R. Rich Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 From what I saw, the guys were solid in their run blocking, but the pass blocking, especially from guard to guard, reeked. I guess I can let off of Gandy a bit too, as he looked okay (he didn't embarrass himself @ least). I saw Peters get beat pretty bad around end once, but he was fairly solid as well. But, we still have major pass protection problems in the interior. The run blocking looked good all the way across the line, I thought. Hey, it's a start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 From what I saw, the guys were solid in their run blocking, but the pass blocking, especially from guard to guard, reeked. 788061[/snapback] I guess that is like having a girlfriend who is a good......never mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluv Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 From what I saw, the guys were solid in their run blocking, but the pass blocking, especially from guard to guard, reeked. I guess I can let off of Gandy a bit too, as he looked okay (he didn't embarrass himself @ least). I saw Peters get beat pretty bad around end once, but he was fairly solid as well. But, we still have major pass protection problems in the interior. The run blocking looked good all the way across the line, I thought. Hey, it's a start. 788061[/snapback] Overall the line blocking was good. If the pressure was so bad up the middle then JP wouldn't have been able to step in the pocket as much as he did. Most of the day he had ample time to throw the ball. He was sacked 3 times: 2 by Rhodes on a safety blitz and a failed bootleg. None of those sacks fall on the O-line. Tell me this: why does everytime this team lose all these finger pointing begins putting players under a microscope; making it seems like every position is either great or terrible with no in between. Bottom line: all players form scrubs to All-pros will make mistakes. And yes if we had the choice we would have the best player at every position. But we can't; no team in the league does. We have to work like a machine with the parts we are given: it all must come together to make it work. Just because a part doesn't have a brand name doesn't mean that it is not serviceable and can't get the job done. And even though it may not run finely tuned all the time but a few skips here or there you can deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 Overall the line blocking was good. If the pressure was so bad up the middle then JP wouldn't have been able to step in the pocket as much as he did. Most of the day he had ample time to throw the ball. He was sacked 3 times: 2 by Rhodes on a safety blitz and a failed bootleg. None of those sacks fall on the O-line. Tell me this: why does everytime this team lose all these finger pointing begins putting players under a microscope; making it seems like every position is either great or terrible with no in between. Bottom line: all players form scrubs to All-pros will make mistakes. And yes if we had the choice we would have the best player at every position. But we can't; no team in the league does. We have to work like a machine with the parts we are given: it all must come together to make it work. Just because a part doesn't have a brand name doesn't mean that it is not serviceable and can't get the job done. And even though it may not run finely tuned all the time but a few skips here or there you can deal with. 788214[/snapback] I don't think our line is terrible in general. I don't think the interior pass blocking is very good, but considering the fact that they're new players (except for Villarrial, who I think is really slipping) in a new scheme, they're about par for the course. The run blocking is much improved across the line, and, as I said, that's a start (and a great one). I also think that Losman also needs to realize that while you don't need to take off all of the time, there are times when you can leave the pocket and do good things. A couple times, he moved out of the pocket to buy more throwing time when he may have been better off running and picking up what he could on the ground. That will come in time. The good thing is that this coaching staff seems willing to give him the time needed to develop instead of jerking him out of the lineup every other play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JStranger76 Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I'd still like Tunui Fonoti brought in to play RG. He must be severly injured. You know anything about this R. Rich? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 I'd still like Tunui Fonoti brought in to play RG. He must be severly injured. You know anything about this R. Rich? 788225[/snapback] Not much, other than he's had a history of injuries. Too bad, because he was fairly solid when he was in San Diego and healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JStranger76 Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Oh well, we probably wouldn't sign him anyways. I'd love to get a good, young up and comer at RG and sorry to say it, Duke Preston ain't that guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 Ease up on Preston. The guy has had to work @ both guard and center, and has been adequate for either spot. Like w/ JP, I think he needs time to settle in, be it @ guard (most likely) or center. If you just keep putting him in all over the place, he can't develop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrite Gal Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I think this OL is developing as expected: 1. They are a far better group than the 05 crew. Even folks who rag on this group should admit this unless they want to put their endorsement behind the good old days when Bennie Anderson, Trey Teague and good ol MW were starting last season. 2. Having taken the FA route to building an OL quickly which JMac was forced to do by the failure of TD first day draft picks MW and JJ to be good enough to be longtime Bills, and the failure of his consistent efforts to his with a late or FA choice (exs. Pucillo, Sullivan. Sobieski) the results though the expected mixed bag are good. JMac Hits: Peters Gandy JMac miss: Anderson Jury still out: Reyes Fowler Preston Not Unreasonable prospects to contirubute under contract: (I do not consider PS or 3rd stringers reasonable prospects to contribute unless there is some reason to do so) Pennington Butler Certainly when one looks to real world production to measure performance. this group provided blocking which has kept this team in the game against NE (the failure to produce on 4th and 1 is a big one that nullified the results but not the reality of their full game performance), did the job to get a W in MI, and allowed both WM and JP to have career best run yardage and pass yardage production. This unit strikes me as needing time to develop chemistry and that seems to be happening based on results from the three games. Folks can have various opinions about this player being agreat prospect or that player turning the wrong way or bending over too much and they all are opinions legitimate enough for the internet (ie. basically all opinions are fine opinions) but the facts are simply the facts. For example, in the lass game, WM gained a career high in yards and JP got a career high in passing yards. However, we got an L so this accomplishments are great in fantasy leagues but still were not good enough to win. The 3 sacks came from two safety blitzes (usually a need for blitz pick-up from the RB is key here) and on a designed bootleg and the facts are this OL was productive against a not very good team, but this represents progress over last year. I think in the big picture for this season, the OL should continue to improve as they play together and have more experience with the new offense. On the negative side, as i have said before depth remains a big problem and this crew must remain lucky with injuries in order to keep getting better. There is a little room as the most likely player for injury is Villarial (he is well into the backside of his career and when he went out briefly in Game 1, I thought my gosh already, but he came back. The good news is that the one back-up we have with past pro starte experience is Preston and though the jury is still out on him, he looked good and I do not even mention Villarial above as I really view him as little more than a placeholder. Overall, the OL results last week were simply impressive against a not very good team, but that is what a good pro does against a not very good team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 R.Rich, I agree with you regarding Villarrial. I think either later this year or next year we see Preston as the starter. I think we have the makings of the best line we've had in the past 5+ years here. I'm not saying they will be all-pro, but just seeing adequate blocking is refreshing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JStranger76 Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I just think Preston doesn't have the strength to be anything more than a center. He isn't strong enough to move his man one on one in the running game at guard. I wish they would have kept him at center full-time as well, but he is a backup, and backups need to be able to know multiple positions. As I've stated before, I would of liked to have signed Stephen Neil, but oh well. Fowler isn't very strong either, but he makes up for it with unusual athletic ability for a man his size. Maybe Preston could eventually make a push for his position, but I don't want to see Preston as a starting guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB2004 Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 From what I saw, the guys were solid in their run blocking, but the pass blocking, especially from guard to guard, reeked. I guess I can let off of Gandy a bit too, as he looked okay (he didn't embarrass himself @ least). I saw Peters get beat pretty bad around end once, but he was fairly solid as well. But, we still have major pass protection problems in the interior. The run blocking looked good all the way across the line, I thought. Hey, it's a start. 788061[/snapback] I think next year you'll see that this is an area that needs to be upgraded. I like Jason Peters at right tackle and I think Melvin Fowler was a good pickup at center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 I think next year you'll see that this is an area that needs to be upgraded. I like Jason Peters at right tackle and I think Melvin Fowler was a good pickup at center. 788377[/snapback] Some of us have been griping for the OL to be upgraded for years now. I think this is as close as we've gotten to that in a long time. Maybe we're finally on the way to having an offensive line that isn't a liability. There's still work to be done, but you have to like the improvements in the run blocking, which is a nice start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Keep in mind that there are at least 60+ offensive plays/game. Seeing an OL "get beat" a couple times is to be expected. It happens to every single OL in the game. Criticizing them for "getting beat" on a play is foolish. So they win or tie 58/60 battles and lose 2 and suddenly they're a bum. That is so stupid. You have to criticize them when it is a recurrent theme and it is a consistent theme. Our OL has played very well this season--very well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Our OL has played very well this season--very well! 788394[/snapback] This is true. I bet the Vikes DL is so fear sticken that they afraid to show up to the Ralph this Sunday. They might have to hire replacement players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrite Gal Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Keep in mind that there are at least 60+ offensive plays/game. Seeing an OL "get beat" a couple times is to be expected. It happens to every single OL in the game. Criticizing them for "getting beat" on a play is foolish. So they win or tie 58/60 battles and lose 2 and suddenly they're a bum. That is so stupid. You have to criticize them when it is a recurrent theme and it is a consistent theme. Our OL has played very well this season--very well! 788394[/snapback] This is a good point to remember. We have all actually seemn this Johnathan Ogden got flat out best for a sack by aaron Schobel last time we played the Ravens. Did this mean that this tackle who was a blocker for an RB who produced 2000 yards and was a key part of their SB win is a stiff? No. One bad play can happen to anyone. A second bad play may well simply be a coincidence. Its takes a third bad play and then it MAY be a trend, but more looking is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 Keep in mind that there are at least 60+ offensive plays/game. Seeing an OL "get beat" a couple times is to be expected. It happens to every single OL in the game. Criticizing them for "getting beat" on a play is foolish. So they win or tie 58/60 battles and lose 2 and suddenly they're a bum. That is so stupid. You have to criticize them when it is a recurrent theme and it is a consistent theme. Our OL has played very well this season--very well! 788394[/snapback] Forgive my poor memory (I chalk it up to old age), but where did I call the OL bums? Oh wait, here it is: I saw Peters get beat pretty bad around end once, but he was fairly solid as well. 788061[/snapback] Now, I did post on how I think we still have trouble in the interior of the line as far as pass protection goes. Other than that, I like the progress of the OL this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyBall4Buffalo Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I posted this in another thread, but I'll do it here again. I really don't think the whole unit across the board are good runblockers. There's a staggering difference between runs to the left side of the line and runs to the right. McGahee rush stats to each part of the line avg in bold Wide Right 3 7 1 0.0 0.1 0 Right 3 21 56 0.0 2.7 0 Middle 3 16 78 0.0 4.9 0 Left 3 24 161 0.0 6.7 0 Wide Left 3 3 15 0.0 5.0 0 So either someone is a real liability run blocking on the right side of the line, or Mike Gandy and Reyes are superior run blockers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 So either someone is a real liability run blocking on the right side of the line, or Mike Gandy and Reyes are superior run blockers. As much as I hate top say it but Villy will not be starting long. Gandy and Reyes have done a great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike formerly from Florida Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 [ He was sacked 3 times: 2 by Rhodes on a safety blitz and a failed bootleg. None of those sacks fall on the O-line. Are you telling me you blame the failed bootleg on JP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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