Whats our identity?

[FlyingDutchman]

Im a confused on our offensive approach for the season. Dick Juron is very conservative and recently said something like he will play the field position game. He wouldnt mind just having a couple of first downs and punting, and then holding on defense.

Im a little confused because I feel like that this contradicts our new offense. Correct me if Im wrong but isnt this new offense about stretching the field and trying to create space underneath the safties and linebackers. If Holcomb was starting I would understand this contradiction bc wanting to stretch the field and being able to are two different things. It just really seems like Juron is saying we are gonna run heavy and be conservative, but I thought we were going a different route.....Anyone...anyone.....

[Historian]

Our identity is dull, boring and conservative.

Expect a lot of low scoring, 1 point games, just like Saturday night.

[YardRat]

I'll wait until the regular season and see for myself.

[Kerr]

Im a confused on our offensive approach for the season. Dick Juron is very conservative and recently said something like he will play the field position game. He wouldnt mind just having a couple of first downs and punting, and then holding on defense.

Im a little confused because I feel like that this contradicts our new offense. Correct me if Im wrong but isnt this new offense about stretching the field and trying to create space underneath the safties and linebackers. If Holcomb was starting I would understand this contradiction bc wanting to stretch the field and being able to are two different things. It just really seems like Juron is saying we are gonna run heavy and be conservative, but I thought we were going a different route.....Anyone...anyone.....

It's supposed to be an attack similar to what the rams had, except more running.
DJ is just bs'ing. The real offense is going to appear on opening day. It couldn't have come against a better defensive minded coach-belicheck. It'd make my day just to see that perplexed look on his face trying to figure out how to stop our offense that day. I don't know if it would happen, but an upset would surely open up some eyes in the league.

[bflojohn]

I don't really know yet, however, I'd like this to be the plan.....Keep defenses honest by keeping the 8th man out of the box. Spread the ball around to the playmakers. Incorporate the TE especially when protection breakdowns occur. Attack the deep middle with Royal enough to allow for single coverage on the wideouts. Establish Lee Evans early in the year as the bonified #1 guy. Finally, keep close to a 50-50 split between the run and pass. Willis McGahee and A-Train and Lionel Gates have to gain over 4 yards per carry throughout the year. If they can average 21 to 24 points per game, wins totaling 8 or slightly more is distinctly possible!!

[Mr. Cynical]

The Buffalo Rebillders.

[Philagape]

There's conservative vanilla offense, and there's an attacking vertical game. Thing is, one can't work well without the other. There needs to be balance to keep defenses honest.

[OpIv37]

Our offensive Identity is the 2+1 plan

Two runs followed by one pass then resting on the bench.

[Jan Reimers]

Our identity is dull, boring and conservative.

Expect a lot of low scoring, 1 point games, just like Saturday night.
You're probably right, but it's a shame with a big armed guy like Losman, a stable of lightning fast receivers, and a potential 1800 yard runner in McGahee.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I think it all depends on the QB and how consistent he can be with his accuracy.

Jauron has said that you need to throw the deep ball, even if it isn't completed, to keep the defense honest. With Losman at QB, that threat is there, but will be more legitimate if he can get his footwork straightened out and hit a few of those. The Rams' style passing game features a lot of slants and 15 yard out patterns to go with the deep ball. Here, too, Losman has the arm to make those throws, but has to hit them consistently to make the defense respect the Bills passing game. If Losman can be consistent with hitting those passes, it opens everything else up: the TE and slot receivers working the middle of the field and underneath areas, the screen and swing passes to the RBs, and, above all, the running game. If Losman can be consistent enough in making the throws that he has to make to keep the defense honest and open up the field, the running lanes will be there for Willis, et al. The Bills don't have to throw the ball as much as the Rams did to open things up for the running game: the run-pass ratio can be balanced or even favor the run--as it was when the Bills had Kelly and Thomas when the Bills actually ran the ball more than they passed.

The question is whether Losman can make the right reads and deliver the ball accurately with enough consistency to force the opposition to respect the passing game. Like all young QBs, initially the opposition is going to blitz the hell out of him, so he's going to have to make fast, accurate reads and get the ball out of his hands quickly and accurately enough to burn the blitz often enough to force the defense to back off and play honestly. That puts a lot on JP, but also on the offensive line, which is going to have to give him at least a little bit of time. The blitz can be burned by draws, screens and dump-offs to the RBs, but probably not badly enough to force the defense to stop blitzing. To be effective, JP is going to have to not only make those short throws that he has struggled with, but also show that he can hit some slants and 15 yard outs that give the WRs a chance to break a big gainer. That will also force the defense to back-off if they put 8 men in the box to stop the run. So, the onus is going to be on Losman to do the things that he needs to do consistently enough to make the offense go.

If Losman can't do that once the regular season starts and the speed of the game picks up or if Holcomb replaces him as the starter, the opposition defenses will be able to stack the box with 8 men to stop the run because they won't have to respect the deep ball or the deep out and you will get a re-run of last season's offense. If Nall can show anything between now and the end of the preseason, he would probably be the better candidate to step in should Losman falter because he also has a much better arm that Holcomb. But, like JP, Nall, too, would have to show that he can hit those key passes consistently enough to force the opposition to back off. Because Nall has been around a little longer than Losman, opposing defenses might not blitz him quite as much as they will JP, figuring that he has seen and learned enough as a backup for Favre not to be as easily rattled. But, who knows? Teams might still go after him because of his relative inexperience and lack of playing time.

But, won't be possible for the Bills to establish much of an offensive identity unless they have a QB who can consistently hit the key passes that they need to complete in order to keep the opposing defenses honest. If they can't get that, they may be forced to run the ball more to protect the ball and keep their QB from getting killed by the pass rush, resulting in a conservative run-oriented offense that is designed not to lose games, rather than to try to win them. But, of course, if they are forced to go that route because they aren't getting the play that they need from the QB position, teams will be able to stack up against the run and the running game won't be that successful either. Willis can be extremely effective if he gets the ball 25-30 times a game, but not if he's always running into 8 or 9 man fronts. Willis will probably get the ball that often in this offense, when they can maintain possession, but how effective he will be with those touches will be determined by how effective his QB is in forcing the defense to respect the passing game and in opening up the field for him.

And, I don't think we will really have any idea how that's going to turn out until around the fourth game of the season because those two road games in the division to start the season would be tough on even an experienced veteran QB, let alone on a QB with limited experience like Losman. But, of course, that's just my opinion.

[Historian]

Losman throws a beautiful deep out. I think it all depends on whether he has the time from the line.

Its clear there's more talent there this year than last, but a leader must emerge, and they have to get to know each other's tendancies better.

That just takes playing time.