After cutting four cornerbacks to get under the 53-man roster limit last weekend, Buffalo had just four healthy full-time cornerbacks on their roster with the season opener a week away. The Bills made quick work to add a cornerback who fit their scheme after they awarded CB off waiversfrom Minnesota. Now Burton is just trying to blend in as quickly as possible to contribute sooner rather than later.
For Burton he went from playing against the Bills on Aug. 16th to playing for them on Sept. 1st. A turn of events that he did not anticipate.
"It was a little bit of an adjustment I can't lie, playing with one team and against this team two weeks ago," Burton told Buffalobills.com. "Everything changed in an instant. Within a couple of hours I was heading on a flight. I think I had two hours to pack and get up here on a flight, but it's a great opportunity for me and I'm glad to be here."
Burton (6-0, 185) is a tall and long corner, something both head coach Doug Marrone and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine covet in their boundary cover men.
"Size and he has press coverage ability," said Marrone succinctly when asked what was appealing about Burton's skill set.
As an NFL prospect out of Utah, Burton was seen as a corner who excelled in press coverage, but that wasn't the main calling card of Minnesota's Tampa-2 scheme under head coach Leslie Frazier. For Burton it was a big change in approach.
"Coming out of school and heading down to Minnesota it was a 180 of what I learned," Burton said. "Going down there and learning the Tampa-2 I had to learn how to re-route and do different things in the scheme of the defense that I've never ever done. I was just used to getting on the line with guys and running with guys and that's all we did at Utah."
That's why Burton after watching two days of film in Buffalo is excited about how his skill set will translate to the Bills defensive scheme.
"What I was strong at was man to man press coverage," said Burton. "That's what we play here. There's a lot of it here and I learned that (Monday). So now I feel like I'm kind of back in my element more now that I'm here and able to get up on the line and put my hands on guys. I know that's what I'm best at. I'm a big, long corner and I can run with any receiver. It's to my advantage now."
Now the challenge is familiarizing himself with Mike Pettine's scheme and terminology.
"I'm in (secondary assistant) coach Samson (Brown's) hip pocket right now trying to get the defense down and trying to get extra work in after practice and before trying to get the defense down," said Burton. "As far as the atmosphere I'm trying to get acclimated to the tempo of the practice. So just getting acclimated to the coaches and the players and getting to know everybody is going to take some time, but I can adjust. I'll be fine."
