does in terms of organization and communication. Stopping the run has been a consistent problem with the Bills allowing 5.2 yards per carry (31st), including the third-highest yards after contact per rush (2.02) with backs having success in the open field.
Losing that many starters in a short window is tough, but injuries are a part of the game and adjusting is important. A number of young players are now in key roles with second-year linebacker Terrel Bernard taking on more with Milano out and rookie Dorian Williams playing a significant chunk of time for Milano. That’s before getting into a long list of defensive players who have missed at least one game.
In the last two weeks without the three starters, the defense has allowed a league-high 74.2% completion percentage and ranked last in opponent red zone drives (10). Their absence might be playing a role in Buffalo’s slow starts to games as well. The Bills went from leading the league in points differential in the first halves of games through the first four weeks (+54) to -20 in the last three games.
So the Bills appear to still be adjusting to losing those players. On top of that, their schedule is just getting more difficult.
“There is no replacing those guys, but we definitely got some guys that can play the game of football,” safety Jordan Poyer said. “We’re definitely going to miss those guys but this gives more guys an opportunity to come in and show them who they are and help us win football games.”
The Bills have the fourth-hardest remaining strength of schedule, per ESPN’s Football Power Index, with the Philadelphia Eagles (6-1) and Kansas City Chiefs (6-1) still ahead on the schedule. Playing the Buccaneers in prime time will be yet another opportunity to get moving in the right direction against an offense that has especially struggled to run the ball, averaging 3.1 yards per carry (ranked 31st), has the fourth-fewest first downs (102) and with quarterback Baker Mayfield throwing an interception in each of the last four games.
Despite the rough stretch and the many question marks surrounding this unit, the confidence in the ability to bounce back based on this team’s history remains.
“We’ve shown that we know how to win, and we know how to figure things out and we know how to develop players and find the answer and the solutions, and that’s what we’re here for,” McDermott said on Tuesday. “And if you’re to this point in your career … and you haven’t gotten there without facing adversity and overcoming adversity in your career. So, we’re used to this, this is what we do.”
