Quote:It's fair for offensive coordinator Nate Hackett to shoulder some of the blame for those struggles, but running back Fred Jackson believes Hackett was being held back from doing more with the offense.

 

"I love Nate. I loved what he brought to the table," Jackson said during his weekly appearance on WGR 550 in Buffalo. "He was a guy that, just anybody else on the team was under fire with the lack of performance that we had as an offensive unit.

 

"But I could definitely see him not getting to do some of the things he wanted to. I had some conversations with him and it wasn't always, at times, what he wanted to get done."

 

That's a not-so-subtle shot at coach Doug Marrone, whose sudden departure last week left Jackson feeling like he had been "punched in the stomach."

 

When Marrone and Hackett took control of the Bills' offense in 2013, their offense was built around speed. The Bills averaged 24.7 seconds of possession per play, the second-fastest rate in the NFL.