Bills rush D...

[Big Turk]

Bills are allowing an average of 3.8 YPC this year versus 4.4 last year. They are also allowing 98 YPG this year versus 124 last year. The run D definitely has improved---they are allowing very few long runs compared to last year and many more 1 or 2 yard gains....

 

unfortunately, this hasn't translated into any improvement for the pass defense, as their numbers are almost identical to last year---62.4% completion for opposition QB's both years, 7.0 YPC last year, 6.9 YPC this year, 81.1 QB rating last year, 83.8 QB rating this year, 26 total sacks last year, 13 sacks this year in exactly half of the number of games. They do have a slightly lower number of passes being completed for 1st downs(32.4 to 35.3%) and about 35 yards fewer per game being allowed(238 to 204). The QB rating against us places us 15th in the NFL for both seasons.

 

Surprisingly, our next opponent, New England is ranked 8th worst in the NFL in QB rating against at 93.4, which is the worst rated remaining opponent we will face. Of our next 3 opponents, KC is pretty bad as well at 87+, but Cleveland and SF are the 2 teams ranked directly above Buffalo at 82+ for Cleveland and 81+ for SF...

[keepthefaith]

Bills are allowing an average of 3.8 YPC this year versus 4.4 last year. They are also allowing 98 YPG this year versus 124 last year. The run D definitely has improved---they are allowing very few long runs compared to last year and many more 1 or 2 yard gains....

 

unfortunately, this hasn't translated into any improvement for the pass defense, as their numbers are almost identical to last year---62.4% completion for opposition QB's both years, 7.0 YPC last year, 6.9 YPC this year, 81.1 QB rating last year, 83.8 QB rating this year, 26 total sacks last year, 13 sacks this year in exactly half of the number of games. They do have a slightly lower number of passes being completed for 1st downs(32.4 to 35.3%) and about 35 yards fewer per game being allowed(238 to 204). The QB rating against us places us 15th in the NFL for both seasons.

 

Surprisingly, our next opponent, New England is ranked 8th worst in the NFL in QB rating against at 93.4, which is the worst rated remaining opponent we will face. Of our next 3 opponents, KC is pretty bad as well at 87+, but Cleveland and SF are the 2 teams ranked directly above Buffalo at 82+ for Cleveland and 81+ for SF...

 

I think the whole team is better. Concern for the current trend (1-3 after a 4-0 start). If they go 5-3 in the second half, I think you have to call it a very good season. Less than that and the sheen begins to wear off.

[bizell]

interesting. we've only allowed one 100 yard rusher this year, which although i'm not 100% certain, is better than last year.

 

too bad it just seems like we can't get a critical stop when we need.

 

i guess it's all about baby steps.

[reddogblitz]

Last year's defense was number 31 in the league. This year's defense is presently at number 10. Huge improvement.

 

Seems to me like we got critical stops against both Oakland and for sure Jacksonville.

 

Last years defense was on the field a lot. They'd keep the team to 3rd and long and give it up over and over and over. The defense this year could be better, but they are playing well enough in all but one game to win. The offense is now the week link. If you got more points, you don't need big stops at the end to try to go for a last minute comeback.

 

In my opinion, people bemoaning our defense as the reason for losses are looking at the wrong side of the football.

[The Big Cat]

Last year's defense was number 31 in the league. This year's defense is presently at number 10. Huge improvement.

 

Seems to me like we got critical stops against both Oakland and for sure Jacksonville.

 

Last years defense was on the field a lot. They'd keep the team to 3rd and long and give it up over and over and over. The defense this year could be better, but they are playing well enough in all but one game to win. The offense is now the week link. If you got more points, you don't need big stops at the end to try to go for a last minute comeback.

 

In my opinion, people bemoaning our defense as the reason for losses are looking at the wrong side of the football.

 

Yes! Fumble inside your own 20, interception in the red zone, TOD in the red zone. What do all three of these things have in common? They have NOTHING to do with the defense.

 

Fumble, Saftey, Interception, Fumble. What do THESE things have in common? They have NOTHING to do with the defense.

 

A whopping 7 offensive mistakes have cost us 2 consecutive games.

[Tsaikotic]

just out of curiosity..whats the difference in 3rd downs allowed from last year to this year?

 

I'm blaming any losses solely on the defense but you have to admit they should have played better against Arizona..also the lack of pass rush and lack of sacks is a little disturbing.

[Mark Vader]

Yes! Fumble inside your own 20, interception in the red zone, TOD in the red zone. What do all three of these things have in common? They have NOTHING to do with the defense.

 

Fumble, Saftey, Interception, Fumble. What do THESE things have in common? They have NOTHING to do with the defense.

 

A whopping 7 offensive mistakes have cost us 2 consecutive games.

You are correct Big Cat. The defense has played very good this year, granted they looked bad against the Cardinals, but overall it is difficult to put these last 2 losses squarely on the defense.

 

Yesterday the defense surrendered 1 TD & 4 FG's. Also the defense scored a touchdown to keep the Bills in the game.

 

A lot of people are going to remember the defense's play during the Jets final drive, which ate up a lot of time and pretty much put the game out of reach. Still I can not honestly say the Bills lost because of the play of the defense. While the lack of a pass rush has been glaring these past few weeks, the Bills defense has done a much better job this year than last.

 

As for the offense; you can easily put the blame on this side of the ball for the last two weeks, and it's not just from the turnovers. The offense has just been an enigma these last 2 games. It's not an inept offense, look at how they were able to move the ball against the Dolphins & Jets. Yet the yardage for some reason does not always translate into TD's, why?

 

I don't know. What I have noticed lately is how much the Bills appear to be relying on the pass. Which in a way I understand. I think Edwards is a fine QB and can continue to win games for us. Yet the Bills seem to be relying mostly on Edwards to win the game instead of trying to establish any form of running game to balance the attack, and in the long run that is a very difficult way to succeed in the NFL.

 

The loss of Josh Reed does'nt help either, and with Evans getting double teamed, I see the Bills relying on Lynch, Jackson, Royal, Fine & Schouman to make up for Reed's absence. It troubles me when I see Edwards throwing more passes to running backs & tight ends than wide receivers. Are Parrish, Hardy & Johnson unable to get open?

 

The offense has made mistakes, but they can turn it around. At this point of the season, they will have to.

[Big Turk]

just out of curiosity..whats the difference in 3rd downs allowed from last year to this year?

 

I'm blaming any losses solely on the defense but you have to admit they should have played better against Arizona..also the lack of pass rush and lack of sacks is a little disturbing.

 

We are allowing 34 percent to be converted this year(tied for 5th best in the NFL), versus 45 percent last year(tied for 3rd worst). That is a pretty big difference...

 

however, something interesting is that we were tied for 6th most 3rd down attempts against us last year, meaning we forced teams to third down quite a bit last year with 224 attempts, but this year we are ranked tied for 25th in 3rd down attempts against us, meaning teams are getting more first downs on 1st and 2nd down and not having to go to third down as often as last year. We are allowing .4 yards less per play this year(5.5 last year to 5.1 this year), but it is still a far cry from 2003 and 2004's defense which allowed a measly 4.3 yards per play...that defense could be downright dominant at times(Cleveland game where they almost ended up with negative yards for the entire game until the last drive). However, we have a better 3rd down defense this year than in either of those 2 years(38 and 36% in 2003 and 2004). Strange...

 

D is also ranked 10th this year overall versus 31st last year....

[Steely Dan]

Bills are allowing an average of 3.8 YPC this year versus 4.4 last year. They are also allowing 98 YPG this year versus 124 last year. The run D definitely has improved---they are allowing very few long runs compared to last year and many more 1 or 2 yard gains....

 

unfortunately, this hasn't translated into any improvement for the pass defense, as their numbers are almost identical to last year---62.4% completion for opposition QB's both years, 7.0 YPC last year, 6.9 YPC this year, 81.1 QB rating last year, 83.8 QB rating this year, 26 total sacks last year, 13 sacks this year in exactly half of the number of games. They do have a slightly lower number of passes being completed for 1st downs(32.4 to 35.3%) and about 35 yards fewer per game being allowed(238 to 204). The QB rating against us places us 15th in the NFL for both seasons.

 

Surprisingly, our next opponent, New England is ranked 8th worst in the NFL in QB rating against at 93.4, which is the worst rated remaining opponent we will face. Of our next 3 opponents, KC is pretty bad as well at 87+, but Cleveland and SF are the 2 teams ranked directly above Buffalo at 82+ for Cleveland and 81+ for SF...

 

Interesting how perception and reality can differ.

 

IMO, there is only one defensive stat that really matters and that's points allowed per game. Currently Buffalo is 13th in that category with 21.1 points per game.

 

Any way you slice it they are doing a lot better.

[Tcali]

Bills are allowing an average of 3.8 YPC this year versus 4.4 last year. They are also allowing 98 YPG this year versus 124 last year. The run D definitely has improved---they are allowing very few long runs compared to last year and many more 1 or 2 yard gains....

 

unfortunately, this hasn't translated into any improvement for the pass defense, as their numbers are almost identical to last year---62.4% completion for opposition QB's both years, 7.0 YPC last year, 6.9 YPC this year, 81.1 QB rating last year, 83.8 QB rating this year, 26 total sacks last year, 13 sacks this year in exactly half of the number of games. They do have a slightly lower number of passes being completed for 1st downs(32.4 to 35.3%) and about 35 yards fewer per game being allowed(238 to 204). The QB rating against us places us 15th in the NFL for both seasons.

 

Surprisingly, our next opponent, New England is ranked 8th worst in the NFL in QB rating against at 93.4, which is the worst rated remaining opponent we will face. Of our next 3 opponents, KC is pretty bad as well at 87+, but Cleveland and SF are the 2 teams ranked directly above Buffalo at 82+ for Cleveland and 81+ for SF...

 

Yes--our rush D is improved. And our QB play has overall improved( last 2 games not withstanding). Other than that we are the same team as '07. Next yr we need some passrushers and a miracle to happen our O line.

[Tcali]

Yes! Fumble inside your own 20, interception in the red zone, TOD in the red zone. What do all three of these things have in common? They have NOTHING to do with the defense.

 

Fumble, Saftey, Interception, Fumble. What do THESE things have in common? They have NOTHING to do with the defense.

 

A whopping 7 offensive mistakes have cost us 2 consecutive games.

 

Lets hope TE gets over the affects of his concussion soon..and sharpens up by next sunday.

[VOR]

Outside of the Cards game, the defense has played well enough that a halfway decent offensive performance would have led to a win. If Trent can't shake the turnover problems, the season is pretty much over.

[Beerball]

Yes! Fumble inside your own 20, interception in the red zone, TOD in the red zone. What do all three of these things have in common? They have NOTHING to do with the defense.

 

Fumble, Saftey, Interception, Fumble. What do THESE things have in common? They have NOTHING to do with the defense.

 

A whopping 7 offensive mistakes have cost us 2 consecutive games.

No question about it BC, but...the time that it was absolutely positively critical to stop the jests we let them move on down the field. I understand injuries, but what I don't understand is Fewell's passivitiy. We can't count on ST for game changing plays right now (did Roscoe have any punt returns?) and the defense did not step up.

 

Offensively...to be on the field for more than 15 straight minutes and get outscored is unbelievable.

 

Innept offense (very poor play calling), passive defense (very poor play calling) & McCorner returning kicks while doing an impression of Peter Falk's "serpentine" scene aint the way to get it done.

 

We can rebound, but something's gotta change.

[eSJayDee]

however, something interesting is that we were tied for 6th most 3rd down attempts against us last year, meaning we forced teams to third down quite a bit last year with 224 attempts, but this year we are ranked tied for 25th in 3rd down attempts against us, meaning teams are getting more first downs on 1st and 2nd down and not having to go to third down as often as last year.

 

 

I think you might be jumping to a conclusion that either isn't necessarily correct &/or isn't really statistically relevant.

I looked it up & we've had 100 attempts against us on 3rd down (I assume this is thru all 8 games), meaning 12 less than last yrs pace.

 

1st, since our Dee has improved its 3rd down effectiveness, it means teams are sustaining drives less, therefore getting less chances. Simplistically, that ~11% improvement should amount to over 1 more attempt per game. (That's not necessarily true, but I think it's a reasonable assumption/approximation.) Also, I suspect that our offense has improved DRAMATICALLY, holding onto the ball more, thereby keeping the Dee off the field and therefore facing less 3rd down conversions.

This is also further substantiated (though not proven) by the fact that our yds per pass play is about the same and our YPC is down. (If they were making more FDs on 1st &/or 2nd, that # would likely be reflected in more yds per play.) This would only not hold if the distribution of yds gained per play has changed considerably &/or they're running for more than last yr (which I assume the opposite is true).