Schonert confident in his new offense; should we be too? (Photo Source)

The Buffalo Bills have not only faced the music, they've embraced the fact that the music sucks.  The Bills knew that the offense the team put on the field in 2007 was, frankly, terrible, and something needed to change.  Said changes implemented were subtle, but they are expected to have a big impact for the club in the 2008 season.

Yet were the changes enough?  The team replaced offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild (who defected to Colorado State and almost assuredly won't be missed by many) with former quarterbacks coach Turk Schonert.  Replacing Schonert at quarterbacks coach is former Bills quarterback (and offensive quality control coach) Alex Van Pelt; Nathaniel Hackett, the son of long time NFL and college coach Paul Hackett, was hired as the team's offensive quality control coach.  No three coaches on Buffalo's staff face more pressure this season than Schonert, Van Pelt and Hackett.

The Obviously Subtle Changes
We all know about the changes that we can see for ourselves.  Trent Edwards is now the full-time starting quarterback.  The team is re-implementing the traditional blocking fullback role, signing veteran Darian Barnes for the role.  Rookie wideout James Hardy becomes the first Bills receiver in quite some time to be a red zone threat just because he's tall.  These developments have been discussed ad nauseam this off-season.

We've heard all of the promises, too.  The tight ends and running backs (specifically starter Marshawn Lynch) will be more involved in the passing game.  The system is designed to play to the strengths of its most important players, namely Lynch, Edwards and Lee Evans.  Speedy gadget receiver Roscoe Parrish will be used more often as well, and in more unique ways.

What's only being talked about as of recently are the systematic changes (beyond the fullback role) that Schonert is making.

Tempo Emphasis with a West Coast Flavor
Not only has Schonert promised to use his personnel differently, he's taking a different approach to the scheme itself, particularly in the passing game.  Edwards will be operating on quicker drops, more rapidly timed routes, and incorporating more of a West Coast feel with his backs and tight ends.  The passing game changes are large enough in the eyes of SI.com's Don Banks that he believes Marshawn Lynch, working in this West Coast-like system, is primed for a monster season:

I'm thinking Lynch could hang up some monster numbers this season. Maybe 1,300 yards on the ground, and another 700 through the air.

Schonert also plans on keeping opposing defenses off-balance by mixing up tempos, ranging from the slow, grind-it-out style preferred by Dick Jauron to no-huddle packages.  Schonert believes that Bills players are excited to use more up-tempo, no-huddle packages this season:

"We're going to do some of the things we did in Cincinnati, but it's more just about keeping the defense off balance,'' Schonert told (Banks). "We didn't do a lot of up tempo last year. I think they're excited about doing a little no-huddle, and those type of things. Formation-wise, I like putting people in different spots and making the defense adjust. Not just lining up the same all the time. We're going to move people around and be disruptive.''

The trick to mixing and matching tempos throughout the game is keeping it unpredictable.  That's where the pressure on coach Hackett comes in.  His job as offensive quality control coach is to make sure that the Bills, in four-game sets, don't display any tendencies as to when they prefer to go up-tempo.  Keeping their unpredictability unpredictable (wrap your head around that one) will be key in having this wrinkle be successful.

Of course, any time a new offensive system is put in - even if the terminology is similar - it's going to take time.  That issue is compounded by the fact that the team has a lot of youth at key positions (particularly Edwards) and questions along the offensive line (thank you, Jason Peters).  Patience will be required in order to see if any of these philosophical changes bring about more points in Buffalo.  But on the surface, this unit has a lot more promise than it did last season.

Jackson, backs making plays as receivers (Photo Source)

Day three of 2008 Buffalo Bills Training Camp was a walk-through session; the team made up for the early walk-through today with the first pads practice of camp.  The Bills are completely done with two-a-days for the duration of camp, which may not be a bad thing, considering the way the team was hitting today.

Here's what occurred of note during today's practice, with, as usual, the bulk of the discussion topics lifted from the official site's excellent coverage...

This. Is. Football.
The pads were back on, which means that the Bills were playing physically.  Which means that football is back.  You have to love hearing lines like this:

"Marshawn Lynch got the drill started off with a good hit on linebacker Kawika Mitchell that drew some 'oohs' from the crowd."

Or this:

"In a two-on-two drill where two members of the wedge face two coverage players coming at them, Barnes was a coverage player and cracked rookie Demetrius Bell."

Or even this:

"Xavier Omon effectively lowered his shoulder to put a good lick on John Wendling..."

Running Backs Making Big Catches
We've discussed this very topic a bit already - and we're only five practices in - but running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson continue to make their presences felt in the passing game.

Fred Jackson had one of the prettier catches on the day as he out leapt Kawika Mitchell and Ko Simpson to make the reception down field on a throw from Trent Edwards.

Jackson has been a frequent target of QB Trent Edwards through the early portions of camp.  He was also a frequent target of Edwards during the latter parts of the '07 season; it's not a reach to expect Jackson to catch around 40 passes this season.  He should be involved heavily in the offense, even with Marshawn Lynch healthy.  That's good news for this ball club.

You have to love hearing this as well - if this can be utilized during the regular season, Lynch's celebrity will blossom in a big way...

Lynch may have trumped Wright however, as he made a reception 40 yards downfield as Edwards deftly dropped a ball between a pair of defenders for a big gain.

Welcome to the league, rookie
CB Leodis McKelvin, in his first official training camp practice as a Buffalo Bill, learned a valuable lesson at the hands of WR Roscoe Parrish today.

Leodis McKelvin got his welcome to the NFL from Roscoe Parrish. The speedy wideout flew past him on a go route and J.P. Losman hit him for what would've been a 40-yard gain.

Clearly, Leodis has still got some learning to do.

Impressed by Bowen
Working with the second unit as a rookie fifth-round draft pick, I've been impressed with what I've been hearing about Alvin Bowen.  He's been making plays against the pass, and today, he showed that he can be a factor defending the run as well.  He sounds like a very active linebacker.

John McCargo penetrated to grab Jackson behind the line, fifth-round pick Alvin Bowen also had a tackle for loss on an end around to Steve Johnson and Shaun Nua chipped in a tackle for loss.

Tuesday 7/29: Night Practice
Buffalo's first night practice will take place tomorrow night at 7PM, and Buffalo Rumblings will be represented there by your humble narrator (and we're going to meet up with one of the Dukes of Awesome!).  If anyone is able to make it out to tomorrow's night practice, I know that I would love to meet any and all Rumblers present.

Can Fine, other vet additions make a difference? (Photo Source)

Prior to the 2008 NFL Draft - in fact, prior to the free agent signing period of this past March - we took a look at the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position, breaking down then-current personnel, finding holes, and building our community needs list.

Now that free agency and the Draft have been completed, and the Bills have infused their roster with new talent, it's time to repeat our process.  Where has Buffalo gotten better?  Where have they gotten worse?  How will additions impact which Bills veterans remain on the roster?  These are questions that we'll attempt to answer over the next week or so.

We continue those discussions today with an examination of Buffalo's stable of tight ends and fullbacks.  To view our previous discussions on Buffalo's TE situation (pre-off-season), bang it here.

Robert Royal: Once considered the most mediocre starter on Buffalo's offense, Royal... well... still holds that distinction, at least in my eyes.  Don't get me wrong, I think Royal is a good player to have on this team - he's a good blocker, a good guy to have on the sidelines, and a solid character guy.  But he's not a starting-caliber tight end in the NFL, and he'll hold that role in Buffalo again in 2008.

Royal is a nice short-area target for Trent Edwards but needs to become far more consistent both catching and securing the ball.  He's not a big-play threat, either.  Royal would be an ideal #2 tight end for red zone work and his blocking ability (see: Bruener, Mark), but unfortunately he'll play above that role for yet another season.

Derek Schouman: A seventh-round draft pick in 2007, Schouman was released prior to the season, added to the team's practice squad, and elevated to the regular roster after a slew of injuries at tight end.  He ended up on IR himself, and faces a fierce battle for a roster spot with so many players vying for so few roster spots at tight end and fullback.  Schouman may be able to play both, however; if he can, he might have a leg up on the competition.

Tim Massaquoi: Another in-season 2007 addition for the Bills, Massaquoi is a longshot to make the roster.  He does have some special teams potential, however, and may be a guy who gets a call back to Buffalo in the event a guy on the roster goes down.

The Additions: Courtney Anderson, Teyo Johnson, Derek Fine
We clung to the vain hope all off-season that the Bills would search for impact at the tight end position.  They courted big names like Alge Crumpler and were very high on Dustin Keller and Fred Davis on draft day, but ultimately, the Bills chose size as their consolation prize to a difference-maker.  Both Anderson and Johnson stand at 6'6", giving the Bills much more red zone potential at the position than they employed a year ago.  Fine (6'3") seems the likely replacement for Royal in a year or two while playing special teams early in his career.  The Bills have talent at the position, but don't employ one guy who can block, catch and stretch a defense vertically.  That element has been missing from Buffalo's offense for a long time.

The Subtractions: Michael Gaines, Kevin Everett, Ryan Neufeld
Gaines provided solid production as a mid-season street free agent signing, but was snapped up early in the free agent signing period as a blocking back for the Detroit Lions.  Neufeld, a special teams ace as a Bill, was a UFA and the team chose not to re-sign him, while Everett's devastating injury has turned into a touching story on a national level.

Jonathan Evans: People tend to forget that in terms of Bills fullbacks, it's Evans who is the longest-tenured fullback on Buffalo's roster (he spent part of '07 on the team's practice squad).  With two new guys in the fold, however - and the team keeping two fullbacks at a maximum - Evans is seemingly a longshot to make the roster.

The Additions: Darian Barnes, Mike Viti
Barnes is an NFL veteran who signed a one-year deal in January; he's known as a solid blocker and an OK special teams player, but offers little else.  Viti has already gained recognition with the fan base, hailing from the Army and checking into Buffalo with his hard hat and lunch pail in tow.  Barnes and Viti seem the two most likely candidates to start at fullback; the loser may not even make the roster.

The Subtractions: None.

Pre-Season Outlook: Unlike 2007, tight end and fullback are no longer one morphed-together "H-Back" position in Buffalo.  Turk Schonert's new offensive scheme will bring back the traditional blocking back, and Buffalo's tight ends will focus on more traditional tight end roles.

As it stands right now, only two of the nine players mentioned here - Royal and Fine - are virtual locks to be on the opening day roster.  The other seven may be fighting for as few as two positions, though three seems more likely.  One thing is certain - this position is a crap shoot, and all of these players have a lot to prove, even if they do make the roster.

Change: Red zone size.

As always, your thoughts on Buffalo's tight end and fullback situation are welcome and encouraged in the comments section.