Pirate Angel Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Health and continuity is the main concern, if our starting group can stay healthy and create chemistry as a unit then we will be fine. We have lost starters early in the season and have had to sign street free agents and some off our guys have spent entire offseasons rehabbing its. Our line started to come on strong as of late last season, is getting much better. RT is the only question mark. We have good depth at the interior. If bell goes down we may be forced to shuffle around again and may be in some trouble. Pears is better than some of us think, he played LT and RT in Denver before suffering a leg injury then being caught up to the Josh McDaniels shuffling everyone out of town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Taking our depth beind those players into account, I have to believe that is the worst OL in the entire NFL. If not worst, its bottom 5 easy. ^^^ This. The tackle positions in particular are ... Bell Pears Wrotto Hairston Wang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2020 Our Year For Sure Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 (edited) Time to change the avatar, mate. And have you considered something I've posted numerous times; namely that Bell was playing last season on essentially one leg because he had not had the chance to strengthen after rehabbing? This season is a whole new ballgame. I know it's not en vogue to be optimistic about anything Bills-related, but I don't think Bell is being fairly evaluated at this point. Bell has never looked like a starting LT at any point in his young career, healthy or not. Average in pass protection but quite beatable to the good pass rushers, and a complete mess in the run game. I find him to be one of the more overrated Bills on this forum that there is right now...and he's not even rated all that highly. Just because he's young and inexperienced, you don't ASSUME he's going to vastly improve. You could put me at left tackle and say, "He has no experience and no conditioning, he'll improve." My improvement would be irrelevant because I do not and never will have the skills to start at left tackle in the NFL. Could I be Demetrius Bell? Last season was supposed to be the whole new ballgame, after the offseason of pro conditioning and strength training yada yada yada. I'm not holding my breath waiting for this guy to suddenly show competency when he has given us so little reason to believe. Edited July 30, 2011 by Big Bad Boone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacus Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Bell has never looked like a starting LT at any point in his young career, healthy or not. Average in pass protection but quite beatable to the good pass rushers, and a complete mess in the run game. I find him to be one of the more overrated Bills on this forum that there is right now...and he's not even rated all that highly. Just because he's young and inexperienced, you don't ASSUME he's going to vastly improve. You could put me at left tackle and say, "He has no experience and no conditioning, he'll improve." My improvement would be irrelevant because I do not and never will have the skills to start at left tackle in the NFL. Could I be Demetrius Bell? Last season was supposed to be the whole new ballgame, after the offseason of pro conditioning and strength training yada yada yada. I'm not holding my breath waiting for this guy to suddenly show competency when he has given us so little reason to believe. Someone higher than Buddy in the Bills organization refuses to assign any value at all to the OL. Pure speculation, but this could be the after affects of a long standing grudge arising out of Polian's desire to spend a top pick on the OL over the recommendation of a certain Ralph relative. Having accepted the reality of never being able to build an OL, Chan and Buddy have opted for an alternative strategy which rquires all QB's to fend for themselves on the field.-- thus the acquisiton of Thigpen and Brad Smith. Run for your life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Bell has never looked like a starting LT at any point in his young career, healthy or not. Average in pass protection but quite beatable to the good pass rushers, and a complete mess in the run game. I find him to be one of the more overrated Bills on this forum that there is right now...and he's not even rated all that highly. Just because he's young and inexperienced, you don't ASSUME he's going to vastly improve. You could put me at left tackle and say, "He has no experience and no conditioning, he'll improve." My improvement would be irrelevant because I do not and never will have the skills to start at left tackle in the NFL. Could I be Demetrius Bell? Last season was supposed to be the whole new ballgame, after the offseason of pro conditioning and strength training yada yada yada. I'm not holding my breath waiting for this guy to suddenly show competency when he has given us so little reason to believe. I guess we just disagree. Bell was pretty decent in pass protection last year, but suffered in the run game. This is a testament to strength, primarily, because his natural athleticism allows him to deal with edge rushers. I think as a pass protector he graded out pretty well -- and as I said previously, the ability to focus on getting stronger this offseason gives reason for optimism. But, if you don't think he was ever worth a spit, you're entitled to your opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Starting O-line today: Bell-Levitre-Wood-Urbik-Pears. Second team: Wang-Rinehart-Hangartner-Wrotto-Hairston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Long Beach Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Starting O-line today: Bell-Levitre-Wood-Urbik-Pears. Second team: Wang-Rinehart-Hangartner-Wrotto-Hairston. Thanks! As expected except for Wang. I don't expect him to be good enough to stay as LT backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiebills Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Gailey said that FITZ, Thingpen and Smith all have a thing in common movement, i think that is him saying that with this offensive line they maybe running a bit, nxt though if they all continue to improve then thats a good line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewildrabbit Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Bell has never looked like a starting LT at any point in his young career, healthy or not. Average in pass protection but quite beatable to the good pass rushers, and a complete mess in the run game. I find him to be one of the more overrated Bills on this forum that there is right now...and he's not even rated all that highly. Just because he's young and inexperienced, you don't ASSUME he's going to vastly improve. You could put me at left tackle and say, "He has no experience and no conditioning, he'll improve." My improvement would be irrelevant because I do not and never will have the skills to start at left tackle in the NFL. Could I be Demetrius Bell? Last season was supposed to be the whole new ballgame, after the offseason of pro conditioning and strength training yada yada yada. I'm not holding my breath waiting for this guy to suddenly show competency when he has given us so little reason to believe. While Bell has allowed few sacks ...he has allowed many pressures. Plus every time the Bills face a tough opponent and the game comes down to crunch time he folds. Everyone that reads this board must know my stance on the current players by now, I only like the guards. Signing a RT like Clabo would have been to bring in a monster of a player at RT, and it would have also given the line the leadership it needs from a probowler This line is still young and inexperienced, it remains to be seen in they will progress this season or get owned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Bell has never looked like a starting LT at any point in his young career, healthy or not. Average in pass protection but quite beatable to the good pass rushers, and a complete mess in the run game. I find him to be one of the more overrated Bills on this forum that there is right now...and he's not even rated all that highly. Just because he's young and inexperienced, you don't ASSUME he's going to vastly improve. You could put me at left tackle and say, "He has no experience and no conditioning, he'll improve." My improvement would be irrelevant because I do not and never will have the skills to start at left tackle in the NFL. Could I be Demetrius Bell? Last season was supposed to be the whole new ballgame, after the offseason of pro conditioning and strength training yada yada yada. I'm not holding my breath waiting for this guy to suddenly show competency when he has given us so little reason to believe. I need to quibble on this point a bit. Last season was expected to be anything but a whole new ballgame for Bell. He was coming of surgery and was extremely limited in practice as was Wood. They basically just played the games and did walk-thrus to prepare for them. Now that they are fully healed and able to handle a full practice and conditioning regime, I think it's fair to make this season that "whole new ballgame" season. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPS Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 The line of Bell, Levitre, Wood, Urbik, and Pears will be better than last year's line. The interior should be stout. Wood and Urbik are maulers. Bell will be better and stronger. Having Pears at RT for the entire season is also better than the musical chairs of last year. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 excellent and 1 horrible, I'd say last year they were a 2, and they'll move up to a 3 easily. Quite possibly a 4 if Bell takes it to another level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills1960 Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Where's Hangartner going to fit into this scheme? If he gets beat out for the starting Center (which I think he will), will he take Wood's old center spot? Or will that be Urbik? Decisions, decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 (edited) Someone higher than Buddy in the Bills organization refuses to assign any value at all to the OL. Pure speculation, but this could be the after affects of a long standing grudge arising out of Polian's desire to spend a top pick on the OL over the recommendation of a certain Ralph relative. Having accepted the reality of never being able to build an OL, Chan and Buddy have opted for an alternative strategy which rquires all QB's to fend for themselves on the field.-- thus the acquisiton of Thigpen and Brad Smith. Run for your life Calling that speculation would be kind. The Bills have always assigned a high value to good football players, OLine included. Do we really have to go back and recite all the high round draft picks used on OLmen over the years? Just who is this "higher up" in the organization that doesn't want the Bills to sign OLmen? Was this person there when they made Wood and Levitre 1st and 2nd round picks, respectively a couple years ago? And for what it's worth, Linda Bogden was a well-respected scout in her own right. It's not uncommon for scouts to vehemently defend their viewpoints in the war rooms around the league. Ironically, she had a keen eye for OLmen and pushed hard for Hull when she first became a scout as well John Davis when he became a FA a few years later. GO BILLS!!! Edited July 31, 2011 by K-9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 The Bills have always assigned a high value to good football players, OLine included. Do we really have to go back and recite all the high round draft picks used on OLmen over the years? GO BILLS!!! You don't have to but feel free. And make sure that you do list the good football players. Then, please recite the list of high round dbs and try to apply it to wins. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirate Angel Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Starting O-line today: Bell-Levitre-Wood-Urbik-Pears. Second team: Wang-Rinehart-Hangartner-Wrotto-Hairston. second team depends on who goes down, If its Bell, Pears who has played LT before most likely swings to that side and Hairston or Wrotto fills in at RT. If Levitre or Wood goes down Hangartner most likely fills in for them. Hangartner played LG in Carolina, then Rinehart at RG unless the coaching staff feels we would be stronger with Wood bumping back out at RG and Hangartner goes back in at Center Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 (edited) You don't have to but feel free. And make sure that you do list the good football players. Then, please recite the list of high round dbs and try to apply it to wins. Thanks. I suggest you do it instead. I don't need the proof nor the convincing. But you can start with Reggie McKenzie (2nd rd), Joe D (1st rd) then go up to Devlin (2nd rd), Ken Jones (2nd rd) then on to Jim Richter (1st rd), Wolford (1st rd), then Fina (1st rd), Reuben Brown (1st rd), Mike Williams (1st rd), right on up to the aforementioned Wood and Levitre. I left out several 1st and 2nd rounders drafted by other teams that we acquired. Nor did I include the various 3rd and 4ths. Whether or not they were good isn't germane to the argument which was that the Bills have a "higher up" that has instructed his direct reports NOT to place a value on OLmen. I find that ridiculous. Feel free to look up the Dbacks yourself. Associating drafting Dbacks or OLmen with wins is an argument made in a vacuum. Again, I am just dispelling the ridiculous notion that someone high up in the organization has instructed the GM not to value OLmen. GO BILLS!!! Edited July 31, 2011 by K-9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacus Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I suggest you do it instead. I don't need the proof nor the convincing. But you can start with Reggie McKenzie (2nd rd), Joe D (1st rd) then go up to Devlin (2nd rd), Ken Jones (2nd rd) then on to Jim Richter (1st rd), Wolford (1st rd), then Fina (1st rd), Reuben Brown (1st rd), Mike Williams (1st rd), right on up to the aforementioned Wood and Levitre. I left out several 1st and 2nd rounders drafted by other teams that we acquired. Nor did I include the various 3rd and 4ths. Whether or not they were good isn't germane to the argument which was that the Bills have a "higher up" that has instructed his direct reports NOT to place a value on OLmen. I find that ridiculous. Feel free to look up the Dbacks yourself. Associating drafting Dbacks or OLmen with wins is an argument made in a vacuum. Again, I am just dispelling the ridiculous notion that someone high up in the organization has instructed the GM not to value OLmen. GO BILLS!!! Your list supports my observation. The first 7 on your list were acquired by Polian or before. Ruben Brown was acquired by Butler who still had juice with the front office. Notice that for the next 15 years after Polian left, the team has spent exactly 1 premium pick on an OT - which they screwed up but I'm sure such a dismal track recored is standard for any solid playoff team The team has clearly valued RBs and DBs with their premium picks which has resulted in their decade long playoff drought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2020 Our Year For Sure Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 But, if you don't think he was ever worth a spit, you're entitled to your opinion. And I respect your opinion as much as just about anyone here eball, even if we disagree. Here's to hoping I'm dead wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Your list supports my observation. The first 7 on your list were acquired by Polian or before. Ruben Brown was acquired by Butler who still had juice with the front office. Notice that for the next 15 years after Polian left, the team has spent exactly 1 premium pick on an OT - which they screwed up but I'm sure such a dismal track recored is standard for any solid playoff team The team has clearly valued RBs and DBs with their premium picks which has resulted in their decade long playoff drought I'm still waiting to hear who this supposed "higher up" is that doesn't place a high value on OLmen. Was this person there BEFORE Polian? Nobody is disputing that the Bills have drafted more RBs and DBs higher than OLmen in the last decade. I refuse to believe it's because TD, Marv, and Nix were instructed implicitly to do so. There are many legitimate reasons they've drafted as they have. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Like many others, I'm disappointed that the Bills haven't yet signed any help for the Offensive Line. How confident are you guys in a line that probably looks something like this (see below) right now? Bell - Levitre - Wood - Urbick - Pears Fine if bell can stay healthy, if not pears would slide left and Hairston, Brown and Rhinehart will battle for the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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