MikePJ76 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Yes it's on the athletic and paywalled but its excellent. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5648468/2024/07/22/buffalo-bills-defense-terrel-bernard-injury-linebacker/ here is a snippet... Bernard led the Bills in tackles while recording 6.5 sacks, nine quarterback hits, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries. In the dominant playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, he made four tackles, broke up two passes and recovered a fumble despite lasting just 32 plays, his dislocated right ankle requiring the medical cart to drive him away. He would have made a difference in the three-point loss to Kansas City. He’s a rising star, while replacement A.J. Klein had been cut from the practice squad a month earlier and reckoned himself retired before an emergency recall to Buffalo’s injury-tattered roster as the postseason began. Bernard would have made more effective stops, would have been harder for Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce to handle, would have been a calmer presence in relaying the signals and recognizing plays, would have given McDermott enough confidence in his defense to avoid risking a direct snap to safety Damar Hamlin for an unsuccessful fake punt because giving the ball back to Mahomes felt like surrender. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warcodered Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Him and Milano back in action together as a dynamic duo makes this defense an exciting thing to think about. 8 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikePJ76 Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 Just now, Warcodered said: Him and Milano back in action together as a dynamic duo makes this defense an exciting thing to think about. I am a fan of the size of the safeties and bishop's athleticism. They feel thin at cornerback to me but oddly I think the safeties should be a good group. I can't wait to see Dewayne Carter also. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo_Stampede Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 (edited) I was so excited to see him in the playoffs because all our other top players on defense fail in the playoffs. I was hoping he would rise up. Then the injury. Gut punch. Ugh! Two years in a row gut punches. Von Miller then Bernard. Edited July 22 by Buffalo_Stampede 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Romes Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 I cringe when I hear about all the reasons we lost to chiefs in the ‘23 playoffs and how Mahomes outdueled Allen once again. Klein subbing in for Bernard, are you kidding me. 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GETTOTHE50 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Bernard might be my favorite player on the defense. He’s always making plays and has instincts only Edmunds could have dreamed of. 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP51 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 52 minutes ago, Warcodered said: Him and Milano back in action together as a dynamic duo makes this defense an exciting thing to think about. I can only pray they stay healthy then I think they will be something else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warcodered Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 (edited) 38 minutes ago, Charles Romes said: I cringe when I hear about all the reasons we lost to chiefs in the ‘23 playoffs and how Mahomes outdueled Allen once again. Klein subbing in for Bernard, are you kidding me. Yeah, you can't ding Mahomes for it, not like he's got control over it or would make it harder for himself if he could, but watching that game they both played great, but it just felt like they were playing on different difficulty levels. Edited July 22 by Warcodered 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBF81 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 (edited) Well, let's hope that our 15th yardage and 28th ranked yards-per-carry against defense improves in that category. In the playoffs we allowed 252 rushing yards on 5.4 yards-per-carry in two games. We've neglected the run-D part of our defense that past couple of seasons in favor of smaller LBs that excel in defending the pass. Which is odd since McD's philosophy is that you need a good rushing game to win it all in setting his expectations for our offense, but defensively he obviously operates contrarily. The four games in which we allowed the most rushing yards, and in 5 of the 7 most, were losses. Three of those losses were against non-playoff teams. Edited July 22 by PBF81 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikePJ76 Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 1 minute ago, PBF81 said: Well, let's hope that our 15th yardage and 28th ranked yards-per-carry against defense improves in that category. In the playoffs we allowed 252 rushing yards on 5.4 yards-per-carry in two games. We've neglected the run-D part of our defense that past couple of seasons in favor of smaller LBs that excel in defending the pass. Which is odd since McD's philosophy is that you need a good rushing game to win it all in setting his expectations for our offense, but defensively he obviously operates contrarily. Kind of odd to post these postseason numbers when a few key elements that would have helped stop the run were not available. I mean I believe this defense is not physical enough and it has been what is holding back the team from getting to a championship but last year they had linebackers that had no business being on the field trying to stop KC. It was an epic mismatch. The only way to win that game was to beat them 38-35 or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrimeTime101 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 1 hour ago, MikePJ76 said: Yes it's on the athletic and paywalled but its excellent. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5648468/2024/07/22/buffalo-bills-defense-terrel-bernard-injury-linebacker/ here is a snippet... Bernard led the Bills in tackles while recording 6.5 sacks, nine quarterback hits, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries. In the dominant playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, he made four tackles, broke up two passes and recovered a fumble despite lasting just 32 plays, his dislocated right ankle requiring the medical cart to drive him away. He would have made a difference in the three-point loss to Kansas City. He’s a rising star, while replacement A.J. Klein had been cut from the practice squad a month earlier and reckoned himself retired before an emergency recall to Buffalo’s injury-tattered roster as the postseason began. Bernard would have made more effective stops, would have been harder for Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce to handle, would have been a calmer presence in relaying the signals and recognizing plays, would have given McDermott enough confidence in his defense to avoid risking a direct snap to safety Damar Hamlin for an unsuccessful fake punt because giving the ball back to Mahomes felt like surrender. So, look... I liked Edmunds (not loved) Liked Hyde and Poyer (Not ), I think the 3 positions we had filled on this defense did not fit the need. 1. We lacked a LB who had solid play recognition in the middle of the line. Bernard fixed that. 2. We lacked Solid athletic with size at the safety position. We now have that. 3. We lacked speed on the back end... We fixed that too. I am excited about this defense moving forward.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoMAn Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 When # 49 wasn't re-signed and went off to the windy city, there were some who expected a drastic drop at LB. I was not one of those people. I had a sense early on that Bernard would be a vast improvement over the overrated, and now overpaid Edmunds. If the dynamic duo of Milano and Bernard can stay on the field all year, I believe we'll have some of the best linebacking in the league. And we're still developing a promising 2nd year player in Dorian Williams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlando Buffalo Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 1 hour ago, Charles Romes said: I cringe when I hear about all the reasons we lost to chiefs in the ‘23 playoffs and how Mahomes outdueled Allen once again. Klein subbing in for Bernard, are you kidding me. I am not a McD basher overall but that decision of not using either Elam or Neal after the first drive was infuriating. Klein could not have cover me properly and was completely worthless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding Bills Blue Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 44 minutes ago, PBF81 said: Well, let's hope that our 15th yardage and 28th ranked yards-per-carry against defense improves in that category. In the playoffs we allowed 252 rushing yards on 5.4 yards-per-carry in two games. We've neglected the run-D part of our defense that past couple of seasons in favor of smaller LBs that excel in defending the pass. Which is odd since McD's philosophy is that you need a good rushing game to win it all in setting his expectations for our offense, but defensively he obviously operates contrarily. The four games in which we allowed the most rushing yards, and in 5 of the 7 most, were losses. Three of those losses were against non-playoff teams. While i don't disagree that the rush defense was a problem at times last year - I would think the 4 turnovers against the jets and broncos were larger factors in losing those games. The jets rush total had an 83 yard run that resulted in 3 points. Losing milano hurts the rush defense quite a bit - and the worst game of the year for the front 7 was the game where he played 11 snaps against the jaguars. Another front-7 player who was hurt in the jaguars game was Daquan jones, who played 4 snaps. 10 minutes ago, Orlando Buffalo said: I am not a McD basher overall but that decision of not using either Elam or Neal after the first drive was infuriating. Klein could not have cover me properly and was completely worthless. They ran over us in that one, and i'm not sure getting smaller was going to help there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBF81 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 1 hour ago, MikePJ76 said: Kind of odd to post these postseason numbers when a few key elements that would have helped stop the run were not available. I mean I believe this defense is not physical enough and it has been what is holding back the team from getting to a championship but last year they had linebackers that had no business being on the field trying to stop KC. It was an epic mismatch. The only way to win that game was to beat them 38-35 or something. Well, OK, but the 4 games in which we allowed the most rushing yards, we lost. All games that we lost by less than a TD. The 6th most was the Giants, which we nearly lost. The 7th which we also lost. If you don't think that significant, so be it. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LABILLBACKER Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 2 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said: I was so excited to see him in the playoffs because all our other top players on defense fail in the playoffs. I was hoping he would rise up. Then the injury. Gut punch. Ugh! Two years in a row gut punches. Von Miller then Bernard. It's pretty terrifying to think what we could've done to KC last January with a healthy Miller, Milano, Bernard and White. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBF81 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 6 minutes ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said: While i don't disagree that the rush defense was a problem at times last year - I would think the 4 turnovers against the jets and broncos were larger factors in losing those games. The jets rush total had an 83 yard run that resulted in 3 points. Losing milano hurts the rush defense quite a bit - and the worst game of the year for the front 7 was the game where he played 11 snaps against the jaguars. Another front-7 player who was hurt in the jaguars game was Daquan jones, who played 4 snaps. Yeah, we'll see how it shakes out this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmur66 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 1 hour ago, GETTOTHE50 said: Bernard might be my favorite player on the defense. He’s always making plays and has instincts only Edmunds could have dreamed of. Who? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlando Buffalo Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 27 minutes ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said: While i don't disagree that the rush defense was a problem at times last year - I would think the 4 turnovers against the jets and broncos were larger factors in losing those games. The jets rush total had an 83 yard run that resulted in 3 points. Losing milano hurts the rush defense quite a bit - and the worst game of the year for the front 7 was the game where he played 11 snaps against the jaguars. Another front-7 player who was hurt in the jaguars game was Daquan jones, who played 4 snaps. They ran over us in that one, and i'm not sure getting smaller was going to help there. Both Neal and Kaiir are large DBs, and Klein was not doing anything to stop the run or pass. I get your overall point but once the first drive ended it was clear he was overmatched in both pass and run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WideNine Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 2 hours ago, Charles Romes said: I cringe when I hear about all the reasons we lost to chiefs in the ‘23 playoffs and how Mahomes outdueled Allen once again. Klein subbing in for Bernard, are you kidding me. Yep. Injuries happen so you don't want to use it as an excuse, but our defense was missing a lot of starters and I am sure that impacted the game. Along with Klein filling in for Bernard (emergency unretired from a family vacation), Dodson was out there with him basically playing with 1 arm. Benson was out, Rapp was out, Rasul was nursing a bum knee, and Taron was coming off of concussion protocol. We definitely need better luck on the injury front with our defense down the stretch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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