Marcus West needed nearly half a minute before he could answer the question Thursday.
Asked for one word to describe defensive tackle DaQuan Jones鈥 importance to the defense, the Buffalo Bills鈥 defensive line coach pondered long and hard.
鈥淔oundational.鈥 That鈥檚 the word West finally landed on.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the foundation of what this defense is about,鈥 West said of Jones. 鈥淣ot only being a one-technique and bringing the physicality, the get-off, the penetration, but the rush. He鈥檚 the closest one to the quarterback, to the ball, that affects the ball. But also, his veteran leadership is the foundation of what this defense is and what this defensive line is.鈥
Bills defensive tackle DaQuan Jones has 22 tackles and two sacks this season.
That answer provides everything you need to know about how important Jones will be for the Bills as they close out the regular season 鈥 and especially as they start the playoffs next month.
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鈥淚t took a minute because it鈥檚 the right word,鈥 West said, referring to his word 鈥 foundational. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough job. Defensive tackle is the only position on this field that has contact every play. You can鈥檛 avoid contact. It鈥檚 a tough job. It鈥檚 not to be taken lightly, and he does a phenomenal job at it.鈥
Jones signed a two-year contract extension with the Bills in the offseason that鈥檚 worth up to $16 million. The 33-year-old is in his 11th NFL season, and each day at practice, he is still is there at least 20 minutes early to work on the fundamentals of his position. That鈥檚 the type of leadership West was referring to.
鈥淭o lead a group of men 鈥 especially at this level, the NFL; we鈥檙e the best in the world at what we do 鈥 you have to earn respect and be a friend first, in my opinion,鈥 rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter said. 鈥淎ctually get the respect of the guys, listen to what they do, how they think and how they feel and get a better feel for who they are. That鈥檚 what he did with me. (He) actually figured out who I was as a person, what I relate to, what I react to, different things like that to help teach me best.鈥
Carter said Jones has been like that from the first day of spring practice in May.
鈥淣ever any hesitation. He was always jumping in, willing to help me, but it was always for the betterment of the team, betterment of me,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was never for, like, him showing he knows more than me, you know what I鈥檓 saying?鈥
Carter sits in front of Jones in the Bills鈥 defensive line meeting room, so not a day goes by that he鈥檚 not getting some kind of advice from his veteran teammates.
鈥淚 always call it his two cents, but not in a negative way,鈥 the rookie said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 helped improve my game tremendously, but more than that, he鈥檚 a friend. We鈥檝e become good friends. He takes care of me. I鈥檓 cool with his family. He鈥檚 brought me in, and it鈥檚 all love.鈥
As the defense鈥檚 one-technique tackle, Jones lines up on the outside shoulder of the center.
Bills coach Sean McDermott often mentions that the position is perhaps the most selfless on the defense. Jones鈥 job on a particular play might be to occupy blockers to free up others to make the play. Nevertheless, Jones鈥 numbers are down this year, and he鈥檚 aware of it.
Through 15 games, he has 22 tackles, two sacks, six quarterback hits and five tackles for loss. In just seven games last season 鈥 Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle that led to a lengthy stint on injured reserve 鈥 he had 16 tackles, 2陆 sacks, five quarterback hits and four tackles for loss.
鈥淧hysically, I feel good. had a slow start to the beginning of the season dealing with some nagging stuff, but other than that, I feel pretty good,鈥 Jones said. 鈥淚 know a lot of people are hung up on the numbers and they鈥檙e not there, but when you watch the film, I am doing what I am required to do in this defense. That鈥檚 all I can really say about that.鈥
West, his position coach, said he agreed.
鈥淒Q has done great. He鈥檚 been disruptive,鈥 West said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been consistently disruptive. Whenever we start with our keys and our fundamentals, we start with the guy who is closest to the ball. 鈥 The first thing we cover, is the one-technique, because that is the guy who affects the play the most, because he鈥檚 the closest to the ball, to the quarterback.鈥
With just two games remaining in the regular season 鈥 starting with the home finale Sunday at Highmark Stadium against the New York Jets 鈥 two clear problem areas have emerged for the defense: Stopping the run and getting off the field on third down.
The Bills are tied for 29th in the NFL on third down, allowing conversions 44.44% of the time.
As for stopping the run, the Bills rank 24th in yards allowed per rush (4.62) 鈥 but they have shown they can stop the run at times. Their 48-42 win over Detroit was a good example of that.
鈥淚f we can kind of remember what we did in that game, it took all 11. I know a lot of people like to throw D-linemen in there just because your hand is in the dirt, but at the end of the day, to stop the run or even to affect the passer, it takes all 11 men,鈥 Jones said. 鈥淚f the quarterback has all day, he鈥檚 going to pick the best secondary apart. ... Same thing in the run game: No matter who you have up front, you have to have all 11 guys doing their job, fitting where they need to fit. All 11 of us have to rally to the ball. If we all get on the same page and execute at a high level, we鈥檒l be just fine.鈥
With two weeks left in the regular season, the Bills and Ravens look like overwhelming favorites to hold the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in the AFC playoffs. Should each of them win on wild-card weekend, Baltimore will visit Buffalo in the divisional round. That means the Buffalo run defense will be challenged by Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and the rest of a Ravens offense that looked Super Bowl-caliber in a 31-2 win over the Texans on Christmas Day.
If the Bills and Ravens do collide, the Bills will need the absolute best version of Jones.
鈥淚鈥檓 doing what I鈥檓 told to do. I鈥檓 doing what the defense wants me to do,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to do it to the best of my ability. I can always keep on improving, keep trying to get better, and that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 doing, but I feel great going into the playoffs. Just trying to do the job that is required of me to go out there and execute at a high level.鈥
