Chan Gailey On Bills' Defensive Switch: "It's Easier To Find People"

When Buffalo Bills head coach Chan Gailey announced very early in his tenure that the team would be converting to a 3-4 defense, he and then-coordinator George Edwards made sure to repeatedly note that they'd be running alignments that fit their personnel. After two seasons in which the Bills ran more even front than odd, Gailey announced Monday that they'd be moving back to a base 4-3 under new coordinator Dave Wannstedt.

The Bills were not successful in importing sufficient 3-4 talent in that two-year experimental period, which Gailey acknowledged in Mondays press conference when he admitted that it's easier to find 4-3 personnel these days.

"It's easier to find people," Gailey said. "It's tougher to find people for the true 3-4 in a lot of ways, so it makes it a little bit easier to find some people from time to time to run a four-man front than it does a three-man front. It gets extremely hard to find those outside 'backers year in and year out; it gets tougher and tougher."

It had better be easier, because not only do the Bills need pass rushers, they now also need a starting-caliber strong-side linebacker. More on that later.