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The Bills take to the road for the second consecutive week, once again facing a team coming off the bye. One of the big story lines from this game will be between the coaches. Doug Marrone worked under Sean Payton from 2006-2008 the coaching chess match should be fun to watch, although on paper it looks like Payton is playing with a full set while Marrone is left with mostly pawns.
Match-ups to Watch:
Marcell Darues vs. Brian De La Puente
Leodis McKelvin/Stephon Gilmore vs. Marques Coltston
Bills LB'er vs Darren Sproles
Quarterback:
Drew Brees is certainly one of the best QB’s in the game but he’s also coming off one his worst performances in recent memory. You have to back to 9/9/2012 to find a game where he had a completion % comparable to his game against the Patriots. Having a week to adjust the gameplan (with or without Jimmy Graham) almost guarantees he won’t have a repeat performance. = SaintsDrew Brees: 157/237, 1,958 yards, 66%, 14TD/5INT
Thad Lewis: 40/64, 418 yards, 62%, 2TD/1INT
Running back:
I have to take CJ Spiller out of the equation this week, it’s clear he’s just too hurt to be a big part of the gameplan. So we have a banged up Fred Jackson going up against a stable of Pierre Thomas, Khiry Robinson, Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram. None of the Saints RB’s have touched the ball 20x in a game and the most yardage gained (by a single carrier) is 53. The concern lies solely with Sproles as a receiving option, he’s the Saints second leading receiver with 366 yards and 32 catches. =BillsFred Jackson: 86/380 yards, 4.4ypc, 5TD
Pierre Thomas: 59/188 yards, 3.2ypc, 0TD
Wide Receivers/Tight ends:
Jimmy Graham is currently listed a questionable, he’s currently 6th with 593 receiving yards and tied for 2nd with 6TD’s, his big play ability is irreplaceable in the Saints offense. Marques Colston and Kenny Stills combine for less yardage and scores than Graham. Colston has been held to only 3 catches in his last 2 games, where Stills saw some increased looks in Grahams absence. Without Graham I like the Bills, but I assume Graham will play even if he’s not 100%. =SaintsJimmy Graham: 37/593 yards, 6TD, 28 1DN’s
Steve Johnson: 26/315 yards, 2TD’s, 15 1DN’s
Marques Colston: 24/ 324 yards, 1TD, 16 1DN’s
Robert Woods: 21/ 298 yards, 2TDs, 13 1DN’s
Oline:
New Orleans entire offense is built for Brees to succeed and that starts with his Oline. Brees has only been sacked 14x, the running game is a different story as the Saints have 22% of their runs stuffed. The Bills pass protection is much improved the numbers are still skewed from the Ravens game but this group is getting better even with an inexperienced QB. What I found most interesting is that the Bills run up the middle 72% averaging 4.07ypc, Eric Wood, and Kraig Urbik deserve a lot of credit. Wood has also been out there for all of Buffalo’s 521 plays (2nd in the league). = SaintsDline/LBers:
Here’s where the game is won or lost this week. The Saints are allowing 5.1ypc against the run the leagues worst. The kicker is no one commits to running against them, they’ve also seen the lowest amount of rushes, the Bills need to pound Jackson and Choice and see if they can breakdown this front. The Bills need to get to Brees, up to this point the Saints have not faced a team with a pass rush like Buffalo’s whoever can win these match-ups has the edge to win this game. = BillsKiko Alonso: 70 tackles, 1 sack, 4INT
Mario Williams: 19 tackles, 10 sacks, 1 FF
Curtis Lofton: 47 tackles, 1 sack, 1FF
Cameron Jordan: 20 tackles, 5 sacks, 1FF, 1FREC
Defensive backs:
Here’s an upsetting fact. Bills lead the league in INT’s with 12, they also lead the league in TD passes allowed, with 15 tied with Jacksonville. In comparison the Saints are 10th in interceptions with 8, and tied for 6th with only 6 passing TD’s allowed. Buffalo is the #1 defense against TE’s, against #1 WR’s we’re ranked 27th. How do we stack up against #2’s you ask? We’re also number 1. So whoever is matched-up against Colston is going to have to step up big. Saints appear to middle of the pack across the board, most notably struggling against the #2 receiver, allowing 352 yards in their last 3 games. = BillsAaron Williams: 40 tackles, 3INT, 6PD
Malcolm Jenkins: 29 tackles, 1INT, 2PD
Coaching:
This is probably what I am most excited about, student vs. the teacher. Both coaches will know each others tendencies, Marrone may have more recognition than Payton but either way it should be fun to watch these two try to outsmart each other. =SaintsSean Payton: 67-35 (vs Buffalo, 9/27/2009, 27-7W)
Doug Marrone: 3-4
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