BB: OK, well we've had a chance obviously to see the Arizona game. This was a very good performance by Buffalo last week. [They're] a good football team, do a lot of things well, a very explosive team, so we've got a lot to get ready for here. I think offensively they've shown that they can pretty much score from anywhere on the field with a lot of different guys - quarterback, the running backs, the tight end, the receivers; all very explosive, all big-play guys. It's a big, physical offensive line. They do a good job of running the ball. Defensively, again, [they] made big plays in that area, too. The strip against the Jets they ran back for a touchdown, four interceptions last week, a lot of different pass-rush schemes, so we'll have to have a really good week of preparation there. Strong in the kicking game, do a good job of directional kicking. [Brandon] Tate has had some good field position plays for them. I mean obviously the return against Arizona was a big play in that game, another special team's score, so a score on defense, a score on special teams and a lot of explosive plays on offense. It's a tough team to get ready for. You're going to have to do a good job, play 60 minutes of good football, so no chance to relax against these guys. They can make big plays in all three phases of the game.
Q: Did you see anything different from their offense last week under the leadership of a new offensive coordinator?
BB: It looks like it's pretty much the same. They're a little bit of a game plan team. They usually have a couple of new wrinkles in the running game, a couple of new wrinkles in the passing game, so those showed up against Arizona, but those kind of show up from week to week anyway. I'd say it just looked like overall they played maybe a little faster, a little more aggressively with the same plays. But they do a good job of scoring whatever it was - 30-something points against the Jets. They scored a lot of points again last week. They didn't have a high-scoring week against the Ravens but the last two weeks they've put a lot of points on the board.
Q: How much did your rotation amongst players on the defensive line contribute to the decision to release Anthony Johnson and bring in John Hughes?
BB: Yeah, I don't know. We just felt like it was the best thing to do for the team.
Q: What have you seen from John Hughes in his time in the NFL?
BB: John's an experienced player. He has played a little bit inside and outside. We'll see how it goes with him. Again, I think he's a big guy with some skill, can run a little bit and has a good level of playing experience. So we'll see how it turns out. I don't know.
Q: What have you learned from Barkevious Mingo in his time here and how do you see his role evolving on defense?
BB: I think each week it's a different week so I don't really know. This week is different from last week and next week will be different from this week. But we'll see what our game plan is, how we match up, what we want to try to do. That could be different, like it always is, with different players every week. He has done a good job. He has come in and learned a lot about our system both in the kicking game and defensively. He's really involved in all four downs. We can play him first, second, third and fourth-down so he has had a lot to pick up. We've thrown a lot at him. He works hard at it and he's in good condition, can take a lot of plays so he has gotten a lot out there at practice. I'm glad we have him.
Q: Have you seen any improvement in Tyrod Taylor's decision-making since he entered the league?
BB: He's playing well. Yeah, he plays well. He throws the ball well. [He's] certainly part of the running game that you have to respect. Not that he runs it all of the time but he is capable of running it and making big plays and in the passing game if it's there he can hit it. If it's not there then he has the ability to extend plays and he has made a lot of big plays I'd say on extended plays, more passing than running, although he has some running, like he had the scramble against Arizona. But he has a lot of extended plays in the passing game where he buys extra time and then hits receivers downfield usually for big chunks of yardage. I'd say in all of those areas he has done a good job.
Q: What has made Kyle Williams such an effective anchor in the middle of their defensive line for so long?
BB: He's a really disruptive player. He's very instinctive. He has a great feel for anticipation of plays, whether that's tendencies or reading linemen's stances. I'm not sure how he does all of it but he does it very effectively. He has got very good quickness. He has a tremendous motor. He never gives up on a play. He makes a lot of plays on second effort where he comes off of a block and hits the quarterback or makes the tackles or that type of thing. He also makes a lot of plays on his quickness. He has got good playing strength. He's explosive in a short area. He can knock blockers back. If they come off too hard on him then he's quick enough to jump around them and make them miss and end up in the backfield. But again, he's a very instinctive guy. He always seems to do the right thing at the right time and it's not always the same thing but it always seems to be the right thing. [Jerry] Hughes outside, Williams inside; those two guys are really disruptive on their defense. They make a lot of plays or they force plays to be bad plays and somebody else makes them. Obviously, they have a lot of speed at linebacker with Zach Brown. Preston Brown makes a lot of tackles so those guys are very productive players, too. But those two guys up front are particularly a problem.
Q: Does Kyle Williams play more of a two-gap technique?
BB: At times, yeah, at times. At times he is on the center, at times he is on the guard in a three-technique. Occasionally they've even played him at end a little bit on the tackle in a four or five-technique. More inside than outside but depending on what scheme they have, and they have multiple schemes, they move those guys around so you don't always know exactly where they're going to be.
Q: Would you say your program is more predicated on teaching your team how to win games or how to not lose games?
BB: Well, both. You can't win them until you can teach them to not lose them, but you can't dig a hole and win games either. I mean you've got to attack, so both.
Q: Are some of Rex Ryan's antics that center around you and your team ever fun or does it kind of annoy you?
BB: I'm just focused on getting ready for the Bills. I'm not really in tune to all of that. I'm sure it's important to you guys but it's not really anything I spend much time with.
Q: Has Jerry Hughes improved for them at all on defense or has he always been the same disruptive player he is now?
BB: Yeah, he's very disruptive. You know he plays a lot of different positions. It's hard to find him sometimes. He plays outside linebacker, he plays defensive end in some of their four-man lines. They move him around a little bit. He's on the left, he's on the right, he's on the tackle, he's out on the edge and then they loop him inside on gains and things like that, so he shows up in a lot of different spots. But very quick off the ball and quick in short spaces so even when it looks like he's blocked he is quick and athletic enough to get around guards and even centers occasionally. So yeah, and it's not just pass rush either. He does a good job in the running game. He makes a lot of negative plays, or like I said, causes the play to be a bad play and then somebody else makes it because he forces the ball out of the gap that it's intended to go in, or makes the runner stop and redirect, or bounce out, or go somewhere where there's not a lot of blocking. So, he is just as disruptive in the running game as he is in the passing game; kind of like Kyle is. Both guys, it's not just pass rush or run defense - it's pretty much everything; pursuit. I mean Hughes is tough on plays. He plays away; you can't run away from him. That's not really the answer. But you have to block him because he'll track you down.
Q: Does their defense play with more multiple looks than other teams or is it pretty much consistent with the rest of the league?
BB: Well, I think it's their defense. I don't think they're more multiple than they were last year but they're more multiple than other teams we play. But I think relative to Buffalo, they're Buffalo. They give you a lot of looks. That's what they do. They mix coverages, they mix fronts, they mix pressures, they mix coverages. So, you've got to be ready for a lot of different things that they do and different personnel groups that they do it out of. They had kind of a new personnel group last week on third-down. We've seen them use wide receivers on defense and so forth. So, they use their personnel and they use them effectively.
Q: You have several players that you have signed off of the 2013 Cleveland Browns roster. How much of that has to do with your trusted relationship with Mike Lombardi and how much does his insight from his time there help with those moves?
BB: Yeah, Mike has been a good source of information on a lot of levels but certainly players that he is familiar with, like guys that were on that team. I mean he gives you insight into guys that you don't get if you're not there.
Q: Do you have any updates on the status of Jacoby Brissett's reported thumb injury?
BB: Yeah, it [injury report] will come out after practice today. You'll have it.
Q: How does Sammy Watkins change what they are capable of doing on offense?
BB: Just another explosive player. They've got a lot of them; Watkins, [Marquise] Goodwin, [Charles] Clay, the backs, the quarterback. [Nick] O'Leary is another guy that showed up last week. He showed up last year in the - I think it was the Washington game at the end of the season, or Dallas game, one of those two - but anyway it was the end of the year with another 40-yard catch-and-run play. Watkins is big, he is good after the catch, he's obviously good on the deep balls. But he is good on catch-and-run plays. He can take those intermediate routes or crossing routes and turn a 10, 15-yard catch into 40. So, a hard guy to tackle, big, fast, very athletic.
Q: How cautious do you have to be in defending against Tyrod Taylor running out of the pocket and then hitting a big pass play down the field?
BB: Yeah, they've shown it a lot. He does that more than he runs with it. He runs when nobody defends him, like he should, but if there are receivers open down the field he throws it and he hits them. He has had a lot of big pays, more big plays on that than he has running. I'm not talking about the designed runs like he had last week against Arizona, but I mean just scramble plays. If he has to scramble for a first-down he can certainly do it but most of the time he scrambles, extends the play, finds somebody that's open and hits them for a big gain. That's more of a problem than him running, although if you don't have anybody to defend him running then he'll run.
Q: Do you get any satisfaction with yourself and the coaching staff in being able to overcome some obstacles and get out to a 3-0 start?
BB: Yeah, right now we're just focused on trying to get ready to beat Buffalo. Whatever happened in the past, whatever it is, it is. There's nothing we can do about it. We're moving on.
Q: Do you enjoy the challenge of going into this week in any way?
BB: Every week's a challenge. It's the National Football League; every week is a challenge.
