Nihilarian

We heard great things from Dareus last year too and all the way up until TC and preseason games. How do you think he will respond if being set at NT in a two-gap scheme in which he is only there to be a space eater and control the gaps instead of rushing the passer all season? However, if utilized as a NT in a one-gap scheme in which he slides through whichever gap he chooses and the LBer goes through the other one. Then he should be a happy camper this season and not be so vocal like he was last year. Ryan brought in Ed Reed to help with the secondary, but the secondary did pretty well on their own last year. It was the D-line and how those pro bowlers were utilized was the biggest issue with the defense. So, it really all depends on what Ryan runs this year with that D-line in either a one-gap like Pettine or a two-gap like he did most of last season. Getting a lot of pressure on the QB like Pettine used to do with Darby and Gilmore back there should make the defense much more potent. Then he needs to fix the penalties, the communication problems, the late play calls and player substitutions. Plus, he needs to do a better job with game / red flag management! Both the Ryan's have a lot to prove this year if they want to stay in the NFL.

I think that statement pretty much refutes what you posted. As for Ryan manning up and admitting he didn't do a very good job last season, he was only stating the obvious. All those broken promises from the start of last year have got to leave a bad taste for this year. Like others have said, Rex has a lot to prove this year. http://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/22828/playoff-promise-among-rex-ryan-statements-that-will-likely-prove-false

This better? "Ryan also admitted that not all of his players have bought in to what he's selling. "I think it's safe to say that not all of them have," Ryan said. "I think that's safe to say that. But I think there's a number of them that have." http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/12/rex_tk.html

https://twitter.com/JoeBuscaglia/status/661944759469084672/video/1 & http://www.buffalorumblings.com/bills-news-notes/2015/11/6/9674032/rex-ryan-buffalo-bills-defense-still-not-seeing-eye-to-eye "Ryan is blaming the players, but the Bills players still think (hope?) he's going to change the scheme."

I made this point in a different thread but when Ryan took over the Jets in 2009 he was following Eric Mangini who was a Bill Belichick disciple who at that period in time liked to run a two-gap 3-4. Hence the reason I stated the Jets D-line players were used to playing in a similar scheme. My take away from the most profound difference between the 2014 Bills defense and the 2015 defense was the latter's lack of QB pressures and sacks. Which were the lowest in the 50 plus year franchise history at only 22 and only a strike shortened season saw less. Rex Ryan made the excuse that his players weren't buying into his scheme and it was because it was overly complicated. My take on that is that it was just another one of his BS excuses which he spouted a new one almost every week last season. These are highly paid professional players and as much as Ryan likes to brag about how big his playbook is, it is dwarfed by Greg Roman's offensive playbook. In all honesty, the defense has it far easier to get accustomed to the nomenclature and play calls, signals, player substitutions than the offense. No defense in this universe is so complicated that the players can't fathom it past training camp. Like I said, the real problem was the scheme that was being run didn't suit the players on the roster and so much so that they went to the media to complain about it. Any person that watches football should be able to comprehend the difference between actually rushing the passer and being asked to wait for the play to develop and then read and react to it, to understand that the latter is what destroyed last years pass rush. Little or no pressure on opposing QB's is what caused the majority of the problems with last years defense. Not just an opinion, it's a fact!

The 2009 NY Jets didn't need a year to learn Ryan's defense as they were #1 almost right away and they had less talent! The problems for the 2015 Buffalo Bills occurred when you look at the player personnel on the roster for the D-line and the scheme they were being asked to run. You didn't read about any Jets players complaining about how they were being used because they were used to playing in a similar scheme. The Bills prior to 2015 were about the best player prepared 4-3 defense in the league and those Bills D-linemen were among the highest paid players in the league because they rushed the passer so well. There was a direct reason as to why the Bills were first in sacks for two years in different schemes and suddenly went to just about last in sacks! Mike Pettine ran a 3-4 one gap scheme in 2013 and Jim Schwartz ran a wide nine 4-3 scheme in 2014. In comes a 3-4 run stopping two-gap coach in Rex Ryan and everything on that D-line changes. So instead of simply rushing the passer they were being asked to control the gaps. Which means that the D-line players this year had to wait to see what the offensive play was and where it was going before they could react instead of just cutting loose in going after the QB. Switching the defense to a 3-4 and running mostly a two-gap run stopping scheme took its toll on the entire defense because now the DB's are being asked to cover longer because of little or no pass rush. News flash, the team drafted players that fit that 3-4 this past draft so we can all expect more of what we saw last year...only the teams best pass rusher is now a Dolphin. Some fans think that is a good thing, unless of course the dolphins use him as a pass rusher and not a gap control DE who drops into pass coverage. The Bills still don't have the player personnel for the D-line on the roster needed to make that two-gap scheme work. Just so you guys know, it takes stronger, bigger, bulkier players to be able to control the two gaps and also control those huge offensive linemen rather than just trying to slip by them as a pass rusher. So many fans simply don't get what i'm talking about here so allow me to perhaps simplify it in a better way. Most NFL defensive lines utilize the one-gap technique. That means each D-lineman is responsible for a gap between two O-linemen and his job is to get in and through that gap and cause havoc in the backfield. The Rex Ryan Bills usually prefer their D-linemen to read and react to the play by controlling the O-lineman in front of them and being responsible for the gap on either side of him. The benefit of this approach is that you keep the play in front of you and you usually free up the LBs to clean up the play by preventing the OLs from getting their hands on the LBs. This isn't to say the Bills never have their DL one gap, but that the more common technique they use is two-gapping. Bottom line here is that unless Rex Ryan stops attepmting to put a square peg into a round hole and utilize the players currently on his roster then the defense won't be better than last year and it may be much worse with only one real pass rusher as the rest are being asked to control their gaps.

I concur and I think you are being generous with those predictions.

Thanks! It's good to have at least one other person that gets it.

I tend to agree with this as Matt Cassel went 10-5 as the starting Patriots QB and then went 10-5 with the Chiefs and the constant between the two teams was that Patriots offensive scheme. Charlie Wies was the Chiefs OC in that one year that Cassel played for the Chiefs and he was thge one who started and setup that Patriots offense in 2000 and stayed thru 2004. Take away that Patriots style offense and Cassel fell on his face every other year anywhere else. As far as other choices (not to be too critical here) but certain coaches came from a specific background and are still currently very much involved in how their area of the team is set up and schemed. Pete Carroll got his start in the NFL as the Buffalo Bills DB's coach in 1984 and he currently likes to run variations of a 4-3 and has a defined idea in exactly how his defensive backfield is setup and schemed. Like someone else mentioned that Jim Harbaugh was never an OC but started as a QB coach for the Raiders and went from there to HC. His brother John was a special teams coach for a lot of years and spent time as a DB / LBers coach in college. So he was never a DC. Bill Belichick was never a ''bad'' HC in Cleveland as he took that crapload of a Browns team to 11-5 after four years mostly because he inherited such a 3-13 mess. That 11-5 record is the best record that team had seen since 1980 and hasn't seen it again since 1994. Nick Saban was his DC and his defense was #1 in points allowed and #7 in yards allowed that year. The problem with both those QB's in Testaverde and Bledsoe is both were statues and if give great protection then both usually excelled. That 1994 year the Browns allowed the fewest sacks in the league as Vinnie was only sacked 12 times all season. The thing is Vinnie still threw only 16 TD's vs 18 INT's that year. The bigger problem was the very next year (1995) the Browns started the season 4-1 and then by week 9 the team was 4-4. At that point, the owner announced to the world the team was moving the following year to Baltimore. The team collapsed after that announcement winning only one more game all year and Art Modell fired Belichick. Vinnie Testaverde sucked IMO. 20 years in the NFL after being the #1 overall to Tampa and he played for 7 different teams and he only had four winning seasons in all that time. 9-4 with Cleve, 12-1, 9-7, 10-6 with the Jets If I had to choose I'd pick HC Belichick, OC Bruce Ariens, DC Wade Phillips

And if these new owners or more importantly the team president put any kind of stock into this GM's opinion... the GM and not the owners would be making the decision on who to hire as HC. Just by taking that decision away from him leads me to wonder about how much power over everything else he has actually had. If you read the article linked above Russ Brandon states that he wanted to learn everything there is to learn about being an NFL GM and yet didn't want that job, but had a loftier goal. I don't think anyone besides Brandon and a few others actually know the full impact of what his job fully entails and when I read that a known inside the org insider declares him to be involved in the scouting, drafting player acquisition process it leads me to believe that he is and has been involved. To what extent we don't know and to me it honestly doesn't matter!! However, what does matter and what so many just don't get is that even if the man only gave his nod of approval to everything everyone else wanted. He was still involved and what that means to me is his involvement kept a real NFL experienced knowledgeable man from making / helping with those football decisions. Does anyone else besides myself get that? If what he stated in that link is true then why not step aside to just the financial / business side and allow the new owners to hire that senior team football president / czar? This franchise has been like a rudderless ship over the last nine years in flowing with the prevailing current in terms of switching coaching staffs and schemes every few years while going around in circles.

and I'm not so sure it was Marrone hiring either of those men. If anyone else recalls that both Russ Brandon and Doug Whaley flew to NYC to interview Mike Pettine for the DC job just after they had hired Marrone. Pettine had earlier turned down a contract extension offered by the Jets and it was noted he wanted to get out from under Rex Ryan's shadow as he wanted an actual DC job with more money. if I'm not mistaken it was Ryan who called the defensive plays and set up the defensive game plans for the Jets.

Thank you for that acknowledgement, John! I also agree with you if by saying "as of late" meaning since Rex Ryan was hired. I really wouldn't care to debate the aspect of Sammy Watkins or EJ's impact should have things worked out differently. All I'll say is I feel this team is still quite a ways away from challenging for the division or making the playoffs. Much less having any kind of impact should a miracle happen and that oblong spheroid bounce the Buffalo Bills way all season so the team does somehow make the playoffs. Not for nothing, but I just don't see a bright future for this franchise with the owners making the final choices on the hirings of the head coach or GM and the very last thing I want to see is the owner in the draft room drafting RB's and DB's again.

Nobody is blaming Brandon for 16 years of futility. The man was in fact, the de facto GM after Marv Levy retired after the 2007 season and has been involved in the football operations side of the team since that time. All I'm doing is noting that the man has been involved in the football side of operations and when Doug Whaley wanted input into allowing him to use three picks to draft Sammy Watkins "he told him to be bold" is involvement. Telling the new owners to not let Rex Ryan out of the building is involvement! I have no agenda to see Brandon gone from the Buffalo Bills as I realize he is a huge asset to the business / financial / marketing side of the team. I would just like to see an experienced senior NFL man in charge of the football operations of the team as this would take both Brandon and the owners out of the football side of hiring / personnel / player acquisitions.

and exactly how am I "attacking" him? All I see that I'm doing is quoting others as to his involvement. I'm not the only one that garners his direct interest. To some, any talk of Brandon being involved in anything other than the business side of things is a "witch hunt". http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/182332-when-will-russ-brandon-be-held-accountable/

Yeah sure, and when GM Doug Whaley wanted to use two first round draft picks and a fourth pick on a WR when the team didn't have an already established franchise QB he ran it by the Buffalo Bills ball boys.... Of course Russ Brandon has never made the actual choice on a pick. However, he gave his nod of approval which is being directly involved. Just like using his considerable influence to sway the owners as to which head coach to choose is also being directly involved. Russ Brandon has been at the top of the football org chart since Marv Levy retired as GM and while not actually on the road scouting players and making the actual picks. I'm 100% positive that he has read the scouting reports and given his consent unto whom the team acquires in the draft and free agency in all those years. Confirmed sources state that he did! On another note, allow me to provide a link as to what happened when Doug Marrone walked away from the team while retaining four million in doing so, http://bills.buffalonews.com/2015/01/04/pegulas-are-learning-the-hard-way/ "It was Brandon who gave Marrone that outrageous $4 million exit clause when he hired him as coach two years ago this week. The Bills knew the Browns were interested in Marrone and, as a second-rate destination, were desperate not to lose him. Marrone wanted protection in the event of an ownership change." (Now, does this mean that Russ Brandon was the person who actually presented Doug Marrone with the contract for him to sign, perhaps not! But the man was involved! What this infers is that Brandon hired Marrone and allowed that contract as the team president as of Jan 1st, 2013) "Brandon and Whaley are spending the weekend in a desperate search for a head coach to replace Doug Marrone. Terry and Kim Pegula are expected to lend their limited football experience to the interview process." I can’t say what’s more troubling: The idea of the Pegulas quizzing top young football coaches; or the thought of respected NFL football men looking at Brandon and Whaley and wondering, “Weren’t they about to lose power and influence to Bill Polian?” "As Tim Graham reported, Marrone ripped the Bills to Polian as he walked out the door, telling the former Bills GM that people inside the building were trashing Polian because they felt threatened by his possible return." Those darn ball boys were at it again! The reality of the situation is that "IF" Russ Brandon was 100% only involved in the business / financial side of the team. Then why wouldn't he allow his GM Buddy Nix alone to make the choice on who to hire as head coach and even before the Pegula's bought the team! The simple fact is that Brandon has been heavily involved in the football side and until the team hires that football czar / team president of football operations Brandon will still be involved. "Brandon on Monday said the Bills conducted a "thorough, exhaustive and exhilarating search" for their new coach." http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8820882/doug-marrone-hired-buffalo-bills After hiring Doug Marrone it was reported that both Doug Whaley and Russ Brandon flew to NYC to interview Jets DC Mike Pettine for the DC job in Buffalo. Why would the marketing / finance man do that if he is not involved in the football side of the team? He was involved and still is! For the life of me, I still don't get that why anytime someone mentions Russ Brandon's name in regards to the football side of things then thebandit27 jumps in to defend him. If you have no connection to Brandon or the team then why do you so ardently attempt to defend the man continuously, constantly?

You can't expect anyone to get draft pick predictions correct all the time and the more important thing here is the guy in known to work inside OBD while letting slip a bit of what's going in inside the org now and then. So, when the guy says that Brandon was in fact, the GM and "Russ has a big part in scouting and the draft process. He is definetly involved." I'd pretty much say you could take that bit of info to the bank! Another item that is pretty much irrefutable is that ESPN reporter Mike Rodak wrote: Team president Russ Brandon was so impressed that he told owner Terry Pegula not to let Ryan out of the building." This isn't sorcery by Rodak or anyone else as it's right there in black and white direct from ESPN that Russ Brandon used his considerable influence to sway the new owners to hire Rex Ryan!! For years and years, you have been jumping on anyone who says that Brandon has been involved in football decisions and I have two sources right here that aren't fictional or imaginary like yours! When I get more time I'll also delve into what happened with Bill Polian and why the team didn't hire that football czar.

The biggest problem I noticed (save the NY Giants game) was that the Bills were so beaten up with injuries by playing the AFC playoff teams that by the time they got to the SB that half the team was on crutches. I still can't believe that Bruce Smith had hold of Hostetler's wrist in the end zone and the football was in his hand...with no turn over! Not to mention that the guy was the backup QB to Phil Simms who was out with an injury. Another interesting thing was the Bills beat the NY Giants that year in week 15, 17-13 at Giants stadium with Frank Reich at QB after Jim kelly left the game due to a leg injury.

That isn't the point and the fact is the offense faltered quite a bit last year at different times and against different teams. That second game against the Patriots comes to mind as the Bills with 30 rushes for 94yards only averaged 3.1 yards per rushing play and were tackled for a loss 6 times for 18 yards. Tyrod Taylor was only sacked 2x in this game vs the 8x in that first game. The closest this team has been to having a somewhat solid offensive line was in 2012 with Glenn, Levitre, Wood, Urbik, Pears. While last year's line graded better, that was because Incognito graded so much higher as he was the top rated OG in the league and his stellar play help elevated the two players on either side of him. The point is that the RT position could be a real disaster this year and RG isn't far behind...much less depth!! Urbik is gone this year.

What I think escapes you with your close ties to the people at OBD is the very fact that for 44+ years (not including the AFL years) this franchise has had one of the most meddling owners in the league. A man who named himself team president and hired and fired most of the top people in the org. This has only worked well in two particular instances throughout all that time and once was when he hired Chuck Knox out of desperation and the other when he promoted Bill Polian to GM. Clearly, having a nonfootball person at the top of the org chart hasn't resulted in winning a super bowl after all those years. Now, we Bills fans have this same crap starting all over again so Russ Brandon can keep his fingers in the proverbial football operations side of the cookie jar. Brandon has used his considerable influence in persuading these new owners to make the choice of hiring the head coach themselves rather the allowing the GM to do it. You say he isn't involved in any football operations from your sources and yet a known source that posts here at TBD and made mention that he is and has been heavily involved and not in just influencing the choice for the head coach! "Leroi Posted 26 October 2015 - 08:12 PM Russ has a big part in scouting and the draft process. He is definetly involved. The guy is a sports genius, we are lucky to have him as the president of Buffalo sports. Remember he was our GM not that long ago. Imo " If it wasn't Russ Brandon, then who was it who prompted these new owners to make the head coach hire themselves? The choice for the new head coach should have been Doug Whaley's and not the owners. This franchise needs a man at the top of the football side of operations who is an actual NFL experienced football man who can be held accountable. A team president of football operations so there is no longer any questions as to who to blame for more losing or given the credit should the team win a super bowl.

Hey man, I want to believe, I really do! If Ryan can fix a lot of the problems this season that he was supposed to fix last season then the team has an actual chance to do something this year. We shall see! It didn't take long last year before we saw the major problems manifest themselves in that week two Patriots game. We should know by week four this year as the team faces the @ Ravens, Jets, Cards, @ Patriots. The Cardinals won't be a pushover at home and even the Pats in NE with Garpoopalo won't be an easy win. You should know me by now that I don't take losing lightly.

Please explain to me how you can possibly know any different than what was reported by ESPN? "It was almost a year ago, in early January, when the Buffalo Bills called Rex Ryan back for a second interview for their head-coaching vacancy. Team president Russ Brandon was so impressed that he told owner Terry Pegula not to let Ryan out of the building." http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/22828/playoff-promise-among-rex-ryan-statements-that-will-likely-prove-false If it wasn't Russ Brandon who manipulated these new owners into thinking that they had the necessary football acumen to know who to hire as the team's next head coach...then who did? Do you actually have inside the org knowledge of what transpired?

Leading the league in rushing or attempts doesn't mean much if the team isn't winning a bunch more games. Let's look at last year. While the team led the league in big plays which equates to pass players over 25 yards and run plays over 10 yards they were still very much like that 2013 team in that they were 31st in three and out percentage. Now, you would think that a team that runs the ball as much as Buffalo did in 2013 and 2015 that they would be able to maintain possession of the football longer instead of quickly punting the ball away. That stat tells me that the Bills had great difficulty in maintaining a sustained offense!! This is a big reason I was hoping the Bills FO would fix the problems at RT & RG like they attempted to do in the 2014 offseason by making offers to Bryan Bulaga and Jahri Evans. It takes five quality players on the offensive like to make a competent unit and three out of five isn't going to cut it and never will as opposing teams will just load up their pass rushers at the weakest point on the line.

Good stuff, I really like the fact that Ryan is having the players that mess up by going offsides or are involved in pre-snap penalties will now run laps and the coaches actually had IK run some. So it's more than just a threat. Last year the threat was push ups and this year it looks like Ryan really wants to reign in the mistakes the players can control. Fans seemed to be sparse at TC and so were the sponsors which was a little disappointing. What happened to the NFL experience and the big sponsors like Verizon? The Bills news flyers used to be free. I really like TC at St John Fisher. I'm really hoping that this year Ryan lets his actions and players actions speak for the team as i really want to like the guy and am hoping that he can get this team into the playoffs...this year.

Simply writing a name on a chart doesn't equate to actual talent. Look back over the last few years to see what kind players the team attempted to replace Andy Levitre with and then look at some recent draft picks for the line. I come away thinking the Bills scouting dept isn't very good in judging line talent. EVERY team does deal with injuries every year and just looking at the Patriots last season and how beat up their offensive line was at one point and yet those players had enough talent to help the team get to the AFC Championship game. They also lost their starting WR, RB among others and they had like a total of five players who played in all 16 games. The good teams have decent backups at most every position. The 2013 Buffalo Bills under Marrone were also the #2 team in the NFL in rushing and they had some scrubs on that year's line too. RT is still a big question mark for this year's team as is RG and what kind of quality depth can be behind players that wouldn't even be starting for most of the playoff teams? Also, like I mentioned the Bills have two quality starters at WR and some real unknowns for the remaining three positions so what kind of quality talent will we see if a rash of injuries hit the WR corps?

My take is the new Buffalo Bills owners looked at what's involved in running and operating a successful NFL team and must have concluded that it was in their best interest to keep the FO intact until they could get a handle on what it takes to run a franchise. Hence the reason not much was changed and since the team was profitable before they bought it they listened to the man in charge and that was Russ Brandon. There is no question in my view that Brandon swayed the new owners into thinking that they had the football acumen to listen to the head coaching candidates and then make the proper selection themselves. What was it that Brandon told them, you will know who to hire once you listen to the right guy. This and obviously Brandon pushing them to hire Ryan for various reasons Russ probably looked at all the high draft pick talent on the Bills defense with the 100 million dollar pass rusher in Mario and thought here is Mike Pettine's tutor and with Ryan taking his new Jets team the AFC championship 2x, who would be better. This is the very same idea that plagues so many Bills fans in thinking we all should have expected the 2015 Buffalo Bills to morph into 2009 NY Jets and easily get into the playoffs with the #1 defense in the league. After all, Rex Ryan stated that he had never had this much talent on a defense before. Even this year Bills fans keep bringing up that 2009 & 2010 Jets season and keep thinking the Bills will be in the Super bowl soon. With the Sabres I think the thought process was to have the team tank for a few years in order to build a team with some solid young talent and they did just that. Recently they hired a top head coach who should have them contending very soon.