ESPN: Bills have the best defense in football

[Fan in San Diego]

Our D is playing good. But the Pats have the ability to really lay it on us. They are looking really tough. I hope and pray we win. But as long as we hang tough, a loss is not the worst thing in the world at game 4 of the season.

[VW82]

2 minutes ago, Boca BIlls said:

Yea 3 weeks this year... So it's not the same.

 

He approached it exactly the way I would have but if you just want to focus on 2019: we're 6th in total yards allowed, 5th in points allowed, and 27th in offensive turnovers. His point holds up regardless of what time frame you're looking at (i.e. the defense has been really good given the terrible positions it's being put in by the offense).  

[Solomon Grundy]

Everytime I see Khalil Mack, I get pissed at Doug Whaley and I was a Whaley fan. Can u imagine this defense with Mack?

[Cmdjr85]

5 hours ago, TwistofFate said:

Patriots will be exposed on Sunday.   National media falls all over them because it sells. 

 

Ive said it before and ill say it again, we are statistically on par with them offensively and better than them defensively. 

 

This team will be ready for them on Sunday in every way. 

 

Imo the Bengals are much more potent than NE on offense. 

 

 

Lmao you are too funny. Nothing you said is even accurate

[Scott7975]

5 hours ago, Reader said:

 

Maybe this is revisionist history on my part, but I think some of those games the Bills D was able to keep the points low most of the game only to eventually wear down due to the offense not making due on their end of the bargain. If the offense can actually put up points and sustain drives it might look different this time around.

Pats scores by quarter last season game 1: 3, 6, 3, 13.  Game 2: 7, 7, 7, 3.

 

That is pretty damn good against that offense.  If our O could drive the field and put up some points we have a chance if we can do that again this year.  Our O has to do it though.  The Pats are so good on offense that hardly anyone even stops to think about how good the Pats D is.  They are one of the best in the NFL too.  

Edited September 24, 2019 by Scott7975

[ganesh]

6 hours ago, Reader said:

 

Maybe this is revisionist history on my part, but I think some of those games the Bills D was able to keep the points low most of the game only to eventually wear down due to the offense not making due on their end of the bargain. If the offense can actually put up points and sustain drives it might look different this time around.

I believe there was even a game with Tyrod where we had a good lead going into the halftime

 

The recent games all have been close until the Patriots broken open late in the game.   The only one that sucked was last year when they ran over us.

25 minutes ago, Scott7975 said:

Pats scores by quarter last season game 1: 3, 6, 3, 13.  Game 2: 7, 7, 7, 3.

 

That is pretty damn good against that offense.  If our O could drive the field and put up some points we have a chance if we can do that again this year.  Our O has to do it though.  The Pats are so good on offense that hardly anyone even stops to think about how good the Pats D is.  They are one of the best in the NFL too.  

This has to be a Frank Gore game.  We need to figure out a way to run the ball against that defense.  Allen cannot get fooled by the disguises that Bellichek will make.  This can be a statement game for the Bills.

[Wayne Arnold]

Chicago Bears would like a word with Mr. Barnwell.

[TwistofFate]

57 minutes ago, Cmdjr85 said:

Lmao you are too funny. Nothing you said is even accurate

 

Show me the error of my ways

 

"No unit has things harder than the Bills' defense, which faces a ton of drives and inherits terrible starting field position from an offense that turns over the ball too frequently. The Bills have gone up against 29 drives beginning on their own side of the field, almost always after an offensive takeaway. To contrast, the Patriots -- who rank just ahead of the Bills in points allowed per drive -- have faced 14 such drives over that time frame. The Chiefs have faced just five.

To be right up there with the likes of the Bears and Patriots is downright magical."

Edited September 24, 2019 by TwistofFate

[Big Turk]

I know ours is elite but i can't sit here and claim its better than the Bears...they make a lot more impact plays than we do...we play consistently very good and force a lot of short throws and 3 and outs but for impact plays the Bears are head and shoulders above us.

[iinii]

6 hours ago, TwistofFate said:

Patriots will be exposed on Sunday.   National media falls all over them because it sells. 

 

Ive said it before and ill say it again, we are statistically on par with them offensively and better than them defensively. 

 

This team will be ready for them on Sunday in every way. 

 

Imo the Bengals are much more potent than NE on offense. 

 

 

Really? The Bengals are more potent than NE? You did preface it with IMO..... We are statistically on par with the Pats offensively? Can you show me those comparisons? I can’t seem to find them. 

[Rob's House]

6 hours ago, mattynh said:

I hate the patriots as much as anyone but they have given up 3 points in three games.

That means they're due.

[Ralonzo]

6 hours ago, the skycap said:

If Josh takes what the defense gives him and don't play hero ball, we'll win this game. 

 

I just want to see Josh recognize what the defense is giving him. That's what this year is for, his development. Reading the play and making more and more correct decisions as he gains experience. The freak athletic plays are great, the wins are great, the playoffs hopes are great, actually making the playoffs is really great. But, even in the absolute worst case scenario and the defense goes to jello and the Bills go 0-for the rest of the season, as long as Allen is running the offense and dissecting the defense by the end, it will be a lot more predictive of long-term success than any short-term variance through this particular season.

 

Get the right QB. Get the system. Then get the rest of the players and start executing.

[TigerJ]

He did anoint three teams as having "the best defense in football."  Besides Buffalo, the Patriots and Packers also get that distinction.  I wonder how many other teams have the best defense in football in Barnwell's mind.

[Dr.Sack]

One hit can change everything. Let’s go! 

[TwistofFate]

32 minutes ago, iinii said:

Really? The Bengals are more potent than NE? You did preface it with IMO..... We are statistically on par with the Pats offensively? Can you show me those comparisons? I can’t seem to find them. 

not that difficult to find.   I posted them two posts ? 

[iinii]

16 minutes ago, TwistofFate said:

not that difficult to find.   I posted them two posts ? 

I was talking about offensive. Like points. NE 106 to 66. That is the stat that usually is a good indicator of offensive output. 

Edited September 24, 2019 by iinii

[NoHuddleKelly12]

8 hours ago, TwistofFate said:

Patriots will be exposed on Sunday.   National media falls all over them because it sells. 

 

Ive said it before and ill say it again, we are statistically on par with them offensively and better than them defensively. 

 

This team will be ready for them on Sunday in every way. 

 

Imo the Bengals are much more potent than NE on offense. 

 

 

I’ll buy this. Was it over when 5K bets were being placed by board members on the Vikes to beat our Bills this exact date last year?? Instead we shocked the world and Allen provided a statement game. Go Bills!!!!!!!

[LSHMEAB]

7 hours ago, Stank_Nasty said:

Waiting to here from a certain few posters in this one. We all know who they are.

 

oh by the way the run d that they were concerned with is now top 10 after facing bell, Barkley and mixon

I've never been concerned with the run defense. I figured they'd be "fine" and Edmunds has gotten ALOT better. I remain concerned with the pass rush. Dalton had WAY too much time to throw down the stretch in obvious passing situations. Can't expect a defense to dominate entire games against NFL offenses, but I'd like to see Oliver step up a little more in the pass rush area.

[ganesh]

10 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said:

I've never been concerned with the run defense. I figured they'd be "fine" and Edmunds has gotten ALOT better. I remain concerned with the pass rush. Dalton had WAY too much time to throw down the stretch in obvious passing situations. Can't expect a defense to dominate entire games against NFL offenses, but I'd like to see Oliver step up a little more in the pass rush area.

So one of the things different podcats stressed prior to the Bengals game was about the mismatch in speed of our DBs and the Bengals receivers and the concern that we will not be able to keep up with them especially in the middle of the field.  That did turn out to be true as our Safeties were a tad late to get to the receiver and the big chunk plays were available.   I am hoping we will not have the same with the Patriots on Sunday.  

 

On Sunday it is all going to be about stopping the Run...That is where the Patriots crushed us last year.

[Big Blitz]

Bears

Bills 

Vikings 

Patriots 

Rams

 

 

That's your top 5.  

[CommonCents]

9 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

The defense is the identity of our team....the offense is still a work in progress

 

but

At least the offense now has some talent to compete.....instead of a defense that would play lights out last year in losses

That’s kind. Without Singletary the offense is Josh Allen hero ball. The play calling needs to be better. If I see frank Gore lined up at the boundary one more time I’m sending BD off to the wizard for a brain. 

[Boatdrinks]

18 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:

Bears

Bills 

Vikings 

Patriots 

Rams

 

 

That's your top 5.  

I agree with the five, but my order would be 

 

Bears

Rams 

Patriots

Bills

Vikings

[John from Riverside]

32 minutes ago, CommonCents said:

That’s kind. Without Singletary the offense is Josh Allen hero ball. The play calling needs to be better. If I see frank Gore lined up at the boundary one more time I’m sending BD off to the wizard for a brain. 

I just watched the cinci game for the first time

 

This team should have scored at least 4 touchdowns in that game.....there were 2 end zone drops by TE's (that one by Sweeney he should have plucked away from the defender) then there was the Yeldon fumble as they were driving

 

They scored 21 points......if they are scoring 28 points a game this team is not going to lose too many games

 

Its not a elite defense.....there are a small handful of teams that are elite and they are not there just yet...they are a rock solid team with a chance to compete in almost any game.

[CommonCents]

1 minute ago, John from Riverside said:

I just watched the cinci game for the first time

 

This team should have scored at least 4 touchdowns in that game.....there were 2 end zone drops by TE's (that one by Sweeney he should have plucked away from the defender) then there was the Yeldon fumble as they were driving

 

They scored 21 points......if they are scoring 28 points a game this team is not going to lose too many games

 

Its not a elite defense.....there are a small handful of teams that are elite and they are not there just yet...they are a rock solid team with a chance to compete in almost any game.

Right. They need to find a way to protect Allen and still score points. If he takes that many hits each week he won’t finish the season. 

[John from Riverside]

2 minutes ago, CommonCents said:

Right. They need to find a way to protect Allen and still score points. If he takes that many hits each week he won’t finish the season. 

To the dissapointment here is guys like Yeldon.....who comes up small when the game is on the line.....cant turn the ball over like that.

 

I like Knox and Sweeney at TE.....Knox might actually be a blue chipper because he is pretty raw but super athletic and a bull

Singletary is gonna need a running mate....Gore is probably done after this year

Brown is a 2.....Beasely a 3.....we need a 1

We have lots of good guards bu tneed OT's

[formerlyofCtown]

10 hours ago, VW82 said:

Courtesy of ESPN writer Bill Barnwell: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27680783/barnwell-stacking-surprises-nfl-seven-3-0-teams

 

There's much more in the link.

 

 

 

So basically our defense is once again saving our bacon. Hopefully the offense starts to pick up the pace and do their part too. Once that happens the sky's the limit for this group.

 

17, 28, and 21 is pretty good offensive production.

They are capable of a lot more if they clean up the mistakes.

[TwistofFate]

2 hours ago, iinii said:

I was talking about offensive. Like points. NE 106 to 66. That is the stat that usually is a good indicator of offensive output. 

NE finished drives, Buffalo turned it over.  Points is not a good indicator offensive output.  Moving the sticks consistently is, which Buffalo has done on par with NE statistically all year. 

 

There is a reason the spread on this game is 7 points.

[formerlyofCtown]

1 hour ago, Big Blitz said:

Bears

Bills 

Vikings 

Patriots 

Rams

 

 

That's your top 5.  

Imagine that.  No Jags.  I said they would not be top 5 in the offseason and was mocked.  Wish I could remember who it was.

2 hours ago, iinii said:

I was talking about offensive. Like points. NE 106 to 66. That is the stat that usually is a good indicator of offensive output. 

They played the Dolphins.

[formerlyofCtown]

5 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

I don't know about the best defense but it's pretty dam good certainly playing like a top 2-3 unit in the league. What has really impressed me about the defense has been the tackling. The tackling was good last year but it seems to be even better this year. The defense is mostly the same players (Ed Oliver being the only major addition and Kyle being the only major loss) how ever the team seems to be comfortable playing with each other and within the system. 

 

It is very refreshing to see the defense not missing a lot of tackles and playing very disciplined. The lack of an elite pass rush might cause some issues against better offenses but the pass rush isn't chopped liver either. 

Or at least McDermott seems to be comfortable playing with them.?

10 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

We gave up 23, 37, 25 and 24 to them since McDermott took over.  It's going to take a great day by our offense and we'll have a shot.

We gave up those points because our offense has been terrible.

10 hours ago, H2o said:

I don't see it, not this year. They might, and I say MIGHT, put up 30 at the most imo. Gronk has usually killed us and they have no Gronk. They may not have Edelman either possibly. There is no Hogan. Their OL is a shadow of it's former self in years past. Our depth on defense is totally different along the line and at CB. I expect a close game with both teams scoring in the 20's.  

Have they put the devil and refs on IR.?

Edited September 24, 2019 by formerlyofCtown

[formerlyofCtown]

10 hours ago, McNubbins said:

They also say that GB has the best defense in football further down the article.

Yes they have a higher probability of being correct if they say multiple teams have the best D.

[Stank_Nasty]

8 hours ago, LSHMEAB said:

I've never been concerned with the run defense. I figured they'd be "fine" and Edmunds has gotten ALOT better. I remain concerned with the pass rush. Dalton had WAY too much time to throw down the stretch in obvious passing situations. Can't expect a defense to dominate entire games against NFL offenses, but I'd like to see Oliver step up a little more in the pass rush area.

I agree on the pass rush. I don’t think it’s a real huge issue. But it’s there for sure. This game really highlighted it as that was a banged up bengals line and there still wasn’t much pressure. I did notice Oliver pushing the whole middle of the pocket into dalton at least twice I think though. That was nice. Didn’t touch him but definitely altered a throw or 2..... still need a bit more from up front though. 

[LSHMEAB]

43 minutes ago, Stank_Nasty said:

I agree on the pass rush. I don’t think it’s a real huge issue. But it’s there for sure. This game really highlighted it as that was a banged up bengals line and there still wasn’t much pressure. I did notice Oliver pushing the whole middle of the pocket into dalton at least twice I think though. That was nice. Didn’t touch him but definitely altered a throw or 2..... still need a bit more from up front though. 

This is where I'm at for the most part. I have no doubt that the defense will continue to play very well, and I have seen some flashes from Oliver. I think it was presumptuous to think he'd take the league by storm as a rookie coming from Houston. He'll be fine, but it's gonna take time. I would have preferred they added an edge in the offseason, but I'm beating a dead horse with that one. I don't know about huge issue, but it's an issue. I HATE watching opposing QB's given all day to throw in those late game situations like the one we saw on Sunday. Hate it with a passion. But what's done is done and decisions were made. Oliver is the one guy capable of improving enough to alter the pass rush as a whole, so fingers crossed. This particular issue is the only one standing between very good and elite.

[iinii]

9 hours ago, TwistofFate said:

NE finished drives, Buffalo turned it over.  Points is not a good indicator offensive output.  Moving the sticks consistently is, which Buffalo has done on par with NE statistically all year. 

 

There is a reason the spread on this game is 7 points.

Last I heard the whole idea was to score points. Has something changed? Granted Buffalo is close to NE in yardage production but, 40 less points in three games doesn’t pass the eye test for potency. Brady has 7 touchdown tosses to 3 for Josh and Josh has three picks to Brady’s 0. Participation trophies are nice but they give the Lombardi trophy to the team that wins by scoring the most points in the big game. Would you rather have a drive of one yard and get a touchdown or would you rather go 99 yards and cough it up? 

10 hours ago, formerlyofCtown said:

Imagine that.  No Jags.  I said they would not be top 5 in the offseason and was mocked.  Wish I could remember who it was.

They played the Dolphins.

And the Jets and the Steelers. In each game it was never a question who was winning and did win. Buffalo has had to pull it out late, how many times? Against world beaters? 

[IDBillzFan]

Apologies for not reading 5 pages and if I'm repeating someone, but one of the best defensive plays this past weekend was the Kevin Johnson sack of Dalton.

 

He was lined up to Dalton's right side. Dalton called an audible, someone on D (I believe it was Hyde) was jumping and waving at Johnson like a madman, and Johnson didn't see him. While Dalton was preparing to take the shotgun snap, Hyde ran over to Johnson and urged him over to Dalton's left side. Johnson ran over to Dalton's left just as Dalton took the snap, never missed a beat and got Dalton before he knew what was happening.

 

Kudos to Hyde (or whomever was moving Johnson).

 

[Capco]

38 minutes ago, IDBillzFan said:

Apologies for not reading 5 pages and if I'm repeating someone, but one of the best defensive plays this past weekend was the Kevin Johnson sack of Dalton.

 

He was lined up to Dalton's right side. Dalton called an audible, someone on D (I believe it was Hyde) was jumping and waving at Johnson like a madman, and Johnson didn't see him. While Dalton was preparing to take the shotgun snap, Hyde ran over to Johnson and urged him over to Dalton's left side. Johnson ran over to Dalton's left just as Dalton took the snap, never missed a beat and got Dalton before he knew what was happening.

 

Kudos to Hyde (or whomever was moving Johnson).

 

 

Good catch.  I think I remember the pre-snap movements too.

 

That's probably a consequence of going into year 3 of this defense with 10 starters from last year.  Continuity allows that kind of thing to happen more frequently.  

[LSHMEAB]

1 hour ago, IDBillzFan said:

Apologies for not reading 5 pages and if I'm repeating someone, but one of the best defensive plays this past weekend was the Kevin Johnson sack of Dalton.

 

He was lined up to Dalton's right side. Dalton called an audible, someone on D (I believe it was Hyde) was jumping and waving at Johnson like a madman, and Johnson didn't see him. While Dalton was preparing to take the shotgun snap, Hyde ran over to Johnson and urged him over to Dalton's left side. Johnson ran over to Dalton's left just as Dalton took the snap, never missed a beat and got Dalton before he knew what was happening.

 

Kudos to Hyde (or whomever was moving Johnson).

 

It was indeed Hyde and that was my favorite defensive play of the game. Hyde is an extremely cerebral player and I'm sure there are numerous examples throughout any given game in which he gets somebody into the right spot. That one happened to stand out because he was so demonstrative. 

 

Hyde is without a doubt the QB of the defense at this point and a terrific one at that. 

[TwistofFate]

2 hours ago, iinii said:

Last I heard the whole idea was to score points. Has something changed? Granted Buffalo is close to NE in yardage production but, 40 less points in three games doesn’t pass the eye test for potency. Brady has 7 touchdown tosses to 3 for Josh and Josh has three picks to Brady’s 0. Participation trophies are nice but they give the Lombardi trophy to the team that wins by scoring the most points in the big game. Would you rather have a drive of one yard and get a touchdown or would you rather go 99 yards and cough it up? 

 

Of course Id rather go 1 yard with a TD instead of 99 with a turn over. 

 

But im not going to say the team that went 1 yard and put up 7 has a better offense than the team that drove 99 yards, picked up multiple first downs, and fumbled on the 1 yard line. 

 

 

[iinii]

1 hour ago, TwistofFate said:

Of course Id rather go 1 yard with a TD instead of 99 with a turn over. 

 

But im not going to say the team that went 1 yard and put up 7 has a better offense than the team that drove 99 yards, picked up multiple first downs, and fumbled on the 1 yard line. 

 

 

In another post I saw on this board, I saw where our offense has 17 net points and the Cheats’ offense has 87 net points. Doesn’t sound like they are on the same par to me. You?

[TwistofFate]

1 hour ago, iinii said:

In another post I saw on this board, I saw where our offense has 17 net points and the Cheats’ offense has 87 net points. Doesn’t sound like they are on the same par to me. You?

Im not comparing our offense to KC, im comparing it to NE.  

 

KC's qb is setting HISTORIC records.

[Chris66]

26 minutes ago, TwistofFate said:

Im not comparing our offense to KC, im comparing it to NE.  

 

KC's qb is setting HISTORIC records.

He didnt say the chiefs. He meant the Pats