Props to Nate Hackett

[Santana]

Finally a good game plan from our OC. The first 3 weeks we were in the shotgun all day, and could not establish a running game with those stupid inside handoffs.

 

Well we finally made the switch. Putting EJ under center really allowed up to establish a running game against a pretty good front. Our usually outplayed OL got some good push and took the fight to the D, which they weren't doing from the shotgun.

 

The running game gave EJ lots of great opportunities out of play action. Some of the throws were under thrown, but he was clearly more confident in this scheme rather than the all-day-long shotgun. He looked like a totally different QB, it was noticeable in his throws.

 

Now, this has happened before with the Bills. We go a couple games wondering why they aren't running or using play action or doing this or that, only to have them finally do it and it works great!!! But then? THEY REVERT BACK TO WHAT DOESNT WORK!!!

 

N. Hackett: Please re use this type of glam plan the rest of your career in Buffalo :-)

 

PS, Also tell EJ that it is OK to overthrow long balls, but not OK to under throw them.

 

 

I respect your opinion on Nathaniel Hackett but I personally think that his game plan was absolutely awful. I think his game plan every week have been pretty suspect if you ask me. I understand that they want their identity to be an uptempo type run first offense but it's honestly just a mess. His play calling is the most predictable that I've seen since Dick Jauron was here. Run on first, run on second then we are looking at 3rd and long and HAVE to throw. He seems to take forever to realize that he needs do alter his play calling, when he finally chose to however it payed off big. I personally don't think this style of offense fits our personnel at all. Sorry, GO BILLS!!!

[Gray Beard]

I respect your opinion on Nathaniel Hackett but I personally think that his game plan was absolutely awful. I think his game plan every week have been pretty suspect if you ask me. I understand that they want their identity to be an uptempo type run first offense but it's honestly just a mess. His play calling is the most predictable that I've seen since Dick Jauron was here. Run on first, run on second then we are looking at 3rd and long and HAVE to throw. He seems to take forever to realize that he needs do alter his play calling, when he finally chose to however it payed off big. I personally don't think this style of offense fits our personnel at all. Sorry, GO BILLS!!!

I agree with what you (and just about everyone else) are saying about the predictability. I also believe they slowed down the hurry up offense a little for this game, and it helped. I wonder if Marrone and Hackett had a conversation and decided that the hurry up should slow down a little, After three weeks, it hasn't really been as good as they had hoped, so maybe they decided to make an adjustment. And maybe Marrone threw a little weight around to make it happen. That would be a positive sign.

[Max997]

I give half a prop to Hackett as the first half was good but had no answer for Ravens halftime adjustments

 

Nice to finally see play action but what happened to it in second half?

 

I like EJ a lot better under center and wish they would burn the pages with the read option as he is getting hit way too much and always looks like he is going to fumble

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I give half a prop to Hackett as the first half was good but had no answer for Ravens halftime adjustments

 

Nice to finally see play action but what happened to it in second half?

 

I like EJ a lot better under center and wish they would burn the pages with the read option as he is getting hit way too much and always looks like he is going to fumble

 

Agreed with everything you said.

 

I thought EJ was potentially concussed on that first hit. scrap the read option.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

Finally a good game plan from our OC. The first 3 weeks we were in the shotgun all day, and could not establish a running game with those stupid inside handoffs.

 

Well we finally made the switch. Putting EJ under center really allowed up to establish a running game against a pretty good front. Our usually outplayed OL got some good push and took the fight to the D, which they weren't doing from the shotgun.

 

The running game gave EJ lots of great opportunities out of play action. Some of the throws were under thrown, but he was clearly more confident in this scheme rather than the all-day-long shotgun. He looked like a totally different QB, it was noticeable in his throws.

 

Now, this has happened before with the Bills. We go a couple games wondering why they aren't running or using play action or doing this or that, only to have them finally do it and it works great!!! But then? THEY REVERT BACK TO WHAT DOESNT WORK!!!

 

N. Hackett: Please re use this type of glam plan the rest of your career in Buffalo :-)

 

PS, Also tell EJ that it is OK to overthrow long balls, but not OK to under throw them.

 

shows that they are smart enough to make changes including using the fullback which they better stick to as well, oh and tell EJ to be more accurate on all throws.

 

I give half a prop to Hackett as the first half was good but had no answer for Ravens halftime adjustments

 

Nice to finally see play action but what happened to it in second half?

 

I like EJ a lot better under center and wish they would burn the pages with the read option as he is getting hit way too much and always looks like he is going to fumble

 

... and he sucks as a runner.

[Santana]

I agree with what you (and just about everyone else) are saying about the predictability. I also believe they slowed down the hurry up offense a little for this game, and it helped. I wonder if Marrone and Hackett had a conversation and decided that the hurry up should slow down a little, After three weeks, it hasn't really been as good as they had hoped, so maybe they decided to make an adjustment. And maybe Marrone threw a little weight around to make it happen. That would be a positive sign.

 

Yeah I definitely noticed that too and It helped out a lot. I still think some of the play calling should just be mixed up from series to series. I like how we're working in the read option and reverses too, the guys on our offense need creative ways to get the ball into their hands in open space. I hope Marrone Continues to do so, it'll help with EJ's progression immensely.

[BUNCH OF MULARKEY]

yes, after being roasted here last week, he deserves the accolades for adjusting and designing a game plan that gave his team a chance to win.

Couldn't have said it better myself.. I was one of the roasters...

Ej took snaps from under center

They led block with summers

They ran two reverses,and a fake one

Play action to woods

 

Big improvement. Hopefully he is saving the screen passes for bigger games ha ha

[Cash]

WAY better game than last week for the coaching staff. Some very, very nice playcalling in the first half. Wish they could have kept up the great play in the 2nd half, but I'll take the win!

[Coach Tuesday]

My issue is they call a very conservative game when they're trying to protect a lead. For all the talk about being an "attacking team", they really aren't an attacking team on offense. Luckily, the defense walks the walk...

[Kelly the Dog]

My issue is they call a very conservative game when they're trying to protect a lead. For all the talk about being an "attacking team", they really aren't an attacking team on offense. Luckily, the defense walks the walk...

Perhaps. IMO, CJ, Fred and Urbik were all playing hurt in the second half. The running game wasnt working nearly as well so the passing game suffered concurrently and substantially. The Woods bomb TD was a direct result of a successful running game in the first half.

[Braedenstearns]

They need to use Spiller a lot more! They have to get him outside! That's where he is best...

[peterpan]

I respect your opinion on Nathaniel Hackett but I personally think that his game plan was absolutely awful. I think his game plan every week have been pretty suspect if you ask me. I understand that they want their identity to be an uptempo type run first offense but it's honestly just a mess. His play calling is the most predictable that I've seen since Dick Jauron was here. Run on first, run on second then we are looking at 3rd and long and HAVE to throw. He seems to take forever to realize that he needs do alter his play calling, when he finally chose to however it payed off big. I personally don't think this style of offense fits our personnel at all. Sorry, GO BILLS!!!

 

Playcalling aside, do you still think the gameplan stunk?

 

With EJ under center and the FB in blocking, we actually established a running game. We came out and ran it right at them, then used play action to get guys open deep. I thought that fit our personal perfectly.

 

We ran for over 200 on Baltimore's D, Thats really darn good. Plus EJ missed some big throws (the INT and another earlier that coulda been an INT) and two of his best throws were overturned with replay (Chandler and Woods 2nd TD). We killed ourselves with penalties in the 2nd half too.

 

I think the gameplan was great, execution was good, playcalling still needs some work, but at least they were using some real play action and called some running plays that werent an inside handoff. They had their moments today (ie the end arounds/Lee Smith fall-down).

[atlbillsfan1975]

I am sorry but Hackett has a long way to go.

The drive with four minutes left was bad. 3 and 11 and he calls a draw. Just bad. Ravens had at least 2 time outs and the two minute warning.

 

Also it appeared as though EJ was told to get SJ involved in the game and tried to force him the ball. If that came from Hackett or where i do not know. It is becoming more and more clear that Woods is going to be way better the SJ. I am not saying SJ is bad, but by years end SJ will be the # 2 and Woods will be EJ's go to guy.

 

Hackett may have called a better game today, or the Oline may have executed better on those runs up the middle.

It also appeared like the Bills used the same run play to start multiple drives.

 

I hope Hackett can progress i do. I think it is bad that he is in the NFL as a coach and learning. To me you should have done that BEFORE you got to the NFL.

Edited September 30, 2013 by atlbillsfan1975

[KOKBILLS]

Hackett is learning just like the kids on this Offense...It's going to take time, and most importantly a consistent running game week in and week out for his Offense to thrive...I think today was a nice step in the right direction, but it also gave Hackett and Marrone some things to coach hard this week...

 

Baby steps...

[TSOL]

I like hackett, and this team has tons of potential. Our rookie class this year looks better than the last, uh, 10, 12 or more years. Tons of upside with this young group, and isnt that all weve been askin for (well, that and a super bowl trophy)? Hackett and our rooks are just gettin their feet wet right now and ill bet hes gonna be a coach in the nfl for alot of years to come

Go Bills!

[EDinRTP]

Props? He's single handedly going to get CJ killed due to his brilliant run play calling. CJ is one of the best offensive weapons in the league and they run him up the middle all day. Hackett cost them the game vs the Pats and came close again today.

[YoloinOhio]

I haven't seen the game yet, only what they showed on Red Zone. I know everyone on here was calling for screens. Did they run any? Were they successful?

[C.Biscuit97]

I'm not a fan of daddy's boy's coaches (Lane got his this weekend). But he is very young and still adjusting. He is bringing a young QB along slowly and properly the proper way. But let's be honest. Gailey was much more creative in getting his players into space. Where are the screens? Do you have to run every single time on 1st down?

 

We won and I'm happy. But I would like to see a little more growth soon.

[hondo in seattle]

The Bills could easily be 4-0 right now. But they could also easily be 0-4. And I find myself worrying about the direction of the Bills offense…

 

Nathaniel Hackett is a young offensive coordinator with limited NFL experience. So I've been counting on the more worldly Doug Marrone to mentor the juvenile Hackett. After all, Marrone had a successful stint as offensive coordinator for the Saints. But with Drew Brees as his QB there and Sean Payton as his own mentor and Head Coach, it was virtually guaranteed that Marrone's Saints offense would put points on the board. It's hard to know yet if Marrone is the right teacher or Hackett the right student.

 

So far, the uptempo offense the two of them created at Syracuse and brought to Buffalo has seemingly created more problems for our defense than opportunities for our offense. Because the Bills offense doesn't run a lot of time off the clock, Bills opponents are running about 75 plays per game – tied with another uptempo team (Philadelphia) for the league’s most. And despite running more offensive plays than any team in the league (except Houston), the Bills are in the bottom half of the NFL in points scored.

 

An uptempo offensive attack only makes sense when you have more play-makers than the other team and the Bills do have a couple of standouts in CJ Spiller and Stevie Johnson. The problem is that Hackett doesn’t seem to know how to utilize them. CJ famously averaged 6.0 yards per carry last year. This year he’s averaging 3.5. Stevie has gone over 1,000 receiving yards each of the past three seasons but at his current pace, Stevie’s thousand-yard streak won’t extend to four.

 

While Hackett’s ability to run a NFL offense is perhaps our biggest offensive question mark, our QB is another. EJ Manuel is a good kid who looks poised in the pocket and engaged on the sidelines. But his arm has been wildly inconsistent. At times, he looks like a future All-Pro. Other times, he looks painfully like the rookie that he is.

 

Neither Hackett nor EJ have been helped by our offensive line. There just isn't a lot of push in short-yardage situations and the holes for CJ have been limited. Is Colin Brown that much worse than Andy Levitre? Or is Hackett that much worse than Chan Gailey at designing and calling effective running plays? I suspect it’s a combination of both.

 

One of my bigger disappointments has been at WR. We brought three rookies – Brooks, Goodwin, Rogers – into camp that seemed to instantly upgrade our weak corps of receivers. Better yet, during the preseason both TJ Graham and Marcus Easley appeared ready to up their games.

 

The good news is that four games into the regular season, Brooks is precisely who we thought he was: a polished route-runner with NFL talent. But outside of Stevie and Brooks, Bills wideouts have been remarkably unproductive, accounting for a mere five receptions for 45 yards. This again begs the question: are the players under-performing or is the OC running the wrong plays?

 

While Pettine is doing some exciting things with this Bills defense, I’m still waiting for Nate Hackett to make me confident in his offensive scheme and preparations. He's still green and still learning - as is EJ - so I'm hoping to see a more productive offense during the remainder of the schedule. But this is only the hope of a diehard fan, not a dispassionate expectation.

 

P.S. Can a mod please change the title. Thanks!

Edited September 30, 2013 by hondo in seattle

[Not at the table Karlos]

Im thinking that Hackett is limiting the plays ej needs to know and will slowly increase his workload. Brown is that bad. We were one of the best teams rushing to the left side last year.

 

It's woods not brooks