Why no Nassib/What to look for

[Kelly the Dog]

Certain things are becoming clearer from both actions and words when it comes to the Bills offense this coming year.

 

1] I was perplexed and not happy when we had no interest in David Nelson as a WR but it makes sense now, no speed. We want guys that can get downfield quickly and have homerun potential. Donad Jones had marginal speed but trouble tracking the ball in the air and going up and getting it.

 

2] Why not Nassib and why EJ? Downfield passing. EJ throws a nice deep pass, this was probably Nassib's biggest deficiency, at least he didn't show good touch on the long ball. Plus EJ can scramble better and can get the ball downfield when flushed out, and may have more room to run with the vertical game.

 

3] The K Gun. There have been numerous references with regards to Hackett's familiarity with it and wanting to infuse it. The K Gun worked best with Lofton and Beebe being speedsters on the outside and then Andre getting the most balls. Beebe never really caught a lot of passes but was the threat and spread the field.

 

4] Akin to 3 above, Marrone has recently talked about a WCO but he wanted to exploit it vertically and not horizontally the way a lot of teams do.

 

5] The Saints offense. Where Marrone grew up as an offensive coach under Sean Payton. They spread the field and usually had five different guys with different talents exploiting different defenses. But most had big play ability. Part of it, the big part, was Brees obviously. But they still had that vertical strategy to open up the field with a lot of different weapons.

 

6] No fullback. We may or may not still look at Corey Mac but we have only signed Frank Summers. Marrone mentioned maybe not using one and having a DT block in short yardage plays. We went after Delanie Walker and Fred Davis in FA but spoke about moving Davis around and he was enthusiastic about the offense when talking with the Bills. The TE we drafted has 4.5 speed and will be used as HB/TE/FB hybrid, the same skills that Dorin Dickerson possesses. He is also very fast.

 

7] There have been several reports from people that have spoke to Hackett and Marrone about this offense being innovative and something that hasn't been seen before. They have mentioned the components and influences: The K Gun, WCO vertical, up tempo/no huddle, the read-option, the Saints, Syracuse of second half of last year, even the Gruden camp with Nassib which showed Hackett's creativity.

 

Who knows if this offensive soup will mesh into something good or a disaster. But it should be really fun. Even as late as yesterday I thought strongly that Kolb would be the opening day starter. But it's possible, on reflection, that they may just want to throw this all together at the same time and spring it on the league and let the kids grow together in it.

[eball]

Good topic and thoughts. It's clear the Gailey Bills were built around knowing we couldn't go deep; looking back, in a sense it's remarkable they were as productive as they were.

 

I heard Marrone speak of the "vertical" WCO as well. He also specifically said the Bills are going to be an "attacking" team, both offensively and defensively.

 

I don't yet have a sense about who will be the opening day starter, but I think it's clear they will allow EJ the opportunity to try and grab it.

 

I agree this should be a whole lot of fun.

[buffaloboyinATL]

Great analysis, this makes good sense. Any opinion on Kolb's ability to run this offense? I don't know much about his deep ball accuracy. I would love to see Manuel on the field as soon as possible, but I hope they don't put him out there before he is ready.

Edited April 29, 2013 by buffaloboyinATL

[26CornerBlitz]

Certain things are becoming clearer from both actions and words when it comes to the Bills offense this coming year.

 

1] I was perplexed and not happy when we had no interest in David Nelson as a WR but it makes sense now, no speed. We want guys that can get downfield quickly and have homerun potential. Donad Jones had marginal speed but trouble tracking the ball in the air and going up and getting it.

 

2] Why not Nassib and why EJ? Downfield passing. EJ throws a nice deep pass, this was probably Nassib's biggest deficiency, at least he didn't show good touch on the long ball. Plus EJ can scramble better and can get the ball downfield when flushed out, and may have more room to run with the vertical game.

 

3] The K Gun. There have been numerous references with regards to Hackett's familiarity with it and wanting to infuse it. The K Gun worked best with Lofton and Beebe being speedsters on the outside and then Andre getting the most balls. Beebe never really caught a lot of passes but was the threat and spread the field.

 

4] Akin to 3 above, Marrone has recently talked about a WCO but he wanted to exploit it vertically and not horizontally the way a lot of teams do.

 

5] The Saints offense. Where Marrone grew up as an offensive coach under Sean Payton. They spread the field and usually had five different guys with different talents exploiting different defenses. But most had big play ability. Part of it, the big part, was Brees obviously. But they still had that vertical strategy to open up the field with a lot of different weapons.

 

6] No fullback. We may or may not still look at Corey Mac but we have only signed Frank Summers. Marrone mentioned maybe not using one and having a DT block in short yardage plays. We went after Delanie Walker and Fred Davis in FA but spoke about moving Davis around and he was enthusiastic about the offense when talking with the Bills. The TE we drafted has 4.5 speed and will be used as HB/TE/FB hybrid, the same skills that Dorin Dickerson possesses. He is also very fast.

 

7] There have been several reports from people that have spoke to Hackett and Marrone about this offense being innovative and something that hasn't been seen before. They have mentioned the components and influences: The K Gun, WCO vertical, up tempo/no huddle, the read-option, the Saints, Syracuse of second half of last year, even the Gruden camp with Nassib which showed Hackett's creativity.

 

Who knows if this offensive soup will mesh into something good or a disaster. But it should be really fun. Even as late as yesterday I thought strongly that Kolb would be the opening day starter. But it's possible, on reflection, that they may just want to throw this all together at the same time and spring it on the league and let the kids grow together in it.

 

Thoughtful analysis.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I concur with a lot of the observations.

 

The one thing that stuck out to me too was--vertical. This is going to be a scheme that stretches the field.

 

The only concern I have is whether we have the guys on the line to protect the QB.

[yungmack]

Nicely done, Dog.

[Bills4]

Certain things are becoming clearer from both actions and words when it comes to the Bills offense this coming year.

 

1] I was perplexed and not happy when we had no interest in David Nelson as a WR but it makes sense now, no speed. We want guys that can get downfield quickly and have homerun potential. Donad Jones had marginal speed but trouble tracking the ball in the air and going up and getting it.

 

2] Why not Nassib and why EJ? Downfield passing. EJ throws a nice deep pass, this was probably Nassib's biggest deficiency, at least he didn't show good touch on the long ball. Plus EJ can scramble better and can get the ball downfield when flushed out, and may have more room to run with the vertical game.

 

3] The K Gun. There have been numerous references with regards to Hackett's familiarity with it and wanting to infuse it. The K Gun worked best with Lofton and Beebe being speedsters on the outside and then Andre getting the most balls. Beebe never really caught a lot of passes but was the threat and spread the field.

 

4] Akin to 3 above, Marrone has recently talked about a WCO but he wanted to exploit it vertically and not horizontally the way a lot of teams do.

 

5] The Saints offense. Where Marrone grew up as an offensive coach under Sean Payton. They spread the field and usually had five different guys with different talents exploiting different defenses. But most had big play ability. Part of it, the big part, was Brees obviously. But they still had that vertical strategy to open up the field with a lot of different weapons.

 

6] No fullback. We may or may not still look at Corey Mac but we have only signed Frank Summers. Marrone mentioned maybe not using one and having a DT block in short yardage plays. We went after Delanie Walker and Fred Davis in FA but spoke about moving Davis around and he was enthusiastic about the offense when talking with the Bills. The TE we drafted has 4.5 speed and will be used as HB/TE/FB hybrid, the same skills that Dorin Dickerson possesses. He is also very fast.

 

7] There have been several reports from people that have spoke to Hackett and Marrone about this offense being innovative and something that hasn't been seen before. They have mentioned the components and influences: The K Gun, WCO vertical, up tempo/no huddle, the read-option, the Saints, Syracuse of second half of last year, even the Gruden camp with Nassib which showed Hackett's creativity.

 

Who knows if this offensive soup will mesh into something good or a disaster. But it should be really fun. Even as late as yesterday I thought strongly that Kolb would be the opening day starter. But it's possible, on reflection, that they may just want to throw this all together at the same time and spring it on the league and let the kids grow together in it.

 

I enjoy reading your posts. You are one of the few posters on here with a glass half full attitude. Keep on keepin on.

[BillsWatch]

Gailey's Bills were built on making space near line of scrimmage and quick throws so not to allow pressure on offense line. I can not see our offense line being able to hold out long enough for deep throws and it will allow QB to be hit a lot. I can not see Crystal Chandler's heir apparent to be able to last very long in the offense allowing Manuel to learn on the bench. It really confuses me that they did not sign any linemen after losing two of their starting guards.

[KeisterHollow]

I think you're right - and, in a nutshell, I think they want to have the ability to have a mismatch NO MATTER what the defense does. Lets say they line up 4 wide, send TJ and Goodwin deep, and have Stevie and Woods running underneath routes.

 

As long as the defense knows our QB can get the ball deep (an imperative part of this whole thing working) then they have to have guys covering the deep and middle of the field. If they use the LB'ers and secondary to cover our WR's it leaves our offensive line on their D-line, and it allows Spiller out of the backfield or as a running play.

 

If they bring up blitzers or have a LB on Spiller, it opens it up for one of the underneath guys.

 

I know I'm simplifying it - but I think that is the idea - that all of them are faster than the average LB - so, if the deep coverage is blown we have a TD pass, if the deep coverage is solid we have a run, a screen, or an underneath pass to a guy who will be able to blow by everyone until they hit the secondary. I really like the philosophy - force the defense to find ways to cover everyone.

 

And, that is exactly why the Saints were so good recently - they had too many guys on the field who could make plays, so the defense simply couldn't lock in on any one guy.

[Just in Atlanta]

Great thoughts.

 

I would agree with BillsWatch. Unless there is something I don't know, our line isn't built for the deep game, it's built for quick passes.

 

Will be fun to watch though. Look forward greatly to a Chip Kelly style uptempo offense, regardless of whether it's a WCO, spread, K-gun, read-option, or whatever.

[eball]

Guys, I think OL coaching has something to do with it...seems a lot of assumptions are being made about what the line can/can't do and nobody has seen anything yet.

[Kelly the Dog]

Guys, I think OL coaching has something to do with it...seems a lot of assumptions are being made about what the line can/can't do and nobody has seen anything yet.

Yep. Each of the three years under Gailey the line got a little better giving Fitz time to throw. At first, I think Gailey designed the offense because they couldn't block for more than two seconds. We were terrible. Then they started bringing guys in, and others who were young and inexperienced started to play a little more and it incrementally got a little better. Wood can hold his block. Hairston is not bad at it when he is into his game. Glenn has shown he can anchor. Urbik is big and decent. And both of the last two have a lot more experience than they did before.

 

It remains to be seen, but at least if EJ plays and can hurt the D with his running ability, we should be okay. If Kolb plays I think we see a little quicker read and a little less of the deep drops.

[BillnutinHouston]

I think you nailed it Kelly.

 

I like others am a little concerned with pass pro. Maybe Zebrie fits in as a guard, or the Syracuse FA guard they are signing. If they can figure out the o-line play, this could be a very fun offense to watch.

[Last Guy on the Bench]

 

The only concern I have is whether we have the guys on the line to protect the QB.

 

That might be in EJ's favor over Kolb and Jackson. He put up with a rookie riddled o-line his junior year at FSU and managed to keep himself together. No one is at their best when getting pummeled, but I think he is a guy that can handle it better than most.

[Haven Moses]

Buddy thinks he can get interior OL's off the scrap pile at cut time.

[Fan in San Diego]

Buddy thinks he can get interior OL's off the scrap pile at cut time.

 

Marrone being a former OL himself must like what he sees with what he has. He should know being a former OL.

[eball]

Marrone being a former OL himself must like what he sees with what he has. He should know being a former OL.

 

Yes, I don't know why more isn't being made of this. In the post-draft presser Marrone said he has a list of how many guys at each position he wants to go into camp with...he only mentioned needing two additional OL I believe. Again, this was AFTER the draft so clearly Nix wasn't told going in they needed to draft OL.