SuperBills12 Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 On the offenses identity; We’re trying to establish the run game. I think the offensive line is doing a great job with that. There’s so much more confidence. They are so close and so tight; you can’t go in between those guys because they know what they want to do. It’s very exciting and very encouraging and its time for everyone else to start stepping up their games. That whole group alone leads the offense and gets this team going. We know who are line is and we know who they’re going to be. We know how good they are and how good they can be. They have set the tone for the whole camp and they’ve been the one constant group and they continue to get better everyday. -JP Losman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 You so crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5 Wide Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I agree that I think the line will surprise those who don't follow the team as closely as most on this board. Being an average cohesive unit is a major upgrade over past seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I agree that I think the line will surprise those who don't follow the team as closely as most on this board. Being an average cohesive unit is a major upgrade over past seasons. 750693[/snapback] I also agree, with one caveat ... they all have to remain healthy! The only backup I have any confidence in whatsoever at this point is Preston (I actually think he may wind up winning the starting RG spot over CV before the year is out ... sooner if CV gets nicked up at all). If any of the other 4 starting OL go down, it won't be pretty .... GO BILLS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phlegm Alley Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I think our starting 5 up front will be fine. If one of them goes down, that's where I get worried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazykat Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Someone bookmark this thread for second half humor when we'll need it most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarthur31 Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Someone bookmark this thread for second half humor when we'll need it most. 750848[/snapback] LMFAO! One 61 yard run hardly represents the true state of the line just yet. I think the first four games of the regular season will give us a better indicator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyBall4Buffalo Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 The oline is a hell of a lot quicker then last season, which I think will turn out to be a huge plus especially getting out in space and run blocking. However I'll take a wait and see approach before I have a opinion one way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasker Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 A quicker line with a coach who doesn't say willis has to stay inside the tackles plus a lighter faster willis? I see a lot of 8 yard runs to the outside. I'm very optimistic about this line run blocking. The pass protection is a little more suspect, so I think we will all appreciate JPs mobility over a Bledsoe, and I think that we will have to use the tight ends and Roscoe to get a passing game that doesn't depend on lots of time. But when the protection is there, we've all seen what a lethal deep ball JP throws to Evans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I agree that I think the line will surprise those who don't follow the team as closely as most on this board. Being an average cohesive unit is a major upgrade over past seasons. 750693[/snapback] I think the depth is a great concern....If any of these starters are injured, other than Preston I am not sure we have the right guys to plug in, especially at the tackle positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I think number 60 has been playing quite well for rookie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyBall4Buffalo Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I guess you're talking about Brad Butler backup rt. I've been fairly impressed with him, and I still like duke preston. I just worry what happens if Mike Gandy or Fowler goes down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrite Gal Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I guess you're talking about Brad Butler backup rt. I've been fairly impressed with him, and I still like duke preston. I just worry what happens if Mike Gandy or Fowler goes down. 750887[/snapback] I think the major assessment going on right now is whether Geisinger as a back-up C to Fowler is worthy of that job. If he is, then the Bills and JMac can comfortably use Preston at RG as Villarial seems to be the OL player most likely to go out with or have his effectiveness reduced by injury. I hope Fowler works out as our C because it relieves us a bit at our most likely trouble spot, but if Fowler goes down (I think his history of getting nick and injured such that he has no history of starting or even playing 16 games at C in his brief career) then we either go with Gesinger if he is up to it, or Preston if the is not. If we are forced to go with Preston, then Aaron Gibson stepping up is the likely option at RG, but i hope we never have to explore that approach. Though i do think we have options at RG, our big problems are if/when one of our tackles either Gandy or Price gets hurt or needs a blow during a game. It was unsettling that when Price suffered a brief injury in practice that the Bills actually had to go to Greg Jerman as the back-up. If it ever happens in a real game, i think we will be fortunate if Jerman simply holds his own briefly cause he is an inadequate starter. The guys on the depth chart at tackle are the inured McFarland and the rookies Pennington and Butler. (Shudder) As I have said for quite awhile, our OL starters are at least an upgrade over last year;s OL starters. In addition, both Reyes and Fowler performed well last year as the RG in a good Pathers line and the C of a Vikes team that put together a nice win streak. Those who declared them to be merely rejects their old teams would not resign, had a superficial view that did not recognize that there is a difference between not being the best player to resign (this is what they were as Mathis in NC and Birk in MN are better players which made paying starter money to Reyes or Fowler a dumb thing to do) and being a bad player (they played well last year. I think this outlook and assessment of them makes the OL not only better than last year but actually probably pretty good once they develop chemistry with each other. However, it is a long difficult season in the trenches and getting reliable back-ups from the youngsters and true rejects we have is going to likely be the key to getting good or even just adequate performance from the OL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I dont like what Butler did in college to that DE any more then anyone else does....but the fact is that he has stepped up and had a very good preseason..... I have no problems going into the season with him as a backup.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrite Gal Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I dont like what Butler did in college to that DE any more then anyone else does....but the fact is that he has stepped up and had a very good preseason..... I have no problems going into the season with him as a backup.... 750945[/snapback] The problem is that since there are no proven back-up tackles on our team at all, the chances are pretty high that the third best tackle on our team is going to have to do at least one or more starts for this team this season. I am comfortable with Butler as a back-up who reasonably and somewhat slowly breaks into our OL line-up. If he actually logged a couple of series after game 8 or so and by the end of the season was actually seeing significant periods of time (even a start in game 15 or 16) I would be overjoyed because he would have developed at a far greater speed than anyone can reasonably hope for. However, as it stands right now, we are going to go into the season with Pennington as our plan B at LT and the injured McFarand with Butler as our plan C at RT on our depth chart. Cal it playing with fife, Russain Roulette or what have you, this is simply not a good plan. My sense is that the contributions of an OL player can reasonably be broken down as: Category 1: Solid starter or better 2: Merely adequate starter 3. Struggling starter or back-up forced to start but there is some hope 4. Back-up who can give the starter rest or recovery for a couple of series because he has no need to pace himself. 5. Player in development who really sees play only in practice. Maybe you activate him once to give him the feel of preparing but you hope he does not play. 6. Trouble. Its hard for me to see a rookie being anything but category 6. If Butler does well he could actually be a category 5, but we are going to set it up for him to be a category 4 player or if we get unlucky a #3. This is not good and we need to get lucky. I think it is reasonable to think we can get lucky for about a quarter of the season, but it gets pretty tough I would guess by about game 4 where the typical nicks and scrapes begin to impact players and we are simply lucky not to have someone not be able to make a start. I think we are most likely to either see someone like a Jerman step up (really doubtful) or slightly more likely we get someone off the waiver wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv Levy Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 What a joke. Both CAR and CIN didn't even have all their top guys in there and they still ripped that O line apart. Football gods help us, this line is lousy and you're dreaming if you think they can sustain top D guys a whole season. I really hope I'm wrong, but the negativity is just flowing outta this team to make me think otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 What a joke. Both CAR and CIN didn't even have all their top guys in there... Um, yeah they did. Except for Cincy and Sam Adams, who's received less than stellar reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Being an average cohesive unit is a major upgrade over past seasons. 750693[/snapback] The thing is, this is not enough. All of our divisional opponents are pretty strong on the DLs. It is hard to beat Richard Seymour with "average." I do however understand why you would appear to be encouraged by what would seem to be some improvement. The last time the Bills had a solid OL, you were about 12 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Um, yeah they did. Except for Cincy and Sam Adams, who's received less than stellar reviews. 751063[/snapback] Starting OLB Pollack (injury) and OLB Thurman (substance abuse suspension) sat out. Adams is still busy impersonating the Goodyear blimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Starting OLB Pollack (injury) and OLB Thurman (substance abuse suspension) sat out. Adams is still busy impersonating the Goodyear blimp. 751083[/snapback] You can only make a judgement based on who was playing the game....based on that the O line held up pretty well against cinci Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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