O-line overrated?

[Judge]

The o-line has been given alot of praise over the beginning of the season, but here's what I see:

- inconsistent running game. Sure, there's been no commitment to establishing the run, but the o-line has done little to nothing to show the coaches why the commitment is needed.

- Bledose has been sacked, hurried, and pressured. He's stood in there and taken some hits just as he got the ball away, and made big plays. He hasn't really been protected that well, though.

This unit might have the makings of a future strength, but it isn't showing those signs yet.

[TigerJ]

I don't think anything has changed. The line is very athletic, but it's also young. I'd like to see reductions in the sacks given up in the weeks to come, but Drew Bledsoe is a QB who likes to throw downfield and Kevin Gilbride's offensive scheme encourages that. That puts more pressure on the line. It also doesn't help that Buffalo has faced some pretty good defenses in the early going this season. Yeah, the Jets and Vikings stink and Chicago was somewhat hobbled by injuries, but the Broncos and Raiders are very strong defensive teams. Over the rest of the season, especially when we face those few average to weak teams on our schedule, the o-line will look very good. Next year, with a whole season under their belts as a unit, I think the O-line will be one of the best in the league and will remain so for a long time to come.

[John Doe]

TigerJ, the voice of reason as usual. Fans underestimate the value of experience in the NFL The O-line is in the same postion as the defensive backfield: they are young and are getting on-the-job training. They will make mistakes, but that is the quickest way to learn.

[RedEyE]

The O-line just keeps improving. A new C, and a rookie OT. C'mon guys ~ They have accomplished a lot this season. I think that they are currently better then what was expected of them after 5 weeks.

[Ingtar33]

The easiest way to find out if the O-line is giving enough time is to start a count in your head... if they give the QB the count of 3 they're doing their job... if you hit 5 without the QB having to move much they're doing a marvelous, and if they give the QB enough time to set his feet and throw when the D blitzes they picked it up well. Just because Drew hits the ground doesn't mean he's not getting good time. This whole season Drew has been given really good time to throw... it only looks bad because he is holding on 'till the last possible second (and mostly making huge plays) and the passing attack dictates a WR-TE-RB progression (deep, middle, short), meaning Bledsoe by design is taking a long time to pass. Are they a great line? No… every game the line is good for 2 or 3 penalties, Sullivan and Teague are having problems in the running game, and once or twice every game a blitzer gets through clean. However, they are most certainly a top 10 or 12 line.