Simon Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Call it what you want, a playoff game, an elimination game, a must-win(I know, Marv:); it's all of those. The Bills slip to 0-3 and the rest of this season is for entertainment purposes only. I'd be interested in hearing from Pats fans (shudder) what Ty Law has looked like this year. He's getting to the age where most corners begin to experience serious drop-off in their play and with the nonsense that was going on in the pre/offseason you have to wonder if Law might not be as sharp as usual. If he's not and Belichik tries to pin him to Moulds, this is a serious mismatch for the Bills. I'm hoping that NE has seen Law struggling at times and feels they have to protect him over the top more often than they have in the past. When this happens it will be very difficult for NE to defend the whole field because they fear Moulds. If Law is still sharp and can still hang with Moulds, then we can always got to the old fallback and throw 20 balls at the horrendous Ty Poole. I know Belichik doesn't care but you can bet your ass the Pats players are thinking about the streak. While this certainly isn't a huge game for them otherwise, streaks like this have a tendency to make players really tight the closer it comes to its conclusion. Guys like Harrison, McGinest and Law will do their best to keep their boys loose, but there is no way they can completely keep the streak out of hte locker room. Look for a few extra mistakes from a tighter than usual Pats team that ususally thrives on the mistakes of others. The Pats have spent the last two weeks devising various ways to attack Coy Wire and unfortunately the possibilities seem endless both on the ground and through the air. I'd give my house to see Charlie Weis turn green when Milloy strolls out with the defense on Sunday. I'd love to see Mularkey/Clements make a concerted effort to get the Pats out of their 4-3. Get the TE's involved, use Moulds underneath early, throw to your backs a couple times, etc. If we can get them into a 3-4, that not only puts a weaker personell group on the field(imo), but it also takes some pressure off Drew, createsmore space for Henry/McGahee and could really increase the workload for the Pats corners. In my opinion, the biggest key to this game is how much the Bills staff can accomplish in two weeks re: getting this team to learn to close. If they want to run around like wildmen for 3 qrtrs, more power to 'em. But Mularkey and Co. have got to teach these guys to play under control in the 4th qrtr and focus on execution over emotion. Passion is great but late in tight games the best teams win by maintaining a sharp focus and being succesful with the little things. The goal is not to kill soimebody, but to acheive perfect execution teamwide. Should be a great great game as I think both teams really dislike each other and both feel they have a lot to play for. I see the Bills doing the same things they did in Week 1 and having a good day physically working over the Patriots. But in the end they lose a tight game because NE has become one of the best closers in the league and the Bills have not quite learned how to win late..........yet. Cya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34-78-83 Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 I definitely agree on your point about Coy Wire. I think the Pat's staff is simply drooling over the possibilities of abusing him in all phases. The Bills defensive staff will need to have game-planned in a way to "cover him up" creatively. I'm a little more hesitant than you Simon in regards to getting the Pats into the 3-4. The 3-4 provides them more avenues for "mentally" attacking our offensive line. There are many more masked coverages and blitz possibilities that can be run from the 3-4 and it will require our O-line to be communicating at their highest level, which they have not been able to accomplish to date. Good post... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDH Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 The way I see it, the main thing the Bills need to do offensively is make the Pats pay for bringing a Safety up to the line to support the run. I don't care if the Oline only gives Drew 2 seconds when the Pats blitz, I want to see the Bills take shots down field on occassion. We'll get at LEAST a pass interferience call or two...I'd like to see Bledsoe go deep to Moulds or Evans (as long as they're single covered)and purposely throw behind the WR making them come back to the ball. I see other teams do this all the time, but never the Bills. It's an easy way to get a PI call. The main problem with our offense is that we've dinked and dunked the entire time. The problem with this philosphy is that a team has to have 10+ play drives to score and they are bound to make mistakes somewhere along the way. We need to have some scoring drives that only take 6-7 plays, which means along the way we need a big chunk of yardage from a play or two. I'm not saying we need to Gilbride it and keep looking downfield, but 4-5 shots down the field during the game is a must. Other than that I think we just need to pound the interior of the Pats D into submission. Power running and play action (even though Drew's play action sucks...). It's going to take 20+ points to win this game, the pats have a much better O than the Jags or Oak. Also, I don't think Milloy can play this week, if I'm not mistaken the Bills have him listed as "OUT" and I'm pretty sure they can't pull a fast one like that on the injury report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Coach_Tuesday Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Good post Simon. What do you think about using Prioleau instead of Wire at SS? We might be giving something up there in run support, but I think we'd be gaining something in pass coverage... the guy's on the roster for a reason - let Wire focus on special teams and short-yardage situations. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted October 1, 2004 Author Share Posted October 1, 2004 The 3-4 provides them more avenues for "mentally" attacking our offensive line. There are many more masked coverages and blitz possibilities that can be run from the 3-4 and it will require our O-line to be communicating at their highest level, which they have not been able to accomplish to date. This is true and in most cases I always prefer the 3-4 to the 4-3 for exactly that reason. But I think our only hope to beat the Pats is to grind them up with a punishing ground game and wear them down so they aren't as sharp in the 4th as they normally are. Showing them just enough to force a 4thbacker onto the field (and one of hteir very good DT's to the bench) could create the opportunity to grind that we're looking for. While I definitely fear Belichik's bag of tricks (that indeed gets deeper with 4 'backers on the field) I don't fear it as much as the idea of a relatively fresh Patriot team on the field in the 4th where they will almost certainly close us out when it counts. I don't care if the Oline only gives Drew 2 seconds when the Pats blitz, I want to see the Bills take shots down field on occassion. We'll get at LEAST a pass interferience call or two. My guess is that Belichik will over/under Moulds with Poole and a safety, while feeding Evans/Reed to Ty Law. This would essentially take the downfield game away from the Bills (or at least make it a too risky proposition) while allowing one of the NE safeties to move up into the 2nd level. I'd really prefer to see the Bills answer with a lot of 3wide sets to force NE into a nickel and/or create mismatches in their defensive backfield. Shelton has done absolutely nothing for this team so far so why not replace him with a WR(Reed has even been effective from the backfield) and create in the process create matchup problems for the Patriot defense. I'm almost drooling at the thought of Travis/McGahee running out of the oneback against the nickel........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted October 1, 2004 Author Share Posted October 1, 2004 Good post Simon. What do you think about using Prioleau instead of Wire at SS? We might be giving something up there in run support, but I think we'd be gaining something in pass coverage... the guy's on the roster for a reason - let Wire focus on special teams and short-yardage situations. Thoughts? I really don't have a problem with it. I think it would be an effective change-up particularly considering how diverse the Patriot offense is. Coy Wire is going to have a huge bullseye on his back for this game and he should. He's exactly the kind of guy Belichik dreams about; inexperienced, no threat of creating turnovers, more balls than brains, etc. You're probably right that Prioleau would do a better job dealing with the wide variety of looks the Patriots will be throwing around on Sunday, but if the staff was going to make that change, I have to think that somebody would have gotten wind of it by now. Actually I wouldn't be too awful surprised to see teh Bills run 3 safeties early in the game as it may provide a good counter to the NE offense and the Bills may not be afraid of Weis' inconsistent ground attack. Cya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman's Helmet Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Get over Week 1 of last year. That Pats team no longer exists. The one that has replaced it has gone 19-1 in its last 20 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KurtGodel77 Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 The Patriots' defense really misses Ted Washington. I watched a lot of their game against the Colts. There was this one Colts drive that really stood out: every play they called was a running play; and they drove the ball down the field in 8 - 10 plays or something for a touchdown. It was every offensive coordinator's dream. Well, almost every offensive coordinator's dream. I can think of one offensive coordinator turned quarterback coach who would rather go three and out with pass plays than have a drive like that. But Mike Mularkey is not cut from the same cloth. Expect to see a heavy dose of Travis and Willis; and expect to see more success than we have against the likes of Jacksonville and Oakland. McGahee should be improved, because it's been three weeks since he's seen any real action. (He's had three weeks to heal.) Our offense will score more than ten points. Period. What scares me is their offense going against our defense. 2003 doesn't really count because the games were ruled by emotion. But thinking back to 2002, it was absolutely clear that Charlie Weis totally dominated the chess match against Jerry Gray. Hopefully the coaching will be a little more even this time around. I don't know who will win this game, but I assure you it won't be our usual 13-10 loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 A lot of interesting ideas, opinions, and things to think about. These are the types of threads I love, great job guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doza Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 OK A few things form a Pats fan: I'd be interested in hearing from Pats fans (shudder) what Ty Law has looked like this year. He's getting to the age where most corners begin to experience serious drop-off in their play and with the nonsense that was going on in the pre/offseason you have to wonder if Law might not be as sharp as usual. If he's not and Belichik tries to pin him to Moulds, this is a serious mismatch for the Bills. I'm hoping that NE has seen Law struggling at times and feels they have to protect him over the top more often than they have in the past. When this happens it will be very difficult for NE to defend the whole field because they fear Moulds. Law has looked fine. He kept Harrison down most of the day. If Law is still sharp and can still hang with Moulds, then we can always got to the old fallback and throw 20 balls at the horrendous Ty Poole. Horrendous? The guy had one veyr bad game - the SUper Bowl. How can the best D in the league, a team that allowed the fewest points in the league have a horrendous second corner? Besides you might see more of Asinte Samuel, who is a rising star. The Pats have spent the last two weeks devising various ways to attack Coy Wire and unfortunately the possibilities seem endless both on the ground and through the air. I'd give my house to see Charlie Weis turn green when Milloy strolls out with the defense on Sunday. Wire will see a healthy dose of Daniel Graham. You can bet on that. But I'd expect the 5 wides too. I'd love to see Mularkey/Clements make a concerted effort to get the Pats out of their 4-3. Get the TE's involved, use Moulds underneath early, throw to your backs a couple times, etc. If we can get them into a 3-4, that not only puts a weaker personell group on the field(imo), but it also takes some pressure off Drew, createsmore space for Henry/McGahee and could really increase the workload for the Pats corners. I am not sure I understand this. Pats play a base 3-4, and rely on a 4-3 only when they have a problem stopping the run (see second half of Indy game). The base 3-4 was our primary D all of last year. Linebackers are more athletic then D-Lineman and can cover as well as pressure the QB like any D-lineman. I don't know how you can say this is a weaker personel group, or how it would allow Drew to have more time to throw. Should be a great great game as I think both teams really dislike each other and both feel they have a lot to play for. I see the Bills doing the same things they did in Week 1 and having a good day physically working over the Patriots. But in the end they lose a tight game because NE has become one of the best closers in the league and the Bills have not quite learned how to win late..........yet. 52130[/snapback] I agree here. If the Pats win, they will win by only a FG or a TD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeRay Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 The Bills slip to 0-3 and the rest of this season is for entertainment purposes only. First of all, good synopsis on Sunday's game. Now, let's fast forward to Monday. My questions... What if the Bills go 0-3. What do they need to do to rebound from 0-3? Do they have a legitimate shot at the playoffs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doza Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Well you are looking at 10-6 for wild card. so 10-3 the rest of the way? It's possible.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34-78-83 Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Get over Week 1 of last year. That Pats team no longer exists. The one that has replaced it has gone 19-1 in its last 20 games. 52261[/snapback] Nice contribution Helmet Your statement has no relevance to what was posted. Why bother? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doza Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Nice contribution Helmet Your statement has no relevance to what was posted. Why bother? 52366[/snapback] The original poster made reference to 2003 game 1. Reading is fundamental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Get over Week 1 of last year. That Pats team no longer exists. The one that has replaced it has gone 19-1 in its last 20 games. 52261[/snapback] We are certainly going to find out...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34-78-83 Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 The original poster made reference to 2003 game 1. Reading is fundamental. 52387[/snapback] Actually no he didn't smartass. Try reading again typical He referenced week 1 of THIS year Einstein. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JinVA Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 I don't have anything to add other than to reiterate what Campy posted. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JinVA Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Actually no he didn't smartass. Try reading again typical He referenced week 1 of THIS year Einstein. 52415[/snapback] It's whole helluva alot funnier watching you call someone out other than myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paco Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Actually no he didn't smartass. Try reading again typical He referenced week 1 of THIS year Einstein. 52415[/snapback] There's no helping a myopic Pats fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doza Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Actually no he didn't smartass. Try reading again typical He referenced week 1 of THIS year Einstein. 52415[/snapback] If you say so. Sounds like he was refering to week 1 of LAST year. But clearly its not specified. Irregardless, maybe you should consider that and stand down your nuclear missles the next time someone makes a post. JMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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