2020 Bills had the most productive WR Corp in the NFL since the 1995 Falcons

[Big Turk]

That is pretty crazy...Bills WR corp was the most productive in the NFL the past 25 years since the 1995 Falcons had 315 catches running the Run 'N Shoot under June Jones and featured 3 1,000 yard receivers in Eric Metcalf(yes that Metcalf, that crushed us in the 1989 playoff game with a KO return for a TD against the Browns), Terrence Mathis and Bert Emmanuel and Jeff George as QB.  Metcalf was signed by ATL that year and converted into a WR from his normal 3rd down RB/pass catching back role with the Browns and had 104 catches on the season, by far his most productive in the NFL, and the only season with more than 63 receptions.

 

Ironically a lot of what the Bills run on offense with the option routes tie back to those Run 'N Shoot concepts which were completely revolutionary back then.

 

https://subscribe.buffalonews.com/e/limit-reached-bn?returnURL=https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/offense-review-bills-receiving-corps-put-up-top-nfl-season-in-25-years/article_dbc3d3c6-627b-11eb-934d-5fae90b2e3b0.html

Edited February 1, 2021 by Big Turk

[Dukestreetking]

Huh? I'm surprised there are no replies to this potentially huge and fascinating topic.

 

@Big Turk: thanks out to you, and I hate to impose...

 

But perhaps you could give us a bit more on this (I can't get past subscriber wall, and I'm sure others are in same boat).

 

To narrow it down: how is "productivity" defined in the article? Also, maybe a bit more re how Bills receivers met/exceeded 95 Falcons.

 

I'm with you brother! But could use some more justification re the assertion.

[RoyBatty is alive]

Maybe it is a reflection of how lame or RBS and TEs were in receiving the ball.

[PrimeTime101]

6 hours ago, Big Turk said:

That is pretty crazy...Bills WR corp was the most productive in the NFL the past 25 years since the 1995 Falcons had 315 catches running the Run 'N Shoot under June Jones and featured 3 1,000 yard receivers in Eric Metcalf(yes that Metcalf, that crushed us in the 1989 playoff game with a KO return for a TD against the Browns), Terrence Mathis and Bert Emmanuel and Jeff George as QB.  Metcalf was signed by ATL that year and converted into a WR from his normal 3rd down RB/pass catching back role with the Browns and had 104 catches on the season, by far his most productive in the NFL, and the only season with more than 63 receptions.

 

Ironically a lot of what the Bills run on offense with the option routes tie back to those Run 'N Shoot concepts which were completely revolutionary back then.

 

https://subscribe.buffalonews.com/e/limit-reached-bn?returnURL=https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/offense-review-bills-receiving-corps-put-up-top-nfl-season-in-25-years/article_dbc3d3c6-627b-11eb-934d-5fae90b2e3b0.html

Turk do you think this fact tells a story of how bad our HB's/TE's really are?  I mean can you imagine if we had solid talent in either of those 2 positions??

[Big Turk]

23 minutes ago, Dukestreetking said:

Huh? I'm surprised there are no replies to this potentially huge and fascinating topic.

 

@Big Turk: thanks out to you, and I hate to impose...

 

But perhaps you could give us a bit more on this (I can't get past subscriber wall, and I'm sure others are in same boat).

 

To narrow it down: how is "productivity" defined in the article? Also, maybe a bit more re how Bills receivers met/exceeded 95 Falcons.

 

I'm with you brother! But could use some more justification re the assertion.

 

Try opening the link in an incognito window(if you use chrome) and it should let you view it.  

 

It is going by number of receptions. Bills WRs had 312 this year.

 

Also talked about how remarkable a turnaround it has been considering the Bills only had 115 WR receptions in 2017 which was tied for the worst total in the NFL over the past 12 years, and in 2018 they ranked 31st with 149 WR receptions.

 

It also said the Bills total catches for WRs is the 6th most in NFL history, next to the 1990, 1991 and 1992 Houston Oilers and the 1994 and 1995 Atlanta Falcons, which were all proponents of the Run 'N Shoot offense. 

 

Bills operated out of the spread an NFL most 87.5% of the time this year.  The Bengals were the only other team over 80% at 83%.  

 

The Bills ran 11 personnel(1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) on 72.8% of their plays and 10 personnel(1 RB, 0 TE, 4 WR) on 13.3%.  They ran 20 personnel(2 RB, 0 TE, 3 WR) on 7.8%.  

 

The NFL averages for these were: 59.5%, 2.1% and 0.7%.

 

The Bills also were the most aggressive passing team on 1st down thru the first 3 quarters of the game, throwing on 65% of their plays.  KC was 2nd at 60%.

 

However, there is room for improvement:

 

Bills ranked 31st in TE Completions with only 46.

Bills ranked 25th in RB Completions with only 68.

 

NFL averages for those were 76(TE) and 79(RB).

 

Bills use of 2 TE sets(12 personnel) was way down as well, only using it 7.8% of plays down from 20.4% last year and well under the NFL average of 20%.

 

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, PrimeTime101 said:

Turk do you think this fact tells a story of how bad our HB's/TE's really are?  I mean can you imagine if we had solid talent in either of those 2 positions??

 

I think it is more of a reflection that Allen likes attacking deep first, then intermediate and then to the checkdowns.  KC took advantage of his impatience in the AFC Championship game.  Players were open underneath and he wanted to keep pushing it downfield to the WRs.

Edited February 1, 2021 by Big Turk

[PrimeTime101]

17 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Try opening the link in an incognito window(if you use chrome) and it should let you view it.  

 

It is going by number of receptions. Bills WRs had 312 this year.

 

Also talked about how remarkable a turnaround it has been considering the Bills only had 115 WR receptions in 2017 which was tied for the worst total in the NFL over the past 12 years, and in 2018 they ranked 31st with 149 WR receptions.

 

It also said the Bills total catches for WRs is the 6th most in NFL history, next to the 1990, 1991 and 1992 Houston Oilers and the 1994 and 1995 Atlanta Falcons, which were all proponents of the Run 'N Shoot offense. 

 

Bills operated out of the spread an NFL most 87.5% of the time this year.  The Bengals were the only other team over 80% at 83%.  

 

The Bills ran 11 personnel(1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) on 72.8% of their plays and 10 personnel(1 RB, 0 TE, 4 WR) on 13.3%.  They ran 20 personnel(2 RB, 0 TE, 3 WR) on 7.8%.  

 

The NFL averages for these were: 59.5%, 2.1% and 0.7%.

 

The Bills also were the most aggressive passing team on 1st down thru the first 3 quarters of the game, throwing on 65% of their plays.  KC was 2nd at 60%.

 

However, there is room for improvement:

 

Bills ranked 31st in TE Completions with only 46.

Bills ranked 25th in RB Completions with only 68.

 

NFL averages for those were 76(TE) and 79(RB).

 

Bills use of 2 TE sets(12 personnel) was way down as well, only using it 7.8% of plays down from 20.4% last year and well under the NFL average of 20%.

 

 

 

 

 

I think it is more of a reflection that Allen likes attacking deep first, then intermediate and then to the checkdowns.  KC took advantage of his impatience in the AFC Championship game.  Players were open underneath and he wanted to keep pushing it downfield to the WRs.

oh I whole heartedly disagree with you here. Dropped passes my our TE's and RB's so often.. the QB stops trusting them. Was Josh Pushing much of this game? yes.. but I think most of the time he didn't have a choice.. + no one was getting open

[Dukestreetking]

28 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

Also talked about how remarkable a turnaround it has been considering the Bills only had 115 WR receptions in 2017 which was tied for the worst total in the NFL over the past 12 years, and in 2018 they ranked 31st with 149 WR receptions.

 

It also said the Bills total catches for WRs is the 6th most in NFL history, next to the 1990, 1991 and 1992 Houston Oilers and the 1994 and 1995 Atlanta Falcons, which were all proponents of the Run 'N Shoot offense. 

  

Great info! Wow, blown away. I can't (or can I??) believe '20 Bills were 6th ranked in NFL history for WR catches.

 

As you say, this reflects the profound offensive changes in just 2+ yrs (i.e, Big Blue gettin' 'er done).

 

And, btw, thanks for suggestion to pull up article. I actually use firefox on my android phone for variety of security reasons, but still could not read via Incognito. Alas, BNews in outsmarting my dumb ass.

[Warcodered]

Well I mean we had one of most effective offenses in the League and we didn't run.

[Frat-Train]

So TE and RB in the draft?  SOLD!

[Punching Bag]

7 hours ago, Big Turk said:

That is pretty crazy...Bills WR corp was the most productive in the NFL the past 25 years since the 1995 Falcons had 315 catches running the Run 'N Shoot under June Jones and featured 3 1,000 yard receivers in Eric Metcalf(yes that Metcalf, that crushed us in the 1989 playoff game with a KO return for a TD against the Browns), Terrence Mathis and Bert Emmanuel and Jeff George as QB.  Metcalf was signed by ATL that year and converted into a WR from his normal 3rd down RB/pass catching back role with the Browns and had 104 catches on the season, by far his most productive in the NFL, and the only season with more than 63 receptions.

 

Ironically a lot of what the Bills run on offense with the option routes tie back to those Run 'N Shoot concepts which were completely revolutionary back then.

 

https://subscribe.buffalonews.com/e/limit-reached-bn?returnURL=https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/offense-review-bills-receiving-corps-put-up-top-nfl-season-in-25-years/article_dbc3d3c6-627b-11eb-934d-5fae90b2e3b0.html

 

1 hour ago, Big Turk said:

Try opening the link in an incognito window(if you use chrome) and it should let you view it.  

 

I tried that without the front part and still have issue from work. 

 

Usually I can save the page and open it in another browser like Seamonkey which has edit page capability but still cannot so this page is coded differently.

[BuffaninSarasota]

Corp, corpse, or corps? ..... discuss

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

And if the Bills don’t get a running game. 
 

the results may be the same. Good but never good enough.  

[PrimeTime101]

4 minutes ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

And if the Bills don’t get a running game. 
 

the results may be the same. Good but never good enough.  

yea but not where we have to run it 20-30 times again, but just enough where the threat is there

[Mr. WEO]

That Metcalf/Emmanuel/Mathis/Jeff George were the bar for productivity over the past 25 years kind of takes the shine off the accomplishment/stat.

 

I'm more surprised that forgettable Quartet was that good.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

18 minutes ago, PrimeTime101 said:

yea but not where we have to run it 20-30 times again, but just enough where the threat is there

if the results are 20-30 rushing and ~ 30 passing and win after win. 
 

it’s called balance. jmo

I’ve said it many times that you have to be able to do it.  Not necessarily always use it 

 

[Don Otreply]

59 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

Well I mean we had one of most effective offenses in the League and we didn't run.

I hear ya, 

can you imagine what a juggernaut our Offense would be if we ran “effectively” on twenty percent “ish” of our snaps, hell, we could win it all if that were the case. Frankly I think the GM & HC sees this and will make that happen. 
 

Go Bills!!!

[Dukestreetking]

2 hours ago, BuffaninSarasota said:

Corp, corpse, or corps? ..... discuss

Definitely corps...

usually thought of as a group of people working together (and bonus play: it has both  singular and plural applications).

 

Unless you're Barack Obama, then for sure it's "corpse-man".

 

[Mods: I swear to God, not being political!! It's just an obscure joke that nobody will remember...but some folks of my professional tribe took note of, across many persuasions]

[Big Turk]

2 hours ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

if the results are 20-30 rushing and ~ 30 passing and win after win. 
 

it’s called balance. jmo

I’ve said it many times that you have to be able to do it.  Not necessarily always use it 

 

 

Nobody is looking for balance where they run it and pass it equally. Running the ball is almost always a worse choice than passing it these days. However when teams are making it easy for you to run it and harder to pass it and you still can't run it that is where you get into issues...

 

They only need to be able to take advantage of the situations as they come up.

[njbuff]

It cost the Bills in the end as the entire WR corps wasn't up to the challenge in the AFC Championship game due to being severely limited because of injuries.

 

Hopefully the Bills WR's aren't as banged up this time next year.

[BruceVilanch]

1 hour ago, Dukestreetking said:

corpse-man".

if your calling for a corpsman, there is a chance you could be going to see a corpse man.

[PrimeTime101]

11 hours ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

if the results are 20-30 rushing and ~ 30 passing and win after win. 
 

it’s called balance. jmo

I’ve said it many times that you have to be able to do it.  Not necessarily always use it 

 

agree

[colin]

crazy!

 

seems to me josh, the system, and diggs are what makes that possible.  it's weak that the best wr team in the nfl, with a deadly running qb, can get stymied with the scheme kc put on us.  it's just a glaring hole we have at RB and TE, not to mention internal blocking.  the good thing is that is a low cost/value position grouping, so we SHOULD be able to get better there with a quickness

[The Jokeman]

13 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

That Metcalf/Emmanuel/Mathis/Jeff George were the bar for productivity over the past 25 years kind of takes the shine off the accomplishment/stat.

 

I'm more surprised that forgettable Quartet was that good.

I remember when we almost signed Emmanuel as a free agent and think he ended up in Tampa instead. 

[machine gun kelly]

Turk, thanks for sharing.  It does speak to how we need the following and not in this order so whatever Beane’s board states.

 

RB

TE

CB

Edge Rusher

Possible LB if we can’t match Milano’s offer from someone else

 O Lineman assuming we can’t retain everyone.

 

We should get Star back so that solves a huge problem in Oliver and Edmunds being more effective.  Someone on another thread stated astutely a big 1 technique DT is essential for McD’s style defense.  I agree, and looked back at Jimmy Johnson who McD learned under and he had a similar, not exact scheme for his defenses.

 

We hit on those in the draft, and we can maybe beat the one team keeping us from the SB.

[PrimeTime101]

14 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

Turk, thanks for sharing.  It does speak to how we need the following and not in this order so whatever Beane’s board states.

 

RB

TE

CB

Edge Rusher

Possible LB if we can’t match Milano’s offer from someone else

 O Lineman assuming we can’t retain everyone.

 

We should get Star back so that solves a huge problem in Oliver and Edmunds being more effective.  Someone on another thread stated astutely a big 1 technique DT is essential for McD’s style defense.  I agree, and looked back at Jimmy Johnson who McD learned under and he had a similar, not exact scheme for his defenses.

 

We hit on those in the draft, and we can maybe beat the one team keeping us from the SB.

RB? Round 1. draft... TE? maybe FA upgrade.. idk we need a one tech DT before we get an edge rusher.. someone big. I absolutely believe its been a trickle down effect that starts at DT, works towards the ends and effects the LB crew. Oliver having a big dude next to him will make his job easier, then as Oliver gets better game day due to what's by him it trickles to the DE's and LBS.  its either DT, Edge Rusher or CB... your not going to get them all this year do to cap issues..

 

Nickle defense being played all the time has to stop. to much Vanilla with this defense 

[That's No Moon]

On 2/1/2021 at 6:38 PM, Mr. WEO said:

That Metcalf/Emmanuel/Mathis/Jeff George were the bar for productivity over the past 25 years kind of takes the shine off the accomplishment/stat.

 

I'm more surprised that forgettable Quartet was that good.

Because Jeff George is/was such a douche noodle that team doesn't get the respect they deserve for the offense they put up.

 

Metcalf, Mathis, and Emanuel all had over 1k yards receiving that year, Craig Heyward also ran for 1k yards and George threw for 4100 yards that year when that was still a rare occurrence.  

 

4.1k passer

3 - 1k WRs

1k RB

 

That's silly production, particularly for the time. The player who led the league in passing that year was Brett Favre. He had 1 1k WR and a 1k RB.

 

The Chiefs by all accounts are the offensive gold standard in the league right now. This year they had:

4.7k passer

2 - 1k receivers (a TE and a WR)

800 yard RB

 

We all speak in hushed/reverent tones about the 1991 Bills offense.

Kelly threw for 3800 yards, Thomas ran for 1400, Reed and Lofton each had ~1100 yards.  The 95 Falcons were arguably better offensively.

Edited February 3, 2021 by That's No Moon

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

On 2/1/2021 at 8:58 PM, Big Turk said:

 

Nobody is looking for balance where they run it and pass it equally. Running the ball is almost always a worse choice than passing it these days. However when teams are making it easy for you to run it and harder to pass it and you still can't run it that is where you get into issues...

 

They only need to be able to take advantage of the situations as they come up.

 

I never said they had to be run heavy.  I should have shortened the run # to 20-25 as that would have been more accurate.

 

Successful teams need to be able to do both as the game dictates. 

 

Are these cliche's BS?  "pass to open up the run", the run really set up the pass? 

 

So, are we Bills just failing the eye test?  

 

2020 Passing Play % 

10 Kansas City 61.82%

11 Buffalo Bills  61.71%

 

60% is ~ 20 run 33 pass.

 

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/passing-play-pct

[Big Turk]

1 minute ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

 

I never said they had to be run heavy.  I should have shortened the run # to 20-25 as that would have been more accurate.

 

Successful teams need to be able to do both as the game dictates. 

 

Are these cliche's BS?  "pass to open up the run", the run really set up the pass? 

 

So, are we Bills just failing the eye test?  

 

2020 Passing Play % 

10 Kansas City 61.82%

11 Buffalo Bills  61.71%

 

60% is ~ 20 run 33 pass.

 

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/passing-play-pct

 

Those numbers are skewed because there are a lot of Allen runs which initially were passes and he scrambled.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

more on a "need to do both"

 

Look at Brady's career. (years 1 , 2, and 3)   He was more successful when they ran the ball.

2002 was 2nd year and they tried to give Tom the reigns too early and then finished 2nd in the Div. 

 

2003 100.4 YPG - 29.6 A/G

2002  94.3  YPG - 24.7 A/G

2001 112.1  YPG - 29.6 A/G

[Mr. WEO]

9 hours ago, That's No Moon said:

Because Jeff George is/was such a douche noodle that team doesn't get the respect they deserve for the offense they put up.

 

Metcalf, Mathis, and Emanuel all had over 1k yards receiving that year, Craig Heyward also ran for 1k yards and George threw for 4100 yards that year when that was still a rare occurrence.  

 

4.1k passer

3 - 1k WRs

1k RB

 

That's silly production, particularly for the time. The player who led the league in passing that year was Brett Favre. He had 1 1k WR and a 1k RB.

 

The Chiefs by all accounts are the offensive gold standard in the league right now. This year they had:

4.7k passer

2 - 1k receivers (a TE and a WR)

800 yard RB

 

We all speak in hushed/reverent tones about the 1991 Bills offense.

Kelly threw for 3800 yards, Thomas ran for 1400, Reed and Lofton each had ~1100 yards.  The 95 Falcons were arguably better offensively.

 

My point was that quartet was completely forgettable on a dud team that went 9-7 and lost a blowout  WC game (to Favre).  They were only the 6th best passing Offense and 27th in rushing.  It took Metcalf an insane 153 targets to get to 1189 yards.  Emanuel caught only 54% of his targets.  

 

Heyward was done after '95--his one stellar year in the NFL.  Likewise, Metcalf was a JAG until that season, and then he quickly returned to one as his career fizzled.  Metcalf peaked that year as weel, had 2 more solid years and then quickly fizzled out.  MAthis is the only one who had a significant career as a WR before and after that season.

 

The reason the shine is off this stat is because it is an anomaly achieved by an offense that relied solely on 4 guys and the QB for 90+% of the output.  Even back then, I bet there are a bunch of teams who could have done the same if they ran the Offenses in such a restricted way.  Also, other than Metcalf, they were a bunch of bums.