All Pro Ballot: Bill Barnwell Edition

[DCOrange]

It requires ESPN+, but I figured I’d summarize the Bills related parts. Link below:

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/insider/story/_/id/32958295/nfl-all-pro-team-2021-bill-barnwell-picks-best-players-every-position-including-jonathan-taylor-micah-parsons-jc-jackson

 

QB: No mention of Josh Allen, though he said he has an MVP column coming soon so he didn’t go into a ton of detail for the QBs here. Interesting fact though is that Aaron Rodgers leads the league in QBR this season at 67.8, which would barely rank inside the top 10 in an average season. 
 

WR: Barnwell named two to the first team and two to second. Sounds like Diggs was #5 on his list so he just missed out behind Kupp, Adams, Jefferson, and Hill. I should also mention he included a sort of flex role for guys that split snaps at RB and WR so that he could squeeze Deebo Samuel in. 
 

Off Ball LB: Matt Milano made the 2nd team, behind only Micah Parsons and Darius Leonard. Not much detail here; he just says Milano is a stalwart on what might be the best defense in the league. 
 

Safety: Jordan Poyer is #1 on the first team. Barnwell says “Poyer has been an eraser in the secondary. When teams have been brave enough to throw in his direction, the result has been a downright depressing passer rating of 3.6. He has five picks and nine passes defensed while allowing 3.1 yards per target and continuing to contribute as a run defender. The Bills rank second in the league in defensive DVOA, and with cornerback Tre'Davious White out for the season, Poyer's partnership with Micah Hyde has kept the team afloat on that side of the ball.”

 

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by DCOrange

[GunnerBill]

I think both Poyer and Milano will get all pro votes this year. They have a chance to sneak onto the 2nd team I'd say. 

[BuffaloBill]

The Bills D gets no respect….. maybe because they are not lethal in the pass rush or are somewhat soft in the middle against the run.  The Bills are a coverage defense in a passing league. 

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

The season that Hyde and Poyer got here was the end of the embarrassment for this franchise. 2017 brought us McDermott, 21/23/27/58. That was the start of this entire thing and has been the backbone of this turnaround. None of those guys get the credit they deserve and I’d love to see as much recognition as possible.

[Andrew Son]

2 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

The Bills D gets no respect….. maybe because they are not lethal in the pass rush or are somewhat soft in the middle against the run.  The Bills are a coverage defense in a passing league. 

Unfortunately there seems to be a bit of a running renaissance.  Hopefully that's not our downfall.   

[NewEra]

3.6 passer rating against….lol.  I remember it was right around the same number mid season, thinking of he keeps that stat where it is, he has to be 1st or 2nd team all pro. Add 5 picks and 9 deflections…..dude needs his due respect.  He’s earned all pro.  Stud

 

No problem with Diggs not getting it.  The other guys have better numbers.  WR is a numbers game for sure. 
 

Good to see milano get some respect.
 

 

[TH3]

I think Barnell gets some level respect simply because he is long winded….not exactly correct

[ToGoGo]

Bill Barnwell is a tool.

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBill said:

The Bills D gets no respect….. maybe because they are not lethal in the pass rush or are somewhat soft in the middle against the run.  The Bills are a coverage defense in a passing league. 

 

Even from our own fans.... and you are dead right... its because of style. This isn't a big physical hit you in the mouth defense and it isn't a big flashy stats boom or bust defense. It is a defense built from back to front that is not flashy, maybe even a bit boring but that plays as a unit with excellent communication, disguise and positional discipline. 

 

[HomeskillitMoorman]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBill said:

The Bills D gets no respect….. maybe because they are not lethal in the pass rush or are somewhat soft in the middle against the run.  The Bills are a coverage defense in a passing league. 

I think it’s a couple things, one that we’ve gotten run over so badly at times with seemingly no way to stop the bleeding.
 

The other is I don’t think many of us trust this D to come up with the big stop at the end of the game. I don’t know if it would have happened this past week in NE either, which is one of the reasons I was so on board with going for it on those 4th downs. 

[HardyBoy]

4 minutes ago, HomeskillitMoorman said:

I think it’s a couple things, one that we’ve gotten run over so badly at times with seemingly no way to stop the bleeding.
 

The other is I don’t think many of us trust this D to come up with the big stop at the end of the game. I don’t know if it would have happened this past week in NE either, which is one of the reasons I was so on board with going for it on those 4th downs. 

Yet they have time after time…

[GoBills808]

14 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Even from our own fans.... and you are dead right... its because of style. This isn't a big physical hit you in the mouth defense and it isn't a big flashy stats boom or bust defense. It is a defense built from back to front that is not flashy, maybe even a bit boring but that plays as a unit with excellent communication, disguise and positional discipline. 

 

It’s the best defense in the league…3rd in turnovers, first in yards/play, third in points against…if you call that kind of dominance boring I don’t know what to tell you.

[GunnerBill]

Just now, GoBills808 said:

It’s the best defense in the league…3rd in turnovers, first in yards/play, third in points against…if you call that kind of dominance boring I don’t know what to tell you.

 

To be clear I love our defense, but I think there are fans who just stylistically do not like the Bills defense because it is not big and physical nor is it flashy. We literally had a "what happened to the defense?" thread on Monday morning. Personally I think the scheme the Bills play is much more sustainable than some of those schemes that do rely more on beating people up or splash plays. 

 

I'll ad a few numbers to your impressive list if I may, 1st in the league in QB hurries, 2nd in the league in pressure %, 2nd in the league on 3rd down, 1st in the league in drives ending in a score (i.e. the lowest percentage of drives against that end in points), 1st in the league in yards per play. 

 

And there are people here who would fire the Defensive Coordinator. True story. 

[DCOrange]

10 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

It’s the best defense in the league…3rd in turnovers, first in yards/play, third in points against…if you call that kind of dominance boring I don’t know what to tell you.

I'm not really comfortable calling it the best in the league mainly due to how bad our opponents have been this season. But it's undoubtedly one of the best; doesn't seem like there is one dominant defense in the league this year.

[GoBills808]

11 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

To be clear I love our defense, but I think there are fans who just stylistically do not like the Bills defense because it is not big and physical nor is it flashy. We literally had a "what happened to the defense?" thread on Monday morning. Personally I think the scheme the Bills play is much more sustainable than some of those schemes that do rely more on beating people up or splash plays. 

 

I'll ad a few numbers to your impressive list if I may, 1st in the league in QB hurries, 2nd in the league in pressure %, 2nd in the league on 3rd down, 1st in the league in drives ending in a score (i.e. the lowest percentage of drives against that end in points), 1st in the league in yards per play. 

 

And there are people here who would fire the Defensive Coordinator. True story. 

Yes, I think you are largely right about why fans don't appreciate the defense but they have to realize that is by design. You are not going to be as physically imposing in base nickel, and McDermott values speed to the ball and range over ability to physically dominate 1v1 (thinking Poyer and Hyde vs players like Baker in ARI or Mathieu, Edmunds vs Wagner etc). I mean when you look at the roster construction it's a conscious choice.

[NewEra]

56 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

It’s the best defense in the league…3rd in turnovers, first in yards/play, third in points against…if you call that kind of dominance boring I don’t know what to tell you.

It helps that we played:  Tua, Brissett, mac Jones x2, some jets qb, Davis Mills, Heineke, wentz, cam, Trevor Lawrence, simian and Big Ben.  Minus Brady, Mahomes and Tannehill, we’ve played all lower tier qbs.  
 

if our schedule was tougher I don’t think we’d have the same stats defensively.  I feel that our D is def top 5 in the league regardless of opponents.  In a season where there aren’t any dominant defenses, we might be the best, but I think Dallas (now that they are healthy) and Tampa (if they are healthy) are the best due to their ability to generate tremendous pressure when rushing 4.  If we had Tre’Davious, I might agree that we are the best.  Minus him, Idk.  Still need to see how our corners matchup vs some more high powered offenses.  They played a great half vs Brady.  They also played a poor half vs Brady.  Which half more closely resembles what they actually are?  

[BADOLBILZ]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

I think both Poyer and Milano will get all pro votes this year. They have a chance to sneak onto the 2nd team I'd say. 

 

White was on his way toward that too.

 

Might have been having his best season.

[Big Turk]

3 hours ago, BuffaloBill said:

The Bills D gets no respect….. maybe because they are not lethal in the pass rush or are somewhat soft in the middle against the run.  The Bills are a coverage defense in a passing league. 

 

They force teams to execute at a high level for 10+ plays to score most drives and not many teams can do it.

[GunnerBill]

19 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

White was on his way toward that too.

 

Might have been having his best season.

 

Tre would have been 1st team I think.

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

To be clear I love our defense, but I think there are fans who just stylistically do not like the Bills defense because it is not big and physical nor is it flashy. We literally had a "what happened to the defense?" thread on Monday morning. Personally I think the scheme the Bills play is much more sustainable than some of those schemes that do rely more on beating people up or splash plays. 

 

I'll ad a few numbers to your impressive list if I may, 1st in the league in QB hurries, 2nd in the league in pressure %, 2nd in the league on 3rd down, 1st in the league in drives ending in a score (i.e. the lowest percentage of drives against that end in points), 1st in the league in yards per play. 

 

And there are people here who would fire the Defensive Coordinator. True story. 

 

Totally agree on the highlighted.

 

The issue is that they drafted for "beating people up or splash plays" and haven't gotten THAT exactly.......so they have some very pricey 5th year options and potential second deals to mull on defense............while at the same time lacking some talent up front and playmaking ability on offense because of those investments..........and that's putting some hard miles on their QB.