While the Buffalo Bills' offense garnered much of the attention in the team's first two training camp sessions, the defense -- particularly the team's strong front four -- is boning up on the intricacies of Jim Schwartz's newly installed schematic.
A season after posting the second-most sacks in the league, the Bills defensive squad will now try to replicate its feverish style from a year ago in a completely different style, one that will rely even more heavily on its talent up front.
Defensive lineman Mario Williams said via the team's website Tuesday that transition still has a little ways to go.
"We’re starting to grasp it, there’s still some hiccups here and there but that’s going to happen in general," Williams said. "But as of now we feel pretty comfortable with it. It’s just a matter of understanding how it goes against certain things that we’ve seen and then knowing what we can take advantage of and capitalize on."
Williams was healthy coming into July this offseason, a luxury he wasn't afforded last year. Despite the slow start in 2013, the three-time Pro Bowler still managed to lead the team with 13 sacks, finishing fourth overall in the league.
Coach Doug Marrone told reporters Tuesday Williams' spirits are the highest he's seen since his arrival at the beginning of last season.
"He’s energetic, running around, he looks great," Marrone said. "He’s having fun and I couldn’t be more excited about where he is.
"He’s running around, flying around, taking all the reps. It’s exciting because he’s a player, he’s a dominant type of player in this league. I know when I played against him, you’ve got to know where he is. He’s a matchup problem."
"He’s energetic, running around, he looks great," Marrone said. "He’s having fun and I couldn’t be more excited about where he is.
"He’s running around, flying around, taking all the reps. It’s exciting because he’s a player, he’s a dominant type of player in this league. I know when I played against him, you’ve got to know where he is. He’s a matchup problem."
