OLine/Blocking/Film Review and Notes

[AKC]

Had a chance to flip the NE tape in last night, some of my thoughts on the offensive side of the game:

 

There’s common NFL talk about an OLine “gelling” over time- the reality of this presumption is that overall it’s more important for the 3 guys in the middle; the Center and both Guards; to work a s a single unit. Much of the game, and specifically in pass protection, the OTs work on their own with the middle unit typically being responsible for 2 defenders and any inside blitz pickup. With Chris Villarial seemingly healthy after multiple early season problems it was easy to see in the NE game just how well he works with Trey Teague. There’s a McGahee draw from our own 4 that these two completely open up for a 12 yard gain on first down- one of the toughest places to block on the field withthe attention defenses give to holding the middle at that end. The two work very well in pass protection together on that right side and Villarial did a commendable job when matched up one-on-one against Vince Wilfork for much of the day. The good chemistry between these two players is the kind of thing great offensive lines have between their front 3.

 

It’s refreshing to see the team responding to the fact that on the other side of Teague we just don’t have the same, or for that matter any sign of decent chemistry. With any luck the Bennie Anderson experiment as a starter is over- Anderson is simply an incredibly inconsistent player who gives a decent effort on one down and is standing hands on hips before the whistle blows on the next. At his size Bennie should have been embarrassed to be pushed 3 yards back into Holcomb by Willie McGinnest coming on an inside stunt loop. It’s almost physiologically impossible for a guy with a 100 pound advantage PLUS ideal position to get flopped into his own QB. Benny doesn’t do a good job of using his hands and feet at the same time, it appears to me that mentally it’s simply too much for him to process and he ends up focusing on one or the other. He misses his pass blocking pickups either from a lack of vision, a lack of reaction or more likely a combination of both.

 

As bad as Anderson plays at times, he has a guy to his left who gets a lot of very unfair things said about him. Mike Gandy plays surprisingly sound football at the LT spot- his one big liability is he doesn’t have a natural slide like the big money LTs, but he does have good fundamental technique; on running downs he engages and gets his weight out well over his waist very effectively and keeps his feet moving, in pass protection he normally makes good decisions about where to set and then he is patient waiting for his assignment to commit before he punches or controls the defender with his arms. He rarely gives up on a play and always seems to be looking for a target on the second level if he’s moved downfield. The first play after the Patrick Pass fumble is the second play of the game where Gandy puts his man down on the field on his back, in this case McGahee takes off through the hole for 9 yards. As surprising as Gandy has been, it’s safe to assume he’ll be even more effective once we find something more than a bloated up warm body to play inside him.

 

Help at LG will also dramatically improve Teague’s undeserved reputation at Center. Trey Teague continues to be a superior NFL lineman in the open field and a major asset in the middle when he isn’t covering for injured or inept players to his sides. Look no further than the screen pass to McGahee on the second drive where Teague CONSUMES Mike Vrabel to open up the field for an 8 yard gain. There’s no doubt there are a few centers in the league you could plug into this team who would arguably be a better fit for a power running offense, at the same time we’ve been power running pretty effectively most of the season and the dimension a guy like TT offers in second level blocking expands dramatically what we can do with screen passes, misdirection plays, delayed runs and under routes.

 

Jason Peters- I must say it was impossible not to appreciate the circumstances of his start and the effectiveness with which he played. I will expand on the good things he did but there was one major disappointment- on the Parrish reverse Peter’s failure to get a chuck on Ty Warren blew the whole play up- Parrish’s speed was negated by a big body standing in his favored path, it’s impossible to say how far Parrish might have gone without Warren’s presence but it looks to me like it may have been a good gainer.

For the most part Peters was exceptionally effective against Warren. In fact watching how well he handled him one-on-one OI was surprised Belichick didn’t adjust to force him to play a quicker player before the Pat’s began lining up Willie McGinnest across from him occasionally beginning in the middle of the 2nd quarter. McGinnest gave Peters more of a challenge, and it made it clear that we wouldn’t want to see Peters playing at the other OT spot any time in the near future, but overall he held up incredibly well for a guy thrown into the lion’s den. I’m not someone who gets excited about the stunt plays like Peter's TD catch, but playing a game at the RT spot as effectively as he did has drawn me closer to becoming a Peter’s fan. It’ll be a can’t miss watching area of the field this weekend for me.

 

Among our TEs I remain surprised by negative comments on Mark Campbell. All the guy does is play better than average at the TE position week in and week out, doing everything asked of him and having very few lapses (like the one bad whiff he had in NE). While for the most part this guy is arguably a top 20-25 TE in the NFL, the fact that the Antonio Gates, Algee Crumplers and Tony Gonzalez’s get the press is simply because of the media and fan obsession with players handling the ball. Campbell has developed into a damn good football player, and if we had another TE who could block in the mix he’d see more balls come his way. The B word is that Ryan Nuefeld is wasting space on the other end of our line in our 2TE run set, and Ryan Nuefeld is simply awful. On another of his pathetic missed blocks this season he forces Holcomb to throw the ball away, beginning the “grounding” discussion that ends up a no call. On the play, Roosevelt Colvin- plastic hip and all- makes a foot fake that send Nuefeld fallingto the turf to give the rushing lane up.

 

Another play worth noting was the screen to Parrish- again the play is blown up, this time by a terrible Sam Aiken miss of tiny Ellis Hobbs. The balance of our team, from the OLine to our WRs, all have their assignments tied up. In fact Jason Peter’s has gotten downfield in position to spring Parrish for a major gainer, yet everything is blown up by Sam Aiken’s unbelievably poor shot at tying up an easy- and much smaller- target.

 

I’m honestly convinced that from what I saw in our second drive from Willis McGahee that even at 47 years of age I could still throw a more effective cross body block. Damien Shelton’s whiff leading to a Holcomb sack was negated by NE penalty, but his continued ineptitude in most pass blocking situations in my mind makes it fair to call out our Running Back’s Coach Eric Studesville-for too many years we’ve had unwilling or awful blocking from our running backs and it’s time someone did something about it. If these players need one day every week of working with McNally then let’s get it done. We have occasional offensive line breakdowns but the simple reality of this Bill’s team, like its most recent predecessors, is that THE weakest link in pass blocking for us is from our running backs. This must change if we are ever to take advantage of the speed WRs we’ve spent dearly for in our recent drafts.

 

OAN-I remember being confused during the live telecast by a Mike Patrick comment that McGahee “got back to the Line Of Scrimmage, Bruschi was in on the stop”. As it had appeared to me live, McGahee had just popped a first down up the middle of the Pat’s Defense. It all makes so much more sense now, realizing the idiots in the booth weren’t watching the football game at all.

[Dan Gross]

Nice analysis AKC. Thanks for taking the time!

[34-78-83]

Excellent, excellent post AKC. Thanks for the effort you put into it.

[Fixxxer]

Great post AKC. Thanks

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Mike Gandy sucks, the Bears released him.

[Guest BackInDaDay]

Had a chance to flip the NE tape in last night, some of my thoughts:

 

There’s common NFL talk about an OLine “gelling” over time- the reality of this presumption is that overall it’s more important for the 3 guys in the middle; the Center and both Guards; to work a s a single unit. Much of the game, and specifically in pass protection, the OTs work on their own with the middle unit being responsible for 2 defenders and any inside blitz pickup. With Chris Villarial seemingly healthy after multiple early season problems it was easy to see in the NE game just how well he works with Trey Teague. There’s a McGahee draw from our own 4 that these two completely open up for a 12 yard gain on first down. They work very well in pass protection together on that right side and Villarial did a commendable job when matched up one-on-one against Vince Wilfork for much of the day. The good chemistry between these two players is the kind of thing great offensive lines have between their front 3.

 

It’s refreshing to see the team responding to the fact that on the other side of Teague we just don’t have the same, or for that matter any sign of decent chemistry. With any luck the Bennie Anderson experiment as a starter is over- Anderson is simply an incredibly inconsistent player who gives a decent effort on one down and is standing hands on hips before the whistle blows on the next. At his size Bennie should have been embarrassed to be pushed 3 yards back into Holcomb by Willie McGinnest coming on an inside stunt loop. It’s almost physiologically impossible for a guy with a 100 pound advantage PLUS ideal position to get flopped into his own QB. Benny doesn’t do a good job of using his hands and feet at the same time, it appears to me that mentally it’s simply too much for him to process and he ends up focusing on one or the other. He misses his pass blocking pickups either from a lack of vision, a lack of reaction or more likely a combination of both.

 

As bad as Anderson plays at times, he has a guy to his left who gets a lot of very unfair things said about him. Mike Gandy plays surprisingly sound football at the LT spot- his one big liability is he doesn’t have a natural slide like the big money LTs, but he does have good fundamental technique; on running downs he engages and gets his weight out well over his waist very effectively and keeps his feet moving, in pass protection he normally makes good decisions about where to set and then he is patient waiting for his assignment to commit before he punches or controls the defender with his arms. He rarely gives up on a play and always seems to be looking for a target on the second level if he’s moved downfield. The first play after the Patrick Pass fumble is the second play of the game where Gandy puts his man down on the field on his back, in this case McGahee takes off through the hole for 9 yards. As surprising as Gandy has been, it’s safe to assume he’ll be even more effective once we find something more than a bloated up warm body to play inside him.

 

Help at LG will also dramatically improve Teague’s undeserved reputation at Center. Trey Teague continues to be a superior NGL lineman in the open field and a major asset in the middle when he isn’t covering for injured or inept players to his sides. Look no further than the screen pass to McGahee on the second drive where Teague CONSUMES Mike Vrabel to open up the field for an 8 yard gain. There’s no doubt there are a few centers in the league you could plug into this team who would arguably be a better fit for a power running offense, at the same time we’ve been power running pretty effectively most of the season and the dimension a guy like TT offers in second level blocking expands dramatically what we can do with screen passes, delayed runs and under routes.

 

Jason Peters- I must say it was impossible not to appreciate the circumstances of his start and the effectiveness with which he played. I will expand on the good things he did but there was one major disappointment- on the Parrish reverse Peter’s failure to get a chuck on Ty Warren blew the whole play up- Parrish’s speed was negated by a big body standing in his favored path, it’s impossible to say how far Parrish might have gone without Warren’s presence but it looks to me like it may have been a good gainer.

For the most part Peters was exceptionally effective against Warren. In fact watching how well he handled him one-on-one OI was surprised Belichick didn’t adjust to force him to play a quicker player before the Pat’s began lining up Willie McGinnest across from him occasionally beginning in the middle of the 2nd quarter. McGinnest gave Peters more of a challenge, and it made it clear that we wouldn’t want to see Paters playing at the other OT spot any time in the near future, but overall he held up incredibly well for a guy thrown into the lion’s den. I’m not someone who gets excited about the stunt plays like Peters TD catch, but playing a game at the RT spot as effectively as he did has drawn me closer to becoming a Peter’s fan. It’ll be a can’t miss watching area of the field this weekend for me.

 

Among out TEs I remain surprised by negative comments on Mark Campbell. All the gy does is play better than average at the TE position week in and week out, doing everything asked of him and having very few lapses (like the one bad whiff he had in NE). For the most part this guy is probably a top 20 TE in the NFL, the fact that the Antonio Gates, Algee Crumplers and Tony Gonzalez’s get the press is simply because of the media and fan obsession with players handling the ball. Campbell has developed into a damn good football player, and if we had another TE who could block in the mix he’d see more balls come his way. The B word is that Ryan Nuefeld is wasting space on the other end of our line in our 2TE run set, and Ryan Nuefeld is simply awful. On another of his pathetic missed blocks this season he forces Holcomb to throw the ball away, beginning the “grounding” discussion that ends up a no call. On the play, Roosevelt Colvin- plastic hip and all- makes a foot fake that send Nuefeld fallingto the turf to give the rushing lane up.

 

Another play worth noting was the screen to Parrish- again the play is blown up, this time by a terrible Sam Aiken miss of tiny Ellis Hobbs. The balance of our team, from the OLine to our WRs, all have their assignments tied up. In fact Jason Peter’s has gotten downfield in position to spring Parrish for a major gainer, yet everything is blown up by Sam Aiken’s unbelievably poor shot at tying up an easy- and much smaller- target.

 

I’m honestly convinced that from what I saw in our second drive from Willis McGahee that even at 47 years of age I could still throw a more effective cross body block. Damien Shelton’s whiff leading to a Holcomb sack was negated by NE penalty, but his continued ineptitude in most pass blocking situations in my mind makes it fair to call out our Running Back’s Coach Eric Studesville-for too many years we’ve had unwilling or awful blocking from our running backs and it’s time someone did something about it. If these players need one day every week of working with McNally then let’s get it done. We have occasional offensive line breakdowns but the simple reality of this Bill’s team, like its most recent predecessors, is that THE weakest link in pass blocking for us is from our running backs. This must change if we are ever to take advantage of the speed WRs we’ve spent dearly for in our recent drafts.

 

I remember being confused during the live telecast by a Mike Patrick comment that McGahee “got back to the Line Of Scrimmage, Bruschi was in on the stop”. As it had appeared to me live, McGahee had just popped a first down up the middle of the Pat’s Defense. It all makes so much more sense now, realizing the idiots in the booth weren’t watching the football game at all.

499725[/snapback]

 

Thanks for putting the work in.

 

You think Big Mike can adapt to the OG spot? I think his biggest problem will be coming out low and getting leverage on the larger bodies he'll face in the middle. I think he'll be quick enough (if his legs permit) to get after a LB if the play calls for it, but I'm concerned with him playing too tall when he first engages a DT.

[stuckincincy]

FFS has a rival.

[AKC]

Thanks for putting the work in. 

 

You think Big Mike can adapt to the OG spot?  I think his biggest problem will be coming out low and getting leverage on the larger bodies he'll face in the middle. I think he'll be quick enough (if his legs permit) to get after a LB if the play calls for it, but I'm concerned with him playing too tall when he first engages a DT.

499764[/snapback]

 

I agree- one pass KH has proven to place well is the slant, I'm not sure how you throw that to the left if MW is standing in your passing lane!

 

I'd guess Big Mike, if he's over the foot isses, improves our pass blocking a lot and our run blocking to a lesser degree. As you note, the quesiton will be what does he take away from us by being far too tall in the conventional wisdom of the game?

[Rubes]

Thanks, AKC. Nice job. I think you also gave a couple of good examples of what the coaches often say: one guy misses his assignment, and the whole play is shot. Yet, when you look at it, everybody else seemed to do a good job and had that one guy not screwed up, it would have been a good play.

 

Oh well!

[Guest BackInDaDay]

I agree- one pass KH has proven to place well is the slant, I'm not sure how you throw that to the left if MW is standing in your passing lane!

 

I'd guess Big Mike, if he's over the foot isses, improves our pass blocking a lot and our run blocking to a lesser degree. As you note, the quesiton will be what does he take away from us by being far too tall in the conventional wisdom of the game?

499770[/snapback]

 

He never drops his hips. He's never had to before, having a significant weight advantage over the DEs he faces. He usually can set his base and effectively seal the end by getting his lead foot upfield. He depends a great deal on his upper body strength, to get that base set. If he can't 'play smaller' at LG, he'll resemble an aging Rueben Brown. Ole'

[Simon]

Thank you fine sir. You are a credit to your race!

Glad to hear Teague seems to be continuing his fine play and sorry to hear Anderson seems to be continuing his clown act. As much grief as he gets here, I still don't think most people understand just how much his buffoonery has been hurting this offense since Day1.

And as commited a blocker as SAiken has been so far, I'm willing to give him a pass on one whiff. Did you catch any improvement in Evans' effort in this area?

My one major question concerns Campbell. I've liked his work in the ground game since he got here, but it seemed to me that his one major weakness was his gawd-awful pass protection. When I looked at some film from a couple months back, it appeared that the Bills had wised up and were no longer asking him to play this role to which he wasn't suited. Just wondering how much you saw him asked to help Peters in passpro vs New England and whetehr or not he'd shown any improvement in this facet.

Thanx and great post.

Cya

 

P.S. Since this has only 250views and not a single response since it was pinned, I'm going to pull it down into the fray for a while so nobody misses it.

[AKC]

Did you catch any improvement in Evans' effort in this area?

My one major question concerns Campbell. I've liked his work in the ground game since he got here, but it seemed to me that his one major weakness was his gawd-awful pass protection. When I looked at some film from a couple months back, it appeared that the Bills had wised up and were no longer asking him to play this role to which he wasn't suited. Just wondering how much you saw him asked to help Peters in passpro vs New England and whetehr or not he'd shown any improvement in this facet.

500180[/snapback]

 

I really was eyeing the big boys and only went back to the receiving crew on a few plays where they were involved in something obviously good or bad. I only spotted Evans on two plays and he got his target set and hit it.

 

Campbell's awful play was in pass pro. I'd say that he is much better on the move because of his very good range and ability to get his target lined up, what ails him in the passing game may be having his feet set up and that long body being unable to get low enough to get under his guy's pads. I have more of the 2nd half to watch, I'll keep an eye out; the sore thumb just always red flags Neufeld and my standard for MC on passing downs may be diminished as a result :-P

 

Let me amend that on one point- I have noticed that the offense does a lot of plays with him where he has a chuck before his route, and there was a real good one for 8 or 9 yards in the NE game. He has a number of designed release or chuck blocks from the way I see it, this would not look good in single frame.

[Simon]

I have noticed that the offense does a lot of plays with him where he has a chuck before his route, and there was a real good one for 8 or 9 yards in the NE game. He has a number of designed release or chuck blocks from the way I see it, this would not look good in single frame.

Yeah, I don't have any problem with his ability to get a piece of somebody before hsi release. He moves pretty well "for a stiff".

The problems always seemed to come when he was asked to set up and/or mirror somebody. He seems to really struggle when he's asked to play when moving backwards or laterally. Just sort of wondering how often he's still being asked to do that and if he is, whether or not he still looks horrible doing it.

Cya

[Tortured Soul]

So, do you think we should keep the Oline with the same five starters as we have this week vs. KC, Gandy-Mike-Teague-Villarial-Peters, or do we try to upgrade immediately?

[MadBuffaloDisease]

So, do you think we should keep the Oline with the same five starters as we have this week vs. KC, Gandy-Mike-Teague-Villarial-Peters, or do we try to upgrade immediately?

I think the answer would be: let's wait and see first. Seems like both Gandy and Teague are being hurt by Anderson being between them. If Big Mike is as natural a guard as McNally seemed to think when he first got here, it should be a big boost to the O-line. And Peters sounds like a player with more promise at RT than Williams. But the proof will be in the pudding, as they say.

[Guest BackInDaDay]

If Big Mike is as natural a guard as McNally seemed to think when he first got here, it should be a big boost to the O-line. 

500249[/snapback]

 

I'm not collecting a check, but I've yet to see him exhibit the fundamentals necessary for OG. He plays too tall. Maybe after a week in an Oklahoma chute, and a real commitment on his part, he might learn to fire out low, drop his hips and get under his man instead of standing up and relying on his upper body strength. If he plays G the way he plays T he won't be able to stop the charge of a man his own weight with a lower center of gravity. He's got to make a conscious decision to stay down and get in his man's pads from the get go. He's got some bad habits to break.

 

I don't see him getting his timing down on traps, counters and sweeps in one week, so I'm guessing he'll only be asked to drive, cross and pass protect. If his pegs are in good shape he may have to go seal a LB.

 

Well, keep your fingers crossed.

[Coach Tuesday]

I'm not collecting a check, but I've yet to see him exhibit the fundamentals necessary for OG.  He plays too tall.  Maybe after a week in an Oklahoma chute, and a real commitment on his part, he might learn to fire out low, drop his hips and get under his man instead of standing up and relying on his upper body strength.  If he plays G the way he plays T he won't be able to stop the charge of a man his own weight with a lower center of gravity.  He's got to make a conscious decision to stay down and get in his man's pads from the get go.  He's got some bad habits to break.

 

I don't see him getting his timing down on traps, counters and sweeps in one week, so I'm guessing he'll only be asked to drive, cross and pass protect.  If his pegs are in good shape he may have to go seal a LB.

 

Well, keep your fingers crossed.

500266[/snapback]

 

I had forgotten until now that McNally insisted when he first came here that MW was best suited for guard. Looking back, I wonder if McNally has been requesting this move all along. I agree that MW has to change his technique to be effective inside, but, it seems to me that he seems more uncomfortable playing tackle. He's always been his best in space, getting down and pushing in the running game. Guard makes sense in this respect - but I also agree that we ain't running the quick slant to the left slot until MW adjusts to LG pass-protection.

[BillsWatch]

Thank you for your tirade-free post AKC. Posts like this are one of the few reasons why I come back to the board anymore.

[Guest BackInDaDay]

I had forgotten until now that McNally insisted when he first came here that MW was best suited for guard.  Looking back, I wonder if McNally has been requesting this move all along.  I agree that MW has to change his technique to be effective inside, but, it seems to me that he seems more uncomfortable playing tackle.  He's always been his best in space, getting down and pushing in the running game.  Guard makes sense in this respect - but I also agree that we ain't running the quick slant to the left slot until MW adjusts to LG pass-protection.

500272[/snapback]

 

This is my last post on Big Mike here because I didn't intend on shanghai-ing AKC's great post...

 

I don't know how long the young man has been playing OT but he was good enough to get himself selected as one of the best collegiate players playing it.

This means that he's had a whole lot of O-line coaches checking him out, probably since HS, and the consensus seems to have been that he's best suited for OT. Not that McNally's wrong - but he's definately got a different opinion.

 

As you may already know, the key to 'playing in space' is being able to remain engaged with a defender who's got other plans. This requires the proper footwork and balance to 'slide' and maintain a mobile base. Tall, wide, athletic players with quick feet, long arms and great upper body strength can play OT. This combination of skills and physical attributes are tougher to come by than those required for OG play. Big Mike's got all the above and it's made him a highly paid pro. Maybe an injury is hampering him and McNally feels he might be better off inside to keep his lateral game to a minimum. I don't know.

 

I joked in the beginning of the week about how many times MW would catch one off the back of his helmet, but I really don't think that his height will cause a problem for the QB.

[Pete]

Great stuff AKC! It sounds like our line as potential. Would you be comfortable if our 2006 oline consisted of Gandy-MW-Teague-Villereal-Peters?