Nickel or 5-2 ? Shotgun or under center ? Let’s debate.

[Italian Bills]

Personally, going against a not so great QB, good but not great, i would switch from Nickel to 5-2 to have more protection against the run, maybe not all game long, but i would mix those two formations more, sticking with the Nickel we could have problem limiting their run offense.
 

On offense i think that Josh play better under center than  the shotgun. He can use more play action plays, make quicker throws for short and more safe passes and avoiding the pass rush that is our weakest point. 
 

I also noticed that playing under center our backs play better because they get the ball in speed and not starting from a still. 
 

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by Italian Bills

[jletha]

McDs track record against rookie QBs is pretty good. I trust theyll be able to sufficiently confuse him and keep it close by whatever means necessary.

 

Now the offense has to pull their weight and score. Putting more pressure on Mac

[Devilmann]

I’d rather go 4-3 and have Klein play personally. Josh is going to be running for his life as usual but I hope they work on the screen game in practice. 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

All

 

 

[Malazan]

hopefully better weather means that Mac Jones tries to throw more..

[hondo in seattle]

15 minutes ago, Devilmann said:

I’d rather go 4-3 and have Klein play personally. Josh is going to be running for his life as usual but I hope they work on the screen game in practice. 

 

I think this is what's been done in the past when we were more afraid of the run and the pass.  

 

The thing I don't like about the 5-2 is if the back gets through the LOS, we're in trouble. 

 

To borrow an expression from army tactics, I'd rather defend in depth.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Is anyone else worried Belichick flips the script and goes with a frequent play action passing attack. I would. Edmunds bites so hard on play action. The middle of the field would be wide open. 

[hondo in seattle]

1 hour ago, Italian Bills said:

Personally, going against a not so great QB, good but not great, i would switch from Nickel to 5-2 to have more protection against the run, maybe not all game long, but i would mix those two formations more, sticking with the Nickel we could have problem limiting their run offense.
 

On offense i think that Josh play better under center than  the shotgun. He can use more play action plays, make quicker throws for short and more safe passes and avoiding the pass rush that is our weakest point. 
 

I also noticed that playing under center our backs play better because they get the ball in speed and not starting from a still. 
 

 

 

I could be wrong, but I thought I saw statistical breakdowns once that indicated that our backs do better with the QB under center but Josh is more effective from the shotgun.

 

If my memory is right, it's a dilemma.  You can't run shotgun when you pass then put Josh under center when you want to run - it telegraphs the call.   Sometimes you have to run - and pass - out of a formation that isn't ideal.  

[Southern_Bills]

If the OL was better I would vote under center. Alot of times by the time Josh completes the play action motion a defender is there as soon as he turns around. So that's no good.

[Nitro]

I am a fan of 5 - 2 defense.  It makes running more difficult.   

[The Wiz]

7 minutes ago, Southern_Bills said:

If the OL was better I would vote under center. Alot of times by the time Josh completes the play action motion a defender is there as soon as he turns around. So that's no good.

The thing I noticed most in the Carolina game was how much more efficient the running game was with allen under center. 

 

I'd take that and trust allen to do his escape artist moves. 

[hondo in seattle]

39 minutes ago, Nitro said:

I am a fan of 5 - 2 defense.  It makes running more difficult.   

 

It certainly clogs up the line of scrimmage - but there's a lot of space and not a lot of big bodies at the second level.  

[LABILLBACKER]

2 hours ago, jletha said:

McDs track record against rookie QBs is pretty good. I trust theyll be able to sufficiently confuse him and keep it close by whatever means necessary.

 

Now the offense has to pull their weight and score. Putting more pressure on Mac

If he hands off every play what's to confuse? Get an extra DL guy in there. Stop the play at the LOS. Don't depend on 5 dbs running around trying to tackle whoever in the 2nd level. 

[vincec]

1 hour ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Is anyone else worried Belichick flips the script and goes with a frequent play action passing attack. I would. Edmunds bites so hard on play action. The middle of the field would be wide open. 

You can be sure that they will have a different game plan you saw in the previous game. For different weather conditions if nothing else. And I'm sure PA will be a big part of it. Jones does that well and the Bills have been vulnerable to it.

31 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

If he hands off every play what's to confuse? Get an extra DL guy in there. Stop the play at the LOS. Don't depend on 5 dbs running around trying to tackle whoever in the 2nd level. 

If they hand off on every play they could just go 5-3 or a 6-2 if they want to stay in the even front. But that's not going to happen this week. NE will be far more balanced.

[Nitro]

44 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

It certainly clogs up the line of scrimmage - but there's a lot of space and not a lot of big bodies at the second level.  

You have to have LBs who can move laterally quickly.  Hit the hole and stick the RB.  

[frostbitmic]

I think Bellichick is going to do the opposite of what he did in the last game and use a pass heavy game plan. Macgruber Jones will come out and throw tons of quick short 2-5 yard passes to move the chains. I expect them to test Dane Jackson early and often.

 

A 5-2 defense might be a good way to go. It would certainly help against the run and having an extra set of hands raised on short passing plays could lead to some batted balls and errant passes that our DBs can do something with.

[Thurman#1]

Injuries and Covid outs should have more to do with what we go with than scheme, as things are.

 

If everyone was healthy, McDermott and Frazier know better than us how to run their defense.

[Thurman#1]

1 hour ago, LABILLBACKER said:

If he hands off every play what's to confuse? Get an extra DL guy in there. Stop the play at the LOS. Don't depend on 5 dbs running around trying to tackle whoever in the 2nd level. 

 

 

IMO we should expect a lot more balance this time, and running to set up the pass.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

3 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Is anyone else worried Belichick flips the script and goes with a frequent play action passing attack. I would. Edmunds bites so hard on play action. The middle of the field would be wide open. 

He’s definitely going to but I doubt they’ll keep as many guys in blocking because they want mac to have some additional passing targets to threaten pass a little more.  It was just as much the scheme they ran that led to the rushing totals last time as it was they outmuscled us…perhaps even more so.  They are not a top tier rushing team in my opinion. They could roll with the same game plan as last time but I don’t think they’ll score enough points to win that way in better weather 

[TC in St. Louis]

I'd go with our traditional defense with Edmunds and Milano with #24 roaming around.  It's worked against every team, really.  When we changed to a 3 LB set they ran through us anyway.  Our defense is good enough with our base defense.

 

I do prefer Josh lining up under the center.  Much more effective when we use play action.