Dockery working overtime for Bills
Lineman attempts to reverse struggles
Buffalo Bills guard Derrick Dockery spent 15 minutes after practice Thursday working on blocking drills to improve his pad level after the snap of the ball.
It’s a common occurrence after most of the rest of the Bills have hit the locker room. Dockery, the Bills’ 330-pound left guard, usually is one of the last players to leave the practice field.
Dockery’s response to the Bills’ current slump is simple: keep working.
“I’m a perfectionist,” Dockery said. “I’m always very hard on myself. I don’t think I’ve played my best ball yet but I think I’m climbing. It’s about getting better every week, being accountable to yourself and your teammates and just working.”
Despite all his effort, Dockery has not made himself nearly noticeable enough in the running game for the Bills this season. The Bills rank 24th in the NFL in rushing yards, a frustrating position because everyone on the team expected better. The Bills ranked 15th in rushing last season.
“He’s struggled at times this year like a lot of us have,” said Bills offensive coordinator Turk Schonert. “But he keeps battling. I thought Dock played better last week and had a good game. I thought he stuck his head in there and had a real good game.”
Dockery says the offense needs to keep working on the 11-man consistency that’s required to develop a strong run game.
“It’s disappointing,” he said. “We take pride in being able to run the ball. But the running game takes all 11 people so you can’t fault one individual. Everybody has to be on the same page. Ten guys can’t have a great block and one guy messes up. It messes up the whole play. It’s all about chemistry and being on the same page. It finally clicked for us on Monday.”
The Bills hope their run game finally turned a corner in the loss to the Browns due to the fact they rushed for a season- high 186 yards and a 4.9- yard per-carry average.
Dockery helped get things rolling with good blocks on back-to-back draw plays by Fred Jackson for 36 yards.
Dockery says he thinks he has played with a physical attitude all year.
“I think my play is a lot more physical this year,” he said. “That’s what I wanted, to come in this year just trying to be more physical as a player. And then just being consistent in your technique. I’m not the one to say my play is better than last year. But I just go out every game and try to be physical.”
Dockery draws more attention than others on the line because he’s the highest paid lineman on the team. He receives $7 million per season.
Dockery has given up two sacks in the Bills’ losing streak. Both were mental errors, not physical ones. In Miami, he was slow to react to Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter rushing inside of left tackle Jason Peters. Porter’s sack produced a safety. In New England, he didn’t quite get out of his stance quickly enough, and Richard Seymour sacked Trent Edwards.
“That was my fault,” Dockery said. “I should have been there to help. I should have been out of my stance faster. . . . The game is inches. It’s that close. If you get off just that late, it makes the difference. Offensive line is all about technique. If you’re sound in your technique, you’re usually going to succeed. The guys are usually about the same size, the same strength.”
So Dockery keeps putting in extra time to hone his technique.
“He’s a very hard worker, he’s very professional,” said line coach Sean Kugler. “He’s always striving to improve on his techniques. He’s always striving to watch more film to try to gain an advantage on his opponent.”
Dockery says last week’s rushing success won’t help the Bills this week in Kansas City. “It’s a game-by-game thing,” he said. “The last game doesn’t mean anything this week. We can’t rely on what happened last week. We know if we come in with some intensity, with some passion, be sound in our technique, we should be OK.”
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Bills receiver Josh Reed looks like he should be ready to return to the lineup in Kansas City after a three-game absence. He practiced on a limited basis Friday. Cornerback Jabari Greer, safety Donte Whitner and defensive end Aaron Schobel are out. Safety Bryan Scott (knee) worked on a limited basis. Consider him very questionable.
With the secondary hobbled, the Bills promoted Dustin Fox from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Fox spent eight weeks on the Bills’ practice squad last year before being promoted to the active roster for the final six weeks of the season. He was in Bills training camp and was cut before the start of the season. To make room for Fox, the Bills put rookie linebacker Marcus Buggs on the injured reserve list. He has a high ankle sprain.
