6 Offensive Linemen: The Bills' most effective offensive personnel grouping

[Logic]

I have to admit: I didn't see this coming.

The Bills -- the team with the All-World quarterback with a bazooka for an arm -- seem to operate best offensively with 6 o-linemen, a tight end, two receivers, and a running back on the field. I don't have the stats in front of me that compare their effectiveness with 6 OL vs other groupings, but it certainly seems to be one of their most effective tactics. 

Not the spread, not the Air Raid, not 10 or 11 personnel, not even 12 personnel. A jumbo set. The Bills offense seems to operate best out of a jumbo set. 

They've been using it for a few seasons now, here and there. This season, under Brady, they seem to be employing it most often and most effectively. We saw it on Sunday against the 49ers, where they lined up with 6 OL and ran Duo over and over and over again.

Who could have foreseen this being such an effective tactic for the Bills?

Who could have foreseen Alec Anderson playing such a crucial role in the offense?

Why don't more teams do this? It seems to give such a clear advantage in the run game, and then even when you run play-action off of it, the 6th lineman gives the QB extra time to find a receiver. It seems so obvious, and yet, it is certainly not common across the NFL to operate from this set as often as the Bills do.

Anyway...for the rest of the season, when you see a 6th o-lineman trot out onto the field, it's fairly likely that a positive play is about to happen for the Bills offense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Buffalo Junction]

Honestly, I’m not sure that many teams have enough solid linemen to effectively utilize these heavy personnel packages. To top that off, Allen’s running ability means he must be accounted for which makes it easier to pass out of that personnel grouping. 

[MJS]

The 6th olineman is technically a TE, which means they can pass him the ball. Don't be surprised if they do that sometime in the playoffs.

[NickelCity]

Our OLine is the most important non-allen unit on this team. 

[nemhoff]

Although they line him up differently, it is very similar to the Ravens and how they use Ricard.  Even though they list him as a FB (I think).

[Captain_Quint]

27 minutes ago, MJS said:

The 6th olineman is technically a TE, which means they can pass him the ball. Don't be surprised if they do that sometime in the playoffs.

I thought this last game and earlier in the year. It's coming, for sure, in a big game. I hope he catches it!

 

[Captain Hindsight]

5 minutes ago, Captain_Quint said:

I thought this last game and earlier in the year. It's coming, for sure, in a big game. I hope he catches it!

 

Lions were going to throw a pass with their tackle. Lets hope they at least let Knox throw it (HS QB)

[Captain_Quint]

14 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Lions were going to throw a pass with their tackle. Lets hope they at least let Knox throw it (HS QB)

I feel like it will be the traditional goal to go situation. Line up in a run formation. Play action, and Josh hits him as he leaks out for a TD. 

 

But a pass from Knox to Anderson would be epic! 

[The Frankish Reich]

Belichick used to do this (although sometimes it was technically a fullback and not a 6th OL) including in the infamous Wind Game a couple years ago. I always wondered why the Bills didn't use it too. Kudos to Brady for both trying it and making it work!

[Big Turk]

Bills throw quite effectively out of this formation as well.

[Matt_In_NH]

Looking at the stats shown, is it kind of obvious this is a low volume thing for the whole league.  The Bills gain the most yards per game at 58 yards...yet they gain 347 yards a game total....it is probably  that some teams, many teams do very little of 6th OL.  There are a lot of ways to skin the cat, I am interested in winning vs stats and the Bills are winning so I am pretty satisfied.   But it all comes down to post season, otherwise its just another round of stats.

[Logic]

1 hour ago, MJS said:

The 6th olineman is technically a TE, which means they can pass him the ball. Don't be surprised if they do that sometime in the playoffs.

I believe the Bills are just one touchdown reception by someone who hasn't caught one yet away from tying the all-time single season record for amount of different players on a team catching a touchdown pass.

That was a mouthful, but I think y'all know what I mean.

Alec Anderson and Zach Davidson seem like the best bets to help them achieve this record.

*Edit: Now that Josh Allen has a touchdown reception, they might only be ONE player away from setting the record.

[finn]

I also like how much on-field experience Anderson is getting. If he ever needs to replace Dawkins or Brown long-term, he won't miss a beat. Although maybe it would be more effective to keep him in his current role even if there is an injury. 

[GASabresIUFan]

With the development of Anderson and Davidson, does that end Knox's stay in Buffalo after this season? Or do they wait another year when Knox's dead cap is better.  He has certainly done an decent job while Kincaid has been out and is a far batter blocker than Kincaid or Davidson.

 

Edwards also did well that year in the 6th OL position.  His performance allowed the Bills to comfortable move on from Bates and Morse and slide McGovern to center where he is a better fit that he was a guard.

Edited December 6 by GASabresIUFan

[mushypeaches]

Beane and McDermott investing long-term into the OL has been the quietest but biggest improvement in the team the past two seasons.

 

They stopped bringing in veteran re-treads as stopgaps and focused on both drafting/developing, but also identifying guys from other teams that can plug and play.

Having a physical OL that can maul teams in the run game, and efficiently pass block has been the key to our success (and also keeping Josh Allen upright)

Also having a high-caliber OL coach like Aaron Kromer has a lot to do with it too

 

Marv & Polian also knew this during the SB years, and it was when key talent aged out and/or left via free agency that the team really declined

Outside of Ruben Brown, they couldn't draft or develop anyone of note (and yes, I'm counting John Fina who was a nice player, but not a premium LT)

[CA OC Bills Fan]

I think when teams, including the Bills, do this they are signaling a run play and it means the D mostly focuses on the run. Defenses typically have success when they know that a run play is coming.

 

Last year at the Chargers game they ran this quite a bit. The Chargers were not very good last year and this was the first game under an interim coach. We barely beat the Chargers that day even though we were the much better team. I typically wouldn't notice that they were adding an extra tackle unless it's pointed out. I was at the game and of course the referee announces before each of these plays, "Number 76 is reporting as eligible." David Edwards played that role last year and it seemed the Chargers stopped 75% of these plays for very little gain. Interestingly enough, couldn't hear these announcements when I went back to watch on TV so if I wasn't at the game, I don't think I ever would have known they ran this play as much as they did.

[Nephilim17]

Buff News article on the O-line that has some good bits on how well McGovern has replaced Morse and how McGovern and Edwards have great chemistry.

 

https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nfl/bills/inside-the-buffalo-bills-offensive-line-david-edwards-josh-allen-connor-mcgovern-dion-dawkins-ocyrus-torrence-spencer-brown/article_9ac2f058-b350-11ef-aa5e-2ba77103bed1.html

 

Edwards, 6-foot-6 and 308 pounds, ceded the jumbo tight end role to Alec Anderson and has taken over at left guard, where McGovern lined up last year.

 

“I just think he’s a great player, overall,” McGovern said of Edwards. “He sees the game a lot of the same ways I do. He’s my right-hand man. He helps me with all the calls. He’s fit perfectly with this offensive line, and it’s really helped my transition to center go even smoother.”

[NoSaint]

It’s almost like I posted for a decade that it was a missed opportunity as we trotted out Lee smith. 
 

Hidden perks - real snaps for a young OL to develop too

[MJS]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

I believe the Bills are just one touchdown reception by someone who hasn't caught one yet away from tying the all-time single season record for amount of different players on a team catching a touchdown pass.

That was a mouthful, but I think y'all know what I mean.

Alec Anderson and Zach Davidson seem like the best bets to help them achieve this record.

*Edit: Now that Josh Allen has a touchdown reception, they might only be ONE player away from setting the record.

Didn't the Bills tie that record in one of the recent seasons? I seem to remember that being a talking point.

[freddyjj]

Love how on Ray Davis run vs Titans (2nd video above), Josh signals TD at 18 second mark in video when ray is 1 yd past LOS and doing a spin move.  He still had 16 yards left to score!