NYUP (Parrino) and Rochester D&C (Maiorana )articles: McDermott presser/run game/various expert takes

[Hapless Bills Fan]

https://www.newyorkupstate.com/buffalo-bills/2021/11/bills-sean-mcdermott-promises-adjustments-discusses-failure-to-run-the-ball.html

 

Pretty much Parrino just reporting on what was tweeted out from McDermott's presser

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Sean McDermott wasn’t planning to still be answering questions about a bad Buffalo Bills run game halfway through this season, but the fifth-year coach found himself doing just that Wednesday after a brutal nine-carry, 22-yard performance from his running backs in a 9-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.

 

“I thought we’d be further along. I thought that we would have progressed in that area,” McDermott said. “It is something that we need to do and do better if we want to be the team that we’re trying to become.”

 

Parrino makes a cogent point about the degree to which Josh Allen has become our run game as well as our passing game:

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The Bills (5-3) ranked 20th in the NFL in rushing last season at nearly 108 yards per game, but quarterback Josh Allen provided about 25% of that production. This year that figure is even higher. Allen is second on the team in rushing behind only Devin Singletary (355 yards) and ahead of Zack Moss (233 yards). Allen’s 319 rushing yards are 33% of the team’s total through eight games.

 

Parrino doesn't comment on the overall rushing rank of this season (11 for yds, 12 for attempts) which is higher than last year.

 

An interesting point I noticed:

Motor + Moss have almost identical rush ypg this year vs last - 77 ypg last year, 80 ypg this year.

 

On the other hand, Allen's rush ypg are up, from 26 ypg last season to 40 ypg this season.

So are his rush attempts, from 6.4 to 7.1 attempts per game

 

So basically, the people who comment that we haven't improved our rushing game have a point - Allen appears to be responsible for the improvement.

 

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One of the biggest concerns fans seem to have about the struggling Bills offense is how one-dimensional it seems at times. Going back to last season, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll would heavily rely on the passing game for long stretches in games because defenses couldn’t defend Allen and the talented receivers. Now that defensive coordinators have adjusted and are taking deep balls away from the offense, the run games doesn’t force defenses to change how they’re playing the Bills.

 

Parrino has that right.

 

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McDermott doesn’t think the Bills offense is in the middle of a crisis. He just thinks adjustments must be made - and good teams can make them.

“I can promise you that adjustments are being made,” McDermott said. “Whether you see them or not, that’s what good teams do.

 

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But as coaches, that’s what we get paid to do is to adjust, try and stay out in front of things the best you can. And that’s what my teammates, these players, these coaches look for me to do. And that’s what we’re doing.”

 

The question is, are there adjustments to be made with the same player personnel?

 

And further - if there are adjustments, will they be sustained? 

 

Last season, we talked about improving the run game.  We had a great, run-focused game against the Patriots (190 rush yards), then two games where we hardly ran, possibly by intention.  We talked about improving the run at the bye week, came out of the bye and ran for 172 yds, then kind of put that away again.

 

As Parrino quotes McDermott "I thought we would have progressed in that area". 

 

What took him so long to notice that we haven't?

 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Rather than start another thread, I thought I'd link this and some comments here

Sal Maiorana take

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/football/nfl/bills/2021/11/09/buffalo-bills-offense-needs-fix-these-three-issues-solve-slump/6337395001/

 

1.  "Josh Allen needs more help than he's getting"  Maiorana points out that various former QB/pundits have all come to the same conclusion, that the Bills offense is "Josh Allen and Nothing Else":

Drew Brees:

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“As hot as Buffalo started this season, they have really cooled off,” said Drew Brees, the recently retired future Hall of Famer who ranks second in league history in passing yards behind that guy who used to play for the Patriots. “This offense just has not been the same. They have not been able to protect Josh Allen, but in large part because they have not been able to run the football, they’ve just been dropping back and being teed off on.”

 

Chris Simms:

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“It’s too Josh Allen-centric,” he said. “They have no run game. It’s all about him making plays. There’s not a lot of separation in the pass game downfield. He can’t be one of the best quarterbacks and the leading rusher for your team, and the guy you expect to make play after play for your team week after week.”

 

Boomer Esiason:

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He does need to be better, but according to CBS’ Boomer Esiason, so does offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

“Now all of a sudden, what is Brian Daboll doing?” Esiason said after the game. “Doesn’t he have to sit down with the quarterback and just say, ‘Hey, look man, this is what we’re trying to do. This is our plan. You don’t have to do this all yourself.’  .....

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s a superstar. He’s a great player. But right now, in the last couple of weeks, I don’t know what’s going on up there. They just need to get back to calling the right plays, but someone has to hold the offensive coordinator accountable and say, ‘Come on in here. Let’s sit down and talk about what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. And how we can get it back to the right side of the ledger.’”

 

Maiorana's take:

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Simms is right. Allen may have been the runner-up MVP in 2020, but he’s not having nearly the same type of season this year and while he’s responsible for some of it such as the three turnover meltdown Sunday, he’s also pressing because his teammates are letting him down.

 

Mairoana goes on to point out problems that most of the folks here will totally agree with:

2. "The OL is a disaster".  He calls Cody Ford a bust, and points out the "one that got away", Wyatt Teller, as well as the apparent miscue of re-signing Williams and Feliciano while letting Spain go.  I'm pretty close to using that "b" word myself for Ford, but it's a little interesting that he appears to give Dawkins (whose play has slipped) and Boettger (who was servicable last season) a pass.  We need to expect far more from our Franchise LT.

 

Anyway no one can argue with the conclusion:

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When the 2022 offseason starts, the Bills have to search high and low for offensive line upgrades.

 

3. "Stefon Diggs needs more opportunities".  I'm not sure how much of this is scheme, and how much of this is a determination to focus on Sanders.  But while I think Sanders is a good WR, for whatever reason he hasn't been coming through in games.  His overall catch % is 54.9%, and while some of that is overthrows, some of it appears to be he's not where and when Allen expects him to be, or he doesn't haul it in.  I need less gushing in pressers and more catching in games from Manny Sands.

 

4. "The Buffalo Bills running game is non-existent" 

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This has been an ongoing issue that I’ve been harping on all year. When Allen hands the ball off, the Bills can’t run. The line is inept in run blocking, and when you have RBs like Devin Singletary and Zack Moss who need clear lanes to make things happen, you’re going nowhere.

Trying to run on first-and-goal at the 3 on their first possession ultimately cost the Bills a chance to score a touchdown as they settled for a field goal. It sounds silly, but that 3-yard loss by Moss wound up being one of the biggest plays of the game in hindsight.

Singletary and Moss, before he got hurt, combined for 22 yards on nine carries. The Bills ran seven times on first down and gained a grand total of 10 yards. It’s unacceptable, and as Simms said, the lack of any running threat has really handcuffed the offense. 

 

I don't think any of us would disagree with the above, but while some would agree with his conclusion:

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But even if Moss is healthy, I say give Breida a chance anyway because he would give the Jets defense a different look with his speed. Seriously, can he be any less productive than Moss and Singletary?

Um, Maiorana?  Did you look at the film from the Pittsburgh game?

 

The answer is "Yes.  Yes, with 4 yds on 4 carries, he could, in fact, be less productive than Moss and Singletary"

 

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The lack of yardage is obvious, but it also affects play-action which is essentially useless because defenses aren’t biting, knowing the Bills can’t run. And with no run game, as Simms said, the entire offensive operation falls on Allen’s shoulders and that’s a weighty burden

 

I thought the prevailing thought was that even if a team doesn't run well, play action is still effective?  Football Outsiders makes that argument

 

Anyway, no argument from anyone (except maybe Daboll) that we need to run.  The question is, is this some thing that can actually be fixed in-season?

[Malazan]

18 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Anyway, no argument from anyone (except maybe Daboll) that we need to run.  The question is, is this some thing that can actually be fixed in-season?

 

Daboll didn't really think it needed to be fixed in the offseason so..

[FilthyBeast]

At the end of the day, the reason for this teams struggles boils down to the ill advised decision to bring back mostly the same team from 2020. There were guys we could have easily walked away from (i.e. Buter, Feliciano, Williams, etc) and put the money elsewhere but we kept hearing the same lovefest from this organization regarding continuity, lockeroom culture, leadership, etc.

 

But the problem that this organization didn't obviously account for is natural regression (which is essentially happening to the Chiefs as well even though they actually upgraded their oline).

 

Across the board on offense we are worst in most areas except TE where Knox has been a net gain (when healthy). Everywhere else has been marginally worst than last year.

 

On defense the overall numbers say we are better but still think the pass rush hasn't done much outside of a few bright spots and flashes from Groot.

 

Bottom line this team is what they are and right now is somewhere between a team that may flounder and miss the playoffs altogether, or gets it together to make the playoffs again but likely ultimately falls short of how far they went last year given the aformentioned issues at hand.

[Coffeesforclosers]

Dante Scarnecchia is only 72.  Just saying.

[klos63]

I think Spencer Brown returning to RT and Williams moving back inside, along with Knox returning could make a tremendous difference to our offense. With how Brown has started, logic would be that he will continue to improve as the season goes on, Williams is a solid lineman, but appears to be move valuable as a guard. Knox being a legitimate weapon obviously adds a dimension to the offense severely lacking with his backups playing.

That's 27% of our personnel on offense being upgraded. That's significant.