Beast of the East Report- Week #16

by Chris Menn, Bill Choinski, Phins054

Buffalo Bills

Post Mortem-

Tough game to swallow. It was a microcosm of the Bills season. So close yet so far. The Titans played a game plan to perfection, protecting their young backup, Billy Volek with a manageable offense. Volek earned his NFL stripe with a gutsy game, finishing the contest with a lacerated spleen that ended his season.

The Bills shot out of the gate jumping to a 17-6 lead. The Buffalo Defense played a huge role, with Pat Williams scooping up a Volek fumble and rambling 28 yards for the score. But Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gillbride- playing out the string in a lame duck position, could not resist. Not taking a page out of the Titan’s game book and playing it safe, he chose to abandon the run at the critical point of the game. Midway through the third, Bledsoe coughed up a fumble giving the Titans momentum. 3 TDs in 12 minutes put the Bills behind the 8-ball. Down 28-20 late, Drew Bledsoe almost puled of the victory. Imitating his season, he misfired all afternoon missing open WR’s. But in the final minutes, managed to muster an 81 yard drive hitting Mark Campbell with a laser. The game tying 2 point conversion was tantalizingly close- as Shaw caught the ball. But in a momentary lapse of concentration- thrust he Ball in the air to demonstrate his catch- only to see it slip from his fingers- just like the Bills season.

In the Huddle-

Aiding the Titans comeback were a pair of questionable calls that put the much maligned Gregg Williams in an impossible spot. Holding a slim 17-14 lead, Volek unloaded a 32 yard pass to Derrick Mason who made a tough over the shoulder catch. The referee who was standing a mere 4 feet away ruled Mason’s toe out of bounds. Side Judge Doug Toole, positioned 20 yards upfield, came in and talked the referee on the spot into overturning the call on the field, allowing the catch. Had the official on top of the play have his call stand, it would have been the onus of the Titan’s to challenge, not the Bills. The play probably would have been overturned (hard to say) but the Bills would have retained their replay challenge. The Play stood up and the Titans took it in from the 2.

On the Titan’s final drive, Mason again hauled in a 37 yard pass, but his right foot this time was clearly on the chalk. The same official talked out of the first call (feeling gun shy I’m sure) failed to rule this pass incomplete. Williams, having used his challenge earlier, was powerless to challenge again. It turned out to be the difference in the game. The Titans would score on Volek’s 1 yard run to take a 28-20 lead.

Coming up-

Ahhh..…Miami week. The Dolphin’s loss to the Eagles has them teetering on playoff extinction. Nothing would make a cold Buffalo winter warm up like knocking the Fish from contention. The Dolphins are looking to break a 3 year drought from winning on the road. Combine that with a nicked up Ricky Williams on a short week, and Buffalo has a decent shot at this one. Fiedler and Griese have struggled down the stretch, and they await a hungry Bills defense. This isn’t the same unit Ricky shredded for 220 yards last year. Buffalo won’t have an easy day of it either. The offensive line is banged up, adding Mike Williams to the list of injured players- he will be questionable with a knee. Look for a grind it out game similar to the Jets contest. It will be cold and possibly snowy. I’d take the under in this one, as the Bills win a close contest- 16-13.

Finally, I’d like to salute Van Miller, in his last home broadcasting appearance. The voice of the Bills for 4 decades, (along with the voice of the NBA’s Buffalo Braves) will be hanging up the microphone. He’s been much maligned of late not getting the call right, or missing a play- but he’s earned a tremendous amount of respect. He’s an institution that won’t be easily replaced. I still get chills watching his calls on NFL Films during the biggest moments in Bills’ history. It’s Pandemonium, It’s Fandemonium, it’s Fantastic- no- It’s Van-tastic. We will miss you dearly!

Jets Report

Post Mortem-

The Jets beat the Steelers in the snow bowl 6-0. Curtis Martin had one of his best days in the snow rushing for 174 yards in the victory. Chad had a hard time in the snow going 15-25 for 144 and fumbling the ball twice. The Jets D had their best game of the year with some help from the snow as they held Pittsburgh to 231 yards of offense, 94 on the ground and 137 in the air. The team had its lowest attendance of the season with only about 34,000 due to the snowstorm the night before and thru early parts of the day. The game ended up being the lowest scoring game of the season and with only two weeks to go the Jets could finish at .500 with wins vs. the Patriots and the Dolphins.

Injury Report

The injury for this week’s game against the Patriots is Sam Cowart who is probable with a thigh injury.

In the Huddle

Curtis Martin did it again as he rushed for 174 yards against the Steelers which gives him 1127 for the season. This Martin’s ninth straight 1000-yard season that puts him second only to Barry Sanders has 10 as the only players to start their careers with nine or more consecutive 1000 rushing yard seasons. This also places him at 11th all-time in rushing passing former Jet John Riggins (11,352) with 11,488.

Looking Head

The Jets are looking forward to playing the Patriots on Saturday on ESPN’s 200th game to upset their home-field advantage hopes at the Meadowlands. This game will be a match-up between two of the best young quarterbacks in the league today (Chad vs. Brady). This game will be one of the best games of the year as both teams match up evenly and will be fun to watch. For this game pending the weather, will end up being one of those games where the running game will decide who will win. My prediction for this game is that the Jets upset the favored Pats at home 24-20.-Chris Menn

Dolphins Report

Post Mortem-

The offense finally scored enough points to win a game. Unfortunately the defense gave up more. The Dolphins are now 3-4 at home. The Eagles offense made our pro bowl laden defense look tired and slow and exposed how truly horrendous a tackling defense we are. Jay Fiedler continues to show that he may be able to direct an offense, but probably never when it counts the most. Perhaps playing on the road IF we get into the playoffs will be a blessing. Still, somehow I think we will fall short.

In the Huddle-

Good news: The offense looked improved and was able to match scores with Philly most of the night.

Bad news: Hang this loss on the defense. I don’t remember seeing tackling so poor as on Monday night.

Injury Report-

Rob Konrad is out with a concussion

Coming Up-

Buffalo…It’s difficult to get a read on a team that plays just good enough to lose and that is not a slight. Something is missing in Buffalo and I am not sure what it is. The Bills have lost a few close winnable games this season. Was it play calling? Coaching? Desire? I am not sure but Miami rarely does well in Buffalo in the modern era. Miami must win their remaining 2 games to stay in contention. Miami will win, barely, keeping their fans on the hook for one more week before losing at HOME to the Jets. I swear I see it coming… Bottom Line Miami 14 Buffalo 10 - Phins054

Patriots Report-

The 2003 AFC East Champions travel to the Meadowlands this week to face the New York Jets with playoff positioning at stake. New England brings a franchise-record 10-game winning streak and an NFL-best 12-2 record into the game, matching up against a Jets team that has won three of its last four games and each of its last three home games. New England has clinched the division title and is assured of a home playoff game, but still has a hefty amount of work to do as it tries to secure an ever-important first-round bye. This week against the Jets, the Patriots will bid for their first season sweep of New York since 1996. The New England defense will have its hands full with a multi-dimensional New York offense featuring the rushing exploits of Curtis Martin (4.1 yards per carry) and the aerial prowess of quarterback Chad Pennington and his favorite target, Santana Moss (10 touchdowns). The New England run stuffing unit is ranked third in the NFL and will hope to stifle Martin's effectiveness, while the Patriots secondary has been a force all season (22 interceptions) and will try to prey on Pennington when he ventures downfield. ….More….