The reality of what Beane is creating with the OL.

[Chandler#81]

I agree with the OP, whereas So Tier & Raven can’t see the library for the books. Good reference to Cam Newton as he was undeniably abused -often right in front of the refs, with no call. It was routinely opined that because he was a freak of an athlete, he could handle tough hits, compared to the feminine Brady, et al. Well, Josh is also a Freak athlete -and Better than Cam. He KNOWS when he can beat a LB or DL closing in on him while scrambling and the open field behind them. The kid is a phenom, plain & simple. Huge, Fast, Strong, Agile & highly competitive. Attempting to fit him in with prototypical QB concepts misses the boat entirely. To the OPs point, there were numerous times defenders took cheap shots after he was down or out of bounds because they were embarrassed by his athleticism -and the ref and very few Bills ever took offense to it. Stock piling veteran OL in FA allows for decent depth, should a starter be ejected for kicking Kiko in the head after he cheap shots Josh when the play is over. They’re not gonna stop trying it. They NEED Allen out of the game. They’re just gonna pay for their dirty deeds done dirt cheap.

[OldTimer1960]

Would love to see them add another big tough guy like Dalton Risner or Kaleb McGary to the group.

[stosh64]

15 hours ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

Cam Newton complained about the same thing a couple of years ago.  Supposedly the ref shrugged it off and said something to the effect of "you're not there, yet" or "you're not at that level."  Brady is the face of the NFL, so he is protected.

 

This is RTP against Brady FFS.

ETA: Since people are "skeptical", here is the whole video I grabbed the GIF from.

 

Edited April 12, 2019 by stosh64

[JimS]

7 hours ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

Or he can just leap over the lot of them and coolly waltz into the EZ after sticking the landing. 

Coolly Waltz was my stripper name in College.

[DCbillsfan]

Beane wants to have a dominant Oline that will impose it's will on the defense.  They want to pound the ball and then let Josh make plays downfield when the opportunity presents itself.  When the defense gets frustrated, the big uglies will be there to protect Josh and skilled guys.

[ProcessAccepted]

9 hours ago, hemma said:

I expect a couple of fights, maybe even ejections but in the long run, that may be ok.

 

Couldn't agree more. I loved that last year. People only learn not to cross a line when they know where the line is. I'm all for letting opponents know that if they better play nice or it's on.

[ProcessAccepted]

9 hours ago, FeelingOnYouboty said:

Referees do a poor job of protecting big athletic QB’s. Cam Newton gets destroyed every week and never gets any calls.

 

 

[ROCBillsBeliever]

2 hours ago, stosh64 said:

 

This is RTP against Brady FFS.

 

Not to mention that the left tackle isn't holding... it's called bear-hugging, and since it's an affectionate and loving embrace, the refs would never call such a thing on one of those dear, sweet followers of the Patriot Way. How could they, when the Patsies are such law abiding saints?

[3rdnlng]

35 minutes ago, ROCBillsBeliever said:

Not to mention that the left tackle isn't holding... it's called bear-hugging, and since it's an affectionate and loving embrace, the refs would never call such a thing on one of those dear, sweet followers of the Patriot Way. How could they, when the Patsies are such law abiding saints?

That's deflating.

[K-9]

That’s one of the reasons why I’d like to snag Dalton Risner if possible. Dude plays with a mean streak to EVERY whistle. 

[Shaw66]

I think the OP makes an interesting point.   Frankly, I don't think that's WHY the Bills signed the guys they did, but it will be a result of what they did. 

 

McBeane have said several times that no team will be known as more physical than the Buffalo Bills.   They want the Bills the physically tough.   That's why so many of the guys they signed for the O line this year seem to have that mean streak, and that's Teller was one of the few survivors when McBeane started cutting linemen.  

 

A tangential benefit of having guys like this on the offensive line is what the OP says - these are guys who are going to take offense, physically, when their QB gets hit unnecessarily.  There was a play last season when someone jumped in as soon as Allen took one of those hits, don't remember the game or the player, and I don't remember the result (penalties or whatever).  What I do remember is that when asked about the play after the game, McDermott said something like "we don't condone fighting and we don't want stupid dies, but I like to see my guys stand up for their teammates."  

 

I think we can expect the offensive line to play with some aggressiveness that we lost when Richie left.  

[elijah]

12 hours ago, Tipster19 said:

I think that not only is Beane smart enough to know that there’s danger waiting for Josh, especially in our own division, and that instead of just having OL stick up and protect him but rather have OL that will set the tone and even be the aggressors, or should I dare say the bullies. Putting teams on notice that that cheap crap isn’t going to be tolerated. 

I’m personally a huge fan of McBeane and have an extremely loose leash with McBeane, I’ve gone as far as to tell my friends I wouldn’t even consider firing them with another 6-10 season this year.

 

But the last time that a coach and GM came in here and said they were, “building a bully..” ? ?

[BigPappy]

12 hours ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

Cam Newton complained about the same thing a couple of years ago.  Supposedly the ref shrugged it off and said something to the effect of "you're not there, yet" or "you're not at that level."  Brady is the face of the NFL, so he is protected.

 

11 hours ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

I have to believe there is a level (subjective) a QB has to be at in order to get questionable calls in their favor.  Brady, Brees, the Mannings (at least before Peyton retired) all get those calls, though I doubt anyone gets more calls in their favor than Marsha.

I remember hearing about that one on the NFL Network a few years ago Happy. I agree that there is some level of subjective-ness to those "questionable" calls based on who the QB is but the fact that there is is total BS. The rules are there for all to follow and be held accountable. Who the QB is should not matter. These little side bars before games that the refs have with Brady in my view are a total lack of propriety in staying fair and objective when calling games. Any ref that is caught doing it should be tossed out of the league on their a$$. 

[Happy]

6 minutes ago, BigPappy said:

 

I remember hearing about that one on the NFL Network a few years ago Happy. I agree that there is some level of subjective-ness to those "questionable" calls based on who the QB is but the fact that there is is total BS. The rules are there for all to follow and be held accountable. Who the QB is should not matter. These little side bars before games that the refs have with Brady in my view are a total lack of propriety in staying fair and objective when calling games. Any ref that is caught doing it should be tossed out of the league on their a$$. 

 

Agree.  It has been going on for a long time.  It seems that opposing coaches don't say anything about it, as I'm sure they notice, though they probably keep it in-house since they don't want to come off as whiners.  I'm sure coaches like John Harbaugh and Wade Phillips might have something to say about this.

[MJS]

12 hours ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

Cam Newton complained about the same thing a couple of years ago.  Supposedly the ref shrugged it off and said something to the effect of "you're not there, yet" or "you're not at that level."  Brady is the face of the NFL, so he is protected.

I think he said "You're not old enough" and it was Ed Hochuli, I'm pretty sure. Something like that.

 

As far as the protective oline goes, didn't guys go after Kiko when he cheap shotted Allen? I seem to remember that. I don't remember the oline being big push overs after the play, just during the play.

Edited April 12, 2019 by MJS

[CookieG]

I have no problem in bringing in OL with attitude, in fact, I think its a good idea.  They still need talent of course, because if not, you just have a mean guy who swings and misses most of the time. 

 

One of my favorite stories from the old days was when Conrad Dobler was brought in for the 1980 season. He was replacing future HOF Joe D, one of the toughest OL the Bills ever had. But what Dobler brought was attitude...it was summed up by the equipment manager of all people, while talking about jerseys and such:

 

Bloodiest jersey – Conrad Dobler, 1980-1981“It has to be Conrad Dobler and often times it wasn’t his blood,” said Hojnowski. “Conrad told me one time because I had asked him. He said, ‘If I’m on your team I will do anything I can to keep my guy from getting to our quarterback.’ If I have to bite him, trip him, whatever.’”

 

https://www.buffalobills.com/news/uniform-extremes-5098653

 

The thing was...he instilled that attitude in his fellow linemen, especially Ken Jones and Joe Devlin, the 2 talented OT.

 

It was quite simple..."no one's getting to Fergie..we'll stop them by whatever means necessary."

 

The Bills gave up something like 16 sacks that year and led the league in 3rd down percentage.

 

Bring the talent, bring the attitude.

[CommonCents]

8 minutes ago, MJS said:

I think he said "You're not old enough" and it was Ed Hochuli, I'm pretty sure. Something like that.

 

As far as the protective oline goes, didn't guys go after Kiko when he cheap shotted Allen? I seem to remember that. I don't remember the oline being big push overs after the play, just during the play.

That was the highlight of Jordan Mill’s career. 

[maryland-bills-fan]

What have they done with the offensive line?    They have brought in veterans who have proven that they can play in the NFL and were close to being starters or ocasional starters.   College linemen play a different game than the pros and with very limited contact practice permitted in the pros, it is hard to coach guys up.  The guys they brought in have survived all the culling and are better right now than anybody they would have drafted in the second or third round.  There are enough of them so that there will should not be any weak spots that the other team's defense can blow up.  One weak player or one rookie making mistakes is enough to kill a drive or  a QB.   All those FA's were brought in as the alternative of drafting 3-4 linemen.

 

I expect them to take one high ceiling/high floor o-lineman in the first 41 picks and at least one high-ceiling/low floor small school o-lineman in the 4th+ round.  The top guy may not start this year at all and the other draftees will be on the practice squad along with an UFA.   We may pick up another veteran from the waiver wire once the roster cut-downs start- that might even involve a lower round draft pick (5,67) for 2020.  Whatever makes the starting line better.

 

 

[dubs]

I also think OL is still critical. Most of the line are on smallish deals that are easy to get out of. Bring in Taylor and you have LT and C locked up and a good chance to find a couple more good ones from the guys you brought in. 

[Warcodered]

9 minutes ago, CommonCents said:

That was the highlight of Jordan Mill’s career. 

That wasn't even him he got ejected for what looked like some other guy yanking on his facemask at the edge of the fight.