Week 17 Bills Pre-Game Thread

RedOctober3829

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Patriots held a walk through this morning and the only players not spotted were DMC and Boyce. Vereen was present and according to Doug Kyed was "moving well". I'd have to say that DMC will be held out Sunday. Vereen, if active, should see limited time as well IMO.

Don't take this game lightly. The Bills have 3 players who have 10 sacks or more. They also have Jarius Byrd and Stephone Gilmore who didnt see action in the season opener. Doug Marrone doesn't think EJ Manuel will play.
 

Tony C

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Is Manuel not playing a positive or a negative? He's had a good overall year -- plenty of downs but enough ups to have justified his draft slot and hopes for him next year. But for one game I think Lewis might be better.
 

Mystic Merlin

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I hope people are psychologically prepared for a concerted effort to keep a structured pocket in front of and/or around Lewis, by the way.  They're not going play as aggressively, particularly on the ends, as they did vs. Flacco.  Making him a pocket passer, especially on third down, is very important.
 

axx

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This would be a bad time for a letdown game. You have to go into it thinking that they would have to win to get the bye, so they should be focused.
 
I doubt it will be easy.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I expect this to be a relatively tight game decided by which offense finds a way to make a couple big plays and avoids turnovers.  Buffalo was #4 in defensive DVOA before blanking Miami last week.  They are very legit on that side of the ball.  But they have given up a lot of points this year because their offense is terrible and puts the team in bad spots.  Lets hope that continues.
 

Kliq

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Buffalo's defensive line is legit and is soemthing that scares me about this game. They can really bring the pressure and with a still banged up offensive line, the last thing the Pats need is for Brady to get creamed. Buffalo is 5th in the league against the pass and 10th against the run. We really, really need Blount or Ridley to get going early so we can work the PA and hopefully open something up deep downfield for Dobson.
 

dynomite

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To my mind, this game is begging for a run/pass imbalance.

By DVOA, here are the Bills ranks:
Pass defense: #2
Run defense: #18
Rush yards/game: 120 (#23)

Although the Patriots' pass blocking was stellar on Sunday, McDaniels seemed to be intentionally committing to the run to keep the Ravens honest and Brady clean.

I would imagine he'll use a similar plan against the aggressive Bills defensive front, potentially setting up some play action opportunities downfield.

I'm looking for Ridley to get 15+ carries as he auditions for playing time in the playoffs.

EDIT: and, as others said, I'm hopeful that their offense will put them in bad position, making life harder for their bad special teams and easier for our offense.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Thad Lewis gets the start. Stevie Johnson and Aaron Williams are out for the game.
 
Per Breer:
 

@AlbertBreer Bills coach Doug Marrone announces that backup QB Thad Lewis will start in EJ Manuel's place again.
 
And the Bills:
 

@buffalobills Marrone: EJ Manuel listed as doubtful for Sunday, Stevie Johnson (not injury related) and Aaron Williams (ribs) are OUT.
 

Stitch01

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Ninkovich not at the start of practice according to Reiss.  Him and McCourty missing the game would be a pretty big blow to the already banged up defense, that's two of the top five non IRd players out.
 

RedOctober3829

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Stitch01 said:
Ninkovich not at the start of practice according to Reiss.  Him and McCourty missing the game would be a pretty big blow to the already banged up defense, that's two of the top five non IRd players out.
Whoever said that was mistaken. Several reporters say that Nink was at practice.
 

mpx42

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OUT:
 
Boyce
 
DOUBTFUL:
 
McCourty
 
QUESTIONABLE:
 
Arrington
Dennard
Dobson
Fletcher
Gregory
Ninkovich
Solder
Spikes,
Svitek
Thompkins
Vereen
 
PROBABLE:
 
Amendola
Brady
Cannon
Hoomanawanui
Talib
 

Reverend

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Combine that with the IR and you might have almost all of the players that I can name off the top of my head besides Edelman, Mankins and Ryan. Well, then there's Hernandez, I guess...
 
M

MentalDisabldLst

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The weekly "Brady: Probable" listing is still a thing?  I thought it had stopped after his 2008 injury.
 

koufax32

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Too bad Stevie Johnson won't be playing. Fans could have had a great time booing him lustily for his idiotic comment about terrorists needing to target Foxboro.