The Bills' Offense: Comparing Numbers with Roman and Lynn

[hondo in seattle]

Our NFL rushing title was a little misleading because of Tyrod's yards scrambling (some were designed runs but a small percentage)

 

Still, Roman's "block down" system seemed to work well with the big boys and he deserves some credit there. He is a perfect example of a good coordinator who wasn't a great game caller.

 

This is a huge aspect of coaching I never hear the talking heads mention. Game calling is an entirely separate thing from coaching and game prepping. Look at how good Pettine was at calling the D, or how Chan calls offenses--some guys have a knack for it and some dont.

 

Also, you have to be up in the booth to call the offense. Its a joke to think you can see the field properly from the sideline. Keep it goin Lynn!

 

 

I actually think Roman's deficiencies are more complicated than that.

 

Roman is not a good coordinator. He's a good play-designer and an okay coordinator. He's especially good at designing running plays, not so much at passing plays.

 

When it comes to game planning, he doesn't take a lot of input from subordinate coaches. So the collective wisdom of the coaching staff is wasted. That's not smart leadership.

 

And he tends to over-complicate things. He requires players to learn more plays each week than the average coordinator. So they end up mastering none of the plays.

 

And, you're right, he's not a good play caller. He tries to outsmart the opposing DC rather than playing to our strengths and developing rhythm.

[26CornerBlitz]

 

 

I actually think Roman's deficiencies are more complicated than that.

 

Roman is not a good coordinator. He's a good play-designer and an okay coordinator. He's especially good at designing running plays, not so much at passing plays.

 

When it comes to game planning, he doesn't take a lot of input from subordinate coaches. So the collective wisdom of the coaching staff is wasted. That's not smart leadership.

 

And he tends to over-complicate things. He requires players to learn more plays each week than the average coordinator. So they end up mastering none of the plays.

 

And, you're right, he's not a good play caller. He tries to outsmart the opposing DC rather than playing to our strengths and developing rhythm.

 

Good assessment.

[dulles]

 

 

I actually think Roman's deficiencies are more complicated than that.

 

Roman is not a good coordinator. He's a good play-designer and an okay coordinator. He's especially good at designing running plays, not so much at passing plays.

 

When it comes to game planning, he doesn't take a lot of input from subordinate coaches. So the collective wisdom of the coaching staff is wasted. That's not smart leadership.

 

And he tends to over-complicate things. He requires players to learn more plays each week than the average coordinator. So they end up mastering none of the plays.

 

And, you're right, he's not a good play caller. He tries to outsmart the opposing DC rather than playing to our strengths and developing rhythm.

That pretty much hits the nail on the head. I think rhythm is highly undervalued and misunderstood by the average fan (and evidently certain unemployed OCs).

[LeGOATski]

 

Good assessment.

For this year.

 

No one was saying that last year. Or when he was in the SB with the 49ers.

 

One off-season later and everything changes. Its weird. The fault definitely seems to be with Roman, but why is he so inconsistent?

 

My fear is what someone said earlier; DCs will catch in to Lynn's tendencies and Lynn will fail to adjust. Hopefully, his repertoire is deep.

[The Big Cat]

Chan did fine while he was here.

 

Did he?

 

Best offensive year was 2011 when they finished 14th in point and yards. Here's how they finished the other years (PTS/YDS):

 

2010: 28/25

2012: 21/19

 

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah.

 

Chan's offense's were "great" in the same way the 2015 Bills' offense was "great": only relative to other Bills' offenses. Keep that in mind, fans. We've stunk on that side of the ball for a long LONG time. Just because it might look "better" doesn't mean it's "good."

[26CornerBlitz]

For this year.

 

No one was saying that last year. Or when he was in the SB with the 49ers.

 

One off-season later and everything changes. Its weird. The fault definitely seems to be with Roman, but why is he so inconsistent?

 

My fear is what someone said earlier; DCs will catch in to Lynn's tendencies and Lynn will fail to adjust. Hopefully, his repertoire is deep.

 

Roman talked quite a bit in the offseason about expanding the playbook to sustain offense, utilizing all parts of the field in the passing game, and showing an improvement with plays coming in faster. After two games, it seemed to be the same old issues from last season. I initially thought his firing was a mistake, but after two games we can see improvement in those deficient areas that were so evident under G-Ro. I tip my hat to Rex for making the call and hope like hell we continue to see success on offense to complement the defense.

[4BillsintheBurgh]

Did he?

 

Best offensive year was 2011 when they finished 14th in point and yards. Here's how they finished the other years (PTS/YDS):

 

2010: 28/25

2012: 21/19

 

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah.

 

Chan's offense's were "great" in the same way the 2015 Bills' offense was "great": only relative to other Bills' offenses. Keep that in mind, fans. We've stunk on that side of the ball for a long LONG time. Just because it might look "better" doesn't mean it's "good."

Hmmm, said I said I thought he did fine as a play caller on the sidelines, implying he didn't need to be in the booth to do it. The reasons the offensive wasn't a top unit in the league are many. In the end, I thought Chan got as much as he could out of our offensive personnel at the time while the front office was trying to acquire players who weren't getting injured all the time. Part of getting everything out of the players was calling plays that put guys in a position to make plays. I'm not commenting on the results.

[killshot]

On third and fourth downs Roman complicated calls took too long to communicate and the offense was unable to execute these plays. What I see now is no matter what down it is the calls coming in fast and players are able to just line up and play football without too much thinking.

[Manther]

 

@cover1eturner

Why it Worked | Mccoy's 7 yd TD reception. Designed well, but also showed off Lynn’s understanding of the rules.

https://twitter.com/i/videos/tweet/783601129787621376

 

Most of the really good/great teams use motion! I would love to see more and more. It strongly helps great QBs like Manning and Brady to make good decisions. Simple really.

 

 

I actually think Roman's deficiencies are more complicated than that.

 

Roman is not a good coordinator. He's a good play-designer and an okay coordinator. He's especially good at designing running plays, not so much at passing plays.

 

When it comes to game planning, he doesn't take a lot of input from subordinate coaches. So the collective wisdom of the coaching staff is wasted. That's not smart leadership.

 

And he tends to over-complicate things. He requires players to learn more plays each week than the average coordinator. So they end up mastering none of the plays.

 

And, you're right, he's not a good play caller. He tries to outsmart the opposing DC rather than playing to our strengths and developing rhythm.

Well said, totally agree!

[Boatdrinks]

Our NFL rushing title was a little misleading because of Tyrod's yards scrambling (some were designed runs but a small percentage)

Still, Roman's "block down" system seemed to work well with the big boys and he deserves some credit there. He is a perfect example of a good coordinator who wasn't a great game caller.

This is a huge aspect of coaching I never hear the talking heads mention. Game calling is an entirely separate thing from coaching and game prepping. Look at how good Pettine was at calling the D, or how Chan calls offenses--some guys have a knack for it and some dont.

Also, you have to be up in the booth to call the offense. Its a joke to think you can see the field properly from the sideline. Keep it goin Lynn!

While I'd agree that play calling is a critical component of coordinating an Offense, I'm not so sure it requires one to be up in the booth. Doesn't Josh McDaniels stay on the sideline? Last week notwithstanding ( and I despise the Pats) I often shake my head at just how well that guy calls plays vs what the defense is putting out there.

[GG]

Or it could be because Bills played much tougher defenses in the first two weeks.

 

But it is undeniable that the O has had better rhythm & execution last to weeks. Now if TT can dial in some of those intermediate throws, the O should be dominant. He leaves a lot of points and drives unfinished.

[LeGOATski]

 

Roman talked quite a bit in the offseason about expanding the playbook to sustain offense, utilizing all parts of the field in the passing game, and showing an improvement with plays coming in faster. After two games, it seemed to be the same old issues from last season. I initially thought his firing was a mistake, but after two games we can see improvement in those deficient areas that were so evident under G-Ro. I tip my hat to Rex for making the call and hope like hell we continue to see success on offense to complement the defense.

Yeah. Its very much like what happened in SF. Weird that he seems to have made the same mistake.

 

Oh well. I'd tip my hat to Rex, too, if I wore hats.

[Alphadawg7]

Seriously?

 

The defense couldn't get off the field on 3rd down in that game. They dominated TOP because of this.

 

The defense has been great in 3 of 4 games. They sucked against the Jets and very little of that had to do with our offense, IMO.

 

As for Lynn, he's done a good job through 2 games.

 

Im interested to see if it continues over these next few weeks.

 

I don't get this complete disregard for the indisputable fact the when an offense fails to sustain drives and the TOP screws heavily to the opponent it creates a lot more strain on the defense. I mean this is not even a disputable topic...ask anyone at any level of football who has the advantage when on the field for long stretches of time...offense or defense...100% will answer you the offense.

 

Is it the only reason the D struggled against the Jets...absolutely not. But if you, or anyone else, thinks it didn't factor into the defensive struggles then you are very mistaken.

[PolishDave]

While I'd agree that play calling is a critical component of coordinating an Offense, I'm not so sure it requires one to be up in the booth. Doesn't Josh McDaniels stay on the sideline? Last week notwithstanding ( and I despise the Pats) I often shake my head at just how well that guy calls plays vs what the defense is putting out there.

 

The coordinator doesn't necessarily have to be in the booth. But somebody does need to be in there on the offensive coaching side. If they aren't in there, you would undoubtedly miss a lot of opportunities to make adjustments. When guys like McDaniels stay on the sideline, I suspect they have some assistant up in the booth telling the coordinator on the sideline where the weaknesses are in the other team's defense (especially the secondary).

 

You would also get a better feel for when a play was close to breaking it for 6. And that info is valuable because it may cause you to want to run that play again when otherwise you wouldn't.

 

If Lynn is the guy on the staff who spots other teams' defensive weaknesses the best, then he should be up in the booth. And I do think it makes him better at his job. I don't see how you could possibly do that better from the sideline.

[Alphadawg7]

Our NFL rushing title was a little misleading because of Tyrod's yards scrambling (some were designed runs but a small percentage)

 

Still, Roman's "block down" system seemed to work well with the big boys and he deserves some credit there. He is a perfect example of a good coordinator who wasn't a great game caller.

 

This is a huge aspect of coaching I never hear the talking heads mention. Game calling is an entirely separate thing from coaching and game prepping. Look at how good Pettine was at calling the D, or how Chan calls offenses--some guys have a knack for it and some dont.

 

Also, you have to be up in the booth to call the offense. Its a joke to think you can see the field properly from the sideline. Keep it goin Lynn!

 

Oh how time makes people forget...Chan was an awful play caller, in fact, every single week the shout box and board would go nuts over his stupidity. We would be in a close game at half time and averaging 6 to 8 yards per carry in the first half and then he would run the ball 3 total times in the second half and instead put the game on Fitz's terrible arm and lose bad. This guy had no clue how to call a game. People always say he got the most out of Fitz where really Fitz has pretty much played the same every where he went. Fitz season last year had sooooo much more to do with Brandon Marshall and Decker than Chan. People also credit him for getting value out of Spiller...well you can't contribute stats if you don't play, and Chan was hitched hard to Spiller and had to play him, so of course he was more productive because after Buffalo he didn't play. He went to a pass first team in NO where he was buried on the depth chart due to injuries and the inability to pass block on a pass first team. First week in Seattle getting snaps he had a good run and a receiving TD.

 

Chan has this mythological label as some offensive coordinator guru, yet our offense was nothing special when he was here, and in fact was pretty bad. He was fired similar to Roman as an OC by KC, he stunk here in game planning and calling plays, and he hasn't done much better for the Jets. Fitz is good enough to create production but not good enough to come up in big moments...nothing has changed in NY for Fitz other than he has talented and big weapons to sling the ball too. And the Jets offense looks terrible this year outside week 2 against the Bills.

[AdamK]

I'm not really one for conspiracy theories, but maybe Roman saw an opportunity to become Head Coach and was dogging it.

 

One theory was Rex fired Roman because he was the most qualified to take over as Head Coach if he were to get fired during the season. Maybe there's some truth to that, but Roman was holding back and planned to unleash the offense once he took over.

 

Similar to Jason Garrett when he was OC and helped get Wade fired. The next week Dallas' offense could score points all of a sudden.

 

Not likely, but it's possible.

[Dr. Who]

I'm not really one for conspiracy theories, but maybe Roman saw an opportunity to become Head Coach and was dogging it.

 

One theory was Rex fired Roman because he was the most qualified to take over as Head Coach if he were to get fired during the season. Maybe there's some truth to that, but Roman was holding back and planned to unleash the offense once he took over.

 

Similar to Jason Garrett when he was OC and helped get Wade fired. The next week Dallas' offense could score points all of a sudden.

 

Not likely, but it's possible.

Unclear how fielding an unproductive offense enhances one's own future opportunities.

[eball]

I'm not really one for conspiracy theories, but maybe Roman saw an opportunity to become Head Coach and was dogging it.

 

One theory was Rex fired Roman because he was the most qualified to take over as Head Coach if he were to get fired during the season. Maybe there's some truth to that, but Roman was holding back and planned to unleash the offense once he took over.

 

Similar to Jason Garrett when he was OC and helped get Wade fired. The next week Dallas' offense could score points all of a sudden.

 

Not likely, but it's possible.

 

Take off the tinfoil hat.

[The Big Cat]

I said very little of it had to do with the defense sucking that game.

 

The Jets opening drive alone lasted around 6 or 7 minutes. Before the offense even got the ball. Then we scored very quickly.... And the defense couldn't get off the field on 3rd down again the next possession for the Jets for another long drive.

 

Opening drive should have been over in three minutes

 

bogus holding call on gilmore kept it going. as did a whiff on a fumble. they were then right back on the field again.

 

The Bills opened the first half with three drives totaling 12 plays.

 

Oh, and btw, the Bills started the second half with four drives running a total of 16 plays.

 

stop with this. how many people do you need to hear it from before it starts to make sense?

[eball]

My biggest offensive play-calling pet peeve -- the EMPTY BACKFIELD on 3rd/4th and 1-2. Chan Gailey is famous for this, and it drove me nuts each time. You've got to at least make the defense think a running play is possible.