madness
07-31-2007, 08:33 AM
Speedster presents a big-play threat
PITTSFORD — Each of the three touchdowns Roscoe Parrish scored last year were among the most exciting plays of the season for the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills’ coaches are determined to find a way for him to create more fireworks this year.
“Roscoe is probably the most dangerous player we have on offense right now, because he can do so many things with the ball in his hands,” Bills receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said.
Consider that Lee Evans caught 82 passes last year for 1,292 yards. Parrish caught 23 for 320.
The most dangerous player? Parrish?
Tolbert is by no means discounting Evans’ role as the Bills’ best receiver. His statement is simply a sign of how excited the coaches are about Parrish’s breakaway ability.
Parrish is the stealth rocket in the Bills’ arsenal. He is the coolest toy in the toy box. He is the Maserati that goes zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds. And the coaches can’t wait to drive him.
“Not too many people can match his quickness,” cornerback Terrence McGee said. “All he needs is one step and he’s open.”
That was obvious the third game of last year, against the New York Jets, when Parrish caught a short pass from the left slot position, beat one defender and raced 51 yards for a touchdown. The Bills caught the Jets in man-to-man coverage. A Jet line-backer was a split second late, and Parrish was gone.
Three weeks later in Detroit, Parrish got behind the secondary on a broken play and caught a 44-yard TD pass from J.P. Losman.
Parrish, of course, also is a superb punt returner, and his rumblin’- stumblin’ return TD against Jacksonville arguably was the Bills’ play of the year.
The Bills’ coaches spent some time this offseason thinking about how they can get Parrish more involved.
It’s not the simplest question. Parrish is 5-foot-9, 170 pounds. He’s not big enough to be a starting outside receiver.
“I want to double what I did last year on punt returns and double what I did as a receiver,” Parrish said. “I want to contribute more and help the team out. I can only control what I do in the opportunities I get.”
“Especially in this last offseason, we [created] more packages just for him,” Tolbert said. “He’s a dangerous weapon and we have to use his abilities.”
Last year Parrish was on the field whenever the Bills used the four-receiver set. That was about 18 percent of the time. He shared time with Josh Reed in the three-receiver set, with Reed getting more of the action. The Bills used three receivers 25 percent of the snaps. Reed still figures into the offensive equation just as much as last year. Parrish caught 12 passes out of the four-wide set last year, 10 out of three wides and just one from two wides.
Look for the percentage of fourreceiver sets to go up a bit this year, since the Bills expect to have better pass protection. The Bills also hope to have the ball more often this year. So Parrish’s chances figure to go up.
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PITTSFORD — Each of the three touchdowns Roscoe Parrish scored last year were among the most exciting plays of the season for the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills’ coaches are determined to find a way for him to create more fireworks this year.
“Roscoe is probably the most dangerous player we have on offense right now, because he can do so many things with the ball in his hands,” Bills receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said.
Consider that Lee Evans caught 82 passes last year for 1,292 yards. Parrish caught 23 for 320.
The most dangerous player? Parrish?
Tolbert is by no means discounting Evans’ role as the Bills’ best receiver. His statement is simply a sign of how excited the coaches are about Parrish’s breakaway ability.
Parrish is the stealth rocket in the Bills’ arsenal. He is the coolest toy in the toy box. He is the Maserati that goes zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds. And the coaches can’t wait to drive him.
“Not too many people can match his quickness,” cornerback Terrence McGee said. “All he needs is one step and he’s open.”
That was obvious the third game of last year, against the New York Jets, when Parrish caught a short pass from the left slot position, beat one defender and raced 51 yards for a touchdown. The Bills caught the Jets in man-to-man coverage. A Jet line-backer was a split second late, and Parrish was gone.
Three weeks later in Detroit, Parrish got behind the secondary on a broken play and caught a 44-yard TD pass from J.P. Losman.
Parrish, of course, also is a superb punt returner, and his rumblin’- stumblin’ return TD against Jacksonville arguably was the Bills’ play of the year.
The Bills’ coaches spent some time this offseason thinking about how they can get Parrish more involved.
It’s not the simplest question. Parrish is 5-foot-9, 170 pounds. He’s not big enough to be a starting outside receiver.
“I want to double what I did last year on punt returns and double what I did as a receiver,” Parrish said. “I want to contribute more and help the team out. I can only control what I do in the opportunities I get.”
“Especially in this last offseason, we [created] more packages just for him,” Tolbert said. “He’s a dangerous weapon and we have to use his abilities.”
Last year Parrish was on the field whenever the Bills used the four-receiver set. That was about 18 percent of the time. He shared time with Josh Reed in the three-receiver set, with Reed getting more of the action. The Bills used three receivers 25 percent of the snaps. Reed still figures into the offensive equation just as much as last year. Parrish caught 12 passes out of the four-wide set last year, 10 out of three wides and just one from two wides.
Look for the percentage of fourreceiver sets to go up a bit this year, since the Bills expect to have better pass protection. The Bills also hope to have the ball more often this year. So Parrish’s chances figure to go up.
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