Why Tyrod Taylor, Bills Passing Game Could Make Giant Leap In 2017

[BillsImpossible]

This article is a gem. Been looking for this needle in the Bills haystack all off season....I found it!

Thanks to justasportsfan.

http://billswire.usatoday.com/2017/07/07/west-coast-offense-tyrod-taylor-buffalo-bills/

A few excerpts...

In the 15 games that LeSean McCoy, Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods and Charles Clay all played in, Taylor completed 64-percent of his passes for 3,362 yards, throwing 26 touchdowns and six interceptions. In the 14 games without either one of those players, those numbers dropped to a 61.2-percent completion rate, 2,697 passing yards with just 11 touchdowns and six interceptions.

This year, new offensive coordinator Rick Dennison will be installing a West Coast Offense, an age-old system that’s a great fit for a quarterback with Taylor’s skill-set. West Coast passing concepts are designed for efficiency, stretching defenses horizontally. These horizontal routes make it difficult to play man coverage and get defenders chasing receivers. The zone running game is designed to set up play-action passes and bootlegs that will maximize Taylor’s mobility while providing him with half-field reads.

Dennison’s passing game is based around a few simple, yet effective route concepts – the drive, the smash, the snag, Hi-Lo’s, and floods.

[BillsImpossible]

Never underestimate the Spider 2 Y Banana.

[feldspar]

One small step for man, one giant leap for Bills-kind.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens this season...

[YardRat]

Playoffs.

[BertSquirtgum]

This article is a gem. Been looking for this needle in the Bills haystack all off season....I found it!

Thanks to justasportsfan.

http://billswire.usatoday.com/2017/07/07/west-coast-offense-tyrod-taylor-buffalo-bills/

A few excerpts...

In the 15 games that LeSean McCoy, Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods and Charles Clay all played in, Taylor completed 64-percent of his passes for 3,362 yards, throwing 26 touchdowns and six interceptions. In the 14 games without either one of those players, those numbers dropped to a 61.2-percent completion rate, 2,697 passing yards with just 11 touchdowns and six interceptions.

This year, new offensive coordinator Rick Dennison will be installing a West Coast Offense, an age-old system that’s a great fit for a quarterback with Taylor’s skill-set. West Coast passing concepts are designed for efficiency, stretching defenses horizontally. These horizontal routes make it difficult to play man coverage and get defenders chasing receivers. The zone running game is designed to set up play-action passes and bootlegs that will maximize Taylor’s mobility while providing him with half-field reads.

Dennison’s passing game is based around a few simple, yet effective route concepts – the drive, the smash, the snag, Hi-Lo’s, and floods.
Tyrod Taylor sucks.

[BillsImpossible]

One small step for man, one giant leap for Bills-kind.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens this season...

This has been an off season like no other...new coach and all. Bills fans are used to that after every 3 or 4 years.

Why does this off season feel so different compared to so many past years?

[kishoph]

In the West Coast Offense the QB needs to get rid of the ball quickly with anticipation and accuracy, none of which are in Taylor's "skill set".

[BertSquirtgum]

This has been an off season like no other...new coach and all. Bills fans are used to that after every 3 or 4 years.

Why does this off season feel so different compared to so many past years?

It feels exactly the same as the last 17 years. New season new coach. Homers praising the good works of someone they haven't seen coach one day yet. More of the same to me.

[Novacane]

Why does this off season feel so different compared to so many past years?


Feels no different to me.

[Skooby]

Never underestimate the Spider 2 Y Banana.
Haha, Gruden is insane.

[BillsImpossible]

In the West Coast Offense the QB needs to get rid of the ball quickly with anticipation and accuracy, none of which are in Taylor's "skill set".

Not sure about that, have to wait and see I guess. Fair point though, Taylor has had some trouble with short throws but I can't say he's like EJ Manuel bad, throwing balls in the dirt 5 yards behind the receiver.

The first 5 games for #5 are key to Taylor's future with the Bills.

If the Bills are 1-4 at the bye week, enter the rookie Nathan Peterman.

http://www.newyorkupstate.com/buffalo-bills/index.ssf/2017/04/nfl_draft_2017_nathan_peterman_highlights_stats_other_info_5_things_to_know.html

Good fit in Bills offense

Rick Dennison will run a West Coast offense in Buffalo that utilizes quick, accurate passes. Peterman may not have the strongest arm in this year's QB class, but he has a skill-set that is perfect for Dennison's West Coast offense.

[justasportsfan]

This article is a gem. Been looking for this needle in the Bills haystack all off season....I found it!

Thanks to justasportsfan.

http://billswire.usatoday.com/2017/07/07/west-coast-offense-tyrod-taylor-buffalo-bills/



What did I do now and why am I being blamed for it ?

[BillsImpossible]

What did I do now and why am I being blamed for it ?

Your post about Rick Dennison led me to this article:

http://billswire.usatoday.com/2017/07/07/west-coast-offense-tyrod-taylor-buffalo-bills/

Loved reading that. Thanks again.

I think it's safe to say that the Bills are going to have a better passing game in 2017.

Greg Roman and Anthony Lynn were great at running the ball - at the expense of the passing game.

Great at running the ball, and below average at passing is not a good recipe for an offensive coordinator's success in the NFL.

I think "Rico," is going to make Tyrod Taylor a better quarterback than he has ever been.

The Bills might not be the #1 ranked running attack in the NFL for a third straight season, but I think their passing game will improve dramatically in Dennison's offense.

The Bills run vs. pass ratio ranked #1 to run in 2016 and 2015.

https://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/team-rushing-play-percentage/2016/

In 2014 the Bills ranked 20th in running play percentage, and finished 9-7.

More pass, less run with Dennison.

[Arm of Harm]

In the West Coast Offense the QB needs to get rid of the ball quickly with anticipation and accuracy, none of which are in Taylor's "skill set".


Agreed.

I'd group throws into three categories:

1. Throws to stationary targets.
2. Throws to targets moving vertically.
3. Throws to targets moving horizontally.

Just because a QB is accurate with Level 1 throws, or even Level 2 throws, doesn't mean he's going to be accurate with Level 3 throws. Level 3 accuracy is the exception rather than the norm, even among NFL quarterbacks. Joe Montana and Tom Brady are exceptionally gifted Level 3 throwers, which is an important reason why both of them are first ballot Hall of Fame QBs.

Throws to targets moving horizontally is an absolutely essential part of the West Coast offense. The bread and butter play of Joe Montana and the 49ers was the quick slant to Jerry Rice. Let's say a team tries to install a West Coast offense, despite the fact its quarterback lacks good level 3 accuracy. A fairly likely result would be an offense like the one Trent Edwards ran. His offense consisted of short throws to stationary targets, or at most short throws to targets moving vertically. It was a weak, neutered offense: only a faint shadow of the great Montana/Brady offenses. Had Trent Edwards had consistent and high accuracy when throwing to targets moving horizontally, the Bills could have installed a true West Coast offense. (Instead of the neutered version they actually employed.)


The scouting reports I've seen on Peterman portray him in a favorable light. If those reports are accurate--and I'm certainly not vouching for their accuracy--Peterman would be a better fit for a West Coast offense than either Trent Edwards or Tyrod Taylor.

[Topas]

great post. I think looking specifically into accuracy to targets moving horizontally is a great aspect and a way to categorize things a QB needs to be able to do.