Last season, the Buffalo Bills’ defense recorded just 12 interceptions and forced 11 fumbles, recovering only six of them. For comparison, coach Sean McDermott’s defense with the Carolina Panthers tallied 17 interceptions and recovered 10 fumbles. Through the team’s first week of training camp, defenders have been attacking the ball and looking to knock it loose.

Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier held the same position during the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and those defenses totaled 25 and 23 turnovers, respectively.

During a press conference prior to the Bills’ fourth training camp practice, Frazier explained that forcing turnovers and getting the ball back for the offense was something that he wanted players to focus on.

“For us, the takeaway part of the game on defense is so important. Trying to set our offense up to score or scoring on defense, so it’s something we are emphasizing every day,” Frazier told the media prior to Sunday’s practice at St. John Fisher College. “Just getting that mindset of taking the ball away, but not at the expense of getting the ball carrier down.”

Rookie linebacker Matt Milano echoed Frazier’s comments on the importance of hustling and making plays on the ball after he read a route and intercepted a pass from T.J. Yates during drills.

The Boston College product said that running to the football is something that coach Frazier stresses the importance of and defenders are held accountable when reviewing film.

“We keep track in the meeting room of who’s running to the ball, and who’s not running to the ball. It’s a priority to get the ball,” Milano said.

Frazier went on to explain that while he wants his defense to force turnovers, ensuring that tackles are made remain a top priority.

“We’re always talking about the first guys getting there and making the tackle, the next guy coming in and trying to strip the football and get it out, but we definitely want to secure the tackle,” said Frazier. “We don’t want to get away from taking the ball away. That’s a big deal in our league and we all know that.”

Missed tackles were a big issue for the Bills’ defense under Rex Ryan’s tutelage and many of them proved to be costly. While Buffalo will have to prove that they don’t make those same mistakes during live-game situations, it’s a positive sign that the team is stressing these fundamentals early in training camp.