How can the Bills need oline and have big run yards

[hintexas]

When the ESPN guys interviewed TD they predicted that the Bills will have 2 - 1,000 yard rushers. But then they went on to basically tell TD that teh Oline wasnt good and asked him how the Bills were going to improve it. So my question is - How can you have 2 - 1,000 yard rushers on the team no matter how good the running backs are if the o-line is not good?

[Ingtar33]

the same way the Fin's have a **** O-line and will still get 1500 out of ricky

[hintexas]

When you are looking to pick a o-lineman do you care more about pass blocking then run blocking. Which is easier for the coaches to try to teach?

[Ingtar33]

hrmm...

I like the complete package... but then don’t we all? Run Blocking is the easiest to teach, pass blocking is the undoing of most O-lineman's careers.

[BuffaloRanger]

That's why most O-linemen are bigger fans of running the ball, I guess.

[hintexas]

Ingtar Do you belive that the Bills must take a offensive lineman with the fouth round pick tomorrow or do you see anyone else that is still available that would work as well as meeting the Bills need at oline?

[Ingtar33]

i think the Bills are happy with their line (for reasons unknown). If they weren't they would have taken someone in round 1 and not traded away pick 2.

[BuffaloRanger]

Reason Known: TD likes to see his QB sacked 50 times a season.

[The_Philster]

The only real hole I see us having is at Center
Jennings-Sullivan-Teague-Villariel-Williams
Our bookend tackles should be very good, Villariel is a significant upgrade over Pucillo, Sullivan is a downgrade from Ruben but he played well enough in 2002 that I would have been happy having him in at RG this year before we got Villariel. A center that can't shotgun snap? :shakeno: McNally has his biggest early task in him.

[helmetguy]

We got 2800 yards out of TH over the last two seasons behind that comparatively ****ty offensive line. Imagine how much more that might have been if we REALLY committed to running the ball.

[The Spaz]

Originally posted by helmetguy
We got 2800 yards out of TH over the last two seasons behind that comparatively ****ty offensive line. Imagine how much more that might have been if we REALLY committed to running the ball.

No they suck!:snicker::beers:

[TedMock]

The o-line can obviously run block so I don't really understand where this all comes from. The pass blocking was less than average but a whole bunch of that QB pressure came straight up the gut rather than around the ends. I watched every game like everybody else here and I think we're all in agreement that right guard was a big reason for this. This only makes Teague and Williams that much less effective because they're compensating due to the guy next to them screwing up. CV may just be a much bigger pick up than we realize. I think Sullivan will do okay at left guard. Even if he's a slight downgrade from Brown, CV is a huge upgrade over Pucillo so the overall result is better. Don't forget the McNally factor either.

[Philly Zoner]

Originally posted by The_Philster
The only real hole I see us having is at Center
Jennings-Sullivan-Teague-Villariel-Williams
Our bookend tackles should be very good, Villariel is a significant upgrade over Pucillo, Sullivan is a downgrade from Ruben but he played well enough in 2002 that I would have been happy having him in at RG this year before we got Villariel. A center that can't shotgun snap? :shakeno: McNally has his biggest early task in him.

I'm with you on that, I'm not sold on Teague but we'll be all right with the rest. Isn't that Alex Stepanovich guy still available in rd 4? though I heard he's not much of a shotgun snapper either

[The_Philster]

Originally posted by Philly Zoner
I'm with you on that, I'm not sold on Teague but we'll be all right with the rest. Isn't that Alex Stepanovich guy still available in rd 4? though I heard he's not much of a shotgun snapper either

yep...still available :up:
http://www.nflhs.com/News/Playersspotlight/2004DraftStepanovich_04192004_sim.asp
He does need to work on his footwork according to http://www.allsortssports.com/PlayerProfiles/C/alexstepanovich.htm

War Room analysis
Strengths: Is tough, physically and technically sound and has experience at guard and center. Is intelligent, understands offensive line calls and has adequate size. He’s a mauler in the running game, has a strong lower body and plays with great leverage. Is a scrappy blocker who is aggressive, gets in good position, stays under control and drives his legs to finish. Has adequate feet and good balance. He won’t get caught lunging in pass pro, and he can help his guards without over-extending. Is aware in pass pro.

Weaknesses: Is not a great athlete. Was replaced on shotgun situations because of poor long-snapping ability. Must work to improve because he does not match up well at guard. He doesn’t move well laterally and will struggle when he needs to shuffle inside to pick up the blitz or stunt. Has some trouble hitting the moving target when he’s in the open field. He isn’t overpowering at the point of attack and will need some double-team help against big nose tackles in the run game.

Bottom line: He has bulked up but is not going to get any bigger and isn’t as comfortable at guard as he is at center. If he has time to develop and the right coaching, Stepanovich has the physical tools and upside to develop into a starting center in the NFL, which is why he's worth drafting late on Day 1.

[HenryRules]

A few comments about the other posts:

Henry got a lot of yards because he runs the ball more than almost any RB in the league.

Many people wanted to get Woody in here as a C. Guess what, he can't snap shotgun well either. It's not a positive that a C can't do it well, but it's not unheard of either.

Sullivan is a worse G than Teague is a C. Neither are adequate at their positions.

Right now, our best OL is an average at best LT (there's at least 15 LT's in the league that I'd say are better than Jennings). That's an indication as to the quality of our line.

[The_Philster]

Originally posted by HenryRules
A few comments about the other posts:

Henry got a lot of yards because he runs the ball more than almost any RB in the league.
6th place in the league and he has a 4.1 yard per carry average...not like he carried the ball so many times that he just HAD to get a lot of yards. I'll be interested to see what he can do when he has good blocking on a consistent basis

[HenryRules]

Travis henry is talented and that's the main reason he averaged 4.1 ypc.

and by the way, for a starting RB, 4.1 yards per carry is average at best. Take a look the ypc for guys like Jamal Lewis or Clinton Portis - they get over 5 ypc.

4 ypc is about what you should expect for a starting RB and at 300+ carries, that works out to over 1200 yards, so yes, TH did get enough carries that he'd be guaranteed to get yards.

[The_Philster]

Originally posted by HenryRules
Travis henry is talented and that's the main reason he averaged 4.1 ypc.

and by the way, for a starting RB, 4.1 yards per carry is average at best. Take a look the ypc for guys like Jamal Lewis or Clinton Portis - they get over 5 ypc.
Yeah...but we know Denver's had one of the best O-lines in the league for years...and Baltimore has Ogden-Mulitalo-Flynn-Anderson-Brown...not exactly a slouch, either. That's why I'm interested to see Travis improve with consistent good blocking.