Why the knock on our D?

[Mitchell55]

People want to say how bad our D is? Well, 1 TD came when we had Mitchell covering a RB, another came on a play where Wilson fell, and another came when we were already up by alot so we didnt care about saving it. Overall, our D played great, got pressure, and had our best defenders out.

[HHURRICANE]

People want to say how bad our D is? Well, 1 TD came when we had Mitchell covering a RB, another came on a play where Wilson fell, and another came when we were already up by alot so we didnt care about saving it. Overall, our D played great, got pressure, and had our best defenders out.

Okay. No pass rush and no ability to stop the run. Same old D.

[Mitchell55]

Okay. No pass rush and no ability to stop the run. Same old D.



Those 80 yards came on 2 plays. 1 was completely Kos fault, not our whole D. Other than that we stoped them.

[gil]

Those 80 yards came on 2 plays. 1 was completely Kos fault, not our whole D. Other than that we stoped them.

Granted they got turnovers, but gave up too many big plays and long drives - I don't know if you noticed, but I believe KC actually outgained us on offense - you're not going to win too many games like that.

[bigbub2352]

31 pts given up to a 1-9 team
cant stop the run
no pass rush unless we blitz
safties are constantly out of position
poor scheme corrections at half time have cost us plenty of games
no passion

[DMBcrew36]

Our D-ends are overpaid and undersized. They barely ever get pressure on a QB unless we're playing one of the worst offensive-lines in the league.


Fix that, and everyone in our defense will look much better.

[OpIv37]

People want to say how bad our D is? Well, 1 TD came when we had Mitchell covering a RB, another came on a play where Wilson fell, and another came when we were already up by alot so we didnt care about saving it. Overall, our D played great, got pressure, and had our best defenders out.

Mitchell should be able to cover an RB.

Wilson shouldn't fall.

The D has given up huge runs in 3 consecutive games.

Our sack total is pathetic. Our turnover total is pathetic, and it was absolutely abysmal going into the Chiefs game.

That's the knock on our D.

[Mahdi]

People want to say how bad our D is? Well, 1 TD came when we had Mitchell covering a RB, another came on a play where Wilson fell, and another came when we were already up by alot so we didnt care about saving it. Overall, our D played great, got pressure, and had our best defenders out.
The D has been aggressive and has dictated to offenses rather than the opposite. Fewell is bringing exotic pressures with everyone standing up at the LOS and also mixing in Ellis and Bryan a lot more. Ellis had a whole series at LDE in place of Kelsay and I saw him get some nice pressures from the RDE spot as well.

When Schobel comes back he should be the difference maker that takes the D to the next level.

[DMBcrew36]

The D has been aggressive and has dictated to offenses rather than the opposite. Fewell is bringing exotic pressures with everyone standing up at the LOS and also mixing in Ellis and Bryan a lot more. Ellis had a whole series at LDE in place of Kelsay and I saw him get some nice pressures from the RDE spot as well.

When Schobel comes back he should be the difference maker that takes the D to the next level.


It wasn't until the last two games that Fewell was doing anything exotic whatsoever. He was barely blitzing ever, if at all. The defensive schemes used 0 wrinkles whatsoever since maybe the opener against Seattle. I hope he continues to be aggressive.

[ddaryl]

our D is a sieve... any decent QB/Playoff Offense exposes us regulalry. Why do you think we've failed to beat any team above .500 in 2+ years.

the DE position is pathetic, and Ellis as a starting OLB is a weak link.

our D has failed to finish in the top 1/2 of the league in 5 + years

[EDS]

The D has been aggressive and has dictated to offenses rather than the opposite. Fewell is bringing exotic pressures with everyone standing up at the LOS and also mixing in Ellis and Bryan a lot more. Ellis had a whole series at LDE in place of Kelsay and I saw him get some nice pressures from the RDE spot as well.

When Schobel comes back he should be the difference maker that takes the D to the next level.

What offense has the Bills defense "dictated" to, particularly recently?

The Bills did a great job of getting turnovers against KC, and did actually get some pressure against KC, but KC is a 1 win team for a reason and prior to that the Bills were pretty abysmal at creating turnovers and getting pressure on opposing QBs.

[patmoran2006]

So when our LB cant cover a RB or our safety falls down, its not a reflection on the defense overall?

What in God's name are you saying?

[justasportsfan]

People want to say how bad our D is? Well, 1 TD came when we had Mitchell covering a RB, another came on a play where Wilson fell, and another came when we were already up by alot so we didnt care about saving it. Overall, our D played great, got pressure, and had our best defenders out.

Mitchell gave someone who's never had a TD in his NFL career his first one. Lets give him props for being nice. THis guy will forver remember his first TD when he made a player with a sb ring his *****.

Wilson fell without any contact . He was just giving KC fans something to smile about.

Lets not knock our D because they are nice guys.

[CuseJetsFan83]

not to mention those were starters....... not the scrub liners doing clean up duty....

if the defense is as elite as mitchell is thinking in his head, the bills would be 8-3 or better, and taking much needed pressure off the offense

[SABURZFAN]

the defense has plenty of reason why they're being knocked.

[gr8slayer]

Why knock on the D? They aren't very good?

[madness]

Mitchell probably wishes he could take that whole game back besides the "W".

He was in postion to make a bunch of big plays but come up short almost every time.

The Chiefs 1-9 record is misleading ever since Thigpen took over and they switched to a spread offense. They've been in almost every game except against us and lost to the Jets, Bucs, and Chargers by a combined total of 8 points. In fact, I'd bet they've been at least a top 15 offense since then.

[Mitchell55]

Mitchell should be able to cover an RB.

Wilson shouldn't fall.

The D has given up huge runs in 3 consecutive games.

Our sack total is pathetic. Our turnover total is pathetic, and it was absolutely abysmal going into the Chiefs game.

That's the knock on our D.



You honestly think that Mitchell who runs about a 4.8 can cover someone who runs around a 4.3? Thats a match up problem. You cant blame someone for falling, it happens to the best. Champ, Sanders, everyone has plays like that. 3 games with long runs can be because of our CB, SS, FS, and DE being injured.

[Jan Reimers]

Mitchell can't tackle, plain and simple.

[billsfanone]

Sounds like wysian thinking. Take away all the big plays, the D is great!

[Mahdi]

What offense has the Bills defense "dictated" to, particularly recently?

The Bills did a great job of getting turnovers against KC, and did actually get some pressure against KC, but KC is a 1 win team for a reason and prior to that the Bills were pretty abysmal at creating turnovers and getting pressure on opposing QBs.
Cleveland. The Bills D played a great game against Cleveland they just didnt get any help from the offense. Brady was pressured often and we limited 3 turnovers to just 6 points.

[Mahdi]

Mitchell can't tackle, plain and simple.
Ok just because Mitchell missed a tackle on Larry Johnson last week doesnt mean he cant tackle. He has been a great tackler all season.

[billsfanone]

If we take away all the points Bills opponents have scored, the Bills have been shutting teams out!!!!

[OpIv37]

You honestly think that Mitchell who runs about a 4.8 can cover someone who runs around a 4.3? Thats a match up problem. You cant blame someone for falling, it happens to the best. Champ, Sanders, everyone has plays like that. 3 games with long runs can be because of our CB, SS, FS, and DE being injured.

First, all of those players weren't injured in the same game. One or two injuries shouldn't make a D bad enough to give up long runs with that kind of consistency.

Second, yes, he should have been able to cover an RB. And when he couldn't cover him, he should have been able to make the tackle. You're talking half a second speed difference over 40 yards- they weren't running straight downfield and they weren't nearly 40 yards downfield. Lateral motion (ie cuts and routes) is not the same.

Third, for the sake of argument, let's pretend that you're correct and NFL LB's can't cover RB's out of the backfield. That's a scheme problem and if the D got in that problem once, they're going to get into it again.

[OpIv37]

Ok just because Mitchell missed a tackle on Larry Johnson last week doesnt mean he cant tackle. He has been a great tackler all season.

You know we're talking about the Mitchell that wears 59 and plays on the Bills, right?

[OpIv37]

Cleveland. The Bills D played a great game against Cleveland they just didnt get any help from the offense. Brady was pressured often and we limited 3 turnovers to just 6 points.

The Bills D played a great QUARTER against Cleveland. They started strong, but in the end they gave up 29 points at home to a team that had 3 wins going in and was starting a 2nd year QB in his second start who played most of the game with a broken finger.

Does that sound like a "great game" to you?

[Mitchell55]

First, all of those players weren't injured in the same game. One or two injuries shouldn't make a D bad enough to give up long runs with that kind of consistency. Um, Scott, Whitner, Greer, and Schobel were all injured in the last game genius.

Second, yes, he should have been able to cover an RB. And when he couldn't cover him, he should have been able to make the tackle. You're talking half a second speed difference over 40 yards- they weren't running straight downfield and they weren't nearly 40 yards downfield. Lateral motion (ie cuts and routes) is not the same. Yes it is a match up problem, just like what we do all game by putting Jackson on a LB. We do the same thing and it works, most LBs have trouble covering speed.

Third, for the sake of argument, let's pretend that you're correct and NFL LB's can't cover RB's out of the backfield. That's a scheme problem and if the D got in that problem once, they're going to get into it again.

[OpIv37]

Um, Scott, Whitner, Greer, and Schobel were all injured in the last game genius

Last game wasn't the only game where we gave up a long run, genius.


Yes it is a match up problem, just like what we do all game by putting Jackson on a LB. We do the same thing and it works, most LBs have trouble covering speed.

First, it's not a match up problem- an LB should be able to cover an RB, period. Running backs are fast but generally not as fast as WR's, especially after a couple of years of getting knocked around in the hole.

Second, I addressed the match-up problem and you ignored it. Teams know how to beat this D and it works every time.

[OpIv37]

and one more thing- this C2/T2 D cedes size at LB- which hurts in the running game- so the LBs are better dropping into pass coverage. If they can't even cover an RB, well, then it's lose/lose. It's a fundamental flaw.

[Mitchell55]

Last game wasn't the only game where we gave up a long run, genius.



First, it's not a match up problem- an LB should be able to cover an RB, period. Running backs are fast but generally not as fast as WR's, especially after a couple of years of getting knocked around in the hole.

Second, I addressed the match-up problem and you ignored it. Teams know how to beat this D and it works every time.




Ok, the cleveland game we had Whitner, Greer, Schobel out. Greer and Whitner were out the 1st half when we looked great.

[gr8slayer]

Ok, the cleveland game we had Whitner, Greer, Schobel out. Greer and Whitner were out the 1st half when we looked great.
At no point in that game did the Bills look "great."