Buffalo Bills OC Joe Brady plots new offense

The Buffalo Bills officially have a new offensive coordinator in Joe Brady, and his approach to running an offense that, on paper, looks like the bills have come due (and Buffalo hasn’t been able to pay) could be what helps him manage a multitude of personnel changes. . There’s an almost entirely new wide receiver room, and new — or reassigned — offensive linemen, as well as a host of new talent at running back.

Brady’s approach could be the push needed to put the adrenaline back into what a year ago was considered one of the league’s most potent offenses.

Joe Brady is not a new face around One Bills Drive. He moved from quarterbacks coach to interim offensive coordinator midseason last year, after Buffalo’s offense fizzled and appeared to be running out of octane long before he hit the station. They were struggling to string together two straight wins in October, so Brady was called in to try to find a fuel source and reignite a rapidly smoldering fire. He did just that, and in January he received the official appointment as team OC and was able to start planning for a new season.

The plan: “At the end of the day, it’s Josh Allen’s offense,” Brady said Tuesday.

It’s not that simple – is it? Brady discussed the loss of Stefon Diggs who was traded to the Houston Texans this offseason. Brady said that while opponents have to plan for All-Pro every week, they also have to plan for Allen, and well, Allen is a wild card — you never know what he’s going to do.

Of course, Allen gets on the field with 10 other guys, and Brady said he uses OTAs to determine each player’s strengths so he can design a game plan that uses every weapon that general manager Brandon Beane gives him. has sent.

“Your offense is Josh Allen’s offense, but it’s also about what your players do well. This is the time right now where we’re experimenting with things, like, “Can this guy do this?” Can’t this guy do this? » Brady spoke about his goals for spring training. “We will continue to evolve and in September we hope we will have good feelings.”

Brady said the plan is to have a new offensive feel when the Bills take the field in the fall. Something players believe in. One he believes in. But he also said that doesn’t mean he’s giving up everything they’ve done. He plans to incorporate the things he liked from last year as well as things that will highlight the strengths of the staff he currently has.

“There will be some elements that I believe in, but it’s more about: tell me who we have on our football team and what good they can do,” he said, adding that he wanted to have as many guys involved in the game plan as possible. “We are going to do it.”

But once again, in Buffalo, it’s Josh Allen’s offense. And so, OTAs are intended to get everyone in line with the plan — no easy task considering Khalil Shakir is the only returning receiver from last year’s active roster.

“You have to be really intentional, because at the end of the day, there’s only one guy in the receiver room that even caught a ball from Josh in a game,” Brady said of how he asks his offense to attack OTAs. “Every representative in practice, the individual, there is such intention behind what we do and why we do it.”

Shakir, the “only guy in the front office” Brady was referring to, summed up Brady’s approach: “He tells us all the time, ‘everybody eats.’

September is still three months away. Brady has plenty of time to learn his players’ strengths and make sure his plan complements them all so they can all “eat up.” And, of course, for Josh Allen to rise up and be, well, Josh Allen.