BuffaloBill Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Where will the Bills D end up if the starters remain healthy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangarang Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 It's possible 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stank_Nasty Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 IF the starters remain healthy and IF Oliver is as advertised I can see it a shot at it. Big “IF’s” there though. (I voted top 5) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocemur Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 No. In the midst of the most dominant and only 19-0 season the league has ever seen, the defense will give up yards and even points with 2nd stringers playing in garbage time. If I can't be stupidly optimistic now, when can I? 4 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wiz Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 4 minutes ago, ocemur said: No. In the midst of the most dominant and only 19-0 season the league has ever seen, the defense will give up yards and even points with 2nd stringers playing in garbage time. If I can't be stupidly optimistic now, when can I? So you voted top 5 then. I agree and like your logic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royale with Cheese Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I don’t think so. Good to very good yes. I think we are one other edge rusher away from being elite. I think our pass rush is solid now but who knows...maybe Murphy stays healthy and becomes what we need him to be and/or Oliver is an immediate All Pro. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I'll guess they'll be somewhere around 10-12. The secondary will be flat out good, but the front seven I'm not so confident about. Will they show improvement in stopping the run? Will they be able to get to the passer (I have my doubts on this)? Can they hold opponents to FGs in the red zone? Too many questions and unknowns to think the defense will be elite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Murray Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Depends a lot on the offense moving the chains and possessing the ball 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Duffy Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I don't know about #1 defense, but as long as they are better against the run I would hope for top 5 if lucky. Would be great to be #1 but I would still be pretty happy with a good , solid defense. My hope is the offense takes a big step and that also will help out the outcome of the defense. Maybe they won't be on the field for as long this time around hopefully. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnycage46 Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Just out of curiosity...does number 1 defense mean number 1 scoring defense (which is really the best measure of a defense)...or yardage? I think the Bills will definitely be near top 5 in lowest D yardage but they have given up some blowouts here and there so not sure if top 5 scoring defense is in the cards. Although I really hope the Bills are top 3-5 in both scoring and yardage defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlando Tim Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 If we stay healthier than all the others #1 is certainly within reach. If we only lose about average top 5 is still possible- I think our d is that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I’m the optimistic type, but I’m also the cautious type....so I voted 6-10 and hope for top 5. Hoping for #1 overall is such a long shot. A lot will depend on the offense (keeping D off the field) and if we can get a pass rush. Not really sure what to expect from either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan in Cleveland Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I honestly hope not. The only way they will be #1 in defense is if the opposing teams are running out the clock in the 4th quarter. Ranking is based on yards per game which is a dumb metric for a defense. I wouldn't care if the are 10-15 in yards if they are top 3 in scoring or forced turnovers. And that only happens if they find a pass rush and the offense is putting up lots of points early thereby forcing the opposing team to throw a lot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaaadThingsMan Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Yep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreggTX Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I think people overrate our D because last year teams spent so much time just trying to run out the clock compared to other teams. If the offense can manage to crack the top 20 in points scored, the other teams will keep the pedal to the metal longer. Besides, our D allowed 23.4 pts/gm even though other offenses didn't really need to put up more points in the late going. That ranks our D 18th in points allowed, which is a much better indicator than yards allowed. Perhaps if Murphy is back to 100%, Oliver has an amazing season and a couple CB's step it up opposite White and in the slot we could make the top 10. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket94 Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 It will be a respectful defense , but there are still a few questions surrounding it. Namely DE, the maturation of Edmunds and LB depth. Oliver's impact and a healthy secondary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberTheRockpile Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, GreggTX said: Besides, our D allowed 23.4 pts/gm even though other offenses didn't really need to put up more points in the late going. That ranks our D 18th in points allowed, which is a much better indicator than yards allowed. The defense didn't allow 23.4 pts/game. The team allowed 374 pts (23.4 pts/game) which includes 4 pick 6's and a fumble returned for a TD. That is 35 points (assuming extra point was made) that were scored against the Bills while the defense was on the sideline watching. Edited July 25, 2019 by RememberTheRockpile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I don't think they'll be #1 because chances are another team will be slightly better. Tough to be #1. But I don't think it matters. If they have a top 5 defense that means they are elite and good enough to win a championship if the offense can hold up their end of the bargain. 3 minutes ago, RememberTheRockpile said: The defense didn't allow 23.4 pts/game. The team allowed 374 (23.4) pts/game which includes 4 pick 6's and a fumble returned for a TD. That is 35 points (assuming extra point was made) that were scored against the Bills while the defense was on the sideline watching. Not to mention the number of times the offense gave the ball to the other team with good field position in prime position to score. The offense absolutely contributes to the points per game metric. That's why the primary metric used to rank defenses is yards allowed. Not much the offense can do to help / hurt that. And I don't buy the assumption that teams took their foot off the gas when they were up on the Bills. I watched all the games and never saw that. This is a good defense, folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 They need an elite pass rusher to be an elite defense. Very good but not good enough on the edges to be elite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I didn’t think we were elite last year. Like the posters here so far, that ranking was a byproduct of a crappy, turnover laden offense. Remember, during our SB run, we were among the worst ranked defenses, due to our point-a-minute offense. Yet Bruce Smith, Biscuit, Talley, Hanson, Odoms, Conan, Jones, etc made great names for themselves with their consistent excellence. I didn’t vote because if our offense improves, the defensive ranking will likely drop. But we have some really good players on D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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