NFL Matchup’s Executive Producer shares notes from his study of Week 16 coaching tape: the Bills offense vs. the Broncos defense.
- Broncos played primarily man coverage v. Bills 3 WR personnel, It was predominantly “man free”
- This game matched Bills 3 WR spread shotgun offense v. Broncos nickel sub-package, Harris very solid year as Broncos nickel slot corner
- Spiller 38 yds came out of 3 WR personnel v. Broncos nickel sub-package, An inside zone run with TE crossing formation for back side seal – Very effective concept v. man coverage and Broncos played ”man free”
- Broncos matched Bailey on Johnson, both outside and in the slot
- Rookie S Carter does not have the athleticism and movement to be a quality NFL starter, Change of direction and short area quickness lacking
- For the 3rd consecutive week Hagan played significant snaps at WR for the Bills
- Johnson 55 yds was a coverage bust by the Broncos off an overload 5 man blitz concept, Looked like LB Woodyard made the mistake
- Because of the Bills predominant 3 WR personnel starting MLB Mays only played 9 snaps in the game
- Spiller showed great acceleration in this game, He ran by safeties Carter and Bruton a number of times; Plus showed ability to make defenders miss in the open field, like he did S Moore on 25 yds in the 3rd quarter ; Spiller adds a lot of dimensions to an offense
- Big Spiller runs came out of 3 WR personnel v. Broncos nickel sub-package
- Bills excellent 2:00 drive at the end of the 1st half, Featured a big time throw by Fitzpatrick to Nelson at corner route v. Harris
- Bills excellent job with pass game concepts and play design to get the ball out of Fitzpatrick’s hands quick, Broncos pass rush not a factor in the game
- Bills also did an excellent job with their multiple screen game and with Fitzpatrick boot action, Gailey negated both the overall speed of the Broncos defense and their pass rush
- All 3 Spiller long runs – 38, 25, and 26 yds – were the same play: Inside zone with the TE crossing the formation to seal the back side
- Bills had a strong tactical game plan but their major shortcoming was in the red zone: 1 TD in 6 trips
Later today: Greg’s notes from the Patriot & Packer games.
