Guest BackInDaDay Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 I haven't seen one snap of pre-season Bills ball, so ... With the season (IMHO) riding on our O-line, how do they look?
VABills Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 Like a kitchen utensil in an Italian restaurant.
Matt in KC Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 I haven't seen one snap of pre-season Bills ball, so ...With the season (IMHO) riding on our O-line, how do they look? 21893[/snapback] I think they look very good. Several months ago, I bet Stevestojan (the person) $50 that we would give up under 40 sacks this year, and I'm feeling good about the bet. They have been looking stronger each PS game. I think having a former TE as a head coach, Reed back in the slot, and reintroducing play-action and screen passes will all do wonders for our o-Line stats this year... not to mention the more fundemental coaching and personnel changes mentioned at length here already.
BuffalOhio Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 Kind of hard to have a verdict when nothing's actually mattered yet. I think they're looking better, but we'll have to wait and see (and hope!).
Guest BackInDaDay Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 Surprised about letting Sullivan and Sobieski walk?
Bill from NYC Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 I am hoping that they will be average.
ROCCEO Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 I agree, much too early to tell. At times theyve looked very solid in run blocking, and adequate in pass protection and other times they've looked like we plucked these guys from the special olympics. So it's gonna be an interesting ride.
ROSCOE P. COE TRAIN Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 hate to be negative, but i ahve serious problems with this unit. in fact, i have had serious problems with this unit for the past 6 years. Jennings is injury prone. the guy cant stay healthy for anything. his ankles have some odd problem with them. NOt bad when healthy. Can hang with the edge rushers pretty well. Pissullio is useless. he should be a bouncer at some college bar in some small town, not on a nfl field palying against premier de tackles who school him 8/10 times per game. Teague would be great on a WEST coast offense, as he was supposed to on with us. He is not a power center. HE is a chop blocking center with good range who can roll out of his stance well to move with the QB in those systems. He should play out west somewhere, maybe DENVER! vallarie is pretty solid. he will paly 16 games in the trenches and work hard to muck it up. type of player you like to have in the 4th quarter when the players are dead tired and you need the 1 yard on 3rd down. good cold weather player as well. solid lineman. Williams is average. So - SO on pass blocking and so -so on run blocking. cant dominate a game as advertised by Donahoe. he is part of unit, as opposed to being the main part of the unit (ie orlando pace, ogden, roaf, tait)
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 Better than last year, but not up to acceptable levels (yet?). The difficult thing in making judgements about the O-line are: 1. In terms of production, the whole needs to better than the sum of the parts- Many people make the mistake of thinking the key is to simply figure out who the five best players are and get the 5 best guys onto the field. However, real world production seems to be determined more by which 5 guys work best together. An individual may be a good talent as a player or demographically good in terms of size, speed and test results, but the key to performance is how the players strengths and weaknesses (since no one is perfect we all have some) match up and how well they communicate with each other. Chemistry is key and the starting unit has simply not played together enough for mistakes not to happen. Good assessment and improvement will come not necessarily (though sometimes bad players are simply bad players) from figuring out who is to blame, but from figuring out whether the problem can be eliminated or at least covered up and compensated for by better communication and co-ordination. 2. As JMac has said he is no miracle worker- It is simply the truth that things can get better and they can still be not good enough at the same time. It seems hard to overstate how not-ready-for-primetime our OL coaching has been the last three years. GW hired his buddy Vinky to do the job and he had zero previous experience as an OL coach. Even despite being GW's buddy he still was bad enough to get canned. His replacement Ruel had one year's experience when he came on board. They were operating within an Kevin Killdrive O that it is only now coming to light that the players gfelt as bad about it as this board did. The average experience of SB winning OL coaches is something like 13 years. JMac has 25 years experience and recently oversaw NYG making the SB with none other than Dusty Ziegler leading the charge. JMac seems to have improved many things (the on the field output and success will be the ultimate test) but given the starting problems, Mike Williams head going south after the death of his Granny who raised him and the injury problems he and Price have had, the Ol is a work in progress at best.
LabattBlue Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 hate to be negative, but i ahve serious problems with this unit. in fact, i have had serious problems with this unit for the past 6 years. Jennings is injury prone. the guy cant stay healthy for anything. his ankles have some odd problem with them. NOt bad when healthy. Can hang with the edge rushers pretty well. Pissullio is useless. he should be a bouncer at some college bar in some small town, not on a nfl field palying against premier de tackles who school him 8/10 times per game. Teague would be great on a WEST coast offense, as he was supposed to on with us. He is not a power center. HE is a chop blocking center with good range who can roll out of his stance well to move with the QB in those systems. He should play out west somewhere, maybe DENVER! vallarie is pretty solid. he will paly 16 games in the trenches and work hard to muck it up. type of player you like to have in the 4th quarter when the players are dead tired and you need the 1 yard on 3rd down. good cold weather player as well. solid lineman. Williams is average. So - SO on pass blocking and so -so on run blocking. cant dominate a game as advertised by Donahoe. he is part of unit, as opposed to being the main part of the unit (ie orlando pace, ogden, roaf, tait) 21936[/snapback] Smith is starting at LG not Pucillo.
Guest BackInDaDay Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 I agree, much too early to tell. At times theyve looked very solid in run blocking, and adequate in pass protection and other times they've looked like we plucked these guys from the special olympics. So it's gonna be an interesting ride. 21923[/snapback] So, not much of a change from last year.
Stussy109 Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 I watched all 4 Preseason games. I like the Line the way they have it ie. Jennings, Smith, Teague, Villarial, Williams One major ingredient to an O-line's success is its quarterbacks ability to move the ball and balance on offense. I think we should have the balance in check, and Bledsoe looks good IMO. He's running well in a new offense, and they seem to have really drilled Getting rid of the ball to your dump offs if your primary receivers aren't open ASAP. With a little bit of good fortune, we have a good team this year IMO.
sfladave Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 I think they look very good. Several months ago, I bet Stevestojan (the person) $50 that we would give up under 40 sacks this year, and I'm feeling good about the bet. They have been looking stronger each PS game. I think having a former TE as a head coach, Reed back in the slot, and reintroducing play-action and screen passes will all do wonders for our o-Line stats this year... not to mention the more fundemental coaching and personnel changes mentioned at length here already. 21908[/snapback] Well I hope Stevestojan doesn't take your $50 because I made the same bet with him for $100. CD I think that we'll have to wait until the 15th or 16th game to find out, but I like our chances if: - Teague continues his solid play he exhibited durring preseason. - Williams continues to get himself back in season form, physically and mentally. - Villarriel lives up to his hype. - Jennings stays healthy. - Smith takes this chance to prove himself and runs with it (err...blocks with it). - McNally is able to live up to his reputation as a demi-god.
Matt in KC Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 Well I hope Stevestojan doesn't take your $50 because I made the same bet with him for $100. CD I think that we'll have to wait until the 15th or 16th game to find out, but I like our chances if:- Teague continues his solid play he exhibited durring preseason. - Williams continues to get himself back in season form, physically and mentally. - Villarriel lives up to his hype. - Jennings stays healthy. - Smith takes this chance to prove himself and runs with it (err...blocks with it). - McNally is able to live up to his reputation as a demi-god. 22050[/snapback] I would have gone for $100 too, but I had just found out my wife was being laid off. She's working at a new job that has better people, work and pay now BTW. I think we have a good chance of winning since only 3 teams gave up over 43 sacks last year (granted we gave up a whopping 51).
Engineer1 Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 I think they will be alright but not great.
Mile High Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 jacksonville was numero dos con la .. sorry jacksonville was number 2 on defense against the run last year. the first game will be a good test. ya ya ya their banged up brakens is gone and a couple others. anywho we shall see. mcnally could truly be the savior, but i think your not truly going tho see the oline gel until the 5th or 6th game. imo
stuckincincy Posted September 8, 2004 Posted September 8, 2004 1. In terms of production, the whole needs to better than the sum of the parts- Many people make the mistake of thinking the key is to simply figure out who the five best players are and get the 5 best guys onto the field. However, real world production seems to be determined more by which 5 guys work best together. An individual may be a good talent as a player or demographically good in terms of size, speed and test results, but the key to performance is how the players strengths and weaknesses (since no one is perfect we all have some) match up and how well they communicate with each other. Chemistry is key and the starting unit has simply not played together enough for mistakes not to happen. . 21941[/snapback] Well stated. Offensive line play is an orchestration.
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