Coach Tuesday Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) Last offseason, we took a decent-but-not-great cover-2 system and switched it to a 3-4 without the players, coaches, or planning needed to make the change. What were the results? As best I can understand it, this is what occurred: 1) Our best player, Aaron Schobel, retired because he didn't want to play OLB 2) We made Kelsay a 3-4 OLB, which he can't freakin' play (he could barely play in a 4-3), and handed him a huge contract extension; we made Stroud a 3-4 end although he wasn't built for it 3) Our second best player, Kyle Williams, plays out of position - as well as he does it, it's not hard to imagine that he'd be all the better as a 4-3 penetrator 4) We're in year 2 and we still don't have a true NT on the roster (DON'T say Jaspar for chrissakes) 5) We've now lost our only decent LB because of the system switch 6) The defensive coordinator who was supposed to be the architect of the switch already has been semi-demoted 7) Oh yeah, our D got worse last year So tell me, what have we gained here? Someone explain it to me. I know Nix is such a great football mind/team-builder, I keep hearing it from the PTR Crew. But I have yet to see it in action. Edited July 27, 2011 by Coach Tuesday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 They are officially a "hydrid" defense. I honestly expect them to play more 4-3 this year given their roster and the fact that the stache is on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endless Ike Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 We just saved a lot of money on our car insurance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offyourocker Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Last offseason, we took a decent-but-not-great cover-2 system and switched it to a 3-4 without the players, coaches, or planning needed to make the change. What were the results? As best I can understand it, this is what occurred: 1) Our best player, Aaron Schobel, retired because he didn't want to play OLB 2) We made Kelsay a 3-4 OLB, which he can't freakin' play (he could barely play in a 4-3), and handed him a huge contract extension; we made Stroud a 3-4 end although he wasn't built for it 3) Our second best player, Kyle Williams, plays out of position - as well as he does it, it's not hard to imagine that he'd be all the better as a 4-3 penetrator 4) We're in year 2 and we still don't have a true NT on the roster (DON'T say Jaspar for chrissakes) 5) We've now lost our only decent LB because of the system switch 6) The defensive coordinator who was supposed to be the architect of the switch already has been semi-demoted 7) Oh yeah, our D got worse last year So tell me, what have we gained here? Someone explain it to me. I know Nix is such a great football mind/team-builder, I keep hearing it from the PTR Crew. But I have yet to see it in action. What a great summary of a SAD reality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 The ONLY thing I can say to you Coach is that sometimes you have to get worse before you can get better. I know it's not much but it's all I got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Last offseason, we took a decent-but-not-great cover-2 system and switched it to a 3-4 without the players, coaches, or planning needed to make the change. What were the results? As best I can understand it, this is what occurred: 1) Our best player, Aaron Schobel, retired because he didn't want to play OLB 2) We made Kelsay a 3-4 OLB, which he can't freakin' play (he could barely play in a 4-3), and handed him a huge contract extension; we made Stroud a 3-4 end although he wasn't built for it 3) Our second best player, Kyle Williams, plays out of position - as well as he does it, it's not hard to imagine that he'd be all the better as a 4-3 penetrator 4) We're in year 2 and we still don't have a true NT on the roster (DON'T say Jaspar for chrissakes) 5) We've now lost our only decent LB because of the system switch 6) The defensive coordinator who was supposed to be the architect of the switch already has been semi-demoted 7) Oh yeah, our D got worse last year So tell me, what have we gained here? Someone explain it to me. I know Nix is such a great football mind/team-builder, I keep hearing it from the PTR Crew. But I have yet to see it in action. Unfortunately, this is an excellent post. 3-13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Funny...i remember a small cover 2 D that all the fans wanted gone saying how much better a 3-4 would be. Takes Time to build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endless Ike Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 The ONLY thing I can say to you Coach is that sometimes you have to get worse before you can get better. I know it's not much but it's all I got. Wasn't 4-12 the "worse"? when do we get to the "better"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San-O Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 So tell me, what have we gained here? Someone explain it to me. I know Nix is such a great football mind/team-builder, I keep hearing it from the PTR Crew. But I have yet to see it in action. The "PTR" crew? The Rocketship 7 guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Funny...i remember a small cover 2 D that all the fans wanted gone saying how much better a 3-4 would be. Takes Time to build. Shhhhhhhhh.....dont try to talk sense here nobody wants to rememeber the tampa 2 when they are busy bitching about the 3-4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Shhhhhhhhh.....dont try to talk sense here nobody wants to rememeber the tampa 2 when they are busy bitching about the 3-4. I didn't love that defense John but if you're going to make a switch you'd better have a decent plan in place. The Bills have been on their organizational heels ever since making the change in schemes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExWNYer Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 They are officially a "hydrid" defense. I honestly expect them to play more 4-3 this year given their roster and the fact that the stache is on board. IF this is true...AND the Bills matched Jacksonville's offer...AND Poz said he loved Buffalo...AND he's more comfortable in a 4-3...then why did he walk?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) Shhhhhhhhh.....dont try to talk sense here nobody wants to rememeber the tampa 2 when they are busy bitching about the 3-4. It's never been about scheme. It has been about implementing new schemes regardless of the fact that the bills don't have the players for them. A 3-4 is great if you have Casey Hampton, Lamar woodley, Vince wilfork, etc. The Bills don't. Essentially, it's about bad management, and I'm starting to conclude that nix is simply out of his depth. Edited July 27, 2011 by dave mcbride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Rob Johnson Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Right now you're right, obviously they feel it's the superior scheme and have decided to build it on the fly. 4) We're in year 2 and we still don't have a true NT on the roster (DON'T say Jaspar for chrissakes) I think the hope is actually Troup will end up filling this position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt in KC Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I thought we only switched to the 3-4 so Trent could get more time practicing against it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExWNYer Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I think the hope is actually Troup will end up filling this position. I agree with you, Ghost. Unfortunately for Bills fans, hoping that players end up filling positions in the toughest division in football is what leads you to 4-12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInUticaTampa Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Kyle Williams isn't a true NT, but the guy plays the position great, even if it isn't the normal way and he isn't as big. The biggest problem with the defense last year was Stroud at DE, and pretty much all the LBs. Poz was pretty good, but the guy wasn't a playmaker. He looked better than he did because all the other LBs sucked so bad. Moats showed he is pretty cool as a pass rusher, but hasn't proved much as the run goes. With that said, losing poz sucks, because he was our best LB on the team. We have to either hope that Shepard is fast learner or hope they find someone decent to replace him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 It's never been about scheme. It has been about implementing new schemes regardless of the fact that the bills don't have the players for them. A 3-4 is great if you have Casey Hampton, Lamar woodley, Vince so fork, ec. The Bills don't. Essentially, it's about bad management, and I'm starting to conclude that nix s simply out of his depth. I think they are trying to get the personel to build up that 3-4. Dareus is a great start. Kyle Williams is a beast. Troup and Carrington are talented 2nd year players. Edwards has been a starter on one of the best defenses in the NFL. Trust me, I wanted the Bills to re-sign Poz. I think he is a solid, young football player. But the bottomline is no matter how good your LBs are, it doesn't mean jack if your defensive line is crap. And the hope is that we are finally building a real, big, and talented d-line. And if you have a good defensive line, your entire defense improves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) Last offseason, we took a decent-but-not-great cover-2 system and switched it to a 3-4 without the players, coaches, or planning needed to make the change. What were the results? As best I can understand it, this is what occurred: 1) Our best player, Aaron Schobel, retired because he didn't want to play OLB 2) We made Kelsay a 3-4 OLB, which he can't freakin' play (he could barely play in a 4-3), and handed him a huge contract extension; we made Stroud a 3-4 end although he wasn't built for it 3) Our second best player, Kyle Williams, plays out of position - as well as he does it, it's not hard to imagine that he'd be all the better as a 4-3 penetrator 4) We're in year 2 and we still don't have a true NT on the roster (DON'T say Jaspar for chrissakes) 5) We've now lost our only decent LB because of the system switch 6) The defensive coordinator who was supposed to be the architect of the switch already has been semi-demoted 7) Oh yeah, our D got worse last year So tell me, what have we gained here? Someone explain it to me. I know Nix is such a great football mind/team-builder, I keep hearing it from the PTR Crew. But I have yet to see it in action. 1. Schobel didn't have much left in the tank anyway. He didn't exactly jump at the opportunity to play in another 4-3 defense. 2. I don't understand this one either. 3. Williams may be out of position, but he still made the pro-bowl at that position that he isn't "built" to play. 4. Troup was drafted to be "the" guy at nose tackle. Hopefully he will pan out. If not, then Kyle Williams did a pretty decent job. 5. We lost Poz, but we drafted a couple more linebackers. According to some on this site Poz was a bum anyway, right? 6. And they hired a better defensive minded guy to "help" him along. 7. Our D got worse because they couldn't generate a pass rush, or stop the run, which was partly Poz's fault. Hopefully Merriman, Searcy and Dareus will solve that. The season is literally a day old. It is WAY too early to be jumpin off the bandwagon... Edited July 27, 2011 by Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 What is hilarious, and sadly typical of the comments here, is that no one has the patience to let any plan take shape. If the team doesn't turn around immediately, tear it all down again. Everyone knew the 3-4 switch would take at least two seasons yet here we are moaning about how a year into it and nothing changed. We love losing so much we want to sabotage ourselves at every turn. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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