Why do they never use a 3rd LB?

[Saxum]

17 minutes ago, cgg716 said:

Johnson shouldn't be covering him. Simple 

 

 I am so shocked that NFL has not hired you. 

[DrDawkinstein]

6 minutes ago, cgg716 said:

Find this thread come January. And then again in March and April when every off-season move we make goes on defense because this will finally be the year that works lol

 

This thread and Me

 

[Allen2D̶i̶g̶g̶s̶TBD]

I don't consider holding Saquon Barkley to 3.9 YPC getting "shredded"

[cgg716]

18 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

How many points they get on both those drives combined?

 

edit to the bold: The same refs that gave the Giants an extra untimed down from the 1 yard line? Yeah, they were really working in our favor.

 

This thread is ludicrous.

An untimed down that was the correct call... the 2nd one should have without a question been called too, who knows why they swallowed the whitsle, but that's the mvp play

3 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

 I am so shocked that NFL has not hired you. 

Johnson on Kelce should be a rollicking good time come December 

[Doc Brown]

24 minutes ago, PBF81 said:

In the playoffs it's been the problem.  

 

13-Seconds comes to mind.  For sure an offense that put up 36 regulation points wasn't the problem.  

It was the Chiefs passing offense that caused this (obviously) and nearly every defensive personnel move since then on all three levels of the defense has been designed to try and fix that problem.

[cgg716]

4 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

It was the Chiefs passing offense that caused this (obviously) and nearly every defensive personnel move since then on all three levels of the defense has been designed to try and fix that problem.

Or the Bengals offense or the Texans offense 

[HappyDays]

46 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

What other imaginary things are we picturing tonight?

 

 

[machine gun kelly]

We’re 3rd in the league on defense against points at 14.8.

 

Nuff said

[DKBills25]

6 hours ago, Zag20 said:

Related…watched the highlights today and saw Siran Neal in on the giants final drive, blitzing on 2 plays. Wonder what was going on there. 

I think Neal can tackle pretty well 

and maybe that was the reason why 🤔

[FireChans]

2 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

We’re 3rd in the league on defense against points at 14.8.

 

Nuff said

But if we’re getting shredded on the ground, why is Taron Johnson playing in coverage?

 

checkmate!

[ProcessTruster]

Taron Johnson is the 3rd LB.  His value in coverage is more valuable than leadfoot Dodson would be in run defense.   Thats essentially it.  

 

Johnson basically saved the Giants game on the last play; ole' leadfoot Dodson would still be stuck on the line stunned by the play action.  

 

Lets not start these kinds of threads anymore.  

[Big Turk]

Because this isn't 1990 anymore with teams coming out in 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 FB and 1 RB sets as their standard personnel.

[TheyCallMeAndy]

With Jones out, aspects of OP are good points. Should Bills mix in 3-LB sets since our NT is a major weak spot? That said I’d rather see Johnson defend the run than Dodson defend the pass. 

I do think had Milano not gone down for the season, we would have seen Williams-Bernard-Milano more as the year went on to give Johnson a break.

[Low Positive]

I think people respond this way because, as a fan, watching your team get run on hurts so much more than watching them get passed on. It's the physical nature of it. So you remember those runs more than you remember the completed passes against and in your memory of the game they become more consequential than they actually were. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

In many ways Taron Johnson is probably our best DB at this point.  Could make an argument for Hyde, but i think johnsons more important to the actual scheme of the defense.  Why would i take my best player off the field for a 3rd string linebacker?

[Big Turk]

Op asking like why don't we see this anymore??

 

[dickleyjones]

hahahahaha 9 points

[Dr.Sack]

Bend till your goalline but don’t break. 

[HoofHearted]

11 hours ago, cgg716 said:

I understand nickel is our base D, but how many times must one get shredded on the ground before you change it up sometimes? Or even just read a situation? Clappy calling his NBA time outs last night to act like he's making changes, winds up with 5"11 Johnson on 6"6 Waller, just lucky they didn't call the penalty. The lack of adjustments and awareness is mind numbing 

1st Run: Long Trap

 

A lot going on during this play. Initial formation is Wing Twins which they shifted to Slot Trips which they then motioned to Ace. All of this is just eye candy and to get our second level defenders moving on the snap. They running Trap so it's double downs front side and seal hinge the backside - Guard pulls to kick our defensive end. Rousseau steps over himself on initial footwork which doesn't allow him to squeeze the down as he should and widens the gap. Bernard bumps back to a 10 on the motion - plays with great eyes - recognizes the guard pull and gets his eyes to the down/down. His responsibility is to fit outside of the down/down which he works to though he engages at 4 yards instead of being able to press it at the LoS. Williams plays with good eyes - sees the guard pull, but hesitates scraping over the top when he sees the open playside A  that Poyer is now responsible for. If Williams scrapes as he should it's a gain of maybe 3 or 4 even with the lack of a squeeze from Rousseau. Being in Nickel had no impact on this play.

 

2nd Run: GH Counter

 

Again the Giants used shifts and motions to try to affect our front. This time we had a stunt on so the effect was minimal. Same kind of concept bringing the jet motion as eye candy to pull our second level defenders eyes off their keys. This time Rousseau does a better job of squeezing the down/down and boxing the pulling guard and compressing the gap. We were bringing Poyer on a stunt so he fits off the down/down and leverages the tight end working to wrap. Williams looks unsure whether he's suppose to fit outside or inside the wrapping Tight End, but end up putting himself in the right position late, but isn't in a position where he could breakdown and make the tackle. If he makes the tackle it's a 1 yard gain. Being in Nickel had no impact on this play.

 

There's your two big plays. Again Nickel had zero impact on either of these. Taron was pulled out of the box in both situations. Bad technique from Rousseau on the first one and just indecision from a young player were the cause for the big gains.

[freddyjj]

12 hours ago, cgg716 said:

I understand nickel is our base D, but how many times must one get shredded on the ground before you change it up sometimes? Or even just read a situation? Clappy calling his NBA time outs last night to act like he's making changes, winds up with 5"11 Johnson on 6"6 Waller, just lucky they didn't call the penalty. The lack of adjustments and awareness is mind numbing 

I am not sure I agree with your take on "shredding" but I have postulated on here that if they ever had Milano, Bernard and Williams healthy all at once would McD go back to his 4-3 personnel grouping that was used in CAR and PHL in his time as a DC.  His 2015 CAR team had Keuchly at MLB, Davis at WLB and Shaq Thompson at SLB.  

 

I would submit that until this year BUF did not have 3 LBs with the athleticism or football savvy to play in McDs pressure 4-3 scheme.  With Milano's injury I don't see it happening this year but could see it being a look they give teams next year when Milano is back and healthy - especially against teams that run the ball effectively.  My guess is it would be Bernard at MLB, Milano at WLB and Williams at SLB.  The Bills did not get many opportunities to experiment in Training Campo given  injuries to Bernard and Williams being a rookie.  Perhaps we see it next year on occasion. 

 

In the meantime I personally think Taron Johnson is a big play Dawg too!

Edited October 17, 2023 by freddyjj