IndyKen
Third String But Playing on Special Teams
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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.Does anyone know if the Bills play mostly zone defense or is it man to man coverage?
Nice write-up there Steve.Does it matter? They are terrible against the run and awful in the red zone. Look for Law Firm, Woody, and Gronkernandez rockerto have a big day.
The Voice of The Fan: FVP: Can Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Buffalo Bills Overcome The New England Patriots?
I don't have an answer to your question but I'll try to find out. Maybe Marv Levy or one of the other Bills fans that post here can answer.Does anyone know if the Bills play mostly zone defense or is it man to man coverage?
Every single player in the secondary has shown weakness. Arguably the best performer, third-year cornerback Leodis McKelvin, was burned for two touchdowns this past Sunday, while also dropping a certain interception. Drayton Florence is a holding or interference penalty waiting to happen. Terrence McGee, to his credit, has been steady, but he's also been in and out of the lineup with a knee injury that required surgery and could sideline him for up to a month. It hasn't gotten better at safety, where Jairus Byrd has been a liability against the run and a non-factor in the passing game, and where Donte Whitner has been a large part of the problem against tight ends while also struggling against the run.
When your football team is bad, it typically permeates through all units. This secondary is still the strength of an utterly woeful Bills defense, but excuses are running thin. They played fine without a consistent pass rush a year ago. Perhaps when they can feast on an average quarterback - they defended Chad Henne just fine in Week 1, after all - they'll look better than they have. But let's not sugar coat this: Buffalo's secondary, like the rest of the team, is now a liability.
Nice write-up there Steve.
With Buffalo struggling to defend the run, that is exactly what the Pats should do to start the game, in my opinion: run the ball. That will set up play action fakes as they sell out more to stop the run, opening up the passing game for the Pats.
Funny thing is that from what I am seeing people in the Buffalo area are lauding Fitzpatrick for how well he is playing - yet they are also saying the Bills should draft a QB in the first round. Now I'm no expert on the Bills, but it seems to me they would be better off drafting a defensive lineman with that early pick.
Nice write-up there Steve.
With Buffalo struggling to defend the run, that is exactly what the Pats should do to start the game, in my opinion: run the ball. That will set up play action fakes as they sell out more to stop the run, opening up the passing game for the Pats.
Funny thing is that from what I am seeing people in the Buffalo area are lauding Fitzpatrick for how well he is playing - yet they are also saying the Bills should draft a QB in the first round. Now I'm no expert on the Bills, but it seems to me they would be better off drafting a defensive lineman with that early pick.
My take as a long time Bills fan.
NE Offense vs Bills defense.
Do not get carried away with the Bills rank vs the run. Yes, they are last in the NFL, but 6 of the first 7 games opponents were 200+ yds on the ground, and that is skewing the #s. Last 6 games have been much better, and i would put them solidly in the "mediocre" category now, not the "terrible" category. This has mostly been accomplished as the Bills now play almost equal amounts of defensive plays from the 4-3 set as the 3-4 set. #90 (Kelsay) now plays with his hand on the ground mush more often, as his switch from DE to OLB was not working so well LOL. He was just flat out getting lost in space on coverage. #95 (Williams) is having a beat of a year playing inside on either set, and is the only threat to generate a pass rush when playing in the 3-4 from the D-Line. Kelsay can generate pressure when he has his hand on the ground from the 4-3, but so far that has been it as far as QB pressure for the DL.
The LB's have also have not fared so well. #51((Posluzny) is a tackling machine, but if D line in 3-4 set is not taking up the blocks, OL is often getting to 2nd level quick and early and moving the LB's downfield. This was the cause of so much of the early season fail against the run. The switch to the 4-3 has helped with this somewhat. # 52(Moats) is starting to make plays in both the pressure and run games as his learning curve of making the transition from college DL to NFL LB is starting to take hold. Still gets lost in space a bit on coverage.
DB's are playing well, not great, and mix between zone and man, depending on front and pressure package. As a group, good tacklers, but have not exactly been ball hawks this year. I think part of that is lack of consistent pressure on the QB from the front 3 or 4 lineman. Having said that, the last 3-4 games has seen more pressure coming from the edge by bringing DB's on the rush, and that ma be an area BB tries to exploiut this week.
I would think BB will use formation to get that two headed TE attack rolling on the Bills. That has been the one area where the Bills have consistently struggled, and you just know that big ole Polish kid wants to come home and have a big showing(lordy how did they not draft that kid). That is what will start to eat coverage from the Bills side, and that will open up the run/WR pass game. I would look for the TE combo to have 7-11 receptions and well over 150 yds in the air.
Bills Offense VS NE Defense.
This is where I think our will see the ball control, if possible. Now, from what I can tell from comments this week, the Bills expect to be a shoot out and have no hopes of containing Tom and the Boys. That being said, I think they will try to establish the run, run clock, and make yards in chunks down the field with the kiddie receiving core. Fitz will force balls, and has struggled with some truly god awful throws at times.But he is willing to take chances to make plays, and make them he does.Good hands and body position fro all the WR's, but not a true speed demon between them. He tends to start games slowly, and picks up the schemes as the game moves on. He is from Harvard after all!!
Strength of the line is pass blocking, and will be interesting to see how Wood holds up against Wilfork. Most Bills fans prefer Wood at center instead of Handgartner(sp) for next year, so this will be a good test. Right side of the line has held up well considering we have two guys who were not on the team 6 weeks ago starting out there (Wrotto at RT, Rhinehard(SP)) at RG.
Spiller has, in the eyes of most Bills fans, been a "disappointment" to say the least. He almost always wants to bounce a run outside, thinking his speed will get him to the edge like it did playing on Saturday, but ain't working on Sunday.Freddy is Freddy..rock solid hard runner who gets 2 yds after bing hit each and every time.
Punter Moorman having an off year, and Lindell been good to very good..only advantage we have in special teams in knowing the wind in the Rich, and that can play havoc with the Field Goals. Course, we also do not have a OL who could make a 70 yd KO return, so maybe advantage Patriots there.
Patriots at Bills
Florio’s take: The Patriots received a timely wake-up call against the Packers, and that’s bad news for the Bills, who shrugged off losses long enough to start winning. This week, with the Pats having the top seed in the AFC playoff field in reach and with coach Bill Belichick’s shoe up their rears after nearly losing at home, it will take a Herculean effort for the Bills to knock off New England.
Florio’s pick: Patriots 31, Bills 13.
Rosenthal’s take: Bill Belichick called Fred Jackson one of the best running backs in the league. Jackson is certainly one of the league’s most underrated players, and he’s part of an offense that has solid pieces to build upon. The Bills defense, while improving, has a long way to go before it can keep up with Tom Brady hunting for a playoff bye.
Rosenthal’s pick: Patriots 37, Bills 29.
Dan Connolly, Deion Branch and Tully Banta-Cain were among those missing at Patriots practice on Thursday on the main Gillette Stadium field. Tom Brady did report and was present at the start of practice.
Also out Thursday were tight end Aaron Hernandez, defensive end Jermaine Cunningham, and defensive lineman Mike Wright. The Patriots did get two defensive linemen back as Brandon Deaderick and Myron Pryor returned on Thursday. Pryor has missed the last six games with a back injury.
Brady hasn’t thrown an interception since Oct. 17, and has a touchdown to interception ratio of 31:4. In addition, Brady has an interception-free streak to 292 consecutive pass attempts without a pick, setting an NFL record for the longest single-season stretch without an interception. In terms of overall streaks (including those spanning multiple seasons), Brady’s streak of 292 straight interception-free passes ranks third in NFL history.
“It’s very amazing,” said Bills coach Chan Gailey. “He’s obviously a great player because he’s done it for many years. I don’t think that I’m surprised, but to be honest with you, the odds are that that wouldn’t happen – the ball may get tipped, something. You’d think that it would not happen, but he’s an amazing player. And they’ve got a great system and it all fits together, they’re working very well right now.”
“It’s unbelievable,” said Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. “I mean, for there not to be a batted pass at the line or a fluke, whatever it is, that’s unbelievable. If you look at their team one thing that you can point to is that they don’t turn the ball over. It is amazing how well they’ve taken care of the ball this year, and that’s something that you learn from too. You learn from a team like this that’s so successful, and one of the reasons being that they don’t give the ball away. It’s mind boggling to have a statistic like that and to go that long without throwing an interception.”
If there’s going to be a streak-breaker, safety Jairus Byrd might be the guy. Byrd, who had nine picks last season as a rookie, believes that the best way to combat the New England passing game is to mix things up and try and disguise some coverages.
“Disguising plays are a big part of it,” Byrd said. “And you’ve got to give pressure with the front. It’s going to be a total team effort. You can’t just say ‘OK, we’re going to blitz them the whole game’ because there is nothing he hasn’t seen. You have to mix everything up and throw different things at him.
baxter1 - thanks for that analysis, that is much appreciated.
So would it be fair to say that the biggest reason for the improvement by the Bills in the second half of the season has been better play by the defense, particularly against the run?
It sounds as if in 2011 the Bills should use the 4-3 as their base defense and acquire players that are better fits for the 4-3, and then just use the 3-4 once in a while depending on matchup or as a change of pace to confuse the opposing offense.
Nice to have a Bills fan's POV. Welcome to the boards.
Bills running back Fred Jackson is 189 yards short of the 1,000-yard rushing mark, and it won't be easy to hit it. New England ranks 15th against the run. The New York Jets, Buffalo's last opponent, rank fourth against the run.
Jackson had 136 yards against the Pats in the 2008 season finale. He had 57 and 80 yards against the Pats in 2009. He only got four carries at New England in September.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a fan of Jackson's.
"I have as much respect for him as really anybody we've played," Belichick said. "He's outstanding, good at everything, good on blitz pickup, a good outside runner, good inside runner. They use him in the passing game as a receiver, split out and empty and those kinds of things. He's a very good screen back."
"That's pretty big praise coming from a guy like that," Jackson said.
So how do you get Brady to turn the ball over? The Bills had one interception the first half of the season. No defensive back had a pick until the ninth game. But they have eight picks in the last five games, plus five fumble recoveries.
Maybe the law of averages will come crashing down on Brady's head Sunday. It's not as if the Pats are playing it safe on offense, throwing a lot of conservative checkdowns. They go after defenses. They've done it on the road, in the cold and snow.
"They're attacking the weakness of the coverages that Brady sees week in and week out," safety Donte Whitner said. "So we have to do a good job of mixing up the things we do, throw some new things in there to attack him. At one point, Cleveland (the last team to beat New England) dropped all 11 guys into coverage without rushing anybody.
"Sometimes it takes things like that to beat quarterbacks who have seen every defense and know where to go with the ball. You have to do some unconventional things sometimes."
After seven years, simply beating the Pats would be a wild and unconventional event. But Whitner is right. They've got to be aggressive and take it from the Pats, because no team in NFL history has been less willing to give the football away.
"They've won four of the last six games," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday before practice for Sunday's matchup in Buffalo. "There're not a lot of teams that are doing better than that over the last six weeks in the National Football League. Not a lot."
Only six have done better - New England, San Diego, Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans and Philadelphia.
New England (12-2) and Buffalo (4-10) met in the third game of the season when the Patriots were coming off a 28-14 loss to the New York Jets. The Patriots led the Bills just 24-23 going into the final two minutes of the third quarter before winning 38-30.
Ryan Fitzpatrick made his first start of the season in that game for the Bills and threw two touchdown passes and two interceptions.
"He looked pretty good in that game," Belichick said, "but certainly with the extra playing time that he's had throughout the season, he looks pretty solid back there."
Fitzpatrick has started all 11 games since then and shown improvement with 21 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions in that stretch.
"Some of the games ... they get ahead and he does a good job of managing the game and doing what he needs to do in the fourth quarter," Belichick said, "not trying to score 60 points, just trying to win a game."
Last Sunday, the Bills led the Miami Dolphins 17-7 after three quarters and won 17-14. The week before, they took a 10-6 lead into the second half and beat the Cleveland Browns 13-6.
The Bills' resurgence actually began before their current six-game run. In the three games before that, they lost in overtime on the road to Baltimore and Kansas City and by three points to Chicago, three of the top teams in the NFL.
"It's a big game for us," Fitzpatrick said. "Putting (the streak) aside, it's how far have we come this year, how much have we improved? I think that's the biggest thing for us."
Buffalo's defense has keyed victories the last two weeks, allowing a combined 20 points against Cleveland and Miami.
The Bills' NFL-worst run defense stepped up last Sunday, holding the Dolphins to 65 rushing yards - 3.4 per carry - in a 17-14 road win.
"I've probably overused the word character, but I don't know if you can because that's what it's all about with this group," Gailey said. "I think we have got the wins to show for the improvement, rather than just seeing improvement in our eyes as coaches."
The Bills' breakout offensive star has been wide receiver Stevie Johnson, who is 57 yards shy of 1,000. After scoring at Miami, he needs one more receiving TD to match Bill Brooks' single-season franchise record of 11.
It hasn't been smooth sailing for Eric Wood during his first two NFL starts at center.
After facing mammoth nose tackles Shaun Rogers of Cleveland and Paul Soliai of Miami, Wood now gets to go face-to-face with New England's Vince Wilfork.
The Patriots' perennial Pro Bowler has 73 tackles, fourth on the team. He has been used at defensive end on occasion, but his money is made clogging up the middle.
"He's a heck of a player," Wood said. "Vince is extremely stout and in pass-rush situations he can be really effective. A man of that size and strength, you really have to hone in on your techniques so you don't get out of position."
The Bills had a tough time running the ball against the Dolphins last week, finishing with 71 yards on 27 carries. Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller both averaged less than two yards per carry.
Coach Chan Gailey said the offensive line's inefficient play had a lot to do with that. Wood did not disagree.
"We had too many mental errors last week," Wood said. "That's obviously something that's got to change. It kills the running game. So many negative-yardage run plays last week, probably as many as we've had all year combined. We really got to communicate well this week and just bone up on little mistakes. If one happens during the game, it's understandable. But when five happens, it's a catastrophe."
The Patriots' passing game was supposed to take a step back trading Randy Moss to Minnesota in October. The 6-foot-4 Moss wasn't just New England's biggest receiver, he also was the team's most explosive player. But Welker, Branch and Woodhead have picked up the slack.
"Those guys are very effective in what they're asked to do in that offense," Bills safety Bryan Scott said. "They are hard to cover because they're very quick, they run great routes, they know how to read coverages and are good runners after the catch. They're doing a great job."
The Patriots may not have the same big-play ability since Moss left, but they don't have an offense that relies on one or two options. Brady's favorite receiver is the one who is open, and all the weapons at his disposal mean a defense can't cover everybody.
"That's the one thing that makes them unique is they have a lot of people that can get open," Bills coach Chan Gailey said. "They spread the field. And I've said before, if you have to monitor enough threats, that means you have to pay attention all across the board, then you become spread thin. And that's what Brady and the offense do to teams.
"They get you thinking about something else and it's a short pass and they throw it down the field. They do a great job with protection; their line has been together, played together and they're a good offensive line. He doesn't have to sit back there and worry too much about protection. So all of that plays together to create problems for a defense."
Rookie defensive lineman Kyle Love saw his most significant action of the season in Sunday night’s win over the Packers, a result of injuries to other players up front.
Although his playing time was up, Love was told his performance was not.
“I talked to my d-line coach [Pepper Johnson] and he told me I needed to step up a bit more,” Love said Thursday. “I’m going to play hard in the next game.”
Even though Love was one of two undrafted Patriots rookies to make the team this season, he still is not satisfied with where he stands at this point in the season.
“I don’t feel as good as I should,” said Love, who was on the field for 37 snaps on Sunday night. “I didn’t really play all that great last game.”
With defensive linemen Mike Wright and Myron Pryor likely to remain out for Sunday’s game in Buffalo, Love may again be called upon to play an increased role in the defense.
“We have to play hard as a team,” Love said. “That’s what they told me to understand. I don’t have to try to make every play, just play as a team and a defense.”
My take as a long time Bills fan.
NE Offense vs Bills defense.
Do not get carried away with the Bills rank vs the run. Yes, they are last in the NFL, but 6 of the first 7 games opponents were 200+ yds on the ground, and that is skewing the #s. Last 6 games have been much better, and i would put them solidly in the "mediocre" category now, not the "terrible" category.
...Course, we also do not have a OL who could make a 70 yd KO return, so maybe advantage Patriots there.
Dan Connolly, Brandon Deaderick, James Sanders & Mike Wright the lone four players not spotted at start of practice, Mike Rodak reports.
In locker room, players were reminded to pack longer stud screws for their cleats because of a "good chance" of snow in Buffalo.
Starting right guard Dan Connolly, who earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his 71-yard kickoff return, missed his third straight day of practice because of a concussion. This puts his status for Sunday's game in Buffalo in question.
Connolly has not been spotted in the locker room this week during media-access periods. If he doesn't play -- and that's looking more likely -- the Patriots would probably turn to either second-year player Ryan Wendell or five-year veteran Quinn Ojinnaka.
In addition to Connolly, safety James Sanders and defensive linemen Brandon Deaderick (shoulder) and Mike Wright (concussion) were players not spotted at the start of practice today.
Tight end Aaron Hernandez (hip), receiver Deion Branch (knee) and outside linebackers Tully Banta-Cain (groin) and Jermaine Cunningham (calf) all returned to practice after missing Thursday's session.