Published: August 15, 2008 10:36 pm      

SCHMITT: Turk not afraid to wing it

COMMENTARY

TORONTO — For a split second, Ike Taylor thought he was in trouble. Real trouble. You could tell by the way the Pittsburgh Steelers’ cornerback wheeled around and hauled upfield that he misread Lee Evans’ break off the ball on the Bills’ first offensive play of Thursday night’s game.

Evans is a crafty route runner, even if last year’s stats didn’t reflect it. He had Taylor, a six-year vet, turned inside out when he broke to the sideline. As if in practice, Evans’ cut was met by a perfect Trent Edwards spiral on the outside. It shouldn’t be lost in the shuffle that the throw was one many said Edwards can’t make.

But whether the play went for 25 yards or not, it’s the thought that counts. The attempt was to throw the defense off the scent and it worked. Taylor’s first inclination was to stuff the run. His second was that he’d been beaten long for a touchdown.

And that fear is invaluable to a quarterback.

Teams have known forever what the Bills were about to do. If it was first down, that meant a run to the side that the H-back or tight end shifted to. Second down consisted of a real switch-a-roo — a run away from the side the H-back of tight end shifted.

Third and long meant a monster blitz and a quarterback who resurfaced with a clump of turf in his mask.

That’s why Turk Schonert’s decision to attack the defense — even in an exhibition game — meant so much to the psyche of an offense that’s been trying to prove it’s legit for years.

As a new offensive coordinator, the tendency is to keep things close to the vest in the preseason, largely for fear that future opponents will be ready for such trickery.

But that’s overthinking things. Don’t worry about everyone else’s defenses, worry about confidence. Your confidence. It felt like Steve Fairchild was afraid to tip his hand, obsessing that opponents might get an edge if they witnessed a screen or misdirection in the preseason. Or early in regular-season games for that matter. Rarely did the Bills throw caution to the wind and loosen up the defense in the first few series.

Against Washington in last week’s exhibition, they carried over that bashful gameplan. Buffalo opened with a pair of runs, then needed a heroic throw from Edwards to Roscoe Parrish to bail them out on third down. They followed with another run, then Edwards missed on a pass and never hit another.

But on Thursday, after catching Taylor off-guard on the game’s first play, the cushion on underneath receivers got softer, the holes along the line got wider, and the rhythm couldn’t have gotten any smoother.

To pin this on one playcall is ridiculous. But confidence begets confidence. If a coach believes in himself, and by extension his players, those players start to believe in themselves.

Schonert’s call to throw deep on the first play of Thursday’s game wasn’t too risky. The game means nothing. The stats don’t count. And it’s still possible the Bills tank this season, taking a city’s hopes and dreams to the gutter.

But at least he showed he’s ready to give an offense that’s been trying to get cranked up some fuel to do so.

Will it crash or soar?

Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.