Looking Ahead: Week 1 @ Buffalo

[upstater1]

I think it would be embarrassing for Bill to be outcoached and beaten by a rookie HC in week one and especially if Manuel starts at QB,Belichick's record is pretty good in this regards.

The Bills are nowhere near the top threat in the division,that clearly belongs to Miami who is a Tannehill good season away from seriously challenging and winning the east.

That being said,the Patriots have played Buffalo several times in week one in previous years and both times were on the ropes and looked defeated but pulled the win out.....I expect the same this time around.

Chan Gailey won in his first game against Belichick 2 years ago, it was also the season opener.

I think it's an advantage to see a new coach in week 1, but you can't really have supreme confidence. Especially at Buffalo.

Thompkins, Sudfeld and Dobson have never played in such an atmosphere before. We have no idea how they are going to react. It will be louder and nastier than they've ever before experienced, and the fans are very close to the field.

 

[jmt57]

The previous comment made me wonder about what size crowds some of the new guys are used to.



Kenbrell Thompkins
Largest crowd last year was 53,271 when the Bearcats played at Louisville; he also played in front of 46,026 at Virginia Tech. Half the games were in front of fewer than 28,000.


Zach Sudfeld
Nevada opened up the season on the road at Cal in front of an audience of 63,186. The crowds were substantially smaller after that, with a median size of fewer than 23,000.


Aaron Dobson
A similar scenario here, with Marshall opening the 2012 season on the road at West Virginia in front of 59,120. Dobson also had two other road games with crowds of more than 45,000, but the nine other games had a median size of fewer than 23,000.


Logan Ryan and the rest of the Rutgers alumni had a week four game at Arkansas in front of 72,543 that they won, and typically played in front of crowds of about 48,000.

 

[JMC00]

Thompkins, Sudfeld and Dobson have never played in such an atmosphere before. We have no idea how they are going to react. It will be louder and nastier than they've ever before experienced, and the fans are very close to the field.

As long as they know the plays and don't false start it will have little effect on them.

The crowd noise isn't gonna effect Thompkins from beating his man off the line and running down field and catching the ball.

 

[VrabelJr]

Giving up one play to Reggie Bush means our defense sucks against RBs? Ok...

 

[Guts]

If Brady tosses 4 picks vs Buff like he did in 2011 prepare for the onslaught of commentators saying he's done. Not that I think the picks will happen but the mediots are waiting to proclaim Brady and the Pats as ovah!

Unfair really cause if he has a great game an Peyton has a similar great
game the media will still see Peyton as MVP or even Rodgers for that matter. If Brady does good it's expected of him if he does bad the Patriots are over

 

[TriplecHamp]

Unfair really cause if he has a great game an Peyton has a similar great
game the media will still see Peyton as MVP or even Rodgers for that matter. If Brady does good it's expected of him if he does bad the Patriots are over

From everything I read so far this preaseason, If Brady puts up similar numbers to what he's done over the past 3-4 years. He will be the runaway MVP because of the roster turnover at our skill positions.

 

[resdubwhite]

Chan Gailey won in his first game against Belichick 2 years ago, it was also the season opener.

.

Was that not week 2?

 

[goheels22002]

The previous comment made me wonder about what size crowds some of the new guys are used to.

Kenbrell Thompkins
Largest crowd last year was 53,271 when the Bearcats played at Louisville; he also played in front of 46,026 at Virginia Tech. Half the games were in front of fewer than 28,000.

Zach Sudfeld
Nevada opened up the season on the road at Cal in front of an audience of 63,186. The crowds were substantially smaller after that, with a median size of fewer than 23,000.

Aaron Dobson
A similar scenario here, with Marshall opening the 2012 season on the road at West Virginia in front of 59,120. Dobson also had two other road games with crowds of more than 45,000, but the nine other games had a median size of fewer than 23,000.

Logan Ryan and the rest of the Rutgers alumni had a week four game at Arkansas in front of 72,543 that they won, and typically played in front of crowds of about 48,000.

That's a bizarre comparison. You can't possibly compare playing in front of drunk, resentful, win-starved Buffalo Bills fans to playing in front of sorority girls, twittering college kids and fat cat boosters on the road at Berkeley, Arkansas, Louisville and West Virginia.

 

[Big-T]

Manuel had knee surgery
Kolb left tonights game @Washington with a concussion

All is not well for the Bills! Both will probably be fine for week 1 but can't imagine Manuel being 100%.

 

[Coach42]

If we hadn't just been **** whipped by Detroit I would have given the Bills a solid chance. Buffalo will really be the first time many players will get a chance to get Bill off their butts. I expect a professional performance.

 

[JMC00]

Thought the Bills D was suppose to vastly improved. Rex Grossman pretty much carved them apart.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

their CB Gilmore is hurt

 

[Oswlek]

The second thing is our d-line. With Pettine there will be a lot more blitzes. Wanny didn't call any blitzes at all last year and Tom Terrific ate us alive. I know it's only preseason but the Pats O-line got BULLIED against the Lions. I think the Bills d-line is as good if not better than Detroit's, and if the Bills can rattle Tom early, they'll be in good shape for the rest of the game.

Nice take, always good to see the a view from the other side.

Take the OL's performance against Detroit with a boulder-sized grain of salt. They were pushed around much worse in last year's preseason and also got pushed around by that same Detroit team in the 2011 preseason. Neither had any carry-over into the regular season.

 

[JMC00]

I think the Bills d-line is as good if not better than Detroit's, and if the Bills can rattle Tom early, they'll be in good shape for the rest of the game.

 

[Oswlek]

Kolb played a great game last year for the Cards huge upset at New England,don't discount that...he has beaten them before.

Kevin was as responsible for that win as I was for NE's record breaking win against Miami in 2004, cheering from section 316.

I too am not taking this game for granted.

Food for thought: The bills have been lousy in the last few years but in home openers since 2005 they're 5-3, scoring an average of 25.7 points per game, and their 3 losses were by an average margin of 5 points. And we all know what happened up there in 03.


So they've been pretty good in their home openers lately... and hopefully the Patriots don't take them lightly.

Interestingly enough, even when NE was in the middle of their remarkable win streak against the Bills, NE almost always struggled in the first game. No matter how bad Buffalo appears to be, I always assume the first game will be more difficult that expected.

I think it would be embarrassing for Bill to be outcoached and beaten by a rookie HC in week one and especially if Manuel starts at QB,Belichick's record is pretty good in this regards..

Why? Bill actually does better when he has a book on guys. Other than truly elite QBs, there is a pattern of newbs and nobodies who NE has a hard time against before putting them in their place afterward. If anything, I look at going against a potential new coach/QB combo as a potential problem, not an asset.

 

[jmt57]

That's a bizarre comparison. You can't possibly compare playing in front of drunk, resentful, win-starved Buffalo Bills fans to playing in front of sorority girls, twittering college kids and fat cat boosters on the road at Berkeley, Arkansas, Louisville and West Virginia.

The purpose was to see how big the crowds were that they have played in front of.

Having attended both NFL games in various cities as well as various college football venues, I think you may be underestimating what that experience is like (especially the 70k+ crowd in Arkansas, as well as the crowd at Morgantown). As far as fat cats go, check the suites and club level seating at any NFL game.

 

[Oswlek]

Agreed. I grow weary of this by the day. If Reggie Bush was able to make them pay for atrocious tackling and poor contain just imagine what C.J. Spiller would do to them.

Meh. Pay attention to personnel and formation and you'll see that NE was doing no game planning for that part of Detroit's offense. In fact, it looked to me like a intentionally put them in the wrong position to see how they handle it moment to me. You can be sure NE will approach Buffalo differently.

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

The Bills almost always play well right out of the gate, and I can't remember the last time they lost their home opener in a laugher.

That being said, I think this game is going to be extremely close depending on a few factors.

First and foremost, if Kevin Kolb starts, you guys are going to have a way easier time with our offense than if EJ starts. I know all that Belichick vs rookies and all that blah blah blah, but Kolb is just SO limited in what he can do that it harms the team in every facet of the game. The team would be way better off having EJ start, but we'll see how the knee is at that point. If EJ starts that stadium will be louder than it's been in ten years.

You can say Bills fans are always excited before the season, but this year is different. There is NO pessimism at all. We got a new lease deal, we got new coaches who everyone is falling in love with, and we've got a quarterback who thus far looks as though he can play the part better than anyone since Bledsoe. Literally EVERYBODY is excited about the future. I've never seen it like this before. If EJ starts, it will be a huge boost to the Bills.

The second thing is our d-line. With Pettine there will be a lot more blitzes. Wanny didn't call any blitzes at all last year and Tom Terrific ate us alive. I know it's only preseason but the Pats O-line got BULLIED against the Lions. I think the Bills d-line is as good if not better than Detroit's, and if the Bills can rattle Tom early, they'll be in good shape for the rest of the game.

The third and final most important thing for the Bills in this game is the linebackers. We have three starting linebackers who weren't starting week one last year, and they need to stop the run. You guys saw firsthand how bad our run defense was last year. Every time Ridley touched the ball he was going for fifteen yards. If our new linebacker corps is able to hold against the run, it will force you guys into more passing situations where Pettine can really pin the defense's ears back and attack the passer. If this is the case, good things will happen.


Overall, I'm stuck on a prediction, as I think it could go either way. Historically the Bills play well out of the gate, and always play the Patriots way harder in the first meeting between the two teams than they do in the second, (except last year of course). This, combined with a raucous, crazy atmosphere has me giving the Bills a 34-28 win if EJ starts.

If Kolb starts, you guys probably win like 35-17, but the game is closer than the final score

Just my thoughts

Right on cue. The Pats have one bad meaningless game, while adjusting positions against a team who admittedly called that game their "superbowl", and the chest pounding division rivals open an account at Patfans. I guess we wont see much of you after that abysmal display your "If not better than Detriots" defense performed today. Same thing every year. Sorry, but the Bills looked sad today. I was on your board where many were saying the Pats and Brady were on a decline after the Lions game. But the Bills/Skins game is "only preseason" Cant have it both ways. The Bills are not on the top of my list of worries this year. Sorry

 

[Claremonster]

Meh, he only threw for 140 yards. The Cardinals won that game because of their defense and because of a phantom holding call on Gronkowski by a replacement ref

Gost missed the field goal...

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

In fact, it looked to me like a intentionally put them in the wrong position to see how they handle it moment to me.

I am not the only one then. When they were in their own end with 2 min or so left? ( i think it was the scenario) 3 runs in a row...it's like they wanted to almost punt.