Examining Buffalo's Heavy-Front Run Defense

what are the biggest issues? is it assignment or players? I would obviously assume it’s both but is one more glaring than the other?

as far as experimentation – I don’t think it’s that big of a deal – these guys said that they would try and fit the scheme to the players and are doing that. Coupled with most of these guys probably not being here in the long run and i’m not sure how much that matters – but it does matter to troup, carrington, poz and the DBs

It’s time they stop trying to play cute and man up with the people they chose to go into battle with. What level of improvement can they expect out of players who aren’t even being asked to play the positions or the ways they were expected to play?

Didn’t you make the change to this scheme Chan? They need to play it a lot more and start getting these guys more reps in it, even if those guys might only be placeholders. Plop Troup down in the middle, give Williams reps on the outside, let Carrington play, get Stroud off the field, play the young OLB’s even though they’ll struggle and just see what these guys can offer.

If you want to run a 3-4, Chan, then start running it more. Nobody is being helped by running all this 3-4, except for opposing RB’s…

I completely agree with the idea that we must go with a 3-4 defense and stick with it.

He’ll I’d even be happy cutting veterans and signing guys off the practise squad if it means the guys we will retain actually learn and become comfortable with the alignment.

Unless injured, Carrington, Edwards, K Williams and Troup MUST start all the remaining games. We might want to see if Williams can play a little DE but that’s it.

As for OLB, I was disappointed that Ellis got cut. But personally I would shove Moats, Maybin and Coleman in and say GO FOR IT. The way we are currently playing we will finish 0-16 so if the young guys help us win a couple of games, good for them. When we are told Maybin is a liability against the run, he seems to have that in common with the rest of the damn team – as Torbor won’t get better, why the hell are we playing him?

The problem is we have a GM who’s been overpromoted, a HC who is the offensive equivalent of Jauron and a DC who appears clueless and incapable. It’s a pity that Wilson will not tear it all up, make Eric de Costa of the Ravens our GM, Jim Harbaugh HC/OC and Vic Fangio DC. Then there might be some hope

Experimentation is fine, but it seems rather pointless when it’s not working.

TWSS :-)

Remember when a team rebuilds, it is evaluating every aspect of the game. Offense, defense, special teams, coaching and organization personnel. We didn’t care to much about the defensive side of the ball in preseason, alot of our unanswered concerns were on the offensive side. QB, LT, RT, WR, TE and weather or not Eric Wood would be healthy enough to play. Yes there were other concerns we discussed, such as strength and conditioning and no TVs in the training room. Honestly, the defense got little attention because we really didn’t know what to expect. Leave it to Bellichek to expose that weakness.

Since the second game of the season, our offense has progressed, meaning it is not the same as it was. We are scoring 20 points a game, Steve Johnson is finding the end-zone on more than one occasion, Wood and Bell are playing and are gaining the “let the young guys play” experience and they are not killing us. There is still room for improvement but it is only week 7. Shawn Nelson contribution would be nice, alot of smoke blown his way by us rumble-rs, time has come for him to put up or for us to shut up. I feel confident going forward with the offense. There is a sense of urgency to get the run game in gear and considering all the new coaches on that side of the ball, they are moving in the right direction. Sure there will be set backs, but let’s hope not to many. Also, lets not forget all the young O-Lineman we have brought in. Howard, Urbik, Wrotto and a new PS player just last week. All guards mind you, but some may have to spit time at tackle to stick.

finally, the defense. Same problem only worse than last year. Last season the run defense was sad, but we had a secondary that could pick you clean. We also, had numerous injuries to excuse our way to the next game. This season is definitely different. The most experienced part of our coaching staff is on the defensive side of the ball and that was supposed to be a strong point. Kelsay is not our problem on defense until he is expected to man up on a TE. But go on and blame him for everything. We have a very diverse group on defense. Many of our veterans are 4-3 players mixed with FA’s that come from or have had extensive experience in 3-4 schemes. Then we have this years draft that really haven’t contributed much. This area is our “obvious” biggest concern. It is just possible that the plan is to mix and match and allow these younger players like Moats, Coleman and maybe even Maybin to find ways to step in and contribute. Troup and Carrington as well. The plan could be to resolve this issue by mid-season and allow it to grow just like we are doing with the offense. We want to win and want a win soon, we just might be ahead of ourselves too much. I am building reservations about Edwards as DC, I do expect him to turn this around, with Chris Kelsay in his plans. If not then I wouldn’t shed one tear seeing him leave as fast as he was hired.

I want to see movement. Blitzes, twists, stunts, pre-snap shifting. All I see are guys standing around not doing anything until they react. All the top ten D’s do all of these things, almost every play. Some have said Bills players lack speed to do these things. I don’t believe that is the root problem. Sure it would help. But, for example, NE for many years lacked “speed” guys in their LB corps yet still managed to get turnovers & crucial stops.
Pressure & confusion/uncertainty causes offenses to screw up, & these aspects of the Bills D are sorely lacking. If the other teams offense always know the OLB’s are always outside the DE’s etc, then their gameplanning is easier & will succeed.

If the coaches are committed to the 3-4 then piece #1 is having an absolute beast at NT. That guy HAS to occupy the center and a guard in run situations and be able to cave in the pocket in passing downs. If Troup can’t do that, then we are kidding ourselves trying to run this D. We don’t have the personnel at LB that ‘s for sure, but running the 3-4 so far is making a bad D look even worse. Troup has to get 70% of the reps at NT and if he ain’t cutting it, then time to re-think the 3-4.

Ok, so we are supposed to be patient with the 2010 draft class…but only see them doing spot duty contributions…We see that the decision has been made to extend Kelsay for the next 3 years as an OLB …we also see that they may have “reached” when they selected Troup 2nd round as he cant get on the field…Same with Maybin in the 1st round…we see that they are getting rid of the 3-4 in favor of the 4-3…and we are being told to be patient…3 yrs rebuild predicted…i seriously need to ask where is the accountability? This FO is asking a lot from the fans and doing very little to get their trust…this is just the defensive side of the ball…In my opinion we need to play the young guys as they are the future of this organization and see what they are worth…we have all these old FA’s that are out there not doing spit…Also want to add I have seen complaints regarding Poz…he may be the only playmaker in our front 7, possilby Edwards too….but Poz is forced to chase plays down from inside…where is the OLB’s???? Better question, if Poz can chase a play down from inside…why can’t our Olb’s chase a play down on the outside? Shouldnt our OLB’s have speed to cover the outside as well as cover the pass?

Don’t you think its a wee bit early to call this class disappointing? As far as accountability, have you been a fan a while? Thats a problem going waaayy back.

Totally agree, great post