Zone coverage best way for Bills to embody Patriot hate

By Anthony Bialy  |   Friday, December 26, 2008  |  Comments( 116 )

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Most NFL teams that are 7-8 don’t face games as important as the one the Buffalo Bills get this Sunday. Despite the fact that its conclusion will officially close a season with no postseason, the team has to approach the contest like it’s a chance for it to at last push back against the New England Patriots. Whether it’s about improving their own morale or damaging the morale of a despised foe, the Bills should look forward to making something useful out of their last 60 minutes of action in 2008; they can do so by eschewing blitzing in favor of hassling the temp quarterback’s throws at their destination instead of at the source.

As for the passer in question, Matt Cassel has been sacked an excessive 46 times this year, tied with Ben Roethlisberger for the most in the worst category possible. The bad news for his next opponent is that they were responsible for only approximately 2.17 percent of those sacks: Buffalo only got him once during these teams’ first meeting, a 20-10 win by the Pats. It was one of a mere three games this season where Cassel wasn’t sacked multiple times, which is another way of saying that injured defensive end Aaron Schobel deserves a raise from his already large contract.

And the defense shouldn’t attempt to prove it can suddenly excel at an aspect which has proven to be notoriously weak with Schobel’s absence. Alternately, the Bills should unexpectedly concede the pocket to Cassel, or at least only send the usual four his way: In lieu of fruitlessly chasing him around, it will allow them to stop him with thorough coverage.

Keeping seven defenders back will ultimately frustrate Cassel more than having five guys pursue him. It’s too late for the Bills to demonstrate they can be specifically good at sacking, but they can still work toward general goodness by keeping their safeties deep to combat long threats and their linebackers near their places to impede underneath or quick throws to tight ends or Wes Welker, respectively.

In doing so, Buffalo can pursue an opportunity that few playoff exiles will receive this weekend, namely get itself a win that would be vaguely meaningful in the long term. The contest is one more chance for the Bills to stand up to those mean Patriots, something that has rarely happened since the ascension of that franchise’s reign in 2001: As an agonizing reminder, the Bills are 1-14 versus their sovereigns in that time.

This campaign’s first encounter with New England disproved that the steady dominance over Buffalo was simply a byproduct of its foe cheating or having accidentally discovered Tom Brady’s capabilities so many seasons ago. As has been pointed out basically twice a year for numerous years, the Bills are never going to approach respectability until they can at least semi-regularly punch out the bully. In the same way that going 0 for the ‘70s against the Miami Dolphins will eternally blot the Bills’ record, their recent haplessness while facing the Patriots already looks wholly embarrassing.

But the Bills have a chance to start changing that: The task of standing up to the Patriots in 2009 can begin by setting the tone in late 2008. Knowing that New England’s playoff aspirations will be dashed with a loss is as close as the Bills will come to impacting the postseason this year, and the best way to obtain that joyful consolation goal is to let Cassel run around so they can keep him from successfully throwing around.
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About Anthony Bialy

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CommentsComments: 116  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
Mikey in CO		03:12 AM
12/26/2008
Not much too say.....since my dumb ass is still up this late watching the kids play their new video games, thought I'd dabble...
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No.2
Mikey in CO		03:38 AM
12/26/2008
An article from the Beefalo News today: This Day in Buffalo Sports History Dec. 26, 1964 -- It's the best day in Buffalo...
No.3
Kegman		10:07 AM
12/26/2008
AB - you are suggesting the Bills set the tone against the Patriots? Easier said than done, especially when we normally "defer"...
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