Number of the Week: 0

[Lori]

Instead of picking one particular stat for this week's NotW, I decided to see just how many ways I could work the number zero into the equation. Managed to find quite a few; I like some of them better than others....

 

0: Number of Patriots home losses since December 22, 2002.

0: Number of Bills road wins since November 30, 2003.

 

Okay, that's not so good. Add in the extra electricity a prime-time game generates, and you can put a very large checkmark in the "home-field advantage" box for New England. If the Patriots get out to an early lead, it could be over quick....

 

Or perhaps not. Here's a few more items from my list, all from the first New England game-

0: Number of times Willis McGahee touched the ball. With Travis Henry running well, McGahee barely saw the field - in a quick re-scan of the game before work last night, I have him marked down for a total of 3 plays. Obviously, that will change this week.

 

0: Number of plays Lawyer Milloy was on the field for. (Remember, Milloy was still two weeks away from returning to the lineup.) A few stats for comparison:

Total net yards/game given up in games without Milloy - 298.0; with Milloy - 218.3.

Yards/play given up without Milloy - 5.10; with Milloy - 3.97.

Third-down percentage without Milloy - 28-65, 43.1%; with Milloy - 10-39, 25.6%.

 

And the most important one of all - 1-4 without Milloy, 2-1 with Milloy. I said it before, and I'll say it again: if Lawyer doesn't get hurt in the preseason, this team has a winning record right now.

 

0: Number of total catches by Josh Reed and Bobby Shaw. Reed dropped what would have been a first down, and had a false start; Shaw was invisible. The coaching staff must not have been ready to trust Lee Evans just yet, though, because both Shaw and Reed got more playing time than he did. That, too, will be a different story this week... just in time for Evans to line up against New England's backup CBs.

 

Gameplan:

-Run the ball and play defense. Game management, Drew. Go ahead and take a few shots at those CBs, but please no "wicky-wacky" playcalls this week, Tom C.

-Brady can beat the blitz. This is a fact. Give McGee a hand against Patten this time; the wily old vet taught the young'un a few lessons in Buffalo.

 

The Patriots are a great team, but their injury issues could start to sap their legendary resilience. The Bills aren't a great team... yet... but they are getting better. If they can continue to improve on their unforced errors (dumb penalties, dropped passes, missed blocks, etc.), and if they can avoid making the Big Mistake (i.e., 4th-and-3 QB bootleg/sack/fumble/Patriot TD), the Bills can win this game.

 

That said, though, those are pretty big ifs........

[stevewin]

0: Number of plays Lawyer Milloy was on the field for. (Remember, Milloy was still two weeks away from returning to the lineup.) A few stats for comparison:

Total net yards/game given up in games without Milloy - 319.5; with Milloy - 216.8.

Yards/play given up without Milloy - 5.34; with Milloy - 3.98.

Third-down percentage without Milloy - 23-53, 43.4%; with Milloy - 16-51, 31.9%.

 

And the most important one of all - 0-4 without Milloy, 3-1 with Milloy. I said it before, and I'll say it again: if Lawyer doesn't get hurt in the preseason, this team has a winning record right now.

 

114272[/snapback]

The significance of having Milloy instead of Wire cannot be overstated. This upgrade is almost beyond mere mortal comprehension. I think it will be the difference in the game.

 

I agree 100% with your other points - please let the Bills just try to punish them with the run game and not get cute - don't try to 'out-genius' "the genius". Take your shots long with play action after pounding it down their throats. Don't get behind early and keep it simple so Drew doesn't force bad balls thinking he has to do it himself.

[BillsNYC]

Milloy is the spark that Defense needed. Now, if McGee can rebound from last game, since they will be attacking him 99% of the time.