4BillsintheBurgh Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 COACHING The same guys who were excellent under Gailey/Delasandros deteriorated rapidly under Marrone/Morris. Even Wood was noticeably worse. They will be good again this year. Marrone was so out of his depth - and the rest of the NFL obviously knew this by not showing any real interest in hiring him I was particularly concerned about the coaching when Pears was still playing guard like a tackle deep into the season. I'm sure his years of experience at tackle were difficult to overcome, but he didn't seem to make much progress toward changing his game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) We ranked at the bottom last year and we added a mediocre guard. I hope you're right but either henderson, richardson or kujo would have to really emerge and left guard spot still a big question mark. There werent many holes last year, and protection was not very good either. Lot of room to improve ...and they let their swing tackle(Hairston) walk. They went into training camp last season with the "big" OL acquisitions of a broken down average at best FA signing, and 3 draft picks. Hopefully they learned from this lesson, and history doesn't repeat itself. I remember it being written at the beginning of the season that this was the best OL depth we have had in years...how did that work out? Edited March 18, 2015 by LabattBlue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPS Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I'll go on record that I believe Cyrus and Cyril will make tremendous 2nd year strides, rendering much of the OL hand-wringing moot (or mute). I've stated in other posts that I thought CK was much better than people thought, especially those calling him a bust already. I think he is very talented and that's how he got by in college, but talent alone doesn't work in the pros. Now that he is working on his craft, we shall see. I think he is key to the belief in a significant jump in the O-line's performance. Cyril i am less sure about. I don't know if he's nimble enough, but he is a road grader.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtDart Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) We could still probably use a guard or two. Maybe a tackle as well. We'll see. The rest of this is all very exciting though! I think they will address the line in the draft. The signing of Incognito makes us better at guard. I agree that Tackle needs to be addressed as well. Edited March 18, 2015 by DirtDart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealityCheck Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 If Richardson is fully committed to the NFL strength and conditioning program and works on his technique, this could be a decent year for him. Kujo stands to improve the most simply because he was so terrible last year, but then again a huge improvement on his part may not be enough to even be a swing tackle. I agree that the O-line is likely to play better this year, but they still might prove to be the weakest unit on the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 ...and they let their swing tackle(Hairston) walk. They went into training camp last season with the "big" OL acquisitions of a broken down average at best FA signing, and 3 draft picks. Hopefully they learned from this lesson, and history doesn't repeat itself. I remember it being written at the beginning of the season that this was the best OL depth we have had in years...how did that work out? There are still many concerns about the line. Releasing Hairston is not one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) Listened to the LaCharles Bentley interview with John Murphy and he basically said there is a big difference in an Oline coach and Oline teacher. He said Aaron Kromer is a teacher and because Kujo wasn't being taught his growth was stunted. Kinda make me wonder how good Seantrel and CR will be with a true teacher under their wings. Will Kromer help Cordy and Eric Wood improve their play. This season is going to be exciting. Can't wait for OTAs.kromer has been fantastic in the role. jahri evans was a midround tackle turned guard carl nicks was a late round tackle turned guard streif was a 7th round pick that grew into a good RT jermon bushrod was a midround tackle turned probowl LT brian de la puente was an undrafted guy turned serviceable starter. thats a success story at all 5 positions when he was with the saints. note that the highest pick of that list was a 4th rounder. he wasnt 100% gold, and some prospects had troubles.... but even since he left the saints, notice how much more trouble theyve had with the OL lately? Edited March 18, 2015 by NoSaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BmarvB Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I'm calling it now. This year the offensive line will be much improved. They will play very well and people will talk about what a big surprise it was. But it won't be a surprise to all of us. Watch and see. I'm inclined to agree more so because this was basically the same line that paved the way for the leagues #2 rushing attack before Saint Doug ed it up. I'm also looking for them to bounce back strong this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 There are still many concerns about the line. Releasing Hairston is not one of them. It definitely is a concern when CK is the alternative at swing tackle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San-O Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Agreed. I think EJ was never given a fair chance and it's unfair to judge him this early in his career. He needs a whole season to prove himself and learn from his mistakes. He has been given a chance, and was terrible. The Bills had no choice but to replace him after the first 4 games last year. He just doesn't throw well, poorly IMO, and some receivers were visibly irritated with him last year as I recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderstealer Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 They believe Seantrel, Chris, Cyril and Cyrus will improve. Cordy, another year older is a good thing too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San-O Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Regarding line play: they should be better as Glenn appears to have regressed, Wood wasn't real good, and how much worse could they have been? The only way is UP hopefully... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T master Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I'm calling it now. This year the offensive line will be much improved. They will play very well and people will talk about what a big surprise it was. But it won't be a surprise to all of us. Watch and see. Just because we now have a competent coach running the O line . 2 years prior with Joe D running basically the same guys had a totally different out come because he knew what he was doing !! Marrone was a short lived NFL player & should not get another chance at a HC ing gig ! The guy was a homer hire & is at best a mediocre college coach , no matter what Brandons personal feelings are about the guy . Brandon just doesn't know as much about football as the guys he has surrounded himself by & I for one am glad that the new ownership saw it & put him in his place !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San-O Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 They believe Seantrel, Chris, Cyril and Cyrus will improve. Cordy, another year older is a good thing too. ??? How is an injured/injury prone bottom performing vet entering his 8th season going to improve? Chris Williams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderstealer Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 ??? How is an injured/injury prone bottom performing vet entering his 8th season going to improve? Chris Williams By looking within. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob's House Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Super insightful post. Filled with great detail ditto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitewalkerInPhilly Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I don't want to come off as a homer, so I'll come out and say this: the O-line was capital letters BAD last year, and there hasn't been a massive change in players yet. But looking at what Marrone did with a serviceable line under Gailey looks criminal. Glenn and Wood, two very good players regressed tremendously last year. Rather than tweak scheme to match players Marrone insisted on a Zone scheme when he had road graders in all his new draft picks. Kujo and CR were highly rated coming into the draft, and the knock on Henderson was his work ethic and drug problems, not his talent. Incognito is a huge upgrade over Pears. Urbik, while not stellar, is a decent stopgap. Pick up a G in rounds 2-3, and get a coach who knows what he's doing and they'll be at least serviceable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan130 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 you would think if there is one thing marrone would be good at, it would be teaching and developing a good o line. couldn't even do that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDH Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I remember it being written at the beginning of the season that this was the best OL depth we have had in years...how did that work out? Well, the depth was very good in that it sucked on equal terms with the starters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 One thing we fans have no clue about is Cordy Glenn. Did his illness hurt him all of last year and we can expect him to be back to his 2013 level, which was very good? Did Marrone/Morris just hurt him like they seemed to hurt everyone else on the line and we can now expect him to be back to his stellar 2013 play? Or did he simply have one outlier very good season and he is just not that good. I'm thinking and hoping it was a combination of 1 and 2. Also, everyone should listen to the LeCharles Bentley interview on Friday's John Murphy Show. Good stuff from a guy who knows. You can find it on bills.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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