Former Bills CB Levi Wallace takes blame for 13 Seconds

[Bob in STL]

3 hours ago, eball said:

Meh.  The last thing I want to do is re-live the end of that game.  They blew it because they feared the big play.  On to this season.

Yes, I think this is true.  

 

The film shows Levi was playing it completely wrong on both plays.  He also admitted to not knowing what his teammates were doing, and didn't bother to turn his head and look, which is even worse. The fact that they took time outs to get it right makes it hard to fathom.  

 

In crunch time some players step up and some wilt.  Levi basically choked, but so did a lot of others out there.  No one beat their man and made a play.  

 

They need to move on and they need to improve.  Adding Miller, the new DTs, and Elam will help.  

 

 

[Kellyhero68]

If they squib kick the damn kickoff, all this never happens. Kansas City ends up with 7 or 8 seconds left on the 30 to 40 yard line. 

[FilthyBeast]

22 hours ago, BigAl2526 said:

McDermott would never say publicly if a certain player screwed up, but if McDermott agrees with Levi's assessment, could that be a contributing factor in the decision not to try and re-sign him?

 

Probably, but I still think McD and Beane are to blame for latching on to players like this for so long when Wallace has already proven what a liability he is especially against any WR that's better than average.

 

[NewEra]

6 minutes ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

Probably, but I still think McD and Beane are to blame for latching on to players like this for so long when Wallace has already proven what a liability he is especially against any WR that's better than average.

 

Agreed.  While he played fairly well all season, his deficiencies reared their heads at the worst time possible.   Replacing him was my #2 priority last offseason (behind improving the OL).  They decided he was good enough and proved me wrong all season.  Levi was good enough…. Until the worst possible moment.  In his defense…..Tyreek hill has the fastest football speed I’ve ever witnessed.  Not sure anyone could’ve stopped him….but more speed and a smarter angle may have been enough to win the game.  Levi didn’t have enough speed, and he didn’t check his teammates alignments…..before the biggest play of his lifetime.  He trusted them too much.  He assumed.  And that assumption factored into the end of our season.  As he admits.
 

You’re a good kid Levi.  A solid CB with limitations.  Thanks for being a great pro.  Good luck to you.  Now, it’s time for us to win a SB.  

[FilthyBeast]

1 minute ago, NewEra said:

Agreed.  While he played fairly well all season, his deficiencies reared their heads at the worst time possible.   Replacing him was my #2 priority last offseason (behind improving the OL).  They decided he was good enough and proved me wrong all season.  Levi was good enough…. Until the worst possible moment.  In his defense…..Tyreek hill has the fastest football speed I’ve ever witnessed.  Not sure anyone could’ve stopped him….but more speed and a smarter angle may have been enough to win the game.  Levi didn’t have enough speed, and he didn’t check his teammates alignments…..before the biggest play of his lifetime.  He trusted them too much.  He assumed.  And that assumption factored into the end of our season.  As he admits.
 

You’re a good kid Levi.  A solid CB with limitations.  Thanks for being a great pro.  Good luck to you.  Now, it’s time for us to win a SB.  

 

I won't be surprised if he struggles big time in Pittsburgh since they run a much more aggressive 3-4 scheme and don't rely on the zone/bend but don't break stuff. Tomlin won't keep him on the field long if that's the case.

 

He's going to be facing much better QB's twice a year in the that division alone too between Burrow/Jackson/Watson. Either way not the Bills problem anymore.

[BADOLBILZ]

 

Daryl Porter was a really good special teams player..........lost his focus after an emotional moment where Rob Johnson drove them into FG range and Christie seemingly won the game.........but on the ensuing KOR he didn't stay in his lane and HR Throwback happened.

 

Both situations are ultimately on the staff to great extent because they didn't have the detail attended to.

 

I know that's a high bar.......maybe every other staff but 1 is vulnerable to that kind of mental lapse....but that's the difference between a Belichick and everyone else and that's a good standard to have.

 

SB XLIX where Malcom Butler picks that pass off in the end zone for the shocking victory..........the Patriots had practiced that play on Friday and were prepared to execute in the biggest moment of the game.   Belichick had Pete Carroll scouted and pegged and knew he couldn't hold his water in the big moment.........he kept his nickel defense on the field despite it seeming like a certain run situation with Lynch in the backfield.   

 

Bills have an elite QB talent.........McDermott has room for improvement...........not saying most others don't.........but they need him to graduate to another level in the playoffs to reach their potential, IMO.  

 

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by BADOLBILZ

[buffalostu2]

He is saying he should have looked, but isn't he also saying that Poyer wasn't where he expected him to be based on the play call and that the deeper than normal  safeties wasn't communicated to him? 

[34-78-83]

as a #2 cb, Levi performed better than expected overall here. I love his accountability here even though we did truly need to upgrade that #2 spot considering #27 and his unsure return to form. I wish him well in Pit but we do need more there and Elam should provide that.

[LABILLBACKER]

6 hours ago, 34-78-83 said:

as a #2 cb, Levi performed better than expected overall here. I love his accountability here even though we did truly need to upgrade that #2 spot considering #27 and his unsure return to form. I wish him well in Pit but we do need more there and Elam should provide that.

Elam (4.39) compared to Wallace (4.68) is not even fair. Elam is a legit 1st round cb2 where Levi was a slow udfa who hung around way longer than he should,  because we were too busy drafting 3 pass rushers than address our mediocre cb2.

[34-78-83]

49 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Elam (4.39) compared to Wallace (4.68) is not even fair. Elam is a legit 1st round cb2 where Levi was a slow udfa who hung around way longer than he should,  because we were too busy drafting 3 pass rushers than address our mediocre cb2.

Doesn't seem like you're really responding to what I wrote, but ok yeah I agree...

[Solomon Grundy]

10 hours ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

Probably, but I still think McD and Beane are to blame for latching on to players like this for so long when Wallace has already proven what a liability he is especially against any WR that's better than average.

 

Shhhhh... other posters may hear you

[Sierra Foothills]

11 hours ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

I won't be surprised if he struggles big time in Pittsburgh since they run a much more aggressive 3-4 scheme and don't rely on the zone/bend but don't break stuff. Tomlin won't keep him on the field long if that's the case.

 

He's going to be facing much better QB's twice a year in the that division alone too between Burrow/Jackson/Watson. Either way not the Bills problem anymore.

 

Not to pile on poor Levi because I like the guy and he's a great story but I was surprised the Steelers signed him.

 

I think of them as being a great organization for several reasons, not least because of their ability to evaluate talent.

 

Levi seems like a bad fit there.

[GunnerBill]

13 hours ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

I won't be surprised if he struggles big time in Pittsburgh since they run a much more aggressive 3-4 scheme and don't rely on the zone/bend but don't break stuff. Tomlin won't keep him on the field long if that's the case.

 

He's going to be facing much better QB's twice a year in the that division alone too between Burrow/Jackson/Watson. Either way not the Bills problem anymore.

 

They are still primarily a zone coverage team in Pittsburgh. According to Next Gen stats they played a higher percentage of cover 2 shell than the Bills last year. Interestingly the game in which they played the most man looks was week 1 in Buffalo. If anything Pittsburgh are more vanilla than the Bills on the backend as a rule (though we definitely got more vanilla last year once Tre went down). What they are is a bit more multiple up front in terms of their pressure packages. 

[FilthyBeast]

15 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

Not to pile on poor Levi because I like the guy and he's a great story but I was surprised the Steelers signed him.

 

I think of them as being a great organization for several reasons, not least because of their ability to evaluate talent.

 

Levi seems like a bad fit there.

 

It's probably a case of Tomlin trusting McDermott's judgement since they know eachother well.

 

At the end of the day though Wallace is what he is and that's a woefully average NFL starter on his best days.

13 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

They are still primarily a zone coverage team in Pittsburgh. According to Next Gen stats they played a higher percentage of cover 2 shell than the Bills last year. Interestingly the game in which they played the most man looks was week 1 in Buffalo. If anything Pittsburgh are more vanilla than the Bills on the backend as a rule (though we definitely got more vanilla last year once Tre went down). What they are is a bit more multiple up front in terms of their pressure packages. 

 

The pressure packages are more the point, they are a blitz heavy team that trust guys more in man to man matchups vs zone overall.

 

And just think it's a recipe for disaster when Wallace is matched up against even the most average NFL starting WR's, let alone the elite ones.

[Jerry Jabber]

Definitely appreciate Levi’s accountability. I’m sure him and the rest of the defense took it hard as they were unable to stop the Chiefs with 13 seconds left and in OT. I’m glad to see Bills management identify and address the issues on defense this offseason between the D-line and the secondary. Hopefully they made the right personnel choices and we won’t see an epic meltdown of the defense again this season.

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

The pressure packages are more the point, they are a blitz heavy team that trust guys more in man to man matchups vs zone overall.

 

And just think it's a recipe for disaster when Wallace is matched up against even the most average NFL starting WR's, let alone the elite ones.

 

That bolded bit isn't true. They were over 65% a zone team last year. Yes they send 5 more but they play zone behind it as a rule. 

 

I agree with you about Levi. But you are wrong about the fundamentals of the Steelers defense.