BiggieScooby Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Since the Eagles have not directly played a team we’ve yet to face I was left using a common opponent. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Bengals 13-8 in Cincinnati two weeks ago then made camp in nearby Youngstown, Ohio in preparation for their game in Philadelphia. Last Sunday in the 49ers overcame a 23-3 3rd Quarter deficit to pull off a stunning 24-23 come-from-behind victory. The 49ers were greatly assisted by two 2nd half field goal misses by Eagles kicker Alex Henery. The key to the 49ers victory was 3 second half touchdown drives of 80, 77 & 77 yards. The Eagles melted down in the second half on defense giving up big pass plays of the first 2 drives, and were unable to stop the run on the last drive, and were unable to stop the run as the 49ers were able to run-out-the clock. Offensively the Eagles the second half started with a promising field goal drive, but that was followed by a punt, missing consecutive fields, and ended with a Jason Avant fumble. The 49ers rushed 25 times for 164 yards against a suspect Eagles defense that seems to be built for edge rushing, but lack interior force against the rush. Two weeks ago the 49ers hard hitting defense picked off Bengals QB Andy Dalton twice on the Bengals final 2 drives to end any hope for a comeback. The 49ers found out just how hard it is to run on the Bengals rushing 29 times for only 50 yards. They punted on their first 6 drives and 7 for their first 8 drives. With the game tied 3-3 with under 11 minutes in the 4th quarter the Bengals blew a golden opportunity after recovering a fumble on the 49ers 16 yard line and were forced to settle for a field goal to take a 6-3 lead. The 49ers promptly took the ensuing kickoff and drove 10 plays and 72 yards for the deciding touchdown to take a 10-6 lead. After an Andy Dalton pick the 49ers converted a field goal to go up 13-6 and sealed the victory. The Buffalo Bills should take a page out of the 49ers book and stay committed to the run. The Eagles are #30 against the run giving up 139.5 yards per game so the Bills best bet is to find a way to get Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller involved early in this game. Michael Vick has the Eagles going up and down the field racking up lots of yards, but has failed in consistently finishing drives. The Eagles have scored 10 touchdowns offensively but have settled for 11 field goal attempts converting only 8. The Eagles have scored 101 points and given up an equal number. Vick has passed for 6 touchdowns, and LeSean McCoy has rushed for 4 touchdowns. The Eagles have only 2 interceptions and have yet to bring Nnamdi Asomugha up to full speed in their defensive scheme that is heavy in zone vs. man defense. I expect Chan Gailey adds a new wrinkle to our offense this week. With a forecast for sunny skies and a high a 76 degrees I expect the passing game to be in full-swing, but something tells me Gailey will adjust his strategy to his opponent. The Eagles defense has been porous against the run between the tackles and they have struggled in tackling in the secondary after receptions. The Eagles are fighting to stay relevant after an offseason that saw them outspend the smaller market Bills 2 to 1 in free agency. I expect this to be a lower scoring game than people expect, filled with lots of penalties due to both teams starting Left Tackles being out with injury. The over/under is 48.5. The Eagles are 3.0 point favorite in what is sure to be a do or die game for them so early in the season. The Bills need to prove that last week’s game at the #1 defense in the NFL in terms of yards against was an aberration. Michael Vick has shown he is a passing QB since his return to the NFL, but he remains the top rushing threat even in a league with Cam Newton. Vick has been hampered so far this season with injuries and a defense that hasn’t lived up to the hype. The Eagles on paper should win 7 out of 10 games, but the Bills have shown they should not be underestimated. I expect the Bills offensive line wins the battle upfront and opens lanes in the running game. Coach Gailey needs to show many of us Bills fans that he is committed to run, and defensive coordinator George Edwards needs to impress with his game plan to contain Vick, McCoy, and DeSean Jackson. The Bills pass rush has been a non-factor, yet for some reason I believe Vick is a QB they will contain. Last week’s quarterback sneak by Andy Dalton should serve notice that Vick is a threat to run on any down. I expect the Bills will blitz his left side to force him to throw to his weaker right side. The Bills defensive front 7 edge will need to contain Vick, but also be ready to clamp down on McCoy. Andy Reid is one of the longest tenured coaches in the NFL and always has a good game plan for his team. Expect him to challenge the Bills defense and go after Leodis McKelvin with DeSean Jackson and Jason Avant. Tight end Brent Celek is an X-factor who may get more looks against Bills after being torched by Rob Gronkowski and Jermaine Gresham the previous two weeks. The Bills X-factor will be Leodis McKelvin who is certain to hear boo’s on virtually every reception that is completed his direction. Expect a close scoring game, Buffalo 23 Philadelphia 20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Lots of good facts and some interesting analysis, but one thing puzzles me. When Chris Berman says "Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills" - - do you envision the other team as being pinned down in the wagons while the Bills circle around outside them? Maybe when Dick Jauron was in charge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr1 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Juan Castillo has never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL before. Chan should go hard against him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu Cthulhu Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Great analysis. Eagles are soft up the middle. As long as the bills can keep it from becoming a shootout, they should be able to run all over philly, control the pace, and win easily. Then again, if it does become a shootout, i still give the bills a 50/50 chance of winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryland-bills-fan Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 The Philly papers are getting to Reid about his lack of game planning. They imply that he has been coach so long that he just got tired of it and is out of ideas. With some limitations because of young and rookie players, he will be even less capable of changing things up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frez Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 McCoy is one of the best RB's I've ever seen in the NFL. This kid is money when he touches the ball. I'm also worried about our defense containing Vick in the pocket. My head says the Bills will not win this game. My heart says " Come on Buffalo". Eagles 27 Buffalo 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrFishfinder Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 McCoy is one of the best RB's I've ever seen in the NFL. This kid is money when he touches the ball. I'm also worried about our defense containing Vick in the pocket. My head says the Bills will not win this game. My heart says " Come on Buffalo". Eagles 27 Buffalo 22 Key will be containing Vick. Bills have had a bad habit of leaving the middle wide open for QB's to run for 10+ yards and Reid & Vick know it. Our DE's don't have the speed to contain Vick on the edge, either. I don't like this match up at all. Could be a long day for Edwards' defense while the staff decides at what point to replace him with Wannstedt. Eagles 34 Buffalo 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muffmonster Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Key will be containing Vick. Bills have had a bad habit of leaving the middle wide open for QB's to run for 10+ yards and Reid & Vick know it. Our DE's don't have the speed to contain Vick on the edge, either. I don't like this match up at all. Could be a long day for Edwards' defense while the staff decides at what point to replace him with Wannstedt. Eagles 34 Buffalo 24 Vick has looked bad because defenses have been hitting him. One thing our defense has proved is we can't get to the QB. I'm really afraid he is just going to go off on us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrFishfinder Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Vick has looked bad because defenses have been hitting him. One thing our defense has proved is we can't get to the QB. I'm really afraid he is just going to go off on us. He certainly has the potential to go off on us. However...he tends to be somewhat injury prone and he doesn't want to get injured, either. So he may not do a lot of running unless he has a wide open field to do it in (which our defense has been allowing) or late in the game if Philly is behind and he has to. Our D tends to over pursue the QB from the sides of the pocket and leave the middle open. Our DE's don't have the speed to contain Vick on the outside. I hope our game plan takes those two things very seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEra Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 The eagles lost because Ronnie Brown is an idiot and the Alex Henery missed 2 FGs for the eagles. Talk about a complete meltdown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 We have no defense, and our offense has proven to be unreliable, I simply don't see how we come away with a clean and decisive victory here. If we win, it'll be another shootout decided in the final minutes of the game... *crosses fingers* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IslandBillsFan Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 You never want to see anyone get hurt. But I wouldn't mind seeing Vick get banged up. I know we haven't clocked anyone yet, but maybe we are due. Just a nice blindside sack to knock him out for the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALLEN1QB Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I have a bad feeling about this one. I think we drop the next two and go into the bye 3-3 hope im wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 McCoy is one of the best RB's I've ever seen in the NFL. This kid is money when he touches the ball. I'm also worried about our defense containing Vick in the pocket. My head says the Bills will not win this game. My heart says " Come on Buffalo". Eagles 27 Buffalo 22 I saw McCoy play at Pitt all the time (living in Pittsburgh), and thought he was a sure-fire 1st round pick. I was stunned when he fell to the Eagles (I think in the second round, though it could have been later). The guy is a nifty and elusive runner, with good hands. He's turning into a top-tier NFL running back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 This is a game where I would like to see the bills patient on offense......lots of dink and dunk and inside the tackles running to move the chains...... - Since they play a soft zone we should be able to exploit this with our short passing game - Since they cant stop the run we should use this to set the tone for the day - All of this keeps Michael Vick off the field One other thing....we cannot afford to have the missed tackles that we had last week.....We actually have been a pretty darn solid team up to that point as far as tackling guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HARCO186 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Interesting but any given Sunday bro. This game will not be close. Buffalo 35-17. Buffalo will run all day on Philly and keep Vick off with a decent pass rush. He will be off because he will find us mixing things up. I expect the Bills to run Freddie all day. He gets 150 on the day and about 70 in passing due to screens. Spiller will have a great day and will break 100. Philly is lost all day and can catch up. They fall behind fast and try to pass to play catch up. We control the clock all day long and have an easy game this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geno Smith's Arm Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 (edited) I think the Bills will play much better this week. Last weeks game was a snoozer, played in a half empty stadium against a good defense but an erratic offense. That's a hard game to stay in metally for a team that has been living on the edge all season. I think it's obvious that the Bills like high tension games and rising to the occasion, as opposed to controlling the clock and keeping the ball away from the other team. I know everyone wants them to pound it out, but I'm not sure that plays to the Bills strengths. I hope they can, but if Philly gets the first score early, I think the Bills will need to open up the passing game. It's just the way they seem to like to play. It keeps them in the game mentally. I know someone is going to want to school me on the importance of controlling the clock, and being able to run when the weather is cold, yada yada, and I would agree (that is a very Dick Jauron-ish approach to football though, remember? Playing scared. Good thing we didn't do that against the Patriots!). I'm not sure that these Bills are have that in them YET. They can learn it as they go though. It's part of being a "seasoned professional". Edited October 7, 2011 by Matthews' Bag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobinaz Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 This is a game where I would like to see the bills patient on offense......lots of dink and dunk and inside the tackles running to move the chains...... - Since they play a soft zone we should be able to exploit this with our short passing game - Since they cant stop the run we should use this to set the tone for the day - All of this keeps Michael Vick off the field One other thing....we cannot afford to have the missed tackles that we had last week.....We actually have been a pretty darn solid team up to that point as far as tackling guys. I agree....the emphasis is time of possession. Long sustained drives with lots of run plays to keep Vick off the field and our D fresh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Bills 30 Eagles 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrFishfinder Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 One other thing....we cannot afford to have the missed tackles that we had last week.....We actually have been a pretty darn solid team up to that point as far as tackling guys. Yes...the missed tackles reared their ugly heads again last game, just when it seemed the Bills had gotten over that infuriating habit. I agree, we have to put 'em on the ground when we tackle 'em. And delivering forth the royal smacketh on Vick a few times to get his attention wouldn't hurt, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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