Thoughts on offense: why it might not be as bad as we think this year, and how it relates to roster building strategy

[grb]

4 hours ago, Drunken Pygmy Goat said:

***Long Post***

I think most fans assume that the offensive production this season will see a noticeable drop off, based on what's transpired so far this off-season. The general idea is that the Bills will need their defense to keep them in games this year, and based on the additions made on that side of the ball, it's easy to assume that the D should be better this year and will do just that. It seems pretty clear what Beane and McDermott's short and long term plans are and has been (I know it's been discussed here recently): build up the defense with a good mix of youth and experience, while shedding dead cap, hopefully find a franchise QB, and lastly add offensive talent. But I don't think the Bills offense will be quite as bad this season as many people think, and that the advancement of this offense, and the development of young players in it, will be more rapid than we assume. 

 

Other than hopefully seeing a fully healthy Benjamin this year, most fans would say that the Bills have less overall talent on offense this season. They lost a couple veteran WRs, and drafted a couple late round replacements. Three total linemen gone, with those holes filled by free agents. And of course there's questions at QB, leading us to believe that the offense will not be as productive of a unit overall this season. 

 

But the biggest factor, IMO, has little to do with the players involved:

 

* Brian Daboll hired to replace Rick Dennison

 

There's obviously some uncertainty as to how well of a job he'll do, but at the very least, he knows what it takes to win, and has learned from some great football minds. You cannot ignore 5 Super Bowl rings and an NCAA championship ring, regardless of what his role was in earning them. And while he doesn't exactly have a great track record as an NFL OC, he does have experience there, and I'm sure he's learned a lot over the years from those experiences. The lack of experience really seemed to show at times last year with Dennison. Also keep in mind that Daboll has been a QB coach in the past.

 

More important than experience will be the change in offensive scheme. Daboll will bring the Erhardt-Perkins offense to the Bills, and based on the strengths and advantages it brings, I think it fits perfectly with the type of team that Beane and McDermott are trying to build, and really sheds some light onto why they're going about building it the way they are. I also believe that it doesn't take as long for players to get up to speed in this offense, and doesn't require top talent in order to be successful.

 

Let's review some of the advantages that the EP offense brings, and how they compare to West Coast and Air Coryell offenses:

 

* Smaller, simpler playbook. 

 

Rather than having to rely on the route tree to call plays like you would in an AC offense, or long, drawn out play calls that describe each players' duties in a WC offense, plays in an EP offense are concept based and named accordingly. Many of the play calls consist of just a few words, many times only one or two. This makes it much easier for players to learn the playbook and their assignements. Then, they will only need to know the formation and where to line up on a given play. This helps an offense utilize the same plays and concepts, while using the same personnel, and allows them to do it out of multiple formations. Plays may look different to defenses due to formation, but it's really the same read from the QB, just a different player running the same route from a different look. Its a good way to make things complex for defenses, without really being complex yourself as an offense. It's really about taking what the defense gives you, something that Brady has done his entire career.

 

Having simple verbiaged play calls also saves some precious time between plays, and being that it's easy for players to know their assignments with just one or two words from the QB, it allows you to more effectively operate an uptempo or no-huddle offense. I'm not saying we should expect to see the K-Gun, but uptempo/no-huddle really hasn't been utilized too much in Buffalo in recent years, and when it was utilized, we could easily see why it wasn't used more (other than out of necessity). In WC offenses, its more difficult to go uptempo or no-huddle as effectively due to the complex play calls. And play calls in AC offenses have become much more complex than they were 20 years ago due to the evolution and complexity of today's defenses, hindering the ability to effectively run an uptempo or no-huddle in that offense.

 

* Ability to be "neutral" on offense. 

 

This is a big factor, IMO. It's similar in a strategic way to having a "hybrid" defense, only it relates more to how your coaches want to dictate a game on offense, or the "type" or "style" of game they want against a particular opponent, creating flexibility from week to week. You can go run heavy/slow ground and pound one week, air it out/high scoring attack the next, then maintain a nice balance a week later (whatever the coaches see fit depending on opponent). This makes an opponent's preparation and game planning strategies much more difficult. They won't "know which team" they're going to see come game day. It also allows for better in-game adjustments, based on what's transpiring during the game. This makes it harder for opponents to diagnose certain tendencies.

 

* Easier to fill WR/skill positions. 

 

This is one of the best factors of the EP offense, IMO, since it gives the coaches and front office much more flexibility in several ways. One thing that we've seen over the years in New England is their ability to not miss a beat with roster turnover or injury at the WR position. Players come and go, yet their passing attack is always above average. Plug and play. Of course, Brady is a big part of that, but it's still up to the WRs to get open and make the play when their numbers are called. The simplistic EP play calls probably make things easier for them, and allows them to focus more on other aspects of their game and development as players. Its a natural advantage in the EP offense. It makes it easier to sustain production after injuries to skill players, whereas injuries to skill players in an AC offense would have a much greater impact on its effectiveness, because it's much more reliant on specific types of players and skill sets to fill the WR positions. EP allows flexibility in drafting and signing free agent WRs since you aren't as dependent on specific players and skill sets to fill those holes, making it easier to manage roster turnover at the WR position. This should make it easier to manage the cap at that position as well, adding more money to spend in other areas.

 

Perhaps as a result, we won't see too many WRs drafted in early rounds under this regime, especially in the 1st. That really helps the team in drafting BPA, but I could see the Bills passing on a talented WR early, in favor of a top defensive player, and taking a lesser talented "process" type WR later in the draft, due to the flexibility that the EP offense affords you. We know how McDermott values character, and that may be especially true with players at that position, as opposed to higher priced "Dez" types.

 

* Extra blocker factor. 

 

This might not be all that important to mention, but it certainly helps to have one more player helping to protect your QB. The only issue is that it's a RB that's doing it, and they aren't always the best at blocking. McCoy isn't terrible there, but it's not exactly what he's known for. Ivory is probably better suited for that, and could be one of the reasons why he was brought in, despite his age. I think he'll see a bit more playing time simply because of that. He'll get carries, some of them just to mask their intentions to pass on certain plays that he's on the field. 

 

Also, I think it's safe to say that McCoy will probably have less receptions in this offense. RBs in WC offenses are often asked to be another pass catching weapon, and not so much in the EP in comparison. Maybe also as a result of this, we'll see less emphasis on building the offensive line, to some extent. Not saying they can get away with not adding top talent there, but it's probably more imperative to have a good/great pass blocking O-line in a WC offense due to the lack of having an extra blocker as often. Possibly, our staff will have a similar approach to the O-line as they may have to the WR position, to a lesser extent.

 

* Just need competence at the QB position.

 

Maybe I'm not wording this right, and it's something that's not only relative to this offense, but you don't need to be the smartest QB in the league to operate this offense. This goes back to the idea of simplicity. A QB with "average NFL QB smarts" will do just fine in the EP. A really smart QB can make this offense nearly unstoppable, even without the best talent around him. This idea may shed light into why AJ and JA were brought in. 

 

In summary, I considered all these factors, and it helped me to make more sense of why the Bills put more focus and money on defense in free agency, while bringing in players on offense that were more JAG type players, and I feel a little more confident that the offense will be more competitive this year than we might think by just looking at it "on paper". They probably aren't going to look like a well oiled machine for some time, but I think they'll be varied enough on offense, giving them a bit of a competitive edge, or at least help to mask some talent deficiencies. This should allow the Bills to start AJ for as long as they see fit, until Allen is ready, without poor performance causing frustration and pressure from the fans to make the switch to JA too soon. This is assuming Allen is not "ready" to start week 1, and that the staff prefers to work on improving certain aspects of his game before playing him. 

 

Looking at the scheme and its details may also give insight into how the Bills will address the draft and free agency at certain positions as well. Maybe I'm over thinking things here, or I'm off in my assessment, but I'm interested to see how that plays out in the coming years, and how scheme plays a role there.

 

The quote to pull from this massive effort is this :

 

"A QB with "average NFL QB smarts" will do just fine in the EP. A really smart QB can make this offense nearly unstoppable, even without the best talent around him. This idea may shed light into why AJ and JA were brought in."

 

I'd bet Dennison said something very similar in convincing McDermott to bench Taylor for Peterman. And how did that work out? I don't want to get into a discussion of NP's performance against the Chargers, Patriots, Colts, and Jaguars, but the evidence didn't support the conclusion you can take an unskilled QB, mediocre pass protection and sub-grade receivers - add "System" - and suddenly make gold thru alchemy. The past two seasons the Bills dumped Woods, dumped Hogan, dumped Goodwin, dumped Gillsilee, saw Harvin & K Williams' careers implode, dumped Watkins, scared off Boldin (who saw the Watkins trade as a tank-move), and saw the lesser talent they brought in under-perform by injury or rookie-flusters. They just traded away their best tackle, while seeing their best center and guard retire. In the draft they did next to nothing to solve any of this.

 

If you want Allen to succeed (much less McCarron), then don't set him up to fail. 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2018 by grb

[John from Riverside]

What they need to do is get back to the run blocking schemes that were so succesful for us when the team had the top 10 ranked offense scoring points.....it was largely biult around a running game that made big plays because we didnt pass for a lot of yards....

 

Do that.....and the passing game will come much easier and maybe we have some better throwers of the ball now?

[grb]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

........That's why the Pats can get a lot of mileage out of a Hogan, for example........

 

Being in a querulous mood, I decided to pull the above quote out. Hogan's last four seasons :

• 2014 - Buffalo - 41 receps, 426 yds, 10.4 yds per catch
• 2015 - Buffalo - 36 receps, 450 yds, 12.5 yds per catch
• 2016 - New E. - 38 receps, 680 yds, 17.9 yds per catch
• 2017 - New E. - 34 receps, 439 yds, 12.9 yds per catch

There was a spike in yardage in '16 to be sure, but otherwise not much difference.

It isn't that the Patriots can get a lot more mileage out of a Hogan, but that the Bills didn't care enough about Hogan's mileage to pay for it.

If Hogan had been a Bill last season, he would have easily been their best receiving option. That's a sign of the talent drain from the offense.

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2018 by grb

[Don Beebe]

Good post.

[Mat68]

Many me included didnt think Dennison did that well last year.  Mccoy and Ivory should be enough and productive to create a solid play action game.  The defense imo will be much improved and will give the offense better feild position.   I think the Oline is average.  Not the worst in the NFL and also not the best.  A healthy Benjamin going into a contract year should mean he is highly motivated and hopefully in fantastic shape.  He can be a number 1 with a massive catch radius. Biggest questions are the other wrs.  Will Zay become more effectice year 2 in singular role and position.  Who is the slot?   Kerley, Reily, Prohel, Mccloud?  I expect a pass catcher or 2 brought in.  By FA or trade.  They need a wr with some speed and the group could be better than expected.  

[kota]

Offense was terrible last year.  Only direction is going up.

[Kwai San]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

 

One final thought:  Ivory is a pro's pro.   He's going to be a significant contributor on this team. 

 

I sure hope so - they threw a truck o bucks at him in what many feel is wasted $$$.  His prime is in his rear view mirror.....I just hope you are right.

[Dr. Who]

Thanks to the OP for considerable effort and an interesting argument.  I would echo Shaw's observation:  one wonders why the EP isn't universally adopted if it is truly superior in the manner discussed.  My view is that the offense last year was not very good, so it does not require tremendous improvement to at least equal last year's production.  I do think the defense has more suitable talent, so overall the team may be better.  The schedule is front-loaded with difficult away games, so I don't know how it will all play out record-wise.

[chris heff]

2 hours ago, Sky Diver said:

Interesting side note: Ray Perkins coached Alabama in the '80s.

I was at a meeting recently and some guy was blah blahing about accomplishments. He said “no one rembers who succeeded Bear Bryant at Alabama”, I looked up and said “Ray Perkins”.

[TigerJ]

I appreciate your hard work, Drunkin, but surely you know the pessimists among us are going to be pessimistic no matter what.

[Damian]

1 hour ago, kota said:

Offense was terrible last year.  Only direction is going up.

 

31st in passing yards in 2017 (30th in 2016).  How can our passing game go anywhere but up?  

[ddaryl]

13 minutes ago, Damian said:

 

31st in passing yards in 2017 (30th in 2016).  How can our passing game go anywhere but up?  

 

 

oh but that elusive 32nd spot is there for the taking  [/joking]

[Drunken Pygmy Goat]

4 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

DP -

 

Thanks for the great post.   I, too, think people will be surprised by the quality of the offense. 

 

I think you way overstate the significance of the change to EP.   If it were that obvious that EP is superior in all respects, EVERY team in the league would run it.   I mean, if the only reason the Pats offense is good and diverse is because of EP, every team would be doing it.   There's a lot more to it than that. 

 

And, from the the things I read when Daboll signed on, EP really is a nomenclature system.   The articles all said pretty much all the teams run all the same plays; it's just that the play call is different.  

 

Having said that, I don't understand WHY all teams don't run it.   It certainly is a good explanation as to why the Pats can get in and out of the huddle and snap it quickly.   I like the idea that with just a few words, a whole route tree can be called and can be adjusted by formation.   It just makes a lot of sense to me.  Thanks for the recap of the system.

 

I'm not sure your conclusion about passing to the backs is correct.  As I understand EP, the backs can be just as active in the passing game - it just depends on the formation.  If the second man from the outside is a back in a certain formation, then he runs a particular route.  If he's the third man from the outside, he runs a different route.   Again, EP doesn't so much dictate that the pass plays are different; it's that the play call is simpler (for the QB).   It isn't  simpler for the receiver, because he has know the entire route tree and figure out which route is his, based on the formation - essentially, in EP the QB can know where he's going find A receiver without necessarily knowing which receiver it's going to be.  SOME receiver is in the flat, SOME receiver is running the post, SOME receiver will be sitting in the short middle.   It's easy to see how it makes life simpler for the QB.    

 

My view is that what's going to make the offense better is (1) better NFL-style quarterbacking from McCarron (or Allen if he somehow wins the job).   By that I mean, better decision making pre- and post-snap.   The EP scheme may help McCarron (just as it probably would have helped Taylor).  (2)  Receivers better suited to the style of play.   We don't know exactly who the receivers will be, except that we should expect Benjamin and Jones to be the primary receivers.   The emphasis is going to be on precise route running and recognition of the defenses.  I'm a big believer that people tend to way overvalue receivers.   When you think about it, how many receivers can you name who consistently beat their defender and get wide open?   Not very many; most of the time when a receiver is open, it's because he ran his route well and the pattern or scheme created the opportunity.  The receiver just takes advantage of the opportunity.   That's why the Pats can get a lot of mileage out of a Hogan, for example.   (3)  Solid but not dominant offensive line play.   I think the style of play that McD wants for the Bills is, as you say, plug-and-play.   It's a style where each player has a precise job to do on each play, and the job can be accomplished by any NFL-calibre player (in terms of athleticism and experience).   So, for example, I get the sense that McD is perfectly comfortable that Dawkins can be the left tackle, that Mills can be the right tackle, that Groy can be one of the interior guys and Ducasse can be another.   I know those aren't popular names across the line, but the fans' opinion isn't what matters.   I think McD is confident that he can get effective play from those guys and that all he needs is one more.   Maybe a rookie.   Maybe a free agent they haven't signed yet.   

 

It isn't going to be a juggernaut offense, but I think it's going to surprise people.   

 

One final thought:  Ivory is a pro's pro.   He's going to be a significant contributor on this team. 

Maybe I didn't do a great job of perfectly expressing my opinion in the OP; You make a good point about why all offenses aren't EP if it's so great (I get how my post was interpreted that way ). IMO, who a coach learned from while making his way up the ranks has a lot to do with the schem they run when they're in that position. Its why we often refer to certain coaches as "deciples" of certain coaches from the past. They tend to run the same type of offense that they were taught and know the most about. That said, all teams run plays from all different schemes at times. They're not totally married to one specific system, but generally operate out of one main system. I guess, in a way, it's really just a way for people to label a specific style of offense that was born out of past offenses and evolved over time. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily saying that EP is superior to other offenses in all aspects or many. My post was more just my way of elaborating on it's advantages and how it gives teams flexibility in several aspects, and how that may translate into the team being built a certain way. 

 

I don't post all that often, especially longer posts. Most of my time is usually tied up with other tasks, so most of the time here is spent lurking. Maybe I'll throw out a short post or two. But it's hard to really keep up on many of these threads that are several pages long within an hour, so being part of conversations here is difficult. Actually, I'm guilty of slacking off at work today, just to try and keep up with this thread

 

When I wrote that post, obviously I had some free time, but truly articulating all of my thoughts is tough. Not trying to back track or recant at all. To be honest, I don't really have a preference in scheme, or know one to be the best. But I do believe that this scheme seems to make things easier in some ways, be it the playbook, or managing a roster. 

 

Edited May 10, 2018 by Drunken Pygmy Goat

[Drunken Pygmy Goat]

3 hours ago, auburnbillsbacker said:

Last year I was excited about our potential rookie QB having a pro bowl center, a pro bowl guard, and two bookend tackles protecting him on the offensive line.  We just lost 3 out of the 4 with very questionable replacements.  In addition, if Z. Jones doesn't really step up his game we are very weak at WR.  I can't imagine a scenerio where our offense is good.  When Allen finally sees the field he will have no chances for success and all of the haters on here will tear him apart.  On the positive side, we have a lot of cap space and draft picks next off season.  I just hope as fans were are not too judgmental.  While I appreciate the effort put into the OP's post,  I think high expectations can be dangerous.  

 

It's not about high expectations. I just don't think the offense will be as bad as it might seem on paper.

3 hours ago, ngbills said:

If its this simple what went wrong for Daboll in the past? 

 

 

 

 

 

Good question. Honestly, I'm not the one to answer. But each situation is different, and I'm sure he's learned a lot since then.

[ngbills]

32 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

 

 

oh but that elusive 32nd spot is there for the taking  [/joking]

Maybe not - Daboll has been there before. 

[Drunken Pygmy Goat]

1 hour ago, TigerJ said:

I appreciate your hard work, Drunkin, but surely you know the pessimists among us are going to be pessimistic no matter what.

 

Thanks, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's a lot of unknowns and some head scratchers right now. So until they're proven right or wrong, it makes the board go 'round.

 

This place would be rather boring if everyone agreed with everything, and just kept the rose colored glasses on. Any criticisms are welcomed.

[Shaw66]

25 minutes ago, Drunken Pygmy Goat said:

Maybe I didn't do a great job of perfectly expressing my opinion in the OP; You make a good point about why all offenses aren't EP if it's so great (I get how my post was interpreted that way ). IMO, who a coach learned from while making his way up the ranks has a lot to do with the schem they run when they're in that position. Its why we often refer to certain coaches as "deciples" of certain coaches from the past. They tend to run the same type of offense that they were taught and know the most about. That said, all teams run plays from all different schemes at times. They're not totally married to one specific system, but generally operate out of one main system. I guess, in a way, it's really just as at for people to label a specific style of offense that was born out of past offenses and evolved over time. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily saying that EP is superior to other offenses in all aspects or many. My post was more just my way of elaborating on it's advantages and how it gives teams flexibility in several aspects, and how that may translate into the team being built a certain way. 

 

25 minutes ago, Drunken Pygmy Goat said:

 

I don't post all that often, especially longer posts. Most of my time is usually tied up with other tasks, so most of the time here is spent lurking. Maybe I'll throw out a short post or two. But it's hard to really keep up on many of these threads that are several pages long within an hour, so being part of conversations here is difficult. Actually, I'm guilty of slacking off at work today, just to try and keep up with this thread

 

When I wrote that post, obviously I had some free time, but truly articulating all of my thoughts is tough. Not trying to back track or recant at all. To be honest, I don't really have a preference in scheme, or know one to be the best. But I do believe that this scheme seems to make things easier in some ways, be it the playbook, or managing a roster. 

 

You make a good point about someone's coaching history.   He's unproven, for sure, but having a guy who's lived with Belichick for multiple seasons and then Saban, he's been prepped about as well as he could be.   

 

I think McDermott is all about teaching, letting people grow and giving them responsibility for what they do.   I think that Daboll now has a great opportunity.   McD will tell him what McD wants, but he's going to ask Daboll to figure out how to deliver it.   That is, McD is asking Daboll to create an offense that will work with the talent they have and will work as the talent upgrades.   If Daboll has learned from Billy Boy and Saban, he should be up to the task.  

[Mat68]

Healthy Bejamin, more mature Jones should help the recieving room.  The foundation to the offense is run the ball and Pa.  Allen has expericance with that offense and has the ability to create a few big plays.  He he can get 2 to 1 big plays vs turnovers the offense could be a surprise.  Benjamin in a contract year may be the biggest option.  If he clicks with Allen like he did with Cam look out.

[billsredneck1]

9 hours ago, Drunken Pygmy Goat said:

***Long Post***

I think most fans assume that the offensive production this season will see a noticeable drop off, based on what's transpired so far this off-season. The general idea is that the Bills will need their defense to keep them in games this year, and based on the additions made on that side of the ball, it's easy to assume that the D should be better this year and will do just that. It seems pretty clear what Beane and McDermott's short and long term plans are and has been (I know it's been discussed here recently): build up the defense with a good mix of youth and experience, while shedding dead cap, hopefully find a franchise QB, and lastly add offensive talent. But I don't think the Bills offense will be quite as bad this season as many people think, and that the advancement of this offense, and the development of young players in it, will be more rapid than we assume. 

 

Other than hopefully seeing a fully healthy Benjamin this year, most fans would say that the Bills have less overall talent on offense this season. They lost a couple veteran WRs, and drafted a couple late round replacements. Three total linemen gone, with those holes filled by free agents. And of course there's questions at QB, leading us to believe that the offense will not be as productive of a unit overall this season. 

 

But the biggest factor, IMO, has little to do with the players involved:

 

* Brian Daboll hired to replace Rick Dennison

 

There's obviously some uncertainty as to how well of a job he'll do, but at the very least, he knows what it takes to win, and has learned from some great football minds. You cannot ignore 5 Super Bowl rings and an NCAA championship ring, regardless of what his role was in earning them. And while he doesn't exactly have a great track record as an NFL OC, he does have experience there, and I'm sure he's learned a lot over the years from those experiences. The lack of experience really seemed to show at times last year with Dennison. Also keep in mind that Daboll has been a QB coach in the past.

 

More important than experience will be the change in offensive scheme. Daboll will bring the Erhardt-Perkins offense to the Bills, and based on the strengths and advantages it brings, I think it fits perfectly with the type of team that Beane and McDermott are trying to build, and really sheds some light onto why they're going about building it the way they are. I also believe that it doesn't take as long for players to get up to speed in this offense, and doesn't require top talent in order to be successful.

 

Let's review some of the advantages that the EP offense brings, and how they compare to West Coast and Air Coryell offenses:

 

* Smaller, simpler playbook. 

 

Rather than having to rely on the route tree to call plays like you would in an AC offense, or long, drawn out play calls that describe each players' duties in a WC offense, plays in an EP offense are concept based and named accordingly. Many of the play calls consist of just a few words, many times only one or two. This makes it much easier for players to learn the playbook and their assignements. Then, they will only need to know the formation and where to line up on a given play. This helps an offense utilize the same plays and concepts, while using the same personnel, and allows them to do it out of multiple formations. Plays may look different to defenses due to formation, but it's really the same read from the QB, just a different player running the same route from a different look. Its a good way to make things complex for defenses, without really being complex yourself as an offense. It's really about taking what the defense gives you, something that Brady has done his entire career.

 

Having simple verbiaged play calls also saves some precious time between plays, and being that it's easy for players to know their assignments with just one or two words from the QB, it allows you to more effectively operate an uptempo or no-huddle offense. I'm not saying we should expect to see the K-Gun, but uptempo/no-huddle really hasn't been utilized too much in Buffalo in recent years, and when it was utilized, we could easily see why it wasn't used more (other than out of necessity). In WC offenses, its more difficult to go uptempo or no-huddle as effectively due to the complex play calls. And play calls in AC offenses have become much more complex than they were 20 years ago due to the evolution and complexity of today's defenses, hindering the ability to effectively run an uptempo or no-huddle in that offense.

 

* Ability to be "neutral" on offense. 

 

This is a big factor, IMO. It's similar in a strategic way to having a "hybrid" defense, only it relates more to how your coaches want to dictate a game on offense, or the "type" or "style" of game they want against a particular opponent, creating flexibility from week to week. You can go run heavy/slow ground and pound one week, air it out/high scoring attack the next, then maintain a nice balance a week later (whatever the coaches see fit depending on opponent). This makes an opponent's preparation and game planning strategies much more difficult. They won't "know which team" they're going to see come game day. It also allows for better in-game adjustments, based on what's transpiring during the game. This makes it harder for opponents to diagnose certain tendencies.

 

* Easier to fill WR/skill positions. 

 

This is one of the best factors of the EP offense, IMO, since it gives the coaches and front office much more flexibility in several ways. One thing that we've seen over the years in New England is their ability to not miss a beat with roster turnover or injury at the WR position. Players come and go, yet their passing attack is always above average. Plug and play. Of course, Brady is a big part of that, but it's still up to the WRs to get open and make the play when their numbers are called. The simplistic EP play calls probably make things easier for them, and allows them to focus more on other aspects of their game and development as players. Its a natural advantage in the EP offense. It makes it easier to sustain production after injuries to skill players, whereas injuries to skill players in an AC offense would have a much greater impact on its effectiveness, because it's much more reliant on specific types of players and skill sets to fill the WR positions. EP allows flexibility in drafting and signing free agent WRs since you aren't as dependent on specific players and skill sets to fill those holes, making it easier to manage roster turnover at the WR position. This should make it easier to manage the cap at that position as well, adding more money to spend in other areas.

 

Perhaps as a result, we won't see too many WRs drafted in early rounds under this regime, especially in the 1st. That really helps the team in drafting BPA, but I could see the Bills passing on a talented WR early, in favor of a top defensive player, and taking a lesser talented "process" type WR later in the draft, due to the flexibility that the EP offense affords you. We know how McDermott values character, and that may be especially true with players at that position, as opposed to higher priced "Dez" types.

 

* Extra blocker factor. 

 

This might not be all that important to mention, but it certainly helps to have one more player helping to protect your QB. The only issue is that it's a RB that's doing it, and they aren't always the best at blocking. McCoy isn't terrible there, but it's not exactly what he's known for. Ivory is probably better suited for that, and could be one of the reasons why he was brought in, despite his age. I think he'll see a bit more playing time simply because of that. He'll get carries, some of them just to mask their intentions to pass on certain plays that he's on the field. 

 

Also, I think it's safe to say that McCoy will probably have less receptions in this offense. RBs in WC offenses are often asked to be another pass catching weapon, and not so much in the EP in comparison. Maybe also as a result of this, we'll see less emphasis on building the offensive line, to some extent. Not saying they can get away with not adding top talent there, but it's probably more imperative to have a good/great pass blocking O-line in a WC offense due to the lack of having an extra blocker as often. Possibly, our staff will have a similar approach to the O-line as they may have to the WR position, to a lesser extent.

 

* Just need competence at the QB position.

 

Maybe I'm not wording this right, and it's something that's not only relative to this offense, but you don't need to be the smartest QB in the league to operate this offense. This goes back to the idea of simplicity. A QB with "average NFL QB smarts" will do just fine in the EP. A really smart QB can make this offense nearly unstoppable, even without the best talent around him. This idea may shed light into why AJ and JA were brought in. 

 

In summary, I considered all these factors, and it helped me to make more sense of why the Bills put more focus and money on defense in free agency, while bringing in players on offense that were more JAG type players, and I feel a little more confident that the offense will be more competitive this year than we might think by just looking at it "on paper". They probably aren't going to look like a well oiled machine for some time, but I think they'll be varied enough on offense, giving them a bit of a competitive edge, or at least help to mask some talent deficiencies. This should allow the Bills to start AJ for as long as they see fit, until Allen is ready, without poor performance causing frustration and pressure from the fans to make the switch to JA too soon. This is assuming Allen is not "ready" to start week 1, and that the staff prefers to work on improving certain aspects of his game before playing him. 

 

Looking at the scheme and its details may also give insight into how the Bills will address the draft and free agency at certain positions as well. Maybe I'm over thinking things here, or I'm off in my assessment, but I'm interested to see how that plays out in the coming years, and how scheme plays a role there.

two guys are definitely gonna ball out on offense...other than shady that's, no.1..a.j. he's a two time national champ and wants badly to make a name for himself. i believe he has the goods to be in the top 12.

 

kb...is in a contract year where he can either command big money in the future or get the title of has been. i'm not taking anything away from the rest of the team, but since the convo is about offense, this is what i think.

 

ppg  way up

ypg   way up

 

i believe we can go from 31st in passing to 15 or better. we don't need one or two hall of fame types. we just need zay,   kb,  o'leary and clay along with holmes and streeter to make this thing go. i really hope we have hogan 2.0 in reilly, maybe a james lofton in dupri  and who knows about the ufdas.  robert foster who daboll coached, i think makes the team.

he can boogie.

 

edit: sorry i quoted the whole thing...wasn't thinking.

Edited May 10, 2018 by billsredneck1

[Buffalo716]

4 hours ago, Kwai San said:

 

I sure hope so - they threw a truck o bucks at him in what many feel is wasted $$$.  His prime is in his rear view mirror.....I just hope you are right.

 

2 years 5.5 million 

 

and

 

2.5 million guaranteed is truck o bucks? He’s getting veteran backup RB money

 

I don’t think that’s crazy $

 

guys like Rex burkhead have 3 year 9.75 million dollar deals

 

i feel it’s fair value for a good backup back