Rob Ryan.

[Jetsfan80]

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nfl-week-2-wrap-buffalo-new-orleans/

 

If you imagined in July what a 26-24 victory over New Orleans would have looked like, you might have figured in some unholy game from an uncoverable Josh Gordon and a few big plays from a scrambling Johnny Manziel to set up a late field goal. Not exactly. Manziel took his first snaps as a pro, but he mostly handed off before throwing a lone incomplete pass. Gordon’s suspension reportedly was shortened, but he’ll still likely be out until November 23 at the earliest. Tight end Jordan Cameron and halfback Ben Tate were also missing for the Browns, who started Brian Hoyer, Andrew Hawkins, Miles Austin, Jim Dray, and rookie third-rounder Terrance West at the skill-position spots. And won.

 

Naturally, the first thing you’re inclined to point at when breaking down the problems in New Orleans is Rob Ryan’s defense. Expected to be among the best units in football after adding Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd this offseason, the Saints have instead allowed 63 points through their first two games, more than anybody else in football besides the Jaguars (75). And that’s with Byrd stripping Julio Jones as he was about to run into the end zone on a long catch-and-run last week. Six of those points are from the Tashaun Gipson pick-six that Brees served up this week, but you get the idea: Ryan’s defense is a mess.

 

The biggest problem? Patrick Robinson. I wrote about Robinson’s struggles against the Falcons last week, and as you might have expected, the Browns watched that tape and adjusted their offense accordingly. They were happy to target Robinson, who was a disaster for much of Sunday’s game. He committed a 19-yard pass interference penalty on third down that gave the Browns a first down in the red zone, leading to a touchdown. A neutral zone infraction by Robinson at the end of the first quarter wiped a 44-yard missed field goal by Billy Cundiff off the board and gave Cleveland a first down, which eventually turned into a successful Cundiff field goal. Robinson was benched at that point for Corey White before returning as the slot corner.

 

It’s a tough spot for Robinson, who is one year removed from tearing his patellar tendon, but the Saints aren’t overflowing with options. They cut Champ Bailey in August and gave Robinson the starting job. White was almost as bad last week and second-rounder Stanley Jean-Baptiste has been a healthy scratch each of the first two games. The Saints made a conscious choice to skimp at Robinson’s spot knowing they could very well be starting three Pro Bowl–caliber players elsewhere in the secondary with Byrd,¹ Kenny Vaccaro, and Keenan Lewis.

 

The best way to help Robinson will be to limit the amount of time he has to spend in coverage by getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. For the second week in a row, though, the Saints’ pass rush was virtually nonexistent. Hoyer was sacked just once in his 41 drop-backs, bringing the Saints to a grand total of two sacks on 87 drop-backs this season. That’s a sack rate of 2.3 percent; last year, the Saints notched a rate of 8.5 percent. Byrd was supposed to give the Saints a safety valve and free Ryan up to be more aggressive on play calling to rush the quarterback; instead, the defense looks lethargic and erratic trying to get to the opposing passer. Cameron Jordan is still waiting on his first sack, while Junior Galette got his first on Sunday. Who could have seen that coming?

 

It was hardly surprising that Ryan and Sean Payton were seen arguing on the sideline during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss; what’s the point of having a member of the Ryan family around if he’s not going to get after the quarterback? The Saints won’t be that bad all season, and they did knock Hoyer down six times, which is promising, but the pass rush is nowhere near expectations. Even if it gets better, it’s still a long, long way from good.

[Integrity28]

The Ryan family over-ratedness is astounding.

[JustInFudge]

Which means Rex sucks.

 

Thanks for posting.

[T0mShane]

Not enough weppinz probably

[Matt39]

Mike Pettine?

[Integrity28]

Mike Pettine?

 

He must have master motivated them to victory. It's the only way.

[Jetsfan80]

Mike Pettine?

 

From the same article:

 

 

What’s Gone Right With the Bills?

Amid what might have been the worst week in NFL history, the one fan base that actually had something to cheer about heading into Sunday was in Buffalo. The Bills were coming off an upset win in Chicago to start the year before being purchased on Tuesday by natural gas magnate Terry Pegula, who pledged to keep the Bills in town for the long haul. The crowd would salute the franchise’s former owner, the late Ralph Wilson, before kickoff in a ceremony led by Jim Kelly, who has beaten cancer over the past several months. Perhaps buoyed by the purchase,⁴ a raucous Bills crowd saw their team deliver an impressive performance during the home opener as they stomped the Dolphins, 29-10. When the dust settled at the end of the day, they had claimed sole ownership of the AFC East for just the third time in the past decade. It’s a great story, but can the Bills keep it up?

 

It’s been only a couple of weeks since the team was in a state of upheaval. A poor preseason from second-year quarterback EJ Manuel had led Buffalo to sign veteran Kyle Orton to a lucrative two-year deal that will pay him somewhere in the $11 million range. The signing was seen by some (including myself) as a prelude to moving on from Manuel. Even though he had struggled with knee injuries during an abbreviated rookie season, Manuel had shown so little during his first 18 months with the team as to paint himself into the bust corner. With new ownership about to arrive, the front office was hoping to bring in a quarterback who could save their jobs, even if head coach Doug Marrone reportedly wasn’t very happy with the move. Even if Manuel’s days weren’t numbered, his leash seemed rather short.

 

Two weeks later, it’s like Orton never got the call. Manuel has led the Bills to two consecutive wins, and his numbers look fine: He’s gone 32-of-48 (66.7 percent) for 375 yards (7.8 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns against one pick. He’s run for a third touchdown and hasn’t fumbled.

 

Crucially, though, Manuel has been sacked just once on his 53 drop-backs. Last year, he was taken down on 7.8 percent of his drop-backs, one of the highest rates in football. Manuel went down once in Week 1, but the real test was going to come Sunday, when the Bills went up against a Dolphins pass rush that ate up the Patriots in Week 1. The Bills came through with flying colors, as the Dolphins didn’t sack Manuel and knocked him down just two times on pass plays.

 

The biggest success story for that line is rookie right tackle Seantrel Henderson, a seventh-round pick who beat out fellow rookie Cyrus Kouandjio, the team’s second-round pick, for the starting gig. Henderson fell rapidly during draft week after failing a drug test at the combine and leaving the University of Miami’s pro day, but he impressed the Bills at left tackle during the preseason and he’s been a revelation through two games. Henderson naturally got help at times, but he was good enough to nearly keep Cameron Wake off the scoresheet altogether, as Wake had one assist on a tackle, no quarterback hits, and no sacks. If Henderson keeps this up, he’ll be a huge bargain for the Bills and a solid half of one of the league’s more underrated combinations with left tackle Cordy Glenn.

 

It has helped that the Bills haven’t been in situations in which they’ve needed to throw to catch up. Buffalo has trailed for only 283 seconds this season, and that has allowed it to rely heavily on the running game.⁵ They were wildly successful on the ground against Chicago’s porous run defense in Week 1, and while they averaged just 3.4 yards per carry on 33 attempts against the Dolphins on Sunday, they were able to squeeze out a 47-yard run from C.J. Spiller, which set up a touchdown pass to rookie Sammy Watkins, who had his first big game as a pro. The Bills used Watkins all around the formation, but he had his most success on drag routes, running across the formation to catch the ball in stride before turning upfield. He finished with eight catches for 117 yards and a score.

 

Spiller’s biggest contribution, meanwhile, came when he returned a Dolphins kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Buffalo’s special teams, good for years under then-coach Bobby April, have been phenomenal through two weeks. In addition to Spiller’s touchdown, the Bills blocked a punt on Sunday to set up a Dan Carpenter field goal. Carpenter, who hit five field goals Sunday, is 8-for-9 to start the year. Punter Colton Schmidt has dropped seven of his first nine punts inside the 20-yard line, and that has helped Buffalo to an enormous field-position advantage: Its average starting field position was plus-14 yards in Week 1⁶ and plus-22 yards in Week 2, with Buffalo’s average drive starting on its own 43-yard line.

 

The defense hasn’t missed a beat after losing Byrd, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, and injured linebacker Kiko Alonso. An aggressive Buffalo defense has knocked away 15 passes during the first two weeks, led by the perpetually underrated Corey Graham, who helped Baltimore to the Super Bowl two years ago. The 29-year-old UNH product has knocked down six passes by himself. Also, Buffalo has been incredible on third and fourth downs, allowing opposing teams to convert just 34.4 percent of the time. Even if that number rises, the Bills are playing inspired defense under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.

 

This isn’t the first time the Bills have raised hopes after a positive start. In 2008, Buffalo started the season 4-0 — beating four teams that would finish with a combined record of 16-48 (.250) — before crashing to a 7-9 finish. Three years later, the Bills would ride Ryan Fitzpatrick to 3-0; that was likely more impressive, thanks to a blowout 41-7 win over the Chiefs and a memorable 34-31 victory over the Patriots. Buffalo would go to 4-1 with a win over the “Dream Team” Eagles and to 5-2 by shutting out Washington’s John Beck in Toronto, but injuries to Fitzpatrick slowed the offense down, and Buffalo could muster only a 6-10 campaign.

You would hope the Bills could stick the landing this time around. They’ll need to follow this present script, which includes keeping games close so Manuel isn’t forcing passes in an attempt to catch up. After the two-win start to the season, Buffalo’s schedule is about to get a lot tougher. It hosts the Chargers next week before traveling to Houston and Detroit and hosting the Patriots in Week 6. If the Bills make it through that stretch at 5-1 or even 6-0, we’ll know they’re for real.

[Jolot]

It's always puzzling to me that every year I turn on the Super Bowl and there's no Ryan on either sideline, since you know , nobody else in the league can coach defense and all

[kay_gee]

omfg, every year with the damned bills. wake me up when they're winning the division at the end of december.

[BallinPB]

Rob Ryan for sure is overrated.  Historically Rex has been a much better coach on defense than his brother.  What bothers me is that they are twins and share the same traits.  Could this mean that Rex is overrated? 

 

The only reason I love Rex so much is because his attitude and his passion.  I feel like hes been a Jet his whole life.  Sometimes that masks the fact that maybe he just isnt a great head coach.  

[SayNoToDMC]

I wish we where playing the Eagles this year. The legendary Ryan hurry up defense on desplay for an entire game. I picture the halftime defensive meeting looking like the scene from I am Sam, where they're trying to figure out the answering machine.

[Jolot]

I wish we where playing the Eagles this year. The legendary Ryan hurry up defense on desplay for an entire game. I picture the halftime defensive meeting looking like the scene from I am Sam, where they're trying to figure out the answering machine.

lol classic

[SenorGato]

Are we really jerking the Bills off for two wins? Sluts. 

[Shadetree]

lol classic

"Never go full retard."

[DRJETS]

Why did the Jets pass on Miles Austin,?  He is a NJ guy and wanted to come to Jets not too long ago.  He would had been a better option than Nelson.  I don't remember him being a FA. 

[Jetsfan80]

Are we really jerking the Bills off for two wins? Sluts. 

 

They lost Kiko Alonso and Jairus Byrd yet their D is sneaky good.  Jury's still out on EJ Manuel but he's looked sharp against a couple of pretty good teams.  This might not be the Bills of old.

[#27TheDominator]

Why did the Jets pass on Miles Austin,?  He is a NJ guy and wanted to come to Jets not too long ago.  He would had been a better option than Nelson.  I don't remember him being a FA. 

 

Cause he has no upside and signed for $2M.  The Jets were looking at other WR.  I know they went after James Jones, but there was no reason to sign a street FA with all those draft picks.  The picks seeming bad is a problem, but Austin probably would have just blocked the kids.  When the Browns signed him, in May, Austin still was not ready to play and he sat out through July the end of July.  

[SenorGato]

They lost Kiko Alonso and Jairus Byrd yet their D is sneaky good.  Jury's still out on EJ Manuel but he's looked sharp against a couple of pretty good teams.  This might not be the Bills of old.

 

Dareus is an awesome player no one talks about. Been their best player on D for his whole career.