BuffaloBill Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 A really interesting outcome from the season is that the Bills finished 24th in team defense to the Patsies* 25th (as ranked by total yards). So setting aside the contribution of special teams and offense why were the Bills so bad and the Patsies* so good? Simple and the answer comes in the form of two words which are rush defense. In this category the Patsies ranked 11th and the Bills finished dead last in the league. It seems that the old adage the run and stop the run has some merit based on this. Think about it, Bills opponents did not have to work very hard at game planning. To beat the Bills you simply pounded them with the ball, ate up clock time and wore down the defense. Sadly, the only answer the Bills could muster to counteract this situation was to play a mixed 3-4 and 4-3 defense. The results show they were horrible at both. Im not telling anyone on this board anything new here. However, take a look at how bad the situation was. The Bills gave up a total of 2,714 yards on the ground over the course of the season. The Bills gave up 261 more yards than the 31st ranked team (Broncos). Another way to understand just how bad the situation was is to note that they would have needed to have given up nearly 1,000 fewer yards on the ground just to get to the 16th spot among the 32 NFL teams. Now in defense of the Bills defense they did finish 3rd in overall pass defense. You have to wonder though was this because they were good at it or simply because opposing teams easily saw that you did not need to pass to beat the Bills. Lets set aside yards and look at sacks as another means to ascertain how afraid did opponents need to be of the Bills pass defense. In effect, due to ties, the Bills were third worst in the league in this statistic. How about interceptions? The same result. (sadly, the Patsies* also led the league in this category). What do the combination of these stats and the rush defense say about the Bills? Simple, the defensive line is horrible and sadly, the LBing may be even worse. Defensive Coaching and other comments: What can we say about the combination of the front office and the coaching? In two words, they failed. I know it is too much to expect that in one year the team will turn it around on both sides of the ball. While this is the case, I am deeply concerned that the Bills took a giant step backwards on defense (as bad as they have been this is a pretty horrific thought). Perhaps the young players Troupe, Carrington and Moats will continue to come on in 2011. There is no reason to believe they will not improve. The difficulty is that the Bills need to either nail the draft or hit it correctly in free agency (probably both) to hope this situation gets any better next season. If you really assess the depth of the Bills front seven on defense only Williams, Troupe, Carrington and Moats are sure Keepers. Edwards and Merriman, assuming he becomes healthy, probably get added to this list. While trying not to bash here you have to wonder if Kelsay is a keeper. Those of us among Bills fan Nation are mystified by his contract extension as it implies that the coaches and front office want him around. Yet can you imagine anyone playing so far off their already mediocre game in the midst a position change? If you are an opposing OC are you going to tremble at the thought of him covering your RB or TE? (sadly, the answer is likely yes though it is because you are trembling in ecstasy thinking about how many times you are going to take advantage of the situation in a game) Even if he does stay it leaves a significant number of holes to fill. Ive been a Kyle Williams fan all season long. Though for discussion here I would like to ask is he really that good? I know it is an unfair question in many ways as he is only one of 11 players but think about it this way. The NT in a 3-4 is supposed to be the key to stopping the run. We all know how bad the run defense was. How much of this should land on Williams shoulders? Another way to think about it is that great players make the guys playing around him better. Has Kyle Williams ever achieved this status? Dont get me wrong here I think he is great but maybe not to the extent we all want to believe. If I have time I plan to add thoughts on the coaches and the offense in another thread(s). What are your thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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