Bills can thank one man for this week’s game plan: T.O.?!

By Anthony Bialy  |   Friday, November 28, 2008  |  Comments( 76 )

Buffalo Bills
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The one thing more dangerous than a football player fighting for a job is his coach doing the same thing. Current San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary is trying to ditch the word “interim,” and the only way for him to go from being a temp to a full staff member is to ensure that his team takes the right risks so that it can manage to be less bad every game.

It’s nothing personal, but his next opponent in the Buffalo Bills should be looking to help push him toward unemployment, with Christmas looming, no less. The path to that heartless goal is to exploit the way the Niners are going to attempt to overcompensate for their previous particular failure, namely how they were stomped last time out against the Dallas Cowboys.

To recap, the suddenly rejuvenated Terrell Owens got his fantastic two-game week started against his first pro team, thanks mostly to the trivial opposition he faced: The talented loudmouth gained an unfathomable 213 receiving yards last week against the 49ers, largely piled up against Buffalo’s old friend Nate Clements.

San Francisco has learned in the most painful manner possible that one player can’t instantly make a team’s pass defense good, especially if that player happens to be Clements; refusing to offer anything close to his current 27-year, $119 billion contract turned out to be the best non-move the Bills have made this decade.

It’s not that the 49ers’ last game was an aberration for an otherwise fine group of throw stoppers, as they have surrendered 243.9 yards per game by air for the season, fourth worst in the league. Their coach can’t let it happen again, meaning this unit will be extremely keen to avoid getting victimized for consecutive monster games by single wide receivers; in practical terms, that means they’re going to position a safety to help cover prize wideout Lee Evans.

Evans gained 110 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday, but while he has to be eager to view that total simply as a building block on his way to maniacally spectacular afternoon against the Niners, the real beneficiary of Owens’ great game last week will be running back Marshawn Lynch this week.

The deeper members of the 49ers’ secondary are going to be fearfully preoccupied with Evans all day, which means there will be fewer defenders up in Lynch’s grill. While San Francisco assumes the Bills will be calling number 83 virtually every time they leave the huddle, the home offense should instead focus on outsmarting that allegedly clever design by letting its prime rusher take a shot at a relatively low number of boxed defenders.

Leaning on Lynch would also ensure that Trent Edwards isn’t once again confounded by a 3-4 defense’s coverages, as the tricky scheme baffled him throughout this team’s loss string; the fact the Niners line up in such a manner is their one advantage this week, regardless of the quality of the specific players they have aligned. Not expecting Edwards’ arm to key a victory this week is a nice side plus to the main benefit, namely that Buffalo will be able to batter a defense that’s likely preparing to counterattack a finesse-based air war.

This game was already going to be fun for sentimental reasons, as it’s a chance to welcome back not only the tepidly missed Clements but also a genuinely admired former Bill in Takeo Spikes, a warrior now toiling as one of San Francisco’s inside linebackers; it would also serve as an occasion to spot former Buffalo left tackle Jonas Jennings if he had not been placed on injured reserve, again. But it will be even more enjoyable for Buffalo if it further shatters an already traumatized team through play-balance deception.

Singletary needs to prove that he can adjust to challenges, and the Bills’ challenge is to adjust to that, namely by anticipating that their foe will open in virtual nickel coverage. They must punch the Niners right in the jaw just as the visitors are feeling smug about finally protecting their midsection.
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About Anthony Bialy

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CommentsComments: 76  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
Goose		12:47 PM
11/29/2008
It is now official McCargo is a bust, he won't be back but chances are he'll end up on a NFL roster next year if his injury is...
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No.2
Joma		12:57 PM
11/29/2008
Didn't even realize there were new "comment pages" the last two days... I guess just because it was like an extra long, long...
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No.3
ba bye		01:01 PM
11/29/2008
Summary: The 49ers are scared feceless about Lee Evans and will septuply cover him, so Marshawn Lynch should be able to boost his...
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