21 Things to Watch: Buffalo Bills at Washington Redskins

These Game Preview columns usually have a different name, but that didn’t seem appropriate this week. So instead, as a mini tribute to Sean Taylor, we’ve changed the name. Depending on how this goes and is received it may be a one week experiment or a permanent change.

1. Both the Bills and the Redskins have identical 5-6 records but according to Football Outsiders advanced metrics, the different between the Redskins and Bills (in the Redskins favor) is about equal to the difference between the Steelers and the Redskins.
2. The Bills have benched JP Losman and inserted Trent Edwards as the starting line-up. Edwards generated some praise after the near upset of the Cowboys in a prime time game earlier this year, but he’s been pretty darn terrible this year. He has 1 TD pass against 5 interceptions and is a rookie. He had pretty numbers against the Cowboys, but in reality it was the fact that Romo turned the ball over a million times in that game that gave the Bills a shot.
3. The Bills are decimated at running back. Both starter Marshawn Lynch and back-up Anthony Thomas are out this week, so they will go with Fred Jackson and Dwayne Wright. They have a combined 35 carries in their career. The Bills running game isn’t exactly powerhouse at the best of times, so don’t expect much here.
4. At the receiving end of things, the Bills are known as Lee Evans and the other guys. Evans has struggled this year and is only catching 51% of the balls thrown his way (for comparision, Santana Moss is at 52% and we all know how he is struggling). A lot of this can be attributed to the QB’s forcing the ball his way to try to make a big play happen.
5. The other receivers are Josh Reed and Roscoe Parrish. Reed is pretty much a possession receiver without much speed, while Parrish has an even smaller YPC number (only 9.6 yards per catch). Parrish has an unbelievable catch percentage of 78% which is 2nd in the league to Wes Welker.
6. The starting tight end is old friend Robert Royal. He’s been pretty Robert Royal like this year, putting up pretty pedestrian numbers. The 2nd tight end, Michael Gaines is having a solid year with 17 catches.
7. The Redskins rank 22nd in the league against number one receivers, so containing Lee Evans will be key. The Redskins number is skewed downward thanks to the pummeling Terrell Owens gave us a few weeks ago. The Redskins are solid against other receivers, ranking 2nd against both #2 receivers and other receivers.
8. The Bills are terrible running in all directions except behind right tackle which just happens to be the Redskins the spot where the Redskins are toughest to run against. Not a good sign for the Bills running game.
9. Ah the benefits of playing in a pitiful division (Patriots excluded obviously). The Bills rank 2nd worst in the league in both offense and defense and still have 5 wins. The Redskins have outgained the Bills by nearly 70 yards/game and have a better defense by about 50 yards/game and yet have an identical record.
10. The resistible force versus the movable object? The Bills rank last in the league against runs around the right end while the Redskins rank 22nd on runs to the right. The word is that Randy Thomas will not play this week, (although he is listed as questionable and not out) so this is likely a weakness that the Redskins won’t be able to exploit.
11. The Redskins offense is stung with injuries again this week. The team’s top receiver this year, Antwaan Randle-El is listed as questionable, while Mike Sellers has been ruled out. No idea who will be returning punts, but if it is once again Keenan McCardell… well let’s just say that is a blow to the Redskins winning the field position battle.
12. Sean Taylor made Brian Moorman famous in the Pro Bowl last year, but he’s a damn good punter. He has had 18 punts downed within the 20 (6 within the 10 yard line) versus only 3 touchbacks to go with a 42.5 gross average. FYI – he has one running attempt for 10 yards this year, so fake punts aren’t all bad.
13. Combined record of the team’s the Bills have beat this year: 10-41. Combined record of the team’s the Redskins have lost to this year: 51-17.
14. Catch percentages for Redskins receivers and tight ends: Randle-El 65%, Moss 52%, McCardell 76%, Thrash 50%, Caldwell 63%, Lloyd 18%, Cooley 62%, Yoder 63%. Can we just official end the Brandon Lloyd era now.
15. The Bills have two special team return touchdowns this year. Terrence McGee on a kick return and Roscoe Parrish on a punt return have both scored.
16. Aaron Schobel is probably the most well known Bills defender playing this week, but he’s struggled big time this year. He only has 2.5 sacks (which leads the Bills). He did have half a sack in his only career match-up against Washington.
17. The Bills leading tackler is linebacker Angelo Cronwell. John DiGiorgio, who replaced London Fletcher at middle linebacker, ranks 2nd.
18. The Bills also feature old friend Derrick Dockery, who became a very rich man this off-season signing a huge free agent contact with Buffalo. Most reports list Dockery’s play as solid but not worth the gazillions of dollars they threw at him. Who would have ever guessed that?
19. The Bills kicker is Ryan Lindell, who’s operating at 88.5% accuracy on his field goals with a long of 52 yards. He’s yet to miss a field goal against the Redskins in 3 games.
20. 83% of participants in yahoo pick’em pools are going with the Redskins. Bodog has the Redskins listed at 6.5 point favorites (remember use referral code 1955555 for special bonuses).
21. And now for the ultimate cliche – you can throw out every number I’ve listed above when looking at this game. No team in recent NFL history has gone through a week like the Redskins have this week. Losing a teammate, especially in this fashion, just isn’t something you can put aside and give your full concentration to a football game. Honestly, the Redskins could win by 35 or lose by 35 and I wouldn’t be surprised. The only sure thing about this game is that it will be an emotional one and I expect the crowd to play a huge role in it.


Washington Redskins 27 Buffalo Bills 17