The Bills and the 4-3/3-4 Hybrid

Since entering the 2009 offseason, the Buffalo Bills have done some intriguing things towards tweaking their defense. Already ranked 14^th in the league in total defense last year, they headed straight in that direction in the 2009 NFL draft even after trading Jason Peters their “Premier” LT.

Aaron Maybin is the best selection the Bills could have made, but the serious question is, does he fit the 4-3 as a DE? I don’t think so. Not yet anyway, so where does he go? 

I have him taking on a hybrid role. This guy is going to line up in a couple of spots to see where he fits best for the team. Standing at just under 6’4 and weighing in at 250 pounds, the kid looks like you prototype rush linebacker.

The guy has an ultra quick step, and guess what? He knows a guy on the team that conveniently plays a linebacker position in Paul Posluszny. Maybin could stand to really get to know how to play the linebacker position. I am not saying that he has to be a full time linebacker, but here’s something to think about:

You play him as a rush linebacker. The Bills have been drafting some intelligent players lately. Apparently they want guys that can play multi dimensional roles. Why would they want to do that unless they felt they could throw some defensive curveballs at opposing offensive coordinators?

Just think of it this way, The Bills can do a lot of different things right now. Maybin could line up next to Posluszny with Nic Harris playing an inside role as well.

Harris would be the perfect patrol man for the linebacker position. He can cover the middle of the field. You have him cover the weak zones in the field where a running back could be getting a dump pass. That pass is such a deadly asset in any teams offensive playbook, and defensive coordinators really need to look at shutting that particular part of a teams offense down.

With Kawika Mitchell having a stellar first season with the Bills at WLB, there is really no point of moving him away from what he does. I think he does good job covering the mid zones so he just needs to keep doing what he is doing.

Now, this is where it gets tricky. The Bills don’t have the big defensive ends to do something like this full time. Aaron Schobel only weighs in at 243 pounds. That just won’t get it done to play a 3-4. I mean, that means you got two big 300 pound guys knocking you on your back.

That would dramatically destroy any shot you had at shutting down the run. Yet, how about getting Marcus Stroud to get in there and play DE?

Marcus Stroud actually played DE last year. Standing at 6’6", the guy is a pretty big dude. He could drop his weight to 295 and get substantially better at wrecking that line in that position.

That still doesn’t answer the question "then who plays the nose?" Well, here is something maybe to look at. Kyle Williams has played admirably well for where he was selected in the 2006 NFL draft.

This guy could be their Tony Sirgusa. This guy can play nose and three technique. He could handle it especially if the Bills could use John McCargo as a sub to give each other breathers.

The secondary looks to be shaking out to look like serious competition. How does this figure into the plan by drafting Dairus Byrd in the second round? Well, Donte Whitner is the slotted starting FS on the depth chart, but with Bills recent draft history, they usually try to get their young guys on the field. It’s the philosophy that they have. So what happens here?

Well, here’s how things shake down. The Bills could use Whitner as a roaming safety like the Steelers use Polamalu. This guy can do so many things for your football team. He may not get the picks, but if you let him flow to the football he would amaze you.

Byrd will get some reps. He will possibly intermittently interchange with Ko Simpson and complete for playing time. It will be a real battle where it is all about producing. Whoever is playing better is going to see the field.

The Bills are such an interesting team to watch; they just seem to have the right elements to try running a hybrid defense. With every other team in the AFC East running the 3-4 the Bills need to not necessarily make the switch as well, but mix some elements around and running a Baltimore Ravens type defense.