Bills' O-Line to be tested early sans Peters

by Brian Galliford on Sep 2, 2008 8:14 AM EDT in Opinion

Walker to face plenty of speed rush Sunday (Photo Source)

Last year, the Buffalo Bills' offensive line - bolstered with free agent additions and the emergence of LT Jason Peters - allowed 26 sacks en route to one of the most successful pass-blocking seasons for a Bills offensive line in over two decades. Just one year later, however, Peters is voluntarily away from the team, the line is re-shuffled, and many of the question marks that last year's line play resolved have resurfaced, unanswered once more.

Think the Seattle Seahawks aren't smiling about it? Think again.

Last year, the Seahawks boasted one of the NFL's fiercest pass rushes, registering 45 sacks during their 10-6 season, in which they won the NFC West and reached the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. Their ferocity in this department is made possible by the fact that they have three pass rushers that literally could play for any team - defensive ends Patrick Kerney and Darryl Tapp, as well as outside linebacker Julian Peterson. Combined, the three players had 31 of those 45 sacks in 2007.

Three-headed monster
Kerney is the veteran of the group; the warrior. He led the team with 14.5 sacks last year from his left end position, and he'll spend this coming Sunday lining up across from Bills right tackle Kirk Chambers. The journeyman tackle, who suffered many indignities at the hands of Osi Umenyiora in a loss to the Giants in '07, has had an effective pre-season, but hasn't faced anyone of the caliber of Kerney to this point.

Langston Walker - filling in for Peters at left tackle - might have an even more difficult assignment in Tapp. Though his 7 sacks in 2007 could be categorized as "good, but not great", Tapp seems poised to establish himself as one of the NFL's best pure speed rushers in 2008. Don't make the mistake of thinking he's just a speed rusher, however - he's got power, and he's certainly not a liability against the run. The 6'8", 366-pound Walker has played well at left tackle in Peters' absence, but his size - and the agility it saps from him - makes him a liability against quicker players.

Peterson's ability severely complicates the issue. He registered 9.5 sacks in 2007, and his ability to blitz from anywhere on the field will be the Seahawks' most dangerous defensive asset in 2008. Picture this, Bills fans: Kerney and Peterson both rushing the quarterback from the left side, with Chambers and either TE Robert Royal or one of the team's two running backs, Marshawn Lynch or Fred Jackson, to pick up Peterson (one of the game's best overall athletes). Yeah, I'm not exactly comforted by that thought either.

Scoring won't be easy
Buffalo's offense has appeared to make significant strides during the pre-season, for certain, particularly in the play-calling department - so there is certainly reason for optimism. However, the starting quarterback hasn't played live football in over two weeks, and Walker is a bit banged up. Scoring points this Sunday isn't going to be easy for Buffalo's offense. Impossible, no; easy, definitely not.

The key lies in how Buffalo's "revamped" offensive line handles Seattle's trio of superb pass rushers. Look for the Seahawks to run a lot of stunts with its athletic defensive tackles and push the line's communication skills to the brink. Buffalo's offense has enjoyed solid pass protection throughout the pre-season even without Peters, and it has remained a team strength. But the unit is far from perfect - they weren't perfect with Peters, either. Seattle's defense is the first big test; Buffalo may not have a good shot at starting their season with a win if that test isn't passed.

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Couple of other things to look for

First, look for more chipping by the backs and/or TEs on their way into pass patterns. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that on almost every pass play. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see a back milling around near Edwards (instead of chipping whiile going out into a pattern) to help either Chambers or Walker depending on who was having the most trouble on any given play.

Second, I suspect the Bills may have moved Walker in part because of Butler. When the Bills ran left Butler was often tasked with pulling in order to take out the LB in the hole. Dock does pull but wasn’t asked to do so anywhere near as often as Butler. Why? My guess is that the coaches think Butler does a better job of pulling and/or blocking in space. With Peters on his sabbatical look for the team to again run left behind Walker, Dock and a pulling Butler. Kerney will have to chase the play from behind (In a race between Lynch and Kerney my money is on Lynch.), Tapp should be buried under Walker and hopefully Butler will be able to crunch Peterson in the hole…leading to consisitent positive yardage.

Third, with all of the talk about more passing I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Buffalo try to pound Seattle into submission. Getting hits on guys like Kerney, Tapp and Peterson should help slow down their pass rush. It should also open up play action passing. So, don’t be overly disappointed if the offense comes out of the gate with 7ish runs in the first 10 snaps.

by Ron From NM on Sep 2, 2008 9:34 AM EDT 0 recs

Good points Ron

Re: chipping the DE’s. I think you are right in that we could see that on almost every pass. I have no problem with that. If Lynch is chipping Kerney or helping with him, it could ALSO free him up on dumpoffs. I think this is a game where throwing to our RB’s is going to be extremely important. If Schouman does indeed play, he could fill that same type of role at TE.

We’ve gotta get the run game going early to have success on O come Sunday. Good pass rushers can be neutralized with a strong run game. As you said the trio will have to hesitate on the pass rushing if we are able to run it down their throats.

Of course, I’m actually expecting Turk to come out with a wide open O to start. I will like that too because it’ll be a lot of quick hitters early. Let’s just hope it’s successful….

by Kurupt on Sep 2, 2008 11:35 AM EDT up 0 recs

Early runs won't do much

Kerney does this thing pregame with some electrical sleeve on his neck that gives him little shocks and jumps up his adrenal glands. Point it in one of our last games last season he was playing hurt. I’d tell you which one but the point is you can’t tell, the guy is high motor 100% of the time, for better or for worse and running at him isn’t going to change that.

Meanwhile here’s Mike Lombardi’s opinion from SI.com on early runs.

You Must Establish The Run Early In The Game

The first comment that makes me hit the mute button is when announcers start talking about establishing the running game and the virtues of how the running game will set up the entire offensive playbook. Hogwash. Is anyone paying attention to what is going on in the NFL today? The running game in the first half does not set up anything other then field goal attempts and potentially low-scoring games. In fact, the team that ran the ball in the first half the most last season, the Minnesota Vikings, failed to make the playoffs. No. 2 was the Oakland Raiders, another non-playoff team. Who is behind this “establish the running game early” myth?

Football is very complicated and complex. It’s a chess match each and every week. “They have a very smart coaching staff and we have a very smart coaching staff,” New York Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles said prior to opening last season against the Patriots. “They [the coaches] basically use us as chess pieces. How they position us to play this game, that’s the main thing now. Whoever can make the adjustments the best and the fastest will probably have the edge.”

Coles clearly understands today’s NFL and he’s well aware that the chess pieces are moving through the air now. Teams are more proficient throwing the ball and are establishing the pass earlier in the game. And when you throw the ball in the first half, you can score points and build a lead, giving your team an excellent chance to win.

One of the masters of the pro football version of chess was the late Bill Walsh. He built the West Coast offense and many teams in the NFL run a variation of his well-designed attack. But the West Coast offense is really a philosophy, not a system of plays. It’s based on throwing the ball early in the game, building a lead, then running the ball to keep the lead. Walsh wanted to take short passes and use the skill and quickness of the wideouts to run with the ball, instead of trying to design running plays that would gain the NFL average of 4.0 yards per attempt.

Teams that build the lead at the half and have the greatest first half point differential are the teams that understand the philosophy of the West Coast. When you make a team play from behind, their margin of error shrinks and a potentially fatal, game-costing mistake will soon occur. That’s why all of Walsh’s teams had a complementary defense that could rush the passer and force turnovers. He wanted a dynamic pass rusher, not for the sacks, but for the pressure to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand earlier, thus creating turnovers.

The NFL is a passing league and teams that come out and try to find balance with their play-calling in the first half are doomed to fail. You have to throw to score in the NFL. Check out these eye-opening stats of five playoff teams from last season:
Team NFL rank for runs called in first half NFL rank for runs called in second half
Seattle 31st 13th
Green Bay 29th 19th
Indianapolis 28th 7th
Dallas 27th 11th
New England 26th 14th

These statistics are exactly what the West Coast offense is all about.

During game weeks, the Wednesday and Thursday practices throughout the NFL feature a period called 9-on-7. It’s a drill that features nine offensive players against seven defensive players to work exclusively on the run aspect of the game. The drill is quickly becoming obsolete. Teams are rarely in two backs in the back field and very few teams will play with a seven-man defensive box. The most compelling runs in the NFL right now are nickel runs, or space runs that create problems for the defense. The 9-on-7 periods of practice in the NFL will only help a team determine and develop toughness; the teams that practice their space runs each week are the successful ones.

So when watching your team play this coming season, look for more passes in the first half, look for more spread runs and hopefully look for more first-half points.

Why? Because the Seahawks rock my socks.

by Chickadee on Sep 2, 2008 3:59 PM EDT up 1 recs

Nice post Chickadee

Haven’t seen too many opposing teams post good ones here. Tip o’ the hat…

by krytime on Sep 2, 2008 10:46 PM EDT up 0 recs

It means

It means more to the Bills to establish the run early. Those teams you listed are all passing offenses first. The Bills are not. We have a young QB, potentially a starting rookie WR and a reshuffled OL that is not going to be a strength against your speed rushers. For the Bills, it’s important to establish a run game early in order to open up play action and the intermediate routes.

A team like New England or Dallas doesn’t have to run early and often because their passing O’s are so dynamite. I’d love for that to be the Bills, but it isn’t. Running is our ‘strength’, so if we want to score points and control the tempo of the game, running is what needs to be done early.

I don’t understand the Kerney thing. Are the Bills supposed to be scared of him because he straps some electric dog collar to his neck before the game? I know he’s a high motor guy, that’s all we have at DE here (without the pass rush skills). I’m just wondering if he plays more upfield looking to get sacks, or if he’s a DE that holds his ground more often and closes down off-tackle runs. Our DE’s don’t contain at all and are constantly rushing into the backfield hoping for sacks, even in run situations, which I hate. I’m wondering if Kerney, and Tapp, do the same thing….

by Kurupt on Sep 2, 2008 11:32 PM EDT up 0 recs

Heh, I think he's trying to say

that Kerney will never run out of steam due to the “electric dog collar.” Obviously, I disagree.

However, as a ‘hawk fan I’m not that worried, as Kerney can be ably spelled by Seattle’s deep DE corps (I like all 5 of ’em).

by redwolf75 on Sep 3, 2008 1:02 AM EDT up 0 recs

not to metion the fact

that our outside linebackers are great sackattackers too. Sometimes all that is asked of our Dline, Kerney too, is to open a hole that they can run straight through. In that regard a young QB can be caught well and often.

Not that he doesn’t run out of steam it’s that he’ll work just as hard on play 5 as play 25 or 35 until he just can’t, rather than tapering off. I mean look at some of his work in film last year from deep second half, he still rips hard.

Why? Because the Seahawks rock my socks.

by Chickadee on Sep 3, 2008 2:36 AM EDT up 0 recs

I’m with you K. It’s easy to point out a bunch of passing offenses and say that establishing the run isn’t important. Well obviously if passing is a team’s strength it is important for them to establish that first. I would be curious to see how successful running teams call plays. Do Pittsburg, Tennessee, San Diego and Jacksonville all come out throwing too? I doubt it. There are plenty of ways to win in the NFL and pounding away at a defense via the run is still an effective one.

by kaisertown on Sep 3, 2008 8:59 AM EDT up 0 recs

a point to make

With Seattle having good speed on the ends the game plan is rather simple for the Bills….Run the ball and stay out of 3rd and long situations where Seattle can tee off on you. To do that, quick passing, and pounding the ball is the way to go. Also, with a team like Seattle that has good team speed, plays like screens and play-action will be mucho effective if the Bills can gain positive yardage on 1st and 2nd downs. When speed rushers come up, that’s when middle screens to our playmakers will have chances to be big-gainers.

I think the Bills will have to come out and show they can throw the ball effectiviely early though to set up the RUN with Lynch. I script 3-5 straight passes to start the drive if I’m Schonert and then go into my normal game plan

MARVelous

by MARVelous on Sep 2, 2008 10:38 AM EDT 0 recs

This is what scares me the most about Seattle

They have a great, dynamic D and these rushers are going to give our OL fits. I don’t think our OL has been that great in protecting the QB in the preseason this year. I think we threw a lot more quick passes to negate any rushes. We’re going to need to continue that against Seattle.

If we can’t run the ball early, we could be in trouble in trying to protect Trent. I like our OL’s against their DL in the run game, so it’s going to be important for Barnes to be a successful lead blocker and any pulling guards to wipe out a LB. I think we can run against them, and it’s going to be important that we do.

by Kurupt on Sep 2, 2008 11:32 AM EDT 0 recs

I think we threw a lot more quick passes to negate any rushes. We’re going to need to continue that against Seattle.

Amen (Omon?)

The quick 3 step drop and pass system works wonders to negate a fierce pass rush. Running the ball works good to and with Rocky Bernard out the Bills should be able to do that.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Sep 2, 2008 12:14 PM EDT up 0 recs

The addition of Barnes in the backfield will be nice also. I can see him wanting to take Peterson’s head off on every play. That guy has a mean streak, as we saw in the preseason game against the Colts.

by bruuuuce_02 on Sep 2, 2008 12:30 PM EDT 0 recs

He’s also kind of clumsy and misses blocks completely. I hope that doesn’t continue though. We need him to be successful….

by Kurupt on Sep 2, 2008 12:35 PM EDT up 0 recs

.......

Maybe they’ll finally call Jason Peters after Trent get smacked around a bit….

…Hopefully….

by Scoe221 on Sep 2, 2008 12:52 PM EDT 0 recs

Hopefully the team calls Peters or hopefully Edwards gets smacked around?

by Ron From NM on Sep 2, 2008 1:48 PM EDT up 0 recs

Hopefully…the former. I think he wants them to call Peters when and if Edwards gets smackied.

Nobody wants Losman in there….

by Kurupt on Sep 2, 2008 1:57 PM EDT up 0 recs

Losman wants Losman in there, but I think he’s the only one. Maybe Lee.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Sep 2, 2008 2:07 PM EDT up 0 recs

Bargaining Chip ...

Earlier, I debated Brian about whether this was a “must win” game. I didn’t think it was, but I think it will go a long way in the Peters situation. If our O-line gets overwhelmed and we lose because of it, then the tables will turn on Bills management. So far, they’ve been supported by most fans. That will change quickly if the OL is bad. So here’s to the guys that are manning the fort … Good luck!

by MrFurious1 on Sep 2, 2008 1:02 PM EDT 0 recs

Hopefully...

They call Jason Peters.

Don’t want to see nothing happen to Trent. Of course!

by Scoe221 on Sep 2, 2008 4:37 PM EDT 0 recs

Without Peters, Walker Is Now ...

… Changing positions to the all important Left Tackle position
… Clearly the most important offensive player on the team with max leverage

Sounds ripe for a phone call from Eugene Parker. He’ll pull him off the field until he can get more jack.

And then Bell will have to play left tackle. Wait a minute, you can’t protect the blindside of the quarterback and get 7th round pay. He needs to walk.

And so on and so on … God I love the NFL.

by MrFurious1 on Sep 2, 2008 4:53 PM EDT up 0 recs

'Hawks fan here.

I’m uneasy about this coming game — the ’hawks being injury riddled. In addition, while it is true the ’hawks have a formidable pash rush (and also a strong secondary to boot), it has been inconsistent on the road. Case in point, the divisional playoff game in GB versus the wildcard game versus the redskins at home.

Two other rushers the Bills should be worried about are 2008 1st round pick Lawrence Jackson, who appears to have beaten Tapp for the starting spot (although they will still get equal reps in a rotation) and OLB Leroy Hill, who to us admittedly biased ’hawk fans is one of the most underrated players i the NFL.

Anyway, I hope to see a good game in our week 1 matchup.

by redwolf75 on Sep 2, 2008 10:42 PM EDT 0 recs