Big Little Factoid on Bills O-line

[ParanoidAndroid]

Q: When was the last time Buffalo started the same 5 players along the O-line to begin a second consecutive season?

A: 1995 to 1996
Fina - Brown - Hull - Ostroski - Parker

We are about to do it again. :up:

Those teams were both 10-6

[Dr. Lecter]

John Fina was abused by the fans of the team, but was quite solid.

So was Glenn Parker. I always hoped that he found Dickerson in a dark alley to ask him about the "bag of puss" comments.

Hull was an all time great.

Ruben Brown was a mutliple time Pro Bowl player who has been missed.

And Ostroski was a classic case of a guy succeeding without pure talent.

[RockStar36]

I have to give the line props this year. They've been solid and have been getting better. Regardless of the QB, two straight games with no sacks and the last game having two 100 yard rushers is quite an accomplishment.

[B-DON]

i hope not, cuz want an upgrade at center and rg

[TigerJ]

The line struggled opening holes earlier in the year in the running game. We were attributing that to poor play by Fowler and Butler. Fowler was also the player who was abused by Wilfork on his way to cracking on Losman's leg. Purely by accident, of course. On the other hand. the running game has come alive lately and overall the line has given the QB much better protection all year. I think therre is some evaluating yet to be done. Can Fowler and company still open holes when facing a good defensive line, or is their recent success just a consequence of playing bad lines? Let's see how they do theri last three games, and just maybe into the playoffs. Then maybe we can get a better read on whether Fowler and Butler are good enough or not.

[John Doe]

One of the things that Marv has stressed as being important is "continuity" and nowhere is that more important than the offensive line.

One of the problems for the Bills has been poor play at the beginning of the season. Almost all of our starters on both sides of the ball will be back next year, so hopefully that will not be a problem.

[Dr. Lecter]

i hope not, cuz want an upgrade at center and rg

Why RG?

Butler has been much improved this season, perhaps the Bills most improved player.

[Mitchy moo]

i hope not, cuz want an upgrade at center and rg

What if we make the playoffs with the guys we have??

[Forward_Lateral]

I don't think there needs to be any immediate changes to the O-line, execpt depth. Marv needs to either draft, or sign at least one backup OT and Guard, depending on what Whittle's situation is. (I think he was just a one year deal). The fact that there's only two backup O-linemen on the active roster disturbs me.

[OpIv37]

Q: When was the last time Buffalo started the same 5 players along the O-line to begin a second consecutive season?

A: 1995 to 1996
Fina - Brown - Hull - Ostroski - Parker

We are about to do it again. :up:

Those teams were both 10-6

I hope we don't do it again- we need to do something about Fowler. The rest of the line is fine.

[mybills]

eleven years :ill:

[bigbub2352]

I was a huge critic of this line, and still feel that they can improve, but recently they have showed what we r payin for, Butler is starting to come into his own at RG, and i think he will be real good for us, but one spot remains to hurt us and the is Fowler, he needs to be replaced, then this line will truly be dominant

[Mahdi]

I was a huge critic of this line, and still feel that they can improve, but recently they have showed what we r payin for, Butler is starting to come into his own at RG, and i think he will be real good for us, but one spot remains to hurt us and the is Fowler, he needs to be replaced, then this line will truly be dominant
Im still holding out on how far the OL has come with regards to run blocking until we dominate a good DL. When it comes to pass pro however we are one of the best in the league and getting better. '

Our games against Philly and NY will shed a lot of light on whether or not Fowler can hold up in this league as a run blocker.

[justasportsfan]

Trents ability to get rid of the ball quick makes them look better . I'd like to see them hold up against the better DL's than both Wash and Miami's.

[colin]

i like our line, but a day 1 C or G would prolly be an instant upgrade

[Mahdi]

Trents ability to get rid of the ball quick makes them look better . I'd like to see them hold up against the better DL's than both Wash and Miami's.
I think they have protected well for both QBs against all our opponents. Thing is we have played 9 games against 3-4 teams and by rule you will give up a sack or 2 and pressure will come. Its impossible to avoid it since blitzes can come from anywhere at anytime. However with that said we have still done well in protection against those teams for the most part.

[justasportsfan]

I think they have protected well for both QBs against all our opponents. Thing is we have played 9 games against 3-4 teams and by rule you will give up a sack or 2 and pressure will come. Its impossible to avoid it since blitzes can come from anywhere at anytime. However with that said we have still done well in protection against those teams for the most part.
It's definitely better in pass coverage. It didn't hoild up against the jets and the Pats.

Whenever someone tries to give props to any part of this team, I always try to see how it would do against the PAts. They should be the measuring stick to any team in the NFL.

[Mahdi]

It's definitely better in pass coverage. It didn't hoild up against the jets and the Pats.

Whenever someone tries to give props to any part of this team, I always try to see how it would do against the PAts. They should be the measuring stick to any team in the NFL.
They did do well against the Jets and Pats though. Sure there was pressure here and there and a sack or 2 but thats going to happen when you play those teams. The point is they protected well most of the time. Even against Jacksonville the protection was very good.

Every team in the NFL will give up sacks to the Pats and Steelers and such but its how you protect for the other 25 drop backs that matter.

Also how many times have we seen either Trent or JP sitting in the pocket for several seconds before taking a sack? JP more than Trent but both have been guilty of it. Coverage sacks have been a big factor especially in the Steelers game.

[justasportsfan]

They did do well against the Jets and Pats though. Sure there was pressure here and there and a sack or 2 but thats going to happen when you play those teams. The point is they protected well most of the time. Even against Jacksonville the protection was very good.

Every team in the NFL will give up sacks to the Pats and Steelers and such but its how you protect for the other 25 drop backs that matter.
Trent looked like a headless chicken against the jets in the 2nd game.

[bigbub2352]

Trent in the pocket does defintly helps with pass protection he slides over and steps up away from the rush like a Vet should, and this is a very good sign, also his quick release is huge as well and helps the Wrs as well

[Mahdi]

Trent looked like a headless chicken against the jets in the 2nd game.
yeah they were doing some things that the Bills hadnt seen from them before and didnt expect like blitzing Revis on every play.

[Mr. Pink]

I think we're a solid Center away from having one of the best lines in the NFL in all honesty. Upgrade Preston via the draft with Grimes and we're top 5 easily.

I don't see any way in hell this line is the same next year and I'll honestly be disappointed if it is.

[ScottLawrence]

We are one Center away from having one of the best Lines in the league.

First day pick of a Center would be a smart decision, IMO.

[Mahdi]

I agree with both of you,,,,,,,, the common factor of every good line in the NFL is a top notch C.

Saturday, Nalen, Rabach, O'Hara, Birk, Meester, Hardwick, Gurode, Koppen.

I really think we missed out on signing Mawae when the Jets released him. He has had a huge impact on Tennessee''s OL, particularly in the run blocking department.

[Mr. Pink]

What if we make the playoffs with the guys we have??

In the NFL if you stand still, you're getting worse.

Every year teams upgrade their team to get better...look at the Patriots.

Then look at the Bears, they did nothing....and what happened? They got worse.

It's the nature of the game.

[Mahdi]

In the NFL if you stand still, you're getting worse.

Every year teams upgrade their team to get better...look at the Patriots.

Then look at the Bears, they did nothing....and what happened? They got worse.

It's the nature of the game.
I dont really agree with that....

The Pats had a weakness so they addressed it in a big way. It really depends on your system and what you need for your system to succeed. The Bears depend heavily on their DTs and they lost 3 of them and only replaced 1 with an inferior player.

The best example of how a team should operate is the Colts. They only spend when they need to fill a priority position, and usually that spending is for extensions for their own players, otherwise they fill their voids with their own picks. I fully expect the Bills to follow that model which is why I think many of us will be surprised come early March and the Bills are asleep.