Donte Whitner and Bryan Scott are injured, and for the moment, the Bills have quality depth.  When they return, however, a logjam at the safety position will ensue.  Scott is a bonafide run stopper and has shown he is extremely competent at covering opposing tight ends.  Whitner is a solid tackler with cornerback speed and .  Jairus Byrd, simply put, is THE WORD.  Great instincts, eyes on the quarterback, and presence around the ball, though his run defense could use work.

Our linebacking corps has been shattered by injury, and, well, by incompetence.  With Veek and Digi out for the year, and Keith Ellison performing yeoman's if unpolished work, Chris Draft seems to have replaced Ashlee Palmer as the third starting LB.  Easily the weakest sector of the Bills defense, the linebacking corps has been largely at fault for allowing big run plays to develop, whether by overpursuing their gaps, allowing runners around the corner, or just poor tackling in general.

How can the Bills maximize the talent and manpower of their secondary, minimize the weakness of their linebacking corps?

First of all, I am not talking about changing scheme.  I am talking about the inclusion of more 4-2-5 sets within the Bills' Cover 2 defense.  The 4-2-5 is a nickel formation of sorts that, by using four linemen, two linebackers, and five defensive backs, can sustain an amount of flexibility without compromising strength.  The 4-2-5 nickel can be used in a number of ways.

I'm not advocating benching Reggie Corner as the nickelback.  Personnel being as it is, Reggie Corner will be on the field, just not in this particular package.  The Back 7 personnel would look like this:

Poz and Ellison/Draft at LB (ideally Kawika). McGee and Florence at CB. Byrd, Whitner, and Scott at S.

In the 4-2-5, the position of the safety relies upon the read.  Jairus Byrd would likely man the traditional FS spot in any case.  This does some great things for our defense.  Try to visualize these scenarios:

On perceived running plays or double tight end formations, Whitner would man the SS while Bryan Scott would line up in the box.  It would be Scott's job to play run as a first read.  In a 2 TE set, Scott would key on the TE opposite Whitner's position to give minimum yardage in case of a playaction pass pattern.  In a 1-TE set, Scott roves to the weakside, playing run first, to provide cutback gap support.

On perceived passing plays or multiple wide receiver formations, Whitner adjusts to the slot while Scott settles into the SS position.  This gives multiple WRs safety help from the Cover 2 while allowing someone like Whitner to guard a Wes Welker.

That planning might seem sensible, but a little rigid.  True, but here's the equalizer:  With two linebackers being slightly off from their traditional gaps, and a roving "safety" lined up anywhere from the strongside of the box or the weakside (Scott), to the slot (Whitner), I believe this is a formation built for the zone blitz, if there ever was one.   Zone blitzes out of this package, with the linemen dropping into coverage as they do in a zone blitz, could be downright disorienting to interpret from the QB position.  Flood blitzes, iso blitzes, stunts, decoys, and fake pressures can come in any number, from any direction.  That would keep the 4-2-5 unpredictable and hard to attack consistently.

Some potential weaknesses of the subpackage:

-  Successful downhill running teams can attack it by punching right at it.  If the defense is kept on the field, this has the effect of wearing out the safeties while Corner and Youboty get cold on the sideline.  Not a big issue, because it's just a subpackage.

-  During two-minute drills, this is not an ideal defense because the time it may take to read and react to the offensive formation may not be readily available.  So it might not be smart to use at the end of halves.

-  Playaction and misdirection plays may be the bane of the set, as they can punish undisciplined defenders.   Ehh, but this is true of any defensive set.  Be disciplined, make good tackles, and follow your reads.  No formation is a replacement for good football fundamentals.

----------

The 4-2-5 could be something the Bills would do well to think about, at least going forward, if we would like to both use our safeties and keep our linebacker weakness controlled.  As a spice, not a main course, it could keep our defense unpredictable, still solid, and able to throw in wrinkles (not stay so basic all the time).

I roomed with a guy in college who played kicker for Texarkana High School (Texas side).  The quarterback on my roommate's team was a guy from Arkansas named Ryan Mallett.  He ended up going to Michigan, transferring back to Arkansas, and now he's being looked at as a serious NFL prospect in a year or so.

I also went to high school (Conway, Arkansas) with a guy named Peyton Hillis.  This guy was an unstoppable halfback in Conway, it was fun to watch him destroy all the hated Little Rock schools in our division.  Peyton ended up going t the Razorbacks, who made him a fullback.  He was drafted by the Broncos, and has been enjoying somewhat of a nice NFL career.

In college (Central Arkansas) I was in the marching band, and we always formed the tunnel for the football team to march out.  One time, we started into the fight song, and the players came out all excited as usual.  #11 accidentally brushed by me coming onto the field, knocking my sax to the ground.  Stunned, I backed up and recovered it.  I watched as he couldn't stop and turn around, or he'd get trampled by his teammates, but he sorta turned around to apologize.  I looked him up after the game.  This guy's name was Jacob Ford.  I didn't think anything of it until this year, when I saw him (on the Tennessee Titans) come blowing in around the left tackle to almost sack Peyton Manning.

Now if somebody like me from a town like Conway, Arkansas has these connections, I know other Bills fans do.  Have you ever met, had any run-ins with, or otherwise have a connection with any Bills or NFL players?

If this is not "Bills enough" for BR, I understand, feel free to take it down.  It's just in light of the bummed nature of our community of late, I thought we could use a good laugh to break up the monotony.

-----

A guy from Buffalo dies and is sent to Hell. He had been a horrible man his entire life.

   The devil puts him to work breaking up rocks with a sledgehammer. To make it worse, he cranks up the temperature and the humidity.  After a couple of days, the devil checks in on his victim to see if he is suffering adequately. The devil is baffled as the guy from Buffalo is happily swinging his hammer and whistling a happy tune.

   The devil walks up to him and says, "I don't understand this.  I've turned the heat way up, it's humid, you're crushing rocks; why are you so happy?"  The guy from Buffalo, with a big smile, looks at the devil and replies, "This is great! It reminds me of August in Buffalo . Hot, humid, a good place to work. It reminds me of home. This is fantastic!"

   The devil, extremely perplexed, walks away to ponder the remarks of the guy from Buffalo . Then he decides to drop the temperature, send down a driving rain and torrential wind. Soon, Hell is a wet, muddy mess.  Walking in mud up to his knees with dust blowing into his eyes, the guy from Buffalo  is happily slogging through the mud pushing a wheelbarrow full of crushed rocks.  Again, the devil asks how he can be happy in such conditions.

   The guy from Buffalo replies, "This is great! Just like April in Buffalo . It reminds me of working out in the yard with spring planting!"  The devil is now completely baffled but more determined to make the guy from Buffalo suffer. He makes the temperature plummet. Suddenly Hell is blanketed in snow and ice. Confident that this will surely make the guy from Buffalo unhappy, the devil checks in on him.

   He is again shocked at what he sees. The guy from Buffalo is dancing, singing, and twirling his sledgehammer as he cavorts in glee.  "How can you be so happy? Don't you know its 40 below zero!?" screams the devil.

  Jumping up and down, the guy from Buffalo throws a snowball at the devil and yells, "Hell's frozen over! This means the BILLS won the Super Bowl."

When the Buffalo Bills began the Dick Jauron era, hopes were high, but cautious.  Now, on the eve of the 2009 season, many of the same hopes have become flat and cynical.  Pessimissts predict a 4-12 season and an overhaul of the coaching staff.  Bills optimists believe a 9-7 season, with a possible playoff berth, is realistic this year.  But behind that optimism lies not a naive hope, but a serene preparedness.  The optimistic fan comes up with a contingency plan for failure this year, and then stops worrying about what-ifs.  With our contingency plan in the back of our minds, we should be free to be confident and interested in the season ahead.  Certainty begets confidence, and confidence eliminates dread.  FDR once said, "The only thing we have to fear is FEAR itself."  This means that we can be hopeful as a fan base if we simply have an idea in our minds of what should happen if this year's goals of this year are not met.

Once we have settled on preparation for the worst, we can come back to the present more confident, relaxed Bills fans.  After all, we will either win satisfyingly this year, or we will have a solid plan otherwise.  With this in mind, let's ask ourselves those pessimisstic questions creatively.  This FanPost uses a continuous train-of-thought pattern to do the beginning of the work for you.  After the jump, we'll examine our fears, and take a look at the contingency plan, should things indeed get ugly this year.

Continue reading this post »

I'm generally a Bills optimist. I have the team making the playoffs each year, albeit at a wild card position. So that got me thinking, why don't I feel the Bills can compete with New England in the East or with the other AFC teams for a Super Bowl berth? What reasons are there? New England seems like they own the division, but in the end they are just a football team like us, made up of players and position coaches just like us. I have to believe that it is not all poor playcalling and coaching which holds us back. So for the purposes of this FanPost, I'm throwing that out.

Now, if there are personnel weaknesses on our team (and there are), where are they? That's when the realization hit me about the weak points of our team. We are good at the fast, skill positions, on both sides of the ball. And our lines on both sides of the ball are suspect. and our question marks are the offensive line's ability to produce and our defensive line's ability to create pressure. On offense, running back is a stacked position. Nothing more need be said there. At wide receiver, despite our injuries at the position in camp, Buffalo maintains one of the deepest corps in the NFL. QB is a question mark, with a solid Edwards not entirely set in statuesque form yet in Buffalo, and Fitzpatrick as our potentially inconsistent backup. But so is the offensive line. We have Langston Walker at left tackle. He's capable but would be better at right tackle where he can face power rushers, not speed rushers. Our two rookies at guard are going to receive some lessons on the job this year from defenders, and even Kent Hull would have a tough time dealing with Kris Jenkins and Wilfork. Hang is decent, but no Hull.

On defense, our secondary seems to be the strength of the team. Donte Whitner's questionable playmaking ability being the only real chink in our armor. Our linebackers would be fine if we only had to play 2 on the field at a time (Poz and Kawika) -- and thankfully, any time the Bills go to a nickel, dime, or quarter defense, that's what we'll get. The trick is getting the defensive line to establish a talented, attacking presence.

Let me make this clear: I'm not advocating the replacement of a single Buffalo Bill. I'm also not calling the lines bad and the rest of the team good. My key argument here is that our front office seems to have ignored the basic football principle of building a team from the lines. It's true that busts and underachievers have been part of this. But the team's brass has to this point failed to plan for that contingency. It might be time for Russ Brandon to draw the line. Implement a line-based offseason strategy and focus on making our lines healthier.

I guess what I am trying to say is that efforts have been made. But should we desire to compete for the NFL title year in year out, we should look at the yearly contenders. The contending teams almost always have a Top 5-10 caliber offensive and defensive line. Therefore, we should not stop working until we, too, have such. Simple logic.

P.S. Thank you Bills FO for getting Wood and Levitre!

Even if the Bills hadn't acquired T.O. this week, their wide receiver position was loaded with players who each have a difficult time climbing up the depth chart. With the addition of Owens, our WR position is further crowded with players who could be waiting to emerge alongside players who have hit their personal ceiling.

This post is to gauge opinion about the distribution of snaps.  It's fairly clear that each of our three depth receivers have their unique talents; however, when does diversity of our receiver corps begin holding players back from their full potential? 

Who do the Bills give more snaps? Roscoe, Hardy, or Johnson?

Continue reading this post »