bills in va Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 I hope I'm wrong, but it feels like 2009 all over again. We went into the season with an unproven rookie at LT and no depth. When we lost our starting tackles to injury we were screwed, scrambling the rest of the year to send out healthy bodies regardless of effectiveness. Fast forward one year: we have the same problem at LT (unproven-coming off knee surgery) and a Raider cast off at RT, and no experienced depth. The tackle situation is worrisome at best. We may be bitching the entire year why we didnt address the problem more seriously. Green-Wang were the best Nix could do? If this situation blows up in our faces again this year I might fill my BILLS golfbag full of cow crap and send it to Nix's office! Don't believe the propaganda about Bells' athleticism and we're gonna run it most of the time so it doesn't really matter. If we don't win this year because of our tackles ineptitude I will have made up my mind on Nix. It was our biggest offseason need along with QB. Nix said he didn't agree with the fans that our tackle situation was that bad-I hope he's right! Are you comfortable with our tackles going into camp or should we have done more to date? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDD Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Point well taken. The Bills had two drafts to add a legit NFL-ready LT and chose not to. It's going to bite them in the ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Who out of the last 2 drafts has proven to be an "NFL-ready LT?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armchair GM Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Who out of the last 2 drafts has proven to be an "NFL-ready LT?" Ya know, that guy...uhhhmmmm....MICHAEL Oher, who we passed on in the '09 draft in favor of Maybin...doht! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderweb Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Quite frankly, it's not the same as last year We won't be cutting our starting LT or RT (Walker), replacing our OC, and have Jauron as HC all about a week before the season starts. We may have the same guys from last year (Bell, Meredith) for LT, but they will be ready unlike last year (Meredith was also picked up after the season began). Green at RT may be a retread and nothing more than a stop gap, but he at least has some experience. We may not be great, but it should be much better than the debacle Jauron gave us. Having said that, I still would have liked to have been able to obtain Gaither via FA, but the Ravens clearly wanted more than want Nix was willing to give. I not be at all unhappy if additional OL help is found though, even if not Gaither. We still amy be weak on the OL, as Bell is still green (and may not even be healthy), and Wood is very promining, but he too has clear health concerns coming in to camp. I hear Wolford, Ballard, Hull, Davis, and Ritcher are interested in playing again ( ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Ya know, that guy...uhhhmmmm....MICHAEL Oher, who we passed on in the '09 draft in favor of Maybin...doht! Yeah, but have you seen his first step? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny3000 Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 I'm gonna have to agree that it is a different situation. Jamon Meredith in my opinion is fully capable of manning the LT if Bell has a setback and then by week 5/6 Ed Wang can take over for Green if his age and Raiderness start showing. Having Meredith in there all pre-season and not being in a situation of being signed off a practice squad and then starting for a new team 3 weeks later is huge. He's got LT ability. However, if Bell is ready and able I'm of the opinion that sooner than later the line will look like: Bell, Levitre, Hangartner, Wood, Meredith. I think that line if healthy has a good chance to grow into something real respectable. Bell being mentally ready all off-season and hopefully physically ready is much different than being the starter by surprise a week before the season. True - the tackle depth is a little scary, but the amount of injuries we've gotten accustomed to is not the norm. I don't think it's as dire a situation as some do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Ya know, that guy...uhhhmmmm....MICHAEL Oher, who we passed on in the '09 draft in favor of Maybin...doht! Except he is a RT. But no biggie. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills in va Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 Totally changing the topic-sorry. I will be cooking my BILLS Wild Ribs for the TOPS tailgate cookoff at the Ralph on August 7th at 2:00pm. I'll be the only contestant with Virginia plates. Stop by to root me on and a chance to win a few free tickets. I'll throw in some extra ribs for those who do. Now back to my thread..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 I hope I'm wrong, but it feels like 2009 all over again. We went into the season with an unproven rookie at LT and no depth. When we lost our starting tackles to injury we were screwed, scrambling the rest of the year to send out healthy bodies regardless of effectiveness. Fast forward one year: we have the same problem at LT (unproven-coming off knee surgery) and a Raider cast off at RT, and no experienced depth. The tackle situation is worrisome at best. We may be bitching the entire year why we didnt address the problem more seriously. Green-Wang were the best Nix could do? If this situation blows up in our faces again this year I might fill my BILLS golfbag full of cow crap and send it to Nix's office! Don't believe the propaganda about Bells' athleticism and we're gonna run it most of the time so it doesn't really matter. If we don't win this year because of our tackles ineptitude I will have made up my mind on Nix. It was our biggest offseason need along with QB. Nix said he didn't agree with the fans that our tackle situation was that bad-I hope he's right! Are you comfortable with our tackles going into camp or should we have done more to date? ' In camp, I'd be schooling my qbs about rollouts, and would be working on an unbalanced line to use with some frequency. Quick hit run plays, and I would also be working on (non-telegraphed!) pitchouts (with/without cutbacks) to Spiller the Speedster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Except he is a RT. But no biggie. PTR Except Baltimore is moving Oher to LT. La Canfora 5-7-10 Oher to LT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Ya know, that guy...uhhhmmmm....MICHAEL Oher, who we passed on in the '09 draft in favor of Maybin...doht! I know people are touting Oher at LT, but he'll likely stay at RT. And in the 5 games (weeks 5, 6, 14, 15, and 16) he started at LT last year, the team went 2-3 and he had average to poor games against the Bengals, Vikes and Steelers, with the team losing all 3 games (he had good games against, and they beat, the Lions and Bears). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfreak Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 I hope I'm wrong, but it feels like 2009 all over again. We went into the season with an unproven rookie at LT and no depth. When we lost our starting tackles to injury we were screwed, scrambling the rest of the year to send out healthy bodies regardless of effectiveness. Fast forward one year: we have the same problem at LT (unproven-coming off knee surgery) and a Raider cast off at RT, and no experienced depth. The tackle situation is worrisome at best. We may be bitching the entire year why we didnt address the problem more seriously. Green-Wang were the best Nix could do? If this situation blows up in our faces again this year I might fill my BILLS golfbag full of cow crap and send it to Nix's office! Don't believe the propaganda about Bells' athleticism and we're gonna run it most of the time so it doesn't really matter. If we don't win this year because of our tackles ineptitude I will have made up my mind on Nix. It was our biggest offseason need along with QB. Nix said he didn't agree with the fans that our tackle situation was that bad-I hope he's right! Are you comfortable with our tackles going into camp or should we have done more to date? I know we both hope you are wrong, but it is such a key position on a football team, that sadly the odds are you are correct. That coupled with our QBs is why most publications have us as one of if not the worst team in the NFL this coming season. Phil Steele, one of the top FB magazine writers in the country has us going 2-14, primarily because of the aforementioned positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 I'm interested in seeing how our personnel adapt to the new blocking schemes. They are designed to exploit what best suits our players and, if they adjust quickly enough, we may just have a chance of keeping ourselves out of the unmanageable down/distance situations that have allowed defenses to dictate over the last several seasons. That in itself is going to alleviate half the problems our OTs faced last year. And I sense there will be more cohesion as they enter the first week. Unlike last year when everything got blown up just prior to the first game. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Except he is a RT. But no biggie. PTR 1. If it were true we have a need for a right tackle. 2. He has played left tackle at the highest level in college and played it for a number for games pretty well last year. I don't think I'd characterize him as a "right tackle" at this point. 3. Maybin is defensive end playing linebacker (pretty crappy nfl defensive end at that.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 It still makes no sense that people think the Bills will be one of the worst teams in the league, much less worse than last year. They won 6 games with a worse OT situation (especially after Butler went down in game 2), had 2 rookies starting on the O-line and up to 4 rookie/rookie starters on the O-line at one time because of injuries, Lynch was out of shape and missed the first 3 games, Nelson was a rookie, and the OC'ing was lousy. On defense, they couldn't stop the run and wore down as games went on. And the ST's were a disappointment all around. Now on the downside, the Bills lost TO, who was the only other proven WR beside Evans and Reed, who is also gone. Still, I don't think that WR is enough to kill the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 It still makes no sense that people think the Bills will be one of the worst teams in the league, much less worse than last year. They won 6 games with a worse OT situation (especially after Butler went down in game 2), had 2 rookies starting on the O-line and up to 4 rookie/rookie starters on the O-line at one time because of injuries, Lynch was out of shape and missed the first 3 games, Nelson was a rookie, and the OC'ing was lousy. On defense, they couldn't stop the run and wore down as games went on. And the ST's were a disappointment all around. Now on the downside, the Bills lost TO, who was the only other proven WR beside Evans and Reed, who is also gone. Still, I don't think that WR is enough to kill the team. I agree and don't understand the five win predictions and the feeling that five wins will be a satisfactory season. I think seven is standing still and I would hold the coach's feet to the fire expecting nine wins. You don't get anyway being satisfied with five wins and hoping that the front office gets its assingear sometime next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills in va Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 I'm gonna have to agree that it is a different situation. Jamon Meredith in my opinion is fully capable of manning the LT if Bell has a setback and then by week 5/6 Ed Wang can take over for Green if his age and Raiderness start showing. Having Meredith in there all pre-season and not being in a situation of being signed off a practice squad and then starting for a new team 3 weeks later is huge. He's got LT ability. However, if Bell is ready and able I'm of the opinion that sooner than later the line will look like: Bell, Levitre, Hangartner, Wood, Meredith. I think that line if healthy has a good chance to grow into something real respectable. Bell being mentally ready all off-season and hopefully physically ready is much different than being the starter by surprise a week before the season. True - the tackle depth is a little scary, but the amount of injuries we've gotten accustomed to is not the norm. I don't think it's as dire a situation as some do. Let's say Schoebel retires and we are off the hook for his 8 million+ salary. Why not get Flozell for 1-2 years as insurance if nothing else? He can compete for a starting job and be a very experienced swing tackle WHEN the injury bug hits. I doubt our starters both play 16 games. If Bell and/or Merideth goes down who's plays? Who backs them up? We MAY be in a better position than last year, maybe, but we are young-thin and we have NO room for injury or error. Nix hasn't done enough at tackle yet. IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Except he is a RT. But no biggie. PTR Michael Oher was moved to LT this offseason and Gaither to the right side. Gaither and his agent complained because they felt the move was made to hinder his contract leverage. It really doesn't matter where he is playing on the line for the Ravens because if he would have been drafted by the Bills he would be our LT out of necessity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Someone please explain how passing on Oher was Nix's fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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