HT02 Posted March 8, 2017 Posted March 8, 2017 As I started to read the post describing the new Rick Dennison offense, with the hope of getting to know an offensive style I didn't know much about I started reflecting back about the last "new" offense the "new" coaching staff tried to bring to Buffalo and tried to sell us as the "fix" for our play-off drought which of course was the one Greg Roman used with the 49ers so successfully and made a star out of Kaepernick. Obviously a lot of unplanned things happened along the way including Taylor beating out EJ, seemingly endlessness injuries to WR's, the addition of McCoy, and eventually the firing of Roman. Yet when you look back at the Bills offense with Anthony Lynn at the helm at the end of 2017 it was a pretty good version of what they produced in SF. Despite the Niners success, there were the same concerns about Kaepernick's accuracy as we have about Taylor. They are pretty comparable as QB's with Taylor being too conservative with his passes at times and Kaepernick too aggressive (and in all fairness probably a slightly better runner, no slight on Taylor who is very good in his own right). The biggest problem for the Bills offense is that they didn't have the 49ers defense. That "ground and pound" with Gore and Kaepernick and those pretty good receivers became even better when defenses cheated up to stop the run. That offense became championship caliber when paired with that very good, if not great, 49ers defense. Its very unfortunate for Bills fans that Ryan couldn't duplicate the success he had early on with the Jets, we might have had a very good, and likely play-off team.
WhitewalkerInPhilly Posted March 8, 2017 Posted March 8, 2017 I happen to agree with you. The Bills offense certainly has its flaws, but I truly believe that the defense cost us dearly. I still cringe thinking about that Miami game as Adayji just gashed us and ran through broken tackle after broken tackle.
xsoldier54 Posted March 8, 2017 Posted March 8, 2017 Completely agree. The Bills offense was good enough to win. The defense under Ryan was absolutely putrid. He took a top five defensive unit and completely destroyed it.
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted March 8, 2017 Posted March 8, 2017 I loved the run game, but I would have liked to see more out of the passing game.
HT02 Posted March 8, 2017 Author Posted March 8, 2017 I loved the run game, but I would have liked to see more out of the passing game. I agree but just like the SF offense that went to the Super Bowl, an improved defense would have made passing a lot easier. The effective running game combined with solid defense would have forced teams to devote resources to stopping the run if the Bills were playing with the lead. I happen to agree with you. The Bills offense certainly has its flaws, but I truly believe that the defense cost us dearly. I still cringe thinking about that Miami game as Adayji just gashed us and ran through broken tackle after broken tackle. Which time the first game he did it or the second? smh #bad memories
HT02 Posted March 8, 2017 Author Posted March 8, 2017 Completely agree. The Bills offense was good enough to win. The defense under Ryan was absolutely putrid. He took a top five defensive unit and completely destroyed it. Its interesting, in fairness to him I think we have better 3-4 guys than we do 4-3 defensive players but to see them get whipped like they did against Pittsburgh, Miami, and the Jets on that Thursday night was beyond excusable. But when you think of a great coach I think about how Bum Phillips once described Bear Bryant ""He can take his'n and beat your'n and take your'n and beat his'n."
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted March 8, 2017 Posted March 8, 2017 I agree but just like the SF offense that went to the Super Bowl, an improved defense would have made passing a lot easier. The effective running game combined with solid defense would have forced teams to devote resources to stopping the run if the Bills were playing with the lead. Which time the first game he did it or the second? smh #bad memories I agree. An improved defense will help. I'm of the mindset you need passing and running to win in the NFL. Too much of one or the other and it hurts.
WhitewalkerInPhilly Posted March 8, 2017 Posted March 8, 2017 I agree but just like the SF offense that went to the Super Bowl, an improved defense would have made passing a lot easier. The effective running game combined with solid defense would have forced teams to devote resources to stopping the run if the Bills were playing with the lead. Which time the first game he did it or the second? smh #bad memories Well, both now that I think about it. 200 yard games for him both times. But I waa referring to the egregious missed tackles and snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory that was week 16.
GoBills808 Posted March 8, 2017 Posted March 8, 2017 The defense wasn't really a disaster, IIRC they were 19th in YPG and 16th in PPG...A little below average.
BillsFan130 Posted March 8, 2017 Posted March 8, 2017 Bills offence was no means great, but if they even had a average to above average defence, the bills probably make the playoffs. In other words, if Jim Schwartz and not the fat idiot was running defence, the bills would have easily made the playoffs The defense wasn't really a disaster, IIRC they were 19th in YPG and 16th in PPG...A little below average. Not opportunistic at all, not much pass rush. I hated the bills defence the last two years
thunderingsquid Posted March 9, 2017 Posted March 9, 2017 Agreed. Rex tried to do too much and a lot of players talked about the complexity. You can confuse the offense with schemes and looks but in the end you have to be in position, match up and block and tackle.
HT02 Posted March 9, 2017 Author Posted March 9, 2017 Well, both now that I think about it. 200 yard games for him both times. But I waa referring to the egregious missed tackles and snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory that was week 16. It was really ugly I agree. An improved defense will help. I'm of the mindset you need passing and running to win in the NFL. Too much of one or the other and it hurts. Agreed Bills offence was no means great, but if they even had a average to above average defence, the bills probably make the playoffs. In other words, if Jim Schwartz and not the fat idiot was running defence, the bills would have easily made the playoffs Not opportunistic at all, not much pass rush. I hated the bills defence the last two years Which is not something I expected with a Rex Ryan defense. If nothing else I expect them to pressure the QB and cause a few turnovers
Drunken Pygmy Goat Posted March 9, 2017 Posted March 9, 2017 I said this numerous times on the other board. The blueprint was clear. With a good/great run game and defense (which was the perception at the time), the Bills just needed Taylor to be 2011 Alex Smith. For the most part, he has been, and a much better runner. Unfortunately, the defense didn't do its part, falling to below average in each of the last two years, after ranking #2 in DVOA. Had the defense been top 10, or close to it, the Bills probably make the playoffs. Between the performance, and the constant communication issues with players on the field, and on the sidelines, Ryan being let go was necessary. But the offense was effectient, overall. 3 and outs were a big issue, and (for whatever reason) the passing game was lacking, which contributed to the 3 and outs. But they put up good points, more than enough to win most of those games. Statistically, the Bills offense was pretty similar to the 49ers of 5-6 years ago. Consistently highly ranked rushing offense, and consistently lowly ranked passing attack. We'll see if McDermott is the right coach to get the defense back on track. If it does, I think the offense in place will compliment that well, and with a healthy Watkins, I think the passing attack will show moderate improvement. Our offense should see a nice increase in play-action and bootlegs, things that fit Taylor well, and screens and slants, things that fit with Sammy. If the Bills continue to run well (and they should), and the offense can minimize 3 and outs, it will help keep the defense fresh, and start to see a morefinely tuned machine.
Boatdrinks Posted March 9, 2017 Posted March 9, 2017 It was the blueprint. Play very good defense and do just enough on offense. The offense exceeded expectations thanks to Tyrod emerging. The defense was an absolute disaster. I agree with this post completely .
Kelly the Dog Posted March 9, 2017 Posted March 9, 2017 The defense wasn't really a disaster, IIRC they were 19th in YPG and 16th in PPG...A little below average. The defense wasn't really a disaster, IIRC they were 19th in YPG and 16th in PPG...A little below average. And sometimes they were excellent. But overall, just watching the games, when they needed to produce, they were awful. Just looking at stats about that defense, to me, did not show how bad they were, or better said, how much they let us down and contributed to losses versus the offense. The special teams did us no favors either, which made the success of the offense even more impressive. We always had long fields. We often started inside our ten. We didn't get nearly as many starts with great field position as most decent teams. We often gave up long time consuming drives which cut a series or two out of our offense.
Rubes Posted March 9, 2017 Posted March 9, 2017 I don't care what the stats say...that defense last year was abysmal, especially when it was needed most.
Kelly the Dog Posted March 9, 2017 Posted March 9, 2017 I don't care what the stats say...that defense last year was abysmal, especially when it was needed most. Exactly. IMO with just a pretty good defense, not even a good one, we win 2-3 more games. We were a bad defense.
FireChan Posted March 9, 2017 Posted March 9, 2017 The defense wasn't really a disaster, IIRC they were 19th in YPG and 16th in PPG...A little below average. 21st in points per drive. 29th in rushing yards allowed. 23rd in TO's. 21st in NY/A. They were awful
Webster Guy Posted March 9, 2017 Posted March 9, 2017 Don't forget Big 99 and Shaq were non factors for basically the first half of the season, Bryant got hurt, we should be much better prepared upfront this year to come out swinging (fingers crossed with Marcel as always)
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