drnykterstein Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Hmmmm...not true, I think the year we missed with Bledsoe when the Steelers backups beat us to keep us out we were top 10 So basically the closest we've been to the playoffs in 14 years .. was the year we had the best offense? I think I'm all to only draft offense with 1st round picks from now on.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Isn't this an indictment of the no-huddle offense the Bills ran this season? Didn't the Bills mix in some huddles and slow the pace of their no-huddle towards the end of the season? Is it possible that a no-huddle attack wasn't the best approach for a rookie QB and 2 rookie wideouts among the top 4?
YoloinOhio Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Isn't this an indictment of the no-huddle offense the Bills ran this season? Didn't the Bills mix in some huddles and slow the pace of their no-huddle towards the end of the season? Is it possible that a no-huddle attack wasn't the best approach for a rookie QB and 2 rookie wideouts among the top 4? Sometimes a no-huddle helps a rookie QB because it prevents the defense from substituting and therefore the QB doesn''t need to adjust so much during a drive. But not sure if that outweighed the fact that they went 3 and out in 25 seconds and our D was on the field the whole game.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Sometimes a no-huddle helps a rookie QB because it prevents the defense from substituting and therefore the QB doesn''t need to adjust so much during a drive. But not sure if that outweighed the fact that they went 3 and out in 25 seconds and our D was on the field the whole game. I'm not really considering if slowing down the offense would have helped the "offensive" performance but simply running a bit more time off the clock seems like it would have helped the defense see fewer possessions and be a little bit more well-rested. Would you buy that?
Sig1Hunter Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 So, the defense is #1, and the offense played like #2?
BuffaloRebound Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 So, the defense is #1, and the offense played like #2? Special teams was worse than the offense and that's with the benefit of a kicker signed a couple days before the season opener who had a fantastic year.
2020 Our Year For Sure Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 I'm not really considering if slowing down the offense would have helped the "offensive" performance but simply running a bit more time off the clock seems like it would have helped the defense see fewer possessions and be a little bit more well-rested. Would you buy that? The part of the no huddle I like SJBF is that when we need to pick up the pace and get points quickly, whether because we're down big or in a 2 min situation it's no different for us than any other possession. we're at full speed all the time. live action, and at practice. I wonder if that might've helped EJ execute the drive against Carolina as early on as he did. Again as YOLO said, not sure that outweighs what you're talking about considering the inexperience with EJ, Tuel and Thad alike. Yes I think these numbers may be an indictment of the decision to use the no huddle full time in EJ's rookie year. But I kinda like the idea going forward, in today's pinball wizard NFL.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 The part of the no huddle I like SJBF is that when we need to pick up the pace and get points quickly, whether because we're down big or in a 2 min situation it's no different for us than any other possession. we're at full speed all the time. live action, and at practice. I wonder if that might've helped EJ execute the drive against Carolina as early on as he did. Again as YOLO said, not sure that outweighs what you're talking about considering the inexperience with EJ, Tuel and Thad alike. Yes I think these numbers may be an indictment of the decision to use the no huddle full time in EJ's rookie year. But I kinda like the idea going forward, in today's pinball wizard NFL. I really like the no-huddle concept quite a bit. I hope for the day that the Bills become very adept at running it. I think the offense needs more talent though. I also agree that the no-huddle might be more beneficial in the long term than it was in the short term.
Utah John Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Here's a stat I would like to see. Compare the average yards rushing per game for each of the Bills opponents this year prior to playing the Bills, with the number of rushing yards they got against the Bills. Except for the second Miami game, when the Fish stupidly never really tried to establish the run, I think the Bills always gave up more rushing yards. Every team with a rushing disorder got healthy by playing Buffalo. Sacks and interceptions are really important in today's passing-mad NFL, but if you can't stop the run you can't win consistently.
Taro T Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 When a team has a lead, they don't need to push the ball downfield quickly. Just milk the clock and get enough for a 1st down to continue milking the clock until they get in FG range. So some of this can be attributed to the other team not needing alot of yards. Plus the Bills special teams gave up a lot of big returns which gave their opponents a shorter distance to score. Until the NO game, the Bills were tied or in the lead in the 4th quarter of every single game. And they were in that spot in at least 2 more (if not 3 or 4 more) games they lost later this year. How much milking the clock contributed to those per drive stats?
Wayne Cubed Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) Number of yards per drive and average plays per drive IMO, aren't the most telling of defensive stats. In the end points win games so I'd say points scored per drive and percentage of drives ending in offensive score tell the most: 2013 Season Percentage of drives ending in offensive score: 32.5% (13th in the NFL) Average points scored per drive: 1.68 (12th in the NFL) And they also confirm the eye test of the top 5 defenses (these are top 5 for both): Seattle Carolina Cincinnati San Francisco Kansas City and Arizona is 6th for both New England is top 10 for both Massive improvement from 2012 when the Bills were 21st in scoring % per drive and 28th in average points per drive. http://www.pro-footb...rs/2013/opp.htm EDIT: Looking historically, top 5 in both seems to guarantee a playoff spot. Edited January 3, 2014 by Wayne Cubed
CSBill Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Bills D allowed 25.78 yards per drive, number 1 in the NFL, even more impressive considering they faced 209 drives against, most in the NFL(33 more than the average of 186)... Bills D finished 4th in Defensive DVOA at -13.4 behind only Seattle, Carolina and Arizona a year after finishing 27th, despite having the 2nd worst opponent starting field position, averaging a drive start at their own 31 yard line(thanks offense) D finished 4th in plays per drive, 6th in TOP per drive, 4th in drive success rate, 8th in punts per drive , 13th in 3 and outs per drive, 6th in both points and touchdowns per redzone appearance... Finished 10th in total yards allowed, 6th in yards per play, and the reason other teams seemingly converted so many 3rd downs against us is because we forced more 3rd downs than any other team in the NFL(245), even tho at 37% we were 13th in the NFL... Pretty impressive and shows how much improvement can happen in one year... On the flip side, the Bears were the reverse of us, going from #1 in defensive DVOA last year to 25th this year... As Mark Twain said, "there are lies, damn lies, and statistics." Yes, while all these numbers are good, the one thing we all know, when a team wanted to line up and run the ball down our throats, they could (exhibit A = last game of the season). Any time we fell behind early in a game, that's what would happen. Look at our loses this season and compare the opponents rushing yards in those games to the game we won. So yes, the Defense did improve, but until they can be true run stuffers, the most important stat will still tell it all: # of W vs. # of L ????
shibuya Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Our D was way overrated by fans. Couldn't stop the run gave up 3rd down and long way to many times, and rarely played well on the road or against quality teams Our O was just pathetic, and running a no huddle only serves to put the D on the field more often...which didn't help
Security Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Hmmmm...not true, I think the year we missed with Bledsoe when the Steelers backups beat us to keep us out we were top 10 Bills were 7th against the run that year, and since then the highest ever we were 22nd, and mostly all 28-32nd.
34-78-83 Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Bills D allowed 25.78 yards per drive, number 1 in the NFL, even more impressive considering they faced 209 drives against, most in the NFL(33 more than the average of 186)... Bills D finished 4th in Defensive DVOA at -13.4 behind only Seattle, Carolina and Arizona a year after finishing 27th, despite having the 2nd worst opponent starting field position, averaging a drive start at their own 31 yard line(thanks offense) D finished 4th in plays per drive, 6th in TOP per drive, 4th in drive success rate, 8th in punts per drive , 13th in 3 and outs per drive, 6th in both points and touchdowns per redzone appearance... Finished 10th in total yards allowed, 6th in yards per play, and the reason other teams seemingly converted so many 3rd downs against us is because we forced more 3rd downs than any other team in the NFL(245), even tho at 37% we were 13th in the NFL... Pretty impressive and shows how much improvement can happen in one year... On the flip side, the Bears were the reverse of us, going from #1 in defensive DVOA last year to 25th this year... Good stuff thanks for sharing!
Billsguy Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Bills D allowed 25.78 yards per drive, number 1 in the NFL, even more impressive considering they faced 209 drives against, most in the NFL(33 more than the average of 186)... Bills D finished 4th in Defensive DVOA at -13.4 behind only Seattle, Carolina and Arizona a year after finishing 27th, despite having the 2nd worst opponent starting field position, averaging a drive start at their own 31 yard line(thanks offense) D finished 4th in plays per drive, 6th in TOP per drive, 4th in drive success rate, 8th in punts per drive , 13th in 3 and outs per drive, 6th in both points and touchdowns per redzone appearance... Finished 10th in total yards allowed, 6th in yards per play, and the reason other teams seemingly converted so many 3rd downs against us is because we forced more 3rd downs than any other team in the NFL(245), even tho at 37% we were 13th in the NFL... Pretty impressive and shows how much improvement can happen in one year... On the flip side, the Bears were the reverse of us, going from #1 in defensive DVOA last year to 25th this year... Excellent post. The only problem is the stats are irrelevant. A team is like a body. It's like saying that you have the greatest kidneys and liver in the league, but you have lung cancer also. Where does that leave you? The team is only as strong as its weakest links and the Bills still have several weak links, hence the 6-10 record. The stats don't tell the whole story and can be very misleading. Remember London Fletcher recording a large number of tackles for the Bills every year? The stats didn't tell you that many of them were after large gains by the offense.
Mr. WEO Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Number of yards per drive and average plays per drive IMO, aren't the most telling of defensive stats. In the end points win games so I'd say points scored per drive and percentage of drives ending in offensive score tell the most: 2013 Season Percentage of drives ending in offensive score: 32.5% (13th in the NFL) Average points scored per drive: 1.68 (12th in the NFL) And they also confirm the eye test of the top 5 defenses (these are top 5 for both): Seattle Carolina Cincinnati San Francisco Kansas City and Arizona is 6th for both New England is top 10 for both Massive improvement from 2012 when the Bills were 21st in scoring % per drive and 28th in average points per drive. http://www.pro-footb...rs/2013/opp.htm EDIT: Looking historically, top 5 in both seems to guarantee a playoff spot. This is also interesting. I would also venture that if the Bills played in the NFC South or West, the D numbers would be different. What we are seeing is a relative improvement from last season, which is nice.
Security Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 We were good against the run that year with the loss against the Steelers. What was funny is we were scorched by a backup RB, and I think since then, The Bills constantly get scorched by backup RBs.
papazoid Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Bills D allowed 25.78 yards per drive, number 1 in the NFL, even more impressive considering they faced 209 drives against, most in the NFL(33 more than the average of 186)... Bills D finished 4th in Defensive DVOA at -13.4 behind only Seattle, Carolina and Arizona a year after finishing 27th, despite having the 2nd worst opponent starting field position, averaging a drive start at their own 31 yard line(thanks offense) D finished 4th in plays per drive, 6th in TOP per drive, 4th in drive success rate, 8th in punts per drive , 13th in 3 and outs per drive, 6th in both points and touchdowns per redzone appearance... Finished 10th in total yards allowed, 6th in yards per play, and the reason other teams seemingly converted so many 3rd downs against us is because we forced more 3rd downs than any other team in the NFL(245), even tho at 37% we were 13th in the NFL... Pretty impressive and shows how much improvement can happen in one year... On the flip side, the Bears were the reverse of us, going from #1 in defensive DVOA last year to 25th this year... i credit the COACHING change of Pettine for Wannstedt.
Solomon Grundy Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Thanks for posting this. Great turnaround for the defense. They were very fun to watch this year. Pass rush is king on defense. As for the offense.......well the Indy preseason game was fun to watch. I know we are all sick of the up-the-middle runs on 1st and 2nd down but given a top 15 QB I would be willing to bet that Hackett and Marrone can stir up a top 10 offense. Marrone needs to go to "gameday" school this winter though. The better the team gets the more glaring those mistakes will look. How much fun was it watching teams GASH us running the ball? The defense is improved, but needs more help. Scott Pioli thinks the Bills need "another pass rusher" and I agree with him. Get K. Mack and D. McClullen with our first 2 picks, Fiedorowicz with the 3rd and we're playoff bound.
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