It will be Weis v. Gray on Sunday

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

Sunday's match-up strikes me as more and more interesting the more I think about it. As best as I can tell it will primarily a chess match between the Weis and Gray. Sure BB is the god of the Pats, but the individual play calls are the responsbility of the co-ordinators and this will tell a lot about the context of the game which BB and MM are dealing with.

 

Thw Weis offense has been nothing short of great this season. However, the 3rd ranked Bills D will be quite the challenge for this potent O. My guess is that a lot of this will revolve around Weis attempting to exploit the likely Bills weakpoint which will be Mcgee our reserve CB.

 

This problem actually present some opportunities for the Bills if Brady gets over-anxious in trying to explot this weakness and misses any disguised coverages we may run to give cGee some help from the less than powerful Reese or the talented who still has a grudge to settle Milloy.

 

A ral key to this game may end up being the pass-rush because if the zone blitz succeeds in rushing Brady (I don't think he can be rattled but he is human and can be rushed) there will be less time for his to sort out disguised coverages.

 

Gray has not only shown good tactical capability in calling plays for one of the top-ranked Ds in the league, but he has actually shown some great strategic chops in designing on the fly, teaching and implementing defensive changes at halftime which have markedly shutdwn in the second half offenses of our past several opponents.

 

Brady and crew will be Gray's toughest test yet and I do not expect him to stop them completely. However, I think the real advantage for the Bills in terms of overall context will be the injuries to Law and Poole. If this game turns into a scoring track meet then advantage Bills given these injuries.

 

NE's D can be run on normally and now it appears they can be passed upon as well with the injuries.

[tornado681]

Sunday's match-up strikes me as more and more interesting the more I think about it.  As best as I can tell it will primarily a chess match between the Weis and Gray.  Sure BB is the god of the Pats, but the individual play calls are the responsbility of the co-ordinators and this will tell a lot about the context of the game which BB and MM are dealing with.

 

Thw Weis offense has been nothing short of great this season.  However, the 3rd ranked Bills D will be quite the challenge for this potent O.  My guess is that a lot of this will revolve around Weis attempting to exploit the likely Bills weakpoint which will be Mcgee our reserve CB.

 

This problem actually present some opportunities for the Bills if Brady gets over-anxious in trying to explot this weakness and misses any disguised coverages we may run to give cGee some help from the less than powerful Reese or the talented who still has a grudge to settle Milloy.

 

A ral key to this game may end up being the pass-rush because if the zone blitz succeeds in rushing Brady (I don't think he can be rattled but he is human and can be rushed) there will be less time for his to sort out disguised coverages.

 

Gray has not only shown good tactical capability in calling plays for one of the top-ranked Ds in the league, but he has actually shown some great strategic chops in designing on the fly, teaching and implementing defensive changes at halftime which have markedly shutdwn in the second half offenses of our past several opponents.

 

Brady and crew will be Gray's toughest test yet and I do not expect him to stop them completely.  However, I think the real advantage for the Bills in terms of overall context will be the injuries to Law and Poole.  If this game turns into a scoring track meet then advantage Bills given these injuries.

 

NE's D can be run on normally and now it appears they can be passed upon as well with the injuries.

113966[/snapback]

 

Agreed. I enjoy your posts FFS. I dont feel like writing the same thing twice, but check out my post.

[BF_in_Indiana]

I would put my money on Weis.

[CentralVaBills]

Sunday's match-up strikes me as more and more interesting the more I think about it.  As best as I can tell it will primarily a chess match between the Weis and Gray.  Sure BB is the god of the Pats, but the individual play calls are the responsbility of the co-ordinators and this will tell a lot about the context of the game which BB and MM are dealing with.

 

Thw Weis offense has been nothing short of great this season.  However, the 3rd ranked Bills D will be quite the challenge for this potent O.  My guess is that a lot of this will revolve around Weis attempting to exploit the likely Bills weakpoint which will be Mcgee our reserve CB.

 

This problem actually present some opportunities for the Bills if Brady gets over-anxious in trying to explot this weakness and misses any disguised coverages we may run to give cGee some help from the less than powerful Reese or the talented who still has a grudge to settle Milloy.

 

A ral key to this game may end up being the pass-rush because if the zone blitz succeeds in rushing Brady (I don't think he can be rattled but he is human and can be rushed) there will be less time for his to sort out disguised coverages.

 

Gray has not only shown good tactical capability in calling plays for one of the top-ranked Ds in the league, but he has actually shown some great strategic chops in designing on the fly, teaching and implementing defensive changes at halftime which have markedly shutdwn in the second half offenses of our past several opponents.

 

Brady and crew will be Gray's toughest test yet and I do not expect him to stop them completely.  However, I think the real advantage for the Bills in terms of overall context will be the injuries to Law and Poole.  If this game turns into a scoring track meet then advantage Bills given these injuries.

 

NE's D can be run on normally and now it appears they can be passed upon as well with the injuries.

113966[/snapback]

 

Weis has eaten Gray for lunch already this year. And the Bills will have the advantage in a track meet? I hardly think so. The Pats aren't the Cards, Dolphins and Jets.

 

If the Bills are to win, it better be something like 13-10. 17-16 at the most.

[Mile High]

I think that Gray did do a decent job against Weis earlier this year. Come on guys we were in the game at the beginning of the forth quarter and it's not like they were totally dominating us. I'm looking really forward to this game and it's going to come down to turnovers and time of posession imo. Not to mention field position. (advantage us.... Brian Morman)

[BillnutinHouston]

I'm more interested to see how our O does against their D.

[eball]

Weis has eaten Gray for lunch already this year.  And the Bills will have the advantage in a track meet?  I hardly think so.  The Pats aren't the Cards, Dolphins and Jets.

 

If the Bills are to win, it better be something like 13-10.  17-16 at the most.

113976[/snapback]

 

i love revisionist history. "weis has eaten gray for lunch already this year." huh? let's recap. midway through the 4th quarter the score was 17-17, when corey dillon fumbled -- yes, he did fumble -- inside the bills' 10 yard line. a terrible non-call. the patriots' offense put up 17 "legitimate" points against buffalo. i hardly call that "eating gray's lunch." yes, the bills gave up yards in the passing game, but it was not an ass-whooping by any means.

[Campy]

i love revisionist history.  "weis has eaten gray for lunch already this year."  huh?  let's recap.  midway through the 4th quarter the score was 17-17, when corey dillon fumbled -- yes, he did fumble -- inside the bills' 10 yard line.  a terrible non-call.  the patriots' offense put up 17 "legitimate" points against buffalo.  i hardly call that "eating gray's lunch."  yes, the bills gave up yards in the passing game, but it was not an ass-whooping by any means.

113995[/snapback]

No argument, but I couldn't figure out why we kept blitzing a team that excels in the quick passing game. That played directly into their hands. I hope we can generate some pressure with the front 4 this time, and use the blitz (very) sparingly this time around.

 

No sense in playing to NE's strengths, and that's what Grey did in the first game, IMO.

[eball]

No argument, but I couldn't figure out why we kept blitzing a team that excels in the quick passing game.  That played directly into their hands.  I hope we can generate some pressure with the front 4 this time, and use the blitz (very) sparingly this time around.

 

No sense in playing to NE's strengths, and that's what Grey did in the first game, IMO.

113998[/snapback]

 

point taken.

[Simon]

I hope we can generate some pressure with the front 4 this time, and use the blitz (very) sparingly this time around......No sense in playing to NE's strengths

 

I totally agree Campy. I don't like the idea of breaking down the integrity of our coverage schemes just to send extra rushers at Brady, particularly when you consider he frequently makes great throws with guys in his face anyways.

I'd like us to run a similar gameplan that the Stillers ran a couple weeks ago. They picked their spots to blitz and attacked the Patriots weakened Tackle position infrequently and irregularly. They managed to get decent (not great) pressure from 4 rushers and caused confusion early in the Pats offense with shifting coverages. I've never seen Brady as frusrated as he was during that game, and imo a lot of it was because the Stillers just wouldn't give in and make the mistake that would get the PatsO singles matchups for Brady to take advantage of.

I don't get the sense that the Pat OLine is in very good shape right now, and I'm hopeful that the Bills can get away with committing only 4-5 rushers and still get just enough pressure to keep Brady from getting comfortable. The other advantage of playing a lot of zone behind the comparatively conservative rush it is that the most of your secondary will be square to the LOS and able to keep one eye in the backfield, which can be an advantage for the Bills in keeping CDillon in relative check.

Leash the hounds, Jerry! But draw up a few special 2nd/long blitzes to see if you can get Spikes a couple free shots on Tommyboy.

Kill the head and the body will die

Cya

[Lori]

Right on, Campy/Simon. I just reviewed the tape of the first game before heading to work last night, and every single big play they made in the passing game came against a DB blitz.

[Simon]

I just reviewed the tape of the first game before heading to work last night, and every single big play they made in the passing game came against a DB blitz.

 

Thanx Lori. I remember thinking during that game that I wished Gray wold rein it in a little, but I couldn't remember how much we actually got stung by trying to outthink a wizard. Sounds like the damage was pretty significant (blitzing DB's on 1st/35?!) and I hope Gray can keep it in his pants for most of Sunday evening.

So, did you take Monday off?-)

Cya

[ganesh]

I think that Gray did do a decent job against Weis earlier this year.  Come on guys we were in the game at the beginning of the forth quarter and it's not like they were totally dominating us.  I'm looking really forward to this game and it's going to come down to turnovers and time of posession imo.  Not to mention field position.  (advantage us.... Brian Morman)

113977[/snapback]

 

Actually at one point we were up 17-7 in that game and then tied at 17-17

before that defensive penalty on 4th down that became an automatic FD

that resulted in a TD and then the costly fumble by DB.

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

I think the heavy amount of blitzing came from a philosophy that one of Brady's strengths is great decison-making. While this means he can diagnose the blitz and exploit it under prerssure, it means that if you don't put extra pressure on him he will have time to set up a chair in the backfield, choose between several options, take his time and really tear you a new one.

 

He is good enough he may not make a mistake on your blitz, but he will almost certainly not make one if you don't blitz.

 

I think it is revisionist history to judge Weis as having eaten Gray for lunch last time as the game was tied into the 4th quarter meaning Gray and the team had held their own against a better team. The wheels came off thanks to the fumble and the Seymour return for a TD but I think blaming the D for this is obviously silly.

 

Can Gray do the job this time? It actually looks pretty doubtful given the Pats are simply a better team and they have the crowd advantage of being at home this time since even if you invest in the idea of our D being competitive last time, Brady will not have to wade through the same crowd noise, etcetera to do his thing. However, there are a number of events which give the Bills a fighting chance in this one:

 

1. Injury impacts on their D- The Pats have really put on a school for the rest of the NFL on calling reserves up and calling them out to respond when a frontliner goes down. The acquisition of Colvin last year was a good one, but because the reserves stepped up they didn't miss a step when and other starters went down.

 

Yet. if you believe that Ty Law and Tyrone Poole are good players who deserve their starting slots, you gotta believe that this TEAM is playing lesser players than them as the starting CBs. Both teams run offenses based on controlling the ball (the Bills aspire to smashmouth and the Pats employ Brady's touch and decision-making in the short passing game to control the flow) but this game may turn into a track meet and if so the Pats may well step up but they are undermanned.

 

In addition, no team is perfect and the Pats have been vulnerable to good runners in the past. This did not make a cause Ls for the Pats because the offense was so good and controlled it was only a matter of time until Brady and the gang outscored a team running well against them. Even worse for Pats opponents once they got antsy and tried to hit the big play to outscore Weis/Brady they would tend to go away from the bread and butter run to throw INTs to Law.

 

This option will not be there for the Pats. If the Bills run behind WM and an old but improved OL they may stick with the Pats for 3 quarters as they did last time. The if they show early an ability to attack the Law/Poole less pass D they will run and pick their spots in the 4th rather than run stupid french pastry like the aborted Bledsoe naked bootleg which led to the fumble and Seymour return last time.

 

Injury Impacts on their O- I thionk one of the great things the Pats did as a TEAM last week was to have players step up into unusal roles to fill gaps and take advantage of surprising match-ups. Having their kicker throw a completion, Vrabel take in a completion and most impressive Troy Brown step into the DB vacuum was tremendous and harkened back to the day of 2-way play being the norm.

 

However, a trick can only be a trick once and you may beat future opponents but you will not fool them. In addition, Brown's play was inspirational, but with a week to think about it rather than give an inspirational response both he will be challenged to do it again and opponents will have time to think about the easier task of exploting Troy Brown than exploiting Ty Law. BB will need to come up with a new plan B rather than going to Brown because if he does this again as a way to play D the effects will probably be seen on their O particularly if this becomes a track meet. We'll see.

 

3. Doing something different- One of the ironies of beating a team is that it raises questions as to wether a team (NE in this case) should abandon what worked when it is clear the Bills will need to do something different.

 

One of the hallmarks of BBs work to exploit Bledsoe and take advantage of this match-up is that he has always found something different (like his D setting up extremely late in theirDs on plays and this denying the reactive bledsoe anything to react to). This time, even running a normal D will take some work by NE as they fill the gaps left in their secondary. The more complicated any new look is which the reserves adopt, the more likely they are to be exploited.

 

In addition, since they lost, the Bills have been thinking about what to do different against NE. I expect the shoe to beon the other foot in this game in terms of the Bills actually setting the tone by employing something different. The advantage will still be with the Pats because they are a better team than the Bills and at home. However, if the Bills can execute and get some good bounces early, a blow-out of the Pats is actually possible (far from probable but actually possible. Bravado may make a Pats partisan deny this, but the scores of the two games last year was 31-0 and 0-31 for reason and this is just reality. While a Bills blow-out is far from likely because who was at home was a leading likely indicator last year, the CB issues provide a tangible difference this year.

 

If I'm the Bills, though my bread and butter is smashmouth with WM, I cannot resist the temptation to use the athletic Moulds and the speedy Evans to test the Pats deep. The Bills also have a weakness in that McGee is no Vincent. What I do if I am the Bills is challenge the newly awarded starter Kelsay to pressure Brady with a solo effort which allows me to rush him without employing the DB blitz as much as last time.

 

I use the DBs instead to try to lure Brady into doing what he wants to do which is challenge McGee but I disguise my coverages to the extent I can to have an off DB try to pick-off a Brady effort to exploit McGee (for example, in the first Fins game last year, the Fins lined up with both WRs on the Winfield left side. Clements communicated well with Milloy and had him cover the crossing WR coming to the right side and Clements took over the help-out coverage for Winfield. Fiedler read Milloy as covering the crossing WR who ran right at him and figured he had Winfield one on one and threw up a long one over Winfield. Clements was now in the centerfield coverage and actually came seemingly out of nowhere and picked it off.

 

The Bills will profit by luring Brady into thinking that he can exploit McGee (who can be beaten one-on-one by Givens or the other NE wideouts), but give him some back-up either by disguising civerages so that it is FS (Reese or Prioleau) who has Graham instead of SS Milloy and Milloy helps out McGee (who might look beaten as he takes underneath coverage of Givens while Milloy comes out of no where providing over coverage. Likewise in particular situations, the Bills may attempt to fool Brady by shifting Clements into the centerfield role and having the FS or SS take his CB duty.

 

This game will be fun to watch.

[JStranger76]

I wouldn't mind Gray throwing the defense the Giants used in SuperBowl 25 for a few play here and there, as long as the corners are right up in the recievers faces.

[Dan Gross]

Thanx Lori. I remember thinking during that game that I wished Gray wold rein it in a little, but I couldn't remember how much we actually got stung by trying to outthink a wizard. Sounds like the damage was pretty significant (blitzing DB's on 1st/35?!) and I hope Gray can keep it in his pants for most of Sunday evening.

So, did you take Monday off?-)

Cya

114118[/snapback]

 

 

I believe it was after this game that I likened Gray's play-calling to that of a 13 year old playing Madden for the first time. "1st down, what do I do....Blitz! 2nd down, what do I do....Blitz! 1st down again, what do I do....etc...."

[CentralVaBills]

i love revisionist history.  "weis has eaten gray for lunch already this year."  huh?  let's recap.  midway through the 4th quarter the score was 17-17, when corey dillon fumbled -- yes, he did fumble -- inside the bills' 10 yard line.  a terrible non-call.  the patriots' offense put up 17 "legitimate" points against buffalo.  i hardly call that "eating gray's lunch."  yes, the bills gave up yards in the passing game, but it was not an ass-whooping by any means.

113995[/snapback]

 

Unbelievable. WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Another, the refs screwed us big time idiot. Jesus. Nevermind that the Pats drove the ball down our throats to get to that point. Why not just blame the refs. That stevestojan is sickening when you people do that.

 

Not to mention that, when the Bills were up 17-10 and had all the MO, we let NE come back in our house and score 14 straight offensive points to take the game right back and put it away.

 

And by they way. Brady wasn't so much as touched all day. They hit NUMEROUS big passing plays. And the drive which gave NE the lead, actually started in the 3rd quarter, and was an 11 play 80 yard tilt, that ended with 11:17 on the clock in the 4th quarter. Not midway through by any means.

 

And yes, it was an ass whooping. The Patriots hung 24 on our defense despite losing the Time of Possession battle, having 10 penalties called on them, and losing a fumble (not the one the whiners are talking about) that resulted in a drive stop. Not to mention being backed up three times in drive starts by Moorman.

 

24 points and the manner they did it on the road..................was a pretty sound ass whoopin layed on us in our house!

 

Don't be such a homer when looking at what they did to us the first time around. They had their way with us. Easily.

[eball]

Unbelievable.  WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.  Another, the refs screwed us big time idiot.  Jesus.  Nevermind that the Pats drove the ball down our throats to get to that point.  Why not just blame the refs.  That stevestojan is sickening when you people do that. 

 

Not to mention that, when the Bills were up 17-10 and had all the MO, we let NE come back in our house and score 14 straight offensive points to take the game right back and put it away.

 

And by they way.  Brady wasn't so much as touched all day.  They hit NUMEROUS big passing plays.  And the drive which gave NE the lead, actually started in the 3rd quarter, and was an 11 play 80 yard tilt, that ended with 11:17 on the clock in the 4th quarter.  Not midway through by any means.

 

And yes, it was an ass whooping.  The Patriots hung 24 on our defense despite losing the Time of Possession battle, having 10 penalties called on them, and losing a fumble (not the one the whiners are talking about) that resulted in a drive stop. Not to mention being backed up three times in drive starts by Moorman.

 

24 points and the manner they did it on the road..................was a pretty sound ass whoopin layed on us in our house!

 

Don't be such a homer when looking at what they did to us the first time around.  They had their way with us.  Easily.

114514[/snapback]

 

hey, man, give me a break. that's my 15% EO coming out, you know. i'm entitled. don't take it so seriously.

 

the bottom line is that the bills could have won that game and were not "schooled" by weis' offense. gray made some strategical decisions that didn't work out. hopefully he learned his lesson.

 

p.s. put centralvabills down as a NN

[Guest BackInDaDay]

I totally agree Campy. I don't like the idea of breaking down the integrity of our coverage schemes just to send extra rushers at Brady, particularly when you consider he frequently makes great throws with guys in his face anyways.

I'd like us to run a similar gameplan that the Stillers ran a couple weeks ago. They picked their spots to blitz and attacked the Patriots weakened Tackle position infrequently and irregularly. They managed to get decent (not great) pressure from 4 rushers and caused confusion early in the Pats offense with shifting coverages. I've never seen Brady as frusrated as he was during that game, and imo a lot of it was because the Stillers just wouldn't give in and make the mistake that would get the PatsO singles matchups for Brady to take advantage of.

I don't get the sense that the Pat OLine is in very good shape right now, and I'm hopeful that the Bills can get away with committing only 4-5 rushers and still get just enough pressure to keep Brady from getting comfortable. The other advantage of playing a lot of zone behind the comparatively conservative rush it is that the most of your secondary will be square to the LOS and able to keep one eye in the backfield, which can be an advantage for the Bills in keeping CDillon in relative check.

Leash the hounds, Jerry! But draw up a few special 2nd/long blitzes to see if you can get Spikes a couple free shots on Tommyboy.

Kill the head and the body will die 

Cya

114081[/snapback]

 

Now that Milloy is back and Kelsay is making an impact at the other DE spot, JG can more effectively blend the strong run support schemes (46) once taught by Williams and himself, with the pressure zone blitz packages he and LaBeau installed last year. Your right on about that Pitt game, and now JG even has film of how his former mentor employed his packages. Heck, there may even have been a phone call made this week

 

Brady has a sore shoulder and Belichik knows that we want to get to him, so you have to figure that he may try to protect him better. Weiss may have to compromise to make this happen. Instead of empty backfield / 4WR sets, expect to see more one-back formations, with Dillon riding shotgun. This means either less 4WR formations, or 4WR formations where the TE stands on the sideline.

 

In the latter, with only 5 lineman and a RB to protect him, Brady has to hit the short route. If we can successfully jam the outside men (man, I'd love to have Vincent for this game) we may force Brady to sit back there longer than he, or his coaches, want.

 

This is one of the situations I expect to see JG blitz in. We need to pressure Brady when he comes out in that formation.

 

Another place for us to get a lick on Brady is on their FB screen to Faulk. They run it like a counter. Fake hand-off or sreen to one side, with a screen pass to the other. If JG has picked up any keys that tip this off, we may be able to defend it before it develops, forcing Brady to find something else to do with the ball.

 

Bottom line, the threat of pressuring an already banged up QB, will force Belichik and Weiss into a more conservative O. We have to make their fears a reality with enough attempts at hitting him, that they won't know when the coast is clear for that high-risk play.

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

I wouldn't mind Gray throwing the defense the Giants used in SuperBowl 25 for a few play here and there, as long as the corners are right up in the recievers faces.

114484[/snapback]

 

 

On the contrary, McGee is simply not a good enough CB to play in your face coverage unless he gets a lot of help deep for the times when the WR beats him and his great athletic skills are not enough for him to recover and get back in the play.

 

The zone blitz and coverage style which Gray seems to employ often leaves it to the CB cover his guy or take a responsibility without a lot of help or back-up. We have seen McGee play aggresively with this style since TV got hurt and in each game we have had to pay for the results (47 yard pass by Boller to Taylor over a leaping McGee who just missed breaking up the pass because he fronted Taylor looking forthe INT, TD for the Cards as their FB walked in around end because McGeebit inside and lost his containment responsibility, Santana Moss catching balls all day with McGee having the main responsibility for him.

 

Does this mean that McGee is a bum? No, not at all. The casual viewer may make this conclusion based on the results, but from these eyes which have paid more attention to football than my wife would like, it mostly means that this great athlete McGee (as shown by his 2 KRs for TDs and a nice fumble recovery last weekend) needs to learn the game a little better so that he can play with the experience a Vincent has shown where he still gets tons of INTs but he picks his spots and does not count on his athleticism all the time.

 

McGee should occaisionally get in the WRs face because mizing up your stykes is a key to good coverage rather than simply challenging your opponent every time. These are NFL athletes. Even if you beat the opposing WR 70-80 % of the time this means on on the 10 throws where the QB looks your way he is going to beat you for 2 or 3 likely TDs.

 

I think Mcgee rather than being more aggressive needs to be more brainy and not depend upon the athleticism which makes him a great KR guy because that same athleticism which results in you being toast when the receiver knows exactly where you are going and you are reacting to him. Even worse, as good of a QB as Chad Pennington has shown he can be, this does not even compare to what 2 time SB champ brady has shown he can do with the short-passing game RAC offense.

 

In my view in order for McGee not to be a huge liability in this game three things (among a lot ofthings including dumb luck) need to happen:

 

1. Get after Brady with a good pass rush from our front four and with the zone blitz from the front 7- The Bills cannot count on getting Brady given some good OL play from Light and the gang, good blitz pickups and run/pass options from Dillon and the RBs and given tremendous judgment and a quick pass release by Brady. However, even if you don't sack him the key is not give him all the time in the world to pick you apart. The Bills tried and sometimes succeeded in creating this pressure by using the DB blitz a lot last game. However, this left the DBs on an island and McGee will be taken to the cleaners if that is the case this time.

 

The front 4 (in particular Kelsay he now has the reward of being the full time LDE needs to create pressure on his own. A sack would be even nicer but consistent pressure will be good enough) will need to push and perform and the zone bliz can be emploued from time to time so that the LBs get the pressure (and dare I say it) the DEs look for the INT in the short zone.

 

If we need to rely a lot on the DB blitz (though I'd give Milloy a chance at the safety blitz twice or so) to get pressure it will only be a matter of time before Brady toasts them.

 

2. Disguise the DB coverages- This will be a tall order against Brady who has shown an insane understanding of the game and the field at a young age. However, if the pressure rushes him rather than allowing him to take his time, Gray and the Bills have shown some greaty ability to disguise their coverages. I think the desire to pick on McDee actually creates some real opporunities for the Bills. The Pats may line up two WRs on the left side in front of McGee and leave Clements with no one on his side but he will be looking for the cross.

 

The TE Graham will run straiight toward Milloy. Milloy needs to fake like he is going after Graham who instead will be picked up by an LB or Reese (advantage Graham against either) but if Milloy can sale Brady on him taking Graham but instead he is looking for the WR doing the cross, this gives Clements the freedom to double cover the WR McGee has. McGee will look out of position to Brady either way depending on wether he has the over or under coverage. However, if Clements has the other coverage and most important if the rush makes Brady throw to the perceived opening quicker, Clements has a good shot at playing centerfielder for the INT.

 

This approach worked for the Bills in the first game against Miami last year against Fiedler. It may not work against Brady who is far better than Fiedler but this is the type of disguise the Bills will need to make work.

 

As the two safety position are relatiively interchangeable in the Bills D scheme, and the far less than perfect Reese does pass coverage better than run-stopping look for Reese to take the big TE Graham (a scary mismatch on the Bills but if it works it frees up Milloy) and them Milloy will be free to take some Clements pass coverage freeing him up to freelance and help out McGee or Milloy can do the occaisional safety blitz on Brady.

 

3. McGee needs to vary his coverage style- In my view McGee plays in your face too much and depends upon his atleticism to make up ground and cover his mistakes. This may have worked in college where he is was the best athlete on the field. but does not work as well in the Pros where everyone is a good athlete and you can count on the QB delivering the ball on a frozen rope.

 

McGee will need to do press coverage some of the time as you have to present variety or the WR and QB will catch on and do you in. However, McGee should only press when he knows that we are in a zone where he will get back-up if he is beat or there is a high likelihood that Brady is going to throw short looking for the 1st down.