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Did the offensive line really improve that much?


Meatloaf63

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Looking back at the season, I’m honestly trying to determine did the line dramatically improve over last years version or was it just an incremental increase with all the changes we made?  We rarely were able to impose our will, with many runs up the middle being stopped for little gaines  or even plenty of TFL’s. Once we started playing better defenses, there were often jailbreak rushes as we saw yesterday, especially against New England and Baltimore. 
Digging deeper was it the quality of the line or the play calling along with the blocking schemes? For example I thought Singletary looked his best this year getting to the outside, but I don’t remember even one quick pitch to get him to the outside yesterday. The excuse of trying to limit the mistakes of a young Qb shouldn’t mean the running game should be so limited or unimaginative. 
Personally I’m not a big fan of Daboll. He often seems to get away from what’s working, plays on a whole seem to lack creativity. Yes we got the first drive yesterday but the well went dry after that. We rarely get Singletary involved in the passing  game. And when it’s a sure blitz situation, we don’t seem to have the answers to handle it. Are the receivers not recognizing it and not running a hot route, is Allen not calling it out properly, are they running plays that take too long to develop? 
I know there are a lot of people here who are able to break this down better than me, what do you think?

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Very few long term injuries to the OL.  Morse in the pre-season had concussion issues and Nsekhe missed time, but nothing major for the others.  

 

I don't see them re-signing Quinton Spain because he's JAG.  Dawkins I think goes into his contract year without a new deal.  Morse is here to stay by virtue of his contract and while he's an improvement, he's not top tier either.  I like Feliciano at RG, but RT is a mess.  Nsekhe is passable, but Ford is incapable of playing the position and requires help.  Why they left him alone against a even a wounded Watt is unbelievable.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's a backup next season.

 

The OL is still very much a work in progress.

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8 minutes ago, loyal2dagame said:

Yes it did,  but still needs work.

We once again have a good running game (when the coaches don't eliminate it from the gameplan) 

And our qb had sufficient time to throw in most plays.

We had neither last year.  

 

Bills were 9th in rushing yards last year, 8th this year--mainly because of a serious upgrade at RB.  But it is still a team that relies on its QB for a huge % of rushing yards.

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7 minutes ago, Aussie Joe said:

People must have short memories of how crappy the line was in 2018...

 

Still some ways to go though..

Did the improvements occur because we drafted a better running back and Allan is now year two? I still saw a line that couldn’t pass protect when the game is on the line...

1 minute ago, klos63 said:

It was a huge improvement over last season. Other than Dawkins, are any of last seasons linemen still even in the NFL? Ford needs to continue to improve, same with Dawkins.

Do you think Ford has the physical ability to stay at guard?

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7 minutes ago, Meatloaf63 said:

Did the improvements occur because we drafted a better running back and Allan is now year two? I still saw a line that couldn’t pass protect when the game is on the line...

Do you think Ford has the physical ability to stay at guard?

Do you mean 'stay at tackle'?  I honestly don't know. I'll trust the coaching staff and Beane on this one.

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I think time will be the biggest benefit for this group. Even if Spain leaves, they have Long. If they keep Spain, they can cut Long, and draft a player. 
 

But with a group of 5 who had never played before, continuity and chemistry will go a long way in Year 2.
 

 

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26 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Yes it did. It still has room to grow though. Our best OL this year was the one who was already in the system - Dawkins - so something to be said for that. 

 

RT continues to be a significant need. 


I’ll say that Feliciano and Spain were better than Dawkins..

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5 minutes ago, Aussie Joe said:


I’ll say that Feliciano and Spain were better than Dawkins..

 

Nah. No way. Dawkins had a slow start but since the bye he has played really well. I was iffy on paying him before the season. It is a no brainer for me now. He is our best lineman. 

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2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Nah. No way. Dawkins had a slow start but since the bye he has played really well. I was iffy on paying him before the season. It is a no brainer for me now. He is our best lineman. 

 

Really ?? How much do you want to pay Dawkins?

 

Im still not convinced he is the long term LT...

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