932 replies to this topic

[SeoulSoxFan]

I used to live near Buffalo. It's a town that's dying. Cold, blustery, bleary.

What's not dying, however, is the local denizens' love for their football team. They are a proud bunch. Even in below 20 weather, they turn out in droves, in their sacred Blue & Red garb, tailgating in the frigid grounds of The Ralph.

There was a time when facing the Bills meant a certain loss. Those were the days of Jim "Machine Gun" Kelly, Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Darryl Talley, Steve Tasker, Kent Hull, and the immortal Fred Smerlas.

In the late 80's and 90's, the Bills had a decade+ hold on the division, going:

* 1988: 12-4 (AFCD)
* 1989: 9-7 (AFCD)
* 1990: 13-3 (AFLC)
* 1991: 13-3 (AFLC)
* 1992: 11-5 (AFLC)
* 1993: 12-4 (AFLC)
* 1994: 7-9
* 1995: 10-6 (AFCD)
* 1996: 10-6
* 1997: 6-10
* 1998: 10-6
* 1999: 11-5

Those days are now long past. After the departure of their stable of Pro Bowlers, Marv Levy, and perhaps most importantly Bill Polian (GM from 1986-1993), who was fired after their 3rd straight SB appearance (after reported riff between him and the team's treasurer.)

Now, it's Patriots who are dominating this team. Consider*:

* Patriots have won 13 straight meetings
* Average margin of victory: 20 points (average score 29-9)
* Total number of turnovers: Patriots 11, Bills 25
* Rushing yards per game: Patriots 144, Bills 91
* Net passing yards per game: Patriots 229, Bills 151
* Total penalties / yards: Patriots 49 / 407, Bills 74 / 563
* Combined QB rating: Patriots 112.9, Bills 57.1
* Patriots now lead the series 58-40-1 (more wins vs. Bills than any other franchise)
*ProJo


But as we all know, stats are for losers. Wins are for champions. With the rumors of the Team of the Decade's demise amidst internal turmoil, it's time to start a winning streak in Orchard Park.

Ghosts of Patriots past got us a win against the Panthers. Today's men in Red & Blue will bring win #9.

Edited by SeoulSoxFan, 15 December 2009 - 03:08 PM.

[Curtis Pride]

There was a time when facing the Bills meant a certain loss. Those were the days of Jim "Machine Gun" Kelly, Andre Smith, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Darryl Talley, Steve Tasker, Kent Hull, and the immortal Fred Smerlas.

I don't remember any player named Andre Smith, but I do remember Andre Reed.

[Captaincoop]

Also, I'm confused. If the Pats have won 13 straight against the Bills, and won this past week against the Panthers...what kind of winning streak can they start?

[CantKeepmedown]

I don't remember any player named Andre Smith, but I do remember Andre Reed.

I remember Bruce Smith too.

[Alternate34]

I live in Corning and have season's tickets to the Bills. It was my wife's dream to get season's tickets as she is originally from Buffalo. I wrote a break down of the Bills for the earlier game. I'll do another.

Coaching - Jauron is out, Fewell is promoted. Fewell is still the DC too. Van Pelt is still the OC. April is still the ST. Buffalo is 2-2 since the coaching change v. 3-6 with Jauron. Whether this is a real improvement in coaching quality versus an easier schedule is kind of up in the air. Their win against Miami was solid. They also beat KC, who sucks. However they lost to Jacksonville and the Jets. The team has played differently but I'll explain that below.

Offense - QB Edwards is out. Fitzpatrick is in. I said Edwards never met a checkdown he didn't like in my previous review. This eventually led to losing his team's confidence. TO was probably part of it, but it is too easy to blame him alone. No one was really with Jauron by the end of his tenure and they had tired of his conservative play. Part of this was Trent's love of TEs and RBs as receivers. Fitzpatrick likes to throw to WRs. TO's production has escalated since. Evans a little bit as well. Fitzpatrick often forces the balls to WR especially TO. His 5/9 TD/INT ratio is evidence of this. His basic passing stats are worse than last year when he had to take over for Cinci and worse than Trent's. What he does better than Trent is run the ball and throw the ball downfield. It's almost like the team is pining for their former QB Losman, who had the same MO as Fitz but with a better arm. The passing game will not be that successful until the Bills OLine recovers.

The O-Line is the most glaring weakness. That's how I opened up last time and it still is. Their starting LT is injured for the rest of the season (Demetrius Bell). Their starting LG is injured for the rest of the season. Their starting RG was moved to LG and he is questionable with a shoulder injury. Their starting RT was injured way back and has been replaced. Their starting C has been steadfast. The Bills have given up some sacks this year, but what might hurt them more is that it killed any chance for Trent to be good. He had no patience for longer developing routes because of his sack fears. Fitzpatrick reacts differently. He waits and runs if the protection breaks down. He still takes as many sacks, but probably for less yards lost. The run blocking hasn't been atrocious at least.

The WRs while more talented, were also more frustrated at the beginning of the year. There has been a resurgence after the coaching change. Well really, the resurgence is all TO. TO has received more targets and has produced more. He has had 3 TDs in 4 games as opposed to 1 in 9 games with Jauron. Fitzpatrick is ALWAYS looking for him. This hurt Jacksonville (though they eventually won) and it hurt the Dolphins (who lost). It helped the Jets because they covered TO with Revis. It probably helped KC as well even though they lost. The focus on TO has led to a slight downturn in production for Evans, but he wasn't doing much anyway. The TEs have all been injured at some point this season. Fine is back though he has been having issues both blocking and receiving. Shawn Nelson has eclipsed him as a receiver though he is battling a hurt shoulder. This group of WRs and TEs is still decent enough if they had a competent QB.

Marshawn Lynch is back and consequently, so is the Bills two headed backfield of Lynch and Jackson. This is a position of strength for the Bills. Freddy Jackson especially has been a thorn in the side of the Pats. He was probably the best player for the Bills in the Monday Night near-upset and he had a strong game last year against the Pats. Lynch is still a bruising back. Their backups almost never see the field.

At the beginning of the season, I said their offense could be alright if the OLine held up. It didn't and the Bills offense has sucked. However, the Pats defense has been looking kind of sad recently. With no pass rush, the Bills WR could set up some deep routes. If the Pats blitz, Freddy Jackson could get some screens. To me, the Pats should run some stunts and other trickery without blitzing too often. The Bills OLine is not physically overmatched, but they are not organized enough to execute blocking assignments. With Fitzpatrick looking downfield, the DLine should have some time to be intricate.

Defense - The change in coaches has led to a change in defense. The Bills still run a base Cover 2. However, with Fewell in charge they run some more creative packages. They sometimes have a 3-4 look. They use situational guys more often. The weird thing this season is that their defense, while maintaining the same absolute quality, has change completely situationally. Last year, they were solid against the run (1946 rush yards allowed in 2008) and poor against the pass (24 sacks, 3271 yards allowed). This year, they are atrocious against the run (2217 rush yards allowed in 2009 SO FAR) and better against the pass (29 sacks, 2460 yards allowed). Their increase in sacks is mostly attributable to a healthy Schobel.

Their decline against the run is interesting. Stroud may have gotten older and worse. I tend to think it is a combination of their LBs and scheme. On a lot of run plays, 9 guys come up to the line. Normally a team has two levels of defense. With the Bills, it seems once you get past the first level, you are off. I'd have to calculate the stats, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bills with a large variation in the types of runs they let up. They either stop a run for little gain, or give up a 10 yard run or more (exageration but still..)

The starting DEs are Schobel and Kelsay/Denney/Maybin. Schobel is better this season. Kelsay has a few more sacks though he is about where he should be. Denney is filler and generally a special teams trick play guy (soft hands and really tall) Maybin has had little impact, though he does love to point in QBs and RBs faces when they are tackled by other teammates.

The DTs are Stroud and Kyle Williams with a lot of Spencer Johnson on passing downs. John McCargo is also a backup there. They may have declined since last year, but I am not sure that is the case as the LBs have been decimated by injury and incompetence.

The LBs. Paul Posluszny is uninjured. He is probably average, though he could be above average. Sometimes, he seems to be making a great impact, othertimes, he seems to disappear. The other two starters were injured. Chris Draft is the SLB. He is pretty terrible. Byran Scott is their WLB. He was their SS. He is undersized as an LB.

The secondary is banged up. McKelvin is out for the season, replaced by Drayton Florence who is OK I guess. Terrance McGee is their other starter. He is solid in coverage but will be dominated by larger receivers. He shouldn't be on Moss, but maybe he will be and we either see constant S and LB help, TDs, or both. Reggie Corner is the nickel. He is OK. Ellis "Yeah um" Lankster is an all purpose DB who doesn't get on the field often. Again OK. Nobody is jaw dropping, but their depth has served them well enough so their secondary is still fairly solid even with injuries.

The safeties are Donte Whitner and Jairus Byrd. Donte has done pretty well and helps alot on run defense. He is probably one reason that they let up big run plays because he tends to overcommit, but with his LBs all out, he seems to be doing an alright job. The real story is Byrd. Oh you haven't heard? That's right. Byrd, Byrd, Byrd. Byrd is the word. He leads the league in INTs despite not playing the first few games of the season and has the Buffalo fans crying that he won't make the Pro-Bowl because Buffalo players are always overlooked. However, what bugs me is that he isn't on the field as often as he should be. George Wilson is on just as often as Byrd, which is just weird. NFL.com lists him as a backup safety and it seems that Buffalo plays him situationally. Either Buffalo is worried about his stamina, they think he is only good in obvious passing downs, or Buffalo can't even talent evaluate when a talented player is smacking them in the fucking face.

The special teams are still great. Moorman stills punts dreamily and still runs fakes. Lindell is still solid as a kicker. Their return men are still solid. Freddy Jackson is the primary kick returner. Roscoe Parrish had a case of the yips with a couple of fumbles early in the year, including one that cost them the atrociously played Browns game, but he has gotten control of his fumbling problem. The best part of their special teams are their coverage units. They love to play. What the hell does Bobby April feed them?

The Bills are 5-8. I know you can say this about a lot of teams, but they could easily be 7-6 (loss to the Pats was classic Buffalo nut crunch as was the Browns loss). However, they could also be worse. 5-8 sounds right. The fans at the Ralph will be thirsty for blood. The Bills have the longest active losing streak against a single team. Last time the Bills broke the longest active losing streak against a single team (20 games against the Dolphins, the NFL record) they tore down the goalposts. Buffalo fans hatred of the Dolphins is slowly being replaced by a hatred of the Pats. They should show up.

The road game aspect makes me a little antsy about this game. The outcome of the last Pats-Bills game makes me shiver a bit. Analytically, the matchups make me kind of queasy. The Pats are a passing offense. The Bills pass defense is their strongest aspect. The Bills OLine is their primary weakness. The Pats pass rush has been pretty weak so they may not take full advantage of the JV line. The Bills have a newfound focus on WR in the passing game. The Pats secondary, specifically the corners, has not been impressive. The Ralph can get really damn windy and shut down almost any passing game. See last year's Pats Bills game at Buffalo, that was pure total hell. Back then I had confidence in the run game. Hopefully the Pats will again jam it down the Bills throat.

The Pats should win. They are the better team, but I am not completely confident now that I take a closer look. A sloppy game would be aiding the Bills immensely. I think the Pats win by 7 points. 20-13.

[Bucknahs Bum Ankle]

Also, I'm confused. If the Pats have won 13 straight against the Bills, and won this past week against the Panthers...what kind of winning streak can they start?

A road winning streak?

Nice writeup Alternate. Thanks.

[SeoulSoxFan]

Also, I'm confused. If the Pats have won 13 straight against the Bills, and won this past week against the Panthers...what kind of winning streak can they start?

Wouldn't winning streak start with 2? It wouldn't be too out of place to say a streak starts with 1, but I always thought a real "streak" meant 2+ at least.

No matter, I like Bucknahs's idea of a road winning streak, starting with ONE.

[SeoulSoxFan]

The LBs. Paul Posluszny is uninjured. He is probably average, though he could be above average. Sometimes, he seems to be making a great impact, othertimes, he seems to disappear. The other two starters were injured. Chris Draft is the SLB. He is pretty terrible. Byran Scott is their WLB. He was their SS. He is undersized as an LB.

Great write up on the Bills Alternate. Didn't you also write an extensive review on the Fantasy Draft thread?

P.S. The bold made me chuckle.

[Alternate34]

Great write up on the Bills Alternate. Didn't you also write an extensive review on the Fantasy Draft thread?

P.S. The bold made me chuckle.

The earlier write up was in the first Pats-Bills game thread. There was actually a mistake in that write-up where I omitted Chris Kelsay for some reason. Full disclaimer - I also thought the Pats would crush the Bills. Recent Bills teams are difficult to predict except that they will somehow lose the big important games. A horrible thing to say, but it is just true. How they lose is impossible to know. Sometimes they will just lay down (against the Cardinals last year when they started 4-0), sometimes they defense and special teams will fight until the end when some excruciating, soul crushing play occurs (Monday Night v. the Pats, Monday Night v. the Cowboys 2 years ago), sometimes they bait the other team into a sloppy game and lose (San Francisco last year).

Being a Bills fan right now is great fun! I'm glad I'm not one.

[RIrooter09]

Alternate I'm heading up to the game this weekend and staying in Buffalo the night before. Any suggestions for bars/food spots? I know Anchor Bar is the original wing spot and was thinking about heading there, but I'd appreciate your input. If anyone else knows the area I'm also open to suggestions.

[Titoschew]

Alternate I'm heading up to the game this weekend and staying in Buffalo the night before. Any suggestions for bars/food spots? I know Anchor Bar is the original wing spot and was thinking about heading there, but I'd appreciate your input. If anyone else knows the area I'm also open to suggestions.

I stopped at this place going through Buffalo coming back from Toronto. The AudBurger is legit like 1.25 lbs of beef. Cannot be consumed in one sitting.

[Alternate34]

Alternate I'm heading up to the game this weekend and staying in Buffalo the night before. Any suggestions for bars/food spots? I know Anchor Bar is the original wing spot and was thinking about heading there, but I'd appreciate your input. If anyone else knows the area I'm also open to suggestions.

Duff's is a good bar for wings. They have a couple of locations:

3651 Sheridan Drive, Amherst NY
3090 Orchard Park Road, Orchard Park NY

The Orchard Park Duff's is in the same area as the stadium (it would be a stretch to say walking distance) though consequently a little ways from the city (10-15 minutes). It is a better bar with TVs and more open space. The Amherst NY location is off the 290 near Millersport and Sheridan. It's crammed but is nearer to the city. If you have a hotel in downtown Buffalo you would need to drive to both of these places.

For both Anchor Bar and Duff's there is likely to be a fairly long wait as neither is that big and they have great wings.

Pearl Street Brewery is in downtown nearby HSBC arena. I don't know how their wings are (my wife, a native, wouldn't recommend them), but they have good beer and their other food is pretty good.

Fat Bob's is a good BBQ place but not really a bar. If you want to gorge on BBQ, it is probably the best in Buffalo.

If you end up staying in for whatever reason, La Nova pizza and wings are really good.

Another place I have never been to but that is supposed to be good is the Red Tree Inn in Orchard Park, NY. It is within walking distance of the stadium, though that doesn't help much because you won't be able to get in day of game. The day before the game might be packed, but you should be able to get seated. Some of the Bills players go there.

[The Mino 007]

wholy crap, this should be our first real road win of the year.

[Al Zarilla]

wholy crap, this should be our first real road win of the year.

That would be a whole lot of goodness, and better late than never.

[jsinger121]

Snow is in the forecast for Orchard Park, NY

[RIrooter09]

Snow is in the forecast for Orchard Park, NY

Crap

And thanks for the suggestions guys I'm definitely gonna have to check out a few of those places.

[dynomite]

Wednesday participation report per Reiss:

DID NOT PARTICIPATE
QB Tom Brady (right shoulder/right finger/ribs)
WR Randy Moss (not injury related)
DE Ty Warren (ankle)
NT Vince Wilfork (foot)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION
WR Sam Aiken (shoulder)
OLB Tully Banta-Cain (shoulder)
WR Julian Edelman (forearm)
DL Jarvis Green (knee)
OT Nick Kaczur (shoulder)
G Stephen Neal (ankle)
DL Myron Pryor (chest)
RB Fred Taylor (ankle)
TE Benjamin Watson (knee)

FULL PARTICIPATION
CB Shawn Springs (knee)

For the Bills, tackle Jonathan Scott (eye) and guard Kendall Simmons (shoulder) did not practice Wednesday. Rookie safety Jairus Byrd, who leads the NFL in interceptions (9), was among four players limited with a groin injury.

I'm considering sneaking into Patriots camp and hiding Kaczur's plane ticket.

[Nuf Ced]

Another place I have never been to but that is supposed to be good is the Red Tree Inn in Orchard Park, NY. It is within walking distance of the stadium, though that doesn't help much because you won't be able to get in day of game. The day before the game might be packed, but you should be able to get seated. Some of the Bills players go there.

Yes, make sure you ask the locals where the "Red Tree" is. I'm sure they'll be very helpful.

[Captaincoop]

A road winning streak?

Nice writeup Alternate. Thanks.

A road winning streak would certainly be timely. I'm sold.

I hope it's less windy than last year's game in Buffalo. Somehow I like this year's team a lot less in a game like that one.

[dynomite]

I hope it's less windy than last year's game in Buffalo. Somehow I like this year's team a lot less in a game like that one.

Yes, the Patriots have had a lot of trouble in the elements this year.



I kid I kid -- I know wind is different than snow.

Current forecast for Orchard Park, NY on Sunday:

Snow flurries (30% chance)
High of 28
Wind at 7 mph

Not too bad all things considered.

[Chico's Bail Bonds]

If I’m not mistaken, the last of the truly great beat downs from 2007 was at Buffalo…at least of the 40-50 point variety. It was a Sunday night and TO had a 4 TD performance in one of the earlier games. Well who do you suppose matched that performance later on?



This time Moss will be able to look directly across the field for his inspiration and bring us one more round of running up the score venom…for old time’s sake. I really miss the outrage and the eff you touchdowns. I don't want guys like Merril Hoge sticking up for the Pats. I would love to see another shot of that Bills fan with the wool hat doing his best Nancy Kerrigan “Why!” face.

Bring the hate.

[ElcaballitoMVP]

Brady- IN, no big shock there.

Wilfork and Warren- GTD. Might be seeing a lot of Wright and Jarvis this weekend, even if these guys give it a go.

I have been traveling a lot for work this week, so I haven't been able to talk to my source much, but this is what he told me. I'll try to get more if I can.

[dynomite]

Wilfork and Warren- GTD. Might be seeing a lot of Wright and Jarvis this weekend, even if these guys give it a go.

Hopefully this will force the coaching staff to be a little more creative with rush scheming -- as Shears has been saying, keep Fitzpatrick and the green O-Linemen guessing on Sunday. Make them put their heads on a swivel to try to figure out where the pressure is coming from.

[Alternate34]

Bills picked up Richie Incognito off waivers, the dirtiest player in the league. He is to replace Kendall Simmons who the Bills picked up last week. Their O-Line is pretty much in total shambles. Incognito theoretically adds more ability to their line but with the potential for an awesome amount of personal fouls.

Bills fans are really excited to see Incognito attack Wilfork if Wilfork is in the game. They have never stopped hating Wilfork since he went Macho Man Randy Savage on JP Losman's knee.

[BigSoxFan]

Bills picked up Richie Incognito off waivers, the dirtiest player in the league. He is to replace Kendall Simmons who the Bills picked up last week. Their O-Line is pretty much in total shambles. Incognito theoretically adds more ability to their line but with the potential for an awesome amount of personal fouls.

Bills fans are really excited to see Incognito attack Wilfork if Wilfork is in the game. They have never stopped hating Wilfork since he went Macho Man Randy Savage on JP Losman's knee.

You'd think any player who forces JP Losman out of the game would be a hero in Bills land.

[Bellhorn]

Wow - FO's premium picks has Buffalo as a 51% favorite. Wasn't expecting to see that at all.

[Ed Hillel]

Wow - FO's premium picks has Buffalo as a 51% favorite. Wasn't expecting to see that at all.

If both Wilfork and Warren are out, I'm picking the Bills.

[Papelmate]

realpatriots

Patriots downgraded 6 players on injury report to OUT; Fred Taylor, Stephen Neal, Vince Wilfork, Nick Kaczur, Myron Pryor & Ty Warren

ouch

[Ed Hillel]

Jesus. If the Titans don't win we're going to be in second place.

Edited by Ed Hillel, 19 December 2009 - 07:48 PM.

[mascho]

Well, that sucks.

[Ed Hillel]

Jarvis Green, Titus Adams/Ron Brace, Mike Wright, Tully Banta-Cain

Hahahahahahaahahaha

FUCK MY LIFE

Edited by Ed Hillel, 19 December 2009 - 10:58 PM.

[Titoschew]

The Patriots need to find ways to keep their defense off the field tomorrow in it's compromised state. Buffalo is dead last against the run. O'Brien really needs to step up and commit to running the ball. They have the guys to do it, they really need to go to it and stay with it.

[SeoulSoxFan]

The Patriots need to find ways to keep their defense off the field tomorrow in it's compromised state. Buffalo is dead last against the run. O'Brien really needs to step up and commit to running the ball. They have the guys to do it, they really need to go to it and stay with it.

Absolutely brutal. The way this is going Adalius Thomas might be active.

[Ed Hillel]

Absolutely brutal. The way this is going Adalius Thomas might be active.

Mike Reiss believes he will be.

[mascho]

Mike Reiss believes he will be.

Can't wait to see him trying to chase down Jackson and Lynch. Should be fun.

Reminds me, I need more beer for tomorrow.

[Mystic Merlin]

Man, I have a bad feeling about this game.

Warren/Wilfork are two of the best run-stoppers in football.

[bigsid05]

...wow. Not good. Jackson and Lynch scare me big time now. Offense needs to stay on the field for this team to have a chance tomorrow.

[The Mino 007]

Neal and Kazcur out, which means Brady will be pressured and also our run game could be weakened by the lack of open running lanes. That is what doesn't worry me though b/c Buffalo is terrible against the run, what worries me is our defense. No Wilfork and No Warren...who the f are we running out there then? Ron Brace? Mike Wright, Jarvis Green? What an all star crew, makes me want Seymour back o so badly...

[SemperFidelisSox]

Vollmer will replace Kazcur, Connolly for Neal. Thomas traveled to Buffalo with the team and will probably be activated and start along with Brace. If not him then Myron Pryor or whats-his-name from the practice squad. Its not the end of the world. At least these guys have been with the team all season and in some cases have been starting. They aren't all scrubs that were signed during the week. The Patriots should still win this game.

[Ed Hillel]

Vollmer will replace Kazcur, Connolly for Neal. Thomas traveled to Buffalo with the team and will probably be activated and start along with Brace. If not him then Myron Pryor or whats-his-name from the practice squad. Its not the end of the world. At least these guys have been with the team all season and in some cases have been starting. They aren't all scrubs that were signed during the week. The Patriots should still win this game.

Pryor is OUT

It's really really bad news. The only guy we have who is designed to stop the run is Ron fucking Brace.

Edited by Ed Hillel, 20 December 2009 - 02:48 AM.

[Nator]

Jumping Jehosaphat. That injury list is terrifying. Maybe with all of the turnover on the Bills O-line, it's time to employ the, "bunch of guys stand up at the line of scrimmage with only 1 or 2 guys getting into 3 point stances so they don't know who the hell is rushing or dropping back." defense this week.


The Patriots are going to need to score touchdowns on every trip into the red zone tomorrow.

I will not sleep well tonight.

[Ed Hillel]

Best off not to sleep like me

[SoxScout]

7 Points allowed at most tomorrow



DING MOTHER FUCKING DONG

[SoxScout]

Thomas tomorrow morning when he is on he active list:

[BucketOBalls]

Vollmer will replace Kazcur, Connolly for Neal. Thomas traveled to Buffalo with the team and will probably be activated and start along with Brace. If not him then Myron Pryor or whats-his-name from the practice squad. Its not the end of the world. At least these guys have been with the team all season and in some cases have been starting. They aren't all scrubs that were signed during the week. The Patriots should still win this game.

Wait, your the lone bright spot of optimism???

It is utterly weird to see this forcast with like a foot of snow outside.

[TheMoralBully]

The lone spot of optimism should be that this horrific injury report has occured against the Buffalo Bills. Lynch and Jackson are having solid years but have hardly been consistent big-play threats; as long as they take away the deep stuff to TO, they should be able to keep up and win this one on offense. This season and their playoff chances are about their offenses ability to get it back in gear and carry the team anyway, as there's no reason to expect any turn-around mircales on defense. Time to show some confidence in Maroney and see if he can put a complete game together, hitting the Bills where they're weakest.

[dcdrew10]

Thomas tomorrow morning when he is on he active list:

Thomas already did that once in his life, but it was the windshield and he went from the inside out.

[HomeRunBaker]

You guys are a bunch of worry warts. Look for Brady to attack the Bills with a short passing game along with an occasional fly/post to Moss that will keep the defense honest. Screw our inconsistent running game especially with our OL hurting. This could be a game where Welker makes a run at Brandon Marshall's 21 receptions if the chips fall right.

Pats 31
Bills 17

[TheoShmeo]

You guys are a bunch of worry warts. Look for Brady to attack the Bills with a short passing game along with an occasional fly/post to Moss that will keep the defense honest. Screw our inconsistent running game especially with our OL hurting. This could be a game where Welker makes a run at Brandon Marshall's 21 receptions if the chips fall right.

Pats 31
Bills 17

I agree on the general outlook but disagree strongly on the running game. Buffalo is dead last in the NFL against the run in yards per game allowed. Use the short passing game, establish Moss early and the run the ball. Especially with the Pats D-line lacking its two best players, a ball control, rushing offense is just what the Pats need.

Like you, I see the Pats winning this game fairly easily.

[Nuf Ced]

Good news for the Patriots: TO is questionable with an "illness" and didn't practice this week.

James Hardy or Steve Jackson may play for the Bills at WR. Hardy is the 6'5" flop from Indiana who has trouble running the most basic routes properly. Stone hands don't help either. Jackson is the 6'2" 7th rounder from UK who should get playing time ahead of Hardy.

However, this matters if you have a QB with an arm who can throw consistently and deep, which does not describe Ryan Fitzgerald.