mjd1001

Its not about being a hater. On a play to play basis, there are things that are a 'miss' with this offense. Pointing that out and having a discussion about it are what a lot of fans do. Putting your head in the sand about all other issues of the game and just looking at the scoreboard is something a lot of us want to do more than.

It 'looks' like 1 of 2 things: -He has a minor injury he is trying to play through -he just isn't standing as 'fearless' in the pocket as he did last year. Last year he stepped into almost every throw and was willing to risk a big hit to make a play. This year he as 'happy feat' a lot more and is throwing off his back foot a lot more. Terrified behind this OL? Or not as fearless now that he has his big contract?

Good, not great. I need to really REALLY reserve the 'great' label until after we see them play well against a QB that is in the top 20 in the league. Through to 2 games this D-unit has faced an over-the-hill Roethelisberger, a Tua who shouldn't even be a starter, and a (pretty much) career backup in JB.

I think others have brought up, there are rumblings he was looking for a lot more money. The Bills just wanted a 'decent' guy who wouldn't screw up to much for a lower cost.

For me to have my concern alleviated about this offense, I need to see 1 or 2 more drives like that the rest of this game.

This OL is too bad at run blocking to support a heavy running game. If the D even thinks for a moment the Bills are going to a running offense and they bring ANYONE else closer to the Line of Scrimmage, that OL doesn't support any kind of running game against most D-units.

Its early, we know, but Mac Jones had a much better completion percentage (and looked better) against this same Miami D as Allen does today, And through the half against Pittsburgh IN Pittsburgh the Raiders passing game is doing better than the Bills did last week.

Not sure what you mean by 'you guyz' There were a handful of 'very loud' fans who said the Bills should run more, but the vast majority of what I read was fine with the Bills throwing as much last week. A handful of people wanting the Bills to run more does not make a whole forum.

Despite having 2 tds this week through the half, I think it is both. The OL is below average, but Allen looks off. Is it that he is aware the OL is so bad he is getting a bit nervous back there and that is leading to bad throws/decisions. It looks like it to the casual eye.

He's not having a very good game for the 2nd week in a row (so far). So its not OK to say that or level any criticism of him?? I have not said a bad word about his play up until now, but there isn't anything wrong with doing that if he isn't having a good game.

I don't 'avoid' it, but it is frustrating. I usually tend to look at an outcome of any situation/situations and think of things in an "Occam's razor" type of way. In the Bills loss to the Steelers, to me that meant simply "the Offensive line is bad and they played bad". All other outcomes result from that point, as that is the dominant point. The "Josh had a terrible game and has regressed", the "Dabol should be demoted", "run Singletary a lot more", all those other explanations can seem like there is something behind them, but they may or may not even be the answer. Of course, this is a message board, if we all agreed on the primary reason for a loss and there was no discussion, it would be a boring place and I would avoid it even more for lack of ANY discussion.

agreed. It doesn't happen all that often...until it happens more often. If the Bills are a very good team/the best team, they are likely to win...if they aren't good they won't. the placement of games and who you play on the schedule/matchups is mostly random.

If you don't think the offensive line is average at best and probably below average you aren't watching. Last year they could hardly open holes for the running backs even when the defense was playing nickel often. And as far as pass blocking, Alan only got a lot of time on a regular basis against the worst defensive units they played. Against the rest of the teams he at best had to use his mobility to give him that extra second or two to complete a pass, and at worst he really had no time at all. Go back and look at some of the games from last year and actually pay attention to the offensive line. It's the same guys this year I don't see how you can't see they are the team's weakness.

Agree 100% The offensive line is physically overmatched too often and they just aren't good. That is the weakest spot of this team the coaches have to coach around. It has nothing to do with killer instinct of the coach if the offensive line plays bad or is overmatched. You want to coach 'tough' and go 'full speed ahead' with a bad offensive line that is overmatched in a particular game? You won't be having a healthy QB for long.

What do you define as killer instinct? going 'full speed' and using every single one of your best plays for all the teams on the schedule to see? Using your best players on every single play, not resting them and insuring long term health (yes, EVERY good team does that now). When you go 'full speed ahead' all the time, you are normally the one who lands on the ground face first while your opponent is left standing because if they know what they are doing they can react to you. What you think of as 'killer instinct' would have you maybe win opening day as a coach most years, but have you fired by mid-season all the time. Toughness is nothing if you don't plan and use your brain too.

No he isn't. They got beat. If anything the offensive line is 'soft'. They tend to get pushed around physically. Their bad play leads to the lack of a running game, which leads to obvious passing situations, which leads to a pass rush they already can't handle getting worse for the QB to deal with. The coach is not soft. If anything he may be tougher than you think because he knows this is a long season, because he CAN control his emotions, because he has the discipline to think of the long term plan for the season and not abandon it at the first 1/2 of game that doesn't go his way.

With regard to all your comments about the offense, maybe they are true, maybe they are true and don't really matter. I am of the belief that none of those things matter IF the offensive line played better. If this Bills offense gets slightly above average protection from the line (either because they play great or they are playing against a bad defense), then this offense hums. Bad playcalling, too much or not enough running...none of it matters. The problem is this offensive line is NOT good, and this group hasn't been good for over a year. Allen can beat pressure. Allen can beat a D-unit that drops into heavy coverage. What he can't do on a regular basis is beat a Defense that does both. If they only rush 3 or 4 and get pressure on him, he isn't going to beat you downfield when he has the pocket collapse on him AND there is 7 in zone coverage. The offensive line isn't good enough to win ALL the time.

Unless he can block 300+ lb defensive tackles very well...nope

No. The OL isn't good enough. The Steelers were playing 100% looking for pass. If the bills even gave the ball to Singletary 10 more times, the Steelers D-unit would have played even more balanced, and Singletary would have gotten under 4 yards per carry.

This OL is just not good. Average starters at best. All last year they proved they couldn't open holes for RBs on consistent basis, and their pass blocking is decent, but they can be pushed into the backfield against a very good DL. They are not the worst unit in the league, but for sure they are a weak spot on this team, just like there were last year for anyone who really paid attention to their play. It is a position the coaching staff will have to work around.

Ok, its a LONG season and you weren't going to win them all. With that said..just how big as next weeks game going to be now? Go to Miami in a 90 degree day and come out with a loss......well 0-2 with 2 conference losses so early would be time to hit the panic button. But a convincing win next week makes things a lot better.

They are just 'smart' and 'experienced' enough to not allow many unblocked guys in...but they certainly are bad enough in terms of talent to keep an above average DL from collapsing the pocket on a regular basis with 4 rushers. Blame play calling if you want, but the overall play and talent of this OL may be second on the list of problems in this game.

Every single play the OL is getting pushed back yards off the LOS. They just aren't that good.

I just saw the bills blitz 2 and Ben had more time than Allen is getting almost every play when the steelers send 4.

You can pick on the play calling, but usually a play is a 'bad call' simply when it doesn't work. The problem today is the OL. With very few exceptions, they aren't blocking 4 rushers good enough on passing plays, and have created holes in the running game not often enough(especially on QB draws). These OL just are overmatched one-on-one against too many good D-units.