Hapless Bills Fan Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 This is more crucial to making the playoffs than Hughes is, in my opinion. Concur. If they can't sign Hughes, they have numerous avenues for replacement. I trust Whaley to have an eye for underrated defensive talent as well - heck that's how we got the guy in the first place. Offensive line, they swung 4x and maybe had half a hit last season. Time to go for some high-rated proven guys or at least one. We can get a mid-range OL in FA, even a center and move Wood to Guard, and draft a top OL/Center in Rd.2. I'd love to have Iupati, but if he is too expensive, I'd take Blaock/Boling and resign Hughes. I'd prefer Boling to Iupati independent of price because Iupati is amazing run blocker at the expense of pass protection, Boling is strong in both. He won't be that mid-range though either 'cuz I don't think I'm the only one that thinks that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffwagonscircled Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I would say that sealing would be getting a tight end as well as fixing the oline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorguy Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Both Spiller and McCoy are same type of backs who work in space and tend to bounce out when unsuccessful. This is opposite to Fred Jackson who tends to be a cutter and a tackle breaker. The OL blocking has been very poor last two years and there was no holes for RBs and RBs needed to make holes or hope for coverage breakdowns. It all was directly related to coaching scheme and not surprised OL coach was not retained. Joe D’Alessandris is a great OL coach and it is not surprising that OL regressed last two years; talent was some of it but Joe D’Alessandris took players who were discarded by other teams and made them functional. Both Spiller and McCoy are same type of backs who work in space and tend to bounce out when unsuccessful. This is opposite to Fred Jackson who tends to be a cutter and a tackle breaker. The OL blocking has been very poor last two years and there was no holes for RBs and RBs needed to make holes or hope for coverage breakdowns. It all was directly related to coaching scheme and not surprised OL coach was not retained. Joe D’Alessandris is a great OL coach and it is not surprising that OL regressed last two years; talent was some of it but Joe D’Alessandris took players who were discarded by other teams and made them functional. Joe D'Al never got the credit he deserved from fans, he did a great job when here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Big Cat likes to disagree with me but Iupati is going to be too expensive. I like Boling or get a G in the draft. I like Harris though, tackling machine I think we're only 1 player away from fixing the OL. If even that much. One thing to remember is the coaching mess that was our Offensive staff last year, especially at OL. Eric Wood said it in an interview this offseason: between the OL coach, the OC, the HC taking an interest in OL, and other assistants, tehy had 3-4 different voices in their heads at all times. Often telling them all different things. I think getting rid of those chumps and bringing in Kromer and Roman is a pretty substantial upgrade to the OL itself. With the long list of serviceable OGs available in FA, we should be able to add 1 more and be ready to roll! And then have a coach who refuses to scheme to him! Agreed, we dont need to get the top-paid OG in FA, just a good one who can road-grade. I'd take Boling or Blalock at $3-4mil instead of Iupati at $7. I also think he'll cost too much. But I'm not sure what "too much" is. 8M? 10? 6? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I guess this means we are NOT going after Lou Potty Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora 50m50 minutes ago PHI and BUF will be very active. PHI to target Byron Maxwell, Jason Worilds, Devin McCourty among others. BUF like David Harris, Mike Iupati Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I also think he'll cost too much. But I'm not sure what "too much" is. 8M? 10? 6? Yeah, tough to say. I think Im a bit low with my $3-4mil guess on Blalock and Boling. I think they'll want more like $6-7mil, and Iupati will be above Levitre's contract and in the $8-10mil range. I guess this means we are NOT going after Lou Potty Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora 50m50 minutes ago PHI and BUF will be very active. PHI to target Byron Maxwell, Jason Worilds, Devin McCourty among others. BUF like David Harris, Mike Iupati Im pretty sure he has no inside information, and is basing that completely on the fact that those players have played under our coaches previously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Yeah, tough to say. I think Im a bit low with my $3-4mil guess on Blalock and Boling. I think they'll want more like $6-7mil, and Iupati will be above Levitre's contract and in the $8-10mil range. Im pretty sure he has no inside information, and is basing that completely on the fact that those players have played under our coaches previously. Correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Bring in Hughes and a good guard, then resign Searcy and bring in David Harris is my very unlikely dream scenario. Then the team could draft a tight end in the second round to add one final piece to the offense and then just draft for depth the rest of the way. Sadly I don't see Hughes coming back as I think some team with a lot of cap space is going to overpay him with a 10+ million dollar contract. If that's the case then the Bills should be much more aggressive with smaller and mid sized signings. Go after a good guard and tightend. Sign David Harris and resign Searcy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Bring in Hughes and a good guard, then resign Searcy and bring in David Harris is my very unlikely dream scenario. Then the team could draft a tight end in the second round to add one final piece to the offense and then just draft for depth the rest of the way. Sadly I don't see Hughes coming back as I think some team with a lot of cap space is going to overpay him with a 10+ million dollar contract. If that's the case then the Bills should be much more aggressive with smaller and mid sized signings. Go after a good guard and tightend. Sign David Harris and resign Searcy. Searcy is going to be waaaaay overpriced too, in this current market. Sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Please, let us be able to sign Hughes and one solid Guard. I would be totally stoked at that point, even with our QB situation. I'm expecting a lot of games next year like the opener at Chicago. Good defense, good running game, EJ asked to make a few key plays but not much more. Win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPS Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I think we're only 1 player away from fixing the OL. If even that much. One thing to remember is the coaching mess that was our Offensive staff last year, especially at OL. Eric Wood said it in an interview this offseason: between the OL coach, the OC, the HC taking an interest in OL, and other assistants, tehy had 3-4 different voices in their heads at all times. Often telling them all different things. I think getting rid of those chumps and bringing in Kromer and Roman is a pretty substantial upgrade to the OL itself. With the long list of serviceable OGs available in FA, we should be able to add 1 more and be ready to roll! And then have a coach who refuses to scheme to him! Agreed, we dont need to get the top-paid OG in FA, just a good one who can road-grade. I'd take Boling or Blalock at $3-4mil instead of Iupati at $7. This is my line of thinking too, though I think the Bills will get Lupati AND sign Hughes. I think one of either Kouandjio or Henderson will be very good at RT with good coaching. Glenn, Lupati, Wood, Incognito, and Kouandjio will work just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 This is my line of thinking too, though I think the Bills will get Lupati AND sign Hughes. I think one of either Kouandjio or Henderson will be very good at RT with good coaching. Glenn, Lupati, Wood, Incognito, and Kouandjio will work just fine. Banking just a little bit on Kouandjio, don't you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris heff Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I guess this means we are NOT going after Lou Potty Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora 50m50 minutes ago PHI and BUF will be very active. PHI to target Byron Maxwell, Jason Worilds, Devin McCourty among others. BUF like David Harris, Mike Iupati I think my favorite was when a poster made up the nick name "Loops" for Iupati. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I think my favorite was when a poster made up the nick name "Loops" for Iupati. I prefer "Lou Potty". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Front Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I would rather see them sign Clint Boling and put him at left guard and let RI, Urbik battle it out on the right. As bad as this unit preformed the last 2 years, it should improve with an nfl caliber coaching staff in place. As recently as 2012 this unit was considered a strength. Thankfully the quitter and his hack are gone. http://youtu.be/vcvou0SAxZI found this from 2012 http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2012/9/18/3351450/buffalo-bills-offensive-line-cordy-glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDIGGZ Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I also think he'll cost too much. But I'm not sure what "too much" is. 8M? 10? 6? he is considered one of the best run blocking guards in the whole league so probably in the neighborhood of $9 mil with a lot of guaranteed money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 he is considered one of the best run blocking guards in the whole league so probably in the neighborhood of $9 mil with a lot of guaranteed money which would make him one of the highest paid guards in the league...i'm not certain he'll see that kind of money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezertbill Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Whether it's Boling, Iupati or Blalock....anything is better than the vanilla guard play we have had to deal with over the last decade. Its obvious we are in a win now mode and Ryan and Co. have said on several occasions that the OL is the key to the running game along with the RB. I expect them to be active in FA and the draft to finding OL to help grade the road for McCoy and Co. I also expect them to upgrade TE with a more athletic player than can made a difference in the stat sheet and still block his butt off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPS Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Banking just a little bit on Kouandjio, don't you think?Yes, I am more optimistic about him than most I guess. I was reading a lot of his draft profile info a few weeks ago. Basically he is talented but raw, and many were concerned about his knee, hence his fall into R2. He also ran a slow 40, which I don't think is relevant for OL. I believe that he got by at bama on superior talent, but that doesn't fly in the nfl for a 21-year old. I was happy to see the article posted on TBD, as it tells me he's hungry and disappointed about what happened to him last year. I won't be surprised if he's the starting RT this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsCelticsAngelsBama Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I definitely agree. Even more than signing Hughes. I am glass half full that Roman's scheme is a better fit for Glenn, Kujo and Richardson, but it would be nice to pick up someone to make the run blocking absolutely dominant. For several years now my cup is half full but someone peed in it... as far as the Bills go. Hope we get a QB but even though I'm a Homer, I truly believe this team is a "Deep run in the playoffs" caliber roster except for one dam% position. Keep trying Mr. Whaley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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