Anticipated changes in philosophy/scheme in 2025?

[TFBillsfan]

It’s a slow time of the year for the NFL, so I thought I throw out the following topic.
 

With the start of our home opener against the Ravens less than 100 days away, what offensive or defensive philosophy or scheme changes are you hoping to see from the Bills for the upcoming season?

[Starr Almighty]

I think they will target Cooper alot less than last season.  It will almost feel like he's not out there

[K-9]

Gonna see more man to man coverage to support more aggressive pressure schemes. Not much against the Ravens though; you just can’t turn your back on Lamar very often.

[947]

They added the personnel to play more of an attacking Defense. I think that's what McD wants to do, but I'm still skeptical.

 

I'm tired of rushing 4 straight upfield while we play soft zone 10+ yards off & watching good QBs carve us up with ease like they're playing in a 7-on-7 tournament.

[Jauronimo]

I believe we will see changes made to our approach on defense such that we embarrass middling QBs and rookies but have zero answers for competent offenses.  That excites me. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

26 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Gonna see more man to man coverage to support more aggressive pressure schemes. Not much against the Ravens though; you just can’t turn your back on Lamar very often.

Agreed.
 

the ravens game is not going to be a good barometer for us.

[SoonerBillsFan]

McDermott agreed that what they were doing wasn't working.  I think we will see more 4-3 which can adjust to a 5-2 or big nickle. 

 

We saw size and power added to our defense esp. The DL.  McDermott has always needed a lot out of the front 4 to make his D sceme work. He had more talent on the DL now,so let's see if he can properly use is.

 

Personally I feel good about the talent added on defense and even at WR.

[Goin Breakdown]

I wonder if the change (if they make a big one) won't be very effective week one. I think any big changes will

have to be worked in throughout the year. But what do I know?

[transient]

I think they will go back to wearing shoes off the field this season, and they will probably go back to eating soup. They'll still hate those soul-stealing little cats, though.

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

Really can't complain about what the offense did last year, but if I was going to tinker:

 

- more deep shots

- less reliance on Josh's legs for short yardage

- better/more trick plays (the one vs Ravens in the regular season was probably the low point of the year for the offense)

 

Our defensive philosophy works great in the regular season, especially against bad QBs. However, it routinely gets exposed by good QBs, particularly in the playoffs 

 

- No more bend but don't break. The goal should be to force a turnover or a 3 and out on every possession. I can live with giving up more long TDs if we're getting our offense an extra couple possessions per game

- I never want to see our DBs giving 10+yard cushions unless it's an absolute blowout win

 

[Alphadawg7]

Dont let Henry run 80 yard TD's would be a nice start

[TFBillsfan]

Offensively, I hope Brady incorporates a RB or TE screen and they can execute them. 
 

On 3rd/4th and short, keep the defense on their toes and not always run a QB sneak/tush push to the left of the OL! 

[FireChans]

18 minutes ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

Really can't complain about what the offense did last year, but if I was going to tinker:

 

- more deep shots

- less reliance on Josh's legs for short yardage

- better/more trick plays (the one vs Ravens in the regular season was probably the low point of the year for the offense)

 

Our defensive philosophy works great in the regular season, especially against bad QBs. However, it routinely gets exposed by good QBs, particularly in the playoffs 

 

- No more bend but don't break. The goal should be to force a turnover or a 3 and out on every possession. I can live with giving up more long TDs if we're getting our offense an extra couple possessions per game

- I never want to see our DBs giving 10+yard cushions unless it's an absolute blowout win

 

The offensive and defensive philosophies were married in 2024.

 

The goal was to run the ball. shorten the game (on both sides) and have Josh and co orchestrate more long drives than the opponents could.

 

I think this is the way that McD wants the team to play. 

 

Now, with all the new hirings, do I think they are expanding their bag of tricks for high-leverage moments? Absolutely.

 

But make no mistake. We are not going to turn into a high-risk high-reward defense, or offense for that matter. It is the antithesis of what McD wants. 

[mushypeaches]

I'd love to see this team actually sniff a QB on 3rd down

[LABILLBACKER]

39 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

McDermott agreed that what they were doing wasn't working.  I think we will see more 4-3 which can adjust to a 5-2 or big nickle. 

 

We saw size and power added to our defense esp. The DL.  McDermott has always needed a lot out of the front 4 to make his D sceme work. He had more talent on the DL now,so let's see if he can properly use is.

 

Personally I feel good about the talent added on defense and even at WR.

I only have 2 requests this season in defensive scheme. Play more man and find a way of making your blitzer more effective. If we accomplish this, we can beat Joe, Lamar and Patrick. These are the only teams that can challenge us in the AFC. 

[transient]

9 minutes ago, FireChans said:

The offensive and defensive philosophies were married in 2024.

 

The goal was to run the ball. shorten the game (on both sides) and have Josh and co orchestrate more long drives than the opponents could.

 

I think this is the way that McD wants the team to play. 

 

Now, with all the new hirings, do I think they are expanding their bag of tricks for high-leverage moments? Absolutely.

 

But make no mistake. We are not going to turn into a high-risk high-reward defense, or offense for that matter. It is the antithesis of what McD wants. 

And exactly this has been their undoing against the Chiefs every playoff game with the exception of 2020. That's what made Spagnolo's one well-timed blitz that purposely broke a season's worth of tendencies so painful to watch... to date, whether with talent or coaching creativity, it is not a club that the Bills defense has had in their bag to play.

[RichStadiumGuy]

5 minutes ago, mushypeaches said:

I'd love to see this team actually sniff a QB on 3rd down

AMEN! This crap of sending the whole front line on first and second downs and then turtle up into the historical McD soft zone on third down totally frustrates the crap out of me! It's a good thing my TV isn't smart enough to get pissed off at me cuz I'm screaming my azz off at the poor thing every time they do it!

[T.E.]

LMAO, they will change absolutely nothing of significance in regard to their coaching philosophy. Will be the same song and dance as it is every year. Hopefully, they get a few postseason breaks this time around.

[MJS]

43 minutes ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

Really can't complain about what the offense did last year, but if I was going to tinker:

 

- more deep shots

- less reliance on Josh's legs for short yardage

- better/more trick plays (the one vs Ravens in the regular season was probably the low point of the year for the offense)

 

Our defensive philosophy works great in the regular season, especially against bad QBs. However, it routinely gets exposed by good QBs, particularly in the playoffs 

 

- No more bend but don't break. The goal should be to force a turnover or a 3 and out on every possession. I can live with giving up more long TDs if we're getting our offense an extra couple possessions per game

- I never want to see our DBs giving 10+yard cushions unless it's an absolute blowout win

The Bills defense is already focused on turnovers. They have been excellent in that regard. Under McDermott they were a lot more aggressive with blitzing, sometimes too aggressive, but less so last year with Babich. We also didn't run as many stunts, which hurts Oliver's effectiveness. I'd like to see Babich move a little more towards McDermott's aggressiveness with blitzing and stunts.

 

The secondary issues were because of a lack of talent and experience, not because they were playing passive off coverage all the time. They weren't. With better talent this year and development of young players, the back 7 should be better.

 

But the Bills are going to give up rushing yards by design. Fans need to be ready for that. They choose to play light boxes and bring in penetrating d tackles instead of big bodies that can clog up running lanes. They choose to play linebackers who are fast and small and can cover the field instead of ones who can take on blockers and tackle runners. It's just what they choose to do. And they doubled down on that approach with TJ Sanders and even Deon Walker (who is big bodied, but plays more like a penetrating 3 tech).

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, 947 said:

They added the personnel to play more of an attacking Defense. I think that's what McD wants to do, but I'm still skeptical.

 

I'm tired of rushing 4 straight upfield while we play soft zone 10+ yards off & watching good QBs carve us up with ease like they're playing in a 7-on-7 tournament.

Did that really happen that often? Against certain elite teams for sure, but those are elite teams. We made the stops against the rest.

 

They just replayed the Lions game last night and the score didn't reflect how well the defense played when it mattered. They gave up garbage points at the end to make it seem close. It wasn't.