Return of No-Huddle

(Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

George Bush was praised for wrapping up the war with Iraq so quickly. A new Terminator sequel topped the box office.

Roseanne topped the TV ratings, and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” burned up the charts. 

And the Buffalo Bills’ K-Gun no-huddle offense struck fear in opposing defenses. 

The newest page in the Bills 2009 playbook might be a dog-eared yellowing one that just turned 18 years old. 

Buffalo’s flirtation with the no-huddle has been rumored in recent weeks, and it might be the only way to explain several of the team‘s roster moves.  

According to official NFL play-by-plays, the Bills used the no-huddle for at least part of 16 drives last season. Like most teams, most of them were in hurry-up situations when the team trailed late (see Week 3, vs. Oakland) or in the last two minutes of halves and games.

The team scored a total of 47 points on those drives, or just shy of a field goal per possession, which is about 50 percent higher than the team scored on drives that featured a huddle.

Quarterback Trent Edwards showed he was capable of running the no-huddle, completing 66 percent of his 59 passes for 463 yards. Wide receivers Lee Evans and Josh Reed each caught nine balls in the offense, Evans for 131 yards and Reed for 121.

Bills running backs also excelled in the offense, with Marshawn Lynch averaging 4.8 yards per carry and Fred Jackson averaging 6.7. 

Viewed through the prism of the no-huddle, what once were projected as weaknesses and holes remaining in the depth chart might, in fact, be part of a systematic plan to implement the offense.

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