leh-nerd skin-erd Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 I don't particularly agree with this because if LT is successful on the ground, he WILL have the opportunity to throw from the backfield. Take a look at last night's game. The Bengals did a great job running vs. the Ravens and they ended up pulling off a 40-yard flea flicker to Houshmandzadeh that was absolutely textbook. If you look at the play, the entire Ravens defense went after Rudi Johnson, and Houshmandzadeh was wide open. As is always the case, when you can run the ball effectively and often, much like SD will be able to do this week, you can do whatever you want downfield, including letting LT throw another TD pass. 853637[/snapback] i don't know on this one. looking at the charger's season, they dodged a few bullets against teams this year with huge comebacks. they didn't steam roll oakland last weekend, and this game is at home for us. with a little dose of Buffalo weather, SD on the road 3000 miles from home, and the Bills playing with confidence, we could take them. add in to the mix the appearance that the coaching staff has come up with some decent game planning of late, they've made some technical adjustments to the passing game to reduce sacks, maybe we surprise then all and pick up a win. does jauron and fewell have a plan to slow down LT? they made some nice adjustments last week, but have to take it to a new level this week. after all, who though we'd hold indy to 17 points at home, and be in the game up until the 4th quarter? Who would have thought we'd rip off a 30 yard td run with WM against the Jags (even given they are a poor road team). down side--we're bills fans and we often see two steps forward and three back. we'll know Sunday, and hope they play tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wraith Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 I don't particularly agree with this because if LT is successful on the ground, he WILL have the opportunity to throw from the backfield. Take a look at last night's game. The Bengals did a great job running vs. the Ravens and they ended up pulling off a 40-yard flea flicker to Houshmandzadeh that was absolutely textbook. If you look at the play, the entire Ravens defense went after Rudi Johnson, and Houshmandzadeh was wide open. As is always the case, when you can run the ball effectively and often, much like SD will be able to do this week, you can do whatever you want downfield, including letting LT throw another TD pass. 853637[/snapback] I think the key to stopping this play is the fact that LT is not a quarterback. Seriously. Stop laughing. As soon as LT touches the ball, Gates goes from a receiver to a blocker. He's fair game. Every time LT touches the ball, someone has to knock Gates on his butt. Easier said than done, I know, but it could be as simple as cut blocking him. That would take Gates out at least momentarily, disrupt the timing of the play, and still leave the defender in reasonable position to help defend the run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 I see two keys to this game: 1) Balance on offense. As soon as any team gets one dimensional, you lose. I don't care if it's a wide open attack of a ground assault, as long as the offense is moving the chains. But I suspect you'll see JP throw about 25-30 passes this week. 2) Third down conversions -- on both sides of the ball. . The Bills have to get off the field on third downs, and the offense has to be in more makeable third downs than not. It worked against Jacksonville, it will work against SD. I expect this game to be competitive -- unlike the disaster in SD last year. This Bills team has more swagger and more heart. You can't underestimate momentum. Is SD the better team? Yes. Will they be the better team on Sunday? That's what I'm not so sure about. Can't wait for this one, it'll be fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 i don't know on this one. looking at the charger's season, they dodged a few bullets against teams this year with huge comebacks. they didn't steam roll oakland last weekend, and this game is at home for us. with a little dose of Buffalo weather, SD on the road 3000 miles from home, and the Bills playing with confidence, we could take them.853644[/snapback] There is no question this staff is improving with their playcalling and gameplanning, and it's the first time in years I've seen our team actually make second half adjustments, let alone adjustments that work. If you look at SD's two losses this year, vs. the Ravens and KC, you can't find one common reason that they lost. Against the Ravens, they were held in check from a scoring perspective, and McNair had a game-winning drive where he went 4/5 and ran for 12 yards after the Chargers took an intentional safety. Against KC, the scores were run up more, but Larry Johnson managed to get 132 yards on the ground, and turnovers ruled the day. If we can get 132 on the ground and eliminate turnovers and stupid penalties, we will definitely have a chance. But unlike Jacksonville, there is no way we can let them get 150 yards in the first half and expect to shut them down in the second half because they have too many playmakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leh-nerd skin-erd Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 There is no question this staff is improving with their playcalling and gameplanning, and it's the first time in years I've seen our team actually make second half adjustments, let alone adjustments that work. If you look at SD's two losses this year, vs. the Ravens and KC, you can't find one common reason that they lost. Against the Ravens, they were held in check from a scoring perspective, and McNair had a game-winning drive where he went 4/5 and ran for 12 yards after the Chargers took an intentional safety. Against KC, the scores were run up more, but Larry Johnson managed to get 132 yards on the ground, and turnovers ruled the day. If we can get 132 on the ground and eliminate turnovers and stupid penalties, we will definitely have a chance. But unlike Jacksonville, there is no way we can let them get 150 yards in the first half and expect to shut them down in the second half because they have too many playmakers. 853695[/snapback] i think it boils down to steering clear of conventional wisdom when looking at this. i'd agree with you on the run yards, and to be fair, we dodged a bullet by winning when giving up all those yards the last game. you can't do that consistently and win in the nfl. if they can jam up LT a bit, this could be fun. the knock on SD in the ravens game was they became too cosnervative and trying to sit on to the lead. seems they've worked that out. we have one more game, and one more win under our belt. the coaches had one more game to analyze schemes and make adjustments, and like you said, they certainly have done that. in the nfl, it always seems like there are two seasons, and the hot team(s) in games 1-8 don't laways hold thru the end of the year. if we can maintain a hot (or even luke-warm) hand, it's a good thing. i'll still take a competitive game and disciplined play and a loss for this year, as long as we're moving forward. i don't like to lose, but i'm interested in progress this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 i'll still take a competitive game and disciplined play and a loss for this year, as long as we're moving forward. i don't like to lose, but i'm interested in progress this year.853742[/snapback] Right on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandius Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Watch out for Eric Parker. He's one guy who I haven't seen mentioned yet but he'd be our second best receiver if he were on our team. They have more than Gates and LT, unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BADOLBILZ Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 I agree they have to contain LT, but not completely focus on him. The way to win (IMO) is to contain LT and Gates and let Rivers try to beat you by throwing to the WRs. Stopping a great offense usually involves taking away a weapon and making them beat you with one of their "lesser strengths". That said, it's going to be hard. What do you do....put 7 in the box and assign a safety to double-cover Gates on all pass plays? 852729[/snapback] I think they'll put Clements on Gates, let LT run wild and hope for some turnovers in the open field. IMO, they can't stop both Gates and LT. It's not going to be easy executing this style of defense against Marty, because he has no problem running the ball all day. The Bills previous 4 opponents weren't content to take the 250 yards rushing, they were determined to throw the ball and really helped the Bills out a bunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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