Joe Brady trusts quarterback Josh Allen by taking over playmaking duties for Buffalo Bills

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady has no plans to make big changes after the interim label was removed from his title during an offseason that saw the departure of some of Buffalo’s best playmakers.

For all subtractions – Stefon Diggs traded to HoustonNo. 2 receiver Gabe Davis and starting center Mitch Morse sign with Jacksonville — Brady is reassured to have a major match in place: quarterback Josh Allen for the four-time defending AFC East champions.

“For us to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to take everything down,’ and ‘Everything was broken,’ that wasn’t the case,” Brady said this week, when asked about his personal adjustments to an offense. who finished no worse than fifth in the NFL in yards gained each of the last four seasons.

“Listen,” he added insistently. “At the end of the day, it’s Josh Allen’s offense, right?”

No question.

The challenge for Brady, who took over in Week 11 last season following the firing of Ken Dorsey, builds on the second half of last season when he introduced a more balanced approach and attack less focused on Diggsand continue this season in which Buffalo returns just one player at receiver – Khalil Shakir – who caught a pass from Allen.

Brady also had an answer to that by evaluating a revamped receiver group led by Curtis Samuel and second-round pick Keon Coleman, and supplemented by journeymen such as Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chase Claypool and Mack Hollins.

“It’s not just about one person. Nobody is bigger than the offense,” Brady said. “It’s about understanding that, in this offense, everyone is going to eat.”

That means trying to make up for the loss of Diggs and Davis, who combined for 152 catches and 1,929 yards, and caught 15 of Allen’s 29 touchdown passes last season.

Buffalo’s transition from Diggs actually began in the final weeks of last season, when Brady focused on getting more players involved, including the racing game. That led to increased production for Shakir, tight end Dalton Kincaid and running back James Cook while allowing Buffalo to win six of its last seven, capped by a season-ending victory over Miami to clinch the ‘AFC East.

Shakir is on board, entering his third season in the NFL and coming off a season in which he more than doubled his production over the final seven games finishing with 39 catches for 611 yards and two touchdowns.

“When you have a guy like Stef, he’s obviously one of the best receivers in the league. So yeah, let’s try to give him the ball,” Shakir said. “But there’s a certain point where I think it all works together if we spread the ball. Because then it makes him open up or it makes me open up, it opens up someone else.

Tight end Dawson Knox appreciated that Brady had a collaborative approach with Allen instead of imposing an offensive philosophy that might not mesh with the quarterback’s dual-threat skills.

“That level of communication between those two guys is everything,” Knox said. “If Josh doesn’t like something, we shouldn’t run it. But the things that Josh really likes, you need to perfect and practice a little more.

Similar to some of his players, Brady is getting a second chance. He failed to make it through his second year as Carolina’s offensive coordinator after being fired 12 games into the Panthers’ 2021 season.

Brady then landed in Buffalo to serve as the Bills’ quarterbacks coach, before replacing Dorsey.

Brady, 34, called the experience of being fired in Carolina a valuable lesson in how to better prepare. His takeaways include building relationships, placing more trust in his players and realizing he doesn’t have to think too much about his role as a playmaker.

“I don’t think you’re trying to outdo (an opponent’s) genius. I got fired from my last job for trying to think like that,” Brady said in December. after a 31-10 victory in Dallas in which Cook’s 179 rushing yards were the most by a Bills player since Fred Jackson had 212 in 2010.

Cook’s accomplishments aside, Brady then turned his attention to Allen, saying the quarterback made his job easier — a point he hasn’t forgotten this year.

“There are some things that Josh Allen has been doing for years here, and the last thing I want is for him to have to think and make calls,” he said this week.

“If there are things that I think from a learning standpoint that would be easier for guys to learn, we’ll look at them,” Brady said, before referring to Allen by his number 17. “Other than that, if it’s something that’s going to slow down, not change.

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