Daboll is an excellent play caller

[Buffalo Barbarian]

For all the "fans" complaining about Brian Daboll maybe you should learn from people who actually know something about football.

 

Eric Wood - 

 

"offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has been very consistent in the offense he dials up in that it’s creative, but it’s also simple. There are straight ahead runs up the middle and some simple outside zones, which have been successful. The team has been great with the jet sweep motions. Against Miami, they ran a fake reverse motion with Isaiah McKenzie and then got him out with the swing pass. It’s basically an extended hand-off, which is great for a young quarterback like Josh Allen. It’s a successful throw for the quarterback and it gets your playmakers out in space. This type of creativity is why I love watching this offense take the field.

 

 

I think there’s always a constant balance of doing what you’re good at and constantly evolving as well so you’re not showing defenses the same thing each week. They have done a spectacular job of doing just that. Each week presents you different mismatches and weaknesses in different spots, you obviously want to attack those. It would be easy to say that in the last game the Dolphins secondary was the weakness and probably the same for the Eagles this week, so there will be a lot of emphasis on the passing game this week. "

 

https://www.buffalobills.com/news/eric-wood-5-observations-on-the-5-1-buffalo-bills

[stuvian]

running Gore 3 x in a row on the goal line was real innovative

[Chandler#81]

I agree, BB. I’m glad we have him.

[HOUSE]

[ProcessTruster]

wait... all you fair weather fans wanted him fired 7 days ago... well I guess it is a fan board.  If they lose this Sunday , you'll be firing him a week from today

 

trust the process

[atlbillsfan1975]

I’ve been watching football for 40 years and played for 10 years. My biggest gripe with Daboll is his use of personnel. Example-using DiMarco on a 30 yard wheel route down the sideline where Patrick would of had to make an over the shoulder catch. I have never seen DiMarco make a catch like this ever, and I live in Atlanta and watch the Falcons a ton. 

As for his play calling it’s frustrating at times to watch him not abandon something a little sooner when it isn’t working, the Gore short yardage is becoming ineffective. On the flip side not using Beasley more has been a head scratcher. 

While Daboll isn’t the worst out there he also isn’t the best. I still don’t like him becoming so emotional while trying to coach Josh during the game. Daboll isn’t going anywhere for this season so I hope he gets better as he learns all what everyone is good at. I do give Daboll a bit of a pass because he is working with so many new players on offense. 

[fansince88]

24 minutes ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

I’ve been watching football for 40 years and played for 10 years. My biggest gripe with Daboll is his use of personnel. Example-using DiMarco on a 30 yard wheel route down the sideline where Patrick would of had to make an over the shoulder catch. I have never seen DiMarco make a catch like this ever, and I live in Atlanta and watch the Falcons a ton. 

As for his play calling it’s frustrating at times to watch him not abandon something a little sooner when it isn’t working, the Gore short yardage is becoming ineffective. On the flip side not using Beasley more has been a head scratcher. 

While Daboll isn’t the worst out there he also isn’t the best. I still don’t like him becoming so emotional while trying to coach Josh during the game. Daboll isn’t going anywhere for this season so I hope he gets better as he learns all what everyone is good at. I do give Daboll a bit of a pass because he is working with so many new players on offense. 

I love the balance of your post.  Agreed most with your reply.

[Dopey]

1 hour ago, stuvian said:

running Gore 3 x in a row on the goal line was real innovative

Refresh my memory, did we score a td on that drive?

[Mc1320]

Eric Wood is on payroll and gets paid to tow the company line, just like Chris Brown, Murphy and Tasker.

[Gugny]

I'm a Daboll critic.  I think he has shown that he's capable of calling excellent plays, but the headscratchers are mounting by the week.  He either misuses or under-utilizes players too many times each week.  We've all seen Allen in a groove.  He's fierce.  Too many times (last week's first TD drive, for instance), Daboll will call perfect plays, the players will execute and a beautiful drive ends in 7 .... then he abandons everything that worked in that drive, for the rest of the game.  Get Josh in a groove and keep Josh in the groove.  Daboll isn't doing that.

 

In an otherwise decent post, I'd like to ask why, "fans," is in quotation marks.  Daboll's got some good in him and I respect those who think he's doing a fine job.  We are, after all, 6-2.

 

To insinuate that Daboll critics aren't real fans is a pretty juvenile take.  Some fans are very happy with the current state of the Bills because they're 6-2.  Some of those fans are very happy, but still want necessary improvements to be made .... and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Gugny

[CommonCents]

He eliminated the QB runs last week and started Singletary. I think some of that came from the HC. The team is better off. 

 

I’m fine with him now as long as it stays this way. 

[Niagara Bill]

The best step Daboll has made is to developed the ballhandling skills for Josh. He is very comfortable with various handoff styles and hiding the ball.

In the long term this will play out well.

[stuvian]

45 minutes ago, Dopey said:

Refresh my memory, did we score a td on that drive?

only after similarly crashing our franchise QB into said pile

[timekills17]

2 hours ago, stuvian said:

running Gore 3 x in a row on the goal line was real innovative

 

I realize this will come across as homerism, or typical fan optimism trying to find good in the darkness but...

 

After some further time to consider, maybe there was more than one reason Dabes tried to pound it in three times (or five times if you include later 3rd &2 and 4th down failed attempts.)

 

Sure - maybe be it was because after they tried once, he knew that they knew we wouldn't try again. And then the third time, no WAY we'd try again.

But I don't believe that (trying to out think the Redskins defense) was the reason.

 

I think it was actually BECAUSE we knew that's their (Redskins') strength. We were stressed as fans because we've seen these games go south too quickly. But if you're a non-emotional observer, besides running for a bunch of yards in the first half, this game was never in doubt. 

 

This was an opportunity to evaluate his offensive line in a couple of groupings in a game and time where it wasn't IMPERATIVE that we score/make the first down. It did eventually show what most people assume works actually worked - the QB sneak with a 250 lb 6'5" QB. He called it when we had to have it, and we got it.

 

Additionally, it sure fooled the Skins on the play with Motor. After pounding our way up the middle multiple times throughout the game, and running JA, that half second delay in the read before he gave it to Singletary got everyone going the wrong way for his TD scamper.

 

Again - I readily admit I'm probably reaching. But these guys, regardless of our opinion, aren't idiots. This was a chance to evaluate that you never get in practice, and prepare for when you REALLY need it.

Edited November 6, 2019 by timekills17
Typos. Geez.

[Matt_In_NH]

I believe the issues are talent and execution deficiencies rather than play calling.  There are a lot of complaints about the play calling but I have loved the play calling in general.  4th and 2 QB sneak, not so much.   It is easy to second guess the play calls when the players don't execute.   It has been creative, pass heavy at times, run heavy at times...all based on game plan and match ups.  The line has had some breakdowns and Allen has not been good on long passes or more in general reading and reacting in the rhythm of the offense. 

[PlayoffsPlease]

Daboll's bigger problem is pretty bad play design. Also earlier this year  John Brown said it was the most complicated offense he ever played in. That does not seem to jive with wood's assessment. 

 

At this point the Allen-Daboll combo is not great. Maybe its Allen, maybe its Daboll.  Before I would assign the word "excellent" to the Bills offense, I would like to see them score more points against their opponents than the league does on average.  Through the first 8 games, the Bills are scoring 16% fewer points against our opponents, than other teams have. This may not be a disaster. But it is quite clearly not excellent. 

[Dopey]

1 minute ago, stuvian said:

only after similarly crashing our franchise QB into said pile

So we scored? Good job Daboll. Yea, I saw it. Just cuz he didn't do what you wanted doesn't mean he's wrong. Allen has cut down on turnovers, by a lot. We're really good in the red zone. We're on pace for over 2k yds rushing. That's a good game plan for a qb who's started less than 20 games and is still learning. I think he's doing a damn good job. Now, if your asking for perfection, good luck. Even Andy Reid can't do that.

 

 

[Matt_In_NH]

2 hours ago, stuvian said:

running Gore 3 x in a row on the goal line was real innovative

 

I get it but at the same time they did get a TD on that drive vs the previous time they were down there and called "innovative" plays where they just went backwards.  The issue is execution and talent, not the play calling in my opinion.

[whatdrought]

I think Daboll has created some fantastic plays and has shown that at any given time, our offense can do 10 different things really well and he successful moving the ball. 

 

I think the complaint against Daboll is that within each game, he struggles to build consistancy. From the outside it looks like he’s getting too cute, or that he’s scared to commit to whatever the defense is giving us. We need to be willing to do what works until the other team sells out to stop it- then move to the next thing.

[PromoTheRobot]

His play calling lately has been baffling. I feel like he's not making the best use of his playmakers.

[Chicken Boo]

Michael Jordan is the GOAT and can't assemble a  competitive basketball team to save his life.  Who is Eric Wood, in the grand scheme of things?   

 

I know what I see.  Daboll has his moments, both good and bad.  The bad is really bad.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Chicken Boo

[george c]

Geez...

We’re not Cleveland. Let’s not fire everyone on a whim... Let them develop the team and the players for gods sake. 

Daboll is and should be our coordinator for the foreseeable future. 

[Don Otreply]

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

I'm a Daboll critic.  I think he has shown that he's capable of calling excellent plays, but the headscratchers are mounting by the week.  He either misuses or under-utilizes players too many times each week.  We've all seen Allen in a groove.  He's fierce.  Too many times (last week's first TD drive, for instance), Daboll will call perfect plays, the players will execute and a beautiful drive ends in 7 .... then he abandons everything that worked in that drive, for the rest of the game.  Get Josh in a groove and keep Josh in the groove.  Daboll isn't doing that.

 

In an otherwise decent post, I'd like to ask why, "fans," is in quotation marks.  Daboll's got some good in him and I respect those who think he's doing a fine job.  We are, after all, 6-2.

 

To insinuate that Daboll critics aren't real fans is a pretty juvenile take.  Some fans are very happy with the current state of the Bills because they're 6-2.  Some of those fans are very happy, but still want necessary improvements to be made .... and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

 

 

I agree with you, but I will say this, even after a win the whiners whine, and there is no mention of the win, or what was done well in their posts, and it’s not an occasional thing, it’s virtually every time they post. Yes it is totally obvious the team needs improvement, and everyone already knows this, but an ada boy now and then would be cool, don’t ya think?

 

Go Bills!!!

[offyourocker]

3 hours ago, stuvian said:

running Gore 3 x in a row on the goal line was real innovative

 

I was super frustrated when it happened.  But after sleeping on it, this is where your line has to win.  Good teams can do this and break through.  Nothing more frustrating for a defense then being beaten when you know what they are doing.

[Olympus]

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

I'm a Daboll critic.  I think he has shown that he's capable of calling excellent plays, but the headscratchers are mounting by the week.  He either misuses or under-utilizes players too many times each week.  We've all seen Allen in a groove.  He's fierce.  Too many times (last week's first TD drive, for instance), Daboll will call perfect plays, the players will execute and a beautiful drive ends in 7 .... then he abandons everything that worked in that drive, for the rest of the game.  Get Josh in a groove and keep Josh in the groove.  Daboll isn't doing that.

 

In an otherwise decent post, I'd like to ask why, "fans," is in quotation marks.  Daboll's got some good in him and I respect those who think he's doing a fine job.  We are, after all, 6-2.

 

To insinuate that Daboll critics aren't real fans is a pretty juvenile take.  Some fans are very happy with the current state of the Bills because they're 6-2.  Some of those fans are very happy, but still want necessary improvements to be made .... and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

 

 

Your posts are refreshingly reasonable and I appreciate your contribution to this board. We're all here to discuss Buffalo Bills football and not the validity of each other's passion. I genuinely believe that the people that are mad at Dabol running Gore 3 straight times at the 1 yard line, are the same people that got mad at Dabol for being "too cute" on the 2 yard line the drive before. When we got to the 1-yard line after the catch from Knox, I said out loud while watching, "Just run the ball with Frank until its a touchdown or 4th down.". That genuinely made the most sense to me, and even sitting here with the hindsight of the results, I STILL think it was the right decision. Frank Gore is a savy vet who's a power runner with as good of ball security as we could ask for.

 

 

Oh, and we have the highest offensive red zone efficiency in the NFL halfway through the season. That's near impossible to do with bad playcalling imo.

[Motorin']

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

I'm a Daboll critic.  I think he has shown that he's capable of calling excellent plays, but the headscratchers are mounting by the week.  He either misuses or under-utilizes players too many times each week.  We've all seen Allen in a groove.  He's fierce.  Too many times (last week's first TD drive, for instance), Daboll will call perfect plays, the players will execute and a beautiful drive ends in 7 .... then he abandons everything that worked in that drive, for the rest of the game.  Get Josh in a groove and keep Josh in the groove.  Daboll isn't doing that.

 

In an otherwise decent post, I'd like to ask why, "fans," is in quotation marks.  Daboll's got some good in him and I respect those who think he's doing a fine job.  We are, after all, 6-2.

 

To insinuate that Daboll critics aren't real fans is a pretty juvenile take.  Some fans are very happy with the current state of the Bills because they're 6-2.  Some of those fans are very happy, but still want necessary improvements to be made .... and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

 

 

 

There's a world of difference between an honest evaluation of the positive and negative of Daboll's game such as yours, and the drunken rage filled vitriol expressed by a number of posters demanding Daboll be fired last Sunday for his performance against Washington. 

The next 8 games are going to tell us a lot about a number of things. None of us really know who is going to improve and rise to the occasion, and who is going to regress. I'm excited to see how it all plays out, and we have the entire off season to talk about the next steps the team needs to make to improve. 

 

What I'd like to see from Daboll is more consistency in his play calling, exploit what is working and getting the ball more into the hands of Smoke, Motor, Bease. I'll wait until the end of the season to makeup my mind whether I think the Bills should bring Daboll back. 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Motorin'

[Gugny]

15 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

I agree with you, but I will say this, even after a win the whiners whine, and there is no mention of the win, or what was done well in their posts, and it’s not an occasional thing, it’s virtually every time they post. Yes it is totally obvious the team needs improvement, and everyone already knows this, but an ada boy now and then would be cool, don’t ya think?

 

Go Bills!!!

 

Absolutely!!  Credit should be given when due ... and there is credit due in EVERY win.

[TroutDog]

3 hours ago, stuvian said:

running Gore 3 x in a row on the goal line was real innovative

This was discussed on WGR yesterday and they said they are not showing any spread now as to limit what upcoming opponents see. Makes sense. 
 

Also, I must admit I trust recent former professional players over someone on a message board. Doesn’t that make sense?

[SirAndrew]

2 minutes ago, TroutDog said:

This was discussed on WGR yesterday and they said they are not showing any spread now as to limit what upcoming opponents see. Makes sense. 
 

Also, I must admit I trust recent former professional players over someone on a message board. Doesn’t that make sense?

I’ve heard that theory before, but common sense makes me question the validity. What are we saving our “secret” offense for? Are we waiting for the Super Bowl? I mean, an NFL team needs to run their offense, and learn how to play in it. “Hiding” an offense just doesn’t make much sense to me. I understand that during the preseason, but that doesn’t make sense during the regular season imo. 

[TroutDog]

1 minute ago, SirAndrew said:

I’ve heard that theory before, but common sense makes me question the validity. What are we saving our “secret” offense for? Are we waiting for the Super Bowl? I mean, an NFL team needs to run their offense, and learn how to play in it. “Hiding” an offense just doesn’t make much sense to me. I understand that during the preseason, but that doesn’t make sense during the regular season imo. 

It’s not a secret, it’s the SIMPLE fact of showing upcoming opponents as little of your O as possible when a game is already in hand. 
 

It is exceedingly basic and not sure how it’s hard to grasp. 

[Olympus]

3 minutes ago, SirAndrew said:

I’ve heard that theory before, but common sense makes me question the validity. What are we saving our “secret” offense for? Are we waiting for the Super Bowl? I mean, an NFL team needs to run their offense, and learn how to play in it. “Hiding” an offense just doesn’t make much sense to me. I understand that during the preseason, but that doesn’t make sense during the regular season imo. 

I mostly agree. My opinion of a perfect offense is one where you produce not when surprising the defense, but when the defense knew what was coming and we still find a mismatch. In the NFL you can't surprise a defense for much longer than a single drive, and if we want sustainability we need to be able to consistently create mismatches out of the same formation.

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

3 hours ago, stuvian said:

running Gore 3 x in a row on the goal line was real innovative

 

People keep bringing this up. But I read that sequence as a challenge to the offensive line. That situation is one where you expect that, even with the defense know what is coming, your offensive line can plow the path.  If they get it, that is a huge moral booster. Unfortunately, they just didn't get it.  In any event, its not about scheme there. Its about the challenge. 

[Mrbojanglezs]

Tasker said yesterday on OBL that the 3 runs up the middle was them likely not willing to put a lot on tape against an inferior opponent with bigger games coming down the stretch, wonder how much validity there is to that.

 

Probably none because it came from Tasker.

[Wayne Arnold]

I think Daboll is doing fine.

 

The last thing Allen and this franchise needs is another change in offensive coordinator/scheme.

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

29 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

There's a world of difference between an honest evaluation of the positive and negative of Daboll's game such as yours, and the drunken rage filled vitriol expressed by a number of posters demanding Daboll be fired last Sunday for his performance against Washington. 

The next 8 games are going to tell us a lot about a number of things. None of us really know who is going to improve and rise to the occasion, and who is going to regress. I'm excited to see how it all plays out, and we have the entire off season to talk about the next steps the team needs to make to improve. 

 

What I'd like to see from Daboll is more consistency in his play calling, exploit what is working and getting the ball more into the hands of Smoke, Motor, Bease. I'll wait until the end of the season to makeup my mind whether I think the Bills should bring Daboll back. 

 

As a rule, I don't respect two opinions when it comes to OC evaluation: 

 

1. We need to run/pass more! This shows you don't understand the complexity of NFL offenses. 

 

2. Look at the final score! There are so many moving pieces, and so many variables. 

 

There is so much nuance to being an OC, and so much depends on that guys relationship with the QB.  The big things I look at are is the run game working? Is the QB improving? And, are there guys running free in the passing game.  If the answer is yes, all the pieces are there and we just need to work on execution.  But, you expect execution to a problem when you are returning two starters and your QB is a second year project QB. 

[John from Riverside]

So I am not disputing this but the. Why are we score by only like 20 points a game?

[Lieutenant Aldo Raine]

I think there can be a distinction between play designer and play caller.  I think Dabol is actually a great play designer, and I think he is an OK play caller.   As a play caller he can make some great calls and then he will have moments of what are we doing, or he tries to get to cute?  I wonder now that Josh is improving his short game and getting a better handle on the offense, if perhaps he should head back upstairs as some people on this board have suggested.  Let Dorsey deal with Josh on the sidelines.  Perhaps with Dabol upstairs with a birds eye view, he can match is play designs with play calling much better.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Lieutenant Aldo Raine

[Freddie's Dead]

The Eagles blowout was directly attributable to Daboll's game plan, which was to saddle up Josh and eschew the run, giving Josh the rock 42 times, Gore/Singletary only 12.  And don't give me "the game was out of hand" crap.  We were within 2 scores until the 4th QTR, so Daboll abandoning the run in the 2nd half was indefensible.  

 

He did appear to learn from that mistake by finally unwrapping Motor, and feeding him the rock all day long against the Skins.  Let's hope Daboll can stay on that path, and realize that Josh is not ready to carry the load yet.  I'm not sold that he can.  Josh is a shiny toy, and Daboll's like a kid who monopolizes his play time with that toy.  Mix Mr. Potatohead and Slinky Dog in with Buzz Lightyear, Dabes.

[kenny3000]

4 hours ago, stuvian said:

running Gore 3 x in a row on the goal line was real innovative

 

I won't lie, first 2 times I was like "hand that effing ball off" ?‍♂️

[Tatonka68]

Constantly handing off to Gore in short yardage over and over when it doesn't work is BEYOND stupid. And then when Gore breaks out with a good run, he goes to the bench the next play. HE IS TERRIBLE!