Jerry Jabber

I agree, his passes were out a lot quicker yesterday compared to the first 2 games.

Looks like if Mario Williams isn't the one getting pressure and sacks on the QB, then most likely no one else on the D can (besides the occasional 1/2 sack by Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus). So far this year, the Bills are barely getting to the QB against very good offensive lines. Looks like the pass rush this year will look stellar against teams that have average to below average O-lines, and will struggle against teams that have above average to great O-lines.

Not looking good so far

You can add Kiko Alonso to that as well.

"Bills DE Mario Williams had a career day yesterday in the team’s win over the Carolina Panthers. Williams set a franchise record and personal high with 4.5 sacks in the game while also tallying five tackles. The previous record was 4.0, held by Cornelius Bennett (12/27/87 at Philadelphia) and Bruce Smith (12/9/90 at Houston)." http://blogs.buffalobills.com/?icampaign=blog_header

I give credit where credit is due, the Bills got to Newton a lot yesterday. Newton aired the ball out a lot yesterday for deep passes, so I feel if Gilmore & Byrd would have played, then the Panthers wouldn't have scored 23 points (might of had a couple more INT's). Also, you question if my post was warranted? Well, if you ask Mike Pettine, he didn't sound too happy about the game either "“I've been in this league long enough,” Pettine said. “It's a bottom-line business. As bad as the Patriots have played, they're 2-0 and they're 2-0 in the division. We're 0-1 with a division loss, and whether it was by 40 or by one, it's a loss. There's no moral victories.” http://www.buffalonews.com/columns/jerry-sullivan/bills-defense-must-raise-its-standards-20130915?two-bills-drive

I know, 5 by the D-line and 1 by Alonso. I agree. I knocked the Bills D-line heavily last week, so I'm giving them credit this week for a great performance. They have to be able to do this consistently, week in and week out.

I agree. I think with those two back in the lineup, it will make the QB stay in the pocket a little longer than he wants to, which could led to more pressure from our guys up front. Let's hope they can keep it up!

I'm sure there are plenty of people that remember the thread I started about the D-line only getting 1 sack last week. I was very critical of the D-line and the defense in general last week, but this week is a different story as today I finally saw the D-line that I was expecting to see since last year. Mario had a monster game with 4.5 sacks, and nearly had another 1/2 (or full sack) with Kyle Williams, but I have to give credit to Cam Newton on that for taking a hit and staying on his feet. I also saw Dareus in on 2 of Mario's sacks. Kyle Williams had a good game with getting in the backfield, disrupting some run plays, and tipping a pass. I was glad to see Pettine bring a ton of pressure on the last play of the game which led to a sack by Alonso. Last week, Brady didn't have to throw it deep, but this week we saw Newton air it out a bunch of times. IMO, if Gilmore and Byrd were healthy, I feel either one of them could have prevented the TD to Ginn and maybe an INT on some of the deep passes. I also have to give credit to McKelvin as that was the best game I saw him play in a Bills uniform.

Nailed everything right on the head.

Panthers 27, Bills 20

I agree with you 100% With KW's decline in play since his heel injuries, and Dareus not living up to the expectations of him being a dominant DT (considering he was drafted 3rd overall), the D-line has underachieved. Like you, if the D-line turns it around, I will have no problems eating a big bowl of crow and admitting that I was wrong.

Amen!

I agree 100% People are scared to admit that Kyle Williams hasn't been the same player since he started having problems with his heels, and Dareus could be a big disappointment. For all the money and draft picks the Bills invested to bolster their D-line, so far they've been getting short-changed.

Thanks! Just posted the link.

Somebody should...

When Dareus was passed up by Denver and Carolina in the 2011 draft, he vowed he would make it hell for them everytime he played them for passing up on him in the draft. http://blogs.buffalo...bout-going-3rd/ "When asked if he should have been the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft, the Bills top pick had a very quick answer. “Yes,” was his reply. And when he didn’t go off the board first or second he immediately had two enemies, the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. “If I ever get a chance to play Carolina I’m going to make them pay for passing up on me,” said Dareus." Well Dareus, it's your chance on Sunday to either "put up" or "shut up."

Maybe we just misunderstood what we were trying to say to each other, that tends to happen on the internet vice an actual conversation on the phone or in person. I'm not gonna lie and say the Bills didn't improve on defense, but with all of the investments the team made, I was expecting more, especially against a reeling Patriots team. I'm hoping Dareus will be motivated to play Carolina (as he stated to the Commish when we drafted him), and we will see the Bills win on Sunday. I couldn't tell if Dareus was single or double-teamed on that play, but he definitely was thrown on his butt big time.

Thanks for the breakdown. Where I was impressed with the run defense on the edges of both sides. The middle of the field is still a concern.

That's another problem I had with the Bills, is that their run defense, especially up the middle is still a problem. That also goes into my problem with the defense, with all the investments in the front 7, the run defense up the middle still sucks!! You talked about all the hits Brady took, well how effective were those hits on the final drive of the game? If I'm not mistaken, Brady completed all of his passes on that final drive with a lot of time to spare. You can say it was Marrone's & Hackett's fault for clock management on the Bills final drive (which I would agree) as well as not doing more offensively, but the Bills defense failed to do their jobs as well on that final drive.

Actually, I watch a lot of football and watch the NFL network almost on a daily basis. I see other teams that have great defenses and great pass rushes, and that's what I'm comparing the Bills to. When you watch a terrible defense for so long, and the team shows improvement like it did on Sunday, it makes thing look a lot better. In this case, I feel people like yourself are over-exaggerating the defense's performance on Sunday.

Still waiting on a response Coach... In regards to the pressure I saw on Sunday, I saw the Bills get 2 sacks, made Brady either throw the ball away or make some bad plays on occasion. In regards why I started this thread, which Chimp has reinforced my point, with all the investments we've seen on the defensive front 7, this was nowhere near the amount of pressure that we should of had against Brady. Mario Williams is the highest paid defensive player in the NFL, with that kind of money, you should expect JJ Watt type of production from him (sacks, pressures, swatting the ball away) which we didn't see from him on Sunday. Dareus was selected 3rd overall to shore up the run game and destroy the O-lines, while he made a few tackles and had a pass knocked down, he didn't get any pressure and I saw him get thrown on his azz by a Pats O-lineman. We traded for Jerry Hughes and the only thing he did was get 2 offsides penalties. Alex Carrington, a 3rd round draft pick, looked like the 2nd coming of Chris Kelsay (over pursuit, having to circle around, not getting close to the QB). Kyle Williams had a sack and a few tackles, so he had a good (but not great) game. Did anyone notice Manny Lawson, because I sure as hell didn't. In regards to what "pressure" is on the QB, my definition of it is, sacking the QB, forcing him to throw it either: away; too quickly; making a bad-decision, hitting the QB's throwing arm (or the ball), getting arms, hands & bodies in the QB's throwing lanes and altering the direction of the pass, hitting the QB while he is in throwing motion which causes a fumble. What I saw on Sunday was 2 sacks, the Bills forced Brady into some throws where he had to throw it away, and hitting Brady a second too late after Brady delivered the ball which went for a completion. I didn't see any tipped balls, Brady getting hit in the arm/hand which changed the direction of the ball, or got hit which caused a fumble. While that is an improvement over what we've seen from the Bills over the past 10 years, that was still nowhere near enough, especially when you consider what the Bills invested in the D-line and how hyped up this line has been talked up about since last year.

I already stated that the post was in response to Big Cat's post of him comparing it to last year's season opener (which was the reason I looked up the stats and compared). You then posted this: You also compared the points comparison as well, but you don't get it, so that's fine, so keep rambling on...

Why don't you enlighten me then, Coach...