Frankly Speaking : Why Not Try Something New?

[BadLandsMeanie]

3 minutes ago, Chuck Wagon said:

Sporano did essentially what you are suggesting with the Dolphins, snapping to Ronnie Brown with Ricky Williams sharing the backfield.  Took the league by storm for 1 year.  Then teams basically sold out on the run, dared the wildcat back to throw on them, they couldn't and the formation was dead almost as soon as it started.

 

NFL defenses are simply too big and too fast to just overload it and run on them.  Without a credible pass option, the idea is DOA.

Yeah but he was a Johnny One Note.

 

What about 4 or 5 different attacks? What about they keep innovating?

 

And what if when they dared the running back to throw on them, he could?

[Misterbluesky]

1 hour ago, BadLandsMeanie said:

Hello everyone and welcome to Frankly Speaking.

 

Frankly Speaking is straight talk about the Buffalo Bills, the team that put the “We” in Weenie.

 

 

 

(For those that don't know me the notion that this is a “column” is tongue in cheek. I am not trying to pretend I am a sportswriter here).

 

 

There may be a few posts from me along these lines, which is about things that I think are wrong with the league. Almost nobody will like them or agree. I know that going in!

 

I will get to my topic for this post in a minute but first a little background. I think my anger started to from several years ago. The year, 2014. EJ is struggling some so I asked my friend who are the Qbs in the draft who look the most like pro prospects to you? My buddy's only qualification is that he watches a lot of college football.

 

He said Carr and Garopolo. Both of those guys went in the 2^nd round. He was correct about both of them. He said that he thinks teams are shying away from Carr because his brother didn't pan out, as ridiculous as that sounds.

 

In 2014 teams took Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, and Teddy Bridgewater in the first round.

 

We took Cyrus Kouandjio in the 2^nd. (After trading up for Sammy in the 1st)

 

I have had a long time to think about that and it is festering. Each year since, my buddy, who sits and watches TV, out performs the teams and the pundits. This bugs me.

 

I have learned to question the NFL and the decisions that they make. I do not now automatically defer to their expertise.

 

Which leads me to my main topic that NFL teams routinely pretend to have a legitimate chance to win. They know, or they should know, that they can't. I don't really blame them too much for that. It is show business after all.

 

What I blame them for is that they don't do anything about it. They don't try. They don't want to look stupid. They don't want to get fired. Or they are not even smart enough to try.

 

 

Half the teams in the NFL can't win big because they haven't got a good enough passing game. Where is the innovation? Where is the effort? Where is the creativity?

 

Why do they even have half these quarterbacks out there?

 

Not to pick on Tyrod but he is the one I know best. Tyrod throws 20 yards or more about 15% of the time. Usually he is throwing the ball about 7 yards, which is 21 feet. Most of the time his job is to hand the ball to Shady or someone else.

 

 

 

My thought is, what is he doing out there? Most of the time he does nothing besides hand the ball to somebody. Couldn't a smart offensive guru get more use out of that 11^th spot?

 

Do we need a highly skilled superb master athlete to throw the ball 20 feet?

 

They don't want him to run all the time because he will get hurt.

 

So, why doesn't anybody maybe try having another running back, who can also throw the ball 20 feet? I bet there are plenty of them who could do it. That way he could run any time because he would be sturdy enough to handle the tackling.

 

What about two fullbacks to clear the way? A direct snap to the running back and two fullbacks in front and lets see you stop them. How about an extra road grading offensive lineman out there to overpower a defense?

 

How about doing something, besides nothing, about the problem?

 

I am no offensive expert at all but it seems to me that these guys who make millions of dollars because they are so smart at designing an offense, should be able to try something.

 

Instead they put guys out there to pretend to be something they are not.

 

What about if you don't have Aaron Rodgers on your team, you stop running the show as if you do?

 

And then they make excuses. And then say how hard it is to find a franchise qb.

 

How about you try something else for a change?

 

At least it wouldn't be boring, and you wouldn't know the outcome of the season before it even started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't cry over spilled milk..most of the issues that have bothered you in the past have been addressed.We got that 500 pound gorilla of our backs when we made it to the playoffs..now we are loaded with new fresh staff,beaucoup draft picks and 30 mill in savings for more fresh blood and talented flesh.The future is bright...enjoy the sunshine.

[PolishDave]

1 hour ago, BadLandsMeanie said:

 

How about you try something else for a change?

 

At least it wouldn't be boring, and you wouldn't know the outcome of the season before it even started.

 

 

I like the "outside the box" thinking.   I often do this too in regards to football.

 

I thought the Bills were perfectly suited to have an untraditional style of offense when they had Taylor, Watkins, McCoy and even Mike G.

 

Lynn (having a deep background in running the football) was very good at making the offense unpredictable in both the run game and the pass game.    The defense simply wasn't sure who was going to get the football even on running plays.    It might have been Shady, Mike G or Taylor himself.

 

The team could have better balanced run vs. pass if they had incorporated more option roll outs into the game plan and really mastered some of them.   We saw it at times where Tyrod would roll out (by design) and have the option to run the ball or throw it to the tight end depending on whether the linebackers committed to stopping Tyrod or stopping the pass to the tightend.   They could have taken that style of football that Buffalo executed well, and built on it essentially creating a new offensive philosophy.   

 

And had they done that, I think it would have forced teams to commit to stopping it which would have relaxed coverage on Sammy - which could have resulted in more long touchdown passes.      

 

A team could still do that with Tyrod - an elite receiver and an above average team of running backs.    But alas, I don't think anyone will.   They could probably do the same thing with Lamar Jackson as well given he has the leg talent of an elusive back also.   But I doubt they will.   It requires commitment to that style of offense.   And we just haven't seen anyone want to really commit to it.    The Bills were close, but that was with Lynn running the offense.  They would have had to promote him to head coach.   And even then who knows if he would have stuck with that or not.

 

Nice topic though. 

[BadLandsMeanie]

8 minutes ago, Misterbluesky said:

Don't cry over spilled milk..most of the issues that have bothered you in the past have been addressed.We got that 500 pound gorilla of our backs when we made it to the playoffs..now we are loaded with new fresh staff,beaucoup draft picks and 30 mill in savings for more fresh blood and talented flesh.The future is bright...enjoy the sunshine.

We got a sun lamp not sunshine

 

Im not being gloomy I do have hope for the future.

 

But really, while we do have some extra draft picks,. we got rid of a lot of players that were pretty good that we now have to replace.

 

We won 1 more game than Rex Ryan did in 2015 and really if they hadn't tanked that last game in 2016 by starting EJ Ryan would have gone 8-8 last year too.

 

I hope we have a QB coming. But the stress of that is weighing on me because I am sposta sit here for 3 years waiting to see if the guy we get is any good or not. And the odds are 50-50 at best.

 

So what we actually have besides better talkers, and a "process", is one more game won. Thats it. We still need a QB and we still need a buncha players.

And they just fired the OC after one year so we are starting again there too. Hiring the wrong OC is a big mistake. They are getting a pass on that.

 

But like I say I am hopeful. I just would like it if teams, and specifically us, would DO  something instead of making excuses and saying "it is hard to win in this league" if it turns out we don't have a QB who can win games in the traditional way. Like it has been for about 20 years now.

[BringBackOrton]

2 hours ago, BadLandsMeanie said:

Hello everyone and welcome to Frankly Speaking.

 

Frankly Speaking is straight talk about the Buffalo Bills, the team that put the “We” in Weenie.

 

 

 

(For those that don't know me the notion that this is a “column” is tongue in cheek. I am not trying to pretend I am a sportswriter here).

 

 

There may be a few posts from me along these lines, which is about things that I think are wrong with the league. Almost nobody will like them or agree. I know that going in!

 

I will get to my topic for this post in a minute but first a little background. I think my anger started to from several years ago. The year, 2014. EJ is struggling some so I asked my friend who are the Qbs in the draft who look the most like pro prospects to you? My buddy's only qualification is that he watches a lot of college football.

 

He said Carr and Garopolo. Both of those guys went in the 2^nd round. He was correct about both of them. He said that he thinks teams are shying away from Carr because his brother didn't pan out, as ridiculous as that sounds.

 

In 2014 teams took Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, and Teddy Bridgewater in the first round.

 

We took Cyrus Kouandjio in the 2^nd. (After trading up for Sammy in the 1st)

 

I have had a long time to think about that and it is festering. Each year since, my buddy, who sits and watches TV, out performs the teams and the pundits. This bugs me.

 

I have learned to question the NFL and the decisions that they make. I do not now automatically defer to their expertise.

 

Which leads me to my main topic that NFL teams routinely pretend to have a legitimate chance to win. They know, or they should know, that they can't. I don't really blame them too much for that. It is show business after all.

 

What I blame them for is that they don't do anything about it. They don't try. They don't want to look stupid. They don't want to get fired. Or they are not even smart enough to try.

 

 

Half the teams in the NFL can't win big because they haven't got a good enough passing game. Where is the innovation? Where is the effort? Where is the creativity?

 

Why do they even have half these quarterbacks out there?

 

Not to pick on Tyrod but he is the one I know best. Tyrod throws 20 yards or more about 15% of the time. Usually he is throwing the ball about 7 yards, which is 21 feet. Most of the time his job is to hand the ball to Shady or someone else.

 

 

 

My thought is, what is he doing out there? Most of the time he does nothing besides hand the ball to somebody. Couldn't a smart offensive guru get more use out of that 11^th spot?

 

Do we need a highly skilled superb master athlete to throw the ball 20 feet?

 

They don't want him to run all the time because he will get hurt.

 

So, why doesn't anybody maybe try having another running back, who can also throw the ball 20 feet? I bet there are plenty of them who could do it. That way he could run any time because he would be sturdy enough to handle the tackling.

 

What about two fullbacks to clear the way? A direct snap to the running back and two fullbacks in front and lets see you stop them. How about an extra road grading offensive lineman out there to overpower a defense?

 

How about doing something, besides nothing, about the problem?

 

I am no offensive expert at all but it seems to me that these guys who make millions of dollars because they are so smart at designing an offense, should be able to try something.

 

Instead they put guys out there to pretend to be something they are not.

 

What about if you don't have Aaron Rodgers on your team, you stop running the show as if you do?

 

And then they make excuses. And then say how hard it is to find a franchise qb.

 

How about you try something else for a change?

 

At least it wouldn't be boring, and you wouldn't know the outcome of the season before it even started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shocking that you friend liked college guys that were already on NFL rosters in 2014.

 

This "story" was ill advised from the jump.

[1st&ten]

We should have run this offense when we had Fred Jackson & Beast Mode on the team. Fred threw a couple of option passes before.

[BadLandsMeanie]

11 minutes ago, PolishDave said:

 

I like the "outside the box" thinking.   I often do this too in regards to football.

 

I thought the Bills were perfectly suited to have an untraditional style of offense when they had Taylor, Watkins, McCoy and even Mike G.

 

Lynn (having a deep background in running the football) was very good at making the offense unpredictable in both the run game and the pass game.    The defense simply wasn't sure who was going to get the football even on running plays.    It might have been Shady, Mike G or Taylor himself.

 

The team could have better balanced run vs. pass if they had incorporated more option roll outs into the game plan and really mastered some of them.   We saw it at times where Tyrod would roll out (by design) and have the option to run the ball or throw it to the tight end depending on whether the linebackers committed to stopping Tyrod or stopping the pass to the tightend.   They could have taken that style of football that Buffalo executed well, and built on it essentially creating a new offensive philosophy.   

 

And had they done that, I think it would have forced teams to commit to stopping it which would have relaxed coverage on Sammy - which could have resulted in more long touchdown passes.      

 

A team could still do that with Tyrod - an elite receiver and an above average team of running backs.    But alas, I don't think anyone will.   They could probably do the same thing with Lamar Jackson as well given he has the leg talent of an elusive back also.   But I doubt they will.   It requires commitment to that style of offense.   And we just haven't seen anyone want to really commit to it.    The Bills were close, but that was with Lynn running the offense.  They would have had to promote him to head coach.   And even then who knows if he would have stuck with that or not.

 

Nice topic though. 

Thanks.

 

I thought what Lynn did with our offense was a just a notch down from impossible. Taking over for a fired OC during the season NEVER goes well. And he turned it around amazingly if you ask me.

 

I don't think he is the smooth talker Pegula wanted because Pegula himself can't do the talking and they needed somebody. And if I remember right Lynn called the Chargers the San Diego  Chargers in his first press conference and I think he even dropped an F-bomb. 

 

But he got that offense humming down there in the 2nd half of the season and I am picking the Chargers to contend for the Superbowl next year.

2 minutes ago, 1st&ten said:

We should have run this offense when we had Fred Jackson & Beast Mode on the team. Fred threw a couple of option passes before.

Damg you are right. Now I am wistful!

[BringBackOrton]

1 minute ago, BadLandsMeanie said:

Thanks.

 

I thought what Lynn did with our offense was a just a notch down from impossible. Taking over for a fired OC during the season NEVER goes well. And he turned it around amazingly if you ask me.

 

I don't think he is the smooth talker Pegula wanted because Pegula himself can't do the talking and they needed somebody. And if I remember right Lynn called the Chargers the San Diego  Chargers in his first press conference and I think he even dropped an F-bomb. 

 

But he got that offense humming down there in the 2nd half of the season and I am picking the Chargers to contend for the Superbowl next year.

Damg you are right. Now I am wistful!

The offense was marginally better between 2015 and 2016.  Hardly an impossible turn around.

[BadLandsMeanie]

1 minute ago, jmc12290 said:

The offense was marginally better between 2015 and 2016.  Hardly an impossible turn around.

Compare it during 2016 before and after Lynn.

[BringBackOrton]

Just now, BadLandsMeanie said:

Compare it during 2016 before and after Lynn.

2 games?  One of which we scored 31?

 

Really?

[boyst]

I like this whole thread.

[Augie]

Who does your buddy like this year? Quick! We need to share this with OBD! 

[Domdab99]

Thank god we now have your buddy's picks for the 2014 draft. 

Edited March 4, 2018 by Domdab99

[billieve420]

1 hour ago, John from Riverside said:

One counter to your post

 

You say that TT throws the ball 7 yards or runs.....it was certainly true last year.

 

 but what gets lost in this is when TT actually came in to be our starting QB he had a wonderful deep ball........accurate, on point, hit his targets in stride with it.

 

You dont lose the ability to throw it....it was a strength of his......what happened?

 

That long ball is not something you could just throw a running back in there and do......

 

My biggest gripe over the recent years is it looks like instead of playing to the strengths of the players on the team we fit players into a system that a OC would bring......

 

 

 

It also has to do with the receivers we brought in slower possession type guys. Tyrod struggles throwing guys open in tight spots so he needs quicker guys who are able to get open sooner, guys who can take the top off and open things up for other guys.

Edited March 4, 2018 by billieve420

[Kwai San]

4 hours ago, BadLandsMeanie said:

I would run Tyrod but he will get killed. He will never make it through the season.

 

I am all for an athletic running QB so long as he can actually run a LOT and not get hurt. They are never built for that though.

 

And this year he says in order:

 

Rosen, Allen (big arm), Mayfield, Jackson, with Rudolph as a sleeper. Rudolph he says is like a Flacco but with better decision making.

 

The big difference between the mainstream is he doesn't like Darnold.

 

 Your buddy and I see eye to eye on this......frankly Frank I am not a fan of any of these guys @ picks 1-10......after that when the salary comes down a wee bit then I would venture a pick on them......none of these guys - NONE of them are ready for the NFL right away.  I like his sleeper personally.  Gimme the red nosed reindeer!!!

[billsredneck1]

3 hours ago, BadLandsMeanie said:

But like I say I am hopeful. I just would like it if teams, and specifically us, would DO  something instead of making excuses and saying "it is hard to win in this league" if it turns out we don't have a QB who can win games in the traditional way. Like it has been for about 20 years now.

don't worry, when the bills, at 11-5 squeeze out the pats for the div. title, n.p. will be the P.O.Y.

[Beast]

Didn’t Marv Levy try this sort of thing in the late 70’s early 80’s in Kansas City?

 

Didn’t it land him a CFL gig?

[BadLandsMeanie]

On 3/4/2018 at 7:32 PM, Binghamton Beast said:

Didn’t Marv Levy try this sort of thing in the late 70’s early 80’s in Kansas City?

 

Didn’t it land him a CFL gig?

I don't know, but it would make me proud if he did.

 

It would make me proud if he didn't do like they do here. Hey guys just go on out there and lose. This is Buffalo don't nobody expect us to win. I know we haven't got the players to make this scheme we are running work. But let's just go out there and pretend we do, and keep losing until all the fans get old and die. Plus we sell them more beer that way.

 

Because I don't want to look stupid and get banished to the CFL by the jackasses who run this league, for actually doing my best to win.

 

Edited March 6, 2018 by BadLandsMeanie