BBills14 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-9-29/...-NFC-South.html click it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whites Bay Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Tim Graham raises some good points in this article, and a lot of story angles to ponder. I have two minor disagreements: 1) "AFC East secondaries matching up with Drew Brees: The Saints' bombardier will go up against four generally pedestrian pass defenses. Each AFC East team will have at least one new starting cornerback this season and could have a new starting safety, too." Okay, Tim, you're technically correct in that the Bills' starting CBs were McGee and Greer in 2008, while this year they're likely to be McGee and McKelvin. But it's not as though McKelvin is a raw rookie, and didn't get plenty of playing time last year. The nickel will likely be Yobouty, whom many on this board were running out of town on a rail last year...only to watch him play his brains out in training camp to start at nickel. Whitner is solid, as is Scott. The only question is whether Byrd supplants Scott. My point? I don't consider the Bills to have a "generally pedestrian pass defense". I consider the Bills to have a generally pedestrian pass rush. I think you're going to be looking at one of the better secondaries in the entire league this season. 2) "The Bills' dynamic passing attack against NFC South secondaries: Teams can't double cover Lee Evans anymore; not with Terrell Owens on the opposite side of the field." Having just pumped up the home squad, let me temper the enthusiasm. Let's not go overboard. The Bills DON'T have a "dynamic passing attack" YET. As I've said 100 times already this off-season, it's going to come down to the interior of the offensive line. If that group holds, then, yes, the Bills COULD have a dynamic passing attack. I'm not ready to get my popcorn as I sit here in July. Maybe by October. I want to see it happen first. Overall, a good article. Having read Tim's Point #4 ("Brady against Carolina's pass rush), I'm bummed out that we won't see that matchup until Week 14. I'd like to see him face that action in Week 1, and put a little doubt in his mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcalvin79 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Tim Graham raises some good points in this article, and a lot of story angles to ponder. I have two minor disagreements: 1) I don't consider the Bills to have a "generally pedestrian pass defense". I consider the Bills to have a generally pedestrian pass rush. I think you're going to be looking at one of the better secondaries in the entire league this season. 2) The Bills DON'T have a "dynamic passing attack" YET. As I've said 100 times already this off-season, it's going to come down to the interior of the offensive line. If that group holds, then, yes, the Bills COULD have a dynamic passing attack. 1) The secondary is only as good as the pass rush. If we're not getting a pass rush on, the opposing QBs will have all day to wait for openings and mismatches to develop in the secondary. Pass defense numbers can also be deceptive - if you can't stop the run, teams will run against you all day to control the clock, and your secondary looks better by the stats. 2) Just the interior? From what I remember, most of the pressures and sacks we conceded last season were from the outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whites Bay Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 1) The secondary is only as good as the pass rush. If we're not getting a pass rush on, the opposing QBs will have all day to wait for openings and mismatches to develop in the secondary. Pass defense numbers can also be deceptive - if you can't stop the run, teams will run against you all day to control the clock, and your secondary looks better by the stats. 2) Just the interior? From what I remember, most of the pressures and sacks we conceded last season were from the outside. I agree. Graham's point was that the secondaries are pedestrian; nothing was mentioned about the pass rush. I don't think anyone's going to claim that Wilfork and Jenkins are pedestrian. My bone of contention relates more to the quality of the players in Buffalo's secondary, not the overall performance of the pass defense....which, frankly, sucks...because there IS no pass rush (to your point). Give the Bills a decent pass rush this year, and Buffalo will have a very STOUT pass defense. Because the Bills' secondary - the quality of the players manning those positions - is definitely NOT pedestrian. I maintain that Buffalo's secondary could be in the Top 5 in the league, certainly in the Top 10. To your point about Interior versus Exterior, I guess that's going to come down to Edwards' maturity. It takes some serious cojones to step up into the pocket when the world is collapsing around your ears. Assuming the interior of the line holds, I'm more comfortable if the Bills' tackles are middle-of-the-road....SO LONG AS Edwards has the confidence to snuggle up behind the guards and center. Not every quarterback is comfortable doing that. Either they lack the confidence in their linemen, or they're just not brave enough to hang in there, step up, and find shelter where shelter shouldn't logically exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffaloaggie Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 The NFC South has only one good defense. I would expect the Saints and Falcons games to be high scoring, and I think Tampa Bay will be just awful this year as they released some key players on D. Not having Marshawn Lynch will not hurt us. Our D will have to step it up quickly, facing Brady and Brees in weeks 1 and 3. Maybe the Bills can hone up their blitz against the Bucs in week 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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