Is No. 1 Ranking Legit or a Mirage?

[Scott7975]

This seems like a good one to look at as well as some others on this site.... Opponents points per play.  Bills rank 24th.

 

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/opponent-points-per-play

 

Some people like to look at PPG.  I do too.  The Bills however rank dead last in opponents defensive tds.  Take that into consideration.

 

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by Scott7975

[Dopey]

29 minutes ago, Charles Romes said:

Really good move to unload Dareus and his absurd salary.  Look at the decay of the Jags D over time. That kind of paycheck has to effect the locker room.   

Maybe, but I think their problem is Bortles.

[corta765]

The greatest sign of how good the defense is was the MNF game. I at no point feared Brady because they played so well and basically said if we had any offense we could've/should've won. I have not been able to say that at virtually any point since Brady came minus a select weird game here or there like the 2015 MNF game strikes me as one of those. But Brady carved us up week 2 so it felt more false then.

Edited November 13, 2018 by corta765

[reddogblitz]

The yards thing is nice. but holding down the points would be better.

[ctk232]

5 hours ago, Johnnycage46 said:

 

 

For whatever reason on pre-game shows, ESPN, etc. they always refer to the yardage leaders as #1 Defense, Offense, etc.  While, it is true the Bills D may be #1 in yardage allowed, they are not really anywhere near that in points allowed.  While yardage can be an indicator of a D's abilities, points win games.  Limiting points seems to be the best stat to lead in if your are a Defense.  My take anyway.

 

For what its worth, ESPN stats show the Bills D 19th in points allowed at 25.1 points per game.  Tennessee is #1 giving up 16.8 ppg.  If I had my choice I would give up yards all day to have the #1 scoring defense (especially considering our O's struggles).

Couldn't agree more - I do wonder though, how many of those points came off of drives where our offense turned the ball over, or where the opposing team's drives started in our own territory. It's likely the yards allowed v. points allowed ratio gets skewed by that as a result of the starting field position of opposing offenses and offensive turnovers (of which we have plenty).

 

Update per *sigh* Rodak (ew): "and opponents are starting with the best average field position seen in the NFL since 2010, which limits how many yards Buffalo's defense can give up."

Edited November 13, 2018 by ctk232

[DuckyBoys]

Top 5 sounds about right  If they managed anything on offense the unit could be #1. 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

It's so nice seeing the negative people around doing their best to poo-poo the one bright spot on the team.

Kudos to you all. Kudos indeed!

 

[billspro]

3 hours ago, Chicken Boo said:

The Bills do not have the best defense in football.

 

It really doesn’t matter what you believe. Statistically they are the best D in football. 

3 hours ago, LSHMEAB said:

That would be a rarity considering the Bills are near the bottom in red zone defense. It's been a problem since McDermott's arrival. The solution could be adding a dynamic egde rusher. Hughes is a solid player and Milano is a beast at what he does, but it's not quite enough. 

 

The offence is responsible for a lot of the points against. Turnovers, 3 and outs, and pick sixes are a big factor in points against.

1 hour ago, reddogblitz said:

The yards thing is nice. but holding down the points would be better.

 

That’s on the offence. Any time the offence has shown up we have held the other team under 14 points.

[dave mcbride]

3 hours ago, thebandit27 said:

Purely by the numbers:

 

They rank 14th overall in defensive points per game allowed (which is normalized to remove all defensive TDs allowed).

They rank 2nd overall in yards per play allowed

7th in 1st downs surrendered per game

13th in 3rd down conversion rate against

Tied-8th in total takeaways

 

I would say that the above indicates that they're very good, but not top-5

You also need to factor in that they have the worst starting field position (32nd) of any defense in the league - that is, opposing offenses are closer to the opponent's goal line when they start their drives against the Bills than anyone else. 

 

The Bills D is first in yards given up per drive, 4th in time per drive, and 5th in plays per drive. They are also second in net yards per passing attempt allowed, which is an incredibly important stat.

 

Sounds like top 5 to me. 

Edited November 13, 2018 by dave mcbride

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

3 hours ago, NewEra said:

There’s this thing called a bye week sir.  We haven’t had ours yet, meaning the teams with less yards have 1 less game

I listed the average rankings 

 

per game average is the average 

 

5 games or 16. It is still an average.  

 

Like I said earlier I posted all the stats in the other thread.  

 

 

 

D2D ...  It is nice to see a dominant D

 

Per ESPN...

http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/total/position/defense

 

Total D

# 8 Total Yards

# 1 total YPG

 

# 5 passing yards

# 2 passing YPG

 

# 8 total rushing Yards

# 12 rushing YPG

 

# 25 total points allowed

# 19 points per game allowed

[billsbackto81]

They'd be a lot better with a functional, competent offense that can maintain drives that doesn't constantly give opposition so many short fields. 

 

They are legit and it shows when they play. They also seem to turn it up when they have the lead.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

4 hours ago, BillsRdue said:

Overrated for now. Top 10, sure, but there lots of points given up, lots of 3rd down conversions, not a lot of turnovers or sacks. It's a solid but not elite defense. Let's see how things shape up if we field a competent chain moving offense.

 

...very fair assessment......

[NewEra]

10 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

I listed the average rankings 

 

per game average is the average 

 

5 games or 16. It is still an average.  

 

Like I said earlier I posted all the stats in the other thread.  

 

 

 

D2D ...  It is nice to see a dominant D

 

Per ESPN...

http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/total/position/defense

 

Total D

# 8 Total Yards

# 1 total YPG

 

# 5 passing yards

# 2 passing YPG

 

# 8 total rushing Yards

# 12 rushing YPG

 

# 25 total points allowed

# 19 points per game allowed

#1 typg- you have your answer.

[mrags]

2 hours ago, Scott7975 said:

I actually looked this up the other day.  Average starting field position for our opponents is the 32 yardline or thereabouts according to the website.  Couple that with having way more time on the field than most and that shoots that theory down.  I had the same one, which is why I looked it up.

 

However, the website I looked at could be wrong.  I have to try and find a better website that I trust, but don't have time right now.

Average field position doesn’t mean anything tho for this argument. They have had multiple drives started against them inside their own zone due to interceptions. What’s to say they didn’t stop a few here and there but give up more yards on the short drives. 

 

Either way. It means nothing. We’ve given up the 8th most points in the league and we are 3-7. So how has the “number 1” defense in the league panned out for us?

 

ive always said this... stats are for suckers. Wins are all that matter. We aren’t doing good there. If you really try hard enough you can find stats to prove any argument you are trying prove. 

Edited November 13, 2018 by mrags

[mead107]

If they say we are the it is true. 

[Beast]

You are what it says you are.

 

#1?

 

Yep.

[Chicken Boo]

35 minutes ago, billspro said:

 

It really doesn’t matter what you believe. Statistically they are the best D in football. 

 

The defense is solid, but not the best.  They give up too many points to be the best.  You want to rest on statistics, fine.  Stats don't tell the whole story. 

[longtimebillsfan]

I think it is legit for what it is.  Given the number of turnovers, 3 and outs, and the general lack of ball control the offense has experienced this season, for our defense to lead the league in the fewest yards allowed is an amazing accomplishment.

Edited November 14, 2018 by longtimebillsfan

[iinii]

If we were the best defense we would have more wins. Look at the Ravens and Bears, the years they just owned everyone. Dilfer wouldn’t have a ring if it wasn’t for Ray Lewis.

[GreggTX]

Add a lockdown corner opposite White and replace Kyle with a stud. With Shaq and Murphy at LDE, one could be traded. Find Lorenzo's heir and this could be an awesome D. They're already very good.