Bills Defense

[Milanos Milano]

Figured I’d make a general thread on defense and offense for the year for everyone to kind of discuss on the overall performance. 

 

So far I’m very pleased with how our defense has been performing. Playing well and we still don’t have Miller yet. I really hope the injury to Floyd isn’t serious and he doesn’t miss much time. Same with Phillips, hope his healthy improves. 

 

I’ve been pretty impressed with the emergence of Ed Oliver, he has been very noticeable so far, and I hope he continues to shine. Rousseau is also coming into his own, he sets the edge extremely well, even if he can’t get to the QB at times. With his length and skills, he’s always a threat to tip the ball and create INTs like he did today. White had a better game today as well. 

If we keep playing like this, we will definitely be contenders. 

[Brand J]

Our front 7 is pretty nice, but I do feel it’s missing that twitchy speed guy. Hopefully Von can still fill that void. Otherwise we have a lot of length and strength up front, fast flowing and aggressive LBs, and a veteran secondary. 

[John from Riverside]

1 minute ago, JayBaller10 said:

Our front 7 is pretty nice, but I do feel it’s missing that twitchy speed guy. Hopefully Von can still fill that void. Otherwise we have a lot of length and strength up front, fast flowing and aggressive LBs, and a veteran secondary. 

The vet that we brought in from the Rams fits that description

[Milanos Milano]

1 hour ago, John from Riverside said:

The vet that we brought in from the Rams fits that description

Hopefully his injury isn’t to serious. 

[GunnerBill]

I have two concerns on defense two weeks in:

 

1. Alignment. The Touchdown given up was yet another play where we looked misaligned. That os 4 or 5 through 2 weeks and in big spots. Gotta fix that. Hoping it is a time on task thing for Bernard but I wonder if temporarily asking Hyde or Poyer to help would be smart (there is precendent in 2019 on offense when Morse was heavily assisting Josh in calling protections).

 

2. The safeties do look slow. Shouldn't be a shock given their age and coming off the injuries they have had but both Hyde and Poyer do look like they have lost a step. I'm hoping that they are still knocking a bit of rust off and both have still made some plays when up in the box but I think our secondary may be weaker than we have been used to. 

 

In terms of the first drive yesterday I was never panicked. Josh McDaniels is a good play caller and play designer, they ran their script effectively and efficiently and featured Adams a ton. They were never going to be able to construct an effective plan for the entire game only going to Adams. And once they got past the first 15 the Bills defense won the battle.

[PaoloBillsFanFromItaly]

Also Tre White seems always a step behind...

[Freddie's Dead]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

2. The safeties do look slow. Shouldn't be a shock given their age and coming off the injuries they have had but both Hyde and Poyer do look like they have lost a step. I'm hoping that they are still knocking a bit of rust off and both have still made some plays when up in the box but I think our secondary may be weaker than we have been used to. 

 

I've noticed this also.  Hyde looked like he was running in cement shoes on the TD.  Hyde 100% makes that tackle all day long.  Po has also looked off.  Like you I hope it's just them coming back from injury.  We'll have to keep an eye on it and see if they get better or regress as the season goes on.  Let's hope they haven't reached the veteran cliff in Butch and Sundance mode. 

[PBF81]

Having said that, if the offense continues to play as it has, and can, then we should be fine.  

 

Granted, not the best D we played against, and we had the energy of a home opener supporting us, but the OL seems to be coming together in ways we haven't seen on McD's watch, and this offense has sick potential.  It's effective and fun to watch.  

 

Hopefully it continues to improve and plays well against the tougher D's on the schedule.  

 

 

[ganesh]

7 hours ago, JayBaller10 said:

Our front 7 is pretty nice, but I do feel it’s missing that twitchy speed guy. Hopefully Von can still fill that void. Otherwise we have a lot of length and strength up front, fast flowing and aggressive LBs, and a veteran secondary. 

I am really worried about the backend of the defense.   White has played poorly.  Benford has been ok.  Elam is not even playing...and the two safeties look old and invisible. We are looking at the final year of Poyer and Hyde.

[MJS]

Winning cures everything, even Araiza Curse.

[mjt328]

The pass rush looks very good through 2 weeks, even without Von Miller.  Very excited about how Groot is looking in particular.

 

The run defense has been mostly good, with the exception of a couple big plays.  Film watchers are saying that was due to misalignment, which may fall on Terrel Bernard.  That makes sense with him being so inexperienced at MLB.  That should improve.

 

Agree with everybody that our secondary isn't showing the normal speed/explosiveness.  That was my biggest worry in the offseason, considering the ages of our safeties and Tre White possibly never returning to normal.

 

Also, Matt Milano is our best player on defense right now.  He may have another All-Pro season incoming.

 

[Utah John]

2 hours ago, mjt328 said:

The pass rush looks very good through 2 weeks, even without Von Miller.  Very excited about how Groot is looking in particular.

 

The run defense has been mostly good, with the exception of a couple big plays.  Film watchers are saying that was due to misalignment, which may fall on Terrel Bernard.  That makes sense with him being so inexperienced at MLB.  That should improve.

 

Agree with everybody that our secondary isn't showing the normal speed/explosiveness.  That was my biggest worry in the offseason, considering the ages of our safeties and Tre White possibly never returning to normal.

 

Also, Matt Milano is our best player on defense right now.  He may have another All-Pro season incoming.

 

The pass rush has made opposing QBs uncomfortable but seldom gets them on the ground.  Zero sacks yesterday.  Still, I think success is coming.

 

Milano is a GREAT player and his interception was amazing.  But on the NFL's website, it doesn't show up on the must-see list of plays -- even though a lot of routine Miami TDs are included. Same lack of attention from Sports Center.  I think the powers that be are turning their PR machine away from the Bills, and it's up to the Bills to force the attention back.  

[Shemp]

Whatever happened to Poona Ford?

[BillsFan692]

3 minutes ago, Shemp said:

Whatever happened to Poona Ford?

Good question

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

8 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

I have two concerns on defense two weeks in:

 

1. Alignment. The Touchdown given up was yet another play where we looked misaligned. That os 4 or 5 through 2 weeks and in big spots. Gotta fix that. Hoping it is a time on task thing for Bernard but I wonder if temporarily asking Hyde or Poyer to help would be smart (there is precendent in 2019 on offense when Morse was heavily assisting Josh in calling protections).

 

2. The safeties do look slow. Shouldn't be a shock given their age and coming off the injuries they have had but both Hyde and Poyer do look like they have lost a step. I'm hoping that they are still knocking a bit of rust off and both have still made some plays when up in the box but I think our secondary may be weaker than we have been used to. 

 

In terms of the first drive yesterday I was never panicked. Josh McDaniels is a good play caller and play designer, they ran their script effectively and efficiently and featured Adams a ton. They were never going to be able to construct an effective plan for the entire game only going to Adams. And once they got past the first 15 the Bills defense won the battle.

 

McDaniels said it after the game - you can't just reverse a team to death - they'll pick up on it.  They got a big play there, a well timed screen, a great back shoulder throw, and adams made a really nice play in the red zone.  They couldn't sustain because, the back shoulder throws will get defended from time to time because its a timing thing.  Going to the well with reverses can cause negative plays that kill drives.  They couldn't run the ball at all, and their protection was struggling with 4 man rushes. 

 

Jimmy G did a nice job maneuvering some ugly pockets but he tended to take his check downs - which buffalo was basically content to give him.  When you can't do the basic things, the rest of the game starts to get away from you as you're constantly behind the sticks. 

[SCBills]

Front 7 looks top tier.  Rousseau, Floyd, Jones, Milano and Oliver (yes, Ed looks great) are all impact players.  Bernard looks like a potential playmaker at MLB and our rotational guys on the DL are all pretty talented.  

 

The Secondary looks solid, but I'm hoping to get more confident in them as Hyde, Poyer and White all knock the rust off and get into rhythm.  Benford looks legit at CB2, we all know Johnson is a top slot corner, but I'd love for Elam to get active so we can have a speed option to put back there. 
 

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by SCBills

[pigpen65]

Rousseau is fantastic. Milano is incredible. I have always thought Phillips is a tier 1 talent, he just can't stay healthy. 

[HoofHearted]

9 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

I have two concerns on defense two weeks in:

 

1. Alignment. The Touchdown given up was yet another play where we looked misaligned. That os 4 or 5 through 2 weeks and in big spots. Gotta fix that. Hoping it is a time on task thing for Bernard but I wonder if temporarily asking Hyde or Poyer to help would be smart (there is precendent in 2019 on offense when Morse was heavily assisting Josh in calling protections).

 

2. The safeties do look slow. Shouldn't be a shock given their age and coming off the injuries they have had but both Hyde and Poyer do look like they have lost a step. I'm hoping that they are still knocking a bit of rust off and both have still made some plays when up in the box but I think our secondary may be weaker than we have been used to. 

 

In terms of the first drive yesterday I was never panicked. Josh McDaniels is a good play caller and play designer, they ran their script effectively and efficiently and featured Adams a ton. They were never going to be able to construct an effective plan for the entire game only going to Adams. And once they got past the first 15 the Bills defense won the battle.

Looked like Bernard was trying to bump the front and they didn't move. Ideally you'd want a 3 and 6 to the tight end/wing after that motion. The biggest issue was Poyer getting sucked in. Good play design by the Raiders though showing the down/down from the tackle guard up top before releasing to block the tunnel screen.

[Charles Romes]

10 hours ago, Araiza Curse said:

Hopefully his injury isn’t to serious. 

 
If Floyd misses a game or two it could be a chance for Jonathan to see the field, who may be surprisingly NFL ready.  As much as I hate to see injuries we have no one to sneak back to the practice squad when Von comes back without getting claimed. Jonathan would be gone in a second.  Ford may be the best option for PS. 

[The Jokeman]

I like the defense but seriously where has Poona Ford been?