| August 25, 2005 | « Previous Story | HOME | Next Story » | Posted at 03:56 PM |
After The Buffalo Bills scrimmaged before a packed house in Lambeau Field, played in the dome at Indianapolis Colts, and faced the Green Bay Packers at a sold-out Ralph Wilson Stadium, this week's preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field should provide yet another good test for JP Losman and the Bills as they prepare for their season opener at the Ralph against Houston.
The third preseason game is generally the one in which the starters get the most playing time, often playing well into the third quarter. Buffalo’s JP Losman should be able to get plenty of reps in against a very good Bears defense led by Brian Urlacher. While no one is likely to mistake Chad Hutchinson for Jim McMahon, the Bill’s run defense will also get a decent test from the Bear’s running game that has scored 5 TDs and is averaging 128.3 yards per game in three preseason games. And, even the Bills' special teams, which have been superb once again thus far, should get a challenge, at least on the coverage teams, from the Bears who got a 54 yard punt return for a TD from Bobby Wade last week.
With roster spots up for grabs and fierce competition at several positions, there are a number of players to watch closely and things to look for in this game. The Bears' defense and special teams are probably the best that the Bills will face this preseason and, with the starters likely to play significant time, this game should give Bills fans their best take to-date on how JP Losman and the rest of the team are progressing in their preparations for the season opener.
The Bills Offense vs The Bears Defense: The Bears defense, with Adewale Ogunleye, Tommie Harris and Alex Brown up front, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs at linebacker, Jerry Azumah, Mike Green and Mike Brown in the defensive backfield, are a quality unit that suffered from injuries and being left out on the field too long by their pathetic offense last season. Even if they "play vanilla", they will pose a stern test for JP Losman and the Bills offense, especially the offensive line.
In three games thus far in the preseason, the Bears are giving up only an average of 50 yards per game on the ground, which could mean that JP Losman will be called on to show if he can lead the Bills to victory through the air. Mike Gandy has surprised a lot of people with his play thus far and he did a creditable job in matching up against. K. Gabaja-Biamila, one of the NFL's top sack-masters, last week and in the scrimmages in Green Bay. He will have to show that he can do it again this week against a less familiar opponent in A. Ogunleye, the former Dolphin DE. Bennie Anderson, who has had some rough moments in the preseason, will be facing a tough, young, up-and-coming star in T.Harris.
Depending on how well the Bills offensive line does, yards could be hard to come by for Willis McGahee and the other Bills Running Backs who are trying to make the roster and battling for the # 2 RB job. With S.Williams getting significant playing time against Indianapolis and RaShard Lee being first off the bench last week, it is possible that this week could it could be Lionel Gates' turn to show what he can do against stiffer competition.
The spotlight will also, once again, be on the battle for roster spots at Wide Receiver where Drew Haddad appears to have pushed past Jonathan Smith and is pushing Josh Reed for the # 3 spot in Roscoe Parrish's absence and George Wilson is making a serious run at a roster spot with Sam Aiken failing to show the kind of consistent hands that you would like to see from him at this stage. M.Brown, M.Green and nickel CB Nathan Vasher will present a good challenge to JP Losman and the wideouts who are looking to replace Parrish in the slot.
The Bills Defense vs The Bears Offense: This would be a much better test for the Bills' defense if Rex Grossman had not been injured because Grossman was beginning to develop a good rapport with free agent WR import Mushin Muhammad before the injury. Unfortunately, with Grossman out, the Bears passing game was as awful last week against the Colts, with Chad Hutchinson at the helm, as it was last season. Hutchinson went 5 of 8 for 40 yards with two interceptions and a fumble and he was sacked three times in six possessions. Ugh! Hutchinson vows to be more relaxed and ready to play this week, but it is hard to imagine him being that much better playing behind a Bears offensive line that simply can't pass block. While much has been made of Grossman's fragility because he has been hurt so often, the fact is that he's not the only QB to get hurt playing behind this offensive line: Jamie Martin and Craig Krenzel also suffered injuries playing QB for Chicago last year; and no QB is going to look good if he's laying on his back. With Hutchinson going down 3 times last week against an Indy defense that was missing 6 starters, this offensive line could get a QB killed out there! Even if Jerry Gray keeps the Bills blitzes "vanilla" this week, it could be a long, rough game for Hutchinson.
As bad as the Bears' offensive line is in pass protection, with John Tait, Olin Kreutz, Fred Miller and our old friend Reuben Brown up front, they are a very good running team, especially when their opponents don't stack 8 men "up in the box". Cedric Benson's holdout has given Thomas Jones and Adrian Peterson a chance to hold onto their jobs for the time being and they have played well in the preseason. With Hutchinson still trying to settle in as the starting QB, it is very likely that the Bears will try to run the ball at the Bills' defense and will use the kinds of draws and passes to the RBs that hurt the Bills' defense last week against Green Bay. This will be good for the Bills defense that is likely to see much the same thing from Houston and Domanick Davis in the season opener. Without Grossman to get the ball to Muhammad, it is unlikely that the Bears' passing game will pose enough of a serious deep threat to the Bills defense to "keep them honest" however and it would be very surprising and disappointing if the Bears were able to sustain many drives or put up many points in this game while the starters are in. Unfortunately, because of the Bears' ineptitude in the passing game, they are unlikely to pose much of a challenge to the Bills whose reserve defensive backs are still fighting for roster spots. If Hutchinson struggles, Kyle Orton, who has been very good playing against reserves, and Jeff Blake, who is experienced and was signed to replace Grossman, could see enough action to make things more interesting.
The Bills Special Teams vs The Bears Special Teams: What more can be said about the Bills special teams? They were the best in the NFL last season and, so far, it looks like they are trying to be even better this year. It almost seems like whomever the Bills put back to return a punt or kickoff can get a big return. And, Rian Lindell hitting a 54 yard field goal? Whoddathunkit?!?! Still, the Bears will pose a pretty good challenge this week for the Bills' special teams, especially the kick coverage teams. Wade's punt return for a TD last week was the team's third in three years and Jerry Azumah's 25.5 yard average per kick off return the past two season ranks fourth in the NFL over that period. While no one will confuse Doug Brien with Adam Vinitieri, Bear punter Brad Maynard is very similar to the Bills' Brian Moorman: a great bad weather kicker who leads the NFL in punts inside the 20 since he entered the league in 1997. With the competition for roster spots so tight at so many positions on the Bills, special teams play is likely to be the determining factor in a number of instances. Jobs will be on the line for players like D.Haddad, J.Smith, G.Wilson, S.Aiken, T.Woodbury, R.Lee, L.Gates, J.Burns, J.Goldsbury, C.Ritzmann, G.Gause, C.Wire, J.Leonard, E.Oglesby, R.Lee, T.Fontenot and others on special teams this week and next.
Things To Look For:
1. Once again, all eyes will be on JP Losman, as they will be throughout this coming season. Thus far, JP has improved his performance every week since the beginning of training camp. The Bears defense will be the best he has faced thus far and it will be interesting to see if he can continue to show improvement against them. JP showed much better composure and footwork against Green Bay last week than he did against Indy: will he be better still in these areas this week? How well will he read the blitz? The Bears are likely to test him with Urlacher and Briggs. Will he improve on picking out his receivers? Green, Azumah and Brown, in particular, are ball-hawks who will make him pay if he makes mistakes. And, of course, will JP get down to avoid getting hit when he runs with the ball? He can't afford to be foolish with Urlacher and Brown lurking.
2. Can Mike Gandy neutralize Ogunleye? This is another big test for Gandy.
3. Will Bennie Anderson be able to handle Tommie Harris without holding him? Harris is a DT with the quickness of a DE. Anderson must keep him from getting too close to JP Losman and Willis McGahee without committing penalties (more on that later).
4. Which of the Bills' reserve receivers will be able to get open and make the plays when JP goes to him? Will Josh Reed be able to hold onto the ball and his job, or will Drew Haddad continue to get the job done? Can Sam Aiken make the grab? Will George Wilson continue to catch everything thrown his way? Will Fast Freddy Smith be able to do something to impress the coaches and make the team?
5. How long will Willis McGahee play and will the Bills offensive line be able to get him some running room? Which RB will be first off of the bench to him up? Will it be Lionel Gates and will he continue to impress against better opposition? Will Shaud Williams get in the game at RB this week? How much playing time will ReShard Lee get and how will he perform? Will Joe Burns get any carries at RB and will he show anything?
6. Will the Bills defensive front be able to stop the Bears' running game? They must be much better than they were against the Packers in the first series last week if they are going to contain the likes of L.Tomlinson, P.Holmes, C.Martin, C.Dillon and D.Davis this season. T.Jones and A.Peterson aren't in the same class as those RBs.
7. Can the Bills defense dominate the Bears offense the way that a top flight defense should be able to dominate an offense whose passing game is as pathetic as the Bears' passing game has been with Hutchinson at the helm?
8. Will the Bills' special teams continue their dominance and be able to contain the Bears' return teams? In particular, who will stand out on special teams?
9. While the Bills improved significantly in cutting down the number of penalties that they got from 19 against Indianapolis to 8 against Green Bay, eight penalties is still too many. To be a playoff caliber team, especially with an inexperienced QB, the Bills cannot afford to commit that many penalties. They must be more disciplined. With the starters playing a significant portion of this game, it will be interesting to see if they can continue to improve in this area and further limit the number of penalties that they commit.
10. Will Rian Lindell get another chance to kick a FG from more than 40 yards out? And, will he make it?
It should be an interesting game. The best test of the preseason for JP Losman. There are a lot of things to look for in this one. I hope you enjoy it.