Bills Taking A Breather

Dick Jauron gave the Buffalo Bills a long weekend, dismissing the players on Wednesday, telling them not to report back until Monday.

Time off is what the Bills need after a great 4-1 start.  They deserve it, save for the 41-17 pounding they received at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday.  They better not take it for granted, though, because on Monday, it's time to get back to work for a tough test against the San Diego Chargers.

The Chargers aren't exactly thrilled with a 2-3 start, including tough losses to the Dolphins and the Broncos.  They'll be throwing everything they have at the Bills, and that's a lot considering the guy who's throwing the balls, Phillip Rivers. 

The first thing the Bills have to do is get their running game in shape.  The Bills are ranked 22nd in run offense, rushing for an average of a mere 98 yards per game.  Marshawn Lynch is also down on yards per attempt, with 3.5 yards in that category.  He rush 4.0 yards per attempt in his rookie year.  Fred Jackson has been a nice compliment to Lynch, though.  He has 4.5 yards per attempt, and a total of 134 yards on 30 attempts. 

Also an area of Bills concern may be in passing defense.  With the loss of Terrence McGee in the secondary, the Bills are lacking in the presence of a high quality cornerback.  Unfortunately, Bills rookie Leodis McKelvin can not compete with the NFL's top receivers just yet.  It is also apparent that the Bills did not game-plan correctly against the Cardinals receiving threats, especially the way Jabari Greer handled Larry Fitzgerald. 

The job gets no easier when the Bills face the Chargers.  Vincent Jackson and Chris Chambers pose a big threat to the Bills secondary.  Tight end Antonio Gates also gives the Bills a challenge, a challenge the Bills haven't faced yet.  The Bills have had the benefit of an easy schedule before the bye week, however, from this point on, the Bills schedule doesn't get any easier until Week 11, when they face the Browns on Monday Night Football.  The Bills have games against their three divisional opponents, the Dolphins, Patriots, and Jets, coming up right after the Chargers. 

Let's hope that this extra time off for the Bills is beneficial towards what the Bills are trying to accomplish this season: a playoff appearance.