Update: Xavier Rhodes signed by Bills

[Big Turk]

3 minutes ago, Matt_In_NH said:

I was thinking more V Davis and J Norman (former pro bowlers).   You are right EJ Gaines worked out for a year but he was younger and maybe a little more hungry and an older vet who has made significant NFL dollars.

 

Norman was serviceable and helped win a game with a fumble recovery...he was at the very least far better than he was with Washington.

 

Vontae just didn't have it anymore physically by his own admission.

Edited September 28, 2022 by Big Turk

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

3 minutes ago, Matt_In_NH said:

I was thinking more V Davis and J Norman (former pro bowlers).   You are right EJ Gaines worked out for a year but he was younger and maybe a little more hungry and an older vet who has made significant NFL dollars.

 

Norman wasn't that bad was he?  Him and Jackson both had some starts and played when white and wallace missed time in 2020. 

[whorlnut]

8 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

When? Other than Dion & Mitch pretty much every other OL position has been a revolving door.l

I totally agree. I was never once impressed by the “depth” at oline. Dawkins and Morse are our only steady players in the entire group. Everyone else could be upgraded. 
 

It really is a shame that Beane and McD patch a line together and don’t try to make it elite for our franchise qb. I think it’s this shortsighted mistake that could cost us more this year than anything on defense. 

[Matt_In_NH]

20 minutes ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

 

Norman wasn't that bad was he?  Him and Jackson both had some starts and played when white and wallace missed time in 2020. 

He was banged up a fair amount and otherwise got tossed by Henry   He was adequate when he played I think.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

1 minute ago, Matt_In_NH said:

He was banged up a fair amount and otherwise got tossed by Henry   He was adequate when he played I think.

 

Sigh - they held on the play!! He had a nice fumble punch. 

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

Should be a solid pickup if he can stay healthy 

[HopelessNJBuffaloFan]

But can he be ready by Sunday? 

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, whorlnut said:

I totally agree. I was never once impressed by the “depth” at oline. Dawkins and Morse are our only steady players in the entire group. Everyone else could be upgraded. 
 

It really is a shame that Beane and McD patch a line together and don’t try to make it elite for our franchise qb. I think it’s this shortsighted mistake that could cost us more this year than anything on defense. 

Which teams OL depth were you “impressed” with?

[BearNorth]

1 hour ago, whorlnut said:

I totally agree. I was never once impressed by the “depth” at oline. Dawkins and Morse are our only steady players in the entire group. Everyone else could be upgraded. 
 

This is a league wide problem I think.  When I see Feliciano starting at C for the Giants, I just think OL depth is a problem everywhere.  Cinci spent a fortune trying to upgrade their OL to protect Burrow, and he's been sacked 15 times in 3 games, on pace for 85 for the year.

[Jauronimo]

3 minutes ago, BearNorth said:

This is a league wide problem I think.  When I see Feliciano starting at C for the Giants, I just think OL depth is a problem everywhere.  Cinci spent a fortune trying to upgrade their OL to protect Burrow, and he's been sacked 15 times in 3 games, on pace for 85 for the year.

 

[SCBills]

5 minutes ago, BearNorth said:

This is a league wide problem I think.  When I see Feliciano starting at C for the Giants, I just think OL depth is a problem everywhere.  Cinci spent a fortune trying to upgrade their OL to protect Burrow, and he's been sacked 15 times in 3 games, on pace for 85 for the year.

 

I think Cinci's problem may lie just as much with Burrow as it does the OL, re: Sacks/Pressure

[YoloinOhio]

1 minute ago, SCBills said:

 

I think Cinci's problem may lie just as much with Burrow as it does the OL, re: Sacks/Pressure

It does and they also haven’t been able to get the run game going 

[uninja]

2 minutes ago, BearNorth said:

This is a league wide problem I think.  When I see Feliciano starting at C for the Giants, I just think OL depth is a problem everywhere.  Cinci spent a fortune trying to upgrade their OL to protect Burrow, and he's been sacked 15 times in 3 games, on pace for 85 for the year.

Building a good OL requires so much effort. Having a good/great OL with good depth is even harder. 
 

I think only really the Cowboys and the Eagles have lines that are better than good. They’ve also invested multiple first round picks into those projects, at the expense of team building elsewhere. 
 

I think given the circumstances the Bills have done better than okay. We have an anchor at C and a franchise LT. Spencer Brown is very promising but I’ll reserve judgment until after the season. Bates has shown above average guard play and positional flexibility. Saffold should be good between Dawkins and Morse, but again. I’ll reserve judgment because the sample size is too small atm. 

 

I think everyone complaining about our line play and depth issues isn’t watching the other games. 

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, whorlnut said:

I totally agree. I was never once impressed by the “depth” at oline. Dawkins and Morse are our only steady players in the entire group. Everyone else could be upgraded. 
 

It really is a shame that Beane and McD patch a line together and don’t try to make it elite for our franchise qb. I think it’s this shortsighted mistake that could cost us more this year than anything on defense. 

So…..which teams OL depth are you impressed with?

 

None? Interesting.  

[TheBrownBear]

34 minutes ago, uninja said:

Building a good OL requires so much effort. Having a good/great OL with good depth is even harder. 
 

I think only really the Cowboys and the Eagles have lines that are better than good. They’ve also invested multiple first round picks into those projects, at the expense of team building elsewhere. 
 

I think given the circumstances the Bills have done better than okay. We have an anchor at C and a franchise LT. Spencer Brown is very promising but I’ll reserve judgment until after the season. Bates has shown above average guard play and positional flexibility. Saffold should be good between Dawkins and Morse, but again. I’ll reserve judgment because the sample size is too small atm. 

 

I think everyone complaining about our line play and depth issues isn’t watching the other games. 

I agree and we were mostly fine the first two games, despite Donald and Simmons pushing us around a bit.  We were horrible on Sunday, but there were obviously entenuating circumstances.  It's too much to expect to be able to go 2 (or 3) deep at every OL position without a significant dropoff.

 

Also, I'm not going to pretend that our run game has been good, but it's worth noting that the Rams and Titans were two of the better run defenses in the NFL last year, so it made sense to focus on attacking them in the passing game.  The Dolphins game just needs to be thrown out due to the injuries.

Edited September 28, 2022 by TheBrownBear

[Low Positive]

2 minutes ago, NewEra said:

So…..which teams OL depth are you impressed with?

 

None? Interesting.  

That's just it. I've asked for an example of a team that would withstand an injury to their RT or C and not miss a beat. That have no answer because that team doesn't exist.

[whorlnut]

4 minutes ago, NewEra said:

So…..which teams OL depth are you impressed with?

 

None? Interesting.  

If you think ours is ok and just want to argue, then whatever. I see a line that could use upgrades at all but two spots. If you don’t hold the same opinion then good for you. 

[Low Positive]

19 minutes ago, uninja said:

Building a good OL requires so much effort. Having a good/great OL with good depth is even harder. 
 

I think only really the Cowboys and the Eagles have lines that are better than good. They’ve also invested multiple first round picks into those projects, at the expense of team building elsewhere. 
 

I think given the circumstances the Bills have done better than okay. We have an anchor at C and a franchise LT. Spencer Brown is very promising but I’ll reserve judgment until after the season. Bates has shown above average guard play and positional flexibility. Saffold should be good between Dawkins and Morse, but again. I’ll reserve judgment because the sample size is too small atm. 

 

I think everyone complaining about our line play and depth issues isn’t watching the other games. 

First of all, the Cowboys line is not nearly as good as it was in years past. But, your point is still valid. The pass rushers are getting better and better and OL play is dropping across the league. This is because:

• OL is hard to evaluate because HS and college football is all read option or single-read spread offenses. No one has to hold a pass block.
• What kid grows up dreaming of being an OL? Everybody else on the field gets to do something fun, but OL just has to block, not hold and pray not to be noticed. 

[Big Turk]

40 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Which teams OL depth were you “impressed” with?

 

Pretty much my point...in almost every game I have watched week in and week out, when I see a backup OLine player come in they get abused almost immediately.

[TheBrownBear]

8 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Pretty much my point...in almost every game I have watched week in and week out, when I see a backup OLine player come in they get abused almost immediately.

Yes, and that's why you always hear the play-by-play guys point out the need to roll extra help towards those backups with a RB or TE.  And that's just when a single guy is missing from the line.  You lose 4 guys and it's going to be an absolute jailbreak on every play. 

Edited September 28, 2022 by TheBrownBear