By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills offensive line finally found a starter, Ryan Groy, but overall as a unit, it didn’t do much in terms of comforting their fan base ahead of the 2018 season.
Watching tape, 16-year veteran Terrell Suggs and linebacker Matt Judon must be chomping at the bit this week. The two led the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo’s season-opening opponent on Sunday, in sacks last season with 11 and nine, respectively.
During the preseason, the Bills looked bad in the trenches, especially their pass protection. The offensive line didn’t give rookie quarterback Josh Allen much of a chance to win the starting job. He was sacked fives and pressured even more during his lone start against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Groy called the outing “embarrassing” following the game. Now the line will try to keep starting QB Nathan Peterman up-right.
The unit, like Peterman, has a fresh start on Sunday and they’re still trying to remain confident. Groy, who earned a starting spot in a battle with Russell Bodine during the preseason, said while the group is new mainly new in 2018, there’s still a lot of continuity he believes the group can lean on.
Sudden retirements of Eric Wood and Richie Incognito put Groy and John Miller back into the lineup. But both were already on the Bills roster last season, as were tackles Dion Dawkins and Jordan Mills.
“We’ve all had a lot of experience and we all watch each practice together so we know how each person plays. So we can be consistent with that and expect what the other one is doing,” Groy told WIVB-TV.
Starting left guard Vlad Ducasse echoed Groy, while adding a little bit of Sean McDermott’s “do your job” mentality.
“We have that friendship and that bond, when it comes to communication,” Ducasse said. “There’s a bigger picture, everybody does their part, so when you do your part, the picture comes together so that’s how we see it.”
The coach himself said the bonding together of the offensive line has turned into a bit of an underdog mentality.
“I think you’ve got a group of guys, eight, seven, or so guys there that take a lot of pride in working for things. They’ve had to work for things up to this point in their journey as individuals, and now they come together and there’s not a whole lot of, and I understand why you’re asking the question, but maybe not a whole lot of outside faith in them. I think they embrace that. There’s not a name on the board that are household names. All of those guys take a lot of pride in their work and I’m extremely confident in them,” McDermott said on Wednesday.
But McDermott’s unit is jumping in the deep end come Sunday against the Ravens, a team that can get to the quarterback, and also create turnovers. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll knows that.
“Baltimore Ravens defenses have been historically good since the year 2000. It just seems like they keep replenishing guys to fill those roles,” Daboll said on Thursday.