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Behind Enemy Lines: Five questions with a Buffalo Bills beat reporter

September 23, 2017

Earlier this week, Bill’s beat writer Nick Wojton reached out to me for my take on the Broncos in exchange for a beer in Buffalo. I obliged (read here), but decided to trade the beer for his take on the Bills.

So, here, enjoy the fruits of my generous sacrifice.

Broncos fans are very familiar with OC Rick Dennison, how has he been received in Buffalo so far?

Wojton: Dennison is having quite the up-and-down experience in Buffalo. He came in, and many believed his system was tailor-made for Tyrod Taylor. Since then, it’s gone in the opposite direction.

This past week he said a few questionable things, including Taylor “kept the team in the game” last week, despite not scoring a touchdown. LeSean McCoy was also completely shut down against Carolina. That’s not all on Dennison, but many are also calling for the team to dial up more passing plays.

Again, that’s not all on him, since Buffalo is very limited in terms of playmakers, but it’s going to be interesting to see where Dennison’s future goes. In addition, Buffalo reportedly wanted Mike McCoy, Denver’s OC, at first.

With Buffalo tackle play seemingly struggling early on, would you expect the Bills to double-team one or both of the Broncos edge rushers?

Wojton: I would expect to see that, at least on the right side with Jordan Mills. Buffalo drafted Dion Dawkins with the hope that he’d overtake Mills on the right side. Dawkins didn’t earn it in training camp and now with left tackle Cordy Glenn having injuries to both his ankles, the Bills are sort of stuck rotating Dawkins in on the left.

If the Bills do (blank) they have a good chance to win on Sunday.

Wojton: Pass the ball.

But not exactly for Tyrod’s-sake. Week 1 and week 2 were complete opposites. Week 1, Buffalo saw Taylor surpass 200-yards passing which really opened things up for McCoy. Buffalo will go where Shady takes them on offense. But last week, Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, and the rest of the Panthers completely took McCoy out of the game, and Buffalo’s offense was…bad. Not exactly an easy test with Von Miller and Brandon Marshall & Co. this week, either.

You mentioned the Buffalo defensive line being a bright spot so far, what have they done well?

Wojton: They’re really just getting after it in all phases of the game. Josh McCown was only sacked once during the opener, but he was limited to very quick passes. I would bet Cam Newton is still sore, too. They pulled Cam down six times, something they never did when Rex Ryan was running a more complicated defense. Most players credit the switch from a 3-4 back to a 4-3, making things more simple as a reason for the success.

Can’t sleep on their run defense either. Allowing only 57.5 yards-per-game. Opposing RBs have only averaged 2.5 yards-per-carry.

If it wasn’t for Buffalo having maybe one of the league’s worst offenses, their defensive line would get a lot of spotlight. They’re very good.

What’s your score prediction?

Wojton: Buffalo’s defense has played lights out for two weeks in a row. I think they keep it close, but Denver pulls it out. 23-10.

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