Hackett is a Good Offensive Coordinator.

[NickelCity]

It would take them ten minutes to fix.

 

This is where my fury comes from.

[Nuncha]

It is Halloween, NOT April Fools Day!

[NoSaint]

we still score fewer than average points. i do not think our unit on offense is below average in overall skill. that makes me question the coach.

 

with our 43 point game 6 turnover game we bumped up to 21st in ppg, the previous 7 games had a 19.3 which would slot in for 26th.

 

Even with our 43 point game we are:

 

31st in yards per drive. 32nd in plays per drive. 32 in time of position per drive.

 

football outsiders ranks us 32nd in offensive drive success rate

 

we are 24th in points per drive despite being 2nd in average starting field position.

Edited October 31, 2014 by NoSaint

[Kelly the Dog]

It is Halloween, NOT April Fools Day!

That was my first thought as well. Was this like being invited over to the Dunphy's house on Halloween?

 

we still score fewer than average points. i do not think our unit on offense is below average in overall skill. that makes me question the coach.

 

with our 43 point game 6 turnover game we bumped up to 21st in ppg, the previous 7 games had a 19.3 which would slot in for 26th.

 

Even with our 43 point game we are:

 

31st in yards per drive. 32nd in plays per drive. 32 in time of position per drive.

 

football outsiders ranks us 32nd in offensive drive success rate

 

we are 24th in points per drive despite being 2nd in average starting field position.

Ouch.

[thewildrabbit]

Hackett is good alright, good for nothing!

 

Where are the QB's he was tutoring last season, Tuel on PS, EJ on the bench, and the starter for 5 games in Thad Lewis is off the team.

 

Last season Hackett ran a hurry up and punt offense that was one of the worst in the league in getting first downs and sustaining drives. The team went 6-10, and because they led the NFL in rushes and was the #2 rushing team they said "we must be doing something right". Its not about the rushing yards, its about winning games!

 

This year he doesn't even have run game he had last year and has been forcing his QB's to throw 40 times a game since the Charger game, and pretty sure Marrone reigned him in for the Jets game so Orton would live thru it.

 

If not for Kyle Orton the team probably wouldn't be 5-3, and more like 3-5 looking at another lost season. So, does Hackett not get credit for what Orton is doing? Heck no he doesn't, as Orton takes charge, and lets him know what plays he wants to run. Its Orton out there calling line protections, reading the defense, changing the play if needed, and making plays work. If anything Hackett is learning from him.

 

Hackett's only real job since Orton started as QB has been play calling, and getting the run game working. How has that been working? Predictable, repetitive run, run, pass, and its a credit to Orton that he can make plays on third down despite the mundane play calling. Orton is making the offense look better because of his experience.

 

we still score fewer than average points. i do not think our unit on offense is below average in overall skill. that makes me question the coach.

 

with our 43 point game 6 turnover game we bumped up to 21st in ppg, the previous 7 games had a 19.3 which would slot in for 26th.

 

Even with our 43 point game we are:

 

31st in yards per drive. 32nd in plays per drive. 32 in time of position per drive.

 

football outsiders ranks us 32nd in offensive drive success rate

 

we are 24th in points per drive despite being 2nd in average starting field position.

Yea, what he said!

 

The Bills are 27th in total offense.

 

HEY, The Bills offense is #2 in something !!!! Oh wait, its sacks allowed with 24.

[hondo in seattle]

This offense is a product of Marrone's scheme and philosophies. He's ultra conservative so that's how we gameplan on offense. Or at least that's how it looks like we gameplan. Perhaps Hackett is limited to what Marrone wants to do. We don't really know. All I know is that I'm not going to try and convince myself that our offense and production is good because it hasn't been. Marrone inherited a pretty solid offensive line and a top 5 running unit and both units have regressed significantly since he took over.

 

I've criticized Hackett a lot over the last year and now I'm starting to believe that Marrone may be the problem.

 

Here's a curious thing... Marrone learned how to run an offense from Sean Payton. Payton is far better coordinating a passing game than a running game. Marrone - along with this protege, Hackett - seem likewise better at coordinating a passing game than a running game. That was obscured last year by all the turmoil at the QB position. But seems clear this past few games.

[klos63]

I'll add #7:fe

 

5 OL from the Gailey era are still on the team. Make it work Marrone.

it would be nice if all good players played at a high level forever, but it doesn't work that way. One of the biggest fallacies in life is that if something happened in the past, it will happen again in the future. Players skills deteriorate over time, some quicker than others. Injuries, age, skill all factor in. What happened on the 2011 O-line is irrelevant.

[3rdand12]

Urbik is surprisingly nimble on his feet. This guy acts like he is 80 lbs. just moving his feet all over and keeping his body upright.

 

He's not terrific, but he has a lot of the base stuff down.

I like Urbik. always have. he has good value for the Bills.

Time to find another BU center maybe and see what Kraig can do for the rest of the year. I have mentioned him moving to RG and bumping Pears. let hope Richardson can get settled down and given some more NFL reps. Cyril will get better.

 

Here's a curious thing... Marrone learned how to run an offense from Sean Payton. Payton is far better coordinating a passing game than a running game. Marrone - along with this protege, Hackett - seem likewise better at coordinating a passing game than a running game. That was obscured last year by all the turmoil at the QB position. But seems clear this past few games.

So the run game talk and early attempts were a smoke screen by the FO !

Brilliant.

Hondo you might be on to something solid here.

The Bills have been getting open all year long nearly.

[BobbyC81]

Starting QBs during Hackett's tenure thus far:

EJ Manuel - 14

Thad Lewis - 5

Jeff Tuel - 1

Kyle Orton - 4

 

Factor in offensive line woes, WR injuries and oh ... last year being his first year as an OC in the NFL ...

 

I will agree that Hackett is a good OC. He certainly hasn't proven that he's not good.

 

I disagree. How can you justify the way Spiller was being used. He is not an inside runner. Sure the guards aren't playing well enough to count on for a screen game but I've seen some teams runing screens with TEs and WRs blocking.

 

How is he a "good OC" when they play one of the better defensive teams vs the rush in the Jets and they keep running the ball up the middle? They had 32 running plays vs 21 pass plays (including 4 sacks). Yes, they won the game by 20 pts which I was extremely happy with, but anybody who watched the game had to see how much they struggled with their heavy run approach.

Take away the 2 long pass plays to Watkins for 145 yards and they gained 135 yds on 51 plays, which is pathetic.

 

Another puzzler was the New England game. The Patriots were one of the worst teams vs the run and one of the better vs the pass (currently 2nd in the NFL) The poor Bills' offensive line and struggling running attack was actually gaining 3 yds per carry. What do they do? Run the ball only 23 times and call 43 pass plays (with 5 sacks).

 

Against Detroit they had a good game plan and/or made the right adjustments. The Lions are also a top run defense but the Bills only ran 22 times with a 2.2 yds per carry avg and had 43 pass attempts with Orton throwing for 308 yards.

 

Three games, in which only one can you say the bills offensive approach was sound.

Edited November 1, 2014 by LittleJoeCartwright

[Rock Pile Guy]

This is where my fury comes from.

 

Nice opinion - just wondering why more "coaches' can't do the 10 minute fix?

[Kelly the Dog]

Nice opinion - just wondering why more "coaches' can't do the 10 minute fix?

The ten minute fix is because they already have run the plays that fix the problem. It's not a new offense at all. It's just 10-15 plays a game less out of the 2-3 TE and bunch formations, and 10-15 plays more out of the three wide, 1 back formations which gets an extra DB or two instead of LBs, and gets them away from crowding the line and stacking the box. Hackett actually designs some really good plays. Don't eliminate that totally, just don't use it as your base formation.

[Rock Pile Guy]

Interesting (to me, anyways) analysis - not that Jerry is one of my favs, mind you.

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/columns/jerry-sullivan/hacketts-critics-are-too-nearsighted-20141027

[boyst]

I disagree. How can you justify the way Spiller was being used. He is not an inside runner. Sure the guards aren't playing well enough to count on for a screen game but I've seen some teams runing screens with TEs and WRs blocking.

http://nfl-teams.findthebest.com/l/27/Buffalo-Bills#workloads&s=1fFusT&st=kJAMzq

Look what he did with his touches. He is 1/3 of our rushing offense. He has 83 touches on offense altogether. Fred has 88.

 

CJ has 0 TD's on the ground. The Bills only have 3 combined between Fred, EJ and Dixon.

[NickelCity]

Nice opinion - just wondering why more "coaches' can't do the 10 minute fix?

The ten minute fix is because they already have run the plays that fix the problem. It's not a new offense at all. It's just 10-15 plays a game less out of the 2-3 TE and bunch formations, and 10-15 plays more out of the three wide, 1 back formations which gets an extra DB or two instead of LBs, and gets them away from crowding the line and stacking the box. Hackett actually designs some really good plays. Don't eliminate that totally, just don't use it as your base formation.

 

Well that was convenient, thanks KTD! Essentially, we don't need a redesign, we just need to eliminate the extreme repetition of utterly predictable playcalls. I totally stand by my frustration.

[Rock Pile Guy]

Couldn't be more even, except, of course, we have trouble running the rock, and we the QB is sacked more often. Given that scenario, the consensus fix seems to be, spread it out more and throw it more. As long as the QB stays upright, I don't have a problem with that. BTW, the turnover ratio is +7, Bills.

Team Statistics Bills Opponents Total First Downs 135 164 1st Downs (Rush-Pass-By Penalty) 29 - 93 - 13 39 - 96 - 29 3rd Down Conversions 40/112 42/116 4th Down Conversions 2/5 2/5 Total Offensive Yds 2615 2608 Offense (Plays-Avg Yds) 503 - 5.2 533 - 4.9 Total Rushing Yds 791 738 Rushing (Plays-Avg Yards) 207 - 3.8 207 - 3.6 Total Passing Yds 1824 1870 Passing (Comp-Att-Int-Avg) 171 - 273 - 6 - 7.2 188 - 298 - 12 - 6.8 Sacks 28 23 Field Goals 17/19 15/19 Touchdowns 18 17 (Rush-Pass-Ret-Def) 3 - 14 - 1 - 0 3 - 12 - 0 - 2 Time of Possession 29:15 31:23 Turnover Ratio

[hondo in seattle]

we still score fewer than average points. i do not think our unit on offense is below average in overall skill. that makes me question the coach.

 

with our 43 point game 6 turnover game we bumped up to 21st in ppg, the previous 7 games had a 19.3 which would slot in for 26th.

 

Even with our 43 point game we are:

 

31st in yards per drive. 32nd in plays per drive. 32 in time of position per drive.

 

football outsiders ranks us 32nd in offensive drive success rate

 

we are 24th in points per drive despite being 2nd in average starting field position.

 

All true. But these are wrong stats (says the devil's advocate). The stats that matter most are big plays and turnovers. And the Bills lead the NFL.

[NoSaint]

 

 

All true. But these are wrong stats (says the devil's advocate). The stats that matter most are big plays and turnovers. And the Bills lead the NFL.

 

We are 24th in points per drive despite being 2nd in field position. Even in our most explosive game we didn't convert our turnovers into points at a rate that would even be considered average.

 

Chunk yards and turnovers are great but acting like they are the only two stars that matter is silly. We are leading that metric and it's showing up with the 21st ranked scoring team. We show flashes of high ability but do not capitalize on it like a truly great team should.

[thewildrabbit]

All true. But these are wrong stats (says the devil's advocate). The stats that matter most are big plays and turnovers. And the Bills lead the NFL.

Big plays, both Spiller on IR, and Jackson out a few weeks will hamper that big play factor. Then you have to figure teams will try and double Sammy on the line, and roll coverage's his way. The biggest big play makers should start trending downward. Not even going to discuss how many sacks Orton has taken, and if he will survive the next 8 games.

 

6 out of the 8 teams they face in the second half of the season have winning records, and all are fighting for the playoffs. I don't see the next part of the season being a cakewalk. Then you have the snow and cold where its conducive to have a power run game that actually works.

 

Chiefs 4-3

@ Miami 4-3

Jets 1-7

Cleveland 4-3

@ Denver 6-1

Green Bay 5-3

@Oakland 0-7

@ New England 6-2

 

The Bills defense may continue to have great luck with turnovers, and if the Bills offense continues to fail at making the most of those opportunities...Anyway, I doubt the bills will again face a QB that will throw pick after pick like Geno did, OK maybe Oakland.

 

Hackett with his simplistic, predictable run, run, pass which equates to decent run up the middle, run up the middle for no gain or negative yards, pass on third and long isn't the recipe for success. The way I look at things the season will depend more on Kyle Orton making plays with his own ingenuity then the way Hackett runs the offense.

[ALLEN1QB]

Lol is this Mrs Hackette?

[CardinalScotts]

let me play devil’s advocate

 

In a "passing league" shouldn't he be putting up 400+ YPG?

 

I will say he's a lot smarter than we give him credit for...let this offense evolve as we go through the season winning- things change during a season, look at our offense changing offensive lineman, down to third string running back add a veteran quarterback young wide outs Watkins, Woods still learning. Woods has played what 19-20 games in the NFL?