I know Paul Posluzny is very popular with Bills fans, but it is time that he take some criticism for his poor play against the run. His tendency to over-pursue plays and get “caught up in the wash” has left the Bills too vulnerable type of cutback runs that Thomas Jones got huge yardage on. This has been a problem with Poz since he joined the Bills that he still hasn’t corrected. With the Bills safeties playing wide in a 2-deep coverage, any good RB who gets through the gap that Posluzny has left unfilled with “a head of steam” is going to break a big gainer. Poz needs to learn to be more disciplined and do a better job of shedding blockers for the Bills to improve their run defense.

Andy Levitre’s lack of strength is creating big problems for the Bills’ offensive line. Levitre simply doesn’t have the strength to hold up against big, strong NFL defensive tackles and opposing defensive coordinators, even those running 3-4 defenses, are taking advantage of this by making adjustments to the alignment of their defensive fronts. Instead of lining their nose tackles head up on the center, 3-4 teams are either putting the NT head up on Levitre or in the gap between Levitre and the center and attacking Levitre to disrupt the Bills offensive line. Like Shaun Rogers the week before (and the Miami NTs and Wilfork in the second half of the opener), Kris Jenkins was wreaking havoc against the Bills before he got injured. Levitre is a battler who is doing the best that he can to try to hold his own, but he simply isn’t strong enough to get the job done consistently at this point. He must get stronger this coming offseason if he is to fulfill his potential in the NFL.

It is difficult to expect Donte Whitner, hobbling on a sprained ankle with his wrist in a cast, to be a force against the run, but George Wilson and Jairus Byrd have been real liabilities against the run so far. Wilson improved somewhat in the second half against the Jets filling in for Whitner, but he is not a good run defender. And, while Byrd has shown superb instincts in coverage, with his slight frame and abominable tackling skills, he is even worse against the run. The Bills need Byrd’s coverage ability and big-play instincts, but, like Levitre, he will have to get considerably stronger and work on his tackling ability if he is not going to continue to be a liability against the run.