The Maddening Mystery of McDermott's Disappearing Defense

[BADOLBILZ]

7 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

You can only go so far with a "sum of the parts" type of Defense.  At some point you need to have ELITE talent to be an elite defense.  We just don't have anybody on that level.  We used high draft picks on guys like Edmunds and Oliver who were supposed to fill that role but they are not having that type of impact at the NFL level.  I have watched a few Steelers games this year and they have playmakers all over the field on their Defense.  

 

The losses of Lorenzo, Star, Phillips, and Shaq are turning out to be much more significant than anybody was anticipating.

 

Last year's defense probably did look a bit more inflated because of the level of competition they faced.

 

After 6 games I think it's a matter of this Defense just isn't as good as most people thought or were expecting this year.  

 

 

Were those guys excellent playmakers last year?   Not really.   Their losses are overrated.    Last year the defense was remarkably healthy and had as easy of a schedule as they've had to face in probably 40 years........and still they had stretches where they got tattooed by opposing offenses.   This year the sledding is a lot tougher and the injuries have really taken a toll as well.    I agree with your take about the needing playmakers though.   They don't have that and really haven't had them in some time so when they are banged up or are making assignment mistakes the lack of that guy or two who can cover up for those issues is glaring.    

[Hapless Bills Fan]

 

 

3 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

I know it's probably very hard for you to believe........but honest........it's just plain boring writing.

 

What's more is the poor taste directing people off-forum to some knock-off fan site that you post on.

 

You are just laughably self-unaware.

 

But at least you are consistent.  

 

 

 

@BADOLBILZ

 

There are many things posted on this bulletin board

You will agree with some

You will not agree with others

Agree or disagree, but what purpose is served by the ad-hominem or personal attack?  How does it add to or improve the content on this board?

 

With regard to off forum, @SDS has weighed in thusly:

Two Bills Drive encourages content created by our community. However, you should be a long-time member in good standing prior to sharing your content. If you are new to the community, we do not allow new members to promote their websites, blogs, goods and services, etc... until you have become a regular contributor to the community.

 

At this point, given the number and quality of posts that don't involve outlinks, I believe @Logic qualifies as a regular contributor to the community.

[BillsPride12]

7 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Were those guys excellent playmakers last year?   Not really.   Their losses are overrated.    Last year the defense was remarkably healthy and had as easy of a schedule as they've had to face in probably 40 years........and still they had stretches where they got tattooed by opposing offenses.   This year the sledding is a lot tougher and the injuries have really taken a toll as well.    I agree with your take about the needing playmakers though.   They don't have that and really haven't had them in some time so when they are banged up or are making assignment mistakes the lack of that guy or two who can cover up for those issues is glaring.    

Individually? No.  I don't think any one of those guys would have had an extreme impact on the Defense getting derailed if it was just a matter of losing one of them.  As a whole?  I do think that has had a major impact on the regression of this Defense.  You are talking about 4 out of 11 starters on a "sum of the parts" Defense.  But if you look at the rest of my post you will see that I also think they were probably overrated to begin with due to having an easy schedule.  So you take a defense that was already a bit inflated in terms of where they probably actually ranked and then take away 4 starters and replace them with guys who haven't been able to fill the role and that is why you are seeing such a drastic change in the Defense this year.  Some people think it is some huge mystery but when you break it down it really isn't as puzzling as some people are making it out to be.  Just my two cents.

[BADOLBILZ]

1 minute ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

 

 

 

@BADOLBILZ

 

There are many things posted on this bulletin board

You will agree with some

You will not agree with others

Agree or disagree, but what purpose is served by the ad-hominem or personal attack?  How does it add to or improve the content on this board?

 

With regard to off forum, @SDS has weighed in thusly:

Two Bills Drive encourages content created by our community. However, you should be a long-time member in good standing prior to sharing your content. If you are new to the community, we do not allow new members to promote their websites, blogs, goods and services, etc... until you have become a regular contributor to the community.

 

At this point, given the number and quality of posts that don't involve outlinks, I believe @Logic qualifies as a regular contributor to the community.

 

 

Then it's a veritable sister site to me now, brutha!  

 

I believe my initial post was a very fair critique of his work.   If someone had done the same to me I guarantee you or @Chandler#81 wouldn't have been there to defend my honor.  

 

@SDS approved of this with Tim Graham........the explanation was that because Tim was considered a member he was fair game for direct critique.

 

@Logic's response to my original critique was to get personal so I expanded and shed more light on the critique.

 

Didn't get any more personal than that.  Don't really care about his personal life, but if you want more info I think he created a little bio on our sister site.

 

Keep the hot-takes coming @Logic.

 

[Bob in STL]

10 hours ago, Logic said:

I wrote an article about the Bills' defensive woes. I will paste it in full here, though it looks better at the link with pictures and such.

And before anyone says it: Yes, it's longer than a typical TBD post. It's an article, it's supposed to be. 

http://buffalofambase.com/2020/10/21/maddening-mystery-mcdermotts-disappearing-defense/

 

 

The Maddening Mystery of McDermott’s Disappearing Defense

Gather ’round, kiddies. In the spirit of Halloween, I’d like to tell you a spooky and mysterious tale. A tale of overmatched linemen, missed tackles, and vanishing big plays. A tale of a once proud and fearsome platoon, reduced suddenly and shockingly to a sniveling and pitiable state of helplessness. I must warn you that this tale is not for the faint of heart. Indeed, it is sure to send chills up the spine of every member of Bills Mafia and leave them shaking in their Zubaz. It is a tale which must be told, though, for it may decide the very fate of the Bills’ season.

To understand where we are now, though, we must first look back to from where we came.

The date is December 15, 2019. Under the bright lights of Heinz Field, the Buffalo Bills have just notched their tenth win of the season, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-10 on Sunday Night Football. The victory was due mainly to the exploits of their relentless and swarming defense. That night, Buffalo tallied four sacks, nine tackles-for-loss, and four interceptions. Up-and-coming star cornerback Tre’Davious White picked off two Duck Hodges passes. While the Bills themselves only scored ten points, it didn’t matter. Their defense won the day. The victory clinched a playoff spot for a Bills team that had been carried by its dominant defense all year. At season’s end, the Bills defense ranked second in points allowed and third in yards allowed.

The lofty finish seemed to be a continuation of the upward trajectory on which the Bills defense had found itself for three seasons under head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, one which had seen the Bills finish as the best pass defense in football the year before. Led by young, exciting defenders like Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano, Tre’Davious White, and Ed Oliver, as well as savvy vets like Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, the Bills defense appeared to be embarking on a sustained period of greatness. Appearances, though, can be deceiving.

October 19, 2020. For the second time in two weeks, the Bills have just faced a top AFC opponent in front of a national audience. For the second time in two weeks, their defense has looked feeble, toothless, helpless, and has directly contributed to a humiliating defeat. This time, the loss came at the hands of a Chiefs team which rushed for an eye-popping 245 yards and whose quarterback finished with a 128.4 quarterback rating.

 

Play after play, the Bills’ defensive linemen were blown off the ball, driven back five yards, and buried in the turf. The next line of defense — the linebackers — faired no better. At times, the physical domination by Kansas City’s offense was reminiscent of the Urbania Cowboys bulldozing the Little Giants — only this time there would be no “Annexation of Puerto Rico” play to save the day. Instead, with one last chance to stop the Chiefs offense and give the Bills a chance to score a winning touchdown, the Bills defense folded like a cheap suit.

 

On 3rd and 14, Patrick Mahomes had enough time to make a sandwich, get an early start on his taxes, and then find Byron Pringle for a 1st down. The failure of the Buffalo defenders on the play summed up the night perfectly: all three levels of the defense suffered at least one instance of poor execution, culminating in the Chief’s ninth 3rd down conversion of the night and resulting, ultimately, in another Bills loss.

 

It was a night filled with sights that Bills fans simply weren’t used to seeing prior to this season, but which have now somehow become commonplace: poor execution, poor discipline, stupid mistakes, blown coverages, missed tackles, bad fundamentals, and — crucially, this time– a complete inability to get off the field on third downs. All defenses have bad nights now and again, ESPECIALLY when they face the Kansas City Chiefs. Only this putrid performance by the Bills defense was nothing new — it was a continuation of an alarming and flummoxing trend that threatens to doom Buffalo’s chances of a return to the postseason. The week before, they allowed Ryan Tannehill to notch four touchdowns and a 129.3 passer rating en route to the Titans scoring a dizzying 42 points. In that game, again, there massive were failures at all three levels of the defense. Prior to that hideous performance, the Bills had also allowed the likes of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jared Goff to dominate them through the air.

 

All told, after six games, the Bills defense ranks 25th in yards allowed and 24th in points allowed. For a once proud, ascending, and dominant unit, it represents an utter and mind boggling failure. Worse yet, there is no obvious explanation for their woes.

 

How can a defense which so recently demonstrated such excellence suddenly find itself so helpless? How can a group led by proven, disciplined minds like Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier now look like a Rex and Rob Ryan led bicycle-built-for-two of crappiness?

 

Some will point to a lack of offseason practice reps — coach McDermott estimates that the Bills lost out on about 500 of them due to COVID-shortened camps. The only problem is that this wonky offseason affected all 32 NFL teams, and you don’t see defensive squads like the Steelers and Ravens suffering for it. Some will point to the opt-out of nose tackle Star Lotulelei and the ripple effect it has on the rest of the defense. This argument may have some merit, but I find it hard to believe that the loss of one defensive tackle has caused the linebackers to forget how to tackle or the safeties to forget what a good angle of pursuit looks like.

 

Some will point to injuries to Tremaine Edmunds and Ed Oliver and Tre’Davious White, or missed games by Matt Milano. Again, there may be some merit to these arguments, though I fail to understand how they lead to Jordan Poyer body-slamming an opponent five yards out of bounds or Jerry Hughes failing to record a sack through six games.

 

Put simply, there are a myriad of reasons that Bills fans can point to when trying to understand the collapse of the defense, but none of them — even when combined together — sufficiently explain the sorry display that we’ve seen the past several weeks. A drop-off in performance due to injuries? Sure. Fine. A complete inability to exhibit discipline, to tackle well, to win individual assignments, to affect the opposition’s quarterback? Inexcusable and unexplainable.

 

While the Bills offense came storming out of the gates the first few weeks of the season, they seem to be regressing to the mean. With that in mind, it is crucially important that the defense diagnose its struggles, fix them, and find a way to field a unit that is at least COMPETITIVE most Sundays. Unfortunately, there appears to be no easy solution. No miracle trade will save them, no “Rudy” style midseason pep talk. They just need to do, well…EVERYTHING better. If they can’t, they will doom Bills Mafia to a most chilling fate, indeed, and one to which they have grown most accustomed these past two decades: watching their team miss the playoffs, and uttering that horrid phrase they know all too well — “Maybe next year”.

 

Yup.  I would rather play Duck than Mahomes. 

[Logic]

6 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

3) You have posted 1/3 as much as me because I have been here over 20 years and you are a recent addition to the forum.   "Logic".  This is what I mean about you lacking self-awareness.    You don't know that you are illogical and often can't come to even common sense conclusions.   You think you are a lot more interesting than you are.   People read a sophomoric article like that and they think "bless his heart, he's tryin'" like maybe you are just not too bright.......meanwhile you are convinced that you are killing it.   It's quite comical.

 

If you feel a need to expand on it or ask me more about my personal life.........just go to PM's.

 

If you want to be a journalist.......get a thicker skin.       

Despite being here 3 years to your 20, I've still managed to post twice as much content that people enjoyed as you have. 

Regarding everything else in bold, thanks for again and again re-enforcing my point about the bizarre personal attacks you can't seem to stop making.

Once again: There's a difference between disliking/critiquing someone's writing -- which is all well and good -- and attacking them personally. To act like I "need a thicker skin" simply because I take umbrage with your personal attacks against me -- which now span three different replies, and which go well beyond critiquing my post itself -- lends further credence to original point: You're making something personal that doesn't need to be and going beyond the scope of what's appropriate.

I'm done with this conversation. You've made yourself clear: my writing is terrible, I'm terrible, my username is terrible, personal attacks are a totally legitimate form of critique, and you yourself are beyond reproach and rebuttal. Got it. Thanks again for your feedback. 
 

Edited October 22, 2020 by Logic

[Thurman#1]

16 hours ago, Logic said:

Some will point to a lack of offseason practice reps — coach McDermott estimates that the Bills lost out on about 500 of them due to COVID-shortened camps. The only problem is that this wonky offseason affected all 32 NFL teams, and you don’t see defensive squads like the Steelers and Ravens suffering for it. Some will point to the opt-out of nose tackle Star Lotulelei and the ripple effect it has on the rest of the defense. This argument may have some merit, but I find it hard to believe that the loss of one defensive tackle has caused the linebackers to forget how to tackle or the safeties to forget what a good angle of pursuit looks like.

 

Some will point to injuries to Tremaine Edmunds and Ed Oliver and Tre’Davious White, or missed games by Matt Milano. Again, there may be some merit to these arguments, though I fail to understand how they lead to Jordan Poyer body-slamming an opponent five yards out of bounds or Jerry Hughes failing to record a sack through six games.

 

Put simply, there are a myriad of reasons that Bills fans can point to when trying to understand the collapse of the defense, but none of them — even when combined together — sufficiently explain the sorry display that we’ve seen the past several weeks. A drop-off in performance due to injuries? Sure. Fine. A complete inability to exhibit discipline, to tackle well, to win individual assignments, to affect the opposition’s quarterback? Inexcusable and unexplainable.

 

 

 

Good stuff, especially the above, and you're exactly on target when you say there isn't one thing you can point to.

 

IMO, Star, injuries and Milano are big parts of it, but yeah, how come Hughes doesn't have a sack and what was up with those two unsportsmanlike penalties at times when we had a real, legitimate shot at the win? It is indeed a myriad.

 

I thought it looked like something they were going to get on top of. But they haven't, and six games is long enough for that to happen, even with the lack of offseason reps.

 

Frustrating.

Edited October 22, 2020 by Thurman#1

[Thurman#1]

15 hours ago, High Football IQ said:

If you truly look at this team and defense, there's no real mystery other than they played a very soft schedule last year which inflated the defenses overall numbers. But again, against real teams like the Ravens, Patriots and Texans they were exposed as the same defense we are seeing this year...i.e. not getting key stops, no pressure/turnovers, tons of yards/points allowed, etc. Even the 'worst' playoff team from last year (Eagles) lit this team up at home and teams like the Dolphins and Browns had solid success as well.

 

Bottom line, as I mentioned before...outside of a few key players, this team is mostly made up off woefully average NFL players and role players that need to play near perfect games to hang with the NFL elite, let alone win and why this head coach who some revere as a savior is a 3-15 against teams who made the playoffs in his first 3 years. After the last 2 weeks that number will be 3-17 at minimum when the 2020 campaign is over.

 

Like the old saying goes, the Bills (in some cases) are tough to play but easy to beat and until we truly find impact players and Beane is really no different than Whaley, Nix, etc other than this team was fortunate to get into the playoffs 2 of the last 3 years because of parity and law of averages. And another irony is that the 2 best players on this defense weren't even drafted by Beane.

 

 

 

Yes, the schedule was soft last year. But against the good teams you mention, the Pats, Cowboys, Titans and Ravens, they weren't "exposed" at all, actually the defense performed very very well indeed last year. In those five games they averaged 17.2 PPG (which if compared to all NFL defenses would have had them rank , lemme see, cross the t, carry the one, oh yeah, first in the league), 314.6 YPG (4th) and 1 turnover per game (1st). The D played really well last year against good offenses. DVOA compensates for strength of schedule and it had the D last year as 6th or 7th. They were very very good.

 

They deserved being thought of as an excellent NFL defense the last two years, though it's certainly true they aren't living up to that this year by any means.

Edited October 22, 2020 by Thurman#1

[Thurman#1]

10 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

I know it's probably very hard for you to believe........but honest........it's just plain boring writing.

 

What's more is the poor taste directing people off-forum to some knock-off fan site that you post on.

 

You are just laughably self-unaware.

 

But at least you are consistent.  

 

 

 

 

Nonsense. All three posts.

Edited October 22, 2020 by Thurman#1

[Trogdor]

17 hours ago, Looper said:

 

#4 - Forrest Gump would've scored 3 Monday night

1st Team All American Forrest Gump..put some respect on his name

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

12 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Were those guys excellent playmakers last year?   Not really.   Their losses are overrated.    Last year the defense was remarkably healthy and had as easy of a schedule as they've had to face in probably 40 years........and still they had stretches where they got tattooed by opposing offenses.   This year the sledding is a lot tougher and the injuries have really taken a toll as well.    I agree with your take about the needing playmakers though.   They don't have that and really haven't had them in some time so when they are banged up or are making assignment mistakes the lack of that guy or two who can cover up for those issues is glaring.    

 

Yeah - like... edmunds is active.  But he isn't healthy.  Oliver same thing.  Who knows about white.  Milanos had like 2-3 different issues.  Butler missed week 1 with an injury so he may be banged up.  Phillips looks like a shell of himself.  Either he's worse or still dealing with the knee.  

[BADOLBILZ]

36 minutes ago, dneveu said:

 

Yeah - like... edmunds is active.  But he isn't healthy.  Oliver same thing.  Who knows about white.  Milanos had like 2-3 different issues.  Butler missed week 1 with an injury so he may be banged up.  Phillips looks like a shell of himself.  Either he's worse or still dealing with the knee.  

 

 

I really wouldn't be surprised if they play better later in the season.    I know a lot of these guys are getting needles to be out there but the finish line is a long way away.    They just look like one of those "dog days of summer" baseball teams out there and that has happened every season at some point with McDermott.    It's at least a couple weeks earlier than normal but the injuries probably have a lot to do with that.    The quicker and probably cheaper fix is on the offense.   John Brown being gimpy has changed so much.  They should be looking for a rental deep threat receiver and just let Brown go on IR for 4-6 weeks and get his legs right.   When he comes back then they would just be stronger there.  

[MAJBobby]

What is weird to me, even when they were good the last couple years with McD the defense has gone into this "trash" slump.  Now granted this year is longer slump so far, but they have been able to pull out of it previous years, and history tells us they SHOULD be able to pull out of it again.  I think it relies on the ability to create turnovers, they start doing that again like years past and they can pull out of this slump too.

 

But there does need to be a remake of the defense in the Offseason, now that the offense seems to finally be in the 21st century with weapons, we can focus majority of assets next year at instilling youth and talent back into this defense.

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

Good article. One other thing I noticed is that we never blitz our DB. Watching AZ get to the QB with a S 2x was nice. We have not mixed up coverages and sent any DB's on blitzes. We barely send LB's. We kind of sit back in our zones and hope the front 4 get some pressure and when they don't, the QB has all day and lanes open up to run or throw on us. This is especially troublesome on third and long, when QB's just wait until someone breaks open and fires a strike.   No better example than Pringles 3rd down catch.  We let Pringle beat us. Vomit worthy.

[BADOLBILZ]

8 hours ago, Logic said:

Despite being here 3 years to your 20, I've still managed to post twice as much content that people enjoyed as you have. 

Regarding everything else in bold, thanks for again and again re-enforcing my point about the bizarre personal attacks you can't seem to stop making.

Once again: There's a difference between disliking/critiquing someone's writing -- which is all well and good -- and attacking them personally. To act like I "need a thicker skin" simply because I take umbrage with your personal attacks against me -- which now span three different replies, and which go well beyond critiquing my post itself -- lends further credence to original point: You're making something personal that doesn't need to be and going beyond the scope of what's appropriate.

I'm done with this conversation. You've made yourself clear: my writing is terrible, I'm terrible, my username is terrible, personal attacks are a totally legitimate form of critique, and you yourself are beyond reproach and rebuttal. Got it. Thanks again for your feedback. 
 

 

 

For anyone wondering why I would criticize this dude for putting his work out there.........I present to you the highlighted #1.

 

@Logic you are here fishing for approval and likes..........I am here for in depth discussions about my hobby...........which you don't provide with your hollow fluff and inexplicably ignorant(read:lacking knowledge or awareness) rebuttals.

 

Your arrogance and then the subsequent cries for help(highlighted #2) are a sorry combination.

 

If you are going to LAMP.........like opening a new thread about the woes of the defense when that discussion was already active(and more involved) in many other threads..........then just write better, more interesting and informative pieces and I won't call you out for spamming the board for thumbs.

[C.Biscuit97]

23 hours ago, Like A Mofo said:

When you think about it like this: The Bills had a top tier defense last year and here are the factors that have changed;

 

Shaq Lawson, Star Louteleli, Jordan Phillips and Lorenzo Alexander, 4/11 starters are GONE from that unit.

2019 Schedule was significantly easier then 2020.

Injuries have increased 10 fold on the defense

Offense playing at much higher level causes teams to adjust how they play against the defense and thus may have exposed weaknesses not as evident as last year.

 

Overall I really like Brandon Beane, and I am not sure if Phillips and Shaq would have stayed for the right price, but so far that is a big miss.

Great summary.  

[MJS]

Nice alliteration.

[JPicc2114]

To be honest its not really a mystery. The lack of DTs and D-linemen in general not being able to get off blocks. It doesn't help that they are very undersized on top of it. Ed Oliver is completely usless at the 3 technique if he can't get pressure on the QB. Guy needs to go.  

 

I am not going to blame the secondary. Or even the linebackers... AJ Klein sucks though

[billsfan89]

15 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I could be wrong and often am

 

I tend to believe it was either a trade move, or an evaluation move as a preface to a trade trying to ship Murphy or Phillips

 

OTOH it could be legit bad judgement that they believe Zimmer and Cox "have it" and could help the team - in which case I personally put it down to poor judgement almost rivaling the decision to bench Taylor in favor of Peterman.

 

 

I think McD was trying to spark the team a bit. Get young guys who are "hungry" some snaps. I also think Harry Phillips just hasn't fully recovered from the injury last season so maybe a week off was to give him some "load management" which I think would ease his mind frame that he wasn't just getting "benched." Murphy on the other hand was likely just benched to "shake things up." Not sure it would have made a difference, but I do hope that the week off helps Phillips. 

47 minutes ago, JPicc2114 said:

To be honest its not really a mystery. The lack of DTs and D-linemen in general not being able to get off blocks. It doesn't help that they are very undersized on top of it. Ed Oliver is completely usless at the 3 technique if he can't get pressure on the QB. Guy needs to go.  

 

I am not going to blame the secondary. Or even the linebackers... AJ Klein sucks though

 

Getting Levi and Milano back should help the LB corps and secondary a lot. However what frustrates me is how McBeane is failing to bring in another big run stuffing DT. It's clear that Jefferson and Oliver aren't run defenders, Harry hasn't recovered from his injury and Butler is ineffective. Please make a trade or acquire someone off the street, Zimmer is not the Answer. 

[Logic]

3 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

I think McD was trying to spark the team a bit. Get young guys who are "hungry" some snaps. I also think Harry Phillips just hasn't fully recovered from the injury last season so maybe a week off was to give him some "load management" which I think would ease his mind frame that he wasn't just getting "benched." Murphy on the other hand was likely just benched to "shake things up." Not sure it would have made a difference, but I do hope that the week off helps Phillips. 

 

Getting Levi and Milano back should help the LB corps and secondary a lot. However what frustrates me is how McBeane is failing to bring in another big run stuffing DT. It's clear that Jefferson and Oliver aren't run defenders, Harry hasn't recovered from his injury and Butler is ineffective. Please make a trade or acquire someone off the street, Zimmer is not the Answer. 

I just don’t understand why they don’t sign Snacks Harrison, who has been a top run defender for years. He’s in another team’s practice squad right now, meaning the Bills could at least attempt to poach him.