Defense Peaking at Right Time!

[MarlinTheMagician]

Man, a few hot takes:

 

1.  Run fits fixed,

2.  Lots of pressure all the time now;

3.  Less vanilla

4.  Looks like last year's D.

 

Take away the turnover-aided TD, we shut them down.  8 points.  Wow.  If D can match what O has been all year, we could have some fun!

Oh, and:

 

5.  Welcome back Matt Milano!!!!

[BillsCuse]

I love that they've been super aggressive and brought a lot more pressure the last month or so.  It has made a huge difference.

[Special K]

Lets not forget the "Scoop 6" by Hughes that was blown dead by the Refs for some reason...replay showed it was a clear fumble!!

[The Gravytrain]

Milano being back and a healthy Tremaine Edmunds are making a huge difference. AJ playing strong only adds to return of the D. Fun to watch them getting hot now. 

[CSBill]

Yuuuup!

[newcam2012]

I was worried about our defense. However, that's beginning to lessen. We seem poised to make a nice run in the playoffs.

[Big Turk]

That looked a lot like the D from last year...held Steelers to 224 total yards and only 47 on the ground. This is the 3rd straight week at least we held a team to under 100 yards rushing.

 

Bills legit could beat anyone in the NFL right now. 

[BillsfaninSB]

This makes me way more happy than a 300 yard game by Josh. 

[ganesh]

2 hours ago, BillsCuse said:

I love that they've been super aggressive and brought a lot more pressure the last month or so.  It has made a huge difference.

aand stopped playing prevent in the 4th quarter.   The offense helped them by sustaining drivers in Q4

[FieldGeneral]

Getting healthy at just the right time. 

[JoPoy88]

Klein waking up has certainly helped. Still would like to see a little more from oliver but he’s playing better too.

[GunnerBill]

3 hours ago, Special K said:

Lets not forget the "Scoop 6" by Hughes that was blown dead by the Refs for some reason...replay showed it was a clear fumble!!

 

I thought the replay showed Ben was down. 

[GETTOTHE50]

The defense reminds me of the early 2000s eagles defense when the late great jim johnson was their d coordinator. I believe McDermott was on the staff at some point during that time when Brian Dawkins was their safety. It looks like McD took some of JJs zone blitz schemes. 

Edited December 14, 2020 by GETTOTHE50

[GunnerBill]

10 minutes ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

The defense reminds me of the early 2000s eagles defense when the late great jim johnson was their d coordinator. I believe McDermott was on the staff at some point during that time when Brian Dawkins was their safety. It looks like McD took some of JJs zone blitz schemes. 

 

As was Leslie Frazier.....

[ganesh]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I thought the replay showed Ben was down. 

Agreed.  whereas the Josh Allen throw should have possibly been called a fumble.

[Doc Brown]

Plus, it was our first defensive touchdown since WWII or something like that.

[GunnerBill]

10 minutes ago, ganesh said:

Agreed.  whereas the Josh Allen throw should have possibly been called a fumble.

 

Yea it should. Was stunned there was no challenge. Looked like the Steelers had a recovery too. We did get a couple of breaks last night but that is how it goes.

[CSBill]

11 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea it should. Was stunned there was no challenge. Looked like the Steelers had a recovery too. We did get a couple of breaks last night but that is how it goes.

 

I think they blew it dead right away, so it takes whatever happens after that off the table. But it sure looked like fumble.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

 

 

 

 

[machine gun kelly]

2 hours ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

The defense reminds me of the early 2000s eagles defense when the late great jim johnson was their d coordinator. I believe McDermott was on the staff at some point during that time when Brian Dawkins was their safety. It looks like McD took some of JJs zone blitz schemes. 

yeah bud, McD, cut his teeth with the great JJ.  If Coordinators could get in the HOF, he’d be in it.  He’s admitted many of his strategy, and scheme comes from JJ.  How he confuses and disguises blitzes from CB and Safeties is right out of his playbook.

[BritBill]

As Leeroy Brown said in Crocodile Dundee II, there's not point being the baddest man in the cemetery.

 

Also, there's no point peaking in football in October. If this defensive renaissance is for real we're in business big time. I'm taking championship big time and it's the first time I've felt that all season.

[GunnerBill]

4 hours ago, CSBill said:

 

I think they blew it dead right away, so it takes whatever happens after that off the table. But it sure looked like fumble.

 

I thought it looked like his backside was down. Agree though they blew it dead when he was in the clutches. Was definitely a good no challenge.

[Success]

I feel like it's night & day compared to earlier this season.

 

They seem to have figured out who they are.  More speed than size - and they really swarm to the ball now. They are playing with much more passion & energy.

 

It's great to see.  If they keep it up, the Bills are going to be that team that "no one wants to face" come January...

 

[BuffaloRebound]

Definitely playing a more physical brand of defense.  One pet peeve, have we ever stopped a meaningful 2 point conversion?  Just seems like when we’re up by 16, it might as well be 14.  

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I thought it looked like his backside was down. Agree though they blew it dead when he was in the clutches. Was definitely a good no challenge.

Agreed.  Thought his butt was down before it was dislodged, although I haven’t looked at it since the game

Our D has been hitting on all cylinders.  The play calling on D has been aggressive and is forcing opposing qbs to make quicker decisions.

 

Our run D looks nothing like the run d we employed up until the cardinal game.  Our coaching staff has done a helluva job adjusting and making the necessary tweaks.  Other than JA, our coaching staff deserves our MVP award

[GunnerBill]

2 hours ago, NewEra said:

Agreed.  Thought his butt was down before it was dislodged, although I haven’t looked at it since the game

Our D has been hitting on all cylinders.  The play calling on D has been aggressive and is forcing opposing qbs to make quicker decisions.

 

Our run D looks nothing like the run d we employed up until the cardinal game.  Our coaching staff has done a helluva job adjusting and making the necessary tweaks.  Other than JA, our coaching staff deserves our MVP award

 

Think it was actually Seattle that was the turning point. They have really done a great job thereafter.

[Dr.Mantis_Toboggan]

Makes sense that it took some time with no preseason games and the amount of turnover they had with starting players on that side of the ball.

Finally, it’s a great time to be a Bills fan!

[BillsPride12]

8 hours ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

 

 

 

 

#4 in the league in takeaways right now

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Think it was actually Seattle that was the turning point. They have really done a great job thereafter.

Yeah I was going to include them....but they had DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer and only ran the ball 15 times with their RBs.  The the following week the cardinals had their way with us on the ground.  They absolutely wrecked us on the ground and other than the Hail Mary, our run D is why we lost.  Drake 16-100, Murray 11-61 and Edmonds 8-56.  217 yards on 35 carries.  That’s not really a good job

[GunnerBill]

51 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Yeah I was going to include them....but they had DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer and only ran the ball 15 times with their RBs.  The the following week the cardinals had their way with us on the ground.  They absolutely wrecked us on the ground and other than the Hail Mary, our run D is why we lost.  Drake 16-100, Murray 11-61 and Edmonds 8-56.  217 yards on 35 carries.  That’s not really a good job

 

Yea I was talking the D as a whole not just the run D. The Seattle game was a turning point. I honestly think confidence is big. They had lost their confidence earlier in the year. 

[mjt328]

We spent the first half of the season very one-dimensional, which is always bad news for the postseason.  

The Defense finally coming around is going to be key, if we do end up going on a playoff run.  I think it comes down to a few things:

 

-  Sean McDermott's scheme is heavily dependent on the linebackers playing well.  Over the last month, our LBs have either gotten healthier (Edmunds, Milano) or simply upped their game (Klein).  This has made a huge difference.

 

-  The secondary seems to be playing more aggressive.  They aren't leaving the huge cushions we saw early in the season, and they are getting turnovers.  I don't see Taron Johnson jumping that route back in September or October.

 

-  We seem to be getting better play from the interior line.  I'm noticing Ed Oliver getting some penetration, along with some very good play from Vernon Butler.

 

[Rc2catch]

I kept saying earlier this year you just gotta get hot at the right time. Take the lumps early on and hopefully catch fire come playoffs. If the team can play top notch defense AND offense it’s pretty scary what they can do. 

[NewEra]

24 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea I was talking the D as a whole not just the run D. The Seattle game was a turning point. I honestly think confidence is big. They had lost their confidence earlier in the year. 

Ok, I hear ya.  The Seattle game is where we started to be really aggressive with our blitzes.  First half of the season we seemed very stale and predictable.  Our blitz schemes weren’t effective. Our blitzes are currently the key to our defenses success.  

[GunnerBill]

5 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Ok, I hear ya.  The Seattle game is where we started to be really aggressive with our blitzes.  First half of the season we seemed very stale and predictable.  Our blitz schemes weren’t effective. Our blitzes are currently the key to our defenses success.  

 

I think blizting on earlier downs has helped. Before they rarely sent pressure on 1st or 2nd. But also getting Tremaine and Tre properly healthy has made a huge difference. They were playing hurt and it showed.

[Billy Claude]

6 hours ago, BuffaloRebound said:

Definitely playing a more physical brand of defense.  One pet peeve, have we ever stopped a meaningful 2 point conversion?  Just seems like when we’re up by 16, it might as well be 14.  

I believe they said 2 stops out of 13 on 2 pt conversions over the last two seasons on gr this morning. .

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

https://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/35420/buffalo-bills-defense-getting-healthy-hitting-stride-at-right-time

 

The defense returned 80%, good for seventh most in the league, which made it a surprise early this season when the unit didn't play to the standard it had set in 2018 and 2019. During that span, Buffalo allowed the fewest yards per game and fourth-fewest points per game in the NFL. Through the first half of the 2020 NFL season, the defense ranked 16th in yards per game and 14th in scoring.

 

But the group is rounding into form at a good time this late in the season, holding the Pittsburgh Steelers to 224 total yards and 15 points during Buffalo's win in Week 14. Since Week 9, the Bills own the sixth-best run defense in the NFL and the second-best third-down defense.

One reason for the surge: they're getting healthy, with linebackers Matt Milano and Tyrel Dodson, and cornerbacks Josh Norman and Levi Wallace all returning from stints on injured reserve.

 

To be fair, the defense's continuity took a hit when starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei opted out of the season. And again in Week 1, when Milano and fellow starting linebacker Tremaine Edmunds suffered injuries. In Milano's case, when he takes the field Saturday at the Denver Broncos (4:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network), it will mark the first time this season he has played in three consecutive games.

[Don Otreply]

Frankly all the woes of the D primarily stemmed from ten starters, rotation guys, and backups guys being out and or playing injured for an extended period of time, many here for some reason or another refused to take this in to account for the Ds poor performance.  Now that they are for the most part healthy, and it shows, they are putting the hammer down, talk about timely aye 👍

 

Go Bills!!!

[RochesterLifer]

2 hours ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

https://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/35420/buffalo-bills-defense-getting-healthy-hitting-stride-at-right-time

 

The defense returned 80%, good for seventh most in the league, which made it a surprise early this season when the unit didn't play to the standard it had set in 2018 and 2019. During that span, Buffalo allowed the fewest yards per game and fourth-fewest points per game in the NFL. Through the first half of the 2020 NFL season, the defense ranked 16th in yards per game and 14th in scoring.

 

But the group is rounding into form at a good time this late in the season, holding the Pittsburgh Steelers to 224 total yards and 15 points during Buffalo's win in Week 14. Since Week 9, the Bills own the sixth-best run defense in the NFL and the second-best third-down defense.

One reason for the surge: they're getting healthy, with linebackers Matt Milano and Tyrel Dodson, and cornerbacks Josh Norman and Levi Wallace all returning from stints on injured reserve.

 

To be fair, the defense's continuity took a hit when starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei opted out of the season. And again in Week 1, when Milano and fellow starting linebacker Tremaine Edmunds suffered injuries. In Milano's case, when he takes the field Saturday at the Denver Broncos (4:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network), it will mark the first time this season he has played in three consecutive games.

Tre White also entered the season less than 100% with (if I remember correctly) back issues hindering him for the first month.