I'm not one to overly worry. I was not scared of anybody but the Broncos and Packers. I'm not being negative here just for the hell of it. Kubiak's teams are notoriously ill-prepared off of bye weeks and I see a lot of matchups that I do not like. I still say we win, but I think the Bills have a greater chance here than a lot of people are willing to give them.
None of your posts have mentioned Ryan Fitzpatrick, who almost single-handedly eviscerates any advantages the Bills might have. He's a turnover machine (37 in his last 23 starts) and the Texans' D is opportunistic, to say the least. I suspect the Texans will roll the Bills. They haven't played down to an inferior opponent all year. Hell, other than Green Bay, they haven't played down to an opponent period.
Fitzpatrick has put on his big boy pants at some weird times in his career, so I don't count him as an automatic W like I would with the rest of the inferior QBs in the league. If our defense is on its heels trying to stop Spiller & Co, I could see Fitzpatrick having a decent enough game. The Bills have only allowed 8 sacks all year, tied for 2nd fewest with the Texans. Like I said, we win, but I'm not going to be surprised if it is a high scoring affair.
Should be a walk, but plenty of traps if we don't bring our A game like you always have to in this league. Never any forgiveness for laying eggs. Buffalo's 1-2 RB punch is very nice (#4 team R-YPG, #3 team R-YPC), and a good way for them to try and keep things tight. They're also #11 in Red Zone offense. They shoot themselves in the face with their passing game and Chan Gailey's play calling. They've had a nice WR corps the last couple of years, but Twobillsdrive forum has taken to calling their QB Picksgerald this season (t-#3 INT). Given how our D is designed specifically to bring out bad QB decisions under pressure, we should be good if we can force 3rd and long situations (not a given with their running prowess). So, defensive key is to mute their success on 1st and 2nd down to keep them away from 3rd and short. I wouldn't be especially cocky about stopping this run game cold - either one of these guys could go off if they find a soft spot up the middle. I don't care how bad he's been so far or that he had a mysteriously unnamed "procedure" last week to "prove" how bad his wrist was, I am very concerned about Mario. We all know he picks and chooses when he gives 100%, and he's been publicly clear that this is the week he's had circled in red. The good news is, even if Newton finds himself over his head blocking Mario, we can commit a TE and/or RB to help since Duane Brown is only facing Chris Kelsay (Mark Anderson gone) on the other side. Up the middle, Kyle Williams is a notable threat. It'll be important that Myers make good decisions on who to help on - him or Dareus. Dareus is an imposing beast, but he's been duped often this year in his reads and trap plays. That's one reason why the Bills have sported the worst run defense in the league. The LB corps is another, but Bills fans are going to let you know that the biggest issue is DC Dave Wannstedt. To put it in Texans terms, he's doing a Frank Bush impression. Only rarely sends more than 3-4 forward, doesn't disguise coverage. Any other week, running at Mario is a great idea since he stinks at shedding blocks. This is a Sunday I wouldn't even think about it. I would bulldoze Kelsay nonstop. Bills faithful also show plenty of scorn Aaron Williams' direction. Offense needs to be smart about where they go after the Bills, but there should be plenty of soft spots to choose from. Very important that Schaub operate with an alarm clock in his head. Mario wants his 4 sacks. Texans 30 - Bills 23
About a week or two ago, one of those TV analysts said that the Bills defense doesn't blitz very much. I think they are last in the league in number of times they blitz. This should be good news for Schaub. If he has time to find the open receiver, he could have a big day. I could see Lestar Jean or Keshawn Martin having a breakout game. Neither have done much this season, but if Buffalo contains Andre and Owen then one of those two should see opportunities for big catches.
We get an early big lead, which leads to them abandoning their run game forcing Ryan to throw which leads to TO's. If the team is focused that should happen. Can't wait until Sunday, one week felt like an eternity.
Here are quotes from yesterday's practice: Head Coach Gary Kubiak Spoiler (on the team’s health) “As far as practice today, (RB Ben) Tate is out and we held (NT) Shaun Cody from practice. We continue to monitor him. That’s just a maintenance issue. Then (ILB Darryl) Sharpton is still not back on the practice field, but other than that, everybody is back to work. We did add (NT) Terrell McClain to our roster, a defensive lineman. He’s on the active roster. We brought (DE Keith) Browner back to our practice squad, a young man who was with us throughout training camp. He’s on our practice squad, and (T) Nick Mondek, a young man that we drafted last year. I think it was the seventh round, if I’m right, has bounced around on a few practice squads. He is back on our practice squad as we speak. So there’s been a few things happening with our team, but other than that we’re back to work today.” (on his concern with RB Ben Tate’s health) “My biggest level of concern with (RB Ben) Tate is just keeping him on the field. It seems like it’s been one thing after another. If it’s not the toe, the hamstring. This has been going on for a few years. We need him. He’s very important to getting (RB) Arian (Foster) rest, our success as a football team, but yet he’s really struggled to stay on the field. There’s nothing he can do about it. He’s got another hamstring that we’re going to have to monitor and bring him along the right way. He’s going to miss some time here, so you’re not going to see him back all of the sudden in the next day or two. I think he’s going to miss a little time. He’s been working as hard as he can work. (ILB Darryl Sharpton) Sharp is very, very close to going on the field. Remember we control his clock, once we put him on the field, I think I’m right here, once we put him on the field, he has a three-week window then we have to make a decision on him. We’re not going to put him out there until we’re ready to find out if he’s ready to go and help us actively. We don’t feel that way right now. How we’ll feel Wednesday? I don’t know, but not yet. We have not turned him loose yet.” (on RB Ben Tate’s durability issues and RB Arian Foster’s heavy workload) “I’ll say this and I have a lot of confidence in (RB) Justin (Forsett) so I’m going to go play (RB) Arian (Foster) and Justin just like I would Arian and (RB) Ben (Tate). I’m not going to do anything different right now, but now you’re going from three-deep to two-deep so it’s a concern as we move forward. How much time Ben misses to sit here and have two active running backs on your team with a nine week stretch coming up here, it’s something we have to really take a hard look at. We’ve got a young man on our practice squad in (RB Davin) Meggett that we like. There may be a decision to make there at some point. Moving forward, we got to be very smart about what we’re doing here.” (on RB Ben Tate’s status this week) “I don’t want to go there yet, but the fact that we come back from the time off and we’re back on the field and he’s not quite ready to be working with the trainers and stuff tells me that he’s definitely a few days away. I’m not going to rule anything out. I don’t know if he’ll be back Wednesday either.” (on today’s practice) “It was very good today. Our guys came back. I asked them to come back fresh and ready to go. We had an excellent practice. We went for about an hour and a half. We were very live. Obviously, their legs were back under them and we got a great day out there to practice, some nice, cool weather here in Houston. They were into it. I just want to make sure we got out there and threw it around and caught it a little bit and just kind of got going again. We’ll get back in our routine with their day tomorrow and Wednesday.” (on concern coming out of the bye week) “The way the league is set up now every team you have to give your players four days so that’s part of the CBA now. Football is such a repetitive sport that anytime you don’t do something for two or three days, you’ve got to get back into it. I thought today was good. We took a step forward and obviously we’ll put our pads back on this Thursday. We still got some pads days left on our agenda as far as how many the league allows you. We’ll put in a good week’s work as we get ready for Buffalo.” (on the rookies’ improvement) “Remind me who they are? They’re not rookies anymore. I would say this, first off, they’re going to have to continue to make even bigger strides. Obviously, (OLB) Whitney (Mercilus) is a big part of what we’re doing now so how well he plays the second half is important to the defense. (DE Jared) Crick is very important to what’s going on. Offensively, (C/G) Ben Jones made some big, big strides the last couple weeks, started against Baltimore and will start this week against Buffalo, so he’s made big strides. (WR) Keshawn Martin is going to have to play well for us and continue to return to well, (WR DeVier) Posey, so I just the think the fact that all those guys that are now part of what we’re doing are going to have to even be a bigger part of what we’re doing will have lot to do with how far we go.” (onTexans fans booing Ravens WR Jacoby Jones and possibly booing Bills DE Mario Williams) “Hell, I thought they were booing us because we didn’t get a first down. I don’t know. As coaches and players, I can only speak for myself. You can’t pay much attention to that. You’re so involved with what’s going on and passion for your team and that’s part of the business. I think every coach understands that and every player understands that.” (on if he feels like Bills DE Mario Williams doesn’t deserve to be booed by Texans fans) “I wouldn’t even know how to answer that question you’re asking me. You all know I’ve got a lot of respect for (DE) Mario (Williams) and what he did for this football team, this franchise. He’s a great kid. He’s a great player. I know one thing;he’s going to come in here and play well. I can tell you that. Our football team knows that so we just got to prepare to play.” (on facing Bills DE Mario Williams ) “It’s going to be tough. He’s getting all the attention every week. You watch, he gets the doubles, the triples, the chips. When you got the reputation and the player that he is, that’s how people attack you and stuff. It’ll be a big problem for us too because he’s playing both sides. (RT Derek) Newton will get him. (LT) Duane (Brown) will get him, but they’re very talented up front. They’ve got the other number one inside. They’ve been on the field I think more than anybody in football defensively, which I know has been difficult for them because their offense throws the ball all over the place so they’re going to spread us out. Very talented team, but we got to stay focused on us.” (on the Bills’ defense and offense) “You just look across the board at the ability they’ve been able to go out there and accumulate. You look at their defensive front. They’ve got asgood a players as there are out there in this league for 4-3 teams in that lineup. Offensively, they choose to play a little different football game than most pro teams play. They’re five wide, spread the field, and we saw a bunch of that against Green Bay and saw what that did to us so that’s an issue for us moving forward this week. As far as going against them defensively, the best way we can help our defense is to stay on the field. It’s going to still get back to us doing the things, the reasons that we win, controlling the ball, not turning the ball over, all those things.” (on if they’ve selected new captains) “No, we do that after eight weeks. We’re not even halfway yet. We’ll be halfway after this week.” RB Justin Forsett Spoiler (on if RB Ben Tate is unable to play Sunday) “Just an opportunity for me, if he’s not able to go then it’s my turn to step up. That’s what this team is about and I’ll try to go out and do my best.” (on his preparation and waiting for opportunities) “You’ve just got to be patient, wait until your time comes and just be ready when that time comes. I think I’ve been doing a good job of staying prepared and staying ready in that mindset of you never know when you’re going to go in so just try to work hard and get ready for this week.” (on if it’s a challenge to always be ready) “It’s my mindset. I’ve been through so much in this league, five years, and you never know what can happen. It’s kind of just my mindset going out every day. I just work hard and when your number is called make sure you’re ready.” RB Arian Foster Spoiler (on if he came back from the bye week fresh) “Yeah, anytime you got time off you’re going to be fresh.” (on if the break came at a good time for him with his running workload) “I guess. That’s what I get paid to do. I’ll be alright.” (on if people made too much of his workload and if it’s not an issue) “Yeah, not in my opinion, but who am I?” (onRB Ben Tate’s health issues) “He’s an important part of what we do. I can’t wait until he gets back healthy, but until then, (RB) Justin Forsett is a very capable back. We’ve seen what he can do already. That’s just the nature of the business. Somebody goes down, the next guy has to step up.” (on watching the Bills on film) “I haven’t watched them yet.” (on Bills DE Mario Williams) “He’s coming back to the team that drafted him. It’s going to be an emotional game for him so pretty sure he wants to do well.” (on if DE Mario Williams will be extra motivated on Sunday) “You’d have to ask Mario that. I’m not sure.” (on having a fresh guy behind him during games) “(RB) Justin (Forsett), he’s a very good back in this league. He’s proven every time he gets an opportunity he does well. We don’t look for any drop in production.” (on the focus coming out of the bye week) “Just fundamentals so this week, individually, I think everybody should just focus on fundamentals and the basics of the game because they’re coming off a bye week too, which is actually a good thing. We’re both going through the same thing. I think if we just focus on your fundamentals, you’ll be alright because after awhile second nature just takes over. You’re just going off of instinct.” (on what he thought about the focus at today’s practice) “I didn’t expect anything different. This is a very mature group of guys and we know how to handle our business. I didn’t think anything different.” FS Danieal Manning Spoiler (on if he thinks the defense can still improve) “Today, we came in and put some work together, saw a little bit of Buffalo. I’m going to go back today and watch some more film on them. You can never watch enough film. That’s what (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) is always telling us, continue to watch film because he can never watch enough. He’s doing his part. We on defense are doing our part. That’s what makes us have a better defense.” (on what is important coming out of the bye week after their success) “Before the break they told us, get back, obviously get off your feet, but watch other teams. Watch how they play, the little things that we’re coaching you guys on, running to the ball, finishing plays, things like that, paying attention to the detail. When you’re actually going through the whole hustle and bustle of the week getting prepared for another team, you kind of lose that edge. Watched a lot of film and watched a lot of teams and you get to see like ‘Man that is a lot of stuff that they’re coaching us on.’ Little things like that keep you out of a ballgame.” (on what he sees in Buffalo) “Defensively against us, they’re all over the place. A lot of motion shifts here and there.They’ve got good athletes, I believe, in my opinion. They have good athletes. Guys are capable of making big plays. We’ve just got to stay focused on the things that we do on defense. They’ve got a lot of formations, a lot of bunches here and there. They use their backs well. They can spread them out. He runs routes like receivers. That’s another thing, matchups that we’re probably going to have a problem and game plan with.” (on outsiders underestimating the Bills) “I’m not going to ever underestimate our opponent. This team is capable, very capable. The teams that they’ve played against have been able to capitalize on some of those missed keys and missed plays by their team, and they’re leaving them out there. A team like us will try to make those plays happen with our front seven putting pressure on the quarterback and our back seven being able to play routes the way we do.” RT Derek Newton Spoiler (onfacing the Bills and DE Mario Williams this week) “The film that we have watched, they’re a talented group of guys. We’ve got to just continue to do our thing, continue to get better every week. (DE) Mario Williams, a great guy, talented, so I really can’t focus on him. I’ve got to continue to get better at my game every week and continue to work hard.” (on the bye week) “Going into the break, it was good for all of us. We finished on a good note, and going on the break it gave us a chance to get our bodies back under us and come back today. We had a great practice. Everybody’s ready to go going into the week.” (on what he sees on film of DE Mario Williams ) “(DE) Mario (Williams), he’s all around. There’s a lot about him. He’s a great guy, strong, fast. There’s so much he can bring to the table, so pretty much just got to be prepared for everything.” (on if it helps that he saw reps against DE Mario Williams last year) “It helps me out some and continuing to watch film everyday is going to give me more to what he brings to the game just got to keep getting better in practice, working on my technique more and that should help me out a lot.” (on if DE Mario Williams has changed since last season) “I think he’s changed a lot. The player he was when he was here. He’s just a great guy. You never know what to expect from him. Me, being a young player I’m pretty sure he’s going to try all kinds of stuff and I’ve got to be ready for it.” DE Antonio Smith Spoiler (on the bye week) “It was pretty good. I just got some good rest, just relaxed and chilled with the family.” (onhis impression of the Bills) “From hearing what coach is saying, they’ve got a spread offense, like to gun it and run it. I haven’t gotten to look at them so I don’t know. On paper, they look like they’ve got a lot of talent to me, just probably haven’t put it together yet.” (on the Bills’ talent) “I know there’s quite a bit there. I think early on you kind of saw little spurts of it in some games, but they just haven’t been consistent with it. I would just rather them not get consistent against us.” (on how DE Mario Williams will respond on Sunday) “These games, people make a big thing about these games and I was part of one when I first got here. The one thing you don’t account for is the control of all the different emotions you get in the game like this, coming back, going back, playing against the team you used to be with, playing against guys that you’re friends with. You can’t really be mean and aggressive and do stuff that you normally would do. Sometimes you think you’re going to come in and just dominate, but it doesn’t always be like that. So I’m looking forward to seeing how he’s going to respond.” (onthe crowd booing Ravens WR Jacoby Jones and possibly getting on DE Mario Williams) “It was funny to me. I think that it kind of gave (WR) Jacoby (Jones) a little bit of juice because he was almost there a couple times. I’m glad we got his butt down. I didn’t want him scoring a touchdown against us. (DE) Mario (Williams), I don’t know. It’s going to be a mixed crowd. A lot of them are going to boo him. Some of them are going to cheer for him. When I first got here, Mario was the man in Houston, so I don’t know how the fans are going to react to him.” (on how he thinks DE Mario Williams would react to boos) “Most of the time when you hear the boos it does get you jacked up. All it takes then is for you to make one good play and could just have an explosion of energy.” RB Ben Tate Spoiler (onhow he feels this week) “I’m getting better, starting to feel better. That’s all I can really tell you right now. That’s all I really know.” (on his frustrations with injuries) “It’s frustrating, especially just coming off of my toe injury and then a couple games into it then I hurt my hamstring. It’s tough.” (on if he feels like he’s improving) “Yes, I definitely feel like I’m getting better. Definitely feel like I’m making some improvements.” (onif it’s a situation where he pushes through injury) “A hamstring is something that you really don’t want to push through because that’s not an injury that you can necessarily tough it out. Especially at this position, if you tough it out through an injury like this it usually just makes it worse and makes it worse for the long run. It’s something that before I get out there I definitely want it to be very close to 100 percent.” DE J.J. Watt Spoiler (on the bye week) “I went home. I worked out at home, did a couple things there, watched both my brothers play. Both of them lost so it wasn’t a great weekend for sports, but it was fun to see them. It was great to see the family and just nice to relax a little bit.” (on if he’s looked at much film of the Bills) “I’ve seen a little bit. Today is going to be our biggest day of watching it. I can’t really get you much of an analysis yet.” (on if there’s anything that he’d like the defense do now that it didn’t do before) “Yeah we lost a game so we don’t want to do that again. I think the biggest key to our success is like I’ve said all along. We need to stop the run first and foremost, make them throw the ball and then attack the passer and make them uncomfortable, make him force some throws that he doesn’t want to make, and give our DBs a chance to make plays. We have a fun team to play for. If we go and sack the quarterback and make him throw some bad throws our DBs will make plays.” (on OLB Connor Barwin’s play so far this season) “He’s playing good. Obviously it was great to see him get that big play, huge momentum swing for us in that game. Hopefully it’s only the start. He’s a great football player.” (onwhat could be to come for OLB Connor Barwin) “Big things, you look what he did last year. He had four in one game so hopefully he can get four in every game. That’d be nice.” (on what is important coming out of the bye week) “Focus and intensity and I think that’s one thing that you don’t have to worry about with this team. The guys in this locker room are so focused, so driven, so goal-oriented that you can give us a break and we’re going to come back focused. If you look at today’s practice, today was a great practice. It’s coming off a bye week. Some teams may be sluggish, some teams may not be ready to play, but with the focus and intensity we had today it’s only signs of great things to come.” (on Bills DE Mario Williams returning to Houston) “I’m sure he’s going to play great. Obviously, he’s going to want to make a statement so I’m sure he’s going to play great. I obviously wish him the best.” (on DE Antonio Smith saying he’s going to try to pump DE Mario Williams up) “You don’t want to tick off a 6’8” 300-pound man. He can do some damage. I have a lot of faith in our offensive line. Obviously, (LT) Duane (Brown) is one of the best offensive tackles in the game so a lot of confidence in those guys. All I know is we control what we do. As long as we go out there and play our game, we’ll be just fine.” (onif Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips still has tricks up his sleeve) “He does. That’s what makes it so much fun. We’re making plays. We’re flying all over the field and we’re still not playing our best football. There are a lot of games left. We’ve got nine regular seasons left. We’re going to keep getting better every single week. You don’t want to peak too early. We’re still rolling. We’re still getting there.” (on keeping the national attention in perspective) “It’s interesting. It’s cool to be in that conversation, but I think the best part about this team, I was just saying before, is we have the perspective. We have the focus that you can read those things and understand how cool it is, but you also understand what it took to get here and what it’s going to take to stay here. The hard work, the dedication, the discipline, and this team has all those things. That’s why I love playing on this team. That’s why these guys have so much success because we understand what it takes.” (on the Rockets acquiring James Harden) “It’s great to see. Obviously,he and Jeremy Lin are going to be a fun team to watch. You’ve got Chandler Parsons, all those guys so it’s going to be fun. It’s great to have a team in this city that people are excited about. Hopefully, he can make it out to a Texans game. Maybe we’ll make him a fan.” (on DE Antonio Smith preferring that James Harden stay in Oklahoma City) “I know. I’m sure he would. They’re obviously a good team up there, but we’re excited about the help we’re getting down here. Obviously we’re looking forward to winning some games over in the Toyota Center.”
Since Hey Now! has laid out why I'm optimistic, and DonnyMost and emjohn have laid out my apprehensions, I will just say this: In their losses, the Bills have given up 48, 52, 45, and 35 points. Those last 3 point totals have come in 3 of the last 4 weeks, with the Cardinals epically bad offense only able to put up 16 on them. Unless they were able to completely fix that anemic pass rush, and plug the holes in their run defense over the bye week, there will be a lot of points and yards out there for the Texans to take.
If the Texans want to host the AFC Championship, losing to the Bills is simply not an option. As impressive as their record is, the AFC is still up for grabs, and one lose, just one, could find them needing a playoff road victory to get to the SB.
Pretty much. Can't afford a bad loss, especially when we have some tough games ahead. Even if this game is close, there should be no reason why the Texans should lose this game.
Every year the 12 and 13 win juggernauts of the league seem to drop a head scratcher to a weakling. The Ravens dropped one to Jacksonville last year. The Patriots lost to the Bills. The Packers lost to the Chiefs. The Saints lost to the Rams. The 49ers lost to the Cardinals. These things happen. The Texans *will* poop the bed at some point. The important thing is that we don't lose our friggin' minds over it, like I imagine many people will. Week 13 @ Titans sticks out in particular to me. That team will be a large underdog and we've already spanked them once, but now Matt Hasselbeck won't be rusty and is firmly planted as the starter. We'll be coming to Tennessee between two high points in the schedule, @ Detroit on Thanksgiving and @ New England on Monday Night Football. So, I think it will be easy for the team to be caught off guard and looking either forward or behind themselves. The Bills has the potential to be our bed pooping game, but it's at home, which is a big plus, and also not in a tricky spot on our schedule (unless you count the bye, which is a mixed bag), but the matchups I see in particular worry me more than the Titans matchups. So, we'll have to see what happens. This is a good test for our run D to gear up for Chicago.
Exactly AFC contenders don't drop home games this years Bills. Road game maybe you worry a bit but this is a home game and we already lost 1.
The Bills were 6-10 last year and they beat the Patriots. They're 3-4 right now. It's entirely possible this team ends up being better than last year's team. It is a home game, and we definitely should win it, but I think people need to chill on the whole writing a team off because of one bad loss thing. It has happened before and it will happen again.
phew, we don't have to worry about the Patriots then who lost to the crappy Cardinals at home. the road to the Super Bowl just became a cakewalk.
Exactly, the Pats are the biggest pretenders in the AFC thanks to East Coast Bias. They lost at home to the Cardinals and should have lost to the Jets if not for a dropped ball. The AFC is not a cake walk but it's pretty close. Only 2 teams look legit to me, the Texans and the Broncos. Every other team has major flaws. Fact, overall the AFC is weak this year. Glad you see it the way I do.
i actually agree that it's more of a cakewalk than ever before but don't kid yourself into thinking the Patriots aren't a legitimate AFC opponent.
He had a really nice 7-game stretch to open the 2011 season. In his 16 games since, he's posted a sub-80 QBR in 10 starts, and 8 of those were sub-70. I agree with you that, eventually, the Texans are almost certainly going to float a WTF game on us* (which will lead to chaos, rioting, looting and too many "FIRE KUBIAK!" "BENCH SCHAUB!" threads to count... and, frankly - I can't wait) - but I just don't see it coming this week against Buffalo. We'll be rested, healthy, the game is at home, and the opponent's QB is awful. * Are we allowed to count GB as our WTF game? It's not a shock they beat us; but how terribly we played was absolutely shocking and I think it's a viable candidate.
I've never dogpiled on Mario Williams - but name the games he took over and altered with his play. He's had crucial sakcs, yes, and he's had some big games (Thursday night against Denver stands out) - but JJ Watt has been infinitely more consistently destructive in just these first 7 games than Mario has over the length of his entire career. Worrying about Mario Williams altering the game is about as useful as worrying about Ryan Fitzpatrick playing like Aaron Rodgers - sure, anything can happen. But it's simply not very likely....
it's going to closed, i'm sure. for a such a football crazed city, there are a bunch of pansies who'll complain whether it's too hot or too cold.
