SouthernMan Posted December 22, 2008 Posted December 22, 2008 Sorry to rain on the parade. Good win - enjoyable game. But even early in this game, I continue to see the Bills' secondary get picked apart as they have all season. My question to some of you with better understanding of the X's and O's: Is it me, or does it look like the there's always a big gap/seam in the middle of the defensive backfield that opposing receivers find easily each and every week? So what I'd like to know is are the defensive coverage schemes poorly designed or are they not being executed properly? To me it looks like the DBs and LBs have been drilled to play their positions and designated chunk of real estate, but obviously opposing O-coordinators haven't had any trouble mapping exactly where they'll be standing. Is there no flexability in the scheme or are they told to just play their designated space? Time and again it looks just like 3 or 4 defensive players standing in a wide triangle, the receiver makes a b-line to the center of the triangle (usually in first down territory), and only after snaring the pass do the defensive players converge from every angle. Is the poor pass rush the reason for this setup? Would the Bills be better sending in a few LBs more often (more pressure on the QB)and playing more man-to-man with their DBs? I believe we have a good core of defensive backs. Maybe not a group of all-pros*, but I wouldn't consider any of them major liabilities either. *I thought McGee played like an all-pro. Maybe his best game of the season. My sense is it's just a bad scheme that every team in the league can pick apart, particularly if they have a halfway experienced QB. Your thoughts.
Beerball Posted December 22, 2008 Posted December 22, 2008 Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the place to attack a cover 2 is in the seams downfield. Because we don't generate a pass rush the QB has time to wait while the WRs, TEs and RBs get open downfield.
Jerry Jabber Posted December 22, 2008 Posted December 22, 2008 How about holes in the pass rush? I'm not worried about the secondary. This unit is young and will only get better. Before the game, our pass defense was ranked at 11th. If we had a decent pass rush, we'd have a Top 5 pass defense, plus you'd see a lot more INT's from this group.
Dan Posted December 22, 2008 Posted December 22, 2008 How about holes in the pass rush? I'm not worried about the secondary. This unit is young and will only get better. Before the game, our pass defense was ranked at 11th. If we had a decent pass rush, we'd have a Top 5 pass defense, plus you'd see a lot more INT's from this group. That's how I see it. I think the plan is for the defense to get to the passer before the receiver gets to those holes in the secondary. Problem is... we can't generate any sort of pressure unless we blitz LBs. Hopefully, they address this issue in the off season - either get some guys in that can rush the passer or change the way the defense is being played.
YOOOOOO Posted December 22, 2008 Posted December 22, 2008 Generate a pass rush...those long developing routes, seam routes & WR's finding/sitting in soft spots in our zone wont kill us as often
SouthernMan Posted December 22, 2008 Author Posted December 22, 2008 Generate a pass rush...those long developing routes, seam routes & WR's finding/sitting in soft spots in our zone wont kill us as often Seems everyone attributes it to the pass rush. Definitely a contributing factor. So, how stupid is the coaching staff if they continue with the same scheme that relies on an adequate pass rush, which the evidently don't have, and have not had since Schoelbel was injured? Appears kind of stupid to me to devise a one-dimentional scheme that sabotages the whole defense if one key player is neutralized or out for whatever reason. Send in a couple of LBs a little more often and let our secondary handle their guys for a few seconds. It can't be any worse, at may even result in a few more turnovers. Sounds like a DE needs to be the player targeted with FA and/or a high draft pick.
Lori Posted December 22, 2008 Posted December 22, 2008 Seems everyone attributes it to the pass rush. Definitely a contributing factor. So, how stupid is the coaching staff if they continue with the same scheme that relies on an adequate pass rush, which the evidently don't have, and have not had since Schoelbel was injured? Appears kind of stupid to me to devise a one-dimentional scheme that sabotages the whole defense if one key player is neutralized or out for whatever reason. Send in a couple of LBs a little more often and let our secondary handle their guys for a few seconds. It can't be any worse, at may even result in a few more turnovers. Sounds like a DE needs to be the player targeted with FA and/or a high draft pick. What? Change the scheme they've been working on since OTAs? Nobody ever successfully does that, do they? Wade Phillips switching from a 3-4 base to a 4-3 in one week's worth of practice for a game against Miami? Didn't happen. Your eyes deceived you. (Of course, we still had our Hall of Fame DE back then, too ... and a DT who might join him in a few years ...) C'mon, Dave. It's the execution, not the scheme. Or at least that's what they keep telling us ...
marauderswr80 Posted December 22, 2008 Posted December 22, 2008 ZERO pass rush! Even the best DB's in the game cant cover for a long time! ZERO pass rush!
Jdorn Posted December 22, 2008 Posted December 22, 2008 Seems everyone attributes it to the pass rush. Definitely a contributing factor. So, how stupid is the coaching staff if they continue with the same scheme that relies on an adequate pass rush, which the evidently don't have, and have not had since Schoelbel was injured? This is definetly on the pass rush you said we havent had the rush since Schobel was injured but in reality he had one sack in 5 games the D-line in those same 5 games had 7 total sacks. 1.5 sacks a game from the D-line isnt going to get it done in the NFL and it certainly doesnt make our secondary look good.
SouthernMan Posted December 22, 2008 Author Posted December 22, 2008 What? Change the scheme they've been working on since OTAs? Nobody ever successfully does that, do they? Wade Phillips switching from a 3-4 base to a 4-3 in one week's worth of practice for a game against Miami? Didn't happen. Your eyes deceived you. (Of course, we still had our Hall of Fame DE back then, too ... and a DT who might join him in a few years ...) C'mon, Dave. It's the execution, not the scheme. Or at least that's what they keep telling us ... LC - Looking for sarcasm thingy... At least that's my assumption. My theory: I think it's a flawed scheme for the DBs, considering that it depends on other units to fulfill their duties. We just don't have the horses up front to execute it the way it's conceived. My other take on it is that the DBs may by playing the scheme too rigid; too "by the book" as it's drawn up. In other words, to be effective, maybe they should have more approximate zones to cover, but adjust accordingly as dictated by the opposing offense. It appears that our intelligent, high character players are doing exactly as they're told - studying the play books and positioning themselves exactly as it's designed, with little latitude to make necessary adjustments. Coaching or personnel? If the receiver is heading straight for the seam, the DBs need to adjust their positions to tighten up the opening a little and give themselves a chance to defend the pass, or possibly jump the route and make the INT. I'm just frustrated watching opposing receivers WIDE open on slant and crossing patterns, with all kinds of space to catch the ball before contact from our defenders. Improving the D-line has got to be priority in the offseason. It's our achilles heal. Well, our most obvious one anyway.
Lori Posted December 22, 2008 Posted December 22, 2008 You know me too well. Absolutely sarcasm, brought on by weeks worth of "we just have to play better" soundbites. And I share your frustration at the fact that opposing wideouts run free through Buffalo's secondary on seemingly every play, with our WR corps apparently the only one in the league that can't get any separation.
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