ESPN.com - NFL - Take 2: Bills vs. Ravens Friday, October 22, 2004
View all Week 7 games
Tuesday, our scouts filed their advance advance scouting report on this
week's matchup between the Bills and Ravens. Now they're back with a
second look.
Only three running backs have rushed for over 100 yards against Buffalo
over the last 21 games, and the Bills haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher
this year. It's unlikely that Baltimore will break that streak with Jamal
Lewis out of the lineup, but the Ravens don't need a 100-yard rusher if
they can get good production from both RBs Chester Taylor and Musa Smith.
Although it now appears that Taylor will get the bulk of the work, he has
yet to carry the ball more than 10 times in one game since Baltimore
drafted him in 2002. Head coach Brian Billick has made it clear that the
Ravens' coaching staff will be watching Taylor for any signs of fatigue,
so expect to see Smith get ample carries in relief.
Buffalo SS Lawyer Milloy is expected to play after missing the first
five games of the season with a broken forearm. Milloy should play a big
role in run support, as the Bills will frequently move him into the box in
an effort to force Baltimore to throw downfield. Although Milloy plays
with a mean streak and is a powerful open field tackler, he will be
wearing a cast over his forearm and there is some concern it will hinder
his ability to wrap up. If he misses a few tackles, early expect Buffalo
to play him primarily on passing downs.
The cast will also affect Milloy's ability to make plays on the ball in
coverage, but his leadership and experience should give the Bills'
secondary a boost. Milloy rarely takes false steps or gets caught out of
position, unlike his replacements Coy Wire and Pierson Prioleau. As a
result, the Bills' corners can be far-more aggressive when they get safety
help over the top. In addition, the Ravens will be without TE Todd Heap,
who is recovering from an ankle injury, for at least another week. Milloy
has the man-to-man cover skills to blanket TEs Terry Jones and Daniel
Wilcox.
Baltimore WR Travis Taylor is expected to return from a groin injury that
has forced him to miss the last four games. Taylor's has just one catch
this year, but his return is significant because Buffalo CB Troy Vincent
will miss another week with a knee injury and Terrence McGee will replace
him. McGee, who is developing into a quality nickel back, simply lacks the
size to be effective lining up on the outside. Taylor has good speed and
can use his height advantage to win any jump balls over McGee, so QB Kyle
Boller should look to exploit this matchup when throwing downfield.
Baltimore has nine different players with at least one sack and it will
bring pressure from all over the field. It's critical that the Bills'
offensive line stay on the same page because QB Drew Bledsoe will take
some big hits if there are any breakdowns in the protection. The good news
is the front five has experience working against the 3-4 front, as it's
already faced Oakland, New England and the Jets. However, those three
teams sacked Bledsoe 18 times and OC Trey Teague, who generally makes all
the line calls, is expected to miss this game with a knee injury. In
addition, the Ravens' fans will make it difficult for Buffalo's offense to
communicate.
Buffalo's outstanding linebacker corps must be careful not to
underestimate Taylor. Taylor makes up for his lack of ideal speed and size
with vision and instincts. The Bills' linebackers have excellent range and
they fly to the ball, but they must be careful not to overrun the play. If
they get caught out of position, Taylor can cut back and his elusiveness
makes him dangerous once he gets into the open field.
AdamsBuffalo LDT Sam Adams is practicing with the first-team defense after
defensive coordinator Jerry Gray replaced him with Ron Edwards in the
second half of last week's game. While the benching should provide some
added incentive for Adams to play well against the Ravens, he already had
plenty of inspiration. Adams was a member of the Ravens' 2000 Super Bowl
team but he left Baltimore on a sour note, as he felt the team insulted
him with its offer when trying to re-sign him in the offseason. He will
want to play well against his former team and show the Ravens they made a
mistake when they let him go.
Bills RB Travis Henry is practicing and is expected to play after missing
last week's game with a foot injury, but how much the injury affects him
remains to be seen and it is reason for concern. Although RB Willis
McGahee is running hard, Henry is still the more powerful runner and
excels at picking up yards after contact. Baltimore's Ray Lewis is
arguably the best inside linebacker in the league. However, everyone has
their weaknesses, including Lewis, and he is having problems shedding
blocks. Buffalo can take advantage of this vulnerability by running right
at Lewis because it makes it easier for the offensive line to reach its
blocks at the second level. If Henry is less than 100 percentthe Bills'
interior running game won't be as effective.
Two former head coaches have made significant impacts on their respective
teams. Former Cincinnati head coach Sam Wyche is now Buffalo's quarterback
coach and he may be helping first-year head coach Mike Mularkey as much as
he's helping Bledsoe. Wyche started his head coaching career 0-5, but the
Bengals won eight of their last 11 games that year. Former Giants head
coach Jim Fassell is a senior consultant for the Ravens and he has worked
with Boller extensively. While Boller has struggled, Fassell has remained
confident in his abilities and that support should help Boller develop.
Special Teams
Don't be surprised to see some big plays in the return game. Baltimore PR
B.J. Sams leads the NFL with a 14.8 yard average and he has returned a
punt for a touchdown in each of the last two games. Buffalo KOR McGee is
averaging a gaudy 29.5 yards per kickoff return and he returned one 98
yards for a touchdown earlier this year.
P Brian Moorman was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week
following his performance against Miami in Week 6. He has placed seven of
his 25 punts inside the opponents' 25-yard line and is averaging 43.7
yards a punt. Winning the battle of field position could be the deciding
factor in this game, so Moorman needs another strong performance. He needs
to give his cover teams enough time to get downfield by getting good hang
time on his kicks and he may need to kick away from Sams at times.
Prediction: Bills 20, Ravens 13
View all Week 7 games
Tuesday, our scouts filed their advance advance scouting report on this
week's matchup between the Bills and Ravens. Now they're back with a
second look.
Only three running backs have rushed for over 100 yards against Buffalo
over the last 21 games, and the Bills haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher
this year. It's unlikely that Baltimore will break that streak with Jamal
Lewis out of the lineup, but the Ravens don't need a 100-yard rusher if
they can get good production from both RBs Chester Taylor and Musa Smith.
Although it now appears that Taylor will get the bulk of the work, he has
yet to carry the ball more than 10 times in one game since Baltimore
drafted him in 2002. Head coach Brian Billick has made it clear that the
Ravens' coaching staff will be watching Taylor for any signs of fatigue,
so expect to see Smith get ample carries in relief.
Buffalo SS Lawyer Milloy is expected to play after missing the first
five games of the season with a broken forearm. Milloy should play a big
role in run support, as the Bills will frequently move him into the box in
an effort to force Baltimore to throw downfield. Although Milloy plays
with a mean streak and is a powerful open field tackler, he will be
wearing a cast over his forearm and there is some concern it will hinder
his ability to wrap up. If he misses a few tackles, early expect Buffalo
to play him primarily on passing downs.
The cast will also affect Milloy's ability to make plays on the ball in
coverage, but his leadership and experience should give the Bills'
secondary a boost. Milloy rarely takes false steps or gets caught out of
position, unlike his replacements Coy Wire and Pierson Prioleau. As a
result, the Bills' corners can be far-more aggressive when they get safety
help over the top. In addition, the Ravens will be without TE Todd Heap,
who is recovering from an ankle injury, for at least another week. Milloy
has the man-to-man cover skills to blanket TEs Terry Jones and Daniel
Wilcox.
Baltimore WR Travis Taylor is expected to return from a groin injury that
has forced him to miss the last four games. Taylor's has just one catch
this year, but his return is significant because Buffalo CB Troy Vincent
will miss another week with a knee injury and Terrence McGee will replace
him. McGee, who is developing into a quality nickel back, simply lacks the
size to be effective lining up on the outside. Taylor has good speed and
can use his height advantage to win any jump balls over McGee, so QB Kyle
Boller should look to exploit this matchup when throwing downfield.
Baltimore has nine different players with at least one sack and it will
bring pressure from all over the field. It's critical that the Bills'
offensive line stay on the same page because QB Drew Bledsoe will take
some big hits if there are any breakdowns in the protection. The good news
is the front five has experience working against the 3-4 front, as it's
already faced Oakland, New England and the Jets. However, those three
teams sacked Bledsoe 18 times and OC Trey Teague, who generally makes all
the line calls, is expected to miss this game with a knee injury. In
addition, the Ravens' fans will make it difficult for Buffalo's offense to
communicate.
Buffalo's outstanding linebacker corps must be careful not to
underestimate Taylor. Taylor makes up for his lack of ideal speed and size
with vision and instincts. The Bills' linebackers have excellent range and
they fly to the ball, but they must be careful not to overrun the play. If
they get caught out of position, Taylor can cut back and his elusiveness
makes him dangerous once he gets into the open field.
AdamsBuffalo LDT Sam Adams is practicing with the first-team defense after
defensive coordinator Jerry Gray replaced him with Ron Edwards in the
second half of last week's game. While the benching should provide some
added incentive for Adams to play well against the Ravens, he already had
plenty of inspiration. Adams was a member of the Ravens' 2000 Super Bowl
team but he left Baltimore on a sour note, as he felt the team insulted
him with its offer when trying to re-sign him in the offseason. He will
want to play well against his former team and show the Ravens they made a
mistake when they let him go.
Bills RB Travis Henry is practicing and is expected to play after missing
last week's game with a foot injury, but how much the injury affects him
remains to be seen and it is reason for concern. Although RB Willis
McGahee is running hard, Henry is still the more powerful runner and
excels at picking up yards after contact. Baltimore's Ray Lewis is
arguably the best inside linebacker in the league. However, everyone has
their weaknesses, including Lewis, and he is having problems shedding
blocks. Buffalo can take advantage of this vulnerability by running right
at Lewis because it makes it easier for the offensive line to reach its
blocks at the second level. If Henry is less than 100 percentthe Bills'
interior running game won't be as effective.
Two former head coaches have made significant impacts on their respective
teams. Former Cincinnati head coach Sam Wyche is now Buffalo's quarterback
coach and he may be helping first-year head coach Mike Mularkey as much as
he's helping Bledsoe. Wyche started his head coaching career 0-5, but the
Bengals won eight of their last 11 games that year. Former Giants head
coach Jim Fassell is a senior consultant for the Ravens and he has worked
with Boller extensively. While Boller has struggled, Fassell has remained
confident in his abilities and that support should help Boller develop.
Special Teams
Don't be surprised to see some big plays in the return game. Baltimore PR
B.J. Sams leads the NFL with a 14.8 yard average and he has returned a
punt for a touchdown in each of the last two games. Buffalo KOR McGee is
averaging a gaudy 29.5 yards per kickoff return and he returned one 98
yards for a touchdown earlier this year.
P Brian Moorman was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week
following his performance against Miami in Week 6. He has placed seven of
his 25 punts inside the opponents' 25-yard line and is averaging 43.7
yards a punt. Winning the battle of field position could be the deciding
factor in this game, so Moorman needs another strong performance. He needs
to give his cover teams enough time to get downfield by getting good hang
time on his kicks and he may need to kick away from Sams at times.
Prediction: Bills 20, Ravens 13
