Stevie Johnson makes some noise on the play calls...

[Mr. Pink]

Shocked this hasn't been discussed yet.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20121125/SPORTS03/311230061/buffalo-bills-six-answers?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CSports

Pay attention to point 3 at the end of the end of it - "Stevie made more noise in the locker room afterward when he said Ryan Fitzpatrick should be calling the plays."

This isn't the first time he has questioned Chan's play calling. He questioned why Gailey would call a play designed to go to TJ Graham near the end of the Patriot game which we all know the result of that one.

Does this start the end of the Chan era here? Does this signal the end of Stevie Johnson being a Bill? Do you want Fitzpatrick calling plays on the field? Does this even surprise you that someone is speaking out based on Gailey's past history with the Cowboys and Chiefs?

Thought this would be something worthy of discussion since it is particularly newsworthy that a player on the team is basically taking a shot at the head coach.

[DraftBoy]

I've asked this now to a few different people but does this mean our NFL QB does not have audible or play calling permission?

[Mr. Pink]

I've asked this now to a few different people but does this mean our NFL QB does not have audible or play calling permission?

That's also another good question. From Stevie's comment there's no way to tell if Fitz does or doesn't have the freedom to audible at the line from above. But I don't recall seeing any plays being audibled at the line recently. So it's either Fitz doesn't have confidence to do so or he simply isn't allowed. If someone does recall an audible, please refresh my memory.

[Typ0]

I think this is going to be read into way too much. this is a frustrated player who is on a losing football team. He calls for Fitz to call the plays because then he can have influence on them in the huddle. I would say it's a normal reaction by a good player on a crappy football team...but it's not really what it seems it's Stevie wanting to do more to help the team win.

[ServoBillieves]

I'd like to believe that it's solely on Chan with this one.

A "Smart Harvard QB" should be able to read a D and make adjustments accordingly.

[kingJofNYC]

I've asked this now to a few different people but does this mean our NFL QB does not have audible or play calling permission?
Indy has great mics, so you hear everything on the field. Every time Fitz yelled kill, they checked to a run, never to a pass. So the safety would start up near the line, rotate back, Fitz would kill, and the safety would come in closer to the line. I don't think he has much freedom at the line.

May have had more freedom in his first year to be honest, remember a game against the Bears where Urlacher baited Fitz into an int by getting him to switch the play call from a run to pass. Haven't seen Fitz to do something similar in a long time, the changing plays part not the int, those are a regular occurrence.

[DraftBoy]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/nfl-rapidreports/21134975/bills-wr-stevie-johnson-ryan-fitzpatrick-should-call-more-plays


“How I see it, I think we need to let our quarterback call these plays [in certain situations],” Johnson said. “He's out there on the field, he sees the adjustments, sees what needs to be done, and I think we should just let him make the adjustments on the go. I think that's when we can move the ball better. He did it a little bit in the game and we moved the ball.”

“[In the] fourth quarter, [Fitzpatrick] was pushing it and it felt like we were in a groove. He was hitting C.J. [Spiller], getting his run plays, doing the pass plays and I just think we should do that more often.”

Johnson said that Fitzpatrick has less freedom this year compared to other years when it comes to play-calling.

[kingJofNYC]

So Chan trusts Fitz less than he did in previous years, good to know. Glad we paid Fitz to do less, what the **** is going on with this team.

Sign a guy to a long term contract, and take away his playcalling. Guess Chan doesn't think Fitz is that smart, why else would he take playcalling at the line away from him, no trust in his decision making.

[BuffaloWingEater]

if you can't or not allowed to audible; then this franchise has so many fractures it is beyond repair. how can a veteran...starting qb...in a system for 3 years not be allowed some freedom with regard to play calling!?

[coastal]

Very strange

[JoeMama]

Stevie's right.

The coaches are wrong.

End of story.

[kingJofNYC]

More from Joe Buscaglia


Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson is a very emotional player, perhaps more so than any of his teammates. He wears them on his sleeve and lets his feelings be heard, regardless if it's the right or wrong thing to do. Which is why, when Stevie Johnson essentially called out head coach Chan Gailey after the game, it really speaks volumes as to where players' heads may be at in terms of their trust in the man calling the shots. Stevie Johnson opened up on the very first question, saying he feels like the offense would be better suited with Ryan Fitzpatrick being allowed to call audibles at the line of scrimmage. He commented that it's something they did the past couple of seasons, but for some reason this year it's a different ball game. He didn't single out Gailey by name, but he said whoever in the booth or on the sidelines that calls the plays aren't on the field, giving him the logic that Fitzpatrick should be the guy calling the shots. Johnson later revealed that his long reception was on a check from Fitzpatrick before the snap. Will it go over well in the head coach's office? My guess is probably not. But might it be the type of shakedown this Bills offense needs? Only time will tell. One more time, it's going to be an interesting week at One Bills Drive.

So basically, the best pass play from scrimmage was a result of Fitz taking advantage of what he saw at the line.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

are playbook is a comeback or slant to stevie, run, or screen to spiller. we need john gruden, and a new qb, barkley

[DraftBoy]

More from Joe Buscaglia



So basically, the best pass play from scrimmage was a result of Fitz taking advantage of what he saw at the line.

So Fitz can call a hot route, but cannot get out of a bad play unless its to a run?

[coastal]

Isn't he from Harvard?

[jamze132]

Yay Bills.

[Ingtar33]

So Fitz can call a hot route, but cannot get out of a bad play unless its to a run?

hotroutes are on the WR. The WR has to notice the blitzer, and run to where the blitzer vacated, the QB has to see the blitzer, and throw to where the blitzer vacated, hoping the WR is on the same page. It takes some familiarity to pull off, but there is no audible called for it to happen. Ideally the WR and QB don't even exchange glances pre-snap to alert the defense you know what's coming.

Trust and field awareness made that happen, not an audible.

[DraftBoy]

hotroutes are on the WR. The WR has to notice the blitzer, and run to where the blitzer vacated, the QB has to see the blitzer, and throw to where the blitzer vacated, hoping the WR is on the same page. It takes some familiarity to pull off, but there is no audible called for it to happen. Ideally the WR and QB don't even exchange glances pre-snap to alert the defense you know what's coming.

Trust and field awareness made that happen, not an audible.

Awesome, so Fitz has no control if the defense knows the play.

[Ingtar33]

I should correct that comment a little. In some offenses there is a signal (for example, i think Gilbride's had one)... many (if not most) there is not.

[Mahdi]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000100966/article/chan-gailey-playcalling-roles-wont-change-in-buffalo

Gailey's reaction.................

[The King]

I think this takes some serious heat off Fitz.

[Mahdi]

I think this takes some serious heat off Fitz.

Not sure about that, he still went 2-13 at one point in the game. That killed us. Although there always seemed to be tight coverage where Fitz was throwing so maybe the plays coming in are not ideal with respect to the defense.

I know it sounds simplistic but when I play Madden I see the defense and I make adjustments at the line to counter what the defense might do like a hot route, sending a guy in motion, or changing the play completely. Hard for me to believe an NFL QB seeing the same things can't be trusted to make adjustments.

[gebobs]

I'd like to believe that it's solely on Chan with this one.

A "Smart Harvard QB" should be able to read a D and make adjustments accordingly.
Being able to answer Wonderlic questions and having an Ivy League degree are no guarantee that he's football savvy. In fact, everything I see about Fitz tells me that he reached his level of incompetence the moment he signed with the Rams.

[MikeNC]

Was Chan thrown under the bus? Coach's think so....http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-the-coaches/0ap2000000101385/The-Coaches-Show-Should-Gailey-give-up-play-calling

[gebobs]

Was Chan thrown under the bus?
Back up the bus and make sure the job is finished.