Is Anyone Else Concerned the OL Will Completely Fall Apart This Season?

[SpikedLemonade]

I will readily admit that last season the OL played much better than I had expected. We ran the ball well and it is not clear to me that the passing game difficulties was the result of poor pass protection rather than TT's inability to find the middle of the field.

However, I predict a big drop off in OL performance this year. Injuries may be a cause of it due to our razor thin depth on the OL.

More likely, the upcoming OL meltdown will be the result of the specific parts of our current OL. Glenn would not be the first LT who played with less intensity after just receiving a big payday. Incognito's excellent season last year I see as an anomaly. He was also playing for a contract. Eric Wood has been in decline for the past 3 years. He can no longer properly anchor against big DTs. Miller was a rookie last year but he looked like crap. It is not certain he will be a starting caliber NFL Guard. I have no idea who will be our RT this year. Henderson is done or in his case just bagged.

If our OL is so poor that our running game is not as effective as last year then it puts pressure on TT to pass and we are on our way to a 5-11 season.

Am I the only one that feels that way?

[Luisito23]

Glenn is overrated, as is Wood...Incognito, I still see having at least 1, or 2 more good seasons...The other ones aren't even worth mentioning.

[k-oneputt]

Miller will improve.

[SpikedLemonade]

Miller will improve.

OK, I will bite....in the beginning, middle or end of this play-off season homer?

[EDS]

Maybe not implode, but I think there is a high probability the right side of the offensive line is a big liability for the team in 2016.

[k-oneputt]

OK, I will bite....in the beginning, middle or end of this play-off season homer?

All three.

[elroy16]

It's possible, but I don't expect it to happen. To start, I don't believe the line played as well last year as the statistics indicate. There were a bunch of times that Shady turned a loss into a big gain or Tyrod turned a sack into a positive run. It's not like they played lights out, opened huge holes every game, and gave TT 5 seconds in the pocket. Even if there is a drop off, I think it will be marginal.

Another reason I don't think they'll drop off or fall apart, is it's their second year in the system. They've talked about how GRo's playbook is possibly the largest in the league. Having another off-season practicing together and studying the playbook should help them improve. In this regard as well, Roman should have found certain things the O-line did well last year and some things they didn't do so well. I don't know what those things are, but hopefully he'll figure out ways to maximize their talents.


Glenn - After a big contract, his production could dip, but he doesn't appear to be that kind of player. I know, just a guess, but he's been a model teammate, signed the franchise tag immediately and appeared to want to be here. He didn't try to holdout or hit the FA market for a huge payday.

Richie - I could see his play decline a tad, but I doubt it was all about the contract. Everything I've read about him leads me to believe he loves the game and his teammates. He's already on his last chance, if he comes in and dogs it because he got paid, he's done.

Wood - He just turned 30. That's not too old to play well. He is what he is, a decent starting C.

Miller - He certainly struggled as a rookie. A lot of rookie offensive lineman do too. He's a tad undersized, so having a full year of NFL training should help. He also lost his mother in October to cancer and played with a high ankle sprain for the last part of the year. I can't imagine those are easy things to play through, especially as a rookie. There's no guarantee he'll improve, but I'm willing to bet he does.

Mills - He's still pretty young and was able to come in during the year and start. Lineman always talk about cohesion and now Mills should have an off-season to learn the playbook and get comfortable playing beside Miller.



All in all, I think the improve. I don't expect 6 YPC or something ridiculous like that, but a small step above where they played last year.

Now if Glenn, Richie, and Wood go down, then they're in trouble.

[trapezeus]

I think they'll have issues if injuries pop up. but I think TT's dynamic ability helps them a bit. and frankly I thought RB's who ran to the whole, (gillisee and k Williams) did better than shady dancing behind the lines. the bills are all in on how they approached this last year. so it is what it is. its hard to ***** too much about it. if it doesn't work, they need to send a lot of walking papers to the non-players first.

[YardRat]

There are questions at every position, which usually isn't a good thing.

[kscdogbillsfan1221]

to me, the problem is the razor thin depth. i don't love all 5 starters but collectively i like them. I absolutely hate what's behind them. What happens if/when Eric Wood has another gruesome injury, or Seantreal has another Crohn's flare (which are notoriously unpredictable)

If (and it's a big if) they all remain healthy, I feel like they will have another good year.

[John Doe]

Funny. People complain that we don't address the O-line. Then, the team signs their left tackle long term and its a bad thing because he'll probably dog it now.

There are plenty of reasons to believe that the line will be better:

Continuity

An added year of experience for the young players

An upgrade to the center/guard backup position

Henderson now properly treated for Chron's disease

[Skooby]

I wouldn't count on Henderson, I know a lady with Chron's and it's a flaky situation at best. There's many pitfalls with it and many a bad day, it usually gets worse with age.

[Mace]

I like the left side and center, not a fan of the right side atm.

On the left, I think you'll see Glenn get better with a year of the system under his belt. He doesn't strike me as a payday slacker. He's all about being a quiet, proficient soldier. After last season, I have no worries about Incognito. He's not a dancing skills athlete, his game is based on fierce will and fierce effort. He'll be out to prove they should have paid him more. He'll decline one day, it will not be this year.

At center, I think Wood is fine. He's not spectacular, but he's stalwart, and his game is affected by the guys at his sides, not to mention the QB behind him. Solid starter.

On the right, I can easily give Miller the benefit of the doubt though, learning curve, growing pains, personal adversity. At RT I'm uncertain about Mills but open to having him change my mind, not a fan of Henderson even when fully healthy, Kouandjio doesn't look like he'll amount to anything.

Depth wise, Velasco seems adequate, not a single other one I have any confidence in. For all the crap people gave Urbik, I think he was better than any of them.

Injuries, and they fall apart, imho.

Wildcards to me are Roman and Kromer as coaches. I'm satisfied to some extent with Roman's running game OC work, but I'm not convinced those two can coach anyone up if required.

I'm still more worried about the defense as a whole.

[ICRockets]

I have no issues with Glenn and Incognito, but I think we need massive upgrades at C and RT. The jury's still out on Miller, but I'm cautiously optimistic there.

[swiper]

More concerned that the QB will implode than the o-line.

[cookie G]

Its a tale of 2 sides and 2 forms of blocking

run blocking is fine across the board, very good on the left and center.

In pass blocking, its about average to a little above average on the left, wayyyyy below average on the right.

Overall...pass blocking is well below average and based on what they didn't do, there's no reason to expect it to improve very much.

[Night Train]

I'm not worried about anything right now. The season is 3 months away and summer is to be enjoyed.

Go outside.

[TacklingDummy]

We ran the ball well and it is not clear to me that the passing game difficulties was the result of poor pass protection rather than TT's inability to find the middle of the field.

?
It's crystal clear. One report had TT having the most time to throw last year. It's not the oline fault he didn't get rid of the ball faster.

[stuckincincy]

It's crystal clear. One report had TT having the most time to throw last year. It's not the oline fault he didn't get rid of the ball faster.

A poster, a few days ago, stated that because Taylor scooted from the pocket and didn't get much out of middle passing, teams started to play contain.

[Mace]

A poster, a few days ago, stated that because Taylor scooted from the pocket and didn't get much out of middle passing, teams started to play contain.

I'm still not sure why people blame Taylor for the lack of the midfield passing game, and not passing game guys Lee & Lal. If anyone was watching the same games I was, defenses weren't defending the middle of the field most often, because no one was running routes there. If no one is running routes there, there isn't anyone to throw to there.

Part of the reason he was slow finding targets downfield is that they were deking and juking around the sidelines all the time. Sort of wasn't too hard to figure where the receivers would be, for defenses.

Unsure if that was coaching staff suspecting a limitation, or trying to work around one, but I still think much of it was too much playcall haggling between the guys with input, which also explains why they could never get plays in with any prompt execution.

[SpikedLemonade]

A poster, a few days ago, stated that because Taylor scooted from the pocket and didn't get much out of middle passing, teams started to play contain.

Whether it was TT or the play calling, that is definitely what happened.

[venis2k1]

nope.... They will be better than ever.

[venis2k1]

Also, i literally have not been on this message oard for years. Its kinda endearing to see se many of the same old usernames. Go bills.

[Jan Reimers]

No.