Ingtar33
09-19-2002, 10:49 AM
The Bills and Broncos match up will see one of the NFL's (so far) dominant Offences going up against on of the NFL's strongest Defenses. In addition it will see a tremendous Broncos running attack against a suspect Buffalo front eight. The following will be a series of breakdowns culminating in a final prediction (thus far I am 1-1 against the spread and 2-0 against the over under, predicting a 31-27 Bills win over the Jets and a 32-31 Bills win over the Vikings).
The Bills O vs. the Broncos D
When Running:
When the Bills have the ball they will have to contend with a very fast LB corps. After watching some tape on these guys I've gotten to recognize just how quick they are, how fast they flow to the ball. While the LB's have yet to impress me with their ball smarts (with the exception of Mobley), their speed makes up for whatever positional problems that they have. When running the ball, the Bills will have to find a way to run into the teeth of the Bronco's defense, as the only way to beat speed is to run at it, and run at their big strong run stuffing D-Line (I say run stuffing because the Broncos have only managed 5 sacks so far, and inconsistent pressure against their opponents, in spite of the near total abandonment of the run by both the Rams and 49ers). Against the Rams, I saw their front 4 single-handedly stop a very strong rams team and M. Faulk in week one. Somehow, if the Bills want success against the Broncos, they probably should find some way to do better than that. Don't get entirely intimidated by the huge run D of the Broncos, they have been run against only 33 times this season (3.1y avg) as both the Rams and 49'ers abandoned the run early after falling behind. This may be where the game is won or lost on Sunday.
When Passing:
In spite of the Bronco's success against both the Rams and 49er's I'm not convinced that the Bronco's pass defense is all that good. Thus far their pass D has allowed more than a 70% completion percentage, 250+ yards per game, and only managed 2 ints on nearly 80 passing attempts. In fact their pass defense has allowed more yards per completion than our porous D. So the question remains, how did they shut down the Rams and 49er's? They did it with very physical DB play… both those teams got their yards but when they did the Broncos DB's made them pay. The Broncos did a very good job closing down T. Owens and I. Bruce, however Price and Reed are better 2nd & 3rd receivers than the Broncos have yet to face. The Bronco's pass D was also aided by many many many penalties called on the O-Lines of both the Rams and 49'ers. In addition the Broncos have managed inconsistent pressure on the QB so far. Look for another big day out of the Bills passing attack.
The Broncos O vs. the Bills D
When Running:
The Bills run D is much better than it has been getting credit for, as I have looked at the tapes of both of the Bills previous games and saw that neither the Jets or Vikes were able to run against our base 46 D (with an unofficial count of 41yards on 17 carries for 2.4y/carry). What happened last week was the bills getting caught in a 3-3 or 4-2 front (nickel formations) and a few Dimes… the Vikes were just running against a stunting DL, which doesn't take all that much effort to do. What will decide this game will be if our base run D is as good as I just said, as the Broncos are one of the best "zone" blocking O-lines I have ever seen. If we cant slow them down, they will win.
When Passing:
So far the Broncos passing attack has been very poor. If you are all wondering why Griese is on the hot seat, just look at his performances so far… he has been sacked 7times while only attempting 46passes. That works out to one sack per 7.57 drop backs… even RJ did better than that. He also has thrown 2 costly INTs. In essence he has been a drive killer. If the Bills can get to Griese on a regular basis, we might see him pulled in favor of Beuerlin before then end of the game. Of course the Broncos do have a plethora of weapons, which could all ruin the Bills day. Watch Coy Wire, as he will have to cover Sharpe.
Conclusion:
The Bills D has to prove it can stop somebody before I can see them beating a team as loaded as the Broncos, however this game will be a good measuring stick to see just how good we are. Look for an entertaining game, but don’t expect too much, as I think the Broncos are too good all round for us to beet them. Broncos 34 Bills 30.
The Bills O vs. the Broncos D
When Running:
When the Bills have the ball they will have to contend with a very fast LB corps. After watching some tape on these guys I've gotten to recognize just how quick they are, how fast they flow to the ball. While the LB's have yet to impress me with their ball smarts (with the exception of Mobley), their speed makes up for whatever positional problems that they have. When running the ball, the Bills will have to find a way to run into the teeth of the Bronco's defense, as the only way to beat speed is to run at it, and run at their big strong run stuffing D-Line (I say run stuffing because the Broncos have only managed 5 sacks so far, and inconsistent pressure against their opponents, in spite of the near total abandonment of the run by both the Rams and 49ers). Against the Rams, I saw their front 4 single-handedly stop a very strong rams team and M. Faulk in week one. Somehow, if the Bills want success against the Broncos, they probably should find some way to do better than that. Don't get entirely intimidated by the huge run D of the Broncos, they have been run against only 33 times this season (3.1y avg) as both the Rams and 49'ers abandoned the run early after falling behind. This may be where the game is won or lost on Sunday.
When Passing:
In spite of the Bronco's success against both the Rams and 49er's I'm not convinced that the Bronco's pass defense is all that good. Thus far their pass D has allowed more than a 70% completion percentage, 250+ yards per game, and only managed 2 ints on nearly 80 passing attempts. In fact their pass defense has allowed more yards per completion than our porous D. So the question remains, how did they shut down the Rams and 49er's? They did it with very physical DB play… both those teams got their yards but when they did the Broncos DB's made them pay. The Broncos did a very good job closing down T. Owens and I. Bruce, however Price and Reed are better 2nd & 3rd receivers than the Broncos have yet to face. The Bronco's pass D was also aided by many many many penalties called on the O-Lines of both the Rams and 49'ers. In addition the Broncos have managed inconsistent pressure on the QB so far. Look for another big day out of the Bills passing attack.
The Broncos O vs. the Bills D
When Running:
The Bills run D is much better than it has been getting credit for, as I have looked at the tapes of both of the Bills previous games and saw that neither the Jets or Vikes were able to run against our base 46 D (with an unofficial count of 41yards on 17 carries for 2.4y/carry). What happened last week was the bills getting caught in a 3-3 or 4-2 front (nickel formations) and a few Dimes… the Vikes were just running against a stunting DL, which doesn't take all that much effort to do. What will decide this game will be if our base run D is as good as I just said, as the Broncos are one of the best "zone" blocking O-lines I have ever seen. If we cant slow them down, they will win.
When Passing:
So far the Broncos passing attack has been very poor. If you are all wondering why Griese is on the hot seat, just look at his performances so far… he has been sacked 7times while only attempting 46passes. That works out to one sack per 7.57 drop backs… even RJ did better than that. He also has thrown 2 costly INTs. In essence he has been a drive killer. If the Bills can get to Griese on a regular basis, we might see him pulled in favor of Beuerlin before then end of the game. Of course the Broncos do have a plethora of weapons, which could all ruin the Bills day. Watch Coy Wire, as he will have to cover Sharpe.
Conclusion:
The Bills D has to prove it can stop somebody before I can see them beating a team as loaded as the Broncos, however this game will be a good measuring stick to see just how good we are. Look for an entertaining game, but don’t expect too much, as I think the Broncos are too good all round for us to beet them. Broncos 34 Bills 30.