Bills should handle the Raiders this week

By Connor Byrne  |   Friday, October 21, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Buffalo Bills
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This weekend, the Buffalo Bills (3-3) will head for the west coast to take on the struggling Oakland Raiders (1-4). The Bills come in tied for first-place in the AFC East while the Raiders are currently stuck in the cellar of the AFC West. This is an important game for both teams. Buffalo has an opportunity to win their third straight game and move into sole possession of first-place in their division since the Patriots are on a bye week. As for the Raiders, they need this game just to stay afloat. 1-5 is too deep of a hole to climb out of, especially in a difficult division.

The Bills' offensive line proved last week that they could stymie the Jets' tremendous pass-rushers. If they play that way again, they should have no difficulty dominating a suspect Raiders' defensive line. Oakland's starting line consists of ancient tackles Warren Sapp and Ted Washington, and average ends Bobby Hamilton and Tommy Kelly. Sapp has played pretty well this year but he's certainly not the dominating force that he once was. Buffalo's offensive line should push them around all day which will lead to a potential huge game for running back Willis McGahee. Not only will a solid day from the offensive line open up the run, it will also lead to a good day passing. Bills' quarterback Kelly Holcomb has had two consecutive solid games since taking the helm, and will certainly be chomping at the bit for yet another. Holcomb should have a new target for this game, receiver Roscoe Parrish. The rookie from Miami has not played an NFL game yet (including pre-season), but will be looking to make a splash in his debut. All of a sudden, the Bills' four main receivers become really formidable. The Raiders' secondary, led by cornerback Charles Woodson and safety Stuart Schweigert, should have a difficult day going up against the foursome of Eric Moulds, Lee Evans, Roscoe Parrish, and Josh Reed.

The Raiders' offense might be dead in the water for this game. They will be missing star receiver Randy Moss and without him, forget it. Randy's injury makes the Oakland passing attack substantially worse. Quarterback Kerry Collins has looked solid thus far but he's average sans Moss. The onus will be on Jerry Porter as he will step in for Moss at the #1 receiver position. Oakland will also need to involve receivers Doug Gabriel and Johnnie Morant, as well as tight end Courtney Anderson. Buffalo's secondary is currently ranked #1 in the NFL. However, their run-defense is ranked last. It may not matter since Raiders' running back Lamont Jordan is statistically among the worst in the NFL. He has averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. Much of that can likely be attributed to Oakland's lousy offensive line. Against Buffalo, you can't afford to have a suspect line because Bills' defensive coordinator Jerry Gray is a blitzing maniac and sends extra men on just about every snap. Oakland's only hope at a solid rushing attack may be to occasionally beat the blitz on certain hand-offs. Kerry Collins might end up being so beaten up in this game that he has to be pulled. The Bills' line destroyed Jets' quarterback Vinny Testaverde last week. Collins and Testaverde are very similar quarterbacks, so Buffalo has a big edge as they will know how to properly pressure Collins.

To add insult to injury for the Raiders, they are facing a team with a major advantage on special teams. Bills' kicker Rian Lindell has been much better than Raiders' kicker Sebastian Janikowski, and the return game of the Bills is likely to dazzle this week. Kick returner Terrence McGee may finally break a touchdown return this week and Roscoe Parrish will possibly return the punts. Football fans saw how dynamic Parrish was when he returned punts in college. The one place where the Raiders arguably have the edge is at punter. It's a virtual toss-up between Raiders' punter Shane Lechler and Bills' punter Brian Moorman. Lechler gets more notoriety but isn't necessarily better. In terms of the coverage units, Buffalo easily runs away with the advantage.

I would be remised if I didn't mention the passing of a true legend in this article. Raiders' radio announcer Bill King passed away this week from hip surgery complications at the age of 78. His signature calls of "Holy Toledo!", and "Touchdown Raiders!", will live on forever. Who knows? Maybe this Raiders team can dig deep down and find a way to win one for a real legend.

Unfortunately for Oakland, I just don't think they have the horses to beat Buffalo. I expect the Bills to be too much for them and win by double-digits. The Bills put up 27 points last week, expect them to score at least that much this week. If the Raiders had Randy Moss at full-strength, I think it would be a toss-up game. Oakland's offense is crippled without him and their defense is suspect as it is. The Buffalo Bills should earn their first road victory of the year and the Oakland Raiders should fall deeper into the abyss of the NFL's worst teams.

Injury Report:

Bills - Questionable: WR Roscoe Parrish (Wrist).

Raiders - Doubtful: WR Randy Moss (Ribs, groin, pelvis), C Jake Grove (Knee), LB DeLawrence Grant(Ankle).
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