boyst Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 When the Giants beat the Pats in the Superbowl, they didn't get any sacks on Brady. But what they did do was exactly what the defense did today: Clog up his passing lanes, knock him around a little, and get him off his rhythm. It would sure be nice to get 4 or 5 sacks on him, but usually the defense has to blitz, and if they don't get to him he carves them up. So the key is to generate enough pressure to make him uncomfortable, switch up the looks and coverages enough to keep him guessing. It makes me wonder if the stache has been watching game film in his off time and came up with something after seeing how other teams played him. I would have to think so...?
Hapless Bills Fan Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 (edited) I didn't see any blitzes, but even so, I was disappointed by the complete lack of any pressure on Brady. I'd say it's a cause for concern for sure, but if the Bills can beat the Pats even without that, I'd say it puts the Bills into the category of good teams with a major weak spot - of which I think there are many in the league. By Patriots standards, there was pressure on Brady. It is easy to say "Blitz" and "put pressure on Brady" and a lot harder to do. They are a very very well coached team that puts a lot of attention on coaching and depth in the OL Their game plan is meticulously designed to give Brady a lot of options under pressure. He is very good at sensing pressure and shooting the ball out quickly, usually to Welker or Gronkowski across the middle who then turn 2 yds into 5. We may well lack a blitz or the ability to pressure the QB. I'm not sure we've played the right team to assess this yet. Before today, I thought our DB were a major weakness, actually - and they won this game. Yes, without question. They have done a nice job putting some of the pieces in place on the defensive side, but it's obviously not there yet when they get torched for 30+ two games in a row. They desparately need a stud pass rushing DE or LB. And they better get someone who can cover Gronkowski or he's gonna kill them for the next ten years. Agreed on both points. We need the DB equivalent of David Nelson or Scott Chandler. Edited September 26, 2011 by Hopeful
dpberr Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 I agree with gobills. I think the Bills watched that Super Bowl tape and applied its lessons, and executed it, unlike the Chargers. (Who tried.) I'd expect a big blitz next weekend against a rookie QB.
hondo in seattle Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 Today's a day to celebrate but, yeah, I'm worried about the defense, too. We've given up a lot of points the last couple weeks against, admittedly, good offenses. The four picks were nice but we don't get consistent pressure on opposing QBs nor do we cover particularly well.
DUFF Posted September 26, 2011 Author Posted September 26, 2011 I agree about the lack of pressure, but let's face it, Brady seems to have all day in the pocket regardless of who they play. Meriman is hurt, somethings not right with him. When he gets right, look out! With Merriman and Dareus not yet hitting their stride this season, the best is yet to come with this Defense. the best is yet to come with this Defense Hope your Right!!!!!!!
MattM Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 agreed. one really, really bad one was w/ matt light on him... brady would have been sacked if light didn't hold him. incidentally enough, there wasn't a flag and brady got like a 30 yard pass to gronkowski. merriman hasn't really been getting the calls he should this year. What irked me about that one was they'd called holding on Wood the series before for a similar hook move. At least be consistent, but then again, look who we're playing...
Webster Guy Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 (edited) When the Giants beat the Pats in the Superbowl, they didn't get any sacks on Brady. But what they did do was exactly what the defense did today: Clog up his passing lanes, knock him around a little, and get him off his rhythm. It would sure be nice to get 4 or 5 sacks on him, but usually the defense has to blitz, and if they don't get to him he carves them up. So the key is to generate enough pressure to make him uncomfortable, switch up the looks and coverages enough to keep him guessing. I disagree. First of all the Giants sacked Brady 5 times in that superbowl and they had almost a dozen knockdowns on top of that. They got loads of pressure with 4. Our defense had one pressure all day today on Brady that I can recall, and they were one Ochocinco drop away from 400 plus passing yards and a loss. We didn't do anything to his rhythm at all, but we did clog passing lanes pretty well which is a plus with the non-mobile qb's like Brady. I was impressed with the restraint we showed in not blitzing even though we couldn't get to the guy because he would've burned us worse than he already was. The Jets lost tonite to Oakland because they're impatient on defense and Edwards called a great game for us in holding back. We need ONE elite pass rusher on this team. (Moats is back healthy again?) Now that we're 3 and 0 those Maybin and Spiller first round picks are even more frustrating because we're closer than we thought to being really good. Best win for Buffalo in many many years today. Keep it up guys ! Edited September 26, 2011 by Webster Guy
John from Riverside Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 I think for the most part we were pushing the pocket.....we have been very consistant stopping the run which as been a real treat to watch when you consider back to last year..... Merriman though.....I was expecting more. I think he has been solid in run support but I was expecting him to beat his man (or his double actually) a little more then he has been HOWEVER I think it is important to note that it is pretty hard to sack Brady because he gets rid of the ball so quickly. Lost in all of this is Marcel Darius has been an absolute stud....he IS getting pressure despite some serious double teams at times and all the while remaining very stout against the run What you are not seeing from this Bills team is dialing up safety and linebacker blitzes......not all the time but every so many plays.....
Simon Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 I know the first two games were geared towards stopping the run, but this was supposed to be a game where we were getting after the qb (at least according to most on this board). The win is all that matters but is anyone else concerned that there wasn't much pressure on Brady today? I'm no expert just a fan, so im throwing this out to you guys on the forum who maybe understand the strategy, or reason behind this. Did we not blitz cause we didn't want brady to exploit us, or did we blitz, and just werent very successful?? We threw a couple blitzes at them but not very many at all. We never got close on any of them and on at least one we got burned for a big play. That was part of the gameplan, and probably wisely so, because that offense is notorious for exploiting blitzes, maybe more so than anybody in the league. We don't generate pressure well with just 4 rushers, but I'm not too worried about it because virtually nobody else in the NFL does either. And we haven't played an opponent yet where a heavy dose of blitzing would be a sensible strategy. I'm guessing that might change next week, especially if we can actually play some football in the first half and get a bit of a lead to work with.
Geno Smith's Arm Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 Every team in the league has weaknesses, and perhaps pass rushing is the Bill's. Doesn't mean they can't win a lot of games, or that they are automatically "out of the running". The opponents' style of play had something to do with the lack of pass rush too.
Ghost of Leonidas Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 I prefaced this thread by saying i hate myself for posting this. I am totally excited about this win, and am not one to piss in anyones cornflakes. This was a huge win, and this team is my favorite in the last 30 years of following the Bills. I know the first two games were geared towards stopping the run, but this was supposed to be a game where we were getting after the qb (at least according to most on this board). The win is all that matters but is anyone else concerned that there wasn't much pressure on Brady today? I'm no expert just a fan, so im throwing this out to you guys on the forum who maybe understand the strategy, or reason behind this. Did we not blitz cause we didn't want brady to exploit us, or did we blitz, and just werent very successful?? Major Props for this Game: * Fitz- never gave up and is a true leader! * Fred- not only running, recieving, but holy sh$t I never realized how amazing he was as a blocker too! (i saw him drive his man back literally 5 yards on one play, and made that monster of a man on the pats see stars on another.) *Stevie, Jones, Nelson- WHAT??? anyone still think we don't have good recievers? * Byrd- seemed to be in on almost every tackle....want more picks, but he is playing well. GO Bills!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't be too hard on yourself. This was the thing we did worst today, for sure. Our pass rush was pathetic. It's a real cause for concern. It was the scheme. They were only sending 3 and 4 pass rushers. On third and 8+ they were only sending 3. The majority of the time we sent four, blitzing occasionally. We have to get SOME pressure sending four, and we very rarely did. Enjoy the victory (I know I did), but this is a major cause for concern going forward. When the Giants beat the Pats in the Superbowl, they didn't get any sacks on Brady. But what they did do was exactly what the defense did today: Clog up his passing lanes, knock him around a little, and get him off his rhythm. It would sure be nice to get 4 or 5 sacks on him, but usually the defense has to blitz, and if they don't get to him he carves them up. So the key is to generate enough pressure to make him uncomfortable, switch up the looks and coverages enough to keep him guessing. You're kidding, right? Please say you're kidding. PLEASE. Are you honestly comparing the Giants defensive performance from the '08 Super Bowl to our pitiful pass rush today? Seriously? Brady wasn't off his rhythm, dude. He threw four picks, but two of them were tipped, one was a slight underthrow (Wilson's) when there was NOBODY in his face and the other McKelvin just broke in front of Chad Johnson for a nice play. Did you even watch the game???
Boludo Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 Bills have obviously been playing great. However, the pass rush has been lackluster and was almost non-existent today. I understand they weren't rushing more than four on the vast majority of plays, but nonetheless the four man rush never really ever bothered Brady. The defense got pretty much shredded as a result, however, they came up with a couple big takeaways and also got a some lucky bounces for a couple more takeaways which turned out to be the difference.
NewEra Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 I love our WRs, but we had too many drops today.
DUFF Posted September 26, 2011 Author Posted September 26, 2011 I think for the most part we were pushing the pocket.....we have been very consistant stopping the run which as been a real treat to watch when you consider back to last year..... Merriman though.....I was expecting more. I think he has been solid in run support but I was expecting him to beat his man (or his double actually) a little more then he has been HOWEVER I think it is important to note that it is pretty hard to sack Brady because he gets rid of the ball so quickly. Lost in all of this is Marcel Darius has been an absolute stud....he IS getting pressure despite some serious double teams at times and all the while remaining very stout against the run What you are not seeing from this Bills team is dialing up safety and linebacker blitzes......not all the time but every so many plays..... Marcel Darius has been an absolute stud....he IS getting pressure despite some serious double teams - i agree with this and i guess that's where i'm getting confused. If Marcell is being double teamed, K. Williams is probably being double teamed, that makes 4 blockers covering 2 people...NE used their TE's in the passing more than blocking game...so i feel like one of our fron 4 should be virtually unblocked...??? I know it can't be that easy...??
cvanvol Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 you do understand we did the best of any defense that has faced brady right... one of those teams was also 1st overall in the league last year. All in all thats pretty much the best you can ask for. You arent going to hold that offense and Brady to under 200 yards passing just like i dont think a team can do that to fitzpatrick either.
tennesseeboy Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 I'm not sure I'd be all that concerned. The defensive line was tipping and knocking down passes, and certainly stopped the run efficiently. I think the pass rush will develop over time.
LabattBlue Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 There was a lot of talk in the preseason about how opposing teams won't be able to double team Dareus, Williams AND Merriman and that someone will get free to pressure the QB. After 3 games, it appears that generating a pass rush by sending 4 guys may be a problem once again this season. I am somewhat disappointed the Bills did not blitz more yesterday, as it was clear that having 7 or 8 guys in coverage wasn't getting the job done, while Brady had all day to wait for his targets to come open.
TPS Posted September 27, 2011 Posted September 27, 2011 According to McKissic's Tuesday morning QB piece (on the B-News site), the Bills said their goal was to try to push the pocket and prevent Brady from stepping up in his throws. RM said the Bills were successful a few times, and that this caused Brady to throw 2 of his INTs. He also credited Merriman with forcing Brady to throw early on the first INT that Scott got. I think we'll see the pass rush and the defense overall get better as the season wears on. My link
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