jwhit34 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Ideally, the Bills will use a 2nd or 3rd round pick next year for an OT (presuming that the #1 pick is a QB). The information about position moves of the younger guys leads me to think that short of adding a player, the plan for the line with the existing personnel could be: LT: Cordaro Howard LG: Kraig Urbik C: Eric Wood RG: Ed Wang RT: Andy Levitre The only one that doesn't seem to fit the physical specs is Levitre, and some would argue he is the best lineman they have right now. Hopefully they add a true tackle in the draft and it's a good player (remember if they draft #1 or #2 they get the 33rd or 34th pick in round 2). If they did that, put Levitre back to LG and Urbik at RG and Wang is a depth player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsadale Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Ideally, the Bills will use a 2nd or 3rd round pick next year for an OT (presuming that the #1 pick is a QB). The information about position moves of the younger guys leads me to think that short of adding a player, the plan for the line with the existing personnel could be: LT: Cordaro Howard LG: Kraig Urbik C: Eric Wood RG: Ed Wang RT: Andy Levitre The only one that doesn't seem to fit the physical specs is Levitre, and some would argue he is the best lineman they have right now. Hopefully they add a true tackle in the draft and it's a good player (remember if they draft #1 or #2 they get the 33rd or 34th pick in round 2). If they did that, put Levitre back to LG and Urbik at RG and Wang is a depth player. Wang is a natural tackle with good feet and less power..having him at anything other than left tackle is a stretch. Howard should probably stick with guard. Levitre at RT is ok, but you have to replace him with an actual guard (not Wang). Putting wood at Center is fine. What makes you think CH is a starter at LT. All in all, the line we have NOW is superior to your speculative lineup, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob in STL Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Ideally, the Bills will use a 2nd or 3rd round pick next year for an OT (presuming that the #1 pick is a QB). The information about position moves of the younger guys leads me to think that short of adding a player, the plan for the line with the existing personnel could be: LT: Cordaro Howard LG: Kraig Urbik C: Eric Wood RG: Ed Wang RT: Andy Levitre The only one that doesn't seem to fit the physical specs is Levitre, and some would argue he is the best lineman they have right now. Hopefully they add a true tackle in the draft and it's a good player (remember if they draft #1 or #2 they get the 33rd or 34th pick in round 2). If they did that, put Levitre back to LG and Urbik at RG and Wang is a depth player. Where do you guys dream this stuff up? The position moves are because of injuries. The way to improve the line is like this: (1) add better talent, and (2)maintain consistency. Your plan stays with the same talent we have right now (or less), and then moves every single person to a new position. Howard is a guard in this league and nothing more. The fact that he plays tackle for us shows how woeful our talent and depth are. If he is our starting LT next year we are sunk. Levitre is a guard. Like it or not, our best OL this season has been one of TSW's favorite whipping boys --- Hangartner. Wood needs to up his game if he is going to replace him. People treat Wood like the next coming of Kent Hull. Come on Eric Wood, start knocking' people down and holding others accountable. So far he is mediocre for a #1 pick. Unfortunately his injury has slowed he development. Urbick - why are you handing him a job? He is big and he is from Pittsburgh, so what? He is a project, just like Wang, and Bell, and Howard. We need to draft tackles. I would not be opposed to using our first pick on a tackle if a player like Jake Long was sitting there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoner7 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Bell hasnt been playing bad enough to bench him for Howard. He has been pretty good actually. If we improve our RT and C to the point we can helpt out our LT on every play, I think he could be servicable at LT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaMike Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Where do you guys dream this stuff up? The position moves are because of injuries. The way to improve the line is like this: (1) add better talent, and (2)maintain consistency. Your plan stays with the same talent we have right now (or less), and then moves every single person to a new position. Howard is a guard in this league and nothing more. The fact that he plays tackle for us shows how woeful our talent and depth are. If he is our starting LT next year we are sunk. Levitre is a guard. Like it or not, our best OL this season has been one of TSW's favorite whipping boys --- Hangartner. Wood needs to up his game if he is going to replace him. People treat Wood like the next coming of Kent Hull. Come on Eric Wood, start knocking' people down and holding others accountable. So far he is mediocre for a #1 pick. Unfortunately his injury has slowed he development. Urbick - why are you handing him a job? He is big and he is from Pittsburgh, so what? He is a project, just like Wang, and Bell, and Howard. We need to draft tackles. I would not be opposed to using our first pick on a tackle if a player like Jake Long was sitting there. I think you are spot on. If the player does not have enough talent then putting him at a new position doesn't help anything -- still not enough talent. It's difficult to find good O-linement in free agency as if someone is real good they are kept. We need some good drafting and maybe a lucky break or two to improve the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Bell hasnt been playing bad enough to bench him for Howard. He has been pretty good actually. If we improve our RT and C to the point we can helpt out our LT on every play, I think he could be servicable at LT. Bell being a serviceable player (as you describe it) means that he is mediocre. There are certain critical positions such as LT, qb and pass rushing OLB which need to be staffed by impact players. The Bills presently are devoid of those caliber players. Right now, Bell is a below average player who might be better suited to the right side. Let's see if gets better as the season develops. He might be better suited as a utility tackle for us. As it stands the Bills lack an impact player on the roster. That is why they are so bad. Spillar might be an impact player but that won't happen any time soon unless the OL is dramatically upgraded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throwback Bills Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 (edited) 2011, why not 2010. They are trying Wang at G as we speak. Nix has said that Urbik was the third best interior lineman in the Woods/Levitre daft. That statement would mean to me that Wood at Center, Urbik and Levitre at Guards. Hang and Wang as depth. As for tackles I would stay with Howard at RT and Bell at LT. I would play this lineline the rest of the year: RT Howard RG Urbik C Wood LG Levitre LT Bell Then in 2011 draft get T, QB, DE/OLB (pass rusher) 1st four rounds with round 1 and 2 flip if quality is there. Or the way our defense is playing QB defense, defense, etc. Edited October 20, 2010 by Throwback Bills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Lightning Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I'm with Thoner on this. Bell is developing very well. He plays in space and against speed rushers as well as anyone I've seen this year. He needs some strength and to not take stupid penalities. But having a guy that can play on the island is something you can't coach up...D. Bell has the talent and is getting the playing time to refine it. I think he's doing fine right now. Draft a RT for sure. I don't think we need to burn a #1 on an LT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpcolosi Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 (edited) to continue on... this regime like's D Bell and for good reason. I was a huge, huge hater, but other than some really bad timed penalties, He has been leaps and bounds better then last year. HE looks to be an average LT right now, which is saying a lot for him. He is certainly better than mike gandy ever was. at this point in his career. In addition, i think everyone is getting their panties in a bunch with all these FA OG we are bringing in. Granted, they are high on Ubrik and Wood, we know this much. They clearly like Hang to give him teh C too... and Levitre has been one of our best OL all year. The weakness is Hangs lack of size and everything and anything cordell green. Howard isn't the answer- he got completely owned by Kampan in this past game, but he also held his own af ew times. He will be a better option with at the minimum fewer penalties then Green. Our best bet would be to draft a large, road grating RT. WE don't have one of those on this roster. I have no idea what is up with Wang, my guess is they are teaching him guard too to make him a util linemen, much like Urbik and howard now. I suspect we have 7 of our future OL on the team now and need to add a starting quality RT. Having depth of Wang, Urbik and/or Howard isn't too bad. Finally the draft. This team needs to go with whoever teh cant miss prospect is at our draft position - be it QB, WR, DE, LB, OT, whatever.... about the only thing we dont need is - Saftey, CB, RB and Guard. I personally am dreaming we get a LB or DE with the 1st overall pick. I really don't want a QB early or a RT in the first round. It be great to get a stud pass rusher or coverage lb for a few years, and pick up a RT in round 2. I'm still not thinking this next year is the time for a QB unless Luck is out. Edited October 20, 2010 by rpcolosi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akm0404 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I personally am dreaming we get a LB or DE with the 1st overall pick. If the Bills draft a linebacker with the 1st overall pick in the NFL draft, they will be laughed out of Radio City Music Hall. Seriously? Draft a linebacker #1 overall? Ouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I'm with Thoner on this. Bell is developing very well. He plays in space and against speed rushers as well as anyone I've seen this year. Are you talking about on the Bills, or in the entire league? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Northern Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Wang is a natural tackle with good feet and less power..having him at anything other than left tackle is a stretch. Howard should probably stick with guard. Levitre at RT is ok, but you have to replace him with an actual guard (not Wang). Putting wood at Center is fine. What makes you think CH is a starter at LT. All in all, the line we have NOW is superior to your speculative lineup, IMO. Good post. One of the knocks on Wang was that he's either going to work out at LT or not make it in the NFL. That's why he fell to the 5th despite good college film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperKillerRobots Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Ideally, the Bills will use a 2nd or 3rd round pick next year for an OT (presuming that the #1 pick is a QB). The information about position moves of the younger guys leads me to think that short of adding a player, the plan for the line with the existing personnel could be: LT: Cordaro Howard LG: Kraig Urbik C: Eric Wood RG: Ed Wang RT: Andy Levitre The only one that doesn't seem to fit the physical specs is Levitre, and some would argue he is the best lineman they have right now. Hopefully they add a true tackle in the draft and it's a good player (remember if they draft #1 or #2 they get the 33rd or 34th pick in round 2). If they did that, put Levitre back to LG and Urbik at RG and Wang is a depth player. I think, with the current personnel, the line would be: LT: Bell LG: Levitre C: Wood RG: Urbik RT: Howard/Wrotto I might be in the minority here, but I think OL is third on the lsit of needs behind QB and OLB. A decent enough RT prospect could be had in the 3rd round, so that's kind of what I'm expecting. I think they're going to try to stick with Bell just so they can get the rest of the players in place while giving him enough time to prove himself capable or incapable. So far this year, he's not the worst player on the line and seems to be getting a little better each game. I'd like to see him next year, but I'd like him to have a little competition (maybe Wang?). If Bell becomes the weak link in the line, I'd say that's an improvement from where we are now. I'm with Thoner on this. Bell is developing very well. He plays in space and against speed rushers as well as anyone I've seen this year. He needs some strength and to not take stupid penalities. But having a guy that can play on the island is something you can't coach up...D. Bell has the talent and is getting the playing time to refine it. I think he's doing fine right now. Draft a RT for sure. I don't think we need to burn a #1 on an LT. But I'm not this optimistic about Bell. He's still a question mark, just less of one than other players on the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreReed83 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I think we've been taking notes from the FSU offensive line http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3c9WG5l8QY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrid Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I think we've been taking notes from the FSU offensive line that was hilarious! Guess the guard went on strike. for everyone speculating on Howard at RT, you'll get to see it this sunday http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2010/10/19/ol-howard-ready-to-start/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playman Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 LT: new LG: levitre C: wood RG: new RT: new Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan74 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Ideally, the Bills will use a 2nd or 3rd round pick next year for an OT (presuming that the #1 pick is a QB). The information about position moves of the younger guys leads me to think that short of adding a player, the plan for the line with the existing personnel could be: LT: Cordaro Howard LG: Kraig Urbik C: Eric Wood RG: Ed Wang RT: Andy Levitre The only one that doesn't seem to fit the physical specs is Levitre, and some would argue he is the best lineman they have right now. Hopefully they add a true tackle in the draft and it's a good player (remember if they draft #1 or #2 they get the 33rd or 34th pick in round 2). If they did that, put Levitre back to LG and Urbik at RG and Wang is a depth player. I think LT: Gaither or Bell LG: Levitre C: Wood RG: Urbik RT: Wang or Gaither If the Bills draft a linebacker with the 1st overall pick in the NFL draft, they will be laughed out of Radio City Music Hall. Seriously? Draft a linebacker #1 overall? Ouch. I think The Bills should take Robert Quinn in the 1st and QB in the 2nd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInSouthBuffalo Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 (edited) I have no idea what is up with Wang, my guess is they are teaching him guard too to make him a util linemen, much like Urbik and howard now. I suspect we have 7 of our future OL on the team now and need to add a starting quality RT. Having depth of Wang, Urbik and/or Howard isn't too bad. My guess if they are practicing Wang as a guard right now to get him up to game speed, and not to expose him to the outside-edge pass-rush. Remember, he's NEVER played in an NFL game pre-season or otherwise. Edited October 20, 2010 by DanInSouthBuffalo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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