Trying to end red-zone blues
Bills’ success against Steelers is a good sign
For all of their offseason maneuvers, the Buffalo Bills left their offense almost entirely intact. That was not necessarily an endorsement of a unit that finished 30th in total offense but perhaps an acknowledgment that the system, not the personnel, needed to be adjusted.
But before the first practice of training camp had been held this year, coach Dick Jauron made it clear he expected improvement from the offense which finished last in the NFL in total plays (919) last season, and scored touchdowns less than 40 percent of the time inside the red zone.
In a 24-21 victory over Pittsburgh in Toronto on Thursday night in their second preseason game, the Bills’ offense showed significant progress inside the 20-yard line. Their offensive starters looked crisp and smooth, mixing run and the pass.
“They were sharp,” Jauron said. “As I said, we didn’t get the silly unforced penalties that we got a week ago in the game, so we didn’t hurt ourselves in that regard. Let’s face it, the Steelers are good enough to hurt you on their own. We blocked OK, we ran it okay, it was a nice kind of combination, that first group.”
The Bills scored the first two times they had the ball — two touchdown passes from Trent Edwards to tight end Robert Royal — and held the ball for nearly 13 minutes of the first quarter.
“It speaks volumes as to where we’ve come to that we have the confidence in each other to get that done in the red zone,” said fullback Darian Barnes. “It’s such a critical thing. We have to step it up and punch it in when we have to. We’ve got a great defense and the more we score and keep them off the field, the better they’ll be.”
Last season, the red-zone offense was clearly in protective custody somewhere. The Bills went inside the 20 just 34 times and produced 13 touchdowns and 17 field goals. Their touchdown percentage was just 38.2 percent. Now compare that to the Bills opponents who ventured into the red zone 56 times and produced 25 touchdowns for 44.6 percent.
The Bills’ preseason loss to Washington was a carry over from last season (1 for 4). The offensive regulars were virtually non-existent on their two series together, gaining only 21 net yards on 10 plays. Eighteen of those yards came on a pass from Edwards to receiver Roscoe Parrish on third-and-11, Edwards’ only completion in five pass attempts.
“We had some penalties and then we started to get going and then we had a false start,” Barnes said. “We didn’t have those kinds of errors [Thursday] and our offense started to show its capabilities and what we could do. We didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”
Perhaps it was because they didn’t utilize a fullback in the scheme or that Steve Fairchild’s play-calling was too conservative. Perhaps Thursday was an early indication that Turk Schonert’s approach to offense is vastly different than Fairchild’s.
So they will enter next Sunday’s night’s game against the Indianapolis Colts having converted three touchdowns in six chances inside the 20 in eight quarters. They moved the ball and led in time of possession against Pittsburgh. The starters generally play the entire first half in the third preseason game, so the Bills will get a better gauge as to where they are offensively.
“It gives us confidence in the sense we’re on the right track,” Barnes said. “We did it against the Steelers, they have a great defense, too, but it is the preseason and they’re trying to jell and work things out like we are but to say, ‘This was against the Steelers, we’ve arrived,’ is very premature.”
