Sullivan: Gailey takes a pass on power runs

[Thurman#1]

Ha ha I laughed at this one. Our line is this team's strength. Our tackles are 340+. Our guards and center are. 300+. They can all move and block. And Fred regularly gets yds after contact and spilled league in that stat ft too.

"Our guards and center are 300 +", you say? You do know that that's small for NFL guards and centers these days, right? Our two best players, Wood and Levitre are small but very athletic.

We do have a good young line, but it's fair to say they aren't built for power running, particularly until we actually start successfully converting third and short with power runs consistently.

[Thurman#1]

Uhh, dude....You should have read the post. Spiller AVERAGES 6.6 so far this year. Last I checked, being able to get 2 yards is not harder than being able to get 7. Sure if you want to run a tight set, run it straight up the middle, and have five guys make contact with your RB in the backfield, it might not work, but that's on your line and your coach's poor play calling. Tell me who Barry Sander's 3rd down bruiser was? LaDanian Tomlinson? Your argument is just trying to be a soundbite that puts the blame on a lack of talent, instead of a lack of effectiveness and strategy. This team won't start winning close games until Spiller carries the rock 70% of the time on 3rd & 2.

3rd and two is Freddy time.

As for the main point of this thread, I don't mind empty backfields, but I'd like to see it much less often on short yardage downs.

[pete]

"Our guards and center are 300 +", you say? You do know that that's small for NFL guards and centers these days, right? Our two best players, Wood and Levitre are small but very athletic.

We do have a good young line, but it's fair to say they aren't built for power running, particularly until we actually start successfully converting third and short with power runs consistently.

that's your opinion. They pass block fine and run block just fine on every other down. Our line is this teams strength. The coach is the problem. When was the last time you seen 2 or 3 te in a game with a big back in front of Fred on 3rd and short? I refuse to believe this team can't do it. Of course they will get stuffed at times. Even our ****ty D stops other teams on 3rd and short at times.

[Scott7975]

Ha ha I laughed at this one. Our line is this team's strength. Our tackles are 340+. Our guards and center are. 300+. They can all move and block. And Fred regularly gets yds after contact and spilled league in that stat ft too.

I think you need to take a look at the holes that other teams create vs the holes that our line creates. There is a reason we run a spread.

[third down shaud]

Run,Pass, Wildcat, Shotgun, whatever it is, 9 of 23 on 3rd and 2 is pathetic.

['Cusebillsfan]

Jerry is so emotional and has a very short memory. I love he suggests a draw play on third and 5, that's the type of conservative play calling he railed on for years during the Williams and jauron era. He rips chan for "blinking" and throwing the ball against the texans when they were stacking the box and daring us to throw, but if he had tried to run it 30 times and we lost chan would have been stubborn for not taking what the d gave him. I can't stand the way he always plays both sides of the argument based on his mood.

[steve2006]

For being a so-called Offensive genius, Mr. Gailey does outsmart himself many times in a game. If a team can't get a 3rd and 1 by running the ball , they should not be on the field in an NFL uniform. Run the ball Chan on short yardage, the odds are MUCH better.......

The problem here is, he doesn't keep them guessing. All opponents need to do is insert a package featuring their big people in short yardage situations and they know they can dupe Chan into calling a pass play and benefit from the associated predictability.

[pocari-sweat]

We dont need to run the ball on 3rd and short.........we have a killer wildcat.

[Clemfield2622]

Watching this team gives me the power runs

[nateodoms'bff]

3rd and two is Freddy time.

As for the main point of this thread, I don't mind empty backfields, but I'd like to see it much less often on short yardage downs.

Is it really? I mean, would you consider Fred Jackson a power back? Would you consider him the type of runner who can move a 300+LB DT off the line, and break a tackle from a charging LB? Its not a knock on him that he doesnt do those things well. Its just the reality of his game, and the type of player that Nix and Gailey value for the offense. There arent a lot of "power backs" in the league anymore.

I know its hard for you guys to see the difference, but it is there none the less.

[old school]

wouldn't CJ/freddy in the flat be a good option to pick up 2yds if you insist on passing?

maybe a RB could pick up a blitz once in a while and give fitz more time to throw/let deeper patterns develop?

wouldn't playaction help freeze the LB's and thus open up some easy short routes?

perhaps if you have a RB in the backfield you could even audible to a run play??????

man do I hate the empy backfield in short yardage/goaline situations...
starting to billieve both fitz and chancey have too much brains and not enuff ballzzzz!

[qwksndmonster]

Is it really? I mean, would you consider Fred Jackson a power back? Would you consider him the type of runner who can move a 300+LB DT off the line, and break a tackle from a charging LB? Its not a knock on him that he doesnt do those things well. Its just the reality of his game, and the type of player that Nix and Gailey value for the offense. There arent a lot of "power backs" in the league anymore.

I know its hard for you guys to see the difference, but it is there none the less.

Fred Jackson isn't a power back? I think you're being too stringent with your classifications, but that's just a matter of opinions and semantics.

The reason why we don't power run is because our interior linemen don't get the push to do so.

[nateodoms'bff]

Fred Jackson isn't a power back? I think you're being too stringent with your classifications, but that's just a matter of opinions and semantics.

The reason why we don't power run is because our interior linemen don't get the push to do so.

Not being stringent, and its not semantics. Power backs are guys like Peyton Hillis, Isaac Redman, Brandon Jacobs, Jerome Bettis, the Seattle Marshawn Lynch, Adrian Peterson. Guys that hit the line and make bigger stronger men move out of there way.

Fred Jackson is a cutback runner. He hits a hole and moves through it. He doesnt make his own holes. Fred is elusive and has great balance which makes him very hard to bring down. Can he move a pile? Sure, but not the way he used to. Fred is at his best when he is in space, and can make guys miss. He is perfect in the redzone. On short yardage, not so much. I think thats why they drafted Johnny White, but he busted out. It happens.

Regardless of your definition or mine of what a power run game is, it still doesnt change the fact that the Bills dont have one, and probably wont as long as Gailey is the coach. Im fine with that. Id like to see them pick up first downs on 2nd down, and not have to face the 3rd and short... But you need a much more dynamic passing game for that.

[wilcoam]

Great article
Then again most of Jerry's articles are very well written
I've often said on this board regardless of anyone's recognition is that the Bills will have 'arrived' at such time as they can successfully

A - Run the ball 3rd and 1, 3rd and 2
B - Stop the run 3rd and 1, 3rd and two

And no high faulting placebo franchise QB will give em that
But two dominating lines will
That's why I've always argued about the need for the latter
A Killer O-line, and a killer front 7
Yup, even in a so called 'passing' league
With of course I do not mind getting a great QB as well but it won't help if the lines cannot stop the run, rush the passer, pass protect, and run the ball in short yardage

jc

[xbxoxy]

please somebody would help me translating this: outsmart himself means being an idiot??

or that people really consider you a smart person and that you also believe that are smarter than everybody else.

because i dont believe any coach in the NFL thinks gailey is smart coach

[inny486]

We tried it twice in the miami game thursday night and The line got blown up both times even if e Had jerome bettis we woudnt have gotten a yard. The o line cant run block well enough to do it on obvious running plays

We have a huge physical offensive line. We should be a power run team even more so than the 49ers or Texans. We also have two of the best RBs in all the NFL.

[Scott7975]

Is it really? I mean, would you consider Fred Jackson a power back? Would you consider him the type of runner who can move a 300+LB DT off the line, and break a tackle from a charging LB? Its not a knock on him that he doesnt do those things well. Its just the reality of his game, and the type of player that Nix and Gailey value for the offense. There arent a lot of "power backs" in the league anymore.

I know its hard for you guys to see the difference, but it is there none the less.

Hes good at fighting for yards. Hes good in pass block, screen and reciever. The difference between having him and not having him, you saw in Miami.

[Scott7975]

please somebody would help me translating this: outsmart himself means being an idiot??

or that people really consider you a smart person and that you also believe that are smarter than everybody else.

because i dont believe any coach in the NFL thinks gailey is smart coach

Outsmarting himself refers to him always trying to call some gimmick play to counter the other coach.... kinda like... he thinks im going to do this, so Ill do this instead, but wait, he knows that I know he thinks ill do this, so instead of doing that, ill do something else that doesnt make any sense whatsoever. Kind of like wildcat on your own 10 yard line or a reverse on 1st and goal.

[sechristbmw]

I like Jerry because he doesn't forget the details.

He has been there, knows this team from the Super Bowl years on.

And he references specific decisions in the organization that have helped/hurt the direction of the team.

We don't run enough. Every fan knows it. Chan, per usual, is late to the party with getting Spiller the ball more than 6 times a game.

[Five Magics]

How many times did we get a first down on either first or second down. That would narrow your plays down.

This team isnt built for smash mouth football like the texans or 49ers. Look at their lines and their backs and still tell me, that we have that kind of team lolz.

this team is built for that style of O. The problem is smash mouth teams on O are usually complemented well with a strong D like the texans and 49ers.