Chan Gailey's Play Calling

[Mahdi]

The way Chan calls a game is impressive. He is very creative and he is doing things that I have been waiting for for a long time now;

1. Running the football out of 3 WR sets. I never understood why the Bills never tried this over the last few years. Defenses are constantly loading up against the run and we just keep pounding it with 2 TE sets. Running the football against a nickel defense is easier on the OL and it's one less LB for the RB do deal with.


2. Mis-direction runs. Wow, we have a lot of counter runs and runs out of trips formations and some really cool delayed draws. Defenses are really being kept guessing and by the time they make a guess Spiller was gone.


3. A real effort is being made to involve Parrish in the game. If this guy can get things going underneath it should really open up the game for Lee and Stevie.


4. SCREEN PLAYS! How many Bills fans have been waiting for the return of the screen play. It is definitely a staple of this offense and with the mobile OL we have we can really hurt teams that try and blitz a lot. Hangartner, Levitre, Bell and Wood were flying around on those screen plays and picking off defenders to clear a path. We will make good use of the screens with Spiller, Lynch and Jack.


5. Wildcat. That one wildcat play we ran was very well executed. I think Chan is working on the wildcat more than we anticipate and with the RBs we have we can make good use of it. Our strength is our run game so we might as well take full advantage. I wouldn't mind seeing us use the option play as well with Spiller as the QB running along side Jackson to the sideline and then pitching or keeping. Imagine that!


Anyone else notice anything in the play calling they particularly liked?

[elltrain22]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

Great post!! I noticed all these things too, but you explain them alot better than I could have done. I wonder what he'll do though, when Jackson & Lynch are healthy.

[DBrown77]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

The FB screen to McIntyre was a huge suprise. When is the last time you have seen that? I cant remember if they do that our of a 2 back set or not. The defense is watching CJ, then its a screen to the FB. nice play.

[BidsJr]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

SLANT PASS. Where has that been in the last 15 years?

[psubills62]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

How about the cross and drag routes? How dumb could Jauron be to not utilize these when he has a QB who loves to throw the short passes?

It's not directly related to the playcalling, but one thing I've noticed about Edwards is his ability to step up in the pocket. I don't remember seeing that before, but he did a good job of avoiding edge rushers against Cincy.

Back to the playcalling - we did do a lot of screen passes last year, but outside of the first game against NE, they were very predictable. With Gailey, it looked like he called them perfectly when the Bengals were bringing a blitz. Last year I remember seeing the screen pass get swallowed up by 5-6 defensive players. This year there's the pass and one defensive guy in space who gets blocked and the runner gets about 20 yards.

All in all, good thread Mahdi. I'm trying not to get too optimistic about the offense and how it will perform during the regular season.

[Philagape]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

I'll never forget how much and how well they used the screen at the Pats last year, and then it inexplicably disappeared the rest of the season.
Jauron & crew make Gailey look like Bill Walsh by comparison.

[Mahdi]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

How about the cross and drag routes? How dumb could Jauron be to not utilize these when he has a QB who loves to throw the short passes?

It's not directly related to the playcalling, but one thing I've noticed about Edwards is his ability to step up in the pocket. I don't remember seeing that before, but he did a good job of avoiding edge rushers against Cincy.

Back to the playcalling - we did do a lot of screen passes last year, but outside of the first game against NE, they were very predictable. With Gailey, it looked like he called them perfectly when the Bengals were bringing a blitz. Last year I remember seeing the screen pass get swallowed up by 5-6 defensive players. This year there's the pass and one defensive guy in space who gets blocked and the runner gets about 20 yards.

All in all, good thread Mahdi. I'm trying not to get too optimistic about the offense and how it will perform during the regular season.

Yeah game one against the Pats there was a few screens. But we kind of went away from it. It never became a go-to play for our offense. It seems with Gailey like it's a must-do play. I remember the Packers living off that play for a long time. I see it being similar to that for Buffalo. Not just a once in a while thing.

[BAM]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

Lovin' the playbook. The exciting thing is this has all been in the preseason. Can't wait to see what the regular season brings!

[BidsJr]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

You can bet that is part of Gaileys strategy of neutralizing the opponents pass rush with a young O-Line. That plus counters, draws, play action and Spiller. Which we have seen all of so far.

He is really going to try and keep the D from teeing off on our QB. At least that is what I see.

[ublinkwescore]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

Lovin' the playbook. The exciting thing is this has all been in the preseason. Can't wait to see what the regular season brings!

that's exactly how I'm looking at it too. All these naysayers also need to realize, we're not necessarily bringing our A game in the preseason - not like we will when the regular season starts.

[BigZ]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

Lovin' the playbook. The exciting thing is this has all been in the preseason. Can't wait to see what the regular season brings!

I was going to point that out too. Teams don't show everything in preseason. I can't wait to see what we do when it counts.

Impressed with the adjustments we're beginning to make. Hopefully the D will show more when they start blitzing in the regular season. The real key to the 3-4 is not knowing where the 4th and sometimes 5th rusher is coming from. Haven't seen much so far but again it's preseason.


Only hoping that the ST are holding back too!

[HHURRICANE]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

What is so sad is that for all of the ripping on Lynch and Parrish it is now appearing that it was our ****ty coahing staff that was too stupid to draw up plays that could give them the opportunities they needed.

"Pop Warner" sounds about right. Are we sure Jauron ever went to Yale?

[AustinTransplant]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

Slants? I forgot about slants. Last time I saw a Bills team run slants, we had Andre Reed and James Lofton catching them.

Does anyone know why we avoided slants the last 15 years?
For real, does anyone know any cons that would cause you to avoid them?

I mean Malarkey is still in the league, so are most coaches that have contributed to our lack of offense. IDK... its mind boggling.

[Night Train]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

Agreed Mahdi.

In other words, he can think fast on his feet and make quick adjustments that succeed...something the last 3 coaches could NEVER do.

[Mahdi]

Re: Chan Gailey's Play Calling

Agreed Mahdi.

In other words, he can think fast on his feet and make quick adjustments that succeed...something the last 3 coaches could NEVER do.

Yep. His play calling experience is evident. I really think that if you look at all our past OC they were new on the job or unproven. Gailey has done it at many different levels and for a long time now. It's great that he calls his own plays. That is characteristic of a lot of the best offenses. HCs who call their own plays that is.