per Tim Graham's AFCe blog. So they wait until they are 0-5 with a terrible defense, then the light blinks overhead with a "we have 4-3 personnel" briefly flashing before their eyes? Naah, now that Schobel retired, and they have a simply awful Lb corps, they consider a switch back to the 4-3? fmr Dolphins Assistant George Edwards should have stayed at UF rather than move to the Bills as their DefCord.
Makes no sense to me to scrap it. You can line up in the 30 front and play 40 football. See Saban at Bama.
It makes plenty of sense..for their situation. The Secondary is not as good, and Maybin has seen his snaps dwindle if they are going to recoup value from the 11th overall pick he will have to play DE because as a OLB..he sucks, to the point where he played 2 snaps vs the Jags. Toss in the lack of a true NT as well as Pozluszney being their best front 7 player as a MLB, and a Williams/Stroud/Troupe front is better against the run, and there are some solid reasons why they should switch. Their real problem is they do not have the personnel to man the Sam and Will.
They don't have the talent for any scheme. They are lacking of talent in general. You learn to adjust, you don't scrap it IMO.
Agree on the talent part, especially on Defense, I also think GM Nix is not interested in bringing anyone in to bolster the situation Gailey and Edwards have to make do with what limited talent already there. Scrapping it is the right move when they do not have the Lb corps to run a 4-3 let alone a 3-4, but they do have some talent on the Dline, why continue a scheme that is surrendering 30 pts a game? The secondary which was so solid in 09 has -0- int's through 5 games, why continue on this path?
No, its not the right move IMO. It's not really a big difference between the 40 and 30 front. They can play 1 and 3 techniques with a 5 technique or even a heavy 4 technique and protect their ILB's. If anything, the 30 front gives them less predictability, which should mean they are better rushing the passer. Their issue is talent. They are not talented. They have not developed their young talent either. Aaron Maybin still looks like the same player he was at Penn State. That's a big problem. They're a Man-Free base coverage team. You're going to have less INT's. The issue with them is that they can't stop the damn run, which is why teams are not passing much. There's a reason they are 11th in pass defense.
Difference being, they can plug 4-3 players in starting in their next game the change would be minor from an experience standpoint. To try and understand your position, they should stick with a scheme that is an utter failure, because, well, they started the season with it? So why re-invent the wheel? His last two games he has a grand total of 7 snaps, why not put his hand in the dirt and allow him to pin his ears back? Or just chalk up yr #2 as lost, well, because they run the 3-4 and he is not a 3-4 OLB? That is the foolishness of the NFL, square pegs will fit into that damn round hole and the league typically does not care what the acquisition costs were, that pig is gonna fly no matter what, or they find someone else. No other business model would survive such a practice. No pressure, losing Schoebel and Maybin washing out means they have no one outside of Kyle Williams who can come close to applying pressure to the Qb. As for the run defense, this is what happens when there is no true NT on the roster, there are DT's, which makes the switch even more dubious.
They can protect their "4-3 players" in the 3-4 too. No, they shouldn't scrap it completely. If you want to go to forty fronts, OK, that's fine. You don't scrap the 30 though when you've been teaching them it the last few months. He's already pinning his ears back. Him standing up is not the issue, the issue is his lack of development. He has not improved his hand use nor has he improved his pass rush ability. He's still a speed rusher and when you're a speed rusher with no inside move, you're not going to get it done in this league. They are not taking the right angles, they are not playing with leverage, they are not being stout at the POA. If I go to a 40 front, I'm still going to have a 1 and 3 technique. Same thing in the 30 front. 1 and 3 technique. It's not like they're sitting there playing 2 gap every down. They are 1 gapping. Their roster is devoid of talent whether they are playing 30 or 40 ball.
Apparently not.. Nah, ditch it, especially if you have players with 4-3 experience already, and that was large part of the problem during the switch, and prior to, the Bills simply did not stock the roster with 3-4 guys, they merely blinked their eyes and said "Ah we have 3-4 players!!" Er, no, the Lb corps is just not athletic enough, they signed a gaggle of mediocre and washed up 3-4 Lb's. The way I see it, their best Lb Corps is Davis-Poz-Torbor, and two of those guys are never going to be more than average, but even average is better than what they had in their 3-4. I was literally stunned when they did not pick up Charlie Anderson, stunned and instructed, Nix is not interested in churning the roster, Anderson would have at least provided some Athleticism. Well, disagree with that Alen, perhaps better said: "You will not get by with just a speed rush for very long in this league" Maybin has just a handful of snaps if anything they should get him on the field to succeed or fail so they know what they have for Draft 011. Here is the major contention, I look at their roster and see some solid 4-3 Dlinemen such as Stroud and Williams and Edwards, if all proven players, now the RDE is wide open and there are several FA RDE's if they really do not like Maybin.
You're really reading too much into 30 and 40 fronts IMO. As I said, they are lacking talent. Not much difference there. The best pass rushers in the league have an inside spin move. You can't put him out there if he hasn't developed. Its the same garbage that the Dolphins had with Patrick Turner. You can't put a guy out there if he doesn't have a clue as to what he's doing. You want to win games? Then you don't put players like that out there. They are seeing what they have in him in practices, which apparently isn't a lot.
Alen, imho this year is not about winning games for the Bills, it is more trying to at least be competitive and little else, that is why Nix is not churning the roster, that is why they cleared Edwards off of the deck by releasing him and why imho Schoebel retired, he knew what this season was going to be like. Basically, the Bills fans are going to take a prearranged bullet, which also means there is no reason NOT to play Maybin. Some players only learn via practice practice practice, and Sparano won't play a guy who does not do well in practice, the Bills otoh, have nothing to lose by tossing him out onto the field in sink or swim mode if he sinks they can jettison him, if he swims great, either way though the Bills are not going to finish their usual 6-10 or 7-9 they will be drafting top 3. A part of me wonders if old man Wilson doesn't mind that due to the impending Rookie Salary Cap.
Well, Gailey's offense has been effective, and in fairness to Edwards, the Bills Defensive Roster is filled with 4-3 personnel, that is why I've banged the drum on a move such as this one.
