NOW is Bobby Babich's seat hot?

[Low Positive]

Just now, HappyDays said:

 

There actually are 5 rushing, it's hard to see because 1 of them is getting swallowed up in the middle. I have no problem with the blitz call. It worked as intended getting Taron as a free rusher. My issue is, to use Babich's own words, the pass rush is not married to the coverage. Leaving Benford in off coverage on an island against an elite route runner is not how you get Rattler to hold the ball. I mean that's a college level read and anticipation throw that any backup QB is going to hit. Rapp ends up sprinting backwards from the line to cover nobody while Benford is being hung out to dry. This is a 3rd and long that should have been converted and it is 100% on the play call.

I came back to edit my post. Still, the Rush is too late. Rattler has one read on that play, and was easily able to get the ball out. Taron needs to get there faster or they need to send someone up the middle to rush the throw. As it was, it was an easy pitch and catch. 

[finn]

4 hours ago, Mango said:

I don't want to rely on Tre/Strong as our DB pairing anytime soon. But I do like him in his current role so far.

How about Strong/Tre? Strong was just named to his second PFF All-Rookie team of the week with an 89.5 coverage grade. If his name was Hairston we'd all be ecstatic. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

9 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

And that is despite the Jets being 0-11 on 3rd down. Which really demonstrates how bad the other three games were. 29th in the league last year, 25th this year through four games after never being worse than 19th in the seven seasons of this regime that preceded Babich as DC and being top 10 in five of those seven years. 

 

I don't like the design on third down either when I look at the all22. I'm not sure what the Bills general approach to play 3rd down defense is. I slightly think they are trying to do to much and be so "unpredictable" that they are sacrificing fundamentals for some designs that are either ill conceived or being really poorly executed (or maybe both). If I was in the defensive meeting rooms with Babich I'd be saying you have to simplify your 3rd down call sheet. Get back to some basic fundamentals, be strong at the sticks and then trigger and tackle. 

 

 

Baltimore was 6-11 on third down. As you said the Jets were 0-11 (but 3 for 3 on fourth down), Miami was 10-15 and that helps boots the season numbers and the Saints were 5 for 13. 

 

So the Dolphins game aside teams are 11 for 35 against the Bills on 3rd down. That's 31.4%. That would be good for #2 third down defense in the NFL.

 

Now I'm not saying execution and/or play calling can't be better on 3rd down. They can. But with the small sample size of 4 games, perhaps it's not as bleak as we think and can show improvement.

[Mister Defense]

18 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Baltimore was 6-11 on third down. As you said the Jets were 0-11 (but 3 for 3 on fourth down), Miami was 10-15 and that helps boots the season numbers and the Saints were 5 for 13. 

 

So the Dolphins game aside teams are 11 for 35 against the Bills on 3rd down. That's 31.4%. That would be good for #2 third down defense in the NFL.

 

Now I'm not saying execution and/or play calling can't be better on 3rd down. They can. But with the small sample size of 4 games, perhaps it's not as bleak as we think and can show improvement.

 

Okay, yes on the stats.

 

BUT you have watched the last few games.  I have very little confidence that they are going to en up as even a middle of the road defense on 3rd down.  Do you have a lot of confidence that the positives you point out on 3rd down defense are what we will see going forward-=-and not the awful numbers?

 

To me, they LOOK like a defense about to have an awful year at this again. 

 

And ditto for their run defense.

 

Unless something dramatic is done.

 

Hope you're right in that last point above.

 

I have worked too hard in the off season, and during the season, to not field  a championship contender.  The long hours need to pay off..

 

 

[AZSanta]

On 9/30/2025 at 12:04 PM, Mister Defense said:

Well, after three more games, after I posted an OP asking if Babich was on the hot seat, just before the Jets game, I am definitely moving very quickly now to thinking this dreadful defensive performance we have seen to start the year is now very likely the result of some awful coaching. I want to see where Bills’ fans on here stand now, three weeks later.

 

While I am not 100% convinced that Babich is the fundamental problem as I was completely convinced with dorsey, after almost 1/4 of the season now is in the books the needle is definitely moving rapidly in that direction. 90% maybe? It has been almost a shocking defensive collapse to begin the year.

 

 Do people think that this defense looks better than last year's and is improving weekly?:

 

--Do they think it is showing clear progress early in the season, with their weaknesses being fixed, smoothed out? And their strengths becoming more pronounced?

 

--Are there clear signs that most of the very weak aspects of the defense last year are better now--and getting better as this young season progresses?  For example, their overall 3rd down efficiency, their run defense, their tackling, the pass rush, the play calling?

 

--Is Babich making solid half time adjustments that improve things overall at the start of the 2nd half?

 

--And most importantly, do players look prepared, disciplined, confident and ready--and are they playing to their potential as individuals and as units?

 

 

To me the, and almost across the board, the answers are no. And too often, a resounding, hell no.  

 

In fact, the defense looks more consistently bad this year than last year, making teams like the dolphins and saints look unstoppable for the majority of those games. The dolphins and saints. At HOME  With tens of thousands of loud rabid fans making their life easier.

 

A friend said, well it's because Oliver has not been in there, and Milano, and the suspended guys too.  But that seems really off--the Bills in the past, and the other good teams, readily overcome those types of player losses.  Maybe they show some more gaps in their defense, but they almost never collapse.  And the startling consistency of the weaknesses of this year and last year throw cold water on that, to me. 

 

Watching the last two games, against teams that are not world beaters, and both AT HOME,  both opposing offenses seemed to get better and better against this defense as the games progressed, not worse.  It often seemed like the Bills had no answers, with gaping holes in the secondary, gaping holes against the run, big spacial voids all over the field, all game long, horrible tackling, players looking out of position consistently---and that lost, confused look we too often saw on the faces of offensive players as dorsey 'progressed' in his tenure--and especially in his last year: "What is going on out here? We have no asnwers," sums up those looks.

 

Yes, the Bills are 4-0, but this is not in any way a championship defense--they cannot rely on big splash plays to win games, at the end of games, on defense all year. And not on the road, and not against the top teams. Not consistently. That will not work. All of the team’s hopes for this season, and ours, will be dashed IF this type of defense is allowed to continue. 

 

To me, right now, this really looks like a very very poorly coached defense in almost all respects.  And if I see this, and if I am right, then McDermott knows it, but in a much more specific, detailed manner just how poorly Babich is leading this defense. And ditto for Brandon Beane--does Beane think with the players he provided that the defense should have these kinds of fundamental flaws in so many areas--again?  I would bet the answer is NO. This is why I am convinced that Babich's seat is extremely hot, burning.

 

Why did they look so different against the Jets, prepared, disciplined, tackling well, in position.... I think after awful weeks for the defense, like we saw against the Ravens, or in important games, like the Denver playoff game, McDermott has basically taken over for his young DC.

 

The Bills don't need a great defense to be champions this year, and maybe not even a very good one--just a good one. 

 

But, so far, this defense looks fundamentally flawed.  Awful even, and a great deal of the time.

 

I think Babich's seat is extraordinarily hot now.  A few more games, one?, like we have just seen and McDermott should take over. Our great offense was on a death march under dorsey. Before the season I said he would be gone by Halloween. That season they quiuckly were falling out of the playoff race, and almost there as the season regressed. Don Orlovsky said our offense, with Josh Allen leading it, had become ‘the easiest offense in the NFL to defend’.  But McDermott stepped in, and made the kind of dramatic change most thought he would not make.  Then, in one week, one, the offense looked like world beaters—again--and were that way for the rest of the season.  I think the same thing may very well be needed very soon with Babich. And  it could have the same effects.  They won’t be a great defense, not there yet, with the young players and changes, but I am convinced the defense will show the same kind of improvement that we saw when Brady took over the offense.

 

Even if you are not on board that Babich is the main problem, isn’t it hard  for you to imagine this defense not playing dramatically better with any high quaity defensive coordinator like Schwartz, Spagnuolo—or a McDermott coaching them? To me the answer here is hell yes.

 

 

I think it is a combination of bad coaching along with bad players. This secondary is brutally bad. Rapp looks like he is afraid to hit anyone due to his concussion history. I watched him on a play where Kamara received a pitch out to the right and he was running up to make the play and instead of angling in towards the runner he engaged his blocker. It looked like he could have easily got around the blocker chose to engage the blocker. There is something very wrong with Rapp. Tre has lost a step or 2. Benford has regressed a bit. He is giving up tds like they are Halloween candy. Bishop is decent but not great. They need a full fundamental change in defensive coaching philosophy with the players they have. Whatever they are trying to do it isn't working. I don't think the suspended players make much of a difference, in my opinion. We need to overhaul this defense in the off season.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

3 minutes ago, AZSanta said:

I think it is a combination of bad coaching along with bad players. This secondary is brutally bad. Rapp looks like he is afraid to hit anyone due to his concussion history. I watched him on a play where Kamara received a pitch out to the right and he was running up to make the play and instead of angling in towards the runner he engaged his blocker. It looked like he could have easily got around the blocker chose to engage the blocker. There is something very wrong with Rapp. Tre has lost a step or 2. Benford has regressed a bit. He is giving up tds like they are Halloween candy. Bishop is decent but not great. They need a full fundamental change in defensive coaching philosophy with the players they have. Whatever they are trying to do it isn't working. I don't think the suspended players make much of a difference, in my opinion. We need to overhaul this defense in the off season.

Overhaul? No. Buffalo still has a lot of very valuable pieces on defense. Tweaked ? Yes. They need to get bigger in certain areas, but players like Bosa, Oliver, Rousseau, Benford, Bernard, Deone Walker, and Taron Johnson could all start on most NFL teams. The Bills also have 2 gigantic rookie DTs. The jury is still out on Hairston and the rest of the rookie defenders. 

 

I think people are judging a very small sample size. It’s a young defense. Give them time to adjust. Even veteran FAs need time to gel with their teammates. I think they we will see a different defense towards the 2nd half of the season. 

[AZSanta]

6 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Overhaul? No. Buffalo still has a lot of very valuable pieces on defense. Tweaked ? Yes. They need to get bigger in certain areas, but players like Bosa, Oliver, Rousseau, Benford, Bernard, Deone Walker, and Taron Johnson could all start on most NFL teams. The Bills also have 2 gigantic rookie DTs. The jury is still out on Hairston and the rest of the rookie defenders. 

 

I think people are judging a very small sample size. It’s a young defense. Give them time to adjust. Even veteran FAs need time to gel with their teammates. I think they we will see a different defense towards the 2nd half of the season. 

Rousseau hasn't made a play in 4 games. Johnson is getting up there in age. Oliver makes a difference a few games per year. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

1 hour ago, Mister Defense said:

 

Okay, yes on the stats.

 

BUT you have watched the last few games.  I have very little confidence that they are going to en up as even a middle of the road defense on 3rd down.  Do you have a lot of confidence that the positives you point out on 3rd down defense are what we will see going forward-=-and not the awful numbers?

 

To me, they LOOK like a defense about to have an awful year at this again. 

 

And ditto for their run defense.

 

Unless something dramatic is done.

 

Hope you're right in that last point above.

 

I have worked too hard in the off season, and during the season, to not field  a championship contender.  The long hours need to pay off..

 

 

I guess I would fall more in the "hopeful" category then the "confident" one. Getting Oliver back will help. Milano back would be a bonus. Still not sure what Hairston will add...but it can't be a huge dropoff from what we have had out there and he has the potential to be a bonus  The PED guys. All areas that we could have an improvement. Will we? That's anyone's guess. 

 

I do think if we see results closer to the Saints game (they converted 5 for 13 on third) we will be ok. If we see more weeks like the Dolphins game even after those guys get back I think we need to see McDermott take back play calling. 

[3rdand12]

It's early in the season. Not an excuse just a reasoning.

 Agree with ChronicA.

This defense will morph by the back half of the Season into something that Offenses will be adjusting for.