Lori Posted September 1, 2005 Posted September 1, 2005 REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECORD: 3-3-1 PLAYOFF RECORD: none LAST MEETING: October 27, 2002 - Buffalo 24, Detroit 17 With 1:58 left in the game and the Lions threatening at the Buffalo 20, London Fletcher stuffed Lions RB James Stewart on fourth-and-inches to preserve the Bills victory. Drew Bledsoe threw for 302 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown pass to Peerless Price. Eric Moulds (123) and Price (101) both topped 100 yards receiving, and Travis Henry had a pair of 5-yard touchdown runs... BILLS O vs. LIONS D: Detroit's defense is decidedly average. They're not bad against the run; DTs Shaun Rogers and Dan Wilkinson add up to over 700 pounds of bulk clogging up the middle of the field. But they gave up 29 TD passes in 2004, and only Houston, Oakland, Minnesota, and Carolina were worse at stopping teams on third down. LB Boss Bailey returns from a season on injured reserve; if he's back to full speed, coordinator Dick Jauron will welcome his playmaking ability. Dre' Bly and Fernando Bryant are solid at CB; DB R.W. McQuarters and hard-hitting SS Kenoy Kennedy were signed in the offseason. I was happy to hear Mike Mularkey say he plans on leaving the starters in for a while Friday night - they look like they could use the practice. (I reserve the right to change my opinion on that decision, though, if anyone gets nicked up as a result...) Most of the Bills roster should be set, but there are still a few spots up for grabs: - #2 FB: Looks like it's down to Joe Burns vs. rookie Jon Goldsberry for the last RB slot, depending on what happens elsewhere on the roster. We'll see which one Bobby April likes better on STs. - # 4-6 WR: Josh Reed's last chance? Reed, Sam Aiken, Drew Haddad, George Wilson, and Freddie Smith are battling right down to the (waiver) wire. One catch - or drop - might make a BIG difference here. Don't forget to watch them on running plays, too... for a "smash-mouth", run-heavy offense to succeed, everybody has to block. - # 9-10 OL: Starters should be Williams - Villarrial - Teague - B. Anderson - Gandy, although Bennie's Penalty-of-the-Week deal is starting to annoy me. Ross Tucker, Duke Preston, and Jason Peters are on the team. That leaves one, maybe two spots open for 60 Jasen Esposito, 61 Greg Jerman, 73 Justin Geisinger, and 79 Dylan McFarland to fight over. I wouldn't mind seeing Esposito take a few snaps at tackle; none of the others has impressed me so far. BILLS D vs. LIONS O: New Lions OC (and former Bills receivers coach) Ted Tollner was hired to open up the Detroit passing attack, and he's got a lot of weapons in his arsenal. Detroit's projected starting offense includes no fewer than six former #1 draft picks - seven when they go to a 3-WR set - and they also added former Colts TE Marcus Pollard via free agency. Looks great on paper... but so far, not so good on the field. After three preseason games, the first-team O has yet to score a touchdown. No more excuses for Joey Harrington. He threw more TD passes than INTs for the first time in his career last year, but still hasn't shown the accuracy needed to run the West Coast offense successfully. If he gets off to a lousy start this season, Jeff Garcia will be playing sooner rather than later. Against Buffalo, Harrington might be wise to toss up a few jump balls to Terrence McGee's side of the field - Detroit WRs Charles Rogers (6'3"), Roy Williams (6'2"), and Mike Williams (6'5") all tower over the 5'9" McGee. RB Kevin Jones came on strong at the end of his rookie season; he averaged 134 yards in the last six games, tops in the league. He's a good cutback runner, so the Bills LBs are going to have to watch their tendency towards overpursuing plays. FB Cory Schlesinger is still out with a broken leg, so old friend Shawn Bryson will probably get some reps at both backup RB and FB. Despite starting two former #1 picks (RG Damian Woody and LT Jeff Backus) and adding Colts LG Rick DeMulling this spring, the offensive line hasn't looked that great. They're having real difficulty picking up blitzes, which might just be a problem against a Jerry Gray-coached Bills defense. Good time to find out what Ritzmann and Gause can do against the starters, and I wouldn't be disappointed to see the starting LBs take most of the night off, either. LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS: Jason Hanson is as dependable as ever - he was 19-20 on FGs inside the 40 last season. The punt/kickoff cover teams are decent. And despite a shoulder injury which cost him the last five games of the season, PR/KR Eddie Drummond tied a league record with four return TDs and was selected to his first Pro Bowl. Following a holdout that lasted into training camp, the Lions coaches were hoping to get Drummond his first playing time on punt returns last Monday night. Somebody forgot to tell the Detroit defense, though - they never forced a Rams punt until fewer than four minutes remained in the game... BILLS SPECIAL TEAMS: Interesting to hear that Tom Donahoe was shadowing Rian Lindell at practice the other day. Wonder if they're bringing anyone in for a tryout this week? As for kickoff/punt returns, we already know what McGee and Clements can do. Might as well give the players trying to nail down the last roster spots all the reps... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- See you at the game... and I'll probably have at least one extra ticket with me. If you're looking for one, stop by Lot 1/Pole 5.
stuckincincy Posted September 1, 2005 Posted September 1, 2005 Thanks for the info! As usual, I'll be "watching" the game on Nfl.com...
Beerball Posted September 1, 2005 Posted September 1, 2005 Thanks Lori, good stuff. I agree with you, the offense needs to play longer than a token amount in this game, but I would really like to see some of the back-up defenders play against the Lions #1 unit. The Lions were flat out embarassed last Monday night. That either makes them dangerous, or likely to roll over once they get smacked in the chops a few times. I will be disappointed if the Lions offense scores a TD in the first half of this game.
UConn James Posted September 2, 2005 Posted September 2, 2005 I watched MNF to see Dan Orlovsky, their #3 QB, who now owns most of the UConn passing records. I find myself rooting for him to do well, and the Lions' brass is impressed with him. With Harrington just stinking up the joint, and Garcia getting grays in his sideburns, I think Dan-O's in a nice spot.
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