Bills hope QB change will lead to a win over Miami

By Connor Byrne  |   Friday, October 07, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Buffalo Bills
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This Sunday, the struggling Buffalo Bills will welcome the first-place Miami Dolphins into Orchard Park, New York in a meeting of two bitter rivals. Miami comes in off of their bye week at 2-1. Buffalo enters the game with three straight losses after their opening day victory. They will also come with a new quarterback, Kelly Holcomb. He will take the reins from the struggling J.P. Losman for his first start in a Bills' uniform. Buffalo certainly hopes that his veteran leadership will pay off against a savvy, well-rounded Dolphins defense led by Jason Taylor and Zack Thomas.

If the Buffalo Bills expect to defeat the Miami Dolphins, they had better establish a solid ground game. That means that Bills' running back Willis McGahee had better get the ball at least 25 times. Over the past season and a half, Buffalo has gone 8-1 when McGahee rushes for over 100 yards. Last October, in McGahee's first career start, he rushed for 111 yards against Miami en route to a Bills' victory. However, it will be tough for McGahee to run over Miami's defense in this game since the Dolphins added proven veterans Kevin Carter, Vonnie Holliday, Keith Traylor and rookie LB Channing Crowder to their front seven in the off-season. All four have done a solid job for the Dolphins so far this year.

If Buffalo establishes the run early, it should open up the pass for Kelly Holcomb and the rest of the Bills' offense. It is imperative that Holcomb utilizes Buffalo's two best receivers, Eric Moulds and Lee Evans. Both are big-time playmakers but have not gotten the ball enough this season. They have combined for just 18 catches, 194 yards, and no touchdowns in the team's first four games. Much of that can be attributed to a bad game plan by the Bills' offensive coaching staff, as well as the struggles of J.P. Losman. However, it's hard for me to believe that Holcomb will fare too much better than Losman if the line doesn't step up. Holcomb could be in trouble since he doesn't possess the same mobility as Losman. However, if the Bills' line gives Holcomb sufficient time, expect him to pick apart Miami's 19th ranked pass defense. Their top two defensive backs, Sam Madison and Lance Schulters, need to step up this week.

For Miami, they need to stay the course on offense. New offensive coordinator Scott Linehan has done a brilliant job of using Miami's strengths to their advantage. Miami's pass catching trio of Randy McMichael, Chris Chambers, and Marty Booker have combined for 37 receptions and 5 touchdowns between them. They have caught those passes from veteran QB Gus Frerotte. The journeyman seemingly has found a home in Miami as he has looked cool in the pocket this year, throwing for 5 touchdowns compared with just 3 interceptions. He may have some difficulty this week against Buffalo's number one ranked pass defense, led by Nate Clements and Troy Vincent. Surprisingly, Miami's patchwork offensive line has surrendered just 2 sacks so far this season and that has led to a great deal of their offensive success. Expect the same kind of pass protection from them this week since Buffalo hasn't generated a solid pass-rush since the opening game of the season. Also key to Miami's offensive success has been rookie running back Ronnie Brown. He has been impressive so far this season rushing for 224 yards and he may break out this week against the porous Bills' run defense. Buffalo will be missing starting defensive tackle Ron Edwards because of a shoulder injury. That means Brown will be able to run up the middle against the inexperienced Bills' defensive tackle rotation of Tim Andersen, Justin Bannan, and Lauvale Sape.

This Sunday's game will be telling for both teams. The Dolphins have to show that they have the moxie and poise to defeat a rival on the road. For the Bills, it is key that they establish a solid passing game with Kelly Holcomb. As for the outcome, I would expect Miami to pull out a relatively close contest against Buffalo. However, it's still a toss-up game because of the unknown that Buffalo has at quarterback right now.



Miscellaneous game notes:

- The Bills are currently listed as 2.5 point favorites.

Bills' injury report: DT- Ron Edwards (Out-shoulder), OT- Mike Williams (Questionable- ankle), TE- Tim Euhus (Questionable- shoulder), S- Coy Wire (Questionable- thigh).

Dolphins' injury report: LB- Junior Seau (Questionable- calf).
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