A technical analysis of the Bills offense

[ghz in pittsburgh]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204422404576595233381220172.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I do believe it carries some water. To me, the key for the Bills are 1) Fitz, who must read defense quick in order to get rid of the ball, anticipate well (this is where I think Gailey saw and decided to sack Trent after two games last year); 2) being able to run out of this formation. Again, you can see why Gailey wanted to draft Spiller because physically he can run or be a good receiver. But it is the wily Jackson who showed his shrewd understanding of his role in this offense and got a seamless rapport with Fitz.

On a side note, near the end of the article:
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Nonetheless, the strategy does have advantages for a team like the Bills that may not have the most gifted athletes. The receivers have to be good route runners and have good hands, but aren't required to be big or unusually fast. The quarterbacks have to throw the ball quicker in the offense, which means subpar offensive lines don't have to block as long.
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Again, I see why Roscoe was a favorite receiver last year and Gailey wanted to extend him. I'm also wondering about Lee Evans. I strongly believe Evans has good hands. Does that mean he does not run good routes or he can only run good "go" routes?

[Forward_Lateral]

What people don't realize is that being able to run good routes, and having great hands is 100000 times more important than being fast, or having a 48 inch vertical. Look at the best WRs to ever play the game. They all have 2 things in common: Great hands, and the uncanny ability to get open at will by running precise routes.

[psubills62]

What people don't realize is that being able to run good routes, and having great hands is 100000 times more important than being fast, or having a 48 inch vertical. Look at the best WRs to ever play the game. They all have 2 things in common: Great hands, and the uncanny ability to get open at will by running precise routes.
And the ones who rise above even that are elite in both categories - route running and athletic ability.

I think the reason most people love the athletes is that route running, great hands can be developed (to a limited extent). Athletic ability can't.

In general I certainly agree with you. I'd prefer a guy who is precise with his routes, has great hands, etc. to a guy who can simply jump high. My best example of a guy like this coming out of college is Eric Decker. The kid was literally the only weapon on a Minnesota team with little offense. Yet...teams just could not stop him. He had some ridiculous streak with some # of receptions each game or > 100 yards...just unstoppable. Not because he was fast, but he understood the game and was very technically sound.

[ddaryl]

Ochocinco showed why a precise route is important.. If he makes his cut on that route and starts to come back towards Brady McKelvin doesn't make a play

[baalworship]

Thanks for that. Best read in a while. I love football strategy breakdowns and look forward to watching for these formations more. I did notice the bunch formations causing chaos but this helps explain why defenses cannot react.

Across the NFL the offensive minds have the upper hand now. It will be interesting to see what the D coordinators do to counter this.

[Mad Bomber]

I was going to post a link to this article because I liked it so much, but you beat me to it.

Look at the pic in the article. With the exception of the three down linemen, everyone else is looking at each other like "what the hell are we gonna do here?

[acehole]

I thought Brady under threw that a bit.



Ochocinco showed why a precise route is important.. If he makes his cut on that route and starts to come back towards Brady McKelvin doesn't make a play