Deone Walker's Selfless Comments Show Bills Are Buying Into Jim Leonhard's Defense

Jim Leonhard is focused on building a team defense and Deone Walker's recent comment proves the players are buying in.

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Deone Walker reacts to getting a sack with OLB Greg Rousseau. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Buffalo Bills won easily in their preseason opener, earning a 29-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers. It was an impressive showing, especially for the defense, which looked ready for the regular season against Carolina.

It was the first time we got to see Jim Leonhard's defense in action and they forced the Panthers' starting team to leave the field after three consecutive three-and-outs. One player who especially stood out among the starters was Deone Walker.

The second-year defensive tackle was expected to shine under Leonhard and that's what he did this weekend. Walker had three tackles, one tackle for loss, and one sack. As impressive as that was, it was his comments after the game that show how much he is buying into the defense Leonhard is teaching.

"I can't look at myself. I look at the team. The team looks good. We look like we're firing on all cylinders. The defense in itself looks crazy at times. A lot of those times we can see that it's all coming together. You can literally see what it's supposed to look like and when it's supposed to look like it," Walker said when asked about his performance on Saturday.

What Jim Leonhard expects from his defense

Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard visits with players during Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

These comments from Walker highlight exactly what Leonhard wants to see from his defense. When hired, he said he wants this defense to be a "team defense" that attacks and forces offenses to react to them.

“It is team defense, but we’re going to cause issues for offense and we’re going to force them to react to us. I don’t want to counterpunch. We want to be a defense that is constantly evolving and growing throughout a game and throughout a season,” Leonhard said during his opening presser via Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. “I’m big on flexibility and being able to play to your best players and force offenses to try to find your issues and to have to deal with their own problems, not always being reactive.”

Leonhard has also been adamant about having players learn what others around them are doing. Terrel Bernard touched on this when he said Leonhard wants them to know "how all the parts are moving and who you’re working with," believing a broader understanding of everyone's job will make for a better defense overall.

Saturday was our first glimpse of this as the Buffalo defense moved as a complete unit, rather than as a group of individuals looking for their own success. Walker's comments afterward suggest that was by design.