BackInDaDay

i'm in the Joe D camp.. i think the toughest coaching job this season will be getting some mobility out of our over-sized linemen.. if you can't pull your guards to get playside, it will require some creativity in designing our power running game. remember, the idea is to get more blockers playside than the defense can handle. anyone who gets to camp this summer might want to check which linemen are participating in the 'pull' drills.. i'm thinking they all will - so Kromer can get an idea of who can do what to help the cause.. man, i hope he's not too disappointed

after 48 years.. vindication! thanks, my friend

WHY DID THEY TRADE MOSES?!?

i remember DeBerg as a solid player with pretty slick ball skills.. jeez... i hope no one misreads that. can't see the harm in EJ seeking out advice from wherever he can get it. hell, he can go to Tibet and throw the ball around with the Dahli Lama.. but as old Bill Henley would say.. EJ's "the master of his fate, and the captain of his soul". perhaps building an empire with Roman is his destiny

my first 'jump-off-the-couch-and-shout-at-the-television' rant took place during the '66 championship game when i was 10.. the particulars are hazy, but i'm pretty sure it was a kickoff, and the Chiefs' Bobby Bell committed a blatant clip during the play that didn't get flagged. thus began almost 50 more years of watching my team get screwed by the refs! and oh, by the way.. my wife still has to shout down to the family room to sarcastically remind me that - "they can't hear you!" fantastic OP! made even better by some fantastic memories..

well said.. i might add that much of the poor quality of play we see to start the season is the result of a truncated pre-season used primarily to develop a roster, rather than practice game concepts against live competition... this has been limited to approximately the first 2-3 quarters of the third game.

the winner of the QB competition will be the one who can best digest and execute the offense by opening day - and who shows the most promise in building around as the season progresses.. if that QB is good enough to make the anticipated plays needed to sustain drives and scores points before turning it over - he will be a good QB, regardless of the myopic perception of many fans.

with Schwartz : 8-8 without Schwartz : 6-10 any QB Polian brought in as a starter would have been forced to run Marrone and Hackett's offense, and there may not be a QB in the league who could have overcome their hit or miss approach of designing an effective NFL offense. I wish Marrone and Hackett well, but their finest moments were getting the Syracuse offense humming 3 years ago. Everyone in the organization is now pulling in the same direction - designing an offense that complements the other units. one that is adaptive to the QB. Whaley has assembled skill postion players who are diverse and very talented. At the moment, Kromer seems to have the toughest task of all.. forging the spear that Roman will attack with. this is more important than the job Lee does with the QBs, because the QB effectiveness will be directly related to our ability to run the ball, and that's directly related to the job Kromer does. Considering the sense of urgency the team has shown in aquiring the necessary pieces this off-season, i have confidence that a plan's in place that will develop a productive O line. so, no.. i can't imagine any scenario that includes Marrone and Hackett as Bills coaches as anything that remotely approaches the progress we've made in their absence

i'm giving myself another 21 seasons, before having myself cryogenically frozen at the Cryonic Institute in Clinton Township. Michigan. if we get to one before then, i'll watch it at home with family and friends. otherwise, i'll leave instruction to be thawed out in time to make the 4 hour drive - will we still be using automobiles? - to Pegula, NY in time for kick-off - will we still have kick-offs? i'll scalp a ticket for about 50,000 Pegollars and take the express lift to the upper deck of the 400,000 seat Fred Jackson Stadium, where i'll squint through my Kimmyscope at the simulated action below. i'll cheer on the holograms of my beloved Bills - the actual game will be played in Bon Jovi Park in Toronto, which i won't be able to afford - until the final whistle blows. then, the previously arranged arrival of two scantily clad red, white and blue haired vixens will serve me my BillsSleep potion, and i will be gently lifted and dropped into the Russ Brandon Memorial Fans Chute for tidy post-game disposal.

good article on Landry from last September.. sounds like a solid player and mentor http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/mehta-dawan-landry-rex-ryan-safety-net-article-1.1946766 and as limited as he is in coverage, i would still love to see Spikes back

the originals always looked better in the mud and snow.. which made them football uniforms to think that Cleveland wouldn't let Modell take the colors to Baltimore, only to have them transformed into something that could embarrass a Dancing with the Stars contestant

An offense that a good QB can effectively execute is not an offense that will win playoffs games. do you agree that my version makes no sense? because i don't think either of them makes sense.

next time i'm about to type a hundred words - i'm gonna send it off to you first, for editing i think most of us noticed how the Bills often came out of the tunnel the last couple years.. moved the ball well the first couple drives.. but then struggled after the D adjusted. if you didn't notice it then, you'll probably have to wait until Roman leaves before you'll get to see it again.

i agree 100%. it's regrettable that circumstances thrust Manuel forward before he was ready, and that his coaches did little to get him (or an 11 year vet) an offense to execute. the 'soft' perception was created when he couldn't take control of his situation.. but considering the circumstances, it was unfairly premature for his coaches, teammates, and myself to conclude that. hopefully EJ gets the rookie season everyone thought he'd get 2 years ago.

solid original point regarding the importance of young players receiving guidance by vets, that transcends the Xs & Os and applies directly to their ability to lead. i posted an article last season stating that i thought EJ was soft, and many on this board could only puff out their internet chests and question how i'd fare after saying that to the man. that wasn't the point then, and it's not the OP's point - but the perception of EJ being 'soft' was not unfounded. do you folks recall the comments that followed EJ's benching last year? how Watkins and Woods described the difference between an Orton and a EJ huddle? or maybe you remember reading Marrone's comments about EJ having to develop a 'thick skin' and 'fight' for what he wants? back to the OP's point.. EJ has had plenty of coaches, but he's never had a mentor. he's never had a veteran confidant who could take him aside and emphasize what he needed to accomplish before he could command his teammates. this was a less obvious failure in the development of a 1st round investment - and being its the QB position we're talking about, it was a major omission. i've been scratching my head about how Matt Cassel fits into the scheme of things - purely from a skill set perspective. thanks to the OP for exposing another aspect of Cassel's acquisition that i hadn't considered.

you forgot one of - if not the best - pulling guards in the league so yes, he had a diversity of talent there, and his offense hit a wall.. but i doubt it was a case of opponents figuring him out. opponents knew what he was going to do in seasons prior to last, and his O was able to exert itself. did he try to steer his gameplans in a different direction last year? i don't know. all i'm suggesting, is that our offense is now in capable hands, and Roman can build it to be driven by drivers of varying experience. they're all NFL QBs - so regardless of the hyperbole we're all guilty of as fans, regarding their skills - none of this will be foreign to any of them. to risk beating my previous metaphor to death.. Roman's offense will have a wheel, brakes, and a gas pedal. all they need to do is follow directions to keep it on the road.

how we'll be defended isn't really guesswork.. a DC will adopt a gameplan that takes away the easiest thing for us to do, and invites us to attempt what we're not comfortable doing.. in every situation we find ourselves. nothing new there.. so if the easiest thing for us to do is run the ball, the DC will gameplan to take away our running game and force our QBs to throw. but because of the design of our running game, he will have to borrow men to get to where he thinks we're going - in order to handle the combination of O-linemen, FB, TE, RBs, - and possibly our QBs - heading that way. Roman knows this, and will initially tell the D where he's going, and go there. it's all about preparation. i believe Roman will be prepared to react to how he's being defended, and i believe he'll prepare several layers of moves and counter moves to react with. most importantly, he's been given an assortment of talented personnel to react with. will solid opposing DC's attempt to challenge his O by preparing their unit as well, or better, as Roman does - of course.. but the talents of Roman's skill position players are diverse, and will create match-up problems for Ds whose players can't defend his one-on-one. all i'm saying, is that there'll be defensive concessions made, and Roman will be prepared when they're exposed - whether that's days before kickoff, or during play. our QBs will have to execute when the plays present themselves , and on occasion they'll have to make plays when they're crossed up.. but i am optimistic that they won't be faced with processing multiple reads every time they drop back.. the idea is for your QB to gain confidence by giving him choices that succeed.

unless the defense can play with 12 men, Roman has the tools to make you choose where you'll defend - and he can manipulate that within the parameters of down/distance/time/score by employing different personnel packages, formations, motion.. if he knows what you're willing to concede, the offense will have enough information to strike. the QB just needs to execute

here's the thing.. if Roman can build a running attack that out-numbers the defense at the poa, then the defense will be forced to bring men up to neutralize that advantage. when this happens, Roman and his assistants must confirm that the opposing DC has his players keying on who Roman thought they would - and as the game unfolds - they must recognize how and when the DC changes who they're keying on instead. I think Roman is very much up to the task, and will be prepared to coordinate his offense at a level deeper than Marrone and Hackett could imagine. Roman will move defenders by formation and motion. he'll create situations where the defense must leave itself vulnerable.. where single 'key' defenders are put in a position of trying to defend two things at once, and thus.. can be optioned. i'm thinking Roman's QBs will be well prepared to read this 'key', and choose to either throw to the receiver who's route takes him into the area Roman expects the 'key' defender will abandon - or to the receiver whose route takes him into the area Roman's 'key' defender is not defending because he either missed or chose not to act on the offensive 'key' Roman gave him. a passing game that can option coverage simplifies the QB's decision making. it will all work off the running attack. we're going to be facing a lot of 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 nickel defenses employing 3 safeties, and if we're successful on the ground - at least one, and maybe two of those safeties will have to be brought up to make tackles after their LBs try to take out our blockers. this should create the aforementioned vulnerability in the secondary. one of our big problems last year was the fact that our running attack didn't demand that kind of attention. DCs were able to contain us in the secondary without sacrificing defenders to the los. a heck of a lot is riding on our ability to consistently get more men playside than the defense is prepared for, and forcing to bring help. with that in mind, the additions of Clay and Felton cannot be applauded enough. Roman knows exactly what he wants to build, and he and Kromer know where we may be deficient. even if we don't break camp with the perfect player at each O-line position, they'll be given enough personnel to gameplan an advantage. seeing the coaching staff, front office, and ownership all pulling in the same direction continues to be a real treat.. and although our current roster of QBs bring varying skills and experience to the job, i'm very confident that any of them will be able to execute what Roman draws up.

i like Dalton as a football player, but i think Manuel and Taylor give Roman more options as multiple threats - if he and Rex want to put the QB at risk in the running game. otherwise, he's probably one of many very solid competitors at the position who could thrive with a good O line and a diverse set of weapons.

purely speculative.. but maybe he's expressed an interest in coaching to Kromer last year, and there's a spot for him on the staff.

i think EJ's accuracy issues were related to his hesitation to throw receivers open, instead of scanning for a receiver who had gotten enough seperation to.gave him the confidence to throw the ball. by the time he commits to his throw, he tends to hurry his delivery to make up for the split second he needed to decide to throw or move on. he needs to gain confidence in throwing to 'covered' men.. then his timing will improve, and so will his accuracy. they have to move him around.. get him into the game.. and he has to challenge himself to try things he's not comfortable doing. he'll either develop a feel for this, or he won't.. but if they try to hide his deficiencies, rather than let him work through them, he won't improve.

Seattle installed Malzahn's play-option-pass (POP) to their playbooks as an third option to hang off the read option run.. linemen run block.. QB options the DE.. and if the LB has force on the QB run, they sneak a receiver behind him as he gives up coverage. just something extra you can threaten the D with when your QB's got wheels. Roman ran some with Kap.. and i think i even saw EJ hit Spiller in a little go route last year - but that was probably just a roll-out that the LB bit on.. you'll see us run it this year, no doubt.. trick is, to make that decision before your linemen get downfield enough to draw a flag.. Seattle lateral ZBS lends itself to that better than a power scheme.. but there's a great quote somewhere that goes something like , "you can't sell the play-action pass without pulling a guard" - meaning, you have to give the defenders the 'key' they're reading to get them to step up. the play-option pass takes that to a new level, because it's a called run first.. so the linemen's assignments are run block all the way. EJ's pocket passing days aren't over - but he'll run enough to keep Ds honest.. if not him, then Taylor.. frankly, i still don't know why we picked up Cassel.. he's not a threat to execute the whole playbook.. and please don't compare him to Alex Smith.. Smith was a great r/o QB for Meyers at Utah.. far more athletic than Cassel. http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/9/5/6110155/pop-pass-seahawks-pete-carroll-auburn http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/8/20/6044003/read-option-pass-play-football-xs-os-diagrams

i can tell you who it won't be - any man less than 330lbs. which leaves alot of the 300lb prospects off the board. no way Roman puts a 300lb guard next to a 300lb center, and expects them to handle the middle of the D-line and whatever a-gap blitzes come their way without help.. nope - not happening. not in this offense. every guy he lines up has to win his battle 1 on 1 so Roman can get numbers on the playside. shoring up the middle takes a man away from his scheme to overwhelm you at the poa.

if Chip Kelly can't get Fisher, he'll go after Marpet.. he needs young, mobile guards (both around 300lb) to execute his O. i'm sure Seattle, and other teams committed to integrating ZBS would have both of these young men high on their boards... but he's too light for our immediate need.