Micah Hyde to everyone critiquing the W1 defense and Jim Leonhard…

[eball]

”Shut the hell up.”

 

Basically, said Leonhard doesn’t even really know his guys yet and fans/media need to be patient. Said they got the stops when needed and early in the season the ONLY thing that matters is getting a W. Breakdowns in the secondary will improve as they play more.

 

He also said that no team truly knows what they have as a defense until November.

 

So, take that FWIW.

 

[BuffaloBillyG]

Just now, eball said:

”Shut the hell up.”

 

Basically, said Leonhard doesn’t even really know his guys yet and fans/media need to be patient. Said they got the stops when needed and early in the season the ONLY thing that matters is getting a W. Breakdowns in the secondary will improve as they play more.

 

He also said that no team truly knows what they have as a defense until November.

 

So, take that FWIW.

 

I think it's ok to not like what we saw for the most part last week, and understand that it should get better as the season goes along. 

 

It was really nice seeing the defense come up with the play to seal the game. For the first half of the season if they can make the key play in a key moment, that's all we can hope for. 

 

With all we saw against the Texans, it gives Leonhard a lot of tape to make corrections. And I believe that was the first time he called a defense in the NFL. Nowhere to go but up IMO. 

 

That said, Thursday may be especially ugly against a good Lion offense. As long as that side of the ball is humming come snowfall time we will be in good shape. 

[Andrew Son]

4 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I think it's ok to not like what we saw for the most part last week, and understand that it should get better as the season goes along. 

Especially when it's the same issues as always.  The inability to generate a pass rush or get off the field on 3rd down.

 

That's not the same as teams like HOU or DEN having poor first defensive games coming off of excellent defensive seasons.  

[Billsatlastin2018]

Hold on Micah!

 

Defense has been a huge issue during the Josh Allen era. MANY Bills fans would say that they were a critical factor in not getting to ONE Lombardi game. Generally, this is because #17 has put the Bills ahead late, but the D coughed it up to lose.

 

So, it is absolutely correct to wonder why, even with the hiring of a DC Specialist, it was sieve time yet again, giving up 30+ points in Week 1.

 

Like Hyde, we hope it gets resolved asap. 
Show us.

[BuffaloBillyG]

4 minutes ago, Billsatlastin2018 said:

Hold on Micah!

 

Defense has been a huge issue during the Josh Allen era. MANY Bills fans would say that they were a critical factor in not getting to ONE Lombardi game. Generally, this is because #17 has put the Bills ahead late, but the D coughed it up to lose.

 

So, it is absolutely correct to wonder why, even with the hiring of a DC Specialist, it was sieve time yet again, giving up 30+ points in Week 1.

 

Like Hyde, we hope it gets resolved asap. 
Show us.

In fairness, all those defensive failures on the past have nothing to do with the team today. Leonhard wasn't here for those. 

 

The wonder why part is pretty easy to understand. This year is an entirely new system. Guys have to learn and get comfortable with a lot of new assignments & terminology and guys playing next to them that were elsewhere last year this time. It's a work in progress. 

 

It's also a pretty safe bet that we need another offseason to get the guys Leonhard needs to make his defense work. There are a lot of holdovers from last year that are being given an audition. Some will be up to it (Groot) and some may need to be upgraded. 

[GaryPinC]

16 minutes ago, Andrew Son said:

Especially when it's the same issues as always.  The inability to generate a pass rush or get off the field on 3rd down.

 

That's not the same as teams like HOU or DEN having poor first defensive games coming off of excellent defensive seasons.  

Same issues, very different reasons

[Andrew Son]

9 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

In fairness, all those defensive failures on the past have nothing to do with the team today. Leonhard wasn't here for those. 

But Beane was.

 

Everyone has convinced themselves that McDermott was the problem.  With him gone Beane was finally going to be able to pick the defensive players!  No more long edge setters and undersized tackles!  We're going to finally get some explosive bend off the edge and beef in the middle!

 

And what does he do in his first offseason without McD?  Sign Chubb and draft Parker, two guys with the same attributes as always that you wouldn't blink at as base 4-3 ends under Sean.  And no true nose again while adding another undersized 3T type in Durant.

 

Year after year heavy defensive investment for poor results.  To me no criticism should be leveled at Leonhard yet obviously, it is and has been a personnel problem.  

 

Hopefully Josh doesn't get Beaned again this year.   

Edited September 16 by Andrew Son

[RochesterLifer]

I am finding the angst over our week one defense humorous.

• We have a new coordinator with a new system and philosophy. Expecting a finely tuned performance this early is unrealistic.
• A major complaint on past defenses has been our inability to close the deal. Sunday, our D was solid in the second half and ended the game forcing a turnover, from agressiveness and pressure.

Enjoy folks, we won in Houston by taking the game to them.

[Magox]

His larger point is correct, which is that A) This defense is growing into a new scheme with some new faces and B) Often times even semi established defenses take some time to gel with one another.

 

There were tons of miscommunications and blown coverages, strip that out and the defense had a decent performance.   We didn't get gashed in the ground game, yes they were effective at times at getting just enough yards to be able to convert some short third and fourth downs, but the team made some big plays at the biggest moments of the game.

 

I believe this defense will continue to improve as the season progresses.  Not linearly but overall.

 

 

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

There was a lot left to be desired defensively week 1. 47 was abused, we couldn’t get off the field on third down again and the tackling is still poor.

 

That being said, two things I feel wholeheartedly. Years past we don’t score that TD before the half. Truthfully, we don’t even try to. Also, years past defense, we don’t stop them on the last drive. Even-though it was bad at times, I already trust this defense more than I did. This DC will keep punching. Be won’t just sit back and hope you mess up. I liked the mindset change. When it gets right, it’s going to be a MASSIVE upgrade. I loved the philosophical change and it’s going to be monumental for this team

[Gregg]

Just now, Andrew Son said:

But Beane has.

 

Everyone has convinced themselves that McDermott was the problem.  With him gone Beane was finally going to be able to pick the defensive players!  No more long edge setters and undersized tackles!  We're going to finally get some explosive bend off the edge and beef in the middle!

 

And what does he do in his first offseason without McD?  Sign Chubb and draft Parker, two guys with the same attributes as always that you wouldn't blink at as base 4-3 ends under Sean.  And no true nose again while adding another undersized 3T type in Durant.

 

Year after year heavy defensive investment for poor results.  To me no criticism should be leveled at Leonhard yet obviously, it is and has been a personnel problem.  

 

Hopefully Josh doesn't get Beaned again this year.   

 

I don't expect this to happen at least not anytime soon, but it might not be a bad idea for Beane to step down as GM and just remain president of football ops. Then he can hire a GM who could takeover. Maybe Terry will force the issue at some point for Beane to hire a new GM. Running the entire football side of the organization along with the responsibilities of the GM is a lot to have on one's plate for one person.

[Andrew Son]

Just now, Gregg said:

 

I don't expect this to happen at least not anytime soon, but it might not be a bad idea for Beane to step down as GM and just remain president of football ops. Then he can hire a GM who could takeover. Maybe Terry will force the issue at some point for Beane to hire a new GM. Running the entire football side of the organization along with the responsibilities of the GM is a lot to have on one's plate for one person.

He should have been shown the door with Sean, IMO.

 

Hopefully I'm wrong.

[colin]

7 minutes ago, Andrew Son said:

But Beane was.

 

Everyone has convinced themselves that McDermott was the problem.  With him gone Beane was finally going to be able to pick the defensive players!  No more long edge setters and undersized tackles!  We're going to finally get some explosive bend off the edge and beef in the middle!

 

And what does he do in his first offseason without McD?  Sign Chubb and draft Parker, two guys with the same attributes as always that you wouldn't blink at as base 4-3 ends under Sean.  And no true nose again while adding another undersized 3T type in Durant.

 

Year after year heavy defensive investment for poor results.  To me no criticism should be leveled at Leonhard yet obviously, it is and has been a personnel problem.  

 

Hopefully Josh doesn't get Beaned again this year.   

 

if we go out the same way, same defensive breakdown in the playoffs with a great offensive showing, i don't think beane gets ousted, but the seat gets really really warm, fast.

[Mikie2times]

I really don't know what people expected to see for game 1. I was THRILLED with the run defense. That is just a philosophical change and I agree with it. You want to dictate, you cant deprioritize run defense. Monty was going to get fed in that game. In a past life, it would have led to even more ball control, shortened game. We challenged Houston every play. That is what people wanted. We didn't win a lot of those challenges but we made the critical plays to close the game out. Groot had 2 sacks, Walker was a monster. Groot could very well be a 12+ sack guy in this system, dare I say 14+? Match that with Walkers growth. It's not like Chubb and Ed are trash. This is going to be a very strong DL as the season matures. The back end will improve as they learn. We will see better blitz packages. This unit is going to really come together late in the year. This was never the time for style points on defense. It was the time to learn and hope it doesn't prevent W's. Which it didn't do last week. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

4 minutes ago, Andrew Son said:

But Beane was.

 

Everyone has convinced themselves that McDermott was the problem.  With him gone Beane was finally going to be able to pick the defensive players!  No more long edge setters and undersized tackles!  We're going to finally get some explosive bend off the edge and beef in the middle!

 

And what does he do in his first offseason without McD?  Sign Chubb and draft Parker, two guys with the same attributes as always that you wouldn't blink at as base 4-3 ends under Sean.  And no true nose again while adding another undersized 3T type in Durant.

 

Year after year heavy defensive investment for poor results.  To me no criticism should be leveled at Leonhard yet obviously, it is and has been a personnel problem.  

 

Hopefully Josh doesn't get Beaned again this year.   

You do realize Chubb has extensive experience in a 3-4 defense, right? I know he didn't have a tremendous first game, but he was a really solid get for this defense. 

 

And I literally roll my eyes when people talk about a "true NT" like it's 1985 and a NT has to be 350lbs. That's not the position anymore. 

 

If you aren't going to level criticism at Leonhard (and rightfully not after just ONE game) then it's not really fair to level criticism on Beane about the personal after ONE game in this defense as well. We need to be patient and see where it is come November/December. 

[Gregg]

Just now, Andrew Son said:

He should have been shown the door with Sean, IMO.

 

Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

He probably will get three years with Brady. If the Bills don't reach the Super Bowl soon (this year or 2027) then his job security is definitely in doubt. IMHO

[Charles Romes]

Can’t remember the last time the D won a game for Allen without requiring the cape to go on. Was hoping that would different this year.  The D carries every Super Bowl winning QB to a number of wins per season.  

[warrior9]

54 minutes ago, eball said:

”Shut the hell up.”

 

Basically, said Leonhard doesn’t even really know his guys yet and fans/media need to be patient. Said they got the stops when needed and early in the season the ONLY thing that matters is getting a W. Breakdowns in the secondary will improve as they play more.

 

He also said that no team truly knows what they have as a defense until November.

 

So, take that FWIW.

 

I mentioned in another thread that this reminds me of when Spags first took over the Chiefs... They were the worst defense for like 6-7 weeks then became the best defense in the NFL rest of season. 

 

This is COMPLETELY new scheme, new checks, etc. We saw a ton of substitution issues, safety/CB miscommunication, etc. These are guys who played in a very standard base defense and moved to a hybrid. McD's defense is the only pro defense most of these guys knew.. it's going to take time.

[Gregg]

Just now, Charles Romes said:

Can’t remember the last time the D won a game for Allen without requiring the cape to go on. Was hoping that would different this year.  The D carries every Super Bowl winning QB to a number of wins per season.  

 

As far as playoff games go the defense won the Ravens game from the covid years. That was the game they had a 100-yard pick 6. The Bills offense didn't do much in that game. The defense has helped Allen win many regular season games over the years. It's the playoff games that has been the problem.

[gonzo1105]

Gotta remember that while they’ve had practice and chalk time together a lot of these guys have never been in a field during a game together. 
 

CGJ and Bishop were both injured in camp, Hairston didn’t get any game reps till preseason 3 and Benford got obvious reasons isn’t going to play a lot so 4 out of the 5 starting DBs were either injured or sat out so they didn’t get injured. They need time to gel and get better hopefully