Monday, the Bills parted ways with the pair of veteran defenders. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)
Barnett broke the news of his release via Twitter, and The Buffalo News reported Wilson's shortly after.
Showing posts with label Nick Barnett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nick Barnett. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2013
Bills cut ties with safety Wilson, linebacker Barnett
BY NICK ST. DENIS
While linebacker Nick Barnett and safety George Wilson led the Buffalo Bills in tackles last season, their age, price and visible decline in productivity made them expendable.
Monday, the Bills parted ways with the pair of veteran defenders. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)
Barnett broke the news of his release via Twitter, and The Buffalo News reported Wilson's shortly after.
Monday, the Bills parted ways with the pair of veteran defenders. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)
Barnett broke the news of his release via Twitter, and The Buffalo News reported Wilson's shortly after.
Friday, February 1, 2013
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.
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.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Bills' defense wondered why offense didn't run more
BY NICK ST. DENIS
Many of us were dumbfounded at times during the 2012 season trying to figure out why former Buffalo Bills coach Chan Gailey repeatedly put the bulk of the offense's workload on quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick's arm despite boasting one of the most explosive rushing attacks in the NFL.
Bills players had their reservations, too. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)
"There were definitely times when we had both of them (C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson) very healthy and on fire; guys were wondering why we don’t just run the ball a lot more," Bills linebacker Nick Barnett told Patrick Moran of Buffalo Sports Daily this week.
Bills players had their reservations, too. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)
"There were definitely times when we had both of them (C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson) very healthy and on fire; guys were wondering why we don’t just run the ball a lot more," Bills linebacker Nick Barnett told Patrick Moran of Buffalo Sports Daily this week.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Bills' Barnett: Buffalo could have best defense in NFL
BY NICK ST. DENIS
The Bills ranked 26th in total defense last season. Linebacker Nick Barnett thinks they can improve that number by 26.
"I think we can be as good as the best defense in the NFL if we do what we’re supposed to do," Barnett told reporters Tuesday, according to BuffaloBills.com "I definitely think we have that potential."
While Buffalo's defense has a lot to prove on the field, it looks pretty stout on paper. "Best in the league" seems like a bit of a stretch at this point, but the Bills' defenders definitely make up a unit that is much-improved from a year ago.
The Bills ranked 26th in total defense last season. Linebacker Nick Barnett thinks they can improve that number by 26.
"I think we can be as good as the best defense in the NFL if we do what we’re supposed to do," Barnett told reporters Tuesday, according to BuffaloBills.com "I definitely think we have that potential."
While Buffalo's defense has a lot to prove on the field, it looks pretty stout on paper. "Best in the league" seems like a bit of a stretch at this point, but the Bills' defenders definitely make up a unit that is much-improved from a year ago.
Buffalo signed standout defensive end Mario Williams to a $100 million contract and added defensive end Mark Anderson, who recorded double-digits worth of sacks in 2011. The Bills were already solid on the interior with an underrated Kyle Williams and second-year tackle Marcell Dareus.
The Bills have a good mix of young and old in the secondary and linebacker corps, including a veteran presence in safety George Wilson coupled with first-round cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who could start right away.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Bills set to move forward without Merriman
Four years ago, losing a player like Shawne Merriman to injured reserve would have been a bombshell to a defense. But after years of a plaguing Achilles injury that has certainly shown in his intermittent stints on the field, Buffalo's loss of Merriman will be more of a unitary shift than a disruption.
“He had not been playing up to what any of us thought, him included,” Bills coach Chan Gailey told the media Wednesday. “We all felt it was in the best interest to let him try to get this thing completely well and we’ll just plug in some other guys and see if they can go do it.”
Gailey named Spencer Johnson, Danny Batten, Arthur Moats and Antonio Coleman as possible fill-ins for Merriman's spot, though he noted Coleman wouldn't be in this week against the Redskins in Toronto. What the Bills will ask of Merriman now is to provide his replacement(s) with insight into his career success on the pass rush and to provide a strong locker room presence.
“We’d love to have him back, he’s definitely a force and a great guy to have in the locker room, but unfortunately he’s got to fix the body and we’ll wait for him next year,” linebacker Nick Barnett said this past week. “... (He) gets guys out there pumped up pregame and everything...”
Buffalo's pass rush, still dead last in the league in sacks, may have some success in Toronto, as Washington is still trying to get its feet back on the ground after their Week 6 quarterback switch. John Beck has been efficient the last two games, averaging around a quarterback rating of 80, but he was sacked three times last week against Carolina and threw a pick in the loss.
“We definitely have some schematic things, we definitely got to get to the passer, that’s a must so we’re going to work on that and get that fixed,” Barnett said. “If we can continue to take away the ball, get some pass rush, and stop the big plays I think you’ll see our defense statistically move up real fast.”
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“He had not been playing up to what any of us thought, him included,” Bills coach Chan Gailey told the media Wednesday. “We all felt it was in the best interest to let him try to get this thing completely well and we’ll just plug in some other guys and see if they can go do it.”
Gailey named Spencer Johnson, Danny Batten, Arthur Moats and Antonio Coleman as possible fill-ins for Merriman's spot, though he noted Coleman wouldn't be in this week against the Redskins in Toronto. What the Bills will ask of Merriman now is to provide his replacement(s) with insight into his career success on the pass rush and to provide a strong locker room presence.
“We’d love to have him back, he’s definitely a force and a great guy to have in the locker room, but unfortunately he’s got to fix the body and we’ll wait for him next year,” linebacker Nick Barnett said this past week. “... (He) gets guys out there pumped up pregame and everything...”
Buffalo's pass rush, still dead last in the league in sacks, may have some success in Toronto, as Washington is still trying to get its feet back on the ground after their Week 6 quarterback switch. John Beck has been efficient the last two games, averaging around a quarterback rating of 80, but he was sacked three times last week against Carolina and threw a pick in the loss.
“We definitely have some schematic things, we definitely got to get to the passer, that’s a must so we’re going to work on that and get that fixed,” Barnett said. “If we can continue to take away the ball, get some pass rush, and stop the big plays I think you’ll see our defense statistically move up real fast.”
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Monday, October 10, 2011
Bills' defense gets Vick all sorts of confused
The Buffalo Bills knew they had a tough task Sunday in defending Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick.
Consider the task complete.
Buffalo had Vick’s head spinning all afternoon, forcing him into bad throws and intercepting him four times in a 31-24 victory over the Eagles.
“We were trying to confuse Michael, trying to keep him off balance,” Bills coach Chan Gailey told the media after the game. “You can’t sit there and do one or two things against him and expect to slow him down. We didn’t exactly slow him down. They’ve got amazing talent on that side of the ball.”
Linebacker Nick Barnett had two picks, including one for a score, and George Wilson and Reggie Corner also recorded interceptions for Buffalo.
“We were running some zones, some fire zones, warm blitzes, just trying to get him uneasy and throw the ball,” Barnett said. “We were trying to get him to think too fast. They worked in the first half and we made some adjustments, coaches made some great calls in that second half. We studied the team to do that.”
Vick still managed two passing touchdowns and 90 yards rushing, but that’s what you get with him. The turnover differential was what mattered, as it has all season for the Bills.
“When you get five turnovers and you don’t turn it over but once and the turnover that we gave them, they ended up coming out with nothing out of it right before the half,” Gailey said. “You get 5-1 (turnover ratio), you give yourself a great chance to win.”
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Consider the task complete.
Buffalo had Vick’s head spinning all afternoon, forcing him into bad throws and intercepting him four times in a 31-24 victory over the Eagles.
“We were trying to confuse Michael, trying to keep him off balance,” Bills coach Chan Gailey told the media after the game. “You can’t sit there and do one or two things against him and expect to slow him down. We didn’t exactly slow him down. They’ve got amazing talent on that side of the ball.”
Linebacker Nick Barnett had two picks, including one for a score, and George Wilson and Reggie Corner also recorded interceptions for Buffalo.
“We were running some zones, some fire zones, warm blitzes, just trying to get him uneasy and throw the ball,” Barnett said. “We were trying to get him to think too fast. They worked in the first half and we made some adjustments, coaches made some great calls in that second half. We studied the team to do that.”
Vick still managed two passing touchdowns and 90 yards rushing, but that’s what you get with him. The turnover differential was what mattered, as it has all season for the Bills.
“When you get five turnovers and you don’t turn it over but once and the turnover that we gave them, they ended up coming out with nothing out of it right before the half,” Gailey said. “You get 5-1 (turnover ratio), you give yourself a great chance to win.”
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