Spread Offense

[Maxman]

You can run the spread offense without running the uptempo Chip Kelly \ no huddle stuff.

 

Personally I would like to see some of that. But not exclusively...I want the offensive game plan to be an actual game plan. When the Jets are up by 17 (if) I don't want to see them running the no huddle.  Spread them out, be more aggressive than this team has been in years. But let;s us common sense and adjust when needed.

[win4ever]

W4E, are you optimistic going into next season that things are going to change for the better on offense? You seem to have a very good grasp of the conceptual problems we had for the last 6 seasons. 

 

Lol, thanks, although I don't consider myself an expert in any of these.  

 

I think that's a hard question to answer because being a fan, I'm bound to be more optimistic than reasoning should allow, just by the nature of being a fan.  

 

Saying that, I do think it's reasonable to be optimistic for a few reasons:  

 

1)  The talent base around the offense is much better.  We never had 2 very good WRs on the same field since 2010, and our group right now is leaps and bounds better than the Holmes/Edwards duo we threw out there.  Adding Marshall alone should elevate our offense because he's a true No. 1 WR when healthy and a one on one nightmare because of his size and catch radius.  TEs usually take a large leap from year 1 to year 2, so having Amaro take a leap can also help out the offense.  The running game has been solid, and I do think it should continue to be solid because the defenses can't stack the box nearly as much.  

 

2)  Rex pretty much ignored the offense.  Infact, I think he hindered the offense because I think he had too much faith in his defense.  We played far too conservatively with the time and play calling, when every team around us started to get more and more aggressive.  While, I don't know what Bowles plans to do with the offense, I presume it can't get much worse than what Rex did to the offense.  

 

3)  This will also be Geno's third year in the league, so he should be even more familiar with what it takes in the league.  However, the biggest difference is the system.  If Gailey runs the spread system with a hurry up offense, then it fits much better into what Geno is used to in college, and what he thrived in.  The spread helps the QB out a lot mentally, because he doesn't need to make that many reads on the fly, it's mostly about finding where the one on one matchup is, and hoping your guy can win, or find the hole in a zone.  I think Geno has to improve, just by a system change because it's more familiar for him, and it helps to downplay his biggest weakness, which is backside help on passes.  

 

4)  Last year, with Decker healthy, and not rushing back from injury, our offense looked decent.  The Raider game, we moved down the field, but couldn't punch it in, and the Packer game was off to a great start.  However, as soon as Decker got injured, our offense completely went in the tank, which speaks to the talent level of everyone else on the team at that point.  By having Decker healthy hopefully for the season, we have reason to hope that we can actually put together a good offense.  Having two guys there also helps mitigate the risk of one of them being injured, because we don't have to rely on Kerley and every free agent pickup we can find off the streets to start.  I do think it's paramount that we add a speedster in the draft, because the team lacks speed.  

 

Reasons for pause:

 

1)  We have no idea what system Gailey is actually going to run.  We've heard spread and catering to the players abilities, but we still don't know what he's going to run.  The spread that he used to run isn't the same as the Chip Kelly/college based one designed on break neck speed.  Infact, in both 2011 and 2012, the Bills were actually one of the lowest ranked teams in offensive plays, and went upto top 3 in offensive plays from scrimmage under Marrone.  However, they were above average in both of those years in yards/play, and fell to bottom 4 once Marrone took over.  It'll be interesting to see what he runs, and what pace he goes for, since I do think the league is adopting more and more to a fast paced system, because it helps to take the defensive schemes down a notch.   I think the best way to run the offense would be to run a spread system with a hurry up based system.  Just because they hurry up to the line, there is no need to snap the ball, it's just handy to keep the defense from substituting certain personnel into the game.  They can run up to the line, and then call an entire new play and milk the clock.  

 

2)  As mentioned before, we lack a speedster.  Someone like Cooper makes this offense dynamic because he excels at every part of the field.  He's good with screens, great with slants and outs, and great with the deep pass.  That is someone that takes the offense to another level because teams usually have 3 CBs that are starter worthy.  That would leave Amaro or Cooper against a safety/LB in one on one coverage and create mismatches.   However, that guy is not Jeremy Kerley.  He doesn't threaten anyone on a deep pass and isn't quite shifty enough on screen passes.  He's an intermediate area guy and that limits the mismatches.  If we don't get a speedster, it would be a weak point of the offense.  

 

Overall, I think for the first time in a few years, defenses actually have to gameplan against our offense, which is a good thing for us.  The last few years, I think teams basically lined up folks against the pass with the idea that your man can't beat our man (I believe the Steelers even admitted to it one year) on a pass.  If teams have to gameplan, we have hope of actually breaking down a gameplan, or counter atacking their gameplan.  When you can't actually beat anyone one on one, there isn't much we can do.  Decker when healthy showed he could get open on almost anyone.  But other than that, teams rarely cared enough about our WRs to go out of their way to plan for them.  Ofcourse, this also depends on health.  If Decker/Marshall get hurt, we're back in the same hole as before.  

[jetsons]

Tyler Thigpen is a free agent...

 

ANYTHING BUT geno  :/

[sourceworx]

Looks like we're drafting him in the 3rd

 

 

From your lips to Mike Maccagnan's ears.

[sourceworx]

It seems Fitz played his best in Gaileys spread offense, and now he'd have more weapons than he did in Buffalo. Hopefully Geno can build off the end of last season too, giving us hope for the future (holding out some optomism).

Decker had a hell of a year given the QB situation, dealing with the hammy, and being the number one threat and only consistent receiver on the team. Now he moves down a slot with Marshall, opening things up for him and Kerley (who I'm hoping has a bounce back season, I think he'll fit in great in this offense). If we add Cooper, we'll be stacked at receiver, and still are developing Amaro as well.

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I remember in 2010 the Bills started off hot, 5-0 I believe.  They were an easy team to like because they were largely made up (especially on offense) of unheralded players.  Lots of late round picks, and UDFAs getting it done.

 

That Bills team Fitz was on had better RBs (when DON'T the Bills have good RBs?), but I'd say our receivers and O-Line are better. I think with the defense we're going to have, the offense doesn't have to be great.  They just have to be good.  And I think with Fitz, Marshall, and the holdovers from last year, we can be good.