Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich addresses the media ahead of Thursday's training camp practice at St. John Fisher University.
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00:00Bobby, from what we saw on Tuesday,
00:04Vaughn Miller had a great practice
00:06getting after the quarterback.
00:07I know it was a third and long day,
00:08but how have you seen him progress
00:10over the last week?
00:11Vaughn's a pro.
00:12Vaughn's a pro.
00:13He goes about his business
00:16in the manner of exactly what he is.
00:18He's a veteran.
00:20He's had a lot of success in this league.
00:22The thing I'll say about Vaughn
00:24and all these players in the league
00:28that are to the stature of Vaughn Miller
00:31when you talk about his past accolades
00:33and those type of things,
00:34they're there in the position they're at
00:36because of that extreme competitiveness
00:38and conscientiousness.
00:40And he knows what he wants it to look like.
00:44He wants to help this team win a Super Bowl
00:46more than anything,
00:48and that's clear from discussions
00:50and the way he goes about his business.
00:52And, you know, it's a day-by-day process,
00:56as I say all the time.
00:57We just got to continue to stack days
00:58and get ourselves ready for when the time comes
01:02that we're actually going to keep a record.
01:05How concerning is the safety situation now
01:08if you've got two guys week to week?
01:10This is the NFL.
01:12This is the NFL, and next man up.
01:15That's what it is.
01:16You know, I learned a long time ago,
01:18and specifically here in Buffalo,
01:20when I was coaching the safety,
01:21things like this happened all the time.
01:23You guys might not remember,
01:24but guys would be in, guys would be out.
01:26It's what it is.
01:27Next guy in.
01:28That's why we get paid to have the guys.
01:31It's a lot easier to coach guys that are veterans
01:33and have kind of established themselves
01:35and have a lot of reps.
01:36And Sean said it before that, like,
01:38we're going to take great pride
01:41in really weighing ourselves as coaches
01:45on the development of the guys with less repetitions
01:47or the opportunity for a backup to come in and play
01:51when things like this happens to play at a high level.
01:53And that's what our jobs are as coaches.
01:56So no panic, no nothing.
01:58Next guy up, and we'll move forward.
02:01Whoever's available on the days we practice,
02:04we won't flinch.
02:05Is that why, what you just said,
02:07you get a guy like Kareem, a guy like Terrell,
02:09you know they've been in the league a little bit,
02:10they can adapt to different environments.
02:12Like, is that why you bring those guys in this time of year?
02:14Yeah, I mean, Brandon's looking just to fill our roster
02:18in the right way, you know.
02:20And I'll be honest with you,
02:21Kareem specifically is a guy that I've admired from afar
02:25all the years of me in the secondary
02:27and the way he plays the game
02:28and the way he goes about his business
02:30and, you know, those type of things.
02:32So that's kind of a side note on, you know, my view of Kareem.
02:35But in the end, Brandon's going to make the decisions
02:37that are best for us, and we're going to support him.
02:39And really happy those guys are here
02:41and we get an opportunity to work with them.
02:43When you have two safeties come in,
02:45after camp starts like Kareem,
02:47where do you start teaching them?
02:50Kindergarten.
02:52I mean, that's what it is.
02:54Just the nuances, like a guy like Kareem and even Terrell.
02:56Terrell's been in the league a while.
02:59And shoot, I remember doing him when he came out of Utah
03:02and identified him as a smart player.
03:05You know, a lot of guys that come out of Utah,
03:06I'll say Morgan Scali does a great job.
03:08Those guys are pretty schooled up when it comes to football.
03:10And, you know, you start, you kind of find,
03:14you start at the base level
03:16and you see how quickly they pick that up.
03:18And it's just a feel.
03:19It's like a teacher, right?
03:20You get a feel for your classroom and, oh, we can move on.
03:23You know, the pupils are really understanding
03:26what we're talking about.
03:27And there's a lot of check for understanding
03:29as far as our teaching goes.
03:31That's part of the process,
03:32and that's part of what Sean believes in.
03:34It's not just teaching,
03:35but we got to check for the understanding first
03:37before we can move on.
03:38What can Smoot do for you guys on the defensive line?
03:44I think the biggest thing,
03:45and I'll never put an expectation on a player
03:47of what to expect on tape and all that.
03:50I have an idea, but I'm not going to do that.
03:53But a veteran presence who's a smart football player
03:56who's seen a lot of football,
03:58guy that plays the game the right way,
04:00plays like he has a chip on his shoulder,
04:02and he probably does have a chip on his shoulder.
04:03Matter of fact, I know he does.
04:06And, you know, the expectation is that he brings that.
04:10Not that he gets this many sacks or this many tackles,
04:13this many TFLs, this many quarterback hits,
04:15but that he comes every day in a consistent manner
04:17in the way that, you know, we'd like him to show up to work.
04:21Back at safety, when you're in a situation like this,
04:24can you kind of tell us a little bit
04:25about how Cam Lewis kind of fits in
04:27and can play multiple versatile roles,
04:29especially when you need bodies at camp?
04:31Yeah, and Cam provides that value.
04:33Shoot, I don't even know.
04:34I told you guys I'm terrible at years.
04:35How many years has Cam been here?
04:37Six.
04:38So he's played a lot of different positions.
04:40He came in starting out, I believe, as a corner.
04:42That was six years ago.
04:43A corner and a nickel.
04:45Now he's kind of transitioned.
04:46You guys see the way Cam plays the game.
04:49I don't care what he's built like.
04:51You know, the guy plays the game the right way.
04:53He's a smart player.
04:54He's very intentional about his practices
04:56and the way he comes out here every day.
04:58And Cam's turned into a true pro and brings some value
05:01in a lot of different ways,
05:02not necessarily nickel and safety and corner
05:04and all kinds of different things he can do,
05:06but he does bring value to us
05:08in the way that he's a nice puzzle piece.
05:12Javon Solomon, what's been your impression
05:14of the way he approaches the game?
05:15He seems pretty mature for a rookie.
05:17Yeah, and I think you know how I'm going to answer this.
05:19I've answered the rookie question.
05:20I mean, rookie's a rookie.
05:21That doesn't mean they're doing well.
05:23That doesn't mean they're doing bad.
05:25There's still an adjustment to the way the NFL game works
05:28and the way we go about it and those type of things.
05:30But up until now, Javon's doing a nice job.
05:32There's a lot of room for growth.
05:35But Javon's a good football player.
05:37I mean, he's a good football player.
05:40He's a very good student, you know,
05:43not only with the coaches, but he uses his vets
05:45and is constantly picking their brain,
05:47and that's an impressive thing.
05:49But, you know, like every rookie,
05:50like every rookie you guys have asked about,
05:52he's got a long way to go,
05:54and I'm excited to see his growth
05:56with the amount of work he puts in.
05:58Lorian Williams is a pretty good size
06:00for a linebacker these days.
06:02Just how do you feel about his versatility to play
06:05strong side in a 4-3 front when required?
06:09What strong side?
06:10Well, be on the tight end side
06:14of a face, 4 down, 3 linebacker.
06:19Our linebackers, the best way I can answer this
06:21is our linebackers are all versatile.
06:23We're not...
06:27I think, you know,
06:30and I've talked about this in past years,
06:32but the NFL's going in a different manner.
06:34We've got to be good enough to stop the downhill run,
06:37and we've got to be good enough to play in space.
06:39So we are, you know,
06:43I think you've seen over the last couple years
06:45the way we've gone about it,
06:46and we need space players that can play physical,
06:48and that's a unique skill set,
06:49and we try to identify it,
06:50and Brandon's done a good job.
06:51So all our guys have to be able to do those things.
06:54Again, this should be a plug-and-play defense.
06:58A little bit that's on us as coaches
07:00to make sure these guys are ready to go,
07:01and a little bit's on the players.
07:03The more you can do,
07:04the more opportunity you're going to have to play.
07:06And then a pair of either that is,
07:07like, I don't know the numbers.
07:09I'd have to look it up,
07:10but maybe there's a little uptick in 13 personnel
07:14by offenses.
07:15I mean, Kansas City.
07:16But, you know,
07:18is it a challenge to practice
07:21base three linebacker sets in the NFL these days
07:26to get enough reps?
07:28Yeah, I mean, I think any time you're in a unique package,
07:30and I'll frame it a different way, right?
07:32Goal line.
07:34Goal line is going by the wayside.
07:36Teams are more spread out.
07:37You're getting more 11 personnel,
07:39maybe 12 personnel down there tighter in the red zone,
07:41even on the one or two-yard line.
07:42So, like, we're going to do our best
07:45to get enough reps at whatever package we are in
07:48to where we can master that to the best of our ability,
07:51and that's our job as coaches to identify that.
07:53And our staff does a great job of that,
07:55of they're constantly throwing things at me
07:59in a great way of,
08:01hey, we need to make sure we're getting enough of this,
08:03you know, this is my first time of doing it.
08:05We've got guys that have coordinated,
08:07guys that have coached at a high level,
08:09been in the league a long time,
08:11you know, your Owls and your Joe Dannas,
08:15and, you know, so those guys have been around it a lot,
08:19so they're great sounding boards and really good coaches,
08:22and I'm just lucky to have those guys
08:25to help me with those type of things.
08:27What was going to miss in important reps,
08:28in particular for a rookie?
08:30What's the challenge of keeping him up to speed
08:33with him not being on the field?
08:35Yeah, being creative in the ways we can keep his mental on point
08:38and, you know, finding different ways to make sure,
08:42although he's missing potentially some time here,
08:45is, you know, just making sure mentally he's staying in it.
08:48He's got the right makeup, we identify those guys,
08:51and, you know, he will, knowing Cole,
08:55he'll do everything that he needs to do
08:57to make sure he's still in it mentally,
08:59and I know Joe will keep him along those lines, too.
09:02How has Matt progressed since the last time
09:04that we talked to you?
09:05Yeah, he's doing a good job.
09:06Yeah.
09:07He's doing a good job.
09:08He's doing a good job day by day.
09:09He's doing a good job.
09:10Just keep stacking days, get a little bit better,
09:12a little bit better, a little bit better,
09:13and he'll be just fine.
09:14Bobby, if you can go back to what you said about,
09:16you know, it's almost like positionless defense.
09:19We've kind of done this for years.
09:21You go back to when you started almost 20 years ago.
09:23Right.
09:24Right, in college.
09:25Right.
09:26When did the transition happen?
09:27Back then, did you see this guy, was it like that?
09:29It was, no, that guy's a strong side.
09:30That guy's a weak side.
09:31That guy's a nickel.
09:32That guy's a safety.
09:33I mean...
09:34Yeah, that's a good question.
09:36Sal, so, really, the first time it happened was,
09:44I think Sean Payton is really good,
09:46and if you remember back when he was with the Saints,
09:48I was with Carolina in 11 and 12,
09:51really the way he does things is in a really,
09:54really smart way, and, like, it's different personnels,
09:57but people are in different spots,
09:59but it's really the same formation.
10:01You follow me?
10:02So, he could figure out if you were in base,
10:04what I'm going to do.
10:05He would be listening.
10:06They're going base.
10:07They're going nickel, and to the point,
10:09the guy we had here who was a really good nickel
10:11in the league, Captain Munnerlyn,
10:13we felt like he was tough enough,
10:14and for me specifically, that's when I first started to realize,
10:19like, oh, okay, and, you know,
10:21Sean teaching me those type of things,
10:23and, like, look, he's just doing the same stuff
10:25out of different personnel groupings, you know,
10:27and he's looking for match-ups, so, you know,
10:30that was the first time for me specifically when you're like,
10:32okay, and it was really the nickel position.
10:35I had to play like a linebacker.
10:37What have you seen out of AJ and Vanessa so far
10:39in this training camp, and what are you still looking for?
10:42AJ's doing a real nice job.
10:45He's focused and is showing that he wants to have a great year
10:52and help us win a Super Bowl.
10:54I mean, the thing with all these guys,
10:56and I'm going to keep saying I'm going to bore you guys to death,
10:58but is literally being able to stack days, right?
11:01We look at it as two ways.
11:03I tell the guys, you're either growing or you're dying
11:05a little bit every day.
11:06You're never staying the same, so the two sides of that is this.
11:10If you grew a little bit that day and you felt like, you know,
11:13you had a pretty good day, can you stack back-to-back days,
11:16and if you died a little bit in your game,
11:19well, that provides another opportunity for growth.
11:22So he's doing a good job of using that in a way that if he didn't have
11:29a great day, he's growing the next day, and he's really conscientious
11:32of the things that he needs to improve on,
11:36things we identified in the spring.
11:38And really, the thing about AJ right now, he's playing so selfless,
11:42you know, and that's really cool to see.
11:46Now two days of pads and Gable's first time wearing pads,
11:49what have you kind of seen from him in AJ's progression?
11:52Yeah, Gable's doing a nice job.
11:54I mean, you think about it, he's never put shoulder pads on before.
11:58We had a couple guys on the team, one of the coaches was joking around
12:01that I think we had two guys that have never worn shoulder pads.
12:05So he's done a nice job.
12:06He's got to continue to grow.
12:08He's extremely powerful, as we can all imagine,
12:11in a compact, more of a compact body.
12:16But he's very strong.
12:18He's very strong.
12:19He understands the leverage, obviously.
12:21We know that.
12:22He won a gold medal for leverage.
12:25Or two.
12:29No, he's doing a nice job, and I'm excited to see him in game action.
12:34Anything else?
12:35Let me just say this.
12:37She's embarrassed, but Kaylee Woodward, she does a great job.
12:39She's in charge of me, and that's not an easy job.
12:41So she's great.
12:43She's great.
12:44Thank you, guys.