Week 1 Over reaction: Bills suck. Week 1 under reaction: Just the first game, all is well. Reality: Ken Dorsey is not a good Offensive Coordinator. Let’s delve deeper into this issue.
1. How many times last year did we see Stefan Diggs have monstrous 1st halves and then basically disappear in the second half? It was almost like Dorsey was saying “defense is looking for Diggs to get theball so let’s throw it elsewhere”. Same thing happened last night. First half: 6 catches, 72 yards and a TD. Second half (before last drive in 2 minute offense) two TARGETS (catch and interception). What did Bills do in 2 minute drill? Passed to Diggs four times with three completions. Why wasn’t he targeted in the second half before the last drive. Why do the Bills continuously under use their best WR in the second half of so many games?
2. With all of the “weapons” that Beane gave Dorsey and Josh in the offseason why were so many passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage? We picked up Harty, Sherfield and Kincaid. All were supposed to do stuff that Cole Beasley did for us two years ago. Slot guys that can get upfield for those easy 6-10 yard throws that move the chain. Harty gets four targets, three receptions and NINE FRICKING YARDS. All of the throws were either behind the line of scrimmage or within two yards of it. Josh threw the ball to Kincaid four times and all were receptions but for a measley 6.5 yards per catch with the vast majority of the yardage after catch. Cook targeted 6 times for four catches, all within a couple yards of the line. The only throws down the field (other than the two stupid deep ball interceptions on plays that Josh clearly improvised and were not called by Dorsey) were two throws to Davis-One a 26 yard gain and the other an interception. Why can’t anyone seem to be open 10-15 yards down the field for those nice plays wheree the guy catches the ball and runs for yardage after the catch?
3. James Cook’s usage. Hey I love Cook. I’d love it more if Dorsey had a clue how to run a screen pass. How many screen passes did the Jets run against our rush which resulted in big plays? When was the last time the Bills ran a successful screen pass? It’s just unbelievable that a team can’t run screen passes successfully EVER. In addition, how many times are they going to give Cook the ball four yards deep in the backfield and have him run up the middle for little or no gain? What in Hell was Dorsey thinking about on second an 15 from their own 20 in OT when he called this same play that hadn’t worked all game? It seems like Dorsey wants to be the smart guy. The guy who the announcers praise for doing the unexpected. The guy who always keeps defenses on their toes and never shows his hand. Instead he’s become the guy who continuously under uses his best players and continually goes to the well too many times with the same play calls.
4. Josh Allen’s development: We saw Josh develop into one of the best QB’s in the league under Brian Dabol. His regression since Dorsey took over is palpable. Last night Josh threw five balls that traveled more than 15 yards in the air. Three were intercepted, one was completed and one was the long pass down the sideline with 10 seconds left in regulation which was incomplete. Gabe Davis was last year’s deep threat. He wasn’t used that way last night at all. Harty was picked up as a speed guy. Last night his catches were all at the line of scrimmage or behind. Where were the easy throws that Josh used to make? Where was the accuracy? In OT alone Josh made two terrible throws to open receivers (Knox and Diggs) both of which would have been for first downs. The difference in Josh from the beginning two thirds of last season to the start of this season is concerning. Even in last year’s losses (before the Jets and Bengals losses) Josh made the throws. In the loss to the Jets Davis dropped a 60 yard bomb. In the loss to the Vikings Knox dropped a TD pass which would have won the game. Last year Allen threw the ball down the field. Last nigh the vast majority of his targets were within a few yards of the line of scrimmage. Something is going on here. Is this why Diggs was so upset in the Bengals playoff loss? Is this why Diggs was so pissed off he left camp earlier this year?
a. Bills were 1st in the league the past two years in scoring in last two minutes of half/game. Last night when they went to two minute offense Josh led them to a TD before half and a FG at end of game. When they just let him play that style there is nobody better. What happened the rest of the game? Scripted, planned calls by Dorsey. We moved the ball easily at end of half and end of regulation. As soon as they started slowing down and scripting plays he was terrible.
5. Lastly we need to address the elephant in the room: our right tackle sucks. Spencer Brown was the worst rated tackle in football last year. The Bills did nothing in the off season or draft to address this issue. He was terrible again last night, getting blown around (or through) through out the game. His false start penalty on the first offensive play in OT killed any type of momentum the Bills had. He is just brutal. The Bills went overboard trying to find the Beasley replacement. They went overboard on the D-Line (which, but for a couple of missed Tre’Davious missed tackles played very well). They found a replacement for Bates at guard (which IMHO wasn’t a need). But the most important need (giving Josh time to throw) was ignored. This is on Beane and Mcdermott.
It’s a long season Bills fans. There will be highs and lows. At the end of last season there were tons of fans wanting to axe Dorsey. I disagreed believing that he was new on the job and was inexperienced. I believed we needed to give him more time. After watching this offense look putrid (albeit against a good Jets Defense) I am more concerned. The play calling, the usage of his best players and the lack of Josh’s development is alarming. Will it get better? We better hope so because the Dolphins appear to be real and The Patriots looked a lot better than I thought. We have issues which need addressed-do we have the guys to address them????