Bills Coaches and Front Office

[Core Four]

5 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

He ran the #1 defense in 2001.  We may not like his scheme - I know I don't - but it was still the #1 defense in the league.  It shouldn't be surprising he'd show high in coach-of-the-year voting.

 

He may have run the #1 defense in 2001....but I think you meant 2021.  It's amazing how many people, including those supposedly "in the know" fall for statistics over substance.  Your point is valid.

[Alaska Darin]

15 minutes ago, Core Four said:

 

He may have run the #1 defense in 2001....but I think you meant 2021.  It's amazing how many people, including those supposedly "in the know" fall for statistics over substance.  Your point is valid.

I don't remember which game it was but Cower was like "There's a reason Buffalo has the best defense in the league."  I guarantee he hadn't seen 10 of our plays before that game.

[Core Four]

16 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

I don't remember which game it was but Cower was like "There's a reason Buffalo has the best defense in the league."  I guarantee he hadn't seen 10 of our plays before that game.

 

You have to take what these analysts and talking heads say with a grain of salt.  They're either ignorant and talk to the stats they see, or are overly complementary.  It's not too often they're critical of a coach, team, or specific phase of a team.

[Alaska Darin]

5 minutes ago, Core Four said:

 

You have to take what these analysts and talking heads say with a grain of salt.  They're either ignorant and talk to the stats they see, or are overly complementary.  It's not too often they're critical of a coach, team, or specific phase of a team.

Preaching to the choir, bro.

[Nanker]

17 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

Preaching to the choir, bro.

 

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

1 hour ago, Alaska Darin said:

I don't remember which game it was but Cower was like "There's a reason Buffalo has the best defense in the league."  I guarantee he hadn't seen 10 of our plays before that game.

 

Invariably, when I hear a talking head on any subject say "There's a reason..." I end up thinking "But you have no idea what that reason is."

[Fansince88]

1 hour ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

He ran the #1 defense in 2001.  We may not like his scheme - I know I don't - but it was still the #1 defense in the league.  It shouldn't be surprising he'd show high in coach-of-the-year voting.

That was 20 years ago! Who cares!

[Arm of Harm]

18 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

He ran the #1 defense in 2001.  We may not like his scheme - I know I don't - but it was still the #1 defense in the league.  It shouldn't be surprising he'd show high in coach-of-the-year voting.

 

The situation reminds me a little of 2004, when the Bills supposedly had the #2 defense. Gregg Williams was the coach, Jerry Gray the defensive coordinator. The scheme was very blitz-happy. At that time, the AFC's road to the Super Bowl went through New England. Against the Patriots, the blitz-happy scheme was not very effective. The Patriots were too good at blitz pickup, and Brady got rid of the ball too quickly. The Bills' defense of 2004 did not produce better results than the other defenses the Patriots faced. However, the 2004 Bills defense was extraordinarily effective against bad offenses, such as the Cleveland Browns.

 

Fast forward to these past two years. Buffalo's road to the Super Bowl went through Kansas City. Against the Chiefs, Frazier's scheme was to play contain with the front four, and sit in a soft zone with the back seven. Prevent the big play, and wait for the Chiefs to make a mistake. A strategy like that can work well against bad offenses, who can be counted on to make their share of mistakes. But against the Chiefs, "wait until they make a mistake" is an abysmal tactic.

 

While the two defenses were very different in philosophy the result was the same. Both were effective against bad offenses, ineffective against good ones. Let me clarify what I mean by "ineffective." You look at the best offenses your defense has faced. Then, you compare. How well did your defense do against those offenses? How well did the other defenses do? For example, let's say your defense faces a powerhouse offense, and allows them TDs on 60% of their drives. Is that good or bad? If everyone else they faced allowed TDs on at least 70% of their drives, then your defense played well. But if that powerhouse offense usually scores a TD on only 40% of its drives, then the fact your defense allowed 60% is bad. It means your defense was below-average, at least on that particular day.

 

In two years' worth of playoff games against the Chiefs, Frazier's defense has generated a total of three stops. (Where a stop is defined as a punt or turnover.) Without looking it up, I'm guessing that on average the Chiefs offense usually gets stopped more than just 1.5 times per game. Assuming I'm right about that--which I undoubtedly am--that means the Bills' defense is below-average. You're worse off with the Bills' defense than you'd be with an average NFL defense, at least if you're facing the Chiefs.

[Ann]

Hate to Lose with Brandon Beane

We welcome back Brandon Beane to the podcast today. Brandon has served as the GM of the Buffalo Bills since 2017 and joined Eric for episode 24 of the pod back in March of 2020.

Since then, Josh Allen has blossomed into one of the best young players in the NFL and the Bills have won 3 home playoff games. With the offseason now underway, Brandon and Eric sit down to discuss:

(2:10-6:00) - What drives Brandon, Super Bowl 56 observations

(6:00-8:20) - Lessons learned from COVID pauses

(8:20-12:20) - Initial thoughts on Josh Allen

(12:20-26:00) - Current state of the Buffalo Bills

(26:00-33:45) - Questions from the listeners

 

 

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

1 hour ago, Ann said:

Hate to Lose with Brandon Beane

We welcome back Brandon Beane to the podcast today. Brandon has served as the GM of the Buffalo Bills since 2017 and joined Eric for episode 24 of the pod back in March of 2020.

Since then, Josh Allen has blossomed into one of the best young players in the NFL and the Bills have won 3 home playoff games. With the offseason now underway, Brandon and Eric sit down to discuss:

(2:10-6:00) - What drives Brandon, Super Bowl 56 observations

(6:00-8:20) - Lessons learned from COVID pauses

(8:20-12:20) - Initial thoughts on Josh Allen

(12:20-26:00) - Current state of the Buffalo Bills

(26:00-33:45) - Questions from the listeners

 

 

 

(2:10-6:00) - What drives Brandon,

 

Trying to get his burn notice revoked, no doubt...

[IDBillzFan]

On 2/15/2022 at 2:41 PM, Nanker said:

 

 

I intended to just watch the first few seconds, and stayed for the whole thing, in part because it was awesome, but mostly because the guy in the front row behind his left shoulder looks exactly what Navin R. Johnson would look like if he really was black.

[Arm of Harm]

1 hour ago, IDBillzFan said:

 

I intended to just watch the first few seconds, and stayed for the whole thing, in part because it was awesome, but mostly because the guy in the front row behind his left shoulder looks exactly what Navin R. Johnson would look like if he really was black.

I give that pastor an A+ for his enthusiasm level! 

[Arm of Harm]

On 2/15/2022 at 2:00 PM, Alaska Darin said:

I don't remember which game it was but Cower was like "There's a reason Buffalo has the best defense in the league."  I guarantee he hadn't seen 10 of our plays before that game.

There is a reason the Bills have the “best” defense in the league. Several reasons, in fact. Jets twice, Tua twice, Jacksonville, etc. During the regular season how many franchise QBs did the Bills face? There was Mahomes, at a time when the Chiefs were in disarray. Maybe I’m forgetting someone, but off the top of my head I can’t recall the Bills facing any franchise QBs this past season,  except for that one game against Mahomes. 

[IDBillzFan]

24 minutes ago, Arm of Harm said:

There is a reason the Bills have the “best” defense in the league. Several reasons, in fact. Jets twice, Tua twice, Jacksonville, etc. During the regular season how many franchise QBs did the Bills face? There was Mahomes, at a time when the Chiefs were in disarray. Maybe I’m forgetting someone, but off the top of my head I can’t recall the Bills facing any franchise QBs this past season,  except for that one game against Mahomes. 

 

Dude. Mac Jones is TOTALLY a franchise quarterback and we played him three times!

 

Joking aside, the Jax game hurt me the most, but looking back at the Colts game makes me throw up in my mouth a little, especially the way their season ended.

[Core Four]

21 minutes ago, IDBillzFan said:

 

Dude. Mac Jones is TOTALLY a franchise quarterback and we played him three times!

 

Joking aside, the Jax game hurt me the most, but looking back at the Colts game makes me throw up in my mouth a little, especially the way their season ended.

 

The Bills defense is susceptible to the run.  The had the league's best RB in Taylor coupled with an oline that out-physicaled and out schemed the Bills dline, bad things happened.  Some of that is players and some of it is coaching.

[IDBillzFan]

17 minutes ago, Core Four said:

 

The Bills defense is susceptible to the run. 

 

Horribly, I might add. Jags notwithstanding, their worst losses featured Taylor, Derek Henry and Harris/Stevenson.

 

Coincidence? Not even close.

[Blessed Believer]

On 2/15/2022 at 5:41 PM, Nanker said:

 

amen and amen….

[Blessed Believer]

1 hour ago, Arm of Harm said:

There is a reason the Bills have the “best” defense in the league. Several reasons, in fact. Jets twice, Tua twice, Jacksonville, etc. During the regular season how many franchise QBs did the Bills face? There was Mahomes, at a time when the Chiefs were in disarray. Maybe I’m forgetting someone, but off the top of my head I can’t recall the Bills facing any franchise QBs this past season,  except for that one game against Mahomes. 

Heineke Beer

DMills

TSiemian

fig Newton

Old man Matty Ryan 

[Arm of Harm]

1 hour ago, Core Four said:

 

The Bills defense is susceptible to the run. 

 

Correct.

 

In addition, the Bills defense is susceptible to the pass.

 

We saw what happened in the postseason games against KC these past two years. Normally our defense doesn't have to face franchise QBs in the regular season, so the postseason games against KC are the best data we have on what happens when this defense encounters a first rate passing game.

[Ann]

 

NFL News and Rumors: Bills LBs coach Bob Babich retires
 

Buffalo Bills linebackers coach Bob Babich is retiring, according to a league source not authorized to speak publicly. His son, safeties coach, Bobby Babich, will replace him.
 

A former North Dakota State head coach who had a 46-22 record from 1997 to 2002, Bob Babich was a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears. Babich also spent time as an assistant head coach for the Bears. He was also a defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars and a linebackers coach for the Chargers.
 

Bobby Babich joined the Bills in 2017 as an assistant secondary coach. In 2018, he was promoted to safeties coach. He coaches standout safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde.
 

</snip>