JAMON MEREDITH GONE!

[falco]

I guess its a good sign that other teams think our practice squad guys are worthy of their roster spots.

In all honesty, I think TT has put together a very good team. It's the coach I'm starting to be concerned about.

[red]

Did anybody ever see anything out of Meredith to make you believe "he can play LT at this level".

I mean, Moll was twice the LT that Meredith was.

i honestly haven't seen much out of any of our linemen other then clifton a few years back, that make me think any of them can play tackle at the pro level

[pbmax]

I agree about Johnson. The FBs were pretty crappy in the running game on Sunday.

Johnson struggled some in blitz pickup. Might not be the wisest move right now. Though Hall whiffed completely for one sack. McGinn said it was John Kuhn the rest of the way.

[Bretsky]

Perhaps Meredith would develop, but he was way short of solid in the preseason

[Gunakor]

TT has refused to spend any high round picks on a real tackle. Now we need a LT and a RT of the future. The interior of the line is fine IMO. But our bookends suck balls. Barbie seemed to improve from game 1 to game 2 so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. But LT is a real problem. Aaron is going to get killed. And I dont blame Colledge. He is a G not a T! This is all on TT. Not having a singe reserve at LT is unforgiveable.

How many teams do you think there are that have a guy using up a roster spot on gameday that is listed as the backup LT and can only play LT?

Colledge was the reserve at LT. He got abused by a Pro Bowl DE in a game where he hasn't taken any reps at LT leading up to it. It happens. So while you give Barbre the benefit of the doubt considering improvement from week 1 to week 2, at least afford Colledge the same benefit. Wait until week 3 to determine whether or not he can play tackle, after he's actually had a week to practice at the position.

[Gunakor]

BTW

get that rookie fullback in the game. we could use another blocker in there

and he's a hammer

I agree in the sense that we've been running between the tackles (when we've been running at all), but such a move would take deception out of the game. QJ can't pass block, and he's not going to catch any passes, so if the opposing defense sees him in the game they can key on him to find the ball carrier. Because, obviously, if he's in he's the lead blocker on a running play. It's not too hard to figure out where the play is going.

[Waldo]

BTW

get that rookie fullback in the game. we could use another blocker in there

and he's a hammer

I agree in the sense that we've been running between the tackles (when we've been running at all), but such a move would take deception out of the game. QJ can't pass block, and he's not going to catch any passes, so if the opposing defense sees him in the game they can key on him to find the ball carrier. Because, obviously, if he's in he's the lead blocker on a running play. It's not too hard to figure out where the play is going.

You say this but he caught every pass thrown his way in PS after the first, including a tough diving catch (nullified by penalty).

From what I saw he could pass block OK.

The RB doesn't have to follow the FB. The FB accounts for a man. When you account for all box defenders, and win each battle, you can run. As long as the FB takes out a man not accounted for by someone else, he has schematically sound use, whether or not the RB follows him.

[Gunakor]

BTW

get that rookie fullback in the game. we could use another blocker in there

and he's a hammer

I agree in the sense that we've been running between the tackles (when we've been running at all), but such a move would take deception out of the game. QJ can't pass block, and he's not going to catch any passes, so if the opposing defense sees him in the game they can key on him to find the ball carrier. Because, obviously, if he's in he's the lead blocker on a running play. It's not too hard to figure out where the play is going.

You say this but he caught every pass thrown his way in PS after the first, including a tough diving catch (nullified by penalty).

From what I saw he could pass block OK.

The RB doesn't have to follow the FB. The FB accounts for a man. When you account for all box defenders, and win each battle, you can run. As long as the FB takes out a man not accounted for by someone else, he has schematically sound use, whether or not the RB follows him.

The whole reason people are clammoring for him right now is because we aren't winning those battles. A brute for a lead blocker should open up some holes, but it wouldn't if we were to run away from his lead block. I mean, yeah, if we're winning the individual battles we can be creative. But we're just not winning those battles. Running away from the lead block would net absolutely nothing for a team like ours who has 5 OL that aren't getting the job done.

[Fritz]

There's a big difference between having talent and being good.

Jamon Meredith has talent. He has the build and the skills to develop into a left tackle in the NFL.

But right now he's no good at all. You can look at seventh grade kids playing basketball and see some who are clearly going to be spectacular players. But that doesn't mean they can step onto a court with college kids. That's kind of how it is with Meredith and players like him.

So the Packers tried to squeeze him through on the practice squad, hoping he would develop this year and perhaps be able to contribute next year as a backup, and go from there. But it didn't work. The Bills feel that they can hide him on the active roster - my guess is he'll be inactive quite a bit.

I wish the Packers hadn't lost him, but he wasn't able to help this year.

[Patler]

The RB doesn't have to follow the FB. The FB accounts for a man. When you account for all box defenders, and win each battle, you can run. As long as the FB takes out a man not accounted for by someone else, he has schematically sound use, whether or not the RB follows him.

Maybe, but you don't necessarily have to account for every defender initially, just those immediately in the path of the ball carrier, and the FB picks up the first one he encounters along that path. Often that is the first one with a good chance of stopping the play, so the fullback goes a long way of minimizing negative yardage on a poorly executed play, and turning little gains into bigger ones.

The Packer's coaches have said time and time again that they want the FB and RB to read the play the same, and the RB to follow the FB through the initial hole. McCarthy described the ideal fullback in his system one time as one who reads the lanes as well as the RB so that the RB doesn't have to and can just follow the fullback to the second level, from where his own running ability will take over.

[Zool]

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the stretch really rely more on a cutback lane actually opening up than it does a bruising lead blocker taking the first guy in the designed hole? Seems to me we've been running a ton of stretch again. If the FB can spot the cutback and hit that hole then yes he'd be a big help.

[sharpe1027]

Having the Bills pick him up doesn't say much too me. Afterall, we cut a guy that started a bunch of games for them last year. Their O-line is nothing special.

Honestly, most teams would struggle after losing their LT. It is one of the most important positions. The ship defintely took on some water, but that doesn't mean it can't be patched. A week of practice did wonders for Barbre. So, I would expect some good improvements over what we saw last weekend.

I predicted 2-2 going into the bye week, with a 10-6 finish; our schedule is pretty favorable coming out of the bye week. If we can beat the Rams, we'll be right on track even if we were to lose to the Queens.

[Pugger]

There's a big difference between having talent and being good.

Jamon Meredith has talent. He has the build and the skills to develop into a left tackle in the NFL.

But right now he's no good at all. You can look at seventh grade kids playing basketball and see some who are clearly going to be spectacular players. But that doesn't mean they can step onto a court with college kids. That's kind of how it is with Meredith and players like him.

So the Packers tried to squeeze him through on the practice squad, hoping he would develop this year and perhaps be able to contribute next year as a backup, and go from there. But it didn't work. The Bills feel that they can hide him on the active roster - my guess is he'll be inactive quite a bit.

I wish the Packers hadn't lost him, but he wasn't able to help this year.

+1

[rbaloha1]

BTW

get that rookie fullback in the game. we could use another blocker in there

and he's a hammer

Yes. The Packers need more physicality.

[rbaloha1]

I guess its a good sign that other teams think our practice squad guys are worthy of their roster spots.

In all honesty, I think TT has put together a very good team. It's the coach I'm starting to be concerned about.

Agreed. The talent is available to make the schemes work. Its unacceptable that the offense is unfocused and lacks discipline.