Coach55 Posted July 16, 2010 Posted July 16, 2010 All of the experts have always talked about the Bills explosive offense in the early 90s and the defense was often overlooked and were deemed only average, as they statistically ranked in the lower half of the league in most major categories. They had great players - Smith, Bennett, Conlan, etc., but as a whole were not that good. As most Bills fans, like me, felt that the defense was a lot better than given credit... Looking at the super bowl years 90-93, the Bills ranked (out of 28) 8, 27, 12, and 27 respectively in total yards against (the typical metric defenses are rated). People would argue that is not very good. But if you think about how often the defense was on the field due to No-huddle, total yards should not be the metric to gauge how good the defense actually was. If you look at Yards per play compared to the league, they ranked 4, 10, 4 and 17. That is significantly better... Looking at the other major metrics, you see the same thing. Points/Play - 5, 12, 11, 2 Total Yards/Play - 4, 10, 4, 17 Rush Yards/Play - 6, 11, 1, 12 Pass Yards/Play - 7, 13, 12, 18 Based on this, the Bills were clearly a top-10 defense in 90 and 92. Throw in fact that in 91, Bruce only played 5 games and they still ranked in the top half in each of the major categories, the only average year they had was 93. To sum it up, the Bills were not just an offensive machine, but a defensive powerhouse as well...
K-9 Posted July 16, 2010 Posted July 16, 2010 All of the experts have always talked about the Bills explosive offense in the early 90s and the defense was often overlooked and were deemed only average, as they statistically ranked in the lower half of the league in most major categories. They had great players - Smith, Bennett, Conlan, etc., but as a whole were not that good. As most Bills fans, like me, felt that the defense was a lot better than given credit... Looking at the super bowl years 90-93, the Bills ranked (out of 28) 8, 27, 12, and 27 respectively in total yards against (the typical metric defenses are rated). People would argue that is not very good. But if you think about how often the defense was on the field due to No-huddle, total yards should not be the metric to gauge how good the defense actually was. If you look at Yards per play compared to the league, they ranked 4, 10, 4 and 17. That is significantly better... Looking at the other major metrics, you see the same thing. Points/Play - 5, 12, 11, 2 Total Yards/Play - 4, 10, 4, 17 Rush Yards/Play - 6, 11, 1, 12 Pass Yards/Play - 7, 13, 12, 18 Based on this, the Bills were clearly a top-10 defense in 90 and 92. Throw in fact that in 91, Bruce only played 5 games and they still ranked in the top half in each of the major categories, the only average year they had was 93. To sum it up, the Bills were not just an offensive machine, but a defensive powerhouse as well... Total yards has NEVER been the stat that coaches and other league personnel use in looking at the overall effectiveness of a group; in this case a defense. The first two most important numbers coaches look at from a defensive standpoint are average yards per rushing attempt against and yards per play against. Total yards allowed, like passing yards allowed, are often misleading. GO BILLS!!!
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