Frustrated by Bills failure to stop the run? - listen to Joe Marino - expected points added (EPA)

[ganesh]

12 hours ago, Allen2D̶i̶g̶g̶s̶TBD said:

Regardless of their philosophy, the defense was terrible against Miami. 

 

Intentionally allowing the other team to run on us won't get us wins against the Ravens or Lions.

especially when you give up rushing TDs

[BuffaloBillsGospel2014]

12 hours ago, BuffaloBill said:

 

Listen to Joe Marino’s comments about the Bills D. Starting roughly 14 minutes 30 seconds into the podcast, Joe Marino speaks to the Bills defensive strategy.

 

In short, the Bills strategically want teams to run for two reasons:

 

* To take away explosive plays in the passing game

* The Bills allow a very low EPA (expected points added) in run plays. In fact, current stats say the Bills are the 3rd best in the league at it.

 

The net of the discussion, and others by Marino, is that the Bills choose to operate consistently with light boxes against the run. The Bills want teams to run. The Bills will give up yards in the run game because the stats say that teams do not score points against the Bills efficiently when they run.

 

It’s very insightful analysis. Many of us grew up on the mantra “run and stop the run.” McDermott’s system is more like “we pass or run and score with efficiency; you run and don’t score with efficiency.” I think Josh Allen’s ability is a huge part of this strategic approach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I heard this spewed all over WGR today, this whole we let them run at will to stop deep passing plays yet Tua was nearly perfect 25/28 231 pass yards, 2 TD, ) INT, 1 sack allowed on accident, 124.9 QB rating. If we play this way against the Chiefs or Ravens it's going to be more of the same because Henry is going to blow right through this soft interior DL and Hunt is really coming on also and looking like a threat which is why I'm quite baffled they did nothing to upgrade Daquan Jones who has been an absolute bust in both the run and pass game imo.

[machine gun kelly]

11 hours ago, WideNine said:

 

I understand it is a passing league, but I think we are seeing a league-wide trend for 2-TE heavy personnel and more running. I am not looking for a 3-4 defense with Shane Conlin as our ML.. the league evolves and in some ways we see things go out of vogue and get revived with twists.

I certainly think that Derrick is a throw back to RBs of yore.

Against poor teams where we can get up on them early I don't have a lot of concerns, against good teams that can stop our offense and run at will down the field and then score in the RZ  - it's a problem.

Perhaps the aggregate data says it generally works, but curious how that will hold up against the better teams down the stretch in that smaller sample size.

We will see

To add to your point, the opponents we face who are very efficient with the run which is primarily Baltimore, SF, amd KC, then what makes sense is a big nickel.  There was a guy in camp this summer that played that role (Louis Cine).  Cine was a 1st round pick for MN in 22, only played a couple of games, and then went on the Jets PS.  We picked him up this year on the PS.  His weight is similar to Bernard.  If they elevate him three times, he can be in sub packages.

 

 i don’t know if Andreeson is fast enough to be brought in on 1st downs, but that’s also a possibility.

 

our real strength as Marino points out is keeping their passing game down.

Edited November 6 by machine gun kelly

[Coach Tuesday]

7 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

Indeed.

 

I'm always willing to recognize that this passive defensive gameplan/performance was only one game, against a specific, talented, divisional opponent, and of course THEY WON. But it doesn't inspire confidence moving forward for what games against dangerous passing offenses might look like. 

 

**The Bills remind me a little of the Peyton Manning Colts, in that their defense can effectively compliment a high scoring offense. They don't get bullied or exposed when opposing offenses abandon the run. But otherwise, their absolute reliance on nickel personnel without much beef at the 2nd level (Bernard/Spector, Milano/Williams, Johnson/Lewis), who play behind a DL that doesn't consistently disrupt, and who play in front of deep safeties...this setup can result in cumulative run defense failures. Which can allow an offense to exploit a fast flowing front-7's tendencies with misdirection and play-action and screens. Get the defense on skates. 

This is the issue I have with them philosophically.  The defense is designed to protect a big lead, but the offense isn’t designed well enough to go get one.

[eball]

9 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Marino's point was to deceive.   I think perhaps he is angling for Shill Capaccio's sideline reporter job. 

 

Rushing the ball isn't usually a great way to score points?   Who'd have thought that running the ball largely serves to set up the pass?

 

If only Ron Jaworski new this 30 years ago he'd have been able to tell ESPN viewers that points come from the passing game.

 

Per PFF........the Dolphins average EPA per play in the game was .32 and the Bills was .06.    Marino didn't mention the Bills EPA per rush(which clearly also sucked) but he did say how beautiful he feels their zone rush offense is.   

 

8 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

I think the primary concern among reasonable fans is that the Bills defensive style seems to be too conservative against the best offenses, which gets exposed in the playoffs each season. This Dolphins gameplan felt a lot like that. The front four consistently failed to disrupt the Dolphins. And they didn't even get their hands up effectively like they have in the past against Tua. Just really passive/reactive overall. 

 

 

7 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

Indeed.

 

I'm always willing to recognize that this passive defensive gameplan/performance was only one game, against a specific, talented, divisional opponent, and of course THEY WON. But it doesn't inspire confidence moving forward for what games against dangerous passing offenses might look like. 

 

**The Bills remind me a little of the Peyton Manning Colts, in that their defense can effectively compliment a high scoring offense. They don't get bullied or exposed when opposing offenses abandon the run. But otherwise, their absolute reliance on nickel personnel without much beef at the 2nd level (Bernard/Spector, Milano/Williams, Johnson/Lewis), who play behind a DL that doesn't consistently disrupt, and who play in front of deep safeties...this setup can result in cumulative run defense failures. Which can allow an offense to exploit a fast flowing front-7's tendencies with misdirection and play-action and screens. Get the defense on skates. 

 

I agree with a lot of this, and I don’t want anyone to take my comments as an indication that I am “confident” about the Bills’ ability to stop good teams in the playoffs — but aside from the KC AFCCG in ‘20 and the Cinci home playoff game a couple of years ago they’ve been around at the end with a chance to win every other playoff game.  As a fan, how can I be upset about that?  And I will continue to say that “luck” is a terribly under-appreciated component of playoff games as well.

 

[ganesh]

17 minutes ago, eball said:

 

 

 

I agree with a lot of this, and I don’t want anyone to take my comments as an indication that I am “confident” about the Bills’ ability to stop good teams in the playoffs — but aside from the KC AFCCG in ‘20 and the Cinci home playoff game a couple of years ago they’ve been around at the end with a chance to win every other playoff game.  As a fan, how can I be upset about that?  And I will continue to say that “luck” is a terribly under-appreciated component of playoff games as well.

 

They lost to to the Texans on the road after taking a 17-0 lead....The defense completely let us down there....especially on that long 3rd and 16. in the 4th quarter

They almost lost to the Colts at home 

They almost lost to the Dolphins (with their 3rd string QB) at home.

 

In the playoffs,  being "good" is not enough...you have to be "great" every game

[BarleyNY]

21 hours ago, BuffaloBill said:

 

Listen to Joe Marino’s comments about the Bills D. Starting roughly 14 minutes 30 seconds into the podcast, Joe Marino speaks to the Bills defensive strategy.

 

In short, the Bills strategically want teams to run for two reasons:

 

* To take away explosive plays in the passing game

* The Bills allow a very low EPA (expected points added) in run plays. In fact, current stats say the Bills are the 3rd best in the league at it.

 

The net of the discussion, and others by Marino, is that the Bills choose to operate consistently with light boxes against the run. The Bills want teams to run. The Bills will give up yards in the run game because the stats say that teams do not score points against the Bills efficiently when they run.

 

It’s very insightful analysis. Many of us grew up on the mantra “run and stop the run.” McDermott’s system is more like “we pass or run and score with efficiency; you run and don’t score with efficiency.” I think Josh Allen’s ability is a huge part of this strategic approach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incentivizing offenses to run the ball and limiting explosive pass plays have been an analytics pillars for some time now. Creating turnovers and negative plays are others. It’s pushed most defenses into shell coverages like Cover 2 and 4, which are easier to run on than 1 or 3. They make offenses work their way downfield with runs and short passes. When dinking and running a single negative play or holding penalty can result in an offense punting on that drive. 

 

There are some team building things to consider. CBs playing zone are cheaper than those that can play man well. DTs still have to be competent and one that can rush the passer is important. A couple seasons ago the Browns went with cheap, third tier DTs to encourage teams to run on them. That part worked in a way because teams ran on them at will. But it was too much and teams rolled them by running. It also got a bunch of their LBs and DBs injured since the DTs couldn’t slow any OLmen down. They’ve since changed to a counter-culture D that plays a lot of man and blitzes to try to create negative plays and TOs. 

 

As for the Bills, I think it’s the smart way to play defense when you have Allen at QB. The defense just needs to keep it close and Allen can be the difference in most games - as long as his supporting cast is good enough to keep defenses honest. There are so many games that are close where Allen makes 2 or 3 plays that few (if any) other QB could make. Those points wind up netting the Bills an extra 7 or 10 points and that changes an L to a W. We are incredibly lucky to have him. 

Edited November 6 by BarleyNY

[Mat68]

7 hours ago, BuffaloBillsGospel2014 said:

 

I heard this spewed all over WGR today, this whole we let them run at will to stop deep passing plays yet Tua was nearly perfect 25/28 231 pass yards, 2 TD, ) INT, 1 sack allowed on accident, 124.9 QB rating. If we play this way against the Chiefs or Ravens it's going to be more of the same because Henry is going to blow right through this soft interior DL and Hunt is really coming on also and looking like a threat which is why I'm quite baffled they did nothing to upgrade Daquan Jones who has been an absolute bust in both the run and pass game imo.

Id argue KC and Baltimore do not have Hill and Waddle.  Not having Johnson hurt vs Baltimore.  Against Kc I think they match up pretty good.  The last 3 meetings against them show that.  The linebackers and safeties were decimated in the playoff.  That is the heart of KC’s passing attack.  Healthy I like Buffalo’s chances.  

16 hours ago, WideNine said:

 

I get what Joe is saying, but not sure if that explains why RZ defense was terrible.

 

I think I could better live with conceding drives with runs and short passes moving the sticks if those drives ended in 3-point attempts.

 

That is an area on the field where you are not defending explosive (passing) plays so how do the Bills tighten up there?

 

Or just chalk it up to Miami having schemes down there where we did not have answers, but teams will look to do similar things to us if they have the players to pull it off.

 

 

 

 

 

They struggled in the redzone Sunday.  This year they have been pretty good.  Seattle and NYJ redzone defense won those games. 

[BuffaloBillsGospel2014]

7 minutes ago, Mat68 said:

Id argue KC and Baltimore do not have Hill and Waddle.  Not having Johnson hurt vs Baltimore.  Against Kc I think they match up pretty good.  The last 3 meetings against them show that.  The linebackers and safeties were decimated in the playoff.  That is the heart of KC’s passing attack.  Healthy I like Buffalo’s chances.  

 

You don't really think Taron Johnson would have made a difference in stoppoing Derrik Henry, If it didn't matter against Moestert and Achane it definitely wouldn't have mattered against Henry imo. Although the Ravens don't have Waddle/Hill they do have Flowers/Andrews and now add Diontae Johnson to the mix so they have a bunch of weapons. I'd need to see them in the playoffs handling business because they seem to have them in the regular season no problem, the Chiefs that is.

Edited November 6 by BuffaloBillsGospel2014

[machine gun kelly]

43 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

 

Incentivizing offenses to run the ball and limiting explosive pass plays have been an analytics pillars for some time now. Creating turnovers and negative plays are others. It’s pushed most defenses into shell coverages like Cover 2 and 4, which are easier to run on than 1 or 3. They make offenses work their way downfield with runs and short passes. When dinking and running a single negative play or holding penalty can result in an offense punting on that drive. 

 

There are some team building things to consider. CBs playing zone are cheaper than those that can play man well. DTs still have to be competent and one that can rush the passer is important. A couple seasons ago the Browns went with cheap, third tier DTs to encourage teams to run on them. That part worked in a way because teams ran on them at will. But it was too much and teams rolled them by running. It also got a bunch of their LBs and DBs injured since the DTs couldn’t slow any OLmen down. They’ve since changed to a counter-culture D that plays a lot of man and blitzes to try to create negative plays and TOs. 

 

As for the Bills, I think it’s the smart way to play defense when you have Allen at QB. The defense just needs to keep it close and Allen can be the difference in most games as long - as his supporting cast is good enough to keep defenses honest. There are so many games that are close where Allen makes 2 or 3 plays that few (if any) other QB could make. Those points wind up netting the Bills an extra 7 or 10 points and that changes an L to a W. We are incredibly lucky to have him. 

Barley, you’re posts often are insightful and this one is another.

 

It’s armchair QB to just say stop the run.  What McD is doing on offense and defense is great.  We’re not perfect, and there will be ups and downs, but there a not lot of teams built like the Ravens.  Even with them our strategy will adjust in the playoffs.  The two we’ll need that big nickel or dime defense is with KC, and SF.

Edited November 6 by machine gun kelly

[Mat68]

28 minutes ago, BuffaloBillsGospel2014 said:

 

You don't really think Taron Johnson would have made a difference in stoppoing Derrik Henry, If it didn't matter against Moestert and Achane it definitely wouldn't have mattered against Henry imo. Although the Ravens don't have Waddle/Hill they do have Flowers/Andrews and now add Diontae Johnson to the mix so they have a bunch of weapons. I'd need to see them in the playoffs handling business because they seem to have them in the regular season no problem, the Chiefs that is.

Johnson is the only reason I would consider playing nickel against them.  He would have held up at the point of attack better than Lewis or Ingram 1000%.

 

Different game plan and different reasons for the rushing success looking at Baltimore and Miami.  Miami had more room because the secondary for the most part was back.  Miami attacked more up the middle than outside a bit of a tendency breaker imo.  The issue vs Baltimore were run fits.  Slot corner got abused.  

[BillsFan130]

1 hour ago, BarleyNY said:

 

Incentivizing offenses to run the ball and limiting explosive pass plays have been an analytics pillars for some time now. Creating turnovers and negative plays are others. It’s pushed most defenses into shell coverages like Cover 2 and 4, which are easier to run on than 1 or 3. They make offenses work their way downfield with runs and short passes. When dinking and running a single negative play or holding penalty can result in an offense punting on that drive. 

 

There are some team building things to consider. CBs playing zone are cheaper than those that can play man well. DTs still have to be competent and one that can rush the passer is important. A couple seasons ago the Browns went with cheap, third tier DTs to encourage teams to run on them. That part worked in a way because teams ran on them at will. But it was too much and teams rolled them by running. It also got a bunch of their LBs and DBs injured since the DTs couldn’t slow any OLmen down. They’ve since changed to a counter-culture D that plays a lot of man and blitzes to try to create negative plays and TOs. 

 

As for the Bills, I think it’s the smart way to play defense when you have Allen at QB. The defense just needs to keep it close and Allen can be the difference in most games as long - as his supporting cast is good enough to keep defenses honest. There are so many games that are close where Allen makes 2 or 3 plays that few (if any) other QB could make. Those points wind up netting the Bills an extra 7 or 10 points and that changes an L to a W. We are incredibly lucky to have him. 

I agree with a lot of what you said, but respectfully disagree with the last part.

 

Josh is the best QB in the stadium, maybe except when they play the chiefs.

And what's the way to beat great offences/QBs? Keep them on the sidelines, which is what the bills defence allows teams to do to Josh

 

To put it this way: Bills had only 8 possessions against Miami.

 

When it comes to the bills , I like my odds better when the game is longer with more possessions, not shorter 
 

Because that means more possessions for the superior QB. (Josh in this case)

Edited November 6 by BillsFan130

[BADOLBILZ]

2 hours ago, eball said:

 

 

 

I agree with a lot of this, and I don’t want anyone to take my comments as an indication that I am “confident” about the Bills’ ability to stop good teams in the playoffs — but aside from the KC AFCCG in ‘20 and the Cinci home playoff game a couple of years ago they’ve been around at the end with a chance to win every other playoff game.  As a fan, how can I be upset about that?  And I will continue to say that “luck” is a terribly under-appreciated component of playoff games as well.

 

 

 

None of their playoff losses were simply because of bad luck.   They squandered many opportunities in all of them.  Luck is a factor, sure.  The Chiefs ended up with 2 extra possessions in the 13 seconds game by virtue of a couple coin flips.   But the Bills played it conservative on offense on a couple drives in the second half and it cost them and then they misplayed the coverages at the end of regulation.   That wasn't luck.   

 

Josh Allen is being praised this year for taking the underneath throws a lot more often.   Even when he has WIDE open receivers deep like he had on multiple occasions versus Miami.   But he and Brady idiotically attempted a kill shot to Shakir on 2nd and 9 down 3 after the 2 minute warning in their most recent playoff loss.  Ilogical, stupid aggressiveness.  It just gets brushed aside because we love Allen and Brady was still on his honeymoon with the fan base.  They needed to kill the clock and score with as little time as possible left to assure victory and instead were hoping to give Mahomes and his 9 yards per play offense the ball back to play 4 down football down 4 points with almost 2 minutes left.  

[Livinginthepast]

So we'd like teams to run instead of pass, but who cares in games when we cant stop the run?  Is the strategy that an opposition running filled drive will take longer and that somehow helps us? while exhausting our defense? and keeping our high powered offense off the field? Huh?

[BillsFan130]

2 minutes ago, Livinginthepast said:

So we'd like teams to run instead of pass, but who cares in games when we cant stop the run?  Is the strategy that an opposition running filled drive will take longer and that somehow helps us? while exhausting our defense? and keeping our high powered offense off the field? Huh?

And the part that he forgot to talk about was we didn't even stop the pass either haha. Tua sliced us all game long

[BarleyNY]

20 minutes ago, BillsFan130 said:

I agree with a lot of what you said, but respectfully disagree with the last part.

 

Josh is the best QB in the stadium, maybe except when they play the chiefs.

And what's the way to beat great offences/QBs? Keep them on the sidelines, which is what the bills defence allows teams to do to Josh

 

To put it this way: Bills had only 8 possessions against Miami.

 

When it comes to the bills , I like my odds better when the game is longer with more possessions, not shorter 
 

Because that means more possessions for the superior QB. (Josh in this case)

 

That’s fair and I’d like to see Allen and the Bills with more possessions too. But would a riskier and aggressive defense that yields more variance in opposing offenses actually help against the best offenses in the league? It certainly could - especially if utilized correctly. The other top QBs/offenses seem to be able to effectively dink and dunk their way to points too. Those QBs often seem too comfortable doing that so taking them out of that rhythm is important. 

 

I think it’s largely a moot point though. McDermott is not wired that way at all. The glaring example is the crapfest that was the Bengals playoff game. Without Miller the Bills had no pass rush, so what was McD’s solution? He half-assed the aggressive defense by blitzing, but still having DBs play 10 yards off the LOS. It didn’t help that the blitzing didn’t really work, but Burrow was going to eat that kind of defense up regardless. 

 

McD wants to get pressure with 4 and take explosives away. That’s not a bad overall strategy. Where he could improve is with his change ups to that. We have heard talk of that and, honestly, I haven’t really looked much at it this season. But I will now. I was almost solely focused on how our offense would beat man coverage and blitzes without a viable outside threat. Hopefully Cooper will be that threat. KC is coming up and that’ll be a good one to look at. 

[BillsFan130]

8 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

 

That’s fair and I’d like to see Allen and the Bills with more possessions too. But would a riskier and aggressive defense that yields more variance in opposing offenses actually help against the best offenses in the league? It certainly could - especially if utilized correctly. The other top QBs/offenses seem to be able to effectively dink and dunk their way to points too. Those QBs often seem too comfortable doing that so taking them out of that rhythm is important. 

 

I think it’s largely a moot point though. McDermott is not wired that way at all. The glaring example is the crapfest that was the Bengals playoff game. Without Miller the Bills had no pass rush, so what was McD’s solution? He half-assed the aggressive defense by blitzing, but still having DBs play 10 yards off the LOS. It didn’t help that the blitzing didn’t really work, but Burrow was going to eat that kind of defense up regardless. 

 

McD wants to get pressure with 4 and take explosives away. That’s not a bad overall strategy. Where he could improve is with his change ups to that. We have heard talk of that and, honestly, I haven’t really looked much at it this season. But I will now. I was almost solely focused on how our offense would beat man coverage and blitzes without a viable outside threat. Hopefully Cooper will be that threat. KC is coming up and that’ll be a good one to look at. 

I don't know if you remember the bills Seahawks game in 2020 in Buffalo. When the bills won like 48-31 or something.

That was one of my favourite defensive game plans even though they let up a lot of points and got burned on some plays.

 

It was super aggressive, created 2-3 turnovers and a lot of key third down sacks.

 

Personally I wish they would attack like that more often, especially with Josh Allen as the QB. Cause if you give up a big play it's not the end of the world as you have a super star QB to answer 

 

But you're right it is a moot point - As bills defence under McDermott will predominantly be "rush 4, make offences stack play after play"

 

 

Edited November 6 by BillsFan130

[Mat68]

24 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

None of their playoff losses were simply because of bad luck.   They squandered many opportunities in all of them.  Luck is a factor, sure.  The Chiefs ended up with 2 extra possessions in the 13 seconds game by virtue of a couple coin flips.   But the Bills played it conservative on offense on a couple drives in the second half and it cost them and then they misplayed the coverages at the end of regulation.   That wasn't luck.   

 

Josh Allen is being praised this year for taking the underneath throws a lot more often.   Even when he has WIDE open receivers deep like he had on multiple occasions versus Miami.   But he and Brady idiotically attempted a kill shot to Shakir on 2nd and 9 down 3 after the 2 minute warning in their most recent playoff loss.  Ilogical, stupid aggressiveness.  It just gets brushed aside because we love Allen and Brady was still on his honeymoon with the fan base.  They needed to kill the clock and score with as little time as possible left to assure victory and instead were hoping to give Mahomes and his 9 yards per play offense the ball back to play 4 down football down 4 points with almost 2 minutes left.  

You have Allen at qb to make that read and throw  10/10 times.  Like a bass Fg stops Mahomes?  Gotta make him score a Td.  As the game showed, have to score when provided the chance because it may not come later. 

I am content losing with the ball in Allen’s hand every time.  Including the Houston game.  Offense played like poo.  Overtime wouldn't change that.   If there is time left and the game is in the balance give Allen a chance at pulling it out. 

[BADOLBILZ]

21 minutes ago, Mat68 said:

You have Allen at qb to make that read and throw  10/10 times.  Like a bass Fg stops Mahomes?  Gotta make him score a Td.  As the game showed, have to score when provided the chance because it may not come later. 

 

Well Allen passed up multiple completely WIDE OPEN deep TD opportunities in this Dolphins game to take shorter, higher percentage throws and keep the chains moving so I guess he's not doing his job right by not taking those "10/10" throws by your description.

 

Mahomes has won 2 SB's in a row taking the surer thing.......after Brady made a GOAT career out of it.   You can't laud Allen(and Joe Brady) for adopting that same philosophy this season and not acknowledge that Allen should have taken the wide open throw to Diggs underneath in that divisional game and gotten the first down or set up a 3rd and short and keep grinding the clock and the exhausted Chiefs D to get a TD with as little time left as possible.    

 

How does one be a fan of, at the time, the biggest SB favorite in history(XXV) and watch that team lose by having the clock controlled and then 30+ years later still not understand that YOUR team can use the clock to choke out a superior performing offense as well?

 

 

 

Edited November 6 by BADOLBILZ

[2003Contenders]

I think I get the point that Marino was making, so I tried taking a deeper statistical dive myself.

 

On the surface the Bills rush defense has not been great. They are in the middle of the pack, giving up 123 yards per game(#15). That is confounded further when you realize that (because they have been on the winning side of many blowouts and teams have had to abandon the run), they have the 11th fewest rush attempts  per game (25.67) against them. That equates to the 4th worst 4.8 yards per rush attempt in the league.

 

We have seen that when teams stay committed to the run against the Bills (most notably the Ravens and Dolphins), they can do so with success. But, while the Bills have struggled bottling opponents up in these situations, they have also successfully held down the fort when they needed to do so. That is, they have done a solid job of stuffing 3rd-and-1 as well as 4th-and-one plays and have been very stout in goal-to-go situations. This is further evidenced by their only allowing 0.67 rushing TDs per game (7th best in the league) -- and they have forced (and recovered) an average of exactly 1 fumble per game -- 4th in the league.

 

Going against mediocre teams in the NFL, this style of defense (especially given the current talent that the team has) is a recipe for success. It forces the opposing offense to have long and sustained drives in order to score -- thereby creating more chances for them to make a mistake (penalty, turnover, etc.) We have also seen that it requires a great deal of patience on the part of the opposing coach and QB. To their credit McDaniel and Tua did exactly that on Sunday. Thankfully Josh and the offense were able to keep up.

 

The old bend-but-don't-break adage. Of course, when facing a top-flight offense as we have seen in the playoffs, that often leads to death-by-a-thousand-paper cuts!

 

The flip side of the coin is that when the team has faced an offense that they are not overly concerned with beating them over-the-top, they have shown that they are more liable to stack the box -- and they have had some success shutting down the run. A great example of this came in the Seattle game, where they predicated the defense on limiting Walker and forcing Geno (sans Metcalf) to beat them with his arm. I would imagine a similar gameplan this week against Indy -- focus on containing Taylor and take your chances against an immobile Flacco and middling WRs.