Bills Replay
Bills Replay: Stopping run was half the battle
It was a tale of two halves for the Buffalo Bills’ run defense.
In the first half, the Bills missed assignments, missed tackles and were overrun by the St. Louis Rams. Led by running back Steven Jackson’s 99 yards, the Rams finished the half with 148 yards and averaged 7.8 yards per carry.
It was a different story in the second half as the Bills made tackles, made plays and basically made Jackson and the Rams’ running game disappear: 10 carries, 19 yards.
“We were our own worst enemy in the first half,” Bills middle linebacker Paul Posluszny said. “But in the second half, we made some adjustments and just stopped making the mistakes that hurt us earlier in the game.”
Here’s a look at both sides of the Bills’ run defense Sunday:
What went wrong
• WR Donnie Avery’s 37-yard touchdown in the first quarter: The Rams have a first down on their second possession. Jackson and Avery are lined up in the backfield. The Bills appear to be rushing people on the field and are barely set when QB Trent Green takes the snap, fakes a handoff to Jackson going to the right side and then pitches the ball to Avery. DE Copeland Bryan initially reacts to the fake handoff and tries to recover, but Avery runs by him. WR Torry Holt’s block on CB Jabari Greer allows Avery to get down the sideline. FS Ko Simpson goes low to try to knock Avery out of bounds at the 4-yard line, but Avery goes airborne and reaches the ball over the pylon.
• Jackson’s 29-yard touchdown in the second quarter: From a three-receiver formation, Jackson takes the handoff and heads toward the left side between the guard and tackle. OLB Kawika Mitchell and Posluszny come up and take on blockers, forcing Jackson to cut back to his left, where a lane is created when C Nick Leckey takes down DT Spencer Johnson and RT Alex Barron and RG Richie Incognito drive DT John McCargo to the inside.
Jackson charges through the gap vacated by SS Donte Whitner, who attacks the backfield, but gets cut off by Lecky and Johnson. Whitner tries to leap over them, but to no avail.
CB Leodis McKelvin comes up to meet Jackson, but Jackson uses WR Eddie Kennison to shield McKelvin just long enough to bounce outside, where he outruns McKelvin and Simpson down the sideline.
• Jackson goes for 22 yards late in the second quarter: The Rams run a draw from a four-wide receiver formation. DT Kyle Williams sheds a blocker, but can’t reach Jackson. Incognito helps double team Johnson, who gets taken down by Leckey. Incognito then peels off and locks on Posluszny.
Jackson runs through the hole opened by those blocks. WR Dane Looker holds up CB Ashton Youboty and TE Randy McMichael delays Mitchell long enough for Jackson to get into the secondary. Jackson cuts outside to his left and runs out of Whitner’s grasp.
Simpson goes high and gets Jackson around the neck, but can’t bring him down. Several yards later, Jackson is finally ridden to the turf by Greer, DE Aaron Schobel and Posluszny.
What went right
• Jackson is dropped for a 3-yard loss in the third quarter: The Bills are in an eight-man front against the Rams’ base formation: two backs, two receivers, one tight end.
Keith Ellison is the middle linebacker flanked by Posluszny on his left and Whitner on his right. On the left side, Mitchell lines up off DE Chris Kelsay’s left hip.
The Rams try to run to the right side, but Kelsay gets upfield penetration against Barron. Kelsay is pushed to the turf, but Jackson is forced back inside where he’s met by Posluszny.
Jackson tries to get outside, but DE Ryan Denney comes down the line from the backside and helps Posluszny make the tackle in the backfield.
• Jackson loses 2 yards on a third-quarter run: This play was due to a tremendous effort by Posluszny. The Bills crowd the line of scrimmage, only this time Simpson is the eighth man in the box. Posluszny lines up between DT Marcus Stroud and Williams. The toss sweep is designed to go off right guard, but Posluszny blows past LG Jacob Bell and wrestles Jackson to the ground.
• Jackson is stopped for a 1 yard loss in the fourth quarter: The Rams are in their jumbo package — I-formation with three tight ends. They try to run a sweep to the left side, but Williams pushes Bell into the backfield, Stroud avoids Incognito’s attempted cut block and Mitchell flies into the backfield before Barron can reach him.
Jackson has nowhere to go as he’s surrounded by Williams, Stroud, Mitchell and Schobel, who sheds a block to get a piece of the tackle.
Other observations
• LT Jason Peters had another tough day. He was flagged for two penalties, including a holding call that negated a 20-yard run by RB Marshawn Lynch.
Peters also got beat for another sack, this time by Rams rookie DE Chris Long. Long lined up on Peters’ outside shoulder, but surprised Peters by coming underneath. Lynch tried to pick up Long but was too far outside to reach Long before he grabbed QB Trent Edwards.
• Edwards took too many hits again as the Bills had a tough time picking up the blitz for the second straight week. On two of the Rams’ four sacks, either a linebacker or defensive back reached the backfield unaccounted for. The protection improved in the second half, but this is an area that needs cleaning up. Edwards’ well-being may depend on it.
Coming attractions
The Bills look to go into the bye week 5-0 when they visit the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
