By: Jeremy Trottier

The Buffalo Bills have had one of the NFL’s best defenses over the past few seasons. However, they have been seemingly lacking a certain spark to really make that side of the ball scary to opposing teams. While they have some extraordinary talent on defense already, they were able to solidify it even more in the 2022 offseason, bringing in some top tier talent to truly make this unit a force to be reckoned with. In this article, I will cover 3 reasons why the Bills could have the best defense in the league this year.

Addition of high quality CB2 via the draft

The first notable addition on this list is the Buffalo Bills first-round pick this year, who was CB out of Florida Kaiir Elam. Elam has really strong upside as a cornerback in the NFL, and his press man coverage is something impressive to witness. Elam has all the physical traits, at 6’2″ 197 pounds, and with exceptional athleticism (4.39 49-yard dash, 37.5″ vertical, 6.98 3-cone) he has all the makings of an elite prospect. Let us not forget that the Bills traded down in the 2017 draft to pick 27 which allowed them to select their premier CB1 Tre’Davious White, and with Elam being taken in a similar range (pick #23) it would be wise to not overlook him just because he was not top 15.

Bringing in a top OLB in Von Miller

The next addition to the Bills defense, and likely the most well-known, was outside linebacker Von Miller. Miller is coming directly off a Super Bowl win with the Los Angeles Rams, which gives the Bills some of the pedigree that comes with a player who understands what it takes to win. Not only should his mentality be a boon to the Buffalo defense, but also his on-the-field production which has been some of the best in the league lately. His ability to get to the QB, and put pressure on them/get in their airspace is one of the most amazing things about him, and his “ghost move” is one of the most intriguing in the league.

• 15 games played & all 15 games started
• 9.5 sacks, 17 QB hits, 30 pressures
• 50 total tackles (33 solo & 17 assisted)
• 19 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass deflection

Von will be an amazing addition to the Bills defense, and will be the core of their defense & linebacker unit for the near future without a doubt.

Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier

Leslie Frazier is one of the more intriguing defensive coordinators in the league, primarily because of how he runs defensive schemes. Frazier runs a base 4-3 style with cover 2, but prioritizes the blitz relatively heavily, which bodes extremely well for Von Miller as he took 71 blitzing snaps in 2021. While Leslie has been heavily criticized at times for his defense faulting against the Kansas City Chiefs this past playoffs, he has been a relatively stout coach to date and one game does not necessarily define his tenure with the team.
We should have a great chance to see what Frazier is able to whip up for the Bills in the 2022-2023 season, as he has some amazing talent to work with at every level now, and much the ability to run a wide variety of play types due to this. With this stated, this is why I believe the Bills will have a top defense in 2022, if not the best.

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By: Adam Hulse (@AdamHulseSports)

The defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Bucs have one of the better defenses in the entire NFL. They ranked 6th last season with 327.1 yards allowed per game and 8th in scoring with 22.2 points allowed per game. Much of this can be credited to their stout run defense, which was the best in the league by allowing just 80.6 rushing yards per game. Their front seven is extremely strong and talented, also contributing the 5th most sacks with 48 total last season.

On the other hand, their pass defense was not nearly as impressive. They ranked a disappointing 21st with 246.6 passing yards allowed per game and were middle of the road at 18th with a 94.3 passer rating against. They did rank 10th in interceptions forced with 15 total last year, but that may be more because of their solid pass rush as opposed to tight coverage. In fact, they were terrible in opponent completion percentage, ranking 29th in the NFL by allowing 69 percent of pass attempts to be completed against them in the 2020 season.

New Year, Same Results

In week one of this year, the Bucs hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football to kick off the 2021 NFL season. The Bucs secondary picked up right where they left off last season, getting torched by Dak Prescott and the Cowboys passing attack. They allowed the Cowboys offense to march up and down the field through the air, with Prescott completing 72.4 percent of his passes for 391 yards and three touchdowns while posting an impressive 101.4 passer rating. In fact, if not for two missed field goals and a missed extra point by Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein, the Bucs may very well have lost this opening game of the season. Prescott put up a performance that would win most games but ultimately could not finish the job in this one.

Probably most concerning for the Bucs secondary is that the Cowboys found success through the air on every level. It was not just a matter of the Bucs having one weak spot but an inability to stop any aspect of the Cowboys passing game. Amari Cooper was unstoppable on the perimeter with 13 receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns while CeeDee Lamb did all of his damage from the slot with seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. The Dallas tight ends combined for 65 yards on 9 receptions and even the running backs contributed six receptions for 35 yards. Clearly, the Bucs pass coverage could not stop anything in the Cowboys passing scheme.

Making Matters Worse

Unfortunately, the Bucs lost Sean Murphy-Bunting due to an elbow injuring during the game with the Cowboys. His timetable for return is unclear at this point but he could be out anywhere from the minimum three weeks on IR to a full season. This is a big loss for the Bucs considering he is one of their very best in man coverage. He works on the outside of their base defense while sliding into the slot for nickel and dime coverage schemes. In his absence, Jamel Dean, among others, will have to step up and play a much larger role.

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By: Adam Hulse (@AdamHulseSports)

Dick LeBeau is one of the greatest defensive minds in the history of the NFL. He had an excellent career as both a player and a coach but is definitely most known for his success as the defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is one of the best of all time in this role for his contributions, innovations, and longevity. He was active in the NFL for 59 consecutive years as either a player or a coach and as of 2010 he is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame.

Career as a Player

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about LeBeau is his incredible success as a defensive coach, but before that he was actually a very good NFL defensive player first. After being drafted in 1959 out of The Ohio State University, he would eventually sign with Detroit Lions where he would spend his entire 14 year career as a player.

He contributed solid production, including 62 interceptions and four touchdowns, on his way to be selected to three Pro Bowls and three second-team All Pros in three consecutive seasons from 1964 to 1967. He is clearly one of the best defensive backs in the history of the Lions organization and still has the franchise record for most career interceptions.

Career as a Coach

After retiring from his playing career in 1972, he immediately took a coaching job as the special team’s coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1973. He would then go on from there to be the defensive backs coach for the Green Bay Packers and then for the Cincinnati Bengals as well. In 1984 he was promoted by the Bengals to be the defensive coordinator before eventually accepting a job with the Pittsburgh Steelers to again be a defensive backs coach. In 1995 he would become the defensive coordinator for the Steelers until 1997 when he would go back to the Bengals to be their defensive coordinator as well as an assistant head coach.

In the year 2000 the Bengals promoted LeBeau to his first and only head coaching job. He would spend three years in this position where he would struggle to a disappointing 12-33 record before being fired. Not all great coordinators make good head coaches, and unfortunately LeBeau is an example of this concept. From there he was hired by the Buffalo Bills to be an assistant head coach the following season for one year before returning back to the Steelers in 2004 to once again be their defensive coordinator.

During his time in this position, which would last until 2014, is where he would find the most success. That’s not to say that his entire defensive coaching career was not filled success, but this long stretch would be the highlight of his career. This is where he would really solidify himself as one of the greatest defensive coaches in NFL history. The feared Steelers defense were consistently one of the best in the league for just about every year during this run, and the schemes and designs of Lebeau were a big part of the reason why. During this time, the Steelers appeared in three Super Bowls and won two of them with their defense being the biggest strength of the team.

He would make one more stop before retiring in 2017, serving as the defensive coordinator and an assistant head coach for the Tennessee Titans. This would end a legendary run of 45 consecutive seasons as a coach in the NFL without any breaks at all. This is a clear indicator of not just how good of a coach he was, but the massive level of respect he had around the league.

Innovations to the Game

Lebeau is widely accepted as an absolute genius when it comes to defensive schemes. He was well known for running a very creative and complex version of the 3-4 defense. He is credited with being the inventor, and the master, of the zone blitz. In this scheme, the pass rushers attack the quarterback from a wide variety of positions and angles while completely disguising the coverage format with an unconventional mix of zones and man, all within the same play. The goal was to create havoc while confusing the opposing offense and it was highly effective. This concept that he created is used across the entire league today in different forms, but nobody did it better than the great Dick LeBeau. His legacy will live on forever in NFL history.

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