2008 Bills Offense

[San-O]

I happen to agree with the point of the OP. I will qualify that the assessment is true as of this minute and things can change prior to the start of the season. But we have too many question marks and no solid positive changes. We don't know if a rookie OC will be better than Fairchild, we don't know if the improvement over the off-season will be adequate for Trent and Lynch. It is questionable how much rookie WR and TE can add to last year's offense. Given how we our off-season hopes have been repeatedly dashed over the last few off-seasons, esp. on O, I cannot feel optimistic about the O compared to last year. I still have a hard time understanding why 2007 was so much below the level of our second half 2006 performance on O.

Also, a point has been made regarding the negativity of the OP. I just cannot see the grounds for optimism right now.

 

 

I'm also afraid we're going to start hearing about a rookie O.C., and a first year starter at QB, and a new system, and a new O-line coach,

and possibly a rookie WR and TE, and it will be "wait until next year" again. All of these actually are very valid points.

 

It's been that way for almost a decade.

[Captain Hindsight]

First I would have signed Ernest Wilford from the Jags. I believe he would have been a difference maker for us in the redzone and picking up the tough yards for the first downs.

 

Second, yes why not pick up Bryant Johnson and throw him into the mix with our WR group. Obviously the Bills were interested but they were outbid for his services. He would have been a nice addition to our offense.

 

Third, I would have had Alge Crumpler in here the first day of his release and wouldn't have let him out of Buffalo. If healthy, what a difference maker he would have been.

 

Then going into the draft you can take that CB that the Bills desperately need.

Ok Bryant Johnson wanted a one year deal. so !@#$ him IMO. Wilford went to Miami on the first day of FA and Alge Crumpler will be the biggest waste of money this offseason. Hes a name now nothing else. The Bills have built this team through the draft with several SMART FA signings. Those players mentioned above (johnson for one year, Bad knees crumpler) were not smart moves. I would have liked Wilford but we didnt get him. We are sitting pretty at number 11 with our choice of any reciever we want, why over spend for any of those guys? And as for corner i would hardly call that a desperate need considering our coners are pretty damn good but our run defense was pretty piss pour, hence the smart moves to get Stroud, Johnson and Kavika Mitchell

 

 

They didnt build Rome in a day and they won't build the Bills either. Patience

[Bills Freak]

Jim McNally doesn't call the plays or choose the blocking schemes. That is the offensive coordinator.

 

As far as our current personel, we have one WR capable of playing the 1/2 role and we don't even have an adequate #3 WR ot top Tight end. We have a center who gives the opposition a physical mismatch to exploit and a right tackle who is decent but not physical enough. Not to mention a QB who is in his first year as a starter.

 

If I am a DC against the Bills, I mix up a lot of coverages and blitz up the middle, shading to the right side most of the time. Stuff the run on early downs, and hammer Edwards on throwing downs. The Bills as they are currently constituted will not beat anyone by throwing on early downs- they are best off sticking with high percentage plays and managing downs and distances.

 

If their draft picks turn out to be upgrades, this can definitely change, but that remains to be seen

 

That is the most complete synopsis I've read here yet. If you know the Bills, even as a fan it's easy to see how to exploit this offense however w/some tweaks the "O" could probably expand on the ulta-conservative approach a little. Also, as you said, if we get some help that turns out to be even slight upgrades, the production should improve.

[Fan in Chicago]

Ok Bryant Johnson wanted a one year deal. so !@#$ him IMO. Wilford went to Miami on the first day of FA and Alge Crumpler will be the biggest waste of money this offseason. Hes a name now nothing else. The Bills have built this team through the draft with several SMART FA signings. Those players mentioned above (johnson for one year, Bad knees crumpler) were not smart moves. I would have liked Wilford but we didnt get him. We are sitting pretty at number 11 with our choice of any reciever we want, why over spend for any of those guys? And as for corner i would hardly call that a desperate need considering our coners are pretty damn good but our run defense was pretty piss pour, hence the smart moves to get Stroud, Johnson and Kavika Mitchell

 

 

They didnt build Rome in a day and they won't build the Bills either. Patience

 

I really do wonder how we got free agents on defense but are trying to rationalize not getting anyone (significant) on offense. You say getting Bryant Johnson for a year would not be preferable. I make the argument that he would be insurance in case our rookie WR does not immediately contribute. Yes, we did not get Wilford even though the contract he did sign was not too expensive. Which meant we did not think of him much for that money or he did not want to come here. Either way, we did not make it happen. Crumpler would be an upgrade (IMHO) compared to the current set of TE. Again, expecting a rookie TE to make a difference is not a given. We may have been better with a known devil.

I am not advocating against patience. All I am saying is that there is no positive changes to date that indicate the O will be better in 2008 than in 2007.

[Flbillsfan#1]

NONSENSE!!!!!!!!! Losman's going to regain the starting job and make us forget about his regression in 07. just ask his fans.

I think the odds on that happening are just as good as the odds on Trent playing 16 games!!!!!!!!

[Adam]

That is the most complete synopsis I've read here yet. If you know the Bills, even as a fan it's easy to see how to exploit this offense however w/some tweaks the "O" could probably expand on the ulta-conservative approach a little. Also, as you said, if we get some help that turns out to be even slight upgrades, the production should improve.

As much as people ripped Fairchild, I will say I didn't really care for his offense, and I hope Turk's will do better. The abuse he took about no audibles makes me laugh though- many successful offenses have been run without audibles- I don't know if Norrv Turner has changed at all, but for most of his career as a coodinator, he did not have audibles.

 

Still, we need improvement in the talent level- and we can't overpay for it- players perform to their talent level, not their salary. Some people think that the only thing keeping Parrish from the pro bowl was Fairchild. I wish those people were the GM of either St. Louis or Miami so we could trade him straight up for the 1st or 2nd overall pick and get one of those stud DT's to pair with Stroud.

[Dan]

I really do wonder how we got free agents on defense but are trying to rationalize not getting anyone (significant) on offense. You say getting Bryant Johnson for a year would not be preferable. I make the argument that he would be insurance in case our rookie WR does not immediately contribute. Yes, we did not get Wilford even though the contract he did sign was not too expensive. Which meant we did not think of him much for that money or he did not want to come here. Either way, we did not make it happen. Crumpler would be an upgrade (IMHO) compared to the current set of TE. Again, expecting a rookie TE to make a difference is not a given. We may have been better with a known devil.

I am not advocating against patience. All I am saying is that there is no positive changes to date that indicate the O will be better in 2008 than in 2007.

I agree someone like Johnson would have been nice insurance for a year. Perhaps they just didn't like his attitude or something else abot him kinda made the FO think twice. So they made a half hearted attempt. ??

[Adam]

I really do wonder how we got free agents on defense but are trying to rationalize not getting anyone (significant) on offense. You say getting Bryant Johnson for a year would not be preferable. I make the argument that he would be insurance in case our rookie WR does not immediately contribute. Yes, we did not get Wilford even though the contract he did sign was not too expensive. Which meant we did not think of him much for that money or he did not want to come here. Either way, we did not make it happen. Crumpler would be an upgrade (IMHO) compared to the current set of TE. Again, expecting a rookie TE to make a difference is not a given. We may have been better with a known devil.

I am not advocating against patience. All I am saying is that there is no positive changes to date that indicate the O will be better in 2008 than in 2007.

Well, its hard to say how much a rookie WR can help, but just say that having Stroud and Mitchell (and Johnson instead of Tripplett) prevents 3-4 third down conversions that the other team would have made last year, then factor in our coverage and return games on special teams, and you are talking about extra yards in field position to benefit our offense.

 

Sure, that might not give us the exciting and explosive offense we haven't seen since the early 1990's, but it could put more points on the board than we have been scoring and maybe a win or two more while our young QB develops.

 

By the way, with all the talk about if one of the DL's drops to us we could go that way, if Jake Long (OT, Michigan) falls to us, he could be considered as well. To disrupt the continuity of the OL, you need a big upgrade in talent, and he would be just that- Not only would he be a much better run blocker than Walker, he would need less help, wich means more help to Fowler (who is still our likely starter)

[BuffOrange]

Frez -

 

Negative thoughts between February and August mean you're a horrible fan who hates life who should root for the Patriots. Obviously the Offensive Coordinator handicapped us; just like the previous 18 OC's.

 

When the offense actually does prove to suck for the 13th straight year, feel free to blame it on the lack of continuity and insult all the unrealistic bird brains who expected a young QB to grasp a 2nd system in 2 years. Mind you if you point out this lack of continuity before the season as a potential problem, you are a horrible fan who hates life and roots for the Patriots.

[Frez]

Frez -

 

Negative thoughts between February and August mean you're a horrible fan who hates life who should root for the Patriots. Obviously the Offensive Coordinator handicapped us; just like the previous 18 OC's.

 

When the offense actually does prove to suck for the 13th straight year, feel free to blame it on the lack of continuity and insult all the unrealistic bird brains who expected a young QB to grasp a 2nd system in 2 years. Mind you if you point out this lack of continuity before the season as a potential problem, you are a horrible fan who hates life and roots for the Patriots.

 

 

Must be the weather that has me down in the dumps.

 

 

 

Nice post............

[Art in PNS]

That would be nice. But, I am one who sincerely believes the talent on offense was HORRIBLY misused by Fairchild.

 

 

Agreed. New England turned Wes Welker into a Pro Bowl Caliber Reciever with a monster year. We put Roscoe ( basically the same type reciever ) in the game in a few spots then pull him after an electrifying run and catch because we don't want to Overexpose him. Yeah Right. You wait and see we will play a JP style offense this year with a Chad Pennington type QB . If we don't throw to the running backs and TE again it will be a long year. Not sure why everyone screams for another vertical WR threat , unless he can get off the line, get instantaneous seperation and catch the ball all in the first 8 yards he will be underutilized with Trent I fear.

[Captain Hindsight]

I really do wonder how we got free agents on defense but are trying to rationalize not getting anyone (significant) on offense. You say getting Bryant Johnson for a year would not be preferable. I make the argument that he would be insurance in case our rookie WR does not immediately contribute. Yes, we did not get Wilford even though the contract he did sign was not too expensive. Which meant we did not think of him much for that money or he did not want to come here. Either way, we did not make it happen. Crumpler would be an upgrade (IMHO) compared to the current set of TE. Again, expecting a rookie TE to make a difference is not a given. We may have been better with a known devil.

I am not advocating against patience. All I am saying is that there is no positive changes to date that indicate the O will be better in 2008 than in 2007.

It is possible to get good players who can contibute in the Draft. See Lynch and Edwards last year. The defense has been the focus the past few years because it was so ignored when TD was here. I didnt want Bryant Johnson because the whole thing reminded me way to much of trying to sign Chris Brown last year, an underachieving player who "just needs a fresh start" He wasnt getting a whole lot of intrest elsewhere and he choose to sign a one year deal with a team searchig for a QB instead of signing a multi year deal with an up and coming team. Me thinks he isnt our guy.

 

Crumpler is damaged goods JMO

[Adam]

Agreed. New England turned Wes Welker into a Pro Bowl Caliber Reciever with a monster year. We put Roscoe ( basically the same type reciever ) in the game in a few spots then pull him after an electrifying run and catch because we don't want to Overexpose him. Yeah Right. You wait and see we will play a JP style offense this year with a Chad Pennington type QB . If we don't throw to the running backs and TE again it will be a long year. Not sure why everyone screams for another vertical WR threat , unless he can get off the line, get instantaneous seperation and catch the ball all in the first 8 yards he will be underutilized with Trent I fear.

You are correct, we need a guy who is primarily a possession type WR, but if he has the ability to score from anywhere it would be an added bonus.

 

Parrish has similar physical attributes to Welker, but Rob Johnson had similar physical attributes to Donovan McNabb. It just doesn't translate on the field. New England didn't "make" welker, he was very good before going there- thats don't tell everything

[Sisyphean Bills]

Jauron's teams typically lose.

 

But not always. They only lose to playoff teams 81.1% of the time, for example.