With the Bills officially out of playoff contention, we are going to be looking at some fun things this week. In particular, what fans were doing when the last playoff game happened, thinking big picture about what the team needs to do to go forward, etc.
I also have questions – Four of them to be exact.
I hope they strike up some thoughts in you as well.
A rose by any other name…
After a record setting day in Orchard Park offensively (589 yards, no turnovers, 4 touchdowns) you’d think that Anthony Lynn would get at least a pat on the back. Nope. Other than the deserved vitriol Rex Ryan is receiving (I saw a ‘Rexit’ post somewhere and chuckled) the end around to Reggie Bush is getting a lot of rage.
I get it.
However, unlike the defense, that play was borne of the plays before it in the game – where Bush had been used as a decoy in the very same looks. I would ask fans / media to also look at the Shady McCoy touchdown again as well, which featured Sammy Watkins doing an orbit motion. If that play blows up, are we hearing “why is Watkins not going down the field to block/help run”? I think Bush was more at fault for thinking he was back at USC and the Oregon State defense was going to trip over themselves to let him get up the field. Football 101 – don’t be a hero; just go down and give the team a chance.
But back to Lynn.
When the names of coaches are bandied about this year between Joe and I, Joe is a big fan of Darrell Bevell and I’ve been a fan, despite the name and the “meritocracy buster” that it entails of Kyle Shanahan. But if you take an offensive coordinator that has a top run game, scoring in the top 6 and 3rd in touchdowns and put them on the Broncos, Ravens, Chiefs, Seahawks, Falcons, etc they’d be a hot name.
They’d also be from the same coaching family that Anthony Lynn belongs – the extended branches of the late, great Bill Walsh.
Lynn fits in the Mike Shanahan side of the “family”. Watching the Chiefs, Ravens, Seahawks, Broncos, Eagles and Falcons this year has been fun for me because of the similarities I’d see in some of the calls. To prevent the #whinerlinevoice, take the Falcons out. The Chiefs, Ravens and Broncos just last night used a ton of the stuff I saw the Bills use on Saturday, including the ill-fated end around…of Doom! The creativity with which they’ve used their pieces, coupled with developing Taylor while on field is
In terms of “burn it all down”, I get the sentiment of total change, but my first question is this – Is an offense with any other name but Lynn on it just as maligned?
Tackle swap?
I’ve been a card-carrying member of the “Cordy Glenn is a left tackle” fan club and I will maintain that til the day he’s no longer a Bill. However, the last 2.5 games have also opened up a delightfully helpful question going into 2017: can Cordy play right tackle just as well and allow Cyrus Kouandjio to play left?
If you haven’t noticed the former Alabama player on the field in place of the Georgia-product starter, that’s a great thing. And I haven’t for the most of his time on the field. Kouandjio has been doing everything “Uncle Buddy” would have wanted out of a bigger tackle with the vines for arms that Cyrus has – if you can’t stop the rusher, you can at least ride him away from the QB. That in turn has allowed Tyrod Taylor a great pocket for him to produce in – which he did in spades on Saturday. In the run game, Cyrus has been just as good – if not better – than he has been in the pass protection game.
These all beg the question – if Cyrus was a good left tackle at ‘Bama and his knee is making it difficult (my guess, nothing official) on the right, you can kill two birds with one stone moving Cordy to that side. You eliminate the presence of Jordan Mills, a turnstile of the highest order and you prevent distrust from Glenn. When these suggestions were made earlier, they were prior to Cordy receiving his 5 year, 65 million extension this spring. Now that he is done and dusted, the Bills can’t play a game they’ve played all too well over the years – ask a player to do something, then ask for less money in the extension because “you don’t play position x”.
I call it, “pulling a Peters.”
(It’s a work in progress)
The only issue I have with a potential swap is the health of Cyrus Kouandjio. His pro career has been marred by injury, so to shuffle the line for a player that might not be available (in his contract year) over the steady Glenn would be a bit of a risk. But, that’s why you get paid the big bucks, offensive-line-coach-to-be-named-later!
Numbers Game
Call this one a moment of serendipity between Joe and the WGR staff. Post game, I heard the host – I think it was Mike Schopp, but I could be wrong – talk about the fear of numbers the Bills organization has. Not in terms of raw statistics (Rex will put his 20 years up against anyone after all) but in terms of folding analytics into their strategical thinking on field.
Joe then followed up last night in a conversation, reminding me of the Russ Brandon “our brand has been tarnished” speech, which led to the hiring of Douggernaut. When pressed by Tim Graham and others from the Buffalo News on the existence of the analytics department, the Bills would essentially point to Milton in Accounting and dub him “Math Nerd”.
This is not that.
Will the Bills, in the quest to remove the millstone about the fans’ necks support wise embrace something as helpful as introducing some of these tools with their next staff? Will the scouting department?
Doug Whaley is a huge proponent of saying in scouting “the information makes the decision”. When will that also happen for the coaching?
Tool? Really?
Yes. Tool. I heard this while running and I instantly thought of writing this article on the Bills. Creepy music video aside, their song “Schism” is quite fitting for Buffalo – not only in terms of the GM – Coach dynamic, but for my fourth question regarding the team: how do the pieces fit?
I know the pieces fit / ‘Cause I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering / Fundamental differing
I know the pieces fit / ‘Cause I watched them tumble down
No fault, none to blame / It doesn’t mean I don’t desire to
Point the finger, blame the other / Watch the temple topple over
To bring the pieces back together / Re-discover communication
As I’ve discussed thus far in the article, most of this is contingent upon Rex Ryan being fired. One of the side-effects of the firing will be the “pieces” issue. Upon his arrival, Rex first mentioned how he’d blend the scheme of his predecessor into his own, which was then scrapped entirely to be “fully pregnant” with the Ryan scheme. One problem: with his ouster you’ve now not only scrapped the actors that played a key role in that formerly-fourth ranked defense – you’ve also filled the team with “Rex friendly” vets and spent two draft cycles filling created holes in their wake. As it stands now, the players acquired include:
– A middle linebacker not exactly known for his speed that is recovering from an ACL tear (Reggie Rangland, 2nd round 2016);
– A sam / edge player that spent half the season mending his shoulder and after acclimating to the NFL, with 2 sacks thus far (Shaq Lawson, 1st round 2016);
– A corner that has been touted as future number one that has been benched for a portion of the season (Ron Darby, 2nd round 2015); and
– A five technique that has done well in the rotation this season (Adolphus Washington, 3rd round 2016).
In a vacuum, all four players are fine. Injuries happen, players don’t develop on a straight line, etc. However, you’ve spent the last 2 drafts putting premium picks into the defense and telling them they had to start, no ifs, ands or buts about it. As a result, the offense has in turn been stocked with veteran cast offs to buttress the starters ahead of them. That depth was tested this year and was found (in the pass game) to be wanting at times – a direct result of those resources being funnelled into the Ryan Assisted Mediocrity Factory (RAMF for short, also a work-in-progress).
The next defensive coaching staff need to integrate these players into their plans. The Bills cannot afford – in the defensive sense – a studs down “nuke it all” effort. Coaching and the front office? Sure. But if you want to see some sort of defensive success, the next defensive coordinator needs to make the players fit and not demand an overhaul. Joe’s suggestion of getting a Seattle East plan makes sense in terms of blending elements of the 4-3 and 3-4; But I also saw that with the coordinators prior to Rex – Pettine (with Ryan’s own system to boot!) and Schwartz. So…we got that going for us.
Those are my questions. Thoughts? Shoot em my way on Twitter or comment in our Facebook feed!
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