This game could wind up being a shootout based on both teams’ first game of the year.  The Bucs gave up 462 yards to the Cowboys while the Bills allowed 441 yards to the Patriots.  The Buccaneers would prefer to run the ball to control the clock and keep the ball away from the Bucs.  The Bills did well against the run last week holding the Patriots to 73 yards rushing and 3.2 yards per carry, so it won’t be easy for the Bucs to run the ball.  Cadillac Williams (97 yards) and Derrick Ward (62 yards) led the way for the Bucs on the ground and they will likely split carries against the Bucs.  Kellen Winslow could be in for a huge game for the Bucs this week as Ben Watson of the Patriots tore up the Bills last week.  The Bills only had 1 sack last week so Byron Leftwich should have the time needed to throw the football when he wants to.

The Bills played o.k. on offense last week despite only having possession of the football for 22:52 of the game.  The Bills will likely get the ball into Fred Jackson’s hands quite a bit in this game against a Bucs’ D that allowed 119 yards rushing and 4.9 ypc last week.  With this matchup though the Bills will likely turn Trent Edwards loose.  WRs Terrell Owens and Lee Evans could be in line for huge games against the Bucs’ D.

PREDICTION:  BILLS 31, BUCS 27

Two 16 year old kids vandalized CB/KR Leodis McKelvin’s yard, spray painting the final score on the lawn of the Monday Night game.  McKelvin fumbled a kickoff late in the game to set up the Patriots’ game winning drive.  McKelvin had six tackles and he returned 4 kickoffs for 97 yards (24.3 avg) in the game against the Patriots.  Last season McKelvin was electric returning kickoffs as he did it 52 times for 1,468 yards (28.2 avg) with 1 TD return.  McKelvin didn’t press charges against the dumb ass kids that messed up his lawn. 

The Bills knew that they were getting a very high maintenance played when they signed Terrell Owens.  They also know that he is one of the most dynamic WRs in the NFL when motivated.  He only caught 2 passes for 46 yards (23.0 avg) in the season opener against the Patriots.  Most of the reason for that was that the Patriots doubled T.O. the whole game.  Owens will likely quit be a nice guy if he doesn’t get his touches against the Buccaneers this week.

The Bills will be without starting linebacker Paul Poslusny for several weeks with a broken bone in his left arm.  Poslusny made six tackles last night against the Patriots before he was injured.  He has played in 20 games for the Bills now and he has made 142 tackles, has defensed six passes and he has forced 1 fumble and has 1 interception.  The Bills defense will miss Poslusny who is a tackling machine.

The Bills played hard in this game but there is no such thing as a moral victory in the NFL.  The goat of this game without a doubt is Leodis McKelvin who fumbled a kickoff and set up Tom Brady to be a hero.  The Bills were up 24-13 late in this game before choking hard.  Trent Edwards had a solid game as he completed 15 of 25 passes for 212 yards with 2 TD passes.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 25 yards (12.5 ypc).  Fred Jackson was working hard in this game as he carried the ball 15 times for 57 yards (3.8 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 83 yards (16.6 avg) with a TD.   Terrell Owens only caught 2 passes for 46 yards (23.0 avg) but the Patriots were doubling him the whole game long.  The Bills only had possession of the football for 22:52 of this game but they still managed to get 276 total yards on offense (90 rushing, 186 passing).

LB Keith Ellison was everywhere for the Bills in this game finishing with 16 tackles.  DE Aaron Schobel was also a impact player in this game finishing with 2 tackles, a sack and a interception that he returned 26 yards for a TD!  The Patriots finished up with 441 total yards in this game (73 rushing, 368 passing).

The Bills could be in some deep trouble tonight as the Patriots have thumped them 11 times in a row by an AVERAGE of 20.5 points per game!  The Bills best chance in this game will be if they can play keepaway from the Patriots.  The bad thing for them is that they aren’t built for a offense like that.  WRs Lee Evans and Terrell Owens are downfield receivers so maybe the Bills will just try to fight fire with fire.  For that to happen they must protect Trent Edwards and that could be hard with two rookies starting at guard.  Andy Livitre and Eric Wood will have to keep Patriots’ NT Vince Wilfork out of the backfield and that won’t be easy.  If Edwards is having trouble getting time to throw the ball he might throw it to Fred Jackson out of the backfield to challenge the OLBs of the Patriots. 

The Patriots are going to be all about Tom Brady and Randy Moss tonight.  Those two guys will be playing catch all day long unless the Bills can mount a solid pass rush.  If the Bills start bringing the heat then look for Brady to use all of his receivers and he’s just as deadly that way.  If the Patriots build up a nice lead in this game then they will pound the ball with the deep corps of RBs that they have this season.

PREDICTION:  NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 45, BUFFALO BILLS 20

You can say one thing about the Buffalo Bills: They aren’t afraid to shake things up. Yesterday, they fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert, replacing him with QB coach Alex Van Pelt, and today they cut running back Dominic Rhodes, who was one of their biggest free agency acquisitions this year.

Rhodes was brought in to provide starter Marshawn Lynch with some much needed help, but struggled in the preseason, finishing with 19 carries, 64 yards, one touchdown and two fumbles. Schonert also struggled in the preseason, attempting to introduce a no-huddle offense that could barely move the ball and couldn’t even score a touchdown in their final eight quarters.

Perhaps head coach Dick Jauron knows this is a make or break year for him, having gone 7-9 the last three seasons, but making such big moves only a week before the season may cause the Bills to have a rocky opening. It will be interesting to see how they handle their sudden lack of depth at running back, as well as the differences Van Pelt may bring to the offense.

The Bills looked tired as this was their 5th pre-season game.  Ryan Fitzpatrick started this game and he completed 9 of 17 passes for 78 yards with 1 interception.  Gibran Hamdan finished up this mess by completing 9 of 17 passe for 163 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT.  Fullback Corey McIntyre was the leading rusher in this game for the Bills with 29 yards on 7 carries (4.1 ypc).  Bruce Hall was also busy carrying the ball 11 times for 28 yards (2.5 ypc).  Steve Johnson led the way in the passing game for the Bills with 69 yards on 3 catches (23.0 avg).  The Bills finished up with 321 total yards in this game (87 rushing, 234 passing) but they only scored six points and that’s awful.

Linebacker Nic Harris led the Bills’ “defense” with 12 tackles and he defensed 1 pass.  The Lions rolled up 422 total yards on offense (249 rushing, 173 passing) in this game.  The most embarrassing stat about his game was that the Lions averaged 6.7 yards per carry on the ground!  The Bills hope to play better when the games count as they were 1-4 in the pre-season.

The Bills have released 26-year old LB Pat Thomas.  Thomas played in 3 pre-season games for the Bills and he didn’t make nary one tackle.  Thomas did play in 12 games for the Chiefs last season and he made 48 tackles, defensed 2 passes and he had 1/2 a sack.  This is a good sign for the Bills as Thomas was just not good enough to make the team.