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When the Buffalo Bills inside linebackers break down their huddle, they do with a certain acronym: BITL.
Pronounced to rhyme with “brittle,” the linebackers hope to be anything but. Instead, they want to be the “best in the league.”
Rookie linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr caught on to the self-described “high standard” of the group quickly.
“Everybody's pretty locked in,” Elarms-Orr said. “Everybody wants to do their best. … We always break down on BITL – best in the league. So, we always want to strive to be the best.”
With the Bills gearing up for the season, there will be plenty on the plates of their inside linebackers.
More than once this summer, as the team transitioned to defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's 3-4 look, general manager Brandon Beane noted that he had to go thinner at the position to make room on the roster for other players.
But Beane's ability to roll with four active-roster inside linebackers and two practice-squad players speaks to his trust of the players on hand – particularly at a position that demands a lot.
Bills linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr celebrates a sack against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of their preseason finale Aug. 27 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
“I think it's a lot of communication, a lot of really understanding of the scheme and knowledge of the game,” said Terrel Bernard, the longest-tenured of the group. “There's a lot of different things that they ask us to do, and then a lot of a lot of different roles that we play.
“So, I think that's the main thing, is understanding the scheme, understanding your role in the defense, and then, at the end of the day, getting to the football.”
The four inside linebackers – Bernard, Dorian Williams, Elarms-Orr and Joe Andreessen – pride themselves on their versatility. The Bills also brought back veteran Shaq Thompson to the practice squad, where he joins Keonta Jenkins, who was active for three games as a rookie last season.