Three starters down, Buffalo’s ‘D’ in turmoil

By Connor Byrne  |   Wednesday, September 12, 2007  |  Comments( 25 )

Buffalo Bills
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After their season-opening loss to the Denver Broncos this past Sunday, it was revealed that the Buffalo Bills had lost two defensive backs -- safety Ko Simpson (ankle) and cornerback Jason Webster (forearm) -- for the year, and linebacker Coy Wire is expected to miss significant time because of an MCL sprain.

Naturally, the fact that Buffalo will be without three defensive starters has been overshadowed by the status of injured tight end Kevin Everett, who was nearly paralyzed during the game but is miraculously expected to walk again.

Defensively, the Bills surrendered only 15 points to Denver's talented offense and allowed the Broncos to convert just 27 percent of their third-down attempts -- but the team also gave up nearly 500 total yards (470, to be exact) and generated no pass rush. In fact, the Bills' only sack came as a result of great downfield coverage by safety Donte Whitner and linebacker Paul Posluszny. Searching for an open target, young quarterback Jay Cutler ran around the Broncos' backfield but was eventually wrapped up and taken down by defensive tackle John McCargo.

Cutler ended up throwing for a career-high 304 yards on the day, and running back Travis Henry -- a former Pro Bowler in Buffalo -- ran over the Bills for 139 yards on only 23 carries. Lastly, the Broncos' top three wide receivers (Javon Walker, Brandon Marshall and Brandon Stokley) combined for 17 catches, 236 yards and a touchdown.

Additionally, leading 14-12 with 2:13 left in the fourth quarter, Buffalo couldn't stop Denver from marching 42 yards to set up Jason Elam's game-winning field goal with no time on the clock.

The Broncos battled plenty of adversity on their last drive but still bested the Bills.

Cutler & Co. had to somehow come back from a third-and-23 scenario. It didn't faze the calm 24-year-old, though, as he completed a short pass to the streaking Walker, who dashed 21 yards to make fourth down manageable. Needing 2 yards in a do-or-die situation, Cutler scrambled through the Bills' exhausted defense for a first down. After one more completed pass, the Broncos rushed to bring in Elam -- who converted his attempt -- and triumphantly celebrated in front of over 70,000-plus disheartened fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

While Buffalo's 'D' bent but didn't break -- which was the unit's best-case scenario entering the season -- the fact that it gave up so much yardage is troubling. Of course, it's not as troubling as seeing three important starters suffer major injuries. Simpson is the best player of the three, and his loss was felt in coverage even though fill-in Jim Leonhard came up with a key interception late in the first half and led the Bills with 13 tackles.

In this Sunday's game against Pittsburgh, the Bills are expected to make do with Mario Haggan playing for Wire, Youboty taking Webster's spot and Leonhard lining up as the No. 1 free safety. With that being the case, Buffalo once again has to hope that its defense can at least be serviceable. That means Haggan, Youboty and Leonhard can't embarrass themselves, and it also means the Bills' leftover defenders -- Whitner, Posluszny, et al. -- must elevate their play.

If that doesn't happen, the Bills' undermanned, small defense -- currently ranked 31st in the NFL in yards allowed -- will go a long way toward helping Buffalo spiral downward to a dismal 0-2 start.

►E-mail: cbyrne@realfootball365.com

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CommentsComments: 25  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
RJ		07:42 AM
09/12/2007
The Bills certainly have their work cut of for them on defense this week, but it was great to see that Kevin Everett started...
No.2
Nate		08:33 AM
09/12/2007
First I'll defend the defense only slightly. If the offense had done anything to control the clock and help the defense out, the...
No.3
Peterthedog		08:43 AM
09/12/2007
the D beat-up an undermaned played an OK game. But the real problem with the Bills isn't the "D", but the "O" and lack of...
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