Bills camp report: New coordinator tries to bring life to offense

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PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- People here tell me the biggest offseason addition for the Buffalo Bills was defensive tackle Marcus Stroud, but unless we're talking actual size -- and Stroud is 6-feet-6, 310 pounds -- I'm not joining the chorus.

Instead, I'll vote for Turk Schonert.

He's the team's new offensive coordinator and a reason to believe that maybe, just maybe, Buffalo enters the 21st century on offense. A year ago the Bills ranked 30th and were downright boring when they had the ball.

Make that passive, predictable and unproductive. Or P-P-U.

Schonert might change all that, and you can only hope if you're a Bills fan or Trent Edwards. Edwards is the team's starting quarterback, and look for him to be given more responsibility under Schonert -- including checking out of plays at the line of scrimmage.

In the past, that wasn't possible. If Edwards or J.P. Losman saw something he didn't like, he didn't have the option of calling an audible. He had to run the play, which might explain some bizarre events last season.

I remember the Dallas game, when the Bills held a 24-16 lead and had third-and-8 at the Dallas 11 with just over six minutes left. They had a sure field goal if they did nothing, but they threw the ball -- which is OK if you're throwing to the end zone, but this was a pass to the flat.

The Bills expect rookie WR James Hardy to add a new dimension. (Getty Images)

And it was intercepted. Stupid.

Two weeks later, they're ahead of Baltimore by 12 points, and the Ravens' offense was stuck in neutral. The game belonged to Buffalo, provided the Bills didn't go dumb on us again -- which, of course, they did, throwing another flat pass on third-and-10 from their 8.

It, too, was intercepted, and led to a touchdown that put the Ravens back in a ballgame they deserved to lose. Unbelievable, and don't get me started.

Somehow, Buffalo managed to overcome its prevent offense to produce a 7-9 record and second-place finish in the AFC East. Afterward, offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild left for a head coaching job at Colorado State, which was fortuitous because, had he stayed, he probably would've been cashiered.

But he's gone, Schonert is here and so is another round of optimism. Some of that is based on the Bills' performance a week ago against Pittsburgh when everything clicked on offense, Schonert looked like a genius and Edwards looked like the franchise quarterback this organization believes he can be.

Edwards rarely missed a pass, made sound decisions and threw the ball downfield. In short, he did a lot of what the Bills could not last season when Edwards, then a rookie, was called on to replace an injured Losman.

"I was thrown into the fire the third week of the season against the New England Patriots," said Edwards, "and guys are walking up and down the sidelines, saying, 'Trent, you're ready to go; you're ready to go. It's your time.'

"But I had taken two snaps that week, Tom Brady is on the other sidelines and Junior Seau is at linebacker. It was like ... I don't know.

"There were times at Stanford where you faced Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart in prime-time television at the L.A. Coliseum, and we never even came close to beating USC. Those lessons in adversity built up over the years helped me get through last year.

"But also there are lessons I hadn't faced in my entire life, like picking up and leaving your family when you've lived in the same area 23 years of your life and getting drafted to a cold-weather city like Buffalo. You've got to adjust to it on the fly."

Now, Edwards is adjusting to his new offensive coordinator, and the two seem in synch with each other ... and not because each attended Stanford. With Schonert's background as a quarterback, he knows what Edwards is experiencing, and he's willing to trust him with decisions he never was allowed to make.

Like calling an audible.

Schonert tweaked some of the terminology in the offense and he employs more movement and different formations. But the biggest change is what he has done with his quarterbacks in general and Edwards in particular: He has given them more responsibility and flexibility.

"We're going to do what I like to do, and what fits our players," said Schonert. "I'm sure there will be some differences in what we did last year. Anytime you change play-callers it's going to look different, even if you have the exact same offense, because your thought process is different, how you call plays is different and so is what you like in certain situations.

"As far as (Trent Edwards) and I go, one thing I do bring is that I've played the position. I've had the ball in my hands. I've seen it through their eyes, where they are on the field, and I can understand what they're saying. I can also relate to them my past experiences from my playing days, so it's a good working relationship."

Bottom line: These aren't your Buffaloed Bills on offense, and that was evident at Monday's practice. On one snap Edwards & Co. ran a nifty misdirection that I never, ever saw from this offense before -- and it worked to perfection.

On another, Edwards stepped back to launch a bomb. With rookie James Hardy on board to join Lee Evans, Josh Reed and Roscoe Parrish as targets and running back Marshawn Lynch looping out of the backfield, you might see more -- a lot more -- of Edwards' arm.

"We'd like to dictate a little more to the defenses than we did a year ago," said coach Dick Jauron, "and because we're more experienced we may be able to do it. We'd like to change pace on people as we move through the year with different tempo -- and tempo is the best way to describe it.

"Of course, we'll have to wait and see how Trent handles everything, but we're optimistic that he can."

The Bills are so optimistic, there is no quarterback controversy here. Losman, the starter the past three seasons, is the backup, and he's not happy about it. But that's the way it goes when you make a commitment to a younger quarterback, and Buffalo's commitment is to Edwards.

Now it's up to him to prove the Bills know what they're doing, and it's up to Schonert to put him in position to accomplish that. That's why I think Schonert could be invaluable.

I don't worry about Buffalo's defense. There is depth galore, especially at defensive tackle where Stroud and Spencer Johnson were added. What I do worry about -- what I always worry about -- is an offense that hasn't ranked higher than 25th the past five years.

"Having Turk Schonert," said Evans, "should make a difference because he's added some dimensions that weren't there before. He's given the offense more freedom.

"What it really is going to boil down to is decision-making, especially at the quarterback position. And that plays right to Trent's strength because he's a smart, cerebral guy."

You hear that a lot around here, but nobody looks smart until the Bills start winning games. Remember, they haven't reached the playoffs the past eight seasons and have produced one winning team in that period.

It's time for a change, and it's up to Schonert to produce one for Edwards, for Jauron and for Bills fans everywhere.

I don't expect Schonert to go bombs-away, not with a back like Lynch in the lineup and not with November and December still on the calendar in Buffalo. But I do expect him to liven things up around here.

"My approach is very simple," said Jauron. "I'd like to find out what our guys do best and then do it. And do it consistently.

"I'm not a big believer in beating people with calls. I think you beat them with people. And then execution. Once you have enough skill accumulated, let them play.

"I don't really care what we run as long as we score. I couldn't care less what it looks like or the ratio of run-to-pass or those kinds of things. Anything that will score points is fine with me."