LabattBlue Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I think the only two givens are Villarial at RG and Williams at RT. LT, LG & OC could all be changed around. I believe Jennings will be gone in FA as somebody will be willing to throw huge dollars his way. Possible scenarios(RG & RT stay the same, so they are not listed).... LT Teague LG UFA or Draft C Tucker LT UFA or Draft LG Tucker C Teague LT Teague LG UFA or Draft C UFA or Draft I'm hoping that even if they change positions that Teague and Tucker stay in the starting lineup as they have worked with McNally for a year and know his scheme. Any opinions on how this will play out? [edit]I forgot about Price. I believe he is also a UFA. I'm not sure where he fits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick in* england Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Jennings, Tucker, Teague, Villarial, Williams If it aint broke... don't fix it. It's not broke, it don't need fixing, just continuous improvement. I can't grumble about the quality of OL play after the run we had down the stretch. I also completely disagree about the idea you put forward for Trey Teague. Hes was sonsistently our best OL this season and really showed what the $2m roster bonus was for. He is clearly benefitting from proper OL coaching from McNally and we should not seek to disrupt the middle of the OL again this offseason. LT is a problem if we can't get Jennings back - but a more viable option is to have Mike Williams move back to Left Tackle as was the original intention when we signed him. Tucker has GOT to be in the starting lineup next season. He really impresses me and look to gave great upside as a LG. Additionally - and this is not intended as a racisit comment so don't take it as one - but how cool would it be to have 3 white guys in the middle of our line? I love white OL-men... Makes me think of them swilling beers in a bar with sawdust on the floor and heavy metal on the jukebox... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick in* england Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 BUMP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribo Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 No matter what 2004 starters are around next year, we need much better DEPTH in the offensive line. That may have been the single biggest problem for the team in 2004. The subs came in and straight out stunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I agree with Nick. However, I think the weakest position on our OL is depth. Really, aside from Price, who else do we have at backup? I think it was clear in the Pittsburgh game that once CV went down, our OL crumbled to peices (he was hurt at the start of the game, and it showed). We need someone who can be plugged in and knows how to block, at least a little bit. That said, I think Jennings is gone so we'll need a replacement there. Price, if we resign him, could probably handle it. I'm not sure moving MW to LT is a good or not; I'm not sure how interchangable those skills are. EDIT: Dammit, now it looks like I stole scribbo's idea! I was typing it at the same time he did, honest. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick in* england Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I love OL posts!! MW was an LT in college, and dominant at that too. Maybe he has turned into a roadgrading RT more than a pass blocking LT, so the move isn't 100% great, but I think warrants as much consuderation as trying to go with Price at LT. Depth is going to be crucial for sure, which is why the coaches had up to 13 Tackles in camp this year... Clearly they saw a need to work out as many guys as possible... Jason Peters could be an option if he can handle it, but only for depth at Tackle... I think he's a TE in a OL body and as such may not be cut out for full-time NFL OL play. I for one don't think that Jennings will be gone... So all of that is moot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I sincerely hope they use their first pick on a Center. Last year they passed on Stepanovich from OSU, who started all 16 games with AZ, in favor of DT Anderson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted January 5, 2005 Author Share Posted January 5, 2005 OL depth has been a problem for 3 years running yet the last two drafts, the only picks used on OL were Sobieski in the 5th round of 2003 & McFarland in the 7th round of 2004. Unless there is a plan to address this need in FA, we have to use higher picks(2nd & 3rd) for OL upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Denny seemed to play pretty well at OL when he was given the chance. I wonder if he might switch over from defense... CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick in* england Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Denny seemed to play pretty well at OL when he was given the chance. I wonder if he might switch over from defense... CW 194197[/snapback] You mean Bannan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 No matter what 2004 starters are around next year, we need much better DEPTH in the offensive line. That may have been the single biggest problem for the team in 2004. The subs came in and straight out stunk. 194150[/snapback] Truer words were never spoken. I am looking at Teague, Tucker, Free Agent, CV, and Big Mike. We might also see a FA at LG, or perhaps a top pick. I for one do not ever see Big Mike at LT, but this is jmo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 You mean Bannan 194200[/snapback] I thought Denny played OL? I guess those root beers are kicking in and I'm losing brain cells. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I love OL posts!! MW was an LT in college, and dominant at that too. Maybe he has turned into a roadgrading RT more than a pass blocking LT, so the move isn't 100% great, but I think warrants as much consuderation as trying to go with Price at LT. Depth is going to be crucial for sure, which is why the coaches had up to 13 Tackles in camp this year... Clearly they saw a need to work out as many guys as possible... Jason Peters could be an option if he can handle it, but only for depth at Tackle... I think he's a TE in a OL body and as such may not be cut out for full-time NFL OL play. I for one don't think that Jennings will be gone... So all of that is moot. 194168[/snapback] Nick, MW was in fact a RT in college, but for a left handed qb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
respk Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 The current OL is constructed wrong. On defense the big guys are in the middle and the fast guys are on the outside. I would love to see LT - Teague LG - Williams C - Jennings RG - Villarial RT - Fill in the blanks FA, etc. Now there's some beef up the middle to handle the big tackles. Teague is a gamer but doesn't quite have enough lead to handle the good, big tackle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick in* england Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Nick, MW was in fact a RT in college, but for a left handed qb. 194209[/snapback] Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 My vote would be for: LT - Teague LG - Williams C - Tucker RG - Villarial RT - FA Backups: Price, Smith, 1 FA(maybe two if you can find someone better than Smith), one rookie, or last years pick, McFarland?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Really? 194215[/snapback] Yep. It was one of the reasons I was skeptical about the pick. Has another RT ever gone this high? I can't remember one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick in* england Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Ok y'all - hold yer horses. Teague was our best OL for the most of the year. Why replace him?? And a Teague for Tucker switch seems a little crazy to me, I haven't seen any evidence that Tucker can do a better job at C than Teague. On the other hand, Tucker performed well at LG, thus it makes most sense to put him in there and not mess about with the partnerships built up on the right between CV and MW. We have a shot to take our good line into next season unchanges in personnel but improved through coaching and another year of playing together.... What's more important than that for an OL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick in* england Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Yep. It was one of the reasons I was skeptical about the pick. Has another RT ever gone this high? I can't remember one. 194223[/snapback] Wow. I didn't know that at all. Just found a great and very telling article on Big Ol Mike from just before the draft... Mike WIlliams Nunez stopped short of calling Williams’ personality a weakness, though he anticipates Williams encountering his share of struggles in the early days of his NFL career.Good call or what?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfladave Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I love OL posts!! MW was an LT in college, and dominant at that too. Maybe he has turned into a roadgrading RT more than a pass blocking LT, so the move isn't 100% great, but I think warrants as much consuderation as trying to go with Price at LT. Depth is going to be crucial for sure, which is why the coaches had up to 13 Tackles in camp this year... Clearly they saw a need to work out as many guys as possible... Jason Peters could be an option if he can handle it, but only for depth at Tackle... I think he's a TE in a OL body and as such may not be cut out for full-time NFL OL play. I for one don't think that Jennings will be gone... So all of that is moot. 194168[/snapback] Actually Williams was a right tackle at Texas, and he was dominant. I like the option of Peters at OL for depth also. He will need 2-3 more years to really develop, but he does have a lot of upside. I hope you are right about Jennings being here next year! Changing personel every year on the OL never works well. Look how much our line improved as the season went on. We need to come right out the gate strong next year, and keeping the OL together would go a LONG way to help us achieve that. That being said I think Jennings is going to get big, Big, BIG money as a FA and I doubt the Bills will pay him that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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