BUFFALO BILLS (9-8)OPEN CAMP: July 26
Cheap Michael Jordan Jersey , St. John Fisher College, Pittsford, New YorkLAST YEAR: Under first-year coach (Sean McDermott) and GM (Brandon Beane), Buffalo
overcame major roster overhaul and midseason quarterback shuffle to win four of
last six games and clinch playoff berth to end 17-year postseason drought. Bills
snapped longest active streak of missing playoffs in North America's four major
professional sports. At 29, LeSean McCoy was offensive workhorse with 1,138
yards rushing and 448 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. Revamped secondary,
including first-round pick Tre'Davious White, keyed patchwork defense by
finishing tied for sixth in NFL with 18 interceptions.IMPORTANT ADDITIONS:
Rookie QB Josh Allen, QB A.J. McCarron, rookie LB Tremaine Edmunds, DT Star
Lotulelei, DE Trent Murphy, CB Vontae Davis, WR Jeremy Kerley, RB Chris Ivory,
OLs Russell Bodine and Marshall Newhouse, and offensive coordinator Brian
Daboll.IMPORTANT LOSSES: QB Tyrod Taylor
Michael Jordan Jersey Womens , LT Cordy Glenn, C Eric Wood, RG Richie Incognito, WR Jordan Matthews, CB E.J. Gaines, LB Preston Brown and FB Mike Tolbert.CAMP
NEEDS: Many center on how quickly new-look offense finds chemistry with new
starting quarterback. Two big holes to fill on line and offense lacks
established depth at receiver behind Kelvin Benjamin. Plus Buffalo is
introducing new philosophy under Daboll. All eyes are on Allen, first-round pick
out of Wyoming, and how long it will take to develop behind former Bengals
backup McCarron and returning backup Nathan Peterman.EXPECTATIONS: Defense
should be improved entering its second season, and with plenty of
reinforcements. Can offense develop threat beyond McCoy, who turned 30 on July
12. Though long-term future looks bright, given young core of talent on roster,
early projection is Bills might take step back in Year 2 of McDermott and
Beane's rebuilding process. The offensive line is the one group where you don’t
want to have much change throughout the season, even if that change is deemed to
be positive beforehand.Despite gaining back a starter against the Saints on
Sunday, the Bengals offensive line took a big sized step backwards in their
37-point defeat to the NFC’s current No. 2 seed, but not in the way that was
expected.Coming into the game, the Saints ranked first in run defense and near
the bottom in pass defense. Yet, the Bengals ran for 110 yards on just 16
carries and failed to eclipse 174 net passing yards. The Saints were even
missing one of their best defensive lineman in first-round pick Marcus
Davenport
Michael Jordan Cincinnati Bengals Jersey , and the Saints pass rush still had their way for nearly the entire game. I decided to look at two potential cruxes
that may’ve caused this unanticipated dichotomy.Billy Price’s return to center
was a solid one, but it came with some rust as well. A change in not one, but
two starters seemed to have caused some miscommunication in pass protection from
time to time, but New Orleans’ ability to pressure quarterback Andy Dalton was
attributed more to a lack of cohesion amongst the Bengals pass protectors. It
started off well for Cincinnati’s front five, as running back Joe Mixon and the
Bengals offense drove down the field with ease on their first drive of the game.
This run was a great mix of blocking and play design.Upon obliterating the front
side defenders, the jet motion from wide receiver John Ross got the linebackers
flowing against the grain and gave Mixon a prime opportunity to finesse through
to the open field. Price clearly wanted to get after the 3-technique David
Onyemata, but failing to get his hands on any second level defender almost
knocked the play from great to good. Luckily, the pre-snap deception schemed
Mixon some extra yards regardless.I still will never get tired talking about
reach blocks against front-side shaded nose tackles. I was especially excited to
see it from Price because it was an issue at Ohio State, and also during the
preseason. Clearly Price has been working on it while he was recovering from his
foot injury, and even though the run went for no yardage, the work Price does
here is commendable. However... That first play repeated itself later on in the
game and the Bengals were hurt by it. We can appreciate Price’s willingness to
look for work when he has no defender to work against at the snap, but he’s
gotta know he’s responsible for keeping the A-gap clean — it is the designed
point of attack after all. All Price has to do is quickly read that the
3-technique is staying in his lane, and move up the the linebacker. He already
has a clear path, he’s just gotta recognize the situation better next
time.Price’s comeback was obviously a storyline that people had interest in, but
my main takeaway from the game was how much left guard Clint Boling got abused
in pass protection against the Saints interior defensive line. On this play, the
Bengals don’t have any attractive options downfield for Dalton to throw to, and
the Saints send a delayed blitz attacking the B-gap between Boling and
Price.This could’ve been an example of the communication that Price and Boling
need to re-establish after Price missed all that time due to injury. This next
play on the other hand
Carlos Dunlap Jersey , well, it had nothing to do with miscommunication.I’ll admit it, this was bittersweet to watch over and over again. I’m such a big
Sheldon Rankins fan, who is the pass-rusher that completely rocked back Boling
for the Saints’ fourth sack of the game. His process is what makes this bull
rush go from okay to incredible, and even a seasoned vet in Boling sometimes
takes the L. Talent will always win out, and Rankins has talent in spades.To be
fair to Boling, he could also still be not quite 100 percent after exiting the
previous game against the Buccaneers with a back injury. Regardless, Boling was
out there, and the team expects better out of him. At the risk of dwelling too
much on a game so embarrassingly lopsided, we’ll just stop it right here and
start moving on to the next week. In specifics, the Bengals playing the Ravens
this upcoming Sunday will be such a prime opportunity for the defensive line to
get back on track. This will be the first time Marvin Lewis is calling the plays
for the defensive in well over a decade, and he’ll do it against the team he was
an acclaimed defensive coordinator for. He may also be game-planning to stop an
electric rookie quarterback in Lamar Jackson, who could be making his first
start of his career depending on starting quarterback Joe Flacco’s health. How
Lewis is able to put the pressure on either quarterback will be huge in deciding
if the Bengals will be staying above .500 by this time next week.
