RealityCheck

This is why purposely tanking for a season could never happen. Witnessing it first hand would just be impossible to watch, even for just one game.

This is how the NFL works. New coaches come in and install their schemes. For better or for worse. Players age and don't always adapt well to these changes. Injuries happen along with motivational issues. Given that this is year one of the Rex Ryan years, what makes you think that there won't be significant changes to the front seven based on this year's performances? Side note, the front seven has had more injuries than just losing one player. If you are just a "fire Rex" guy then good look with that.

The absence of KW and Mario losing a step, with Dareus eating double teams 50 snaps a game, has left this team with exactly who to rush the passer? Hughes has helped opposing offenses just about as much as he has helped the defense. The front seven needs to be reforged to make Rex's system work. It is what it is.

Is this what the next nine months is going to be like?

Having Schwartz as a DC would be great if we played the NFC North every year. Outside of those games, the defense was good last year while running a simple 4-3 scheme that fit the front seven personnel perfectly, while the secondary played more zone and off man coverage, which is not their strength. Rex's scheme will require a true NT to free Dareus up. The ROI on that Dareus contract will not be fully realized unless he is freed up inside and partnered up with another 5-tech lineman. A true NT that can anchor will change a lot of how effective Rex's system will be. How good was Rex's D in NY when Jenkins was either hurt or off the team? Look it up. Every 2-gap 3-4 team needs a true run stuffing planetoid at the nose to make it work. Dareus can do it, but you end up wasting his pass rushing skills the majority of the time.

There is too much to be gained by simply trading away or cutting both Williams'. They are pure 4-3 players and offer little "effective" versatility in a 3-4. Bradham unfortunately is in the same boat. Since Ryan is here to stay for the next few years minimum, there is zero logic to keeping these guys when they desperately need different player types to tighten up the front seven while extending the younger, on the rise players currently on the roster.

Anyone in questionable health should be shut down while playing to win with whomever is healthy. That is what they will do regardless. Every game is a huge opportunity for this team to further evolve going into 2016.

Mario needs to go. He has a lot left in the tank for a 4-3 team. The same goes for Kyle Williams. They need a true NT to free Dareus up, and another 5- tech lineman some way, some how. The money freed up from just letting Mario go would go a long way to accomplishing this effectively. Another OLBer would also help. This season may have ended up as a s*** sandwich, but there is latitude to get rid of the guys that don't fit the next 2 or 3 year Rex plan and acquire some key players that can make it work. Like it or not, Rex is staying a while, and they might as well fully invest in the 3-4 the whole nine yards. Glenn and Incognito extensions are warranted, and a Percy Harvin replacement is in order. I'll be back next year as always.

Let us not forget that Clay is under contract for more than just this season. The team over all is growing slowly. Very slowly...but shirly?

A better run defender? You sure about that?

Gilbride had Eli Manning as his QB. I think he represents the bulk of Gilbride's genius.

Another thread celebrating the quitters amongst us.

The No Fun League.

Bowles' biggest mistake was taking the job.

How good was Schwartz's defense when they weren't playing the NFC North?

Whaley has a lot more wins than losses when it comes to roster building. I have harsh criticisms of his handling of the QB position, but it would be world class stupidity to fire him over that alone, while ignoring the rest of his work. The quality of the roster is improving year after year. Why not let the positive growth continue?

Whhhooooo!!!

Rambo and Duke struggle in the secondary at times due to mental errors. I just don't see McKelvin playing a brand new spot and not having some major mental gaffes for an extended period of time. I'd rather see 3 shutdown corners playing press man successfully with Robey as the 4th db, and allow the safeties to worry about one less guy to cover more often than not. I guess we'll see. One thing is for sure. We can all agree that they need Leodis on the field, someway, somehow.

I still don't get the safety talk. He is a more useful upgrade in the slot right out of the gate than playing safety for the first time in his life. McKelvin playing press man and blitzing from the slot just sounds right to me.

Pride is a deadly sin for a reason. Sun Tzu would eat Rex's lunch every time. If Rex really wants to win above all else, he'll wise up. He is not unlike some of the players in his scheme right now, confused and reaching out of his comfort zone when less is more. When you have the talent the Bills have on D, the element of surprise is far less necessary. After all of these years, how exotic is Rex's scheme by now. Is the goal to be innovative or to win? It's an honest question. As an optimist who thinks that Rex has all the "talent" in the world as a defensive coach, it's about time he started taking notes from Belicheat's playbook. He, like his players, needs to adapt to some middle ground that gets everybody playing fast. Let the defense "evolve" from there.

He was born to play press man in the slot. Robey needs to make way for Leodis. Leodis from the slot is also in an ideal spot to blitz from when pressing also. Putting him at safety is a complete waste of his skills as they currently are. Press man is his game. Playing off and playing zone, not so much.

Patience is a virtue.

Utopia?

Rex needs to stop trying to reinvent the wheel. When your players are good enough that you can run simple s*** and make plays, why not do that until more mental horsepower is required? Having Dareus play the nose straight up in a 3 0 front is such a waste of his skills. It's 2015. There are reasons teams don't run 3-4 2-gap defenses anymore. The ideal front 3 is a body type that is just too rare these days. Especially if you want them to play better than the average 4-3 line. Rex has put a lot on film over the years. How exotic can his scheme really be in 2015?