Pettine: 'We're not going up there to have a pillow fight'

Mike Pettine and his Cleveland Browns are headed to Buffalo Monday to face the Bills, his former team, in joint practice sessions.

It won't be all fun and games.

"We're not going up there to have a pillow fight," Pettine told reporters in Cleveland this week, via The Buffalo News.

Added Browns Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Thomas: "I'd be shocked if there weren't more than a few fights."

The teams will work together (or against one another) Monday and Tuesday at St. John Fisher College, where Pettine will be reunited with Rex Ryan. The two worked together for years with the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets.

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Dareus exited for bout with 'good dude' Pettine

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Mike Pettine is back in Western New York. And he's back in enemy digs.

Pettine, who spent a year as the Buffalo Bills' defensive coordinator following a stint with the New York Jets, is now leading the upstart 7-4 Cleveland Browns as head coach.

The Browns come to the Ralph Sunday in a battle between playoff hopefuls, and Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus expects his former coach to try and exploit what he can.

RPT: Aaron Glenn hired to Mike Pettine's staff

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Mike Pettine was a pretty good defensive coordinator for the New York Jets, and before that, Aaron Glenn was one of the franchise's better cornerbacks.

Glenn was hired to the Jets' staff in 2012 as an area scout and has been with Gang Green since, while Pettine spent a year as the Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator before accepting the Cleveland Browns head coaching gig this year.

After all that, Pettine has arranged a reunion with Glenn, hiring the 41-year-old as the Browns' assistant secondary coach, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Schwartz aims to keep continuity, adapt to players

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Buffalo Bills new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz sounds a lot like Mike Pettine did in taking over the job last year, using words like "attack," "physical" and "adapting."

It's not all the same, though.

"First of all, Mike and I are different guys," Schwartz said Monday, via BuffaloBills.com. "Even though I think continuity is important and there is something to be said for that, we’re going to look very hard at ways over the next few months to keep continuity as much as we can."

Mike Pettine poaching a handful of Bills assistants

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Remember the Buffalo Bills assistant coach who had no idea why he was fired?

It's safe to say that he's no longer searching for an answer.

Former Bills defensive coordinator and now Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine hired former Bills linebackers coach Chuck Driesbach this week to assume the same position in Cleveland, and he's not the only 2013 Bills assistant to follow Pettine.

At least one coach could follow Pettine to Cleveland

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

It didn't take long after announcing the hire of former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine before the Cleveland Browns took another shot at poaching one of Doug Marrone's staffers.

According to Adam Schefter, Cleveland put in a request with the team to interview linebackers coach Jim O'Neil, with the intention of having him fill the defensive coordinator role under Pettine.

Before working together in Buffalo, O'Neil and Pettine combined forces for the Jets, where O'Neil was the defensive quality control coach before being promoted to assistant defensive backs coach.

Browns' dragged-out process almost deterred Pettine

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The Cleveland Browns announced former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine as their new head coach late Thursday afternoon.

If they waited any longer, they may have been introducing someone else.

Pettine told WGR 550's Joe Buscaglia that the Browns' dragged-out process in hiring a head coach -- which included two interviews with Pettine after Cleveland had already been without a coach for more than two weeks -- was "starting to wear on me."

Bills were bridge that got Pettine from Point A to B

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Mike Pettine's stay with the Buffalo Bills was short but sweet. That's probably how it was intended.

Coming from the rival New York Jets last offseason, Pettine took over defensive coordinator duties for the Bills and successfully turned around the defense in one season. He was able to shed Rex Ryan's shadow and prove he could make it on his own.

And with that, he scored a head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns.

Marrone: Contingencies in place if Pettine leaves

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

Jeff Hafley was added to the Buffalo Bills coaching staff a week ago, previously working under Greg Schiano in Tampa Bay as a defensive backs coach.

He is currently listed as only an assistant on staff, however, which head coach Doug Marrone assured is no accident.

"Anytime you have a chance to get a coach that you admire who is a good, young football coach who is up and coming you go ahead and do that. And that’s what we did," Marrone said, via buffalobills.com. "We brought Jeff on as a defensive assistant until we know the direction that we’re going."

Bills at mercy of Browns' sluggish hiring process

BY NICK ST. DENIS

By NFL rules, the Buffalo Bills couldn't prevent defensive coordinator Mike Pettine from interviewing for the Cleveland Browns' head coach job, not that they would even consider doing such a thing.

But that doesn't mean the possibility of Pettine leaving isn't an inconvenience, and the Browns are clearly in no hurry.

" . . . you can’t put a timetable on them," Bills coach Doug Marrone said Tuesday, via BuffaloBills.com. "You can’t say, 'Hey listen you can talk to our guy, but you only have a certain amount of time.' So really the ball is in their court."

Bills' Pettine next up on Browns' to-interview list

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

After a very successful four-year stint with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills coordinator Mike Pettine led his team to its best defensive performance in nearly a decade in 2013.

The Cleveland Browns noticed.

Now the final team in search of a new head coach, Cleveland will bring in the 47-year-old Pettine Thursday to interview for the position, as first reported by Jay Glazer Wednesday. Pettine is one of many that Cleveland has shown interest in for the gig but is the first defensive coach named as a potential candidate.

Marrone: Bills' inconsistency vs. run isn't schematic

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The Buffalo Bills' defensive front has been stellar at getting after opposing quarterbacks.

Opposing running backs? Not so much.

The same aggressiveness that has the Bills' defense leading the NFL in sacks with 43 has resulted in the unit allowing the second-most runs of 20 yards or more (13) through 12 games.

Marrone: Sacks are good, QB hits are better

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

In adding four sacks to their total Sunday against the New York Jets, the Buffalo Bills landed themselves atop the cumulative list of takedowns through 11 weeks. The team has tallied 37 sacks to date, one more than the Kansas City Chiefs and eight more than any one else in the division.

Coach Doug Marrone said Monday he'll certainly take the sacks, but he wants the hits — specifically on the quarterback — to keep on comin'.

"I think the bigger number for me yesterday, I don’t know if they threw it 28 or 29 times, but 17 times we hit them," Marrone said, via buffalobills.com. "I think when you’re getting to the quarterback, you’re causing him to be uncomfortable, you might be causing him to get rid of the ball earlier, and you might be causing balls to sail if he can’t step up.

Bills' secondary re-aligning to its original self

BY NICK ST. DENIS

With safety Jairus Byrd and cornerback Stephon Gilmore another week into their return to game action, the Buffalo Bills' secondary is starting to take on its original shape.

Aaron Williams, who lined up primarily at cornerback the last few games despite entering the season as a safety, is transitioning back to centerfield as the perimeter of the defense gets healthier.

Williams lined up next to Byrd in practice Wednesday with Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin on the outside, according to WGR550's Joe Buscaglia. BuffaloBills.com's Chris Brown also noted the shift.

Pettine: It's Bills vs. Jets, not me vs. Rex

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine told reporters Wednesday that he'd be lying if he said his first matchup against Rex Ryan was no big deal. He also said that trying to predict what Buffalo will see from the crafty play-caller is near impossible.  

Sunday could be the first of many head-to-head battles Pettine has against his protege, and most believe the showdown will be a straight chess match between the two defensive coaches. Pettine agrees, but only to a degree.

"I think the strength of the system that was built defensively was its flexibility," Pettine said. "The ability to adapt each week to a particular opponent, so again Rex has 10 years’ worth of material to draw from and tighten that down to a 30 or 40 call game plan. You’re just chasing ghosts when you go, ‘You might see this or you might see this.’

Jim Leonhard back in Mike Pettine's system

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Jim Leonhard could only get away from Mike Pettine for so long.

Leonhard, who worked under the defensive coordinator Pettine for three years when the pair was employed by the New York Jets, signed with the Buffalo Bills Monday.

Pettine led the Jets' defense the past four seasons but joined the Bills at the beginning of this year. Leonhard, meanwhile, was with Gang Green from 2009 to 2011 before spending last season with the Denver Broncos.

Bills' defensive players tout Pettine's new playbook

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine promised change when he took over for the maligned Dave Wannstedt in January.

The Bills' defensive squad is now noticing those changes, and they like what they see. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)

Defensive end Mario Williams and linebacker Nigel Bradham are the latest Bills to tout Pettine's work. The players, both coming into their second year with the team, had similar observations about the differences between Wannstedt's scheme and Pettine's, mainly the latter's up-tempo style.

Bills' defensive line listings telling of transformation

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

Though the move may have flown under the radar a bit this week, Kyle Moore’s departure to the Chicago Bears paints an interesting picture for the future of the Buffalo Bills’ defensive front.

As reported by Tim Graham of the Buffalo News, Moore shipped off to Chicago after signing a one-year deal Monday. (photo: Chris Seward, Flickr)

That left the Bills with only two "listed" defensive ends on the roster: Mario Williams and Mark Anderson.

Pettine: Bills' defensive structure won't model Jets

BY NICK ST. DENIS

When Mike Pettine served as the New York Jets' defensive coordinator, he was mostly perceived to be just an extension of head coach Rex Ryan.

So when Pettine saw a good opportunity to break off and take full ownership of a defense, he took it. And Pettine is certain the Bills' defense will be just that. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)

"Are we going to build the structure of the system the same way as New York? Absolutely not. This is going to be the Buffalo Bills' defense," Pettine said in late January, via Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News.

Barnett ready to get aggressive in Bills' new defense

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

As a 10-year veteran and former Super Bowl champ, Buffalo Bills linebacker Nick Barnett is pretty comfortable with any role he's assigned in a defensive system.

But that's not to say that he doesn't have a preference. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)

Under former defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt, Barnett moved into the "Will" role of the 4-3 scheme for the first time in his career. To nobody's surprise, Barnett turned out to be a bright spot in the Bills' shaky front, leading the team in total tackles with 112.