Guest dog14787 Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 We had a playoff defense last year...so considering we are healthy and have a lot more talent IMO with a strong draft and our vets like Schobel back, this is an easy yes. Anyone who thinks we missed the playoffs last year because of our defense wasnt watching the games. Our Defense played well enough for us to win, and the only game we were blown out of was AZ. Our offense couldnt score points and THAT is why we missed the playoffs. Our offense was a pathetic in majority of the last 8 games... You dont have to be a top 5 D to make the playoffs. It sure helps though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Williams+Williams+Williams Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 We had a playoff defense last year...so considering we are healthy and have a lot more talent IMO with a strong draft and our vets like Schobel back, this is an easy yes. Anyone who thinks we missed the playoffs last year because of our defense wasnt watching the games. Our Defense played well enough for us to win, and the only game we were blown out of was AZ. Our offense couldnt score points and THAT is why we missed the playoffs. Our offense was a pathetic in majority of the last 8 games... You dont have to be a top 5 D to make the playoffs. Defense wins championships. If you cant score, you cant win. However, I agree that in a lot of games, our defense did play well enough to win games. Our offense sucked. That San Fransisco game might have been the most pitiful offensive performance I've ever seen by Buffalo. Defense wins championships though. Look at the Giants vs Pats Superbowl. The Pats were unstoppable on offense until they ran into the Giants D-line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 considering we dont have any pro bowlers on defense, i am going to have to go wit a big F no We will have no pro bowlers on offense either, since they'll be getting ready to play in the Superbowl... 19 and 0 baby!!! GO BILLSSS!!!! PosLUSZny!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I think the Bills still need an every down,pass rushing OLB.With that one addition I think our DE and DT position would be OK as it is. Who is out there we could still trade for or may be a coming cap release? Or, regardless of what is said by the team, would starting AM at OLB be wise. Our DEs are still lacking. Next year we can purge Scobel and Kelsay and get a couple of solid guys in there. We also need an OLB. Our D front seven is better than last year --but still a year or two away from being a playoff defense.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Bills are missing two things for me to say they have a playoff caliber defense. One is an obvious one and thats a solid outside linebacker. But what gives me hope is that there are decent upgrades out there for relatively nothing. The next thing we need is a big D-tackle to pair up with Stroud. John Henderson seems to be a pipe dream and there might not be much else out there epically for what the Bills would like to give up. A gut like Ryan Pickett would be ideal but I don't think he is on the block. A guy like Docket might be available but the Bills don't want to give up a lot of picks plus dole out an extension even if the guy was actually on the block. I like Kyle Williams but not as a starter he seems more like a situational kind of player. And Spencer Johnson is a rotational player as well. So a linebacker is a need I hope we address asap because it won't cost us that much. As for DT I think we are going with what we got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjohns85 Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 considering we dont have any pro bowlers on defense, i am going to have to go wit a big F no ok , no pro bowlers, i take that back. no one on our defense is dominant or a game changer. is that better ? i guarantee no offense is afraid of matching up with our defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 ok , no pro bowlers, i take that back. no one on our defense is dominant or a game changer. is that better ? i guarantee no offense is afraid of matching up with our defense. Well, I don't really think any offense would ever be "afraid" of facing off against a Cover 2 defense. The system is supposed to be more about giving teams fits and causing confusion (and theoretically interceptions) than playing smashmouth football. I'd equate our defense with a crafty pitcher who throws 85 mph with a pretty nice curveball. He CAN be dominant if he hits his spots, but if anything goes wrong he'll get hit hard. This is opposed to a power blitzing 3-4 defense, which is the flamethrower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjohns85 Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Well, I don't really think any offense would ever be "afraid" of facing off against a Cover 2 defense. The system is supposed to be more about giving teams fits and causing confusion (and theoretically interceptions) than playing smashmouth football. I'd equate our defense with a crafty pitcher who throws 85 mph with a pretty nice curveball. He CAN be dominant if he hits his spots, but if anything goes wrong he'll get hit hard. This is opposed to a power blitzing 3-4 defense, which is the flamethrower. so you're telling me during tampa's super bowl run, which the tampa 2 is named for, no teams were afraid to go up against that d? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Question marks on defense (I didn't read every post so I apologize for repeating anything already posted): -- Schobel's health -- Maybin's immediate contribution -- OLB -- FS That's four out of eleven positions I'm concerned about. I do believe the Bills are very solid at DT and two of the three LB spots, and the secondary (less questions at FS) should be outstanding. If Schobel is truly healthy and Maybin provides a legitimate 3rd down pass rush threat, the other two question marks don't bother me as much and then I'd consider the defense "playoff caliber." Very good analysis but I would add point number five which is DE depth. Maybin will help if he pans out but last season exposed the fact that after Schobel there is a huge drop off in talent. The rotation suggests that there must be at least three and preferably four good ones on the roster. A possible 6th point is ditto for DT. After Stroud and Williams there is questionable depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iinii Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 "All Pro" selections hold much more weight than the popularity contest that has become the Pro Bowl. Remember a couple of seasons ago when 11 or 12 Cowboys made the team? You think they all REALLY deserved the invite? You think Peters deserved to be in the Pro Bowl last year? The Pro Bowl has lost all credibility as being a game with the most deserving players after that selection IMO. As far as what our team needs? I think we need another GOOD DT to go along with Stroud. I also think we need a top notch OLB to go along with Poz and Mitchell. We also need a GOOD Safety to go along with Whitner. Whether it be a SS so he can play FS or the opposite, I don't care. Byrd may be the answer to the S position and Harris possibly for the LB position. Only time will tell. I'm still hoping that McCargo turns out to be a good DT, but this is my last season of putting any kind of hope in that guy. I couldn't agree more. Another stud DT would make a huge difference, no pun intended. Back when Mr. Washington occupied the middle real estate was hard to come by. I am a firm beleiver that it all starts up front which is why I wanted us to pick up Moala. When the dust settles on this draft 31 teams are going to wish they had called out Fili on draft day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacus Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I think the Bills still need an every down,pass rushing OLB.With that one addition I think our DE and DT position would be OK as it is. Who is out there we could still trade for or may be a coming cap release? Or, regardless of what is said by the team, would starting AM at OLB be wise. team could not stop the run last year and they did not add anybody to fix the problem same scheme no big DT no big LB added only a midget DE and a SS to be converted into a midget LB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Williams+Williams+Williams Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Well, I don't really think any offense would ever be "afraid" of facing off against a Cover 2 defense. The system is supposed to be more about giving teams fits and causing confusion (and theoretically interceptions) than playing smashmouth football. I'd equate our defense with a crafty pitcher who throws 85 mph with a pretty nice curveball. He CAN be dominant if he hits his spots, but if anything goes wrong he'll get hit hard. This is opposed to a power blitzing 3-4 defense, which is the flamethrower. Great analogy. Thank you for pointing this out. I'm assuming you play or have played football on a higher level. I've been pointing this out for years now. This 4-3 "tampa 2" defense is the most impractacle defense in the NFL - ever. Holy sh--, it worked in Tampa, and it worked in Indy. Worst defense ever unless you are talented or lucky enough to pick the right players to fit the scheme. 3-4 needs are much easier to fill. 1. We don't have the talent on our interior D-line. A 4-3 requires an all pro tackle and all pro 3 technique. 2. We don't have the talent at D-end to rush the pass with no LB pressure 3. Poz can run to cover deep middle, but Ellison is awful and could never cover any NFL #3 and he's shown that. 4. Fewell doesn't even know when or how to call a zone blitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphadawg7 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Defense wins championships. If you cant score, you cant win. However, I agree that in a lot of games, our defense did play well enough to win games. Our offense sucked. That San Fransisco game might have been the most pitiful offensive performance I've ever seen by Buffalo. Defense wins championships though. Look at the Giants vs Pats Superbowl. The Pats were unstoppable on offense until they ran into the Giants D-line. Worst Buffalo game I have seen was one I was at...Bills at SF with Todd Collins as QB and he threw 5 INT's and I still hear about it to this day from the Niner Fan friend I was at the game with...lol. Because the Giants beat the Pats doesnt mean you have to have an Elite D to win the SB...In fact, a marginal D and Great offense beat the best D in the league...Indy vs Chi... Truth is, the "defense winse championships" is so overly played out and its not nearly as common as people make it out to be, and its been proven. FYI: Points win championships...doesnt do any good if you keep the other team from scoring if you cant score either...see Buffalo vs. SF this year... If you can keep the other team from scoring many points, sure, life is easier. But you ultimately have to score more points than them to win the game. For every Giants over NE team, there is an Indy over Chi and St. Louis over Tenn game...its all relative and comes down more to matchups more than anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 I agree with Alpha's basic premise that the D wasn't the most glaring problem last year. But I still can't get those 10 minute 4th qtr possessions by the Dolphins and Jets out of my head. Far too often we didn't put offenses in less manageable down/distance situations i.e. we couldn't dictate the play. And the times we did have favorable down/distance situations we gave up too many 3rd and long conversions to opposing offences. All that said though, our offense needs to help our D by keeping the ball and scoring points! GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 You dont have to be a top 5 D to make the playoffs. This is true, but in order to be a success, a football team has to stop their opponent from running the football against them. This will never change. When you can dominate your opponent on the ground, you physically punish your opponent and win the battle of time of possession. This almost always results in wins. Take away Stroud, and the Bills are very weak at DT, thus it won't be easy to stop their opponents running attacks. This becomes even more prominent on 3rd and short plays. Hey....I am glad that the Bills were able to fill needs in this draft. They have some tough guys on the interior OL and I praise them for bringing them in. Next, they need to do the same thing on defense. Again, Stroud is the only good DT imo and even he is not young. Maybe in 2010 they can fix the DT position, and hopefully fire Jauron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 [quote name='Alphadawg7' date='May 5 2009, 11:59 PM' post='1420154' Truth is, the "defense winse championships" is so overly played out and its not nearly as common as people make it out to be, and its been proven. FYI: Points win championships...doesnt do any good if you keep the other team from scoring if you cant score either...see Buffalo vs. SF this year... I agree with this to a point. I think that defense (more often than not) wins superbowls, but offense can carry teams to a playoff spot. Ultimately, the really great teams were balanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 We need to get more pressure on the QB. The rest will take care of itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynical Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 A one trick pony that can give you 8-10 sacks a year for ten years and a CB that was the highest rated free safety on the board. Byrd will be the opening day FS. I am glad you can foretell the future. Now, what are the winning numbers for the next draw of the Mega Millions? Right now, Maybin is nothing more than a one trick pony with ZERO NFL sacks. While I like his potential, he still has to prove he can play at this level. That's not Coastal Carolina or Temple he's going to be facing from now on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pBills Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 If the Bills can sign a quality DT in this offseason I think that the defense will be well its way to having a playoff type of defense... definitely Top 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 We need to get more pressure on the QB. The rest will take care of itself. Not really. Your signatuure would sure help the situation, because Henderson is strong enough to make a big difference vs. the run. As for pass rush, he has 26.5 sacks in 7 seasons. Not bad, but do you see my point? If teams can run on you all day, they will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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