I wrote two articles so far this year that essentially led me to having to write this one. About a month ago, I penned a piece questioning the overall talent level of the Buffalo Bills’ defense. I referenced
defensive end Michael Hoecht as a player soon to return that might provide a boost. Perhaps you remember what I wrote back in March about Hoecht and understand why I was excited about his return. You don’t recall?
I cited Hoecht’s versatility with the Los Angeles Rams and felt he might be able to add an element of chaos to the defense like Lorenzo Alexander did during the beginning of Sean McDermott’s tenure with the Bills. Alexander was famous for playing any position on the line or linebacker. That ability to keep defenses guessing was a huge facet in team success.
Did Hoecht live up to the hype in his debut? Indeed.
The hips don’t lie
If we’re looking to see whether Hoecht fulfills the multi-tool role that Alexander embodied, let’s keep track of Hoecht’s usage. Here he’s a right defensive end aligned wide-ish from the left tackle. Hoecht was able to attack the play untouched, but had to try and determine which direction the ball was going.
I don’t mind the change of direction to discourage a bump to the outside, but I note that I don’t love the hips as Hoecht does so. By turning the hips he’s prepping to run to the sideline.
Why don’t I love that? Taron Johnson was out there to help clean that up. Hoecht’s hips turning that way meant it was also harder to change back to the inside like he needed to in order to help with the tackle. More time in the system might help Hoecht have better presence with where help is. Let’s be clear too, this wasn’t a fatal flaw on the play, either.
A change of pace
This wasn’t a dominant rep, but I do consider it a good one. Hoecht was lined up in front of the tight end out of the left defensive end position, so we’re already seeing some versatility. Additionally, Hoecht tried to go to his left (our right) to prevent the play from heading outside. As soon as the ball flowed center, Hoecht flowed back to it. There was also a little bit of a hold on the play, but nothing so bad that I want to yell at the refs.
Double the fun
Here, Hoecht was now playing defensive tackle so let’s just get to what would normally be my summary. In his first appearance with the Bills, Hoecht played aaaaaaaallllllll over the line. Standing, hand in the dirt. Wide 9, 3-tech, 5-tech, all the techs pretty much.
On this play he stood up two offensive linemen to allow his teammates to go to work. The collapsed pocket was likely a factor in the throw going astray. I was hoping Michael Hoecht would unlock the chaos defense in Buffalo again, and in game one I was not disappointed.
Deep impact
I could have selected a handful of plays to illustrate my main point. Hoecht was getting good push and even when stood up like he was here proved able to wriggle around and discourage an escape. Hoecht maintained depth despite going back and forth. I chose this play because Hoecht is so ecstatic about his teammate’s success.
Strip Sack
Like above, I could have chose a couple plays for my final highlight. I like the push on this one, the use of the hand to lift his opponent’s up to gain a leverage advantage, the swat to get the ball, and once again the excitement on the play.
