Hackett

[Estelle Getty]

After watching a few preseason games I now remember what our real achilles heal was last year and it wasn't Manuel. I know it is just preseason however there are two troubling aspects of his play calling he has not corrected.

 

1. Not letting EJ throw the deep ball- One of the reasons the Bills said they drafted him is his arm strength. Yet Hackett does not let EJ throw the deep ball in game settings. How will he ever utilize one of his strengths if he cant practice in GAME SETTINGS!

 

2. On third and fourth and short running plays out of the shotgun- Hackett is tipping his hand that he is going to throw the ball. This makes it much much easier on the defense. On the off chance that you are going to run the ball you are not allowing the RB to gain the momentum he needs to plow through the line which is why we are always getting stuffed when he does run in these situations.

 

My question is where is Marrone the former offensive "guru" of the Saints in all of this.

[klos63]

After watching a few preseason games I now remember what our real achilles heal was last year and it wasn't Manuel. I know it is just preseason however there are two troubling aspects of his play calling he has not corrected.

 

1. Not letting EJ throw the deep ball- One of the reasons the Bills said they drafted him is his arm strength. Yet Hackett does not let EJ throw the deep ball in game settings. How will he ever utilize one of his strengths if he cant practice in GAME SETTINGS!

 

2. On third and fourth and short running plays out of the shotgun- Hackett is tipping his hand that he is going to throw the ball. This makes it much much easier on the defense. On the off chance that you are going to run the ball you are not allowing the RB to gain the momentum he needs to plow through the line which is why we are always getting stuffed when he does run in these situations.

 

My question is where is Marrone the former offensive "guru" of the Saints in all of this.

They probably haven't thrown deep during the preseason because the line play has been poor and it exposes Manuel to injury.

I don't think using the shotgun tips off anything, like you said, they do run off of it so it they think its a pass then it's a run.....I think getting the ball 3 yards behind the line is plenty of room to get momentum,

I've heard Marrone called an offensive guru a few times. What is this based on? That he had Drew Brees as his QB? Hardly qualifies as a guru.

 

My opinion is the offense will be greatly improved this year. If the line play is better that obviously will help. Also, we have better WR to help.

 

Let's wait for the regular season to start before we criticize.

[Manther]

After watching a few preseason games I now remember what our real achilles heal was last year and it wasn't Manuel. I know it is just preseason however there are two troubling aspects of his play calling he has not corrected.

 

1. Not letting EJ throw the deep ball- One of the reasons the Bills said they drafted him is his arm strength. Yet Hackett does not let EJ throw the deep ball in game settings. How will he ever utilize one of his strengths if he cant practice in GAME SETTINGS!

 

2. On third and fourth and short running plays out of the shotgun- Hackett is tipping his hand that he is going to throw the ball. This makes it much much easier on the defense. On the off chance that you are going to run the ball you are not allowing the RB to gain the momentum he needs to plow through the line which is why we are always getting stuffed when he does run in these situations.

 

My question is where is Marrone the former offensive "guru" of the Saints in all of this.

Marrone never called the plays in New Orleans.

[Estelle Getty]

Throwing a deep ball you are more likely to get hurt than throwing a 15 yard out or a slant? Not sure I follow the logic of not practicing a deep ball because the line is not exactly where you want it. So your saying assuming EJ stays healthy and the line is just so we can start throwing deep balls by when? Week 12?

[reddogblitz]

You can't tell anything by what they're doing in pre season. I'm not worried about EJ throwing the long ball because I saw him to it last year. Just to refresh you memory he threw several Ravens game including one he completed to Woods for a TD that traveled 50 yards in the air. He also hit a few in the Jets game at the Ralph. EJ will be fine. I think our O will be better than last year. I'm more worried about the D.

[Dragonborn10]

EJ's deep ball is not great. It sails too wide. His intermediate throws are what will make or break him. He was high last year. That means bad footwork and not driving through the throw. And that was pre-knee injury and only got worse after the knee.

But I would not criticize Hackett for not calling deep ball plays. There were plenty of them ran last year and they do it in practice all the time.

Wait for the real games to see if Hackett is any better in year 2...

[thewildrabbit]

The real Achilles heal last season was the many things that led to a confluence of events for that 2013 crapstorm.

 

Both Marrone, Hackett being NFL rookies at their respective jobs, along with no NFL veteran offensive senior assistant coach. A complete corps of rookie QB's, and two of those should have been on the practice squad most of last season season. Along those same lines, no vet QB and no QB coach at all. Those last two factors are huge in my view.

Bottom line: not enough coaches, and no vet QB really hurt the team, and it cost them a few games IMO.

 

The inadequate replacement of LG Andy levitre who left in free agency was replaced at first with a player that was cut, and off the roster by week six, and his backup was so bad he was also cut and gone by week six. The replacement at LG was the guy brought in to be the backup center. A player who was better then who he replaced, but still graded as one of the worst players in the league at LG. That wasn't the only poor player position problem as the team started the year with an injured secondary, and a player who should have never made the final roster in CB Justin Rodgers. He basically single handed-ly lost that week 3 Jets game.

Bottom line: poor player decisions really hurt the team, and probably cost them a few games.

 

The fast pace of the Bills offensive scheme was nothing more then a hurry up and punt offense, as the neither the passing - run game was able to sustain drives. Plus, the play calling by rookie OC Nate Hackett was so very predictable, and stopped often because it was so predictable. Hackett never really called run plays that allowed Spiller to get into space like Gailey used to do. Running the ball up the middle or mid guard 70% of the time wasn't the best way to utilize the two top RB's in Jackson, Spiller. The one solid unit of the team was the RB position, and the play calling was so mundane it never really took advantage of their players abilities. Neither Spiller or Jackson are built to run up the gut all game long. It was more the superior talent of those two RB's that managed to gain so many yards despite the play calling, and line.

Bottom line: A more complex offensive run game, and slower pace could have won more games.

 

Finally the QB situation was the most bizarre I've ever seen an NFL team go thru.. I've never seen three inexperienced rookie QB's stay on the roster all season. The Bills signed QB Matt Flynn who has been in the league since 2008, won a BCS national championship (named offensive MVP of that game) at LSU in college. Had previous experience on a playoff team sitting behind Aaron Rodgers, was paid 9 mill guaranteed to play for Seattle. I have a difficult time believing that Jeff Tuel, Thaddeus Lewis are the better option, as Flynn had a career NFL game in GB in which he threw for 480 yards, 6 six TD's which set new GB records. The Bills should have at least allowed Flynn to start a game to see what he could do.

Bottom line: if ANYONE deserved a chance to be the backup QB it should have been Flynn. To this day I still have no idea what this coaching staff sees in Tuel or Lewis.

 

Then the team was riddled with injuries to star RB CJ Spiller, WR Stevie Johnson, and starting QB EJ Manuel. The latter who missed two preseason games, and six regular season games. Missing those 8 games equal very valuable learning experience lost for the starting QB.

 

 

 

For 2014 the Bills hired a QB coach, and senior offensive assistant. They brought in a new LG in free agency, and drafted three other players for the line. The Bills gave up a #1, 2014 pick, and #1 & #4, 2015 pick for what they think is the next superstar WR in Sammy Watkins. Traded for WR Mike Williams, and brought in two new RB's to help with the run game.

 

As far as Nathaniel Hackett is concerned he seems to be devoted in building an offense very similar to the k-gun, no huddle offense that the Bills ran in the 90's. I just hope its not another year of hurry up and punt. He should know by now exactly how to setup those deep passes, by simply making those safeties move up to commit to stopping the run, and then letting EJ hit Sammy, Goodwin, or Graham on a go route. Sammy looks to be particularly adept at the stop, and go.

Bottom line: The Bills appear to much improved in almost every area, save backup QB. What we have seen so far this preseason is... what I hope is a very vanilla offense in not showing upcoming regular season opponents a damn thing.

 

just my two cents.

[klos63]

Throwing a deep ball you are more likely to get hurt than throwing a 15 yard out or a slant? Not sure I follow the logic of not practicing a deep ball because the line is not exactly where you want it. So your saying assuming EJ stays healthy and the line is just so we can start throwing deep balls by when? Week 12?

You must stand in the pocket longer in order to get a deep pass away at the right time. I think because the line has been in an experimental mode all camp with players changing position, the QB is more at risk sitting back there for a longer period of time. So yes, the injury risk is higher the longer the QB has to stand in the pocket.

[Captain Caveman]

We are running plays with deep routes, if the deep route is not thrown that's Manuel's decision.

[Cugalabanza]

 

......Bottom line: The Bills appear to much improved in almost every area, save backup QB. What we have seen so far this preseason is... what I hope is a very vanilla offense in not showing upcoming regular season opponents a damn thing.

 

just my two cents.

 

Great summary. I agree with pretty much all of it.

[Green Lightning]

I think Fear the Losing has it pretty much right. It's go-time,for EJ and Hackett and no excuses. The back-up QB situation is vexing me and just plain stupid on the FO's part.

[quinnearlysghost88]

I hated our offense last year. I hated the shotgun-play-fake-option every down. I hated the lack of a vertical game. I hated the under utilization of CJ. I hated the passing on obviously run situations and running on obvious passing situations. I hated 8 yard passes on 3rd down when we needed 10 yards. I hated EJ whipping screen passes at the feet of RBs. I hated being able to tell if it was a run or pass pre-snap from my couch.

 

It was boring, uninspired, predictable play calling

[Gugny]

The real Achilles heal last season was the many things that led to a confluence of events for that 2013 crapstorm.

 

Both Marrone, Hackett being NFL rookies at their respective jobs, along with no NFL veteran offensive senior assistant coach. A complete corps of rookie QB's, and two of those should have been on the practice squad most of last season season. Along those same lines, no vet QB and no QB coach at all. Those last two factors are huge in my view.

Bottom line: not enough coaches, and no vet QB really hurt the team, and it cost them a few games IMO.

 

The inadequate replacement of LG Andy levitre who left in free agency was replaced at first with a player that was cut, and off the roster by week six, and his backup was so bad he was also cut and gone by week six. The replacement at LG was the guy brought in to be the backup center. A player who was better then who he replaced, but still graded as one of the worst players in the league at LG. That wasn't the only poor player position problem as the team started the year with an injured secondary, and a player who should have never made the final roster in CB Justin Rodgers. He basically single handed-ly lost that week 3 Jets game.

Bottom line: poor player decisions really hurt the team, and probably cost them a few games.

 

The fast pace of the Bills offensive scheme was nothing more then a hurry up and punt offense, as the neither the passing - run game was able to sustain drives. Plus, the play calling by rookie OC Nate Hackett was so very predictable, and stopped often because it was so predictable. Hackett never really called run plays that allowed Spiller to get into space like Gailey used to do. Running the ball up the middle or mid guard 70% of the time wasn't the best way to utilize the two top RB's in Jackson, Spiller. The one solid unit of the team was the RB position, and the play calling was so mundane it never really took advantage of their players abilities. Neither Spiller or Jackson are built to run up the gut all game long. It was more the superior talent of those two RB's that managed to gain so many yards despite the play calling, and line.

Bottom line: A more complex offensive run game, and slower pace could have won more games.

 

Finally the QB situation was the most bizarre I've ever seen an NFL team go thru.. I've never seen three inexperienced rookie QB's stay on the roster all season. The Bills signed QB Matt Flynn who has been in the league since 2008, won a BCS national championship (named offensive MVP of that game) at LSU in college. Had previous experience on a playoff team sitting behind Aaron Rodgers, was paid 9 mill guaranteed to play for Seattle. I have a difficult time believing that Jeff Tuel, Thaddeus Lewis are the better option, as Flynn had a career NFL game in GB in which he threw for 480 yards, 6 six TD's which set new GB records. The Bills should have at least allowed Flynn to start a game to see what he could do.

Bottom line: if ANYONE deserved a chance to be the backup QB it should have been Flynn. To this day I still have no idea what this coaching staff sees in Tuel or Lewis.

 

Then the team was riddled with injuries to star RB CJ Spiller, WR Stevie Johnson, and starting QB EJ Manuel. The latter who missed two preseason games, and six regular season games. Missing those 8 games equal very valuable learning experience lost for the starting QB.

 

 

 

For 2014 the Bills hired a QB coach, and senior offensive assistant. They brought in a new LG in free agency, and drafted three other players for the line. The Bills gave up a #1, 2014 pick, and #1 & #4, 2015 pick for what they think is the next superstar WR in Sammy Watkins. Traded for WR Mike Williams, and brought in two new RB's to help with the run game.

 

As far as Nathaniel Hackett is concerned he seems to be devoted in building an offense very similar to the k-gun, no huddle offense that the Bills ran in the 90's. I just hope its not another year of hurry up and punt. He should know by now exactly how to setup those deep passes, by simply making those safeties move up to commit to stopping the run, and then letting EJ hit Sammy, Goodwin, or Graham on a go route. Sammy looks to be particularly adept at the stop, and go.

Bottom line: The Bills appear to much improved in almost every area, save backup QB. What we have seen so far this preseason is... what I hope is a very vanilla offense in not showing upcoming regular season opponents a damn thing.

 

just my two cents.

I'd say it was more like $1.52.

 

I don't disagree with any of it. Just a few elaborations:

 

The hurry-up offense needs to be abandoned if it turns into, as you appropriately call it, a hurry up and punt offense. It also needs to be abandoned if we have a 2-score lead. There are, indeed, times when taking a lot of time off the clock is a good thing, obviously.

 

They never should have gotten rid of T-Jax. They made their mistake by bringing Kolb here in the first place.

 

Alarms shouldn't be sounded just because EJ isn't going deep and because we're not pounding the ball into the endzone on goal line series in preseason games. Risking injury would be dumb for meaningless scores.

 

Go Bills!

[jumbalaya]

I dunno. I watched a video interview of hackett. I am not impressed. He had no answers on why they won't throw deep even in practice. I thought he was all bluster, i don't think he has a clue.

[vegas55]

We are running plays with deep routes, if the deep route is not thrown that's Manuel's decision.

 

Exactly - for the umpteenth time fan, you cannot make rational observations about these type of things by simply watching a game on TV, or worse yet, at the game itself. Experienced NFL coaches hate commenting on anything UNTIL they see and breakdown the game film. Of course the majority of pass plays have a mixture of routes, short and deep. The OC is not dictating that the QB only throw short. But the main point is, you can't just watch a game, see the QB throw short, and conclude that the play was designed for that. When Trent Edwards was our QB, of course they called for numerous long pass routes. Captain Checkdown chose to only throw the short, safe pass. He was unable to "see" the play develop downfield. But that's not on the OC.

[4merper4mer]

Hackett's to-do list for the offseason included the following:

 

1. Get driver's license

2. Keep my job by continuously telling Coach Marrone that his cologne smells great and he should ignore the jerks who say otherwise.

3. Do just a little better that Yesman Crossman.

4. Learn how to shave.

5. Work up the nerve to ask Mary Stevenson to Prom.

6. Study football to try to come up with more ideas for the offense. Only ask dad as a last resort because I am my own man now.

7. Stop forgetting to take out the garbage. Mom gets real mad at that.

 

Based on this, I'm not sure 2014 is the year.

[WotAGuy]

I hated our offense last year. I hated the shotgun-play-fake-option every down. I hated the lack of a vertical game. I hated the under utilization of CJ. I hated the passing on obviously run situations and running on obvious passing situations. I hated 8 yard passes on 3rd down when we needed 10 yards. I hated EJ whipping screen passes at the feet of RBs. I hated being able to tell if it was a run or pass pre-snap from my couch.

 

It was boring, uninspired, predictable play calling

 

 

hater

[quinnearlysghost88]

hater

 

go look at the current O coordinators for other good offenses:

 

http://en.wikipedia....thaniel_Hackett

 

they list them below Hackett's bio. look at their experience.

 

spoiler alert: they weren't assistant LB coaches at UC Davis 10 years ago.

Edited August 21, 2014 by quinnearlysghost88

[AC4 IN ATL]

The offense seems to be very predicatable pre-snap. There is very little deception, either with the offensive personnel on the field, or the situation. Rarely is anyone in motion. Hackett's offense comes across as a very basic vanilla offense, similar to our defense two years ago. Line em up, and hopefully we can out execute the other team. This issue is magnified in the red-zone, which is why we struggle. I think EJ and the offense could definitely benefit from some creative and unconventional play calls and formations from time to time. Hopefully the regular season will bring this, or we might be in for another frustrating year on offense.

[hondo in seattle]

Long successful coaching careers don't always have auspicious beginnings.

 

In his one year as a NFL OC, BIll Walsh's Chargers scored below the league average. In his first two years as a HC with the 49ers, he finished 2-14.

 

BB went 36-44 as HC of the Browns before finding success with the Pats.

 

Marv Levy went 4-12 his first year as a NFL HC, 2-5 his first partial season with the Bills.

 

Marrone is a young HC. Hackett is a young OC. Both need to grow and improve and they probably will.