DaBillsFanSince1973 Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, Ramza86 said: Hah not too hot...but I cant say im very confident about ours either. Glad we were able to gain some additions. you don't believe the additions are better then last season? 8 intriguing observations on the Bills roster after the draft and free agency 1. How long will it take to determine the starters along the offensive line? New additions: C Mitch Morse, T Ty Nsekhe, T LaAdrian Waddle, G Spencer Long, G Jon Feliciano, T Cody Ford (rookie), G Quinton Spain Returning from 2018: T Dion Dawkins, G Wyatt Teller, G Vladimir Ducasse, G Ike Boettger, T Jeremiah Sirles, T Conor McDermott, C Russell Bodine New offensive line coach Bobby Johnson has some evaluations to make when the players line up this spring. And head coach Sean McDermott says one of the big challenges is to make those evaluations and get the offensive line in place in time to build cohesion and chemistry. “You want to give everyone a chance to compete and see what their best football looks like,” McDermott says. “But also, at some point, we need to make a decision and go with it so that we can build the continuity that’s so important and the communication that goes with it and the chemistry that you want one cohesive unit to have. That’s a challenge.” 5 reasons Bills fans should be excited after 2019 draft Here are five reasons to be enthusiastic about the Bills’ 2019 draft class: Ed Oliver will make the entire defense better Oliver is an athletic freak who will instantly bolster the productivity of the entire defensive line. Opposing offenses will need to game plan for Oliver, who demonstrated a penchant for shooting gaps and getting in opponents backfields during his college career. *Cody Ford will help in all facets of blocking Ford should be an integral part of getting LeSean McCoy (or whoever is going to be carrying the rock this year) going on the ground. Additionally, Ford should be a cornerstone piece that keeps Josh Allen upright but can be a lead blocker when the signal caller breaks the pocket. The next generation running back is here Dawson Knox could be the unsung hero from this draft Once Knox refines his game at this level, he has a good shot at being one of the top receiving tight ends in the game. He has the ability to get open and find the ball, and he’s far from a finished product. Depth with a purpose Beane discussed how the Bills will draft for talent over need. However, both talent and need seemed to intersect on Day 3 of the draft, as Buffalo found several players who could make an impact on the field sooner than later. As we know, the Bills found a gem in Matt Milano on Day 3 in 2017, while Taron Johnson played well in the secondary coming to Buffalo as a third day selection in 2018. Edited May 6, 2019 by DaBillsFanSince1973 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihilarian Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, SoTier said: The Bills defensive rankings were very deceptive. The team was not nearly as dominant as some of its rankings suggest as evidenced by the fact that they were middle of the pack in other defensive measures. They weren't very good in stopping teams from scoring last season, especially in the Red Zone, and they frequently gave opponents short fields because of offensive turn overs. That so many opponents got up early on the Bills meant that teams could afford to be conservative late in the game. Those factors contributed significantly to that #2 ranking in yards. A major contribution to the #1 pass defense was the fact that the Bills defense too often couldn't stop the run as well as opponents' big early leads in several games enabled teams to run more. Hey, I agree! That #2 ranking was for yards allowed and they were 18th in points allowed. And that latter stat is pretty scary. What effected that horrid stat that in some games was that the Bills couldn't stay on the field and sustain drives, hence some games were blowouts. The Bills defense was really put to task in many games as they were on the field far, far to long! They were also susceptible to the run in some games where they simply couldn't stop the run, Colts, Patriots games come to mind. Plus, the Bills really had a difficult time getting the run game going from the RBs most of the season and this took no pressure off the QB's. #1 RB McCoy only had 514 yards rushing with 3 TDs all season. The QB escaping the pocket was the leading rusher with 631 yards, 8 TDs. Then the drops by the receivers, between Zay Jones and Kelvin Benjamin they missed on 85 targets by themselves, yes 85! Part of the problem was the Bills OC calling for deep passes around 30% of the offensive plays and this with an absolute craptastic offensive line. Josh Allen led all NFL QB on deep throws. It wasn't just with Allen either as Peterman and Barkley also threw deep around 30%. Barkley got luckey and hit a deep 75 yard TD bomb with his first pass play and it went on to a Bills 41-10 blowout of the Jets. That Jets game was a reverse microcosmic of what the Bills endured in many games last year. The Bills got the lead and exploited it. Suddenly the Bills had a run game as they had 46 rushes for 212 yards, 2 TDs. LeSean McCoy rushed 26 times for 113 yards, 2 TDs. The Jets OTOH first four series went three and out and the fifth was an INT as they couldn't get anything going on offense. Kinda the same thing happened to the Bills when they got behind in points the Bills OC kept calling pass plays and ignored the run game. 6 hours ago, SoTier said: The Bills OL could improve 100% and still be too poor to give Allen enough pass pro or the RBs holes ... that's how bad it was last season. The Bills added 1 decent player, Morse, to their OL. The other FAs are either older or weren't good enough to start on their previous teams except for injury. Hopefully one or more proves to be a quality starter, but there's no guarantee of anything. Ford may be a starter from Day 1 but probably he'll take at least a few games to be good enough to be a starter. Dawkins looks to be the best of the returning OLers from last season, but do we get Dawkins from 2017 or from 2018? The OL has the potential to be average but as somebody said once said, "potential only means you ain't done **** yet". They gotta prove it. While you have some valid points. The players brought in by the Bills FO should improve that line 1000% from last season. They didn't just add some warm bodies they added some hungry players who should compete for starting positions and have good depth as backups. The Bills have committed $39 million to six new linemen with a combined 317 games of experience in the NFL While Mitch Morse was the best of the bunch at center. He had to be to help call protections for that young and still learning QB. This alone was a huge improvement to the line. A veteran starting center was probably the 2019 Bills biggest needs and they filled it with the best player available in free agency. A position where a rookie just wouldn't do. Dawkins should hold down LT and improve as now he only needs to be concerned with his own position and not the left guards job too. I believe his play fell off last season due to having to plays with scrubs/inexperienced players next to him at LG. Just as Incognito helped raise the play of both Woods and Glenn. I feel Quinton Spain, John Feliciano, Spencer Long should compete for both guard spots along with Wyatt teller who only allowed 5 QB pressures in 8 games. Rookie Cody Ford was graded as a first round player and fell to the second round so the Bills traded up to grab a punishing run blocker and should start at RT or be moved to RG. Both the run blocking and pass blocking should improve greatly this year, no question about it in my view. This should also help the defense as they won't be on the field as much as they were last season and I don't see any team blowing them out in 2019. Lastly, lets talk about the very worst area of concern from 2018 and that was the Buffalo Bills being 32nd in special teams. They fired their ST coach (who is now in Miami) and hired Heath Farwell who was a ST assistant coach with the Seahawks, Panthers and as an NFL player. He was a special teams captain for both the Vikings, Seahawks. The Bills also added pro bowl ST KR/PR Andre Roberts to return. (The NY Jets were #1 ST last year) The Bills also added special teams ace RB Senorise Perry. The only area of concern for me this season is with the defense in stopping the run. Then again, should the Bills score first and hold the lead it should be lights out just like that 41-10 Jets game, the 42-17 Dolphins game at the end of the season. Edited May 7, 2019 by Nihilarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EasternOHBillsFan Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 9 hours ago, Ramza86 said: Miles ahead of the worst Bills offensive line ive ever seen isnt saying much to me yet. Lol. While im hopeful...I cant be confident on a brand new line that hasnt played a down together yet. So, just to chime in here... In 1985, the Bills were HORRIBLE just like last season... disgusting offense that couldn't produce worth a crap. In 1986, the Bills acquired Kent Hull and Will Wolford with starter Jim Ritcher. Jim Kelly took the helm at QB! In 1987, the Bills added Howard Ballard to make Wolford, Hull, Ritcher and Ballard four skilled offensive linemen. I'm not saying that we are going to get that soon, but it's been done before. There is a lot more hope out there!!! GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 I ignore Cowherd. His rants are just to get people riled up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 (edited) Hey Colon Bleacher Report thinks they will defy both as one of the most underrated teams in the NFL this season. Quietly, the Buffalo Bills put together one of the league's best offseasons. The organization didn't make any high-profile moves, but general manager Brandon Beane meticulously attacked each of the team's weaknesses. Specifically, the Bills needed to address the offensive line, skill positions and 3-technique. Bleacher Report writes Buffalo found “tremendous value” with both of their top picks of Ed Oliver and Cody Ford. "Long story short, Ford had a real chance to go 11th overall," The MMQB's Albert Breer reported. "He didn't. And he slid all the way into the second round, where Buffalo traded up to get him with the 38th pick." Edited May 9, 2019 by ShadyBillsFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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