Fan in San Diego Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 I say it is more an indicator of the offense not being able to sustain drives. Too many 3 and outs and then the def. is out there again. The def. gets tired and then they can't stop the run. The best defense is a good offense !
Brandon Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 I agree, the high play count against the defense is largely the result of an inept offense being unable to sustain drives. The Bills ran 898 plays last year, which was DEAD LAST in the NFL. San Francisco was next at 918. They were 31st in 3rd down conversion percentage at a measly 31.7%. They were 30th in time of possession, better than only Tennessee and Detroit. They were also dead last in first downs per game at 14.6 (NFL.com sorts them at 30th for some reason, but they were last), and Brian Moorman had the 4th most punts in the NFL at 92 (98 was the highest). Defensively, they weren't much better, allowing 1029 plays against, which was 26th in the league. Much better on third down than you'd think, though, at 13th in the NFL (36.6%). They were also a halfway-respectable 17th in first downs allowed per game.
Brandon Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 BTW, after actually seeing those numbers (I knew it was bad, just not THAT bad), I now fully expect that this draft will be much more offense-oriented than most people expect.
Rubes Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 It all comes down to 3rd down performance. On both sides of the ball.
The Dean Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 There is SOME sense to the article, but it is filled with generalizations and faulty logic as well, IMO.
Kelly the Dog Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 It all comes down to 3rd down performance. On both sides of the ball. The Bills defense was tied for 11th in third down efficiency. That's not horrible. http://www.nfl.com/stats/teamsort/NFL/DEF-...&_1:col_1=9
Rubes Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 The Bills defense was tied for 11th in third down efficiency. That's not horrible. http://www.nfl.com/stats/teamsort/NFL/DEF-...&_1:col_1=9 Of course, if the Colts game last year was any indication, that's not necessarily a good indicator either. When the Bills defense needed a stop on that last drive, they couldn't even get the Colts into a 3rd down situation. They kept making first downs on second down.
Kelly the Dog Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 Of course, if the Colts game last year was any indication, that's not necessarily a good indicator either. When the Bills defense needed a stop on that last drive, they couldn't even get the Colts into a 3rd down situation. They kept making first downs on second down. True. That was the worst part of the Bills defense, worse even IMO than the woeful run defense. When we needed a stop, we rarely could make it. We didn't give up a ton of points though, which is the most important stat. And were in the middle of the pack in average per play.
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