Is Jim Leonhard actually our prized offseason acquisition

[kitchen sink]

Yes, a good coach can make the entire set of players he coaches better.  Seeing as he coaches the defense the entire defense can be better, which when paired with a good to great offense is a winning formula. 

 

I especially like the fact that he appears to be willing to fit the scheme to the players instead of the players to the scheme, which I think might have been a short coming of the prior coaching. 

Edited August 3 by kitchen sink

[Dillenger4]

Without a doubt - it's Jim LenRod and John Fox. That combo has proven to have a top 5 D in the NFL as well as a #1 D for two years straight in College. Coaches like this do not just lose their drive or standards. We scored a JEM in LenRod and Fox. A lot of media pundits agree that Jim LenRod was the D in Denver and not Vance Joseph. I tend to agree.

Our D will be much tougher to play against this year. Add this to an already good offense, one of the best RB's in the NFL, and we have a winning combo.

Chubb, Hoecht, Alford and CJGJ. Oh boy... that's a gang from compton yo/

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

1 minute ago, Dillenger4 said:

Without a doubt - it's Jim LenRod and John Fox. That combo has proven to have a top 5 D in the NFL as well as a #1 D for two years straight in College. Coaches like this do not just lose their drive or standards. We scored a JEM in LenRod and Fox. A lot of media pundits agree that Jim LenRod was the D in Denver and not Vance Joseph. I tend to agree.

Our D will be much tougher to play against this year. Add this to an already good offense, one of the best RB's in the NFL, and we have a winning combo.

Chubb, Hoecht, Alford and CJGJ. Oh boy... that's a gang from compton yo/

Agreed. I don't believe in the give them a year BS. They should be able to figure it out this season with what we have.

[Dillenger4]

Just now, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

Agreed. I don't believe in the give them a year BS. They should be able to figure it out this season with what we have.

Exactly. Our D will be ferocious! The dudes we acquired are just that: weapons and bad asses. It's gonna be a great year man. And our D is the reason.

[Don Otreply]

I also believe that it is never only one person’s presence that shifts what happens on the field, DJ Moore is a very important part of what happens on offense, but it will take the entire offense to make the difference, the same goes for the defense, JLs success will be dependent on the entire defense to make the difference, it’s not just the big plays or big names that shift the results, it’s all the little unheralded things that make the results happen. 

[SoonerBillsFan]

Its Leonhard and Carmichael.

[colin]

i voted Leonhard, but honestly it's the total coaching upgrade.

 

brady has had great success, and he will have his role in the O diluted somewhat with being the HC of course, but he brought in Carmichael as OC while brady retains play calling.  that's quite a proven combo, carmichael has been the non playcalling OC on some very successful offenses.  I'm extrapolating Jimmy L into the NFL as a DC, but I'm comfortable doing so.  he was legit the best DC in college football (in the big 10, without the pull of a michigan or ND or OSU) for years.  he had a senior role in the broco D as well.  he was a player who had a lot of success because of what he has upstairs much more than talent.  he played in the nfl, including in buffalo, so he has credibility with players in a way that most coaches do not.

 

moore is likely going to make the biggest single player impact to our team, but our offense has lead the nfl in scoring over the past 4 or 5 years (in total) and is very frequently in the top 3 in any given year.  our playoff scoring is outstanding, generating high EPA on offense even in games with multiple blunderous mistakes (see Denver in the last playoffs), so while Moore being on our team may have gotten us wins over the texans and the first new england game, we have had multipe games where our offense was on a heater but our defense laid down and was a sieve making the game a loss (at rams in 24 season, at kc in 13 second game) or simply much closer than it should have been (at detroit 24 season, baltimore at buffalo to kick off the 25 season).  better defensive play and a more complimentary football approach of scoring earlier in games could give the whole team a game script to run the ball late (we ran more in the first halves than second halves last season) and to make opponents more 1 dimensional for our D late in games.

 

The team has quietly had a massive overhaul over the past 2 seasons.  all the key coaches, WR 1, WR 3, LG, TE3, RCB, SS, FS, NB, one or two of our MLB, the D line positioning, NT, LDE (i figure that woulda been q jones, now is tj sanders), and OLB/EDGE 2 (chubb), 3 (rook parker), 4 (Hoyt) have changed since the start of the 24 season.  on any given play over half the players on the field will be different (mostly on D tho) and the defensive scheme is totally different.  We will also likely see some different design on O, as we have removed whatever influence mcd had, and added charmichael.

 

i remember after they let hill go, KC had a massive roster rebuild.  it changed the tone of their team and their O actually massively regressed, but their d became super charged and they won back to back chips.  i think we are making moves along those lines, but with much more coaching change.  i don't think our d will be as good as KCs was at their peak, but I don't expect any offensive regression either.

[PromoTheRobot]

I'm looking forward to an attacking style of defense for once.

[strive_for_five_guy]

I’m big on the Bradley Chubb train.  Been really impressed with him in interviews and leadership abilities, and also think he’s going to produce more on the field that expected.  10+ sacks.

[HappyDays]

I'd say Leonhard over Moore but it's close. My reasoning is that in the playoffs we've always consistently scored more than the opposing defense usually gives up even with a paltry WR room. But the defense is consistently giving up more points than the opposing offense usually scores. That second point is what needs to change in order for us to get over the hump. Moore will make it easier for Allen and the rest of the supporting cast but he isn't going to push us to a 40 PPG offense. The defense needs to be better and Leonhard is the main reason that it can be.

[JP51]

1 hour ago, kitchen sink said:

Yes, a good coach can make they entire set of players he coaches better.  Seeing as he coaches the defense the entire defense can be better, which when paired with a good to great offense is a winning formula. 

 

I especially like the fact that he appears to be willing to fit the scheme to the players instead of the players to the scheme, which I think might have been a short coming of the prior coaching. 

I am very interested in does his use of personnel match skills in scheme and does that result in certain players actually being better than we have seen... Carter, Sanders, Bernard, Oliver, etc.... 

1 minute ago, HappyDays said:

I'd say Leonhard over Moore but it's close. My reasoning is that in the playoffs we've always consistently scored more than the opposing defense usually gives up even with a paltry WR room. But the defense is consistently giving up more points than the opposing offense usually scores. That second point is what needs to change in order for us to get over the hump. Moore will make it easier for Allen and the rest of the supporting cast but he isn't going to push us to a 40 PPG offense. The defense needs to be better and Leonhard is the main reason that it can be.

Well I would say pick one thing that gets us over the hump a   better O or a significantly better D... I pick D 

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, JP51 said:

I am very interested in does his use of personnel match skills in scheme and does that result in certain players actually being better than we have seen... Carter, Sanders, Bernard, Oliver, etc.... 

 

Ed just needs to stay healthy. Last season he was dominant when he was on the field. 2024 he was not great the first half of the year but again was nicked up a bit and then came on strong down the stretch. 2023 he was a dominant player. They need Ed to avoid those nicks and he will perform. 

 

Bernard might be better in a 3-4, I don't know. Remains a tbc... it is more what he did in college. I think TJ Sanders is a better fit in this scheme than in Babich / McDermott's. 

 

Carter, meh. I don't think he is good.

[Jauronimo]

3 hours ago, Einstein said:

Great question, but I don't think we will know until at least October. 

Kinda stating an obvious here, but Leonhard could be a stud, or an absolute dud. Just because he was a great coordinator in college doesnt mean it will translate to running the full show in the NFL. Though I do look forward to some more aggressiveness in general.

I don't think we will know what we really need to know until February.  

[sven233]

We have 6 Playoff losses since 2021.  In these games, McDermott's defenses have given up an average of 33 points per game.  We know this.  It is well documented that his defenses can't hold up against great QBs in the Playoffs.

 

If Leonhard can come in and just get that number to a respectable 23 PPG, I think you will see a big difference in the final results for this team.  You know how many of those 6 we would have lost giving up 23?  Just 1..... and that was the game against the Bengals where the team just didn't have anything left emotionally to give.  We would have 5 more Playoff wins and who knows what they would have led to.

 

I know 23 might seem like a tough number to shoot for, but with our offense and the addition of Moore and hopefully an extra 2 possessions per game because our defense can actually get off the field, maybe we could even give up 24-26 and still be OK.  Point is, our defense has been the main reason we haven't gotten to where we have wanted to get to.  Whether it be the total points given up in a game or not being able to get that 1 final stop needed after Allen gives us a lead with just a couple minutes remaining, the defense has been frustrating to say the least.  If Leonhard can just improve up in those 2 areas in the Playoffs, we'll have a chance.  If the offense can't get to 24 and we lose?  Then that will be a different conversation at that time, but I will take my chances with Allen to be able to get to that number when needed.

Edited August 3 by sven233

[djp14150]

3 hours ago, JP51 said:

Welp, training camp is underway, we are getting our first peek at new rookie players, players returning from injury that limited their contributions last years, Free Agents etc... Is Jim Leonhard actually going to be the one that has the biggest overall impact on this team... more aggressive defense, using personnel better situationally, great teacher, more fun to watch defense instead of the slow death by 1000 passes and runs drives.... or will he struggle because we need personnel change, system continuity, rookie DC needs to learn etc...  I am holding out hope that he will be the guy we talk about at the end of the year that has had the biggest impact...  Who do you feel will be the person acquired in the offseason that we will look back on and say yeah, this guy was the one. 

Jury still out.

 

i do think if they are changing the D significantly, we are going to have D mistakes during the first half of the season.  If he gradually add things week to week it might be his full D scheme yet and won’t be until next season

[Bookie Man]

dj moore could be a league winner for FF... and in real life?? 

[dave mcbride]

3 hours ago, Einstein said:

Great question, but I don't think we will know until at least October. 

Kinda stating an obvious here, but Leonhard could be a stud, or an absolute dud. Just because he was a great coordinator in college doesnt mean it will translate to running the full show in the NFL. Though I do look forward to some more aggressiveness in general.

I think he was a great coordinator AS A PLAYER in the NFL. There is a reason Rex and Pettine took him everywhere. He's the only player who knew how to run that defense.

[PoundingDog]

15 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

I think he was a great coordinator AS A PLAYER in the NFL. There is a reason Rex and Pettine took him everywhere. He's the only player who knew how to run that defense.

Has ESPN canned Rex? If not, you can bet if the Leonhard's defensive does anything good for the Bills, Rex would point out how great a design of that play is from one of his binders, giving Leonhard some praise of course. Actually, this might give Rex a chance to breakdown a defensive play for once, something he's never done since he's out of Bills HC job.

[Einstein]

46 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

I don't think we will know what we really need to know until February.  

If we find out in February I will be very happy.

[Charles Romes]

Many are thinking we hired the wrong guy as the HC. If we lose to the Texans and/or Lions while holding them to under 20 look out.