Raising the bar
There is no mistaking that the Bills’ offense needs to make strides this season to make reaching the playoffs a reasonable goal
The Buffalo Bills hope their offense finally is ready to start pulling its own weight when they open the season today against the Seattle Seahawks. The Bills’ offense has ranked among the bottom eight in the NFL five straight years. If the Bills have any chance of fulfilling their playoff aspirations this year their offense must find a way to gain some semblance of respectability.
“I think we made some key adjustments in the offense,” said Bills running back Fred Jackson. “With the offense Turk Schonert has us using, I think we’re going to be able to put up more points. It’s more of an attacking-type offense. So that’s the plan. We want to put up more points.”
Amen to that, say Bills fans everywhere. The Bills were 30th in the NFL in points last year, at 15.75 a game. If you take away the five touchdowns scored on returns, the Bills’ offense actually only managed 13.56 a game.
How much more scoring do the Bills need? Ninety-six teams have made the playoffs this decade. Only eight scored fewer than 20 points per game. While the 20-point hurdle is no guarantee of making the postseason, a team better hit it if it wants a reasonable chance to make the postseason.
“If we can put up 21 points, with the defense we have this year,” said Jackson, “we’ll win games. We’ll be in a lot of games this season.”
So the Bills’ offense needs to find a way to score 4.25 more points a game — that’s 10 more touchdowns over the course of the season than it scored last year.
It seems like a more attainable goal now that Jason Peters is in the fold. The Pro Bowl left tackle reported to the Bills on Saturday. The Bills said they would have no comment on his return until today.
Receiver Lee Evans scored five TDs last season, three fewer than in 2006. The Bills got zero touchdowns out of their No. 2 receiver. Neither Peerless Price or Josh Reed reached the end zone. No. 3 receiver Roscoe Parrish scored two offensive TDs. Marshawn Lynch scored seven.
It’s reasonable to expect Evans will increase his total. The Bills expect Reed and Parrish to combine for more than the two they got last season. Then there’s rookie James Hardy, who will share time as the No. 2 wideout. He scored 16 touchdowns last season at Indiana. He’s going to be a key red zone target this year.
“I think the coaches are going to put him in positions to contribute,” said quarterback Trent Edwards. “We’re not going to ask him to do more than he’s capable of doing. I know we have a lot of confidence in our coaches to make sure that James is running the routes that he feels most comfortable with.”
If Hardy could catch five TDs that would put the Bills well on their way to the 20 points-per-game hurdle.
“Lee might go out and get 10 by himself,” said tight end Robert Royal, who scored three TDs last season. “. . . I wish I could be a fortuneteller and say where the points are coming from, but I think we’re going to score more.”
Today’s opener provides the first true read on Schonert’s attack. Look for the Bills to change formations a ton. Look for plenty of three-and four-wideout sets. (The four-wide set was little-used last season.) Look for more throws to the running backs. (Lynch caught only 18 balls last season.) Look for less predictability. (The Bills ran on 57.7 percent of first downs last year, the fifth-highest percentage in the league.) Look for Edwards to have the ability to audible at the line.
Also expect the Bills to vary the pace of the attack. The past two years, the Bills often used a milk-the-clock, shorten-the-game approach.
The offense probably can’t afford to stumble out of the gate today. Seattle’s offense was tied for ninth in scoring last year.
