By CHUCK POLLOCK, Wellsville Sun Senior Sports Columnist
The statistics are indicting.
When Bills’ first-year head coach Joe Brady hired former NFL safety Jim Leonhard to be his defensive coordinator, the assumption was that one of Buffalo’s vulnerabilities had been addressed.
But in the immortal words of former college football coach and TV analyst Lee Corso, “Not so fast …”
So far it hasn’t happened … indeed, it could be argued that the Bills’ ‘D’ has gotten worse.
Consider Buffalo’s position in the stats of the 32 National Football League teams:
— 30th in total defense (389 yards per game)
— 28th in points surrendered (28 pg)
— 31st in passing yards given up (280 ypg)
— 31st in most first downs relinquished
— 23rd in third-down conversion rate (43%)
— tied for third-worst in touchdowns surrendered (20)
LEONHARD admits it’s on him.
“There’s a lot blame to go around,” he maintained, “but it starts with me. I’ve got to own a lot of it right now. (But) we’re going to get it better. That’s what I’m here for … to make this thing better … put these guys in position to go challenge routes and get off the field.”
Leionhard added, “We’re fortunate … we’re 4-1. Defensively, we know what we’ve done … we haven’t really impacted games that we’d like to.
“It’s great to have Superman as your quarterback.(Josh Allen) played a great game (against the Rams in 37-34 overtime win) and the offense really stuck together and found a way to get it done for us. But we can’t wait till it’s our turn to save the day.”
Brady agrees.
“We’ve got to find ways to get better,” he said. “The most important thing is the guys sticking together and solving it together and not feeling like, ‘Hey, the pass defense is an issue. Let’s point some fingers.’ As coaches and players, let’s continue to solve this together.”
THE BILLS’ next defensive test comes Sunday afternoon (4:25, CBS-TV, Bills Radio Network) at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium against the Raiders (3-2), who opened the season with three straight wins (Dolphins, Chargers and Saints) before losing two in a row (Chiefs and Patriots).
Still, it’s a better start than expected for the Raiders, thanks to veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins. Still the Bills opened as 6 1/2-point favorites, but the line has shrunk to 4 1/2.
The reality is, Buffalo’s record is a bit ot a mirage. Its wins over the Texans in the season opener at Houston, the late victory over the Chargers in Orchard Park and the overtime win in Los Angeles in spite of two more lost fumbles by running back James Cook tells you how close Buffalo is to 1-4 rather than tied for the third-best record in the league.
INJURIES: Five key Bills are questionable for Sunday’s game. Wide receivers D.J. Moore and Joshua Palmer are both uncertain with shoulder injuries as are defensive tackle Ed Oliver (knee) and nickel defensive back Dee Alford (ankle) plus defensive lineman T.J. Sanders(shoulder). In addition, cornerback Jordan Hancock was placed on injured reserve Friday.
WEATHER: Dome
POLLOCK’S PICK: Bills 30, Raiders 20
Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
