In three years with the Buffalo Bills, safety Da'Norris Searcy has been slowly but surely working himself in the starting secondary.
After two promising years where his involvement and contributions to the defense grew, Searcy took more than 700 snaps with Mike Pettine's unit in 2013, tallying 3.5 sacks, an interception and even a touchdown.
Now coming into his fourth year and a favorite among many to win the starting safety position next to Aaron Williams, Searcy is using his off-the-field inspiration to push his game to new heights.
"It helps me focus more on the task at hand," Searcy said of his wife and soon-to-be newborn. "Like I said, just coming out here, getting better. You ain't just playing for yourself anymore, you're playing for your teammates one, and off the field you're playing for your family that you've got at home.
"Now that I have a wife and a baby on the way to support, that's just more encouragement and more fuel to the fire to come out here and get better."
Coach Doug Marrone admitted to reporters Wednesday that there were times last season where Searcy "probably didn’t get enough credit for the plays he made." Nonetheless, Marrone reiterated the fact that former Tarheel has played solid thus far, and that he's looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the defense this season.
"He’s been playing very well and I’m excited about that," Marrone said. "He’s a multi-position player. He can play the back end safety for us. He can play up on the line of scrimmage. He can blitz and play man to man.
"He gives us great versatility and he can play special teams. He’s a great value for us.”
