That's right. In one week, we kick off the season against none other than one of our division rivals, the Buffalo Bills. Monday night football, baby!! Throwback uniforms! It's all good, clean fun. Last year, the Bills got rolling early with a 4-1 record. Everything was looking good and then things just didn't pan out. There are many reasons and we'll get into them this week. Every day, I'll drag some intel out of our esteemed Bills Blogger, Brian Galliford. First up is what the heck happened with OC Turk Schonert and will "his" no-huddle offense be part of the Bills' playbook.
Q: Turk Schonert was just fired as offensive coordinator for the Bills. Apparently brought on to install a no-huddle offense, do the Bills have a future with the no-huddle?
They do, indeed, have a future with the no-huddle, as they plan to use it exclusively on Monday night. The common misconception is that the no-huddle was Schonert's brain child based on his playing days under Sam Wyche; the reality, however, is that head coach Dick Jauron was behind the move to the no-huddle. Philosophical differences led to the dismissal - Jauron wants a watered-down playbook that makes life easier on QB Trent Edwards and maximizes the talent of our skill players, while Schonert wanted more diverse looks. It was too much for Edwards to handle, as our pre-season performances indicated.
Under new coordinator Alex Van Pelt - a former understudy of Jim Kelly, if you recall - Buffalo's no-huddle will have a quicker pace, a slimmer playbook and easier reads for Edwards. Without Edwards playing at a competent level, this team is going nowhere. Still, as philosophically sound as making the decision was, it's going to take some time for Van Pelt, Edwards and the offense to find plays they can execute well and perfect them. Barring a minor miracle, the Bills will almost certainly get off to a slow start offensively.
Day 1, gang. We'll have an entry every day this week with some fun over the weekend. Don't forget to check out my answers to Brian's questions at Buffalo Rumblings.