Nigel Bradham's comments about Rex Ryan's defense

[Nihilarian]

I always find it a little curious that Rex is labeled a clown yet a self-obsessed tool who had his defense carry him off the field after the Detroit game like he won some stinking championship is a better option.

 

My belief is a lot of the anti-Rex fervor is because he came from a hated division rival. If he wasn't a long time Jets HC I don't think there would be this much hostility.

Division rival has got nothing to do with the fans disliking the guy now. It had to do with taking a pro bowl front four and making them look average to below average. This, after every Buffalo Bills fan was expecting to see the defense that played so well in the opener play that well for the other 15 games.

 

If the man had the Bills in the playoffs or even had built a solid defense most fans would be singing his praises. Instead, he basically destroyed one of the best defenses in the league from the previous season and fielded an undisciplined, unprepared mess for a lot of the 2015 season. Now we get to endure the rebuilding of a defense that was already #4 in total defense and #1 in sacks because the man keeps attempting to put square pegs into round holes.

[John from Riverside]

Division rival has got nothing to do with the fans disliking the guy now. It had to do with taking a pro bowl front four and making them look average to below average. This, after every Buffalo Bills fan was expecting to see the defense that played so well in the opener play that well for the other 15 games.

 

If the man had the Bills in the playoffs or even had built a solid defense most fans would be singing his praises. Instead, he basically destroyed one of the best defenses in the league from the previous season and fielded an undisciplined, unprepared mess for a lot of the 2015 season. Now we get to endure the rebuilding of a defense that was already #4 in total defense and #1 in sacks because the man keeps attempting to put square pegs into round holes.

I agree that being a division rival has nothing to do with this Rex hate. It is because he made some big statements and the team did not make the playoffs.

 

I cant fault fellow bills fans for being upset by that.

 

However.....I think that some folks need a reality check.....Rex Ryan is not going anywhere until management has given him a chance to implement HIS team......we only went 8 and 8.......yet we beat some quality teams last year and the win against the jets at the end of the year was big in my opinion.....we had a winning record in our own division.....and we were hit hard by injuries.

 

When your making hiring and firing decisions....you weigh all that. It is easy to be a fan in the stands or in front of your TV saying fire this guy...fire that guy....but not so much when you actually run a NFL team.

[Beerball]

 

 

My belief is a lot of the anti-Rex fervor is because he came from a hated division rival. If he wasn't a long time Jets HC I don't think there would be this much hostility.

That's just silly talk.

[vorpma]

Division rival has got nothing to do with the fans disliking the guy now. It had to do with taking a pro bowl front four and making them look average to below average. This, after every Buffalo Bills fan was expecting to see the defense that played so well in the opener play that well for the other 15 games.

 

If the man had the Bills in the playoffs or even had built a solid defense most fans would be singing his praises. Instead, he basically destroyed one of the best defenses in the league from the previous season and fielded an undisciplined, unprepared mess for a lot of the 2015 season. Now we get to endure the rebuilding of a defense that was already #4 in total defense and #1 in sacks because the man keeps attempting to put square pegs into round holes.

Well stated!

[boyst]

i am honestly ready to forget about Rex Ryan and plan for our next coach.

 

sadly, i am starting to believe that he will be good enough to keep us around 8-8 a few years and it'll be enough to keep him around and do just enough to piss us off like Wayne Fontes or herpes..

At this point, the only issue that matters is whether Whaley and the Pegulas were promised by Rex that he could run his defense with the existing personnel, nor not. If Rex (or Whaley) lied to Terry and Kim (or simply got it wrong), they're in serious trouble. Alternatively, it's possible that Rex explained that there would need to be a year or two of transition and that new defensive personnel would be needed. Somehow I doubt that, but it's a possibility.

 

My speculation is that Rex believed he could run his defense with the existing personnel and specifically promised as much during the interview process. I highly doubt the Pegulas would've signed up for a 2-3 year rebuild of a unit that was already a strength.

 

And if I'm right, Rex is on a VERY short leash, although Whaley's may be shorter.

i would not be surprised to find this out, to some degree.

1. Pettine's defense was historically bad against the run.
2. Schwartz was an awful HC in Detroit.
3. Bradham was good and never great in one of four years

How many other things are wrong in this thread?

1. Pettine was Rex's protege and succeeded in one season with the Bills - trending upward after years of declining play.

2. Schwartz was an awful HC, but so was LeBeau and Phillips. Schwartz, again, in one year got his D to succeed.

3. Bradham showed potential and consistency getting better and better. no need to have him call the plays, bad choice. he played for FSU, for christs sake. he's no rocket surgeon.

 

how many things could be right? because all 3 of those you said were wrong were more right than wrong.

[John from Riverside]

i am honestly ready to forget about Rex Ryan and plan for our next coach.

 

sadly, i am starting to believe that he will be good enough to keep us around 8-8 a few years and it'll be enough to keep him around and do just enough to piss us off like Wayne Fontes or herpes..

i would not be surprised to find this out, to some degree.

1. Pettine was Rex's protege and succeeded in one season with the Bills - trending upward after years of declining play.

2. Schwartz was an awful HC, but so was LeBeau and Phillips. Schwartz, again, in one year got his D to succeed.

3. Bradham showed potential and consistency getting better and better. no need to have him call the plays, bad choice. he played for FSU, for christs sake. he's no rocket surgeon.

 

how many things could be right? because all 3 of those you said were wrong were more right than wrong.

One.....friggen.....season.....

 

Jesus

[boyst]

One.....friggen.....season.....

 

Jesus

pettine and schwartz. one season.

 

both did not promise to come in and leave the defense as is. both did not come in on a high horse. neither of them claimed anything would change. schwartz did change a few things and pieces were added from '13 to '14 that better enabled that transition.

 

nothing was added for '15 for ryan to play his defense. it was a push on darby because every defense needs a premier CB and we lost searcy and injuries didn't help. but no specific players were brought in so that ryan could coach his scheme unless you count the lowly IK empunchgenosmithali

[John from Riverside]

pettine and schwartz. one season.

 

both did not promise to come in and leave the defense as is. both did not come in on a high horse. neither of them claimed anything would change. schwartz did change a few things and pieces were added from '13 to '14 that better enabled that transition.

 

nothing was added for '15 for ryan to play his defense. it was a push on darby because every defense needs a premier CB and we lost searcy and injuries didn't help. but no specific players were brought in so that ryan could coach his scheme unless you count the lowly IK empunchgenosmithali

I didnt realize that those two coaches were head coaches for the buffalo bills

 

Different HC's.....different DC's....different situation

[boyst]

I didnt realize that those two coaches were head coaches for the buffalo bills

 

Different HC's.....different DC's....different situation

they ran the defense. it didn't matter who the hc was.

 

just like this past year, roman ran the offense. did romans success on offense have one bit of anything to do with rex ryan? if you say yes than you must give doug marrone credit for 2013 and 2014 defense.

 

that'd make him a better coach than ryan, too.

[John from Riverside]

they ran the defense. it didn't matter who the hc was.

 

just like this past year, roman ran the offense. did romans success on offense have one bit of anything to do with rex ryan? if you say yes than you must give doug marrone credit for 2013 and 2014 defense.

 

that'd make him a better coach than ryan, too.

I feel like I have gotten completely off track of what your point is

 

It is a different year....players were set up to run a certain defense with Schwartz......it was a combonation of the exact right DC matching with the exact right players

 

but

 

When Rex came in...you knew that the D scheme was going to change....it was obviously more complicated and Rex didnt do a good job of handling the situation

 

BUT

 

Just because last year was not successful that does not translate into that it cannot be successful going forward.....just some certain things could help improve the situation immediately

 

- Moving Marcel to the 5 tech and allow him to attack......

- Getting a wide body into the middle of the D.......

- Getting another athletic pass rusher LB in there opposite Hughes

- Aaron WIlliams coming back to the fold

 

It seems like a lot but its really not

 

You cannot make final decisions based off one year.....you just cant

[gr8billsfan]

 

Pretty sure this is already being discussed in a thread somewhere.

 

But regardless, how is this "a good read"? It's literally ONE quote from one player. And if anything that one quote is throwing top players under the bus by saying "some of them" (*cough* Mario *cough*) didn't buy in and "it didn't work out", rather than saying Rex is a clown...

Good read is an opinion. It's informative at the least. An insight on how the personnel isn't necessarily happy with Rex's Scheme.

Read between the lines.

Because Shwartz has a bad HC rap that no team wanted to deal with. This is why he is still a DC. I wouldve preferred we kept Shwartz but Rex wrecked it and our 1st dominant Defense since 2004. In a perfect world Rex would have pulled a Tomlin in PItts, by keepin Shwartz and letting him run the defense, hiring Gro, bringing in Taylor and Incognito and just supervised the team adding good players, picks, and handled the press while letting this coordinators do their jobs instead of meddling and putting our defense into destroy and rebuild mode.

A bad HC rap, yes. Did Marrone have a good HC or any coaching position outside of college? How about Rex? How could you say he has a "good" coaching rap.

 

At this point, the only issue that matters is whether Whaley and the Pegulas were promised by Rex that he could run his defense with the existing personnel, nor not. If Rex (or Whaley) lied to Terry and Kim (or simply got it wrong), they're in serious trouble. Alternatively, it's possible that Rex explained that there would need to be a year or two of transition and that new defensive personnel would be needed. Somehow I doubt that, but it's a possibility.

 

My speculation is that Rex believed he could run his defense with the existing personnel and specifically promised as much during the interview process. I highly doubt the Pegulas would've signed up for a 2-3 year rebuild of a unit that was already a strength.

 

And if I'm right, Rex is on a VERY short leash, although Whaley's may be shorter.

He should of ran it like Schwartz, maybe implementing newer concepts but kept the core of the defensive scheme untouched.

 

I don't come away with your read but that Nigel didn't want to resign here and no money would have made him stay. Bubbye.

Maybe so. Can't disagree that the Bills MIGHT have screwed up their attempts at rebuilding once again.

 

This is not earth shattering, new news or even a good read. It's been common knowledge for anyone that's been following the team.

 

I wish Bradham the best of the luck in Philly.

 

Common knowledge for those who stay in the know. Unfamiliar knowledge or debatable knowledge for those who want to delve into this info.

 

[John from Riverside]

Good read is an opinion. It's informative at the least. An insight on how the personnel isn't necessarily happy with Rex's Scheme.

Read between the lines.

 

Why do I need to read between the lines.....reading between the lines is nothing more then finding a way to support a opinion that does not have proof....we do NOT know that all the players did not agree with Rex scheme.....

 

We act like Rex has NEVER been successful with his defensive schemes when you can right to the D ratings and see that is not true. What you see is that we had a top 5 D last year and a new HC/DC came in and ran his style of D and it was not as successful....not that it does work....but that it did not work last year. Perhaps they just needed time to digest it...perhaps they needed a couple more pieces?

 

A bad HC rap, yes. Did Marrone have a good HC or any coaching position outside of college? How about Rex? How could you say he has a "good" coaching rap.

 

Because he....unlike Doug Marrone has had NFL success.....say what you want in previous years this is STILL a HC that went to 2 consecutive AFC Championships....and has been a successful DC previous to that.....Doug Marrone has had NO NFL success...that is the difference.

 

He should of ran it like Schwartz, maybe implementing newer concepts but kept the core of the defensive scheme untouched.

 

That is actually what got him into trouble.....he couldnt run it like Schwartz.....he runs a different style of defense. But fully pregnant this year so lets see

 

Maybe so. Can't disagree that the Bills MIGHT have screwed up their attempts at rebuilding once again.

 

Every year is a new year......this team has a LOT of talent and you need not look any further then how quickly players released by our team are being snatched up by other teams....the O is much improves.....there are players on this team like Marcel who fit the mold of a very good 5 tech......Lawson excells at this D......we have two top coverage corners.....etc etc......this might be as simple a tweak as getting a true NT and a couple of athletic LB's

 

 

Common knowledge for those who stay in the know. Unfamiliar knowledge or debatable knowledge for those who want to delve into this info.

 

We are going to know after this year whether Schwartz is this great DC now that he has rejoined the league. I have some suspiciions that he was in the perfect place at the perfect time......and that he might have trouble replicating what he did in that one year with us.

 

[Marty McFly]

 

 

Just because last year was not successful that does not translate into that it cannot be successful going forward.....just some certain things could help improve the situation immediately

 

- Moving Marcel to the 5 tech and allow him to attack......

- Getting a wide body into the middle of the D.......

- Getting another athletic pass rusher LB in there opposite Hughes

- Aaron WIlliams coming back to the fold

 

It seems like a lot but its really not

 

You cannot make final decisions based off one year.....you just cant

Im willing to bet the Bills address this in the draft. They will find a LB, NT/DT, and Saftey who are ready to start next season, using the rest of the picks on a #2 WR and depth players with potential to start in the future.

Good read is an opinion. It's informative at the least. An insight on how the personnel isn't necessarily happy with Rex's Scheme.

Read between the lines.

A bad HC rap, yes. Did Marrone have a good HC or any coaching position outside of college? How about Rex? How could you say he has a "good" coaching rap.

 

I didnt say any of them had a good rap or were a good fit to coach the team I dont know where your getting that from, someone asked why we didnt promote Shwartz to HC and my response was the answer. Your upset we lost Shwartz for Rex? Take a number and get in line.

Edited March 13, 2016 by Marty McFly

[ganesh]

As good as our defense was under Schwartz, I would hardly classify it as "dominant." We haven't had a dominant defense in years. Not since the days of Phat Pat.

 

We were good in a couple nice statistical areas, but let's reserve the term "dominant" for defenses that really merit the title.

 

GO BILLS!!!

+1. Even in 2014-15, our defense could not put away the other teams in spite of the success with the pass rush

[Pirate Angel]

Jim Swartz's defense got shredded by a 2 win Oakland team with a rookie qb.

[FireChan]

Jim Swartz's defense got shredded by a 2 win Oakland team with a rookie qb.

No.

[simpleman]

No surprise. It takes a year or two to match personnel with scheme. I still think we bring in a few depth players and draft 1-2 guys that will step in as better scheme fits. Nothing here says Rex can't coach d.

Just goes to show that if an owner really wants to give the fans a "win now" experience, they need to hire a head coach that will develop a scheme that matches the strengths of the existing team, rather than an egomaniac who will waste years rebuilding the team to meet his grand design. And the fans will again be left waiting years for a team that is competitive.

Another Epic failure by Pegula with the Bills. Re: what he has already done for the Sabres fans, years of cellar dwelling from a team that used to at least be competitive.

[26CornerBlitz]

Just goes to show that if an owner really wants to give the fans a "win now" experience, they need to hire a head coach that will develop a scheme that matches the strengths of the existing team, rather than an egomaniac who will waste years rebuilding the team to meet his grand design. And the fans will again be left waiting years for a team that is competitive.

Another Epic failure by Pegula with the Bills. Re: what he has already done for the Sabres fans, years of cellar dwelling from a team that used to at least be competitive.

 

Pay attention. That was an intentional tear down and rebuild of Sabres' teams that were mired in mediocrity.

Edited March 13, 2016 by 26CornerBlitz

[3rdand12]

The whole win now thing is what folks got got caught up in. Rex bombastic nature fueled that fire too. If one steps back from the emotional influence affecting opinion.

How likely was it really a whole new staff comes in and succeeds year one?

Rex over hyped it , Whaley too. We fans ran with it.

Even the defense thought they were all that after Indy.

 

Then Brady came along.

Edited March 13, 2016 by 3rdand12

[nucci]

The whole win now thing is what folks got got caught up in. Rex bombastic nature fueled that fire too. If one steps back from the emotional influence affecting opinion.

How likely was it really a whole new staff comes in and succeeds year one?

Rex over hyped it , Whaley too. We fans ran with it.

Even the defense thought they were all that after Indy.

 

Then Brady came along.

In our (fans) defense...we were coming off a season with a very good defense and hired one the better defensive coaches in the league.....I think we had good reason to get hyped up.......