wnysteel Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 i think the key is that you have to accept the fact that Brady is going to get the ball off before you can get near him. maybe only rush 2 lineman, and drop everyone else back into a loose zone within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage and clog up the throwing lanes. put 5 or 6 defensive backs on the field and then a few linebackers who are fast and/or can cover. exception might be gronk, you put darby or gilmore on him man to man. it can't be any worse than the 1st game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Hurt Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 (edited) It eats at my core to watch the Patriots execute their offense with such precision against the Bills. Despite the hate, I have to give them their props. The last two games that mattered, the not aging fast enough Brady, got rid of the ball in under 2 seconds on passing plays and just carved us up for 7 to 10 yards each play. My thought on a strategy is to have set plays where the guys in the back end of the D just tackle/hold every WR, TE and RB that goes out for a pass and then the D line sacks Brady. Bills would give up 5 yards for the holding and an automatic first down but you smack Tommy boy a bunch of times and get their receivers wondering what is going on. The idea is to disrupt their timing and get them off their game. They would employ this scheme for the first couple Patriots drives of the game, before they cross the 50 yard line and would do this every pass play. Patriots are going to get their yards anyway so why not give them the yards and smack him around!! After that they could sprinkle this strategy in randomly to keep them guessing and hopefully off on the timing patterns all game. You could disguise it so the D-call is either the mugging strategy, the fake mugging strategy or a blitz with legal coverage. Thoughts? I had the same idea. But you need to mix it up. You can't hold every play but you can mix in simulated hold on some plays and really hold on some. When holding occurs, the play is still live. Defense need to hit Brady on those plays and hit him hard. When we hold, make sure we really hold, grab the shirt, I don't care. On Gronk, holding may not work. He will need to be gang tackle. Someone hold him up when he catch the ball, then the rest of the defenders rush to the spot and hit him high and low. Slam him on the ground. Brady may still be able to score. But we need to make him feel every hit. Edited October 1, 2015 by Big Hurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I think you blitz up the middle and jam the receivers at the line of scrimmage. By the time the receivers break free, someone will be in Brady's face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Hurt Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 People have tried jamming receivers but have rarely bothered Brady. He still got rid of the ball quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisonbrigade Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Defensive backs are allowed contact within the first five yards I believe. Have Darby, Gilmore, Roby and Mckelvin jam the receivers at the line of scrimmage. Have Bradham jam Gronk at the line of scrimmage and have Aron Williams play man on Gronk behind him. Have two other safeties play two deep zone. The defensive line would play pass on every down. You dare them to run. My bet is that Brady's ego would get the best of him and he would force passes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryLime Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 So basically, copy Seattle's defense. It did "hold" them to 28 points in the Super Bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solomon Grundy Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 How about the Dlinemen try JUMPING or PUTTING HANDS UP and try to bat the balls down or get deflections for INTs?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 So basically, copy Seattle's defense. It did "hold" them to 28 points in the Super Bowl. Copy the Ravens D that stifled them twice before they got cheated on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenhigh Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Defensive backs are allowed contact within the first five yards I believe. Have Darby, Gilmore, Roby and Mckelvin jam the receivers at the line of scrimmage. Have Bradham jam Gronk at the line of scrimmage and have Aron Williams play man on Gronk behind him. Have two other safeties play two deep zone. The defensive line would play pass on every down. You dare them to run. My bet is that Brady's ego would get the best of him and he would force passes. From NFL. COM: An eligible receiver is considered to be an obstructing opponent ONLY to a point five yards beyond the line of scrimmage unless the player who receives the snap clearly demonstrates no further intention to pass the ball. Within this five-yard zone, a defensive player may chuck an eligible player in front of him. A defensive player is allowed to maintain continuous and unbroken contact within the five-yard zone until a point when the receiver is even with the defender. The defensive player cannot use his hands or arms to push from behind, hang onto, or encircle an eligible receiver in a manner that restricts movement as the play develops. Beyond this five-yard limitation, a defender may use his hands or arms ONLY to defend or protect himself against impending contact caused by a receiver. In such reaction, the defender may not contact a receiver who attempts to take a path to evade him. So I say don't just jam or chuck, BLOCK. Maybe bring in Mulligan to block Gronk at the LOS, after that he rushes Brady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DallasBillsFan1 Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 (edited) This is off topic from the original post, but prepare yourself for another 5-7 years of Tom Brady, if not longer. He is at the top of his game right now and takes good care of his arm. I recall thinking just 2 years ago that he had another 3-4 years left in the league. Boy was I wrong. As good as he and Belichick are, there has to be an answer on how to play against his offense. Or maybe the answer lies in what the Giants and Baltimore did years ago in Superbowls and playoffs: get penetration up the middle and hit Tom Brady. Unless you rattle him, he'll make you pay all day long. Edited October 1, 2015 by DallasBillsFan1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan130 Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I really don't think it's a secret how to stop the patriots. You need pressure with 4 guys and got to jam their receivers at the line. You will rarely confuse brady, he's seen it all. Got to keep it simple and execute, just like the Giants in the super bowls. Much easier said than done though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihilarian Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 First off Brady doesn't simply throw to a "spot", he throws to the open receiver, and that might be to any number of "spots" on the field. Gee, if only the Bills were allowed 150 players on defense so they could cover all the "spots" Brady might throw to! Seriously, Rex Ryan was so worried about giving up big plays that he opted for dropping into coverage rather then going all out after Brady, and how did that work out? Brady set a franchise record for passes against a Bills defense with 466 yards passing. The very first play from scrimmage against Brady the Bills were off the line by five yards, and only rushed three D linemen (Kyle, Mario, Marcell)with Jerry Hughes #55 dropping into coverage on a WR in Aaron Dobson #17. YEA, THAT"S RIGHT! A DE IN PASS COVERAGE ON A WR!! The second series for the Patriots they were in max protect for Brady with just two WR flanked out on either side. The Bills had five on the LoS with Bradham being the fifth. The Patriots ran play action thus keeping the remaining two LBers frozen two yards off the LoS, and then they moved up to the line to stop the RB. But it was a play action pass and Brady hits #17 Dobson all by himself just past the first down marker. Why Gilmore was giving the WR a ten yard cushion I have no idea. The next play the Patriots were five-wide empty backfield. The Bills rushed only three, and were stoned by being double teamed at the line except for Mario had to run the arc. Brady got the ball off deep to Gronk after 3 1/2 seconds. Meanwhile the Bills were dropping everyone else into coverage with Darby on Gronk, who caught that deep pass for 36 yards. The next play was a penalty on Gronk, so its 1st and goal on the Bills 15 yard line now. The next play was a coverage sack by Mario on Brady because he had nowhere to go with the ball. The next play the Patriots went 4 wide, and initially the Bills rushed 3, and then sent a LBer late on the left side. Brady hit Edelman for 7 yards. Now 3rd and goal on the Bills 8 yard line. NE goes four wide, and the Bills have five on the line the Bills, and only rush three!! Mario, Bradham, Marcell. Mario almost gets there as Brady goes out of the pocket to the area where Mario came from, and hits Edelman for a TD. The next series for NE Amandola returns it to the Bills 28 yard line and a 15 yard PF penalty on Bills #27 ( Duke Williams) gives the ball to the Patriots on the Bills 13 yard line. The Bills rush four, and Brady hits Edelman crossing for 7 yards. 2nd and goal from the Bills 7 Pats RB dion Lewis off RG for 7 yards, and TD. Gronk singled up on Mario for a kick out block to open a hole for Lewis. Bottom line is the Bills never really pressured Brady. They didn't try and jam the Patriots players on the line either, and instead were mostly playing off the line. Almost a 10 yard cushion by the Bills CB's & safeties. The Bills were almost always in soft nickle coverage that Brady exploited by hitting the underneath stuff. Then when they were at the goal line they used their multiple TE package to score. The simple fact is Tom Brady is a first ballot HoF QB who has seen every coverage there is and will exploit any coverage unless the opposing team can field five Revis Islands. The Bills would be better off attempting to jam Edelman and Gronk at the line, and play close man coverage while blitzing every chance you can. Brady can be hit, and once he is knocked around enough he will make mistakes just like every other QB. To be honest I was quite surprised the Bills played that soft coverage scheme against Brady considering he had three rookie O lineman protecting him. JMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jethro_tull Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 (edited) The Patriots neutralized the Bills pressure defense by giving up the run and running 5-receiver sets. Brady was able to find an open guy among the 5 eligible receivers before the Bills could get to him. Very easy for him to do. The Bills did not have an answer for that attack. At that point the Bills have to give them the run. You give them the run by rushing 4 and cover 2 on the 2 receivers most likely to get the ball. You also have to change the matchups, subbing more DBs for some of the slower coverage LBs because the Bills LBs cannot cover as well as they need to, especially against Gronkowski, Edelman or Dion Lewis who are the top (3) NE receivers by a mile. Stop those guys and then you have to anticipate what the Patriots will do next when that starts working. Edited October 1, 2015 by jethro_tull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
....lybob Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I'd play with some with 5 DL -I'd put Dareus directly on the center (K Williams subbing in) with Charles and Bryant directly on the guards - M Williams and Hughes would give a variety of looks sometimes playing directly over Gronk to give him a hit, sometimes dropping into coverage, sometime rushing from outside, sometimes crashing inside- Bradham is the odd man out - ultra tight aggressive coverage but we are potentially giving up the long ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NextYearGuys Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 All you have to do is jam the wr's at the line and blitz. Yeah, maybe we'll get beat deep sometimes but Brady can't run so he'll be forced to either scramble to Hughes or Mario's side or sit in the pocket and hope protection can hold up. Easier said than done though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSpeed Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Here is my plan... On the first play that they empty the back field, bring everyone up to the line. Only rush 2 guys. The rest of them will grab a WR and tackle them as soon as the ball is snapped. Piling on is highly encouraged! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 That Pats** offense relies on timing as Brady is throwing to a spot more than throwing to a receiver. It assumes the DBs are always chasing the receivers. What you do is "flip the script" and ignore the receivers and cover the spots instead. Brady either throws picks or hesitates his throws, giving our D-line a little more time to sack him. Ahh Promo, would that be known as "The Spot Resolution"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 It eats at my core to watch the Patriots execute their offense with such precision against the Bills. Despite the hate, I have to give them their props. The last two games that mattered, “the not aging fast enough” Brady, got rid of the ball in under 2 seconds on passing plays and just carved us up for 7 to 10 yards each play. My thought on a strategy is to have set plays where the guys in the back end of the D just tackle/hold every WR, TE and RB that goes out for a pass and then the D line sacks Brady. Bills would give up 5 yards for the ‘holding’ and an automatic first down but you smack Tommy boy a bunch of times and get their receivers wondering what is going on. The idea is to disrupt their timing and get them off their game. They would employ this scheme for the first couple Patriots drives of the game, before they cross the 50 yard line and would do this every pass play. Patriots are going to get their yards anyway so why not give them the yards and smack him around!! After that they could sprinkle this strategy in randomly to keep them guessing and hopefully off on the timing patterns all game. You could disguise it so the D-call is either the mugging strategy, the fake mugging strategy or a blitz with legal coverage. Thoughts? Jam all receivers, TE's & RB's that are lined up at/near the LOS. Then run blitzes to put the hurt on Brady. If you commit penalties, Pats will kill all game long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Screw that. Rush 11 and take the roughing the passer penalty. Then do it again, and again, and again... till it bleeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I think you can get in trouble for those. as compared to snipers People have tried jamming receivers but have rarely bothered Brady. He still got rid of the ball quickly. we did not though. control the passing lanes, not the rushing lanes. I said before the game and after the game, obscure his vision on the short stuff. Sure the Dl gets punched in the gut by O line men as soon as a hand gets up. But if that is what it takes to win.. and press press press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I like the idea of questioning the assumption that you try to avoid getting flagged. Questioning assumptions leads to innovation, which is the essence of what Bellichick does. The problem is, if this plan were implemented, after about the 5th straight defensive holding flag the refs would call 15 yarders for unsportsmanlike conduct. Gotta protect the Pats*. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 It eats at my core to watch the Patriots execute their offense with such precision against the Bills. Despite the hate, I have to give them their props. The last two games that mattered, the not aging fast enough Brady, got rid of the ball in under 2 seconds on passing plays and just carved us up for 7 to 10 yards each play. My thought on a strategy is to have set plays where the guys in the back end of the D just tackle/hold every WR, TE and RB that goes out for a pass and then the D line sacks Brady. Bills would give up 5 yards for the holding and an automatic first down but you smack Tommy boy a bunch of times and get their receivers wondering what is going on. The idea is to disrupt their timing and get them off their game. They would employ this scheme for the first couple Patriots drives of the game, before they cross the 50 yard line and would do this every pass play. Patriots are going to get their yards anyway so why not give them the yards and smack him around!! After that they could sprinkle this strategy in randomly to keep them guessing and hopefully off on the timing patterns all game. You could disguise it so the D-call is either the mugging strategy, the fake mugging strategy or a blitz with legal coverage. Thoughts? Add the Seattle effect where they actually tolerate more illegal contact to avoid throwing a flag every play. Why not? It's not like there is some conventional recipe for success they are ignoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Hurt Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Watched the play back, Eldeman constantly beat the jam. He is slimy. Gronk just run you over. You cannot stop them with conventional thinking. If it works, every team would have done it. Watch the game with your remote in hand please. Also, in the first half, the DL were stood up constantly, sometimes without double team. So they need to fix that. Every team will try to hit Brady. But he has not really been sacked. Why? Because people are too scared to blitz him. You need to be willing to risk it all. It takes everything we have to beat them. I vote for putting hands on the small receivers, legally or illegally. Brady could throw the ball quickly because his guys were open. He would have to hold the ball if we could take away open guys, at least for more than 2 sec. Bottom line: Figure out why we couldn't cover for more than 2 seconds. Fix that and we will have a chance to sack Brady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihilarian Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Screw that. Rush 11 and take the roughing the passer penalty. Then do it again, and again, and again... till it bleeds. The 1977 Atlanta Falcons used to run that, and even had a nickname for it. They called it the "Gritz Blitz" under Leeman Bennent , and it worked on and off for a few years. Jerry Glanville became the Falcons DC, and then started using that again when he became a HC. Anyway that 1977 Falcons defense set a defensive record that still hasn't been broken. That year they were ranked 1st in points allowed, and 2nd in yards allowed. You can read about it here: https://swisssportsblogger.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/breaking-it-down-atlantas-gritz-blitz-defense/ The problem is that all it takes is one receiver breaking free, and its off to the races. Now that plan might just work if you have all the DB's holding while trying to jam the receivers. Then after a few hard hits on Brady things might just go differently. One other thing, anyone who discards the idea that knowing the opponents game plan doesn't help. (Bryce Brown / Matt Cassel) All they need do is look back to when the Bills signed Patriots S Lawyer Milloy 5 days before the start of the 2003 season, and the Bills whomped the Patriots 31-0. If Bill Bilicheat wasn't already cheating this probably gave him the idea to spy on other teams practices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 This is a way to stop the Patriots offense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prickly Pete Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 (edited) This is a way to stop the Patriots offense It didn't though. He got up and strode off the field like a champ. I think getting some hits on the receivers will help. I remember the way the Steelers used to let the Bills receivers catch the ball over the middle, and then nail them. The Ravens use to do that too. There were no big hits from the Bills in the first game. Gotta make them uncomfortable. I don't think the Bills should be afraid of penalties, but they need to make them count. Edited October 1, 2015 by HoF Watkins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadingpain Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I love the outside the box thinking of the original post and as others have mentioned, this is how the Patriots think. However we do it, fair or not fair, I love the idea of, and endorse, a deliberate attempt to injure Brady. It's the single most effective thing the Bills could do in a game to help our chances of beating NE. Here is an example: load up the defensive line with a big body that doesn't play too much. Tell him that on the next passing play, his job is to hit Brady as hard as he can, whether he has already thrown the ball or not. Let the ref throw the flag, give us 15 yards, and eject the backup Bill. Who cares. In the meantime Brady is carted off the field or not throwing right the rest of the game b/c some part of his body is not working correctly. Mission accomplished. Reminds me of the playoff game at home against KC in the Superbowl years. We gave Joe Montana a concussion early on and he was gone for the rest of the game. So much for his 4 Superbowl rings. Tough to beat up on our defense when you don't know what your name is and you are in the dressing room receiving medical attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uffalo Ills Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Or, we could place snipers up in the lights.... this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prickly Pete Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I love the outside the box thinking of the original post and as others have mentioned, this is how the Patriots think. However we do it, fair or not fair, I love the idea of, and endorse, a deliberate attempt to injure Brady. It's the single most effective thing the Bills could do in a game to help our chances of beating NE. Here is an example: load up the defensive line with a big body that doesn't play too much. Tell him that on the next passing play, his job is to hit Brady as hard as he can, whether he has already thrown the ball or not. Let the ref throw the flag, give us 15 yards, and eject the backup Bill. Who cares. In the meantime Brady is carted off the field or not throwing right the rest of the game b/c some part of his body is not working correctly. Mission accomplished. Reminds me of the playoff game at home against KC in the Superbowl years. We gave Joe Montana a concussion early on and he was gone for the rest of the game. So much for his 4 Superbowl rings. Tough to beat up on our defense when you don't know what your name is and you are in the dressing room receiving medical attention. Something like that would certainly get a response. They would come after Tyrod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I posted this in the Darby thead- When Leodis returns, we can do some neat coverages similar to what Green Bay does. Here are GB's base defenses- Okie and Eagle (3-4-4) Nickel (2-4-5) Psycho (1-5-5) Dime (2-3-6) Bat (1-4-6) Prevent (1-3-7, 1-2-8) Hippo (4-4-3) Payback game on MNF in November- imagine having Leodis, Gilmore, Robey, Darby, Williams, Graham, and Rambo on the field at once- manning up on each wideout and sticking with them. The possibilities are endless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisonbrigade Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I posted this in the Darby thead- When Leodis returns, we can do some neat coverages similar to what Green Bay does. Here are GB's base defenses- Okie and Eagle (3-4-4) Nickel (2-4-5) Psycho (1-5-5) Dime (2-3-6) Bat (1-4-6) Prevent (1-3-7, 1-2-8) Hippo (4-4-3) Payback game on MNF in November- imagine having Leodis, Gilmore, Robey, Darby, Williams, Graham, and Rambo on the field at once- manning up on each wideout and sticking with them. The possibilities are endless Mario, Kyle, Dareus, and Hughes plus 7 defensive backs all game. Blitz someone new each down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 MEAN MACHINE, MEAN MACHINE, MEAN MACHINE! Who can we throw the ball into their john brown hindparts, and knock them out of the game? How about just late hitting him so hard he gets knocked out for a concussion. Mario makes a billion dollars so he can handle the fin if he just literally went helmet to helmet and decapitated brady on the first play of the game? Now that the comedy is over, Rex do what you do best, bllitz. If you want 7 back, play press coverage right at the line, and bracket Gronk with two guys like they did to Gonzalez a couple of years ago. Rely on your line and LB to handle the run. Then again we can jsut bring all 11 in on three plays and hit him so hard late, he's toast. This is silly but fun to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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