I hope your right. It's a big difference scheme wise. Caldwell was heavy zone, Nielsen runs a lot of man. It may sound a simple change but there's a lot of small details that can cause big problems. The injuries in the backfield are really hurting. Teams are taking advantage of our backups and our better players aren't playing well so it's almost a perfect storm for bad outcomes.

I still believe this is a good team, even though they are nowhere near it right now and a W and some confidence would get us going in the right direction, I fear it's going to be rough for a few more weeks until the coaches and players put it all together.

Sorry buddy. They're not.

Wish they were but they're not even close. Bills are a good team. The Jags lost to the Fins and Browns who have been obliterated by everyone else they have played or they lost to another very bad team.

I know your right and I'm just focusing on the good things we've done (mainly 8-3 last year) and hoping they can somehow, someway kick-start something and look more like that team but I know it's wishful thinking right now.

There's just so much to correct right now before we even get to the point of making positive progression. The schedule gets a bit more forgiving after Sunday, we have Colts then Bears and Patriots in London. After that it gets brutal and if we can't show some improvements in those 3 games, Shad better be calling Ben Johnson.

---

You would think you would throw some blitzing in there when you never have a pass rush. Coach campo said this also on the talk show.

---

D? What D?

---

Clearly Trevor's fault.

---

Trent: All the D I drafted had meaty measurements I couldn't pass up on.

---

Trent: All the D I drafted had meaty measurements I couldn't pass up on.

Yeah I bet he likes the meat..

---

D? What D?

Our D is built like a Ken Doll. Flat and non existent.

---

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

You mean the only defense in the league who hasn't forced a takeaway?

---

Trent doesn't care about production or good football players. He just cares about measurables/ long arms and length. I honestly don't think he watches game tape. He goes to the combine and drafts on traits and measurables. If the player is a good football player is irrelevant, he's proved that to many times

---

---

What led people to believe that Nielsen held the key to unlock the defense?

---

Hines-Allen and Walker have been immense disappointments for me this year... I had high expectations for both of them taking the next step and becoming focal points of our defense where plays could be made with their pass rush abilities.

But it's evident game in and game out that both of these guys just get engulfed by opposing tackles very easily and then they have no answer but to basically "give up" on rushing the passer. Josh Hines-Allen is not the Josh Allen we have been privileged to - and I don't know what the cause for regression is for him, but it's very disconcerting.

As far as Travon goes, I expected him to be a one-trick pony coming out of college - and he's absolutely been that and ONLY that, so we knew what we were getting with him. Don't forget the boneheaded penalties like lining up in the neutral zone...

Don't even get me started on Arik Armstead, for whatever reason this mountain of a man can't generate ANY push whatsoever. Maybe he has lingering issues with his injury, if we're taking the glass half-full approach.

---

Hines-Allen and Walker have been immense disappointments for me this year... I had high expectations for both of them taking the next step and becoming focal points of our defense where plays could be made with their pass rush abilities.

But it's evident game in and game out that both of these guys just get engulfed by opposing tackles very easily and then they have no answer but to basically "give up" on rushing the passer. Josh Hines-Allen is not the Josh Allen we have been privileged to - and I don't know what the cause for regression is for him, but it's very disconcerting.

As far as Travon goes, I expected him to be a one-trick pony coming out of college - and he's absolutely been that and ONLY that, so we knew what we were getting with him. Don't forget the boneheaded penalties like lining up in the neutral zone...

Don't even get me started on Arik Armstead, for whatever reason this mountain of a man can't generate ANY push whatsoever. Maybe he has lingering issues with his injury, if we're taking the glass half-full approach.

I don't know. To me, it looks like our depleted secondary is hurting us more than anything in a man to man scheme. Go back to the Miami game and last night's game. They're just dropping back and getting the football in and out of the Quarterback's hands and they're attacking the LB core more than anything with their RB's in the passing game. 

It's hard for any front to get after the QB when they can do this. Nielsen is going to have to change his philosophy and approach until some of our guys get back into the starting line-up. We just don't have the bodies needed to make this all work. Just got harder if Oluokon is out with an ankle injury as well.

---

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Hines-Allen and Walker have been immense disappointments for me this year... I had high expectations for both of them taking the next step and becoming focal points of our defense where plays could be made with their pass rush abilities.

But it's evident game in and game out that both of these guys just get engulfed by opposing tackles very easily and then they have no answer but to basically "give up" on rushing the passer. Josh Hines-Allen is not the Josh Allen we have been privileged to - and I don't know what the cause for regression is for him, but it's very disconcerting.

As far as Travon goes, I expected him to be a one-trick pony coming out of college - and he's absolutely been that and ONLY that, so we knew what we were getting with him. Don't forget the boneheaded penalties like lining up in the neutral zone...

Don't even get me started on Arik Armstead, for whatever reason this mountain of a man can't generate ANY push whatsoever. Maybe he has lingering issues with his injury, if we're taking the glass half-full approach.

I don't know. To me, it looks like our depleted secondary is hurting us more than anything in a man to man scheme. Go back to the Miami game and last night's game. They're just dropping back and getting the football in and out of the Quarterback's hands and they're attacking the LB core more than anything with their RB's in the passing game. 

It's hard for any front to get after the QB when they can do this. Nielsen is going to have to change his philosophy and approach until some of our guys get back into the starting line-up. We just don't have the bodies needed to make this all work. Just got harder if Oluokon is out with an ankle injury as well.

I think both points are true.  Our secondary being decimated doesn't give the guys time to get home and they also seem to get swallowed up or at least did so last night and I've noticed this season that Walker trots lackadaisically behind the play once the ball gets past him.  I remember the college highlight of him speeding down the sideline coming out of nowhere to track down the ball carrier and tackle him.  He's not concerned with doing that any longer apparently.  It's concerning to me, though, he could be conserving his energy for late game pass rush, but I just need to see him re-emerge as a pass rush threat at all to believe that's part of the reason.  It looks like "ho hum, [BLEEP] that, somebody else will tackle him" type of attitude to me though.

---

I don't know. To me, it looks like our depleted secondary is hurting us more than anything in a man to man scheme. Go back to the Miami game and last night's game. They're just dropping back and getting the football in and out of the Quarterback's hands and they're attacking the LB core more than anything with their RB's in the passing game. 

It's hard for any front to get after the QB when they can do this. Nielsen is going to have to change his philosophy and approach until some of our guys get back into the starting line-up. We just don't have the bodies needed to make this all work. Just got harder if Oluokon is out with an ankle injury as well.

I think both points are true.  Our secondary being decimated doesn't give the guys time to get home and they also seem to get swallowed up or at least did so last night and I've noticed this season that Walker trots lackadaisically behind the play once the ball gets past him.  I remember the college highlight of him speeding down the sideline coming out of nowhere to track down the ball carrier and tackle him.  He's not concerned with doing that any longer apparently.  It's concerning to me, though, he could be conserving his energy for late game pass rush, but I just need to see him re-emerge as a pass rush threat at all to believe that's part of the reason.  It looks like "ho hum, [BLEEP] that, somebody else will tackle him" type of attitude to me though.

To Buffalo's credit, entering last night's game they did have the highest rated offensive line in the NFL. My one concern was the fact that they had both back-up OT's to work up against with the Browns at home and they didn't do enough to get after Watson. It's more concerning now after Watson was ate up by Dallas and New York between the season opener and Sunday's games. 

So, there's plenty of slices of blame to go around with this defense. However, again, in the grand scheme of things. If we're being fair over the last three games? The offense has the more glaring concerns and issues to answer for. Because they seemingly have no answers for anything, they have no way of adjusting, and they have progressively regressed since Etienne's fumble. 

It just doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe the defense has given up on this offense already. Why should I bust my [BLEEP], risk injury and tear something that jeopardizes my future when the offense can't block, can't catch, can't execute, can't put points on the board, or, give our squad a decent break on the sideline by being competent enough to run some actual clock?

I am convinced that Cam Robinson has mailed it in though. It's his last year here. He's going to get Lawrence or any QB back there in the pocket killed at this point. It's suicide at this point to let him start for your offense at LT. He's a big fat piece of [BLEEP] and he can't play worth a [BLEEP] apparently without his PED's.

---

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Hines-Allen and Walker have been immense disappointments for me this year... I had high expectations for both of them taking the next step and becoming focal points of our defense where plays could be made with their pass rush abilities.

But it's evident game in and game out that both of these guys just get engulfed by opposing tackles very easily and then they have no answer but to basically "give up" on rushing the passer. Josh Hines-Allen is not the Josh Allen we have been privileged to - and I don't know what the cause for regression is for him, but it's very disconcerting.

As far as Travon goes, I expected him to be a one-trick pony coming out of college - and he's absolutely been that and ONLY that, so we knew what we were getting with him. Don't forget the boneheaded penalties like lining up in the neutral zone...

Don't even get me started on Arik Armstead, for whatever reason this mountain of a man can't generate ANY push whatsoever. Maybe he has lingering issues with his injury, if we're taking the glass half-full approach.

This is a big frustration. I agree with Caldrac that the secondary is giving easy completions that's hurting the rush but the Bills 2nd TD was a perfect example. Walker was probably being held but that happens and you got to fight through it but there was no one else close to Allen. He had to time to hold the ball and let Kincaid run the whole length of the endzone to get open. That's on the rush.

Teams can find ways to counter a threat. Kick a G to help double team, scramble the other way but that always means someone has man on man protection and no one seems to be able to take advantage of those situations.

---

I think both points are true.  Our secondary being decimated doesn't give the guys time to get home and they also seem to get swallowed up or at least did so last night and I've noticed this season that Walker trots lackadaisically behind the play once the ball gets past him.  I remember the college highlight of him speeding down the sideline coming out of nowhere to track down the ball carrier and tackle him.  He's not concerned with doing that any longer apparently.  It's concerning to me, though, he could be conserving his energy for late game pass rush, but I just need to see him re-emerge as a pass rush threat at all to believe that's part of the reason.  It looks like "ho hum, [BLEEP] that, somebody else will tackle him" type of attitude to me though.

To Buffalo's credit, entering last night's game they did have the highest rated offensive line in the NFL. My one concern was the fact that they had both back-up OT's to work up against with the Browns at home and they didn't do enough to get after Watson. It's more concerning now after Watson was ate up by Dallas and New York between the season opener and Sunday's games. 

So, there's plenty of slices of blame to go around with this defense. However, again, in the grand scheme of things. If we're being fair over the last three games? The offense has the more glaring concerns and issues to answer for. Because they seemingly have no answers for anything, they have no way of adjusting, and they have progressively regressed since Etienne's fumble. 

It just doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe the defense has given up on this offense already. Why should I bust my [BLEEP], risk injury and tear something that jeopardizes my future when the offense can't block, can't catch, can't execute, can't put points on the board, or, give our squad a decent break on the sideline by being competent enough to run some actual clock?

I am convinced that Cam Robinson has mailed it in though. It's his last year here. He's going to get Lawrence or any QB back there in the pocket killed at this point. It's suicide at this point to let him start for your offense at LT. He's a big fat piece of [BLEEP] and he can't play worth a [BLEEP] apparently without his PED's.

To the bolded, perhaps.  For me, that would presume he's checked out and ready to retire rather than looking for another real money deal next year though, as this is what he's putting on tape and no one is going to pay much for it aside from league minimum as a back up.

---

To Buffalo's credit, entering last night's game they did have the highest rated offensive line in the NFL. My one concern was the fact that they had both back-up OT's to work up against with the Browns at home and they didn't do enough to get after Watson. It's more concerning now after Watson was ate up by Dallas and New York between the season opener and Sunday's games. 

So, there's plenty of slices of blame to go around with this defense. However, again, in the grand scheme of things. If we're being fair over the last three games? The offense has the more glaring concerns and issues to answer for. Because they seemingly have no answers for anything, they have no way of adjusting, and they have progressively regressed since Etienne's fumble. 

It just doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe the defense has given up on this offense already. Why should I bust my [BLEEP], risk injury and tear something that jeopardizes my future when the offense can't block, can't catch, can't execute, can't put points on the board, or, give our squad a decent break on the sideline by being competent enough to run some actual clock?

I am convinced that Cam Robinson has mailed it in though. It's his last year here. He's going to get Lawrence or any QB back there in the pocket killed at this point. It's suicide at this point to let him start for your offense at LT. He's a big fat piece of [BLEEP] and he can't play worth a [BLEEP] apparently without his PED's.

To the bolded, perhaps.  For me, that would presume he's checked out and ready to retire rather than looking for another real money deal next year though, as this is what he's putting on tape and no one is going to pay much for it aside from league minimum as a back up.

He'll be 29 next month. He's been injury prone his entire career. He's probably made close to $40M or more just being in Jacksonville. He'll end up getting a nice little back-up job for a decent amount of money and that's that. He doesn't care about this game. 

He doesn't care about his team or teammates. Uche Nwaneri called him out years ago for poor technique and lackadaisical effort. He's done. He's washed. He's been done and washed now for years.

---

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Hines-Allen and Walker have been immense disappointments for me this year... I had high expectations for both of them taking the next step and becoming focal points of our defense where plays could be made with their pass rush abilities.

But it's evident game in and game out that both of these guys just get engulfed by opposing tackles very easily and then they have no answer but to basically "give up" on rushing the passer. Josh Hines-Allen is not the Josh Allen we have been privileged to - and I don't know what the cause for regression is for him, but it's very disconcerting.

As far as Travon goes, I expected him to be a one-trick pony coming out of college - and he's absolutely been that and ONLY that, so we knew what we were getting with him. Don't forget the boneheaded penalties like lining up in the neutral zone...

Don't even get me started on Arik Armstead, for whatever reason this mountain of a man can't generate ANY push whatsoever. Maybe he has lingering issues with his injury, if we're taking the glass half-full approach.

I don't know. To me, it looks like our depleted secondary is hurting us more than anything in a man to man scheme. Go back to the Miami game and last night's game. They're just dropping back and getting the football in and out of the Quarterback's hands and they're attacking the LB core more than anything with their RB's in the passing game. 

It's hard for any front to get after the QB when they can do this. Nielsen is going to have to change his philosophy and approach until some of our guys get back into the starting line-up. We just don't have the bodies needed to make this all work. Just got harder if Oluokon is out with an ankle injury as well.

I agree as well, but personally I had higher expectations for our front seven - and especially Hines-Allen, Walker, and Armstead - since these are the guys that our defense revolves around. We just do not generate ANY semblance of a pass rush - and it's tough to cover on the back end when opposing QBs get to lollygag around in the pocket or take a side-step and have another 3 or 4 seconds to throw.

Obviously it works both ways but with our only true threat in pass coverage going down, in Tyson Campbell, I figured our back end would struggle. Lets not kid ourselves that Ronald Darby was going to be this Pro Bowl shutdown corner when he had been festering as a free agent. Jarrian being a rookie is just that, so my expectations are tame for him, despite him making numerous errors.

But dwelling on the secondary a little bit more, I am disappointed with Andre Cisco where he had missed multiple open-field tackles in the previous three games. I'll give him a little bit of leniency because he is a safety, but it doesn't preclude him from any criticism. He needs to be better - and I hope he can seize any opportunity to create a turnover that we so desperately need as a defense.

Again though, the secondary has been decimated so any expectation of that group trying to prop up this defense should be quelled a little. And that is why I am solely focusing on the entire front 7 - and specifically our main "threats" in Hines-Allen and Walker.

---

Again, though, to keep the main post on topic. Because the topic is about the defense.

Yes. Through three weeks, there's been no turnovers. Through three weeks, the pass rush has not been where we would have liked it to be. However, again, you gave up 20 to the Dolphins. You gave up 16 to the Browns (The offense spotted them 2 points with a safety).

Last night was the first time the defense was completely clueless and outright whooped. It was bad. There's no other way to look at that. The defense was horrendously bad. It'll come down to how this defense now responds to teams, that, in my opinion, should be a lot easier to scheme against and make plays against.

The tinhorns are still going to be a tough match up, especially in Houston. However, they're not a behemoth of a football team so far three weeks into the NFL. They also have their challenges and issues. There's some areas of weakness that can be and should be exploited. You then get the Bears with a struggling QB with the weight of the world on his shoulders and then it's Levis and the tacks I believe.

So, let's see how the next three weeks shake out and then figure out if it's just the Bills being dominate and poised for a SB run with like this year's MVP in Josh Allen, or, this defense just got exposed and their injuries in the secondary and lack of pass rush are a problem after all.

---

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."