Wally The Barber
04-01-2017, 01:14 PM
By: Robyn Mundy | 2 hours ago
It’s clear Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott wants a very specific type of player in his defensive backfield. His decision to basically start from scratch after cornerback Stephon Gilmore was not resigned and safeties Aaron Williams and Corey Graham were released shows big changes are coming for the back half of the defense this season.
McDermott spoke about the type of player he wants and what he’s looking for in replacing almost the entire roster of defensive backs at the recent NFL owners’ meeting in Phoenix.
“It’s nice to be out there and able to run but this is not track practice, this is football,” McDermott said. “So we’ve got to be able to be physical and tackle. That’s a big part of it for us and our identity – you guys have heard me say it before and you’ll continue to hear me say it – our identity on defense will be built around our corners and their tackling ability and how much our defensive line runs to the football. Those to me are big selling points for our defense.”
Those comments may shed light on the reason McDermott chose not to extend the contract to retain New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore is terrific in a man-to-man scheme but tackling has never been his strong suit.
However, there is a player who McDermott covets in terms of his prototype already on the roster, cornerback Kevon Seymour.
“What an athlete in terms of just the length. That’s really just the way the corner position is moving. You look at Kevon, he played some inside, he played the nickel position, he played outside and yet he was physical,” McDermott said. “As a rookie, I thought just watching the tape, he handled himself well. And then the mental toughness part. There’s plays where they caught the ball and then came back the next play and hit the reset button and really fired on all cylinders. For a rookie to be able to do that, man, it’s huge.”
McDermott also explained why the Bills decided to sign safety/cornerback Micah Hyde.
“You look at Micah’s skill set and, really, the entire class of free agents that we were able to bring in – number one is he’s a good person off the field. That was big,” McDermott said. “The character side of it was big for us – knowing that he was a team captain on special teams for the Packers. And then, the versatility, toughness, and I remember watching Micah over the years just on [television] so watching him play different positions, whether it was nickel, safety, corner, and his role on special teams was a big like for us.”
Once again McDermott shows how much he places character at the top of his list of desired attributes in players. Although it is relatively uncommon for coaches to completely revamp an entire defensive backfield in one season, it may prove to be a wise decision given the disastrous performance on defense last season
It’s clear Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott wants a very specific type of player in his defensive backfield. His decision to basically start from scratch after cornerback Stephon Gilmore was not resigned and safeties Aaron Williams and Corey Graham were released shows big changes are coming for the back half of the defense this season.
McDermott spoke about the type of player he wants and what he’s looking for in replacing almost the entire roster of defensive backs at the recent NFL owners’ meeting in Phoenix.
“It’s nice to be out there and able to run but this is not track practice, this is football,” McDermott said. “So we’ve got to be able to be physical and tackle. That’s a big part of it for us and our identity – you guys have heard me say it before and you’ll continue to hear me say it – our identity on defense will be built around our corners and their tackling ability and how much our defensive line runs to the football. Those to me are big selling points for our defense.”
Those comments may shed light on the reason McDermott chose not to extend the contract to retain New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore is terrific in a man-to-man scheme but tackling has never been his strong suit.
However, there is a player who McDermott covets in terms of his prototype already on the roster, cornerback Kevon Seymour.
“What an athlete in terms of just the length. That’s really just the way the corner position is moving. You look at Kevon, he played some inside, he played the nickel position, he played outside and yet he was physical,” McDermott said. “As a rookie, I thought just watching the tape, he handled himself well. And then the mental toughness part. There’s plays where they caught the ball and then came back the next play and hit the reset button and really fired on all cylinders. For a rookie to be able to do that, man, it’s huge.”
McDermott also explained why the Bills decided to sign safety/cornerback Micah Hyde.
“You look at Micah’s skill set and, really, the entire class of free agents that we were able to bring in – number one is he’s a good person off the field. That was big,” McDermott said. “The character side of it was big for us – knowing that he was a team captain on special teams for the Packers. And then, the versatility, toughness, and I remember watching Micah over the years just on [television] so watching him play different positions, whether it was nickel, safety, corner, and his role on special teams was a big like for us.”
Once again McDermott shows how much he places character at the top of his list of desired attributes in players. Although it is relatively uncommon for coaches to completely revamp an entire defensive backfield in one season, it may prove to be a wise decision given the disastrous performance on defense last season