Updated PFF Bills Depth Chart

[ALF]

My biggest concern is Chris Williams at LG . $5.5 m guaranteed , cut by Bears and Rams. I hope Marrone sees something that others did not .

 

Luck was sacked 36 times, 0% his fault , Williams cut , I must be missing something I hope

 

I should have added OL's are critical, sorry

Edited June 7, 2014 by ALF

[Turbosrrgood]

People need to keep in mind that this is PFF, and a bingo roller could probably come up more accurate information. This is as meaningful (probably less) than any of us putting together our own list of this kind. But what the hell, I'll bite. I seriously doubt Hopikins, Moorman, or Searcy are starting...with the first two not making the team.

 

My biggest concern is Chris Williams at LG . $5.5 m guaranteed , cut by Bears and Rams. I hope Marrone sees something that others did not .

 

Marrone see's someone who is clearly better than Brown or Legursky, who probably shouldn't be in the NFL at all. It's an improvement, not necessarily a long term solution. Be happy they at least tried to address it, unlike last year.

Edited June 6, 2014 by Turbosrrgood

[thebandit27]

My biggest concern is Chris Williams at LG . $5.5 m guaranteed , cut by Bears and Rams. I hope Marrone sees something that others did not .

 

Luck was sacked 36 times, 0% his fault , Williams cut , I must be missing something I hope

 

Perhaps the fact that Luck plays for Indy?

[Turbosrrgood]

 

Luck was sacked 36 times, 0% his fault , Williams cut , I must be missing something I hope

 

Eli Manning threw 27 INT's, Desean Jackson cut, I must be missing something.

[Captain Hindsight]

Yep, I actually think that he is underrated against the run. I can think of so many times last year where he set the edge or did the dirty work. Typically pass rushers just fire forward every play. He is a team player.

Well Maybin used to run around in circles but same difference

 

My biggest concern is Chris Williams at LG . $5.5 m guaranteed , cut by Bears and Rams. I hope Marrone sees something that others did not .

 

Luck was sacked 36 times, 0% his fault , Williams cut , I must be missing something I hope

I think you are since Luck plays for the Colts, not the rams

 

Eli Manning threw 27 INT's, Desean Jackson cut, I must be missing something.

[thewildrabbit]

I think they are being way to harsh on EJ, and Chris Williams. The latter is about on par with Legursky, and even though PFF graded him a liability with the Rams, they still were going to resign him. The Bills clearly overpaid for a below average player IMO.

 

At least they got TJ Graham, and Jeff Tuel right. I also think Chandler is better then below average, and Kiko should be listed as a good starter.

[BobbyC81]

On offense, much rests on the shoulders of EJ Manuel in his second season after an ugly first year. Manuel has a decent offensive line in front of him and a backfield full of talent to hand the ball off to, but the receiving corps needs first-round draft pick Sammy Watkins to be special right off the bat.

 

By the numbers: Buffalo has a pair of starters ranked as poor, including QB Manuel. While Manuel at least has the chance to improve upon that ranking with a big step forward in his development, the other player, left guard Chris Williams, has been a model of consistently poor play.

 

The abnormally strong rookie seasons of Cam Newton, RG3, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson sure have affected expectations and evaluations for rookie QBs. EJ Manuel's 11 TDs, 9 INTs, 1972 Yards, 58.8% completion percentage, and 77.7 QB Rating in 10 games was not a bad season for a rookie.

 

Take a look at what some of the top NFL veteran QBs did in their rookie seasons or 1st full years as a starter:

 

Peyton Manning: 26 TDs, 28 INTs, 3739, 56.7 Comp %, 71.2 QB Rating

Drew Brees (1 game as rookie, 16 in 2nd yr): 17 TDs, 16 INTs, 3284 Yds, 60.8 Comp% , 76.9 QB Rating

Tom Brady (1 gm rookie yr, 15 in 2nd): 18 TDs, 12 INTs, 2843 Yds, 63.9 Comp%, 86.5 QB rating

Eli Manning (9 gms): 6 TDs, 9 INTs, 1043 Yds, 48.2 Comp%, 55.4 QB Rating

[papazoid]

Plugging the Holes: AFC East:

 

Buffalo Bills: Offensive line

 

The loss of Mike Pettine might prove to be a massive problem for the Bills next year. Pettine's arrival saw the Bills go from the 27th-ranked defense in DVOA in 2012 to the fourth-ranked defense in DVOA in the 2013 season. (DVOA is Football Outsiders' defense-adjusted value over average metric, explained here.) The unit also lost safety Jairus Byrd, though he only started nine games last year, when Buffalo had the second-ranked pass defense in DVOA.

 

It's on the other side of the ball where the Bills really have a problem.

 

Adding Sammy Watkins and Mike Williams to the wide receiver depth chart should help improve the passing attack, but little was done to improve the running game. Bryce Brown is a talented running back, but talent at the running back position can only take you so far when the interior of your offensive line is incapable of consistently creating running lanes.

 

Second-round pick Cyrus Kouandijo should start at right tackle, but he will improve the pass protection more so than the running game. Fifth-round pick Cyril Richardson and seventh-round pick Seantrel Henderson -- who was an offensive tackle in college -- will compete with veterans Kraig Urbik, Chris Williams and Doug Legursky for starting spots inside. A fully healthy C.J. Spiller, a hungry Brown and a very versatile Watkins should help the Bills revitalize their running game, but they need to get better performances from their interior offensive linemen too.

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11003145/biggest-remaining-roster-issues-every-afc-east-team-nfl

[zazie]

I look at the depth chart and I am really surprised that they did nothing a the qb position.

 

Jeff Tuel is 2 plays away from being our starter.

 

That actually bit us just last year.

 

For the rest the Bills appear stronger and deeper just about everywhere though.

[Rob's House]

 

 

The abnormally strong rookie seasons of Cam Newton, RG3, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson sure have affected expectations and evaluations for rookie QBs. EJ Manuel's 11 TDs, 9 INTs, 1972 Yards, 58.8% completion percentage, and 77.7 QB Rating in 10 games was not a bad season for a rookie.

 

Take a look at what some of the top NFL veteran QBs did in their rookie seasons or 1st full years as a starter:

 

Peyton Manning: 26 TDs, 28 INTs, 3739, 56.7 Comp %, 71.2 QB Rating

Drew Brees (1 game as rookie, 16 in 2nd yr): 17 TDs, 16 INTs, 3284 Yds, 60.8 Comp% , 76.9 QB Rating

Tom Brady (1 gm rookie yr, 15 in 2nd): 18 TDs, 12 INTs, 2843 Yds, 63.9 Comp%, 86.5 QB rating

Eli Manning (9 gms): 6 TDs, 9 INTs, 1043 Yds, 48.2 Comp%, 55.4 QB Rating

 

Peyton Manning had a pretty good rookie campaign. People look at the INTs and say he sucked, but that's just one stat. Sure, it's an important one, but not all INTs are created equal, and if that's the only hole in a rookie QB's otherwise amazingly productive season, that's the kind of problem you can work on.

 

People forget that throwing for 3700+ yds and 26 TDs was a big deal back then. That'd be equivalent to well over 4000 yds and 30+ TDs now, and INT numbers have trended downward in the last 15 years.

[thewildrabbit]

Plugging the Holes: AFC East:

 

Buffalo Bills: Offensive line

 

The loss of Mike Pettine might prove to be a massive problem for the Bills next year. Pettine's arrival saw the Bills go from the 27th-ranked defense in DVOA in 2012 to the fourth-ranked defense in DVOA in the 2013 season. (DVOA is Football Outsiders' defense-adjusted value over average metric, explained here.) The unit also lost safety Jairus Byrd, though he only started nine games last year, when Buffalo had the second-ranked pass defense in DVOA.

 

It's on the other side of the ball where the Bills really have a problem.

 

Adding Sammy Watkins and Mike Williams to the wide receiver depth chart should help improve the passing attack, but little was done to improve the running game. Bryce Brown is a talented running back, but talent at the running back position can only take you so far when the interior of your offensive line is incapable of consistently creating running lanes.

 

Second-round pick Cyrus Kouandijo should start at right tackle, but he will improve the pass protection more so than the running game. Fifth-round pick Cyril Richardson and seventh-round pick Seantrel Henderson -- who was an offensive tackle in college -- will compete with veterans Kraig Urbik, Chris Williams and Doug Legursky for starting spots inside. A fully healthy C.J. Spiller, a hungry Brown and a very versatile Watkins should help the Bills revitalize their running game, but they need to get better performances from their interior offensive linemen too.

 

http://insider.espn....c-east-team-nfl

I don't think the loss of Pettine is as big a deal as this post makes it out to be..c'mon massive? Schwartz should be an upgrade over Pettine who knew how to blitz, but had difficulty stopping the run because he was so intent on just the rush. With the #2 pass rush in the league, while it was fun to watch, it certainly didn't win games on its own.

 

 

"but talent at the running back position can only take you so far when the interior of your offensive line is incapable of consistently creating running lanes"

 

Great sentence, good article!

 

On the second part its good to read that someone else is thinking the same way I do. Every time I'd post about the problems with the line I'd get swarmed by the wolfpack, and be told that the line was fine. Anyway, its not so much the running game per se that needed upgrading as the Bills were #2 in the NFL in rushing yards. It more the fact that the bills couldn't control the line of scrimmage or the clock with either the pass or the run. What good is having the #2 rushing stats if you can't make a first down on third and short by running it, or punch it in the end zone on 1st, 2nd, and goal from the one yard line!! (cough, KC, cough)

 

My favorite part of football has always been watching a team dominate with the run game. Which is something the Bills haven't been able to do in a very long time, and breaking a big run now and again doesn't equal a great run game.

 

So yeah, the interior of the line is where you want your best run blockers. This was another reason as to why the Bills failed to win more then 6 games last season IMO. Even while Andy Levitre was a top graded pass blocker, and a not so great run blocker. Then the team tried to replace him last year with utter garbage, and new LG Chris Williams isn't much of an upgrade over backup Legursky. Then while so many fans here think Kraig Urbik is a quality player, and even PFF grades him as an average starter. WTF good is a player who can be average for 12 games, and then fall on his face for the most important, and critical games? I'm not a big fan.

 

For whatever reason this regime simply doesn't place a high value on the OG position, and proved it again and again with the players they keep trying to fill that LG position with. In my view It would be a massive upgrade should Henderson, and Richardson start and play well at the OG positions. But then consider this teams history with past draft choices, and that almost every player selected after the second round has never become a prominent long term starter.

 

Anyway, ESPN's Cian Fahey got it right with the line IMO. It does remain to be seen if Marrone / Hackett can build a top offense.