Bills' defense has a new look for 2010

[Skoobydum]

      When Chan Gailey was an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1994 to '97, he saw the havoc a 3-4 defense can cause.

 

     During that four-year span, the Steelers never ranked lower than sixth in defense and averaged 49 sacks per season.

 

     Is it any wonder Gailey made the 3-4 his defense of choice when he was hired as the Buffalo Bills' head coach?

 

     "Having been around it, I realize all the different looks that you can get from 3-4 personnel," Gailey said. "I thought that in looking at it, the diversity, I don't want to say overwhelming, but it was drastically different from the four-man front. I think it's the right defense for us."

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/article81981.ece

[Doc]

Considering most teams are now using it, and 12 of the 16 teams the Bills face will be using it, it makes sense to switch to it, if for any other reason than to give your offense a chance to face it in practice. And with the right DL (meaning a true NT, not Jeff Wright), it's a great defense.

[sharper802]

Considering most teams are now using it, and 12 of the 16 teams the Bills face will be using it, it makes sense to switch to it, if for any other reason than to give your offense a chance to face it in practice. And with the right DL (meaning a true NT, not Jeff Wright), it's a great defense.

Kyle Williams is not a true NT either

[sharper802]

      When Chan Gailey was an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1994 to '97, he saw the havoc a 3-4 defense can cause.

 

     During that four-year span, the Steelers never ranked lower than sixth in defense and averaged 49 sacks per season.

 

     Is it any wonder Gailey made the 3-4 his defense of choice when he was hired as the Buffalo Bills' head coach?

 

     "Having been around it, I realize all the different looks that you can get from 3-4 personnel," Gailey said. "I thought that in looking at it, the diversity, I don't want to say overwhelming, but it was drastically different from the four-man front. I think it's the right defense for us."

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/article81981.ece

The Bills had a top five 4-3 defense with Sam Adams and Pat Williams at the DT's and Spikes at LB.

 

Maybe they should get better players and not blame the system or the coaches?????

[BillsPhan]

The Bills had a top five 4-3 defense with Sam Adams and Pat Williams at the DT's and Spikes at LB.

 

Maybe they should get better players and not blame the system or the coaches?????

 

Great post! 2003 and 2004 those Bills' defenses ranked #2 each season. How on earth did Gregg Williams and then Mike Mularkey not ride those great defenses into the playoffs with at least decent offenses???

[milehiLou]

Great post! 2003 and 2004 those Bills' defenses ranked #2 each season. How on earth did Gregg Williams and then Mike Mularkey not ride those great defenses into the playoffs with at least decent offenses???

because they are not head coaches..............

[Orton's Arm]

The defenses of the mid-2000s were somewhat overrated. Sure, they were ranked #2 in terms of yards allowed, but their points allowed rank was lower. 5th overall, IIRC.

 

Also, I once did an analysis of how the 2004 defense performed against the Patriots. The Patriots' offense was slightly more successful (on a per-drive basis) against the Bills' defense, than it had been for the other 14 games of the season. When the stakes were the highest, and the other team's offense was well-run, the Bills' defense looked average or slightly below average. That is, it performed slightly worse than the other defenses the Patriots faced.

 

I do, however, remember Gregg's defenses absolutely beating the tar out of the weaker offenses in the NFL. If your team wasn't good at blitz pickup, if your QB and overall offense were deeply flawed, Gregg's defense would humiliate you like no other. It was a great defense for bullying the weaker teams, but was less well-suited to standing up against the better offenses.

 

In contrast, the Bills' 3-4 defense of the late '90s played very well even against good football teams and good offenses.

[mpl6876]

The defenses of the mid-2000s were somewhat overrated. Sure, they were ranked #2 in terms of yards allowed, but their points allowed rank was lower. 5th overall, IIRC.

 

Also, I once did an analysis of how the 2004 defense performed against the Patriots. The Patriots' offense was slightly more successful (on a per-drive basis) against the Bills' defense, than it had been for the other 14 games of the season. When the stakes were the highest, and the other team's offense was well-run, the Bills' defense looked average or slightly below average. That is, it performed slightly worse than the other defenses the Patriots faced.

 

I do, however, remember Gregg's defenses absolutely beating the tar out of the weaker offenses in the NFL. If your team wasn't good at blitz pickup, if your QB and overall offense were deeply flawed, Gregg's defense would humiliate you like no other. It was a great defense for bullying the weaker teams, but was less well-suited to standing up against the better offenses.

 

In contrast, the Bills' 3-4 defense of the late '90s played very well even against good football teams and good offenses.

 

Amazing how you managed to put negative spin on those stats. I will take those stats in a heartbeat.

[BillsPhan]

Amazing how you managed to put negative spin on those stats. I will take those stats in a heartbeat.

 

Well said! #2 in the entire NFL is still #2 in the entire NFL. Check the stats of '05, when Marv Levy hand picked DJ to take over when Mularkey turned down the offer to stay on. They went from their second consecutive #2 ranking in '04 all the way down to the mid 20's in '05.

[Doc]

Kyle Williams is not a true NT either

Likely true (remains to be seen), but that's why they drafted Troup.

[Coach Tuesday]

The defenses of the mid-2000s were somewhat overrated. Sure, they were ranked #2 in terms of yards allowed, but their points allowed rank was lower. 5th overall, IIRC.

 

Also, I once did an analysis of how the 2004 defense performed against the Patriots. The Patriots' offense was slightly more successful (on a per-drive basis) against the Bills' defense, than it had been for the other 14 games of the season. When the stakes were the highest, and the other team's offense was well-run, the Bills' defense looked average or slightly below average. That is, it performed slightly worse than the other defenses the Patriots faced.

 

I do, however, remember Gregg's defenses absolutely beating the tar out of the weaker offenses in the NFL. If your team wasn't good at blitz pickup, if your QB and overall offense were deeply flawed, Gregg's defense would humiliate you like no other. It was a great defense for bullying the weaker teams, but was less well-suited to standing up against the better offenses.

 

In contrast, the Bills' 3-4 defense of the late '90s played very well even against good football teams and good offenses.

 

I agree. Greggo's defense was designed to bully bad offenses. It was not able to hold up against good protection schemes or quick-strike QBs.

[Thoner7]

      When Chan Gailey was an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1994 to '97, he saw the havoc a 3-4 defense can cause.

 

     During that four-year span, the Steelers never ranked lower than sixth in defense and averaged 49 sacks per season.

 

     Is it any wonder Gailey made the 3-4 his defense of choice when he was hired as the Buffalo Bills' head coach?

 

     "Having been around it, I realize all the different looks that you can get from 3-4 personnel," Gailey said. "I thought that in looking at it, the diversity, I don't want to say overwhelming, but it was drastically different from the four-man front. I think it's the right defense for us."

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/article81981.ece

 

That is one of the only things I have been happy with this off season. The 34 I feel has been able to do more with less in recent eyars.

[Cynical]

Well said! #2 in the entire NFL is still #2 in the entire NFL. Check the stats of '05, when Marv Levy hand picked DJ to take over when Mularkey turned down the offer to stay on. They went from their second consecutive #2 ranking in '04 all the way down to the mid 20's in '05.

 

Um, Mularkey was still the HC in 05. Jauron took over in 06.

The 05 defense was subjected player loss and injuries. Pat Williams was let go after 04. Spikes and Williams replacement (Edwards) were both lost for the season early in the year. That meant Tim Anderson was a starting DT. Edwards wasn't a great player, but he was a hell of a lot better than Anderson.

[bills in va]

Kyle Williams is not a true NT either

He's the same size as Ratcliffe for the Boyz and more tenacious. Let's not sell him short just yet. We did get Troupe and Harvey to rotate. True we don't have a Jenkins but few teams do. NT will not be our biggest concern on D this year. I'm mor worried about OLB.

[Skoobydum]

all the way down to the mid 20's in '05.

 

There we remain.

[sharper802]

The defenses of the mid-2000s were somewhat overrated. Sure, they were ranked #2 in terms of yards allowed, but their points allowed rank was lower. 5th overall, IIRC.

 

Also, I once did an analysis of how the 2004 defense performed against the Patriots. The Patriots' offense was slightly more successful (on a per-drive basis) against the Bills' defense, than it had been for the other 14 games of the season. When the stakes were the highest, and the other team's offense was well-run, the Bills' defense looked average or slightly below average. That is, it performed slightly worse than the other defenses the Patriots faced.

 

I do, however, remember Gregg's defenses absolutely beating the tar out of the weaker offenses in the NFL. If your team wasn't good at blitz pickup, if your QB and overall offense were deeply flawed, Gregg's defense would humiliate you like no other. It was a great defense for bullying the weaker teams, but was less well-suited to standing up against the better offenses.

 

In contrast, the Bills' 3-4 defense of the late '90s played very well even against good football teams and good offenses.

Unless the late 90's team played a team with a good offensive line. In which case they got run over and lost four straight SB's.

[sharper802]

Likely true (remains to be seen), but that's why they drafted Troup.

Agreed. The decision to switch to the 3-4 may have ultimately cost the Bills a chance to draft Clausen. Time will tell if Troup becomes a dominant NT(often takes years to develop) or if Clausen becomes a ProBowl QB.

[tennesseeboy]

The change is a big commitment, and it is one that required using draft picks to get players who fit, and to recognize that we have a lot of very good players who don't fit (Schobel, Kelsay, probably Williams) and a bunch of "linebackers" and "defensive ends" being asked to be good out of their normal positions. If they lacked the talent to make it in their regular positions, I can't get excited about their chances in a new position. Williams came in and went from a 3 to a 4 (Hansen left because of it). I don't understand the drastic change on defense when the major problem was offense. Our defense had a plethora of injuries last year. I'm at a loss how we put so much effort and so many resources in revamping the D when the O has been moribund for years.

[Doc]

Agreed. The decision to switch to the 3-4 may have ultimately cost the Bills a chance to draft Clausen. Time will tell if Troup becomes a dominant NT(often takes years to develop) or if Clausen becomes a ProBowl QB.

I don't believe that Troup cost the Bills a shot at Clausen. I agree with NoSaint that if the Bills weren't going to take him at 9, they weren't going to take him before the 3rd round at least. But it will be interesting to see how the players the Bills took and bypassed (Clausen, Cody, Anthony Davis, Charles Brown, etc.) do.

[Dr. K]

Unless the late 90's team played a team with a good offensive line. In which case they got run over and lost four straight SB's.

 

We're talking about the LATE-90s Wade Phillips coached defenses, not the EARLY-90s Walt Corey defenses. Wade's defenses were much better than the Bills D during the Super Bowl years. If those Super Bowl teams had had the Wade Phillips defense, with Ted Washington at NT instead of Jeff Wright, they would have won a couple of those Super Bowls.

 

The '99 Bills D did not get run over by anybody.