Question Mark /By Mark Gaughan
Good coaching can carry modest talent on offense
Q: Everyone is expecting Turk Schonert to work wonders with the offense. Isn’t it unrealistic to think the Bills can make the playoffs with this offense? — Sam Weiss, New York.
A: It is realistic. Obviously, Schonert has to prove himself as coordinator. But good coaching — with some semblance of talent and quarterbacking — can make a difference and lift an offense up from the bottom. In fact, I think good coaching is more important to offense than defense. You need stud athletes to win on defense. You need stud athletes on the defensive line to win at the point of attack against the run and to get to the passer. Of course, good coaching helps the defense, too.
But a well-coordinated offense with modest talent can be more effective than a well-coordinated defense with modest talent. A perfect example is some of the Super Bowl winners, like the 2001 Patriots, who ranked 19th on offense; and the 2003 Bucs, who ranked 24th. Or even the 2007 Giants, who ranked 16th. You might scoff and think the Pats had Tom Brady and the Bucs had one of the all-time great defenses that year. I’m not putting the Bills’ defense in the category of either of those teams. But Jon Gruden and offensive line coach Bill Muir did a great job of milking production out of the Bucs’ offense that year. And Brady was a first-year starter who was running a manage-the-game, scratch-out-the-points offense. He got sacked 41 times. He wasn’t great yet.
There have been 96 teams that have made the playoffs this decade. Thirty have ranked 16th or worse in yards gained. That’s 31 percent.
Q: How much money do players get as workout bonuses in the offseason?—
E. Miller, Toronto.
A: Most of the players got about $6,720 as a workout bonus this year, and that includes even the low profile players. A handful of veterans who sign big contracts sometimes get bigger workout incentives built into their deals. Jason Peters’ contact with the Bills includes an annual $50,000 workout bonus, which he forfeited.
When the Jets gave chronically overweight defensive tackle Kris Jenkins a new deal in March it included a $500,000 a year workout bonus. That was huge by NFL standards. Jenkins also is subject to 10 bonus-related weigh-ins each season and gets $25,000 each time he meets his prescribed weight, according to the New York Daily News.
Q: Why was Mike Williams such a flop? Is he still in pro football?— Paul Miller, Clarence.
A: Williams had lots of talent but lacked the desire required to excel among the world-class athletes in the NFL. He was so talented, he never had to work hard at the game until he got to the pros. I believe he did not truly love playing football. He may have loved being an NFL player. He’s a nice guy. But he was not driven to be great. Then he hurt his back. He is not playing anywhere.
Bills beat reporter Mark Gaughan answers your football questions every Friday. Send your e-mails to mgaughan@-buffnews.com or mail to Question Mark, The Buffalo News Sports Department, One News Plaza, P. O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240. Please include name and hometown.
