Value of Bills’ understated rushing attack can’t be understated

By Anthony Bialy  |   Wednesday, December 24, 2008  |  Comments( 18 )

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It’s not always fun to keep running: The lure of gaudy passing gains eternally tempts NFL teams, especially those that fall into an early 13-point crater and then lose their top rusher. But the Buffalo Bills avoided the panicky quick fix that would have been airing it out incessantly last Sunday, and their willingness to stay on the ground keyed their 30-23 victory over the Denver Broncos. The fact that the team’s nominal backup is approaching co-starter status made it easier, too.

The important thing about Buffalo’s 26 runs on the day is when many of them were run: 16 of those attempts notably came in the second half, an impressively sufficient total even when factoring in that one of the rushes in question was called from the victory formation. In lieu of shoving returning quarterback Trent Edwards into the deep end, this team astutely kept stirring in simpler exchanges for him with the backs.

Those 16 attempts covered only 53 yards, but that total is skewed low: It includes two attempts by rookie Xavier Omon to breach the goal line early in the fourth which cumulatively went nowhere, three rushes on the post-Kawika Mitchell interception possession by Fred Jackson to kill time which covered 6 yards, and a single yard lost with Edwards’ aforementioned game-ending kneeling. Particularly, the late carries by Jackson showed that the Bills learned a lesson after getting burned by their own cleverness late the week before versus the New York Jets. This time, they went with obvious plays that nonetheless pushed the team closer to victory.

Significantly, many of those rushes came with option number one unavailable as an option. It would have been both easy and somewhat understandable for the coaches to junk the game plan after Marshawn Lynch was sidelined with shoulder woes, yet the freak-out never occurred. Even though Lynch received his last handoff on a play that started with 10:47 left in the third, the offense didn’t then turn exclusively to passing; instead, the Bills coolly remained committed to balance.

Forcing the ball to wideouts would have precluded a comeback, anyway, especially with the Broncos obviously keen on removing wideout Lee Evans as a threat by devoting safety attention his way. While the star receiver was held to 19 yards on a pair of catches, for once his low gains didn’t also hold back the offense. It’s typically a weak move to use an overwhelming talent to distract opponents in order to aid less overwhelming talents, but the Bills used Denver’s reasonable decision to blanket him against them.

That exploitation was much easier thanks to Jackson of course playing magnificently, not only with his 8-yard touchdown run and 65-yard catch but also in the way he took eight of his 10 handoffs in the second half. His 43 total rushing yards equals a rate that’s slightly above average, but the important issue is that they kept letting him take the ball despite the fact that he and his fellow rushers weren’t making a habit out of breaking into the secondary.

The Bills' longest land play of the day was an 11-yard scamper by not-quite-a-tailback Edwards, but the steady volume of running attacks both set up passes and ate up an OK amount of territory; in the end, that’s all teams should want from their running game.

The Bills could have walked away from running, but offensive coordinator Turk Schonert finally stuck with the aspect until the end, which is why the game ended happily for his side. Lynch earlier and Jackson later broke open the game; they just happened to be given the chance to break it in many tiny pieces.
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About Anthony Bialy

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CommentsComments: 18  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
Amir FaSaad		03:02 AM
12/24/2008
! HAPPY MERRY CWANZAKAH ! Hey I beat fla-dennis to a post ! I wonder if NoLDoomedTBeABillsF has HAM for X-mas, Ha ! GrantW,...
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No.2
07:53 AM
12/24/2008
Amir -- I can't believe you. You beat me for being #1 today. Remember its just a post, don't let it go to your head. AB, thanks...
No.3
Kegman		09:42 AM
12/24/2008
I hope the running game is fired up for Sunday, as the forecast is for rain/snow/wind. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to the...
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