Second-year pro excited about switching defensive scheme

Sometimes change is good. For Aaron Maybin, change could be for the better.

The Buffalo Bills sure hope so.

With the Bills leaving the 4-3 defense in favor of the 3-4 scheme, Maybin is making the conversion from defensive end to outside linebacker. After being grounded for most of his rookie year, the position switch just might be what Maybin needs to help his career take off.

“I’ve been telling people for weeks I couldn’t be more excited about this season coming up with the new defensive scheme that we’re running and with the personnel that we’re bringing in, that we’ve already brought in and just the guys on the team that we already have,” Maybin said this week at the Bills’ fieldhouse, where the team is conducting its voluntary offseason conditioning program. “I think it’s going to be great.”

The Bills drafted Maybin in the first round last year because of the dynamic pass-rushing skills he displayed at Penn State. But he didn’t get on the field enough to make an impact.

Averaging only 14 snaps a game, Maybin didn’t record a sack and was involved in just 18 tackles. Not exactly what you would expect from the 11th overall pick.

Playing time and better statistics could be in the offing for Maybin in the 3-4, with its multiple fronts capable of causing confusion for opposing offenses.

“I think the system is perfect for me,” he said. “When you run a 4-3 package you’re a little bit more limited in certain things you can do from a blitz perspective and certain looks you can give. When you run a 3-4 defense it’s really hard for [offenses] to match up with a lot of the guys, especially when you have a lot of the athletes that we have on this team.

“I think the fact that you never really know where the blitzes are coming from, where the pressure is going to be coming from, just from an offensive standpoint it makes it a lot more difficult.”

It shouldn’t be difficult for Maybin to make the transition to outside linebacker. The Penn State defense he played in had some 3-4 looks and many NFL teams projected him as an outside linebacker going into last year’s draft. Read full article at BuffaloNews.com