Last Guy on the Bench Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 (edited) I've been enjoying the defensive play as much as the next guy. But I keep having the feeling that the offense is actually much closer to good (and getting closer all the time) than it appears, and the defense is more vulnerable. If you look at the teams we've played, it will lower your confidence in the defense a little bit. By yards, we have played 8 of the worst 10 offenses in the league, with only the Browns and Pats (16 and 17) even respectable. The average offensive ranking of our ten opponents is 25th! We've played 10 teams so the worst the average could be would be 27th (if you had the actual 10 worst teams on the schedule). By yardage, we've played close to the worst collection of offenses you could play. Meanwhile, the average defensive ranking of the teams we've played is 17th. Only three are in the bottom 10 on defense (Giants, Bengals, Dolphins). They aren't the best defensive teams (except the Pats #2 and the Broncos and surprisingly the Jets tied for #8), but they average out to average. Granted, the Bills' own performance affects both of these rankings, but only 1/11 for everyone but the Dolphins, so it doesn't affect them that much at this point in the season. I don't think the Bills offense has really looked outgunned against anyone, except maybe Philly (we even out-gained the Pats by 150 yards despite Josh being in a panic most of the game). And they seem to be improving. I wonder if when all is said and done, at least by next year, the strength of this team might actually be offense? Meanwhile, the defense is about to face the #1 (Dallas) and #2 (Baltimore) offenses in the league. So I guess we'll find out how good they are. Unfortunately, the upcoming defenses are also going to be tougher, NE 2, Dallas 6, Pitt 7, Baltimore 14, so let's hope the Bills' offense continues to come together. We are about to learn a lot about this team. I hope we like what we learn. Edited November 25, 2019 by Last Guy on the Bench
1st Ammendment NoMas Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 Either way, I think we are trending in the right direction. With cap space and the way we've been drafting, both sides of the ball are being set up for success. I can see Top 10-12 or better for both the Offense and Defense. 1
ProcessYaDigg Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 I think our Offense is definitely trending up and our defense is and rightfully so, a top 5 defensive unit. Who cares about who we've been playing. The schedule is beyond their control. McD continues to make adjustments that keeps our team in the game, every game.
SCBills Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 Defense is absolutely a Top 10 defense in this league. I think we’ll find out if they’re truly a Top 5 unit over these next few games. I do think the Offense is close to being a unit that we can start to feel comfortable expecting 25+ ppg with. The OL is becoming very good and Allen/Singletary/Brown/Beasley/Knox is a strong base of playmakers. Up-tempo, strong run game and a speed based passing attack is our identity. If Allen starts connecting on those deep passes now that he got one out of the way, watch out.. 1
eball Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 I agree that we are about to learn a lot over the next five weeks. My feeling is that Josh and the offense are trending up, and the defense is very solid but not dominant. Against Dallas and Baltimore the Bills are going to need to score at least 24 points, so the timing couldn't be better for the offense to be showing signs of life. 4
Ramza86 Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 We are the the team gauging part of our schedule. I think minus Baltimore (Who I personally think will beat us by 20+) We should win the rest of our games if the offense continues trending upwards. (Including the Pats) I think these games arent easy though. Jets are playing good football, Pats are Pats. Steelers are always tough (Much tougher if they keep Rudolph benched).
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 LOL and LOL The offense is better and the defense 3rd in total yards., 3rd in passing yards, 15 in rushing yards and 3rd in points allowed. Far far better than last season
Jerome007 Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 54 minutes ago, eball said: I agree that we are about to learn a lot over the next five weeks. My feeling is that Josh and the offense are trending up, and the defense is very solid but not dominant. Against Dallas and Baltimore the Bills are going to need to score at least 24 points, so the timing couldn't be better for the offense to be showing signs of life. Yep. My take exactly. The run D has got me worried.
Buffalo_Stampede Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 Offense and defense are worse than we think. I can't get over how incredibly easy the schedule has been. It's not that we've played losing teams it's that we've played so many teams that lack talent and haven't looked great doing so. We're going to find out a lot about the Bills in the coming weeks. 1 1
Ray Finkel Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 3 minutes ago, Jerome007 said: Yep. My take exactly. The run D has got me worried. The big question is do we have the ability to get into a shoot out if the defense is having a bad day. As of now I would have to say no.
warrior9 Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 I feel like we still lack the "killer instinct" on offense.. too conservative at times when great teams are aggressive... IE: before half, end of game, etc. Yesterday we were in Denver territory (I believe) with 5 minutes or so and we ran the ball on 3rd and 3. I get we were up 20-3 but man, go for the jugular. There was a game this year when there was 40 seconds left before half and we had 2 timeouts and we knee it out.
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 Just now, warrior9 said: I feel like we still lack the "killer instinct" on offense.. too conservative at times when great teams are aggressive... IE: before half, end of game, etc. Yesterday we were in Denver territory (I believe) with 5 minutes or so and we ran the ball on 3rd and 3. I get we were up 20-3 but man, go for the jugular. There was a game this year when there was 40 seconds left before half and we had 2 timeouts and we knee it out. We are NOT the Patriots with "something" ( actually nothing) to prove
Rubes Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 I do think it will be interesting to see how Josh plays in a nice, controlled environment for a change, without the wind howling in his face... 1 1
warrior9 Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 6 minutes ago, SlimShady'sGhost said: We are NOT the Patriots with "something" ( actually nothing) to prove And I get that. But even against Washington. I feel like we "take our foot off the gas." It's not about being the Patriots. It's about having the "finishing" mentality
MJS Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 Part of the reason those offenses are ranked so low is BECAUSE they faced our defense. We also held the Patriots to under 20 points. I have confidence in the defense. And actually, I have confidence in the offense as well. I think the offense is average but can pick it up in crunch time. Elite defense and an average, opportunistic offense can get the job done even in the playoffs. We'll see. 1
auburnbillsbacker Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 The offensive line play has gotten much better. Assuming Ford can play and Knox turns out to be an ok TE, I think the Bills are 1 WR away from having a really good offense next season. A 2nd quality TE could help as well. 1
Chuck Schick Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 10 minutes ago, warrior9 said: I feel like we still lack the "killer instinct" on offense.. too conservative at times when great teams are aggressive... IE: before half, end of game, etc. Yesterday we were in Denver territory (I believe) with 5 minutes or so and we ran the ball on 3rd and 3. I get we were up 20-3 but man, go for the jugular. There was a game this year when there was 40 seconds left before half and we had 2 timeouts and we knee it out. Says the guy who would absolutely blast McDermott if we threw an incompletion or worse in that situation. Did you not watch the Denver offense completely unravel in their previous possessions? Why in the world would you “go for the jugular” in that situation?
warrior9 Posted November 25, 2019 Posted November 25, 2019 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Chuck Schick said: Says the guy who would absolutely blast McDermott if we threw an incompletion or worse in that situation. Did you not watch the Denver offense completely unravel in their previous possessions? Why in the world would you “go for the jugular” in that situation? How do you know I would blast McDermott? lol I've never done that. AND the fact that our defense was playing that well absolutely allows you to be more aggressive. I guess based on your post:reputation ratio, coming off assuming and being directly negative instead of having a conversation is your forte. Edited November 25, 2019 by warrior9
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