Defense

[947]

4 minutes ago, CincyBillsFan said:

One big problem with the defense the last two games has been how poorly they play at the start of games.  The Bills are on the road playing back to back teams likely to win their divisions and they give up FIVE TD's on their opponents first SIX possessions.  We would be calling our offense elite if they scored 5 TD's on their first 6 possessions over the last two games.

 

So right off the bat we're in a hole in a hostile environment against very good teams.

 

 

 

It's not so much that they don't play well, it's that McD keeps starting games playing that idiotic soft zone. We're basically playing a Prevent D & teams carve us up in the middle of the field. Then we adjust at halftime, it works, & we wonder why we didn't just do this all game.

[Don Otreply]

16 hours ago, WotAGuy said:

Someone tell me how I should feel about this post. 

I’m wondering when we are supposed to start the rant on who we want fired, pm me when you find out who it is,  😂

Edited October 12 by Don Otreply

[All_Pro_Bills]

The Bills defense has an overall lack of team speed and issues with their zone alignments.

And on a sidenote, why Elam is not on the field more is a mystery. Sure he gets a few holding and PI calls but that's because he's the only DB close enough to a receiver when the ball is coming to commit a foul.

[PonyBoy]

16 hours ago, Success said:

The staying power of someone in the crowd with a "D" and then an actual fence isn't talked about enough.  We're talking decades now.

 

 

 

 

🤔 I was thinking D-FENS.

Sometimes I'd like to go all Whammy Burger on our D-FENS 😀

[WotAGuy]

2 hours ago, Don Otreply said:

I’m wondering when we are supposed to start the rant on who we want fired, pm me when you find out who it is,  😂

Everyone must go!

[Thurman#1]

19 hours ago, EmotionallyUnstable said:

Except last weekend…the sack fumble that gave the offense the ball at the 15 yard line?

 

Defense is not the problem.

 

 

This.

 

Could they be better? Sure. But particularly for a group that lost Milano, Bernard, Taron Johnson and safeties on a team without experienced solid safety depth, the D has been really good.

 

Oliver's been very good, so has Groot. Von is on pace for about 10 this year so far. Solomon looks like a really nice value so far. Do I wish we had a top ten sacker? Yeah, but it's hard to get those guys without top ten picks, particularly when you're paying an elite QB on a second contract.

[RyanC883]

we do need a dependable pass rusher. 

[Draconator]

18 hours ago, GreggTX said:

You're right about the pass rush, though. Edge should be priority #1 in the 2025 draft.

Just like it was in more recent drafts?

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

4 hours ago, All_Pro_Bills said:

The Bills defense has an overall lack of team speed and issues with their zone alignments.

And on a sidenote, why Elam is not on the field more is a mystery. Sure he gets a few holding and PI calls but that's because he's the only DB close enough to a receiver when the ball is coming to commit a foul.

Benford has been insanely good and Douglas was great last year and has been pretty good this year 

 

elam is the odd man out. 

Edited October 12 by Generic_Bills_Fan

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

1 hour ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

This.

 

Could they be better? Sure. But particularly for a group that lost Milano, Bernard, Taron Johnson and safeties on a team without experienced solid safety depth, the D has been really good.

 

Oliver's been very good, so has Groot. Von is on pace for about 10 this year so far. Solomon looks like a really nice value so far. Do I wish we had a top ten sacker? Yeah, but it's hard to get those guys without top ten picks, particularly when you're paying an elite QB on a second contract.

We’re 6th in defensive dvoa with a mountain of injuries lol idk what some of these defense critics are seeing.  You’re not stopping the ravens down both your starting lbers and nickel corner 

 

[ganesh]

8 hours ago, 947 said:

 

It's not so much that they don't play well, it's that McD keeps starting games playing that idiotic soft zone. We're basically playing a Prevent D & teams carve us up in the middle of the field. Then we adjust at halftime, it works, & we wonder why we didn't just do this all game.

If we can adjust halftime why couldn't we adjust after the first drive...what is the difference.

3 hours ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

We’re 6th in defensive dvoa with a mountain of injuries lol idk what some of these defense critics are seeing.  You’re not stopping the ravens down both your starting lbers and nickel corner 

 

The problem with the Ravens game was that our defense allowed their running game to run roughshod over us

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

6 minutes ago, ganesh said:

If we can adjust halftime why couldn't we adjust after the first drive...what is the difference.

The problem with the Ravens game was that our defense allowed their running game to run roughshod over us

lol yes they ran roughshod over us because we were missing a bunch of run stuffers then if we wanted to add a linebacker we were down to Nicholas morrow 🤣 having to choose to either stick in the nickel with cam Lewis or add Nicholas Morrow for some bigger bodies is like choosing between sh*t and poop lol 

the defense that night had an unrealistically high amount of players to pick on 

[TheyCallMeAndy]

So I don’t fully agree with this thread, but I certainly don’t fully disagree with it either.

 

 

[BuffaloBillyG]

You forgot to say you were gonna hang up and listen.

[Coach Tuesday]

On 10/12/2024 at 2:02 PM, All_Pro_Bills said:

The Bills defense has an overall lack of team speed and issues with their zone alignments.

And on a sidenote, why Elam is not on the field more is a mystery. Sure he gets a few holding and PI calls but that's because he's the only DB close enough to a receiver when the ball is coming to commit a foul.

I watched the Manning-Belicheck breakdown on the game on ESPN+ and it is worth everyone’s time.  Bill loves Allen but seems not to think very much of the defense and, reading between the lines perhaps, McD.  He says the Bills lack team speed on defense (as you say), and that the Bills don’t do much on D except cycle around which defender is dropping to which part of the zone on a play by play basis, that is their “disguise.”  Seems pretty unimpressed.

[FireChans]

1 minute ago, Coach Tuesday said:

I watched the Manning-Belicheck breakdown on the game on ESPN+ and it is worth everyone’s time.  Bill loves Allen but seems not to think very much of the defense and, reading between the lines perhaps, McD.  He says the Bills lack team speed on defense (as you say), and that the Bills don’t do much on D except cycle around which defender is dropping to which part of the zone on a play by play basis, that is their “disguise.”  Seems pretty unimpressed.

Historically, BB has been very complimentary of Hyde and Poyer and their ability to disguise coverage FWIW.

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, FireChans said:

Historically, BB has been very complimentary of Hyde and Poyer and their ability to disguise coverage FWIW.

 

Yea. He has. Was always very complimentary of McDermott and Frazier too. 

 

His right we lack team speed. He should know. He fielded the slowest team in the NFL the last few years.

[BillsVet]

1 hour ago, Coach Tuesday said:

I watched the Manning-Belicheck breakdown on the game on ESPN+ and it is worth everyone’s time.  Bill loves Allen but seems not to think very much of the defense and, reading between the lines perhaps, McD.  He says the Bills lack team speed on defense (as you say), and that the Bills don’t do much on D except cycle around which defender is dropping to which part of the zone on a play by play basis, that is their “disguise.”  Seems pretty unimpressed.

 

Wow.  

 

McD strikes me as the guy who worked hard and expected that would succeed at all levels of coaching.  Maybe it did to the coordinator level, but HC's need to think fast and process in-game and he can't.  

 

Makes sense what Belichick said...the game plans seem dull, unimaginative, and ultimately safe.  I expect that from McD on offense because he undervalues that side, but the defense doesn't confuse better teams.  I don't think he's got more than one pitch and when it works, great.  But it's starting not to work so much.    

[FireChans]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea. He has. Was always very complimentary of McDermott and Frazier too. 

 

His right we lack team speed. He should know. He fielded the slowest team in the NFL the last few years.

The team is really talentless from top to bottom.

 

You can squeeze a little bit out of the Cam Lewis' and Jamarcus Ingram's of the world but there's a reason those guys are barely in the NFL. When your best safety is Damar Hamlin, your safeties suck. And when your safeties suck at executing basic tasks, i.e. taking run angles, you aren't gonna trust them to do anything exotic.

 

McD has shown he can adjust mid-season schematically, he did it just last year with Poyer playing LB/S hybrid roles because he couldn't run anymore.

 

But between injuries and crappy players, the defense really just kinda sucks.

[Coach Tuesday]

He’s basically saying they’re running the same defense they used to run with Hyde and JoPoy but lack the speed or savviness to do it right now.  Highlighted a play against Baltimore where they tried dropping Rousseau into coverage and ended up with no pass rush and a huge hole in the zone.