Bills vs. Jets Week 12 Preview and Keys to the Game

This Sunday. the reeling Buffalo Bills will travel to meet AFC East division rival New York Jets at 1:00 pm EST. The winner of this game will have the honor of breaking their losing streak, as the two teams are a combined 0-5 coming into this game.

Since they are both 5-5, the winner will also claim second place in the AFC East and still be considered in the AFC playoff picture, while the loser will probably be falling out of the playoff race. So, there is a lot on the line.

The two teams just met three weeks ago in Buffalo, and the Jets came out on top 27-11. Then the Bills embarked on their longest road trip of the season, three games, which they are finishing up this coming Sunday. During this three-game losing streak, the Bills have been outscored 106-26. The 80-point differential is the largest spread of any three-game losing streak in Bills' history.

The Jets are riding a four-game winning streak over the Bills. The last time the Jets beat the Bills in five straight games was back in 1984-1987. The Bills would love to make sure that does not happen. We will now address the keys to this game as well as reviewing the current state of the Bills organization.

What a Rollercoaster Ride the 2011 Season Has Been for the Bills

Looking back at this 2011 season, we can all remember the joy of the huge comeback wins against the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots. We can also recall the 10-sack performance and shutout of the Washington Redskins in Toronto, and hanging on to squash the comeback bid of the Philadelphia Eagles. Those were some of the highs from the 2011 season.

Then there are the low points. The three-point losses to the Giants and Bengals were frustrating, because the reality was that the Bills failed to execute in some key points in both of those games. They could have been sitting at 6-0 when they were coming into their bye week, ready to play the Redskins in Toronto. Could of, would of, should of.

But now with the recent three-game slide, which is of rather epic proportion, the Bills have seemingly bottomed out. They have lost their spirit, their will to fight and their competitive edge. I don't see much passion, I don't see anger and I don't see pride. I only see embarrassment and being humbled lately. That is not the Bills team that I have come to respect and be proud of on a weekly basis.

Just How Bad Has the Slide Been

Don't want to go into a long-winded dissertation on the slide, but will instead point to some very key areas to give you an idea why the Bills have fallen apart so quickly in the past three weeks.

Pass Rush: From 10 sacks against the Redskins, the Bills now have a grand total of two in last three games.

Red Zone: In the last three games, Bills are 2-for-9. Their opponents are 9-for-12. That is a huge factor.

Third Down Conversions: In the last three games, Bills are 5-for-30 (around 17 percent), while opponents are 19-for-35 (54 percent). Another big factor.

Turnover Ratio: In the last three games, the Bills are a minus seven in turnovers. Enough said.

Bills' Roster Moves

In recent weeks, the Bills have lost Donald Jones, Terrence McGee, Eric Wood, Chris White and Kyle Williams to the I.R. list. Those losses have placed a serious strain on the Bills' depth chart.

Those five players have been replaced by: wide receivers Derek Hagan and Kamar Aiken (pictured), defensive end Kyle Moore, defensive back Joshua Nesbitt and kicker Dave Rayner.

With the promotions of both Aiken and Nesbitt, and the loss of offensive lineman Thomas Welch (who the St. Louis Rams claimed off the Bills practice squad), the practice squad has seen a flurry of activity recently.

The current practice squad roster is: DT Lionel Dotson, OL Michael Jasper, CB Doyle Miller, DB Prince Miller, DT Jay Ross, DB Mana Silva, WR Tim Toone and G Keith Williams.

Interesting positional allocation with three guys in the secondary, one wide receiver, two offensive linemen, two defensive linemen and no running backs or linebackers.

Bills Add Derek Hagan To Plug Wide Receiver Hole

Derek Hagan was a member of the Oakland Raiders earlier this season, but they recently released him when they signed free-agent T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Hagan was part of the Raiders team in the Week 2 contest here and did pretty well, as he came up with five catches for 61 yards, including a 25-yard reception. Not sure if he beat Leodis McKelvin, but this picture tends to make me think that he did. Then again, who hasn't beat McKelvin this year?

In his career, Hagan has played in 65 games and has 96 receptions for 1,083 yards and five touchdown receptions. Hagan has turned 64 of those catches into first downs. With a career average of 11.3 yards per catch, he is not a receiver that will be stretching the field. He is a pure possession-type receiver.

I was wondering who the Bills were going to go after once it became clear that Donald Jones was going to be gone again with another high ankle sprain. I was thinking that there might be an outside chance that the Bills would entertain bringing back Terrell Owens for a second go-round, but obviously the signing of Hagan squashed that idea. Too bad, because Owens might have been exactly the jolt of energy that the Bills offense was in need of.

Buddy Nix Draft Classes Coming under Scrutiny

In case Bills fans missed this article by Buffalo News writer Jerry Sullivan, it was a story that analyzed the drafts under general manager Buddy Nix, so you can find the link to that here.

It is one thing to lose a starter to the I.R., which unfortunately has been happening with too much regularity lately. It is another thing to lose a starter for a couple weeks here, and then a couple more weeks there. That has also been happening with too much regularity as well.

In the span of one week, it appears that we are going to have five new starters on offense compared to the lineup that played against Miami. The five changes are: C.J. Spiller for Fred Jackson at running back, Kraig Urbik at center for Andy Levitre, Andy Levitre at left guard for Chad Rinehart and Chad Rinehart at right guard for Kraig Urbik. Finally, you have Naaman Roosevelt in at wide receiver for Donald Jones.

From the standpoint of knowing all of your assignments, communication issues, what you are supposed to do when there is an audible called, knowing how the guy next to you is going to react to certain situations, I have to be honest. I am expecting all kinds of breakdowns, both mental and physical this Sunday.

It is unheard of to make five lineup changes in one week. This might be another ugly performance that Bills fans will have to witness. Just warning you now, there are reasons why.

I can't hold Chan Gailey responsible for this week, because they are trying to come up with a stable starting lineup for the foreseeable future. Hopefully this same lineup will be in place for Week 13 versus Tennessee, although I wouldn't be surprised to see Fred Jackson back and maybe Derek Hagan starting at wide receiver as well.

On the defensive side of the ball, the only projected starter change is that rookie corner Aaron Williams is probably going to start for Terrence McGee, since Leodis McKelvin is going to ride some more pine.

Some Good News

In case you missed the announcement, former Buffalo Bills players Andre Reed and Steve Tasker have both been named as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2012 semifinalists.

The class has a grand total of 26 semifinalists this year due to a tie in voting (there is usually only 25 semifinalists), so congratulations to both Tasker and Reed for making it this far. The logjam at wide receiver is still there for Reed, as he is once again up against fellow receivers Chris Carter and Tim Brown. Hopefully the logjam is broken this year, or better yet, that Reed is just simply voted in.

For the complete list of the 26 semifinalists, along with the Hall of Fame announcement, you can click on that link right here.

New York Jets Update

Since we last saw the Jets team, they have dropped two straight games, losing by 21 points to the New England Patriots and then dropping the Thursday night game in Denver, when Tim Tebow found a way to beat their defense. The Broncos won by four points.

In addition, Rex Ryan was hit with a fine for at least $75,000 due to using foul language in reply to chants from NFL fans. Ryan took it out on Mark Sanchez, by giving first-team practice reps to backup quarterback Mark Brunell. This is how Ryan motivates his players to play better.

Sitting at 5-5 the Jets are treading water now, and another one of Ryan's famous predictions looks like it is ready to go into the shredder as another example of more forgettable hot air. At least Ryan has had a few extra days of practice to prepare for the Bills this week, since they played last Thursday night. Interesting how the schedule worked out, since the Jets also had their bye week to prepare for the Bills in the first meeting.

The Jets are banged up as well. LaDainian Tomlinson and Jeremy Kerley are dealing with knee injuries, Mark Sanchez has a bum shoulder and Shonn Greene is nursing a rib injury.

You know that the Jets team is in trouble when Tim Tebow can beat them. The Jets feared defense simply shouldn't have allowed Tebow the ability to drive the length of the field with the game on the line. They have taken a step backwards in 2011 and one has to wonder if the Rex Ryan act has lost its impact.

For what it is worth, the Jets released Shawn Nelson this week. Apparently his migraine headaches have resurfaced. I wonder if they came back due to Rex Ryan trying to pump him for information about the Bills offense.

Bills' Health Issues

The Bills' wide receiver corps are as banged up as I can ever recall in team history. Steve Johnson and David Nelson both looked either hurt or sick in Miami. Nelson was throwing up on the sidelines, so hopefully he is feeling better this week.

The Dolphins, specifically Yeremiah Bell, were doing some major headhunting last Sunday, and Johnson took a number of big hits. He plans to play on Sunday, and actually had a pretty good game against the Jets' famed secondary in Buffalo.

Fred Jackson is battling a very sore calf, and as a result may not be able to go on Sunday. This injury might very well cost Jackson the NFL rushing title, which I am sure he would gladly trade in for a few more wins.

Other questions for this week is when will Chan Gailey insert Brad Smith back into running the Wildcat offense on short-yardage situations? The Bills have been stopped too often in those situations recently.

Demetrius Bell is still not ready to start by the way, as Chris Hairston is getting another start at left tackle.

Final Thoughts and Prediction

With all of the injuries, the Bills team that takes the field on Sunday is far removed from the team that opened up the season.

The Bills confidence level is at a low point for the year, and they will have to dig deep to restore some belief in themselves and as a team. To expect all of that to happen in one week may be a little much. I think they stand a better chance to regroup next week against Tennessee when they are playing back at home.

In the interim, I wish all Bills fans a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope that you will have a healthy, safe and fun holiday with your loved ones.

As for the Bills, I am lowering my level of expectations in the short term, because I can see the seriousness of all the bad developments that have wiped out the morale. I hope to see more fight from the Bills this week, and some more team spirit and unity than was exhibited last week.

As for my personal prediction, I have previously predicted a Bills' win in every other contest this year, leaving me with a 5-5 record. This week, I just bring myself to do it.

Prediction: New York Jets 27 - Buffalo Bills 13