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It's clear that it's time for a change in Buffalo. The Bills have not been competitive in the AFC East for a while and repeated the feat in 2009, struggling to a 6-10 record and landing at the bottom of the division. The result is an all-new coaching staff, headed by offensive guru Chan Gailey. At defensive coordinator will be George Edwards.The Bills defense was superb against the pass in 2009, but that was a direct result of being atrocious against the run. The team allowed 156.3 yards rushing per game, one of the three worst marks in the NFL. Despite the good yardage mark against the pass, the defense was only able to rack up 32 sacks (with 10 coming from lead rusher Aaron Schobel).
So the plan is to switch to the 3-4. Do the Bills have the personnel to pull a switch off?
They did spend their 2009 first-round draft pick on Penn State pass-rusher Aaron Maybin, a player many speculated was a better fit as a 3-4 rush linebacker. Schobel himself should do just fine as a rush linebacker, provided he doesn't call it quits, as has been rumored.
Paul Posluszny is locked into a starting inside linebacker job, and Kawika Mitchell is projected to start next to him. Mitchell is still rehabbing from an ACL injury, though the Bills' website has him on track to participate in May workouts.
At defensive end, the Bills will likely call on Spencer Johnson to take one spot. Gailey has nothing but positive things to say about Kyle Williams' role in the new defense, so we'll probably see him at the other end position.
That will leave Marcus Stroud either as expendable or trying to fit as a 3-4 nose tackle, a role he thinks he can fill. With nose tackles around the league being franchised, it will be hard for the Bills to find a prototypical player to fill that need. Expect them to go after one early in the draft, if the opportunity presents itself.
Update: GM Buddy Nix says Williams will play the nose, though he doesn't quite have the size for the position. Finding a traditional 3-4 NT should remain a priority.
One positive aspect of the Bills' switch to the 3-4 is that Edwards went through the same transition in Miami a few years back. He'll be walking into this plan with knowledge of what to look for and an idea of what works.
Most of the positions in the Bills' new defense should be adequately filled by currently signed players. Once the team lands a nose tackle, which I'm sure will be Edwards' top priority, we'll see if the new defense can gel into a force. Poor fits in this defense that could be on their way out of Buffalo include end Chris Kelsay, tackle John McCargo and linebacker Keith Ellison.
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