How Would You Fix The Bills Defense?

[BillsImpossible]

They keep giving up big chunks. They are slightly better than last year on D. The lowlight of the season for me came last week when I saw Dave Wannstedt smiling on the Tampa Bay sidelines.

The Bills have the sacks. They have the picks. What don't they have?

Manny Lawson and Kiko Alonso have played good football this year.

Are the Bills one linebacker, or one defensive lineman away from being great on defense?

Mario Williams has had a good year, but is he worth his contract?

If you were Doug Whaley, what would you do on D in 2014?

[Ingtar33]

the problems with the defense... missed tackles, poor gap control, lack of a dominant 2-gap NT, and we're weak at OLB. throw in the fact our CBs are average and you have the bills defense in a nutshell.

[Mace]

I'd get a run stuffing defensive tackle and rotate Williams, Dareus, and Stuffer along with a quick tank of a linebacker to free up Alonso more.

[Skooby]

A great NT would seal the gaps, another LB that's a clone of Kiko that pursues well. That would make us a top 10 defense, maybe top 5.

[Historian]

More linebackers.

And a speech therapist for Leodis..

[lightningbolt444]

I think we need another CB and another OLB at a minimum. I would like to see them add another DE as well. I think part of the problem is the linemen pin their ears back and go after sacks instead of playing the run at times. As good as Alonso has been he also over pursues a good amount and that has lead to some of the big runs. I think that will solve itself with time.

We need a #2 Cb and move Mckelvin to #3. I am a bit dissapointed in Bradham I really thought he would take the next step this season.

[X-Era]

My first take is better depth. Robey again gave up big plays. He made a few too to be fair.

But more vet depth like at CB. Leonhard is spot duty showed what a solid vet backup can add.

My other thought is another playmaking OLB.

[capitolneal]

the problems with the defense... missed tackles, poor gap control, lack of a dominant 2-gap NT, and we're weak at OLB. throw in the fact our CBs are average and you have the bills defense in a nutshell.
I agree a pat Williams or pat Peterson away

[Owen DeBoard]

I say a LB like Mack would be great for this D.

[ParanoidAndroid]

This is a good question and definitely worth good discussion. For that, you get a handful of posts. But if you post some stupid knee-jerk, garbage, you get multiple pages of people insulting each other.
Anyway, I'm not exactly sure what I would do. It seems like we have the talent and sometimes the defense keeps us in games when the offense is not getting anything done. Those big runs up the middle are a concern, so it goes without saying that we need to get either more disciplined in the middle or more talented. We could use another DT to rotate in, maybe, and we definitely need to upgrade from Nigel Bradham. Some CB depth would be nice, too.

[jimmifli]

The Dline play is so good it's making below average LBs look pretty good on the majority of plays. But on the plays where our LBs have to fight to get off blocks Kiko seems to be the only one capable (he doesn't really seem to get off blocks as much as evades them entirely).

More speed at LB is definitely needed.

[Night Train]

As posted a dozen times before, draft a bigger MLB and a Ted Washington type DT to put next to Dareus. Move Kiko outside so he doesn't take too many direct hits and can run side to side making plays...his strength.

The front 7 is spread out too much. Tighten up so those 2-3 long runs in between the tackles don't happen every game. Every RB gets healthy/better against us and that has to stop.

[YardRat]

Kiko may not have enough ass to man the middle...as jimmi noted above, he avoids blocks more than sheds them, and there are times he 'evades' them to the wrong side and gives the runner a clear gap...need a bigger body that can engage, stand up, and shed to make the tackle. Another DT would be nice, and you can never have enough CB's...I also agree with X, a vet FA would be a nice pick-up. Other than that, it's just a matter of cleaning up the fundamentals, getting more experience in Pettine's D, and getting the entire squad to buy into what it takes to stop the run. IMO there are still a couple of guys that are looking for the big play, and not the sound play, and it's hurting the run D...they need to get with the program.

[Historian]

Can this defense be better? Absolutely.

But I gotta say, that despite giving up a lot of big plays, they are fun to watch!

They play the way that Saint defense played...high risk, lots of turnovers. A couple more players, and they could be dominant.

"I like the action."- Darrin McGavin, The Natural.

[Forward_Lateral]

Can this defense be better? Absolutely.

But I gotta say, that despite giving up a lot of big plays, they are fun to watch!

They play the way that Saint defense played...high risk, lots of turnovers. A couple more players, and they could be dominant.

"I like the action."- Darrin McGavin, The Natural.

I agree with this. They need to improve on the big play, yes, but I think this D isn't that far away from being dominant.

[jamze132]

We need smarter / disciplined players.

We need a fatty at NT on rushing downs.

We need DBs who don't need to hold to make a play.

[RedEyE]

Definitly agree with the addition of depth players and we need to get bette at corner. But, IMO, the defense gets better with more consistentcy from the offense.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

I say the best way to have a great D is to have a consistent offense that puts up points and keeps them on the sidelines. I think this D has been extremely competitive for the amount of youth we rolled out there.

[cookie G]

Can this defense be better? Absolutely.

But I gotta say, that despite giving up a lot of big plays, they are fun to watch!

They play the way that Saint defense played...high risk, lots of turnovers. A couple more players, and they could be dominant.

"I like the action."- Darrin McGavin, The Natural.

They are a little more fun to watch, I agree.

But the big plays..once again..they are at the bottom of the league in giving up big running plays. Its like if someone gets past the front 7, they are gone. They give up 10-12 more 20+ yard running plays than a Seattle, SF or Balt.

Maybe they can bring in Antoine Winfield to coach some of the DB's in open field tackling.

[Mr. Pink]

Slow down the offense, sustain drives, run the ball better.

Swing TOP more in the team's favor so the defense isn't gassed near the end of the game.

Strict defensive work...coach them up to maintain gap responsibilities better. A lot of the big plays we have given up is because someone missed their assignment. Case in point - Bobby Rainey's 80 yard TD run last week - Alonso stepped the wrong way, Rainey burst through the hole and was gone after Alonso whiffed at air trying to recover. Alonso keeps gap integrity and Rainey has to run through him and not by him.

[BuffaloRedleg]

I'm on a work computer, but can anyone look up Time of Possession in games that we had more than 20 points scored on us?

Off the top of my head I feel like the days where our defense played terrible we also had very poor TOP on offense.

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that this team can be so good at getting at the QB and so average overall on defense, TOP/ average field position might be a major reason.

[Pinkerton Security]

What I think we need, and I bet Pettine would agree, is a big MLB - othrs have said it, and I think its necessary. We need a run stuffer like David Harris, who played under Pettine in NJ. A guy like him would let Kiko do his thing of flying around (perhaps at OLB) and let the MLB take on blockers and control the 2nd level more.

[YardRat]

They are a little more fun to watch, I agree.

But the big plays..once again..they are at the bottom of the league in giving up big running plays. Its like if someone gets past the front 7, they are gone. They give up 10-12 more 20+ yard running plays than a Seattle, SF or Balt.

Maybe they can bring in Antoine Winfield to coach some of the DB's in open field tackling.

IMO that's a combination of two things...an under-sized rookie MLB giving a gap to the RB instead of being able to stand ground and make him choose, and a FS in a cover1 safety valve that doesn't recognize the run and/or makes the bad read because he's looking for the big, shiny play and gets caught out of position.