Best Offensive Line in decades

[Magox]

In an earlier thread last week I mentioned that I thought that this was the best offensive line that we have had in well over a decade and to my surprise there were some people who had disagreed.

 

From my perspective, this is the best and most well balanced offensive line we have had since our Super Bowl days.   This offensive line can both run and pass block and it's not just advanced scouting or stats but they pass the eye ball test.

 

- 1st in Sacks allowed at only 1.4 sacks given up per game

- 9th in pressures allowed at 18.3%

- 7th in Yards Per Carry

- 6th in rushing yards per game

- 6th in rushing TDs per game

 

PFF has the Bills as one of the top units

 

Keep in mind that our rushing yards isn't just a Josh Allen story like it had been the past few years but from our RB's.

 

I just don't think we need to actively look to upgrade the offensive line this offseason.  I do think Spencer Brown is our future RT and has shown a lot of improvement this year.

 

I think looking for Mitch Morse eventual replacement would be the only position aside from depth upgrades the Bills need to go after this offseason with the line.

[Special K]

Dawkins is having a career year, Torrence is playing like the first round pick he should have been(thankfully he fell to the second round for the Bills), Brown, though he struggles in pass blocking, is a heck of a run blocker.

 

They really dominated the Cowboys last night!

[JGMcD2]

5 minutes ago, Magox said:

 

I think looking for Mitch Morse eventual replacement would be the only position aside from depth upgrades the Bills need to go after this offseason with the line.

The prevailing thought is that Ryan Bates is the heir apparent. 

[Magox]

Just now, JGMcD2 said:

The prevailing thought is that Ryan Bates is the heir apparent. 

 

He could be, I think he has shown that he could hold down the fort.

[PatsFanNH]

Their jobs would be made easier if the OC keeps other teams guessing what they are doing. A lot harder to block people when they know what you are doing. 

[strive_for_five_guy]

I always considered the O-Line to be a huge part of the Bills’ success in the early 90’s.  And agree this year’s unit is about as solid as I can remember.  We’ve definitely had a lot of injury luck on that front so far this season too.  In terms of Morse’s future, I’ve been pegging Bates as his most likely successor, if only as the word has been that Bates has that flexibility and he’s getting paid at level more than just your typical backup.  Would love to see this organization keep adding OL depth through the draft, although I’d put a few other needs first in the offseason (WR, DL & Safety).

[wppete]

The line has been great. We lucked out with Torrence dropping to us in the second round. 

[FilthyBeast]

This oline has played great in recent weeks with the exception of the Chiefs game in which they were terrible but obviously it didn't matter given the end result.

[starrymessenger]

Brady is thankfully more committed to the run game than Dorsey. But to me the run blocking scheme seems to have changed (for the better). I wonder whether Kromer and Dorsey were on the same page. The line now is looking to pick up blocks at the second level from the snap and letting the running backs (esp Cook) hang back and use their vision to pick their way. This favours Cook's game because of the suddenness of his moves in space. Good for the Jets reject too. 
Ive been really impressed with McGovern's mobility at LG.

[SCBills]

Everyone except Edwards and Ifedi are under contract for next year.

 

I'm not messing with it.  I know we can save some decent cap by cutting Morse, but this OL is too good to play games with.  

 

[Big Turk]

Go to -1:29:00 of this video and then watch Dion Dawkins block his man almost 20 yards downfield and plant him on his ass...

 

 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Dawkins is playing at a really high level. The best he has sincecthec2021 playoff run. 

 

I posted this during the game but it's time to give Brown some props. The TD catch by Cook was a very good play by Brown. He was beat inside early by Parson but he didn't lose contact with him, didn't hold him and rode him inside allowing Josh to step out of the pocket. Yes it was technically a QB pressure but it was still a great solo play against an elite pass rusher.

[John from Riverside]

38 minutes ago, Special K said:

Dawkins is having a career year, Torrence is playing like the first round pick he should have been(thankfully he fell to the second round for the Bills), Brown, though he struggles in pass blocking, is a heck of a run blocker.

 

They really dominated the Cowboys last night!

Conner been good as well

[mrags]

2 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

Conner been good as well

Probably the main reason why Dawkins has looked better this year. He doesn’t have to worry about a useless scrub at LG. 
 

for the record I still think Dawkins is a fat tub of goo and would be happy with finding his replacement. But he did have a really good game yesterday. And at the same time I’m not against him staying. I look at it this way, 2 years ago and up until this year really, people are expecting Dawkins to be your best OLmen. He is not that. But he can easily be your 3rd best OLmen. And I’m not saying anyone has distanced themselves from Dawkins in this regard. But overall the OL play is and has been consistently better. Therefore eliminating Dawkins need to be your best guy on the line.
 

Either way I don’t expect him to be going anywhere. In fact I see him as getting an extension this offseason and creating a little more cap space while they’re at it. 

[NewEra]

They’ve been making me smile this season.  What a transformation!!!  Minus Saffold and Bates.  Plus McGovern and Torrance.  Spencer brown one year removed from surgery.  Kromer doing work.  Keep it up.  Job’s not done yet

1 minute ago, mrags said:

Probably the main reason why Dawkins has looked better this year. He doesn’t have to worry about a useless scrub at LG. 
 

for the record I still think Dawkins is a fat tub of goo and would be happy with finding his replacement. But he did have a really good game yesterday. And at the same time I’m not against him staying. I look at it this way, 2 years ago and up until this year really, people are expecting Dawkins to be your best OLmen. He is not that. But he can easily be your 3rd best OLmen. And I’m not saying anyone has distanced themselves from Dawkins in this regard. But overall the OL play is and has been consistently better. Therefore eliminating Dawkins need to be your best guy on the line.
 

Either way I don’t expect him to be going anywhere. In fact I see him as getting an extension this offseason and creating a little more cap space while they’re at it. 

You really want to replace Dawkins???  😯 

 

not me.  He’s a fat tub of goo but he’s entrenched in this locker room.  Would be a big mistake to look for a replacement imo.  I’d rather give him more gtd money and extend him to lower his cap hit next season

[Brit]

One of the highlights of this season has been the improvement in the OLine play. Both with new guys and improved play by existing players, especially Spencer Brown.

[Big Turk]

12 minutes ago, mrags said:

Probably the main reason why Dawkins has looked better this year. He doesn’t have to worry about a useless scrub at LG. 
 

for the record I still think Dawkins is a fat tub of goo and would be happy with finding his replacement. But he did have a really good game yesterday. And at the same time I’m not against him staying. I look at it this way, 2 years ago and up until this year really, people are expecting Dawkins to be your best OLmen. He is not that. But he can easily be your 3rd best OLmen. And I’m not saying anyone has distanced themselves from Dawkins in this regard. But overall the OL play is and has been consistently better. Therefore eliminating Dawkins need to be your best guy on the line.
 

Either way I don’t expect him to be going anywhere. In fact I see him as getting an extension this offseason and creating a little more cap space while they’re at it. 

 

Not sure how you could think that when he has been playing at an elite level this year.

[mrags]

12 minutes ago, NewEra said:

They’ve been making me smile this season.  What a transformation!!!  Minus Saffold and Bates.  Plus McGovern and Torrance.  Spencer brown one year removed from surgery.  Kromer doing work.  Keep it up.  Job’s not done yet

You really want to replace Dawkins???  😯 

 

not me.  He’s a fat tub of goo but he’s entrenched in this locker room.  Would be a big mistake to look for a replacement imo.  I’d rather give him more gtd money and extend him to lower his cap hit next season

That’s why u said I fully expect he will be extended this offseason. Honestly, I’m not happy about it but if it saves us money and gives us the ability to pick up a FA somewhere else, or maybe resign AJ or Floyd then I’m all for it. Like I said, if you’re expecting him to be your best OLmen then I think you’re in for disappointment. But if you expect him to be on par with 1-2 others then I think you’re ok. He’s not good enough to raise the level of play around him imo but he is good enough to hang with them if you have a few others that are playing good to great ball. McGovern is the best thing to ever happen to him in a Bills uniform imo. And the rest of the line has played extremely well barring a few mishaps. 

[Blackbeard]

FIRE MCDERMOTT NOW!!!!!

 

 

Strike NOW!!!       FIND JAURON!!!!

[mrags]

4 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Not sure how you could think that when he has been playing at an elite level this year.

Because I don’t have rose colored glasses on. He’s been playing his best ball in years. I agree with that. However he’s also been a disappointment at times. I get that nobody plays a perfect game all the time. I’d rather live without his mistakes. He also appears to be really good for the team and locker room. I completely understand that he’s likely not going anywhere. 

Just now, Blackbeard said:

FIRE MCDERMOTT NOW!!!!!

 

 

Strike NOW!!!       FIND JAURON!!!!

They have Jaurons number on speed dial in case of emergency. 

[NewEra]

5 minutes ago, mrags said:

That’s why u said I fully expect he will be extended this offseason. Honestly, I’m not happy about it but if it saves us money and gives us the ability to pick up a FA somewhere else, or maybe resign AJ or Floyd then I’m all for it. Like I said, if you’re expecting him to be your best OLmen then I think you’re in for disappointment. But if you expect him to be on par with 1-2 others then I think you’re ok. He’s not good enough to raise the level of play around him imo but he is good enough to hang with them if you have a few others that are playing good to great ball. McGovern is the best thing to ever happen to him in a Bills uniform imo. And the rest of the line has played extremely well barring a few mishaps. 

My bad- I stopped reading and responded after you said you’d be happy finding his replacement.  I think he’s a big portion of this teams heartbeat.  I’d be pissed if we looked for his replacement at this point.  Gotta ride out this OL while we can.  We aren’t going to be able to upgrade much with our cap sitch.  

[Nihilarian]

Joe Brady has helped many made aware how how good the line is currently no question. It also helps that Dallas stayed in nickel defense most of the game because they were afraid of Mr. Buffalo's arm...you know, the elite unicorn the Bills have at QB.

 

Great to see the Buffalo Bills being able to run like that and it will put the fear of god into other DCs that face the Bills this season. Now they will need to worry about Josh AND the run game. No more one-trick pony offense.

 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

 

They have played well and I've felt all season people have underrated them..........but the Cowboys defense just rolled over last night.   I still don't think the Bills have the kind of offensive line that can dominate a good defense that's playing hard.   But that is an unreasonable expectation in today's game.  

 

Run defense is about effort and technique and the Cowboys abandoned both yesterday.    That was as big of a rollover-play-dead as I've seen any semi-respected team do against the Bills since Mike Holmgren's Seattle team in the finale of Wade Phillips' Bills coaching career.  

 

That 8 minute drive in the 3rd quarter.........after McCarthy tried for the big play on 3rd and 1 and got Dak sacked.......was an embarrassment of piss-poor effort.    I knew the game was over when McCarthy lost patience that early.   Multi-score come backs are common in the NFL now........just gotta' be patient and let the sympathetic refs do their job.😉

[90sBills]

Oline was dominant against Dal and has been playing great! Any failures going forward this season cannot be put on them. 

[zow2]

We have so many great attributes this season, arguably the best team in the AFC or top 2 and they have to win out to get in the playoffs.  smh.

[Big Turk]

Just now, zow2 said:

We have so many great attributes this season, arguably the best team in the AFC or top 2 and they have to win out to get in the playoffs.  smh.

 

So did Tampa Bay the year they won the Super Bowl.  It happens.

[mrags]

18 minutes ago, NewEra said:

My bad- I stopped reading and responded after you said you’d be happy finding his replacement.  I think he’s a big portion of this teams heartbeat.  I’d be pissed if we looked for his replacement at this point.  Gotta ride out this OL while we can.  We aren’t going to be able to upgrade much with our cap sitch.  

Don’t get me wrong. I still would prefer a new LT. I don’t like Dawkins. But I am giving his credit for likely having his best year and likely his best game ever last night. I still don’t want to pay him another big contract. Would rather find a journeyman vet and draft one in the 2-3rd rd and hope for the best. 

[Magox]

Just now, Big Turk said:

 

So did Tampa Bay the year they won the Super Bowl.  It happens.

Giants also did this in one of their Super Bowl years.

[TPS]

1 hour ago, Magox said:

In an earlier thread last week I mentioned that I thought that this was the best offensive line that we have had in well over a decade and to my surprise there were some people who had disagreed.

 

From my perspective, this is the best and most well balanced offensive line we have had since our Super Bowl days.   This offensive line can both run and pass block and it's not just advanced scouting or stats but they pass the eye ball test.

 

- 1st in Sacks allowed at only 1.4 sacks given up per game

- 9th in pressures allowed at 18.3%

- 7th in Yards Per Carry

- 6th in rushing yards per game

- 6th in rushing TDs per game

 

PFF has the Bills as one of the top units

 

Keep in mind that our rushing yards isn't just a Josh Allen story like it had been the past few years but from our RB's.

 

I just don't think we need to actively look to upgrade the offensive line this offseason.  I do think Spencer Brown is our future RT and has shown a lot of improvement this year.

 

I think looking for Mitch Morse eventual replacement would be the only position aside from depth upgrades the Bills need to go after this offseason with the line.

Who was the last 1,000-yard back? About to happen Saturday. 

[Process]

I'm sure Spencer Brown will be relieved to hear this.

 

I have taken RT off my list of needs for next year. He has been a very pleasant surprise and I think the bills should be and will be comfortable with him as their starting RT going forward.

 

Having our entire starting o line for 2024 on the team and under contract is very nice. 

[Albany,n.y.]

Aaron Kromer deserves a lot of credit.  

[TPS]

Just now, Process said:

I'm sure Spencer Brown will be relieved to hear this.

 

I have taken RT off my list of needs for next year. He has been a very pleasant surprise and I think the bills should be and will be comfortable with him as their starting RT going forward.

 

Having our entire starting o line for 2024 on the team and under contract is very nice. 

They have some interesting players developing behind the starters as well. 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

Fresh off the kc game people were probably less likely to agree lol but they absolutely showed up against a lot of the tough defensive lines this year 

[Process]

Just now, TPS said:

They have some interesting players developing behind the starters as well. 

Our o line has been so healthy I don't even remember who our backups are. 

[Albany,n.y.]

4 minutes ago, mrags said:

Don’t get me wrong. I still would prefer a new LT. I don’t like Dawkins. But I am giving his credit for likely having his best year and likely his best game ever last night. I still don’t want to pay him another big contract. Would rather find a journeyman vet and draft one in the 2-3rd rd and hope for the best. 

It's so easy to get a good LT, just like it was to replace Howard Ballard at RT years ago.  Just hit speed dial & get the next Jerry Crafts.  

 

 

[TPS]

2 minutes ago, Process said:

Our o line has been so healthy I don't even remember who our backups are. 

Anderson and Van Dermark are the 2 I’m thinking of, and I’m still hopeful for Doyle. Bates I consider a vet. 

[MikePJ76]

The line has been great but I think having all 3 tight ends healthy and part of the offense is a big part of this.

 

Running is a mindset and I think everyone on offense has embraced it.  I just hope they stay with it when it bogs down in one of these upcoming games.

[Charles Romes]

Have not heard a back-up tackle’s name called.  All season.  An NFL first. 

[Mark Vader]

1 hour ago, SCBills said:

Everyone except Edwards and Ifedi are under contract for next year.

 

I'm not messing with it.  I know we can save some decent cap by cutting Morse, but this OL is too good to play games with.  

 

Do the Bills ask Morse to take a pay cut?

[x-BillzeBubba]