Things we learned from Bills coordinators this week
As the Buffalo Bills see their 2020 training camp drag on and slowly approach some real football, the team’s assistant coaches chatted via video conference on Friday.
Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and his defensive counterpart, Leslie Frazier, dished their thoughts on all-things Bills-related… at least on their own respective sides of the ball. Both of them provided a bit of insight into some topics as the team preps for the start of padded practices on Monday.
With that, here are some things we learned from Daboll and Frazier this week:
Joe Gibbs in attendance prior to the NFC Divisional playoff. Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
A Joe Gibbs appearance
It’s not surprising to hear that the Bills brought in a guest speaker. We’ve seen it happen plenty of times this offseason already. Former QBs Peyton Manning and Brett Favre have had talks with Josh Allen and the quarterback room. Recently retired linebacker Lorenzo Alexander has gave his insight to the current linebacker corps. But according to Frazier, the Bills did have one interesting meeting. It was with Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs.
The former Washington coach chatted exclusively to the team’s coaching staff, too. It doesn’t seem like a frequent thing that happens, that a coaching staff admits they can use some outside help. Typically you see these types of player meetings like with Manning and Favre, but not from a coaching perspective. It appears Sean McDermott & Co. don’t have any sort of sense of knowing it all type of attitude.
So what exactly could they learn from Gibbs? Well, he was Washington’s coach in 1982. That year they won the Super Bowl in a shortened season. Due to COVID-19, the pandemic has caused a shortened offseason for the Bills and NFL. Gibbs has some experience to share about winning under tough circumstances.
“We wanted to get a feeling from him what it was like,” Frazier said. “He did a really, really good job on just impressing upon all of us to… embrace this moment and look at it as an opportunity because you know some teams aren’t going to prepare as well as other teams.”
Bills cornerback Levi Wallace. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Encouraging Levi
The most watched battle in training camp for the Bills is going to be the No. 2 cornerback fight between Levi Wallace and Josh Norman. While the Bills have yet to really get on the field with pads, Frazier sized that up.
“With the experience that Josh has, that really sets him apart in a lot of ways, but he’s coming in with a chip on his shoulder. Things didn’t end the way he wanted them to end in Washington,” Frazier said. “I think it’s going to be a really good competition.”
It’s hard to tell exactly who Frazier thinks is the leading candidate here. That’s some solid praise for Norman’s experience, but Frazier also gave some insight into Wallace’s standing on the roster.
As Frazier mentioned, Norman has a “chip on his shoulder.” Well, it sounds like Frazier and the Bills coaching staff is trying to make sure Wallace has one as well via their encouragement for him.
“We always talk to Levi… people are going to look at him as the undrafted free agent. So you’re going to find yourself in these situations, maybe year in and year out. Someone trying to come in and say, ‘I can beat out the undrafted free agent.’ I think that just invokes Levi to really work hard and have a desire to show everybody that… ‘Maybe I wasn’t drafted, but I’m as good as anybody else you’re going to bring in, or better.'” Frazier said.
Seahawks defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Another look for Quinton Jefferson?
There’s a lot of movement along the Bills’ defensive line. McDermott & Frazier’s scheme calls for a big rotation along the D-line. There’s starters who play more snaps, but it’s usually a 65-35 rotation in most spots. Because of that, the expectation is that Quinton Jefferson will be seeing the field at some point in 2020.
Could it be in a place we didn’t expect, though?
Jefferson’s skill set sees him poised for a pass-rushing role. It could be on the edge or maybe at the 3-tech spot on the defensive line. That’s where Ed Oliver’s position is, but Jefferson could be that strong rotational piece.
But what about Star Lotulelei’s spot at the 1-tech, double-team eater spot? Surprisingly, Frazier mentioned Jefferson getting involved in the competition to replace Lotulelei.
“Similar to what we’re doing at the right corner spot. Letting those guys compete. Well the same thing will be true at that nose tackle position as we are trying to see the progress that Harry (Harrison Phillips) makes. Trying to get a chance to take a look at Quinton Jefferson, maybe looking at a Vernon Butler in that area. But just creating a rotation so we can get a competition going. And then just let the best man win and we’ll see how it all plays out.”
Bills rookie defensive lineman Harrison Phillips during training camp. (Gannett photo)
Harrison Phillips update
Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips had a promising 2019 season for the Bills. Unfortunately, it only lasted two games. Phillips suffered an ACL injury and missed most of the year. Now he’s back. Frazier updated his injury status, but really, there wasn’t much update.
With the nature of the beast, Phillips getting back on the field and physically moving around in a football manner on his repaired knee is what everyone will be watching. Again, that starts on Monday.
“So far in these walkthroughs, he’s done everything that we would expect him to do. We gave him a bit of a break yesterday, he took some time off… so far, so good,” Frazier said. “Now the real test for him will be once we get the pads on and we’re going live and he’s in situations where he has to really take power and be able to plant and drive and push off and those kind of things.”
“Man, he was playing so well for us prior to that injury. He had a great training camp and was off to a good start in the regular season.” Frazier added.
Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes. Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
High expectations for Hughes, Addison
Frazier didn’t outright say it, but there’s some expectations that are at least semi-lofty for their defensive end starters in 2020. Those two guys are expected to be Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison.
Frazier discussed that pairing on the edge and complimented their careers to this point, but then said the Bills are hoping for even more than those standards they’ve already set.
“These are two very well established NFL pros, they’ve had terrific careers in our league. We just want them to build on what they’ve accomplished to this point. We’re challenging the guys, all our guys, to make this a career year. If those guys can get back to their previous form coming off of an offseason that was so different than any other we’ve every experienced, that’s going to be good for our defense because they’ve had some big numbers in the course of their careers,” Frazier said. “Looking forward to them being on the field together.”
Hughes personally had the best years of his career when there has been another solid play across from him. If Addison can be that, the Bills will be happy.
Hawkeyes defensive end A.J. Epenesa. Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
AJ Epenesa latest
Again, it’s tough to really see what’s going to happen with rookie second-round pick AJ Epenesa. There’s that rotation on the D-line, so he’ll get out there, certainly. But how much? The way Epenesa preforms during padded practices will play a big part on the defensive line. He could even cause a guy like Trent Murphy to be a cut candidate, but that’s just speculation.
Frazier essentially said so far, so good for the rookie pass rusher. His attention to detail caught the coach’s eye.
“You could see that when we got on the field and began to do our walk throughs. He was paying attention; he was on top of the details of all the things we had taken him through. That encourages you as a coach. He’s a guy who’s a fast learner, and he can translate that from the classroom to the field. Now until we get the pads on and until we start moving around and doing some things, you really don’t know how much he or the other rookies are going to be able to help you in 2020. But we’ll find that out in the next few days,” Frazier said.
Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazie. Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Managing practices
In total, the Bills are going to have about 14 days worth of padded practice to prepare for their season opener against the Jets on Sept. 13. Not a lot of time.
On defense specifically, the Bills are established. But that brings the question of starters vs. backups in mind. With those 14 days, do the Bills let their starters make sure they’re good to go? Do they make sure the rookies and backups get plenty of looks just in case they have to be thrown into the fire? It’s tough, Frazier said.
“It’s a little bit of a dilemma, but it’s something that we have to be able to figure out because there are so many factors that go into having your backups properly prepared,” Frazier said. “You just don’t know if you’re going to lose someone, or circumstances that are completely out of their control beyond an injury on the field. We’ve got to make sure we’re giving those young guys their reps, and at the same time getting the vets the reps they need to be prepared for September 13. So it’s something that we’re trying to balance.”
Overall, Frazier said that he’s expecting the Bills to have “more full contact drills than we’ve had in the past,” in regard to how practices are run. Makes sense, but also a nerve-wrecking thought for coaches, players and fans alike.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Not stressing the deep ball
The hot-button topic for Bills quarterback Josh Allen is the long ball. He wasn’t good at it last season even though he has a strong arm and it’s part of the reason why the club felt the need to bring in wide receiver Stefon Diggs. It’s what he’s best at.
But Daboll said that forcing the deep ball is not in the cards for the Bills in 2020. Passes at every level are going to be of the same importance.
“There’s a variety of pass plays within most systems,” Daboll said. “Josh’s job is to throw it to the open receiver and make the right read and I’m confident in him.”
That thought very much lines up with what Allen said himself recently during training camp. What’s he focusing on most? Allen said his decision making and successfully completing shorter passes, too.
Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm. Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
QB reps
The most interesting reps during camp practices, as always, will be the quarterback ones. While Frazier discussed reps for defensive players and backups and kind of wasn’t sure how it’s going to shake out, Daboll was much more confident about the QB reps.
Allen is getting the most, but that still leaves a challenge behind him. Rookie Jake Fromm is going to have to work his tail off without any preseason games to take on and because of that, it seems likely that Buffalo keeps three QBs around this season, with Matt Barkley probably being the other. You never know, the Bills did start four different quarterbacks in 2018, so this coaching staff will be mindful of that.
“We take it day-by-day… obviously we’re going to get Josh as many reps as he can get to get him ready to play. Then the other three guys will get their share of reps… how that sorts out? We’ll kind of revisit that on a nightly basis.”
Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)
Scaling back, potentially?
When asked, McDermott was having nothing of the thought that the Bills might have to scale things back because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. But Daboll was a bit ore realistic sounding about the situation. Could the Bills scale back because of the shorter offseason? Maybe. But on the flip say, could they see things ramped up? Maybe as well.
“I think time will tell,” Daboll said. “There’s nothing really you can say is set in stone. Each day there’s going to have to be an adjustment made. We’ll go with, if we have to make some adjustments to scale back or add more.”
The good thing going for the Bills here is that they have a ton of continuity returning on offense. This helps a ton during such uncertain times. Guys like rookie Zack Moss or Diggs will be new to things, but so many others won’t be in that boat.
Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley . (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)
Cole Beasley the key?
On Buffalo’s offense, everyone’s looking at Allen, Diggs or even Singletary. It makes sense, but don’t overlook Cole Beasley. Could he be a big factor for the Bills in 2020? He was successful a year ago. Beasley tied his career-high total for touchdowns in a season with six. But Daboll referenced that there could be a bit of a trickle-down effect, at times, benefiting Beasley with Diggs’ addition.
“I’ve always had a lot of confidence in Cole,” Daboll said. “Regardless of what coverage people want to play, not to be redundant, each week is such a different week of how people want to try to attack you or how you perceive they’re going to try to attack you. If they play heavy guys outside, then that usually opens up stuff inside. If they play heavy inside, that usually opens up stuff outside.”
“I feel very confident in Cole with what he can do. But there’s a lot of guys on our team right now that are working to establish a role. No question I feel confident in Cole and the things that he can do inside,” Daboll added.
