Bell getting reps at starting RT

[Michael82]

I'm at the night practice right now and Demetrius Bell is getting reps with the starters at RT and looking really good. He did a great job containing Chris Kelsay and Wood dominated at RG. The right side looks solid.

[Ebenezer]

For some reason I'm just not ready to bet the farm on the right side just yet.

[Michael82]

Ashton Youboty is looking good tonight too and has intercepted 2 passes in the Red Zone.

[BillsWin]

I like Bell, but I want the o-line to look like this: Bell, Levitre, Wood, Butler, Walker

with Hangnarter keeping the interior fresh.

[Goobylal]

I like Bell, but I want the o-line to look like this: Bell, Levitre, Wood, Butler, Walker

with Hangnarter keeping the interior fresh.
Hangartner is the best choice for center this year, and keeping Bell at RT, like the Bills did with Peters in his 2nd season, is probably the smarter way to go, again for this year. Maybe next year it will look the way you have it above, although for my money, I'd probably look for Butler to get benched.

And great news about Bell. I've been saying he needs to be thrown into the fire ASAP.

[DMBcrew36]

I'm at the night practice right now and Demetrius Bell is getting reps with the starters at RT and looking really good. He did a great job containing Chris Kelsay and Wood dominated at RG. The right side looks solid.

Containing Chris Kelsay shouldn't be hard. Lets wait until our O-line has to face REAL defensive-ends.

thanks for reporting, though.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Ashton Youboty is looking good tonight too and has intercepted 2 passes in the Red Zone.
If those passes were from Hadman then they mean nothing.

[Patrick76777]

I'm at the night practice right now and Demetrius Bell is getting reps with the starters at RT and looking really good. He did a great job containing Chris Kelsay and Wood dominated at RG. The right side looks solid.

A blocking dummy could contain Kelsay. But this is interesting news.

[RamblingMisnomer]

Butler would make a great 6th OL as he can play both OG and OT, and probably some OC in a pinch. Very versatile player.

[Goobylal]

Kelsay was beating Butler a lot. So it means something.

[tampabay25690]

I like Bell, but I want the o-line to look like this: Bell, Levitre, Wood, Butler, Walker

with Hangnarter keeping the interior fresh.

The line will look however the coaches want it to look..

[Goobylal]

And so starts the Demetrius Bell era.

[Michael82]

Kelsay was beating Butler a lot. So it means something.
Exactly! As much as I like Butler, he's not a good OT. He got owned by Kelsay many times at the line. He was good at RG though.

[Goobylal]

Exactly! As much as I like Butler, he's not a good OT. He got owned by Kelsay many times at the line. He was good at RG though.
He actually might be better at LG, where he'll have more help. He was only played at RG because the Bills spent big bucks on Dockery to play LG. If Levitre doesn't improve, I'd put Butler there.

[Lexwhat]

Exactly! As much as I like Butler, he's not a good OT. He got owned by Kelsay many times at the line. He was good at RG though.

If Bell can really shift to LT next year (putting Walker back at RT), I think we will have an outstanding O-Line:
Walker - Wood - Hangartner - Levitre - Bell

If Bell can start at RT this year, I am all for it. I don't feel that Butler at RT is a good option (see my signature).

Thanks for the updates!!

[Lexwhat]

In fact, IMO, Butler shouldn't start at any position on our O-Line.

He's a great role player though.

[jamze132]

Kelsay was beating Butler a lot. So it means something.
yeah, it means that Butler has no business playing RT in the NFL. if he can't hold down RG, he shouldn't have a job. Walker needs to go back to RT and throw Bell in at LT.

[Buffalogic]

Come on guys, we cant have three first time starters on the line at once, that might be totally suicidal! Butler deserves to have a chance to start because he had to cover Duke Preston's ass the whole year last year at RG. He's being a good teammate and switching positions just like Walker.

Bell will probably see a good amount of playing time this year, but going into the pats game with three of our five linemen being Bell, Wood, and Levitre is pretty scary...

[ServoBillieves]

Whatever sends Brad back in to RG is fine by me. Put Bell on the tackle, Butler at RG and put Wood on the inside.

[jamze132]

Come on guys, we cant have three first time starters on the line at once, that might be totally suicidal! Butler deserves to have a chance to start because he had to cover Duke Preston's ass the whole year last year at RG. He's being a good teammate and switching positions just like Walker.

Bell will probably see a good amount of playing time this year, but going into the pats game with three of our five linemen being Bell, Wood, and Levitre is pretty scary...
Well that seems like Dick's plan.

[Night Train]

I see very little difference between Butler and other stiffs we started like Dockery,Tuten Reyes & Bennie Anderson.

Bell,Levitre & Wood are all raw with experience but others we tried on the OL over the last 10 years had lots of experience looking bad. The QB got crushed anyhow and our run blocking sucked.

Start building towards something actually good. 1 step back, 3 steps forward.

[Jan Reimers]

Isn't Bell in because Butler has a back injury?

[jamze132]

Isn't Bell in because Butler has a back injury?
At this point yes, but the Bills are hoping for Bell to lock down one of the outside positions as soon as possible.

Sometimes it takes an injury for a youngster to get a shot.

[Jan Reimers]

At this point yes, but the Bills are hoping for Bell to lock down one of the outside positions as soon as possible.

Sometimes it takes an injury for a youngster to get a shot.
I understand that. It just sounded like many posters assumed Bell was at RT because the coaches decided to move him ahead of Butler. That is not the case, and I would assume Butler will be back as the starter when his back improves. Unless, of course, we have a Wally Pipp situation.

[don137]

I have been to practices Monday and Tuesday. While I took my 5 and 9 year old so I get distracted a lot, but from what I saw Trent is not connecting on the long ball and still does not have the chemistry yet with TO however I do see them talking over things a lot when the second string is going through their reps and they were working together at the end of practice on Monday.

[ddaryl]

I like Bell, but I want the o-line to look like this: Bell, Levitre, Wood, Butler, Walker

with Hangnarter keeping the interior fresh.


Even Jason Peters started on the right side. They're not going to toss Bell on the LT side until he cuts his teeth some at RT IMO

It would be great if Bell can handle the LT side of the line sooner then later, but be realistic, he needs time on OL before making the transition.

[jamze132]

I understand that. It just sounded like many posters assumed Bell was at RT because the coaches decided to move him ahead of Butler. That is not the case, and I would assume Butler will be back as the starter when his back improves. Unless, of course, we have a Wally Pipp situation.
The key to your post was your mentioning of "many posters assumed Bell was at RT because the coaches decided to move him ahead of Butler." Good posters know better. You have to draw a line about who's a serious Bills poster and who's a serious Bills poser.

[Goobylal]

Bell started over Chambers at RT, which is noteworthy. As for taking the spot from Butler, that remains to be seen. Butler's back hurting this early is a big concern.

[Saratoga Slim]

Butler would make a great 6th OL as he can play both OG and OT, and probably some OC in a pinch. Very versatile player.

Exactly. If Bell is really stepping it up enough to pass Chambers & Butler, that's the best news we could possibly have gotten regarding the OL. Chambers & Butler aren't great as starters, but they make excellent backups. That would be a pretty deep OL.

Let's hope that Bell keeps impressing. If he does, that will be one of the nicest surprises since Peters.

[Jan Reimers]

Exactly. If Bell is really stepping it up enough to pass Chambers & Butler, that's the best news we could possibly have gotten regarding the OL. Chambers & Butler aren't great as starters, but they make excellent backups. That would be a pretty deep OL.

Let's hope that Bell keeps impressing. If he does, that will be one of the nicest surprises since Peters.
Again, Bell hasn't passed Butler, but is only getting starting reps at RT because Butler has a back problem. May the best man win the starting position, and the other be a quality backup. But some seem to be ignoring Butler's injury, and getting ahead of themselves with Bell.

[madness]

As of right now, this is all we know of the three.

Butler > Bell =<> Chambers

Hope that clears things up.

[Michael82]

Bell started over Chambers at RT, which is noteworthy. As for taking the spot from Butler, that remains to be seen. Butler's back hurting this early is a big concern.
Yeah it is...especially when you consider that he was the backup LT before Butler went down.

[HHURRICANE]

Exactly! As much as I like Butler, he's not a good OT. He got owned by Kelsay many times at the line. He was good at RG though.


This is my whole issue with the line. Butler is a decent RG.His arms are too short for RT.

Why screw around with the right side. Can Bell play LT yes or no? If he can than why not plant him there and have Chambers, who sucks, focus on backing him there. Walker is going to struggle at LT for a full season.

Your only weakness on this line is LT.

[Saratoga Slim]

Again, Bell hasn't passed Butler, but is only getting starting reps at RT because Butler has a back problem. May the best man win the starting position, and the other be a quality backup. But some seem to be ignoring Butler's injury, and getting ahead of themselves with Bell.

Good clarification, and I agree. However, my point remains the same - if Bell somehow passes Butler to win a starting position, that's a great thing for the OL. We already know that Butler is a somewhat serviceable starter (if not a good one), and that he's a solid backup. However, we don't know much about Bell at this point - prior to these posts I was assuming he was another Terrance Pennington, a project player who doesn't pan out. If that's not true, and he actually is showing something, that's a bonus for the OL that I really wasn't expecting.

[Lexwhat]

I see very little difference between Butler and other stiffs we started like Dockery,Tuten Reyes & Bennie Anderson.

Bell,Levitre & Wood are all raw with experience but others we tried on the OL over the last 10 years had lots of experience looking bad. The QB got crushed anyhow and our run blocking sucked.

Start building towards something actually good. 1 step back, 3 steps forward.

Thank you for this post. This is exactly what Butler brings to the table. He will never be an elite starter; he simply does not have the skill set to become one.

The sooner Butler is supplanted as a starter, the sooner our O-Line can move forward toward "elite" status.

[Goobylal]

Regarding Bell starting at RT because Butler is injured, let's not forget that the only reason Butler is starting at RT is because the Bills traded Peters and put Walker at LT, and drafted 2 OG's high. And remember that (back when he was good), Peters was behind Mike Williams on the depth chart.

As for Butler, I think that he'd make a better LG. I read an article by Ross Tucker who said that RG was the hardest O-line position, because more often than not, he was left alone with a DT, while the other positions had help. Meaning the LG had help from the LT. That's why I think Butler would be better there. And if Levitre doesn't start to pick-up his level of play soon, I think I'd rather see Butler there. When he's healthy.

[Billsouth]

i disagree... offensive lineman can play much earlier in the nfl than other positions. there have been many rookie lineman who start and do very well. hell, peters never even played line in college and started at RT his 2nd year. Ugah in carolina did well, staley in SF did well, etc.

i like a young aggressive line...which we will have.

[casdhf]

Isn't Chambers hurt too?