SouthGeorgiaBillsFan Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 The only statistics that count are the two scores at the end of the game. But if you want telling stats: Bengals scored on 4 of 5 second half possessions. Bills have given up 1400 yards in three games. That's not playing good defense. The main reason no one has talked about D prior to this game is that they have been very good in the turnover department. Don't manufacture excuses for poor efforts. Nobody wanted to see the opponents with the ball and time left on the clock for a last drive. This D still has a hard time shutting people down when they need to. The real question is, what games have you been watching? Really? Because they did a pretty nice job of shutting down most prolific offense of all time for an entire half when they beat the Pats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Well TT, we'll agree to disagree. I also like our linebackers btw… and our D-linemen. I also like our safeties but I think (ironically enough because of Jauron, DB-gate, etc) that we need a lot of help at cornerback. But regardless, mark my words, this is a young, improving defense and I'm confident that they'll make that point for me and in a very clear, inarguable way. lets hope you are right. i see teams blowing down the field against us way too easily to be as enthusiastic as you are..-i see our D line holding up much better than last year --and i see our DBs doing a decent coverage job and an amazing ballhawking job. the question is then...why are teams so easily making mincemeat of this D-esp in crunch time?? To me that leaves a good bit of the fault with linebacking skills/talent.-Maybe you r seeing something Im not there. I really hope I am proved to be completely wrong on this. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Nope. You're wrong. He's fighting a double team, and just as the ball is thrown he jumps and sticks his arm up. If that's not making a play on the ball, I don't know what is. I'm not sure what angle the video you have of it is from, but you can see this all very clearly in this video, particularly the replay angle from behind Brady that begins just before the 30 second mark: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-cant-miss-plays/09000d5d8228b2d9/WeeK-3-Can-t-Miss-Play-Florence-pick-six I'll grant you that he's making a play on the ball in the sense that all d-linemen try to deflect passes if they're not near the qb, but it did hit him on the helmet, which i regard as sorta lucky. but yes, it wasn't as if he was oblivious to the fact that Brady was making a throw. I wasn't talking about that pick anyways, I was referring to the first one against Philly. As for the Dareus tip, you're flat out wrong about that too. I'm "flat out" wrong? seems to me that there's room for shades of gray here given that it did his helmet and he was doing what pretty much every d-lineman does when they dont get a real rush on. Incidentally, what's your view on running backs being catalysts of offenses in today's NFL? I think it's nearly impossible. Jackson is a great player and I am happy to have him, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 I'll grant you that he's making a play on the ball in the sense that all d-linemen try to deflect passes if they're not near the qb, but it did hit him on the helmet, which i regard as sorta lucky. but yes, it wasn't as if he was oblivious to the fact that Brady was making a throw. I'm "flat out" wrong? seems to me that there's room for shades of gray here given that it did his helmet and he was doing what pretty much every d-lineman does when they dont get a real rush on. Incidentally, what's your view on running backs being catalysts of offenses in today's NFL? I think it's nearly impossible. Jackson is a great player and I am happy to have him, however. Here's our first possession against Philadelphia, I'll let it speak for itself: 1st-10, BUF46 11:43 F. Jackson rushed up the middle for 7 yard gain 2nd-3, PHI47 11:07 F. Jackson rushed to the right for 4 yard gain 1st-10, PHI43 10:29 F. Jackson rushed to the left for 15 yard gain 1st-10, PHI28 10:06 F. Jackson rushed to the left for 4 yard gain 2nd-6, PHI24 9:25 F. Jackson rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain 3rd-5, PHI23 8:47 R. Fitzpatrick passed to D. Jones down the middle for 18 yard gain 1st-5, PHI5 8:03 F. Jackson rushed to the left for 5 yard touchdown. R. Lindell made PAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandemonium Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I'll grant you that he's making a play on the ball in the sense that all d-linemen try to deflect passes if they're not near the qb, but it did hit him on the helmet, which i regard as sorta lucky. but yes, it wasn't as if he was oblivious to the fact that Brady was making a throw. Sure, there was some element of luck involved, but good players making good plays create a lot of luck for themselves by doing the right thing in the right place at the right time, which is what Dareus did on that play. To me the lucky part of the play isn't that Dareus deflected the ball with his head instead of his arm, it's that the deflection went to an area of the field that allowed Florence to easily intercept it and run untouched to the endzone. Even if it fell incomplete after the deflection, it still would have been a good play by Dareus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) Here's our first possession against Philadelphia, I'll let it speak for itself: 1st-10, BUF46 11:43 F. Jackson rushed up the middle for 7 yard gain 2nd-3, PHI47 11:07 F. Jackson rushed to the right for 4 yard gain 1st-10, PHI43 10:29 F. Jackson rushed to the left for 15 yard gain 1st-10, PHI28 10:06 F. Jackson rushed to the left for 4 yard gain 2nd-6, PHI24 9:25 F. Jackson rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain 3rd-5, PHI23 8:47 R. Fitzpatrick passed to D. Jones down the middle for 18 yard gain 1st-5, PHI5 8:03 F. Jackson rushed to the left for 5 yard touchdown. R. Lindell made PAT This is not an answer to my question, which is a systemic/structural one. Matt Forte is having an even better season than Jackson, but the Bears offense is listless because of their dysfunctional passing game (a 9.6 percent sack rate, for instance). They have a passing system predicated on holding the ball for a bit before throwing it, and it's literally killing them despite massive production from their RB. Edited October 12, 2011 by dave mcbride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfreak Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 First half defense = Awesome Second half defense = Embarrassing Overall, you have to be happy with where this team is compared to where most people thought it would be, but you are right, it has been a tale of two halves all season. Not just the defense, but the offense too, has only played one complete game against a bad Kansas City team. As long as the team improves weekly, that is fine, but most of the games have featured a team that looked like two different teams from one half to the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 after reviewing the play... #99 did make a football move to deflect the thrown ball by Mr. Brady. there is not enough evidence to overturn the call. challenge is ruled a timeout to Dave. I have to agree the LBs have been a weak point. Part of that is where they are playing against the opposing offense and what they are trying to accomplish. Kyle gave us some good insight on the earlier games and how basic they played. The Philly game had a whole new George smiley face on it. Multiple blitz packages. Finally!! Dave M. , i agree. we have appeared weak as we started but i also am adamant that our defense is gaining momentum.and last week was proof. even the linebackers looked better. They are holding Merriman, Batten is flying and Moats almost did a Favre on Vick. I billieve that opposing offenses are becoming seriously concerned with our defense taking advantage of them and thats fine by me. Nice dialogue Gents! ps fred and fitz are a pair of Aces! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 after reviewing the play... #99 did make a football move to deflect the thrown ball by Mr. Brady. there is not enough evidence to overturn the call. challenge is ruled a timeout to Dave. I have to agree the LBs have been a weak point. Part of that is where they are playing against the opposing offense and what they are trying to accomplish. Kyle gave us some good insight on the earlier games and how basic they played. The Philly game had a whole new George smiley face on it. Multiple blitz packages. Finally!! Dave M. , i agree. we have appeared weak as we started but i also am adamant that our defense is gaining momentum.and last week was proof. even the linebackers looked better. They are holding Merriman, Batten is flying and Moats almost did a Favre on Vick. I billieve that opposing offenses are becoming seriously concerned with our defense taking advantage of them and thats fine by me. Nice dialogue Gents! ps fred and fitz are a pair of Aces! yes, it's a good dialogue. I hope you're right about the D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfreak Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) Really? Because they did a pretty nice job of shutting down most prolific offense of all time for an entire half when they beat the Pats. Only problem is there is two halves to each game and with the exception of the Kansas City game, the Bills haven't played a full two halves yet. For every time that you say that they shut down the Pats for a half you can also say that the Pats moved against the Bills for the other half as if we didn't even have a defense on the field. Besides the Pats did score 10 points in the second half, so they didnt't really shut them down, and it isn't the same team from 3 or 4 years ago so it isn't the most prolific offense of all time. That is like saying if you score on the Ravens you are scoring on the most prolific defense of all time because they were so great in 2000 when they won the Super Bowl. Edited October 13, 2011 by billsfreak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Bump. We're a little past midway through the giants' track meet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Allan in MD Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Is Edwards defensive game plan "Don't touch their quarterback?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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