Kelly the Dog Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 they were 20th in points against. As I've said ad infinitum on this board, context matters. The Bills defense in 2013 had the 30th worst drive start position with regard to the offenses they faced. The Bills offense was 31st in time per drive and 28th in yards per drive. They SUCKED. The defense, on the other hand, was 2nd in yards per drive and 12th in points per drive. You of all should people should know that it's more complicated than simply rolling out raw points. Which is what I said! But I also watched all the games and they were abused a good portion of the time, too. And even if you go with 12th in points per drive that is a long way from 4th.
hondo in seattle Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 Has Rob's hiring have anything to do with Donnie's leaving? Donnie wants authority. But with Rob on the staff, there are now three guys (Ryan, Ryan, Thurman) with more voice in the defense than Donnie. Donnie may want to go somewhere where he has a bigger say in things.
Kelly the Dog Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 Did you watch other teams? Sometimes I wonder whether people realize that the league is geared toward offense. They also don't seem to realize the bad position the Bills' terrible offense put the defense in repeatedly. As for the rushing yards, the Bills were 28th in yards given up because teams ran on them all of time -- partly because of leads and partly because no one feared the Bills offense. Only 4 teams faced more rushing attempts than the Bills. Because they gashed the Bills on the run. Don't you remember those games we couldn't stop anyone running?
26CornerBlitz Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 Has Rob's hiring have anything to do with Donnie's leaving? Donnie wants authority. But with Rob on the staff, there are now three guys (Ryan, Ryan, Thurman) with more voice in the defense than Donnie. Donnie may want to go somewhere where he has a bigger say in things. It makes sense for him with his contract likely expiring.
NoSaint Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 You expect Pegula to get involved in telling the HC who can or cannot be on his staff as an assistant? im as anti-owner interfering with the day to day as anyone and think that it would be incredibly reasonable for him to say that i am not comfortable with you hiring your brother as your #2
dave mcbride Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 Good to know you care, but guess what. He didn't intervene and he shouldn't have. This is your overemotional response to Rex. Have at it but it ain't changing one thing. Do you think Rex Ryan is a good, smart coach? I had some hopes early on, but on balance I don't think he is. I also don't think grammar policing is either funny or a good way to debate. I realize others may disagree.
TheFunPolice Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 I thought everyone wanted a housecleaning? I believe in Rex. I also think this is a result of Donnie looking for some upward mobility (which he deserves IMO).
bobobonators Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 (edited) they were 20th in points against. As I've said ad infinitum on this board, context matters. The Bills defense in 2013 had the 30th worst drive start position with regard to the offenses they faced. The Bills offense was 31st in time per drive and 28th in yards per drive. They SUCKED. The defense, on the other hand, was 2nd in yards per drive and 12th in points per drive. You of all should people should know that it's more complicated than simply rolling out raw points. I haven't looked into - but if an opposing offense has great field position , then wouldn't you automatically rank high in yds/drive by default? Aren't "drive start position" and "yards per drive" sort of inversely correlated to each other? If an offense starts on their 40yd line and scores, that scoring drive is going to be much shorter. I don't think you can automatically make a leap and say that points wouldn't have been scored if they started on their own 25yd line. You can make an assumption that it would be harder for the opposing team to score, but not conclusively. The points per drive number is relevant I'd say. Edited January 12, 2016 by bobobonators
The Big Cat Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 I haven't looked into - but if an opposing offense has great field position, then wouldn't you automatically rank high in yds/drive by default? Aren't "drive start position" and "yards per drive" sort of related/dependent on each other. If an offense starts on their 40yd line and scores, that scoring drive is going to be much shorter. I don't think you can automatically make a leap and say that points wouldn't have been scored if they started on their own 25yd line. You can make an assumption that it would be harder for the opposing team to score, but not conclusively. The points per drive number is relevant I'd say. That's a great point. And it makes the points per drive that much MORE relevant in an argument in favor of the defense. Shorter field, less points = better d.
26CornerBlitz Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 Do you think Rex Ryan is a good, smart coach? I had some hopes early on, but on balance I don't think he is. I also don't think grammar policing is either funny or a good way to debate. I realize others may disagree. Rex is going to sink or swim doing things his way and that's the way it should be. If I were him with his track record of defensive success, I'd do that too. Only time will tell whether he'll be successful with the Bills or not. I'm good with him getting that time. Just messing with you on the grammar thing. Relax man.
BuffaloBillsForever Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 Rex is going to sink or swim doing things his way and that's the way it should be. If I were him with his track record of defensive success, I'd do that too. Only time will tell whether he'll be successful with the Bills or not. I'm good with him getting that time. Just messing with you on the grammar thing. Relax man. Agree.
dave mcbride Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 (edited) I haven't looked into - but if an opposing offense has great field position , then wouldn't you automatically rank high in yds/drive by default? Aren't "drive start position" and "yards per drive" sort of inversely correlated to each other? If an offense starts on their 40yd line and scores, that scoring drive is going to be much shorter. I don't think you can automatically make a leap and say that points wouldn't have been scored if they started on their own 25yd line. You can make an assumption that it would be harder for the opposing team to score, but not conclusively. The points per drive number is relevant I'd say. 12th is pretty good, especially considering the field position starts they faced. They were also fifth in plays per drive (sacks being a huge factor there). Here's the FO DVOA rankings from that year: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef2013 Rex is going to sink or swim doing things his way and that's the way it should be. If I were him with his track record of defensive success, I'd do that too. Only time will tell whether he'll be successful with the Bills or not. I'm good with him getting that time. Just messing with you on the grammar thing. Relax man. OK - that's cool. For what it's worth, I was not an advocate of getting rid of Rex. He earned another year for me for Tyrod alone. Edited January 12, 2016 by dave mcbride
GunnerBill Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 they were 20th in points against. As I've said ad infinitum on this board, context matters. The Bills defense in 2013 had the 30th worst drive start position with regard to the offenses they faced. The Bills offense was 31st in time per drive and 28th in yards per drive. They SUCKED. The defense, on the other hand, was 2nd in yards per drive and 12th in points per drive. You of all should people should know that it's more complicated than simply rolling out raw points. I think the truth is somewhere in between though isn't it. If the defense hadn't had such bad starting positions where teams only need 40 yards for a TD maybe they would have given up more yards? I liked the 2013 defense and I don't think that Schwarz could have had the excellent 2014 defense without building on Pettine's work in 2013 but it was an inconsistent defense at the same time and it was too easy to run on. Without question however, it was better than this year's model.
dave mcbride Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 I think the truth is somewhere in between though isn't it. If the defense hadn't had such bad starting positions where teams only need 40 yards for a TD maybe they would have given up more yards? I liked the 2013 defense and I don't think that Schwarz could have had the excellent 2014 defense without building on Pettine's work in 2013 but it was an inconsistent defense at the same time and it was too easy to run on. Without question however, it was better than this year's model. 5th in plays per drive, 12th in points per drive. The offense definitely impacted their raw point numbers. Also bear in mind that the defense was atrocious the year before.
John from Riverside Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 I have no idea how this team is going to do but Donnie is a EXCELLENT coach and I dont like losing him. And if Donnie is going....just let McKelvin go as well.....because Donnie is the ONLY thing that turned Leodis career around
Captain_Quint Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 Im mad as hell, and Im not gonna take it anymore! We need to get a petition to get these blokes outta here. The cronyism has got to stop!!
The Big Cat Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 I have no idea how this team is going to do but Donnie is a EXCELLENT coach and I dont like losing him. And if Donnie is going....just let McKelvin go as well.....because Donnie is the ONLY thing that turned Leodis career around I'm going to challenge this notion that Bills fans seem to have by-and-large signed off on. Leodis still can't turn and track the ball for a damn. He still gets beat deep and does inexplicable things. This year Graham, Rambo, Duke and Meeks were all consistently inconsistent and proved to be major liabilities at some major points in important games. So I'm wondering exactly which performance(s) in 2015 have Bills fans convinced that coaching--particularly from Henderson--made such a positive impact on. Darby was a nice little surprise, but the number of players that took a step back--including Robey, who has yet to return to his rookie form--out number the successes we had in the defensive backfield last year and this year.
QuoteTheRaven83 Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 I strongly believe that a coach needs a good 2-3 years to turn a team around. Next year will be more telling on what Rex will do.
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 With the same core group of defensive players (KW, MW, MD, Gilmore, McKelvin and Hughes since 2013) this defense in the last 4 years has ranked in pts/game: 2012: 26th (27.2pts/g) 2013: 23rd (24.2pts/g) 2014: 4th (18.1pts/g) 2015: 15th (22.4 pts/g) How about the following hypothesis: 2014 was an outlier where everything went right and the stars aligned and two players who were playing for contracts had monster years: Hughes and MD. Statistically HUGHES and Dareus had great years in 2013 and 2014. Very similar... Try again... The outlier is the talent on the team and the scheme fit like a glove in 2014. Every guy on the field was just asked to do what they are best at.
Recommended Posts