John Kryk: Bills' Defense First Model is Backward in Today's NFL

[26CornerBlitz]

 

The prime example, though, may be the Buffalo Bills.

 

First-time, second-year GM Brandon Beane and first-time, second-year head coach Sean McDermott deserve credit for a fabulous job in delivering a sharp upgrade on defence via the draft and free agency, and coaching up that defence on the field.

 

Too bad it’s come at the expense of the offence, at the worst possible time maybe in NFL history.

 

For instance, last year McDermott (before Beane arrived as GM) passed on drafting either Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson with the No. 10 overall pick. Instead McDermott traded down with Kansas City, to No. 27, thereby enabling the Chiefs to gladly snare Mahomes at 10th overall, beating out Houston and Arizona (then coached by Mahomes-loving Bruce Arians) for that right.

 

Of all Bills blunders this young century, that might go down as the worst.

 

McDermott and Beane have only compounded the mistake with a series of further QB misjudgements.

[BigBuff423]

I completely disagree. Mainly because you can't take a generalized approach and apply it in blanket terms. The Defense was on the uptick and is the specialty of McD and so you build on your strengths. He didn't get the Offensive Coordinator he wanted - who ironically has now been fired mid-season in his second year - and then waited for his GM to help construct the Offense. The first order of business was to get rid of guys who didn't hold a team first mentality and the second was to clear dead Cap to allow for 2019 full on rebuild.

 

Moreover, Mahomes or Watson in this Offense would NOT be having the same success they've found with their respective teams....for so many reasons. Additionally, taking Defense now helps to cradle a young and developing Offense because they don't feel the pressure to have to do it all right. The blow outs this year have been far more on the Offense, just like this past Sunday, 14 points came directly on TOs and another came with a poor TO in Buffalo's own end. The Defense did a decent job, not great against the Run but pretty darn good against the pass so meh job...but in other weeks they've been outstanding. 

 

Point being, building on the strength of the coach, while allowing a new GM to define the Offense and taking a year to get financially healthy so you CAN build your Offense takes time and patience, but it doesn't mean it's wrong. It just means we all need to see the vision for the future and not focus on the present, which we knew this year wasn't about. 

[Cheektowaga Chad]

The bills building defense first does actually make sense in that McDermott is building what he knows first. Getting the defense set so he can focus on offense next. 

 

Now to have completely neglect/tear down the offense like they have is a different story

[jrober38]

Sean McDermott has nothing in common philosophically with any of the top coaches in the NFL.

 

He's conservative, and believes in running the ball, playing defense, establishing the line of scrimmage and playing field position.

 

He constantly ignores basic probabilities by always punting on 4th and short when we're in opposition territory.

 

In a league that's becoming more and more innovative and aggressive on the offensive side of the ball, our coach is holding on to the way things used to be 10 years ago, and accordingly isn't cut out to be an NFL HC right now. 

[The Firebaugh Kid]

19 minutes ago, BigBuff423 said:

I completely disagree. Mainly because you can't take a generalized approach and apply it in blanket terms. The Defense was on the uptick and is the specialty of McD and so you build on your strengths. He didn't get the Offensive Coordinator he wanted - who ironically has now been fired mid-season in his second year - and then waited for his GM to help construct the Offense. The first order of business was to get rid of guys who didn't hold a team first mentality and the second was to clear dead Cap to allow for 2019 full on rebuild.

 

Moreover, Mahomes or Watson in this Offense would NOT be having the same success they've found with their respective teams....for so many reasons. Additionally, taking Defense now helps to cradle a young and developing Offense because they don't feel the pressure to have to do it all right. The blow outs this year have been far more on the Offense, just like this past Sunday, 14 points came directly on TOs and another came with a poor TO in Buffalo's own end. The Defense did a decent job, not great against the Run but pretty darn good against the pass so meh job...but in other weeks they've been outstanding. 

 

Point being, building on the strength of the coach, while allowing a new GM to define the Offense and taking a year to get financially healthy so you CAN build your Offense takes time and patience, but it doesn't mean it's wrong. It just means we all need to see the vision for the future and not focus on the present, which we knew this year wasn't about. 

How dare you speak rationally on this website. 

[Wayne Arnold]

What difference does it make? Do people think this team would be good with a Top 10 offense and the worst defense in recent NFL history?

18 minutes ago, jrober38 said:

Sean McDermott has nothing in common philosophically with any of the top coaches in the NFL.

 

He's conservative, and believes in running the ball, playing defense, establishing the line of scrimmage and playing field position.

 

He constantly ignores basic probabilities by always punting on 4th and short when we're in opposition territory.

 

In a league that's becoming more and more innovative and aggressive on the offensive side of the ball, our coach is holding on to the way things used to be 10 years ago, and accordingly isn't cut out to be an NFL HC right now. 

 

If all of this were true, he would have kept Tyrod.

 

Forever. 

[Chuck Wagon]

Just now, Wayne Arnold said:

What difference does it make? Do people think this team would be good with a Top 10 offense and the worst defense in recent NFL history?

 

 

I think it would be more entertaining for sure.

 

But the Chiefs can't stop a nose bleed and they are 8-1.  The Falcons D was brutal in 2016 and they went to the Super Bowl.  Offenses like that can easily make up for mistakes, on the flip side when you are a good D / terrible O team you need the game script to go exactly right.

[jrober38]

4 minutes ago, Wayne Arnold said:

What difference does it make? Do people think this team would be good with a Top 10 offense and the worst defense in recent NFL history?

 

If all of this were true, he would have kept Tyrod.

 

Forever. 

 

All of it is true.

 

He says all of those things all the time and demonstrates his philosophies every game we play. 

 

He might want a better QB than Tyrod, but that doesn't change how he approaches the game of football and what he thinks a team should do to win games.

 

We could have Tom Brady and McDermott would still be punting on 4th and short on the opponents 40 yard line because that's who he is. 

[26CornerBlitz]

30 minutes ago, Cheektowaga Chad said:

The bills building defense first does actually make sense in that McDermott is building what he knows first. Getting the defense set so he can focus on offense next. 

 

Now to have completely neglect/tear down the offense like they have is a different story

 

With the way the rules are it's hard for the best defenses, no matter how well built, to contain teams like KC, NO, LAR, and NE.   That's why the approach should be called into question. 

[Wayne Arnold]

4 minutes ago, Chuck Wagon said:

 

 

I think it would be more entertaining for sure.

 

But the Chiefs can't stop a nose bleed and they are 8-1.  The Falcons D was brutal in 2016 and they went to the Super Bowl.  Offenses like that can easily make up for mistakes, on the flip side when you are a good D / terrible O team you need the game script to go exactly right.

 

Wins are entertaining. To me, there’s nothing more frustrating than watching my team’s defense getting curb-stomped drive after drive.

 

The Chiefs have the NFL’s 26th ranked defense (DVOA). If they had the worst defense in history, they wouldn’t be close to 8-1 right now. Same goes for Falcons in 2016.

[jrober38]

1 minute ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

 

With the way the rules are it's hard for the best defenses, no matter how well built, to contain teams like KC, NO, LAR, and NE.   That's why the approach should be called into question. 

 

To see where the NFL is going people should watch the Saints-Rams game from Sunday afternoon.

 

Those teams are playing a different sport than the Bills. 

 

They value possessions, and try to score every time they get the football. 

 

Our coach has nothing in common philosophically with Sean Payton or Sean McVay, and that's a major problem in my eyes. 

[Chuck Wagon]

2 minutes ago, Wayne Arnold said:

 

Wins are entertaining. To me, there’s nothing more frustrating than watching my team’s defense getting curb-stomped drive after drive.

 

The Chiefs have the NFL’s 26th ranked defense (DVOA). If they had the worst defense in history, they wouldn’t be close to 8-1 right now. Same goes for Falcons in 2016.

 

 

I just think if the current NFL, Best offense / Worst defense is going to win you a lot more games than Worst offense / Best defense.

 

 

[co_springs_billsfan]

5 minutes ago, jrober38 said:

 

To see where the NFL is going people should watch the Saints-Rams game from Sunday afternoon.

 

Those teams are playing a different sport than the Bills. 

 

They value possessions, and try to score every time they get the football. 

 

Our coach has nothing in common philosophically with Sean Payton or Sean McVay, and that's a major problem in my eyes. 

But he is a Sean.

[jrober38]

3 minutes ago, Chuck Wagon said:

 

 

I just think if the current NFL, Best offense / Worst defense is going to win you a lot more games than Worst offense / Best defense.

 

 

 

It's hard to win if you're the "worst" on either side of the ball, but if you're talking top 5 O + bottom 5 D vs bottom 5 O + top 5 D the team with the top offense is winning a lot more often than the team with the top D in 2018. 

[Chuck Wagon]

7 minutes ago, jrober38 said:

 

To see where the NFL is going people should watch the Saints-Rams game from Sunday afternoon.

 

Those teams are playing a different sport than the Bills. 

 

They value possessions, and try to score every time they get the football. 

 

Our coach has nothing in common philosophically with Sean Payton or Sean McVay, and that's a major problem in my eyes. 

 

 

This point exactly.

 

The best teams in the league are playing a completely different game than we are.  A "good punt" doesn't exist in that world.

 

However, it kind of tough to judge McDermott's riskiness.  It's one thing to line up for a yard or two when you've got Kamara / Gurley / Thomas / the Rams WRs.  It's something else when you've got our motley crew.  Currently the book on McDermott is 1) he's done a tremendous job getting guys lacking talent to play very hard, but 2) he bares a lot of the blame for a roster filled with guys lacking talent.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Chuck Wagon

[Wayne Arnold]

11 minutes ago, jrober38 said:

 

All of it is true.

 

He says all of those things all the time and demonstrates his philosophies every game we play. 

 

He might want a better QB than Tyrod, but that doesn't change how he approaches the game of football and what he thinks a team should do to win games.

 

We could have Tom Brady and McDermott would still be punting on 4th and short on the opponents 40 yard line because that's who he is. 

 

Nope.

 

22nd in aggressiveness last season. With a bad offense - which is a huge factor whether you accept that or not.

 

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2018/aggressiveness-index-2017

 

If McD were nearly as conservative as you say then he would be dead last in this category and he would have signed Tyrod to a 10 year contract extension because he’s a conservative coach’s wet dream.

[jrober38]

Just now, Chuck Wagon said:

 

 

This point exactly.

 

The best teams in the league are playing a completely different game than we are.  A "good punt" doesn't exist in that world.

 

However, it kind of tough to judge McDermott's riskiness.  It's one thing to line up for a yard or two when you've got Kamara / Gurley / Thomas / the Rams WRs.  It's something else when you've got our motley crew.  Currently the book on McDermott is either 1) he's done a tremendous job getting guys lacking talent to play very hard, but 2) he bares a lot of the blame for a roster filled with guys lacking talent.

 

This goes back to last year though when we had a better line and LeSean McCoy and still refused to go for it on 4th and short in opposition territory. 

 

We're talking about a coach who time and time again has shown that he doesn't get the basic math behind certain situations. This is a coach who made a conscious decision in the Colts game last year to play for the tie, which was a result that would have eliminated us from playoff contention. 

 

At this point all McDermott is is a motivator. He gets his guys to play hard, but he doesn't understand or isn't willing to do the things needed in certain situations to increase his teams chances to actually win football games. 

 

He's Dick Jauron 2.0. 

3 minutes ago, Wayne Arnold said:

 

Nope.

 

22nd in aggressiveness last season. With a bad offense - which is a huge factor whether you accept that or not.

 

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2018/aggressiveness-index-2017

 

If McD were nearly as conservative as you say then he would be dead last in this category and he would have signed Tyrod to a 10 year contract extension because he’s a conservative coach’s wet dream.

 

I can't read the link. There are twitter icons and adds all over the data. 

 

All I can see is that we went for it 10% of the time when facing a 4th and short between the 31-27 yard line in opposition territory. 

 

I can't see the overall context because the page is a mess, but I don't think that's good enough. 

[RochesterRob]

59 minutes ago, Cheektowaga Chad said:

The bills building defense first does actually make sense in that McDermott is building what he knows first. Getting the defense set so he can focus on offense next. 

 

Now to have completely neglect/tear down the offense like they have is a different story

  The first pick for the Bills in the 2018 draft was an offensive player.  Eric Wood having a career ending condition was unforeseen.  So saying that McDermott completely neglected the offense is a stretch.  Nothing in the way of impact players for the positions of which we were in need of on offense were there to be had in free agency.  Further, run defense was top of the list of things to be addressed based on what we saw last season and was done through this past draft and FA period.

[K-9]

Good luck finding the personnel required.

[Mr. WEO]

This "break, don't bend" D is not so great.   7th worst in points allowed.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Mr. WEO

[billspro]

1 hour ago, jrober38 said:

Sean McDermott has nothing in common philosophically with any of the top coaches in the NFL.

 

He's conservative, and believes in running the ball, playing defense, establishing the line of scrimmage and playing field position.

 

He constantly ignores basic probabilities by always punting on 4th and short when we're in opposition territory.

 

In a league that's becoming more and more innovative and aggressive on the offensive side of the ball, our coach is holding on to the way things used to be 10 years ago, and accordingly isn't cut out to be an NFL HC right now. 

 

Defence doesn’t win in today’s NFL. The Chiefs are 3rd in offence and 31st in defence, the Bills are 3rd and defence and 32nd in offence. You might need at least a solid D to win a Super Bowl, but having a good record is all about offence.

11 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  The first pick for the Bills in the 2018 draft was an offensive player.  Eric Wood having a career ending condition was unforeseen.  So saying that McDermott completely neglected the offense is a stretch.  Nothing in the way of impact players for the positions of which we were in need of on offense were there to be had in free agency.  Further, run defense was top of the list of things to be addressed based on what we saw last season and was done through this past draft and FA period.

 

Losing Wood and Incognito this offseason was devastating.

[RochesterRob]

12 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

This "break, don't bend" D is not so great.   7th worst in points allowed.

  That would improve if our offense was out there on sustained drives keeping the other team's offense on the bench longer.

[K-9]

39 minutes ago, jrober38 said:

 

To see where the NFL is going people should watch the Saints-Rams game from Sunday afternoon.

 

Those teams are playing a different sport than the Bills. 

 

They value possessions, and try to score every time they get the football. 

 

Our coach has nothing in common philosophically with Sean Payton or Sean McVay, and that's a major problem in my eyes. 

Do you believe the Bills aren’t trying to score? There’s a difference between not trying to score and not being able to score. Also, do you really believe the critical difference between the Bills and the Rams and Saints is the philosophical difference between the head coaches? That may be true, but it would be nice to have the Rams and Saints offensive personnel in order to make a better determination. 

[BillsFan130]

I made this point a few days ago. Mcd is coaching in the wrong era.

 

He would have probably been a good coach 10-15 years ago. Cause he can coach defence very well. 

 

But I think he is too old school in his way of thinking, and there is no secret he has a very hard time identifying good offensive talent

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, jrober38 said:

Sean McDermott has nothing in common philosophically with any of the top coaches in the NFL.

 

He's conservative, and believes in running the ball, playing defense, establishing the line of scrimmage and playing field position.

 

He constantly ignores basic probabilities by always punting on 4th and short when we're in opposition territory.

 

In a league that's becoming more and more innovative and aggressive on the offensive side of the ball, our coach is holding on to the way things used to be 10 years ago, and accordingly isn't cut out to be an NFL HC right now. 

Yeah, we know.  Youboosted the same thing in half the threads on the front page.  Thanks again 

[billspro]

Just now, billsfan11 said:

I made this point a few days ago. Mcd is coaching in the wrong era.

 

He would have probably been a good coach 10-15 years ago. Cause he can coach defence very well. 

 

But I think he is too old school in his way of thinking, and there is no secret he has a very hard time identifying good offensive talent

 

Also, since his strength is the defensive side of the ball he should use most of his investments to bolster the other side. McD should really on his coaching ability to have an overachieving defence to go with a talented offence.

[26CornerBlitz]

21 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Do you believe the Bills aren’t trying to score? There’s a difference between not trying to score and not being able to score. Also, do you really believe the critical difference between the Bills and the Rams and Saints is the philosophical difference between the head coaches? That may be true, but it would be nice to have the Rams and Saints offensive personnel in order to make a better determination. 

 

It's not happenstance. The acquisition of the their excellent offensive personnel was driven by the overall philosophy and strategy.  

Edited November 6, 2018 by 26CornerBlitz

[Boatdrinks]

2 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Do you believe the Bills aren’t trying to score? There’s a difference between not trying to score and not being able to score. Also, do you really believe the critical difference between the Bills and the Rams and Saints is the philosophical difference between the head coaches? That may be true, but it would be nice to have the Rams and Saints offensive personnel in order to make a better determination. 

I’d say it’s a very strong critical difference. The philosophy influences the personnel decisions , the GM etc. 

[RochesterRob]

5 minutes ago, billspro said:

 

Also, since his strength is the defensive side of the ball he should use most of his investments to bolster the other side. McD should really on his coaching ability to have an overachieving defence to go with a talented offence.

  I think that the FO's approach in part was driven by the dearth of free agent offensive players.  There were no big name players or even steady contributor's out there for us to have this past offseason.

[row_33]

1 hour ago, jrober38 said:

 

To see where the NFL is going people should watch the Saints-Rams game from Sunday afternoon.

 

Those teams are playing a different sport than the Bills. 

 

They value possessions, and try to score every time they get the football. 

 

Our coach has nothing in common philosophically with Sean Payton or Sean McVay, and that's a major problem in my eyes. 

 

 

 

D is merely an interlude between scoring opportunities in the NFL

 

been that way for many a long year

 

going with the D is automatically putting the Bills in the lower third of the NFL, hoping for a 10-7 win

 

the Bills are providing about 10 points a game on the board, but gee whiz that ain't winning after all

 

 

[Soda Popinski]

5 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

 

It's not happenstance. Their acquisition of the their excellent offensive personnel was driven by the overall philosophy and strategy.  

neither the Saints or Chiefs have high drafted RBs either.  Hunt and Kamara are both what 3rd and 4th round picks?   The Rams invested in Gurley, and he's paid off big time.  But the philosophy of "get great QB, get him weapons, and outscore everyone else" is at the VERY least an exciting brand of football.     

 

Grinding out 13-10 wins is boring as well as not the kind of football that is winning championships in this decade.   The rules have changed.   The game has changed.   The Bills have not. 

[row_33]

9 minutes ago, Soda Popinski said:

neither the Saints or Chiefs have high drafted RBs either.  Hunt and Kamara are both what 3rd and 4th round picks?   The Rams invested in Gurley, and he's paid off big time.  But the philosophy of "get great QB, get him weapons, and outscore everyone else" is at the VERY least an exciting brand of football.     

 

Grinding out 13-10 wins is boring as well as not the kind of football that is winning championships in this decade.   The rules have changed.   The game has changed.   The Bills have not. 

 

 

RBs are a dime a dozen

 

sometimes one pans out but he's not going to be around long

 

 

[26CornerBlitz]

2 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  I think that the FO's approach in part was driven by the dearth of free agent offensive players.  There were no big name players or even steady contributor's out there for us to have this past offseason.

 

To the contrary, OG Andrew Norwell was available in UFA.  A position of major need.

[BillsFan130]

13 minutes ago, billspro said:

 

Also, since his strength is the defensive side of the ball he should use most of his investments to bolster the other side. McD should really on his coaching ability to have an overachieving defence to go with a talented offence.

Good point. It kind of reminds me of what Mcvay did. Except the opposite side of course.

 

He is an offensive wizard everyone knows that by now.

 

So he takes care of the offence, he hires Wade Phillips to take care of the defensive side, and uses tons of investments to get Talib, Peters, Suh, Nickell Robey, Fowler etc.

[K-9]

3 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

 

It's not happenstance. Their acquisition of the their excellent offensive personnel was driven by the overall philosophy and strategy.  

 

2 minutes ago, Boatdrinks said:

I’d say it’s a very strong critical difference. The philosophy influences the personnel decisions , the GM etc. 

Fair points. And McBeane’s philosophy in that regard remains to be seen, especially Beane’s, who I can’t judge on one draft and one free agency period. He made getting a QB his top priority and then screwed the pooch with other aspects of securing the position, so he’s been a mixed bag so far. 

 

I was looking at on field coaching philosophy given the assertion that the Rams and Saints “try to score” every possession while their respective offenses play like pinball machines marching up and down the field. I think every coach would  have that philosophy given the kind of talent to do so. Even McD, who, as a lifelong D coach, presumably understands its easier to play defense when the opposition has to play from behind late in games. 

[mjt328]

I disagree with the basic premise of this article.

Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott are not trying to build a defense-heavy team.

 

If the front office wanted to play conservative/run-heavy/low-scoring styled football - then WHY IN THE WORLD did they spend so much time acquiring draft capitol and then trading multiple picks to move up and grab the riskiest - highest ceiling Quarterback in the entire draft.  They could have just kept Tyrod Taylor or gone for a mid-level veteran and used all of their picks on defense. 

 

Just because they have used more resources on the defense SO FAR, doesn't mean that is the plan for the long-haul. 

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by mjt328

[RochesterRob]

8 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

 

To the contrary, OG Andrew Norwell was available in UFA.  A position of major need.

  He might have been priced higher than what Beane wanted to pay or he made have had a wish list of teams that did not include the Bills.  In any event that that is one name as opposed to a list of several players or more to choose from.  To fixate on one name makes as much sense as fixating on one girl you really don't know for the sake of going to the prom.  Sure, she is out there but it is not a slam dunk you are going to get her.

[26CornerBlitz]

1 minute ago, RochesterRob said:

  He might have been priced higher than what Beane wanted to pay or he made have had a wish list of teams that did not include the Bills.  In any event that that is one name as opposed to a list of several players or more to choose from.  To fixate on one name makes as much sense as fixating on one girl you really don't know for the sake of going to the prom.  Sure, she is out there but it is not a slam dunk you are going to get her.

 

The Carolina connection was there with Norwell just as it was for the $50M Star they signed at DT. 

Edited November 6, 2018 by 26CornerBlitz

[RochesterRob]

Just now, mjt328 said:

I disagree with the basic premise of this article.

Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott are not trying to build a defense-heavy team.

 

If the front office wanted to play conservative/run-heavy/low-scoring styled football - then WHY IN THE WORLD did they spend so much time acquiring draft capitol and then trading multiple picks to move up and grab the riskiest - highest ceiling Quarterback in the entire draft.  They could have just kept Tyrod Taylor or gone for a mid-level veteran and used all of their picks on defense. 

 

Just because they have used more resources on the defense SO FAR, doesn't mean that is the plan for the long-haul. 

 

 

 

  I don't know if it is because memories are so short but yeah the book on Allen was if he reached his ceiling then he was going to be well more than a dink and dunk QB.  

[All_Pro_Bills]

32 minutes ago, billsfan11 said:

I made this point a few days ago. Mcd is coaching in the wrong era.

 

He would have probably been a good coach 10-15 years ago. Cause he can coach defence very well. 

 

But I think he is too old school in his way of thinking, and there is no secret he has a very hard time identifying good offensive talent

When you run into some situation where you don't know what you're doing you have some choices to make.  Keep doing it your way and fail, get somebody else to do it, or do some learning and develop the needed expertise.  So to me we need to see if he's smart enough to take a look at his performance and learn from his mistakes.

 

Based on behavior and tendencies from year 1 to year 2 right now the answer seems to be 'No'.  But the light might go on and coaches can develop just like players.  Bill Belichik was fired from his first head coaching gig but now he's arguably one of the best coaches of all-time (sure getting TB helped).  Will McDermott follow that path or cling to his 'process' in season 3?  

 

Some dreadful personnel decisions on the offensive side of the ball doomed this group before the season started.  From botching the QB situation, to doing nothing about offensive line and retirements, and settling for poor receiving group this dumpster fire of an offense was lit before the season.  That's my gripe more than in-game decisions or tendencies.  It was obvious this offense was a disaster in the making.  Obvious to everyone but the guys in the front office and the coaching staff that could do something about it.  If McDermott truly has that much control over personnel decisions then he's his own worst enemy here and better step back, focus on coaching, and let the front office do the player evaluations and personnel decisions.  Otherwise he'll be out the door end of year 3 and we'll be back to the start of this time loop the Bills are stuck in for forever.

Edited November 6, 2018 by All_Pro_Bills