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Bills hire Jim Schwartz DC, Todd Downing QB coach


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I am very sorry to see Mike Pettine leave, but I never expected the Bills to pull off what looks like a very strong hire. Schwartz' track record on D is extremely impressive.

 

I feel almost bi-polar from being very down about losing Pettine to being back to very optimistic with this hire.

Edited by OldTimer1960
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How'd you do that so fast? Looks pretty good in Bills gear.

 

btw- the quote in your sig about not confusing effort with results actually belongs to John Wooden.

 

I hope to be proven wrong but I'm very disappointed on this one.

Pettine was a good DC and I expected a big jump in play going into year 2. I don't think there was anybody that they could hire that would make me feel good about a 5th DC in 6 years, especially after the first season showing defensive promise in a long time. Schwartz is as good as anybody I guess.

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Not sure how I feel about this

 

He is a defensive coach that was never able to build a good defense in Detroit

 

Agreed, up till this yer when he took a more hands on approach. Not stating this is why Detroit's D I believe finished better than at any other time during his tenure, but this could cause n effect.

 

He is the profile of a football guy better served as a Coordinator than HC.

 

I would have liked to see Schwartz and Harbaugh take the next step in their dance class.

 

Nice hire. I like it.

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So let me get this straight, we lined up Mario, Kyle, Dareus and Branch on run downs, and replaced Branch with Jerry Hughes on passing downs where 99% of the time he lined up on the LOS and rushed the passer at the snap like a bat outta hell. We started and played three LBs almost every play, except when we played two with an extra DB, including Kiko in the middle, usually Lawson and either Moats or Bradham on the other OLB positions, but we're a 3-4 and OMG we're screwed with a 4-3 guy coming in?

 

:wallbash:

 

I feel like I need to slam this post against the skull of everyone who is freaking out about having a 4-3 coach.

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How'd you do that so fast? Looks pretty good in Bills gear.

 

btw- the quote in your sig about not confusing effort with results actually belongs to John Wooden.

 

 

Pettine was a good DC and I expected a big jump in play going into year 2. I don't think there was anybody that they could hire that would make me feel good about a 5th DC in 6 years, especially after the first season showing defensive promise in a long time. Schwartz is as good as anybody I guess.

"Very disappointed" likely overstated my feelings a bit. I'm simply not high on this one. I think compared to some very positive posters I felt a bit lower than I probably really was on the spectrum when typing that.

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I feel like I need to slam this post against the skull of everyone who is freaking out about having a 4-3 coach.

 

The fair discussion is will we keep the aggressive playcalling. His brand of 43 is a bit like we've seen and fans hated with getting pressure primarily in the front 4, not a lot of blitzes. With the wide 9 he's toyed with you also see some philosophies that I think would make our fan base scream (gives up yards per carry but if in a shoot out you shouldn't see carries as djasper shared). He's got a long track record and am interested to see what parts of it he will draw most heavily from. The 43-34-43 thing doesn't worry me as k9 points out, we ran a lot of even fronts.

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Could not be happier with this hire. I might like Schwartz more than Pettine. Most of it already has been said but let me sum up what I view to be the high points:

 

1) Aggressive mentality

 

2) He's young and hungry and wants to reboot his career after the Detroit debacle (as have many solid coaches who got stuck in the morass that is that franchise) - he has every incentive to perform here.

 

3) Experienced with a variety of different defensive looks.

 

4) Big analytics guy, always has been - fits with what Marrone & Whaley want to do (who knows if Detroit had a supportive environment for analytics).

 

5) Former HC is exactly what Marrone needs on staff - someone who not only can run his side of the team without Marrone's help, but can also be a sounding board for Marrone who is still very green as an NFL head coach.

 

6) Learned under Fisher who I believe is the best HC in the NFL (that's right, I said it).

 

7) Has instant track record and credibility - the players will respect him from Day 1.

 

8) As Kelly said, the fact that they moved swiftly and landed a guy like this - both a "name" and an "outsider" - shows that this is a different Bills Front Office - DO NOT understate how important this is, fellow fans!

 

GREAT hire.

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@buffalobills

#Bills QB coach Todd Downing coached @EJManuel3 at the 2013 @SeniorBowl & helped #Lions QB Matthew Stafford become franchises leading passer

Maybe a stretch as it relates to Downing but wasn't Manuel named the MVP of the Senior Bowl?

 

 

8) As Kelly said, the fact that they moved swiftly and landed a guy like this - both a "name" and an "outsider" - shows that this is a different Bills Front Office - DO NOT understate how important this is, fellow fans!

 

GREAT hire.

I agree.
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I guess given the potential alternatives this isn't such a bad hire after all. The Wide-9 and track record in DET still scare me, but I suppose it's better than another young upstart with no experience or has been that can't adapt. I don't love it, but it could be [and has been] a lot worse.

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The fair discussion is will we keep the aggressive playcalling. His brand of 43 is a bit like we've seen and fans hated with getting pressure primarily in the front 4, not a lot of blitzes. With the wide 9 he's toyed with you also see some philosophies that I think would make our fan base scream (gives up yards per carry but if in a shoot out you shouldn't see carries as djasper shared). He's got a long track record and am interested to see what parts of it he will draw most heavily from. The 43-34-43 thing doesn't worry me as k9 points out, we ran a lot of even fronts.

 

That actually is a fair criticism. Whether or not the way he runs a 4-3 works, and certainly the Wide 9 philosophy ought to be debated. What was annoying me was the immediate "OMG WE CLEARLY PLAYED A 3-4 AND NOW WE'RE GOING BACK TO 4-3 DOOMED!" talk I have seen here and on many, many other websites.

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Byrd has complained. Defensive players generally don't like changing schemes every year.

 

I think you're wrong.

Byrd can complain all he wants. This does not change a thing. It has always been highly unlikely Byrd would be satisfied with anything short of being allowed to go to free agency. The Bills are going to have to franchise him and that has always been the case. I could not care less what Byrd thinks.

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Maybe a stretch as it relates to Downing but wasn't Manuel named the MVP of the Senior Bowl?

 

I also recall a lot of "of course the qbs look bad it's an allstar game with random WRs" (I'm not saying that's wrong, just perspective on what that day was like)

 

Just saw the stat line was 18-30 for 132 yards 1 td 1 int for the south qbs

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So let me get this straight, we lined up Mario, Kyle, Dareus and Branch on run downs, and replaced Branch with Jerry Hughes on passing downs where 99% of the time he lined up on the LOS and rushed the passer at the snap like a bat outta hell. We started and played three LBs almost every play, except when we played two with an extra DB, including Kiko in the middle, usually Lawson and either Moats or Bradham on the other OLB positions, but we're a 3-4 and OMG we're screwed with a 4-3 guy coming in?

 

:wallbash:

This should be an automated response every time someone mentions the 4-3 vs. 3-4 thing.

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Two things that may or may not have been mentioned in this thread:

 

1) Downing--remember that it's still Hackett's message, so things like footwork, motion, etc will all be Hackett's principles. Hiring Downing just allows Hackett to disseminate his message through another voice so that he an concentrate on the offense.

 

2) Schwartz--his defenses in Tennessee were often multiple-front, attack-style schemes. The wide-9 that some folks here don't like was more of a Jim Washburn principle that he ran when Schwartz was with Detroit. I like the hire from an experience and productivity standpoint; we'll see how he works with what he's got.

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