The Left Tackle battle

by steve b. on Jul 19, 2010 12:05 PM EDT

This past April, Buddy Nix surprised not only Bills fans, but the entire NFL world by not drafting a left tackle within the first two rounds. Instead, Nix waited until the 5th round to draft LT Ed Wang. When asked, Nix stated that both he and Bills head coach Chan Gailey feel differently about the left tackles that they have currently on the Bills then most people do. Nix acknowledged that last season was a disaster to start off with, the no-huddle offense that didn’t work and both the offensive coordinator and left tackle getting fired 10 days before the start of the season. Even though Nix did acknowledge those problems, he did say that the players on the O-line and the QB’s are not given a free pass, so they’re all getting one more chance this season to show what they’ve got.

The two left tackles who will be battling it out will be Demetrius Bell and Jamon Meredith. Bell is a former 7th round pick who started 8 games last season at LT before going down with a season ending knee injury. While Bell did show signs of promise last season, he also struggled with false start and holding penalties. After watching film on Bell last year, Gailey believes Bell can play at a very high level in the NFL. "He's an amazing athlete first of all. Run, jump and change direction all of that was very good," Gailey said. "He went in and played as rookie. He started as a rookie. You don't know how hard that is especially at offensive line. And quarterback and offensive line may be the hardest places to start in this league as a rookie. And he went in and did that and held his own. Now, he made some mistakes and you hope the second year he doesn't make those mistakes. But he is really a very good athlete." Bell is hoping to be ready by the start of training camp which starts in 9 days.

Jamon Meredith was picked up from the Green Bay Packers practice squad last season when the Bills offensive linemen were dropping like flies. Meredith had 4 starts last season, including one at left tackle in the season finale against the Colts. With the Bills new strength and conditioning program in place, Meredith has gone from 298lbs to 311lbs. Meredith has been taking all the reps at LT with the first team offense since the rookie mini-camp and looks bigger and stronger through the shoulders and upper body. Right guard Eric Wood said that Meredith is one of the strongest players on the team.

Rookie LT Ed Wang suffered a high ankle sprain in the OTA’s this past spring, but should be ready to go by the start of training camp. Wang is expected to be a backup offensive tackle this season while he learns and continues to develop.

Since Bell is the incumbent, it’s his job to lose. If Bell is healthy and doesn’t miss a beat, he’ll continue to be the starting LT. But if Bell is not healthy by the start of training camp and struggles in the preseason, then the Bills should not risk bringing him back into the starting lineup and let Meredith start the season at LT. If Bell does start the season at LT, look for Meredith to try and overtake Cornell Green as the Bills starting right tackle.

The Bills are heavily gambling on the success of a 7th round draft pick or a former practice squad member to man one of the most important positions on the offense. If the gamble pays off and the Bills get adequate play from either Bell or Meredith, then the Bills front office has struck gold. To get another solid LT from either the 7th round or practice squad, like the Bills did when they picked up UDFA Jason Peters, would really show that the Bills talent evaluators know how to find hidden gems. If the gamble fails, then the Bills will be facing the exact same pass protecting problems as last season. If the pass protection from the LT position is as bad as last season, expect to see more of the same from the Bills QB’s: short-dump off passes, no deep passes, being flushed out of the pocket, getting sacked and the QB’s getting injured. It could be another long season for the Bills offense if the gamble fails. This battle will be watched just as closely as the QB battle by Bills fans.

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.

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Yeah

That about sums up the situation at LT. Heres hoping we have a “hidden gem” within the OL we now have.

by buffalobacker on Jul 19, 2010 12:14 PM EDT reply actions

My answer: sacrifice upon an altar

Bigger question mark than QB is LT without a doubt. In some cultures it is acceptable to sacrifice an animal for good luck. I am not opposed to this for the sake of the Bills’ O-line. I’m not so much worried about who we have starting as I am about the depth of the line. I feel like we’ll see Bell and Meredith at LT and RT respectively, but I don’t trust Green as a backup and as for Wang…here’s hoping a rookie who already has suffered an injury could step up to the plate if need be.

Circle them wagons!

by B3@$TMoD3 on Jul 19, 2010 12:28 PM EDT reply actions

Post Rec'd, excellent job.

That does sum it up in a nut shell. If you think about it, the Bills have covered all of our needs in the offseason. Just not the way many of us would of liked them too. The difference is only opinion. Ours Vs FO. As I sit here read and agree with many of us I will pour many of glasses of kool-aid in hopes that the FO is correct.

I was all in with the Spiller pick and couldn’t care less about any of the QB’s. I am O.K. with our QB’s because of Gailey and the offensive staff he brought in. Thus grabbing a young QB in the first or second round was not as high of a priority. Tackle, I am sold on Bell, we have had two regimes recognize this kid has our tackle of the future, that is enough for me. Although, I would of loved a Staffold pick in the second round, unfortunately, the Rams felt the same way. Switching to the 3-4 dictated our next two picks after Spiller. I can’t fault the FO for this. Switching to the 3-4 IMO is like drafting a QB in the first round, you need to mold that player or unit early and often in the draft. Meredith, anything this kid does to improve his stock is a plus for this team. Putting on weight, adding strength are all signs that you would want from any player regardless if they were taken in the first or seventh round. I am going to leave Wang alone for the year.

We all try to justify the logic of decisions we are not responsible for making. We need to get these guys on the field and let them work. It will be exciting because none of us really have the expertise to justify this logic. All we have is opinion and subjective stats to throw around.

YOU ARE OUT of you kuku fufu mine craker laker Flaber baber FUNKI chunki brain. WE want to winn every year -- abayarde

by VanScottM on Jul 19, 2010 1:02 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks, I appreciate it! I agree with your comments as well. I hope we see at some point in the season Bell at LT and Meredith at RT.

by steve b. on Jul 19, 2010 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions

One other factor

I very much agree with this post, but would add one other factor that is different this year — a new and most likely better offensive system. Last year we essentially had no offensive plan and opponents had no trouble guessing what we were going to do on each play. That made it a lot harder for the o-line to do its job (as did the ridiculous no-huddle). This year Gailey is putting in an offense with lots of before-the-snap movement and deception. Opposing defenses will have to hesitate before attacking to see what kind of play is developing, and that in turn will make it easier for the o-line to establish its blocks. Young OT’s like Bell and Meredith should especially benefit from this change.

by Macktruck on Jul 19, 2010 2:44 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah we will have a new offensive system with lots of...

formations and motion (which I like) to try and create match-up problems for Jackson, Spiller, Parrish, and Nelson. I don’t think we’ll see a lot of downfield plays to Evans, Hardy, Easley, Chad Jackson, etc like all are expecting. Gailey will use a lot of running to set up 8 – 12 yard passing, screens, and quick hitters.

What won’t be different unless we have a serious attitude adjustment on the OL is the # of False starts. Those may increase with Bell back in the line-up and now Green on the other side. How does our offense over come 1st and 15 this year?

by dabillsr1 on Jul 20, 2010 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m not worried about the number of false starts at all. Many of them last year were caused by the no huddle offense and also by bad coaching (two of Bell’s penalties in the Patriot’s game were also committed by everyone else on the o-line which means that the problem was coaching — he got called for them solely because he was on the end). I’ll be willing to bet anything that the Bills draw no more than an average number of false start flags this year — especially after Meredith replaces Green at RT.

by Macktruck on Jul 20, 2010 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Can We Please Get Over Last Year?

It’s history. Given the terrible situation Bell was thrown into, no one could perform any better than he did. He was literally thrown to the lions. Have you read the comments that Chan has made concerning Bell? He is an excellent athlete. Are you of the opinion that no one can improve year over year? If so, you are saying that anyone who comes into this league as a rookie will only be as good as his rookie year. I’m sorry but that’s absurd!

by mikeo76 on Jul 20, 2010 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions

It was only a couple of games

But out O Line wasn’t too terrible before Butler got hurt.If Green holds up till Meredith takes over on the right side,which could be by the end of this year,and Bell comes back from that injury and just continues to progress,our O Line could be good enough to get us through the year much improved from last year.That’s a whole lotta ifs,but hey it could happen..

Never argue with an Idiot,they'll drag You down to their level and beat You with experience every time..

by 3nOutNoMore on Jul 19, 2010 5:41 PM EDT reply actions

It wasn't even a game and a half.

And they weren’t anything special in week 1. 4 sacks. 90 yards rushing. 4 penalties on Bell alone. Another 2 “OL style” penalties on Nelson.

All your tshirt needs.
Twit wit, minus actual wit.

by twoeightnine on Jul 19, 2010 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions

But out O Line wasn’t too terrible before Butler got hurt.I

And they weren’t anything special in week 1

So are you guys agreeing?

The player I would like least at #9 would be my sister’s cat, Captain Creamsicle. She does have a great work ethic and agility, but I’m really concerned that at 9 lbs., she’s too small to play safety in the NFL. She also bites way too often on play action and is easily distracted by someone waving string in the crowd. Lastly, her wonderlic score was pretty awful, answering "meow meow meow" for most of the questions- Dr. Brackish Okun

by mob16151 on Jul 20, 2010 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions