DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR RYAN NIELSEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2024
(On CB Montaric Brown’s performance vs. Cleveland) “Played really well. What a game. He was all over the place making tackles, tight coverage. He was everywhere. It was really good to see. Confidence. You can see his confidence grow throughout the game.
Confidence in his abilities, press coverage, play some off, cover two, he was in the right
spot. Really good game. Really good game. Look for him—he came in the building the last couple of days and just the look on his face was really good. So, continue to see that from him day in and day out. He does a great job of just focusing on himself, like his fundamentals and techniques, it’s just how he practices. So, it wasn’t a surprise that he played like that. That’s what we saw him do in camp and in practice. But continue to see him get better.”
(On DE Josh Hines-Allen’s performance) “Motor. Motor. I mean, it’s nonstop and Josh is a smart player. So that’s a combination that is tough. He’s always going, always running, pass rush, run defense. I thought the last couple of games the run defense was pretty good. On the edge, making some plays. He can rush with power. He’s added a few pounds, some strength. So that’s helping him. But he’s got quickness and suddenness to get on the edge. Hand rushes. [Outside Linebackers Coach] Bill Shuey’s done a great job with the repertoire of what he’s working with and those two guys working together has been really good. So just continue to see him, and we changed the scheme just a little bit, he’s not dropping as much, more rushing him. So, there’s some things with him that continue to get better. Very pleased so far.”
(On if he’s seen the Bills trying to get the ball out of QB Josh Allen’s hands faster) “Yeah, he’s doing a really good job. They’ve done a really good job with the scheme. In terms of first and second-down passing, quick throws. Completions, you see his completion percentage up. Getting the ball out of his hands. Offensive line is doing a good job getting on in protection and aggressively setting D-line, so you don’t see as many balls get batted down. They’ve done a good job in the boundary passing game, the option routes, stack routes, things like this, and then to the field. He’s getting the ball. He’s doing a really good job reading the coverage. He knows exactly where to go with the ball right now. So, it’s going to be a good challenge.”
(On how S Darnell Savage affects his defensive scheme) “It does. You always want to have good players, and he’s a good player. But last week didn’t feel like—next man up, and Jarrian [CB Jarrian Jones] went out there and he performed pretty well. As well as the group, thought we covered really well last week. But having him back, now we’ve got another guy out there who’s a good player and allows another guy to free up personnel packages and do things like that. So, we never want to lose a guy for a game or two games or whatever it is, but happy to have him back and get him back into the role and routine of playing football and we’ll see him out there on Monday.”
(On how different the Bills’ offense looks from last year) “Not a ton. They’re committed to running the football. So, you’re seeing a higher percentage of runs, and they’re running the ball really well. So, it’s making it second-and-manageable, you’re seeing a lot of second-and-four, second-and-fives, they’re getting five, six yards a clip in the run game. Committed to the run, so it’s a 50 bout, a little more balanced. In the passing game, you’re seeing more quick throws. In other words, you’re not seeing as many negative plays that they may have in the past. So, they’re very efficient on first down, second down, and then they’re getting into third-and-manageable or second-down conversions. When you watch the last game, I don’t think there was a third down until like play 14 in the game. So, it’s first down, second down, first down, second down. I mean, they’re moving the ball down the field, so the efficiency of the offense and getting the ball out of Josh’s hands and the quick passing and then they committed to the run. They’re running the ball really well. It’s going to be a good challenge. The other thing, everybody knows that he’s a dynamic play extender. He’s all over the place. You’re watching him do the things that he’s so confident when he gets out of
the pocket. He can make the first down running or find a guy late back over the middle. He’s got such a strong arm; he can make all the throws. So that combination makes him very hard to defend.”
(On the benefit of reducing LB Foye Oluokun’s snap count) “Couple of things it does. It’s such a long season and when you look at the body of work, keeps him fresher at the end of the game as well, which helps. Then the other guys have deserved the reps. We’re not just giving guys reps that don’t deserve the reps. Ventrell [LB Ventrell Miller] and Chad [LB Chad Muma] have had good camps, and then you put them out there, Ventrell made a play on the toss last game into our sideline. There’s a third-down-and-four play, comes shot out and knocks him out of bounds, creates the fourth-and-one. So those guys are deserving. You see Chad, in coverage, sure tackler. They’re deserving of the reps that they’re getting. So, it’s creating a nice competition within the group. It’s getting some of those, Devin [LB Devin Lloyd] and Foye [LB Foye Oluokun], a little bit of rest into late in the game getting in there. Then for the longevity of the season, you just never know. You know what you’re going to get if a guy has to go down or play in the end of the game or something like that, and those other guys have had meaningful snaps. So, it’s a good combination.”
(On what challenge TE Dalton Kincaid presents to the defense) “He’s a savvy receiver, really savvy receiver. He understands leverage really well. He’s going to be—he’s a tough matchup. He’s strong at the catch point. He’s got good speed and he’s a big body. So, we’re going to have to cover him really well. I’ll tell you what, he’s a really pretty blocker, too. You see him on the back side of some runs, making some big blocks for some cutbacks and things like that. It’s going to be a good challenge for sure.”
(On what he’s seen from DT Maason Smith this week) “Very good. Very good. He’s in the right mindset. Very excited about him and his future. He said he had a good practice yesterday. He responded exactly how you’d want him to respond. He took it where it wasn’t an attack on him. We’ve got to get better and we’re going to do everything we can to get better and get out there and play. So, a very bright future for him and he has the right mindset to be a very good player in this league.”
(On creating opportunities to force turnovers) “I’ll tell you; we had the ball on the goal line last week, the ball popped out and Devin made a heck of a play. We’ve just got to get off the block sometimes, timing, being in the right spot at the right time, that would’ve been a huge play in the game, right? So, we’re working on it. It’s been a point of emphasis, it’s a point of emphasis every single week, every single day. And you’re seeing punch-outs. I’ll tell you, one of our better guys at doing it is Foye. He’s always punching at the ball. It’s conscious ball awareness and things like that. And yes, sometimes it just takes one. We’re just staying positive with it. We’d love to have about eight or nine a game. But let’s get one and go from there.”
(On how Lloyd is adjusting to his game responsibilities) “Still good. Devin’s doing good.
We’re playing a little bit more in the middle, which is he’s in the box, he’s coming downhill, he’s a physical player, good in coverage. I’ll tell you, one of the things, and this was kind of one of his deals, is he has a lot of ball production in the passing game. There are a lot of PBUs and tipped balls and altered passes because he’s around where the catch point is, or he’s rushing and then he gets a hand up and things like that. He is affecting the ball disruption.”
(On CB Ronald Darby’s performance through the first two weeks and if he had the
opportunity to record an interception on the first drive vs. Cleveland) “Would have liked him to. I mean, he was right there. When you slow the play down, his hands are right there. It’s just one of those catch-point battles, where they’re battling for the ball, and it didn’t bounce our way. Next time, it will—just keep playing. He’s a very positive player. He’s great with the younger guys. He’s in the right spot all the time. You’re seeing this, I thought he took a step from Game 1 to Game 2. He played a little bit better. But I think the overall package for him, he’s got speed, he’s got awareness, he’s played in the league for a long time. Here’s another guy that was out just for a few plays and [CB] Tre Prince got in, so we’re working that rotation to where at the end of the game, maybe he’s got five or ten plays off and instead of 60 plays, he plays 50. That matters in the long run. But very positive with the guy. He’s a really good football player, a great teammate. Nothing but good things to say about him.”
(On if S Andre Cisco and S Antonio Johnson are playing up to his expectations) “Yeah, I
think so. We’re doing pretty good back there. Physical. Physical. Antonio is a younger
player, he’s going through a little bit of the, ‘Hey, I’m playing now, National Football, I’m a starter.’ It takes a little time sometimes. Then, Cisco, I’m pleased with what he’s doing. There was one play, if you take the one play—you can’t do that—but you take it out and he’s had a pretty good couple of games.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2024
(On what makes the Buffalo Bills hard to defend) “I think the D-Line is a very good unit. I think as a whole, they’ve always done a really good job of communication. So, they can do a lot of things at a lot of different times that all look the same. It’s really, for the most part, it doesn’t seem like it’s overly complicated, but the fact that they can do what they need to do by making it all look the same is what’s really impressive. I have a lot of respect for the communication aspect of it, to all be on the same page all the time, really regardless of who’s playing. Then the D-Line is just relentless. They’ve got a lot of depth, play a lot of bodies, throw a lot at you, they do a good job.”
(On what challenges Bills LB Von Miller presents) “Yes, absolutely. If you’re going to start listing off the best pass rushers in the league, it’s not going to take you long to get to Von Miller still. He has that respect from us, and really across the league, as you talk to a lot of people that have played him and what they know he’s still capable of providing out there.”
(On the advantages of playing up-tempo) “Yeah, I think sometimes you’re going to simplify a little bit of what you do. You’re taking out the details, whatever those types of eye candy would be for just lining up and playing, and gaining your advantage now by playing fast, trying to simplify the defensive schemes. You tend to do things that you do well, and then we’ve kind of got a system built that we can communicate fairly quickly and still do a lot of different things that we do well in that system. Part of it is being efficient. You don’t want to just go tempo on second-and-15, when you lose five yards, doesn’t really do a benefit to jump on the ball and keep playing. So, sometimes when you hit a big play or you get a little bit of momentum, you want to stay on the ball, and you want to kind of build that momentum out a little bit.”
(On finding consistency outside of explosive plays) “Yeah, that’s a big thing. I think a big thing for us is just third-down conversions. We haven’t had enough snaps because we’re not converting enough on third down to begin with. We’ve had some manageable third-down situations that we haven’t executed well, but I think we’ve had about 55 and 54 plays in two games. That’s not enough. Even watching last year, we played Buffalo, we were up in the high-80s, I believe it was, in just that game alone. So, we need to be in there, and then that gives you more opportunities to spread the ball around, more touches, get a little bit more rhythm across the board. Everybody as players gets a little bit more rhythm when you get more calls in and things like that. So, third down conversions are a big part of trying to be able to continue to develop that consistency and that consistent momentum, I guess you will.”
(On why the offense has had disconnects in communication) “Yeah, that’s a big thing, and really, it’s been in the red zone, which where we always know it, that’s an issue because your substitutions are traveling the furthest point they could throughout the course of the game. So, you’re leaving the players’ box into the red zone there, you’re trying to be quick in and out. We’ve got to get in and out of the huddle. Sometimes an explosive play led you to that. That’s one of the issues we had the other day, Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] had the long scramble, gets down there and then we struggle to get in and out of the huddle. Because again, I think everybody takes a deep breath when it’s third-and-eight, you convert on a 30-yard run, whatever that may be. Take a deep breath, well, the clock’s rolling. So, we’ve got to get in and out, we’ve got to communicate quickly, we’ve got to get to the line, we’ve got to be aware of the play clock, and then we’ve got to execute. That’s also when you’re on the road—we were obviously at home—but when you’re on the road, you’re closest to the opposing fan base a lot of times in the red zone. Especially in Buffalo, it’s about 10 yards off the end zone where the fans are. It gets very loud in those situations. So, it’s just about keeping a tight huddle, making sure we hear the call, a lot of that helps with just understanding the game plan. We know exactly what the call’s going to be, you’re anticipating it, you hear it in the huddle, you break and then we can communicate and operate cleanly.”
(On if there’s been any breakdown in terms of timing of the play call between him and
Lawrence) “I’m sure there’s somewhere along there. I’m sure we’re all responsible in some way, shape or form for getting personnel in, getting the call in, getting it communicated and getting broken, yes.”
(On if these communication issues should still be occurring) “No. We should be beyond
this, yes sir.”
(On what he makes of Lawrence’s passing accuracy being lower than previous years)
“Completion percentage being a low number, you’re saying? I think completion percentage and accuracy can be different at times. I think I understand what you’re saying with it. You take into account drops and throwaways, that’s going to make it look like you are not accurate, quote-unquote, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily the case. There have been times we missed some throws, whether that be timing, pressure, timing and routes or constricted field space in the red zone, I think those come into play as well.”
(On assessing Lawrence’s gameplay so far, particularly without TE Evan Engram) “I think
Trevor’s like the entire offensive unit. Us as coaches, players, play design, play calling, play execution, it’s just inconsistent. It needs to be more consistent throughout the course of the game. We have flashes where we move the ball, then we’re not punching it in the red zone, we’re settling for three instead of seven. So, it’s just continuing to stick with it, but that consistency is the piece we’ve really been missing the most.”
(On calling a game to help spark the offensive line) “I think every situation is its own. So, when you hit big plays, sometimes staying on the ball and letting them kind of build that momentum against a tired defensive line at times where they’re leaning on them. Providing help, depending on the line you play. Obviously, we played a very good defensive line, very good defense last week that provides a relentless amount of pressure and the pace at which they play. So, there are a number of things throughout the course of the game. I think a big part, converting third downs, staying consistent in that. You convert third downs, you’re playing ahead of the sticks or with the sticks in first-and-10, second-and-five situations. But if you’re in first-and-10, second-and-five, third-and-five, then you’re off the field, you don’t really get that rhythm when you start to get a little frustrated. It’s kind of what it’s felt like at times when you’re not converting those situations.”
(On WR Brian Thomas Jr. meeting his expectations) “Yeah, I think so. I think he’s proven he belongs. He’s proven that the moment’s not too big for him. He’s done well against good players. That’s what we anticipated from him, but it is exciting to see. Then again, like I’ve always said, I think there’s so much ahead for him. Just how he’s going to grow each and every week. We’ve played two games. We’ve played 100 snaps. So, I think his future’s bright, and I think he’s going to grow right along with the offense, just being consistent down-in and down-out.”
(On Head Coach Doug Pederson’s frustrations this season) “I don’t know. We’re confident in what we have collectively come together to try to identify how we’re going to approach issues, how we’re going to establish that consistency. I didn’t see the clip. I don’t know. But I think certainly when you have to get up here within an hour after a very frustrating loss, you’re going to be very frustrated and that’s going to show. I think that’s understandable. I think that pretty much speaks for the whole group. That’s how we’ve all felt throughout this now. One of the hard parts is this isn’t the NBA. We don’t get the doubleheader. We’ve got to wait a week. You’ve got to kind of sit and stew in what you did and what you’re responsible for as an entire unit. That’s all of us. Then when we get another opportunity, go put our best foot forward.”
(On TE Brenton Strange having a bigger role in the offense and how he can continue to build off of it) “That was very encouraging to see. That’s something we’ve always known Brenton is capable of. It’s just the opportunity hasn’t necessarily been there. Then Evan, obviously, suffered an injury pregame under the 90-minute mark. Not being able to get anybody else up too. Brenton you know is going to have a larger role right there. I thought he responded. It’s similar to how we talked about Brian: the moment’s not too big for him. He knows exactly what he’s supposed to do. I thought it was impressive for him. That’s the most amount of snaps he’s played. He’s still involved in special teams as well. So, to remain as physical and as locked in and dialed in as he was and be able to make plays when his opportunity presented, it was impressive to see. I think that’s, again, like we expected from him, but the opportunity came, and he was ready for it.”
(On getting WR Christian Kirk more involved in the offense) “Yeah, he’s a huge part of what we want to do. And yeah, that’s on all of us to make sure that he’s getting those
opportunities and touches. His impact on our offense is, I mean, I don’t think you could
necessarily put a measure on it itself, but we all know when he went down the end of the year, what it started to look like as we dealt with injuries and obviously the loss of Christian. So, he’s somebody we definitely have to get involved in early games.”
