Bills Notebook: Are Changes Coming for Offensive Line?
The entire Buffalo Bills' offensive line struggled so much in a 23-16 loss to the Steelers last Sunday that coach Sean McDermott wouldn't rule out changes for the next game this coming Sunday at Miami.
"We'll see," he said cryptically, responding to a question on whether he's considering personnel changes.
Whatever McDermott does do with starting assignments will likely be limited. The Bills are carrying only nine offensive linemen on the active roster, with only Cody Ford having professional experience at both the the tackle and guard positions. So they don't exactly have interchangeable parts.
Nevertheless, they do have rookie tackles Spencer Brown and Tommy Doyle waiting in the wings behind starters Dion Dawkins and Daryl Williams. They also have reserve guard Ike Boettger, who alternated with Ford at guard briefly, and guard/center Ryan Bates as well as Jack Anderson and Jamil Douglas on the practice squad.
The only starter not to be flagged for holding against the Steelers in Week 1 was Ford.
"I didn’t think we won our one-on-one matchups enough," McDermott said Monday. "There were times where we won those matchups, but not enough times. And then at the same time we have to help them out. It was a formidable group they were up against and we’ve got to do a better job of helping them out in those situations at times through our plan."
Injury updates
Most notable was the revelation by McDermott that wide receiver Gabriel Davis would miss Wednesday's practice with a lower body injury. Davis scored Buffalo's only TD against the Steelers when he hauled in a 3-yard pass from Josh Allen.
DE Mario Addison and WR Cole Beasley were given veteran days off. DT Star Lotulelei (calf), WR Isaiah McKenzie (shoulder) and LB Matt Milano (ankle) were limited.
Protected players
In keeping with McDermott's hint about the offensive line, the Bills protected both of their practice-squad players at those positions, Jack Anderson and Jamil Douglas, along with cornerback Cam Lewis for their Week 2 clash with the Miami Dolphins.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
