Orchard Park, NY -- After two unsuccessful seasons of basing their defensive schemes out of the 3-4, the Buffalo Bills are no longer scouting to fit that gameplan's specific needs.
Head coach Chan Gailey announced on Monday that the team would be operating out of a four-man front the majority of the time, but they'll still use three-man looks from time to time.
"We want to utilize our personnel to the best and we feel like this will allow us to do that, 'A', that's one thing," said Gailey. "'B', Dave [Wannstedt] is very comfortable, very knowledgeable in this defense and he's the guy we wanted doing the job, so that was another reason we're doing it.
"And 'C,' it's easier to find people. It's tougher to find people for the true 3-4 in a lot of ways, so it makes it a little bit easier to find some people from time-to-time to run a four-man front than it does in a three-man front. It's just extremely hard to find those outside backers year in and year out. It gets tougher and tougher."
The move shifts Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams to defensive tackles in the new base scheme, with Chris Kelsay going back to his natural spot at left defensive end. Who plays the right defensive end is a question that will be answered at some point in the off-season, leaving some confusion about what will happen at linebacker.
At the very least, one player has a defined role.
"I know Shepp's gonna be in the middle, don't hold me to anything after that," said the head coach.
The other starter in question is Nick Barnett. His size likely indicates that he'll be the weakside linebacker for the team, able to roam unblocked. A need for a bigger and stronger linebacker could be needed for the strongside.
How much might we see the 3-4 now that they've made the "official" switch?
"I think that's determined by players, and the offense we're playing and what they give us," Gailey said.
The next big date for the Bills and the rest of the NFL will be at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis at the end of February.
