Offensive Line Still a Problem

[Billzgobowlin]

7 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

They key to  lineup has been Spencer Brown.  When he has been active, he’s allowed the team to upgrade at two different positions - RT and RG.  Daryl Williams has played much better inside than he did at. 

There was a big difference in the offense during the 3 games that Brown has been in the lineup vs. the past 2 games where he was out.  
 

 

The rushing numbers are a bit deceiving as Josh accounted for about 50 yards on the ground

The LG position will be interesting.  Feliciano should be back for the Thanksgiving game.  Do you start him or Ike?  Both have their shortcomings and are probably the weakest link in the OL

No doubt Feliciano if healthy starts.  He brings energy.

[Ramza86]

Without luck we dont win a superbowl. 

 

Thats where I am at this point. We will be lucky to win a superbowl.

 

 

[JohnNord]

22 minutes ago, Ramza86 said:

Without luck we dont win a superbowl. 

 

Thats where I am at this point. We will be lucky to win a superbowl.

 

 

Any team needs luck to win the Super Bowl

[Ramza86]

Just now, JohnNord said:

Any team needs luck to win the Super Bowl

Im open to changing my mind depending on how we play the next 5 weeks.

[chris heff]

1 hour ago, billsbackto81 said:

Spencer Brown makes the difference. Not because he's elite or dominant but because he allows Williams to play Guard which allows Ford to play on the bench. 

Brown is the difference and I think Feliciano is marginally better than Boettger. Feliciano plays angry, you need a guy like that. What is his status?

[SCBills]

35 minutes ago, Ramza86 said:

Without luck we dont win a superbowl. 

 

Thats where I am at this point. We will be lucky to win a superbowl.

 

 

 

I mean, most teams have to have some semblance of luck...

 

KC got away with a game changing non-call on Sorenson that changed the trajectory of their Divisional Game against Cleveland.

 

KC then played us in the AFCCG with the walking wounded at WR.   Then, in turn, Tampa Bay played a broken down KC OL in the Super Bowl.   

 

 

[billsbackto81]

37 minutes ago, chris heff said:

Brown is the difference and I think Feliciano is marginally better than Boettger. Feliciano plays angry, you need a guy like that. What is his status?

On IR. Can't recall whether he's got 1 or 2 more games left.

[FarrellsFinest]

I really hope we take the other Offensive Lineman from Northern Iowa in the Draft! He looks like another beast! We could play him at left guard. 

[chris heff]

15 minutes ago, billsbackto81 said:

On IR. Can't recall whether he's got 1 or 2 more games left.

Somebody else said he can be back for Saints game.

[Scott7975]

I’ve been super critical of the line this season. They did well yesterday. It was just the Jets though so we shall see. The gameplan/play calling helped them out a lot yesterday. 
 

there is no fixing it at this point until next year. If they play offense like they did yesterday for the rest of the year it shouldn’t really be a problem. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

11 hours ago, elijah said:

Overall the team is very good, probably the best in the AFC type of good. Still worried about the Chiefs, as they simply have an incredible amount of talent and a Hall of Fame coach. Kind of worried about the Browns and Steelers simply based on matchup, both teams with strong running games and defensive lines. Other than that though, the Bills are an incredible team and in talks for the best in the league. 

 

However, the aspiration for this year is Super Bowl. Under those circumstances, the offensive line is still a problem. They simply weren’t that good today again after an abysmal performance against the Jaguars last week. 

 

There’s going to be a ‘this is why we can’t have nice things’ crowd, but if we’re talking about a Super Bowl it’s okay to be critical of these things. If not for Josh’s creative strong play in the backfield, we’d be getting killed on a weekly basis by opposing defensive lines. It’s something to talk about and monitor as the season goes on. As of right now, the offensive line is playing bad enough to say that that specific unit could hold us back from winning a Super Bowl irregardless of how strong and dominant the rest of the team is. 

 

Whether it’s Bobby Johnson or just a lack of talent, something needs to be done to address it. Josh was getting pressured all over today, thankfully we have an MVP-caliber QB who can hide the deficiencies in certain games against weaker overall teams. However, the current state of play just isn’t sustainable for a Super Bowl win.

 

Hopefully Brown can continue to mesh with Williams on the right side, while Dawkins and Morse get back to their peak play. But until then, the OL is something to watch and worry about as we gear up for a deep playoff run. 

 

Thoughts? 

 

Well you can monitor it and talk about it all you want, but doubt anything will change barring injury which likely isn't going to help things. 

 

It certainly appears that something is not right with Dawkins, regardless of what comes out of 1 Bills Drive, have to think it could be effects from Covid, certainly not something they could have anticipated. 

 

Why Williams is struggling this year at tackle is also hard to figure out, but if he stays inside at guard, we're OK there and Brown is likely to only get better as the year goes on.  In some ways may be good he didn't start from week 1 as often rookies hit the wall around week 12 as not use to such a long season.  Not playing all last season can't help there either WRT conditioning.

 

I'm sure will be addressed in off season, but until then likely nothing much can be done about it.  O line too is the type of position that need to work with the players next to you for awhile so even some wild waiver wire pickup isn't going to help much this year, barring injury.

[CincyBillsFan]

3 hours ago, billsbackto81 said:

Spencer Brown makes the difference. Not because he's elite or dominant but because he allows Williams to play Guard which allows Ford to play on the bench. 

On the 15 yard TD sweep by Breida watch Brown pancake the LB.  It's impressive from both a physical and athletic standpoint.

 

 

[Solomon Grundy]

9 hours ago, Freddie's Dead said:

The line arguably had its best game of the year today.

We need a report Freddie 

[RyanC883]

4 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

The OL will remain the weakest unit of the year - all the way until the Super Bowl ends and we're hoisting the Lombardi.

 

What can you do?  You can't sign new linemen.  You can't hire a new OL coach.  You can't suddenly overhaul the blocking schemes.  

 

You can hope (1) the OL gets healthy and we always have our best five on the field.  (2)  Daboll calls good  games that make the OL look better - like he did yesterday.  

 

This offseason, though, Beane better attack the OL hard.  

 

 

 

well, there are a few FAs out there worth looking at.  

[Fallser]

The OL is a problem, good teams (Not the Jests) are going to exploit it - hell, the Jags ate up our OLine...needs to be addressed somehow.

[Albany,n.y.]

There was one series that we had 6 guys on the O-line lined up left to right Brown, Dawkins, Boettger, Morse, Williams & Bates.  I thought it was odd that both starting OTs were lined up next to each other.  

The team will keep experimenting until they find the best 5 for the playoffs.  

[CincyBillsFan]

2 hours ago, Fallser said:

The OL is a problem, good teams (Not the Jests) are going to exploit it - hell, the Jags ate up our OLine...needs to be addressed somehow.

There is a big difference between this O - line with Brown at Tackle and Williams at guard then with Williams at tackle and Ford at guard.

 

.

[finn]

5 hours ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Crazy stat line!

Think about what it would look like if the running backs had actual holes to run through and Allen had time for all his reads without having to dodge one or two rushers first. 

[LABILLBACKER]

10 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

LG is the main issue on the O-line when healthy. I see Dawkins as a solid LT, Spencer Brown looks like a good starting caliber RT, when D.Williams kicks inside to RG he is effective there and Mitch at center is an elite pass blocker and he does the leadership and communication things you need from a center even if he is an average at best run blocker. That leaves LG as a question mark in my opinion. Mongo is likely the teams best option at LG which isn't tragic but it leaves something to be desired. I had hopes for Ike or Bates maybe stepping in and being a possible upgrade at LG but that doesn't look to be the case. 

 

With Brown and D.Williams anchoring the right side, Mitch an effective center and Dawkins a solid LT I don't see the line when it is at full strength being a massive issue outside of LG. But the main issue in my mind is depth. One injury and this line has to start two lesser players and that's a problem. The depth this line had the past two seasons just isn't there. If I were McBeane I would look to bring in a guard off the street, kick the tires on a guy like David DeCastro or some other guard. 

 

Agreed that some posters expect a clean pocket 100% of the time or else everyone on the line is a failure. I also agree that when the line is at full strength it is capable. The question is can they get the line healthy and playing well going into the playoffs. Hopefully Spencer Browns back and Mongo's injury aren't longer term issues and there isn't an injury to any of the other three.

Completely agree....I have no doubt we draft a LG very high. Stick him next to a healthier Dawkins next year and we should be in good shape. Morse has been solid and Brown/ Williams combo looked much better yesterday. Doyle & Boett are not the answer at LG.

[BigAl2526]

Clearly, Buffalo needs Spencer Brown to stay healthy.  He's better than Daryl Williams at right tackle, and Williams is the Bills' best guard.  Every other guard on the Bills' roster appears to be a liability in one way or another.  I doubt that there is any way to address that successfully between now and free agency.  I expect an effort will be made in the offseason to fix it.  

 

I think Buffalo hopes that Tommy Doyle can develop into a solid swing tackle so there's no need to switch Daryl Williams out to tackle every time Spencer Brown gets hurt.  

 

The other question Buffalo will have to answer is how long can they use Morse at center, and do they think Ryan Bates has starter potential..

Edited November 15, 2021 by BigAl2526