Coaching or Drafting? - The Defensive Front

[ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin]

The Bills have a defensive minded Head Coach and a former HC as DC. This should mean the Bills have an edge in developing defensive players and having an impact unit, even in the modern NFL. Through their time in Buffalo McDermott and Frazier have done a remarkable job with the secondary, but I think all fans would admit the front 7 (or 6 in our case) has been a weakness. Plenty of pressures but few sacks, terrible against the run. Pressures work against rookies/ backups/ marginal QBs, but the DL has to get home against the best and disrupt those QBs.

 

Leslie Frazier was a DB on the 1985 Chicago Bears Defense. He was a DB coach for Andy Reid for the 2000's era Eagles. He has had many other stops as DC and HC, but his specialty is and has been DBs. McDermott was a S in college and was a DB coach before becoming the DC in Philadelphia. It was a tough task trying to replace Jim Johnson and after two years as DC for the Eagles he was let go. Ron Rivera (another assistant Defensive coach for the 2000's Eagles) brought him in to be DC in Carolina. Frazier and McDermott have coached some great DBs. They have been a part of and have coached some of the best Defenses ever. Guys like Brian Dawkins and Josh Norman played for these coaches.

 

The Bills under this coaching duo have made the most of any DB talent they can get. Poyer was a minor bust for Cleveland, and Hyde was a man with potential but no position in GB. They have become a Pro-Bowl/ All Pro Safety duo in Buffalo. White's stickiness has been maximized in this system. UDFA Levi Wallace has become a solid #2 and will get paid this off-season. 7th round pick Dane Jackson held up well in White's absence. Taron Johnson went from a guy infamous for a football bouncing off his helmet during The Combine to being a top 5-10 nickel DB who has made game changing plays and is a starter. Even EJ Gaines looked solid here.

 

Let's admit it Bills fans, the defensive front 6/7 has been weak. It is worse considering the FA$ and premium draft picks spent there.

 

Let's call 1st and 2nd round picks premium picks. Since Beane has been GM (2018 draft forward) 5 of 8 premium picks have gone to the defensive front, 4/8 have gone to the Defensive Line. That is a very heavy investment. Beane is 2/3 on offense with Allen and Diggs. Ford is a bust.

 

2018 - 1st round (16th overall) - Tre Edmunds - MLB

2019 - 1st round (9th overall) - Ed Oliver -DT

2020 - 2nd round (54th overall) - AJ Epenesa - DE

2021 - 1st round (30th overall) - Gregory Rousseau - DE

2021 - 2nd round (62nd overall) - Boogie Basham - DE

 

That is 3 x 1sts and 2 x 2nds in 4 years. None of these guys has become a legitimate game changer. I know Rousseau and Basham are rookies, but we see defensive rookies making game changing plays all over the league. Basham wasn't even active in half of the games this year. Ed Oliver, who was selected 9th overall, is developing, but he was 9th overall three years ago! If he has a 1 technique DT who shows up he looks good. It should be the other way around for #9 overall.

 

1/2 of TBD keeps hoping Edmunds will make an impact play.... keep waiting. Meanwhile LBs drafted in similar spots or later in the same or later drafts make game changing plays all over the field. Milano was a 5th round pick and has made more impact plays than Edmunds as a LB. He is also a converted safety.

 

Beane has also spent stupid amounts of money in FA on Defensive linemen. Star L, Jefferson, Butler, Addison, Murphy. Only Addison has been close to worth the money, and he has been part of some very bad results (Hail Murray as an example)

 

How much FA spending and premium draft picks have to go to fixing the front 6/7 with supposed 'Defensive Minds' at the helm?

 

Is Beane just bad at identifying DL/LB talent, or are our defensive minds, who are DB specialists just bad at getting the most out of talent in those positions? What is more mind boggling is that the 85 bears and the 2000's Jim Johnson Eagles sent crazy blitz packages to be aggressive destructive defenses. Why aren't the Bills doing the same? Our coaches know the DBs are the strength and sit back in a base Nickel, cover 2 safety look, and hope for coverage wins. If the Defensive front 6/7 get a win, all the better, but they usually do not.

 

The strategy with picks and FA$ was sound, but the results are poor.

 

Is it talent evaluation or coaching? It needs to be figured out. Despite all the premium draft picks and all the FA $ spent the Bills have no impact players in the front 7/6. This will not do against Mahomes/ Burrow/ Herbert etc going forward.

 

We can point to GM successes and failures and HC/DC successes and failures. Something is out of sync, and it needs to be fixed.

 

Is Beane finding good talent and the coaches are failing to get the most out of them, or are the coaches getting the most out of failed draft picks and wasteful FA spending??

 

Let's hear it. There is a clear disconnect in investment and results.

[Royale with Cheese]

I would not be surprised if we went DL in the first again.  

[ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin]

5 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I would not be surprised if we went DL in the first again.  

 

I wouldn't either, but I think CB/ IOL is more of a need.

 

Even if Buffalo goes DL again, is it talent evaluation or coaching that is failing to this point?

[Royale with Cheese]

Just now, ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin said:

 

I wouldn't either, but I think CB/ IOL is more of a need.

 

Even if Buffalo goes DL again, is it talent evaluation or coaching that is failing to this point?

 

I think Oliver will bust out next year.  I don't know what to think about Boogie and Rousseau yet.  I think AJ is depth and a C level player.

I think Harrison Phillips will continue getting better and very solid.  

 

I think it's tough to get a great pass rusher....it's why they get paid so much.  I think our DL is solid but do not currently have a difference maker.

You don't have the #1 defense in the league if your DL sucks.  You just are missing that big play guy up front...which is why I think 1st DL is possible.  

 

No defense was stopping Allen and Mahomes on Sunday.  The Colts in Manning's prime had Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney on the edges....couldn't stop Brady.

This is why you need someone who can win shootouts and we have that.

[Royale with Cheese]

1 minute ago, ScottLaw said:

Gross. 

 

Jordan Davis would be a great addition.  He could play both DT positions and he's got size.

[purple haze]

4 minutes ago, ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin said:

 

I wouldn't either, but I think CB/ IOL is more of a need.

 

Even if Buffalo goes DL again, is it talent evaluation or coaching that is failing to this point?

Oliver is good.  He’s extremely disruptive.  Rousseau and Basham are 1 year in.   Based on where they were taken the odds were they would need time to develop.  It is what is.

 

 Explosive athletes on DL normally go very early in round 1.  Or they have issues that cause a drop.   You ain’t getting Bruce Smith at the 30th pick.   Those two and Epenesa will get their chance to show what they can do next season because Jerry and Addison are done most likely and they will have to play.

[DuckyBoys]

I'll give Ed Oliver benefit of the doubt  Not hopeful on the rest , maybe Rosseau proves me wrong.   Epenesa seems very egregious given he barely played and they asked him to totally change his physique  They doubled down with paying Edmunds the 5th year  I need those McDermott lenses I just dont see it   Ford is god awful  Lets be honest take away Josh and we have new gm and coach

[RyanC883]

Bean (or someone) is just bad at front 7 evaluation.  Look at the results vs. secondary evaluation in both FA and the draft. We had a 7th roudn pick (CB Jackson) have a decent season, and undrafted Levi Wallace play at a CB 1 level.   Whoever is doing the front 7 grading needs to go.  

6 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

Jordan Davis would be a great addition.  He could play both DT positions and he's got size.

 

he's basically the only DL I'd want in the 1st.  

[Buffalo Bills Fan]

20 minutes ago, ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin said:

 

I wouldn't either, but I think CB/ IOL is more of a need.

 

Even if Buffalo goes DL again, is it talent evaluation or coaching that is failing to this point?

 

Honestly 2 all pro cb one for hill and one for kelce  ( or someone can cover him) . With a great d-line ( A stud type Tj Watt)

4 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

Bean (or someone) is just bad at front 7 evaluation.  Look at the results vs. secondary evaluation in both FA and the draft. We had a 7th roudn pick (CB Jackson) have a decent season, and undrafted Levi Wallace play at a CB 1 level.   Whoever is doing the front 7 grading needs to go.  

 

Levi is good vs teams not as potent as Chiefs but being a number 1 or even 2 is a huge mismatch.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Buffalo Bills Fan

[Toyo321]

We need to get rid of Hughes, he is done.  And we somehow some way have to bring in a stud DE.  I don't know how but it needs to happen.  But cutting the all D-line baggage, players that have not performed, it needs to happen.  Package deal and trade three guys  to get someone to come here.

 

We need to get the best Linebacker available this year 1st Round.  We need a stud linebacker something fierce.  Milano and Edmunds are average and always will be.  They are nothing special and way behind other linebackers on teams that probably would be willing to jump to Buffalo if given a chance,  but to do that Edmunds has to be shown the door or traded first.  Then Milano needs to go afterwards.  

2nd Round has to be a CB or Best O-lineman on the board.

 

 

[Royale with Cheese]

18 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

I think they need an established veteran rusher… someone like Mack, Von Miller, or as @GunnerBillmentioned Cam Jordan if available. They drafted two rushers in back to back 1st and 2nd rounds last year…. It’s time to invest offensively in the draft IMO. Need more speed on both sides of the ball, but they had the worst YAC rankings in the league….. Allen was their offense, they need to get him some more help. 

I don’t think we need to do much on the offense except adding to interior OLine, one more WR option.  
 

I don’t care where we add another DL, draft or FA but we need probably 2 more.

[ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin]

16 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

Bean (or someone) is just bad at front 7 evaluation.  Look at the results vs. secondary evaluation in both FA and the draft. We had a 7th roudn pick (CB Jackson) have a decent season, and undrafted Levi Wallace play at a CB 1 level.   Whoever is doing the front 7 grading needs to go.  

 

he's basically the only DL I'd want in the 1st.  

 

Thank you for staying on point. We have an awful lot invested in the DL/LB core and little to show for it.

 

Is it coaching/ scheme or talent evaluation? Something is off.

 

The Bills can take a UDFA and 7th round CB and play ok in the secondary, but cant develop the front 7 with 1st and 2nd round picks.... something is very off. Maybe we have too many DB based coaches and weak DL/LB coaches. Or do we have a GM bad at DL/LB evaluation?....

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

I don’t know, but when you get to say number one defense in all those categories, it makes it really hard to convince that things need to be changed… 

 

the reality of this defense is they would stifle bad teams and got to play a lot of them… but outside TreD they really lack Excellent players.

[ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin]

1 minute ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

I don’t know, but when you get to say number one defense in all those categories, it makes it really hard to convince that things need to be changed… 

 

the reality of this defense is they would stifle bad teams and got to play a lot of them… but outside TreD they really lack Excellent players.

 

This is the point. The Bills can take cast offs, UDFA, 7th round picks and make them viable NFL players in the secondary.

 

2 x 1st round picks, and 2 x 2nd round picks on the DL and almost nothing to show for it. No impact.

 

The OL has hardly been better. Beane passed on Creed Humphrey for Basham. They traded Teller for a sack of donuts, and then continued to trot Ford out there. Bates was sitting on the bench for 3 years....

 

The OL/DL is the most important part of building a Super Bowl winning team after QB, and this combo of GM/HC is not good at it.

 

Is it talent evaluation or coaching?

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

3 minutes ago, ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin said:

 

This is the point. The Bills can take cast offs, UDFA, 7th round picks and make them viable NFL players in the secondary.

 

2 x 1st round picks, and 2 x 2nd round picks on the DL and almost nothing to show for it. No impact.

 

The OL has hardly been better. Beane passed on Creed Humphrey for Basham. They traded Teller for a sack of donuts, and then continued to trot Ford out there. Bates was sitting on the bench for 3 years....

 

The OL/DL is the most important part of building a Super Bowl winning team after QB, and this combo of GM/HC is not good at it.

 

Is it talent evaluation or coaching?

One of the nuances I’ve picked up on is talent evaluation isn’t a singular specific notion. 
 

They knocked trading up for Josh out of the park when many were screaming bust.  Gabe Davis is an absolute gem odd a find. Diggs was totally with the trade. Knox has become a very good player… Singletary has had his moments too. Oliver is inconsistent but can be dominant, Morse was an excellent move and Signing Dawkins… Bates, Brown… there is a lot of good there. 
 

That Said game wrecking DEs seems to either be a blind spot or scheme deficiency, but the few DL we let go haven’t exactly lit it up elsewhere. 
 

For me, I’ve resisted the conclusion for as long as I could, but this defense needs at least one awesome fast game wrecking end and a one elite game wrecking linebacker. 

 

all I wanted this last draft was a trade up for Parsons.
 

 

[billybrew1]

1 hour ago, ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin said:

The Bills have a defensive minded Head Coach and a former HC as DC. This should mean the Bills have an edge in developing defensive players and having an impact unit, even in the modern NFL. Through their time in Buffalo McDermott and Frazier have done a remarkable job with the secondary, but I think all fans would admit the front 7 (or 6 in our case) has been a weakness. Plenty of pressures but few sacks, terrible against the run. Pressures work against rookies/ backups/ marginal QBs, but the DL has to get home against the best and disrupt those QBs.

 

Leslie Frazier was a DB on the 1985 Chicago Bears Defense. He was a DB coach for Andy Reid for the 2000's era Eagles. He has had many other stops as DC and HC, but his specialty is and has been DBs. McDermott was a S in college and was a DB coach before becoming the DC in Philadelphia. It was a tough task trying to replace Jim Johnson and after two years as DC for the Eagles he was let go. Ron Rivera (another assistant Defensive coach for the 2000's Eagles) brought him in to be DC in Carolina. Frazier and McDermott have coached some great DBs. They have been a part of and have coached some of the best Defenses ever. Guys like Brian Dawkins and Josh Norman played for these coaches.

 

The Bills under this coaching duo have made the most of any DB talent they can get. Poyer was a minor bust for Cleveland, and Hyde was a man with potential but no position in GB. They have become a Pro-Bowl/ All Pro Safety duo in Buffalo. White's stickiness has been maximized in this system. UDFA Levi Wallace has become a solid #2 and will get paid this off-season. 7th round pick Dane Jackson held up well in White's absence. Taron Johnson went from a guy infamous for a football bouncing off his helmet during The Combine to being a top 5-10 nickel DB who has made game changing plays and is a starter. Even EJ Gaines looked solid here.

 

Let's admit it Bills fans, the defensive front 6/7 has been weak. It is worse considering the FA$ and premium draft picks spent there.

 

Let's call 1st and 2nd round picks premium picks. Since Beane has been GM (2018 draft forward) 5 of 8 premium picks have gone to the defensive front, 4/8 have gone to the Defensive Line. That is a very heavy investment. Beane is 2/3 on offense with Allen and Diggs. Ford is a bust.

 

2018 - 1st round (16th overall) - Tre Edmunds - MLB

2019 - 1st round (9th overall) - Ed Oliver -DT

2020 - 2nd round (54th overall) - AJ Epenesa - DE

2021 - 1st round (30th overall) - Gregory Rousseau - DE

2021 - 2nd round (62nd overall) - Boogie Basham - DE

 

That is 3 x 1sts and 2 x 2nds in 4 years. None of these guys has become a legitimate game changer. I know Rousseau and Basham are rookies, but we see defensive rookies making game changing plays all over the league. Basham wasn't even active in half of the games this year. Ed Oliver, who was selected 9th overall, is developing, but he was 9th overall three years ago! If he has a 1 technique DT who shows up he looks good. It should be the other way around for #9 overall.

 

1/2 of TBD keeps hoping Edmunds will make an impact play.... keep waiting. Meanwhile LBs drafted in similar spots or later in the same or later drafts make game changing plays all over the field. Milano was a 5th round pick and has made more impact plays than Edmunds as a LB. He is also a converted safety.

 

Beane has also spent stupid amounts of money in FA on Defensive linemen. Star L, Jefferson, Butler, Addison, Murphy. Only Addison has been close to worth the money, and he has been part of some very bad results (Hail Murray as an example)

 

How much FA spending and premium draft picks have to go to fixing the front 6/7 with supposed 'Defensive Minds' at the helm?

 

Is Beane just bad at identifying DL/LB talent, or are our defensive minds, who are DB specialists just bad at getting the most out of talent in those positions? What is more mind boggling is that the 85 bears and the 2000's Jim Johnson Eagles sent crazy blitz packages to be aggressive destructive defenses. Why aren't the Bills doing the same? Our coaches know the DBs are the strength and sit back in a base Nickel, cover 2 safety look, and hope for coverage wins. If the Defensive front 6/7 get a win, all the better, but they usually do not.

 

The strategy with picks and FA$ was sound, but the results are poor.

 

Is it talent evaluation or coaching? It needs to be figured out. Despite all the premium draft picks and all the FA $ spent the Bills have no impact players in the front 7/6. This will not do against Mahomes/ Burrow/ Herbert etc going forward.

 

We can point to GM successes and failures and HC/DC successes and failures. Something is out of sync, and it needs to be fixed.

 

Is Beane finding good talent and the coaches are failing to get the most out of them, or are the coaches getting the most out of failed draft picks and wasteful FA spending??

 

Let's hear it. There is a clear disconnect in investment and results.

When the team in functioning the right way, to give up yards on the ground is no big deal. Our defense is set up to stop the pass. All our defensive problems stem from not being able to label QBs or play man that well. It is a lot better with Tre White and may improve as our young DL continues to mature. What could be a problem is that our defense might be inherently non-aggressive all too often.

 

I almost wonder if McD wouldn't be happier if Leslie moved on and McD could use some of Jimmy Johnson's principles more often?

We could perhaps develop a bit of meanness and toughness into our D?

 

 

 

[billybrew1]

1 hour ago, ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin said:

 

This is the point. The Bills can take cast offs, UDFA, 7th round picks and make them viable NFL players in the secondary.

 

2 x 1st round picks, and 2 x 2nd round picks on the DL and almost nothing to show for it. No impact.

 

The OL has hardly been better. Beane passed on Creed Humphrey for Basham. They traded Teller for a sack of donuts, and then continued to trot Ford out there. Bates was sitting on the bench for 3 years....

 

The OL/DL is the most important part of building a Super Bowl winning team after QB, and this combo of GM/HC is not good at it.

 

Is it talent evaluation or coaching?

I don't think you can really say one way or the other much about Epenesa, Groot and Boogie... They have been brought along very slowly and Groot and Basham are victims of Covid. I think all three could really blossom next year.

I also think Ed Oliver sort of bloomed this year. A disappointment? Maybe a bit, but he is a useful player. Look at Harrison Phillips, it took him his entire first contract to really shine as a DT. I think especially Groot could really turn it on next year, but who knows? It could be the other two ends that really succeed.

Im going to look at the glass half full. We (just about every Bills fan) had this team stuck in the mud at midseason and needing dramatic improvements just about everywhere but then the team went on a six game tear. You never know. Football is a weird game.

 

How come we never see the benefits of having nine DL? It seems to me that it should really work, that the OL should break-down after nine DL give it their absolute all.....

[DrPJax]

1 hour ago, ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin said:

The Bills have a defensive minded Head Coach and a former HC as DC. This should mean the Bills have an edge in developing defensive players and having an impact unit, even in the modern NFL. Through their time in Buffalo McDermott and Frazier have done a remarkable job with the secondary, but I think all fans would admit the front 7 (or 6 in our case) has been a weakness. Plenty of pressures but few sacks, terrible against the run. Pressures work against rookies/ backups/ marginal QBs, but the DL has to get home against the best and disrupt those QBs.

 

Leslie Frazier was a DB on the 1985 Chicago Bears Defense. He was a DB coach for Andy Reid for the 2000's era Eagles. He has had many other stops as DC and HC, but his specialty is and has been DBs. McDermott was a S in college and was a DB coach before becoming the DC in Philadelphia. It was a tough task trying to replace Jim Johnson and after two years as DC for the Eagles he was let go. Ron Rivera (another assistant Defensive coach for the 2000's Eagles) brought him in to be DC in Carolina. Frazier and McDermott have coached some great DBs. They have been a part of and have coached some of the best Defenses ever. Guys like Brian Dawkins and Josh Norman played for these coaches.

 

The Bills under this coaching duo have made the most of any DB talent they can get. Poyer was a minor bust for Cleveland, and Hyde was a man with potential but no position in GB. They have become a Pro-Bowl/ All Pro Safety duo in Buffalo. White's stickiness has been maximized in this system. UDFA Levi Wallace has become a solid #2 and will get paid this off-season. 7th round pick Dane Jackson held up well in White's absence. Taron Johnson went from a guy infamous for a football bouncing off his helmet during The Combine to being a top 5-10 nickel DB who has made game changing plays and is a starter. Even EJ Gaines looked solid here.

 

Let's admit it Bills fans, the defensive front 6/7 has been weak. It is worse considering the FA$ and premium draft picks spent there.

 

Let's call 1st and 2nd round picks premium picks. Since Beane has been GM (2018 draft forward) 5 of 8 premium picks have gone to the defensive front, 4/8 have gone to the Defensive Line. That is a very heavy investment. Beane is 2/3 on offense with Allen and Diggs. Ford is a bust.

 

2018 - 1st round (16th overall) - Tre Edmunds - MLB

2019 - 1st round (9th overall) - Ed Oliver -DT

2020 - 2nd round (54th overall) - AJ Epenesa - DE

2021 - 1st round (30th overall) - Gregory Rousseau - DE

2021 - 2nd round (62nd overall) - Boogie Basham - DE

 

That is 3 x 1sts and 2 x 2nds in 4 years. None of these guys has become a legitimate game changer. I know Rousseau and Basham are rookies, but we see defensive rookies making game changing plays all over the league. Basham wasn't even active in half of the games this year. Ed Oliver, who was selected 9th overall, is developing, but he was 9th overall three years ago! If he has a 1 technique DT who shows up he looks good. It should be the other way around for #9 overall.

 

1/2 of TBD keeps hoping Edmunds will make an impact play.... keep waiting. Meanwhile LBs drafted in similar spots or later in the same or later drafts make game changing plays all over the field. Milano was a 5th round pick and has made more impact plays than Edmunds as a LB. He is also a converted safety.

 

Beane has also spent stupid amounts of money in FA on Defensive linemen. Star L, Jefferson, Butler, Addison, Murphy. Only Addison has been close to worth the money, and he has been part of some very bad results (Hail Murray as an example)

 

How much FA spending and premium draft picks have to go to fixing the front 6/7 with supposed 'Defensive Minds' at the helm?

 

Is Beane just bad at identifying DL/LB talent, or are our defensive minds, who are DB specialists just bad at getting the most out of talent in those positions? What is more mind boggling is that the 85 bears and the 2000's Jim Johnson Eagles sent crazy blitz packages to be aggressive destructive defenses. Why aren't the Bills doing the same? Our coaches know the DBs are the strength and sit back in a base Nickel, cover 2 safety look, and hope for coverage wins. If the Defensive front 6/7 get a win, all the better, but they usually do not.

 

The strategy with picks and FA$ was sound, but the results are poor.

 

Is it talent evaluation or coaching? It needs to be figured out. Despite all the premium draft picks and all the FA $ spent the Bills have no impact players in the front 7/6. This will not do against Mahomes/ Burrow/ Herbert etc going forward.

 

We can point to GM successes and failures and HC/DC successes and failures. Something is out of sync, and it needs to be fixed.

 

Is Beane finding good talent and the coaches are failing to get the most out of them, or are the coaches getting the most out of failed draft picks and wasteful FA spending??

 

Let's hear it. There is a clear disconnect in investment and results.

Just wanted to say great points and write up. I think the results speak more to coaching.  After all it has to ne the coaches pressing Beane to get all these lineman in the first place.  I have never seen a system with such heavy rotation.   Most players have said they use moves to set up other moves with later reps.  Imagine if Bruce Smith was on this d line , and we stuck to this heavy rotation! He would be  in for less than 50% of the reps!  We will not be developing players like Bruce with this rotational play and it doesn’t appear the “ fresh player “ strategy is superior results wise to a traditional rotation that helps player development. It’s like seeing patients in medicine , it’s a known fact you get better with experience and seeing more things.  You don’t get better as a dr by seeing less cases or working less!  
 

I think it’s also cause and effect with the d line guys Beane has drafted. With the heavy rotation, it may take twice as long or more for them to hone their craft and skills. It contributes to making Beanes picks harder to assess and it might actually cause them to fail as this league is results based, known for its not for long philosophy and there are very limited  chances to show your growth. They have less contact in practices and it’s possible this is just a horrible developmental strategy for d line players.    You mentioned how Hyde and Poyer have thrived here; well , there is no heavy rotation of the safeties or dbs, and so they are actually getting the reps to improve. Mcds defensive strategy is dictating the heavy investment of picks into the d line and 5 years out, it looks like an absolutely failed strategy for having impact players on the d line. We have to keep reaching into free agency and this staff has been here long enough to have have developed their own players and it has not happened outside of Oliver.  We have to keep raiding other teams rosters for IMPACT PLAYERS ! 
 

It’s the same issue with the o line and rotating guys from right to left sides. Ford is going to be an example of how this can cause a player to become a bust.   I just think this coaching philosophy is hampering us in the long run. Imagine if Josh was subject to rotational play; it’s an absurd concept , right?  A qb would never develop like that , yet we are expecting results with our draft picks along both lines. Brown has been an exception and it may speak more to his own God gifted size and talent than it doe for our rotations and o line coaching!  
 

The bottom line is in previous times staffs had been given 3 years for results and getting to a Super Bowl. Mcd is a great leader of men and I think he deserves the time to keep improving , IF WE KEEP IMPROVING!   This divisional loss , with a possible AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN BUFFALO , with Brady and Rodgers already out in the NFC , is a huge, huge setback. It IS NOT CONSISTENT  WITH  showing continuous improvement with the whole team, but there is no doubt Josh improved to the level of superstar and QB is still the most important cog in getting.a SB victory. So I think Mcd needs to stay and hopefully that will pay off. However, if he is about continuous growth, let’s hope he can step back and take at look at his obsession with these heavy rotations on the lines, and actually develop a strategy that results in impact players from within because as Josh’s salary kicks into the cap , Beane will be limited in his ability to fill gaps with free Agency.  Just take a step back and think, would a Bruce Smith develop like this and would he stay in a place where he could only hope to play less than 50% of the time !?  
 

Finally , we can’t forget the 13 second failure. Frazier had a terrible game and that was a failed situational defense.  It speaks to how our issues revolve around poor coaching rather than a talent or draft failure. Everybody had Frazier as the top prospect for the Bears. Well, he is not in the final three coaches who are being considered according to NFL network. I think that says a lot about how at least he is viewed.  He may get lucky with 9 Jobs open , but I am thinking everybody saw that #1 defense was a fraud and my hope for him to move on may be fading. 

[Comebackkid]

so i read an article about the Bills Defense.   it was saying that the philosophy is in constancy of basically being a good D throughout the games on average.

hence why the defense at the end of the year usually ranks in the top...its a constancy thing.  one of the bad things is that a player like tre white is asorbed

into that consistency of being good on average.  rather being moved around and following a certain receiver or used for specific plays he just gets asorbed into 

his specific role.   it takes away from his greatness as a player.

 

The other problem is when u play a team like the chiefs u dont have anyone that can bump it up to that next level when you need that great play to end the game.   

you dont have the elite player..  you have a a field of good players that play very good over an average of a season.   

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

In part it's this scheme with the big ends who push the pocket rather than the speed edge rushers. It's hard to find big DEs who can do everything asked of the position and are ALSO dominant pass rushers. Other schemes (like what Pettine or Schwartz did here) allow the DE to focus less on setting the edge meaning they can be smaller, faster and more bendy.

 

The 'push the pocket' deal we do is generally better for containing mobile quarterbacks as we've seen against Lamar-- even though you're slower the line can work as more of a team to contain the QB. Sunday of course it didn't help much.