***PetrinoInAlbany*** Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 - - To date, the Bills defense is playing at a level that ... well ... check this out ... The Bills have given up 73 points in their four games, total. Let me put that in perspective: Only five teams in the NFL have allowed LESS. The Giants, Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle and the Pats. So what? Well... the COMBINED RECORD of those five teams is ... 18-4 ! The comparison is almost head-to-head because three of them played only four games (like us) and THEY are a combined 10-2. We're wasting a superb defensive season. - - Is it just me, or did it infuriate you at SOME point yesterday when you realized you were making all your mid- and late-game assessments of our chances knowing that if the Jets scored 15 we couldn't win? To me, this is the most frustrating kind of season there is to be a part of. Your D is out there smothering opponents and keeping the games right there to take ... and we haven't taken one. - - Oh, and McGahee averaged five yards a tote, while Travis went 2.75-per ... I remember two weeks ago when Mularkey was saying that, at that time, they didn't want to give Willis more than 25% of the workload. Well, yesterday was two weeks after that. And the guy has to wait until Travis turns an ankle? Please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Sorry. "A-1" defenses don't allow a team to march the length of the field for the winning points in the final minutes of a game. If the Jets hadn't shot themselves in the foot (Pennington's bad INT, the red zone fumble, the missed chip shot FG), this great D would have given up a lot more than 16 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous Guy Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Your D is out there smothering opponents and keeping the games right there to take ... and we haven't taken one. 65060[/snapback] with all due respect, the Jets converting almost 60% of thier 3rd downs and having 383 total yards ain't exactly smothering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Sorry. "A-1" defenses don't allow a team to march the length of the field for the winning points in the final minutes of a game. If the Jets hadn't shot themselves in the foot (Pennington's bad INT, the red zone fumble, the missed chip shot FG), this great D would have given up a lot more than 16 points. 65071[/snapback] That is correct. When was the last time this defense held a lead of 6 point of less late in the game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
***PetrinoInAlbany*** Posted October 11, 2004 Author Share Posted October 11, 2004 with all due respect, the Jets converting almost 60% of thier 3rd downs and having 383 total yards ain't exactly smothering. 65076[/snapback] Disagree, also respectfully... The "bend but don't break" philosophy works for me, because it accounts for teams getting tough down close. The number that gets posted on the scoreboard is points, and if you are holding your opponents to 18 points-a-game, you better be winning games. And as for the Jets, it's true they "shot themselves in the foot," but the ref had their back with the ridiculous interference in the end zone. Our guy got his hand on the ball cleanly and had already looked back. That was a bad call ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CentralVaBills Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 -- To date, the Bills defense is playing at a level that ... well ... check this out ... The Bills have given up 73 points in their four games, total. Let me put that in perspective: Only five teams in the NFL have allowed LESS. The Giants, Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle and the Pats. So what? Well... the COMBINED RECORD of those five teams is ... 18-4 ! The comparison is almost head-to-head because three of them played only four games (like us) and THEY are a combined 10-2. We're wasting a superb defensive season. - - Is it just me, or did it infuriate you at SOME point yesterday when you realized you were making all your mid- and late-game assessments of our chances knowing that if the Jets scored 15 we couldn't win? To me, this is the most frustrating kind of season there is to be a part of. Your D is out there smothering opponents and keeping the games right there to take ... and we haven't taken one. - - Oh, and McGahee averaged five yards a tote, while Travis went 2.75-per ... I remember two weeks ago when Mularkey was saying that, at that time, they didn't want to give Willis more than 25% of the workload. Well, yesterday was two weeks after that. And the guy has to wait until Travis turns an ankle? Please. 65060[/snapback] Ummmmmm, this defense has choked TWICE this season when it counted. Good defenses don't do that. Baltimore's defense is the focal point of their team. Their defense would have relished to be in the position ours was in in both the Jax game AND the NY game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeRay Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Sorry to burst your bubble, but this defenses is slightly better than average. It's given up game winning scores in 3 of the 4 losses and even if the Bills had tied New England, my money would have been on Brady leading the Pats to a game winning drive. This defense aint gonna scare anyone. It may be better than average against the run, but there is no consistent pass rush to speak of from the defensive line. This defense has to manufacture sacks if it's gonna get them.... a blitzing LB here, a corner blitz there and a sfety blitz there. The corners are average and Clements gets burned more than McDonald's fry cook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
***PetrinoInAlbany*** Posted October 11, 2004 Author Share Posted October 11, 2004 Sorry to burst your bubble, but this defenses is slightly better than average. It's given up game winning scores in 3 of the 4 losses and even if the Bills had tied New England, my money would have been on Brady leading the Pats to a game winning drive. This defense aint gonna scare anyone. It may be better than average against the run, but there is no consistent pass rush to speak of from the defensive line. This defense has to manufacture sacks if it's gonna get them.... a blitzing LB here, a corner blitz there and a sfety blitz there. The corners are average and Clements gets burned more than McDonald's fry cook. 65101[/snapback] Again, I disagree... and it goes back to the point I was making in my original post. Would they have been "game winning scores" for the opponent if our OFFENSE was able to score more than ten points? Would our D "scare" more people if they could tee off once in a great while instead of having to play 'box' all the time because our offense punts on six CONSECUTIVE possessions? How many sacks does ANY defense get when the opponent is CONSTANTLY runing to protect a lead? I respectfully but STRONGLY DISAGREE. This D is among the best. At the end of the game, take a look at which defensive "stat" makes it to the scoreboard... it's POINTS. The teams giving up the same amount of scoring as our D are a combined 18-4. WE should be 3-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Again, I disagree... and it goes back to the point I was making in my original post. Would they have been "game winning scores" for the opponent if our OFFENSE was able to score more than ten points? Would our D "scare" more people if they could tee off once in a great while instead of having to play 'box' all the time because our offense punts on six CONSECUTIVE possessions? How many sacks does ANY defense get when the opponent is CONSTANTLY runing to protect a lead? I respectfully but STRONGLY DISAGREE. This D is among the best. At the end of the game, take a look at which defensive "stat" makes it to the scoreboard... it's POINTS. The teams giving up the same amount of scoring as our D are a combined 18-4. WE should be 3-1. 65119[/snapback] Again, the point is when has this defense stood up and stopped an opponent when the game is on the line? The points allowed are very deceiving, because this D has not stopped anyone when they HAD to preserve a win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
***PetrinoInAlbany*** Posted October 11, 2004 Author Share Posted October 11, 2004 Again, the point is when has this defense stood up and stopped an opponent when the game is on the line? The points allowed are very deceiving, because this D has not stopped anyone when they HAD to preserve a win. 65153[/snapback] Again, the point is, they are holding opponents to 18 points a game. The question you should be asking is, "When has this OFFENSE done IT'S job?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CentralVaBills Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Again, the point is when has this defense stood up and stopped an opponent when the game is on the line? The points allowed are very deceiving, because this D has not stopped anyone when they HAD to preserve a win. 65153[/snapback] Exactly, the strength of this team and alot of the money of the cap is in this defense. And it constantly gets beat when it counts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous Guy Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Again, the point is, they are holding opponents to 18 points a game. The question you should be asking is, "When has this OFFENSE done IT'S job?" 65160[/snapback] your mother wears army boots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CentralVaBills Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Again, the point is, they are holding opponents to 18 points a game. The question you should be asking is, "When has this OFFENSE done IT'S job?" 65160[/snapback] Another way of looking at how average this defense is...... JAX maybe has a worse offense than we do, if that's possible, Oakland is a bad team, NE torched us, and the Jets pretty much had their way with us, shooting themselves in the foot a couple of times. This defense is NOT one of the best in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven in MD Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Ummmmmm, this defense has choked TWICE this season when it counted. Good defenses don't do that. Baltimore's defense is the focal point of their team. Their defense would have relished to be in the position ours was in in both the Jax game AND the NY game. 65098[/snapback] Just watch the Ravens/Skins game last night. That is how a defense should play.....when the offense sucks...the defenses goes out and wins the game. Not just stop the other team, but wins it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Again, the point is, they are holding opponents to 18 points a game. The question you should be asking is, "When has this OFFENSE done IT'S job?" 65160[/snapback] Yesterday. They scored the go ahead TD with 4 minutes to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CentralVaBills Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Disagree, also respectfully... The "bend but don't break" philosophy works for me, because it accounts for teams getting tough down close. The number that gets posted on the scoreboard is points, and if you are holding your opponents to 18 points-a-game, you better be winning games. And as for the Jets, it's true they "shot themselves in the foot," but the ref had their back with the ridiculous interference in the end zone. Our guy got his hand on the ball cleanly and had already looked back. That was a bad call ... 65085[/snapback] Bad calls even out though, Evans pushed off on his TD from Drew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Again, the point is, they are holding opponents to 18 points a game. The question you should be asking is, "When has this OFFENSE done IT'S job?" 65160[/snapback] How many times/ways does the point need to be made? The low points allowed by a defense are a mirage because they are letting in just enough points for the Bills to lose. The Bills have a good run D, but a horrible pass D. How well do you think this D would fare if the opponent decided to keep a pass happy game plan going, especially in a catchup? I think that an outcome like last year's 31-0 disaster at NE is a lot closer to the probable outcome than the 13-10 nailbiters that we've witnessed. Review tapes of last year's Tenn & Indy games for evidence of the D folding when an opponent needed to come back. What has changed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Again, the point is when has this defense stood up and stopped an opponent when the game is on the line? The points allowed are very deceiving, because this D has not stopped anyone when they HAD to preserve a win. Again, the point is, they are holding opponents to 18 points a game. The question you should be asking is, "When has this OFFENSE done IT'S job?" 65160[/snapback] Sad thing is, you're both right. Win as a team, lose as a team, and this TEAM seems to have a pretty good handle on the losing part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
***PetrinoInAlbany*** Posted October 11, 2004 Author Share Posted October 11, 2004 Did I say that we opened with punts on six CONSECUTIVE possessions? My bad ... we punted on our first SEVEN possessions. Yeah, the D's the problem ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 How many times/ways does the point need to be made? The low points allowed by a defense are a mirage because they are letting in just enough points for the Bills to lose. The Bills have a good run D, but a horrible pass D. How well do you think this D would fare if the opponent decided to keep a pass happy game plan going, especially in a catchup? I think that an outcome like last year's 31-0 disaster at NE is a lot closer to the probable outcome than the 13-10 nailbiters that we've witnessed. Review tapes of last year's Tenn & Indy games for evidence of the D folding when an opponent needed to come back. What has changed? 65190[/snapback] The defense is giving up 18.25 per game this year opposed to 17.43 last year. The offense is giving scoring 12.75 this year opposed to 15.19 last year. Yes, the defense might not be as good as the points they gave up last year and has had trouble stopping teams in the last few minutes of games. Yet to squarely place the blame on the defense is irresponsible. You cite the Bills having a horrible pass defense, according to Yahoo! it ranks 17th best in the NFL, which is middle of the pack. FYI Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Minnesota are a few teams that rank lower, true some like Philly and Minny are skewed because their offenses are forcing their opponents to pass more since behind a lot (see Minny's game against Houston yesterday) but Atlanta and Baltimore's offense haven't been puting up tons of points this year but they have put up enough to give each a winning record. Look at the NFL Standings, almost every team that has a record above .500 has averaged more then 18 points a game, I said it in the preseason and still maintain if the Bills offense could put up 17 points a game there's no reason they couldn't win every game on the schedule this true which holds true minus the Patriots game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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