Evaluation of Guards at OBD

[Dablitzkrieg]

Talk to me about how we have missed horribly on guards.  First Wyatt Teller and now Q. Spain.   He is playing unbelievably well and there is talk of extending him.  Meanwhile our guards are ass.  What exactly is the deal?  Not trying to come off so negative,  but I think it's a good discussion topic.

Edited October 26, 2021 by Dablitzkrieg

[H2o]

Spain was alright for us as well........and then he signed a contract extension. Do you not remember what led up to his release last year? Him getting mauled on the interior and almost getting Josh killed? Then his falling out with our coaching staff behind the scenes? Teller? Yeah, we should have held onto him. Spain? Fool's gold. FWIW the OL has been better since moving Williams inside and Brown to RT.  

[TheBeaneBandit]

Trade for Norwell and fix this ****. Next year cut Morse and let Bates/Mongo/draft pick fight for center.

[Pags24]

I do like Williams at RG and Brown at RT a lot!  Letting Teller go was a big mistake and was unfortunate but what I really can't grasp is this..... one of the reasons we traded Teller was we had added some new pieces one of them being Ryan Bates, I recall reading how much our coaching staff was impressed with Bates right away.  So my question has been for the last couple of years.  Why doesn't Ryan Bates get more reps?  Let him play! 

[Coach Tuesday]

Seems like one of those areas where the scouts, GM and coaches are not on the same page.  

[billsbackto81]

Front offices try to avoid interior OL with quality draft picks unless they're seen as a "generational" talent and even then don't get picked until later.  So many quality Guards are had in the later rounds and some even undrafted like the much talked about Andrew Norwell. Sadly this front office doesn't evaluate and draft OL very well. Brown is raw but might turn out good.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Y’all remember Vlad?!  😬

[John from Riverside]

13 minutes ago, TheBeaneBandit said:

Trade for Norwell and fix this ****. Next year cut Morse and let Bates/Mongo/draft pick fight for center.

Morse is actually playing pretty well for us.....totally agree on Norwell

 

[BuffaloRebound]

Seems like it’s a scheme/play-calling thing.  Goal last 3+ years has been to tailor the offense to make sure Josh developed.  And rightfully so.  
Now I think they need to pivot to a little more power running.  

[John from Riverside]

10 minutes ago, Pags24 said:

I do like Williams at RG and Brown at RT a lot!  Letting Teller go was a big mistake and was unfortunate but what I really can't grasp is this..... one of the reasons we traded Teller was we had added some new pieces one of them being Ryan Bates, I recall reading how much our coaching staff was impressed with Bates right away.  So my question has been for the last couple of years.  Why doesn't Ryan Bates get more reps?  Let him play! 

The problem is if our ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl we are going to have to go through teams like the Titans......DL that are big physical and nasty and were throwing our OL around like rag dolls.....Williams was on his ass a LOT last game....Jon F. gets worked against quality DL.....Ford got benched....

 

 

[TheBeaneBandit]

3 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

Morse is actually playing pretty well for us.....totally agree on Norwell

 

I agree John, but next year it could be a money issue. I would make it fit because I'm cool like that 😎

[John from Riverside]

Process

 

Some to be desired on the OL I admit....but DL?   They are the reason why this was the number 1 defense this last week.....the picks of AJE, Oliver, Groot all look to be very good picks

[Mat68]

Lets see how Williams develops at RG.  Imo, they have been playing as the left side of the line the strength of the run game.  Imo they might be better off running right.  Brown looks to me as the teams best run blocker.  Finishes his blocks and gets to the second level with ease.  I like the current 5.  I think Felicano is on notice and Dawkins needs to play better. 

[Pags24]

2 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

The problem is if our ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl we are going to have to go through teams like the Titans......DL that are big physical and nasty and were throwing our OL around like rag dolls.....Williams was on his ass a LOT last game....Jon F. gets worked against quality DL.....Ford got benched....

 

 

I agree our O-line hasn't been great.  My point though was Brown/Williams on the right side are at least an improvement from Williams/Ford.... also, give Bates a shot at LG.

[RoyBatty is alive]

28 minutes ago, H2o said:

Spain was alright for us as well........and then he signed a contract extension. Do you not remember what led up to his release last year? Him getting mauled on the interior and almost getting Josh killed? Then his falling out with our coaching staff behind the scenes? Teller? Yeah, we should have held onto him. Spain? Fool's gold. FWIW the OL has been better since moving Williams inside and Brown to RT.  

The move of Williams and Brown has been an incredible improvement.  Spencer Brown has fixed a massive issue on the O Line thus far. It may end up being one of the Bills best draft picks.  A 3rd rounder playing like a 1st rounder.

[John from Riverside]

1 minute ago, Pags24 said:

I agree our O-line hasn't been great.  My point though was Brown/Williams on the right side are at least an improvement from Williams/Ford.... also, give Bates a shot at LG.

Every year I wait for the bills to make the mistake of not bringing back Bates and he ends up being a quality starter on another team.

[Mango]

28 minutes ago, TheBeaneBandit said:

Trade for Norwell and fix this ****. Next year cut Morse and let Bates/Mongo/draft pick fight for center.

 

With Dawkins not playing well post covid Morse is our best OL. I am also not comfortable cutting our best OL to have maybe our worst OL take over his role. 

"Our guards suck, cut our best player/center, have one if the poop guards take over. Still need to fix the interior OL, but worse now"

[34-78-83]

From what I observe and read around the league, there is somewhat of a widespread shortage of good guard play out there, even amongst starting lineups. Lots of teams have zero good guards and very few have 2 that are above replacement level.

 

 Teller hurts but those things do happen.

Edited October 26, 2021 by 34-78-83

[Mango]

10 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

Process

 

Some to be desired on the OL I admit....but DL?   They are the reason why this was the number 1 defense this last week.....the picks of AJE, Oliver, Groot all look to be very good picks

 

 

I reaaaallllly want to agree here. But he as also a second round pick that was a healthy scratch in an important conference match up.

 

He may very well turn out to be a very solid pick. But it is hard for me to swallow that in year two, a second round DE is still hanging out in sweats during important games.

[Pags24]

2 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

Every year I wait for the bills to make the mistake of not bringing back Bates and he ends up being a quality starter on another team.

Exactly, whenever he gets in I feel like he plays really well.  I'd like to see Dawkins, Bates, Morse, Williams, Brown.  I'm not saying we're going to dominate with that lineup but I think it's the best option we got for now.