Mister Defense

No, it is a horrible idea, as it undermines Taylor's loyalty to the team and makes it more likely that he goes for the bigger money someone else will pay him next year. And it is especially troublesome considering how Whaley opens the vault for ridiculous contracts for much lesser players, and for players much less important to team, such as Clay. The Bills need to get something done soon, cannot wait until next year, as Taylor is the real deal, the hope for the future. If the Bills mess this up...

Yikes.

I am not saying that these men coaching here in realistic, especially Coughlin, but how the heck would you know that they have huge egos? Because they were successful NFL coaches they have big egos? A very simplistic and illogical way to think, unless you are leaving out evidence that you have on this. Just because someone is successful does not mean that they have a big ego. In fact, from the little I know of both Lebeau and Coughlin they do not seem to be egotistical, seem fairly humble. When the Giants won the Super Bowl I was happy for Coughlin because of this; he never seemed arrogant, full of himself. Ditto for Lebeau, though I know less of him. And again, nothing to back up the implication that Schwartz too has a huge ego, but there it is again. Now for Rex, you may be able to make a case for his ego problem. I think this is a good possibility too. The offense was dramatically improved and Taylor is the real deal, will be the best quarterback the Bills have had since Jim Kelly, the line looks better and better, and the running game looked almost unstoppable. That was Roman's first year (for all that say give Rex the benefit of the doubt, 'what can you expect in a first year', 'blah blah...' ) Unless Ryan has a re-awakening, the defense will continue to underperform in dramatic fashion but the offense should be very good to excellent--and improve and improve and improve, just like they did this year. That is a sign of good/great coaching, the kind the Bills had in the Super Bowl years. I hope I am wrong about Ryan's defensive coaching ability, but if not, yes, Roman is an excellent bet for head coach next year (or earlier, if the defense does not show they are much improved during next year's season...).

No, this makes sense, is what I want too. This team has many needs, and always will be behind with Ryan as the coach, so we need to direct our resources to more important areas of need. EJ had one horrible quarter, but otherwise played well, showed he could move his team effectively this year. Taylor had some very bad stretches too and is clearly going to be a high level franchise quarterback. And EJ will continue to improve working with Taylor, as Taylor is rapidly gaining/improving skills that EJ needs to be a starter, and they seem to have a very solid relationship.

But it isn't true, look at the defensive statistics of the Jets the last four years. They had the players, but were not a high level defense in the most important statistical areas. And we all saw that when we watched them--hot and cold, inconsistent, few big plays, not ready for prime time, etcetera--these were their most consistent attributes. Takes a long time to learn! So sick of hearing this, so ludicrous that this is still being said. NOTHING to back that up, any more than there is to back up 'Rex is a defensive genius', just an illogical cop out. These are NFL players, most with significant experience.

But again, why did his Jets defense break the NFL record for fewest turnovers caused in a two year period his last two years in New York? Was it the players' fault there too, that one of the most important objectives of the pressuring, disruptive defense failed miserably? The players' fault that the so called loaded Jets defense was not even middle of the pack in points allowed? Almost shocking to see those three big turnovers on Sunday, the game changing nature of them (go Fitz!) as we have come to simply not expect big plays from this extremely underachieving, poorly coached defense. If Thurman is back next year, or Rex has another yes man leading the defense, it will likely be the same thing again next year. Another waste of big time talent, like the Bills the past year and the Jets for years under Ryan. I hope I am wrong, as I think this offense will become better and better, and the defensive talent is there, but the objective evidence, including what we have seen with our eyes, tells me otherwise.

After watching Mario play this season, this seems like the perfect place for him next year: http://all-funny.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/lazy-firefighter.jpg

He not only doesn't look great, or good, he doesn't look like he belongs on an NFL field. He seems to have trouble even making a tackle, lacks the physical strength to do that like any linebacker should. If he doesn't get better quickly he won't be an Eagle next season and will be out of football soon. To say the Bills got the better end of the McCoy trade is a significant understatement. I hope Alonzo gets better quickly, but doesn't look good for him at this point.

This is a nonsensical conversation since Ryan's defense in New York had not been good in years. They were not mediocre, but worse than that. I think the best they did in that period under Ryan was 19th in points allowed. So, if the Bills bring in all of the right players than they too can be that good soon? What a waste, how silly. The writing, the stats, are on the wall. Time for the Bills to move on.

The problem with posts like this is that you give no specific reasons why Ryan should be retained as a coach. Implying that cutting him loose will lead to more of the same is not a reason to keep a head coach who seems to have undermined a team rather than moved it to its potential. "The Bills keep changing coaches so let's stick with this one, even though almost all objective evidence indicates he has failed and will continue to do so" does not seem like a logical reason to stay the course.

Huh!? I did not know much about McCoy, had rarely seen him play prior to this year. I was disappointed early... But, no one watching the Bills, unless they are blind or ignorant, trying to prove themselves right in a prediction, would say he was not an excellent, way above average running back for the Bills this year. Fast, elusive, showing much more power than he was said to have, excellent hands--and gives it his all on every play. The Bills payed too much for him, yes, but they pay too much for many: Mario and Clay, for example. But McCoy is excellent, will be a cornerstone of this team's success next year with a new coach. Come on; ridiculous post. Comically lacking in facts, reality. This is clearly a great running back, one who has not lost anything.

In his last four years with the Jets their best year defensively in points allowed was 19th in 2013, and the Bills are 17th this year. The Bills will be wasting money no matter who they bring in as Ryan has proven himself to be a poor defensive coach over the last five years. They will be spinning their wheels, in my view, with very little hope for success. Signing bonuses and salaries for the kind of veteran, big time talent that most seem to indicate is needed to make this defense work will be wasted money, leading to more of the same mediocrity or worse. This was a loaded team defensively, and Ryan trashed it with his poor schemes, lack of commitment, and lack of discipline. Time to move on, clearly.

In Ryan's last two years with the Jets they had the fewest takeaways in the history of the modern NFL era. This year the Jets are 3rd best in the league in takeaways. Looking at things like the dramatic, completely unexpected, drop in sacks and big plays this year by the Bills, and seeing this defense regress as they did, you can't look at stats like that and not draw some conclusions about the coaching ability of Ryan.

In his last two years with the New York the Jets had a NFL record low number of turnovers for a two year period. No team in the modern era of the NFL had fewer takeaways in a two year period. This year, the Bills experienced a significant decline in their takeaways. They were 3rd in the league in takeaways in 2014 and, thus far, have fallen to 18th in 2015. Watching the games this year that was obvious; my expectations for a big play to turn things around were very low as the season progressed, and the diminished number of turnovers was a big part of that. The cornerstone philosophy of Ryan's defense is to disrupt and confuse offenses, so it would make sense that mistakes by the offense would be a big part of that, with significant big plays like takeaways and sacks. But the Bills regressed dramatically this year under Ryan in both areas. (As we know, the Bills were #1 in the league in 2014 in sacks per game, with 3.4 per game, the best in the league, and they are 30th in the league in 2015, with 1.4 sacks per game.) This team was stacked and they regressed in almost catastrophic ways in these two vital areas, ones that a disruptive defense like Ryan's should enhance, not destroy. The players comments now are merely more confirmation of what we have all seen--and what the statistics so clearly highlight. Rex will go, I think, as the Pegulas aren't blind. They did not think this would happen-ever-under Ryan. Their first instincts on him were correct. So, how are the Jets doing this year in takeaways, one season removed from Ryan as their coach? They have an average of 2 takeaways a game this year, which is third best in the NFL, up from .8 a game, and last, in 2014 under Rex Ryan.

Now, with the season over, isn't this fact extremely telling when it comes to Ryan's coaching? The Bills, a very talented team, won two games in a row ONE time this entire year--one time. The game has passed him by, or he doesn't care very much, doesn't work like the great coaches do--whatever it is, he ain't the guy. He took a very talented team and undermined its potential. The guy cannot win two games in a row, yet again, more than one time in a season, and with this team? I know it may still be wishful thinking, but I really believe Ryan is one and done. I think that the Pegulas will see that they will waste considerably more money by getting rid of players and bringing in new ones than they will by firing Rex now and cutting their losses. This staff cannot even get the basics right, so stand almost no chance of being successful in the league. Maybe for the first time ever I will not be disappointed if the Bills lose the last two, as this may all but assure a coaching change next year.

Support for this comment, anything to back it up? I say that if the Bills end the year playing like this, and the defense continues to look like one of the worst, rather than the best, than the Pegulas cut their losses. It will be clear to the them that they made a big mistake.

Yes, but it seems really obvious. I hope it is. Mario is a dominant force on the defense, but just like almost all of the Bills players now, not on this defense. If the Bills now start getting rid of players not meeting their potential on this very poorly coached defense, the 7-9, 8-8 type of records the Bills will still be able to pull out despite their head coach will become 3-13, 2-14 after he is fired at the end of next year (though I am now thinking at the end of this year, despite the $$). I think Whaley and the Pegulas see what we see and won't let that happen, know, like us, that they have likely made a bad mistake in hiring their head coach. They won't jettison players that they know are good/great to bring in ones that better fit the scheme of a head coach who is on very thin ice this year and who seems destined to fall through soon. Just as a business should not let their top talent go because a poorly performing new CEO doesn't work well with those people. It is a recipe for a precipitous fall.

Give me a break: the facts that the Bills never beat the Patriots, and that they have not been in the playoffs in almost two decades, has zero, and I mean that literally, to do with the officiating. The Patriots are run like the Bills of the late 80s and early 90s so they win and win and win and win... (If Kelly had taken care of himself physically the way that Brady has that great streak would have likely continued well into the 90s.) The Patriots are a great organization that does almost everything right, while the Bills are not, have not. These threads, and related conspiracy theories, are the definition of sour grapes; absurd, ridiculous...

This is almost as disturbing as the original post. I think these must be some very uneducated and/or warped people... It sucks that the Bills have lost to Tom Brady and the Pats for soo long, but this may be the best quarterback to ever play the game, and still going strong. Who would want to beat the Pats just because he was out, injured? What kind of satisfaction would that be? Reading some of these posts, it's no wonder there is so much bad s**t happening in the world. He prays, and "every week", that Brady gets a "long term injury"! Yikes. How ignorant is this person?

Sean? Greg? Yeah, play really stupid, really dirty football. Good idea. This has worked real well when done this year... You can't beat someone? Cheat, play dirty. What an idiot. Who would want to win at any cost, sacrificing your integrity, your character. BS.

Those stats cover his last three years in New York. That is a decent sized sample. I think the statistic may be relevant and may be telling--the Bills have a very talented team and it is happening here, this year. It does seem to fit with his demeanor this past week, as after a win he seems to not handle it well, like his players don't handle things like adults on the field this year, clearly, as they are on their way to a record number of penalties. You never see a great coach do these things, give the other team ammo. We shall see the tonight and the rest of the year. He does seem to let wins and success go to his head, as they make his bravado come out--not good for a head coach, not from what I have seen in my lifetime as an NFL fan. Kind of reminds me of 'Coach' Dickerson before the Redskins blew out the Bills in the Super Bowl; don't throw sh** it in your opponent's face. Playing a good NFL team is tough enough. But, Bills 23, Jets 16. Go Bills.

I read this a few days ago, and just looked it up to confirm it: Rex Ryan's teams are 2-17 after a win in the last 19 games. Ouch. No matter the quality of the teams, that seems to be a pattern. I think he gets so excited, like a kid, after a win, that he (and, so his teams) are not focused enough the following week. And that is how this season has felt, a convincing win, followed by a big loss, games in which the Bills were, for the most part, dominated, not even in the game. It has shocked us because we see that potential, and then, POW, the Bills, and their fans, get knocked out. I am excited for tonight, looking forward to a big Bills win, and hoping Rex can overcome this trend. But, pretty powerful stat there when you also look at this season to date. If this happens again tonight, well, I am thinking that the Bills should begin to think of cutting their (yes, significant) losses and about moving on next year. And something like making Enemkpali a captain may shed some light on the 2-17 record; in this case, giving a good team, playing at home, and on a Thursday night, even more motivation. Rex is undisciplined, like the Bills are now.

from Rochester to watch the Bills game on a Buffalo channel? Batavia? Will the game be available later Sunday online or on TV?

No, as Wade almost always comes in a turns defenses around or moves them to their potential. He is extremely consistent in this work. He has been doing it for decades. A great coach brings out the potential in the players and team, just as Wade has done and Rex has not. I am convinced that if the Bills look like this throughout the year the Pegulas will just cut their (huge) losses, as they, like me, will then realize this is what they have purchased. Their initial instincts on Rex were correct..

One and done, after one of the most talented defenses in the league takes a huge step back, with almost no sacks, turnovers, big plays--and no chance against good teams. Ryan's time as a defensive guru has come and gone and will never come again. Yikes.