Offensive Line play through the first three possessions

[shoretalk]

Eventually Meredith will take Green's spot and that might be sooner rather than later, me thinks.

Last night Green did look like the weakest link in the O-line but again it is preseason game #2.

 

I thought the back-ups played well but that the officials still like to toss flags at Bills' players even when they haven't done anything wrong. This was evident on at least one of the D-holding penalties and definitely true on the one holding call on Howard late in the game.

 

We have a coach who wants to win and who celebrates winning ... did you see Chan's face lit up last night at the end? something we never saw in Dick ... but part of winning is putting the pieces together.

 

Bell showed his potential and talent again last night now he just has to stay healthy. The middle of our line is strong.

 

And, we have 4 stud running backs to lift the pressure off the passing game ...

 

So, all you Jake Locker dreamers ... we aren't going to have one of the first few picks in the draft unless we trade up.

[MDH]

You have got to be kidding me.

We still have no NFL OTackles or TE's and can't protect the edges to save a QB's life.

 

True, but at the same time it's not like Gaily is helping them out right now. 3WR 2RB formations were what were used primarily in the 1st quarter (I haven't watched the other 3 quarters yet - had to get to bed.)

 

I'm assuming he's testing these guys but Trent almost got his head taken off at one point. I don't think they need to do max protect but at least having a TE chip a DE would slow them down somewhat.

[aristocrat]

i thought the line play was very improved last night. i noticed guys getting into the second level blocking lb's and opening up holes for our backs. our receivers were also doing a great job blocking downfield. i hope we keep improving on this through the year.

[bills in va]

I am a big hater of our OT's, but with the starters in they at least looked OK. Maybe OK will be good enough to win some games with our backs, and look what Captain Checkdown did with a few seconds to look downfield-69 yard bomb...Wow that had to be the play of the game for me. I haven't seen that from him in years. I 'm very pecimistic regarding our QB's but Trent and Brohm looked much improved last night.

Gailey has been saying he just wants to see improvement, well he should be happy with that performance as it's the first glimmer of hope in some time. We went against a super bowl defense and moved the ball. Big difference from just a week ago.

We still have a long way to go, concerned about the TE, and Bryan Scott getting torched 2 games in a row. But overall looked very good last night. Way to go BILLS.

[nero47]

As CG has said over and over again, we have to crawl before we walk, walk before we run. Right now with the full Oline on the field we're walking. Next week would like to us jog.

 

BTW have you noticed a new trend.Driving the field on our first drives in both games and scoring.

[Simon]

True, but at the same time it's not like Gaily is helping them out right now. 3WR 2RB formations were what were used primarily in the 1st quarter (I haven't watched the other 3 quarters yet - had to get to bed.)

 

I'm assuming he's testing these guys but Trent almost got his head taken off at one point. I don't think they need to do max protect but at least having a TE chip a DE would slow them down somewhat.

Good to have you back, man.

[Sisyphean Bills]

I didn't see the Washington scrimmage, but the running game I saw tonight was the combination of a talented rookie making multiple unblocked tacklers miss and a well-coached offense successfully protecting a glaring weakness. We're OK on the interior but no props should ever be given to these Tackles or TE's.

Trent can get some new plastic teeth after the season.

[timba]

Here are line observations from the rest of the first half

 

FROM BUF 16

1-10 – Run by CJ Spiller 5 yds – Good head up blocking, wasn’t touched until he was 4 yds downfield

 

2-5 –Run by CJ Spiller 12 yds - Designed run to the right but no lanes were open, cut back to the left around Freeny

 

1-10 – NEUTRAL ZONE INFRACTION DEFENSE

 

1-5 – Run CJ Spiller 5 yds – Run to the left side behind Meredith – Freeny took Meredith a bit upfield and made a hole but was filled by a LB – Spiller bounces outside of Merediths block and gets the corner

 

1-10 – Scramble by Edwards 3yds – Pressure came from the outside at ~2.5s – Edwards stepped up into the pocket but had nobody open and some field in front of him.(Schouman gets injured in a 1v1 vs Mathis)

 

2-7 – Edwards to Parrish 9 yds – The ball was out of Edwards hands in 2 secnds – No pressure

 

1-10 – Run by Spiller -2yds – Set to go behind Wood – Wood double teams DT with Hangartner and slides off to hit one LB – all other linemen are man up – McKintyre is responsible for Bracket – Bracket meets and beats McKintyre in the backfield directly in front of Spiller

 

2-12 – Incomplete pass Edwards to Johnson – Ball was out by 2 seconds – 6 man rush 7 blockers with a TE and RB – would have been bad if the ball was held as Mathis was pushed by Green to Spiller – illegal contact wasn’t called on the pass

 

3-12 – Edwards to Spiller screen pass 2yds – untouched safety blitz caused Edwards to have to get rid of the ball sooner – this caused wood and hangartner to be 2 steps too late

FROM BUF 28

 

1-10 – Brohm SACKED -5yds – Went down at 3seconds - Stupar was beat on an inside spin by the DE, when Simpson came in low the DE lunged over him and dragged Brohm down – Meredith handled the other DE well and kept him an armslength away from the speed rush – the other 4 lineman were up against the 2 DTs.

 

2-15 – Brohm incomplete to Jackson – Delayed blitz – good protection and the line picked up the blitzer, no pressure

 

3-15 – Brohm to Jones FUMBLED forward and recovered by buf – DE dropped off into coverage while a LB and DB blitzed from the opposite side, left Hennessey not blocking anybody and unable to move over in time to pick of the extra man coming from the right.

 

1-10 –HOLDING on Howard (bs call it was solid blocking) Run by Simpson for 9yds – Up the middle, had good blocking – Chambers and 62 put a couple guys on their rears

 

1-20 – Brohm quick pass to Jackson 8yds – Ball out before 2 seconds – Meredith cut block to clear the passing lane

 

2-12 – Brohm to Roosevelt 3yds – Ball was out in 2.5s - Blocking was good, both the FB and RB were able to go out to the flats instead of block

 

3-9 – Brohm to Roosevelt 10yds – Ball out at 3s – 4 man rush picked up, no pressure

 

1-10 – 2 minute warning – Brohm to Stupar 4yds– Ball out at 2s – No defensive penetration

 

2 – 6 – Run by Simpson -1yd – Pitch to the right side – trips right with stupar, roosevelt, jones – Jones and Howard pull, Hennessey got pushed down so Howard had a DT trailing him, Stupar cracks down on the DE but can’t sustain the block, DT lined up on Howard mirrors his movement behind the stupar block and Chambers misses him, Jones moves on the LB but gets beat

 

3-7 – Brohm to Jackson 26yds – Ball out at 2s – Safety blitz picked up and no pressure on Brohm – very nice ball by Brohm over the top and on the outside shoulder

 

1-Goal(from 7) – Run by Simpson 2yds – Stupar motions right, Hennessey pulls right, FB goes right – Stupar gets pushed back a step by the DE, FB pulls around the block, Hennessey runs into Stupar and bumps him off his block, and Simpson goes left behind the guard and is grabbed from behind by the DE Stupar was blocking

 

2-Goal (from 5) – Brohm incomplete screen pass to Simpson – Ball out at 3s - Pass was too high and while catchable was a difficult catch – Line handled the screen well, bumped their men a couple times then let them slip by, if this was caught there were 3 lineman in front and 3 defenders in the way

 

3-Goal (from 5) – Brohm incomplete pass to Jackson – Ball out at 1s – Indy has 7 at the line, 6 rush – lineman and simpson stay in to block, DE comes off the line free but simpson cuts him just in time

[The Dean]

Good stuff. Thanks

[Fixxxer]

Thanks for a great post Timba

[timba]

Last night Green did look like the weakest link in the O-line but again it is preseason game #2.

 

I thought the back-ups played well but that the officials still like to toss flags at Bills' players even when they haven't done anything wrong. This was evident on at least one of the D-holding penalties and definitely true on the one holding call on Howard late in the game.

 

We have a coach who wants to win and who celebrates winning ... did you see Chan's face lit up last night at the end? something we never saw in Dick ... but part of winning is putting the pieces together.

 

Bell showed his potential and talent again last night now he just has to stay healthy. The middle of our line is strong.

 

And, we have 4 stud running backs to lift the pressure off the passing game ...

 

So, all you Jake Locker dreamers ... we aren't going to have one of the first few picks in the draft unless we trade up.

 

Had a couple not so outstanding plays (most notably the the big hit Edwards took on the goal line). I was harsh on Meredith for the Redskins game, and he did well tonight. It may have been Greens first game (and against a pro bowl de), so we'll have to see how he does next time.

[timba]

Thanks for a great post Timba

 

You're welcome! I may have a problem!

[Bob in STL]

I didn't see the Washington scrimmage, but the running game I saw tonight was the combination of a talented rookie making multiple unblocked tacklers miss and a well-coached offense successfully protecting a glaring weakness. We're OK on the interior but no props should ever be given to these Tackles or TE's.

 

 

Agree. Stil a lot of pressure pouring in from the tackles on both pass and run plays. The TE and FB need to help more.

 

Bell and Green saw their first action; they also made some nice plays.

 

 

Long way to go.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Agree. Still a lot of pressure pouring in from the tackles on both pass and run plays. The TE and FB need to help more.

 

Bell and Green saw their first action; they also made some nice plays.

 

 

Long way to go.

In fairness to our tackles, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis are two of the best edge rushers in the NFL.

 

They've combined for a total of 147 career sacks including 23 last year.

[Rockinon]

You have to give a big thumbs up for the O-line play,

I think the coach can be given some credit as well. The offense looks very different. The Colts' D had a hard time figuring out what was coming next. Refreshing.

 

The play action was effective. There were numerous plays designed to strike the deep middle of the field. Evans' 69 yard catch and run was a well designed, well executed play that the whole offense was in on. This team has a real offensive coach.

[Rockinon]

i thought the line play was very improved last night. i noticed guys getting into the second level blocking lb's and opening up holes for our backs. our receivers were also doing a great job blocking downfield. i hope we keep improving on this through the year.

The WRs are also running routes were their paths cross, creating confusion for DBs. When you get 2 DBs biting on a single WR, that leaves the other WR wide open.