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How Much Did The Bills Actually Improve the OL? PFF Rankings 2018 vs. 2019 Comparison


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1st off, we all know Juan Castillo was straight sanitation. Secondly, they have Dawkins ranked as above average when us as fans and Dawkins HIMSELF knows he had a bad year so based on that information alone we need to throw away that list as fabrication.

 

Thirdly, we don't know where who will play at what position etc. The only position which is secure on paper is Mitch Morse. We have our Center for sure set in place. Let's see if we draft another lineman and then let's see come training camp when the competition begins who will solidify which position. I believe Morse and Nsekhe will make whoever is next to them better which is why I think Nsekhe playing RT is the smart move. 

 

All in all, you don't need to be a football guru to know that we got better... You can just feel it even in these forums. When was the last time that 90% of the fan base was happy with our Free agency acquisitions? I can't remember any season to be honest... The fans are excited for a good reason. We know the offense got better and we know that Beane and McDermott is willing to do whatever it takes to build a successful team which adds a little extra comfort. 

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1 minute ago, mrags said:

Either way. I think this OL will be much improved from last year. It’s going to be a huge battle in camp with lots of guys moving around to see what the best lineup is going to be. Also tonget guys familiar with each position more for when someone goes down 

 

Actually I think the only competition will be at RG.  Morse is obviously the starting C.  I think they start Nsekhe at LT because he's excelled there and to send a message to Dawkins, but in any case he and Dawkins are your starting OT's.  Long played well at LG for the Redskins and is healthy so I see that being his spot to lose. 

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Great post!

I expect Morse to be a clear upgrade and Nsekhe to be a moderate upgrade (not hard) over Mills.

Beyond that, it wouldn't SHOCK me if Spencer Long winds up being an upgrade over John Miller at guard, but it also wouldn't shock me if he winds up being a versatile backup.

I still see Teller and a drafted player winning the guard spots as the most likely outcome.

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I think there is real reason to be skeptical. They brought in 1 name and several career backups. I’m not really sure where they immensely improved outside of center. 

And nothing they did at tackle should affect draft preparation. These guys aren’t world beaters. 

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2 hours ago, formerlyofCtown said:

We dont know if its gonna be a whole lot better all we knows is that last years guys didnt work so we got different guys.  Hell it could end up being worse (If thats possible) but they did a good job of aquiring what was available.

just thankful juan is gone. john miller will end up one of the best rated guards in the league. imo, juan ruined him. i think the staff knew he needed a fresh start and he landed closer to home. he got a very good deal and will surprise a lot of naysayers.

 

back on point, there's no way we can be coached any worse.

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9 hours ago, Peter said:

 

According to the PFF ranking, we made the 13th ranked center the highest paid center in the NFL.  

 

I hope Mitch Morse plays up to his contract . . . otherwise McCoach are overpaying guys just as they thought the prior regime had done.

 

I will wait to see how Morse performs on the field, but it is interesting nonetheless.

He was the center, arguably the most important position on the line, on one of the most dynamic offenses in a long time, also with a 2nd year QB. The top center available as well, couldn't do much better.

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5 hours ago, thebandit27 said:

They went from having one starting-caliber OLmen to a minimum of 3, with a few others that have upside.

 

That's a significant improvement irrespective of whatever Pretend Football Focus' "grades" have to say.

 

And I'm not really picking on PFF; they do a very good job of tracking data, but their grades are HIGHLY subjective 

 

 

If you would have been told at his hiring that this would be the prospective quality of the OL going into year 3 of McDermott would you be pleased?

 

Probably not.

 

But fwiw when Rex took over the Bills OL was seen as being awful and the Incognito signing was smirked at..............good coaching and scheme and a mobile QB can make a huge difference to OL play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I think it would be crazy to think the OL talent has not improved....   And, there could be more additions to come.  As for the guys who will not return, it was not due to money there is more than enough cap space to have resign them.  I trust the Bills signed players that are better than what they had, unless you want to believe they are setting up to tank.  

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2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Thanks for this, and thanks to NyNole, too.  PFF is far, far from being the definitive word on anything.  People need to remember Kyle Williams being incredulous when he realized evaluations like PFF exist.  He asked how anyone except a coach who knew what the player's assignment was could possibly evaluate how he did on a play.  

 

And there's a much more important point, and that is that offensive line play is very much a team thing.  When a play succeeds, it's because the line succeeded as a UNIT.  Whether the Bills line has improved will depend on how the coaches are able to get the line to succeed as a UNIT.  

 

Having said that, going from no one who was good at center to someone who is among the best is a huge upgrade.  A guy who can read the defense and call assignments, as well as make all the blocks, will be a huge improvement alone.  Morse will make the guards better just by being there.  

 

I wonder how PFF would rate coaches who are essential to having a good OL.   The Bills have had some very good line coaches and then when new coaches come in they replace (or allow them to leave) to bring in coaches with golden parachutes to coach for one or two years.  I am sure if it was the coach's own money they would have searched harder and not just dumped coaches because the coaches were not picked by them.

 

I do think the Bills will use a lot of heavy 6 man OLs this year.  Wonder which one is going to be the primary #6 lineman.

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48 minutes ago, Jpsredemption said:

I think there is real reason to be skeptical. They brought in 1 name and several career backups. I’m not really sure where they immensely improved outside of center. 

And nothing they did at tackle should affect draft preparation. These guys aren’t world beaters. 

this is prime moneyball moves. Upgrade incrementally for less cash then big splashes.

 

As others posted the line went from having 1 above avg player to 3 now. That is a very big upgrade and they are not done yet. Draft or even an unexpected trade could up the ante on talent more yet.

Edited by cba fan
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2 hours ago, GreggTX said:

Excellent post! Let's also look at the "OVRL" Madden ratings.

 

Morse 82

Bodine 72

Nsekhe 76

Mills 71

Dawkins 78

Teller 75

Miller 74

Long 73

Ducasse 71

Waddle 70

 

The rest are all below 70 and Boettger is below 60. So, we have a sizeable improvement at C. A smaller improvement at RT and the rest of the FA's is a bunch of guys fighting for a backup job when camp starts. Long was a 78 in 2017 and injured his hand, so we'll see how that works out. Throw in a day 2 and a day 3 OL to compete and this is an OK OL, but nothing special. 3 upgrades would give Shady another 1,000 season and that could help Josh Allen a lot. The one to watch is Long. When he left the Redskins, he was a OVRL 91.

 

My guess is that Nsekhe starts in 2019 and we draft an OL on day 2 and 3. We'll see.

 

As far as receivers go, Jones is a 79. Beasley is 83, but he's 86 if I put him in as a slot receiver. Brown is 80 with 95 speed. Foster 73 with 93 speed. Kroft 77 and Croom 74. K Benjaman is 77, but started 2018 at 84 and Clay is 81.

Im sure this was how Beane made his descisions as well.  Very smart to use all available resources.?

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24 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

If you would have been told at his hiring that this would be the prospective quality of the OL going into year 3 of McDermott would you be pleased?

 

Probably not.

 

But fwiw when Rex took over the Bills OL was seen as being awful and the Incognito signing was smirked at..............good coaching and scheme and a mobile QB can make a huge difference to OL play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heck no.

 

I think the Wood extension really hurt them, and said so at the time.

 

But  one thing I've liked about them is that they seem to admit their mistakes and learn from them, so hopefully the new approach portends an improvement 

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7 minutes ago, thebandit27 said:

 

Heck no.

 

I think the Wood extension really hurt them, and said so at the time.

 

But  one thing I've liked about them is that they seem to admit their mistakes and learn from them, so hopefully the new approach portends an improvement 

 

 

Their willingness to admit mistakes is maybe the most encouraging thing about them.    They botched the Peterman thing twice but they've otherwise been more responsive to their bad decisions.

 

Extending Wood in summer 2017 was a Buddy-Nix-esque move.    Wood was going nowhere after the season they were just trying to schmooze/bribe a perceived leader into saying the right things and got burned.   Hopefully lesson learned. 

 

My concern with the past two UFA classes is that it's been a high volume of "oh really?" guys and contracts.     The 2018 last class was awfully unproductive and the "we didn't have any cap room" excuse doesn't really mesh with the $30M or so they spent.

 

Hopefully this class is A LOT better.

 

Obviously the hope is that not having that feeling of desperate "need" at positions leads to sounder, more effective drafting and that in the near future they won't need to sign 9-10 UFA's.   If this class leads to a tremendously successful draft then it will have been money well spent.

 

 

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59 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Their willingness to admit mistakes is maybe the most encouraging thing about them.    They botched the Peterman thing twice but they've otherwise been more responsive to their bad decisions.

 

Extending Wood in summer 2017 was a Buddy-Nix-esque move.    Wood was going nowhere after the season they were just trying to schmooze/bribe a perceived leader into saying the right things and got burned.   Hopefully lesson learned. 

 

My concern with the past two UFA classes is that it's been a high volume of "oh really?" guys and contracts.     The 2018 last class was awfully unproductive and the "we didn't have any cap room" excuse doesn't really mesh with the $30M or so they spent.

 

Hopefully this class is A LOT better.

 

Obviously the hope is that not having that feeling of desperate "need" at positions leads to sounder, more effective drafting and that in the near future they won't need to sign 9-10 UFA's.   If this class leads to a tremendously successful draft then it will have been money well spent.

 

 

I wasn't a big fan of the extra money, but I think extending Wood made sense within the structure of their plans. McBeane knew they were going to draft a QB, and having a veteran like Wood at center assisting with calls, protections, etc. is definitively beneficial. They scrambled last offseason and grabbed Bodine who had experience, but failed to perform at a needed level. Fortunately they rectified the problem with the Morse signing unless something unexpected occurs.

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