Perceived regression led to Walker's release in Buffalo
by Brian Galliford on Sep 9, 2009 2:00 PM EDT
in Buffalo Bills News
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PrintToday, just five days before the Buffalo Bills open up their 2009 regular season schedule with a Monday Night Football tilt in New England, all eyes are on the team's brand new starting left tackle, Demetrius Bell. Bell, who returned to practice on Wednesday, became Buffalo's new starting left tackle after the team released veteran Langston Walker.
A source close to the team that I spoke with on Wednesday tells me that Bills decision makers viewed Walker's performance over the final two pre-season games as "pathetic." Buffalo's coaching staff released Walker after the seven-year veteran made, as they see it, a "complete regression" from the 2008 season. While those harsh words obviously don't speak much to the team's late April decision to tab Walker as the replacement to traded two-time Pro Bowl LT Jason Peters, it was a move the team felt it needed to make. More after the jump.
Walker could not adapt to no-huddle
Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post described Walker's performance on tape during the pre-season in the following succinct manner:
He was late off the ball, he was poor at cutting off the back side and he was not able to secure the edge in pass rush.
This objective assessment goes hand-in-hand with the sentiment at One Bills Drive. In addition to the regression, the team noticed - and anyone who caught a game on television or in person may have noticed this, as well, because I certainly did - that Walker was routinely winded in the pre-season. In the pre-season finale against Detroit, he was visibly struggling to catch his breath during drives, even while in his set awaiting the snap. Clearly, that wasn't going to work in the no-huddle offense, no matter which tackle position he played at.
In making this move, the Bills have obviously opened themselves up to harsh criticism. Buffalo endorsed Walker as a competent replacement to Peters after April's NFL Draft, where they did not, obviously, replace Peters with a rookie left tackle. Harsher critics point out that the outright release was not necessary, as Walker proved himself capable at right tackle over the past two seasons. I'm told that the term "complete regression" that was used applies to Walker the player, not Walker the left tackle - the team believes that his skills have diminished severely from 2008 to 2009, and that he would be a liability anywhere along the line.
Once again, the timing of a big move stinks
Many folks have openly wondered why it took the team so long to cut Walker, particularly since ESPN.com's Tim Graham informed us that Bell was the team's preferred left tackle almost three weeks ago. There's a pretty simple, two-part explanation for that as well - Bell's back injury prevented the team from making a drastic move too early, and as NFL Network's Jason La Canfora tweeted yesterday, the Bills were trying to trade him over the weekend. Once they were sure that Bell would be returning to practice and it became apparent they weren't even going to get a late draft pick for Walker, they pulled the plug. The money saved on the remainder of his contract is merely icing on the cake.
This wasn't a pretty situation yesterday, and it's not any prettier today. The team is now without both of its starting tackles from 2008. Walker represents the second significant investment along their offensive line that the team has cut since March (the other, of course, being OG Derrick Dockery). Bell replaces Walker in the lineup as the third starting lineman with exactly zero regular season NFL snaps on his resume. Their depth at tackle is rather pedestrian.
Time will tell if Buffalo's evaluation of Walker's talents, and whether or not he truly has regressed to the point of not having any value, even as a reserve, is correct. Given the team's talent evaluation over the past decade (especially when it comes to veterans), skepticism is most certainly warranted. Even still, the team made the move chiefly because they felt the player wasn't the same player that started in 2008. Now, they face even more question marks at left tackle, and certainly much more criticism - which only underscores their opinion on Walker.
Now, we turn our attention to Bell, who has a week to prepare for his first NFL start in hostile territory. We showed off this video this past April, and it's worth posting here again: here's a Bell scouting report from pre-draft 2008.
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Winning fixes everything
As long as it works we’ll be fine. If it doesn’t then it won’t matter regardless because everyones expectations are already in the basement.
In Bell at least he’s been in the system for a year and has been through a year of NFL conditioning. This should at least keep him ahead of the curve in that regard – unlike a rookie tackle.
The lack of experience is a concern – but i expect them to make up for it through effort. we’ll see……
I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying
Bell
Our line is quicker and has more stamina now….and if Walker can’t keep up, than he should be gone.
If we are going to move the no-huddle faster, with a simpler, quicker hitting playbook, than we need lineman who won’t be winded by the third or fourth play.
Bell might lack some strength, but as some said, I think Geronimo in what of the posts, that Bell will make up for it in effort. I said it before, you gotta love the under-dog, and many see the Bills as a bottom 5 team. Here’s hping we prove them wrong with a strong week 1 performance on MNF…GO BILLS!!!!
Jauron’s nuts must have dropped this year….Go Bills!
Hopefully Bell doesn’t have a Winston Justcie type first start this week!
~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
by Kurupt on Sep 9, 2009 2:32 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I’m hopping for a Clady type start myself.
Captain of the "Promote Bob Sanders to Deffensive Coordinator" band wagon.
by CanadianBillsFan on Sep 9, 2009 7:24 PM EDT up reply actions
I definitely saw Walker being winded – which is a great point about NOT moving him to RT. No matter where he played he would have been exhausted and honestly I don’t think there was a fan out there that thought the speed during the preseason was quick enough. So definitely great points Brian.
I also don’t like how Walker played, regardless of him being winded or not. So I don’t have a problem with Walker being released in terms of how he played. I also fully understand why they waited to make the decision – though they didn’t make it an open competition it seemed to work out that way…
Last year our O-line was the biggest and heaviest – it didn’t do jack! I wonder how much overall our line has changed in terms of size/weight to this year?
I was born in Buffalo, and NO, it's not a suburb of New York City
This makes me feel better about the release
I’m told that the term “complete regression” that was used applies to Walker the player, not Walker the left tackle – the team believes that his skills have diminished severely from 2008 to 2009, and that he would be a liability anywhere along the line.
I am somewhat heartened that Walker wasn’t released simply because the team had asked him to play out of position. It sounds more like Walker didn’t take care of business from a cardio standpoint. Of course, I don’t know that this really should have come as a huge surprise to the coaching staff. I had noted several times over the past year that Walker seemed to block only for about 4 seconds on any given play and speculated that keeping his considerable bulk in motion for longer than that was more than he could do. The (sometimes) hurry up no-huddle apparently exacerbated the problem.
Buffalo has refrained from giving help to the LT (Chambers/Peters/Walker) in the recent past. I will be very inerested to see how often a TE or RB chips Bell’s guy while he tries to get his feet under him. At least that way Bell wouldn’t have to worry as much about an outside speed rush.
Of course we could make things more challenging, Lisa, but then the stupider students would be in here complaining, furrowing their brows in a vain attempt to understand the situation--Seymour Skinner
I expect Fine to become Bells newest bestest buddy for the first 6-8 weeks this season
I think he’ll be playing the role of blocking TE alot. I actually expect the Bills to run a lot of 2 TE sets this year to help out both tackles at the start of the year till they get their legs under them.
As Brian noted, if the team thought his skills were declining rapidly, AND his conditioning was going to prevent this team from keeping an up tempo O running, then cutting him was the best move they could make if they couldn’t get a 7th for him.
(443): My mom came into my room and told me to flip off the tv. I gave it the middle finger. Note to self: STOP SMOKING THIS S#!T
-textsfromlastnight.com
Agree
I totally agree. I would expect a TE next to Walker a good deal of the time. I would also fully expect that the Pats will come at the young O-line from all directions and often. Out of the 4-3 as well as the 3-4. I’d try and keep an extra eye on Adalius Thomas.
Geronimo
The more I think about the Pats switch to the 40 front, the more I think that they may be shifting to a 40 over front. Any word on this?
If they do change to a balanced 40 front, Thomas blitzing from the SLB would have a similar effectiveness as Roosevelt Colvin had with the Bears a few years back.
Check out the Pats Pulpit take…
http://www.patspulpit.com/2009/9/2/1013226/playing-with-the-defense-the-new
Very good read.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Ignoring the grumblings on Rumblings.
by MattRichWarren on Sep 9, 2009 8:46 PM EDT up reply actions
The third post told me some of what I needed
The posted said the tackles were playing two gap. More of the Jim Bates-type defense that I outlined last week.
I need to get me some diagrams.
You mean Bell, not Walker.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Ignoring the grumblings on Rumblings.
by MattRichWarren on Sep 9, 2009 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions
That’s exactly why I was so high on Pettigrew leading into the draft, it was exactly for this reason.
I hope that Fine can do an acceptable job, but I agree that we are going to see a lot of 2TE sets, and I hope the other TE is Nelson because it adds that third REAL receiving threat down the field. And NElson seemed to be holding his own when asked to block in the pre-season.
Your ability to control the LOS is directly linked to your ability to win football games!
FEED the BEAST!
Bell gives the Bills a better chance to have success at the position this year. It was so painfully obvious that Walker couldn’t handle it, so I am happy they made the move away from him before the season, even if its perilously close. I just hope Bell is ready.
What happened to Bell needing to still get stronger? All of a sudden he’s capable of holding up against the Mario Williams, Julius Peppers, and John Abrahams of the league? That’s where I’m skeptical of him, but he does give the Bills a much more able body/athleticism for the position.
~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
by Kurupt on Sep 9, 2009 2:24 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
If you've seen the candid photos of him this year he's definitely gotten bigger.
His legs are like trees now.
All reports state he has packed on a lot of muscle and basically lived in the weight room outside of practice and film time
Lets hope it was enought to help him out, at least his athleticism will help him out in some situations more than just being a muscle head would.
(443): My mom came into my room and told me to flip off the tv. I gave it the middle finger. Note to self: STOP SMOKING THIS S#!T
-textsfromlastnight.com
Yes, Chris Brown reported back in the early spring that Bell had gained 20 lbs over the last year thanks to his work in the weight room and the advice of the Bills nutrition staff. He is still listed at 307 lbs., but that was his weight when he first arrived at OBD over a year ago. They simply haven’t updated it (nor have they updated any other player weights). My impression is that he has all the strength and mass he needs. His biggest problems will relate to his hand technique (his ability to move his feet quickly and correctly is one of his greatest assets) and the fact that he is going to encounter some pass rush moves he has never seen before.
It’s certainly possible that he does need to get stronger and that he’s not capable of holding up against those guys…but Walker needed to get slimmer and (probably) wasn’t capable either. Unless they want Captain Kirk at LT (which I wouldn’t entirely hate), Bell is really their only option at this point.
So easy Marshawn Lynch can do it.
One definite, if not minor, upside to Walker’s release and Bell’s promotion will be the line’s average weight. I can’t remember how many times last year when the TV announcers would say something about how our o-line was the biggest in the nfl, as if they didn’t know ANYTHING else to say. Now we will be more than 25 lbs lighter per lineman, and as others have said, this should play well to the up-tempo no-huddle offense.
back issue
Is Bell ready to go 100%? Or is he going to be injured on and off all season? We will find out. Who is his back-up? Chambers – the guy that was waived once already. I think I would of kept Walker as a emergency back-up just in case a guy or two go down.
Chambers
can play guard or tackle, that’s the value he brings to the team. anytime he’s been in he has performed well from a backup standpoint.
keeping Walker wouldn’t be a good idea. if he were to play it sounds as if he wouldn’t last more then a few plays if he was constantly winded. He’s not built to play the no huddle type of offense.
At Peace
I have amazingly fast made peace with this decision and it sounds like others have too. I wrote off the start of the season anyway so if they come around by week 4 or 5 I’ll be happy.
Enough talk now, I just want to see some football!
Brian with 3 articles in 1 day
Kudos for having so much to read today.
The only problem with more then 2 articles in one day, is it only leaves me wanting more articles… :P
I was born in Buffalo, and NO, it's not a suburb of New York City
You're right, you've changed my mind
Boo to Brian for giving us an insatiable appetite for Bills news
It seems that OL can lose it quickly, and I suspect that the larger you are the more likely that is to occur early. Walker turned 30 last week so I don’t think it’s unrealistic to expect him to lose it quickly now.
Is anyone familiar with aging patterns of OL, particularly excessively large OL?
That’d be tough to tell, especially since OL as big as Walker haven’t been in the league for very many years, so there’s not a lot of players to compare to. Orlando Pace might be a decent comparison, though – 7 Pro Bowls and only 6 missed games before turning 30, and 25 missed games in 3 years since. And he’s 6-7; 325 (theoretically, at least).
Tra Thomas is equally as large – though he hasn’t been to the Pro Bowl since hitting 30 either, he’s only missed 7 games in the last 4 years. And both were released this offseason.
Tempo
seems to be one of Jauron’s keywords this offseason. Its one of the reasons Turk got the boot, and if your left tackle can’t keep up that’s not going to work either. Why not make a lateral move with more upside and athleticism?
Either way I appreciate the committment Coach is giving to this new no-huddle offense. Its good to see him act decisively, and be willing to go down with his baby rather than be all wishy-washy about it.
If nothing else, at least it’ll be interesting…
I agree
Either way I appreciate the committment Coach is giving to this new no-huddle offense. Its good to see him act decisively, and be willing to go down with his baby rather than be all wishy-washy about it.
I 100% agree with you. Everyone knows that I am not a big Jauron supporter but he is earning some of my respect by standing by his guns on this one. He made some very difficult decisions in the past week, which has improved my opinion of him – not that that means anything :-)
Your ability to control the LOS is directly linked to your ability to win football games!
FEED the BEAST!
Who are these guys?
Haha sorry the video was kinda cheesy, but I do agree with them. Bell’s got a lot of upside, and he’s certainly improved from last year in the strength and technique department.
play selection
with rose colored glasses on, i’d like to believe that bell’s promotion also reflects a bit on the reduced playbook and purported O-line philosophy of angry, hungry, more mobile players. both wood and levitre’s bio’s reflect their ability to get to the second level with success, and traps, pulls and draws are great plays to run against rabid rushing 3-4 defensive schemes.
as i think fred jackson is at this point a more accomplished receiving threat out of the backfield, i won’t be surprised if the bills try to screen NE to death. no vrabel, no bruschi….mismatches.
#71
If we were going to give Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker the boot. We should of just paid Jason peters in the first place.
Its some real boneheads in the Bills front office.
You realize we offered him $9 million per season, right?
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott
by Brian Galliford on Sep 9, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions
He didn't want to be here
We didn’t appreciate him enough. Also, we didn’t give him TE help often enough, or so he says.
I thought right along
that we would go with a 2 TE offense this year so letting Walker go kind of makes sense.O Line needs a leader now and I believe Wood has that written all over him so a New Line with a New Look Offense is the perfect setting..DJ is really letting it all hang out now,so I just hope He’s right in what He’s doing..I just thought they should never have left Chambers out there for another team to grab..Should have cut Walker sooner if that was the plan..Draft pick we would have gotten would have just been another DB anyways..
by FanFromThe80s on Sep 9, 2009 5:36 PM EDT reply actions
But… but… but… Brian explained why they didn’t cut Walker sooner. It makes sense. They cut him a day after cut day when they would have cut him anyways.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Ignoring the grumblings on Rumblings.
by MattRichWarren on Sep 9, 2009 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Uh-oh............
….. This ain’t gonna start out pretty, but maybe they will gell quickly. I’m driving up from Nashville to see the home game against Tampa and Cleveland. Hopefully I won’t be horribly disappointed. Why do we subject ourselves to this torture every year?
HEY! I have an idea, since Bell used to play basketball and is so athletic, how about we draft a REAL blue-chip OT next year and move Bell to TE.
Future Antonio Gates?
Thoughts?
"A failure becomes just one time at bat if you refuse to let it defeat you." Marv Levy.
by SERGEANT MAJOR THOR on Sep 9, 2009 7:02 PM EDT reply actions
Three things
One, I love Walker as a regular offence RT and I think that he wil shine at RT for another team (unfortunatly). BUT we are running a no-huddle now. If Walker was not able to keep up with the pace of the offence, then yes he would be a SEVERE liability for this offence. So while I am (VERY) worried about our O-Line, releasing Walker probably does make the line as a whole better. head explodes
Two. I love that the team has re-signed Chambers. He is by far our best backup on the O-Line on every position except centre. I even think that he might be one of the most versitile and one of the best pure backups in the league (meaning that you wouldn’t want him to start long term and he will never progress into a starter, but he will always be an excellent backup). I also wouldn’t be surprised to Bell and Chambers split time at LT (probably 70%-30%) in order not to push Bell too hard this season.
Three. I am very excited, and very nervous, to see Bell on the feild this year. If he’s as good as they say he is then he’s the next Jason Peters (hopefully with less greed). I really hope that Bell excels at LT and protects Trent well, otherwise we are truly screwed. No one here wants to see Fitzy start 9 games this year, or Gibran for that matter.
Captain of the "Promote Bob Sanders to Deffensive Coordinator" band wagon.
by CanadianBillsFan on Sep 9, 2009 7:22 PM EDT reply actions
If the Bills can set the pace they want, it should limit the time Edwards spends on his backside. As far as Walker, he was a decent RT as far as taking care of his on the line blocking responsibility, most of the time. It’s what he (and most of the linemen from the past 10 years) didn’t give us that was the problem. We haven’t had capable second-level run blocking in a long time, or really even first-level run blocking. I hope the high-energy guys on the line now can get us to the next level as far as running plays. As much as Edwards success in the passing department, I think the real indicator of the Bills season will be how Lynch & Co. do. The higher yards per carry they can achieve, the lower the pressure is on Edwards to win games for us. Our run attack has been so bad for so long, especially on 3rd / 4th and short, it’s hard to remember what a good running game looks like. I just think it would be nice to see Lynch able to get past the line of scrimmage without 6 guys hanging off of him. As good as Lynch has been at making every single yard he’s gotten on his own, I would love to see him get to the second level untouched for once.
by syrbillsfan on Sep 10, 2009 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions
About the line
Bell Gets off the ball well and flashes the ability to get into position quickly. Shows good lateral mobility, can each defender lined up over outside shoulder and can seal the edge. Gets adequate hand placement, moves feet and can sustain blocks. Takes adequate not great angles to downfield blocks, can adjust to moving targets in space and can get into position at the second level. Shuffles feet well and can redirect in pass protection. Has the frame to add bulk, has steadily progressed and should only get better with added experience.
That is ESPNs evaluation of Bell before he was the starter. He also has been mentioned countless times as being one of the Elite OL physically in the NFL (not skill mind you).
Butler is a big body with average power and athletic ability who has settled in as the starting guard for the Bills. In three seasons, he’s shown steady improvement as both a run and pass blocker. He is a tough competitor who wins with effort, technique and intelligence. He has developed his hand use and ability to leverage his opponent with proper angles and body positioning. Butler isn’t an explosive run blocker, but he can wall off defenders effectively with technique and active hands. He is limited on the second level with the apparent lack of lateral agility, quickness and balance.Hangartner has been a valuable role player. He is a smart lineman that understands angles and schemes. He is quick off the ball and shows above-average range and quickness laterally. He is a decent knee-bender and can get his pad level down to leverage blocks, but will allow himself to become erect as he works his blocks. He is a good technician who can get a good fit with his hands and control opponents to ride or steer them on by the pocket. He can chip blocks, slide out to the second level and wall off linebackers. He is a competitive blocker who works to finish blocks and will look to punish opponents given the advantage. He is quick to pick up stunts, twists and inside games. While he is strong enough, he will struggle to leverage some blocks and can be walked back into the pocket by stronger defensive tackles.
Wood and Levitre I am not worried about in the slighest, both have done well and will improve the most throughout each game and week. Im excited because as of now our oldest starter is 27 and we could potentially have one of the better lines in the NFL eventually.
by Bill from LI on Sep 9, 2009 7:48 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Totally called this back in May
On May 12th I posted a comment to a post by louietheagent called Altering our New O-Line: That comment went as followed-
I have to ask a question
Turk Schonert has said that the No Huddle could return to the Bills. My question is could Langston Walker hold up physically in this offense?
I believe, if I’ve processed the info right, the no-huddle requires smaller more athletic linemen that will last through a drive.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-7-176/No-huddle-offense-makes-perfect-sense-for-Bills.html
I’m not saying Walker isn’t athletic but it seems like the quick pace of the no huddle would wear down his 366 ilb frame. Just like the defensive linemen it’s designed to wear down. , I wonder if Walker will have to be rotated out for Chambers of Bell, in games. Any thoughts?
September 9th, 2009 our glorius leader Brian Galliford posts Perceived regression led to Walker’s release in Buffalo. In which it is revealed:
This objective assessment goes hand-in-hand with the sentiment at One Bills Drive. In addition to the regression, the team noticed – and anyone who caught a game on television or in person may have noticed this, as well, because I certainly did – that Walker was routinely winded in the pre-season. In the pre-season finale against Detroit, he was visibly struggling to catch his breath during drives, even while in his set awaiting the snap. Clearly, that wasn’t going to work in the no-huddle offense, no matter which tackle position he played at.
Behold Rumblers can for see that which has not happened. Give me a Project Mayhem T-Shirt and I will continue to pronosticate. (Kidding, got lucky on this one, my “skills” didn’t help me win the roster t-shirt contest)
by MichiganBillsFan84 on Sep 10, 2009 9:47 AM EDT reply actions
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