While the Buffalo Bills have been practicing against each other without pads, they finally came out this past Tuesday. They have one more training camp practice today at St. John Fisher University before tomorrow's Red and Blue game at New Highmark Stadium.
With the hiring of new defensive coach Jim Leonhard, the Bills have changed their defensive scheme from a conservative 4-2-5 to an aggressive 3-4. The team believes this will help when the offense practices against them, bringing the defense to a new level, and hopefully flipping the narrative of them being a constant liability in crucial moments.
How Jim Leonhard's defense can make team stronger
Since the first padded practice, Josh Allen has felt that the defense he's faced at this year's training camp is much more complicated than the defense Sean McDermott ran in the past. He also realizes that mastering call recognition will build his confidence and make him feel more ready for the season, which is necessary to inspire trust in his development.
Nevertheless, right now, as per WIVB.com's Josh Reed, that preparing with these drills will only help the team get ready for the regular season.
"There was a point where I knew the calls... it makes it easier. Now I'm still trying to listen for some of the calls - but no idea what's going on yet, which is good. We want those bullets fired early and often... allow things to be hard right now because eventually they will slow down." Allen stated.
Allen is also excited about the challenge of Leonhard increasing the pressure on the defense, so the Bills' offense must be prepared for different looks at any point in time.
Leonhard is very familiar with the scheme he has been running, as he's bringing back a scheme that he once played in for the Buffalo Bills (2005-2007, 2013), Baltimore Ravens (2008), New York Jets (2009-2011), Denver Broncos (2012), and Cleveland Browns (2014).
The scheme is a base 3-4 that is meant to show different looks on defense to rattle the offensive line protection and create pressure on the QB any time, anywhere.
Head coach Joe Brady, despite having no previous coaching relationship with Leonhard, likes this type of defense because it keeps opposing quarterbacks and offenses guessing.
So far in camp, he's noticed it's kept Allen aware and balanced, and he's ready to see if this success will translate to Week 1 against the Houston Texans.
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