Is Babbich on the hot seat now?

[BillsFanForever19]

10 hours ago, Mister Defense said:

The defense was poor last year.  But worse, overall they did not seem to improve last year, just tread water, not being able to stop the run, 3rd down conversions, long plays... The sharpness and discipline that had been hallmarks of McD's defenses previously were missing too often.

 

It was tough to determine how much of that was related to the player turnover and/or the Bills clearly being undermanned in the secondary and D-Line.  And how much fell on game preparation and play calling--the coaching.

 

With Dorsey, it was easier to find the culprit, as the offense had not undergone those kinds of changes.  And then we all saw it get worse and worse under him in his first year, not better and better.  Before the next season started I said Dorsey was the biggest concern for the Bills that year. 

 

Then, early and often we saw the offense look unprepared, confused even, as if they did not know what they were doing and why things were not working.  The players looked dazed and dumbfounded, even our fearless leader.  Like Dan O said, about our previously special offense, loaded with talent: it was the easiest offense to defend in the entire league. Thankfully McD did not do the conservative thing, and wait to the end of the season, but cut bait before the season was lost.

 

The defense looks sort of ike that now--both unprepared and poor play calling, a lethal combination.  Players seem lost and confused, and the defense doesn't seem to improve on the weaknesses in a consistent manner.  And even supposedly high level players, including our linebackers and lineman, are getting wiped out. We have 3 number one picks starting on the defensive line now.

 

I am not  completely there yet, but do people think  as I am thinking, leaning in the direction that the fundamental problem with the defense is it is poorly coached?

 

The secondary has significant question marks and weaknesses, so it is still hard to evaluate the defense, but  are there signs to you that it is more about Babbich than anything else now?  To me, we should get considerably more answers to this question today and in the next few weeks. Hope the defense progresses today and going forward, but if so many things continue to look poor on defense Babbich may be in over his head.

 

 

 

 

Making this post after 1 week against the most high powered offense in Football and doing it right at the start of the game rather than waiting to see how it went first was a choice.

[LABILLBACKER]

10 hours ago, Bangarang said:

Let's give Beane 2 or 3 more defensive heavy drafts before we judge.

Right....

[Thrivefourfive]

I think it’s a fine topic. Shutting down the Jets was expected. They have a one dimensional quarterback who cannot so much as complete a pass to the flat. Better have whopped em. 

[billsfan714]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFan said:

While this post has some merit he was playing for the Bears.  
 

Fields was also coming off an excellent game where he had 266 yards of offense with 3 TDs and has an offense that features Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson.  
 

The Bills were also without Taron Johnson and Ed Oliver, but kept Hall to 29 yards rushing, Wilson to 50 yards (much in garbage time), and Fields to 76 total yards (mostly on the ground).  It was a stellar performance and our kids on the DL, Logue, Sanders and Walker got valuable NFL experience.  Babich’s gameplan was excellent from the opening snap.

Thats fair, ultimately he will be judged how this defense performs against the elite teams.    Its what has to improve from past years.  What this d does in the playoffs will be the test.   Can they hold a team to under 27 in the last game.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

4 minutes ago, Thrivefourfive said:

I think it’s a fine topic. Shutting down the Jets was expected. They have a one dimensional quarterback who cannot so much as complete a pass to the flat. Better have whopped em. 

Maybe it’s different posters at times but there were a ton of ‘jets are dangerous and a not much lesser version of the ravens/fields is underrated’ takes in the preview threads haha..  it always gets me when people hype up a team all week then we destroy them and everyone is like ‘ehhh it’s a bad opponent’ 

 

like how can people point out all these strengths/good players and matchups on the opposing roster then suddenly they have none of that after they lose to us 😂 all the people that have always maintained ‘the jets are bad’ I have no problem with of course 

 

 

[billieve420]

Mcdermott’s defenses have always performed well against medicore and average QBs. The question will remain can they stop elite QBs come the postseason.

[Thrivefourfive]

23 minutes ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

Maybe it’s different posters at times but there were a ton of ‘jets are dangerous and a not much lesser version of the ravens/fields is underrated’ takes in the preview threads haha..  it always gets me when people hype up a team all week then we destroy them and everyone is like ‘ehhh it’s a bad opponent’ 

 

like how can people point out all these strengths/good players and matchups on the opposing roster then suddenly they have none of that after they lose to us 😂 all the people that have always maintained ‘the jets are bad’ I have no problem with of course 

 

 

How about the declarations of Glenn being a formidable Jets coach 🤣 When I heard about the hire I was glad. But maybe that’s just me. 

[Thrivefourfive]

38 minutes ago, billieve420 said:

Mcdermott’s defenses have always performed well against medicore and average QBs. The question will remain can they stop elite QBs come the postseason.

That’s right. And now that Josh is a grandmaster the offense always shows up. So today was inevitable. On Thursday, our slow secondary better take good angle when/if those fast cats catch it. Achane is elite elusive. 

[davefan66]

First, defense played well with a couple key guys out.

 

Second, he is a disciple of McD. He’s not going anywhere.

 

 

[Luka]

I think the young interior of this line is going to be the difference this year. The more they gel and grow together, I think we will be fine. My main concern will remain McD and Babbich's lack of adjustments when things go sideways. Won't have to worry about that too much going forward. The Ravens win is looking bigger this week than last. 

[SoMAn]

Only a longtime Buffalo Bill fan would be able to see a cloud in the silver lining of a 2-0 start.

The Bills defensive problems are probably more about personnel than coaching. The team has addressed it. With the maturation of the new D-line prospects and the return of the suspendees, we might see a more dominant defense.  I'm not the least bit worried. The only stat that really matter falls under the win/loss columns. The Bills have a whole lot more W's than L's over the past several years.

[T master]

After the Jets put up 32 on the Steelers week one & then the Bills holding that same offense to 10 points in a offense tat is more run oriented than most I'd say Babbich is not on the hot seat and doing just fine because he also has to learn more about those that he has to work with and who works with who the best .

 

Plus they didn't have Ed out there and still stopped them from scoring more than 10 points not to mention Bosa is a force and still becoming better with in the scheme and getting to work with the other players he has on the field with him .

 

It's early and I think every thing will get better as the season goes on & both sides of the ball will hit their stride around the mid way point but I don't see anyone at this point on any thing even warm let alone a hot seat !!

[Ethan in Cleveland]

15 hours ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

I love how people talked up the jets as a mini-ravens offense all week and now that we throttled them ‘it’s just the jets’ 😂 

Even the anti Lamar people on here would say he is far better than Fields

[Augie]

12 minutes ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Even the anti Lamar people on here would say he is far better than Fields

 

I think the people who prefer Fields have probably been institutionalized at this point as a danger to themselves or others. 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

11 hours ago, billieve420 said:

Mcdermott’s defenses have always performed well against medicore and average QBs. The question will remain can they stop elite QBs come the postseason.

He’s got a shot to rewrite the script this year…feels like the defense finally has a lot of depth and we have almost always had crucial defense injuries against the chiefs in the playoffs while they are freakishly healthy. 13 seconds game was pretty even…we were down tre and they were down mathieu but every game since then injuries have given the chiefs a big advantage imo 

 

if we get rolled over by a team like that in the playoffs this year I’ll def join the anti-mcd bandwagon but it’s possible they do the rolling this year and it flips the script 😂. Should be interesting to see.  I just don’t know how you’re supposed to stop playoff mahomes with kaiir Elam and aj Klein caliber players forced into the lineup 

Edited September 15 by Generic_Bills_Fan

[Thurman#1]

23 hours ago, Mister Defense said:

The defense was poor last year.  But worse, overall they did not seem to improve last year, just tread water, not being able to stop the run, 3rd down conversions, long plays... The sharpness and discipline that had been hallmarks of McD's defenses previously were missing too often.

 

It was tough to determine how much of that was related to the player turnover and/or the Bills clearly being undermanned in the secondary and D-Line.  And how much fell on game preparation and play calling--the coaching.

 

With Dorsey, it was easier to find the culprit, as the offense had not undergone those kinds of changes.  And then we all saw it get worse and worse under him in his first year, not better and better.  Before the next season started I said Dorsey was the biggest concern for the Bills that year. 

 

Then, early and often we saw the offense look unprepared, confused even, as if they did not know what they were doing and why things were not working.  The players looked dazed and dumbfounded, even our fearless leader.  Like Dan O said, about our previously special offense, loaded with talent: it was the easiest offense to defend in the entire league. Thankfully McD did not do the conservative thing, and wait to the end of the season, but cut bait before the season was lost.

 

The defense looks sort of ike that now--both unprepared and poor play calling, a lethal combination.  Players seem lost and confused, and the defense doesn't seem to improve on the weaknesses in a consistent manner.  And even supposedly high level players, including our linebackers and lineman, are getting wiped out. We have 3 number one picks starting on the defensive line now.

 

I am not  completely there yet, but do people think  as I am thinking, leaning in the direction that the fundamental problem with the defense is it is poorly coached?

 

The secondary has significant question marks and weaknesses, so it is still hard to evaluate the defense, but  are there signs to you that it is more about Babbich than anything else now?  To me, we should get considerably more answers to this question today and in the next few weeks. Hope the defense progresses today and going forward, but if so many things continue to look poor on defense Babbich may be in over his head.

 

 

 

 

 

Didn't see this till now. "On the hot seat"?

 

It would just be a dumb take.

 

Way way way too early, not just after the Jets game but after the Ravens. It was week one. 

 

Could it eventually happen if the defense plays badly over a long period of time? Yeah, absolutely. But it's nowhere near that point now.

 

 

Edited September 15 by Thurman#1

[Thurman#1]

12 hours ago, billieve420 said:

Mcdermott’s defenses have always performed well against medicore and average QBs. The question will remain can they stop elite QBs come the postseason.

 

 

They've always been good even in the postseason, against everyone except the Chiefs. I guess you could argue the Bengals that one time too but the whole team was emotionally shot. Nobody played well that game.

 

It's the Chiefs. And mostly nobody else stopped them either, which is why they have Lombardis. 

 

The Bills need a pass rush. That was what was missing, except for early in Von's first year. So far, Bosa looks good and there are promising signs of one from the rookies and from Hoecht.

[hondo in seattle]

3 hours ago, SoMAn said:

Only a longtime Buffalo Bill fan would be able to see a cloud in the silver lining of a 2-0 start.

The Bills defensive problems are probably more about personnel than coaching. The team has addressed it. With the maturation of the new D-line prospects and the return of the suspendees, we might see a more dominant defense.  I'm not the least bit worried. The only stat that really matter falls under the win/loss columns. The Bills have a whole lot more W's than L's over the past several years.

 

True.  After wide right, 5-0 starts that led nowhere, and all the other stuff we've lived through, we've been trained to see clouds on blue sky days.

 

But consider this: If we were passengers on the Titanic, we'd worry about the unsinkable ship sinking even before it hit the iceberg.  And we'd be right.

[Mister Defense]

16 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

Let’s try something that has never happened in twobillsdrive history. I will walk @Mister Defense off the ledge 😂. But in all seriousness, it’s never as good or bad as it seems. I’m thrilled at how Bosa has played thus far. I’m thrilled at the proposition of getting back a lot of talent as the season progresses. We will have some stinkers, we will make some plays. I hope to see progress as much as possible especially right now and after that dismantling by Baltimore. I think we can put a big old check for progress this week. It’s also nice knowing that even you have some doubts from time to time. Eternally optimistic or pessimistic are probably both off base.

 

Yup, I do give my constructive criticism at times, like this! (Just check out my comments in the prediction thread before the Ravens’ game.) Here, I assumed many had some of the same concerns that I do. And yeah, those two extremes probably don’t define either of our views—eternally optimistic or pessimistic! 

 

I knew I could not watch the game in real time yesterday, hence was able to post that  OP close to kick off. Was able to watch the game late yesterday.  That is also why I did not respond to anything in this thread until now--had not watched the game, did not know the score, all phone notifications off until I did so.

 

The defense we saw yesterday had ALL of the qualities I, and probably most on here, wanted to see, and had been concerned about in the OP:

 

--Yesterday, the defense was sharp and disciplined and detail oriented, in all areas, consistently, the big picture things and in the details, player performance

 

--Looks like there were excellent fundamentals and they were likely the hallmark of their success--the assignments, the tackling, and teamwork etcetera, al looked top notch. A great relief.

 

--This time, the defensive line and linebackers played lights out, stopping the run, stopping the pass, pressuring the QBs, showing what they are capable of consistently yesterday. And like you said, BOSA! If BOSA is the guy we have seen the last few weeks, and yesterday he took the next step, this defense is much better with that improvement in itself.

 

--Almost no big plays given up and great work on 3rd downs.  Yes!

 

-And looks like an excellent game plan, and consistently, throughout the game.

 

I never said I was there yet, as far as Babbich being the problem, but leaning in that direction.  More than anything yesterday I wanted to see the defense look, well, the way it looked yesterday!

 

I am not discounting Babbich in this performance, but it seems after dismal performances like against the Ravens, the defense usually plays much better.  Same was true even at the end of the Ravens’ game--they finally looked like the defense I describe above, that we saw yesterday. Do you and others think McD becomes extremely hands on in these situations , after very poor defensive performances?  That he is much more directive with Babbich and the defense after big defensive breakdowns in game? The defense sometimes looks like a different animal in these cases, as they did yesterday.

 

Not off my hot seat yet, and I am sure Babbich is concerned about my views, very likely read them just as the game started yesterday, motivating him to do better. But a great game yesterday. Now, will we keep seeing that discipline and competence, even against the top offenses?

 

 

 

 

Edited September 15 by Mister Defense

[Mister Defense]

14 hours ago, billsfan714 said:

And Justin Fields is 18-36 in his career as a starter.   Im not taking much from beating Justin Fields with a career .333 winning percentage.

yeah, I agree, as last week was the first time I had ever seen Fields like an actual starting caliber NFL quarterback in his career, though I had not seen a slew of his games. 

 

But even so, yesterday the defense looked disciplined and sharp, big changes from last week. We need to see more of course, but no high end offenses coming up soon to evaluate.