/dev/null Posted March 20, 2010 Posted March 20, 2010 Does anyone realize the reason our secondary was "so good" last year was because teams could run at will against us? Who cares if we give up 120 yards passing if teams can run for 350 against us. Look for a decline in passing stats this year if the front 3 do a decent job slowing up the run. 2 responses to your post 1: I see this is your first post. Welcome to TSW. 2: Save yourself the pain and anguish by not coming back here. Your post makes way too much sense for most people here to comprehend
sllib olaffub Posted March 20, 2010 Posted March 20, 2010 If we can manage to get a big run stuffing NT in the draft and maybe another rushing OLB to push Maybin and whoever else is there, then I think we stand to have a surprising unit. Remember how well Green Bay did last year in the transition. That's not to say we'll be that good, but, it is possible. What I believe our strength would be - if we get that big NT - is personnel wise, we could have a big front seven on the first two downs, and have the left-overs from the 4-3 in there on passing downs, giving us a penetrating NT in Kyle Williams, and quicker LB's in Harris and Ellison... if we can manage to substitute effectively, then I think we can put together some nasty packages. Here's to hoping... and it does depend on that aquisition of NT (I think we've got to get it in the first or trade back up because San Diego jumped ahead of us in the 2nd and I'd be shocked if they didn't grab Cody if he were still available).
Buffalo Beeeews Posted March 20, 2010 Posted March 20, 2010 In the immortall words of T.O.: "No, Not really..."
mousetrap08 Posted March 20, 2010 Posted March 20, 2010 With the two recent pickups we made at DE and ILB, I'm starting to get excited about our Defense. First off, I think we are going to be a run and pass stopping D with incredible depth. The only concern I see is pass rush, but I think that's a solid 50/50 chance of being a strength. Think about our line. If we get a big DT in the draft to clog up the middle, we have Edwards on one side and Stroud on the other. Then, we have Williams as our pass rushing DE. In either case, that is a HUGE D-Line that will be very difficult for most O-Lines to handle. The fact that Williams is our depth is just incredible to me. For our linebackers, I'm very happy with Poz and Davis in the middle. Then, unless injuries hit us, Mitchell should be more than solid as an OLB. Then, you have your choice of Schobel, Kelsay, or Maybin on the other side. The depth at LB just became very good. Add a few late picks for depth at ILB, and this unit is also strong. Lastly, we all know how our corners are. These guys are just stellar for us and it's the only thing we can thank DJ for. Safety play, we all love Byrd and we have a solid rotation of 3 guys who can play SS. End of the day, this D can be very dominant. So dominant that I think it will swing us about 2-3 games to wins for us next year. With that, I think I would love to see the Bills take Dan Williams at the number 9 pick. This is someone who people have the dolphins taking at 12, and that is the D we are emulating. So, taking the guy 3 picks to soon, isn't that much of a reach for me. Especially if this guy can address our biggest hole on D and complete the unit. We take Williams at 9, or maybe if we trade up in the 2nd for Cody, we are good. Use that 1 pick for that, maybe 2 picks later on LB's, and the remaining 4 can go to the O-Line, hopefully a WR in there somewhere. I know this doesnt' give us the offense we want, but if we can emulate a Dilfer-Style Offense, I think this D could handle the rest. I liked the signings of Davis and Edwards but Iam not ready to fall all over myself saying that this defense is going to be dominant. There is going to be a learning curve here with all the new coaches and schemes that will be added. Iam going to wait and see what happens in the draft and in training camp before I get to excited.
nonprophet Posted March 20, 2010 Posted March 20, 2010 It would have been more advantageous if the switch was made in prior years, before everyone started running it, but still it's a better long term approach. The Bills should never have switched to a 4-3 to begin with; they had the 3rd-ranked defense in the NFL the season before Gregg Williams took over. Granted, the Titans' defense was 1st but if the ball had bounced differently a few times during the season their ranks could have easily been swapped.
RalphW Posted March 20, 2010 Posted March 20, 2010 No I am not excited about our d. I am usually the optimistic bills fan but not today. A switch to a 3-4 with a first time defensive coordinator, an offensive minded medicore at best head coach and personnel that it not suited for the defense the bills are implementing. Davis and Edwards are decent pickups but probably not impact signings. I also think the fact that Edwards failed a few other teams physicals is concerning, and yes I understand that dr. Cappucianno is one of the best spinal doctors in the field. But he failed those physicals for a reason. On the flipside he did play the entire season last year ...so only time will tell iguess. Trust me when I say I hope I am wrong but we don't have de's and lb's that can get to the qb and lack the cornerstone of any successful 3-4.....a big fat nt.
Adam Posted March 20, 2010 Posted March 20, 2010 I am neither excited, nor discouraged. We probably will be average at best, meaning exciting some games, ho-hum others. We simply don't have the personnel to dominate yet. A few good drafts and that can change dramatically.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted March 20, 2010 Posted March 20, 2010 Does anyone realize the reason our secondary was "so good" last year was because teams could run at will against us? Who cares if we give up 120 yards passing if teams can run for 350 against us. Look for a decline in passing stats this year if the front 3 do a decent job slowing up the run. 2 responses to your post 1: I see this is your first post. Welcome to TSW. 2: Save yourself the pain and anguish by not coming back here. Your post makes way too much sense for most people here to comprehend Minuni. You are very wrong. Your opinion that our pass defense was good because our run defense was bad is dogmatic, shallow, and incorrect. And as a veteran dev/null...you should know better. The facts: The Bills were 20th in pass attempts against (this part is because we had a poor run defense) but we were 2nd in the league in interceptions with 28. Our interceptions per pass attempt was first in the league by a wide margin. Our net yards per attempt (5.4 yards) was also 2nd in the league and well below the league average. Our opponents completion percentage of 56.8 was 3rd in the league. Our opponents passer rating of 61.1 was also 2nd in the league. In other words, even when teams tried to pass against us, they: a) Had a very high percentage of interceptions b) Had very small gains per pass attempt c) Completed a very low percentage of their passes d) Had a generally very ineffective passing attack against us. So no, we were not good against the pass because we were poor against the run. In fact being vulnerable to the run should have made our pass defense even worse because arguably we would have to stack up against the run and therefore be vulnerable to the pass. The truth (for anyone who actually watched the games) was that our pass defense was excellent and the statistics just happen to (in this case) back this up.
Maddog69 Posted March 20, 2010 Posted March 20, 2010 I will get excited about them when their actual play on the field gives me reason to. They still have most of the same players from last year, with 2 added players who are solid but not spectacular. They have more holes to fill and questions to answer. They have to learn a completely new defense and translate that to play on the field. It is way to early to get excited about them.
Simon Posted March 20, 2010 Posted March 20, 2010 I'm not at all excited about the current personnel and I am skeptical about George Edwards as a coordinator, but I am glad to be returning to a 3-4. The 3-4 is just so much easier to stock with players, much easier to maintain financially and is a more flexible and disruptive scheme. It would have been more advantageous if the switch was made in prior years, before everyone started running it, but still it's a better long term approach. Even fairly assuming that George Edwards is only pedestrian, consider the personnel upgrades the Bills have already made in their starting 12. Enter: Andra Davis Leodis McKelvin A Day 1 D-Lineman Exit: Keith Ellison Chris Kelsay Reggie Corner That is significant improvement already. I am usually the optimistic bills fan but not today. A switch to a 3-4 with a first time defensive coordinator This is not the first time Edwards will have called an NFL Defense. He's been both a D-coordinator and an AsstD-coordinator in this league so that rookie transition is out of the way for us. He was also the first choice for D-coordinator by the best college coach on the planet. None of that is a guarantor of his success but I'd wager it's unlikely he'll be bad; mediocre at worst.
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