Moss doubtful, Buffalo taking no chances

By Anthony Carroll  |   Thursday, October 20, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

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Wide receiver Randy Moss is nursing bruised ribs, a strained groin, and a bruised pelvic area-Buffalo is practicing like Moss is better than ever. The Buffalo Bills (3-3) will venture to Oakland on Sunday to do battle with the 1-4 Oakland Raiders. Oakland's season is riding on the shoulders of Sunday's game-something that head coach Mike Mularkey and Bills' players fear. With Oakland desperately looking to turn around their 2005 season, it is imperative that they find a way to control their opponent's offense: Willis McGahee.

Buffalo quarterback Kelly Holcomb has won his last two starts since given the nod by coach Mike Mularkey. However, the vertical passing game is not the reason why Buffalo has won the last two games. They have come out with two victories as a direct result of their running back, Willis McGahee, and their defensive secondary. In week five's victory against Miami, the Buffalo secondary forced three interceptions on quarterback Gus Frerotte. In the following week, McGahee took matters into his own hands by rumbling for 143 yards and a touchdown. The defense also came up with two interceptions and five sacks on the game.

To counter these two factors, both the Oakland defensive and offensive lines must dominate those of Buffalo. Warren Sapp, Ted Washington, Bobby Hamilton, and Tommy Kelly must find away to push the front five of Buffalo behind the line of scrimmage and close gaps on Willis McGahee. Oakland was horrendous in doing so last week against the Chargers-even Ron Dayne could have cleared the massive holes in the Oakland defense.

To counter the outstanding play of the Buffalo secondary, the offensive line of Oakland has to play excellent on Sunday. Up to this point in the season, the line has been second-rate at best-allowing 12 sacks through five games. Additionally, the line must create consistent running lanes for running back LaMont Jordan or his continuing struggles will linger on throughout all four quarters. Oakland's front five on offense includes former first-rounder Robert Gallery, Ron Stone, Adam Treu, Langston Walker, and Barry Sims. These five players will have the task of lining up against Chris Kelsay, Sam Adams, Tim Anderson, and Aaron Schobel for the Buffalo Bills.

Sunday's matchup at Network Associates Coliseum will be far from a game of finesse. The winner of this AFC matchup will be the team that prevails down in the trenches. Oakland just better make sure that they don't dig themselves deeper into the ground this season, or the term "Black Hole" will take on an entirely new meaning.
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal ...
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