Pirate Angel Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Every center in this league gets knocked around some, look around at the defensive tackles in the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Balsa Wood will get owned at G. Heyy-ooooo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark80 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) How quickly we've forgotten Trey Teague and Jeff Hangartner. Classic Bills fans.... Just because he's better than those clowns doesn't mean that he is one of the better centers in the league which a lot of posters here profess. At best he's average as far as skill level goes but above average as far as leadership qualities. Edited March 12, 2015 by Mark80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Linen Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I get aggravated when threads like this are started. I would bet that almost all of us are not qualified to make statements like moving a center to guard because we watch the games. Wood takes on the largest man on any given defense and we act like he should never get blown up. There's 5 offensive lineman and TE's and 3-5 defensive lineman for a reason - they're supposed to help each other, so to say guards don't help centers is just ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Every center in this league gets knocked around some, look around at the defensive tackles in the NFL. That's a great point, and one of the reason's why I don't think Wood is the problem. Did he play poorly at time last season? By his own admission, yes. But the evolution of the tackle position is putting out some freaking crazy athletes at a spot that used to be a "fat guy" position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark80 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Duke Preston? Yes Wood had crap guards on either side of him all year and there were times it hurt him.. but there were a few too many times where he was flat out beaten or bull rushed into the backfield and the guard play had nothing to do with those situations. I think his cache as a vocal leader and press corps favorite overshadows his on field play. Agree 100% I get aggravated when threads like this are started. I would bet that almost all of us are not qualified to make statements like moving a center to guard because we watch the games. Wood takes on the largest man on any given defense and we act like he should never get blown up. There's 5 offensive lineman and TE's and 3-5 defensive lineman for a reason - they're supposed to help each other, so to say guards don't help centers is just ridiculous. Why are you exaggerating people's points? No one said that he should never get blown up, we are saying that he gets blown up way more often than he should. There is a huge difference in those two statements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Linen Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Agree 100% Why are you exaggerating people's points? No one said that he should never get blown up, we are saying that he gets blown up way more often than he should. There is a huge difference in those two statements. Ok you're not qualified to make the statement "he gets blown up more often than he should". Easier for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I'd be happy if they signed LaPunta. Could have either Woods or him play guard. Get one more backup for depth and are set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark80 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) Ok you're not qualified to make the statement "he gets blown up more often than he should". Easier for you? Actually, I am perfectly qualified to make an observation and generate an opinion on it. I'd say watching every single down every single season gives you that qualification. But thanks for your concern. Edited March 12, 2015 by Mark80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Actually, I am perfectly qualified to make an observation and generate an opinion on it. I'd say watching every single down every single seasons gives you that qualification. But thanks for your concern. LOL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocephuz Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 That "vocal leadership" is him calling blocking assignments, not going "rah-rah." How do you replace that with a rookie? The two Free Agents I'm suggesting to replace him are vets. I do agree that replacing him with a rookie center may be a step back... unless it was Reese Dismukes from Auburn I get aggravated when threads like this are started. I would bet that almost all of us are not qualified to make statements like moving a center to guard because we watch the games. Wood takes on the largest man on any given defense and we act like he should never get blown up. There's 5 offensive lineman and TE's and 3-5 defensive lineman for a reason - they're supposed to help each other, so to say guards don't help centers is just ridiculous. I am certainly not an O Line coach and can only guess what Wood's assignment was on each play . With that being said, I watched every offensive snap of every Bills game on NFL Rewind in 2014 and focused on line play..often in slow motion. When you see plays where Wood is standing there by himself with no defender around him clueless after snapping the ball... or plays when he has a one on one matchup and gets bull-rushed into the QB's lap.. it's pretty easy to make a statement that he did not do his job. This is not to say that Wood is worse than Pears, Richardson, Willams , Urbik.. or whoever played guard last year. This is not to say that their poor play did not affect him. But I'm very comfortable making informed statements about any of the O Lineman last year because I put in the time to watch the film and observe. It's very hard to make these kind of statements from just watching the live feed on Sunday.. that's why I have NFL rewind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynBills Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Wood is a terrible run blocker. He's pretty average overall at C. Could definitely improve there. Why aren't we bringing in Wisneiski? The Bills know this though, they wanted to draft C Max Martin out of USC last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Wood is a terrible run blocker. He's pretty average overall at C. Could definitely improve there. Why aren't we bringing in Wisneiski? The Bills know this though, they wanted to draft C Max Martin out of USC last year. Honestly, I don't think the fanbase in Buffalo would accept a guy with that last name. That's why Doug will pass, regrettably so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malazan Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Actually, I am perfectly qualified to make an observation and generate an opinion on it. I'd say watching every single down every single season gives you that qualification. But thanks for your concern. I completely agree you can and should make the statement on what you have seen. However, I think we all should take a step back and realize what we see may not be the reality and that statement like "He was really bad", "He was pushed back" or "he got blown up all the time" are pretty general statement and don't show any particular understanding of the position or play. That doesn't mean the point isn't valid, but specifics are what breed confidence in other posters that your knowledge is worth trusting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 He's the most overrated Bills player we've had in a while. The people next to him have nothing to do with defenders driving him 1 or 2 yards into the backfield off the snap in one-on-one situations which I've been noticing on him for years. Last year, there were times were he was flat out knocked on his butt by guys one on one. You do realize this is BS, right? Link or it didn't happen. The pickings are pretty slim at Guard in FA right now ( Boling, Iupati, Carpenter have signed).. however there are a few good centers available. Wood really struggled at Center last year... I'm thinking we pick up either De La Puente or Montgomery.. plug them in at Center and kick Wood to Guard. What does everyone think? https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/02/22/2015-top-free-agents-guards-centers/ 3. Brian De La Puente 2014 Grade: +4.3 2014 Snaps: 501 Three strong seasons as a starter for the Saints only got De La Puente a backup gig with the Bears last season, reuniting with former line coach Aaron Kromer in the Windy City. Even strong displays to start the season (+8.2 through Week 5) with Roberto Garza injured didn’t see De La Puente maintain his place in the lineup, only returning at left guard when the Bears were shorthanded mid-season. Both with the Saints and Bears, De La Puente has excelled as a run blocker in the middle of the line earning a positive run block grade every season as a starter. De La Puente may be out of the limelight entering free agency as a backup but teams in need of a starting center could do far worse than look in his direction. 4. Will Montgomery 2014 Grade: +6.6 2014 Snaps: 665 Much like De La Puente, Montgomery is an underappreciated veteran who provided largely solid play off the bench for a new team last season. After an underrated stint with Washington, Montgomery put in a solid showing with the Broncos after a late season shuffle on the offensive line. Entering the Broncos’ starting lineup in Week 10, but for a poor fortnight against the Bills (-4.4) and Chargers (-1.1), Montgomery consistently earned positive grades surrendering only five pressures in his nine starts. He also played his part in the improved Broncos’ ground attack late in the season. At 32 teams are unlikely to look to Montgomery as their “plan A” at center but as he showed for the Broncos he offers valuable depth and competition off the bench in a zone scheme. I've had the same thought, not because Wood is bad or overrated at center, but because if we could get a good center but not a good guard, I believe Wood is flexible enough that he could play well at guard. He did OK his 1st 2 years at guard considering he played between Mansfeld Wrotto at RT and Hangardner at Center Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 How quickly we've forgotten Trey Teague and Jeff Hangartner. Classic Bills fans.... Well, they weren't over rated at all, so.... I respectfully disagree. Wood is an unsung hero at center. Just think back a few years ago to the Ravens game when he was injured and we tried replacing him with backups. As for being driven back, as you call it, Wood is actually stepping back to give himself space to play the rusher on pass plays. Also consider Wood calls out the blocking assignments based on what he reads defensively. If you think throwing in a rookie will get you the same result, you are sadly mistaken. The Packers disagree with that conclusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 He's the most overrated Bills player we've had in a while. The people next to him have nothing to do with defenders driving him 1 or 2 yards into the backfield off the snap in one-on-one situations which I've been noticing on him for years. Last year, there were times were he was flat out knocked on his butt by guys one on one. It's very hard for people to comment on sweeping general statements without any specifics to back them up. For example, a QB under center does a 3 or 5 step drop to allow the center to step back and get leverage. Some people (not saying you) don't understand that. Statements like "most overrated player" are also kind of vague and lend themselves to misinterpretation. What does that mean, exactly, to his performance as a center relative to other centers in the league? Here, for context, is IMO a balanced evaluation of Wood from the well-respected Brian Galliford at Buffalo Rumblings which includes the context of Wood's performance in previous years and PFF evaluations: http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2015/1/30/7943651/eric-wood-buffalo-bills-pff-grades-offensive-line-greg-roman-aaron-kromer The overall conclusion is that last year (flanked by atrocious guard play) was the first year he didn't rate reasonably well in pass protection, and that while he has never been a great run blocking center he is probably adequate if the guards flanking him are good. He didn't go back far enough to evaluate Wood's play as RG his first 2 years in the league, which might be tough to assess between Hangartner and Wrotto. I'd just like to finish by pointing out that without knowing what the blocking assignments were, it's very difficult to evaluate an OLman's play. For example, if you see a guy (as has been commented here) standing around with no one to block, is it because he is "clueless" or because the guys next to him goofed and chose the wrong player to block? Wood is a terrible run blocker. He's pretty average overall at C. Could definitely improve there. Why aren't we bringing in Wisneiski? The Bills know this though, they wanted to draft C Max Martin out of USC last year. I would like to see Wisneiski brought in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterpan Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 What about wisniewski formerly of the raiders?? He was decent at C, could be a soild backup or G, could move Wood to G, it gives us options. He is getting looked at in Seattle. If he is good enough for Seattle he is good enough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I think plan B is to draft a guard in round 2. Seems like a lot of the better guards might fall to the mid second. I think they are more focused on getting Clay in the fold than upgrading O-line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max997 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 He's the most overrated Bills player we've had in a while. The people next to him have nothing to do with defenders driving him 1 or 2 yards into the backfield off the snap in one-on-one situations which I've been noticing on him for years. Last year, there were times were he was flat out knocked on his butt by guys one on one. I agree with this, was not impressed with Wood's play last year and dont remember him being that good at guard when he played there either. Thought he was better when he moved to Center but he was just as much a problem last year as either guard was Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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