So....what happened to the O-line?

[HappyDays]

Having rewatched some highlights, Darryl Williams still had a pretty rough game. A lot of rushers got through in no time against him and Allen just made an incredible throw or escaped the pocket on all of them so we didn't notice it. The rest of the o-linemen played their best game of the season, no question.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

On 12/26/2021 at 10:20 PM, ScottLaw said:

Yea… they played contain. Seemed way too worried about Josh’s escape ability…. Made the offensive lines job a lot easier. Agree, was an odd game plan and clearly did not work.

To be fair…you really can’t be too worried about his escapability he’s one of the best all time in that area. 

3 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

Except for Judon who is among the league leaders in sacks?

Yea they frequently brought 4 or 5 pass rushers and they have a very good front 7 lol I don’t understand why we’re trying to give our offensive line less credit 😂

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

4 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

There's a lot of communication between QB and OL that fans don't really know about. We're seeing less confusion. Maybe they've simplified things. My guess is that it's a combination of simplifying and Josh Allen putting the OL in better protections.

 

Most of The pressure Allen has faced of late has been Brown getting beat by superior players. Brown fixed that vs NE, although NE played scared to death of Josh Allen.

 

 

This definitely doesn’t get talked about enough…it’s probably the same amount of guys losing their one on one matchups against the dline but less blown assignments. Some people just assume a sack is mostly caused by the oline getting outmuscled but it is frequently linemen straight up blocking the wrong guys 

[Rochesterfan]

7 hours ago, NewEra said:

I rewatched the game. I might be off 1 or 2 but I’m pretty sure he brought 5 pass rushers 12-13 times. He rushed 3 on 6-7 occasions. The rest were 4 man.  Never more than 5 or less than 3.

 

Every time they got pressure, Josh was able to work his magic and he made them pay if they lost outside contain.  They actually got more pressure than I originally thought, but Josh just negated it.

 

That is what I thought also.  The Pats switched things up constantly, but Josh had the answer each time.  They played a lot of man, zone, and man/zone combos.  They tried to trick and force Josh into some reads, but Josh did well - especially early to throw to outlets and move the chain.

 

I think much like the Bills - the Pats rushed the passer in a specific way trying to maintain leverage on Josh, but Josh was the better player.  The difference between game 1+2 was all weather.  The Bills built a lead because Josh could throw early and often and that allowed them to score.  The lead forced NE to become more balanced leading to TOs. 
 

The OLine for Buffalo played well, but not great - Josh was great.  Dion (with a bit of help) held up well against Judon, but I think Judon was playing contain/spy sometimes - also helping.  The middle still let guys like Barmore get through to often, but there was space for Josh to move and guys open.

 

 

[CSBill]

My answer to the thread title: Ryan Bates!

 

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by CSBill

[Buffaloflash]

On 12/26/2021 at 9:50 PM, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Josh attributed the play to them liking the Christmas gifts they got him

 Josh got THEM some really nice watches and, I believe they showed him how much they appreciated it!

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Buffaloflash
incomplete

[njbuff]

LT Dawkins

LG Bates

C Morse

RG Williams

RT Brown

 

Should be good enough to get the job done against any opponent moving forward.

[Buffalo03]

McDermott just sat them all down and said "Look, we don't wanna waste a first round, 2nd round and 3rd round pick on the oline next year. So, get your head out of your a*ses and start protecting your QB. I told Josh to buy you all Christmas presents but if it doesn't improve, he'll take them back to the store. Fix it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year". He really grilled them

[RochesterLifer]

9 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

*  Apparently, the Pats wanted to their D line to contain more than pressure;

 

*  There were several times that a single rusher broke through the offensive wall - but Josh was able to elude him;

 

*  Josh checked down faster in this game than in some others.

Just another example of how McDermott out-coached BB.

[Buddo]

Taking those early checkdowns, that got us in very manageable down and distances, made a big difference.

 

The Patsies thought that Josh was going to just try and beat them on longer throws, and they were wrong. It allowed for just that moment of hesitation, that the elite QBs take advantage of.

 

I also thought that the Patsies suffered a bit from their gameplans being of the 'smartest kid on the block' variety, and they weren't. I think that was evidenced by how often McKenzie gashed them, but they didn't do anything different to try and cover him better.

 

Knox's blocking was also exemplary for the most part, and we put him against Judon quite a bit. That was something of a revelation tbh.

 

One thing I would say, is that when the line ended up as Dawkins Bates Morse Williams and Brown, they really looked like a unit. For sure, they got beat at times, that's always going to happen, but what we didn't see was assignment issues, which we have far too often in the past.

 

For that reason alone, I want to see that same lineup be starting for at least the next game. It might have been by accident rather than design, but we might have found our best combination to work as a unit.

[SCBills]

9 hours ago, HappyDays said:

Having rewatched some highlights, Darryl Williams still had a pretty rough game. A lot of rushers got through in no time against him and Allen just made an incredible throw or escaped the pocket on all of them so we didn't notice it. The rest of the o-linemen played their best game of the season, no question.

 

Our Tackles have the ability to be very, very good.  Dawkins is proven and Brown has all the potential in the world.  

 

Morse is decent.  

 

I don't know what to make of Darryl Williams... sometimes he's good, sometimes he struggles.  

 

However, Bates looked like he can hold his own, and if that's the case... enough with him being the forever-utility lineman.  Let Feliciano be the backup Center, Ford backup Guard and Doyle backup Tackle.  

 

Put your best 5 out there.  

[Jerome007]

I think the gameplan is helping them. It has been getting better since the Jets game. It's no knock on the OL that they are not the strength of the team. But before they were left on their own way too much. You gameplan according to your team's strengths and weaknesses.

[Solomon Grundy]

3 hours ago, Buffaloflash said:

 Josh got THEM some really nice watches and, I believe they showed him how much they appreciated it!

 

I saw the note attached to their gifts. It said “Merry Christmas guys!! Now that I bought you some time, how about you give me some”😎

[DapperCam]

1 hour ago, RochesterLifer said:

Just another example of how McDermott out-coached BB.

It’s usually the right strategy for Allen. Contain with DEs and try to get pressure up the middle.

 

Allen was just too good. He made quick throws underneath and burned them.

[aristocrat]

Team was angry the other day. Angry Bills team is a great team and close to unstoppable. Harness that energy and we can win the whole thing. 

[billsbackto81]

On 12/26/2021 at 8:54 PM, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

No offense to all You good posters, but none of the above explanations make any sense. 
 

Bates doesn’t miraculously make the other guys better. Cody Ford has been playing decently lately. There is more too what happened today.
 

Even when Brown was at LT today, they were looking great at every position. A few weeks ago Darryl Williams didn’t even move at the snap— now he is playing great at both guard and tackle? 
 

Morse has been getting blown off the ball at the snap, and suddenly held his own today. 
 

i have no idea what happened, except all 5 guys played out of their minds today. 

It was a combination of the scheme Belicheck employed on defense and our O line playing inspired football. 

I'll give credit to the O line for allowing Josh time to find the desired target or check down, but they weren't exactly dealing with an onslaught of pass rushers. They were better in run blocking also. Not dominating but good enough to keep NE fairly honest. I'd expect a different approach from NE if we play again.

 

[ColoradoBills]

On 12/26/2021 at 11:59 PM, Limeaid said:

 

Been saying that for a long time.  I think he is a free agent soon.

 

Bates is a RFA next year.  I'm sure he will get a tender offer.

[TheFunPolice]

Running the ball just enough to give the DL pause makes a big difference. 

 

When you only pass the DL can just rush the passer and don't even have to think twice.