Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan knows what's going on in the sports world.
"This just in: LeBron's pretty good," Ryan said Wednesday after the Cleveland Cavaliers took a 2-1 lead over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. "I mean, I'm watching that - you see, the way the rules are set up - it's cool. [They] don't care if they got numbers, [just] throw it to LeBron. That's pretty good offense. So we're going to use that here. I don't know who to throw it to, but we're going to try to use it."
A reporter then asked, "Who's going to be your LeBron at quarterback?"
"Well, it's safe to say that we won't have LeBron at quarterback," Ryan answered. "We may have LeBron at defensive tackle and at defensive end, but we don't have him at quarterback."
The Bills are expecting to have a three-way competition for the starting quarterback job between Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor, none of which are an ideal option. But Ryan is confident that Buffalo's offensive line, particularly center Eric Wood, will help smooth over the deficiencies under center.
"I think Wood is right there with the top centers in the league, so I think he's one of those guys. I was blessed with the Jets to be around a great one and [Wood] is very similar to Nick [Mangold]. So I think that's been a good thing," Ryan said.
"I know I haven't had an ideal situation at quarterback but I've had an ideal situation at center for my career and Eric is just that way."
According to Pro Football Focus, the Bills ranked 30th along the offensive line in the NFL in 2014. The site ranked the unit's pass blocking 23rd and its run blocking dead last.
"Stud: Not his best season but still better than his teammates managed. Cordy Glenn (+6.5) continues to be a reliable if hardly imposing left tackle.
"Dud: Two guys played every snap and while Seantrel Henderson finished with the lower grade, he's an undrafted free agent. The same can't be said of Erik Pears (-25.0) whose conversion to guard was a disaster.
"Breakdown: It did not go well. The investment in Chris Williams seemed odd and he struggled before landing on Injured Reserve. The right side of the line was a liability from Day 1 and while it did get better, it was not to a degree that inspires any confidence in this unit for 2015."
