Virgil Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Outside of the Dolphins game, what did they do? They got run all over game in and game out. And not by studs, by average players. It's a joke how badly we can't stop the run. Yes we get sacks and ints, but only because we sell out on every play. If we don't get the sack or int, they are behind us. I don't hate the guy, but our d was not what people are making it out to be. Today's game was a perfect example. They knew where we would commit and just went the other way. We looked like we were being toyed with. We knew the run was coming and couldn't stop it. How is that so great? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big C Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) We are a tip 10 defense in total yards allowed. We lead the league in sacks and are second in interceptions. We are not perfect, but we are formidable. Lets see what they do next year. Edited December 30, 2013 by Big C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Flutie Band Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 2nd post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogblitz Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I'm willing to give Pettine a thumbs up since our D is better than last year with a lot of the same guys. We were 4th against the pass in the whole NFL. That's good. However we were #28 against the run. That's bad. How much of the good pass D can be attributed to teams not needing to pass and instead just run it down our throat? Not sure. A defense's main goal is to not give up points. This year we gave up 24.2 points per game. Last year 27.2. Better, but nothing really to write home to Mom about. I know offense could not sustain drives etc. but if D could get itself off the field that would help too. Our defense was more fun to watch and was impressive at times, like in the Baltimore game and KC games for example, but really it was really only marginally better in effectiveness than last years. Pettine needs to figure out some way to stop the run next year if our defense is going to improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Why the love? Because the Bills shut out Miami. The weathervane spun to the opposite direction this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 2nd post Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 2nd post fail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 We are a tip 10 defense in total yards allowed. We lead the league in sacks and are second in interceptions. We are not perfect, but we are formidable. Lets see what they do next year. Exactly - we were so anemic with the pass rush two years ago, and it wasn't much better last year, IIRC. We were praying Shawn Merriman could get us 8 or so sacks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Outside of the Dolphins game, what did they do? They got run all over game in and game out. And not by studs, by average players. It's a joke how badly we can't stop the run. Yes we get sacks and ints, but only because we sell out on every play. If we don't get the sack or int, they are behind us. I don't hate the guy, but our d was not what people are making it out to be. Today's game was a perfect example. They knew where we would commit and just went the other way. We looked like we were being toyed with. We knew the run was coming and couldn't stop it. How is that so great? Jets Defense is great against the run, we will get there with time or new players. Doubt Dareus gets cut but Marrone has talked about cutting those not buying in and with two benchings in row for discipline and his second tardy can be nothing but defiance he may get traded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hplarrm Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Also agree with second post. The D improved from pretty bad at virtually all aspects of the game to sporadically awful but pretty darn good at some aspects like sacks and TOs. Its OK not too love their play but stupid not to recognize improvement under Whaley/Pettine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewildrabbit Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 You guys didn't get to watch that 19-0 Miami game? This new DC has kept the Bills is so many games this season and has been a godsend to the defense. Particularly when you consider what the Bills had as DC's the last 3 years under Gailey. I can see next years defense being even better, and perhaps a top 5-10 unit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Dareus playing was key to stopping the run this year. His fat azz was missed in the first half. If you want him on a plane out of town think again what the run D will look like next season without him. Pettine has to get this guy to buy in or the FO is going to have another huge hole to fill soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 This sums it up from Sullivan's column: "The fact is, they went 0-8 against teams that ranked higher than 25th in total offense in the NFL entering the weekend. They played against one running back who finished in the top 15 in the league." Beating lightweights and losing to the big boys has been Buffalo's MO for years now. Someone will cite Carolina, but that team was different 3 months ago than they are now. Stats are nice, but wins are better and that defense isn't getting it done across the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) Dareus playing was key to stopping the run this year. His fat azz was missed in the first half. If you want him on a plane out of town think again what the run D will look like next season without him. Pettine has to get this guy to buy in or the FO is going to have another huge hole to fill soon. If the Bills have any intention of building around Dareus they need him to buy in and start acting like a man. As Hopeful indicated last night, that may mean counseling (hopefully I'm capturing the spirit of the post correctly) because there are deeper issues at work here, and a comprehensive lesson in 'life skills.' What the Bills need to decide is whether he's worth the effort. Here's Hopeful's post: http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/164822-a-few-thoughts-about-the-game-in-no-particular-order/#entry3018600 Edited December 30, 2013 by Beerball adding a link to Hopeful's post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Cubed Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) You guys didn't get to watch that 19-0 Miami game? This new DC has kept the Bills is so many games this season and has been a godsend to the defense. Particularly when you consider what the Bills had as DC's the last 3 years under Gailey. I can see next years defense being even better, and perhaps a top 5-10 unit While I think the defense has improved if all you can do is point to the Miami 19-0 game, you don't have much of an argument. There were plenty of games where the defense let the Bills down as well. How about going up 14-0 to Atlanta and the defense couldn't hold that lead. Or the TB game or the 2 Pats* games. I know the argument will be the offense didn't do there part sometimes but having a rookie QB the team needed to lean on the defense. That can only help a rookie QB. Wilson in Seattle leans on his quite a bit, so does Kaepernick in SF. Sure, Manning, Brady and Bree's don't to an extent need to lean on theirs, but those are seasoned and established QBs. Point is, the defense still has a lot of room to improve. Edited December 30, 2013 by Wayne Cubed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazed and Amuzed Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Love the difference in this years defense, however it takes more than one season(usually) for a unit to reach its potential. The players are not only learning a new and complicated system but they're also learning how to play with each other in that system. On top of that you have a new DC and defensive coaches that are learning their players and what those players strengths and weaknesses are. Add to that a generally young group of players being led by a rookie MLB. I'm not making excuses but to expect them to be consistent at this point is a little much. Lets give them another season of playing together and see what happens. Leading the league in sacks and ints is a very good start and is one hell of a foundation to build off of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolishDave Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 My opinion of Pettine and of this year's Bills defense took a step backward after that Patriots game. However, I still believe he is one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. My opinion is based on seeing the Bills play against his Jet's defenses and after seeing him turn this Bills defense around in one year. It is undeniable that the Bills defense stinks against the too much of the time. In the other phases of the game that I consider to be most important such as pressuring the quarterback, I feel they are very good. Based on their sack numbers alone, it is arguable that this Bills defense is possibly the best pass rushing defense they have ever had. Pettine deserves a huge chunk of the credit for that. Remember Wanny had the same defensive line for the most part and could not stop the run or rush the passer. Pettine is more than half way there. This defense will get even better if the starters avoid injury and they add another playmaking linebacker. Out of all the changes that occurred this year compared to last, I think that I am most confident (out of all things) in the addition of Pettine as defensive coordinator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFan Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 If you cannot see a vast difference in the Bills defense from the past several years you are simply either not paying attention or do not want to see the improvement. It has been a massive turnaround in one year. There have been significant improvements in the play of key players (Mario, Kyle, Dareus, McKelvin to name a few), outstanding secondary play when there key players have been he healthy, and some significant additions who have contributed greatly including Hughes and Lawson. By the way, all this with a rookie middle linebacker. Pettine and staff get credit for this. The run defense needs improvement clearly. Whether this is scheme, players, or a combination needs to be addressed but I am confident they will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awwufelloff Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Did you see this defense last year? This years defense is vastly improved. Pettine deserves a ton of credit for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderstealer Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 We are a tip 10 defense in total yards allowed. We lead the league in sacks and are second in interceptions. We are not perfect, but we are formidable. Lets see what they do next year. We finished the season against a team that has their act together at both lines. At times our DT's were blown back near to the second level. We can't get much better than we are unfortunately.-- Instead though, we gotta outscore them. Which is more likely, and do-able with a legit TE and better qb play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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