Bretsky
06-13-2007, 12:38 AM
CRAIG NALL LOOKING BETTER IN BUFFALO
CRAIG NALL: “From last year to this year I think I’m much more accurate.”
Nall makes strides as No. 2 QB
Form, knowledge of offense better
By Mark Gaughan
Updated: 06/12/07 7:43 AM
Buffalo Bills backup quarterback Craig Nall seemed to lack touch on short swing passes during practices last spring. The balls too often came out too quickly and too hard.
It turns out that was just one of the many little adjustments Nall had to make in shifting to a new offensive system.
“When I first got to Green Bay, they really wanted me to throw everything hard,” said Nall, who spent his first four years with the Packers. “Get it out, put it on them. In this offense, sometimes we have to throw the ball over people.”
Nall’s passing touch looks improved this spring, and he thinks a year of experience in the Bills’ system is going to make a big difference in his play when the Bills start training camp in six weeks.
The Bills are banking on Nall being improved. Veteran Kelly Holcomb was traded away. Nall is the clear-cut No. 2 ahead of rookie Trent Edwards, and the Bills need Nall to look reliable in case starter J.P. Losman gets hurt.
“From last year to this year I think I’m much more accurate,” Nall said after Monday’s minicamp workout in Orchard Park. “I understand the offense a lot better — everything from understanding how coach [Steve] Fairchild wants us to be nice and calm in the pocket, our drops, how receivers are running routes and where to throw it, just anticipating things. Last year it was a little gray because we weren’t exactly sure how the receivers were supposed to run the route, and the receivers were [in the same situation]. They understand it now. So we know exactly where they’re going to be and we’re able to get the ball out on time.”
Nall thinks his mechanics are better than they were last year, too. Better footwork helped Losman improve his completion percentage from 49 percent to 62 percent last year. Nall says it has helped him over the past year, too.
“My footwork is 10 times better than it was last year,” he said. “A lot of people don’t really realize how much your feet have to do with accuracy. If you’re trying to throw opposite of where your feet are, the chances of being accurate are slim.”
Nall has not had the chance to show much on the field. In five seasons, he has just 33 pass attempts. His first season with the Bills last year basically was a washout. He pulled a hamstring in training camp, never challenged Losman and spent the year as the No. 3 man.
“Missing 2 1/2 weeks of camp last year really set me back,” Nall said. “After that I really had no chance to get on the field. This year I’m in that No. 2 spot. I’m doing everything I can to hold that and trying to push J.P. at the same time.”
Nall expects training camp to be much better for him because he has the West Coast offense, which he ran for four years, out of his system.
“I’m used to the West Coast offense so the terminology coming in is just totally different,” he said.
“In the West Coast there’s a word for the pass concept for each play,” Nall said. “Over here we’re using a number system to tell the receiver you’ve got a 0 [route], or you’ve got a 9, or you’ve got a 2. I’ve never done a number system like that. To take it a step further, depending on what the formation is, sometimes [the play call] starts with the ‘X’ receiver. But if you get a different formation, now the number starts with the tight end. So I just had to forget everything I learned as far as how plays were called.”
An X receiver is a wide receiver usually lined up on the line of scrimmage and mostly to the weak side, opposite the tight end.
“It’s always tough when you have a new coaching staff coming in and guys are trying to get old things out of their head,” Nall said.
“From a personal standpoint and from an offensive standpoint as a team, we’ve cleared up a lot of things during the offseason that we were doing last year. Because of all those little things, we’re ahead of the game now.”
CRAIG NALL: “From last year to this year I think I’m much more accurate.”
Nall makes strides as No. 2 QB
Form, knowledge of offense better
By Mark Gaughan
Updated: 06/12/07 7:43 AM
Buffalo Bills backup quarterback Craig Nall seemed to lack touch on short swing passes during practices last spring. The balls too often came out too quickly and too hard.
It turns out that was just one of the many little adjustments Nall had to make in shifting to a new offensive system.
“When I first got to Green Bay, they really wanted me to throw everything hard,” said Nall, who spent his first four years with the Packers. “Get it out, put it on them. In this offense, sometimes we have to throw the ball over people.”
Nall’s passing touch looks improved this spring, and he thinks a year of experience in the Bills’ system is going to make a big difference in his play when the Bills start training camp in six weeks.
The Bills are banking on Nall being improved. Veteran Kelly Holcomb was traded away. Nall is the clear-cut No. 2 ahead of rookie Trent Edwards, and the Bills need Nall to look reliable in case starter J.P. Losman gets hurt.
“From last year to this year I think I’m much more accurate,” Nall said after Monday’s minicamp workout in Orchard Park. “I understand the offense a lot better — everything from understanding how coach [Steve] Fairchild wants us to be nice and calm in the pocket, our drops, how receivers are running routes and where to throw it, just anticipating things. Last year it was a little gray because we weren’t exactly sure how the receivers were supposed to run the route, and the receivers were [in the same situation]. They understand it now. So we know exactly where they’re going to be and we’re able to get the ball out on time.”
Nall thinks his mechanics are better than they were last year, too. Better footwork helped Losman improve his completion percentage from 49 percent to 62 percent last year. Nall says it has helped him over the past year, too.
“My footwork is 10 times better than it was last year,” he said. “A lot of people don’t really realize how much your feet have to do with accuracy. If you’re trying to throw opposite of where your feet are, the chances of being accurate are slim.”
Nall has not had the chance to show much on the field. In five seasons, he has just 33 pass attempts. His first season with the Bills last year basically was a washout. He pulled a hamstring in training camp, never challenged Losman and spent the year as the No. 3 man.
“Missing 2 1/2 weeks of camp last year really set me back,” Nall said. “After that I really had no chance to get on the field. This year I’m in that No. 2 spot. I’m doing everything I can to hold that and trying to push J.P. at the same time.”
Nall expects training camp to be much better for him because he has the West Coast offense, which he ran for four years, out of his system.
“I’m used to the West Coast offense so the terminology coming in is just totally different,” he said.
“In the West Coast there’s a word for the pass concept for each play,” Nall said. “Over here we’re using a number system to tell the receiver you’ve got a 0 [route], or you’ve got a 9, or you’ve got a 2. I’ve never done a number system like that. To take it a step further, depending on what the formation is, sometimes [the play call] starts with the ‘X’ receiver. But if you get a different formation, now the number starts with the tight end. So I just had to forget everything I learned as far as how plays were called.”
An X receiver is a wide receiver usually lined up on the line of scrimmage and mostly to the weak side, opposite the tight end.
“It’s always tough when you have a new coaching staff coming in and guys are trying to get old things out of their head,” Nall said.
“From a personal standpoint and from an offensive standpoint as a team, we’ve cleared up a lot of things during the offseason that we were doing last year. Because of all those little things, we’re ahead of the game now.”