informative Athletic article on how Joe Brady transformed the Bills' offensive approach

[dave mcbride]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5739142/2024/09/03/buffalo-bills-joe-brady-offense-friday-meetings/

 

‘Then came Brady’s first Friday as offensive coordinator. He made a decision that’s still mentioned by his players as pivotal to the 2023 turnaround and remains integral to Buffalo’s offensive identity.

…

Thing is, Brady didn’t go into the meeting room that Friday. With plays installed throughout the practice week, Brady presented Allen with the rundown of available plays against the Jets. In front of a projection screen, Allen asked each position group which plays they liked in practice and which plays they didn’t.

 

What did they want him to call for an easy completion or to get a receiver an early touch? What did the offensive line want him to avoid? Where did the running backs think their best cutback opportunities would appear? … Brady hands us all the plays we’ve worked on that week and says, ‘You guys can choose what you like,’” Bills right tackle Spencer Brown said. “It’s cool when you can say, ‘I want these runs called,’ and you’re damn well going to get them. … Then you have to go out there and make him right.”

 

Brady giving his players ownership in the offense became a vital part of the Bills’ dynamic. His trust put a healthy onus on the players to defend their choices on game day. Brown noted how demoralizing it can be to receive a play script at the end of the week and see a call they know won’t work. So the offense strives to show Brady its gratitude for not being that way. He simplified Dorsey’s playbook and introduced a more universal philosophy to understand what, how and why. “We got a lot of the fat trimmed down to the basics that we need,” said Connor McGovern.

…

Held two days before each game, the players-only sessions became permanent, although the players didn’t fully comprehend Brady’s approach right away. First, they realized he was leaning on their suggestions in the 32-6 obliteration of the Jets.  Allen conducted the meetings, going through the plays and situations. Former backup quarterback Kyle Allen took meticulous notes on feedback within the room, but didn’t refer to players by name. Anonymity was imperative. The information was brought upstairs to Brady, “I don’t want to know who said certain things,” Brady said. “Just tell me what the O-line thinks, what the wideouts think. I don’t need to know why. Just tell me you’re not a fan, and I’m good to go."'

[ddaryl]

Cool stuff.....  Hope we see more fruits from Brady as our OC this year

[QB Bills]

Not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, it's great that the players are involved and having their voices heard. On the other hand, you'd hope that the coach would know what's best in terms of giving the team the best chance to win and getting the players to follow along. 

[Gugny]

The whole “anonymity” thing is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

Be adults. 
 

Open, honest, direct communication is the most efficient way to come to solutions. 
 

Unfortunately, that’s frowned upon by the current head coach. 
 

Just ask Diggs. 
 

[boyst]

19 minutes ago, QB Bills said:

Not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, it's great that the players are involved and having their voices heard. On the other hand, you'd hope that the coach would know what's best in terms of giving the team the best chance to win and getting the players to follow along. 

100%. It's a cool concept for a team of veterans who have shown their worth and been gilded by a forge already. It's another thing to simply fall back upon what the team wants as a vote. It's not a democracy. The head coach must reign supreme and the positional coaches must be held accountable.

 

Brady cool guying the OC position at a young age is going to be difficult when he has to put people's feet to the fire. Especially since McClappy doesn't.

 

This is going to be a long season.

[Big Turk]

31 minutes ago, boyst said:

100%. It's a cool concept for a team of veterans who have shown their worth and been gilded by a forge already. It's another thing to simply fall back upon what the team wants as a vote. It's not a democracy. The head coach must reign supreme and the positional coaches must be held accountable.

 

Brady cool guying the OC position at a young age is going to be difficult when he has to put people's feet to the fire. Especially since McClappy doesn't.

 

This is going to be a long season.

 

Giving players ownership is never a bad thing. That makes them 100% accountable not only to the coaches but also to each other.

 

Plenty of success can be had with this method. Thinking you "have to do something a certain way or it won't work" is in the box thinking. Out of the box thinking works as well if not better many times and is far more flexible. People think Belichick was an "in the box thinker" but he has LOTS of "out of the box" things that he did where he utilized "gray areas" or was innovative in doing something not many others were doing because he saw clear mismatches or advantages to it.

 

At the end of the day, execution ALWAYS is more important than play calls and if you are giving players an opportunity to give feedback on what they believe they can execute well and put the onus on them to then do it, I don't see how that's a bad thing.

Edited September 3 by Big Turk

[Mikey152]

9 minutes ago, boyst said:

100%. It's a cool concept for a team of veterans who have shown their worth and been gilded by a forge already. It's another thing to simply fall back upon what the team wants as a vote. It's not a democracy. The head coach must reign supreme and the positional coaches must be held accountable.

 

Brady cool guying the OC position at a young age is going to be difficult when he has to put people's feet to the fire. Especially since McClappy doesn't.

 

This is going to be a long season.

Have you ever managed someone?

 

Leading a group of grown men isn't about making all the decisions and telling them what to do. It is about guiding them to reach their full potential as a group. 

 

You set the strategy (ie give them an install list for the week) then let them help you determine the playcall sheet based on how they feel install went. There is a big difference between something being a good call on paper, and something being a good call on the field. Recognizing that isn't weak, that's great leadership.

Edited September 3 by Mikey152

[bills_fan]

I love this approach. I also think it was necessary last year given that Brady took over a listing ship midseason...simply to what we do well and take it from there.  Worked wonderfully.

 

And I do believe that Brady is a great offensive mind.  And he had all offseason to develop a plan with these players.  Its gonna be a good plan we see this season (I hope Im right).

[julian]

This is no different than Tom Brady meeting with Bellichick each week and going over the game plan and Brady saying this will work, this isn’t gonna work and so on and so on.

 

 Joe Brady isn’t waiting in his office for Allen to hand him the weeks game plan so he can run to staples and laminate it. He’s simply given the players the ability to eliminate plays they know they can’t run effectively and add some plays they’re very confident with, with this information he puts together the plan of attack.

 

 I would think it’s odd if all the leagues OCs weren’t doing this in some form or fashion.

[davefan66]

This most likely isn’t a case of the inmates running the asylum.

 

A good manager gives the illusion that your feedback matters. I’m sure when it hits the fan, he is the decision maker.  But it is good to get a feel for what guys like.

[mushypeaches]

I get the criticism here, but I think that the benefits outweigh the potential negatives

 

Too many OC's (and head coaches) fail because their egos make them behave like they have to be the smartest guys in the room

Their schemes are always right - it's the players fault that they don't execute properly

 

Players buy in more when they're engaged and feel like they are part of the process

It's the same in sports as it is in business

Personally, I've always hated working for a VP or Director that never listens to my ideas.  When that happens, I just pull back, cash my paycheck and wait for them to get promoted or leave the organization.

NFL players behave the same way

 

[hondo in seattle]

This is both interesting and hopeful.

 

There have been studies that show employees are more productive and better committed when they are engaged in the decision making process - even when their opinion doesn't win the day.  

 

The opposite to engaging leadership is "command-and-control" when the boss simply tells you what to do you and you go do it.  When management authors discuss command-and-control leadership, they often use the military as an example.  As a former army officer, I think this is funny.  Obviously, when bullets are flying and decisions need to be  made NOW otherwise people are going to die, we don't stop for a consultation.  But in the planning phases, most leaders I knew were very collaborative.  We actively sought out the input of our subordinates.  

 

You don't want engagement to devolve into full fledge democracy.  That usually doesn't work on the battlefield or, I suspect, the gridiron.  But I hope what Brady is doing is soliciting the opinions of his players and respecting them.  And getting the opinions of his coaching staff.  And combining the input he received with his own insights, experience, and knowledge.  Then coming up with a cohesive game plan that effectively blends all that collective wisdom.  

[oldmanfan]

Interesting approach.  Seems to me if players are watching film, seeing trends, seeing which guys they can block or get open on it makes sense to get input.  So long as Brady makes it clear he is the final decision maker then it should be good.  In this vein I wonder if Josh is given more freedom to call audibles.

[strive_for_five_guy]

Andy Reid has a similar approach.  How has he fared?

[JP51]

1 minute ago, oldmanfan said:

Interesting approach.  Seems to me if players are watching film, seeing trends, seeing which guys they can block or get open on it makes sense to get input.  So long as Brady makes it clear he is the final decision maker then it should be good.  In this vein I wonder if Josh is given more freedom to call audibles.

I have always said you cannot have greatness with out belief in something... if this helps them own a stake in the system and creates a belief than give it a go... but to your point, Brady must control the overall out put... that being said, I like the idea of beginning to give Josh more discretion at the LOS ... 

[GoBills808]

S

1 minute ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

Andy Reid has a similar approach.  How has he fared?

Better than Joe Brady

[strive_for_five_guy]

5 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Better than Joe Brady

Perfect, more reason to emulate his approach.

[GoBills808]

3 minutes ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

Perfect, more reason to emulate his approach.

Putting your feet up while the players try to come up w game plans is not an approach

[NoHuddleKelly12]

57 minutes ago, boyst said:

100%. It's a cool concept for a team of veterans who have shown their worth and been gilded by a forge already. It's another thing to simply fall back upon what the team wants as a vote. It's not a democracy. The head coach must reign supreme and the positional coaches must be held accountable.

 

Brady cool guying the OC position at a young age is going to be difficult when he has to put people's feet to the fire. Especially since McClappy doesn't.

 

This is going to be a long season.

But isn’t Brady still the one who decides when and in what particular order said plays are called in game? In that sense he’s still the ultimate decision maker, picking his spots with the knowledge that his players are confident they can execute said plays on command, imho. 

[Warcodered]

9 minutes ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

But isn’t Brady still the one who decides when and in what particular order said plays are called in game? In that sense he’s still the ultimate decision maker, picking his spots with the knowledge that his players are confident they can execute said plays on command, imho. 

Also the guy gameplanning throughout out the week before he gets all the input on what parts his players liked the most.