Bills could easily finish 2nd is sacks despite Ed

[Billsfed1]

If you look at the sack totals:

 

#1 Nobody is catching Denver. They’re in a league of their own but #2 is a toss up amongst 10 or so teams.  

 

Basically with one big game they’d be second, only to the Broncos despite being a game behind.  Would this change your perspective on what you believe the Bills do, or do not have in a pass rush defense?

 

 

Edited 12 hours ago by Billsfed1

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

Theoretically it's possible.

 

In reality 11 of our 25 sacks on the season have come against the Jets and Panthers. 

 

As we're not going to play Justin Fields and an injured Andy Dalton every week I'd put money on the Bills finishing outside the top 10 in sacks this season. 

[Billsfed1]

McDermott always talks about the marriage of coverage to pressure.  So long as they get that every week, my moneys on 2nd by the end of the year.  

 

Miami, Houston, NJ, Cleveland etc…you gotta believe some numbers are coming out of that, all due respect to those franchises.  
 

It should also be mentioned McDermott/Babich generally aren’t blitzing, so they’ve actually hit those numbers despite pressure and all the injuries which to me is fairy impressive 

[GunnerBill]

3 hours ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

Theoretically it's possible.

 

In reality 11 of our 25 sacks on the season have come against the Jets and Panthers. 

 

As we're not going to play Justin Fields and an injured Andy Dalton every week I'd put money on the Bills finishing outside the top 10 in sacks this season. 

 

This doesn't only apply to Buffalo though. Normally when you look at the top teams and players in sack production there are a few in there who just fatten up against bad teams. I remember the year the Tampa fella (Barrett?) led the league.... I think he got 19 sacks. Six came vs Dallas's turnstile of a backup LT. 

 

It's also worth saying the Bills are 3rd in the NFL in pressure rate this season, again while the two games you mention help that as well it suggests the sack production is not a fluke. 

 

I think rush the passer is one thing the Bills D has actually done at a reasonable level this year. If the coverage can hold up as it did v KC maybe we can be in business. Hoecht joining Ed on the sidelines does not help though. I reckon if I had a couple of good dinners and turned up in Miami tomorrow there is half a chance Id get snaps at defensive tackle 😆

[EssexBill]

All I care about is if they can get a sniff of Mahomes’ jockstrap come playoff time, because as we all know that’s not happened in the previous 4 games despite us having decent pressure rates in the regular season 

[gobills404]

The Bills are “only” t-5th in sacks because they’ve faced the 3rd fewest pass attempts. They are 2nd in sack percentage, which is a much better indicator. Also 3rd best pressure rate despite blitzing at the 10th lowest rate. The pass rush has been elite this year.

[27yankees]

Strong play from secondary will allow more time for increased pressure. Toss in a few blitzes, teams now have to look at our defense differently. Rookie Hairston brings new dimension to defense (shutdown corner with speed). NO MORE INJURIES PLEASE!!!!   

[GreggTX]

I'm watching Chris Simms argue that the majority of the pressures and hits and sacks were a result of the coverage. Bishop, Hairston, Hancock, and Walker are playing well. Will Jackson and Sanders follow suit? Max Hairston received s grade of 90.1 from PFF. That's very encouraging. (Rousseau and Kincaid also had 90+ grades) Bishop had 4 PBU's. I expect this trend to continue.

[transient]

4 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

This doesn't only apply to Buffalo though. Normally when you look at the top teams and players in sack production there are a few in there who just fatten up against bad teams. I remember the year the Tampa fella (Barrett?) led the league.... I think he got 19 sacks. Six came vs Dallas's turnstile of a backup LT. 

 

It's also worth saying the Bills are 3rd in the NFL in pressure rate this season, again while the two games you mention help that as well it suggests the sack production is not a fluke. 

 

I think rush the passer is one thing the Bills D has actually done at a reasonable level this year. If the coverage can hold up as it did v KC maybe we can be in business. Hoecht joining Ed on the sidelines does not help though. I reckon if I had a couple of good dinners and turned up in Miami tomorrow there is half a chance Id get snaps at defensive tackle 😆

I mean, Ed’s played 2.5 games and Hoecht played 1.5, and they were only on the field together in the Carolina game, so they’ve basically generated their pressure on the season without them anyway…

 

You have to wonder if, aside from Hairston, would McDermott have shuffled up his secondary without the injuries to Rapp and Johnson, and does he stick with what worked last week when Johnson is healthy. 

Edited 3 hours ago by transient

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, transient said:

I mean, Ed’s played 2.5 games and Hoecht played 1.5, and they were only on the field together in the Carolina game, so they’ve basically generated their pressure on the season without them anyway…

 

You have to wonder if, aside from Hairston, would McDermott have shuffled up his secondary without the injuries to Rapp and Johnson, and does he stick with what worked last week when Johnson is healthy. 

 

That is true. But I am worried about the interior rush moving forward. 

[PayDaBill$]

There’s a pill for that isn’t there?

[BuffaloBillyG]

6 hours ago, EssexBill said:

All I care about is if they can get a sniff of Mahomes’ jockstrap come playoff time, because as we all know that’s not happened in the previous 4 games despite us having decent pressure rates in the regular season 

Can't sniff what we don't play. Right now they are on the outside looking in.