If you told any Buffalo Bills fan a few weeks ago that their beloved team would be sitting at 5-5 just two weeks before Thanksgiving, they probably would have laughed at you. Sadly, that’s the current situation in Buffalo following the team's week ten blunder against the Denver Broncos. A season that was once again loaded with expectations, has turned into a complete nightmare, and the team is hanging on to their season for dear life.
It has been such a travesty that the team moved on from their offensive coordinator, Ken Dorsey, on Tuesday morning. The first-time play-caller got the gig following Brian Daboll’s departure to become the New York Giants head coach and was star quarterback Josh Allen’s pick for the job. Dorsey came out of the gates hot last season with multiple impressive games, however, since the team’s early bye week last year, it has been a slow rolling issue that finally met the ground.
There is no excuse for why a rather healthy offense featuring Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, and a vastly improved offensive line is one of the worst offenses in football currently. The high-powered Bills who we’ve grown accustomed to seeing, have struggled all season. Those struggles have peaked over their last six games, as they have averaged 20.5 points a game and have gone 2-4.
The Buffalo Bills canned Ken Dorsey in an attempt to rescue their season, and have promoted quarterback coach Joe Brady to interim offensive coordinator. What the Bills offense has done this season is not working, as every play just seems so hard to gain any yards. Brady will look to turn things around, and possibly earn himself the gig long-term.
What changes can we expect to see in the Buffalo Bills offense under Joe Brady?
The Buffalo Bills' Offense will Need to be Less Predictable
If one thing has killed the Buffalo Bills' offense as much as it has this season, it is predictability. Against the Broncos, the Buffalo Bills ran the same play and concept multiple times, and the Broncos knew the play every single time.
It’s not just this season, it’s last year as well. When the Bills lost their heartbreaker to the Vikings, Patrick Peterson picked off Josh Allen to end the game. Peterson appeared on the All Things Covered podcast and explained that he was able to make the play because he knew exactly what was coming. He detailed the two possible plays he knew it was going to be.
Once Gabe Davis ran the route he recognized, he knew the play and came up with the interception. This season has been far worse with predictability. ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, who has been all over the Bills and Dorsey this season with great coverage, called the Bills the easiest offense to game plan against.
While already 10 weeks into the season, Joe Brady can not simply blow up the entire offense and implement his own system; he will have to work with this system, but work off of it and implement his solutions. However, he needs to and should recognize that this offense is way too predictable and needs to disguise things better.
The good news is he was up close and personal to seeing what Dorsey was doing that wasn’t working and got him fired, which should be something he can build off of.
Joe Brady should let Josh Allen play free and it will open things up
The Buffalo Bills offense has felt extremely handcuffed this year. You can just feel the tension from what used to be a high-flying and loose offense. A large part of that has been the team’s decision to limit Josh Allen's running to preserve him. That has taken away the freedom of the league’s best dual-threat quarterback and the offense as a whole has suffered. Brady and Allen reportedly have a very good relationship, and they work together closely every day. He is bound to know what Allen is comfortable doing and what puts him in the best position to succeed.
One of the reasons Dorsey was relieved of his duties was because he flat out was just not putting players in the correct position to succeed. Yes, he doesn’t tell Josh to throw interceptions into blanketed coverage or tell receivers to drop passes, but it is all a trickle-down effect of not being used to the correct ability. The Bills have reverted from a vertical attacking offense to a bland and horizontal one.
Josh Allen’s arguably greatest strength is the arm talent and deep passing ability he possesses and I can’t remember the last time the Bills completed a deep pass. With Brady in charge now, we know he’s going to attack through the air. He was the passing game coordinator and co-offensive coordinator at LSU when Joe Burrow had statistically the greatest season in college football history. Two years later, he was fired by Matt Rhule in Carolina because he refused to listen to Rhule and run the ball more, as he continued his aerial assault offense. Some fans have been leary of Sean McDermott trying to force Dorsey to run the ball more, Brady won’t do that.
There were no easy plays, no easy layups for Josh Allen in Dorsey’s offensive system. Brady can scheme guys open, and return the Bills to their vertical attacking ways. Plus, you can bet money he’s going to unleash Josh Allen in all facets. Brady is coaching for his long-term return as an offensive coordinator and he’s going to use everything at his disposal to that, including a top-four quarterback in the NFL.
An Established Flow on Offense
This season, the Bills have had zero type of gameplay flow and it has been a big part of their slow starts, and now ineptitude. It truly does feel like Dorsey just had his play sheet, would call a play, and say, “Okay Josh, go make it happen.” Outside of two-minute drills, it seems like there was no gameplay dictation to his calls, which has resulted in stopping the offense from just flowing like we’ve seen in years past.
It feels like there was no reason for certain play calls, no calls to establish certain aspects, and no game plan to attack a defense’s weaknesses. Another knock, the route concepts were just bland and not creative in Dorsey’s offense. Players not named Stefon Diggs have failed to consistently get open, and while it’s not all on him, a large part of it is Dorsey’s failure to scheme people open. The Bills offense has been playing two defenses every week, the opposing team, and themselves.
Josh Allen is at his best when he starts off hot and his confidence is up, that’s when he gets rolling. With no flow this year, Allen hasn’t been able to settle in and be the best version of himself. Sean McDermott says he is searching for the offense to have an energy about them, that they have not had this season. The team knows they need to get Allen rolling if they want this season to change and they need to do it fast. With a change in play calling they’re hoping Brady can spark that flow.
Again, Brady has had a front-row seat to see what has not worked for Dorsey this year. His promotion is career-changing, if he can pull this off he will either be Buffalo’s coordinator or will get a real shot at being one for another team. Brady is a smart man and knows this, he’s going to be up night and day trying to figure it out. Essentially, he’s been handed the keys to a nice Ferrari with an engine that isn't functioning properly. He has to strip it down and figure out why the engine isn’t working to its fullest. He can reap the rewards in seven weeks' time or be stuck with a broken car.