Lapses, missed tackles plague Bills’ defense

By Anthony Bialy  |   Tuesday, August 28, 2007  |  Comments( 28 )

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The best ground gainer by average for the Titans in the Bills' third preseason game was stud runner Kerry Collins, who picked up 11 yards per rush on one attempt. Including the speeding locomotive that is Tennessee's backup quarterback, the Titan ground men picked up 132 yards total on 4.4 per carry, which doesn't sound fantastic from the Bills' perspective. At the same time, while the defense had rough moments, it also showed a few instances of progress; plus, its mistakes were more because of weak tackling than simply getting pushed aside, which happened regularly in 2006.

Last year, the defensive line was splattered into very different directions on many ground plays, but the unit avoided the same occurrence on a respectable number of Tennessee's rushes. Kyle Williams continues to stuff up the center of the line as he did during his fine first campaign, while Larry Tripplett, who had a dud of a '06, also held his own against the run, managing to get near the ball.

Even the universally derided Tim Anderson managed to involve himself on a handful of plays, while underrated rush defender Aaron Schobel tried to change that perception by getting in on some stops while clamping the edge of the line.

Frustratingly, though, some Titan rushing plays worked as well as the offense could have hoped, often because the Bills victimized themselves by missing tackles. The biggest problem was not getting to the ballcarrier but stopping him once they were there. Running back Chris Brown made the defense look soft on his own for a handful of rushes, as he once or twice blasted past Bills like his opponents were trapped in Jell-O. But at the same time, players like Keith Ellison also over-pursued a few times, getting to the right spot but not getting the man down.

The most obvious example was Vince Young's touchdown run: An overeager Ellison shot past the rushing quarterback with too much fervor while Young calmly slipped inside and into the end zone. To be fair, that play and the others where he avoided pursuers were mostly Young's doing, as there were several instances where a quarterback with less strength, quickness, and overall astounding athleticism would have been brought to the turf. Thankfully for the Bills, Tennessee isn't on their docket in the regular season, so defenders won't have to again worry about the common problem of trying to tackle Young and grabbing nothing but air instead.

Not to pick on Ellison, but he also muffed once in the passing game. In the first quarter he read a play-action fake, lined up the receiver, and still let him slip by after he made contact. It's great he has the vision to spot what's taking place, but it's worthless if he doesn't follow up with proper execution. Ellison had a fine rookie season, so fans should be willing to chalk up this game as a preseason aberration for the '06 sixth-round pick.

More unsettling in pass coverage is cornerback Jason Webster, who has been moving slower than the beer lines at Ralph Wilson Stadium. If he's already won the starting job, the Bills need to hope that more sophisticated regular-season defenses will help him battle receivers. The best scenario is that the Tampa 2 will cover up his play.

Even Schobel had a better night in pass coverage than Webster, as the newly flush lineman took away a touchdown in the second quarter by swiftly closing in on tight end Bo Scaife and knocking the ball out of his hands on what looked like a sure score. Unfortunately, as a member of a thin defensive end pool, Schobel will not likely get a chance to win a cornerback spot. Plus, he's pretty good at his current job and would have to change his number, anyway.

There were other negative tendencies on display against the Titans. The Bills are still occasionally susceptible to fake handoffs, and the second-string secondary was efficiently shredded by aforementioned track star Collins, a player who overall hasn't exactly lived up to his potential as a pro quarterback.

Still, the best spin on the issue from the Bills' perspective is that the first string once again played with more resolve as its opponent got closer to the goal. Buffalo's starting 'D' seemed sharper and gave up less ground per play once the Titans rolled down most of the field. The defense certainly wasn't perfect, it still gave up touchdowns, and there were individual lapses, but playing a little better when it counts beats not playing well at all.
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CommentsComments: 28  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Nate		05:31 AM
08/29/2007
The Bill's defense was horrid against the Titans and there's no other way to put it. The only positive is that it was a practice ...
No.2
gjv01		05:37 AM
08/29/2007
They can spin the performance of the Bills defense anyway they like. The reality is, every offensive coordinator the Bills face ...
No.3
Vince		06:10 AM
08/29/2007
The Bills defense is not strong in any area. They have a poor run defense and, with the losses of Nate Clements and London ...
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