Wood & Levitre were the Bills best picks by a country mile!

[LabattBlue]

I have a feeling Wood & Levitre will be fixtures on the interior for the next 7-10 years. No more mid to late round picks or crappy FA's(Preston, Reyes, Teague, Anderson, Pennington, Whittle, Fowler, Merz, Geisinger, Sobieski, Pucillo, etc...) brought in to try and fix interior line problem. Whether it be at guard or center, I'll be very surprised if they are not both on the field starting on opening day.

[BillsFan74]

I have a feeling Wood & Levitre will be fixtures on the interior for the next 7-10 years. No more mid to late round picks or crappy FA's(Preston, Reyes, Teague, Anderson, Pennington, Whittle, Fowler, Merz, Geisinger, Sobieski, Pucillo, etc...) brought in to try and fix interior line problem. Whether it be at guard or center, I'll be very surprised if they are not both on the field starting on opening day.

 

Butler is another nasty interior lineman and if these 2 can contribute early it will really make the offense go. If Bell can play LT next year I will be impressed with their ability to develop the o-line.

[Sherman]

I thought these two picks were targeted because of our inability to move the big nose tackles in the 3-4 defenses. We went 1-8 against the 3-4 last year. Great job by our front office in addressing the needs.

[K-9]

I thought these two picks were targeted because of our inability to move the big nose tackles in the 3-4 defenses. We went 1-8 against the 3-4 last year. Great job by our front office in addressing the needs.

 

Good point. And it goes with what Polian always adhered to: the first goal is winning the division and you have to do what you have to do to win the division. Our interior OL was useless against the NGs in our division. So what did we do? We immediately upgraded the interior. Here's my guess as starting OL next season:

 

LT - Walker

LG - Levitre

C - Hangartner

RG - Wood

RT - Butler

 

Butler's natural position is RT. And he brings a bit of nasty as well. And it wouldn't surprise me if Wood was starting at center with Hangartner going to guard. I can't wait until Levitre and Wood get after it. Hey Wilfork, that's not Fowler or Preston anymore. I like nasty OLmen.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

PS - I posted this BEFORE even looking at the Wilson/Sullivan articles. The fact they agree worries me a bit.

[IHFO]

Good point. And it goes with what Polian always adhered to: the first goal is winning the division and you have to do what you have to do to win the division. Our interior OL was useless against the NGs in our division. So what did we do? We immediately upgraded the interior. Here's my guess as starting OL next season:

 

LT - Walker

LG - Levitre

C - Hangartner

RG - Wood

RT - Butler

 

Butler's natural position is RT. And he brings a bit of nasty as well. And it wouldn't surprise me if Wood was starting at center with Hangartner going to guard. I can't wait until Levitre and Wood get after it. Hey Wilfork, that's not Fowler or Preston anymore. I like nasty OLmen.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Flip Levitre and Wood and I think you are right on

[K-9]

Flip Levitre and Wood and I think you are right on

 

Yep.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[BillsFan Trapped in Pats Land]

Butler is another nasty interior lineman and if these 2 can contribute early it will really make the offense go. If Bell can play LT next year I will be impressed with their ability to develop the o-line.

I assume you mean 2010-11 for Bell?

 

I might be nuts, but I think...strictly in terms of pass protection, we might be as good or better than we were last season. And Langston Walker can flat out blow a hole open in run blocking.

[Bill from NYC]

I have a feeling Wood & Levitre will be fixtures on the interior for the next 7-10 years. No more mid to late round picks or crappy FA's(Preston, Reyes, Teague, Anderson, Pennington, Whittle, Fowler, Merz, Geisinger, Sobieski, Pucillo, etc...) brought in to try and fix interior line problem. Whether it be at guard or center, I'll be very surprised if they are not both on the field starting on opening day.

 

No doubt LB! I confess to also liking the fact that Maybin has all this upside. He could really turn onto something special, especially after Jauron is fired.

[LabattBlue]

...especially after Jauron is fired.

[mike6683]

chambers will find a spot on the line for the opener

[abqmarko]

Good point. And it goes with what Polian always adhered to: the first goal is winning the division and you have to do what you have to do to win the division. Our interior OL was useless against the NGs in our division. So what did we do? We immediately upgraded the interior. Here's my guess as starting OL next season:

 

LT - Walker

LG - Levitre

C - Hangartner

RG - Wood

RT - Butler

 

Butler's natural position is RT. And he brings a bit of nasty as well. And it wouldn't surprise me if Wood was starting at center with Hangartner going to guard. I can't wait until Levitre and Wood get after it. Hey Wilfork, that's not Fowler or Preston anymore. I like nasty OLmen.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

PS - I posted this BEFORE even looking at the Wilson/Sullivan articles. The fact they agree worries me a bit.

 

 

Great post, I agree the only thing I could see POSSIBLY occuring is signing Jon Runyan to a one/two year max contract to compete and likely start at an OT position. He had microfracture surgery but if he gets a clean bill of health may be a good pickup for a year or two.

 

Love the fact cheap shot Wilfork may actually pay for the late hits on Bills QB's.

[Bill from NYC]

chambers will find a spot on the line for the opener

 

Both Chambers and Bell are best suited to LT. I still can't get over 9 reps for Bell with 225. I am guessing that most of Jauron's defensive backs do more than this. Bell seems to move well, and could probably be trained to use his agility to stay with rushers. This was what Peters did best, especially in 07. Either way, it will take time for him to get stronger and learn proper tedhniques. It would seem to have to.

 

Chambers was a mess at Guard imo, and doesn't seem to have he brute strength one would want at RT. Still, he was way better than I expected at LT. Not what a cold weather, blue collar team needs at LT mind you but he isn't so bad either. He too is agile and just because he filled in well at LT, I thought he would get a good contract someplace else.

[DanInSouthBuffalo]

OL was a must in this draft because I think the quality was pretty good early at center and guard. This fixes (on paper at least) some of the sins of the last 20 years in spending numerous #1 picks on or trading for QB's, RB's, and Corners.

[dubs]

I think those were great picks based on a few things, one of which was the potential that tackle might be there for the Bills in a cheap trade or as a FA, namely Levi Jones.

 

If the report about the Bengals cutting Levi Jones or trading him for a later round pick is accurate, and the Bills can actually acquire him, I really think what they've done in the last 3 weeks is smart, shrewd and great for the organization. Here's why:

 

The Bills knew that paying Peters what he was demanding would be a no-win proposition. They'd be going back on a precendent they already set with other players on the team. That if you are committed to the team, show up to practice and work hard, and contribute on the field, they will reward you with an extention (ie, Evans...). They would also have a ton of money tied up in someone who showed that all he cares about is the money and played well-below the standards of the higest paid LT in the league.

 

Going into the draft, I am sure they had a couple tackles targeted. If either Smith or Monroe fell to them at 11, I have a feeling they would pull the trigger. However, when they saw that the Bengals scooped up A. Smith, they knew the Bengals would likely have to part ways with Jones. That set the stage for taking a pass rusher at 11, and 2 versitle O-linemen later on day 1, Wood and Levitre, instead of reaching for someone they didn't have as high on their board, Oher. Now, assuming that the Bills can somehow acquire Jones, they are set up with a line that looks like this:

 

Jones - LT (experience, quality LT, significantly less-expensive than Peters)

Wood - G

Hangartner - C

Levitre - G

Walker - RT (his natural position)

 

Depth:

Butler

Bell

 

It's a very young line, for sure, but it's extremely versitle and smart. Two qualities that are very underrated, considering that teams only dress 7 OL on game day.

 

So, while there is no guarantee that the Bills get Jones, or it works out even if they do, I have to give them credit for appearing that they have a well thought-out plan and are executing on it. Nothing is a guarantee in this league, but making smart decisions is the best way to have positive outcomes more often than not. So far, I like what I am seeing in the last few weeks.

[Lurker]

Jones - LT (experience, quality LT, significantly less-expensive than Peters)

Wood - G

Hangartner - C

Levitre - G

Walker - RT (his natural position)

 

Depth:

Butler

Bell

Generally agree with your points about a vet OT. But, IMO, there's no way Levitre moves ahead of Butler if they keep him at RG this year.

[Rico]

I have a feeling Wood & Levitre will be fixtures on the interior for the next 7-10 years. No more mid to late round picks or crappy FA's(Preston, Reyes, Teague, Anderson, Pennington, Whittle, Fowler, Merz, Geisinger, Sobieski, Pucillo, etc...) brought in to try and fix interior line problem. Whether it be at guard or center, I'll be very surprised if they are not both on the field starting on opening day.

Great post, totally agree. Huge question marks with Maybin and Byrd (especially after Jauron & Fewell are finally dumped), but these 2 picks look rock solid.

[dubs]

Generally agree with your points about a vet OT. But, IMO, there's no way Levitre moves ahead of Butler if they keep him at RG this year.

 

True. Either way, they point is that the Bills potentially created a situation where they have some quality depth and versatility on the line, regardless of the actually interior combination. I like the fact that is seems they were able to adapt to a fluid situation on draft day and didn't panic by taking Oher at 11 or someone else they didn't like as much at 28.

[Kelly the Dog]

Both Chambers and Bell are best suited to LT. I still can't get over 9 reps for Bell with 225. I am guessing that most of Jauron's defensive backs do more than this. Bell seems to move well, and could probably be trained to use his agility to stay with rushers. This was what Peters did best, especially in 07. Either way, it will take time for him to get stronger and learn proper tedhniques. It would seem to have to.

 

Chambers was a mess at Guard imo, and doesn't seem to have he brute strength one would want at RT. Still, he was way better than I expected at LT. Not what a cold weather, blue collar team needs at LT mind you but he isn't so bad either. He too is agile and just because he filled in well at LT, I thought he would get a good contract someplace else.

Chambers is a career back-up and should stay one, especially at 30 years old. Right now, he's a pretty good versatile back-up who can play most any position except center for a game or two. IMO, there is no way that Chambers should be playing 16 games as a starter. And even though he played pretty well filling in at LT for a game or two, there are guys like that who could not last a whole season playing that position.

 

I am much more worried about our best lineman right now, Langston Walker, than I am about (arguably) our worst, Andy Levitre. Butler returning to his RT position should be decent. I have hopes for Hangartner at C who could be pretty good and reliable. I like almost everything I know and have seen of Wood and he could be good pretty early. Unfortunately, I think that Walker is going to get killed over time.

 

But we have no idea how fast these guys are going to come together as a unit. It could take forever, it may be relatively quick. We really don't know what we have in the OL coach, but he doesn't do much at all to inspire me. I don't like the scheme they use. I don't like the OC. We have an extremely tough schedule, and it may be even harder for the rookie guards to get acclimated to the NFL since they, unlike most other players on other teams, are going to play half their games against 3-4 teams and half against 4-3.

[Poeticlaw]

Butler is another nasty interior lineman and if these 2 can contribute early it will really make the offense go. If Bell can play LT next year I will be impressed with their ability to develop the o-line.

 

Your not impressed with their abilty to develop the o-line. The same group who took an undrafted TE converted him to a rg then to LT then traded him away for a 1st a 4th and conditonal. Thats pretty impressive to me 3 picks for an undrafted guy.

[Kelly the Dog]

Your not impressed with their abilty to develop the o-line. The same group who took an undrafted TE converted him to a rg then to LT then traded him away for a 1st a 4th and conditonal. Thats pretty impressive to me 3 picks for an undrafted guy.

You mean except for the fact that the guys who signed the undrafted TE and developed the undrafted TE are no longer with the team?