ORCHARD PARK, N. Air Max 1 Baratas .Y. -- Buffalos notoriously long, harsh winters have their advantages as far as Jim Schwartz is concerned. The nasty weather that stretched well into April provided the Bills new defensive co-ordinator an additional excuse to stay indoors and become more familiar with his players and staff. "One of the good things about being here in Buffalo is the weather was so bad that we had plenty of time as coaches to stay together," Schwartz said with a laugh, following a voluntary minicamp practice this week. "When the snow was rolling and it was 5 degrees outside, we were holed up in the room watching all their stuff from last year." It was an invaluable experience for the defensive-minded specialist, who finds himself back in his element in Buffalo a few months after losing his job following a five-year stint as the Detroit Lions head coach. "You can spin coaching changes any way you want. The one thing I would say is the players do have a clean slate," Schwartz said. "They have to prove themselves. And Im in the same boat. Ive got to prove myself all over again. Its exciting. Thatll bring out the best in players. Itll bring out the best in coaches." Filling the vacancy after Mike Pettine left to take over the Cleveland Browns, Schwartz inherits a Bills defence that began shedding its once-porous and passive reputation by emerging as the teams strength last season. While Buffalo (6-10) struggled on offence in large part because of rookie quarterback EJ Manuels inconsistencies and injuries, the defence finished 10th in the NFL in yards allowed -- the units best ranking in nine years. The Bills also finished second in the league with 23 interceptions and a franchise-record 57 sacks. And they had four defenders earn Pro Bowl selections, including tackle Marcell Dareus, who was added as an injury replacement. The only area of concern was Buffalos inability to stop the run. The Bills gave up 150 or more yards rushing six times, and finished 28th in allowing an average 129 net yards rushing per game. Schwartz has a strong track record in devising schemes to stop the run. During his eight seasons as Tennessees defensive co-ordinator, the Titans finished sixth or better in rushing yards allowed six times from 2001-08. Its on Schwartz to build on that success with a unit that features a few new wrinkles at linebacker, where the team added Brandon Spikes and Keith Rivers in free agency, and was unable to re-sign three-time Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd. Schwartz is Buffalos fourth defensive co-ordinator in four seasons. He doesnt anticipate a difficult transition, even though hes making the switch to a 4-3 style of defence, and his philosophy is considered less aggressive than Pettines pressure-the-passer approach. Schwartz is keeping much of the same play-calling terminology. And he said the switch to four linemen and three linebackers shouldnt be regarded as significant, because his and Pettines defences share similar elements. Veteran defensive tackle Kyle Williams doesnt foresee much change in the Bills approach. "No, were not going to be read-and-react. Were going to attack guys," Williams said. "Now, if we do it with four rushers, five rushers or six, thatll have to be game-planned. But were going to be on the move. And were going to attack." Spikes liked what hes seen after two weeks of minicamp practices. "Weve still got a long way to go, but if we can take these necessary steps, I think we can be great this season and shock the world," said Spikes, who was signed in part because of his reputation as a run-stuffer during his first four seasons in New England. "I take that personally. If you can stop the run, you can make them one-dimensional," Spikes said. "I think this season therell be some eye-openers." Nike Air Max 1 España . Both moves were announced Tuesday. The Titans had waived Matthews on Saturday when they promoted wide receiver Michael Preston from the practice squad. Nike Air Max 1 Rebajas .com) - Nicolas Colsaerts fired an 11-under 60 on Thursday and grabbed a 3-stroke lead with the opening round of the Portugal Masters suspended by rain. http://www.airmax1baratas.es/ . Old times for a defence that has looked just plain old recently? "No," safety Ryan Clark said. "We used to be much better than that.Can world champions Germany win Euro 2016 or will they get found out in the latter stages of the competition? They produced a comfortable, if not entirely convincing 2-0 victory against Ukraine at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille on Sunday evening.Despite keeping 68 per cent possession and creating the early chances, Germany also showed rare vulnerabilities which Ukraine were unable to exploit, but other teams will. Germany off to strong start Shkodran Mustafi and Bastian Schweinsteiger secure win in Euro 2016 opener Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi powered home the opener and then Bastian Schweinsteiger came off the bench to score his first international goal in five years and seal three points.With games against Poland and Northern Ireland to come, coach Joachim Loew will fully expect his side to make progress.Here, we explain why Germany are seen as genuine title contenders and why some may see them as an ailing force.Kroos controlGermany, eyeing their fourth Euro triumph but first since 1996, looked towards their midfield maestro Toni Kroos to unlock the Ukrainian defence. Germanys midfielder Toni Kroos (C) was instrumental in midfield Kroos was at the heart of much of their attacking threat and played the game at his own metronomic, unhurried fashion, making 130 touches over 90 minutes.The Real Madrid man played in a deeper, central role, wary of protecting an inexperienced backline as well as unlocking defences when going forward.Passing masterclassKroos came second in most passes made in La Liga last season and he has the highest pass accuracy rate (92 per cent). It was no surprise to see him dominate the middle of the park. Kroos provided a passing masterclass on Sunday night in Lille He will be aiming to become the complete German midfielder at Euro 2016, dominating with and without the ball. His range of passing and thought of passing is unique.The cultured Kroos found himself as the deepest central midfielder behind Mesut Ozil, but was ably assisted by the Arsenal star when Germany looked to counter.Attacking qualitiesHead coach Joachim Low picked a frightening front four with World Cup winners Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and Mario Gotze supported by Wolfsburgs Julian Draxler.They have never lost their opening game at the European Championship finals and the German juggernaut marched on with another victory. Bastian Schweinsteiger made sure of the win in stoppage time It was understandable that Ukraine were concerned about their opponents ability to counter-attack so much so that they were happy to sit deep and squeeze the ball, rather than allow space in between the backline.Mustafis opener meant the Germans were always strong favourites to go on and claim all three points having won 18 of their last 19 games after being in front at half-time. Mario Gotze failed to make much of an impact as the false No 9 The Germans will worry if they progress to the latter stages of the tournament with Gotze playing as the false No 9 and no recognised striker.They will look to Spain, who have won tournaments without a recognised striker, but their ball retention is not the same. So can they rely on Mario Gomez, Lukas Podolsski and Muller to bring them glory?Mustafi on the riseGerman goalscorer Mustafi was released by then Everton boss David Moyes in 2012 after making just one substitute appearance during his time at Goodison Park. Air Max 1 Comprar Online. The 24-year-old moved to Italy to get his career back on track and while at Sampdoria he broke into the Germany national team. Shkodran Mustafi (C) opened the scoring It has been a remarkable last four years for Mustafi since leaving Everton, with the player making his competitive debut at the finals in Brazil as Germany went on to win their first major trophy since 1996.The time I was at Everton, I had to step on because I was not playing, said Mustafi. I needed to play so I asked David Moyes to release me. I needed to play to grow up.Everton were really professional with me and said it wasnt a problem to give me away because I wasnt playing. They always thought about the players, not themselves. Shkodran Mustafi was released by Everton but is now well established at Valencia That is unusual. They wanted to give the players the best opportunity and, for me, that was to move on and go somewhere where I could play.I took a step back to go to Serie B in Italy to make two steps forward and now I am here.Mustafi has since moved to Valencia where he has established himself in their first team and after scoring his first international goal in only his 11th appearance for his country, he has given Low a selection problem ahead of Poland on Thursday.Defensive headache?Low opted for the experience of Benedikt Howedes and Mustafi in a makeshift defence despite the fact the Germans started with 10 World Cup Winners.The pair were part of the squad that won the World Cup two years ago and were preferred to Joshua Kimmich and Emre Can in a defence ravaged by injuries, but you wouldnt know. Jerome Boateng made an amazing goal-line clearance Mats Hummels was only fit enough for a place on the bench, whilst Antonio Rudiger was forced to pull out the squad after suffering cruciate ligament damage last week. Schalkes Howedes started at right-back with Valencias Mustafi partnering Jerome Boating at the heart of the defence.Full-backs Howedes and Jonas Hector offered little pace on the flanks but their selection was aimed at slowing down Ukraines dangerous wingers Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka. Germany have a powerful squad, but do they lack an attacking threat from the bench? And when Ukraine did break through the backline, they had to contend with the giant frame of Manuel Neuer between the sticks and the remarkable defensive abilities of Boateng.Dont forget to follow our minute-by-minute commentary of the game between Germany and Poland through our live blog on skysports.com/football, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportsfootball.Let us know your views on Germany by signing in with Facebook below and sending us a message.By purchasing a Sky Sports Day Pass for £6.99 or Sky Sports Week Pass for £10.99, you can enjoy access to all seven Sky Sports channels and watch on a TV with a NOW TV Box or on a range of devices. Also See: Germany off to strong start As it happened Sky Sports Euro 2016 predictor Muller: Tournament specialist ' ' '