Orlovsky: Bills aren't as talented offensively as we thought

[Nephilim17]

I think Gabe's 4-TD playoff game was a bad thing as it gave fans and likely managment the illusory sense that Davis is a bona fide star and could very capably fill the #2 role.

He can't. 

 

Yes, a huge deficit of offensive talent starting with the line and playmakers. We're good enough to consistently beat teams with poor to middling QBs but not great teams.

[ctk232]

On 12/12/2022 at 9:46 AM, Coach Tuesday said:

Not only is there too little creativity/too much predictability in scheme (even Romo knew it would be a running play when Diggs left the field), the offense has zero physicality or heart to it other than Allen and Diggs.  They are SOFT mentally and physically.  

 

Talent-wise, McKenzie should not be a starter on a supposedly good offense.  Cook has never broken a tackle in his life.  Saffold is a disgrace - he is stealing money from his employer.  Even Dawkins seems out of shape, his "always something" approach to physical maintenance has started to catch up with him.  Spencer Brown has not improved as a player.  Davis has become an afterthought.  They have zero backup tight ends.  Just a staggering lack of talent across the board stemming directly from an under-investment.

Soft - excuse me "SOFT" - is the exact word that was in my mind all day yesterday. The defense, the offense, the coaches, everyone, just soft.

 

Fwiw that has not been the moniker for this team the whole season, but certainly since the bye it has regressed to this point. Even hearing the numerous guys saying "there was no juice" "no motivation" "no energy" I just have to keep wondering, why? You can point to any number of variables why that would be the case but out of all the issues for a team in the middle of their window to compete for an SB to have, that's arguably the biggest cancer.

 

I don't disagree with any of your personnel takes either; yesterday the words soft came to mind immediately due to line play, both sides of the ball. You have a top three QB and fail to provide him with protection; something that not only elevates Josh but also the floor of every other offensive position by letting routes develop, establishing a stout run game, and simply letting Josh feel comfortable enough to get momentum. None of that was there yesterday, from anyone. Defensively, man, you'd have thought we were the team missing 3 starting OL and fielding a one-legged Center given how they dominated our entire defense. When the entire defensive scheme is predicated on four guys pressuring the QB and you can't get any from seven guys blitzing, there's something abhorrently wrong with your defense. I need to check but I think I heard Romo say with Von our D was top 5 in pressures, and after losing him we were 27th? Need to confirm but the eye test holds. One guy can but frankly shouldn't make THAT big of a difference in a good holistic scheme. When you play soft zone coverage, safeties often 10-15 yards off the first down, and your DL cannot pressure something is horribly wrong. The offense is certainly not without all the issues you mention, but feel like this defense is almost in a worse place - if you can't pressure the QB this whole hybrid nickel zone scheme completely falls apart. Guys are having to cover for 7+ seconds on most snaps, and have zero contain on the QB regardless. Then there's tackling, omfg. The number of missed tackles this whole season is bush league. Guys can't wrap and tackle anymore. Watched the Bengals make open field flat tackles, TFL behind the line of scrimmage, or just simply tackling a guy 101, all with extreme ease. If you're going to have a defensive minded HC, at least have a defense that can do the only thing it's out there to do.

 

Excited isn't the right word, but extreme interest would be more apt to describe how I view this offseason. Beane has a list of questions, players and coaches, offense and defense, to address before next season comes around. Injuries are another, Von won't be back til when, next November at the earliest? What will Von's timeline be like given his age and injury, 2024? What about Josh's UCL? Hyde's neck? Milano's leg? Will Tre improve after his ACL recovery? Need more than IOL in the first round to address this line. And the DL needs an answer for when Von isn't there. Why is Frasier still here? What are the coaches doing to prepare this team for a divisional playoff game at home that they "have nothing" and play that soft? So many questions man. This team in my mind will compete for the playoffs next year no question, I think a few teams will regress and others will continue to rise, including our own division. Thanks to Josh we will almost always be among them but next year needs to be different in a lot of ways. They accomplished so much this season, but never addressed the cracks we saw the entire way - yesterday they just burst and we had no plan.

Edited January 23, 2023 by ctk232