How Good Is The Bills Defense?

[BillsImpossible]

According to the official stats, the Bills overall defense ranks middle of the pack after week 2.

That's a whole lot better than 28th, which is where the Bills usually rank this time of year.

What a difference a year makes. If Dave Wannstedt was still the DC of the Bills last Sunday, they probably would have gotten ran over for more than 200 yards on the ground alone against Carolina, in a loss.

Kiko Alonso is already making a huge difference. Manny Lawson is making a huge difference as well.

What's most promising is how the Bills defense already looks better after 2 games, even without Byrd and Gilmore in the secondary.

If the Bills D looks good now, just wait a few weeks to see how they look when two game changing players return to their lineup and the new system settles in to its full potential.

Just like the Bills offense, I expect the defense to only get better.

[Buffalo Thriller]

It's early but it's looking way better than last year. There is a reason Wanny is a special teams coach now.

[Skooby]

I really think when healthy that we can have a top 10 defense with a top 15 QB, both are incredible improvements in one year. That would translate into a wild-card spot, which is a very high goal to shoot for this fast into a rebuild. If the next draft gets anywhere near how this last one is looking thus far, we're looking at a division winner.

This is all predicated on us being healthly on both sides of the ball, the tiny room for error on the O-line scares me quite a bit. It's actually looking like a larger liability than expected, where McKelvin is looking like a huge Suprise. Go Bills.

[TigerJ]

I'm not terribly surprised by McKelvin. He showed plenty of signs last season that he was finally starting to develop, enough so the Bills thought they should pay him like a starter. I'm a little disappointed in Searcy. I thought he was a little better than he seems to have played thus far. Obviously on offense, the left guard spot continues to be worrisome. I hope Manuel begins spreading the ball around a little more. TJ Graham, according to a poster on another board who has done some film study, is getting open a lot, but hasn't been targeted much. A willingness to distribute the ball more evenly can make the Bills offense more difficult to defend.

[better days]

I'm not terribly surprised by McKelvin. He showed plenty of signs last season that he was finally starting to develop, enough so the Bills thought they should pay him like a starter. I'm a little disappointed in Searcy. I thought he was a little better than he seems to have played thus far. Obviously on offense, the left guard spot continues to be worrisome. I hope Manuel begins spreading the ball around a little more. TJ Graham, according to a poster on another board who has done some film study, is getting open a lot, but hasn't been targeted much. A willingness to distribute the ball more evenly can make the Bills offense more difficult to defend.

I am with you. McKelvin was playing well last year. I said before the season started that McKelvin would be a solid #2 CB. & with Gilmore out, he is playing well in the #1 role.

Searcy, has not been terrible, but IF Byrd gets on the field & PLAYS like he can, the defense can get to another level.

I would like to see Graham & 7-11 get more touches as well as Easley.

Oh, & by the way Op, you can credit Nix for getting McKelvin resigned.

[OpIv37]

I am with you. McKelvin was playing well last year. I said before the season started that McKelvin would be a solid #2 CB. & with Gilmore out, he is playing well in the #1 role.

Searcy, has not been terrible, but IF Byrd gets on the field & PLAYS like he can, the defense can get to another level.

I would like to see Graham & 7-11 get more touches as well as Easley.

Oh, & by the way Op, you can credit Nix for getting McKelvin resigned.
Two games .

Two good games after 3 years of ****. And one of those games came against the team whose WR's you spent all off-season trashing. Again, your lack of objectivity is absurd. Two good games- one against a team who YOU say has bad receivers- makes you forget three terrible seasons from McKelvin.

[Buffalo Thriller]

Just imagine if Byrd would quit being a diva, Gilmore gets healthy, Aaron Williams quits with the penalties, and Leodis keeps this up.

[TacklingDummy]

I'm surprised how well they are playing but they did play 2 shLt offenses at the time.
Next week they get their 3rd shLt offense.

[BertSquirtgum]

I like the fact that Pettine is on the sidelines. I wish both coordinators would be on the sidelines.

[Skooby]

Two games .

Two good games after 3 years of ****. And one of those games came against the team whose WR's you spent all off-season trashing. Again, your lack of objectivity is absurd. Two good games- one against a team who YOU say has bad receivers- makes you forget three terrible seasons from McKelvin.

That's why I'm so surprised by McKelvin's play at the #1 spot, he's been not that great for years & now is stepping up. How many balls did he tip away & even the one play the announcers were like wow, that was unbelievably difficult (& they couldn't of done that).

[BuffaloRedleg]

I'm surprised how well they are playing but they did play 2 shLt offenses at the time.
Next week they get their 3rd shLt offense.

I'm interested to see how New England does this week to see if they are just looking like **** on offense or if possibly us and the Jets have decent defenses.

I'm thinking more that finally they pushed their luck too much running Welker out of town and the time has finally come for the Pats decline to begin.

[Skooby]

I'm interested to see how New England does this week to see if they are just looking like **** on offense or if possibly us and the Jets have decent defenses.

I'm thinking more that finally they pushed their luck too much running Welker out of town and the time has finally come for the Pats decline to begin.

Brady's not 30 anymore as well & that heavy rain didn't make it easy on the rookies.

[better days]

I'm surprised how well they are playing but they did play 2 shLt offenses at the time.
Next week they get their 3rd shLt offense.

2 shLt offenses? I have been told Tom Brady is the BEST QB EVER & he could make ANY receiver look like an ALL PRO.

Now that is NOT the case?

And Cam? I thought he was the NEXT GEN STAR. NOW he SUCKS TOO?

LMFAO

[OpIv37]

2 shLt offenses? I have been told Tom Brady is the BEST QB EVER & he could make ANY receiver look like an ALL PRO.

Now that is NOT the case?

And Cam? I thought he was the NEXT GEN STAR. NOW he SUCKS TOO?

LMFAO

YOU'RE the one who spent all off-season talking trash about the Pats' offense. But now somehow almost not losing to them is some huge accomplishment that somehow vindicates McKelvin and last year's **** D? Please.

[Crisis]

I do love the aggressiveness of the defense. We're not sitting back and letting teams pick us apart like with Pornstache at the helm. The defense has played more than well enough to win both games and that's all you can really ask for, especially with the lack of talent excluding the line.

Kiko is a player. It's nice to have a LBer who is at the forefront of most of the big plays on defense again.

[cookie G]

According to the official stats, the Bills overall defense ranks middle of the pack after week 2.

That's a whole lot better than 28th, which is where the Bills usually rank this time of year.

What a difference a year makes. If Dave Wannstedt was still the DC of the Bills last Sunday, they probably would have gotten ran over for more than 200 yards on the ground alone against Carolina, in a loss.

Kiko Alonso is already making a huge difference. Manny Lawson is making a huge difference as well.

What's most promising is how the Bills defense already looks better after 2 games, even without Byrd and Gilmore in the secondary.

If the Bills D looks good now, just wait a few weeks to see how they look when two game changing players return to their lineup and the new system settles in to its full potential.

Just like the Bills offense, I expect the defense to only get better.

Statistically...they are about the same last year, as hard as that may be to believe.

They gave up an average of 362 yds/game last year, as opposed to 369 this year. Run defense is about the same...over 140 yds/game last year and this year.

Scoring is down a bit..they are giving up 4 fewer points than last year.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/stats/byteam?group=Defense&cat=Total&conference=NFL&year=season_2012&sort=1129&old_category=Total&old_group=Defense

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/total/position/defense

But I'm sure the no huddle is affecting it in a few ways..I'm sure opposing O's are getting the ball more frequently, and I think the D is getting tired by the 4ht Q...or at least towards the last 10 minutes or so.

On the better side, New England didn't have any long TD drives like in the past. Both TD's came off turnovers, pretty deep in Bills territory.

On the even better side, the Bills gave up the ball twice against Carolina inside their own 30 and only gave up 6 pts total. Those were impressive stands.

People definitely seem to be moving quicker to the ball this year on run plays, except late in the game. You're having 4 and 5 defenders around the ball, as opposed to 1 or 2. If they play with discipline, that is going to pay dividends down the road.

Now, I think there is a legitimate concern down the road, something that's been brought up about Chip Kelly's offense in Philly..are they going to be able to go the whole season on the field so much? They were talking about Philly the other night on NFLN and every former player said.."oh yeah, its going to make a difference"

...it not a college season of 11-12 games.. its an NFL 16 game season. I think Pettine is doing a good job of rotating all of his front 7 and that helps, but turning on and off the no huddle might not be a bad idea.

[better days]

Two games .

Two good games after 3 years of ****. And one of those games came against the team whose WR's you spent all off-season trashing. Again, your lack of objectivity is absurd. Two good games- one against a team who YOU say has bad receivers- makes you forget three terrible seasons from McKelvin.

NOT just two good games. As I said, McKelvin played WELL LAST YEAR.

[better days]

YOU'RE the one who spent all off-season talking trash about the Pats' offense. But now somehow almost not losing to them is some huge accomplishment that somehow vindicates McKelvin and last year's **** D? Please.

Yeah I did, BUT you & others told me how GREAT Brady is & that he can make ANY RECEIVER look like an ALL PRO.

The Pats* receivers are MEDIOCRE even with Brady throwing them the ball.

[Night Train]

They need to show improvement against the run. Currently 30th.

That will bite them later in the season when the weather dictates teams run more.

[Forward_Lateral]

I think the biggest difference that separates Pettine from Wanny/all the other DCs before him that I can remember, is that Pettine will bring pressure from every position on the field. He isn't afraid to blitz. How often did we see the Bills drop into a Cover 2, only rushing 4 in the past, I don't know, 10 seasons? Almost every ****** time I'd say.

It's only been 2 games, yes, but I already like Pettine more than any DC that's been in Buffalo since Fewell.

[TacklingDummy]

2 shLt offenses? I have been told Tom Brady is the BEST QB EVER & he could make ANY receiver look like an ALL PRO.

Now that is NOT the case?

And Cam? I thought he was the NEXT GEN STAR. NOW he SUCKS TOO?

LMFAO

Read my post again, "shLt offenses at the time", obviously NE offense is going to get better. We played them at their worst.

Who the f##k said "And Cam? I thought he was the NEXT GEN STAR. NOW he SUCKS TOO?"

Your post would make more sense if it was based on facts.

[better days]

Read my post again, "shLt offenses at the time", obviously NE offense is going to get better. We played them at their worst.

Who the f##k said "And Cam? I thought he was the NEXT GEN STAR. NOW he SUCKS TOO?"

Your post would make more sense if it was based on facts.

You said TWO shLt offenses. Cam was the QB of the 2nd offense the Bills played.

My post was based on the "facts" you presented.

[gebobs]

What is Byrd's status. Is all that schlepping bags of money to the bank exacerbating his PF?

[OpIv37]

NOT just two good games. As I said, McKelvin played WELL LAST YEAR.

Lmao. I think you're confused. Spiller wears 28 now. McKelvin switched to 21.

[TacklingDummy]

Lmao. I think you're confused. Spiller wears 28 now. McKelvin switched to 21.

Lets draft CJ Spiller when we have Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson on the roster.
Let's not draft a position of need TE like Jermaine Gresham and still searching...

[alohabillsfan]

Your a moron, which is why this board has dwindled from a great message board to crap. You know who you are!

[OpIv37]

Lets draft CJ Spiller when we have Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson on the roster.
Let's not draft a position of need TE like Jermaine Gresham and still searching...

I would have been ok with the Spiller pick IF they had traded Lynch before the draft and could have used the pick that year. I'm glad we have Spiller now but the way he ended up here was ugly.

[Turf]

I think we'll find out this week. We always have trouble in NY defensively. If we can have another good showing and display some consistency that will go a long way to making believers. It will be even more difficult since Rex knows the defense.

[stuckincincy]

I think we'll find out this week. We always have trouble in NY defensively. If we can have another good showing and display some consistency that will go a long way to making believers. It will be even more difficult since Rex knows the defense.

I think so, too. It's a NYJ home game, Ryan is a colorful character who gets his share of digs, but IMO he's a decent NFL HC.

[JCBills]

That's why I'm so surprised by McKelvin's play at the #1 spot, he's been not that great for years & now is stepping up. How many balls did he tip away & even the one play the announcers were like wow, that was unbelievably difficult (& they couldn't of done that).

7 PDef in 2 games which has him at 2nd in the NFL.

[JCBills]

Lmao. I think you're confused. Spiller wears 28 now. McKelvin switched to 21.

He actually did pick it up and became pretty solid last season.

[JoeMama]

The body of work is too small to judge the Bills D yet.

We've played two struggling offenses to start the season. To our D's credit, they did make sure those offenses continued to struggle. During the Gailey years, facing our defense was a cure-all for struggling offenses. Even bad teams ran it up at will.

But three things that are evident thus far. Kiko Alonso is a massive upgrade over Kelvin Sheppard. Manny Lawson has been playing more like his old self. Leodis McKelvin appears to have taken his pay raise seriously and is adjusting his game to justify it.

It'll be interesting to see what happens when Byrd and Gilmore return.

[stuckincincy]

The body of work is too small to judge the Bills D yet.

We've played two struggling offenses to start the season. To our D's credit, they did make sure those offenses continued to struggle. During the Gailey years, facing our defense was a cure-all for struggling offenses. Even bad teams ran it up at will.

But three things that are evident thus far. Kiko Alonso is a massive upgrade over Kelvin Sheppard. Manny Lawson has been playing more like his old self. Leodis McKelvin appears to have taken his pay raise seriously and is adjusting his game to justify it.

It'll be interesting to see what happens when Byrd and Gilmore return.

Good analysis.

[Mr. Pink]

2 shLt offenses? I have been told Tom Brady is the BEST QB EVER & he could make ANY receiver look like an ALL PRO.

Now that is NOT the case?

And Cam? I thought he was the NEXT GEN STAR. NOW he SUCKS TOO?

LMFAO

He can't?

Look at the stats Edelman has put up. Look at what Amendola did against us.

[justasportsfan]

Read my post again, "shLt offenses at the time", obviously NE offense is going to get better. We played them at their worst.



they played us without Gilmore and Byrd too.

[BillsFever21]

We're still only 18th in the league in total yards, 15th in points and we have given up 50% of 3rd down conversions at home against two teams that doesn't have the best offenses early in the season.

They have been much improved early on but we've still been giving a lot of yards and still can't get teams off the field on 3rd down. Especially in the Patriots game when we still gave up well over 400 total yards, couldn't stop even 3rd and long and if not for some timely turnovers we could've easily given up at least 30 points. We've been bending but we haven't been breaking. The sample size is still too small and we won't know for sure until we start playing games on the road and against teams currently playing better on offense.

[justasportsfan]

We're still only 18th in the league in total yards, 15th in points and we have given up 50% of 3rd down conversions at home against two teams that doesn't have the best offenses early in the season.

.would've been better if we stop the penalties.

[Syderick]

The D looks to be more improved then it was last year. But what's killing this team and their stats is the penalties. There's been a few times where they've stopped the offense on 3rd down, only to have a penalty mess it up. The same goes for the offense where a few 3 and outs could of been avoided without the penalties.

[Thief]

McKelvin in #2 in the leagued for passed defensed.

[tatersalad]

That's why I'm so surprised by McKelvin's play at the #1 spot, he's been not that great for years & now is stepping up. How many balls did he tip away & even the one play the announcers were like wow, that was unbelievably difficult (& they couldn't of done that).

A good pash rush hides deficencies at coroner like nothing else

[gebobs]

A good pash rush hides deficencies at coroner like nothing else
I thought they usually used those refrigerators with the sliding tables to hold the bodies.

[Generalissimus Gibby]

I thought they usually used those refrigerators with the sliding tables to hold the bodies.

yes, but tater was talking about when those refrigerators break down. When that happens you gotta rush those who've recently passed into the grave. Ah gallows humor, you really can't be a Bills fan without it can ya? :D