sven233

Setting up our 3rd and long defense to fail again....

Benford down. Elam finally going to get his chance to shine! Oh.....wait.....

Look.....I am not there at practice. I don't know what goes on or how players look. But man, I really wish Elam was active today. Right now, the defense has no answer with their original plan. It would sure be nice to have an athletic press man corner to try an change things up a bit and try something else. Not saying it would work, but it would be nice to have the option to try.

For the first time this season, I have seen Tua having to pat the ball and wait an extra half second. Unfortunately, our rush just can't get there. Have to force them into a mistake.

This was part of my game plan heading in. Not saying to do it every play, but here and there would be good. Trust the 3 rushers to get enough pressure to hopefully force a mistake.

Settle whiffed on the tackle. Can't do that.

Tomorrow is a little weird for me. I'm not really super nervous or excited. Of course I want to win the game. I want to win every game. But I can't help but feel that no matter what happens tomorrow, this won't be the most important game we have to play against this team this season. Win by 20 or lose by 20, I just think in the grand scheme of things, we're going to see a more meaningful game against them down the road. That said, I hope we stomp them.

One thing I notice when watching the film on the Dolphins offense is not so much what they are doing on offense, but how defenses have played them so far. They are playing scared. They get so caught up watching what motions and eye candy they are using, it is just freezing the fronts and LBs and in turn, they are getting blown off the ball by the time they figure out what is going on. They are reacting instead of dictating and that is giving Tua all day to throw if he needs it, but also allowing him to just lock onto his first read without having to move on. It is also giving their backs giant holes to run through because the defensing fronts are backing off because they are trying too hard to figure out how to stop the Dolphins offense instead of attacking themselves to just try and shut it down. However, at least to this point in the season, it's been exactly the opposite with the Bills defense. We have been using both simulated and creeper pressures super well, along with changing up coverages at the snap in order to confuse the opposing offenses. When doing this, we're still only sending 4 most of the time while dropping 7 in coverage. But the difference is, we are getting to our spots at the snap, not waiting for the offensive players to get to theirs first and then reacting. Tua hasn't been touched in the first 3 weeks because the defensive lines and LBs are too busy waiting around trying to figure things out. That's why when you watch the tape on their offense, everyone is laying on the ground or running backwards trying to play catch-up. I am pretty sure you won't see us doing that Sunday. I fully expect that McDermott will see that that key to slowing their offense down is to disrupt their timing. And how do you do that? By doing exactly what we have done to this point in the season. Let our pass rushers loose and play on the opponent's side of the LOS. You get in the backfield and all of a sudden there are more bodies for their backs to have to run around and get through. And with our length and range with our edge guys, and the push we have been getting up the middle as well might force Tua off his spot for a change and maybe even force him to go to his second and third reads because the timing is off. Tua has had it way too easy in these first 3 weeks. He's hitting his first read 80% of the time. That just should happen in the NFL. So, let's see what happens when he finally has trash at his feet and has to look around once in a while. What I see happening Sunday is the Dolphins hitting a couple bigger plays on us because maybe we don't get home in time, or we miss a tackle or something like that. Make no mistake about it.....they will make some plays. But, what I also see is that Tua won't just be sitting relaxed in the pocket without having to move easily hitting his first read every play like he's been doing for the first couple weeks. Tua will have to move. He will have to get to a 2nd or 3rd read on plays. They still may score in the 20s, but it won't look nearly the same as what it has in the first few weeks. Dolphins fans keep bringing up the fact that even though they lost to us multiple times last year, the games were close. But this is not the same defense the Bills have been running with Frazier. They aren't going to see a 2 high defense every play with wide open spots in the zones with no pass rush because they knew exactly what our defense was going to do every snap. They can go back and look at every game from last season. I hope they do. But they would be wasting their time. This defense and the scheme we are using is totally different so far and I expect that if McDermott goes down in this game, he goes down swinging. I don't see us blitzing much at all. It will be up to whatever 4 are rushing to get there quick. If we do, and we play on their side of the LOS, I like our chances. If we score 27 or more, and don't turn the ball over, I think we win.

If the docs say he's ready and he feels he can play without thinking about it too much, you play him. If that's next week, then play him. If that's the Giants game, play him. If it's after that, fine. But when he is fully cleared and he can get passed the mental hurdles, then let him go. You want to ease him in and only have him playing in passing situations, that's fine. When he's ready, you let him loose.

The only thing that will prevent Bernard from playing the run well is if a lineman can get his hands on him clean and can wash him out. His size is a liability when that happens. However, Bernard, through 3 games this season has been very good at not letting this happen. He is a great athlete and has been able to move around block attempts instead of letting lineman get to him. Also, a big part of this is how well the line is playing in front of him. Oliver and Jones often are eating up double teams and anchoring so well that they are able to keep Bernard clean and let him run downhill. It's cliche, but everyone is really doing their 1/11 and it is making for some awesome team defense!

It wasn't a fluke. It wasn't luck. This guy just gets it. For a 2nd year guy that didn't play much at all coming into this season, what he is doing on the field is incredible right now. He isn't the most physically imposing player, but he's super smart, plays with great situational awareness and instincts, and communicates so well on the field. This breakdown done by Cover 1 really shows off what he does extremely well and matches what I saw on the All-22 I've watched so far. What's encouraging, is everything he put on film here is something that he will be able to repeat game after game because he just gets it. I don't want to compare him to Edmunds. It's not fair to either player because they offer different traits. But, that said, Bernard is so much more instinctive and doesn't hesitate in fear of making a mistake. I thought too many times Edmunds would get himself in position to make a play, but didn't trust himself enough, and that half second of indecision would have him slow to react and the opportunity to make a big play would pass him by. But, it's totally different with Bernard to this point. He trusts himself and what he is seeing, fires his gun, and that is leading to making the splash plays we've been waiting for out of this position. Now, will he be right every time? Of course not. There will be times he makes the wrong read and it will take him out of the play. But you can live with it because it seems, more often than not, he's going to be right. While the film breakdown in this video is primarily about Bernard, I want you to take a look at the rest of the defense and how they played together as a unit. Yes, Howell held onto the ball too long yesterday and took more sacks than he should have. But there was a reason for it. The back end was totally in sync and played with great communication and gave the guys up front that extra second to affect the QB. It really is fun to watch. There's another thread on here asking how to stop the Dolphins offense. And sure, there will have to be some adjustments and a different game plan to combat their speed. But, Washington did try to utilize a lot of crossers and some similar concepts that the Dolphins use and our defense was smart and sound against them. Can we use the same game plan we did against Washington against Miami? Of course not. But there were concepts in this game on defense that you will absolutely see next week at times vs the Dolphins. Anyway, enjoy this breakdown. It's a real fun watch.

If you look hard enough at any game, there will always be things to pick at. Today, it was Dorsey deciding to go sideways multiple times when straight forward for even short gains would have been the better play. Dorsey constantly calling for run plays on second and long and also still having no idea how to use Harty is frustrating. There are other things for sure, but those are the ones that cost you possessions and points. Sometimes I think he just makes things harder than they need to be. But, regardless, in the end, you score 30, you should win. Overall, the offense was pretty good. Solid B. But that is all you needed in this game. Obviously, the defense balled out. I'm not going to get on their case at all. Were they perfect? Of course not. But that is about as good as it gets in today's NFL. Next week, though, it gets real, very quickly. It's one thing to find a way to shut down Washington, but it's a completely different animal next week. The motion the Dolphins use. The speed they have at every position.....it's going to be a huge challenge for this wise, but older, slower secondary. As good as we are up front, the Dolphins offense is designed to get the ball out extremely fast. Tua will not be holding the ball like we saw today. Our best bet might be to send a delayed rush (maybe a lot of 3 man rushes as well), flood the zones to try and take away the crossers and use the height and length of our defense to get arms up quickly and try to force some high throws. Maybe, just maybe, it's the game where Elam gets a jersey. He did a nice job on Hill last year at times and he's, by far, our fastest corner. Maybe it's time to suit him up and just tell him to run with Hill every play while playing a safety over the top. Whatever the plan might be, McDermott will have his hands full next week for sure. But, that's for next week. Time to celebrate this one. Ps. Off topic, but maybe the only thing more annoying than the Chiefs and Kelce are the Chiefs and Kelce with Taylor Swift. That is growing old and tired already.

Wimpy coaching there.....

These last two games have been a lot of fun on defense. Next week, though, is going to be a different animal. This wise, but slower secondary are going to have to prove they are up to the task. Miami's offense is absolutely humming. Going to have our work cut out for us.

Holy crap.... what a play by Epenesa.

Dorsey going to get bailed out by the defense.

Dorsey has been a liability today. Just awful situational play calling.

Why not just sneak it there? You need 2 feet!

GRAB THE TUSH AND PUSH!!!!

It would really be nice to see the offense put together a scoring drive here. Been a little out of sync. Need some more Kincaid.

This defensive line is already good...... Pssssst...... We have Von freaking Miller coming back in a few weeks to add to it.

Pick is fine there. 3rd and 20. Chuck it deep and hope for a great play or a PI. Those are the ones I can live with because they are just like a punt. But Gabe dropping that easy one killed that drive.

TRE DAY!!!

Refs making this forward progress crap a crutch for their own stupidity.

Not real happy with the time management and play calls on this drive. That was awful. Take the 3 in the game because of the way it's going, but I want to go for that more often than not. Leaving points on the field.