Question Mark
Little immediate help available for secondary
Question: Do you think the Bills will pursue a more dependable nickel/backup cornerback via free agency with the injuries to Ashton Youboty and Donte Whitner, and the inexperience of rookies Leodis McKelvin and Reggie Corner? Could the same be said for a pass rushing defensive end with the uncertainty of Aaron Schobel’s foot and a recently lackluster pass rush? If so for either, who? — Ryan Corbelli, Elma
Answer: I presume your question refers to signing a street free agent this season. As you might suspect, there are no difference-makers out there at this point in the year. The Bills added corner Dustin Fox to the practice squad this week. I think they should stick with the young cornerbacks they have, regardless.
However, looking at the bigger picture, pass rush will need to be a priority in the offseason. If a good pass rusher is available whenever they pick in the first round, they will have to give it strong consideration. In fact, there’s a good chance they may have taken Florida defensive end Derrick Harvey in the first round last April if he had been available with the 11th overall pick. He went eighth overall to Jacksonville. That would have been a debate in the Bills’ draft room — Harvey versus Leodis McKelvin. My guess is they would have taken Harvey, and that’s not a comment on McKelvin. Harvey, by the way, has seen a bit more action of late. He has started three games and had 1 1/2 sacks — his first sacks of the year — last week.
If the Bills can’t get a prime defensive end pass rusher when they pick early in the draft, I think they should give strong consideration to finding a linebacker with pass rush ability. Draft a tweener. Even though that kind of player usually fits better in a 3-4 system, smaller pass-rushing linebackers are easier to find than elite pass-rushing defensive ends. Try to find a situational rush linebacker. The Bills obviously will be counting on Chris Ellis to take a big step forward next season. But you can’t have enough rush options.
Q: Last week there was a question about the responsibility of officials regarding too many men on the field. Which officials are responsible for holding calls by the offensive line? And how much holding is called? — Alex Reed, Philadelphia
A: The job of officiating the offensive line is split among the referee, the umpire and the line judge. The referee lines up about 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, to the right of the quarterback. In most cases upon the snap of the ball, the referee focuses solely on the blindside tackle (almost always the left tackle) and the right defensive end.
When the line judge is on the same side of the field as the referee, the line judge handles the right tackle, and the umpire handles the centers and guards. When the line judge and referee are on opposite sides, the umpire has everyone from the right tackle to the left guard, and the line judge helps the referee by putting a second set of eyes on the left tackle.
The umpire lines up about 5 yards downfield in the middle of the field near the linebackers. The line judge straddles the line of scrimmage on one of the sidelines.
Holding calls steadily increased from 2001 through 2005, when they hit an all-time high of 880 calls for the season. Since then holding calls have gone way down. There were 579 in 2006 and 602 in 2007.
Bills beat reporter Mark Gaughan answers your football questions every Friday. Send your e-mails to mgaughan@buffnews.com or mail to Question Mark, The Buffalo News Sports Department, One News Plaza, Buffalo, NY 14240.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments