thewildrabbit Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 No. Line is probably even more important than QB for this team. I agree. The line has never been more important with a ground and pound scheme, and a less then stellar, bounced around supposed "bridge" QB. McCoy showed he can't do it all the time without proper blocking last season with the Eagles. When different players on that line went out with injuries he looked an awful lot like Spiller in trying to find a hole when there was none. Even with all the injuries to their line the Eagles still fielded the 2nd best line in the NFL last season, and 2nd only to Dallas. OTOH The 49ers had the 9th best line, and finished 4th in rushing but were worse then Buffalo (25th) in 3nd out drives (27th) mostly due to Kaepernick not getting it done on 3rd down. For some inexplicable reason this FO seems to think that they don't need quality players on the offensive line. All anyone needs to do is look back at the history of this franchise and when they won they had great offensive lines. Two AFL championships with five all pros on the O line. Four AFC championships with 3 all pros on the O line. Even the last time the Bills made the playoffs in 1999 they had an all pro OG in Ruben Brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills Fan of St Augustine Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I don't think the talent level at OL is as bad as it looked in 2014. It can't be. Moving away from zone blocking to a N/S gap scheme will help our guys. You need athletes to play a zone scheme and we don't have them. That said, a dominant OL can block straight ahead as long as they are big, strong and use good technique and understand leverage (get low). I'd like them to add another FA OL for competition and then figure out who the best five are to start. Clay at TE and RI at OG are instant upgrades. We might not be in as bad a shape as many believe. 11 wins is possible with an average to good OL. Our D improves just by having a better OL. Our RB and QB play too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Seattle just appeared in consecutive Super Bowls with an average (at best) OL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Hurt Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 (edited) Seattle just appeared in consecutive Super Bowls with an average (at best) OL. That doesn't not mean it would work with the Bills' personnel. Seattle have a bruising back in Lynch who made up for the line. We also now have a lot of speed on offense. I think a good OL is needed to activate all these weapons we have. Edited March 24, 2015 by Big Hurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 That doesn't not mean it would work with the Bills' personnel. Seattle have a bruising back in Lynch who made up for the line. We also now have a lot of speed on offense. I think a good OL is needed to activate all these weapons we have. Of course it doesn't prove anything. It's just a statement that a dominant OL isn't necessarily crucial if you have good coaching and other pieces in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San-O Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 They don't need the OL to be great. They need it to be better than average. Last year's incarnation was well below average. How much of that was due to poor coaching and scheming vs poor talent is still to be determined. Considering how aggressively they went after BB and RI, I would think the front office realizes there's work to do there and I wouldn't bet against them bringing in more help. That said, I don't expect the Bills to draft more than one or two OL in April. They sunk three picks last draft into the OL and unless they know for certain Cyrus and Richardson are busts (which, considering their age would be somewhat surprising) I don't see them doing it again this year. Veteran help will be added, I'm quite certain. But with the way this team has been overhauled in the past month, I don't think the OL is as big of a concern as it was headed into the off season. Time will tell. I agree somewhat, however they're size and slowness aren't going to go away with time or age. As bad as this line as last year, and your 2nd round pick can't even get on the field??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 (edited) That doesn't not mean it would work with the Bills' personnel. Seattle have a bruising back in Lynch who made up for the line. We also now have a lot of speed on offense. I think a good OL is needed to activate all these weapons we have. I think people (myself included at times) discount/forget the fact that we added FB Felton, who is basically like a roving OL protecting our RB. So I think the analogy to Seattle could be a comparable one. Edited March 24, 2015 by RyanC883 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Paulson Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 the key is Eric Wood not getting driven 2 yards into the backfield at the start of every play. i understand he is a fan favorite but i'm not sure what scheme has to do with him getting pancaked way too much. that penetration destroys everything except a sweep. if he can hold up this year we will be much improved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddaryl Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 our ol problems had much to do with our coaches last year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 anything is possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San-O Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 the key is Eric Wood not getting driven 2 yards into the backfield at the start of every play. i understand he is a fan favorite but i'm not sure what scheme has to do with him getting pancaked way too much. that penetration destroys everything except a sweep. if he can hold up this year we will be much improved. He was drafted in 2009, making this coming season his 7th season, he may be a little small also at 310 lbs? Could it be time for a replacement?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirate Angel Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 FFS I could sit on my couch and predict our play calling I can't imagine what a pro coach would think watching film, and cj was bad. Our offensive line would have looked better if they released cj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Does a great OL make a great RB or Does a great RB make a great OL?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Hurt Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 (edited) Whaley is now saying we spent all our cap space (less than 6 millions left) so it is possible that the starting OL is already on this team. With "better coaching" I am hoping this unit will turn into a solid line. But that is still far from building a bully. The kind of running game Rex was talking about, we need some nasty linemen. Besides Incognito, the others are all just nice boys. Or maybe Rex already changed his mind. Does a great OL make a great RB or Does a great RB make a great OL?? I think a great OL makes average RB looks good. A great RB can only do so much. It is hard to build a great OL because there are 5 people and they have to work well together. That's why linemen are so valuable in the draft and RB are not so much. There are only so many Lynch and AP. Edited March 24, 2015 by Big Hurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Whaley is now saying we spent all our cap space (less than 6 millions left) so it is possible that the starting OL is already on this team. With "better coaching" I am hoping this unit will turn into a solid line. But that is still far from building a bully. The kind of running game Rex was talking about, we need some nasty linemen. Besides Incognito, the others are all just nice boys. Or maybe Rex already changed his mind. so much for sportrac Cap Space (w/Top 51 & Projected Draft Pool) $8,872,694 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Allan in MD Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Only if one of our mobile quarterbacks pans out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Hurt Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 (edited) so much for sportrac Cap Space (w/Top 51 & Projected Draft Pool) $8,872,694 Link: http://buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?avis=BN&date=20150324&category=SPORTS&lopenr=150329566&Ref=AR&template=mobileArticleXML&profile=1082 It was Brandon who said it, not Whaley. Edited March 24, 2015 by Big Hurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 the key is Eric Wood not getting driven 2 yards into the backfield at the start of every play. i understand he is a fan favorite but i'm not sure what scheme has to do with him getting pancaked way too much. that penetration destroys everything except a sweep. if he can hold up this year we will be much improved. Totally agree. Major problem with our line last year. He got away without as much criticism as his play deserved in my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxy312 Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 We will need to be creative. But if they want to pound the ball, they should really get more help. They couldn't run the ball last year and so far they only just added one guy. Doesn't look good. Posts like these are very myopic. The Bills have not just added one guy. Of course, they added Richie Incognito. That's an improvement from what was there last year. They added Charles Clay as well. Clay is a far better blocker than any TE on the roster last year, also an improvement. They added perhaps one of the best fullbacks in the NFL in Jerome Felton. Don't forget that he was the lead blocker for Peterson when he went for 2,000 yards in Minnesota. People pointing to last season also completely ignore the fact that it was Marrone/Hacket running the offense. They were SOOO creative that only 66% of the running plays were to the middle of the field. Now, Greg Roman is running the offense. The running game of the 49ers was top-10 in the NFL for four years running under Roman. Now some could say the same about the defense. Sure, Schwartz is gone. I don't dispute the great job he did. But Pettine did a great job before him and Rex Ryan has gotten a lot out of good players with Jets defenses in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 19 and 0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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