Ford and Williams playing well as a duo at RG and RT, per Joe Buscaglia

[whatdrought]

14 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

If him and Williams are the best pairing on the right side, then you should build chemistry

 

But Williams is a stop Gap and we need a right tackle for the future

 

I think Cody Ford could be a good guard, but his tackle play at Oklahoma was much better. And a man with that size and athleticism sounds like a great person to groom at right tackle

 

I don’t disagree with you on the overall premise, but two things:

 

1- Williams is only 27, and while he’s on a 1 yr deal, he could be resigned and isn’t necessarily a stop gap. 
 

2- There’s a fine balance between living through growing pains and holding the team back. Not saying Ford would hold the team back at T, but if they think Williams/Ford is the best chance to win, I support that. I think it can be done in a way that helps grow Ford as a player and still keep an eye out for him at T. 

[Buffalo716]

1 minute ago, whatdrought said:

 

I don’t disagree with you on the overall premise, but two things:

 

1- Williams is only 27, and while he’s on a 1 yr deal, he could be resigned and isn’t necessarily a stop gap. 
 

2- There’s a fine balance between living through growing pains and holding the team back. Not saying Ford would hold the team back at T, but if they think Williams/Ford is the best chance to win, I support that. I think it can be done in a way that helps grow Ford as a player and still keep an eye out for him at T. 

Despite what a lot of people think, Ford actually had some good games last year at right tackle. He wasn't complete trash

 

And I didn't realize Williams was only 27. That's actually young

Edited August 24, 2020 by Buffalo716

[Logic]

24 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

He may eventually become a good RT, but he could be an excellent RG much sooner.  Keep him there, again, for this year at least.

 

 

Feliciano doesn't even enter into the equation anytime soon, if at all this season.  And they had 9 OL on the opening day roster last year.  I thought they'd keep Winters over Boehm anyway, but if they keep 9 it's moot.

He's likely to be ready to return to action by, say, week 5 of this season. They're not going to put him on IR or cut him. At some point in the first half of the season, he will factor into the discussion.

As for Winters vs Boehm, I could be wrong, but I believe Boehm has more experience playing center than Brian Winters. Backup interior players' chances of making the roster are higher if they can play multiple positions. Neither of us have seen either man play a snap in camp this year, though, so we're both just guessing.

2 minutes ago, whatdrought said:

 

I don’t disagree with you on the overall premise, but two things:

 

1- Williams is only 27, and while he’s on a 1 yr deal, he could be resigned and isn’t necessarily a stop gap. 
 

2- There’s a fine balance between living through growing pains and holding the team back. Not saying Ford would hold the team back at T, but if they think Williams/Ford is the best chance to win, I support that. I think it can be done in a way that helps grow Ford as a player and still keep an eye out for him at T. 

This.

I've seen a few different people point out in this thread that Williams is on a one-year deal. If he plays well at RT, why wouldn't the Bills try to re-sign him? Unless he's an All-Pro again, I doubt he'd break the bank. He may also WANT to stick around and play for McDermott/Beane, with whom he has experience, and with the Bills' top notch medical facilities. Such a thing would not be unprecedented. We saw it with Quinton Spain this offseason.

I suppose we're getting ahead of ourselves, though. If we can get a good year out of Darryl Williams, based on what we're paying him, it'll be a real win. Besides, if he DOES beat out Ford to start at RT, everyone should rest assured that it's because he outplayed Ford at that position. You know the Bills would prefer that the player they drafted to play right tackle start at that position. If he doesn't, it's because he was beat out for the job, fair and square.

 

[Virgil]

Don’t you dare flirt with me 

[MJS]

Good to hear. It would be huge if those two locked up the right side.

[BillnutinHouston]

1 hour ago, Warcodered said:

Ford on DT and Williams on DE subtle way of saying their positions without actually saying it.

Not subtle enough for McD, I imagine.

[Doc]

28 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

We have two veteran starting right tackles on our roster

 

Again most right tackles don't even start till they're 26 27 years old. Cody Ford has a lot of time to learn the right tackle position. 

 

No one is saying that he'll never play RT.  Just that right now, he's best-served at RG and Williams is best-served at RT.  And as has been mentioned, Williams could very well be re-signed if he plays up to his potential and isn't looking for crazy money.

 

26 minutes ago, Logic said:

He's likely to be ready to return to action by, say, week 5 of this season. They're not going to put him on IR or cut him. At some point in the first half of the season, he will factor into the discussion.

 

Week 5 isn't happening.  And they'll probably put him on IR-return.

[jwhit34]

Lots of good point made here. Williams' age is at the top of the list. Also remember the Bills started Howard Ballard at RG the first year. 

 

The state of the O Line is probably the best example of why Beane's approach is so good. They have a lot of options because they brought in so many guys who can play. Drafting Ford in the 2nd round alone gives them so much leeway. If he's a 1st round pick you may be more inclined to force him in at RT because of draft status. If his best position is guard so be it. And bringing in Williams on a low risk contract opens up great possibilities. If he pans out he's not going to demand Dawkins money, they can do a 3 year deal a la John Brown and Cole Beasley and see what happens.

 

Meanwhile, he brings in Winters and if the Ford-Williams combo works on the right side he has the option to have a proven starter as the interior backup guy or go younger (Bates/Boettger). And he still has Feliciano. What a great a spot to be in. That's how you build a roster.

 

[Don Otreply]

21 minutes ago, BillnutinHouston said:

Not subtle enough for McD, I imagine.

You got that right, Sean will likely not be pleased with that description.

 

 Go Bills!!!

[DJB]

So happy Ford is playing guard. Its where he should have been from the beginning. 

 

I think we see a big 2nd year leap from Ford this year!

[whatdrought]

1 hour ago, Buffalo716 said:

Despite what a lot of people think, Ford actually had some good games last year at right tackle. He wasn't complete trash

 

And I didn't realize Williams was only 27. That's actually young

 
I think he had an up and down season. He was consistently the weak spot on our line though, so if they can fix that while filling the Mongo gap, I’ll take it.

 

yeah, he was rock solid top 5 RT but had some injuries and got stuck in Carolina’s terrible OL room. If he can recover (and we have a reputation of getting hurt players back to where they need to be) and if the coaching is good (which it really seems to be) there’s no reason not to think he could be very solid for us, with the potential for being amazing. 

[John from Riverside]

2 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

If him and Williams are the best pairing on the right side, then you should build chemistry

 

But Williams is a stop Gap and we need a right tackle for the future

 

I think Cody Ford could be a good guard, but his tackle play at Oklahoma was much better. And a man with that size and athleticism sounds like a great person to groom at right tackle

Williams is 27 year old and has flashed pro bowl talent at right tackle....the big thing with him was the previous injury

 

If he is healed.....and playing well.....why would you not just resign him and solve your RT issue?

 

We are always looking for the next best thing at positions.....if a player hammers out a spot and isnt old we should be retaining that player and moving onto the next potential hole on the team

[JoPoy88]

20 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

Williams is 27 year old and has flashed pro bowl talent at right tackle....the big thing with him was the previous injury

 

If he is healed.....and playing well.....why would you not just resign him and solve your RT issue?

 

We are always looking for the next best thing at positions.....if a player hammers out a spot and isnt old we should be retaining that player and moving onto the next potential hole on the team

williams looking back to form is great news. Ford obviously slides to guard if williams has been that impressive. I was wrong then in assuming a starting role was there for Winters on that side, I’d thought he would definitely be penciled in as starting RG given the speed that they signed him. Good depth still I suppose. Even with the feliciano injury, OL still looks at least semi-deep? Idk one or two more injuries may be trouble.

[Doc]

20 minutes ago, JoPoy88 said:

williams looking back to form is great news. Ford obviously slides to guard if williams has been that impressive. I was wrong then in assuming a starting role was there for Winters on that side, I’d thought he would definitely be penciled in as starting RG given the speed that they signed him. Good depth still I suppose. Even with the feliciano injury, OL still looks at least semi-deep? Idk one or two more injuries may be trouble.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if they had them compete and Ford looked the best at RG.  And I'm sure Epenesa steam-rolling Winters on that one play didn't help him any...

[JoPoy88]

38 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

It wouldn't surprise me if they had them compete and Ford looked the best at RG.  And I'm sure Epenesa steam-rolling Winters on that one play didn't help him any...

Yeah I saw that epenesa clip too in that goalline drill and woof. Winters got owned. 

[GoBills808]

5 hours ago, Logic said:

 

Reporters are forbidden from listing where players are lining up or where they fall on the depth chart this year.

 

This, then, was actually Buscaglia’s way of getting around that rule without actually breaking it.

Or they pulled the guard.

[Paup 1995MVP]

3 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

Yeah he has a higher floor at guard. You can mask weaknesses

 

But we haven't developed the right tackle here in a decade and he's our best chance in the next 2 to 5 years

 

Most tackles peak at 28 to 29 years old. He has tons of game to grow

If Williams starts at RT and plays reasonably well, he is our rt tackle going forward.  The guy isn't that old.  Just entering his prime actually based on your numbers..

[Buffalo_Stampede]

53 minutes ago, JoPoy88 said:

Yeah I saw that epenesa clip too in that goalline drill and woof. Winters got owned. 

He got his foot stepped on.

[NewEra]

4 hours ago, Logic said:

He's likely to be ready to return to action by, say, week 5 of this season. They're not going to put him on IR or cut him. At some point in the first half of the season, he will factor into the discussion.

As for Winters vs Boehm, I could be wrong, but I believe Boehm has more experience playing center than Brian Winters. Backup interior players' chances of making the roster are higher if they can play multiple positions. Neither of us have seen either man play a snap in camp this year, though, so we're both just guessing.

This.

I've seen a few different people point out in this thread that Williams is on a one-year deal. If he plays well at RT, why wouldn't the Bills try to re-sign him? Unless he's an All-Pro again, I doubt he'd break the bank. He may also WANT to stick around and play for McDermott/Beane, with whom he has experience, and with the Bills' top notch medical facilities. Such a thing would not be unprecedented. We saw it with Quinton Spain this offseason.

I suppose we're getting ahead of ourselves, though. If we can get a good year out of Darryl Williams, based on what we're paying him, it'll be a real win. Besides, if he DOES beat out Ford to start at RT, everyone should rest assured that it's because he outplayed Ford at that position. You know the Bills would prefer that the player they drafted to play right tackle start at that position. If he doesn't, it's because he was beat out for the job, fair and square.

 

Best case scenario, he turns out to be a better version of Spain at RT and we can resign him to a similar 3 year deal. That would make me feel a lot better about the OL.  He was pretty good a couple years ago.  Maybe it just took longer than expected to return to form

[Logic]

45 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Or they pulled the guard.

 

Maybe so. 

 

There’s also this video, so we know that Ford IS getting work at RG.

 

We have so little to go on this year, but based on Joe B’s comment, McDermott’s comment about wanting to know Ford’s position (why even say that if there’s not a possibility it’s different than last year?), and this video, I’m sticking to the hunch that Ford is a real threat to start at RG.

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/MatthewFairburn/status/1296455380055318531