Nihilarian

This is exactly right! No offense to the homers but this defending of the 2015 defense is really killing the credibility factor of being able to look at anything Buffalo Bills objectively. Rex Ryan basically killed, not one lone DE, but all three pro bowlers on that line, and he did it to Kyle before he was injured. What is so difficult about the concept in understanding that there is an enormous difference in asking a player to pass rush to being a gap controlling space eater. Marcell Dareus was complaining about how he was being asked to play his role in Ryan's scheme from training camp. All year long after every bad game Rex Ryan would say he is looking at the problem and will work on correcting it. He never did partially or fully correct the issue. The main problem remains is that the current Bills defensive front seven was built in 2014 to be a very special pass rushing unit and is was very highly successful being the #4 defense overall, and the #1 unit in the NFL in sacks. This was a great achievement for this franchise to be that highly rated! Opposing teams hated playing the Bill because they would terrorize their QB with hits, hurries, sacks. This year under Rex Ryan was totally different as he continuously tried to run his lame 3-4 he didn't have the linebackers to run it properly. He didn't have a Bart Scott, a Ray Lewis, a Terrell Suggs and instead and four superstar defensive linemen that he castrated by now allowing them to do what they were paid top dollar to do. Neither Kyle Williams or Marcell Dareus are nose tackles or defensive ends so they don't fit in a 3-4 and won't ever play up to their potential as hell on wheels pass rushers because Ryan is asking them to play gap control and drop into pass coverage. The simple facts are that Ryan will need to retool the Bills defense to fit his 3-4 scheme. He needs a DE on the other side of Jerry Hughes and two or three linebackers. Might as well trade both Kyle Williams & Marcell Dareus away for picks or players to fit that 3-4*. To me, it's doubtful the 2016 Buffalo Bills will ever see a #1 sacking defense again or even a top #4 defense under Ryan as he just doesn't have the player talent to fit his scheme and teams have found ways to combat his blitzing over the years he was with the Jets. Probably why his 2009 Jets D blitzed 50% to 53% in 2010. Then a few years later to 35% and now less than 10% blitzing this year. I was really hoping that with new ownership all this moronic changing of defensive schemes and then finding new players to fit the new schemes would stop after Jauron with his 4-3 Tampa Two to George Edwards and his 3-4 then back to 4-3. Mike Pettine running a hybrid 3-4 to Schwartz running a 4-3 and now back to a 3-4. It wasn't broken under Jim Schwartz and now it is under Ryan.

My reasoning for bringing up those two is that both would do well with the current roster IMO, as both like to pound the rock and play great defense. The difference being is both are old school strong disciplinarians who wouldn't tolerate all the drive-killing penalties and stupid selfish play. This team needs discipline in both the coaching staff and player roster! Both could keep Greg Roman as OC, and bring back Schwartz as DC. Switching back to a 3-4 after watching what happened this past season is another fools errand and a waste of elite player talent.

That Eagles D had Reggie White and I never saw him dropping into pass coverage! Just to give some insight into how lame that is with the current front four. Wrex Ryan had Marcell Dareus drop into pass coverage on two of the Kansas City TD's. WTF!

The way I look at things the team couldn't find a pass rushing DE in the draft so they chased and caught Mario Williams for 100 million. They couldn't find a TE that could be both a decent pass catcher and blocker in the draft they overpay for TE Charles Clay. Granted LeSean McCoy is a top tier RB, but again they overpaid for him. The Bills had a star at RB in Marshawn Lynch and couldn't figure out how best to use him so a 1st rounder gets traded for a 4th round pick. The team builds a top 4-3 defensive line and filled it with four elite 4-3 pass rushers only to hire a coach who only knows how to run his style of 3-4 scheme. So, now the team only has one of those four useful to run his 3-4. Its like nobody really knows what they are doing in the FO, and they just keep lunging at different things hoping it all works out.

If this new owner has an extended conversation with someone that actually knows how to build a winning franchise like Ozzie Newsome, Ravens. John Schneider, Seahawks. Ted Thompson, Packers. Steve Keim Cardinals. Then hires one of those men as team president of football operations for the Bills to oversee the football side. Russ Brandon stays CEO-managing partner of the business side. Doug Whaley answers to the new president and the Pegula's worry about building a new stadium and marketing. The new president fires the current coaching staff and hires anyone other than a Ryan to be HC. Then makes the appropriate changes to the scouting dept so the team no longer needs to pay high priced free agents to try and build a winning team and instead finds the top talented players in the draft.

NO, The guy failed as a pocket passer and was always injured as a running QB. Cue the Bills fans who want ColinKaepernick as the 3rd string QB.

He was all talk and promises with the NY Jets too. Sadly, all I see in the future is him and his brother taking years to build a mediocre defense that will still have discipline, penalty issues even if he starts calling more blitzes. This reminds me so much of the 2010 season with George Edwards as DC, and the shifting from Jauron's 4-3 to a 3-4 and when that didn't work he went back to a 4-3 for 2011 and that didn't work either. This with a defense that had nine of 11 starters as either a 1st or 2nd round draft pick, so it wasn't the players! Then Dave Wannstedt gave it a shot with his simplistic 4-3 with very little blitzing and opposing teams still had their way making that defense look so bad. Mike Pettine took over in 2013 and ran a hybrid 3-4 / 4-3 that worked to an extent in bringing the Bills notoriety in being the #2 defense in the NFL in sacks. Finally, it took a modern 4-3 master in DC Jim Schwartz to bring a real top defense to Buffalo with a 4-3 that didn't blitz very much but was able to lead the NFL in sacks. This year with a defense loaded with as much talent as any team in the NFL on defense the 2015 Buffalo Bills defense regressed so badly in a 3-4 with 4-3 players it was actually worse than any Bills defense in sacks that I can remember. the Bills only had 21 sacks all season. Now the Bills will attempt to retool the defense to fit Ryan's 3-4 and then probably end up firing him after the 2016 season. Will the stupidity ever end with the constant drafting, re-drafting of defensive players to fit the current defensive coordinators scheme? It's not only Kyle Williams as DT Marcell Dareus isn't a fit in Ryan's 3-4 either. I'm sure he won't be happy in 2016 in being used as a space eating gap control player like he was last season. It really is sad that this supposed defensive genius only knows how to run his 3/4 scheme

A great win isn't the discussion at hand. It's whether or not this years team could have beaten one of the playoff teams and its a no in my view. That end of the season game might have been a "great game" with more importance to it had it not been a meanless win for the Bills, as their season ended in Washington two weeks earlier.

It is much worse being a Buffalo Bills fan simply because of 16 years man, 16 years! The last time the Buffalo Bills finished the season with more than 10 wins was 1999! At least, the Bungals getting in the playoffs gives a glimmer of hope that your team will make it to the SB. And the Cleveland Browns, at least, had 10 wins in 2007. Then they went to the playoffs in 2002. The Buffalo Bills currently lead the league in not getting to the playoffs, National Football League 1. Buffalo Bills Jared Wickerham/Getty Images Last Playoff Appearance: 1999 It’s somewhat hard to believe the Bills have fallen on such hard times given their dominance of the 1990s. They recently decided to bench quarterback EJ Manuel in favor of Kyle Orton, which is a move that displays continued uncertainty at the most important position in the game. A solid defense may not be enough to end this drought in 2014. 2015.2016 http://www.cheatsheet.com/sports/3-longest-playoff-droughts-in-each-major-american-sport.html/?a=viewall

HamSandwhich, on 10 Jan 2016 - 06:40 AM, said: "Not sure why you are trying to diminish that last win. The Jets were fresh off a big win over the Pats and were about to enter the playoffs after they beats. No-so-fast, with a depleted injury riddled team, we beat them convincingly (not by the score, but by the fact that I felt we had that game in control the whole way). It was a big win. " First of all the Bills needed a better record than 8-8 and they simply didn't have that. It would have meant at least three more regular season wins to get into the playoffs. I say this mostly because Rex Ryan was facing the team that fired him and he looked to have his team particularly well prepared and disciplined to beat the Jets, unlike most other games this year. Perhaps because he himself stated it like he was getting back at an old flame he loved that dumped him. Revenge can be sweet. Then, the Bills were facing an ex-Buffalo Bills head coach in Chan Gailey who's game planning, play calling MO was not lost on the NY Jets HC. Rex Ryan's Jets swept the Bills in 2010, Rex Ryan's Jets swept the Bills in Gailey's second year in 2011! Then Gailey's Bills went 1-1 in his third year in 2012. So in his three years as Bills HC Chan Gailey was 1-5 against Rex Ryan's NY Jets from 2010-2012. To top that off, In that loss this year to Ryan's Bills, Chan Gailey did exactly what lost him so many games as the Bills HC in that he was the one calling the offensive plays. He would force his QB to carry the game by passing more than throwing the ball and in this case, the Jets ran the ball only 17 times vs having Fitzpasspick throwing it 37 times. Sure enough and true to his past history, Fitz threw three picks with the game on the line. Plus, the Bills were actually able to get pressure on the QB in this game which was unusual compared to the other 13 of 16 games.

Think back to the end of the season and all the injuries. Just because the Bills beat a bad 4-12 Clownboy team. Then a Jets team with Chan Gailey calling mostly pass plays along with Fitzpasspick at QB at the end of the year doesn't mean they could beat an actual playoff team. The Chiefs on a 10 game win streak now.

There was some talk of replacing Marvin Lewis with one of his coordinators previous to this WC game and now it looks like a real possibility. I'm thinking the Bengals fire Lewis tomorrow and hire Hue Jackson as their new HC. They probably stand to lose both coordinators anyway and I've read that the owner is tired of not winning a playoff game. Six out of 14 seasons in the playoffs and now not one single playoff win and they were all wildcard games, save this year...yikes!

If it's any consolation JohnC I feel the same way. There is little doubt in my mind that even if Rex Ryan builds a #1 defense next year it will end badly because of all the ancillary problems with the team because of Ryan. Simply put Rex Ryan is not the type of head coach that will improve the team over time as he has already showed what will happen over time with him in charge. If I'm Terry Pegula I would have a talk with Bill Cowher to see if he has any interest in coaching again and listen to his ideas on building an SB team. Talk with Tom Coughlin and listen to his plan to build an SB team. Then fire Ryan and hire one of those two men. Both are the antithesis of Ryan and run a strict well-disciplined team.

What a turn of events the last 5 min of the game, WOW! There is talk that Bengals HC Marvin Lewis might not survive this season if it ends tonight. The team wants to hire either assistant coach OC Hue Jackson or GuentherGuenthre as their new HC. Perhaps not Guenther now

Yep! Not with this years defense.

UPDATE!

Man, it won't be one of these two teams making it to the SB.

Dick Vermeil & Marv are still alive Yes, Tom Coughlin could help the Bills provided they fire Wrex Ryan. No doubt in my mind that Coughlin would right this ship asap. Keeping Greg Roman and hiring a decent DC to run a proper 4-3. Man 0 Man I'd love to see what this team would do against the Patriots then.

This reminds me of the Detroit lions hiring Steve Mariucci to properly develop #1 pick overall QB Joey Harrington. Then Lions head coach Marty Mornhinweg along with Maurice Carthon as OC got their hands on the rookie first and ruined him. 577 passing attempts vs 358 rushing attempts on a bad Lions team devoid of top talent. That name Mornhinweg sound familiar? He was the guy Rex Ryan brought in to run his offense in NY 2013-2014, and now you know why Geno Smith went from bad to worse. He was also Andy Reid's OC in Philly a lot of years but he had Reid running that Eagle offense. Anyway, I think the Dolphins would have had better success in hiring someone like Tom Coughlin and then let him hire an OC that would help further develop the Talleywhacker. This way a top DC gets hired too.

In 2007, Michael Strahan was leading a players revolt in training camp saying Coughlin's practices were too intense. After the 2006 season, Tom Coughlin was on thin ice with the FO and almost fired. Strahan figured he could verbally push the strict task master out the door. The pair met and Coughlin lightened up a bit on the practices. That year the NY Giants won the SB! If I'm not mistaken afterward Strahan told Coughlin he was right in being so strict.

Yea, pardon me for exaggerating about going from #1 in the league to 31st in sacks. Dropping a defensive linemen into pass coverage on 3rd down was so successful this year.

Pete Carroll inherited a bad 5-11 team and in his first year as HC had his Seahawk team in the playoffs and they actually won that first WC game against the Saints. My point was that some head coaches find a way to work with the GM to acquire better players and to put the players already on the roster in position to make plays. Greg Roman did that this season and Rex Ryan didn't The new owners didn't have to keep Ryan after this year and made the choice to keep him as HC in hopes that the team will improve. I've seen enough of bad coaching over the years to think that he won't improve the team enough to ever take the division title away from NE!

I disagree as the Jets had multiple all pros on their offensive line and with the defense. They still had Antonio Cromartie at CB who played all 16 games as did Calvin Pace, David Harris, Muhammad Wilkerson, and Sheldon Richardson played in 15. S Dawan Landry was from his days in Baltimore. It wasn't like that 2013 Jets team was totally devoid of talent. Marrone was basically handed three rookie QB's to play behind one of the very worst lines in the league and we all know what his choice for OC was like with his "hurry up and punt offense" that season.

The Pack is at Washington and they are one of the hottest team right now, and GB not so hot. Just hope your D can cover Jordan Reed.

Some teams are waiting for the playoffs to end to be thorough in interviewing all candidates. Adam Gase might be hired quickly as he is a very hot prospect as a new HC. The Dolphins have interviewed him twice and are looking for an offensive mind to further develop Talleywhacker. Hue Jackson will get hired after the Bengals are out of the playoffs. San Fran looks to be really wanting him. Although we don't know if that desire is mutual. Chip Kelly-Doug Marrone- Mike Shanahan are some others that teams are giving long hard looks so far. The Raiders were tending upwards with him as HC and it was that near last defense that made that 2011 season so bad. Jackson went all in on Carson Palmer and now we can see why. It wasn't his fault that Palmer only lasted 10 games .Tom Cable was the guy before Jackson and he did well in 2010 with Jason Campbell at QB. Back then Raiders owner Al Davis had little patience for his head coaches and wanted instant success.