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My only gripe with the Defense


BBills88

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Bills Defense is super consistent... not just game to game, but under McD, year to year. 

 

We don't rely on turnovers or big plays.  We just play sound, suffocating defense. 

 

Now that's also the criticism of this defense. Not enough big plays, and we don't force turnovers very often. 

 

I do think we're not far off from combining both of those elements though... If we add a legit EDGE, paired with the growth of Edmunds and Oliver, I think we will see the big plays come for this defense.

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1 hour ago, Mark80 said:

 

He seems to tackle too high IMO.  Much easier to break those than below the waist.  Milano is OK, great in coverage, but pretty average everywhere else in my mind.  He is not a stud as many here seem to believe.  Not by any stretch.  But considering where he was drafted and what he is being paid, he is overachieving.

Milano is an upgrade to Humber but still room for improvement.  I feel the same way about Poyer.  He was an upgrade but too many missed tackles.  Curious to see what Bills do personnel wise when contracts expire.

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It's hard to be great at everything.

 

Our defense is a little bit undersized compared to many others around the league.  Our primary focus is shutting down passing attacks, and we are quite possibly the #1 defense in that area.  On the flip-side, that leaves us vulnerable (at times) to the more physical teams with big offensive linemen and strong running games.  And yes, it also causes us to miss some tackles.

 

The good news is, very few teams are built for this kind of power running game.  And even fewer coaches are willing to stick with the running game for a full 4 quarters.  Our defense is also usually pretty disciplines with gap control.  That's why Philadelphia was pretty much their only "bad" performance all season.  It was a perfect storm of the opponent staying dedicated to the power run game, and our defense having an off-day staying in position.

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, matter2003 said:

Is there any team that doesn't have tackling problems from time to time?  I mean do you guys ever actually watch other games?  It's like people think every other team makes every tackle they should when most teams are far worse at than we are.  It happens, the offensive players get paid too to break tackles.

 

I thought that I read a stat that we were near the top of the league in missed tackles.  FWIW, I do think that tackling has been an issue, this year and last.

 

IMO, a thumper at safety would be nice.  I like Poyer, but the guy just doesn't seem to like sticking his nose in there and laying hits.  

 

In a larger sense, the bend-but-don't-break style will work against guys like Fitz, Duck Hodges, Brandon Allen, Haskins, etc., but is probably not going to succeed against above average QBs, like those typically faced in the post-season.  

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2 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Nothing is perfect.  The Bills defense is very good against inferior talent.  They are only average against good talent.   

I would disagree. The Bills were in every game this year because of their defense, including both games against NE. 

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The Bills need an elite pass rusher, a replacement for Lorax at OLB preferably with size and speed, and maybe a little more help at CB and even a more physical presence at safety in run game support.  As for missed tackles there is room for improvement.  Some of it is putting yourself in the right position not over-pursuing or being in the wrong gap and maybe technique.  But sometimes its just a mismatch or a bad angle.  You put any 190 lb corner in the open field against a guy like Derrick Henry or one of the elite TE's in the game coming at you at full speed and I'll bet 9 out of 10 times you're going to get run over or faked out regardless of the quality of your technique or tackling skills. 

Edited by All_Pro_Bills
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18 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

I would disagree. The Bills were in every game this year because of their defense, including both games against NE. 

The only real good offense they played this year was Balt.....  Dallas shot themselves multiple times in the foot, Philly was okay and NE got worse & worse throughout the year.

 

The Defense was very good, but certainly was too a product of their schedule.

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3 hours ago, Bferra13 said:

 

Wasn't Siran Neal (and Milano) the one who whiffed on that season killing sack of Watson? They all need to step up their game though I agree.

Yes it was. But it was a freak play , because he got hit from both sides almost instantaneously , the force basically cancelled each other out. You can hear the impact, if Milano was a second later , down goes Watson.

 

Also, thought Neal had a great NOV/DEC and established himself as a nice chess piece in McDs defense. He's been excellent in the 'Big Nickel' (3 safeties) formation which McD likes

 

 

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3 hours ago, BBills88 said:

Tackling!

I saw alot of trying to strip the ball instead of hard hitting. which lead to miss tackles and extra yardage. 
I hope the defense get the hard hitting mentality.

S. Neal is a good example of when he hits someone he is hititing with some authority

 

LOL. That's why Neal missed the sack on Watson on their game-wining OT drive.

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22 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Eagles, Ravens? Which winning teams did our defense dominate

The Bills only lost one game by more than one score, and that includes the playoffs. You can only play the team on the other sideline! You’re not trying to tell me we were 11-5 because of our offense out scored our opponents...are you?

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5 hours ago, Jobot said:

This defense is trending insanely high.  Whatever criticism you have is infinitely outweighed by this regime and their ability to make MASSIVE improvements year over year.  You're kidding yourself if you think this defense is a finished product.  It will get better.  There isn't a single aspect of this team that hasn't improved or transitioned in the right direction since Beane and McDermott arrived in Buffalo.

 

Offense hasn't.  McDermott/Beane inherited the 10th highest scoring offense.  This year we were 24th.

 

You may like Josh better, but the offense is worse. Way worse.  Has been all of the last 3 years.

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3 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

The Bills only lost one game by more than one score, and that includes the playoffs. You can only play the team on the other sideline! You’re not trying to tell me we were 11-5 because of our offense out scored our opponents...are you?

If it makes you happy I will pretend we dominated good teams like the Eagles and Ravens. And will also pretend our elite defense did not blow any fourth quarter leads.  

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43 minutes ago, reddogblitz said:

 

Offense hasn't.  McDermott/Beane inherited the 10th highest scoring offense.  This year we were 24th.

 

You may like Josh better, but the offense is worse. Way worse.  Has been all of the last 3 years.

 

Good point.  I do feel like I saw numerous 'glimpses' of what they were trying to do on offense throughout the year.  At times the O-line was beyond stellar in pass protection, receivers this year were much better, and Allen's improvements were glaring.

 

But as for production, and to your point, the results(points) were not consistent.  The biggest reason for this IMO is because Allen still needs to improve route timing.  Secondly adding one more receiver will also help.  I was actually talking about the wild card game earlier today and came to the consensus that the Duke Williams "drop"/inability to come down with the touchdown on the drive that stalled via JJ Watt sack WOULD have likely changed our perception 100% about how the offense performed.  So to me, that shows just how close this team is to being the legit power house we want to see.

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