Nihilarian

It's neither IMO, as the players are seriously trying to run Rex Ryan's scheme its just that, 1.) it doesn't fit the personnel on the roster. 2.) they have nobody really capable of calling it on the field. 3.) there are far more problems with this years team than just the players were not adapting to the scheme. Play calls coming in late Corey Graham: We're all over the place, we"re all over the place. We don't know what's going on half the time. Poor Rex, damn if he does call a blitz, damned if he doesn't. Next 3rd down, sends the house, nobody covers the out I don't mind the 3 man rush on 3rd and 16, what I mind is guys just not being aware of what is going on around them Preston Brown says even the slowest offenses have been hurrying to line this season because they know Bills defense has issues w/ play calls--They've been doing that since week 2!!!! Horrifying coaching. You always see this... guys running around, not set, when the ball is snapped https://twitter.com/YardsPerPass At first, I thought that perhaps Rex Ryan was simply trying really hard to get Doug Whaley fired so he could have more power and control over the player acquisitions. Now I'm convinced that this year's HC & defensive staff is on par with Hank Bullough and one of the very worst coaching staffs I can remember, save Greg Roman. At least, Roman is attempting to run what Ryan wants him to run in building a solid run game each week, and developing a young QB by limiting his passing. Plus the fact that Rex Ryan or Dennis Thurman are simply not calling enough blitzes this year, or even coming close to the amount of Blitzes that Ryan would run in the past. From 35% last year to less than 10% this year, and in the one game the defense actually got pressure on 50% of the drop backs they were very effective.

This reminds me of Buc's & Raiders HC Jon Gruden and his 2-foot thick offensive playbook that he wanted every QB on his team to learn every play of it. So at some point in a game, he can call some obscure play that nobody else on either side of the ball knows what it does. Probably why Gruden only had success with 9-year vet QB Brad Johnson, and 14-year vet QB Rich Gannon. Anyway, this really explains a lot about why the Bills players are having so much trouble learning Rex's overly complex scheme. It still doesn't explain all the other faults with the team this year.

3 http://www.nfl.com/probowl/story/0ap3000000448746/article/2015-pro-bowl-complete-roster

Doug Marrone hired a brilliant man to run his defense, and I can't think of another DC who could have gotten more out of the players that year than Schwartz. Marrone's problem was he just was overly loyal to his crappy OC in Nathaniel Hackett. Now imagine if Marrone & Schwartz had stayed, and fired Hackett while hiring Greg Roman. This 2015 years team would have been entirely different in almost every way. Plus, don't forget that Marrone also was having trouble with Whaley. Let's also not forget that even though Bills fans can't stand them, Dick Jauron, Chan Gailey was also very highly thought of around the league. Bill Polian didn't turn down the Bills czar job just because Marrone walked away, and probably gave Polian an earful on Whaley, and Russ Brandon's influence over Terry Pegula on his way out. That influence is probably gone now. Besides Kyle Orton retiring was another reason Polian didn't take the job, and probably because Whaley wanted EJ to start. Things have significantly changed since last offseason and Pegula is searching for answers from people that actually know what they are doing in the NFL. Polian would be that man!

This is great news to hear and the one man that Pegula should listen to about building a winning team above everyone else is Bill Polian! I agree with everything he has to say on the team, and would so love to have him as a senior adviser to the team. Pegula is brilliant for listening to him. I was wondering who the adviser was that it stated in the news that Terry Pegula was talking to someone. He loves the Buffalo Bills and the Bills fans and only wants to see a winning team in Buffalo again. Gotta love the guy for that

From what I've read Black Monday won't happen in Buffalo right away. These new owners have been talking to an adviser, and he has advised them to hire someone above Whaley to make the football operations decisions. Meaning that Rex Ryan's, Doug Whaley's fate will be in his hands, whomever that might be. The last offseason it would have Bill Polian who backed out of the situation when Marrone walked away and Orton retired. Polian stating that it would be more than he cared to shoulder at this point in his life. Polian did say he would have replaced Whaley though.

Yea, he made the pro bowl on a bad team, so he must suck! I love Shady McCoy in a manly " here have a beer on me" sort of way. Like Fred Jackson did his entire career in Buffalo, and what CJ Spiller was able to do for one year. McCoy made something out of nothing more often than not. I can tell you that the majority of Eagle fans are bleating like baby sheep they still don't have McCoy. If the Bills had been able to properly upgrade the right side of that line along with a more experienced QB the offense is top five this year IMO

Chuck Knox called Buffalo the "coaches graveyard" and Bill Polian -Marv Levy came along and got themselves, and several players into the pro football hall of fame. This is just one man's opinion, and viable in some issues, and not so much on others. The most poignant point I can make is that Rex Ryan wasn't blitzing crazy at all this year and actually far, far from it because he was asking his defensive line defenders to cover two gaps. Does that make sense to ask a player paid 100 million dollars to rush the passer to control two gaps instead of rushing? Or overly drop into pass coverage as in a zone blitz system where you have great linebackers and average D-linemen. Now this didn't happen all the time in every defensive play but it did happen more then the players themselves wanted or they wouldn't have been as publically vocal about it as they have been. A team doesn't go from 1st in the NFL in sacks to near last at 30th with just overly controlling the gaps, and dropping defensive linemen into coverage. It does when you don't blitz often enough, and blitzing simply means sending more defenders than there are protecting. Rex Ryan was most noted for his "overload" where he was sending extra defenders at the QB to the tune of +50% of the defensive players. I can sure as hell tell you that didn't happen this season except in one singular game and then didn't happen again since. Read some of this twitter feed, and see if you think it's just a bad scheme, injuries or a multitude of problems with the defense. https://twitter.com/YardsPerPass Some excerpts, "You always see this... guys running around, not set, when the ball is snapped" "Poor Rex, damn if he does call a blitz, damned if he doesn't. Next 3rd down, sends the house, nobody covers the out" "Preston Brown says even the slowest offenses have been hurrying to the line because they knew the Bills defense has issues with play calls." Tom Coughlin of the NY Giants told his team before they played Buffalo to play smart and limit the penalties and let the Buffalo Bills beat themselves with penalties. Buffalo 17 penalties for 135 yards and those gave the Giants 7 first downs on offense! Now this was in week four, fast forward to last week to week 15 against a close game to the Eagles and 15 penalties for 101 yards. Remember the last game against the Redskins on the 4th down and one the Redskins where they line up, and sure enough, a Bills defender is called for a penalty. Thus giving the Redskins a first down by penalty.They then went on to score This year this defense has been bad in so many facets and the most damning is taking that defensive line with superstars being paid 250 million and making them look below average.

It did, and no question about it to lose their elite starting QB for most of the season, and then need to trade for the Bills 3rd stringer who went 1-7 because they didn't have a decent backup QB to begin with. That's an apple to oranges argument, though. With Buffalo, we are talking about a season where the defense lost games before they started to lose players. The Bills still had Stephon Gilmore, Alex Carrington in their loss to the Chiefs in week 12. The first six losses were to Patriots 2x, Giants, Bengals, Jags, Chiefs, and still beat the 6-6 Texans in week 13. In Week 11 the defense made Tom Brady scream like a little girl in their second game, and held that high-scoring Patriots offense to its lowest output of the season with just 20 points. The defense managed to do that without Kyle, Mario, Aaron Williams. Did the injuries have an effect, in a word yes! Did it drastically effect the outcome of the defensive ineptitude in the first two-thirds of this season, now way!

I don't believe this for a second as even the bad (Rex) NFL head coaches are 100% convinced of their ability to build a winning team. As for the players, simply pay them enough and they will come, but would you really want to see another year of this undisciplined mess of a defense? Is it wrong of me to want someone in Buffalo that can whup Bill Belicheats arse 2x a year? There are head coaches out there that would give the Patriots a run every year. Pete Carroll, John Harbough (previous to this season) John Fox (Denver), Bruce Arians, Tom Coughlin, Mike Tomlin. We Bills fans deserve the best and I only hope the Pegula's give it to us in 2016.

You asked me to show you the proof that the difference was the lack of Blitzing and that is exactly what I did. If you want proof that the players are dropping far, far to often into pass coverages? well then, why not listen to them. http://www.sbnation.com/2015/10/21/9581575/mario-williams-marcell-dareus-rex-ryan-buffalo-bills-defense "Both Dareus and Williams griped about how much the Bills pass rushing (and highly paid) defensive line was being asked to drop into coverage instead of rushing the passer. It was way too much in their estimation. I had the exact same complaint after watching them lose to the Bengals."

What I took away from that is a lack of team discipline. Bad defensive play calls. All pretty damning stuff to indict a bad defense You always see this... guys running around, not set, when the ball is snapped Poor Rex, damn if he does call a blitz, damned if he doesn't. Next 3rd down, sends the house, nobody covers the out Preston Brown says even the slowest offenses have been hurrying to the line because they knew the Bills defense has issues with play calls. Remember the 4th down and one for the Redskins where they line up, and sure enough, a Bills defender is called for a penalty. Thus giving the Redskins a first down by penalty.They then went on to score

I saw no link, just a twitter feed Oh, and BTW in that second Patriots game in which the Bills were able to get all that pressure on Tom Brady to make him scream like a little girl Mario was out with an injury, Aaron Williams was out with an injury, Kyle Williams was out with an injury. The injury excuse is a lame one!

Show me the link for the all 22 like you posted about! Mario has been injured, and has been ill too. This isn't about one player its about the entire defense!

Show you the proof? Watch the games! But OK! When Ryan has his defense rush the passer and Blitz they have been highly successful i.e. that second Patriots game! When Ryan was able to get pressure on Brady 50% of the drop backs. Then from week two, "Ryan's defensive game plan couldn't put pressure on Tom Brady -- the Bills disrupted (a sack, batted ball, passed defense or interception) only 9.8 percent of Brady's dropbacks, a lower rate than in any of the Bills' 2014 games -- and he never seemed to have an effective plan for stopping either Rob Gronkowski or Julian Edelman." http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/21042/bills-breakdowns-vs-patriots-start-with-rex-ryan-defensive-staff That enough proof? To rush the passer 50%, and have it effectively work to rushing the passer less than 10% and get scorched in the passing game.

It really is and a few Bills fans stalwarts who refuse to see the truth of the situation, and blindly keep defending this head coach. What does it say to everyone when you have the players themselves complaining about the scheme and how they are being utilized in it since training camp. OK don't believe other fans, but at least, listen to what the Players themselves have been saying. This article was written after that week two debacle against the Patriots, http://bills.buffalonews.com/2015/10/07/bills-d-line-experiencing-disconnect-with-scheme/ "In another significant change, Kyle Williams often finds himself lining up outside, in a standing position, rather than inside and in a three-point stance as he was last year. He also will move laterally, in an effort to draw blockers from other defenders." “We play better up front when they just let us go,” Dareus said Wednesday. “... Now we have more responsibilities and more things going here and there. It’s just playing inside the defense and playing under control, so that the blitzing schemes and everything fit perfectly. What those two players are talking about is being used for gap control, dropping into pass coverage over being used to simply rush the passer. Really, link the article then!

The entire key difference to what Ryan did with the Jets, and what he did this year in Buffalo was the lack of blitzing. Last year the team was 1st in sacks, the year before was #2 in sacks to now 30th isn't an easy feat to accomplish. Why don't you want to listen to the players themselves calling out their coaches over a bad scheme? Read the article! It will tell you that the Defensive linemen are being asked to drop far, far to often into pass coverage. That the DT's are being asked to control the gaps over rushing the passer. Then there simply enough blitzing being called. Watch the games and you would see the Bills rarely send more than are defending, and when they do blitz itrs very successful.

Fixed!

Seriously, it's almost comical how some posters are so blindly loyal that they simply refute the truth over, and over. Marcell Dareus has been very vocal about how he is being used in Rex Ryan's defensive scheme since training camp. This is a fact! Since that time in week six Mario Williams joined him in publically stating its the scheme. "Mario Williams doesn't like what Rex Ryan did to the Bills defense, and he's right" Read the article! http://www.sbnation.com/2015/10/21/9581575/mario-williams-marcell-dareus-rex-ryan-buffalo-bills-defense He simply changed his defensive play calls and scheme for this one singular game, and it was highly successful. Which leads to a better question in why hasn't he been using that scheme all year, and why not use it for the remaining games? Rex Ryan was able to have his defense get to Brady on 20 of his 40 drop backs which is 50%. The Bills had Brady so flustered that he was literally screaming at his offensive line. The sad truth is Rex Ryan went back to his craptastic scheme he ran in that first Patriots game the rest of the year, and that is the reason the 2015 Buffalo Bills are currently 30th in QB sacks!

Exactly! The injuries are NOT an excuse because the Bills showed that horrible, terrible passive 10-15 yards off the line, no pass rush scheme since week TWO! And everyone was healthy at that point. Rex Ryan apologized and said it was all on him, and he would fix it. He never did! All season we saw that same craptastic defense except for the next Patriots game in which the defense was able to pressure Brady on 20 of his 40 drop backs.

The Dean really hit it out of the park with many great posts! The Dean, "If true, this is my worst nightmare coming true. The Rex hire has put this team into full rebuild mode, which is NOT what this team needed. The Rex hire is tearing the team apart, IMO. I just have to hope it won't end up in a disaster. Waiting a few days, they could have had a shot at Fox, who is CLEARLY a far superior HC than Rex." FearTheLosing, "I just don't get the love for a loud mouthed jerk like Ryan. I loved watching the Bills beat his team 2x this year, and I would have preferred to give Schwartz a shot at HC instead. For the record I would have preferred Pettine as HC over Marrone. Like I said, "Although, I can see the defense being just as good this year without Schwartz, and yet I'm not sure how it helps that 20th ranked offense. You know, the one with the bad line, no first round draft pick or veteran QB. " The Bills lose the HC that took them to 9-7* mostly because of the #3 defense. Then just hired a coach that went 4-12 and gave him a million and a half dollar raise, and with a 5 year contract no less. Only in Buffalo..."

I really like this idea mostly because Schwartz deserves another shot as HC, and Pettine would do so much better as DC with a solid run game offense that would help keep the Bills defense on the bench and fresh. Just remember the Bills were running that hurry up and punt offense in 2013 with Hackett running constantly up the middle with Spiller. What I like better is hiring Bill Cowher to be the next Bills HC, and let him pick his assistants. I'll bet he would keep Greg Roman because he is a run first HC, and who knows for the DC job, perhaps Pettine. Cowher is about the only man I can think of would give Bill Belichick a run for the division.

I think everyone and I mean everyone expected this year's defense to be great and not just a little great but 1985 Bears that Rex's Dad was the DC for - 2000 Ravens great that Rex was the D-line coach of. The Indy game was an anomaly because the Bills didn't really blitz that much and actually got it done with great coverage from the secondary. The Bills Defense only sacked Luck 2x and got two INT's, and one fumble recovery. What we know now is that that Indy team that was supposedly SB bound was instead bound by a bad team around the QB, and it was the first of many bad games for the QB of the decade in Andrew Luck. The smelly stuff from the ceramic convenience really hit the proverbial fan in the next game when Rex Ryan had his DB's playing 10 to 15 yards off the line. His DT's covering the gaps, and at times dropping into coverage along with the DE's so at times the defense only rushed with three players. This was the base defense we saw all season that let every opposing QB the Bills played look like all pro's because they had all day in the pocket to throw. Tom Brady scorched the Bills defense in that game for a record-setting Buffalo Bills franchise worst 466 yards passing allowed by one player. The first of many bad days for the Bills defense. Just a reminder for those that still want to defend Ryan. The entire defense was healthy at this point. Why Rex Ryan has insisted on continuing to run this passive soft cover defense most of the year leaves me thinking he did it on purpose. He would say it was all on him, and he would fix it, then never did. The lack of sacks is a direct result from a lack of blitzing, lack of defensive linemen rotation and having his DT's in gap control rather than rushing the passer, having the defensive linemen dropping into pass coverage far, far to often. For the bad defense alone he should be fired. Then there is being #2 in the NFL in penalties. Poor game, red flag, and clock management at times. which is something you might expect from a first time HC. Meanwhile, the NY Jets have a new HC with Gailey as the OC, and Fitz as the QB. They are currently in the playoff race at 9-5. Think the Jets fans are happy that Rex Ryan is the Buffalo Bills head coach? Or the Patriots fans?

More years of Rex Ryan... Can we ask his clone, Hank Bullough, to coach a few more years too? Some of knew after one year of Jauron, one year of Gailey, one year of Marrone and this hire is even worse then those.

I knew after week two that this team had serious issues on defense in playing that soft cover passive defense against the Patriots, and I also knew then why Dareus was complaining publically about that early. I just didn't think it would end this badly.