Are The Bills a Running Team?

[hondo in seattle]

I read John Wawrow's article today with interest. Last year, the Bills were a team that passed to set up the run. During the off-season many on this board complained that Gailey passed too much, even when the passing game was ineffective. So I was amused when JW quoted Gailey saying he would run "every snap" if he could.

 

That doesn't sound like the Gailey we know and love - but then again, maybe we don't know him as well as we think. As JW points out, the Bills 62 rushing attempts this year are tied for the 6th most in the NFL. JW continues...

 

"As the Denver Broncos' coordinator from 1989-90, Gailey had Bobby Humphrey break 1,100 yards both seasons. In Pittsburgh, Jerome Bettis enjoyed his two best seasons with Gailey running the offense from 1996-97. Then there was Gailey's stint with as the Miami Dolphins coordinator in 2000-01, when Lamar Smith posted 2,107 yards."

 

Did Gailey favor the pass in his first couple years with the Bills because (1) he knew we would need to score a lot to win given our poor D, or (2) because he thought a quick-passing attack was the best approach with a weak/inexperienced offensive line? Now that we seem to have a solid D and solid O Line - oh, and two dynamic RBs - will the Bills become a run-first team this season?

[San-O]

I read John Wawrow's article today with interest. Last year, the Bills were a team that passed to set up the run. During the off-season many on this board complained that Gailey passed too much, even when the passing game was ineffective. So I was amused when JW quoted Gailey saying he would run "every snap" if he could.

 

 

He always says things like that. He said something similar after this last game.

 

It's basically that he deflects questions about the run game re: the passing game. He has said "I wish we could run more", "I'd like to run more", "sometimes you can't run".

 

You never hear him say those same things about the passing game. His canned phrases are becoming more predictable and very telling. To me, it's all

really about avoiding the topic by essentially agreeing with someone asking about the success of the run game v the passing game. Don't leave the person

asking the question any where to go. It's almost like he has some type of disdain for the running game,and doesn't want to get into a debate.

 

How many 3-and-outs did the Bills have last week? How many were 3 passes in a row?

[Malazan]

He always says things like that. He said something similar after this last game.

 

It's basically that he deflects questions about the run game re: the passing game. He has said "I wish we could run more", "I'd like to run more", "sometimes you can't run".

 

You never hear him say those same things about the passing game. His canned phrases are becoming more predictable and very telling. To me, it's all

really about avoiding the topic by essentially agreeing with someone asking about the success of the run game v the passing game. Don't leave the person

asking the question any where to go. It's almost like he has some type of disdain for the running game,and doesn't want to get into a debate.

 

How many 3-and-outs did the Bills have last week? How many were 3 passes in a row?

 

I notice you didn't address the facts about the running success that Gailey had. Nice deflection yourself, but hey, don't let facts get in the way of a good crusade!

[mrags]

Thanks for the statistics on Chans history with previous teams. I love seeing that. I do not believe his recent comments as he said when he first got here he wanted to run more and proved in the last 2 years he won't. Whatever the reasons are, if they are some you made comments about or not, I will not believe he wants to run more until i see him do it with my own eyes. As I've said already, I really hope what he said is true. It would mean more wins immediately for us IMO.

[hondo in seattle]

We've thrown the ball (or been sacked trying) 54 times in two games.

 

We've run the ball 62 times in two games.

 

Needless to say, we ran a lot in the KC game because we were sitting on a lead. Contrariwise, we passed a lot in the Jets game because we were playing catchup.

[mrags]

But last year in close games: Bengals, Giants, Jets, Titans, Dolphins, Patriots we either had a lead or were within 7-10 points and completely abandoned the run game in the 2nd half or later in the game when running out the clock would have been beneficial to win the game. Especially when you've got a RB that consistantly had 60-80 yards and a TD in the first half.

[CarolinaBill]

We should be a running team, esp. with Spiller being so effective.

[machine gun kelly]

I think Chan uses what his perceived strengths are on the team to his advantage. I don't think your off at all that he was aware of a mediocre o line, and poor defense.

 

We've improved in both areas so now it's a matter of can we stay ahead and not fall behind. I also think he knows he has an avg qb at best, and is limited in his choices for a better one so he lives with what he has as a coach.

 

This needs to be a W this week especially with the Pats and 49ers next.

[TheBackupQB]

we were most successful last year with a healthy Fred and O-line.... it only makes sense to do the same with Spiller ...and every chance I get I wanna say

 

*I TOLD EVERYONE SPILLER WAS GONNA BE A STAR*

[hondo in seattle]

But last year in close games: Bengals, Giants, Jets, Titans, Dolphins, Patriots we either had a lead or were within 7-10 points and completely abandoned the run game in the 2nd half or later in the game when running out the clock would have been beneficial to win the game. Especially when you've got a RB that consistantly had 60-80 yards and a TD in the first half.

 

That's what makes me curious. Was Chan a little off kilter last year for some reason and this year he's calling it more like he wants to?

 

Some people were wondering what it meant when Nix/Gailey opened the season with only 4 WRs when we used a lot of 4 WR sets last year and wore out a bunch of WRs.

 

It's still early but I'm starting to think Chan will call more running plays this year than last - and run less 4 WR sets.

[mrags]

 

 

That's what makes me curious. Was Chan a little off kilter last year for some reason and this year he's calling it more like he wants to?

 

Some people were wondering what it meant when Nix/Gailey opened the season with only 4 WRs when we used a lot of 4 WR sets last year and wore out a bunch of WRs.

 

It's still early but I'm starting to think Chan will call more running plays this year than last - and run less 4 WR sets.

I think your right and really hope your right.

[Delete This Account]

i do believe the Bills are better when they're more balanced, and all this talk of an exotic passing attack was a little bit overhyped, particularly when considering what Buffalo has at the receiver spot.

as for last year, the Bills were best when balanced, and were forced into becoming a pass-first team in order to play catchup to offset defensive deficiencies.

and this was a stat i threw into the story:

dating to the start of last season, Bills are 5-0 when Fitzpatrick makes 29 or fewer attempts. and they're 2-11 now when he throws more than 30 times.

 

stats are stats, and can be used in many ways, but Gailey is a run-guy at heart, while taking into account how the NFL has changed.

 

jw

[Kelly the Dog]

Like most good coaches, Chan basically does four things when he designs an offense and and offensive game plan. He plays to his players strengths, he masks their weaknesses, he plays to the ability of our own defense to stop teams, and he plays to the tendencies, strengths and weaknesses of that week's opponent.

 

Last year, when we were healthy on offense, and semi healthy on defense, we mixed it up pretty well early in the year. Fred was near the league leaders in rushing. We had a finesse LT followed by a rookie followed by a G there. It was the first year these guys were together as a unit and they couldn't pass block more than 2 seconds. So he smartly ran a spread offense, quick passes, took advantage of Fitz's smarts. The defense did it part for the first five games and forced a lot of turnovers.

 

Then the injuries struck. We had no line continuity. The Wrs got hurt. Kyle and Merriman went out and Chan saw and knew we couldn't stop anyone, and the O had to go the length of the field almost every drive. That's when he became pass happy. We didn't have the horses up front, we couldn't stop anyone, when FJ went out and CJ played well he ran well out of the spread because their were six DBs in all the time.

 

This year, despite the Jet debacle, our own defense changes his whole philosophy. He can assume we can stop teams, and we will get field position. The OL is healthy and added a massive mauler instead of a finesse LT. They are now a much more cohesive unit. This is the first time the team is set up to run, and they will run. It's still a passing league and everyone (except a few posters here) seem to know it, and Chan even said it again yesterday. So the Bills offense will be a balance.

 

He has the horses to run now, he has good RBs, he has a (likely) good defense, so he is no longer going to be pass happy. Each week, however, there will be a different plan depending on the team. The Browns have a stout front seven, and a suspect secondary with Haden out. So you may see a little more of the pass game. The Browns offense may or may not be able to move the ball. If they can't we will run more.

 

Gailey never had a set philosophy, in a tenure, in a season, in a game, or in a half. It's always evolving because of the situation. If it's working he will usually stick with it, except to the point that he knows how far to push it. Last year running was a perfect example. If you're successful running because the team's have nickel and dime defenses against you, you CANNOT run all the time, they go back to their base defense and you cannot run the same way anymore.

 

Granted, that's overly simplistic but it's exactly what happened last year. And again, both of CJ's best runs against KC were on passing downs in passing formations against pass defenses, and on the 38 yarder, the extra DB is the guy that whiffed at the line that allowed Spiller to break into the open field.

[thewildrabbit]

Like most good coaches? 11-23 really? Won one game against a bad team because Spiller managed to break tackles and get some big runs out of a pass formations the last two weeks! Soooo, now Gailey is a running coach, after watching the Bills throw so much, and so often the last two seasons?

 

Over hyped passing attack. really? I watched last season as Gailey would try and emulate the Patriots offense in Buffalo, only without Tom Brady, without Wes Welker, without Gronk and Hernandez, without that Patriot O line, without that Patriot offensive scheme. Just have his boys like up in a 4-5 WR set and got for it! NVM, that your personnel is more conducive to running the ball, just keep forcing that backup QB to air it out!

 

After week 9 last year there were games when the team was playing from behind as usual and the running game was working very well, Gailey would basically abandon the run and constantly force Fitz to try and make plays. With a limited amount of skill players on the offense the Bills should have been trying to run more then throwing it.

 

I remember a head coach trying to implement a 3-4 and hired George Edwards to run it, Gailey was his own worst enemy in terms of defense those first 2 years. A defense so bad they set a record for worst defense against the run in the 50+ year history of the franchise.

 

Gailey is so unbelievable lucky that he inherited a team with some really good players SJ, Wood, Levitre, Fitz, Fred Jackson among others, and yet I constantly read fans here posting on how devoid of talent this team was before Gailey/ Nix.

 

 

All that said, the Bills did manage to look very good against a weak opponent. The best thing to happen to the Buffalo Bills so far was playing the Chiefs at home at just the right time. The Chiefs looked as pathetic both on offense and defense as the Bills did the previous game on the road against the Jets.

 

 

So many questions are still to be answered when the Bills play a good or even a top team. They were already smoked by the Jets and looked unprepared to even start an NFL game in the opener.

 

 

That O line is huge, and the Bills look like they finally found a really good LT in Glenn. Now, can that line pass and run block effectively in weeks 4-5-6 when they play Patriots, at 49ers, and at Cards? The Bills have some dogs on their schedule as well as some really good teams. After watching so many poor coaching moves and decisions over the last 3 years I'm still very skeptical that Gailey is HC that can get this team to even a winning record.

Although, I'm hoping he proves me wrong!

[hondo in seattle]

I think JW is convincing me that JW is a "run-guy at heart." He certainly hasn't always been as pass-happy as he was last year.

 

I guess the question is: Is last year an aberration or a conversion?

 

My guess is that eventually we'll look back upon 2011 as an aberration. If he was trying to emulate the Pats, the experiment failed in the 2nd half of the season. Gailey is a smart guy and any dreams of leading a Pats-style offense would have been crushed with Fitz's ribs.