Important Player nobody is talking about

[patmoran2006]

Nobody is talking about him, but I think Gandy did a real fine job after moving to left guard during the second half of the season, and I really hope we resign him to stabilize this left side of the Offensive Line.

He'll cost some bucks, but he won't break the bank--and if we get him resigned I think we're a right guard away from having an offensive line that could start to do some pretty good things.

[BILLSROCK1212]

Nobody is talking about him, but I think Gandy did a real fine job after moving to left guard during the second half of the season, and I really hope we resign him to stabilize this left side of the Offensive Line.

He'll cost some bucks, but he won't break the bank--and if we get him resigned I think we're a right guard away from having an offensive line that could start to do some pretty good things.
you are 100% right, another question about the O-line is would you keep McNally?after this season i say yes

[patmoran2006]

i say yes too..

I think he did excellent work after Pennington and Preston went into the starting lineup.

Id give him one more year.

[BILLSROCK1212]

i say yes too..

I think he did excellent work after Pennington and Preston went into the starting lineup.

Id give him one more year.
exactly my thoughts, without that change i say no

[X-Era]

Nobody is talking about him, but I think Gandy did a real fine job after moving to left guard during the second half of the season, and I really hope we resign him to stabilize this left side of the Offensive Line.

He'll cost some bucks, but he won't break the bank--and if we get him resigned I think we're a right guard away from having an offensive line that could start to do some pretty good things. I think no ones talking about it because its a non-issue. Hes as good as resigned IMO. He cant command big money, hes a Jauron guy with Bears ties, and he had a good second half. Unless we plan to drastically upgrade him by spending some big money, and you all know how likely I think that is, he will be resigned. I agree, lets keep consistency where we HAVE been successful and keep our left side the same. I think its a done deal. I actually like this move, Gandy is still fairly young, and played well at LG in my opinion

[TigerJ]

I think Gandy did a good job too. And I would keep McNally. What about the other guys on the line? I think everybody's assumption is that Peters is going to be a fixture at left tackle for the next decade barring injury or contract squabbles. What about Pennington? Did he earn a longer stint at RT? I'm assuming Villarial is history at this point. Can Preston handle RG? Is Fowler strong enough? The line provided pretty good pass protection down the stretch, but the running game was erratic at best. Was that all on McGahee? If not, where is the weak link on the line in terms of run blocking?

[X-Era]

I think Gandy did a good job too. And I would keep McNally. What about the other guys on the line? I think everybody's assumption is that Peters is going to be a fixture at left tackle for the next decade barring injury or contract squabbles. What about Pennington? Did he earn a longer stint at RT? I'm assuming Villarial is history at this point. Can Preston handle RG? Is Fowler strong enough? The line provided pretty good pass protection down the stretch, but the running game was erratic at best. Was that all on McGahee? If not, where is the weak link on the line in terms of run blocking? As Ive stated my opinion before, I think Fowler returns. I think its likely that we see a new face at RG. Fowler is a Jauron guy, is cheap, and signed a fairly long contract. Preston is NOT a Jauron guy, didnt get the starting job at the half, and may be kept as a backup. Villarial IS a Jauron guy, but may either retire or be cut in favor of youth. Pennington is a Jauron draftee who was given the starting job at the half and was a part of the line that led to our late success. I think you only need to follow the trail of moves on the line and you can find where we make our move. Its most likely a RG first and foremost. We may add other second or third tier guys but only to compete and only looking for a gem not a sure thing,

[Mahdi]

The interior of our line is good at pass protection but the are not effective when a run is expected ie. 3 and 1 or 3 and 2 and such. Gandy and Preston are not good straight line run blockers and niether is Fowler, they are only good on the move because of their athleticism. To offset that I would say that we have to have a dominant power run blocking G either on the right or left. If we keep Gandy then we need a road-grater in place of Preston, but we cant have both.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

If they can re-sign Gandy--which I believe they will try to do--at a reasonable price (which seems quite possible), I think that any move that they make will be at RG.

Villarial was thinking about retiring before last season and I think that the Bills will not try to talk him out of it this time around. So, I believe that he will be gone.

When Preston took over for Villarial, Jauron was quoted as saying that this was, in effect, an audition for him: I forget the precise wording that he used, but it was something like this was an opportunity for Preston to show the coaching staff that he could get the job done. If so, IMHO Preston did not show enough to lead me to believe that he can be anything more than a back-up in the NFL. But, the coaches may have a different opinion.

Still, as I see it: The coaching staff really likes Fowler, even though he is a bit under-sized, and is likely to keep him. If they do, the Bills cannot afford to have OGs who can be overpowered by the bigger DTs and NTs that they will face. Even though Preston is by no means small (315-320), and has a low center of gravity, in the two years that he has been with the Bills, Preston has not shown that he can keep from being manhandled by bigger DTs. Gandy may be mistake-prone, but he seems stronger than Preston at the point of attack. To me, if the Bills are going to try to stick with Gandy and Fowler in the middle of their offensive line, they need to have a stronger RG than Preston to be successful.

Now, maybe Preston, who will be entering just his third season, can continue to get stronger--he wasn't manhandled as badly last year as the year before, even though he still was not anything more than adequate at best. Personally, I wouldn't count on it. Maybe Merz or Butler can emerge and beat Preston out for the job. That is certainly possible. And, the coaching staff may conclude that keeping the whole group together so that they can become more familiar with one another might prove more beneficial than adding yet another new face in the off-season, even if that new player is more talented, simply because that has not proven to be very successful in the past and continuity is considered to be a major factor in how well offensive lines perform.

Still, with Ralph Wilson stating that, in his opinion, the Bills needed more talent on their offensive line, I have to believe that the FO and coaching staff will try to bolster the line in some way this off-season. I think they really like Peters and Pennington and expect those two to continue to improve, so I don't think they will look to do more than pick up a back-up at those positions. And, as I have stated, I think they like Fowler too much to replace him. As free agent guards so, Gandy is serviceable and should come at a reasonable price. Which IMHO would leave RG as the position that they are most likely to try to improve on.

Just as I kept telling OpIv and others a couple of years ago, to much derision, that, despite the fact that he was a UDFA, Peters would end up being the Bills' starting LT because of his freakish athleticism and the bond that he had developed with McNally, I believe that Pennington will be given every chance to develop as the Bills' starting RT: because of his size and freakishly long arms as well as the improvement that he has shown this season, which is indicative of a positive relationship with McNally and Zierlein and has drawn praise from Jauron. Pennington may yet struggle at times--let's not forget that he was just a rookie and a raw one at that this season--next year and will have to get much better as a run blocker, but he showed a lot of ability in a short period of time last season. So, unless he regresses badly and falls on his face, I believe that Pennington will be the guy that the Bills will look to to fill the starting spot at RT next season and beyond.

As far as the other positions are concerned, despite their love for Fowler, I'm not convinced that, over the next couple of years, those positions might yet be up for grabs. But, in the immediate term, I can see the Bills focusing their efforts on trying to improve at RG so that Pennington can get some help as he tries to improve his game.

[PECKERWOOD]

I remember supporting Gandy at the start of the season and getting lots of heat for it. Peters, Gandy and Fowler are all good players.. We could however use some help on the right side of the OL.

[SABURZFAN]

I think we're a right guard away from having an offensive line that could start to do some pretty good things.



:laughter:


Lickers take notes......


RG as reason for excuse.......


more excuses to follow.......

[madness]

Any oversized athletic TE's in this year's draft? If there is, I think we should treat them like Pokémon.

[Night Train]

Gandy got lawn darted on many a play,from my seat in the stands. I remember the Tenny game especially as a game where he was blown up all day by Smith and Hainesworth. Preston didn't help much either, getting caught out of position many times each week.

I have to disagree. I think Guard is a big need for this team. Both positions.

[Saratoga Slim]

Gandy's one of the several positions that we could upgrade, he played well but not spectacularly. But he's also a guy that we can perform well enough to give us a pretty decent OL, providing the other pieces are in place. I view Gandy like I view Kelsey: it'd be nice to have a star, but we could certainly do worse, and unless we have a damn good replacement lined up, they've got to be resigned.

[mysticsoto]

Given that we ran mostly to the left, I think Peters and Gandy did an exceptional job this year. No lineman is perfect, so to say that Gandy occasionally let people thru or was beat doesn't really mean anything at all. I also remember Gandy and Peters opening up huge holes for McGahee in the games where he had breakout runs!

While it'd be nice to have a superstar at every position, that is not realistic. Let's stick with improving our "huge" holes which right now are RG, DT, MLB and maybe CB...

[jamze132]

Mcnally's job shouldn't be in jeopardy. he had nothing but crap before Levy brought Jauron in and twisted some **** around.

[TigerJ]

Our friend Coach Sal in his podcast suggests Buffalo will not resign Gandy.

I think it is interesting that we regard Fowler as undersized. The average size of the other 31 starting centers in the NFL is a fraction over 300 lbs. Melvin Fowler is 295. That's not enough to really even consider. There are a number of centers who are lighter and shorter, several that are under 290 in fact. Jeff Faine, who some of us want o try and acquire is 291. If Fowler has a problem it is not that he isn't big enough.

[eyedog]

I think both of the guards stink and are the main reason we can't run the ball with any consistency. Gandy is an NFL backup and I really could care less if he stays or goes. I would hope we us a draft pick, in the 2-4 range, on an interior o-linemen.