Some More Interesting Numbers

[JCBills]

Obviously what matters is getting the W, but I thought there were some interesting bits on the stat sheet. This look is focusing on the defensive side of the ball.

Buffalo surrendered zero sacks to the unit that leads the NFL in sacks (KC) at 36. They also rank 3rd themselves with 29.

Put up 470 yds on the #8 ranked KC D and allowed just 210.

Allowed just 2 rushing TDs in 9 games.

Buffalo's 1st down % allowed on D on run plays is just 19.4%, good for 7th in the NFL. For the same category on pass plays it is 33.5% which places them 12th.

Big plays are a problem with Buffalo being 3rd worst in the NFL in plays of 20+ yds allowed with 9 for running plays. On the other end of that, they haven't allowed a single play of 40+ yds on the ground. On the passing end, they have allowed 12 plays of 40+ yds, worst in the NFL.

Buffalo's pass D allows QBs to complete 58.2% of their passes, 6th best in NFL, and also have the 6th most passes attempted against them.

Buffalo's D has played the 5th highest snap count in the NFL.

The INTs haven't been happening lately, but Buffalo is still 2nd in the NFL with 12.

Buffalo's D had a shaky start, but has since settled into the #18 spot for Pass Yds Allowed and #17 for Rushing Yds Allowed. They rank #24 for Points Allowed and #20 for Yds Allowed. Nothing great, but an obvious improvement. With how young the team is, a solid draft, FA period, and more time for the players to master the scheme, this could end up a major strength for the team.

[RedEyE]

Progress. That's what you want to see out of a rookie coach and a new system. I absolutely feel that Marrone has propelled this team forward. With that being said, in this passing league, the DB position becomes even more important. I've seen some good things out this young secondary but at the end of the day they're not good enough. I think they really need to look at pulling in another decent corner in round 1 this year.

In my opinion, needs are as follows: DB, WR, OG, RB, TE.

Some of this can be addressed in Free Agency.

DB: Williams is better at safety. Too much up in the air with Byrd. Leodis is losing a step. He still coves well but he's hit his peak. Gilmore is hot/cold. Robey looks to be the nickle guy. And looking at those numbers above in a passing league, you have to address DB.

RB becomes a need next season as Fred gets long in the tooth and Spiller is hardly a between the tackles style runner. They'll need a north-south runner that can move the pile.

The Bills attempted to address WR this past season and may move further down their list of priorities.

The Bills are constantly looking for upgrades at OL, but the G position has become a swinging door at times.

Chandler has had his moments but just is a mediocre TE at best. Perhaps better production from the QB could change that. Not sure what is going on with the rookie TE. He has shown absolutely nothing.

Anyway, there is still a lot of football to be played and plenty of time for those numbers to improve. Perhaps some of these younger guys will gow into their position by season end and force adjustments on the off season needs.

[GvilleBills]

Nice work. I think if you look at the league rankings it doesn't show how improved the D is. This unit has work to do, but they pass the eye ( and more importantly, the smell) test.

[Thief]

I would be interested in seeing how the defenses rank if there was a stat that looked at just their past 4 games.

[ZAZusmc03]

The big thing here has been the inconsistency and turnovers by our offense. That's the real reason for poor ranking in points allowed per game

[JCBills]

Progress. That's what you want to see out of a rookie coach and a new system. I absolutely feel that Marrone has propelled this team forward. With that being said, in this passing league, the DB position becomes even more important. I've seen some good things out this young secondary but at the end of the day they're not good enough. I think they really need to look at pulling in another decent corner in round 1 this year.

In my opinion, needs are as follows: DB, WR, OG, RB, TE.

Some of this can be addressed in Free Agency.

DB: Williams is better at safety. Too much up in the air with Byrd. Leodis is losing a step. He still coves well but he's hit his peak. Gilmore is hot/cold. Robey looks to be the nickle guy. And looking at those numbers above in a passing league, you have to address DB.

RB becomes a need next season as Fred gets long in the tooth and Spiller is hardly a between the tackles style runner. They'll need a north-south runner that can move the pile.

The Bills attempted to address WR this past season and may move further down their list of priorities.

The Bills are constantly looking for upgrades at OL, but the G position has become a swinging door at times.

Chandler has had his moments but just is a mediocre TE at best. Perhaps better production from the QB could change that. Not sure what is going on with the rookie TE. He has shown absolutely nothing.

Anyway, there is still a lot of football to be played and plenty of time for those numbers to improve. Perhaps some of these younger guys will gow into their position by season end and force adjustments on the off season needs.

Check out my mid-season positional review via draft possibilities:

http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php/221359-A-Mid-Season-Look-At-Buffalo-s-Positional-Needs

I agree with a good amount of what you said, but my view slightly differs on other fronts. That being said, that is all it is, my view. Anyways...

I'd be surprised if they went CB in the 1st this season. They already have a lot of money tied up in the position, and like you said the unit is young. I don't think McKelvin has lost a step at all, the dude is still just 28 and got a solid extension. He played pretty well as the #1 while Gilmore was out, but looks like a solid #2 after years of development and scheme juggling. Robey is a solid nickel, but pushing him to the #4 spot with maybe a 2nd-4th round CB (which obviously isn't guaranteed to pan out) wouldn't hurt anyone. This CB class should have some solid prospects in that range.

Williams hasn't played enough S for me to fully agree, but I think we can agree that he has turned it on big time in his third season. I think the move to safety gave him a better understanding of coverages and how to adjust on the fly, things he has applied to his CB play. Williams is also just 23. S is a grey area with Byrd's uncertainty, so I'm going to wait before going into that position as much, but Searcy looks like he also had some things click for him. Maybe not a full-time starter, but he has made some big plays this season. Also just 24 years old. We haven't seen much of last draft's safety picks, so I don't know if that is a good or bad thing yet.

RB I agree I'd like to see them take a power back in the mid rounds. Fred's age might finally catch up, but even then I think he'll still be serviceable next year.

WR they are very young indeed, but height at the position is a need. Mid-late round bigger WR, let the youth develop.

OG is the #1 need on offense. TE isn't far behind if Chandler doesn't come back, and even then he has had some ugly drops and failed blocks. Gragg hasn't been active for a few games I'm pretty sure, though he has been recently.

The team is so young it is hard to balance thinking about immediate vs. eventual need, but I do think the way to build a winner is balance need and value early in the draft. If those don't come close to matching, try to move back.

[Meathead]

trending very nicely. this is going to be a good team starting next season. winning the division doesnt seem impossible anymore. woo freakin hoo until the playoff drought ends but future looks bright indeedie

[Night Train]

trending very nicely. this is going to be a good team starting next season. winning the division doesnt seem impossible anymore. woo freakin hoo until the playoff drought ends but future looks bright indeedie

But this can't possibly be true.

In May, I was instructed by the realists we had " bottom 3 talent " and would finish last in the NFL with 2-3 wins...based on their expert knowledge of cricket...I mean football..

[feldspar]

Even more interesting numbers, and this coming from a Steelers site:

PITTSBURGH STEELERS VS. BUFFALO BILLS
Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013

PLAYERS TO WATCH
RB FRED JACKSON
He was busy and productive through the Bills’ first nine games, during which he amassed 502 yards on the ground and 245 more on receptions for a total of 747 yards from scrimmage (fourth in the AFC, 11th in the NFL). Jackson’s 45 first downs (35 rushing, 10 receiving) ranked second in the AFC and fifth in the NFL. His six rushing touchdowns tied for second in the AFC and tied for fifth in the NFL. Jackson had 16 carries for 77 yards and one catch for 22 yards in last Sunday’s 23-13 loss to Kansas City.

DE MARIO WILLIAMS
His team-leading 11 sacks tied for the most in Bills’ history through nine games (with Bryce Paup in 1995 and Bruce Smith in 1997). Williams trailed only Robert Mathis of Indianapolis (11.5) for the NFL lead in sacks (Justin Houston of Kansas City also had 11) and ranked fourth in the league with 74.5 sacks since entering the NFL in 2006. Williams had a career-high and franchise-record 4.5 sacks on Sept. 15 against Carolina, with 3.5 of those coming on third downs. Since joining the Bills in 2012 Williams has collected 11.5 of his 21.5 sacks on third downs, second only to Cameron Wake of Miami (12.5) in that span (Von Miller of Denver also has 11.5).

ABOUT THE BILLS
OVERVIEW
Buffalo went 2-2 through the first four weeks with rookie E.J. Manuel starting at quarterback. He started but didn’t finish what became a 37-24 loss on Oct. 3 at Cleveland because of a knee injury, and the Bills have gone 1-3 in his absence. Three of the Bills’ six losses have come by a combined 12 points (23-21 to New England, 27-20 to the Jets and 27-24 in overtime to Cincinnati). Buffalo rushed for 241 yards and finished with 470 total net yards but surrendered a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown and an 11-yard fumble return for a touchdown in last Sunday’s 23-13 loss to undefeated Kansas City.

THE BILLS’ OFFENSE
Buffalo is No. 15 in total offense (seventh rushing, 28th passing). Manuel completed 56.7 percent of his passes with five touchdowns, three interceptions and a passer rating of 79.4 in his first five starts. He became the first rookie QB in NFL history to start and lead his team to a win over the defending Super Bowl champions when the Bills beat the Ravens, 23-20, on Sept. 29. Buffalo was tied for third in the NFL with 34 rushing plays of 10 or more yards through nine games. Jackson (502) and fellow RB C.J. Spiller (478) are the first Bills duo to each reach 450 yards rushing through nine games.

THE BILLS’ DEFENSE
Buffalo is No. 20 in total defense (17th rushing, 18th passing). The Bills led the NFL in negative opponent plays through nine games (68 for 278 yards in losses). Buffalo was tied for third in the NFL with 12 interceptions (behind Denver and Seattle, 13) and tied for third with 29 sacks (Kansas City 36, Cleveland 31). The Bills are the only team in the league with three defenders with at least three interceptions (rookie LB Kiko Alonso has four, S Jim Leonhard has three and S Aaron Williams has three). Buffalo is also the only NFL team with four defenders with at least four sacks (Williams has 11, DT Marcell Dareus has four, DE Jerry Hughes has four and DT Kyle Williams has four).

THE BILLS’ SPECIAL TEAMS
Since rejoining the team four games ago, P Brian Moorman has punted 18 times for a net average of 41.2 yards per punt with four inside-the-20 efforts. The Bills allowed a Cleveland-record 179 punt return yards to Browns WR Travis Benjamin, including a 79-yard touchdown, on Oct. 3. The Bills were tied with the Steelers for second in the league in opponents’ drives beginning inside the 20 following kickoffs (12, behind the 49ers’ 13).

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Countdown-Steelers-vs-Bills/55371022-5093-483c-8718-2d6856de738a

[JCBills]

I'll try to keep doing these threads every few weeks. I know stats aren't everything, but when looked at outside of a single statistic, a broad range of numbers help paint a picture. I'll also register for PFF.com again so I can post metric values again, which is probably the best numerical representation of a player's success or failure. Also, thanks feldspar for adding to it. If you want to help me put threads like this together every now and then send me a PM.