Former NFL GM's Mike Lombardi's take on the Bills

[GaryPinC]

What we saw this season from Schonert went counter to his bluster before the season began. With that in mind I agree that DJ had certain control over TS' calls. Ultimately, the HC can overrule the OC anytime he wants.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if DJ micromanaged his OC when things got tough later in the season. It almost seemed like when things were close, the string on TS became tighter and the plays were even more unimaginative. When they scored and got a lead, TS could do his thing, as evidenced in KC.

 

 

Sorry to join the discussion so late, but I couldn't agree more because these things have bothered me also for a while. Sorry to bring up his name, but I recall Fairchild working on the no huddle during the preseason before his last year and remember last season reading a few quotes by some of the players (sorry, I forget who) saying the offense wasn't like what they worked on in preseason (much more mundane). Is the performance inside the red zone any better this year than last? Of the few games I watched both this year and last year, I thought the play calling was a little better outside the red zone this year, although I blame our lazy offensive line for many of the woes this season. But they may not be entirely to blame. From what I've seen, here are my completely subjective observations which include both Schonert and Fairchild:

 

-Bumbling with playcalling at critical times during the game which are probably due to coach disagreements/discussion. Time out please!

-Ineptitude inside the redzone, predictable playcalling with little definitive direction

-Relatively bland playcalling which degenerates into completely bland predictable playcalling once mistakes get made by QB/offense

-T Spikes discussing how SF's D coord. knew what plays Buff O would be called in the red zone and why

-Going 0-6 in the division where these teams know Buffalo the best

-Lack of any offensive identity, seems like when something doesn't work it gets quickly abandoned and by 2nd half things are pretty mundane

 

For the most part, I think our offense always plays scared under Jauron, no matter which OC was there, especially when mistakes or difficulties pop up. That's gotta be frustrating to the entire offense because it never develops an identity or dictates to an opposing defense. I think the one masterful thing Jauron's done is paint his OC's into a corner where the blame may really lie with him. Too bad all those sports reporters never try to pin down Jauron as to who made what decisions on specific plays after the game. That would be worth reading.