Bills/Jaguars Film Review: Bills defense

are you referring to the fact that everybody hates Ellison to begin with?

Our secondary is very exciting and they are all pretty young. I would love to see more of Leodis but if Ashton is playing well, that’s absolutely fine. I have been a big supporter of Ashton since day one and he is really bringing it around. I don’t know how much this has to do with it, but Ohio St. usually turns out pretty good corners so he has some pedigree. Very bright future!

Last week I posted that I’ve yet to see anyone pick on Greer. The Jags clearly tried to do that in this game and Greer definately won the battle. This kid is tough. I know Youboti’s play has got people excited and they are going to start calling for him to take over at corner. They really are two different positions. Youboti is playing great football but that doesn’t mean the defense gets better if he takes over for Greer. They are both very valuable where they’re at.

does that mean he was completely out of the plays, or actually did a solid job tackling? If it’s the latter, then he must be improving his tackling technique, because he’s been one of the worst tacklers on the team the past 2 years.

The secondary is definitely playing a lot better than last year, that’s for sure. A few things on that from me:

-I’ve noticed that we aren’t giving the cushion as much as in the past, but it’s still that a good chunk of the time. Any idea how often Fewell keeps the corners far off the ball? It seems like every time he does it, the opposition goes right to the WR’s short…

-I’ve been very happy with the play of McGee thus far. He’s stuck his nose in there in the run game, like usual, but he seems to be blanketing receivers this year. Again, we aren’t exactly play good WR’s here, but it’s still encouraging. I love that’s he’s been getting his hands on the ball a lot this year, with the 2 picks and a number of close calls. I love having guys who go after the ball back there.

-Greer has been pretty decent too. He’s been pretty close to some INT’s thus far, but seems more content going for the knockdown. Hopefully, he can turn a few of those into some gamechanging picks. I am calling it now, he gets a pick or two by the end of September….

-I’m still disappointed in the front 4’s pass rush. It seems we can only get pressure when we blitz, which is going to burn us soon. I do enjoy giving the QB much less time back there though, so in no way do I want the blitzing to stop. I just want to finally get some pressure without having to do so.

-The safeties have been solid, but far from spectacular. Whitner looks like the same old guy, good against the run, and doesn’t provide a whole lot of an impact in the pass game. I’ve noticed him make some tackles up on the line in the run game, but been non-existent in the secondary as a playmaker. This was something we all wanted him to improve on, but it just doesn’t seem like it’ll happen. Whether that’s the D we play or Whitner, I’m not totally sure, but I really wish our safeties were bigger playmakers like they are in other Cover 2 type schemes. I haven’t noticed Ko on D at all, which is probably good as a FS. We haven’t given up a big pass yet, to his credit, but again, let’s hope he starts making some plays. I have been thoroughly impressed by his play on ST’s, something I wasn’t expecting out of him. He seems to make every other tackle on kick coverage. I love that type of play.

I like what Fewell’s done thus far with the different looks, blitzes, alignments and personnel packages. I absolutely love when he brings Youboty off the corner, that kid is simply a playmaker. Nobody has mentioned how smart he is either. The kid always seems to make the right play with perfect technique. My favorite part of his sack was the chop at the ball he gave to Garrard. That is something you don’t see CB’s do too often, and again proves this kid is a playmaker that just knows how to go after the ball. It’s too bad Garrard is so strong and was able to hang on.

Question if you’ve noticed, how often is Scott in there? Just goalline, or does he take over for Simpson at times to slide Whitner into the FS role? I know we experimented with it last year and it’s been a possibility all off-season, but I haven’t really remembered to look for it….

Was the tackling not good all game, or was it mainly in the second half after the heat and humidity (and a long Jags time of possession, 3rd quarter) did a number on them?

But, the tackling was poor. It is extremely tough to keep your legs under you in weather like that. It’s till no excuse. Both teams had to deal with it, and I don’t think I saw JAX miss as many tackles.

No one on a lot of the missed tackles were breaking down and squaring up the player. If your hoping to put guys like Garrad and Taylor on the floor, you need to keep centered and able to move side to side quickly. Most of our guys were lunging rather than moving towards the tackle which can be indicative of two things.

1- Sheer exhaustion, I’ve played and practiced in 100+ degree heat and its no fun. By the time it ends your done, and most times your hazy on where the hell you’ve been and doing, and that is with a concerned medical staff hydrating the hell out of you. I can understand that and I hope thats 90% of the missed tackled.

2- Poor preperation/cockiness, our guys were thumping the Seahawks the week prior and running through their tackles each time they hit a Seahawks player. After beating a good team and seeing how the Titans had thumped the Jags the week before, our guys may have gotten a little sloppy thinking this would be a pushover game. Once there it was proven to them that it would not be a cake walk but by then mental toughness was being sapped by the heat. This is something Fewell and his boys need to keep in check in the weeks ahead if we keep reeling off wins.