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O-LINE LOVE

jumbalaya

By jumbalaya
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jumbalaya Veteran

jumbalaya

Posted
Posted

I think its time to give this group its due. I will be the first to admit that I thought it was the weakest link on the team. But look at the results -- 3 games and a total of two sacks. And we had to go pass heavy in two of those games because we were far behind. No sacks against the Pats and only one against Oakland that might have the most athletic Dline in football. Then Freddy is averaging 6.4 yards per carry rushing (tied with McFadden) and 14.4 receiving. That says a couple things; big holes, down field blocking and solid screen plays. If these guys keep improving, they will carry us deep into the playoffs.

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San-O Veteran

San-O

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I think its time to give this group its due. I will be the first to admit that I thought it was the weakest link on the team. But look at the results -- 3 games and a total of two sacks. And we had to go pass heavy in two of those games because we were far behind. No sacks against the Pats and only one against Oakland that might have the most athletic Dline in football. Then Freddy is averaging 6.4 yards per carry rushing (tied with McFadden) and 14.4 receiving. That says a couple things; big holes, down field blocking and solid screen plays. If these guys keep improving, they will carry us deep into the playoffs.

 

 

Right. I would like someone who really knows O-line play do some type of writeup for all to see.

 

Something objective and to the point.

 

Go O-line.

 

:thumbsup:

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Britbillsfan RFA

Britbillsfan

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Two sacks showing on that. I guess the Brad Smith option last week when he did not throw but made a -6 yard run now counts as a sack. Still a lot better position than any of us were expecting.

 

Correct. The sack the Raiders got on Fitz was wiped out by a penalty (theirs).

NFL.com shows 2 sacks. The -6 yard run by Brad Smith last week I would guess is the second.

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hondo in seattle All Pro

hondo in seattle

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This is ranked according to sacks given up - a misleading stat. The Bills don't give up a lot of sacks because Chan designs quick-hitting plays and Fitz gets rid of the ball quickly.

 

I do agree, though, that the Bills offensive line has played surprisingly well.

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Simon Hall of Famer

Simon

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Right. I would like someone who really knows O-line play do some type of writeup for all to see.

 

Something objective and to the point.

 

Go O-line.

 

:thumbsup:

 

I'm not an OLineman but I posted this yesterday and think it's fairly accurate. But again, I've never been closer to playing on the OLine than a brief stint at TE, so what the heck do I know? - )

 

1) I've been really surprised by how mobile they look in the ground attack. I didn't expect them to be able to pull and lead as well as they have been. Maybe they're not really mobile enough to get a good screen game going, but they've been a pleasant surprise.

 

2) I haven't been all that impressed with the protection. Not because it's sucked, but because the problem areas on the OLine have not been asked to do all that much. Hali is the only real good edge rusher we've faced, the other team's strengths have been in their interior, matching up with our strength. The Bills have also been giving them a ton of help by constantly keeping RB's, TE's, FB's, and H-backs in to help with protection, and wisely so, imo.

 

3) Chan has been calling outstanding games, keeping defenses off-balance and Fitz's decision making has probably been the quickest and most accurate of his career. The OLine rarely has to protect for more than 3-3.5 seconds before the ball is coming out to a frequently open receiver.

 

4) I don't know how long we can keep putting up this kind of offense against teams while we keep so many skill players in the backfield, and I don;t know how long it's going to be until opposing Dcoordinators get a better read on Chan and make it tougher on the Bills. They've been solid so far, but don't kid yourself that a time is not coming when our OTackles are overmatched and we can't find open targets downfield because we've got 2 TE's and a Back in trying to keep Fitz upright.

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Astrobot Veteran

Astrobot

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My link

 

Last on D in sacks...

This to me is why we're keeping OLB34 as a high positional need at DraftTek. Unless Merriman lights it up vs the Bengals, we're going to need another. I think Carrington is a player at DE especially as the field gets shorter in the red zone.

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Lothar RFA

Lothar

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I'm not an OLineman but I posted this yesterday and think it's fairly accurate. But again, I've never been closer to playing on the OLine than a brief stint at TE, so what the heck do I know? - )

 

1) I've been really surprised by how mobile they look in the ground attack. I didn't expect them to be able to pull and lead as well as they have been. Maybe they're not really mobile enough to get a good screen game going, but they've been a pleasant surprise.

 

2) I haven't been all that impressed with the protection. Not because it's sucked, but because the problem areas on the OLine have not been asked to do all that much. Hali is the only real good edge rusher we've faced, the other team's strengths have been in their interior, matching up with our strength. The Bills have also been giving them a ton of help by constantly keeping RB's, TE's, FB's, and H-backs in to help with protection, and wisely so, imo.

 

3) Chan has been calling outstanding games, keeping defenses off-balance and Fitz's decision making has probably been the quickest and most accurate of his career. The OLine rarely has to protect for more than 3-3.5 seconds before the ball is coming out to a frequently open receiver.

 

4) I don't know how long we can keep putting up this kind of offense against teams while we keep so many skill players in the backfield, and I don;t know how long it's going to be until opposing Dcoordinators get a better read on Chan and make it tougher on the Bills. They've been solid so far, but don't kid yourself that a time is not coming when our OTackles are overmatched and we can't find open targets downfield because we've got 2 TE's and a Back in trying to keep Fitz upright.

 

I agree to a certain extent, Simon, but we run a lot of empty sets as well. I think the key has been Fitz's ability to make quick reads and get the ball out fast. I do think what will help the O is Donald Jones gaining confidence as a deep threat. Once that part of the game comes into play - assuming Fitzy's deep throws are reasonable - I don't see why the Bills' offense can't be as potent as any of the other top teams.

 

Also, the more success Fitz has in completing short throws, the more likely he'll be able to take an occasional 5-7 step drop. I always thought that was how Marchibroda coached up Peyton when he first got to the league. Lots of short throws to the point that the DL almost gives up going after the QB and then boom! I remember Bruce being pissed because Peyton didn't really even worry if the throw got a first down or not, it was just out of his hand quickly. I always wondered why more coaches don't follow that recipe when bringing a new QB up to speed. Now you do need to have a smart and accurate QB to pull that off - I think we all had doubts about the latter attribute for Fitz - but he seems to be proving a lot of us wrong.

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Defend Greece RFA

Defend Greece

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Posted (edited)

Regardless of if they are quick throws or deep throws or bootlegs, throwing as much as we have and not allowing sacks is impressive. But I don't see why everyone is so surprised, aside from brohm and Trent we really didn't get sacked that much.

We played the ravens and steelers last year also.

I don't know if you guys actually watched the games last year or not but you shouldn't be THAT surprised.

We all knew bell could pass block, we knew Levitre and wood are ballers, and one guy on here said pears and Urbik were pretty good as well.

I am not going to say I am at all surprised, we knew when we drafted d. Bell he would take some time, and the middle of the line is just nasty, oh and Freddie was running all over last year when we were in games and he got carries

And holy !@#$ did you see Freddie blocking yesterday? Man he and fitz are working it back there.

Also the Chandler addition has helped as well, he is much better than stupar, Nelson, and martin

Edited by Defend Greece
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