ORCHARD PARK — Bobby Babich managed to field questions for 25 minutes without saying much. He’s mastered the art of using a lot of words to reveal very little.
The Buffalo Bills can only hope his defense is just as stingy this year.
Babich’s first year as Buffalo’s defensive coordinator was uneven. The Bills ranked 11th in points allowed and 17th in total defense, numbers that weren’t terrible but still didn’t meet the standard set by the unit under coach Sean McDermott.
The Bills allowed 20 points or fewer nine times, including a regular-season matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, while finishing third with 32 takeaways. But the Bills were also gashed for 400 yards five times and gave up at least 30 points four times, including in the AFC championship game to the Chiefs, who had scored 30 points twice all season.
In response, the Bills overhauled their defensive personnel during the offseason. The group was infused with seven new veterans and a splash of youth by using six of their nine draft picks on defensive players, while also adding three new assistant coaches.
Although Babich says every starting job is up for grabs, injuries are the only way players like Terrel Bernard, Matt Milano, Ed Oliver and Greg Rousseau will lose their spots. But the Bills have created competition with their offseason moves in hopes of rejuvenating what was a top-10 defense five times in six years from 2018-2023.
“Competition is the best breeder of success,” Babich said. “… Success is an awful teacher. With success, maybe there’s some content that sets in. But failure is the best teacher in my opinion. The whole goal is for our failures in practice translate to make sure on game day that those failures don’t happen.”
It’s too early to tell because linemen can’t bang around and practices are a controlled environment, but the Bills have shown a more active defense during the first two weeks of voluntary minicamp. They are getting their hands on the ball, whether it be knocking down passes at the line of scrimmage or deflecting passes in the secondary.
The Bills could use more of that from defensive linemen after getting only 12 batted balls last year after 21 apiece the previous two seasons, with 13 coming from A.J. Epenesa alone. But what the Bills need the most is to get their hands on quarterbacks more frequently.
Buffalo had 16 fewer sacks in 2024 compared to 2023 and they were 1-4 when they didn’t get at least two sacks. Subsequently, the Bills were 9-1 when they recorded multiple takeaways and 4-3 when they had one or fewer.
The Bills blitzed on 19.1% of pass plays, which was 27th in the NFL and more than 4% lower than in 2023. Some of that can be attributed to the Bills not being as stable in coverage as they have been under McDermott and that forced them to rush with four more often.
In recent years, McDermott has shed his blitz-happy roots in favor of rushing four and limiting big passing plays. But not only did the Bills have issues consistently generating sacks but they gave up three passing plays of at least 50 yards after allowing four in the previous three seasons combined.
The Bills also had an unusual year in which they got near the quarterback at a high rate, but hit him at a low rate. Buffalo was the only team to rank in the top-10 in pressure percentage, but not sacks or quarterback knock-down percentage.
“There’s a lot of things we did really well. I don’t want to take anything away from our guys,” Babich said. “… The overall consistency in our approach, in our execution and really making sure no matter who we’re playing, certain things stay the same. I need to make sure I do that as the leader of the defense.”
Perhaps competition can elevate some of the veterans and the three rookie defensive linemen drafted can produce an added punch. But training camp will begin with some question marks looming.
Joey Bosa, the team’s most high-profile free agent acquisition, injured his calf before minicamps began and likely won’t return until training camp while already saddled with durability concerns. The two other free agents, Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi, won’t play the first six games due to performance-enhancing drug suspensions.
Meanwhile, fourth-round pick Deone Walker is dealing with a persistent back injury that has limited his practice time thus far.
Then there are the veterans with questions. Can Rousseau finally hit double-digit sacks after signing an $80 million extension in March? Can Oliver bounce back after a disappointing three-sack season?
Can DaQuan Jones rebound from a lackluster 2024 campaign? And how will the rotation shake out during the first six games? How will it look once Week 7 hits?
Doing enough to make the final roster out of training camp is no longer enough to keep a job throughout the season. Last year Casey Toohill became the first defensive lineman to be released mid-season after making the roster in Week 1, but someone else could join the list this year.
“I know my abilities, I know what I’m capable of doing, so if I’m trying to look at somebody else play, I’ll be missing out on my own,” second-year defensive end Javon Solomon said. “… People look at it as competition — which it is at the end of the day — but we can all grow together. And then we can just go out there and kick ass together.”