Bold move at OC has paid off so far

It seemed like a bit of a desperate move at the time, and naturally came with plenty of criticism. But one month into Anthony Lynn’s tenure as offensive coordinator it’s clear that the Bills and Rex Ryan in particular deserve credit for making a bold and unconventional move — which has certainly paid off so far.

- Mark Ludwiczak

The differences under Lynn have been pretty obvious for all to see. The Bills have been more varied with their formations, have better utilized Tyrod Taylor’s dual-threat talents and have improved a great deal in the run game. There appears to be a focus and a vision that was lacking over the first two weeks of the season.

Ryan has been careful with his words when asked about Lynn because he doesn’t want to seem dismissive of his former coordinator, Greg Roman. But his players haven’t been shy to praise what Lynn has done in such little time.

“I think the biggest thing is just simplifying the offense, let talent find its place and just let us play,” running back LeSean McCoy said. “Taking the thinking part out of it, and also he gives you so many things to prepare for in the running game. There’s times where I’m behind the quarterback, I’m behind the fullback, running shotgun, running center. He does a lot of different mix-ups; he even does the option. So as a defense you’ve got to watch us play, you’ve got to account for everything. I think that’s the most dangerous thing that he does — he just gives the defense different looks to prepare for.”

“One of the biggest things I think is tempo. Coach Lynn is big on tempo, get on the line of scrimmage, getting the calls, getting the checks, having enough time to do that.”

To piggyback off Chris Brown’s story (see page 14), one of the most interesting changes has been the use of McCoy. At times he’s been positioned deeper in the backfield, which gives him more time to work his way up field and determine his cuts upon reaching opposing defenders. You don’t often hear about changes like that, and it’s to Lynn’s credit that he saw a potential fix and went ahead with it.