O Line Troubles Start With It's Coach !!

[BuffaloBill]

On 8/27/2018 at 12:32 PM, boater said:

You can't coach corned beef hash into prime rib.

 

Unless some pretty good OL talent get's cut from other teams next week (very doubtful), it's going to be a disappointing season.

 

 

Those of us who like corned beef hash take offense to this

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 8/27/2018 at 11:21 AM, SoTier said:

 

This.  I'm not a Castillo fan, but let's get a couple of things straight here. 

1. Castillo didn't decide on the zone blocking scheme the Bills changed to in 2017 and have kept in 2018.  That was Dennison and Daboll.
2. Castillo didn't decide to bring in Ducasse or Newhouse or Bodine.  He didn't let Seantrell Henderson walk in FA or trade away Cordy Glenn.  He didn't ignore OL in the draft until very late in the fifth round, either.  Those "sins" all sit squarely on McDermott and Beane.

IOW, Castillo is dealing with the hand he's been dealt by those higher up the Bills food chain than assistant coach.

 

For the most part, I agree with you, but Castillo coached Ducasse on the Ravens.  Castillo was one of the first hires Dennison made - early January, as I recall before he was even formally introduced as the Bills coach.    Ducasse was signed at the start of FA, while Whaley was a lame duck. 

 

I think it's a pretty fair assumption that Castillo requested Ducasse and is behind him.  It would also be pretty dumb if Castillo were not at least consulted on most of the OL moves.  Glenn, was someone we had to sacrifice to get high enough in the draft that trade partners for higher picks would talk to us - no one wants to drop more than 4-8 slots, and Castillo probably had little input there.  The draft focus, he probably had little say.  The rest of it, he probably did have fair input.

 

I think it's fair to point out that Castillo is likely responsible for the fall-off in OL performance from 2016 to 2017 with Cog and Wood in the lineup, and that part of being an effective assistant is lobbying for your guys - if you feel the OC is asking them to do stuff they aren't suited for, it's your job to go in his office, shut the door and say "OK, I need to talk straight here" or the like.   The fact is as I understand it, Castillo has primarily run zone-blocking schemes as a coach.  They're his bread and butter.  Based on past history, Daboll would probably prefer to run a man scheme, so it may be likely that he decided to stick with the scheme Castillo prefers.

 

 

On 8/27/2018 at 3:26 PM, mjt328 said:

At this point, I think our O-Line troubles start with a lack of talent.

Our best 3 linemen from the last several years (Eric Wood, Ritchie Incognito and Cordy Glenn) were all lost within a single offseason. 

 

Only Glenn has been adequately replaced, and Dion Dawkins was injured/did not play yesterday.

Vlad Ducasse and John Miller both struggled horribly at Right Guard last season.  This year, both are unquestioned starters. 

Jordan Mills has been a weak spot for years.  This year, he's the most experienced starter.

Neither Ryan Groy or Russell Bodine have been able to snatch the starting job, which is always a bad sign.

 

Maybe Castillo will prove to be a poor coach as well, but right now he's working with crap.

 

Castillo does already have a track record as an OL coach, you know.  1998-2010 with the Eagles, 2014-2016 with the Ravens.

 

It's a valid point that Castillo doesn't have a line-up of all pros to work with, but it would be valid to ask how the Eagles OL did after him and the Ravens before and after him, and how the personnel compared.

 

It's also valid to point out that year after year, some OL coaches bring in scraps and retreads and craft a solid bulwark out of it.  You might know what team I'm talking about, I can't bear to say it except I wish the guy would re-retire.