2nd Team O-Line better than last year's 1st Team

[Inigo Montoya]

Very encouraged by the O-line play.  I imagine it will look even better with Morse in there.  Ducasse and Bodine are not long for the roster.  Both Long and Feliciano can play center in a pinch and both looked solid tonight.   I think Teller is looking good and I think they will end up keeping Teller and cutting an extra player at another position to provide a little extra O-line security.

 

O-line was clearly the teams biggest weakness last year and it looks like McBeane did what they had to do to address it which bodes well for Josh and the entire offense.  If we can get one more touchdown per game out of our offense, and if our defense continues to play at this level, we are going to the playoffs this season.

[mrags]

I was going to say, the 1st team offensive line looked incredible too. Allen has a lot of time and was rarely pressured. And that’s with Feliciano at C. I’d imagine with Morse in there, they will look even better. 

[SCBills]

The interior of the second team OL looks to be Long and Teller (if he makes the 53), along with Feliciano at C. 

 

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry about how much better Long-Feliciano-Teller is over the starting interior we had last year.  

 

The only constant is Teller and he’s now in his 2nd year and may, or may not, make the 53 man roster. 

 

Edited August 9, 2019 by SCBills

[Laughing Coffin]

32 minutes ago, SCBills said:

The interior of the second team OL looks to be Long and Teller (if he makes the 53), along with Feliciano at C. 

 

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry about how much better Long-Feliciano-Teller is over the starting interior we had last year.  

 

The only constant is Teller and he’s now in his 2nd year and may, or may not, make the 53 man roster. 

 

 

 

Don't see Teller making the roster.

 

We'll keep the starting 5 -

 

Dawkins

Spain

Morse

Ford

Nsekhe

 

 

And then Long and Feliciano can play all 3 positions on the IL.  They'll be our 2 IL backups for depth.  That likely leaves 1 or MAYBE 2 spots for swing tackles.  I don't see the reason why we'd keep an additional OG.  Most teams keep 8 OL on a roster and I see us doing just that.  Especially cause we could kick Ford back out to RT if Nsekhe gets banged up and throw Long or Felciano in at RG to fill in for Ford vacating it

[LABILLBACKER]

It's pretty obvious by their play last year and tonight that Bodine and Ducasse will be released in 3 weeks. The depth on this team is inspiring. 

[Rc2catch]

Feliciano was beastly out there. O-line looked great. Also special shout out to Sweeney I never watched him play or did any homework when they drafted him, but that kid is a mauler for a tight end. He looked ruthless on a couple blocks 

[JoPar_v2]

If Morse ends up really F-ed up, as in missing significant time, I’m not so confident. If he is there to anchor that line, sign me up. After they rid themselves of Bodine and Ducasse.

[Rocky Landing]

The best thing that can be said about Russel Bodine is that he knows how to snap the ball to the quarterback, more or less (‘cept for that time he sailed it over Barkley’s head). Beyond that, he is a bystander on the field.

[BigDingus]

It's definitely better than last season, but the Colts in preseason aren't really the best barometer to gauge improvement.

I really hope they make a significant improvement in run blocking this season though. Not being able to establish the run really killed us last year. 

Even though pass protection wasn't great, part of the problem was simply Allen holding on to the ball for too long. He actually had the longest average time holding onto the ball before passing in 2018, so if he can learn to release it a bit quicker it should help the O-line out a bit too.

[Ittakestime]

4 hours ago, Rocky Landing said:

The best thing that can be said about Russel Bodine is that he knows how to snap the ball to the quarterback, more or less (‘cept for that time he sailed it over Barkley’s head). Beyond that, he is a bystander on the field.

 

The run game is significantly better with him at center.  The same thing can be said for last year.  Go back and watch the Bills vs Jets game last season when he played.  He was the main component in a lot of the longer runs.

[CLTbills]

2 hours ago, BigDingus said:

It's definitely better than last season, but the Colts in preseason aren't really the best barometer to gauge improvement.

I really hope they make a significant improvement in run blocking this season though. Not being able to establish the run really killed us last year. 

Even though pass protection wasn't great, part of the problem was simply Allen holding on to the ball for too long. He actually had the longest average time holding onto the ball before passing in 2018, so if he can learn to release it a bit quicker it should help the O-line out a bit too.

 While this is true, I'm not sure you can say it was because of the protection. I think it was more his ability to extend the play. With any other quarterback (or at least most), that "average time holding before passing" would have been much shorter because they would have been on their back a lot quicker.

 

And I think a case can be made that Josh "holding on to the ball" was simply because we didn't have one single receiver that could get open on a consistent basis. 

Looking at last night, it's amazing what a couple good receivers can do for a young QB.

Edited August 9, 2019 by CLTbills

[Royale with Cheese]

6 hours ago, Laughing Coffin said:

 

 

Don't see Teller making the roster.

 

We'll keep the starting 5 -

 

Dawkins

Spain

Morse

Ford

Nsekhe

 

 

And then Long and Feliciano can play all 3 positions on the IL.  They'll be our 2 IL backups for depth.  That likely leaves 1 or MAYBE 2 spots for swing tackles.  I don't see the reason why we'd keep an additional OG.  Most teams keep 8 OL on a roster and I see us doing just that.  Especially cause we could kick Ford back out to RT if Nsekhe gets banged up and throw Long or Felciano in at RG to fill in for Ford vacating it

 

Does Teller has one year eligibility left for PS?  

27 minutes ago, Ittakestime said:

 

The run game is significantly better with him at center.  The same thing can be said for last year.  Go back and watch the Bills vs Jets game last season when he played.  He was the main component in a lot of the longer runs.

 

Not even close.  Then why is the guy our 3rd string center?  Why is Feliciano, a guard, taking 1st team reps at center with Morse out?

Its because Bodine is terrible.

[MJS]

39 minutes ago, CLTbills said:

 While this is true, I'm not sure you can say it was because of the protection. I think it was more his ability to extend the play. With any other quarterback (or at least most), that "average time holding before passing" would have been much shorter because they would have been on their back a lot quicker.

 

And I think a case can be made that Josh "holding on to the ball" was simply because we didn't have one single receiver that could get open on a consistent basis. 

Looking at last night, it's amazing what a couple good receivers can do for a young QB.

I think really it was because Allen had to spend time eluding defenders before he could even think of throwing the ball.

[SCBills]

42 minutes ago, CLTbills said:

 While this is true, I'm not sure you can say it was because of the protection. I think it was more his ability to extend the play. With any other quarterback (or at least most), that "average time holding before passing" would have been much shorter because they would have been on their back a lot quicker.

 

And I think a case can be made that Josh "holding on to the ball" was simply because we didn't have one single receiver that could get open on a consistent basis. 

Looking at last night, it's amazing what a couple good receivers can do for a young QB.

 

If extending plays factors into the “hold time” average of a QB, that one play in Miami had Josh back there for about 45 seconds. 

[CLTbills]

20 minutes ago, MJS said:

I think really it was because Allen had to spend time eluding defenders before he could even think of throwing the ball.

Agreed. That's the point I was trying to make. It was hardly because of the O-line's "success"

[Dr. K]

6 hours ago, Rocky Landing said:

The best thing that can be said about Russel Bodine is that he knows how to snap the ball to the quarterback, more or less (‘cept for that time he sailed it over Barkley’s head). Beyond that, he is a bystander on the field.

I have a friend who is a lifelong Bengals fan. When the Bills got Bodine from the Bengals, he warned me that Bodine was the worst center he had ever seen.

[Rocky Landing]

6 hours ago, Ittakestime said:

 

The run game is significantly better with him at center.  The same thing can be said for last year.  Go back and watch the Bills vs Jets game last season when he played.  He was the main component in a lot of the longer runs.

I completely disagree.

First of all, the run game didn't start last night until he was at center. Literally. They did not run a single running play until Bodine was out there. Allen threw every down, except when he ran himself. And, I will also say, that Long looked pretty decent run blocking. Bodine looked lost against a really crappy second, and third string Colts defense.

 

As for last year, run blocking was terrible. Our run game was terrible. McCoy had the worst season of his career, and that was, in large part, due to the O-line. 

[John from Riverside]

I think it is also important to note that with so many new pieces...they are not even as good as they will be by say...mid season.

 

takes time to gel

[Rocky Landing]

Spencer Long had some decent run blocking with the twos. 

Feliciano seemed a competent center. I suspect that being bracketed by Spain, and Ford helped in that regard. I was surprised they had Feliciano in there, and not Long, who was listed as second center, after Morse, on their unofficial depth chart. I assumed his hamstring was still an issue, but then he was playing guard and blocking downfield on run plays. 

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

10 hours ago, BigDingus said:

It's definitely better than last season, but the Colts in preseason aren't really the best barometer to gauge improvement.

I really hope they make a significant improvement in run blocking this season though. Not being able to establish the run really killed us last year. 

Even though pass protection wasn't great, part of the problem was simply Allen holding on to the ball for too long. He actually had the longest average time holding onto the ball before passing in 2018, so if he can learn to release it a bit quicker it should help the O-line out a bit too.

This and they didn't blitz the first team OL once. . . I should hope they would do well. 

[Augie]

13 hours ago, Rocky Landing said:

The best thing that can be said about Russel Bodine is that he knows how to snap the ball to the quarterback, more or less (‘cept for that time he sailed it over Barkley’s head). Beyond that, he is a bystander on the field.

 

Best seat in the house! He paid $250 to be there!   ?

 

Due to the DTV TV fiasco, I have yet to see the game, but this is SO encouraging to hear that the retooling of the OLine seems to be working! 

[Augie]

2 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

I think it is also important to note that with so many new pieces...they are not even as good as they will be by say...mid season.

 

takes time to gel

Absolutely! Still missing the prized acquisition (fingers crossed!), plus game one and mixing and matching. This was a apparently a big improvement, and this is just the baseline. It should only get better from here, though the challenges down the road may also be greater. 

[formerlyofCtown]

8 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

Does Teller has one year eligibility left for PS?  

 

Not even close.  Then why is the guy our 3rd string center?  Why is Feliciano, a guard, taking 1st team reps at center with Morse out?

Its because Bodine is terrible.

Teller wouldnt make it to the PS.

 

This is not baseball where players have options.  In order to sign a player from the roster to the PS you must release them.  At that point any team can pick them up on waivers.

[John from Riverside]

3 minutes ago, formerlyofCtown said:

Teller wouldnt make it to the PS.

 

This is not baseball where players have options.  In order to sign a player from the roster to the PS you must release them.  At that point any team can pick them up on waivers.

I dont think there is a chance in hell that he makes it to the PS....would be shocked...if we cut him...I think we lose him.  Good OL just too hard to find.  So the question becomes who do we keep......does the fact that Ford being able to play OG and OT allow us to keep one extra?  Does a guy like Spencer Long go?

[Augie]

8 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

 Does Teller has one year eligibility left for PS?  

 

Not even close.  Then why is the guy our 3rd string center?  Why is Feliciano, a guard, taking 1st team reps at center with Morse out?

Its because Bodine is terrible.

 

I think he does, but I’d be very surprised if he wasn’t picked up by another team. One disadvantage of improving is other teams may want your marginal guys. I think I’m higher on Teller than most. I liked his feisty play! 

[formerlyofCtown]

3 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

I dont think there is a chance in hell that he makes it to the PS....would be shocked...if we cut him...I think we lose him.  Good OL just too hard to find.  So the question becomes who do we keep......does the fact that Ford being able to play OG and OT allow us to keep one extra?  Does a guy like Spencer Long go?

We Traded Andrew Whitworth during last years preseason.  Probably shoulda kept him though.

[billspro]

17 hours ago, SCBills said:

The interior of the second team OL looks to be Long and Teller (if he makes the 53), along with Feliciano at C. 

 

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry about how much better Long-Feliciano-Teller is over the starting interior we had last year.  

 

The only constant is Teller and he’s now in his 2nd year and may, or may not, make the 53 man roster. 

 

 

Last years group was embarrassing and there is not doubt our second team line this year is better than our first team line last year. 

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

 

[TigerJ]

17 hours ago, Laughing Coffin said:

 

 

Don't see Teller making the roster.

 

We'll keep the starting 5 -

 

Dawkins

Spain

Morse

Ford

Nsekhe

 

 

And then Long and Feliciano can play all 3 positions on the IL.  They'll be our 2 IL backups for depth.  That likely leaves 1 or MAYBE 2 spots for swing tackles.  I don't see the reason why we'd keep an additional OG.  Most teams keep 8 OL on a roster and I see us doing just that.  Especially cause we could kick Ford back out to RT if Nsekhe gets banged up and throw Long or Felciano in at RG to fill in for Ford vacating it

Depends on how much they like Teller long term.  He does have some nice traits.  Also, the Bills may still have long term intentions of moving Ford to tackle permanently.  Nsekhe is 33 and on a 2 year contract.  The fact that Ford can play tackle makes carrying the extra guard less impractical than if Ford were strictly a guard.  8 is a standard complement of offensive linemen, as you say, but 9 is not unheard of.  I think Buffalo had 11 at one point last season.

[Simon Says]

On 8/9/2019 at 1:26 AM, Laughing Coffin said:

 

 

Don't see Teller making the roster.

 

We'll keep the starting 5 -

 

Dawkins

Spain

Morse

Ford

Nsekhe

 

 

And then Long and Feliciano can play all 3 positions on the IL.  They'll be our 2 IL backups for depth.  That likely leaves 1 or MAYBE 2 spots for swing tackles.  I don't see the reason why we'd keep an additional OG.  Most teams keep 8 OL on a roster and I see us doing just that.  Especially cause we could kick Ford back out to RT if Nsekhe gets banged up and throw Long or Felciano in at RG to fill in for Ford vacating it

If that is your starting 5,who is the backup tackle? Ford can move to RT and Nsekhe can flip to LT? So,based on what we have seen,Teller,Long and Feliciano are interior backups? Feliciano & Long compete at RG,Ford at RT and Nsekhe as back up?Maybe McDermott or one of the new guys also stays. With Morse's  injury history Bills have to be prepared so keeping 9 is possible

[dollars 2 donuts]

I will be a broken record on this:  as bad as anyone thought the Oline was last year they were actual much, much worse.  I believe they got too much credit in some situations where they didn’t deserve it.

[freddyjj]

14 hours ago, Rocky Landing said:

Spencer Long had some decent run blocking with the twos. 

Feliciano seemed a competent center. I suspect that being bracketed by Spain, and Ford helped in that regard. I was surprised they had Feliciano in there, and not Long, who was listed as second center, after Morse, on their unofficial depth chart. I assumed his hamstring was still an issue, but then he was playing guard and blocking downfield on run plays. 

Thought the same way too but also realized Long had no reps at C.  With Bodine hurt now expect Long, Feliciano and Boettger to split reps next FRI.  Assumes Morse is out for another game at least.