Defence was dominated and Frazier needs to be more aggressive

[Real McClappy]

Titans scored points on 6 straight drives to win the game.  It's really that simple in my mind, the unit has to do better. 

[The Firebaugh Kid]

They sell out to stop Henry which opens open play action. That douche 17 is good on those intermediate throws too, and owned us on 3rd down. Still.....Bills are the better team, and should have won. 

Allen sneak was the call to make. 

[Jerome007]

Clearly for the Bills D, Henry was a gigantic factor. Beside his long run, he was good but held in check fairly well. Yet, Tannehill's TD run, and soooo many intermediate passes were because the D was focusing on Henry. In the 1st quarter, there was a few plays with Klein there along Milano and Edmunds, yet it stopped soon after. IDK why. It stopped the run. But yeah, those short passes are what KOed the Bills, and most of these came off playactions.

 

What was a bummer to me is that the Bills clearly looked one of the top teams still, but beatable. And well, being beatable and winning the SB is a harder mix. Doable but it'll be quite the task. Not the overall dominant powerhouse, even if still a Top 8 team.

 

Good point is that the coaches will learn from this, as they did from the Steelers L. Compared to year 1, I feel McD and co mostly adjust real well at halftime. It's the INGAME adjustments they really lack. IDK why.

Edited October 19, 2021 by Jerome007

[BearNorth]

Being a stats guy, the game essentially came down to two plays, both by Henry.  The 76 yard run was a bad Bills defensive set that the Titans exploited.  Henry does this a couple of times every year.  The 13 yard TD, was just a "I'm gonna do this and you can't stop me".  Take those out and the Titans gained 273 yards from scrimmage.

 

Josh's Int and the resulting short field was IMHO a product of our putrid O-Line play.

 

Then there's our total lack of a running game.  If you look at the rushing leaders in the NFL, which you need if you hope to control the clock with a lead, they are all [Henry, Chubb, Elliott, Mixon, Taylor] much bigger than Moss and Motor. We need a back that can pound the rock.

 

We had two scores wiped by inopportune penalties.

 

Daboll had a couple creative red zone plays, the Knox pass to Allen, and the Knox TD run that was wiped out by a holding call, but we need more creativity.  Our OL and RB's are not dominant in the red zone, yet we have a stable of pass catchers that routinely get open.  Why a supposed offensive genius like Daboll cant come up with a decent screen pass option in the red zone is beyond me.

[Mango]

11 hours ago, Mango said:

Edmunds got worked tonight. He got picked on in the second half. Regularly lightly brushed out of plays. 

 A lot of people kicking back on this. Maybe I should be more specific. Edmunds did not have 4 bad quarters, but he was picked on and pushed out of plays more frequently as the game went on. 

[GoBills808]

4 minutes ago, Mango said:

 A lot of people kicking back on this. Maybe I should be more specific. Edmunds did not have 4 bad quarters, but he was picked on and pushed out of plays more frequently as the game went on. 

He was our best player on defense.

[Mango]

3 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

He was our best player on defense.

 

The best player on a defense that allowed 6 straight drives that ended in points....

[Norcalbillsfan]

7 hours ago, MJS said:

This is just nonsense. Edmunds had a good game. I seriously do not know what you people are watching.

I think just the defensive game script and how they asked Milano and edmunds to play the play action made them look bad on alot of big plays.  When you have your lbs selling out for the run coming up so close to the line of scrimmage then asking them to drop back and cover zone and tannehill exposes it again and again. It was alot to ask of our lbs. Edmunds came up and made some good hits and tackles, but he also got taken completely out of plays by much less athletic blockers. Defense as a whole played bad, edmunds made solid efforts, I think the defensive scheme made him and milano look worse than they played.

[GoBills808]

2 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

The best player on a defense that allowed 6 straight drives that ended in points....

If your point was that the defense didn’t play particularly well, more people would have agreed with you.

[dpberr]

That TD run got into the head of Frazier and the defense.  They weren't the same after that.  The defense is built to defend the pass and they stopped doing that. 

 

The defense isn't built to handle a 1989-era Christian Okoye battering ram.  You choose to stop Tannenhill or Henry but trying to do a little of both gets you neither. 

 

If I were the Bills, I'd add an 80s-era esque run stopper at LB if I could.  There's a chance you'll meet the Titans or Browns in the playoffs, and you may need one to slow down those attacks.

 

 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

23 minutes ago, Norcalbillsfan said:

I think just the defensive game script and how they asked Milano and edmunds to play the play action made them look bad on alot of big plays.  When you have your lbs selling out for the run coming up so close to the line of scrimmage then asking them to drop back and cover zone and tannehill exposes it again and again. It was alot to ask of our lbs. Edmunds came up and made some good hits and tackles, but he also got taken completely out of plays by much less athletic blockers. Defense as a whole played bad, edmunds made solid efforts, I think the defensive scheme made him and milano look worse than they played.

 

Got picked on with RPOs.  LBs always look stupid on those, but they're the conflict defender.  If you're in the passing lane backpedaling they're going to hand it to henry.  Thats why CEH had like 200 yards against buffalo in 2020.

[Scott7975]

Outside of losing the game and Josh not getting that one yard for the first down, the defense not getting a finger on Tannehil all night was my biggest disappointment.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

11 hours ago, QCity said:

Our base D is nickel, we're just not built to stop a power running game.

 

And boy, did it show tonight.

This is what I didn’t get. When they only line up 2 WRs why wouldn’t they put AJK in for Taron? Most of Henry’s big runs looked like they ran at him or Milano. 
 

When a WR can easily block one or two of the three guys behind the front a RB like Henry is going to run wild 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

I think sitting Epenesa and Basham was a mistake, we got no passrush from the outside. I would have sat Addison and Cody Ford.

 

 

17 hours ago, BuffaloRebound said:

Nah.  Sometimes an offense gets hot and you gotta match them.  Defense held Titans to FG and gave the ball back to offense up 4.  Josh took inexcusable sack.  And then offense can’t get 6 inches on 4th down.  Plenty of blame to go round.  And Smith needs to not be on the team come Tuesday.  

 

Smith ?

 

 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

17 hours ago, Mango said:

Milano got fooled a few times in misdirections and was sort of on an island at times with a ton of field to cover. He did not have a great game either.

 

I noticed Edmunds not being able to disengage and/or OL sneezing and he was taken well out of the play. 

 

The play action really got us last night, something i wish we had more of.

 

 

[dave mcbride]

5 hours ago, Mango said:

 A lot of people kicking back on this. Maybe I should be more specific. Edmunds did not have 4 bad quarters, but he was picked on and pushed out of plays more frequently as the game went on. 

Enh ... he's playing zone. He's not really playing a man and there's always going to be someone open given the lack of a pass rush, TN's scheme, the quality of TN's receivers, and the accuracy/quickness to release of Tannehill. Edmunds shouldn't be blamed for this. 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

16 hours ago, Bubba Gump said:

 

That was their worst game in a long time. It seems like every time the media starts talking about Frazier being a head coach next year, the Bills defense plays like crap.

 

Frazier will likely never be a HC  again, he had his shot in Minnesota and doubt he gets one now that its been so long, some guys are just better as coordinators.

 

 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

16 hours ago, Big Blitz said:

2 plays lost this game.

 

The Henry run.

 

Josh's INT inside our own 20.

 

Take one of those away and we win - the INT imo was the biggest play.   

 

 

We're fine.  They gave us everything they had.   

 

 

Prayers for Knox. 

 

If they called the holding of Poyer on the long Henry run we win the game

 

 

[LabattBlue]

Frazier’s conservative nature and refusal to change in game hurt the team last night…a lot. 

[BananaB]

Played to stop Henry, when that failed it opened another can of worms. Our D was looking great, getting pressure and stopping the run the last few games. Didn’t like the personnel changes made. Sure Henry is a different type of runner but why are we drafting these guys if they can’t play every Sunday regardless of the opponent.  Sometimes I think the Bills shoot themselves in the foot when making some odd changes to the lineup.