How Bills versatile LBs allow the defense to be prepared for anything

How a simple question to Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich revealed a key component to how the team's defense operates.

Linebacker Terrel Bernard shares a laugh with Matt Milano while stretching before a training camp practice. / Jamie Germano/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

This article was produced in conjunction with Cover 1, a leading voice in making the intricacies of Buffalo Bills football digestible. Be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel and podcast feeds.

---

While speaking to reporters ahead of Thursday's training camp practice, Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich was asked about second-year linebacker Dorian Williams and how his size could contribute to him playing more on the strong side of the defensive formation. 

Babich had a simple question in response:

“What strong side?”

Later on, after clarification from reporter Mark Gaughan (who initiated the back-and-forth), Babich gave a glimpse into how the Bills' defense functions. 

“. . . The best way I can answer this is that our linebackers are all versatile," he said. "I think, you know, I talked about this in past years, but the NFL is going in a different manner. We’ve got to be good enough to stop the downhill run, and we’ve got to be good enough to play in space. We are, you know, I think you’ve seen in the last few years the way we’ve gone about it, and we need space players that can play it physical, and that’s a unique skillset and we try to identify it and Brandon (Beane) has done a good job.

Related: Bills GM compares Josh Allen’s leadership style to former All-Pro LB

"So all our guys have to be able to do those things… and this should be a plug-and-play defense. And a little bit of that is on us as coaches to make sure these guys are ready to go, and a little bit is on the players. The more you can do, the more opportunity you’re gonna have to play.”

All of this makes sense, particularly with how the Bills have constructed their defense from a personnel standpoint. While the original question was about the linebackers, the reality is that it applies to the safeties, as well. Under their current brass, the Bills have made a point of having a pair of “interchangeable” safeties, guys that can both cover deep in the post and can come downhill to make plays closer to the line of scrimmage.

With Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, the Bills long deployed one of the best safety tandems in the NFL because of this exact philosophy and scheme. While some people wanted to put Hyde and Poyer into a particular box (Hyde as the deep safety, Poyer as the box safety), the reality is that they both excelled in both roles; that’s what made the Bills' defense so tough to go against in recent years, because they had no defined role that could be easily or clearly schemed against. 

Bills safety Micah Hyde congratulates teammate Jordan Poyer after a defensive stand. Jg 010921 Bills 35 / JAMIE GERMANO/ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE via Imagn Content Services, LLC

But what does that look like closer to the line of scrimmage? What are you looking for at the linebacker spot? Babich lays it out well, saying they need to be physical but also play in space. A coaching friend of mine, Tyler Manes of Cleveland High School in Tennessee (@CoachT_Manes), said to me “There’s very different philosophies on that. Some teams will set the defense and personnel based on the passing strength, run strength, or field/boundary. I’d say most NFL teams don’t feel like their second-level players are interchangeable. You typically only have one linebacker that you are cool with taking anything vertical”.

Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard (43) hits New York Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt (13) just as he catches the ball. / Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

With Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano, the Bills are uniquely set up in today’s NFL to do something that not every team is capable of doing. They are able to take on different styles of offenses without having to shift players on the field based on the formation. There’s certainly movement and adjusting done based on the opponent and personnel they’re facing -- it’s borderline impossible to be completely static as a philosophy on defense in the NFL -- but the idea is that the Bills’ defense is designed to have players set up in roles that other players can fill.

Related: The World’s Team?: New study finds Bills are NFL’s most popular franchise worldwide

This forces the offense to rethink and strategize how to attack the defense because they can’t simply go into a particular formation to get the Bills off-balance. You can’t necessarily flex a running back into the passing formation and expect an easy completion, because both Milano and Bernard have the athleticism to take on faster, shiftier running backs in the passing game. You can’t simply run the ball against them to slow them down, because both are physical enough to attack downhill and agile and smart enough to know that they can’t take on blocks directly and know how to work around them (more on this in another article soon to come). 

Jan 8, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano (58) runs with the ball after making an interception against the New England Patriots during the second half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

In the end, even though they are not recognized on a national level as being a strong pair of linebackers (though Milano has earned plenty of praise and a first-team All-Pro nod in 2022), both of these linebackers are exceptionally gifted and perfect to play at a high level in a contemporary NFL that is facing a bit of an identity crisis in terms of offensive trends. Some still believe it is a pass-first league and can make their case for it, but others have started to focus on running the ball effectively and set up their passing game with easier shots against two-high looks. Regardless of what comes against them, however, the Bills’ linebackers will be prepared to make plays all season long.

—  Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI  —

More Buffalo Bills News:

• Bills QB Josh Allen’s hilarious first impression of Keon Coleman: ‘He’s just not normal’

• Bills QB Josh Allen says this part of Keon Coleman’s game is ‘off the charts’

• Bobby Babich dishes on Bills two defensive injury replacements at camp

• Bills S Damar Hamlin impressing at training camp with 'high-level' play

• Bills Olympic gold medalist DT doing a 'nice job' in transition to new sport