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Did Lombardi nail it Re: Fitz and offence


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Lombardi on the NFL Network before the Steelers game indicated that NFL coaches caught on to the fact Fitz and the Bills preferred quick passes, often slants, in their pass game and that they have adjusted.

 

I've notice recently how man quick slants to SJ have been batted down.

 

Add to this the fact Stevie is a fantastic route runner but isn't a burner and has fair to good hands and the question becomes is the Bills offence extremely limited.

 

Is the season going to hang on the ability of Fitz to find raw rookie Graham deep?

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If defenses are jumping routes, a simple pump fake and throw over the top should loosen things up. Although, I wonder how much of last season's fizzle had to do with defensive adjustments. Hopefully, Chan and Fitz can execute a game plan to counter act these defenses.

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Lombardi on the NFL Network before the Steelers game indicated that NFL coaches caught on to the fact Fitz and the Bills preferred quick passes, often slants, in their pass game and that they have adjusted.

 

I've notice recently how man quick slants to SJ have been batted down.

 

Add to this the fact Stevie is a fantastic route runner but isn't a burner and has fair to good hands and the question becomes is the Bills offence extremely limited.

 

Is the season going to hang on the ability of Fitz to find raw rookie Graham deep?

 

There's not much to "catch on" to. I'm sure NFL teams gathered as much by week 3 of last season. It's not rocket science.

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What amazing analysis...Just about every arm chair QB saw that last year. No team bothered to even play defense 10-12 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Even in the Giants game, if Fitz hits that long pass we win. They take their chances that the CB's can stay with our WR's which they usually do and that our beat up offensive line couldn't block long enough which is probably not entirely true nor false.

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i remember many times where the play called on 3rd and 6-8 consisted of a quick out to a receiver who was standing still within a yard of the LOS. I dont care if Fitzy, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, or Peyton manning is throwing the ball, this play has little chance of working more than once in a while. Fitz may not be a top 5 qb, but his chances of success are greatly diminished with play calls like this because it does nothing but bring the CBs in closer, faster.

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This is my biggest concern with this team and I think it also has to do with why a lot of us were hoping for a WR early in the draft. Personally, I thought the difference between Michael Floyd and our second WR (call it Donald Jones) was a lot greater than the difference between Gilmore and Drayton Florence. However, I'm afraid that philosophical rigidity and an unwavering commitment to the horizontal passing game played a part in the Bills waiting on WR at the draft. Sure, they tried to bring in Meacham, but when that didn't work out, they didn't do much else to get better at WR. My fear is that the coaching staff does not see the need for a big bodied, physical, vertical passing threat in this offense.

 

I'm really worried that Chan thinks that he can scheme around the talent deficiencies at WR and find quicker route runners to fit his scheme. But, I think that scheme only works to an extent. In the NFL there's too much talent for a single scheme to dominate for a long period of time as all teams will adjust. You have to have good players that can create mismatches.

 

Right now, I see a very one-dimensional passing game, and I don't see the talent on the roster to adjust.

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What amazing analysis...Just about every arm chair QB saw that last year. No team bothered to even play defense 10-12 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Even in the Giants game, if Fitz hits that long pass we win. They take their chances that the CB's can stay with our WR's which they usually do and that our beat up offensive line couldn't block long enough which is probably not entirely true nor false.

i remember many times where the play called on 3rd and 6-8 consisted of a quick out to a receiver who was standing still within a yard of the LOS. I dont care if Fitzy, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, or Peyton manning is throwing the ball, this play has little chance of working more than once in a while. Fitz may not be a top 5 qb, but his chances of success are greatly diminished with play calls like this because it does nothing but bring the CBs in closer, faster.

This is scary. This sounds exactly like the mid to late 2000s Dick Jauron offenses. And I've seen it too. Is it the play calling/offense, or the QB, or something else?

Edited by reddogblitz
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The Bills create a very difficult problem for opposing defensive coverage schemes with so many talented receivers on the roster....oh wait, I meant the Packers, the Patriots, the Giants, the Saints et al.

 

The Bills pose no real threat in their offensive passing scheme because they only have one top receiver in Stevie Johnson. Chan Gailey thinks he is slick running all those 5 WR sets, and yet he is fooling only himself because defenses know to key on Johnson.

 

 

 

To the OP, Lombardi made that same note about the Bills offense early last season. Stating that opposing teams would simply jam the receivers on the line and disrupt the quick timing passes, and that leaves Fitz very vulnerable to the rush

 

This is my biggest concern with this team and I think it also has to do with why a lot of us were hoping for a WR early in the draft. Personally, I thought the difference between Michael Floyd and our second WR (call it Donald Jones) was a lot greater than the difference between Gilmore and Drayton Florence. However, I'm afraid that philosophical rigidity and an unwavering commitment to the horizontal passing game played a part in the Bills waiting on WR at the draft. Sure, they tried to bring in Meacham, but when that didn't work out, they didn't do much else to get better at WR. My fear is that the coaching staff does not see the need for a big bodied, physical, vertical passing threat in this offense.

 

I'm really worried that Chan thinks that he can scheme around the talent deficiencies at WR and find quicker route runners to fit his scheme. But, I think that scheme only works to an extent. In the NFL there's too much talent for a single scheme to dominate for a long period of time as all teams will adjust. You have to have good players that can create mismatches.

 

Right now, I see a very one-dimensional passing game, and I don't see the talent on the roster to adjust.

Amen to that :thumbsup:

 

You would think that Gailey would open his eyes and see the deficiencies in his current WR corps and bring in Plaxico Burris

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I don't expect the offense to be "explosive" this season. I think they will be a bit better because they should be healthier (hopefully), they have added some more talent to the O-line, and TJ Graham might give them an occasional downfield threat that can open things up now and then. I think Fitz will have many of the same limitations he had last year (plus he was injured), but I think the defense will be much better, and that will help the offense in a big way. Better field position, less desperate comeback situations, more turnovers etc. all those things will make Fitz more effective, and allow the Bills to score more often (even if they only end up with field goals). And the Bills are gonna be more consistent, and win more games.

Edited by Matthews' Bag
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The Bills create a very difficult problem for opposing defensive coverage schemes with so many talented receivers on the roster....oh wait, I meant the Packers, the Patriots, the Giants, the Saints et al.

 

The Giants offense only scored 22 more points than the Bills in 2011.

 

The Bills offense was 14th in points scored. They scored more than many playoff teams.

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The Giants offense only scored 22 more points than the Bills in 2011.

 

The Bills offense was 14th in points scored. They scored more than many playoff teams.

 

 

Yep. If the defense is better (and I believe it is), they won't have to score as many points. Better field position, more turnovers, closer scores...last years offense would have looked better if it was working with the kind of defense they APPEAR to have now. It can tip the field a bit in the offense's favor.

 

They HAD to improve the defense, and I think Gailey believes he can generate enough offense to get by. They finished 22nd in the league last year, they aren't gonna suddenly become a juggernaut. But they can make the playoffs this year.

Edited by Matthews' Bag
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I would love for Fitz to come out and light everyone up like he did at the begining of last season. Our offense was doing good until the injury bug attacked us (again) also a terrible call during Bengals game stole game from us. Fitzpatrick did throw a terrible pass during the Giants game, we wouldve won probably, but he was close to a 5-0 start and then injuries knocked everything out of wack. Either way everyone better start throwing some positive manifestation his way and maybe we could enjoy watching another fun offensive performance this year. LETS GO BUFFALO!!

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I'd say the Bills still have Chandler and Nelson who can work up the seams. And they still have Fred and CJ to catch balls out of the backfield. So no, i don't think it all depends on SJ and deep balls to Graham.

 

Exactly. People forget we have more than 2 receivers capable of running routes/making catches.

 

Also, to whomever posted about 3rd and 6-8 and guys catching passes short of the 1st down marker; you're taught in High School to stretch your routes to the marker on 3rd down pass plays, you'd think these guys could do the same.

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