Each Friday, a member of the Buffalo Bills will provide his insight from the NFL's front lines. This week, linebacker Kawika Mitchell talks about adjusting to a different position for this week's game and the process of dissecting losses in the coaches' meetings. On Sunday the Bills take on the Cleveland Browns in Buffalo.
This week I'm switching over to middle linebacker from my usual outside position. After our last game, the coaches wanted to make an adjustment to hopefully spark the defence and do something different. Change things up a little bit to see if we can get a different performance from what we've gotten lately.
I just think the last game we had a lot of mental errors with people not being in the place they're supposed to be. It starts off simply: one person gets out of line, somebody tries to make up for it and then all of a sudden you've got a whole bunch of people making up for someone else's mistake.
We really need to improve our defence against the run, especially after seeing the Dolphins get that many rushing yards. We were not really getting pushed back physically; they were simply able to run because of our lack of focus and people not doing their jobs. If we can correct that, teams won't be able to get even close to as many yards as Miami got.
I'll have a lot to adjust to with my change in position. I'll have a lot more mentally to look at and a lot more talking that I'll have to do. But it's something that I enjoy doing, so it's not really that big of a deal to me. And with my past experience (at middle linebacker), they thought it made sense.
Stepping into my old position on the weak side will be Ashlee Palmer, my backup, making a start for the first time. He's one of our rookie linebackers so he'll have to step up, play well and play smart.
On the day after a loss like last Sunday's, we meet as a team and coach Jauron lets us know what he thinks about the game and how we need to get better. The defensive co-ordinator does the same. He tries to understand what was going on in our heads on the field. And he gives us an understanding of what was going on from his vantage point up in the box and we make corrections.
After that we go outside and walk through the corrections and start getting ready for the next game. When there are a lot of mistakes, like there were last week, the coach shows us a lot of film and certain plays we could have played better if such-and-such would have happened.
I think as a team we're actually a better team than we were last year. We're getting hit with some injuries right now, and it's definitely causing some trouble for us and hopefully we'll overcome that.
Correcting the mental part will be key as we prepare for the Browns. You have to line up right, you have to know your assignment and be ready for the physical part. Everybody in the league is talented, everybody's got a great ability. It's just a matter of having that mental focus and I think that's the No. 1 thing.
On a personal note, it's my birthday on Saturday. Every season when my birthday falls somewhere right on a game, I always try to have a good time. Let's hope that also comes with a win at home on Sunday.
