John Murphy’s five ways the Bills offense has made progress

John Murphy’s five ways the Bills offense has made progress

     Yes, ladies and gentleman, the season has not yet begun but already, John Murphy has proceeded to potentially jynx the god awful Bills offense. If they do anything but improve, everyone on the offensive side needs to face the job ax. I’m not at these training sessions and practices for the Bills but I know a thing or two about a thing or two, and I know it’s too early to be making judgment calls about the Bills offense but since Murph did it, I’m gonna do it too. Here we go!

1. Josh Allen continues to show he’s worth being the seventh overall pick.

     My good people, the return of a halfway decent Buffalo quarterback just might be over. Long gone are the memories of Adrian Wilson’s hit on Trent Edwards or wondering what happened to 2002 Drew Bledsoe once 2003 came around, the accuracy-challenged Josh Allen is showing everyone that he’s not, I repeat not EJ or JP. 

     49er legend Ken Dorsey referred to Allen as “great”. He’s even gone as far as to say how smart Josh Allen is and also bestowed the title “leader” upon him. If he can’t throw more touchdowns than interceptions, at least Allen can lead with his heart and soul. Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl, why not him?

2. The Bills have officially done something with their turnstile line.

     Ah yes, the unanswered problem in Buffalo for many a generation has persisted to this day. Thank god the Bills did what they’ve should’ve done all along and done something about it. There was a time when we were sending every lineman we had to the Pro Bowl, why has it taken so long to get back there? Not to worry, the Bills have signed people you’ve never heard of and have made them into one of the top four offensive lines in the AFC East.

     The Bills have several new players at those positions and the competition will be fierce. As Bobby Johnson said, it’s not about having the most talented guys but having the five that work best together. I don’t care what the formula is, just as long as this atrocious line gives the Bills their running game back. You want Josh Allen to suffer a sure-fire sophomore slump? Don’t turn him into a one-trick pony

3. The Bills have given Josh Allen plenty of pass-dropping options

     They couldn’t get Antonio Brown in 2010 and they couldn’t get him in 2019. Instead of wallowing in self-pity like the rest of the country felt we should’ve, the Bills responded by going after more players for better deals. This has resulted in household names such as Cole Beasley, John Brown and incomparable Zay Jones all helping Josh Allen work toward his first ever 3,000-yard season.

     Right now, the team has the players working on technique and route-running but it’s looking promising. Then again, every receiver looks promising when they don’t have to worry about a hard-hitting safety looking to crack their ribs. Chad Hall, the Bills first-year receiving coach and someone I’ve never even heard of until the writing of this piece, says that he’s most impressed with the leadership of the receiving core.

     Why does this team like to throw the “L” word around so much?

4. The Bills are realizing they have half-way decent running backs.

     Wait,  you mean this might not be an area of concern this year? The Bills running game this year looked like a game of Madden, as in they couldn’t run to save their life. With spring chickens like LeSean McCoy and now Frank Gore on the team, it’s weird that I would even put the words “struggle” and “running game” in the same sentence but that’s the 2018 Bills for you.

     No, my dear readers, the true focus of the running game will live and die with Devin Singletary. If I’m going to accuse Murph of jinxing the Bills offense, I’d like to at least think Devin Singletary could be a Bills legend in the making. I could be totally wrong and as a matter of fact, I most likely am. I just look at what he did in college and wonder how and why he ended up in this city. What will he bring to the table, if anything?

Running success is passing success.

5. It’s another year.

     Of course, a new year brings newer expectations that have not ended so well over the past 20 years. There is a buzz around this team and I hope they can do what everyone appears to be saying. As much as I may be satirizing what Murphy has written, it’s good to see that someone is looking at this with hopeful eyes. I just hope this team can go in a better direction. 

     This team knows what it needs to do and how it needs to do it. The question is can they hold it all together? When things begin to go south, can they make the right adjustments and get the ship back on the right course? Everyone knows this is a make or break year so will they make or break?

Training camp is six weeks away, not soon enough.

-By: Thomas P. Braun Jr.