metzelaars_lives Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 (edited) Whilst I agree with you that people generally think this line is worse compared to the rest of the league than it is (and the standard around the league is not good I have to say) the 2012 Bills line was definitely not the best in football. The 9ers were the best, but there were other very good lines about - the Browns and ironically Rex's Jets spring to mind. I think it was a top 10 group but that is as far as I'd go. Chan's system helped the line look better than it was. This year I think the Bills line ranks somewhere between 14 and 20 in the league.... the problem is it is inconsistent. This weekend was its best outing of the season without any question, it has had bad days as well though - they were horrible against New England for example and were not great against the Titans either. Without looking it up weren't the 2012 Bills 1st or 2nd in the league in both (least) sacks allowed and yards per carry? I think your post speaks to exactly what the other poster was talking about- how many games did you really watch and scrutinize the 2012 Cleveland Browns' offensive line? I think we agree that this year's line is average. But so many people on this website insist it sucks and we need to go OL with our first three picks next year, etc. It's almost as if people do not watch other football games and understand that not every other QB in the league has ten seconds to throw every time he drops back. Oh and how about the biggest fallacy of all- that Whaley hasn't addressed the offensive line! 2nd, 5th and 7th round picks in 2014 (both the 5th and 7th rounder were guys who graded way higher but had extenuating circumsta'nces) and then Incognito and 3rd rounder this season. It's unbelievable the way most posters think every line should look like the Cowboys. 'The OL sucks, the OL is the most important unit, we need to spend all our top draft picks to address the OL' has become almost as tired as the 'just plug and play any old running back, they're all the same' narrative. Edited November 10, 2015 by metzelaars_lives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Without looking it up weren't the 2012 Bills 1st or 2nd in the league in both (least) sacks allowed and yards per carry? I think your post speaks to exactly what the other poster was talking about- how many games did you really watch and scrutinize the 2012 Cleveland Browns' offensive line? I watch a lot of football. I watch at least 4 or 5 games a week on game pass in condensed versions as well as the TNF live and the Bills and one other every Sunday live. The Browns line has been the only good thing about their team for a number of years. I remember them being particularly good that year - it was Weeden's rookie year and he had all day back there at times and was horrible anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metzelaars_lives Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I watch a lot of football. I watch at least 4 or 5 games a week on game pass in condensed versions as well as the TNF live and the Bills and one other every Sunday live. The Browns line has been the only good thing about their team for a number of years. I remember them being particularly good that year - it was Weeden's rookie year and he had all day back there at times and was horrible anyway. Not saying it wasn't but the Bills line was great that year too. You know what year the Bills QB's had all day? 2007- the year Jason Peters really busted out. I wrote a letter to The News that got published before the season started in 2008 and Peters was holding out about how the previous year was the best pass protection I had ever seen from a Bills team- including the Super Bowl era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Direhard Fan Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Thursday will be a big indicator of how the season will turn out. All and all I didn't think we played great defense and that we gave up a ton of yards shows that. The offense showed great sparks and Tyrod did a impressive job after sitting out two games. The biggest disappointment is the "D" and if that continues to struggle we are not going to make the playoffs. Rex has not impressed at all. Sad but true he isn't living up to his hype. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I liked the 2012 line and it suited the scheme but I don't think it was the best in the league. Top 10 definitely, top 5 arguably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent 91 Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 It was Miller's best game in my estimation. Yes he got beat by Suh a couple of times in pass protection but his angles in run blocking were excellent. It was a good day fom the line. Thats a HUGE evaluation Best game against the best DT in the league There was a play in the game that summarizes the reactions on the board between the Gilmore bashers and Darby lovers. It was a 3 & 4 conversion when Landry converted with a tough catch in pretty tight coverage (IMO, great throw and catch. Good coverage, too. These two are not mutually exclusive). My point is, if it was Gilmore, we'd hear a lot of "he needs to finish plays" or whatever. With Darby, i haven't even seen anyone bring it up. The double standard with the two is amazing. Its not a double standard. People christened Gilmores island. An elite cb. A shutdown guy. Darby after preseason many thought... including me that he was screwed. The kid is a rookie often matched against the other teams best receiver. When people name Darbys island they will expect the same plays to be finished. Its just that simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihilarian Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Whilst I agree with you that people generally think this line is worse compared to the rest of the league than it is (and the standard around the league is not good I have to say) the 2012 Bills line was definitely not the best in football. The 9ers were the best, but there were other very good lines about - the Browns and ironically Rex's Jets spring to mind. I think it was a top 10 group but that is as far as I'd go. Chan's system helped the line look better than it was. This year I think the Bills line ranks somewhere between 14 and 20 in the league.... the problem is it is inconsistent. This weekend was its best outing of the season without any question, it has had bad days as well though - they were horrible against New England for example and were not great against the Titans either. That bolded is absolutely true, and I don't get why more fans don't see that. Because of Chan's short, quick passing scheme, and Fitz's ability to scramble the line allowed a league low 23 sacks in 2011.(But also allowed 69 hits on the QB at 10th) In 2012 30 sacks put them in the top ten with 75 hits on the QB which puts them at 15th for that. If you think only in terms of pass blocking then the lines haven't been that bad over the years. 2012 the Bills were still pretty bad in run blocking grading around 20th or so. You also need to recall the years (2009-2012) that Wood ended his season on IR, and there were just so many injuries to so many players year after year. It was like a revolving door at LT after Peters was traded, and before Glenn. It took a few years to replace Levitre who graded as their best linemen in 2012. Currently the left side of the line is very solid with Incognito grading about the best with Glenn, and Wood right behind him. Its the right side of the line that has had difficulties. On another note, In terms of the Bills DB's play this season, and considering the lack of QB sacks, pressures this year by the Bills defense going from 1st to 27th I'm really very surprised they are playing as well as they have been. The less the pass rush the longer the DB's need to maintain the coverage. That soft coverage scheme against the Patriots was downright ridiculous, and I really hope they don't do that again in two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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