BEREA, Ohio -- Like the classic philosophical debate about the tree falling in a forest, with nary a set of human ears around to document its crash to earth, Buffalo Bills middle linebacker London Fletcher wondered aloud last week if the concussion which may have signaled the turnaround of the team's spotty run defense really counted.

There were, after all, very few earwitnesses in the vicinity of Fletcher's crushing collision with Cleveland Browns rookie tailback Billy Blanchard to vouch for its significance. But just the same, it occurred, and there is celluloid evidence to verify it.

	London Fletcher, left, had 149 tackles last season for the Bills.

Blanchard eschewed an off-tackle slant to bump the play to the outside. Fletcher all but untouched by Cleveland blockers, moved laterally to his right, already with his shoulders squared and parallel to the line of scrimmage in textbook hitting stance. The running back turned upfield, and the linebacker uncoiled like an agitated rattler and launched himself into the direction of the football, resulting in an ear-splitting splat.

For the record, there were maybe a couple dozen fans grazing on free grub in the tent the Browns had erected there for big-money patrons, who turned to examine the aftermath of a human train wreck. And there were perhaps five or six reporters who hurriedly pulled out pens and scribbled a notation onto steno pads. Oh, yeah, there was the clan of Buffalo defenders, much-maligned in 2002 for the dearth of such plays, who reveled in the hit.

"But I mean, hey, it was a practice, not even a scrimmage, so nobody's going to notice too much about it," said Fletcher, the undersized brick house of a hit man who relishes big, loud hits and often responds with, well, his big, loud mouth. "But the guys out there on the field, yeah, we know what's going on. We can feel it and it feels good."

That nebulous it to which Fletcher referred is the ability to stuff the run, an art form once taken for granted along the wind-swept plains of Western New York, but one that had disappeared over the past two seasons. From 1996-2000, the Bills statistically ranked in the top half of the NFL in defense versus the run and in the last three of those seasons, Buffalo was among the top 10.

But after finishing fifth in 1998, fourth in 1999 and No. 6 in 2000, the Bills plummeted to 26th two seasons ago and No. 29 last year.

Buffalo surrendered 100-plus rushing yards in 11 of 16 games and 150 or more yards on four occasions. Showing virtually no resistance against the run, the Bills permitted two opponents to rush for more than 200 yards.

"Disgusting," said Fletcher. "Disgusting and embarrassing."

There aren't many truisms anymore in the NFL, not exactly a lot of constants upon which purists can rely, but one thing that hasn't and never will change is this: You can't win, at least not consistently, if you don't suffocate the run. And you don't stop the run very well if you don't have players who can rally to the football.

Since the Bills play in the AFC East, arguably the most evenly contested of the league's eight divisions, there is no guarantee that 2003 will bring a welcome end to a three-year playoff slump. What seems certain, though, is that the Bills will bring the wood. And will bring it with a front seven that is not only stouter, but also quicker to the ball, than those units the franchise has recently fielded.

The upgrade starts with a front four bolstered by the behemoth tackle Sam Adams, who will command double-team blocking on nearly every snap, and permit the playmakers to get to the point of attack. It should end, the team's highest-profile free agent acquisition acknowledged, with the linebackers.

"This is going to be the best (linebacker) unit in the league," predicted weak-side star Takeo Spikes, in whom the Bills invested a $9 million signing bonus to pry away from the Cincinnati Bengals as a "transition" free agent. "We can all hit. We can all run. And we love to get to the football. We are going to have a lot of fun. And were are just now getting started. I mean, the sky is the limit."

Indeed, in a Saturday morning scrimmage against the Brown, the new-look Buffalo front seven dominated the action, allowing Cleveland less than two yards per rush. Five times a running play was stuffed in the Browns backfield. On most of those occasions the Bills linebackers weren't even forced to scrape off blocks, because Adams and tackle partner Pat Williams did such a superb job of keeping blockers away from them.

Getting the beefy Adams, one of the NFL's most powerful interior defenders, figures to be a key to the refurbishing of the shoddy run defense. Big Sam, who earned a $150,000 bonus for reporting to camp at a relatively svelte 340 pounds, won't make many tackles himself. But he and the equally girthy Williams will soon become the best friends of the equipment guys who have to launder the uniforms of the Bills linebackers.

	“	This is going to be the best (linebacker) unit in the league. We can all hit. We can all run. And we love to get to the football. We are going to have a lot of fun. And were are just now getting started. I mean, the sky is the limit.”
		—LB Takeo Spikes

There simply aren't going to be many blockers, at least in theory, who can get out to the second level and confront the linebackers.

Fletcher has always been a kind of Energizer Bunny, a forever active 'backer who can run to the ball, and loves to make the crushing hit. Spikes believed he was buried and ignored in Cincinnati, where the Bengals' losses always seemed to be piled higher than his tackle totals, and where few people acknowledged his individual skills. The third member, Jeff Posey, came to the Bills as an unrestricted free agent this spring, actually the first player to change teams in the signing period, and will fill a lot of roles.

The common denominator is athleticism and all three will be provided the opportunity to flash their abilities.

Referring to the Saturday scrimmage, Fletcher noted: "If I met somebody, it was in their backfield. Sometimes, I had to go search out the contact because (the defensive linemen) were protecting me so good. It wasn't like the past year, where I was taking one step and had a guard in my face. It's a nice feeling. I mean, we have got some linebackers who can flat-out play, you know?"

General manager Tom Donahoe and head coach Gregg Williams made it an offseason priority to acquire defenders who would improve the run defense. Pursuing Spikes, even with the entanglements of the "transition" tag was a no-brainer. Once Adams became available, when he was released by Oakland for salary cap considerations, he very quickly became a target. But the player who will surprise people, and who signed with the Bills less than an hour into free agency, is Posey.

Primarily a pass rusher in the Houston Texans' 3-4 defensive front last season, Posey collected eight sacks, and many teams "typed" him as a one-dimensional defender. But the Bills staff -- Donahoe gives particular credit to director of pro personnel John Guy -- did a tremendous job thoroughly evaluating Posey's less-heralded attributes. And now, while Spikes and Fletcher are drawing most of the attention, Posey is fast becoming the quiet and versatile assassin of the revamped linebacker corps.

Gregg Williams suggested to a reporter after the Saturday scrimmage that, if the scribe went into the Buffalo locker room, ignored uniform numbers, and simply picked out the most athletic-looking of the Bills linebackers, it would be Posey. And the head coach was correct, too, as the unassuming Posey easily passed the "eyeball" test.

"He's so much better than I thought," gushed Gregg Williams. "I mean, we felt like he was a good player when we signed him. But people in the league were saying, 'Well, he can't play in space.' OK, you don't want him out there too often, but the guy can do it. They said, 'You can't stack him.' Well, yes we can. Beyond lining up at (left) end in our pass rush front, he's going to do a lot of things for us."

The passionate Fletcher lights up when he discusses Posey and Spikes. Pat Williams, who now has a surrounding cast good enough to eliminate any past excuses about why Buffalo can't get off the field, is suddenly predicting great things. Cornerback Antoine Winfield, called upon way too much the last couple of seasons to support the run, talked about not having to throw his tiny body into the sweep so much in 2003.

There is an old Roger Miller song, one of those funky ditties for which the late country singer was famous, which suggests that you can't roller skate in a buffalo herd. Bills veteans are intent on proving in 2003, thanks to offseason roster upgrades, that opponents won't be able to run in a herd of Buffalo defenders, either.

"Teams should look out," said Pat Williams. "We feel like we're going to control the whole game. Everybody's excited."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.