Having never played on an offensive line the knowledge I possess about what is happening in the trenches I’ve obtained – aside from a life watching the Bills– by reading. While I have certainly read a lot on the topic, a lifetime of reading newspapers and watching ESPN has taught me that you never get the full story from pundits, analysts, and experts. In much the same way, watching the Bills offensive line play as a fan can never teach me as much as I want to know The same way you would read a book on war by a General who was in one or ask what raising kids is like from someone who has done it, I like to go to these types of sources when I want to know more. While situations obviously differ, it is still valuable to know someone else’s thoughts on raising kids, even though your experience will be entirely different.

In this vain, I wrote an email to a longtime friend of mine who spent a 4 year career as a division III offensive lineman with multiple years worth of starting experience playing on some very good first place teams allowing him to obtain NCAA playoff competition experience. He is not a Bills fan, is not from Buffalo, and is largely unfamiliar with our team. My email was long as I explained as specifically as I could what the Bills situation on the line was like, even using Brian’s 2008 to 2009 starting experience difference layout within it. In the end I closed by asking him if he thought our line had the potential to gel this season.

Obviously, playing division III ball is not the same as playing in the NFL but he was highly talented on a highly talented team. Beyond that I know no one else who dedicates themselves more to a task they are engaged in, he took playing offensive lineman very seriously and I trust his opinion like few others. I thought his email response contained a few insights interesting enough to share with you guys and coming from a non-fan, I found they might stir up some good discussion:

On inexperience

I can definitely understand your concern. Having such a green offensive line is extremely concerning when you have all those offensive weapons at your skill positions. While I am not familiar with the individual personnel, the numbers are hard to look beyond. Throwing in a 2nd year guy at left tackle who has never started a down, compounded by the fact that his left guard is equally lacking in experience is very risky. He's out on an island, and guard/tackle communication is extremely important especially in pass protection schemes. The two have to be constantly talking it up, one blown assignment and a defender could walk through untouched.

He was adamant on emphasizing the importance of the guard-tackle relationship in regards to communication. It seemed to me that his biggest concern was that each half of the lines communication (LT-LG and RT-RG) were separate but vital. This leaves me more than a bit concerned with the fact that our left side of the line is two guys who have never played in the NFL, they could possibly both be bewildered on occasion with neither having experience at this level in recognizing what’s happening or communicating it to the other guy, sometimes both simultaneously.

On Hangartner

oline chemistry and communication is vital on the field, but it starts off the field with leadership. The line is starkly divided between the two halves: right and left, meaning the two do not communicate with each other much. That is why the center's role is so critical, he is the glue that keeps the line together and communicates between the two sides. In that respect you are lucky that at least your center has some experience.

We all know Hangartner is a smart but I hope he is assertive too. Reading this made me realize that I was overlooking just how vital Hangartner will be to our success on the line this year. To his left are two first timers and to his right is another. If the kids we have on the line are looking to anyone its going to be Hangman. His point about off the field leadership I found interesting. In his email he told me that the best o-line he ever played on went out to dinner as a unit every week and were centered on unity and off-the-field leadership. Can Eric Wood do that as a rookie?

On Bell

I'm sure Bell has a lot of raw talent, but so did Winston Justice-- the 6-6, 320 lb tackle selected in the second round as the 39th overall pick out of USC in 2006. The Eagles found out the hard way the next year when they put in Justice to replace injured starter William Thomas and Umenyiora put on a sack expo on Justice, racking up a career high 6 sacks. It was sad to watch. Umenyiora was even quoted as saying he had so many sacks he felt bad for the kid, and that "it was like a video game out there".

This again leaves me nervous that when Bell does feel overwhelmed, which he will at times as a rookie, his support is going to be another rookie who may also be feeling overwhelmed.

Answering the gelling question

To answer your question do I think they will be able to mesh this season, well I'd have to say it's really a question of how they interact off the field. I know from experience that the best olines to play on are the ones that have the best off the field relationships with mutual respect for one another. Also you should hope that the starting 5 now are indeed the best 5 and remain as that for the duration of the season. Competition for a starting role can screw up the rest of the line when trying to develop a rhythm. The more they work together as a unit the more they will improve week after week.

Seeing as how he was unfamiliar with the turmoil going on at OBD and the anger over Langston Walker’s release, this is an unbiased and unwitting endorsement of Jauron’s move to get rid of Walker and put in Bell rather than doing it mid-season as many here thought would happen. He also pointed out later in his email that on the best team he played for all 5 lineman were healthy for every single game. Here’s hoping right?

So after reading the email, I walked away feeling better and worse about our offensive line if that’s possible. In terms of feeling worse, I guess I may have been overlooking the seriousness of having two essential rookies on one side of the line and what it could mean for communication. While its comforting to know we will have Butler at RT to help the learning curve there, the left side is a bit scary to think about. While my friend pointed out that Bell will be left on an island, I did not mention in my email that we have a pretty good blocking tight end who will be in the game often, so I’m hoping that provides Bell some support. The good news I walked away with is the stress he put on off-the-field relationships to the most successful lines he played on. I like the personality of this group and I think that so long as they don’t splinter after a rough outing or two and turn on each other, they could develop a great rapport.

Thoughts on the youth of the o-line and gelling?