Buffalo Bills coach Chan Gailey isn't letting go of the playbook.
Wide receiver Stevie Johnson lobbied publicly after Sunday's loss to the Indianapolis Colts for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to be given more play-calling power. Gailey says that's already happening, to a degree, but that role is not about to expand.
"Sometimes he does. Sometimes he doesn't," Gailey told WGR-AM on Monday. "He can go out there and change some things. Depends on the situation and the play and what we are trying to do. And the thing that we are trying to do, sometimes, is run the football -- we don't want to change it to a pass. Sometimes we change out of passes to runs, sometimes we change out of runs to passes, depends on what we get."
Asked why Fitzpatrick wouldn't be allowed to alter any play he chooses on the field, Gailey cited pass protection schemes and the need to monitor the workload of certain players like running back C.J. Spiller.
"There is a lot more to it than just seeing what they do and just callin' a play, there is a bigger picture here. ... You are setting up the next play for the next play," Gailey said. "Fitz is good, he is smart, he really is, he is extremely smart and can make adjustments on the field. ... But we're doing things today, just like we did them last year and the year before that."
Quarterbacks love to call their own plays -- always have, always will -- but Gailey does not sound like a man about to relinquish control. We don't have these problems with the New England Patriots or Denver Broncos, however, and it speaks to a disconnect in Buffalo. Gailey can't point to the team's 4-7 mark as proof of much, and Johnson is asking for his quarterback to take on a larger role. That's not how Gailey operates.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
