Titans used Bills defense as blueprint to stop Ravens

[HappyDays]

Watching some of the defenses in the playoffs has made me realize our defense is far from elite, and it certainly isnt carrying the team the way some of these defenses are. Holding the Patriots to 13 points and the Ravens to 12 points would qualify as "carrying the team to victory." In fact the Bills would have beaten each of those 2 teams this year if our defense had done the same.

 

In my opinion our defense is very good, but it isn't championship level yet. We're missing at least one critical piece.

 

It would also be nice if we could score more than 0 defensive and special teams TDs.

Edited January 12, 2020 by HappyDays

[YoloinOhio]

31 minutes ago, Formerly Allan in MD said:

Jackson produced 500 yards of offense but got shut down?  The turnovers were deadly - and I'm not Joshin'.

He was throwing behind receivers. He was floating balls. His stats were inflated in garbage time. He threw the ball 59 times! The game that Lamar needs to play in order to win was shut down. 

Edited January 12, 2020 by YoloinOhio

[Lurker]

7 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

Watching some of the defenses in the playoffs has made me realize our defense is far from elite, and it certainly isnt carrying the team the way some of these defenses are. Holding the Patriots to 13 points and the Ravens to 12 points would qualify as "carrying the team to victory." In fact the Bills would have beaten each of those 2 teams this year if our defense had done the same.

 

In my opinion our defense is very good, but it isn't championship level yet. We're missing at least one critical piece.

 

It would also be nice if we could score more than 0 defensive and special teams TDs.

 

Disagree.   Our defense doesn't get the lift that a good offense can provide in terms of getting a lead, eating clock or not turning the ball over (although Josh got better at that in the second half of the year).

 

Put our defense with a simply "above average" offense and the Bills as good as at least half of the 12 playoff teams, maybe more.   As good as Tennessee, and they're one game from the Super Bowl...

 

 

Edited January 12, 2020 by Lurker

[LABILLBACKER]

3 hours ago, Don Otreply said:

Maybe This will cause SM to realize that scoring point in every quarter is a good thing, and going prevent on D with  two quarters left in the game doesn’t work against better teams, what do you all think? Think he will change his spots?

 

Go Bills!!!

He better if he ever wants to be successful. 

[Clyde Smith]

1 hour ago, MarkyMannn said:

Yeah that could work too.  Although ever since Dareus I'm leery pf Alabama guys LOL

I would take Jeudy in a heartbeat. Dareus was just Dareus lol.

[mannc]

4 hours ago, Scott7975 said:

Obviously. They just executed a bit better and didn’t have that huge blown play for a TD. 

And they scored 4 touchdowns.

[djp14150]

4 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

 

 

I could tell from from watching the game they were copying from buffalo.

 

remrmber

 

1 they go a pick, return to mid field, then a 15added on. Thrn they get a TD.

2 they turn a failed 4th down with positive yd start and turned it in a TD.

3. Buffalogave up a big play TD on a blown coverage.

4. Tenn got a 2nd half turnover deep positive start to turn into a TD

 

thry should not have changed their game plan after being down 14-0 early 2nd.

 

 

[TigerJ]

Buffalo did well on defense against the Ravens.  They just didn't have the offense to cope with what Baltimore did on defense.  While Buffalo will need to do some things in the off season to bolster their defense, the bulk of Beane's attention needs to be spent on offense.  It is a given that Allen will be the QB, but work needs to be done to bolster personnel on the line, at WR and running back.  Execution needs to be better next season from the holdovers at those positions (and Josh Allen).  There is no reason that can't happen, and I am optimistic about the potential of the Bills in 2020.

[ILBillsfan]

Said [prior to the Bills-Ravens game have to take away the middle and make Lamar throw outside as the inaccuracy really rears it head.  Bills did that for the majority of the game and then had the blown coverage to the TE.  

 

Be nice to commit to the run game the way the Titans did last night

[Boatdrinks]

1 hour ago, Formerly Allan in MD said:

Jackson produced 500 yards of offense but got shut down?  The turnovers were deadly - and I'm not Joshin'.

Empty yards don’t mean much. Ravens had all of 6 points in about 3 quarters. Much of that yardage came late in the game. Turnovers are huge, especially when the lead to opponents TDs. 

[vincec]

I commented during the game to some friends I was watching with that Tennessee looked like Buffalo except with good offense.

Edited January 12, 2020 by vincec

[Boatdrinks]

I mentioned this in the game thread last night. It shouldn’t be a surprise; it’s still a copycat league. The talking heads on ESPN game the Bills D zero credit. They were more concerned with the Bills failed 4th down pass attempt to tie the game late. Coaches and players took note, however. National media was too busy crowning the MVP to point out his flaws. 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

4 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

I was on a podcast before this game and said this exact statement , that Tenn has a similar defense and Buf laid the blueprint , predicted Lamar would be super ineffective.

Wasn't hard to see.  He's a 1 read QB that uses play action as a crutch , is terrible at going through progressions and reading a defense , ppl just get enamored with the jukes and stuff but that's not sustainable for any QB.

Whether through injury or great defense , a QB will never be able to win a SB relying on his legs for the majority of his success. Even his pass numbers are all a result of the run game

I think this is what excites me about Josh Allen...it looks like they're putting a lot of effort into developing him the right way so he doest use his legs to bail him out of jams all the time.  While lamar is playing at a higher level now I dont think the ravens are doing him any favors long term by just playing to his strengths all game every game.  Watching him not being able to hit those throws outside the numbers gave me some flashbacks to when teams figured out tyrod couldnt make throws in the middle of the field and tyrod/roman seemed to have no answers

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

8 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Hard to argue.... I think the difference was Henry and their offensive line in the run game. They were getting 4-6 yards a pop. Bills struggled to run the ball consistently all year. 

Jonnu Smith also made that HUGE contested td catch that completely changed the game.  I dont think the Bills made a play like that all year.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

2 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Only they had an offense. We didn't. 

What the titans did last night is exactly how the bills want to win we just dont have the personnel yet...aj brown and henry are gigantic...they make the defenders look like the jv squad lol

[Nihilarian]

5 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

The Titans had their own blown plays for a TD.   

 

A big difference for the Titans was Derrick Henry and the ability to just grind the ball down the Ravens throats.  The other difference was that when the Ravens tried to pull that Blitz 0 stuff, Tannehill promptly burned them deep.  

 

Now there are other strategies, which the Bills didn’t employ.  But being able to burn them deep was a big big help.

 

Can you imagine the meltdown, though, if Allen passed for less than 100 yds in 2 successive playoff games?

Yes, Derrick Henry was a big difference in that game.'

 

The thing is, you have to actually call running plays all game long to make the run game actually be effective.  Devin Singletary did get 17 carries against the Ravens in week 14 and meanwhile Allen throwing 39 times. 

 

This has been discussed in past threads and still it has relevance. In the first series of the second quarter of that week 14 Bills game the Bills ran Singletary six straight times along with Allen for three first downs and a FG. After this series the Bills went back to the pass for some unknown reason.  Singletary averaged 5.2 YPC in that game and simply wasn't utilized enough IMO. 

 

 

[Billsfanatixs]

6 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

I was telling my girlfriend last night during the game. Said the Bills showed everyone how to handle him

 

[JerseyBills]

1 hour ago, Nihilarian said:

Yes, Derrick Henry was a big difference in that game.'

 

The thing is, you have to actually call running plays all game long to make the run game actually be effective.  Devin Singletary did get 17 carries against the Ravens in week 14 and meanwhile Allen throwing 39 times. 

 

This has been discussed in past threads and still it has relevance. In the first series of the second quarter of that week 14 Bills game the Bills ran Singletary six straight times along with Allen for three first downs and a FG. After this series the Bills went back to the pass for some unknown reason.  Singletary averaged 5.2 YPC in that game and simply wasn't utilized enough IMO. 

 

 

He wasn't utilitized enough all year

[ganesh]

18 hours ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

That’s exactly what my friend and I  were talking about as we watched the game last night. 
That is exactly how you beat Lamar. Make him play QB. There is the blueprint on stoping him. Now it’s going to be up to Lamar to evolve his game and be able to throw to the outside. And also throw better balls in general. Some of his throws looked like punts. I am skeptical he can do it, or why wouldn’t he of by now? 
 

Unfortunately, on that day, Jackson did play like a QB throwing for 3 TDs against this much vaunted defense...and that was the difference in the ball game..

14 hours ago, Boatdrinks said:

Empty yards don’t mean much. Ravens had all of 6 points in about 3 quarters. Much of that yardage came late in the game. Turnovers are huge, especially when the lead to opponents TDs. 

something our vaunted defense didn't do enough.

[eball]

There was a reason why, right after our loss to Baltimore, I said "I want to see them again."

[unclepete]

21 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

Except they won and scored on offense. If we had Derrick Henry we would've beat them too. 

15 hours ago, Nihilarian said:

Yes, Derrick Henry was a big difference in that game.'

 

The thing is, you have to actually call running plays all game long to make the run game actually be effective.  Devin Singletary did get 17 carries against the Ravens in week 14 and meanwhile Allen throwing 39 times. 

 

This has been discussed in past threads and still it has relevance. In the first series of the second quarter of that week 14 Bills game the Bills ran Singletary six straight times along with Allen for three first downs and a FG. After this series the Bills went back to the pass for some unknown reason.  Singletary averaged 5.2 YPC in that game and simply wasn't utilized enough IMO. 

 

 

Can't compare 6-4, 240 pound Henry to 5'7, 200 pound Singletary. Henry can get 30 touches and wears down a defense. We've seen it all playoffs. If the Titans can get a lead or keep it close, they're going to pound the rock. 

[mannc]

22 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

It's easy to commit to the run game when your getting at least 4 yards on every run.... crazy thing is the Bills had success running the ball last week, and abandon it for most of the 2nd half for whatever reason. 

Don’t be too hard on Daboll for only scoring one touchdown in 70 minutes of football. We saw yesterday how ferocious that Texans defense is.

Edited January 13, 2020 by mannc

[Canadian Bills Fan]

Quote

"Buffalo just didn't score a lot of points"

 

 

 

[Hebert19]

22 hours ago, Scott7975 said:

I agree they executed on offense better. I almost wrote it but deleted it because this thread was about defense. 
 

The titans had blown plays on defense yes but in garbage time. Different defense in garbage time. 

Titans didnt really do much more than us on offense.   They just got an early lead so they could lean on the run game.   We never got that chance. 

[atlbillsfan1975]

4 hours ago, ganesh said:

Unfortunately, on that day, Jackson did play like a QB throwing for 3 TDs against this much vaunted defense...and that was the difference in the ball game..

something our vaunted defense didn't do enough.

Did you watch the Bills game and those 3 passing TD’s? Please keep up loving on Lamar. When the wheels fall off, as a Bills fan, I will love it. it will mean one less team the Bills need to worry about.

 

[dave mcbride]

There’s more on this story in the new SI MMQB column: https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/01/13/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-49ers-titans-chiefs-packers-head-coaching-carousel-mmqb

[C.Biscuit97]

The Ravens drove up and down the field at will against them.  They just made a bunch of stupid mistakes.  

[Punching Bag]

On 1/12/2020 at 9:38 AM, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

The Titans had their own blown plays for a TD.   

 

A big difference for the Titans was Derrick Henry and the ability to just grind the ball down the Ravens throats.  The other difference was that when the Ravens tried to pull that Blitz 0 stuff, Tannehill promptly burned them deep.  

 

Now there are other strategies, which the Bills didn’t employ.  But being able to burn them deep was a big big help.

 

Can you imagine the meltdown, though, if Allen passed for less than 100 yds in 2 successive playoff games?

 

There would be sale of torches and pitchforks with banner ads for them on TBD.

[Nihilarian]

3 hours ago, unclepete said:

Except they won and scored on offense. If we had Derrick Henry we would've beat them too. 

Can't compare 6-4, 240 pound Henry to 5'7, 200 pound Singletary. Henry can get 30 touches and wears down a defense. We've seen it all playoffs. If the Titans can get a lead or keep it close, they're going to pound the rock. 

I agree as you are correct, you can't compare the two physically or running styles. 

 

However, Singletary is a different beast and is more like an elusive jaguar, he isn't a bulldozer or a Marshawn Lynch who can carry three defenders on him.

 

The simple fact is that Singletary averaged a 5.1 yard per carry average this season which is pretty freaking awesome. Which is in the LeSean McCoy class of averages. BTW, can you guess what yard per carry Derrick Henry averaged in 2019 regular season?  Yeah, 5.1 YPC avg same as Singletary. Motor was clearly underutilized all season.

 

Bills HoF RB Thurman Thomas was only 5'10'' 200 lbs. Barry Sanders, 5' 8'' 203 lbs. 

 

Even smaller RB's can wear out a defense only instead of smashing into the line to wear them out they have the defense chasing them all over the field so that by the fourth quarter they are panting like dogs with their hands on the their hips. 

 

Bottom line: in 2019 when the Bills ran more they won and when they threw more they lost. Look it up.

[Punching Bag]

On 1/12/2020 at 10:30 AM, 34-78-83 said:

You had to think going into that game that our tape would be used as the main ingredient to the strategy to take out the Ravens. Ten also prefers zone schemes so it was a perfect fit. This is a really good reflection of our defensive staff and personnel to boot.

 

Titans also played Buffalo so rather than just film they had experience in defense Bills was playing and able to adapt some of principles more easily.

[Nihilarian]

6 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

Titans also played Buffalo so rather than just film they had experience in defense Bills was playing and able to adapt some of principles more easily.

The Buffalo Bills played the Tennessee Titans in week 5 at Tenn and held Derrick Henry to a 3.9 YPC avg. 20 rushes for 78 yards, 1 TD. 

 

The Titans were also starting Marcus Mariota at QB. Who was benched for Tannehill after week 6 for going 2-4. Tennehill went 7-3 this season. 

[Chaos]

Does this mean we get to take the Titan's place in the championship game? 

[NewEraBills]

I don't think our plan was fool proof.  I just think it was good vs this particular Ravens team.  I think going forward the Ravens will need to add a perimeter threat because that's exactly what this plan gives up.  It gives you the 1 v 1 on the outside.  Most of Jackson's passes are to the middle of the field and down the seams and most of the receiving talent does its damage in the middle of the field and in the seams.  If they add a perimeter threat that can win the 1v1's  then teams are not going to be able to run this as a blue print.

Edited January 14, 2020 by NewEraBills

[Boatdrinks]

22 minutes ago, NewEraBills said:

I don't think our plan was fool proof.  I just think it was good vs this particular Ravens team.  I think going forward the Ravens will need to add a perimeter threat because that's exactly what this plan gives up.  It gives you the 1 v 1 on the outside.  Most of Jackson's passes are to the middle of the field and down the seams and most of the receiving talent does its damage in the middle of the field and in the seams.  If they add a perimeter threat that can win the 1v1's  then teams are not going to be able to run this as a blue print.

I disagree. Jackson’s passes outside the numbers are a weakness, and his offense is built to cover that up. Even the beat reporters at the Baltimore Sun pointed this out, noting his lack of arm strength on those throws after Saturday nights loss. There’s a reason they’re built the way they are and focus on those seam routes. No plan is fool proof ( need the players to execute it) , but Jackson has been figured out by the league’s defensive coaches. The game plan was formulated around his weaknesses, not the WRs. Bills D did a better job containing his running though. 

[NewEraBills]

18 hours ago, Boatdrinks said:

I disagree. Jackson’s passes outside the numbers are a weakness, and his offense is built to cover that up. Even the beat reporters at the Baltimore Sun pointed this out, noting his lack of arm strength on those throws after Saturday nights loss. There’s a reason they’re built the way they are and focus on those seam routes. No plan is fool proof ( need the players to execute it) , but Jackson has been figured out by the league’s defensive coaches. The game plan was formulated around his weaknesses, not the WRs. Bills D did a better job containing his running though. 

 

Don't you think this is something that he can work on this offseason.  He had a specific plan last offseason and it worked for him so maybe this offseason it's passing outside the hashes.  I don't think he's been figured out honestly.  I just think it was a plan that was good against that particular Ravens team.  We'll see.

[Fan in San Diego]

On 1/12/2020 at 6:40 AM, Don Otreply said:

Maybe This will cause SM to realize that scoring point in every quarter is a good thing, and going prevent on D with  two quarters left in the game doesn’t work against better teams, what do you all think? Think he will change his spots?

 

Go Bills!!!

Yes I was lamenting this as well. Got conservative way to early. Keep your foot on the gas until the last minute

[MJS]

This is pretty awesome. Shows we have the coaching to hang with the big boys (at least on defense).

 

What does this defense need? To learn how to tackle. Back to the basics, boys... If these players improve their tackling we will truly have an elite defense.