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People have searched high and low for the biggest difference between the 2009 Buffalo Bills and the winless version that’s dropped six straight to begin this season. The front office is supervised by a new general manager, the coaching staff almost entirely new and the team is in a laborious process of trying to revamp the defense via a largely (to this point) fruitless 3-4 transformation.
Terrell Owens is gone, as is Aaron Schobel, Josh Reed and most recently Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch.
But when you look at the numbers and how they factor into games, the biggest reason the Bills are 0-6 and last year’s six-win season seems like a Super Bowl run by comparison, is pretty darn obvious.
Interceptions—- or I should say lack of them.
Last year by the time Buffalo concluded their sixth game in the Meadowlands against the Jets, they had 10 interceptions under the belt, including an absurd six in a road game against the Jets alone. Two of those picks through six games, one each by Schobel and Donte Whitner, were returned for touchdowns. The Bills would finish the 2009 seasons with 28 interceptions; first in the AFC and behind only Green Bay for the tops in the entire NFL.
This year is a drastically different tale. Six games into 2010 and Buffalo finds themselves last… dead last in the NFL with only one interception. To draw a comparison, DeAngelo Hall had four times the amount of picks in one game Sunday that the Bills collectively have as a team for the entire season.
Need this be clearer? There have been 212 interceptions tossed in the NFL as of Monday afternoon. The Bills are responsible for exactly one of them.
The Bills secondary has been entirely banned from the interception party. Their one turnover via the air came courtesy of linebacker Andra Davis, who was the beneficiary of a tipped pass early in the Jacksonville game.
The biggest culprit thus far has been talented safety Jairus Byrd. Right now if they were to insert a picture next to the definition of “sophomore slump”, Byrd’s mug shot would fill it. Last year at this time Byrd was in a first year groove unlike anything this organization had seen before. He was up to three interceptions by the time the sixth game was over, and would be up to eight when Buffalo’s ninth game (against Houston) was completed. He finished the season with a team rookie record nine interceptions and was voted into the Pro Bowl.
This year he can’t buy a football to reach his hands. It’s been rare for him to even be in position to pick off a pass and when he has, he hasn’t taken advantage of the opportunity. One could argue that team’s have been staying away from him far more this season, but that holds only a limited amount of water. He’s been thrown at plenty over the middle as the Bills are proving weekly they’re powerless at defending the middle of the field.
He’s far from the only one with troubles.
Leodis McKelvin picked off two passes as a rookie in 2008 and seemed prime for a breakout season after missing most of last year with a broken leg. He’s done nothing this year. Ditto for Drayton Florence and oft-injured Terrence McGee. George Wilson had four interceptions last year but hasn’t come close to one in 2010.
And don’t even get me started about Whitner.
Of course, it’s not entirely the secondary’s fault. The foundation for a high number of interceptions often stems with a strong, or at least respectable pass rush that accompanies it. The Bills have produced just eight sacks in six games, the fourth-lowest in the NFL. Last season’s pass rush hardly represented the Pittsburgh Steel Curtain of the 1970’s, but the unit did get to the quarterback 32 times.
We’re six games into the season and there is an eight-way tie for the Bills sack lead. That may sound good at first glance, but the problem is none of the leaders have more than one. Heck, an aging Schobel still had 10 sacks last year— maybe losing him hurt the team more than we figured, though to the Bills credit it was he, not the organization, that cut ties.
For all the imaginative play calling and high profile analysis that comes with professional football, the formula for winning in generally quite simple. You win the turnover battle and the odds jump considerably that you’ll come out victorious.
Interceptions are a critical part of the turnover formula and to this point, the team has failed miserably.
Unfortunately, with Florence and Whitner’s contracts running out and McGee proving to be a bigger injury liability with each passing year, it looks like secondary help may have to be added to the Bills already mammoth list of offseason needs.
Terrell Owens is gone, as is Aaron Schobel, Josh Reed and most recently Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch.
But when you look at the numbers and how they factor into games, the biggest reason the Bills are 0-6 and last year’s six-win season seems like a Super Bowl run by comparison, is pretty darn obvious.
Interceptions—- or I should say lack of them.
Last year by the time Buffalo concluded their sixth game in the Meadowlands against the Jets, they had 10 interceptions under the belt, including an absurd six in a road game against the Jets alone. Two of those picks through six games, one each by Schobel and Donte Whitner, were returned for touchdowns. The Bills would finish the 2009 seasons with 28 interceptions; first in the AFC and behind only Green Bay for the tops in the entire NFL.
This year is a drastically different tale. Six games into 2010 and Buffalo finds themselves last… dead last in the NFL with only one interception. To draw a comparison, DeAngelo Hall had four times the amount of picks in one game Sunday that the Bills collectively have as a team for the entire season.
Need this be clearer? There have been 212 interceptions tossed in the NFL as of Monday afternoon. The Bills are responsible for exactly one of them.
The Bills secondary has been entirely banned from the interception party. Their one turnover via the air came courtesy of linebacker Andra Davis, who was the beneficiary of a tipped pass early in the Jacksonville game.
The biggest culprit thus far has been talented safety Jairus Byrd. Right now if they were to insert a picture next to the definition of “sophomore slump”, Byrd’s mug shot would fill it. Last year at this time Byrd was in a first year groove unlike anything this organization had seen before. He was up to three interceptions by the time the sixth game was over, and would be up to eight when Buffalo’s ninth game (against Houston) was completed. He finished the season with a team rookie record nine interceptions and was voted into the Pro Bowl.
This year he can’t buy a football to reach his hands. It’s been rare for him to even be in position to pick off a pass and when he has, he hasn’t taken advantage of the opportunity. One could argue that team’s have been staying away from him far more this season, but that holds only a limited amount of water. He’s been thrown at plenty over the middle as the Bills are proving weekly they’re powerless at defending the middle of the field.
He’s far from the only one with troubles.
Leodis McKelvin picked off two passes as a rookie in 2008 and seemed prime for a breakout season after missing most of last year with a broken leg. He’s done nothing this year. Ditto for Drayton Florence and oft-injured Terrence McGee. George Wilson had four interceptions last year but hasn’t come close to one in 2010.
And don’t even get me started about Whitner.
Of course, it’s not entirely the secondary’s fault. The foundation for a high number of interceptions often stems with a strong, or at least respectable pass rush that accompanies it. The Bills have produced just eight sacks in six games, the fourth-lowest in the NFL. Last season’s pass rush hardly represented the Pittsburgh Steel Curtain of the 1970’s, but the unit did get to the quarterback 32 times.
We’re six games into the season and there is an eight-way tie for the Bills sack lead. That may sound good at first glance, but the problem is none of the leaders have more than one. Heck, an aging Schobel still had 10 sacks last year— maybe losing him hurt the team more than we figured, though to the Bills credit it was he, not the organization, that cut ties.
For all the imaginative play calling and high profile analysis that comes with professional football, the formula for winning in generally quite simple. You win the turnover battle and the odds jump considerably that you’ll come out victorious.
Interceptions are a critical part of the turnover formula and to this point, the team has failed miserably.
Unfortunately, with Florence and Whitner’s contracts running out and McGee proving to be a bigger injury liability with each passing year, it looks like secondary help may have to be added to the Bills already mammoth list of offseason needs.
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