MRW Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I'm curious - do people think the D problem was more one of improper game-planning by Gray & co. or poor performances by the players? I find it hard to put too much blame on Gray when you can't generate any kind of consistent pass rush, and Izell Reese wasn't doing anyone any favors out there. Do you agree with that assessment, or do you think Gray could've covered up these problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCBoston Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I'm curious - do people think the D problem was more one of improper game-planning by Gray & co. or poor performances by the players? I find it hard to put too much blame on Gray when you can't generate any kind of consistent pass rush, and Izell Reese wasn't doing anyone any favors out there. Do you agree with that assessment, or do you think Gray could've covered up these problems? 120067[/snapback] Jerry Gray wasn't out there missing tackles. There must have been ten times in the first half alone that Dillon or Brady was in the grasp behind the line of scrimmage yet managed to get positive yardage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffOrange Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Between Reese, McGee, and our sorry DE's, (some might want to throw Posey into that mix) that's 4 or 5 starting positions out of 11 that just aren't very good. I think Gray has done a fine job this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San-O Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Sure glad we locked up Schobel to a long term big contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I believed all along that this defense is vastly overrated. The LBs are mediocre at best. Fletchers rep was built on the Rams SB win (a team that wasn't exactly known for defense) and Spikes was a good player on such a poor team that he looked better than he is. Clements seems to have a rep without doing anything much. Posey is a 3-4 LB playing in a 4-3. The DLine may turn out to be the strength of the unit in another year. The secondary? Pffft. No chance of going very far in the playoffs until both sides of the ball are overhauled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eSJayDee Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 As is their MO for many games, they improved in the 2nd 1/2. Granted, part of that is attributable to the fact that NE already knew that they had scored more than enough to offset the realistic chance of our offense getting a lucky TD. (The only chance we had was if they continued to score FGs and our KO team managed to return a few for TDs ) If you think about it, our defense only gave up 2 TDs, the 3rd down %age was avg. Considering the TOTAL lack of aide that our offense provided, their production really wasn't that bad. I'm of the opinion that we have a top 10 Dee, not a top 3. (I think part of their statistical success is due to opponents playing 'close to the vest' as our offensive ineptitude doesn't require many points to be scored.) Yes, the Dee had a bad day, but probably only to the statistical level of slightly below avg. had they had a bit of help from the Oh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typical TBD Guy Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Our D is still #5 in yards/game despite missing our #1 CB and #1 S for significant portions of the season. We laid a big egg against a team that has won 2 of the past 3 Super Bowls and 24 of the past 25 games. The Patriots O tends to make a lot of opposing D's look bad. And it didn't help either that they were forced to spend 40+ minutes of the game on the field thanks in large part to...you guessed it...Drew Bledsoe! Let's not jump to any irrational conclusions yet. Our D is playoff-caliber. Our ST are playoff-caliber. It's the O that needs serious renovation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRW Posted November 16, 2004 Author Share Posted November 16, 2004 Our D is still #5 in yards/game despite missing our #1 CB and #1 S for significant portions of the season. We laid a big egg against a team that has won 2 of the past 3 Super Bowls and 24 of the past 25 games. The Patriots O tends to make a lot of opposing D's look bad. And it didn't help either that they were forced to spend 40+ minutes of the game on the field thanks in large part to...you guessed it...Drew Bledsoe! Let's not jump to any irrational conclusions yet. Our D is playoff-caliber. Our ST are playoff-caliber. It's the O that needs serious renovation. 120269[/snapback] Believe me, I don't want to scrap this defense, but New England scored on 5 out of their first 6 possessions. You can't pin that on the offense. Yeah, Drew had one of the worst games I've ever seen, but only the special teams came to play, it seemed to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BackInDaDay Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Our D is playoff-caliber. 120269[/snapback] Excluding McGee and Reese, our D personnel should be considered playoff caliber, which is why their lack of effort / big plays in big games is shocking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typical TBD Guy Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Believe me, I don't want to scrap this defense, but New England scored on 5 out of their first 6 possessions. You can't pin that on the offense. Yeah, Drew had one of the worst games I've ever seen, but only the special teams came to play, it seemed to me. 120283[/snapback] We couldn't stop Brady in large part because our blitzes weren't working. Same thing happened in the first Patsies game. I wish Jerry Gray would have just conceded the blitzing tactics and make Brady and his WR's earn every single pass attempt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San-O Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Let's not jump to any irrational conclusions yet. Our D is playoff-caliber. Our ST are playoff-caliber. It's the O that needs serious renovation. 120269[/snapback] Our D may be playoff-caliber, just not a very LARGE caliber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_eyedog_* Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 My view of this defense: Kelsay; I think will be a solid player. Nothing great but a contributer. Denney; doesn't have it. marginal back-up at best. Pat W; a player. I would hate to lose him next year. Sam A; another player when his heads on straight and wants to play Schobel; overrated but were stuck with him, hope he improves. Posey, nothing special. I would be surprised if he's here next year. Fletcher, overrated. makes some plays but also hurts team with penalties and overpusuing. Spikes; good player. wish he was a better blitzer but still good all around player. Milloy, solid player, but question if he is worth that kind of money. Resse, terrible. should be on the bench, McGee, getting picked on but I think he has a solid future. Clements, some peoples whipping boy. I think he is very good. Teams don't even throw at him much and is usually tough in run support. Must resign him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Schobel got lit up in the run game, he couldn't get off a block for his life. they ran to his side 90% of the time it seemed like. I noticed in the 2nd half they had schobel lining up wide right to contain the ouside. Izell Reese may have seen his last days as a Buffalo Bill starter. Mcgee is making "rookie" mistakes, although i see potential withhim. I'm greatly looking forward to the return of Troy Vincent. i think the defensive schemes in the NE game were terrible, especially the first half. they were running a zone defense most of the time, and they were getting torched. NE took them out of their strength which is the base 4-3 that they run. Buffalo's D is very very very susceptible to the pass. Ever wonder why we always lose in the 4th quarter, its because our 2 minute pass defense is easily beatable. The corners line up 10 yrds off of their man, and we have LB's playing deep zones. It doesn't work. Our Blitzes never generate pressure. It always seems as if the blitz comes from the wrong side, or is easily blocked. i want to see a more smashmouth defense at times, I felt in the 2nd half we started playing more man coverage, and it was working. Our DB's staretd having position to make plays on the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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