The root source of D problems is the D Line

[Don Otreply]

30 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Not just vs the Rams but it’s the main reason we don’t advance in the playoffs. We don’t have dominant force on the DL.

Nor do we have a plan to mitigate that issue, 

every team we play knows this is our Achilles heel…, 

Edited December 9 by Don Otreply

[oldmanfan]

Football always has been and will always be about physically beating the guy in front of you.  Our D line got physically dominated yesterday.  Has nothing to do with coaching, has to do with getting whupped.  

[Chicharito]

Jordan Phillips needed to be in the lineup. Say what you want about him but he clogs holes.

[Don Otreply]

1 minute ago, oldmanfan said:

Football always has been and will always be about physically beating the guy in front of you.  Our D line got physically dominated yesterday.  Has nothing to do with coaching, has to do with getting whupped.  

I hear ya, but it is the coach that choose those guys, 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

37 minutes ago, Pete said:

DLine got dominated.  They could not stop the run, and they could not pressure Stafford.  I’m talking to you Ed Oliver and DaQuan.  Shameful performance.  It’s hardly the first time DL has failed us this year.  DL is the Achilles heel of a loaded Bills team, led by Josh Allen.

Ed Oliver invisible yet again?

 

Shocking development 

[oldmanfan]

1 minute ago, Don Otreply said:

I hear ya, but it is the coach that choose those guys, 

and the GM.  

[JerseyBills]

The DL is worrisome but all in all , I just think this game was wrong place, wrong time, as far as just clinching the division and having a trip to the West Coast, it was just a recipe for disaster. But the DL certainly didn't show up but hats off to Stafford and his WRs, they were just in sync and we had sticky coverage. 

[Back2Buff]

Its the scheme, not the players.  You can bring in as many players as you want over the years, the scheme is absolutely so vanilla and easy to figure out.

 

I said it in the Dolphins vs Rams thread, the Dolphins confused the Rams O line and dominated, the Bills wont do that.

[Dr.Sack]

“Think of Oliver as DE. Then you can focus on Jones & whatever retreads got handled. I don’t call 6’ 280 guys DTs.” BBB

[atlbillsfan1975]

Yes, for McD’s d to work the dline and in particular the interior dlinemen need to play good to great. We haven’t seen that at all this year. Edge has been good to great at times with Groot and Von playing the best. If someone doesn’t step up, it will come down to Josh needing to score 40 in the playoffs to beat someone, not every game. 

[SoonerBillsFan]

58 minutes ago, Pete said:

DLine got dominated.  They could not stop the run, and they could not pressure Stafford.  I’m talking to you Ed Oliver and DaQuan.  Shameful performance.  It’s hardly the first time DL has failed us this year.  DL is the Achilles heel of a loaded Bills team, led by Josh Allen.

McDermott’s defense needs pressure and sacks from the front 4.  Tons of resources put into the DL and it still sucks.

[Gregg]

16 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

McDermott’s defense needs pressure and sacks from the front 4.  Tons of resources put into the DL and it still sucks.

 

This would be on Beane more so than McDermott. As the GM it's his job to find the right players in the draft to improve the DL. No matter how the season plays out I would expect DL will be a priority this offseason for Beane.

[SoCal Deek]

1 minute ago, Gregg said:

 

This would be on Beane more so than McDermott. As the GM it's his job to find the right players in the draft to improve the DL. No matter how the season plays out I would expect DL will be a priority this offseason for Beane.

Along with cornerback and safety? This defense has holes everywhere. 

[mjt328]

This defense is unexplainable.

 

Every year, they are statistically a Top 5-10 unit across the entire NFL.  (Even after yesterday's debacle which dropped them way down the list, they are still ranked #8 in scoring defense, #1 in turnovers and #9 against the pass).  Their adjusted numbers are even better on most advanced analytical sites.  The Bills have multiple games each season where they totally confuse and harass elite veteran QBs and coaches.  Even ones who see them all the time.  A great example is Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes just a few weeks ago.  

 

Yet somehow, we also have 1-2 times every season (and always in the playoffs)... where this defense performs no better than putting a bunch of traffic cones on the field.  Not just bad.  Not just terrible.  But absolutely incapable of getting stops ALL GAME LONG.  Every team has bad moments and bad games.  But the Bills push it to the absolute extreme.  How is it possible to play at such a high level for 15-16 games, and then suddenly morph into the most inept unit in the entire NFL for four quarters.  It's baffling to me.

 

Yesterday's performance was pathetic.  I hear what you are saying about the D-Line.  But the Bills couldn't generate the slightest pressure when they blitzed either.  Guys were WIDE open all over the field, even with us grabbing jerseys.  Zone defense or in man coverage, defensive backs couldn't make a play to save their lives.  I don't think anyone was able to get off a block all day.  And tackling was ridiculously awful.  

 

I don't want to hear about the lack of elite playmakers on the D-Line either.  There are only a handful of guys in the NFL like TJ Watt, Myles Garrett or Chris Jones, and very few teams can boast having someone like that on the roster.  Our talent on the front line is absolutely comparable to other top teams like the Lions and Eagles.  Yet somehow even on their worst days, those teams can find ways to at least get a couple stops.  

 

The big fear amongst Bills Mafia is that yesterday's game was only a preview of what will happen (again) in the postseason.  

[dorquemada]

1 hour ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Not just vs the Rams but it’s the main reason we don’t advance in the playoffs. We don’t have dominant force on the DL.

 

Given how much draft capital we've spent on DL it's really amazing.  A real blind spot for Beane.   It just seems like we've got a slow, undersized DL, and now the blueprint is out there.  Expect more out of Detroit next week

[ddaryl]

We need an improvement at DT and DE, probably going to have to rely on the draft for 1 of these. Can we even afford a top FA at one of these positions... Miller in hindsight did not put us over the top

This D got exposed and that is what happened to us against Baltimore earlier in the season.

[Gregg]

5 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

 

Given how much draft capital we've spent on DL it's really amazing.  A real blind spot for Beane.   It just seems like we've got a slow, undersized DL, and now the blueprint is out there.  Expect more out of Detroit next week

 

Definitely expecting a loss next Sunday. My guess is the Bills will be 13-4 or 12-5. Depends on that last game vs NE. If they have the #2 seed locked up, then they will probably treat like a preseason game and lose otherwise they should win if they need it.

[Livinginthepast]

DLine had almost no pressure and no sacks. The only hurries were on blitzes. Stafford is obviously nowhere near what he was in his prime but yesterday was one of the greatest days of his career. With all that extra time to throw and the wisdom of experience reading the defenses, he looked HOF quality. 

 

But my question is this. Where was the strategy on defense when things were not obviously working? The Bills Dline were like a fly on a screen door, working hard and getting nowhere. Why didnt Babich or McD change up the rush patterns with a few stunts or throw in a safety blitz? Maybe they tried, I dont know but thats one of the few Bills games Ive ever seen where the defense was getting wrecked all 4 quarters with no answers for 95% of the Rams series.

[dorquemada]

Just now, Livinginthepast said:

DLine had almost no pressure and no sacks. The only hurries were on blitzes. Stafford is obviously nowhere near what he was in his prime but yesterday was one of the greatest days of his career. With all that extra time to throw and the wisdom of experience reading the defenses, he looked HOF quality. 

 

But my question is this. Where was the strategy on defense when things were not obviously working? The Bills Dline were like a fly on a screen door, working hard and getting nowhere. Why didnt Babich or McD change up the rush patterns with a few stunts or throw in a safety blitz? Maybe they tried, I dont know but thats one of the few Bills games Ive ever seen where the defense was getting wrecked all 4 quarters with no answers for 95% of the Rams series.

 

Hey the DL is slow and undersized, but at least they get zero pressure and cant stop the run.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

24 minutes ago, Gregg said:

 

This would be on Beane more so than McDermott. As the GM it's his job to find the right players in the draft to improve the DL. No matter how the season plays out I would expect DL will be a priority this offseason for Beane.

 

greeeeeeat