The Bills enter week seven in a battle for positioning in the AFC East standings with all four teams having a 3-3 record. This week Buffalo plays a Tennessee Titan team that has struggled to this point in the season. The Titans are only 2-4 despite coming off an upset victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers last Thursday night. For the Bills this means facing a team with a renewed sense of confidence that is coming off ten days of rest. If the Bills could take advantage of an ordinary Titans team they will be in great shape entering their bye week. Here are a few storylines heading into Sundays matchup:
-Run D vs. CJ2K. Titans running back Chris Johnson was once regarded as one of the top players in the NFL. In the past two years his play has dropped off significantly. In his defense the Titans offensive line hasn't done him many favors, but that still doesn't justify his rushing yards dropping from 2,006 three seasons ago to 1,046 last season. The good news for Johnson is that he is going against the Bills this week. The Titans are last in the league in rushing yards per game at 70.2, which means 421 yards total this season. The Bills have given up more yards than that just in the past two weeks and are in fact the worst team in the league in rush defense. Who wins a battle of the worsts? I believe the Bills will be able to contain Johnson if they can set the edge on defense and not let him use his speed to get outside. We have seen that the Bills rush defense can be sustainable against average opponents as demonstrated by the Browns and Chiefs games. If the Bills jump out to an early lead we could see the Titans abandon the run early.
-Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck took over the quarterback duties when Jake Locker injured his shoulder in a week 4 loss to Houston. He has thrown for 726 yards with 4 TDs and 4 INTs. He is way past his prime and the Bills secondary could have a nice day reading him and getting a jump on the ball. He better keep track of where the ballhawk Jairus Byrd is or it could be a long day for Hasselbeck.
-Build on Pass Rush. The Bills pass rush had one of their best showings of the season last week versus the Cardinals with 5 sacks. Bills fans are hoping that the line has finally 'gelled' and they may finally live up to their potential. The Titans have been pretty solid along their line and haven't let people get to their quarterback often. The weakest part of their line is the interior so it should be up to Kyle Williams and Marcel Dareus to collapse the pocket from the inside and cause enough havoc for the edge rushers to get there.
-Get Fitz in a groove. The Titans rank 29th in the league against the pass allowing opposing quarterbacks to throw for an average of 292.3 yards per game. Could this be the game where Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick finally turns it around? He should have the time to pass he needs with one of the best pass protecting offensive lines in the league and a Titans defense that only has 8 sacks this season.
-Play Calling. It is amazing that this actually has to be put as a key to the game but the play calling last week against the Cardinals by Chan Gailey was suspect at best. In a game where you are the better team you do not need to take risks like a wildcat QB throwing a deep pass late in the fourth quarter. Control the game, use the run to set up the pass, play to your strengths and you should be able to pull out a win here. Gailey was lucky the Bills pulled out a win last week or there would have been people calling for his job. If he has another poor week of coaching it just may be enough to make Bills management pull the trigger.
- Notes: The Bills have four players that are questionable for the game with Kyle Williams, Da'Noris Searcy, Terrence McGee, and Spencer Johnson all dealing with injuries. Of all of them I think the only one in real danger of missing time is Spencer Johnson. Mark Anderson, Cordy Glenn, and Kraig Urbik are out. Shawne Merrimen was resigned by the team this week and according to coach Gailey is up to speed enough to see some playing time. The other roster move that was made this week was the release of recently signed OG Reggie Wells and the promotion of David Snow from the practice squad to the active roster.
Prediction: Bills win the turnover battle and have their way with the Titans on offense. Chris Johnson may break a few but not enough to boost the Titans to victory. Bills 32 - Titans 24
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