potential O - Line upgrade

[Scott7975]

5 hours ago, Paul Costa said:

Smacks of desperation 😟 we’re not a playoff team if we need to go in that direction 🤭

 

I mean the Titans had to poach Bobby Hart off our practice squad to play LT.

[Richard Noggin]

1 hour ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

Both articles are good stuff, though. It's hard to know if any of them would help soon, Osemele looks fast but like he's lost some weight. DeCastro might be the best bet depending where he is in his rehab. No sure things here, obviously, but I wouldn't be surprised if the the Bills have looked or are looking at some or all of them, with varying degrees of seriousness.

 

That tweeted workout video is from March 2021, no? Yes, he absolutely looks LEAN (way too lean to play the o-line), but I wonder if that's not a) what happens quickly to certain linemen when they stop their insane NFL caloric regimens (they're not all naturally 300+ pounders) and b) intentional (weight loss) to allow for a faster rehab by putting significantly reduced strain on the joint(s) and muscles involved.

 

Rehabbing at 270 has to be less painful, faster, and safer than at 330 (Osemele's listed weight). He could have theoretically spent the next seven or eight months bulking up gradually to get above 300. Just a thought on possible recovery strategy. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

I would give DeCastro a call.  Even on one ankle he would be better than any guard on the team now.  

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

10 hours ago, msw2112 said:

Credit to the author of the article in the original post.  Not only does his analysis of PS players around the league come across as well-informed, his dad is also a huge Bills fan.  Looks like there may be an Olineman or 2 out their to at least consider.  The 2nd article (from the third post, right before this one) also has some merit, although most of the veterans mentioned are still recovering from injuries, likely out of game shape, and may not have much value as far as stepping in and helping out right now.

The author himself is a Bills fan and lives in WNY

[Dan Darragh]

How bad is Ryan Bates that nobody is even thinking out loud about putting him in the lineup?  And if he's that bad, why is he holding down a spot on the roster?  Versatility is overrated.

[JMF2006]

We need another Spencer Brown.......this one is an RB for the Panthers  

[CSBill]

This is totally (and literally--I'm sitting in my rocking chair) "arm-chair" GM'ing, but I would love to see us take a chance on this guy:

 

• Phil Haynes, who's patiently waiting for another NFL opportunity on the Seahawks practice squad. My man has been at or near the top of The PSPR for weeks now for a reason. The nearly 6-foot-4, 320-plus pounder tested like a high-caliber athlete at the 2019 combine after an illustrious, 47-start career at Wake Forest. While he's battled injuries over the past two seasons after being Seattle's fourth-round pick, he does have playoff experience, believe or not. Haynes played left guard in the Seahawks wild-card round loss to the Packers in Green Bay as a rookie. On 41 pass-blocking snaps, he surrendered just two hurries of Russell Wilson. And this past preseason, Haynes rocked. One pressure allowed on 71 pass-blocking snaps. If the Bills actually do feel the depth of their guard position has to be improved, Haynes needs to be their guy. 

 

If not him, then go get DeCastro if he is ready to get back to football. We know that is an upgrade.

 

 

Edited November 13, 2021 by CSBill

[TheyCallMeAndy]

I think we can tap the panic breaks a little bit, Williams is back to RG with Spencer Brown healthy, Ike will probably man LG until Mongo is healthy. Maybe we’ll even see Ryan Bates, who was supposed to be the next star OL, get some snaps at LG.

[atlbillsfan1975]

15 minutes ago, CSBill said:

This is totally (and literally--I'm sitting in my rocking chair) "arm-chair" GM'ing, but I would love to see us take a chance on this guy:

 

• Phil Haynes, who's patiently waiting for another NFL opportunity on the Seahawks practice squad. My man has been at or near the top of The PSPR for weeks now for a reason. The nearly 6-foot-4, 320-plus pounder tested like a high-caliber athlete at the 2019 combine after an illustrious, 47-start career at Wake Forest. While he's battled injuries over the past two seasons after being Seattle's fourth-round pick, he does have playoff experience, believe or not. Haynes played left guard in the Seahawks wild-card round loss to the Packers in Green Bay as a rookie. On 41 pass-blocking snaps, he surrendered just two hurries of Russell Wilson. And this past preseason, Haynes rocked. One pressure allowed on 71 pass-blocking snaps. If the Bills actually do feel the depth of their guard position has to be improved, Haynes needs to be their guy. 

 

If not him, then go get DeCastro if he is ready to get back to football. We know that is an upgrade.

 

 

Haynes does sound like the kind of prospect Beane would have liked coming out of college. Athletic, solid starter, and from an ACC school. This can translates to a player being intelligent. 

[billsfan1959]

9 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

It’s really odd he hasn’t done anything considering how bad it’s looked…

 

I think it is an indication of how bad quality OL depth is in the NFL right now. Very few teams have quality starters across the line and almost none have quality depth. Most teams in the NFL are going to have issues if any of their quality starters miss any length of time.

[billieve420]

2 hours ago, CSBill said:

This is totally (and literally--I'm sitting in my rocking chair) "arm-chair" GM'ing, but I would love to see us take a chance on this guy:

 

• Phil Haynes, who's patiently waiting for another NFL opportunity on the Seahawks practice squad. My man has been at or near the top of The PSPR for weeks now for a reason. The nearly 6-foot-4, 320-plus pounder tested like a high-caliber athlete at the 2019 combine after an illustrious, 47-start career at Wake Forest. While he's battled injuries over the past two seasons after being Seattle's fourth-round pick, he does have playoff experience, believe or not. Haynes played left guard in the Seahawks wild-card round loss to the Packers in Green Bay as a rookie. On 41 pass-blocking snaps, he surrendered just two hurries of Russell Wilson. And this past preseason, Haynes rocked. One pressure allowed on 71 pass-blocking snaps. If the Bills actually do feel the depth of their guard position has to be improved, Haynes needs to be their guy. 

 

If not him, then go get DeCastro if he is ready to get back to football. We know that is an upgrade.

 

 

Looks like he has some actual playing experience. I would look to bring in someone in even for no other reason than learning the playbook. We need to upgrade the interior of this offensive line. I would also consider moving Dawkins inside in the offseason and drafting an LT.

[Bob in STL]

4 hours ago, Dan Darragh said:

How bad is Ryan Bates that nobody is even thinking out loud about putting him in the lineup?  And if he's that bad, why is he holding down a spot on the roster?  Versatility is overrated.

I think Bates is slated to backup the center.  If he gets hurt at Guard, and Morse gets dinged, then we have no center.  Feliciano is the other center back up and he is out.  

[TC in St. Louis]

Might need to scour the world for a new OL coach.  I remember when Jim McNally coached the Giants to the Super Bowl with two Bills castoffs starting on the line.  Glenn Parker and Dusty Ziegler.  Too bad McNally retired.  Maybe they should hire him as a consultant.  

[Marv's Neighbor]

16 hours ago, Paul Costa said:

Smacks of desperation 😟 we’re not a playoff team if we need to go in that direction 🤭

We be smackin!

[Nextmanup]

I have been calling for some clever practice squad steals for several weeks now.

 

The overall performance our of OL is bad enough that I think there is a good chance 1 or 2 of the best OLmen currently on practice squads could actually improve our on-field game.

 

I.E., our starting OL is operating at or below a replacement level anyway...so why not bring in some fresh bodies and see if they can improve the landscape?

 

Our scouting department is supposed to know who the OL gems of the practice squads around the league are.  Go get some of these guys.

 

 

[LABILLBACKER]

3 hours ago, TheyCallMeAndy said:

I think we can tap the panic breaks a little bit, Williams is back to RG with Spencer Brown healthy, Ike will probably man LG until Mongo is healthy. Maybe we’ll even see Ryan Bates, who was supposed to be the next star OL, get some snaps at LG.

Ike was terrible last week. 1st and goal on the 3 and we call Moss's number. Boett's man completely blows him up stopping Zach in the backfield. We're dealing with multiple people who need to be replaced. Ford, Feliciano, Boettger. Maybe Williams? Dawkins is playing like Covid. I'd love to see Bates get a chance but our stubborn coaches see otherwise. 

[DCofNC]

I’ll be honest, if they don’t have direct contact with everyone on that list and then some, Beane sucks.  There has to be a realization this team is one injury away from being out of the playoffs and that guy is currently hurt, which let Ford back on the field.   They blew it this off season, time to fix it now.

[klos63]

13 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

It’s really odd he hasn’t done anything considering how bad it’s looked…

I'm sure if there was a player that could help, he would go after him. He did draft 3 lineman this past year and one of them will be starting RT Sunday, when Brown was in the lineup and Williams moved to RG, the line was much better. Hopefully that will be the case on Sunday.

[John from Riverside]

7 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Why does signing an NFL lineman mean they are panicking? 

I talking about this from Beane's prospective....which is why I said I dont agree with it