Predict the outcome: Bills vs. Broncs [Archive] - BillsZone.com

09-18-2002, 03:23 PM

If the Bills put up more than 30 I'll be absolutely shocked. I think we've been spoiled by having played two easy opponents up front.

My prediction:

Denver:

~200 yards rushing on at least a 6.0 ypc avg., 3 rush TDs
250 yards passing and 2 TDs by Griese
thrown in a couple of FGs

Denver scored 23 and 24 points against last year's #2 and #13 Ds. Both teams had tough rush Ds, yet Denver responded very well. To think that they'll have less rushing success against us is to be naive. They averaged over 150 ypg rushing. So I figure they'll have that plus some. Another 50 against our rushing D that can't seem to stop the run is totally reasonable.

They'll go up first, early, and often. We'll have to abandon the running game early as a result due to necessity coupled w/ the fact that Henry won't have anymore success than he did last week. Rhodes is a good DC. Expect to see some looks that we've not seen so far, and plenty of blitzes to throw Drew out of his rythym.

ToP: Denver w/ 40+ minutes

Denver 41, Bills 23
Over by halftime or early third as Denver runs the clock out in the second half successfully gaining yards on the ground as a result of our inability to stop them. I can foresee Denver having 250 rushing against us.

We don't matchup well vs. the Broncos.

4thAndLong

09-18-2002, 03:24 PM

Denver wins a blow-out.

09-18-2002, 03:25 PM

23 points against Denver's D in Denver won't be bad. It's just that to think that we can stop the Bronco attack is silly. They'll score just as often if not moreso than Minnesota did. The big difference; Denver has the horses to rush the ball all day long, moreso than Minnesota. So if we couldn't stop Minnesota, then we can't stop Denver.

Of course TOs can change the game too. But that's a double-edged sword.

09-18-2002, 03:25 PM

Let's just hope our STs show up. If there are huge lapses there, it could be an utter disaster. We can't afford to give Denver even moderate field position.

09-18-2002, 03:35 PM

Until Gilbride figures out a way to not make Drew a one-man show, we're gonna be hurtin'. Drew's played very well, although I want to see how he plays against some teams that can really generate a pass rush. But still, w/ sketchy STs, and that may be kind, a sieve-D that can't stop any run worth a crap, and a running game that only shows up vs. the very weakest of opponents are not good compliments to a winning season.

Even the Niners two seasons ago were 6-10, but they were extremely well-balanced on offense much more so than we are. Garcia is better than Drew too. So it's unreasonable to expect that with a D worse than the Niners' of that year, along w/ STs worse, and no consistent running game, that we wouldn't be as good. Especially when you consider the tough schedule, of which we've not seen one tough team on it yet, that we have.

Gilbride has some work to do...

BidsJr

09-18-2002, 04:04 PM

I'm not quite sure why the 49rs were the team of choice for your comparison Wys, if you look at the Rams of 2000 their defense is at best our equal. Faulk had only 4 100 yard games and two of those were 200+. He was a non factor in a number of games rushing the ball as the Rams were in constant shootouts. Also the Garcia is better than Drew comment only holds water if your talking about Drew being put in SF's west coast offense. The opposite would hold true if Garcia was put in Gilbrides vertical offense. Garcia doesn't have the arm strength.

The net result of these comaprisons?

Nothing. Let them play the game. The 2002 Bills might go down in history as the worst Defensive team to win the super bowl.

If we don't?

Most of us expected to be a year and a d-lineman or two away anyway.

4thAndLong

09-18-2002, 04:27 PM

Wys, why do you put 3 straight posts like that? I heard of riding the post count up.. but man...;)

:jk:

Hopefully we'll be able to win this one, dont see it happening. Their FB and 2 RBs are better than our RB, they have more consistent receivers ,and have one of the best TEs ever in Sharpe. A defense that will shut our run down.

If this was in Buffalo it might be different, I really think home field advantage will play a huge role in this game.

BillsMan80

09-18-2002, 04:35 PM

I can't see why everyone thinks Denver's O is all that...Portis, Gary, and Anderson are average backs. Travis Henry is clearly better than all of them, and to be honest with you, Griese sucks. The Broncos would be better with Beurlien. This will be a close game.

Buffatexas

09-18-2002, 04:46 PM

BUFFALO 28
DENVER 27

Bert102176

09-18-2002, 05:10 PM

Denver 48
Bills 45

I hope we win though

4thAndLong

09-18-2002, 05:23 PM

Mike Anderson (convereted to FB)

Offense - Career
Year G GS Rush RuYd RuAvg RuTD Rec RecYd RecAvg RecTD Fumb
2002 2 2 17 112 6.6 0 3 21 7.0 1 0
2001 16 7 175 678 3.9 4 8 46 5.8 0 1
2000 16 12 297 1487 5.0 15 23 169 7.3 0 3

Orlandis Gary

Offense - Career
Year G GS Rush RuYd RuAvg RuTD Rec RecYd RecAvg RecTD Fumb
2002 2 2 23 98 4.3 1 6 59 9.8 0 0
2001 9 1 57 228 4.0 1 4 29 7.3 0 1
2000 1 0 13 80 6.2 0 3 10 3.3 0 1
1999 12 11 276 1159 4.2 7 21 159 7.6 0 2

Cliton Portis

2002 2 0 9 46 5.1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0

And Gary and Portis are splitting time

Such average backs. They've all (with the exception of Portis, but he's only played 2 games) have more rushing yards than Henry, and Anderson and Gary's best season are about 500 more yards and 800 yards.

Griese with time will be good.

Schoebel was basically playing a 3rd string LT last game so he wont repeat that performance

Williams is more of a run stuffer than a pass rusher

Edwards has been a surprise, but this denver OL practically gets 1,000 yard rushers every year.

Ahanotu has been good also.

I dont see what you're talking about, Denver wins

Sennsai

09-18-2002, 05:26 PM

Broncos 31
Bills 24
:punch:

BillsMan80

09-18-2002, 05:38 PM

What have Anderson, Gary, or Portis done in the past year or two? Nothing...they obviously haven't been good enough to wrestle the job away from a dinged and banged up Terrell Davis. And as of now Griese is average, as he can't pick apart a defense like Bledsoe can. And the Broncos offensive line is not the same as it was for the career seasons these players had.

Typ0

09-18-2002, 05:46 PM

First thing I want to say is Drew is not a one man show. The whole offense has been executing very well I don't know where you come up with that assertion. The only reason Henry didn't have many chances last week is because the Minnesotta secondary was so inept why run the ball.

Second, you guys think way too much of Denver. They are a solid team...but this is a very winnable game for us. Griese is someone who can really be rattled. Well we rattled Cullpepper up and while the Denver OLine is a bit better than Minnessota...we're still gonna rattle up Griese to the extent he throws 2 or 3 interceptions and a fumble. That Schobel brute is gonna smear Griese right into the chalk on the field to the extent he doesn't know what day it is. I'll give Denver some credit for being a solid all around team...but that is all they are. We're gonna suprise the hell out of them this week and beat them 28-17

4thAndLong

09-18-2002, 06:04 PM

:rolleyes:

Terrell Davis is retired, what the hell are you talking about?

Last year, they ran for about 900 yards combined. Anderson had 6 yards a rush avg. and Gary had 4.

So what if Griese cant, so far he's been looking good, as have the Broncos. Holding 2 better offenses to under 20 points says enough

BillsMan80

09-18-2002, 06:22 PM

I know that Davis is retired, but this past year and this year they weren't good enough to wrestle the job away from him. Duh. And the Rams and Niners offenses were better...this year, we have a better offense so far.

RedEyE

09-18-2002, 06:34 PM

Denver: 27

Buffalo: 17

Broncos beat the spread and Buffalo fans (incuding myself) come back down to Earth.

ublinkwescore

09-18-2002, 06:35 PM

All I've gotta say, is I believe we can win this one. You guys have to remember - the Vikings have a good Offense (which is why they scored on us on almost every drive), but if our defense can get inside the Bronco's heads (like we did to Culpepper's) we can pull off a win. Is our Defense consistent? No. Is our offense consistent? I haven't seen an offense this consistent since the early 90's. It's kind of hard to lose when you're getting almost 500 yards of offense a game, and your D helps you out with an occasional TD. The fact of the matter is - Gregg Williams is beginning to mould this D into the kind of D he wants - a D that operates on the philosophy of high risk, high reward. That to me is one sign of Gregg Williams COMPETENCE as a head coach - the ability to get his d to operate in his desired manner. Let Coy Wire grow up in NFL years a little, and the LBs get more comfortable, and we could be in for a very short and sweet season (short because if we're winning, it will seem like it went by too fast).

BillsMan80

09-18-2002, 06:41 PM

We can and will win it if the Defense stops the run.

ublinkwescore

09-18-2002, 06:49 PM

Oh yeah and another thing to hopefully boost the morale of some of you naysayers - The Broncos beat the Rams - the Rams Aren't the same team that they used to be last season, or the two before that. My uncle is a Rams fan, and one thing he was quick to point out from preseason observation was that there were a couple of weak links on the O-line that aren't really contributing to springing Faulk, or keeping people off of Kurt Warner - that coupled with the fact that maybe teams have figured out how to stop the Rams could mean Rams fans are in for a long season. (0-2 is not a record to be desired)

Now onto the niners - If you guys remember the niners game against the Giants (Sept. 5th) - The niners Offense wasn't really looking all that good. They had to rely on probably the last kicker I'd ever want kicking for Buffalo in the league to get lucky for them to win (Joe Cortez or something like that). Fact of the matter is this - it is very possible that the Broncos have been getting fat on teams that won't be in the playoffs, or will barely squeek in.

After this week, I'd say (provided Buffalo wins) that Buffalo deserves to be a top 10 team in ESPN's Power Rankings - well ahead of the Panthers.

One more thing I would like to get off my chest - The Jets could have just had a really bad day against the Pats, while the Pats happened to be having a really good day. We'll find out for sure if the Jets play the Dolphins tuff this weekend like they always do (and usually sweep them in the process).

:gobills:

Typ0

09-18-2002, 06:59 PM

The JETS Suck.

Mad Bomber

09-18-2002, 07:25 PM

The talk on the street is about how hot the Broncos' D is GREAT because they handled two really hot offenses. The Rams and 69ers haven't shown themselves to be offensive juggernauts so far.

The Bills are gonna be the hottest offense they've seen so far this year. Our D is still suspect, so I think it's going to be another fun game to watch.

Bills 34
Broncos 31

ublinkwescore

09-18-2002, 07:59 PM

Do not meddle in the affairs of those who are Irish - they wrote the book on retaliation.

Watch this movie called "The Boondock Saints", and Oz - Brian O'Reily is the baddest dude on it.

RedEyE

09-18-2002, 09:34 PM

The Boondock Saints is an excellent flick :up:

The Natrix

09-18-2002, 09:42 PM

Broncos do not scare me. Griese is terrible. Bledsoe is the greatest.

On NFL tonight, those guys chose the Broncos recieving corps for their "dream team." Please... I would take Moulds, Price and Reed over them anyday.

Yes, the Broncos D has been solid the last two games, however I think that ours will come together this week and knock Griese on his pansy arse numerous times.

I say the Bills make a big statement this coming Sunday in the form of a 42-16 victory.

colin

09-18-2002, 10:34 PM

If the Bills are to win, Griese must be the *****ty drunkard he can be (WYS, send him hot sauce and beer, he is a lush) and our best matchup is our secondary on their WR vs. their secondary on our WRs. They can't cover any of them and we match up well, they are old and slow.

GO Bills!!

clumping platelets

09-18-2002, 11:18 PM

Broncos 27-19 :(

TypicalBill

09-19-2002, 01:23 AM

Bills 23

Broncos 22

mybills

09-19-2002, 01:44 AM

I didn't read anybody's predictions, I'm just going by the thread title and what all the Pat's fans say around here.

Here goes....

Drew has NEVER beat the Broncos.

Personally, I haven't seen the Bronco's play yet, so I guess anything goes! :D

Sabre Ally

09-19-2002, 02:02 AM

Drew has also NEVER had a corps of receivers like Moulds, Price and Reed.

northernbillfan

09-19-2002, 02:14 AM

mybill...who you taking? you never really answered.

I'm not gonna pick a team but I will guess it to be a score of 33-30.

mybills

09-19-2002, 02:24 AM

nbf - I don't see how I can pick which one will win...I'm a visual fan that hasn't seen Denver play. :scratch:

sorry, but I don't do wishful thinking :D

northernbillfan

09-19-2002, 02:27 AM

Sorry, it sounded like you were going to make a prediction when you said...

I didn't read anybody's predictions, I'm just going by the thread title and what all the Pat's fans say around here.

Here goes....

I can't pick one either!

DIHARD2

09-19-2002, 02:28 AM

this is my pick
Bills 31
Broncos 24 without special teams help,

but giving Up 12 points on special, which have been the average between our last two games that will make it .

This iswhat I hope doesn't happen.

Broncos 36.
Bills 31

ublinkwescore

09-19-2002, 02:29 AM

Actually Drew has beaten the Broncos at least twice. My friend is a Broncos fan, and he said he hates it when the Broncos have to play the Pats - the Pats (led by Bledsoe at the time) according to him seemed to have their number.

northernbillfan

09-19-2002, 03:33 AM

Nice average on the special teams DIHARD, let's hope we close that gap by as much as we closed it last week (another 6)

ublink, Drew has a few more weapons this time around too, let's hope the O-line can give him some time.

The Broncos are going to try, to contain both attacks, and if we mix it up enough, we can come out on top. IMO

shelby

09-19-2002, 04:38 AM

i want to be optomistic....but cynicism wins out.
Broncos 31
Bills 24

i just hope no one gets injured.

mchurchfie

09-19-2002, 10:26 AM

Broncs are overrated, they weren't all that good last year and Greasy is still the QB. The Bills are underrated. The Broncs will be high from their last two games and will have a letdown taking the Bills too lightly. Bills will smaaaaaaaaack them down 31-21. :up:

mybills

09-20-2002, 07:53 AM

Originally posted by ublinkwescore
Actually Drew has beaten the Broncos at least twice. My friend is a Broncos fan, and he said he hates it when the Broncos have to play the Pats - the Pats (led by Bledsoe at the time) according to him seemed to have their number.

My friend Mike is quite knowledgable in football, plus other Pat's fans said he never beat them. Now I'm curious who's friend is right, yours or mine? :scratch:

ublinkwescore

09-20-2002, 11:24 AM

Mine is - why would a Broncos fan say (this is when they were good ... really good - during their superbowl years) he hated it when the Broncos had to go play New England - Bledsoe had their number - unfortunately this is a new team - but probably not a superbowl team. the Broncs-Pats games were turning into a rivalry at the time because the broncos were beginning to hate playing New England out of fear that the Pats could jeopardize their homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. I also read on one of the articles on either thesportingnews.com, espn.com, or buffalobills.com, or maybe billszone.com (forgive the long list - I take reading up on the greatest team in all of sports history very seriously) that Drew Bledsoe was in fact undefeated against the Broncos in the last 4 or 5 times that he's played them.

Blue_Bandxxx

09-20-2002, 11:58 AM

Broncos - 24

Bills - 20

TigerJ

09-20-2002, 12:24 PM

Reluctantly, I'll pick Denver 27-24

ublinkwescore

09-20-2002, 12:46 PM

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/broncos/article/0,1299,DRMN_17_1425515,00.html

That's the link for Bledsoe's record against the Broncos - he's 2-4 against them - two of those losses came early in his career.

Halbert

09-20-2002, 01:14 PM

Danvar 34
Baffalow 30

Earthquake Enyart

09-20-2002, 01:47 PM

Denver 27
Bills 16

As GW goes for 2 again for no real reason.

Ebenezer

09-20-2002, 02:22 PM

Broncos 38
Bills 28

mybills

09-20-2002, 07:54 PM

ublink - thanks for the link!

He must have forgotten those early year wins, and he was probably "thrilled" to only win it by one point in 1999-(one of Drew's bad years)
W, 24-23 New England
:)
Personally, I'd like to see us beat Denver by at least 7!:up:

BledsoeRocks

09-20-2002, 08:06 PM

Originally posted by mchurchfie
Broncs are overrated, they weren't all that good last year and Greasy is still the QB. The Bills are underrated.

I agree! Broncos overated! If this was a home game Bills win easily. Since it is away Bills 24 Broncs 20

BroncosFreak

09-21-2002, 01:30 AM

Broncos 34
Bills 17

The Broncos D is for real and they will prove it to those who aren't convinced this week.

lordofgun

09-21-2002, 01:31 AM

Broncos can't stop the pass! That's gonna hurt!

ublinkwescore

09-21-2002, 01:53 AM

You guys are in for a rude awakening - you think it's easy to throw for 45 attempts, and not get picked? The Bills offense is for real, your D is not proven until it can stop us. Our D is not that great, but it generates big plays which is more exciting then a consistantly good D that doesn't generate big plays (although I'd take the latter of the two - come back Ted Cotrell as soon as we figure out a way to clone Cowart like in the 6th day - that way we could have a hundred of him to last us for the whole season).

Buffalo 51
Denver 3

We like spanking the AFC West - especially in January.

:tongue:

BroncosFreak

09-21-2002, 01:57 AM

So your D is not that great, but the Broncos are only going to score 3 points at home? Give me a break. The Bills may very well be able to move the ball on the Broncos unlike the Rams and 49ers, but you're kidding yourself (hopefully) if you think so little of the Broncos offense.

lordofgun

09-21-2002, 01:58 AM

I just hope they don't put Beuerlein in! We'll win guaranteed if Griese plays the whole game!

ublinkwescore

09-21-2002, 02:33 AM

You guys are getting fat on the 49ers 27th ranked defense? That's not a very wise thing to do with a team that capitalizes on mistakes (like puting footballs on the ground).

We're at least +3 in the turnover ratio already, and Bledsoe threw 2 picks in week one.

Just something to think about - our D may not be that highly ranked, but it does contribute more then it gets credit for.

DIHARD2

09-21-2002, 02:54 AM

It's usually defenses that proved to get better as the season goes on. Injuries, should be our only fear.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

The_Philster

09-21-2002, 04:46 AM

27-20 Bills :D

SABURZFAN

09-21-2002, 05:05 AM

it's tough playing on the road in Mile High.unfortunately,i see us coming out on the short end of the stick.

BILLS-23

BRONCOS-33

timfromjersey

09-21-2002, 08:24 AM

I find that when the whole world predicts a high score in a certain game, the opposite comes true.

I predict the Bill's defense is going to pull on hell of a game out of their butt this Sunday, if only to go against wys' devotion to statistics.

Bills 23
Broncos 17

Of coarse the Bill's ST's is the X-factor and can blow this prediction out of the water, so here's wishing they don't F/U!

09-21-2002, 09:03 AM

Denver 41, Buffalo 23 Easily!

I still don't see what's to prevent Anderson from having 120 yards rushing, Gary 100, and Portis 60 along w/ 4 TDs among them.

Add in a few big STs plays and some passing from an O that many of you seem to think stinks w/ Smith, Sharpe, and McCaffrey, and I see a runaway train early on.

Denver will score early and often. The $25,000 question is how much success we will have v. the Denver D. I say not much w/o a running game that we don't, or at least for this game, won't have. If all Denver has to do is guard against our passing game, it shouldn't be tough for them. They have a great DL, very fast LBs, and solid DBs.

Heck, the STs differential alone in this game may cost us 14 again. Not to mention that TOs may well go against us this week b/c the pressure will be on in spades.

But if we can't stop the Denver rushing game from getting over 150 yards, we have a snowball's chance.

The_Philster

09-21-2002, 09:05 AM

You know what's scary? Wys is right. We haven't shown enough how good we are againt the run and Denver has been a strong running team for years. Our DTs HAVE to step it up BIG for us to win this one.

mybills

09-21-2002, 09:10 AM

Originally posted by ublinkwescore

Just something to think about - our D may not be that highly ranked, but it does contribute more then it gets credit for.

I have to agree with this.

09-21-2002, 09:13 AM

It doesn't contribute by playing solid D though. There's a big difference. Where it's contributed, largely in week 2, is by big plays. You can't count on those every week. Especially against teams that run the ball.

Think about it. Culpepper was responsible for all three TOs if I remember correctly. What if Griese doesn't fumble at all? Are we gonna have the sacks w/ Denver running 2/3 of the time?

Our D has been horrible from a typical defensive standard. We've come up big in the big plays department. But the chances of that happening regularly is slim to nil.

timfromjersey

09-21-2002, 11:24 AM

I want to amend my prediction. Wys has shown me the light. I want to thank you wys. Thank you! Thank you!

Broncos 72
Bills 6

I also predict, There will be an earthquake, a tornado, stampede and a Goodyear Blimp crashing into the stadium, all why the Bill's defense in on the field. When the Bills are on offense, Storm clouds will form, then the sky will split and God himself, will strike Bledsoe down with a bolt of lightning for daring to think he can score on God's chosen defense (well, they are the closest to heaven being in Mile High Stadium after all.)

I haven't yet finished calculating the statistical data yet,...2,436 +... carry the 6....cosign 10..., uh, eh, that will prove out my prediction, but I will get back to you with those figures.