Cam Newton, recognizing coverages, disguises and Sean McDermott

[Sierra Foothills]

In the McDermott era the Bills have never had a highly drafted, elite athlete at safety.

 

I'm very interested to watch how Cole Bishop performs in this system.

 

[hondo in seattle]

1 hour ago, Mikie2times said:

Not talking about our safeties. Talking about our defense. It makes sense how we can confuse the easily confused but when we face the better QB's our lack of talent is on full display. 

 

I agree with this 100%.  

 

We've had good players who disguise our intentions and execute McDermott's scheme well .  But we haven't had a bunch of elite athletes on defense who can consistently win one on one battles on the line, in the secondary, or anywhere else.  And our schemes aren't good enough to consistently fool the best OCs and QBs.

 

These shortcomings - and injuries - tends to derail us in the playoffs.   

 

Cool, though, that Cam singled out McD for praise.  

 

Edited August 25 by hondo in seattle

[GoBills808]

9 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I agree with this 100%.  

 

We've had good players who disguise our intentions and execute McDermott's scheme well .  But we haven't had a bunch of elite athletes on defense who can consistently win one on one battles on the line, in the secondary, or anywhere else.  And our schemes aren't good enough to consistently fool the best OCs and QBs.

 

These shortcomings - and injuries - tends to derail us in the playoffs.   

 

Cool, though, that Cam singled out McD for praise.  

 

It doesn't explain how we play Mahomes well in the regular season and not in the postseason. We have the players to do it

[hondo in seattle]

6 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

It doesn't explain how we play Mahomes well in the regular season and not in the postseason. We have the players to do it

 

You're right.  It doesn't.  That regular season versus postseason dichotomy with the Chiefs is both puzzling and painful.  

I still think my point is generally true.

 

If we have the players (and the coaching staff) to do it, why do you think we beat the Chiefs in the regular season and not in the postseason?   The same players running the same schemes should - theoretically - get the same results.  Though there's a certain element of chance (bad bounces, calls, injuries) in football, too.  

Edited August 25 by hondo in seattle

[Mikie2times]

9 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

It doesn't explain how we play Mahomes well in the regular season and not in the postseason. We have the players to do it

Ed Oliver is the best player in our front 7. Which is sort of laughable given the resources we have spent.

 

Look at it another way. What if we bring in another 4-3 coach, how do we perform? Every piece we have is overfit for McD's defense. We switch coaches and we don't even have a top 20 defense with this roster. Why does it kind of work vs KC in regular season? Maybe they don't hit top gear until the playoffs. Which has been the case for many former championship teams. Nothing is going to fit why we regress so sharply perfectly across the board. But the concept being discussed here fits about as close as any I recall.

Edited August 25 by Mikie2times

[appoo]

10 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

It doesn't explain how we play Mahomes well in the regular season and not in the postseason. We have the players to do it

 

Bills literally just played Mahomes well in the playoffs. 

[GoBills808]

7 minutes ago, appoo said:

 

Bills literally just played Mahomes well in the playoffs. 

Yeah I kind of just ignore people who think that tbh

13 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

Ed Oliver is the best player in our front 7. Which is sort of laughable given the resources we have spent.

 

Look at it another way. What if we bring in another 4-3 coach, how do we perform? Every piece we have is overfit for McD's defense. We switch coaches and we don't even have a top 20 defense with this roster. Why does it kind of work vs KC in regular season? Maybe they don't hit top gear until the playoffs. Which has been the case for many former championship teams. Nothing is going to fit why we regress so sharply perfectly across the board. But the concept being discussed here fits about as close as any I recall.

Yeah I just don't buy that we don't have exactly the players on defense we've wanted. Not when we've spent top of the league on defense the last 4 years

[appoo]

19 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Yeah I kind of just ignore people who think that tbh

Yeah I just don't buy that we don't have exactly the players on defense we've wanted. Not when we've spent top of the league on defense the last 4 years

beane and McDermott have paid for a top 10 defense and an elite QB, and so far the Bills have gotten a top 10 defense and an elite QB

[BigAl2526]

Upgrading talent is a constant challenge for NFL GMs.  Hyde and Poyer gave the Bills stability for a long time at the safety position even if they weren't elite athletes.  They were top notch mentally.  Now that they're gone, It's proven a challenge to find replacements mostly because of injuries.  Beyond Rapp and Hamlin (average to below average athletes, the Bills really don't know what they have.  Cole Bishop is a pretty good athlete with some size.  We don't know how easily he will transition to the NFL.   Mike Edwards has been modestly productive in a reserve role.  Can he do more?  We don't know.  Does Kareem Jackson still have anything in the tank.  

 

I think that the Bills linebacking has become more athletic (all the injuries not withstanding) over the last couple of seasons.  Gone are special teamers disguised as backup linebackers (Tyler Matekevich) and players at the tail end of their NFL careers.  Most of them are on the small side, but all of them have average to excellent speed.   Even Joe Andreeson is a pretty good athlete.  

 

Except for Ed Oliver and the venerable Von Miller are really the only elite athlete on the defensive line.  I question whether Von Miller is still elite, but he might still be pretty good if he has recovered from injury.  Javon Solomon isn't elite by any stretch, but he's got some bend explosion and strength.  Rousseau is a big rangy guy with good athleticism for his size, but he doesn't have the elite speed that the best DEs in the league have.  Everybody else is lower still.   It's potentially a good defensive line versus the run if they play with discipline.   They need Von Miller to show up, Rousseau to take another step and Solomon to surprise this year if they are going to get a decent number of sacks.  I'm not expecting much of anything from Epenesa.  I think with him, what we see is what we're going to continue to get: an occasional sack, OK run defense and some pass deflections.   I'm not thinking too much past the upcoming season, but I can imagine that finding an elite pass rusher is going to be a pretty high priority next off season.

Edited August 27 by BigAl2526

[Mikie2times]

28 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Yeah I kind of just ignore people who think that tbh

Yeah I just don't buy that we don't have exactly the players on defense we've wanted. Not when we've spent top of the league on defense the last 4 years

I just don't agree that the individual talent is strong. With what's left, I don't see a lot of guys starting for other teams. I see a massive rebuild if a new coach came in.   I think we have the players on defense we wanted. Especially schematically, but that doesn't mean they're above average players. We have done a good job of drafting system guys. But we can obviously do this all night. It's a reasonable discussion. It's not like you're saying we played Mahomes well in the last playoff game...

 

[Billzgobowlin]

12 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

Most defenses don't post top 5 finishes year after year then get get completely torched when it matters. Our defense isn't a playoff defense. It's a regular season defense. See the Bengals, 49ers, Ravens, etc. All have shown much more capable when it matters.  

I can only remember one time with McDermott where he has a double digit loss in the playoffs, everything else in recent years has been by less than a score.  That's hardly a blowout.  Everyone has the same goal to win it so you get everyone's best and there are no weak opponents.  The issue with the playoffs usually involve a couple of plays not made.  A FG, a missed catch, a missed tackle.

[Rochesterfan]

11 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

Vs Mahomes in the playoffs. It sucks when actual data exists doesn't it. 

 

And what is the 49ers record versus the Chiefs since 2019 both regular season and playoffs.  Oh they are 0-3 and lost twice in the Super Bowl - yes so much better than the Bills.  Wish we were that much better like the 49ers.

 

The Bengals do have 1 playoff win and a loss and 0 Superbowls and multiple years of missing the playoffs because of losses to teams like Cleveland every year.  
 

The Ravens are a staggering 1-3 versus the Chiefs and 0-1 in the playoffs giving up 30 of 39 pass attempts, a TD, and no turnovers. 
 

Please facts matter, but so does context - the other teams have slowed them down slightly, but they also do not pose the offensive threat of the Bills.  You don’t think that maybe Reid and Mahomes have a bit more juice going against Josh Allen and play things a bit more open rather than a team like SF that they think they can hold to the teens.
 

I think the Bills defense has shown themselves to be able to do certain things very well - even in the playoffs, but there are match-ups that are not good for the style of defense the Bills play.  Kansas City is a perfect example of that.  A QB that can make reads noutside of the play when they buy time is hard for many defensive schemes, but it has opened the Bills up badly.  
 

 

[Mr. WEO]

14 hours ago, appoo said:

 

 

I'm a Bills/PSU/Syracuse/Knicks/Mets/USMNT guy, he's been the best coach on any of my teams since I can remember - and Cam here lands on one of the reasons why. He is an absolutely brilliant defensive coach. Start at about 1:40 to get to the McDermott part, but the whole clip is pretty good if you're interested in how to read a coverage pre-snap

 

Didn't Newton's career famously get cut short because he could not tell when those guys were or were not coming?

[BADOLBILZ]

12 hours ago, appoo said:

 

Bills literally just played Mahomes well in the playoffs. 

 

Chiefs put up 9 yards per play on offense.   The Bills played terribly on defense that day.   

Edited August 26 by BADOLBILZ

[Dan in Owego]

To be baked into the pie it should be noted that prior to the game against KC Chris Long mentioned what a disadvantage having the short week would be for a banged up Bills D.

Edited August 26 by Dan in Owego

[TBBills Fan]

My thoughts on McDermott and KC...

 

I think we need to consider that the Master is better than the apprentice. 

 

These men know each other quite well.  They know tendencies and schemes but much more. 

 

That's why every game is close.  We win some, they win some

 

 

 

[Captain Hindsight]

15 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

Not talking about our safeties. Talking about our defense. It makes sense how we can confuse the easily confused but when we face the better QB's our lack of talent is on full display. 

If they could hit on some pass rushers, (besides groot and oliver) I think the D looks alot more fierce. Unfortunately, he has a lot of "solid" picks instead of studs

[Jauronimo]

14 hours ago, GoBills808 said:

Yeah I kind of just ignore people who think that tbh

Yeah I just don't buy that we don't have exactly the players on defense we've wanted. Not when we've spent top of the league on defense the last 4 years

Since when does spending correlate with success?

[TheFunPolice]

It's been said earlier in the thread, but football is a game of matchups, maybe more than any other major sport. 

 

You can be great yet struggle with an average team because of the way that team plays the game. It's part of what makes NFL football great, IMO. 

 

The Dolphins take moonshots to track starts and when it works it looks like a video game. Totally unstoppable. 

The Ravens can run it 57 times a game , including with their superstar QB who can make a huge play on any down. Coupled with a vicious D. 

49ers have the Shanahan system, which works amazingly well until Super Bowls. 

Lions are a gritty, fun team that will score 40 points and hope it's enough. 

 

That's an oversimplification but it's why we love this game!

 

McDermott has a system that works, and it does work against KC. We're just evenly matched with them and it could go either way each time. Plus they have the uncrowned (for now) GOAT in Andy Reid. 

 

Edited August 26 by TheFunPolice

[GETTOTHE50]

Cam should try being a color commentator. I’d bet he’d be very entertaining in the booth