Do The Reich Thing Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 One word sums up this Bills defense right now. “Exposed” Finally, tonight, we got a taste of what the rest of this season will be like if the offense doesn’t carry us in a game. For the first four weeks our offense was so good that it overshadowed how bad the defense has been. I’m on record as being a part of this group. Saying, “oh they’ll figure it out, it’s early in the season and all defenses have been ” or “oh they haven’t been that bad.” From top to bottom this group has been awful all season. You can say we missed Tre and Milano in particular tonight, but they were bad with them when they have played. I’ll start first with defensive line: There has been little to no penetration, contain and pass rush from the entire line. Far and away Quinton Jefferson has been the best defensive lineman. He’s the only guy that has performed well some of the time. Where is Jerry Hughes? What about Ed Oliver? Harrison Phillips? Mario Addison? Trent Murphy? AJ E? It is beyond frustrating to consistently see QBs have all day to throw. And even when they have all day to throw the ends can’t set the edge so the QB just breaks the pocket and makes a play. Run defense has been alright, but that will get you nowhere in today’s NFL if you can’t stop the pass. Linebackers next: Man what an overall disappointment it is to write about this group. Klein can’t cover, Edmunds has regressed to being as bad as Eddie Robinson, and Matt Milano is average, but some say he’s a star because he’s the best of a poor performing group. Dodson has showed some flashes in his limited time and Lewis played hard tonight but is clearly undersized. Nonetheless, no matter who it is, gaps aren’t being filled, they can’t cover and they’re just running into blockers when they try to blitz. Defensive Backs: All of these factors listed above lead to a bad secondary. Idc if you have Deion and Darrell Green out there. They would be bad with the front two levels performing this badly. Combine this with guys who also can’t cover you get what the secondary looks like right now. Taron Johnson... woof. Tre White has been bad when he’s played this year. Josh Norman and Levi Wallace are both meh. And our coveted safety duo has not performed up to par. Moving forward, where do we go on defense? Do we make a trade? Do we change the scheme? Do we keep riding the wave and hope it all evens out? Something else? The talent on most levels of the defense is there. This group has performed to a high level before, so it suggests the personnel is there. I don’t have the answers, but they need to fix it now. Tonight was a wake up call. TL;DR - The defense has been bad all year and the issues are no longer overshadowed by our offense. What do we do?
Nuncha Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 (edited) Wish upon a Star that someone will figure this mess out...? The D-line has been really bad. BTW, nobody NOBODY could be as bad as Eddie Robinson. Edited October 14, 2020 by Azucho98 1
Do The Reich Thing Posted October 14, 2020 Author Posted October 14, 2020 Just now, Azucho98 said: Wish upon a Star that someone will figure this mess out...? His space eating is severely missed apparently. Should’ve signed “Snacks” before the Seahawks.
billsfanmiamioh Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 It’s not been good. Hard to argue that, but I don’t know what the answer is. Hopefully the guys making the big bucks do. 3
Bangarang Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 Frazier should be on the hot seat as I see the defense being a season long problem. We can’t stop anyone. 5
Johnnycage46 Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 This is a 3rd string preseason D playing 1st stingers. Just getting manhandled in the run, out of position constantly, wide open receivers. D sucks. 1
Do The Reich Thing Posted October 14, 2020 Author Posted October 14, 2020 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Bangarang said: Frazier should be on the hot seat as I see the defense being a season long problem. We can’t stop anyone. Outlook isn’t good. I’m trying to search for answers and hope. I keep on coming back to talent and defenses of the last two years. My smidge of faith relies on that. Edited October 14, 2020 by Do The Reich Thing
bills6969 Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 It really starts up front with the Dline. In particular, the pass rush is non-exisitent. Not sure how this gets fixed other than try some other guys (Epenesa?) or blitz more. The Dline is really concerning because they are fully healthy and are still playing like *****. At LBs, something is up with Edmunds. He looks like a shell of the player that we saw last year. I’m guessing he’s battling an injury or just sat on his ass all offseason. In secondary, we clearly missed Tre tonight. Hope he heals up quickly cuz he is def needed back there, but I think the big issue is lack of pass rush is killing us. If QB is not getting pressured, a decent QB will pick apart a secondary. If we don’t fix Dline/pass rush the D will continue to stink. 3
jahnyc Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 I think Milano is very good and is missed when not in there. Addison and Butler do not seem to be adding anything. I think injuries and the free agent additions (other than Jefferson) have hurt the defense.
Freak-O Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 I don't get it. It's mostly the same people that were part of the previous years' defenses and it's gone from solid to awful. Running game looked great last year too, not so much anymore. Passing game last year? Not very good, but this year it has been excellent. And across the board it's basically the same people (sure, Diggs helps a lot, as do Davis). I find it very odd that the entire defensive unit, all of the players, have gotten worse. Maybe the DC has gone mad? That's pretty much the most reasonable explanation I can think of. But what do I know, I've never played. 1
Roundybout Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Do The Reich Thing said: Matt Milano is average, but some say he’s a star because he’s the best of a poor performing group. I'll disagree here, I think he's very very good. He's shown the intelligence to sniff out screens and run plays and he's a strong tackler. He's superior to Edmunds right now in every way. Otherwise, I think McD will just have to change the scheme. No more basic four-man rushes, he's going to have to send guys like Taron Johnson or even Poyer in on DB blitzes to get to the QB quickly. That's all he can do right now barring a trade for someone like Dontare Poe. Edited October 14, 2020 by BillsEnthusiast 2
Milanos Milano Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 Ed Oliver and AJ Ep are huge liabilities on defense. Quite frankly a disappointment. Edmunds is good, but it’s clearly he is hurt. Milano is undervalued and was missed, he makes plays everywhere. We need a Bruce and LBs. 1
transplantbillsfan Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 https://theathletic.com/2136554/2020/10/13/penalties-and-sloppy-play-doom-bills-in-battle-of-preparedness-insta-graham?source=user-shared-article By a lot Tuesday was the 10th time since 1987 the Bills have allowed at least 42 points and lost by at least 26 points. Four of those have happened under coach Sean McDermott. The 26-point margin is the fifth-worst defeat since McDermott was hired. Worse differentials happened twice in 2017 and three times in 2018. The Bills’ worst loss last year was 31-13 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Big Blitz Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 (edited) 19 minutes ago, Freak-O said: I don't get it. It's mostly the same people that were part of the previous years' defenses and it's gone from solid to awful. Running game looked great last year too, not so much anymore. Passing game last year? Not very good, but this year it has been excellent. And across the board it's basically the same people (sure, Diggs helps a lot, as do Davis). I find it very odd that the entire defensive unit, all of the players, have gotten worse. Maybe the DC has gone mad? That's pretty much the most reasonable explanation I can think of. But what do I know, I've never played. Every year is different for most defenses. Offenses can maintain by and large bc of the QB. Defense loses one or two key guys it can look drastically different. Tonight last year's defense was missing Philips, Shaq, Milano, and White....oh and Star and Zo. And where did it upgrade? Nowhere. Edited October 14, 2020 by Big Blitz 2
LABILLBACKER Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 We miss Star, Lawson and Phillips and maybe even Zo. Murphy & Hughes are done. Our new DL members are just meh. Ed & Tremaine have yet to flash 1st round talent. Milano and White are probably our 2 best defenders who are now hurt. The remaining dbs are just average or below. This years defense is night & day from 18/19. As good and promising our offense looks, it won't be sustainable with this embarrassment of a D. Lose this ridiculous 4-2-5 and find a real MLB to force Edmunds & Milano on the edge. Trade for Eric Kendricks. 1
bills6969 Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 8 minutes ago, IronMaidenBills said: Ed Oliver and AJ Ep are huge liabilities on defense. Quite frankly a disappointment. Edmunds is good, but it’s clearly he is hurt. Milano is undervalued and was missed, he makes plays everywhere. We need a Bruce and LBs. I don’t think Epenesa looks that bad. He has shown the ability to get to the QB. He just looks like a kid out there and needs to get A LOT bigger. 2
HappyDays Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 (edited) 32 minutes ago, Do The Reich Thing said: His space eating is severely missed apparently. Should’ve signed “Snacks” before the Seahawks. Losing Star isn't the problem. The problem is our pass defense has fallen off a cliff. We went from 4th in pass YPG last year to 29th this year, 3rd in pass YPA to 18th, 4th in opposing passer rating to 21st, and 6th in pass defense DVOA to 17th (these rankings are all before accounting for tonight's game so they will presumably get worse). I think our run defense this year is actually a little better but it doesn't matter. It starts with the front 7. Edited October 14, 2020 by HappyDays 2 1
Milanos Milano Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 (edited) 6 minutes ago, bills6969 said: I don’t think Epenesa looks that bad. He has shown the ability to get to the QB. He just looks like a kid out there and needs to get A LOT bigger. He’s to slow and has no bend. He can get to the QB, but it isn’t consistent enough. A super bowl team needs at least 1 power rusher that can take over games to disrupt the flow. We don’t have that and have to rely on White all the time to cover for what seems to be eons. Edited October 14, 2020 by IronMaidenBills 1
Big Blitz Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 3 minutes ago, HappyDays said: Losing Star isn't the problem. The problem is our pass defense has fallen off a cliff. We went from 4th in pass YPG last year to 29th this year, 3rd in pass YPA to 18th, 4th in opposing passer rating to 21st, and 6th in pass defense DVOA to 17th (these rankings are all before accounting for tonight's game so they will presumably get worse). I think our run defense this year is actually a little better but it doesn't matter. It starts with the front 7. The injuries, the Dline drop off, and playing actual NFL QBs now. Goff Carr and Tennessee Tannehill not Gase Tannehill are probably better than the 3 best we saw last year--Lamar, Dak, and Wentz. And we lost 2 of those games. Brady sucked.
BuffaloRebound Posted October 14, 2020 Posted October 14, 2020 Our Defensive Ends had a rough game and that’s with Lewan out almost the whole game. No push and inexcusably lost contain too many times to count. And as others have stated, Edmunds looked lost, slow, and soft. And that 3rd and 19 conversion on Tennessee’s 2nd possession was atrocious. Just looked like a lot of players heads weren’t in the game. 3
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