Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots: Preview and Keys to the Game
The Buffalo Bills travel to Foxboro to face the New England Patriots this Sunday in a week three match up of AFC East rivals.
This game marks the return to the scene of the crime, when the Bills saw New England steal a win from them last year in the season opening game on Monday Night Football.
The Bills were leading 24-13 with 2:30 left in the game only to watch Ben Watson catch two touchdown passes within a two minute span as the Patriots stormed back to edge the Bills 25-24.
That was the infamous Leodis McKelvin kickoff fumble game.
This contest marks the return of Ryan Fitzpatrick to the Bills starting lineup, as head coach Chan Gailey has decided to bench starter Trent Edwards after two less than impressive starts to begin the 2010 campaign.
Offensive Changes For Bills: Ryan Fitzpatrick and Roscoe Parrish Are Starters
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Ryan Fitzpatrick has replaced Trent Edwards as the starting quarterback. Roscoe Parrish has replaced Steve Johnson as the other starting receiver opposite Lee Evans.
Those changes were announced by the Bills and head coach Chan Gailey earlier this week. The changes were necessary due to the inept Bills offense in the 2010 season. The Bills were only able to muster one touchdown drive in each of the first two games.
Trent Edwards barely passed for over 100 yards against the Green Bay Packers last week, considering that their secondary had been shredded for a number of big games, Edwards' performance was unacceptable.
The change came sooner than most people expected, but Gailey didn't want to let the season slip away from the team before attempting to right the ship. This is clearly one way to try to fix things.
Parrish will be seeing more snaps as a result of being on the field with Evans in two wide receiver sets. He has clearly evolved into taking on a more significant role under Chan Gailey than he ever did under Dick Jauron. Parrish is pleased to be given a chance to show what he can do.
With Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback expect to see a greater number of longer passes, as he is not afraid to throw the ball up and let guys make a play for it. That could also result in more turnovers, so that should not come as a surprise either.
The Patriots Are Not at Full Health
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Kevin Faulk tore up his knee last week and is now done for the season.
A dependable third down specialist, Faulk's absence will be missed by quarterback Tom Brady. Who will pick up the slack for Faulk? Probably a combination of WR Wes Welker, RB Sammy Morris, and TE Aaron Hernandez.
Other Patriot casualties this year include Ty Warren and Leigh Bodden who are on IR. Lawrence Maroney has been traded away, so he will not be a thorn in Buffalo's side this Sunday.
Wes Welker is still coming off of his surgery and has been limited to roughly 60 percent of all snaps so far in the young season.
Another point of interest is that offensive line stalwart Logan Mankins has been a hold out this year, so he will be missed.
Secondary member Brandon Merriweather has played himself out of a starting role, so the secondary is not very long in the tooth regarding experience.
Can the Bills Stop the New England Winning Streak?
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The Bills have the unfavorable distinction of being tied for the longest current active losing streak in the NFL.
The Bills have lost the past 13 games to the Patriots, matching the streak of the Oakland Raiders losses to San Diego Chargers. While last year's game at New England appeared to be the best chance in recent memory that the Bills had to win one against the Patriots, this is a new coach with a number of new players that don't care a thing about the streak.
What is the same, however, is that Tom Brady is still passing the ball for big numbers, as his total for two games is more than double of what Trent Edwards delivered in his first two games.
The Patriots still have Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Both of them were able to catch a touchdown pass last week against the talented New York Jets secondary. In the season opener last year, Tom Brady torched the Bills defense with 53 pass attempts that resulted in 368 passing yards.
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Donte Whitner Says the Bills Are Tired of Losing and Being Laughed At
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Donte Whitner made it a point this week to let the media know that he is tired of losing. He also commented that the Green Bay Packers were laughing at the Bills defense in the fourth quarter last Sunday, which is something that New England has typically done in the past.
The pride factor is something that is hard to measure when you look at the intangibles coming in to a game between two bitter rivals.
For the Bills veteran players that have experienced the majority of this losing streak against the Patriots there would be nothing sweeter than to see the Bills pull off the upset. If that were to happen, both the Patriots and the Bills would be sitting in the basement of the AFC East with a 1-2 record.
Sometimes Whitner says things to get the team fired up. He could always lead by example though.
He stepped in front of an Aaron Rogers pass in the first half last week that could have led to a 100 plus yard interception return that would have brought the Bills right back in the game. Instead, Whitner dropped a pass that hit him in the chest. Actions speak louder than words, Donte.
When Will The Defense Start Generating Some Turnovers?
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The Bills secondary was one of the leading units in turnovers created in 2009, but so far they have been shut out in both games this season. Jairus Byrd has not even had his hands on the ball yet, much less having an interception to his credit.
Twice against the Packers last week the Bills defense caused a fumble, only to see Green Bay recover both of them. It would help if the ball would bounce Buffalo's way, but they need to create turnovers by making big plays and then taking advantage of the opportunities when they are presented to them.
You may recall Aaron Schobel's great interception return for a touchdown off a Tom Brady screen pass last year in the opener. A play like that would be a big shot in the arm to the Bills team that is in need of sparks. Speaking of Schobel, nobody in the NFL had more sacks on Tom Brady than Schobel, so you can be sure that Brady was happy to see the retirement notice.
Expect to See More of C.J. Spiller This Sunday
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Last week you could frequently find C.J. Spiller sitting on the bench to collect his thoughts during his first visit to Lambeau Field. He had one rush for three yards, caught a few screen and swing passes, and returned kickoffs. That was his day.
So far, the long play that was so anticipated by Bills fans has resulted in a lot of excitement without anything to really hang our hats on.
You just know that C.J. will break a long run off, as he has come close several times already to breaking one. It is just that, while he adjusts his game to the NFL, the Bills are falling further and further behind in the standings, waiting for him to produce.
Chan Gailey has admitted that he probably asked C.J. to take on too much early in the season, so he has scaled back his duties temporarily. While we are expecting a heavier workload during the second half of the season, there is no way of knowing what is in store for this Sunday.
You know that Bill Belichick will make sure all the Patriot defenders are aware of Spiller when he is on the field and will do their best to contain him as the Dolphins and Packers did.
Will this be the week that C.J. breaks off his first long touchdown?
Football 101: Introducing the Tight End Position
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Tight end. It is usually not a glamorous position, but it seems that in the past few years more and more athletic big body types are making the position a greater weapon in NFL offenses. Except for the Buffalo Bills.
In the season opener, the Miami Dolphins torched the Bills secondary with big plays to tight end Anthony Fasano, who picked up 46 receiving yards in the first half. Last week the Bills allowed tight end Jermichael Finley to gain over 100 yards on four receptions.
Now this week, against the Patriots, we find them stocked at the position with their own version of the three headed monster: Alge Crumpler and the two stand out rookies, Aaron Hernandez and ex-Williamsville native Rob Gronkowski.
The Patriots thought enough of the tight end position to invest two of their many draft picks on adding some major talent to the position. The Bills ignored the tight end position in the draft.
For their troubles, they learned that Shawn Nelson would be suspended for the first four games. The other Bills tight ends, Jonathan Stupar and David Martin, have combined for .......(hold on to your hats for this one) two catches for 14 yards. Thankfully the Bills kept the play where Edwards rolls out to the same side of the field as his tight end because that is the only pass he could ever complete rolling out.
There is a major disconnect here between the Bills and top NFL teams regarding the tight end position.They don't know how to properly use them and they don't how to stop them either.
I don't know how else to state it other than that.
Are There Any Chinks in the Patriots Armor?
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On the surface you would have to say that New England is still an elite team due to all of their weapons on offense. They have lost a number of key veterans from the defense, and as a result, they are more vulnerable than they have been in a number of years.
The passing defense is currently ranked 28th in the NFL, giving up a whopping 270 yards per game. Too bad the Bills aren't in a better position to take advantage of that, as the team is last in the NFL for passing, averaging only 89 yards per game.
The Patriots were shut out in the second half last Sunday against the Jets, who did that without Darrelle Revis. He missed the second half due to injury. So a good defense is still able to do a number on Brady and friends.
The Bills will need to get some semblance of a pass rush together this week and put some heat on Brady. Last Sunday against Green Bay, the Bills didn't do much of anything against Aaron Rogers, who stood back in the pocket all day and hurt the Bills with one pass after another.
It will be interesting to see who Brady turns to on key third down plays this Sunday, noting that Kevin Faulk will not be there to bail him out.
How Can the Bills Beat the Patriots?
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Many things have to happen for the Bills to beat New England, so let's identify them.
The Bills will have to do a better job of protecting Ryan Fitzpatrick. In two games, Trent Edwards was sacked seven times, which puts the Bills offensive line on pace to surrender 56 sacks this season.
The Bills need to control the clock like they did to Green Bay. The Patriots offense is as good as Green Bay's, but the Bills managed to hold the Packers to 11 total yards in the second quarter. Any similar kind of quarter results that are dominating or one-sided give the Bills defense a breather.
Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball. The Bills have three talented backs, and they need to use them all.
Expect Marshawn Lynch to start and get the majority of the early touches, with Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller getting more touches as the game continues. The Bills have to move the chains, let the clock run, and try to wear down the Patriots defense by running the ball. I would like to see 30 plus carries.
The defense will need to create some big plays or get some turnovers to create field position.
Ryan FItzpatrick will need to tap in to his veteran experience and make some intelligent audibles, as well as go with his gut instincts to make some big plays.
If the Bills can do most of the above, they have a good chance to come out of this thing with a "W."
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