When the Bills announced Chan Gailey as their new head coach Buffalo's offensive players were understandably enthused to have a proven offensive mind as the new leader of their team. Surprisingly, a host of Buffalo's defensive players were also encouraged by the hire.
Defensive end Chris Kelsay and defensive tackle Kyle Williams speak on a regular basis in the offseason and liked what they heard in the press conference last week.
"I did speak with Kyle and he's always interested in what we're doing as I am," said Kelsay. "We're very impressed, very excited."
Kelsay, who spends the majority of the offseason in Buffalo, stopped by Gailey's office late last week to meet him.
"He invited me in to sit down with him for a couple of minutes and it's very evident to me that he's going to take the bull by the horns and do everything he can to get this thing turned around," said Kelsay. "As a player that's exciting because I'm going on eight years and it hasn't happened yet. We've had some great guys around here that we've enjoyed working with, but it's about winning games and we've lost too many."
What's left players like Kelsay and Williams all the more anxious now is the fact that they're still waiting on a clear direction as to the team's defensive approach.
"We're all chomping at the bit to see what's going to happen in terms of whether we're going to be in a 4-3 or a 3-4," said Kelsay. "It's our livelihood and we know the nature of the business is different people think differently."
For now the veteran defensive end is encouraged by what he does know, which is Buffalo's offense will have an experienced offensive mind putting the team's attack together.
"We've got phenomenal guys on our offense," he said. "You look at what Fred Jackson did this year and Lee Evans, the list goes on. To tailor make an offense that uses everybody is difficult I'm sure. You can't keep everybody happy, but we have guys that I think can be very productive moving the ball, keep the chains moving and score a lot of points.
"As a defensive guy that's what you dream of, as few snaps as possible, staying fresh and allowing your playmakers to make plays. It all fits together and he's had success everywhere he's been so I'm looking forward to what he does with our offense."
And though the direction that the defense will take has not come into focus yet, Kelsay is buoyed by the fact that the direction of the franchise has.
"I just get the impression that these two guys are the ones that are going to make all the football decisions," said Kelsay of Gailey and GM Buddy Nix. "You've got two guys and knowing they're on the same page and everybody is rowing in the same direction it makes things a lot easier to deal with. The decision making isn't quite as complex. In this business all the decisions are hard, but speaking with Buddy and coach Gailey you can tell that these guys are cut from the same cloth and are completely focused on getting this thing back in order."
