History Repeats Itself -- and it's confusing

[Nihilarian]

I imagine RR and Whaley are only alive because of TT. If he hadn't had the year he did, both would've been tossed.

You know I think you have a point and it might actually be the reason why Ryan still has a job.

 

It's not only TT though because that offense would not have worked with Nathaniel Hackett calling 40 passes a game and the offensive line wouldn't have been nearly as good without Richie Incognito who was a top five rated OG this year. Rex Ryan wanted both TT and Incognito along with Percy Harvin and I have to think if Harvin remained healthy that offense could have been so much more potent.

 

Just because Ryan asked for Greg Roman, Tyrod Taylor, and Percy Harvin shouldn't absolve the man for what he did to that defense this year. The Bills fans who bleed red, white and blue defending Ryan here really have no legs to stand on when you think of a team with 250 million dollars tied up in pass rushers literally getting no pressure on opposing QB's almost all season long.

 

How do I know this? Because the team went from #1 in the NFL in sacks in 2014 with 54 to #31 in the league with only 21 sacks. So this begs the question in where on earth did 33 sacks go to when you still have two of three pro bowlers along with that elite pass rusher in Jerry Hughes on the other side of Mario Williams?

 

2014 Mario Williams 14.5 sacks

2014 Marcell Dareus 10 sacks

2014 Jerry Hughes 9.5 sacks

2014 Kyle Williams 5.5 sacks

Those four players accounted for 39.5 sacks

 

2015 Mario Williams 5.0

2015 Jerry Hughes 5.0

2015 Marcell Dareus 2.0

2015 Kyle Williams 1.0

Those four players accounted for 13 sacks

 

Its a downright disgrace to watch a 331 LB hell on wheels pro bowl pass rusher to be asked to play gap contain or drop him into pass coverage... its almost criminal. Two sacks all season when he had 10 the previous year and fans wonder why he has been complaining about how he is being used.

 

This is the absolute truth.

 

It disturbs me how little accountability seems to be placed on Whaley as well. Look at just how much money was given to Hughes and Dareus. One is playing undisciplined, the other is being used as a 340 pound dancing bear. The Bills have little cap room because of this, McCoy's new contract, and Clay. Do these seem like wise moves in retrospect?

 

So, what did the Bills do? They gave Whaley an extension and signed another Ryan, a known loser. All we can do is hope that we don't waste our early picks on defensive backs.

 

It really is a sad situation.

It's a whole lot more sad than most fans can comprehend right now. Basically paying Marcell Dareus what he is currently making is a total waste of money for what he is being asked to do in Wrex Ryan's scheme and the team might as well trade him away for draft picks that fit Ryan's scheme.

 

"Marcell Dareus signed a 6 year, $96,574,118 contract with the Buffalo Bills, including a $25,000,000 signing bonus, $60,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $16,095,686. In 2016, Dareus will earn a base salary of $7,900,000, a signing bonus of $7,000,000 and a workout bonus of $250,000. Dareus has a cap hit of $14,550,000 while his dead money value is $34,900,000."

 

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/marcell-dareus/

 

That is a heck of a lot of money to pay a player to be a space eater for two sacks a year! I think it might make more sense to fire Ryan now than retool the front seven to fit Ryan's scheme! The team will just end up firing him next season anyway.

[BilLions]

The defense wasn't excellent. With the exception of the Packers' game, the defense got lit up against good teams in much the same manner it did this season. If the Packers' coaching staff hadn't inexplicably stopped running the ball in that game, that game likely looks much different too.

 

1. San Diego dominated the game in Buffalo.

2. New England dominated the game in Buffalo.

3. They couldn't stop the Raiders in a must win game.

4. With the game on the line in the 4th quarter against Houston, they gave up a five minute FG drive and then on the ensuing possession needing the ball back gave up a short pass that was turned into a first down.

5. To open the fourth quarter against Minnesota, gave up a 28 yard pass on 3rd and 18. That drive ended in a FG that ended up forcing the BILLS to have to score a TD with no time left to win the game.

6. With a 9-3 lead in the third quarter in Miami, gave up back-to-back TD drives in what ended up a 22-9 loss.

7. With a 13-3 lead late in the third quarter against Kansas City, gave up back-to-back TD drives in what ended up a 17-13 loss.

 

The defense last season had more sacks but they suffered from the same "coming up small when it matters" thing that happens to most teams that don't make the playoffs.

Great point!

[K-9]

The defense wasn't excellent. With the exception of the Packers' game, the defense got lit up against good teams in much the same manner it did this season. If the Packers' coaching staff hadn't inexplicably stopped running the ball in that game, that game likely looks much different too.

 

1. San Diego dominated the game in Buffalo.

2. New England dominated the game in Buffalo.

3. They couldn't stop the Raiders in a must win game.

4. With the game on the line in the 4th quarter against Houston, they gave up a five minute FG drive and then on the ensuing possession needing the ball back gave up a short pass that was turned into a first down.

5. To open the fourth quarter against Minnesota, gave up a 28 yard pass on 3rd and 18. That drive ended in a FG that ended up forcing the BILLS to have to score a TD with no time left to win the game.

6. With a 9-3 lead in the third quarter in Miami, gave up back-to-back TD drives in what ended up a 22-9 loss.

7. With a 13-3 lead late in the third quarter against Kansas City, gave up back-to-back TD drives in what ended up a 17-13 loss.

 

The defense last season had more sacks but they suffered from the same "coming up small when it matters" thing that happens to most teams that don't make the playoffs.

Thank-you. Regardless of the pass rush and sacks generated, we were as far from a dominant defense last year as we were this year. But we are Bills fans and romanticizing is what we do.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Edited January 18, 2016 by K-9

[FireChan]

Thank-you. Regardless of the pass rush and sacks generated, we were as far from a dominant defense last year as we were this year. But we are Bills fans and romanticizing is what we do.

 

GO BILLS!!!

That's an unfair characterization. The defense was clearly better in 2014 and thus closer to dominant than the **** show we saw this year. You wanna say they are romanticized, I can believe that. But just as bad, c'mon.

 

Not to mention AD is wrong on several of his points.

 

The true Bills fan move is to try to diminish or unfairly criticize old, successful players or years to somehow justify future hope.

Edited January 18, 2016 by FireChan

[What a Tuel]

That's an unfair characterization. The defense was clearly better in 2014 and thus closer to dominant than the **** show we saw this year. You wanna say they are romanticized, I can believe that. But just as bad, c'mon.

 

Not to mention AD is wrong on several of his points.

 

The true Bills fan move is to try to diminish or unfairly criticize old, successful players or years to somehow justify future hope.

 

It's true some Bills fans do that, but other fans exaggerate and magnify current failures and put the blame of the drought squarely on whoever they can find/makes the most sense in their mind. (Ex. Give Rex a chance to create his program, and attempt to create something for us? Impossible, he didn't do it in year 1, so he won't ever - 16 years!!!!)

 

It's fine if people hate Rex because the defense got worse, but this team was 8-8 this year, you would think it was 3-13 the way people are acting.

 

Next year will be better, and there are reasons for hope, despite the assurances of the naysayers.

Edited January 18, 2016 by What a Tuel

[JohnC]

Thank-you. Regardless of the pass rush and sacks generated, we were as far from a dominant defense last year as we were this year. But we are Bills fans and romanticizing is what we do.

 

GO BILLS!!!

It is fair to say that the Bills weren't a dominant defense in 2014. What they were was a dominant pass rushing defense. That vanished in 2015. That was the one dominant attribute that the DL possessed that positively impacted the backside of the defense. That vanished and diminished the defense in general.

 

Nihilarian smartly pointed out the defense was constructed in such a way that the major portion of the cap resources was directed toward the line. What was the cost/value return on that investment this year compared to the prior year?

 

Few people are suggesting that the defense was a complete unit because it clearly wasn't. But there isn't anything unusual about having limitations on any particular unit (offense and defense) when a high investment is placed on a segment of the unit. Managing limitations is what coaches are supposed to do. Rex did a poor job of that.

 

What Rex essentially did in his first year of coaching in western NY was take an asset on the DL and diminish what it does best. The corollary to that is he not only diminished an asset but he accentuated its weaknesses by inhibiting its strengths. By any measure that is not smart coaching.

 

Rex wanted the defense to adapt to him more than he was willing to adapt to the talent on the defense (most notably the DL). That is not a smart approach to take and the results bear it out.

[FireChan]

 

It's true some Bills fans do that, but other fans exaggerate and magnify current failures and put the blame of the drought squarely on whoever they can find/makes the most sense in their mind. (Ex. Give Rex a chance to create his program, and attempt to create something for us? Impossible, he didn't do it in year 1, so he won't ever - 16 years!!!!)

 

It's fine if people hate Rex because the defense got worse, but this team was 8-8 this year, you would think it was 3-13 the way people are acting.

 

Next year will be better, and there are reasons for hope, despite the assurances of the naysayers.

Rex wasn't brought here to build a program. That's not what he, Whaley, or the Pegulas sold when he was hired. If you don't think folks are going to be upset when we were told all offseason we were "close" and our FA splash/"proven HC" was going to put us over the hump, and then it looks like a big failure, I think you're being unreasonable.

 

Of course there are reasons for hope, and hopefully next year will be better.

 

I just find it curious where the "the 2014 defense was bad" crew was 1 year ago. Just like Stevie's 3 straight seasons of 1k yards suddenly sucked once he was traded. Even though it took us 2 seasons to have a single WR do that once. It's some strange, roundabout way of proving addition by subtraction, even though we're clearly worse off.

Edited January 18, 2016 by FireChan

[What a Tuel]

Rex wasn't brought here to build a program. That's not what he, Whaley, or the Pegulas sold when he was hired. If you don't think folks are going to be upset when we were told all offseason we were "close" and our FA splash/"proven HC" was going to put us over the hump, and then it looks like a big failure, I think you're being unreasonable.

 

Of course there are reasons for hope, and hopefully next year will be better.

 

I just find it curious where the "the 2014 defense was bad" crew was 1 year ago. Just like Stevie's 3 straight seasons of 1k yards suddenly sucked once he was traded. Even though it took us 2 seasons to have a single WR do that once. It's some strange, roundabout way of proving addition by subtraction, even though we're clearly worse off.

 

Of course it is upsetting we didn't make the playoffs with all the hype. I don't disagree that the defense got worse this year under Rex, but I don't subscribe to the idea that Rex is lost, and that the defense can't get better next year either. I also don't follow the hyperbolic statements that Rex needs to go. The defense did play good at certain points of the year no matter what anyone says about sacks, and I can't imagine the defense playing the same or worse without the amount of injuries we had.

 

Another year under his system, additional pieces for his scheme, and not to mention the offense starting to gel, and maybe we get a couple more wins next year.

 

Yeah, I don't think addition by subtraction is the way to go either. And the only reason I think it is time for Mario Williams to go is because I looked at the games on game pass, and he wasn't putting his full effort out there. Whether that's Rex's fault or not, the guy should have played, and he lost a lot of my respect. If you have complaints about the scheme, then fine, but do your job to the best of your abilities anyway, and the blame won't fall on you. Who knows what would've happened if he came to play against Philly or Washington.

[Nihilarian]

The defense wasn't excellent. With the exception of the Packers' game, the defense got lit up against good teams in much the same manner it did this season. If the Packers' coaching staff hadn't inexplicably stopped running the ball in that game, that game likely looks much different too.

 

1. San Diego dominated the game in Buffalo.

2. New England dominated the game in Buffalo.

3. They couldn't stop the Raiders in a must win game.

4. With the game on the line in the 4th quarter against Houston, they gave up a five minute FG drive and then on the ensuing possession needing the ball back gave up a short pass that was turned into a first down.

5. To open the fourth quarter against Minnesota, gave up a 28 yard pass on 3rd and 18. That drive ended in a FG that ended up forcing the BILLS to have to score a TD with no time left to win the game.

6. With a 9-3 lead in the third quarter in Miami, gave up back-to-back TD drives in what ended up a 22-9 loss.

7. With a 13-3 lead late in the third quarter against Kansas City, gave up back-to-back TD drives in what ended up a 17-13 loss.

 

The defense last season had more sacks but they suffered from the same "coming up small when it matters" thing that happens to most teams that don't make the playoffs.

It must be stupefying to watch a team garner the rank of #4 defense overall and be the #1 team in the league in sacks for a season and then blame the losses that year on the defense. Then have others agree with this analysis

 

#1) Chargers game went for Buffalo like this- PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-FG-end of HALF-TD-PUNT-DOWNS-PUNT-SAFETY-DOWNS the Final score was Chargers 22- Bills 10 and it's the defenses fault they didn't score?

 

Oh WAIT! the Chargers dominated that game huh? Chargers-TD-FG-PUNT-FG-TD-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT The Bills held the Chargers in the second half to five straight punts to end the game and the Bills offense was so haplessly pathetic it was unable to do anything with the ball. That was the game that Bills OC Nate Hackett morphed into Chan Gailey because the team fell behind in points so he had EJ throw 40 passes a game while running it 22 times. I'd say that loss was more on the offensive failure then the defenses.

 

Shall I go on?

 

#2) New England dominated the game in Buffalo and this is supposedly the defenses fault? Let's look at the downs again.

-

Bills- PUNT-PUNT-INT-PUNT-TD-Fumble-PUNT-Fumble-TD-PUNT-TD-Downs. The Patriots sacked Orton 5 times and Intercepted him once. When a team fails to run the ball and keeps repeatedly giving the ball back to the Patriots they will find a way to score and by the second half, the defense had to be worn out by always being on the field. If anything it's on the offense again for not holding on to the ball and giving the Patriots repeatedly great field position from turnovers.

 

#3) The Raiders final score was 24-26 and Oakland was incredibly lucky to complete a 3rd and 22 for 51 yards to Andre Holms to allow the Raiders to drive 80 yards to score a TD late in the game. I agree that the defense is not without fault in this loss and should have played better against a 2-14 team. Still, the Raiders had 4 FG's and 2 TD's but even when a bad team keeps getting the ball back constantly they eventually will score.

 

However, let's look at the play by play again. TD-INT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-FG-PUNT-PUNT-TD-PUNT-INT-TD. I'd have to say that the offense let the team down far more then the defense did with the two interceptions and the complete failure to run the ball. The Bills had 13 rushes for 13 yards in this game CJ Spiller was 4 rushes for -4 yards.

 

From my view last year's offense was so inept it kept giving the ball back to the opposing offense and because the Bills defense was on the field so much they eventually had many breakdowns along the way. But that 2014 defense wasn't anything as bad as this seasons with the lack of discipline and players being put in the wrong scheme to not allow them to make plays.

 

It's ridiculous to compare the 2014 defense to the 2015 defense. What is comparable is the 2014 offense as inept as the 2015 defense.

[FireChan]

It must be stupefying to watch a team garner the rank of #4 defense overall and be the #1 team in the league in sacks for a season and then blame the losses that year on the defense. Then have others agree with this analysis

 

#1) Chargers game went for Buffalo like this- PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-FG-end of HALF-TD-PUNT-DOWNS-PUNT-SAFETY-DOWNS the Final score was Chargers 22- Bills 10 and it's the defenses fault they didn't score?

 

Oh WAIT! the Chargers dominated that game huh? Chargers-TD-FG-PUNT-FG-TD-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT The Bills held the Chargers in the second half to five straight punts to end the game and the Bills offense was so haplessly pathetic it was unable to do anything with the ball. That was the game that Bills OC Nate Hackett morphed into Chan Gailey because the team fell behind in points so he had EJ throw 40 passes a game while running it 22 times. I'd say that loss was more on the offensive failure then the defenses.

 

Shall I go on?

 

#2) New England dominated the game in Buffalo and this is supposedly the defenses fault? Let's look at the downs again.

-

Bills- PUNT-PUNT-INT-PUNT-TD-Fumble-PUNT-Fumble-TD-PUNT-TD-Downs. The Patriots sacked Orton 5 times and Intercepted him once. When a team fails to run the ball and keeps repeatedly giving the ball back to the Patriots they will find a way to score and by the second half, the defense had to be worn out by always being on the field. If anything it's on the offense again for not holding on to the ball and giving the Patriots repeatedly great field position from turnovers.

 

#3) The Raiders final score was 24-26 and Oakland was incredibly lucky to complete a 3rd and 22 for 51 yards to Andre Holms to allow the Raiders to drive 80 yards to score a TD late in the game. I agree that the defense is not without fault in this loss and should have played better against a 2-14 team. Still, the Raiders had 4 FG's and 2 TD's but even when a bad team keeps getting the ball back constantly they eventually will score.

 

However, let's look at the play by play again. TD-INT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-FG-PUNT-PUNT-TD-PUNT-INT-TD. I'd have to say that the offense let the team down far more then the defense did with the two interceptions and the complete failure to run the ball. The Bills had 13 rushes for 13 yards in this game CJ Spiller was 4 rushes for -4 yards.

 

From my view last year's offense was so inept it kept giving the ball back to the opposing offense and because the Bills defense was on the field so much they eventually had many breakdowns along the way. But that 2014 defense wasn't anything as bad as this seasons with the lack of discipline and players being put in the wrong scheme to not allow them to make plays.

 

It's ridiculous to compare the 2014 defense to the 2015 defense. What is comparable is the 2014 offense as inept as the 2015 defense.

To add on, the Bills D didn't allow back to back TD's vs KC. They allowed a TD, our offense went 4 plays and out, then our D forced a 3 and out, in which McK fumbled the punt on our own 30, and then our defense allowed a TD.

Edited January 18, 2016 by FireChan

[Punching Bag]

 

I have and continue to happily concede the areas where the team suffered because of Rex's short comings.

 

How you can watch what Mario did (or rather did not) in the latter part of the season and objectively decide the coach is to blame is inexplicable.

Objectivity is overrated; in the 21st century mindless ranting is in hence change in media.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Exactly! For the first part and I've been attempting to relay that to Bills fans since week two against the Patriots. Marcell Dareus has been publicly stating the same thing since training camp.

 

It's beyond moronic to take three pro bowl D-linemen who are being paid 250 million dollars to rush the passer and then to basically ask them to NOT rush the passer and instead control the gaps so the teams crappy linebackers can make the plays

 

If this year's scheme was run intending to get the fan base mad at their 100 million dollar DE in Mario Williams.., it worked! But it was also what he was asked to do in Wrex Ryans scheme and he wasn't happy about it either. So now the team and fan base will happily see Mario on a different team for the 2016 season. The fans thinking he had a bad attitude and the FO happy they have cap room! Meanwhile, the Bills lose their best pass rushing defensive end since Bruce Smith all because a moron of a supposed defensive genius only knows how to run his scheme.

 

Frankly, calling Rex Ryan a moron is an insult to morons everywhere because this man is being paid 4.25 million per to screw up a playoff caliber defense and he is even below a sub-morons mentality for doing that. Now, I don't know what to think of this new ownership who's command over their team looks to be so minimal that they allow themselves to be led around by the teams GM & CEO like a calf with a nose ring. Rex Ryan should have been fired and every single person in the entire league that understands how an NFL defense works knows this now.

 

If it were just the defense it wouldn't be so bad as the team would have been comparable to George Edwards defense only he didn't have Jerry Hughes or Mario Williams and yet he still managed more sacks.

Ryan 21 sacks vs Edwards 29 & 27 sacks. Did I mention that the Bills defense didn't have Jerry Hughes or Mario Williams in 2010-2011?

• It was the penalties
• It was the undisciplined play
• it was the defensive play call coming in so late that even the slowest offenses would hurry to the line because they knew the Bills wouldn't be ready
• it was the marginal game / red flag management during different games
• it was watching the substitute defensive linemen jumping all over so when the ball was snapped they would be out of position
• it was the loud mouthed blowhard giving the opponents bulletin board material as if teams needed more reasons to play harder against Buffalo
• and the list could go on and on...

As for the second part, the Bills really didn't have those linemen dropping into pass coverage on every defensive play. But it was enough so that the players themselves complained publically! Just to give some insight into just how stupid it was to have a 331 DT dropping into pass coverage and nevermind that this player isn't supposed to run sideline to sideline even though he can. He does his best work pass rushing in a phone booth type space but now he is asked to play in a 20+ yard area chasing down a TE or RB In that Kansas City game Marcell Dareus was dropped into pass coverage instead of rushing the passer on two of KC's TD passes!!

 

How Rex Ryan managed to retain his job this season is something I'll never understand and now Wrex has hired his brother Rob who was fired in NO for having the leagues near worst defense. Only in Buffalo...

Don't let the facts get in the way of a good "defensive genius" narrative

[What a Tuel]

It must be stupefying to watch a team garner the rank of #4 defense overall and be the #1 team in the league in sacks for a season and then blame the losses that year on the defense. Then have others agree with this analysis

 

#1) Chargers game went for Buffalo like this- PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-FG-end of HALF-TD-PUNT-DOWNS-PUNT-SAFETY-DOWNS the Final score was Chargers 22- Bills 10 and it's the defenses fault they didn't score?

 

Oh WAIT! the Chargers dominated that game huh? Chargers-TD-FG-PUNT-FG-TD-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT The Bills held the Chargers in the second half to five straight punts to end the game and the Bills offense was so haplessly pathetic it was unable to do anything with the ball. That was the game that Bills OC Nate Hackett morphed into Chan Gailey because the team fell behind in points so he had EJ throw 40 passes a game while running it 22 times. I'd say that loss was more on the offensive failure then the defenses.

 

Shall I go on?

 

#2) New England dominated the game in Buffalo and this is supposedly the defenses fault? Let's look at the downs again.

-

Bills- PUNT-PUNT-INT-PUNT-TD-Fumble-PUNT-Fumble-TD-PUNT-TD-Downs. The Patriots sacked Orton 5 times and Intercepted him once. When a team fails to run the ball and keeps repeatedly giving the ball back to the Patriots they will find a way to score and by the second half, the defense had to be worn out by always being on the field. If anything it's on the offense again for not holding on to the ball and giving the Patriots repeatedly great field position from turnovers.

 

#3) The Raiders final score was 24-26 and Oakland was incredibly lucky to complete a 3rd and 22 for 51 yards to Andre Holms to allow the Raiders to drive 80 yards to score a TD late in the game. I agree that the defense is not without fault in this loss and should have played better against a 2-14 team. Still, the Raiders had 4 FG's and 2 TD's but even when a bad team keeps getting the ball back constantly they eventually will score.

 

However, let's look at the play by play again. TD-INT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-FG-PUNT-PUNT-TD-PUNT-INT-TD. I'd have to say that the offense let the team down far more then the defense did with the two interceptions and the complete failure to run the ball. The Bills had 13 rushes for 13 yards in this game CJ Spiller was 4 rushes for -4 yards.

 

From my view last year's offense was so inept it kept giving the ball back to the opposing offense and because the Bills defense was on the field so much they eventually had many breakdowns along the way. But that 2014 defense wasn't anything as bad as this seasons with the lack of discipline and players being put in the wrong scheme to not allow them to make plays.

 

It's ridiculous to compare the 2014 defense to the 2015 defense. What is comparable is the 2014 offense as inept as the 2015 defense.

 

I suggest looking at the drive charts for this year. Outside of Patriots 1, and Bengals, Redskins (Where Williams most visibly gave up) the drive charts for the defense look similar to what you are touting as good. The defense was worse than last year, but was by no means awful, terrible, garbage, or any other derogatory remark people can think of. And of course don't even mention the injuries because those don't count.

Edited January 18, 2016 by What a Tuel

[FireChan]

 

I suggest looking at the drive charts for this year. Outside of Patriots 1, and Bengals, Redskins (Where Williams most visibly gave up) the drive charts for the defense look similar to what you are touting as good. The defense was worse than last year, but was by no means awful, terrible, garbage, or any other derogatory remark people can think of. And of course don't even mention the injuries because those don't count.

So a semantic argument?

[Agent 91]

 

because Rex has them doing two gap instead of single, which allows for more penetration, attacking and simplicity. Plus Mario said he dropped backed in coverage on every play so there's that.

Hit it on the head. We havent 1 space eater on the team. Well that plays. Our 5 DL (corbin included) are good at pressure. I still say had pettine had a brandon spikes type player that year would have been our elite unbeatable defense

[RussellDopeland]

Only sycophantic homerism can compell someone to defend the disgrace that was the 2015 Bills defense. With the departure of arguably the best defensive coach on staff (Henderson), the secondary- which held up amazingly well considering the fact that Rex castrated the pass rush- is now at risk. The investiture in the likes of Dareus and Hughes will be money flat-out wasted as Dareus continues to play gap control whilst Hughes chases Gronkowski down the field in coverage. And the addition of Fat Bastard to his brother's staff- that's like drinking a glass of Drano to deal with being constipated. This isn't gonna end well.

[Agent 91]

i don't want to beat a dead horse, but this is ALL on Rex Ryan.

 

so, how much does rex pay you to be his hype man? because you're beyond ridiculous with pumping him up and blaming the players for something any coach could have done better with by simply leaving it alone.

 

hughes didn't figure it out by week 10.

 

hughes seemed to just stop doing what he was assigned. he blew a lot of tackles. remember last year he got much better at holding the edge for contain? this year he started off doing fair to above average but regressed. he saw he wasn't getting the pressure he wanted.

 

by mid season he just started rushing the passer like he did last year and succeeded - but this was often when he was on the strong side and had help - but he still made mistakes.

 

 

why would rex think his best players are going to be satisfied not rushing the passer when it is what gets them paid? rex is a moron.

I said this in a different post. People were saying Jerry could play the scheme. I alluded to the notion that what if Jerry was freelancing and doing what he wanted. He was THE ONLY DL constantly in the back field. Is it because more effort than Mario and Marcell? I think not. I think he just decided he was good enough to go get the qb. A lot of times i saw mario make a pass rushing move and then it was almost like watching him say. Oh snap. Im supposed to stand here and watch these gaps. He was half rumping it TO ME because he didnt want to get upfield and lose contain. Go back and watch some tape and tell me if im way off base. He always made a good move and right when he could have bent the corner. He pulled up and started hand fighting.

[Agent 91]

 

The defense actually played very well against the Titans, Giants, Jaguars, Colts, Pats 2, Dolphins 1 and 2, Jets 1 and 2 despite the lack of sacks. No one will admit it though.

 

Against the Giants, one play defined that loss, and it wasn't scheme, it was a missed tackle. Jaguars, despite Manuel spotting them 20 points the defense held them to 14 points.

 

As for Mario, statistically Mario gave up after the BYE week, and although I am sure his complaints about scheme are valid, I wonder what would've happened those last 9 games if he had played. Not playing sure hurt worse than scheme.

 

Post Bye Week (9 games - Mario 8 games)

Mario 5 tackles (2 sacks)

Dareus 21 tackles (1 sack)

Bryant 15 tackles (0 sacks)

Hughes 23 tackles (4 sacks)

 

Pre Bye Week Mario (7 games)

Mario 10 tackles (3 sacks)

Dareus 17 tackles (1 sack)

Williams/Bryant 19 tackles (0 sacks)

Hughes 14 tackles (1 sack)

Those numbers are putrid. So statistically. Mario was tied for Sack lead but did nothing else. Dareus... considering all the up the middle runs also did nothing. We only had 1 guy who... "filled the stat sheet". Hughes. Urgh. Those numbers tell you. Buffalo is mad at Mario for nothing. If he slacked the whole DL sans Hughes slacked. I wish you could have put up the numbers for the same style breakdown for last years DL. Its all about assignments. Its so clear

yep, we are talking about mario's attitude which is a byproduct of a moron named rex ryan who ruined an all star.

yep, it's all about mario.

 

what has rex done?

He didnt just ruin Mario as you were saying. His bull headedness ruined the defense. Just watch the 2014 tape and... DO THAT. Sit there and draw what you see on the screen on your notepad. And do that. Before this year mario would have restructured. You had the same 4 defensive linemen could have gotten your linebacker back who was becoming a force under Pettine and Schwartz. And we would not need all the sxhematic fitting. Continuity... remember. They should have continuously run whatever Schwartz and Pettine ran

[finn]

The defense wasn't excellent. With the exception of the Packers' game, the defense got lit up against good teams in much the same manner it did this season. If the Packers' coaching staff hadn't inexplicably stopped running the ball in that game, that game likely looks much different too.

 

1. San Diego dominated the game in Buffalo.

2. New England dominated the game in Buffalo.

3. They couldn't stop the Raiders in a must win game.

4. With the game on the line in the 4th quarter against Houston, they gave up a five minute FG drive and then on the ensuing possession needing the ball back gave up a short pass that was turned into a first down.

5. To open the fourth quarter against Minnesota, gave up a 28 yard pass on 3rd and 18. That drive ended in a FG that ended up forcing the BILLS to have to score a TD with no time left to win the game.

6. With a 9-3 lead in the third quarter in Miami, gave up back-to-back TD drives in what ended up a 22-9 loss.

7. With a 13-3 lead late in the third quarter against Kansas City, gave up back-to-back TD drives in what ended up a 17-13 loss.

 

The defense last season had more sacks but they suffered from the same "coming up small when it matters" thing that happens to most teams that don't make the playoffs.

This helps. I think Rex is a true fool, but it helps to be reminded that the 2014 sacks and ranking don't tell the whole story. That defense still needed work. I still would rather have it than the mess Rex created, though.

[BaaadThingsMan]

Exactly! For the first part and I've been attempting to relay that to Bills fans since week two against the Patriots. Marcell Dareus has been publicly stating the same thing since training camp.

 

It's beyond moronic to take three pro bowl D-linemen who are being paid 250 million dollars to rush the passer and then to basically ask them to NOT rush the passer and instead control the gaps so the teams crappy linebackers can make the plays

 

If this year's scheme was run intending to get the fan base mad at their 100 million dollar DE in Mario Williams.., it worked! But it was also what he was asked to do in Wrex Ryans scheme and he wasn't happy about it either. So now the team and fan base will happily see Mario on a different team for the 2016 season. The fans thinking he had a bad attitude and the FO happy they have cap room! Meanwhile, the Bills lose their best pass rushing defensive end since Bruce Smith all because a moron of a supposed defensive genius only knows how to run his scheme.

 

Frankly, calling Rex Ryan a moron is an insult to morons everywhere because this man is being paid 4.25 million per to screw up a playoff caliber defense and he is even below a sub-morons mentality for doing that. Now, I don't know what to think of this new ownership who's command over their team looks to be so minimal that they allow themselves to be led around by the teams GM & CEO like a calf with a nose ring. Rex Ryan should have been fired and every single person in the entire league that understands how an NFL defense works knows this now.

 

If it were just the defense it wouldn't be so bad as the team would have been comparable to George Edwards defense only he didn't have Jerry Hughes or Mario Williams and yet he still managed more sacks.

Ryan 21 sacks vs Edwards 29 & 27 sacks. Did I mention that the Bills defense didn't have Jerry Hughes or Mario Williams in 2010-2011?

 

• It was the penalties
• It was the undisciplined play
• it was the defensive play call coming in so late that even the slowest offenses would hurry to the line because they knew the Bills wouldn't be ready
• it was the marginal game / red flag management during different games
• it was watching the substitute defensive linemen jumping all over so when the ball was snapped they would be out of position
• it was the loud mouthed blowhard giving the opponents bulletin board material as if teams needed more reasons to play harder against Buffalo
• and the list could go on and on...

As for the second part, the Bills really didn't have those linemen dropping into pass coverage on every defensive play. But it was enough so that the players themselves complained publically! Just to give some insight into just how stupid it was to have a 331 DT dropping into pass coverage and nevermind that this player isn't supposed to run sideline to sideline even though he can. He does his best work pass rushing in a phone booth type space but now he is asked to play in a 20+ yard area chasing down a TE or RB In that Kansas City game Marcell Dareus was dropped into pass coverage instead of rushing the passer on two of KC's TD passes!!

 

How Rex Ryan managed to retain his job this season is something I'll never understand and now Wrex has hired his brother Rob who was fired in NO for having the leagues near worst defense. Only in Buffalo...

Hard to disagree with this, I went off after the KC game to a buddy about firing Rex but he stressed having patience and giving the team time under a new coach. Let Rex get his players in there and his system or what have you so I thought about it.

 

I don't feel Rex really deserves that leeway based on alot of the points mentioned here most notably what he was gonna be able to do with this defense, these players with this athletic ability were gonna be #1 or it was a complete fail he said.

 

 

Well guess what Rex, you failed. Now the fans have to be patient again, Pegula has to be patient while Rex gets more control over personnel, starts signing Jests and changes schemes, hires his buddy's and brother?

 

I don't think Pegula will stand for more than a year of these type of results, $15 mil owed or nor Rex has one year to put up or shut up and he wouldn't be the first to ride off with some Bills $$ tucked into his shorts