one thing that has gone unmentioned - talent level on D

[Logic]

Just now, Royale with Cheese said:

 

I think Alexander will see the field more as a pass rushing DE, rotating with that unit a lot.

I don't disagree. However, right now, the cupboard at the strong side linebacker spot is pretty bare. If you take Alexander away, I'm not sure who you have starting in that role. Humber? He played weakside last year. Tanner Vallejo? He's listed as an ILB currently. Stay tuned for a free agent addition at that position.

[CommonCents]

Rock Solid D could lead to some good O if you use it right and support it with special teams.

[Kelly the Dog]

Agree Dave. This defense is now looking pretty good, and if Edmunds plays well fairly quickly.

 

I'm not sure this was the plan though. Listening to Beane today, and it's impossible to know for sure but he was pretty convincing, that it just happened that way. They were looking offense as much as defense, and every time it was their pick they couldn't justify taking the offensive guy. He even said he had a tough time talking to Daboll who was coming up to him about every pick and they were discussing which way they would go with guys that were available. It was actually quite amusing. Plus he revealed that he wanted to trade up for a guy, and even mentioned Kirk.

[Lfod]

I really wasn't worried about defense as much. Yes they had a 3 game bad stretch last season but stepping back and looking I felt it was out of character compared to the entire season. We didn't lose that playoff game because of defense.

 

I'm not worried about defense very much at all. The thing is it won't matter if your defense can hold a team to 10 if your offense can't score more then 3 points. It doesn't help a defense if your offense goes 3 and out and doesn't even eat up any clock. 

 

You keep giving the opportunity to the opposite teams offense they will eventually find a way to score. Sitting on a few touchdowns and putting the game on the defense while the offense can't move the ball isn't a recipe for success. 

 

I stand by my view that the defense did it's job and the offense didn't. The playoff game backs my statement up clearly. I'd rather take last seasons defense any day over the offense. 

 

So yea my question marks are all surrounding the offense next season and I have the up most confidence the Bills know how to play defense. 

Edited April 30, 2018 by Lfod

[BuffaloHokie13]

6 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I think Alexander will see the field more as a pass rushing DE, rotating with that unit a lot.

I think he'll be in at Sam more than you're expecting. He's going to be the example for Edmunds on being the QB of the D.

[John from Riverside]

41 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

There are still questions at LB. Edmonds likely starts day one but who knows what kind of rookie issues he will have. The LB Corp’s was the weakness of the D last year. 

One of the larger linebacker issues was their inability in pass coverage (due to Preston Brown)

 

Excited for Edmunds in this area.

[Kelly the Dog]

I think the Bills will likely sign a veteran LB like Dansby or even Bowman to play on important downs, goalline, short yardage, etc. They will likely need that veteran badly. Lorax is great for leadership and he will give us 10-15 downs a game at least. but we need a tough guy to shed blocks in the middle and Edmunds isn't that guy yet. Love the pick though.

[Da webster guy]

1 hour ago, NickelCity said:

Agree with everything being said here. I'd actually be fairly optimistic overall if I wasn't convinced Castillo was going to go with Bodine and Ducasse. Effing Castillo. 

 

I always call Castillo 'The Guy Who Has Naked Pictures of Kim Pegula with Vlad Ducasse"   There's no other explanation for that guy to be around, he's got something on somebody.'

 

But seriously, I will say that Vlad made some strides last year.   Is it possible to have him lock that spot down with above average play this year?

Can John Miller slide back to the left and compete with the rookie for the LG spot?   

 

I do think Groy is going to kill it this year.  He's so ready to be a full time starter, could be allen's center for the next 5 years.

[BrotherChazz]

42 minutes ago, dneveu said:

 

Lorax was basically the best player on the field in that playoff game, so I know the guy can still play somewhere. I wouldn't fully discount his ability to play Sam and add some edge rushing rotation.

 

Lorax will be 35 in a month and is probably in his last season. No doubt he'll still have a big role, but we should be looking at potential June 1st cuts to help out at linebacker. 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

23 minutes ago, Logic said:

DE - Jerry Hughes
DT - Star Lotulelei
DT - Kyle Willams
DE - Trent Murphy

OLB - Matt Milano
ILB - Tremaine Edmunds
OLB - Lorenzo Alexander

CB - Tre'Davious White
FS - Micah Hyde
SS - Jordan Poyer
CB - Vontae Davis


Personally, I think that's a pretty good base D. Lotulelei will eat up double teams, which should have a trickle-down effect on the rest of our defense. Edmunds should elevate the defense, if all goes well, the same way that Kuechly massively elevates the Panthers defense.

Keep in mind, though, that the Bills are likely to be in a nickle look more often than a 4-3 base. In that case, drop Alexander and add in  Taron Johnson or Phillip Gaines. 

 

Tip of the cap sir. You are one of my favorite posters here.

 

That looks like a pretty dang solid base D. I think that for the nickel, LorAx might drop into DE in place of Shaq. We also have decent depth in the secondary with Johnson and Neal.

 

 

[RoyBatty is alive]

1 hour ago, SWATeam said:

D should be very strong.

 

Strong D and a good run game is a pretty great formula for bringing a young QB along.

I think an O Line and competent receivers are pretty damn important.

[Kelly the Dog]

1 minute ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

I think an O Line and competent receivers are pretty damn important.

Yeah, you and everyone else in or out of the league who knows anything about NFL football! So what?!

[ndirish1978]

1 hour ago, Coach Tuesday said:

They don't have any elite players on that D (except maybe Tre), and they lack speed and depth at linebacker - they need Edmunds to develop quickly.  But they're solid across the board and should be very difficult to run on next year.

 

I disagree. I think both our S are elite.

[SCBills]

If we sign another LB to push Lorax to depth LB/situational pass rusher, our defense, on paper, is a monster. 

Edited April 30, 2018 by SCBills

[Green Lightning]

1 hour ago, Coach Tuesday said:

They don't have any elite players on that D (except maybe Tre), and they lack speed and depth at linebacker - they need Edmunds to develop quickly.  But they're solid across the board and should be very difficult to run on next year.

I agree. To me it is not an elite defense, but a solid D that needs a lot to go right to be effective. LBs particularly. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

29 minutes ago, BrotherChazz said:

 

Lorax will be 35 in a month and is probably in his last season. No doubt he'll still have a big role, but we should be looking at potential June 1st cuts to help out at linebacker. 

 

Yeah - will def need to limit his snaps.  We play a ton of nickel as it is, and Milano and Edmunds project to be the 2 LBs in a nickel this year

[ColoradoBills]

53 minutes ago, Logic said:

I don't disagree. However, right now, the cupboard at the strong side linebacker spot is pretty bare. If you take Alexander away, I'm not sure who you have starting in that role. Humber? He played weakside last year. Tanner Vallejo? He's listed as an ILB currently. Stay tuned for a free agent addition at that position.

 

First off thanks Logic for putting a first look at a base D.

I'm asking you or others, wasn't it one of Trent Murphy's pluses that he can play DE and strong side LB?

[RoyBatty is alive]

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

Who do we have that's going to keep gazelles like Blake Bortles from running all over us?

Edmunds

[H2o]

I believe they already said they were going to play Alexander @ DE more this year, where he is obviously a better fit. An 8-10 sack year out of him with the other guys still contributing will change a lot imo.

Edited April 30, 2018 by H2o

[hondo in seattle]

5 minutes ago, Pete said:

Our defense should be fun to watch.  They created a lot of turnovers with zero pressure last year.  I expect sack totals to double.  And our run defense will be much improved.  If we can run the ball, our defense will take us to playoffs IMO

 

That's what worries me.

 

I read a study somewhere that showed unsurprisingly that offensive and defensive rankings are not  random from year to year.  There tends to be some degree of continuity across seasons even with players coming, going, and getting hurt.  For example, if a defense allowed a lot of yards last year, it probably will again this year.  This is worrisome because neither our O nor our D performed well statistically in 2017.

 

There are, however, exceptions to the general tendency.   When there's a big raise or drop in the offensive or defensive statistical rankings, it's usually drive by a change in one of these places: HC, OC, DC, QB.  That gives us reason for both hope and despair. 

 

On offense, we have a different OC and QB and that makes our offense hard to predict.  So there's hope.  

 

Here's the despair: our defense has the same HC and DC.  Statisticians will tell us that in this case we'll probably perform on D about the same as last year.   We'll see.  I'm hoping for a stastical improvement because McD and Frazier are still implementing a new defensive system and finding the players to execute it.  

 

More specifically what worries me, though, is that take-aways vary a lot from year to year.  It's one of the most unpredictable stats in all of football.  It seems as if they are driven more by luck than skill.  Last year, key take-aways gave us a few wins.  We might not get those take-aways again this year.