Bills set to double down
Matchup problems abound for opponents
Published: October 02, 2009, 11:12 pm
Story tools:
Share this story:
Fred Jackson didn't mind being the leading man in the Buffalo Bills' offense. He enjoyed standing in the spotlight.
But that doesn't mean he can't share center stage.
The Bills' backfield show will be a co-feature as Marshawn Lynch rejoins Jackson on Sunday at Miami after serving an NFL-imposed three-game suspension.
The Bills are glad to have Lynch back, but no one more than Jackson. As well as he played as the primary ball carrier, he knows that two good backs are better than one.
"I'm probably the most excited guy on the team that Marshawn's back," Jackson said. "When he comes back he brings a different energy. He does some good things for us, so I'm excited about it and I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes us."
The Bills' running game hasn't suffered at all without Lynch. Jackson has been the Bills' most valuable player over the first three games, leading the team with 291 yards rushing. He also is the top receiver with 15 catches for 134 yards and is second in the NFL with 425 yards from scrimmage.
Jackson has averaged 25 touches per game thus far, but that number will diminish now that Lynch is back. Jackson doesn't have a problem with that.
"I think as a running back the more touches you get the more comfortable you get in a game. Without a doubt, I loved it," Jackson said. "But I've never been a selfish guy. Marshawn is back and he's going to take some of those touches and that's not a bad thing at all because he's a playmaker. When he gets the ball in his hands he's capable of making big plays."
Lynch has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, but the emergence of Jackson last year gave the Bills an effective one-two punch. They combined for 1,607 yards rushing and their 2,414 total yards from scrimmage accounted for nearly half of the team's offensive output.
The Bills are one of an ever-increasing number of NFL teams that recognize the value of having more than one quality running back. Like everyone else in the league, the issue for the Bills is how to split the carries.
Head coach Dick Jauron said Lynch will be eased back into action, so it's possible that Jackson will get slightly more playing time against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
But eventually, the Bills see the players' workload evening out.
"I think down the road you think there are some great opportunities," offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. "But I don't know where or how long it'll take before we get there, but we're just glad to have Marshawn back. I think it'll help us down the road keeping both of those guys fresh."
There will be times when Jackson and Lynch are on the field together. It probably won't happen on a regular basis, but the Bills have used it before as a nice change-up look.
Having both players in the backfield at the same time can limit the Bills' ability to outnumber opposing defenses at the point of attack because they probably won't use a power run play between the tackles with Jackson or Lynch as the lead blocker.
The benefit of using Jackson and Lynch together occurs when one of them splits out wide or in the slot because opposing defenses will have to figure out how to match up.
If Jackson or Lynch is lined up as a third receiver, the opponent might have to go to its nickel package, which takes at least one linebacker off the field. That means one less defender in the box to block, thus creating better opportunities in the run game. Defenses can choose to cover one of the backs with a linebacker, but it is a matchup advantage the Bills can exploit as well.
"I think it definitely would pose some problems because both Fred and Marshawn catch the ball well and are good route runners out in space as well as from the backfield," Van Pelt said. "As a defensive guy looking at it you'd have to decide whether you had anybody who could match up and play man coverage or do you have to pretty much limit yourself to zone coverages if we did split one of those guys out?"
Perhaps the best example of how effective Jackson and Lynch are when they're on the field together was last year's game in Jacksonville. With Lynch in the backfield and Jackson in the slot, Jackson beat single coverage by linebackers for catches of 26 and 33 yards. Jackson also provided a key block that sprung Lynch for a 9-yard touchdown run off a toss sweep.
"I think I can speak for Marshawn that we feel like there is not a linebacker in the league that can cover us," Jackson said. "It's mismatches like that we can take advantage of."
With running backs of their own in Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams that can be troublesome for a defense, the Dolphins know what they are up against with Jackson and Lynch on Sunday.
"They'll have two good running backs, kind of similar to what we have here with Ronnie and Ricky," said Dolphins outside linebacker Jason Taylor. "We have to be prepared for both of them."
Newsletters
Sign up now for daily and weekly newsletters from BuffaloNews.com and get quick links to the info you want delivered directly to your inbox.Reader comments
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Comments have been disabled.
Due to a high volume of submissions that violate The News’ guidelines, commenting is no longer available on this story. If you’d like to share your thoughts on this story, click here to get information on contributing to The News’ opinion pages.