State of the Bills Roster: Offensive Tackle

Did I totally miss him being around last year?

Do Gailey’s offensive lines usually employ zone-blocking? I ask the question because I read how productive his running games were at GT and if they were like Denver and employed primarily smaller linemen and used zone-blocking primarilly, it would change how we view the potential draft prospects, would it not?

An upgrade is essential. we don’t want to bring in a new quarterback and then Carr/Trent them to death.

Butler has played G in the past, right? And if so, in your opinion, do you think hes better suited for G or RT?

Having a player named Charlie Brown is marketing gold for Brandon.

I don’t know who Charles Brown is, but all of the sudden, I want his jersey!(JK)anyway, considering the article, it seems easier to get a free agent QB than OT.(Troy Smith?)

but if [LT] goes unaddressed, the Bills are in heaps of trouble heading into the 2010 season

Well, do you mean completely unaddressed? What about a veteran FA and a mid-round pick?

That’s how I would go with the tackle position because, as you said, there is a lot of young talent on this roster. I liked Bell when he was in there, and considering how far he seemed to come from his rookie season I was encouraged.

If they do go early at tackle I like Anthony Davis. Would he be an immediate upgrade?

I think Butler stays at RT for next season. Bell is kept as a reserve (his penalties seemed to go down as the season progressed) and I think he will get better with time. Meredith is also kept for reserve; he is also probably a season behind Bell in terms of reaching (hopeful) potential.
I think the Bills end up drafting a LT in the first round, simply because if they draft one in the second round, they will only find a RT or someone who needs to develop (which they already have).
Also by drafting a LT in the first round, if say Butler gets injured they can insert Bell/Meredith. And if Butler doesn’t get injured they can still groom two tackles to give them options later on.

I’d keep Meredith,Butler,and Bell. The rest of them can go away…….far,far,away. We’ll call them when the injury bug goes psycho on us again.

Butler will stay, as he’s our only starter quality player at the position. Although I would personally much rather see him move back into the RG position and Wood move into the Centre position. But that would only happen if we can sign a starting quality Tackle.

Bell will stay. He’s got too much talent to let go, even if he shouldn’t be relied upon to be a starter. I see him taking controle of the swing Tackle position. MAYBE he could start at RT, if Butler moves to RG and IF he shows GREAT improvement over the summer.

Meredith should stay. Yes he’s a project player. Yes he will take a while to develop (I do see him being a startingcaliber player for another 2 season). But I think that he has a higher potential thhan Bell, which is the only thing that merrits him sticking around.

Chambers will probably be gone. I hold much less praise for Chambers than you do Brian and truly think that he is on a rapid downward slide in his career. I see him getting a camp invite with him being a very long shot at actually making the roster.

The rest should all be let go. None of them bring anything to the table that isn’t covered by the 4 mentioned above. And with the garantee of at least 1 more tackle joining the team threw the draft, and most likely the signing of one FA, the last tackles on the list have no place on this team.

For the draft, I’m not sure if I want to draft an OT or an MLB in the first (McClain is growing on me), but if Okung or Davis fall to us, we shouldn’t think twice. Bulaga would also be a great choice in the first.

In the FA department, the only one that I see being out there that is might be worth signing (AKA starting caliber) is Matt Light, although he still needs to be released by the Pats. Otherwise from that it would be a depth signing.

That shows we’re not really in too bad a shape if players can stay healthy, and keep a line together… I know… I know…. Blaspheme!!!! But believe me, this post is NOT to show we don’t need help… I’m in total agreement with drafting a tackle if he is the BPA in the first couple rounds…. Anyway, some numbers to consider from this site….(Has stats that are hard to find)
For this thread, I’ll only list tackles…
http://hosted.stats.com/fb/findplayer.asp?type=position&position=95

Player Games/starts penalties false start holding sacks allowed
Bell 8/8 8 6 0 5
Butler 2/2 0 0 0 1
Chambers 14/9 5 4 1 7
Meredith 8/4 0 0 0 1 1/2
Scott 10/8 6 5 0 10

As you can see… Dump both Scott and Chambers, but considering how raw they are, Bell and Meredith did OK considering… If we could combine Bell’s athleticism with Meredith’s discipline, we’d have a pro-bowler…. For comparison???? How ‘bout….
Peters (08) 13/13 8 4 2 11 1/2
(09 better) 15/15 9 4 1 6
In Scott’s defense, heck, he never got to settle in on one side or the other so a possible keeper too for the coaches to decide… And obviously, Butler’s #s though only 2 games are impressive. In the run game, I’ll cede to Ron, but for future insight for penalties and sacks, our guards, and center are listed as well…. I was gonna do a fan post on this, but have been tied up lately….

I’d say this is an important issue… and of course, it partially depends on who’s brought in to handle the QB issue, of course. (Seeing as two of the possible hole-fillers, Tebow and Vick, are southpaws, RT becomes more important than ever.)

Still, the original starting lineup had a lot of potential, IMO.

and if we leave Butler at RT — let’s draft Mike Iupati (but not at 9 please), throw him in at RG, and bump Wood to C when he is healthy again.

Bell-Levitre-Wood-Iupati-Butler doesn’t sound too bad.

Then again Bryan Bulaga would always be a solid choice.

… on ESPN has Clausen surviving until the Bills can snatch him up — and they probably should, seeing as he’s got loads of potential AND has played the past three years in a place whose weather gets as bad as Buffalo — they might need to wait until the second round to bolster the line. Which gets tough, as I’m not sure who’ll be left by then.

Oh well, Bell-Levitre-Hangartner-Wood-Butler could work for next season. Though, again, if the Bills trade for Vick or draft Tebow… okay, what am I saying? There CAN’T be THAT much of an issue flipping the line over if either of them starts, or just lines up in the Wildcat, and besides, both Vick and Tebow (who I actually labeled ‘a dog loving Michael Vick’ when I heard about him) are scramblers by definition, anyway.