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Offensive Line - Any Chance it Holds Up?


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There are certainly other holes on this team (receiver, LB, DE) that deserve concern but the one position that I just can't seem to get past is the O Line. Is there any way that some of these guys could surprise as it is really the only reason I do not want Allen starting until later in the season. The defense could be solid enough and with Allen, Shady, Clay, along with a mix of receivers, the offense could surprise IF the Oline holds up. I just don't see it and it and in my opinion, it could be the only thing holding this team back from another Wild Card run.

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Dawkins is a stud. 

 

Groy, Miller and Teller are all guys that could surprise and be above average OL.

 

Not sure what the plan is for McDermott, but if he could win RT, that would be reason for optimism.

 

I think we know what we have in Mills, Ducasse and Bodine.  Veteran, serviceable, but nothing to be excited about.

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Other than Dawkins at LT, not sure who comprises the other four positions.  Will be interesting to see how Castillo works with Daboll to get the line squared away.  Castillo is supposed to be good...we'll see.

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Dawkins played well enough last year, but then again he had a pro bowl LG by him.  This year he's got to be the veteran bringing other guys up.   Miller I expect to step in and take a guard spot and wherever he plays we should not see a dropoff at that position, so that's two positions i don't expect a decline in.    Whether Groy or Bodine at center IDK, I liked Groy when he subbed in for Wood, Bodine was about as highly touted as Mills was coming here. same with Newhouse.  

 

If they start Vlad, I don't expect him to be anything more than barely competent.   Same with Mills at RT.  

 

So 2 positions I feel good about the other 3 not so much.    

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1 minute ago, SCBills said:

Groy, Miller and Teller are all guys that could surprise and be above average OL.

 

Agree, just a matter of who plays in which position.  Probably will be some growing pains the first six weeks or so.

 

2 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Not sure what the plan is for McDermott, but if he could win RT, that would be reason for optimism.

 

Nah, he's coaching. ?

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I believe coaching trumps talent.   I think that good schemes and good coaching can make the relative no-name offensive line the Bills have effective.  Whether they have that coaching is an open question.

 

However, even if they're well coached, they will struggle when they play against the the best front sevens in the league.   For example, I'm going to the game in Houston.   That may get ugly real quick. 

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All:  Get your head wrapped around this problematic issue.  In the 43 games that Tyrod Taylor started for the Bills, he took the longest average time from snap to throw in 41 weeks.  41/43X, he was the SLOWEST QB to throw the football on passing plays.  That is beyond Tyrod Terrible.  There's no offensive line in the NFL that can hold up forever.  That's a simple reality.

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Everything rides on Dawkins staying healthy imo.  He goes down and it will likely be disastrous.  

 

If teller can surpise while groy turns out to be solid we might be ok.  Mills is by no means good, but he has some games where he plays admirably.  Maybe another year of experience will help and he’ll improve, if not Newhouse has a slight chance to be serviceable.  RG still really scares me.  Miller couldn’t beat out Pukasse last year.  That’s not good.  Maybe he’ll surpise this year.  

 

I filly expect us to spend on OL and/or draft some OL in the top 4 rds next year.  If we don’t build a solid OL, the Josh Allen era may not turn out very well.  Get the kid some protection.  

3 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I believe coaching trumps talent.   I think that good schemes and good coaching can make the relative no-name offensive line the Bills have effective.  Whether they have that coaching is an open question.

 

However, even if they're well coached, they will struggle when they play against the the best front sevens in the league.   For example, I'm going to the game in Houston.   That may get ugly real quick. 

We did pretty well against them in 2015.  4 total tackles and not much pressure. Hopefully miller and mills can replicate that performance 

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4 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I believe coaching trumps talent.   I think that good schemes and good coaching can make the relative no-name offensive line the Bills have effective.  Whether they have that coaching is an open question.

 

However, even if they're well coached, they will struggle when they play against the the best front sevens in the league.   For example, I'm going to the game in Houston.   That may get ugly real quick. 


I also will be at the Houston game. Not sure how to feel about the prospect of Clowney/Watt vs our offensive line. On the other hand, I like the chances of our defense stopping Watson's offense.

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6 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I believe coaching trumps talent.   I think that good schemes and good coaching can make the relative no-name offensive line the Bills have effective.  Whether they have that coaching is an open question.

 

However, even if they're well coached, they will struggle when they play against the the best front sevens in the league.   For example, I'm going to the game in Houston.   That may get ugly real quick. 

 

I prefer to focus on “ANY chance”, so the answer is YES. Always the optimist (until we start playing...). 

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6 minutes ago, Luxy312 said:

All:  Get your head wrapped around this problematic issue.  In the 43 games that Tyrod Taylor started for the Bills, he took the longest average time from snap to throw in 41 weeks.  41/43X, he was the SLOWEST QB to throw the football on passing plays.  That is beyond Tyrod Terrible.  There's no offensive line in the NFL that can hold up forever.  That's a simple reality.

That stat you refer to may be the most misleading stat in all of sports, below "Most intentional walks by an ambidextrous pitcher in night games that ended in seven innings or less in cities that start with the letter P."

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7 minutes ago, Luxy312 said:

All:  Get your head wrapped around this problematic issue.  In the 43 games that Tyrod Taylor started for the Bills, he took the longest average time from snap to throw in 41 weeks.  41/43X, he was the SLOWEST QB to throw the football on passing plays.  That is beyond Tyrod Terrible.  There's no offensive line in the NFL that can hold up forever.  That's a simple reality.

I don't know what this is supposed to mean.

 

First, it's pretty remarkable that he was the slowest for 41 out of 43 weeks.   

 

Second, that stat is really a measure of scrambling - Tyrod rates high here because he is the best scrambler in the league.  (And because he held unto the ball instead of throwing it away.)   It isn't a measure of whether the offensive line is good or bad.

 

Third, a well-trained QB doesn't need a great offensive line, because he's getting rid the ball pretty quickly.  

 

 

1 minute ago, Kelly the Dog said:

That stat you refer to may be the most misleading stat in all of sports, below "Most intentional walks by an ambidextrous pitcher in night games that ended in seven innings or less in cities that start with the letter P."

Are you including semi-intentional walks?  That changes the answer.

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Just now, Shaw66 said:

I don't know what this is supposed to mean.

 

First, it's pretty remarkable that he was the slowest for 41 out of 43 weeks.   

 

Second, that stat is really a measure of scrambling - Tyrod rates high here because he is the best scrambler in the league.  (And because he held unto the ball instead of throwing it away.)   It isn't a measure of whether the offensive line is good or bad.

 

Third, a well-trained QB doesn't need a great offensive line, because he's getting rid the ball pretty quickly.  

 

 

 

Doesn't include times when he ran.  It is remarkable and that's really the point.  There's other QB's that move around in the pocket and throw.  When you talk (before the bye weeks) that there's 31 teams where their starting QB averaged less time with ball in hand, that's a big deal.  Brady averaged the least amount of time for the season, but didn't lead the league at that kind of proportion.  He didn't lead the league in even double digit number of weeks.  Your third point is really what I'm alluding to and why we just can't say whether the offensive line is good or not good.  We do know that they run blocked pretty well, which obviously doesn't involve holding onto the ball in the backfield waiting for plays to develop.  

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