WordByrd Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 I think that you guys are failing to do what almost all fans do at times... Give credit to the offensive line! I grew up a chubby kid, and played OL and DL through 8th grade. We never got any credit, just like a lot of offensive lineman don't today. I made it a point to thank my O and D lines when I switched to LB and RB in high school. They are the most important part of a football team. Now, before you jump on me: I saw CJ's elusiveness. It is amazing. I really really like Spiller. I'm not trying to take away from CJ, only trying to give some credit to our big guys. I re-watched all of the preseason games, and I noticed: -Bell looks like he's really coming around! I think he'll be among the above average LT's this season. He's lightyears ahead of where he was last year. I hope he can end the pre-snap penalties. -As we know, Eric Wood is the man. I've been a huge Wood fan since we drafted him. I went into the Bills store before last season looking for his jersey, and the guy thought I was nuts because I didn't want Maybin -Levitre is in the same boat as Eric. Solid Guard. Great in pass pro, very good in run blocking. -Hangman is as average as they come, but I was impressed with the way he moved on screens -Cornell is bad. I hope Jamon can take the job. Ultimately, I am showing CJ love, don't get me wrong. I'm just curious to know how Fred would have done. I think Fred would still be the starter if he got to play. Our line is going to be decent this year. Finally, I gotta give my prediction. The national media is wrong. All of our guys have another year under their belts. We're going to stay much healthier than last year. We have a coach who seems to know what he's doing. In spite of our terrible luck and coaching last year, we pulled out 6-10. There's no doubt in my mind that we'll be an improved squad this year. 8-8, and we miss the playoffs, but show a ton of promise for 2011. See you all at the game on sunday!! Lot 3, Pole 8. Come say hello to WordByrd in the Poz jersey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 I would like to be the first to give the O Line credit.....but I will do so when Spiller isn't starting because HE IS THE BEST AT DODGING DEFENDERS IN THE BACKFIELD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordByrd Posted September 8, 2010 Author Share Posted September 8, 2010 I would like to be the first to give the O Line credit.....but I will do so when Spiller isn't starting because HE IS THE BEST AT DODGING DEFENDERS IN THE BACKFIELD He is good at that. You're right. We all know that though. The point of the thread is to point out how well the line played this preseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobChalmers Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 (edited) -Bell looks like he's really coming around! I think he'll be among the above average LT's this season. He's lightyears ahead of where he was last year. I hope he can end the pre-snap penalties. -As we know, Eric Wood is the man. I've been a huge Wood fan since we drafted him. I went into the Bills store before last season looking for his jersey, and the guy thought I was nuts because I didn't want Maybin -Levitre is in the same boat as Eric. Solid Guard. Great in pass pro, very good in run blocking. -Hangman is as average as they come, but I was impressed with the way he moved on screens -Cornell is bad. I hope Jamon can take the job. I think you're still undervaluing CJ a bit - on that 31-yarder against the Colts, he had to start making people (pro-bowler Robert Mathis) miss behind the line. I do agree the line looks better though. Wood's actually been beaten a few times this pre-season, but I'm not jumping off his bandwagon anytime soon. No question Green is horrible - boy do I miss Butler or Walker for that matter. Agree that Bell has looked excellent. Funny thing is, when I went to two training camp days, I saw Bell looking horrible in practice, and thought Green was doing pretty well. Some of Bell's problems could well have been that he was still recovering, or maybe that just proves practice is deceptive, OR that I don't know what I'm looking at! Watching the Cincy broadcast of that game, you get to hear HoF OL-god Anthony Munoz start the broadcast talking about how he's looking for the Bengals "D" to abuse our suspect O-Line, only to steadily change his tune to "this Bills O-Line is doing a very good job" as the first half went on. Some of the upgrade is just Gailey being a better coach, btw. Edwards had plenty of time on the 70-yard bomb to Evans against the Colts because they were in a really clever max-protect scheme that looked like a power-run formation at the snap. 3 RB that were threatening some sort of option run, but at the snap went to surrounding Edwards in the backfield for a total of 8 blockers. A really really good design for a combination of a weak OL, strong RB corps, and a fast WR. It may be "hard to win in the NFL" but a coach who knows what the hell he is doing is a pretty good head start!!!! Edited September 8, 2010 by BobChalmers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadstroke Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 I've been thinking/saying the same thing about the OL for some time now. Just compare it to last year at this time: 3 of the 5 were rookies (I know Bell technically wasn't, but since he had never played an NFL snap...same thing), so it's pretty obvious that you have a normal high degree of progression there from rookie year to 2nd year VET status. The RT was in total disarray because of Butler's retirement, and no matter how bad people think Green is, he is a vet who is a step up from last year. All in all this OL is vastly improved from last year, and that, my friends, is a given! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flopagamo Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 I think the OL has been serviceable in recent years, when it comes to run-blocking. The D's inability to get key stops -- that put our offense in obvious passing situations, where the line was terrible. If the D can't get critical 3rd down stops, and we end up in more obvious passing situations, we'll be in the same boat. When a defense isn't sure what we're doing with Spiller (see the Clemson highlights of him running those screens and 20+ yard pass plays singled up against linebackers!)... that's when things will get fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 (edited) Seriously, Spiller does what he does DESPITE the blocking upfront. Look at the replays of the Colts and Bengals games. Half the time the defenders are already in the backfield when he gets the ball. PTR Edited September 8, 2010 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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