Bills Camp Update

by Pat Freeman, The Mighty O’Ba

The Buffalo Bills break their shortest training camp at St John Fisher to date with only seven scheduled practices. This is truly a sign that the Bills will eventually be leaving the University and will create a destination atmosphere at Orchard Park in the not-too-distant future. The greatest question coming into training camp is the defense.

The question is how will the new scheme work out under the leadership of new defensive coordinator Jim Leonard? The one area of this defense that many of us are concerned about is the position of nose tackle. The organization passed on drafting some good potential nose tackles during the draft and did not sign any free agents that would fit that position on the defensive line. The last time the Organization ran a ¾ defense Ted Washington was the nose tackle, and the unit was one of the best in the league during his tenure.

When the Bills ran a 3-4 base and did not have a true nose tackle, they would often be overwhelmed by teams that had good running backs. Most people feel the key to the 3-4 is the linebackers but I am one that believes everything starts in the trenches, and the hometown team has some question marks to begin the Joe Brady era here in Western New York.

The new stadium is opening this week and believe me it is a state of-the-art facility but will not be considered for a Super Bowl because of its proximity to nowhere. It is the wrong stadium in a bad location which will benefit the majority owner but will continue to offer residual benefits to Western New York. No one can ever deny what an NFL team can do to stimulate a local economy. The question will always be there about the location and one-dimensional design of this new facility.