Bills' Chan Gailey Demanding Perfection For New-Look Offense
Chan Gailey has been earning a lot of respect from Buffalo Bills fans because of stark differences between him and his predecessor, Dick Jauron. That's all well and good for the time being, but everyone involved knows that doesn't matter; results do. To his credit, Gailey has been demanding very specific results early in his first year as Bills head coach.
In an interesting Sunday night practice note from BuffaloBills.com's Chris Brown, Gailey and his staff got after receiver Steve Johnson for a lack of attention to detail.
"I kind of got chewed out a little bit for doing something wrong," said Johnson. "It's just work that needs to be done, be crisper on everything and (Coach Gailey) wants everything to look the same. So I'm going to try to do that work on my routes and make everything still look the same."
Brown notes: "Gailey's offense is known to have plays that appear similar to defenses at the start, and he depends on receivers to run routes identically whether it's pass or run to more effectively disguise their intentions."
After practice, Gailey reflected his point of view while discussing Johnson's summertime development.
"He's done a good job. The guy has really got some talent. He just has to pay attention to details, and if he'll continue to do that, he's got a chance to be a very good receiver before it's over with. He's a really good one-on-one player, and that's what you have to be in this league."
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I’m really really starting to like the cut of Chan Gailey’s jibb.
"It took twenty five years to get there, and they did it in championship style" - Van Miller 1/20/91.
attitude
Without a doubt when a strong personality in a coach trickles down to the players its all good, Chan is a no nonsense old school guy …he won’t put up with any bs! The best play thus far this preseason is TE ‘attitude’ when he got his helmet knocked off. Billattitude!
I liked that he chewed Johnson out. That shows that hes not only coaching, but very involved with the whole play… not just the run and blocking. He wants all 11 players on the field on the same page. Plus it sounds like we wont have to hear opposing players say things like this after we play them:
“Well their offense was pretty simple to play against, no motion, all basic… it was easy to D them up.”
God that made me sick…
Where else would you rather be?
glug-glug
mmmm I love me some Buffalo Bills kool-aid
It is Brohm’s Bills jersey that is the least stained with doo-doo... GO BILLS
Ugh. Really? Can’t this just be noteworthy, and not “hey, you have to interpret this as a positive”?
by Brian Galliford on Aug 23, 2010 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Dont you see that something like "this" has to be noteworth?
Thats very sad.
Chan Gailey's #1 Fan!
by norcaliangelsfan on Aug 23, 2010 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions
whoops.....
totally not what I wanted to say.
What I meant to say was “Its sad that something like this is supposedly noteworthy”
Chan Gailey's #1 Fan!
by norcaliangelsfan on Aug 23, 2010 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions
I didn’t have to post this article; I find it noteworthy. Sorry if that saddens you.
by Brian Galliford on Aug 23, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Not sure, but kinda sounds like norcali was saying that “It’s sad that the Bills have slipped this far that this becomes noteworthy.” not “It’s sad Brian finds this noteworthy.”
But, nonetheless, I find it noteworthy, because from the looks of last year’s offense, Jauron demanded anything north of craptastic for his offenses.
Formerly of thatguy34 fame.
"And the best decision of my life proved to be the day I signed with the Buffalo Bills." - Jim Kelly
by Jon Harrington on Aug 23, 2010 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions
yes this is more of what I was going for.
Chan Gailey's #1 Fan!
by norcaliangelsfan on Aug 23, 2010 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions
That makes a great deal more sense. Sure, it’s sad, but the sadness doesn’t make it not noteworthy – particularly that last quote about Steve.
by Brian Galliford on Aug 23, 2010 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Noteworthy
= “THE BABY”!
I got nothing.
by Jason from OH-IO on Aug 23, 2010 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions
If we were looking for nothing but noteworthy news, we’d only be seeing a post every three weeks during the offseason!
Is it hockey season yet?
BUFFALO NATION WILL see your BUFFALO BILLS KICK THE soul out of the TUNA FISH FLIPPER ACE VENTURA OILY FLAUNDER NO TAIL SHAMUU WHANA BEs - abayarde
Paul McCartney Can't Play Piano
Burgundy Wave: Nobody's favorite Rapids Blog!
I am just being seriously honest. This sounds good to me, and I am in fact drinking up the positive news as a sign that we going towards better things. It sounds like you interpreted this as sarcasm, but its not. It is noteworthy, and positive
It is Brohm’s Bills jersey that is the least stained with doo-doo... GO BILLS
red flavor is my favorite.
Chan Gailey's #1 Fan!
by norcaliangelsfan on Aug 23, 2010 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions
RED DRANK
Is it hockey season yet?
BUFFALO NATION WILL see your BUFFALO BILLS KICK THE soul out of the TUNA FISH FLIPPER ACE VENTURA OILY FLAUNDER NO TAIL SHAMUU WHANA BEs - abayarde
Paul McCartney Can't Play Piano
Burgundy Wave: Nobody's favorite Rapids Blog!
* correction
Red, White, and Blue Drank
Official ledge-talker-offer of the Buffalo Bills.
by WhyBillsWhy on Aug 23, 2010 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions
For some reason that just made me think of one of the strangest drinks I've ever thought of
Curacao, coconut rum and Ginjinha probably wouldn’t taste all that good though.
Is it hockey season yet?
BUFFALO NATION WILL see your BUFFALO BILLS KICK THE soul out of the TUNA FISH FLIPPER ACE VENTURA OILY FLAUNDER NO TAIL SHAMUU WHANA BEs - abayarde
Paul McCartney Can't Play Piano
Burgundy Wave: Nobody's favorite Rapids Blog!
by UZ on Aug 23, 2010 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions
In a game of inches - the little things matter
Glad this was posted. I read the Steve Johnson interview this morning and thought this is great for so many reasons. Making sure players don’t take plays off on running plays or do strict fakes and routes allows for the big plays to occur. Case in point was the 70 yard TD pass to Evans.
In watching the preseason games – the QB’s have definitely been “showing the ball” and using exaggerated movements which is something we haven’t seen in a while and will definitely be beneficial to the offense, given the state of the OL and QB positions.
What makes this story so noteworthy is that Steve Johnson had a monster of a practice last night. He was making amazing catches all over the field and he still got chewed out for his route-running. That’s why it’s right to call Chan a perfectionist. I’m sure he appreciated the great catches, but he also wanted the routes to start out identical to keep the defenses confused.
Agreed
Case in point was the 70 yard TD pass to Evans
I loved that, next time there is a 3 back set, don’t you have to respect the pass and drop someone in the box back? If the players can sell it by starting the play exactly the same, then the same alignment could be a nice run, play action and go the other side or another bomb, for example.
Why do they put the Gideon Bibles only in the bedrooms, where it's usually too late, and not in the barroom downstairs? ~Christopher Morley, Contribution to a Contribution
Couldn't agree more coach
The split second advantage of a good ball fake etc is invaluable. Chan gets it !
It was Cookie's turn to lead the "easiest exercise" during the Monday practice after a game-- he said-- "we're going to do deep breathing--everybody inhale--dehale "
by radan on Aug 23, 2010 9:57 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
attitude
Unfortunately, they are still likely to be a bad football team this year. It will take more than a year to clean up the mess that the new “brain trust” inherited. Hopefully they will be entertaining, at least.
the good ole days...
What I’m looking for is a quarterback attitude thats similar to that of a linebacker (ala kelly) and a Daryl Talley making fun of a Bruce Smith when he slacked off in practice. Combination of self-pride and assertiveness.
the best example
of what Gailey is trying to avoid, is the “TO enthusiasm”. Last year, if the play wasn’t to him or involving him, he ran a couple yards beyond the line and watched the play unfold. God knows, given our juggernaut offense, we didn’t need that (what offnse ever would). But, again, Jauron’s spine was AWOL.
Gailey’s erasing that memory from our receivers minds.
I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury- Groucho Marx
I feel like Gailey's only doing this because he belives in Johnson
If he didn’t think Johnson could really improve this year, he probably wouldn’t bother being so demanding.
Gailey is basically telling Johnson something to the effect of “I’m hard-ass on you because you can be a real difference maker for this team, but you’re not yet. You’ve got to demand perfection.”
Blame where you must, be candid where you can, And be each critic the Good-natured Man. - Oliver Goldsmith (Excellent advice)
Go Jazz! Go Hogs! GO BILLS!
good coaches are always hardest on the people they expect the most out of. good point.
by quantumuprising on Aug 23, 2010 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Coach why are you riding me so hard?
You should be worried if I’m not riding you.
You can't have CHANGE without CHAN.
Tweet
Buffalo Rumblings
by MattRichWarren on Aug 23, 2010 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions
TWSS
You should be worried if I’m not riding you.
Act like a sober human being, not a drunk Internet username. -- Brian Galliford
by NorCal BillsFan on Aug 23, 2010 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions
hahahah
Matt, that was waaaaay too easy. You just alley ooped that right to NorCal haha
"I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly"
I was always extremely critical of the young guys who had potential....
…. the duds are duds. And a waste of time.
The guys with potential are the ones you really have to make work hard.
And badger, and develop, and give the occasional pat on the head to keep ’em motivated.
Because they will reward you with extreme effort.
"Adversity is an opportunity for heroism." Marv Levy.
by SERGEANT MAJOR THOR on Aug 23, 2010 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions
This just speaks for itself
Chan is assserting himself to these players, holding a reciever accountable because the run got stuffed, not the oline, not the RB but the reeceiver because if he had of been able to disguise that run should be for 10 yds.
This is what coaches do, and to be more specific this is what Andy Reid does.
No coach to me in the last 5 years has been as effective as Andy Reid, he really, really, disguises plays. I watched a full Eagles game last year they ran 6 different plays from the exact same set, in the course of 1 game he ran 6 different plays using the same motion, the same set the same everything except the end result was different each time, and that my friends is good football.( I know i repeated myself but thats the point im really trying to emphasize on)
If Chan is 1/3 the coach Andy Reid has been to the Eagles its an amazing hire
"Big Gulps Eh, Well See ya later" - Lloyd Christmas
" You Gus ready To Let The Dogs Out" "What?" " you Know, Who Let the dogs out rough rough rogh rough" - Zack Galifinakis - The Hangover
I agree. Even with McNabb gone, I think K. Kolb & the Eagles will be just fine this year because the coaching is just so darn good.
And as I say this, I realize that DJ is the DB coach in Philly, but he is probably better served as a position coach/coordinator than head coach. In fact, I’m very sure of that. Some guys are just not HC material, and we all know DJ certainly wasn’t.
Obviously when it comes to DB’s the guy knows his stuff.
Is it hockey season yet?
BUFFALO NATION WILL see your BUFFALO BILLS KICK THE soul out of the TUNA FISH FLIPPER ACE VENTURA OILY FLAUNDER NO TAIL SHAMUU WHANA BEs - abayarde
Paul McCartney Can't Play Piano
Burgundy Wave: Nobody's favorite Rapids Blog!
by UZ on Aug 23, 2010 7:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Gailey
I love the teaching concept Gailey employs. Teach, teach and teach. If he can install his system this year and develop the players to perfect it next year, we may be on to something if indeed Gailey is formulating schemes based on talent. We’ll in due time find out how great his schemes are and more importantly how great of teachers his coaches are.
"Show me the baby: - Buddy Nix
Y'all were skeptical (and rightfully so) when you guys first hired Chan
but I was one of the first to come over and say “everything will be alright”. Being a Chiefs fan, I’ll go on record to say Gailey is a better offensive coordinator than Todd Haley. What Gailey produced with a 3rd string QB and quite possibly the worst O-Line in the league in 08’ was nothing short of miraculous. He manged to produce more with less talent than Haley who had far more offensive talent. Picking up Spiller, regardless of how deep your backfield is/was, is going to pay huge dividends in Gailey’s system. Gailey WILL make your QB’s better and put points on the board. Chan Gailey was a smart hire by the Bills organization and it’s going to be fun watching the turnaround of your franchise. Looking forward to playing you guys again this season and gotta be honest, if any team is gonna stick it to us I would have be Chan’s team. Chan’s the man.
D.J. #56 - Pay The Man & Play The Man
by KansasCityShuffle on Aug 23, 2010 2:53 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
thanks KCS
coming from a guy with 86 fanposts and 5000+ comments as well – I assume you have some excellent knowledge of the Chiefs franchise.
I'm not sure we have the tools or the talent....
by J2 on Aug 23, 2010 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions
original reply from kansas city shuffle (brian - that was some quality info - coulda at least changed it - geez :))
Y’all may not realize but in 2008 our third string QB was a running back out of a D-1 school that didn’t even have a football program by the time he was a freshmen. Throughout pre-season play there was a legitimate debate if our QB corps was not only the worst in the league but worst of all time! One by one the starters ahead of Thigpen went down until we were relegated to starting our 3rd stringer. His first starts were nothing short of atrocious with many fans (myself included) declaring Thigpen didn’t even belong in the NFL let alone as a starting QB. Embattled HC Herm Edwards coming off two prior losing seasons and starting off on a third had ran out of idea’s and finally handed the entire offense over to OC Chan Gailey. With Gailey taking full control he designed an unconventional offense called the "Pistol" formation where lined up Thigpen in the shotgun and kept his two backs in the I-form. This offense was catered to the limited talents of Tyler Thigpen who was was very mobile and only experienced in running the spread offense in college. The system installed by Chan was basically a modified spread designed to utilize Thigpen’s talents and the result was an 18TD/12INT ratio season performance. Everyone has said the spread could never work in the NFL but to anyone watching Chiefs game that season they would begin to tell you differently. He’s a very creative offensive mind and simply put the guy puts point on the board. Period. Herm’s teams were built to be defensive with only game managing offense’s but when Chan came
into town that all went out the window due to his succeess on the offensive side of the ball. Y’all take mad crap on Edwards over here and seemingly hold out hope from Brohm. If Gailey can turn chicken crap into chicken salad like he did with Tyler Thigpen, you all should breathe easy knowing you got Gailey on the job with two QB’s of actual pedigree
I'm not sure we have the tools or the talent....
by J2 on Aug 23, 2010 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Thank you
Very cool of you
D.J. #56 - Pay The Man & Play The Man
by KansasCityShuffle on Aug 23, 2010 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Nice call KCS
Act like a sober human being, not a drunk Internet username. -- Brian Galliford
by NorCal BillsFan on Aug 23, 2010 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions
707
Throw it up
D.J. #56 - Pay The Man & Play The Man
by KansasCityShuffle on Aug 23, 2010 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Can’t edit a comment, or I would’ve. Sorry, KCS.
by Brian Galliford on Aug 23, 2010 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions
well could have easily done what I did. I can understand it for posts in which we had a discussion about, but this had good information. I’m sure you can have a little empathy for users of other SBNation blogs that allow swearing…. i’m sure it never even crossed his mind
I'm not sure we have the tools or the talent....
by J2 on Aug 23, 2010 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions
For the record, I hid the comment, not deleted it, and by the time I’d did exactly what you did, you’d already beaten me to posting it. :)
by Brian Galliford on Aug 23, 2010 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions
cool – I didn’t know that about Thigpen. gives me some hope!
I'm not sure we have the tools or the talent....
by J2 on Aug 24, 2010 8:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Chan
Sofar I’m impressed but will it translate to the playing field? I for one think it will. Were not going undefeated by any means, but at least we’ll look better doing it:)
Home of "Spiller the Thriller"
Accountability....
Accountability is back, if a player screws up a play or doesn’t perform he is going to hear about it.
So far Chan has been Firm—Fair and Consistent….
.
"When life throws you a curve ball, that doesn’t mean you have to swing."
TWSS
Firm—Fair and Consistent
Act like a sober human being, not a drunk Internet username. -- Brian Galliford
by NorCal BillsFan on Aug 23, 2010 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions
A small thing
but I love how they got rid of the music blaring throughout practices, which was really annoying last summer.
"Give back some of that money you ain't [expletive] earned!" - Eric Wood
Song recommendation of the week: Kool & The Gang - Summer Madness
by TheAfghanTwilight on Aug 23, 2010 3:30 PM EDT reply actions
They played music during practices? Really?
"Football's gotta be dangerous. It's gotta be labor and pains." -Deacon Jones
If I remember the context, it was to simulate a noisy stadium. One of DJ’s half-decent moves.
2010 Bills' truth in advertising: "Look out Cleveland, this year we score 6!" - bluecollarbuffalo
by thefourwinds on Aug 23, 2010 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions
OK. I see the logic in that. But couldn’t they use actual recorded crowd noise? Music would be distracting in a totally non-football way.
"Football's gotta be dangerous. It's gotta be labor and pains." -Deacon Jones
Yeah, you’d think they could.
2010 Bills' truth in advertising: "Look out Cleveland, this year we score 6!" - bluecollarbuffalo
by thefourwinds on Aug 23, 2010 8:14 PM EDT up reply actions
It was terrible. I can’t stand nu-metal stuff, like auto-tuners extraordinaire Nickelback. Yeah, it was turrible.
"Give back some of that money you ain't [expletive] earned!" - Eric Wood
Song recommendation of the week: Kool & The Gang - Summer Madness
by TheAfghanTwilight on Aug 23, 2010 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions
But who, doesn't want....
to be a “RockStar”????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvxy3YGhPH0
The draft dawns a new year for Buffalo Bills fans, so let optimism reign supreme!!! After all, we are now, UNDEFEATED!!!!
have you ever heard recorded and replayed crowd noise at a high volume?
we used to have music on during practices when he had communication issues. Not only does it keep you from hearing one another, but it also makes you concentrate that much more….cause who doesn’t to feel the rhythm of the night??
by quantumuprising on Aug 24, 2010 8:09 AM EDT up reply actions
have you ever heard recorded and replayed crowd noise at a high volume?
I don’t think so, but I know that through the mastering process, you could make a track that simulated a crowd just fine, given the engineer knows the specs of the system at the practice facility.
"Football's gotta be dangerous. It's gotta be labor and pains." -Deacon Jones
Actually no, it doesn’t simulate it just fine. That’s why people have been playing music for decades at practices for all sports. I’ve never heard of anyone using crowd noise. It just isn’t the same, and its not productive.
by quantumuprising on Aug 24, 2010 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Seems to me that Chan has a reputation of getting a lot out of less than stellar players. This is how you do it. You make them do everything perfectly every time ad nauseam. And you don’t accept excuses, and you don’t accept anything less than 100%.
"...and dance by the light of the moon!"
I agree in theory...
I too believe Chan gets the most out of his players, but I also believe that by teaching them fundamentals and accountability along with toughness, the players move from the “less than stellar” category into the “good football player” category. He is simply coaching these kids to play the game correctly.
Act like a sober human being, not a drunk Internet username. -- Brian Galliford
by NorCal BillsFan on Aug 23, 2010 4:18 PM EDT up reply actions
At this point, I’ll take “good football player”. I don’t see a whole lot of future HOF candidates on the team right now, and I’d like to see them not embarass themselves this year. Playing the game correctly is a good place to start.
"...and dance by the light of the moon!"
my two cents
in addition to agreeing with the above comments about fundamentals and discipline, etc., Chan also designs schemes to take advantage of his players’ strengths.
There aren’t a ton of future HOF’ers on any teams in the NFL. Brady, Manning, Ray Lewis, some might say Darrelle Revis…it’s not realistic to expect (and i know you’re not demanding it, bflogrl) our team be stocked with sure-fire HOF talent. We were all so very spoiled by the 80’s and 90’s teams.
"Give back some of that money you ain't [expletive] earned!" - Eric Wood
Song recommendation of the week: Kool & The Gang - Summer Madness
by TheAfghanTwilight on Aug 23, 2010 9:15 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
It’s really funny how something as elementary (in a duh fundamental sort of way, not that it is trivial for receivers to master) as masking routes by running them the same is new to our receiving corps. How deep is the black hole that was Jauron & Co’s knowledge of NFL offensive systems. Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison in particular were successful because you couldn’t tell what route they were running. Rice said in an interview that more than anything, that is what contributed to his success. He wasn’t the tallest, fastest, strongest, but you didn’t know at the line of scrimmage what he was going to do.

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