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For this week’s guest, I called upon Ryan Talbot, the Editor-in-Chief of BillsMafia.com. He’s been writing about the Buffalo Bills for a few years and has been a fan of the team for his entire life. He lives in the WNY area and is an educator by day. He can be found on Twitter @RyanTalbotBills.
What does the quarterback change from E.J. Manuel to Kyle Orton mean in the short term? How does it impact the offense against Detroit?
Short term, it hopefully means that Buffalo’s wide open receivers get passes that they can catch. If EJ Manuel was somewhat consistent, the Bills would absolutely be 3-1 right now, and possibly 4-0. Manuel faced a lot of pressure against the Texans last week, but even when he had time to pass many of his throws were too low, too high, behind the receiver or thrown to someone in the wrong uniform. Manuel needs some time on the sidelines and I think this change will benefit him.
Against Detroit, the Bills game plan should be rather simple. Rely on the run and pass when you need to. That being said, Detroit has been outstanding defensively, so running may not work. If you need someone to pass the ball 30-40 times, I prefer Orton over Manuel. Orton will certainly make his fair share of mistakes, but he’s also not gun shy. He’ll try to make passes that Manuel would pass over every time for his check down option. This week’s match-up is going to be difficult for the Bills.
What’s the early return on Jim Schwartz as the defensive coordinator?
The early returns are great. Schwartz immediately fixed one of the worst run defenses in the league upon his arrival. Buffalo is currently 3rd in run defense. The Bills defense is also in the top ten in the following categories: yards allowed (10th), points allowed (7th), takeaways (4th), third-down percentage (5th) and red zone efficiency (7th). He’s been a great addition to the Bills.
The only real knock on Schwartz is the team’s pass defense, which is 25th in the league.
Lions fans also know special teams coordinator Danny Crossman well from his time in Detroit. It did not go well for him, to keep it polite. How is he doing in Buffalo?
Crossman’s first season with the Bills was an absolute disaster. Simply put, many people in Buffalo wanted to see him get fired and were shocked when he wasn’t. Doug Marrone stood by Crossman and said it was the special teams’ lack of talent, not Crossman, that led to the issues last season.
Through 4 games, Marrone may be correct. Buffalo’s special teams have been fantastic. Dan Carpenter has been terrific, Colton Schmidt has been a terrific punter since the Bills signed him to replace Brian Moorman and Jordan Gay has done his job well as a kickoff specialist, something I was completely against. The team already has a blocked punt and kick return this season as well. Tackling has been outstanding on kick and punt coverage as well. Football Outsiders currently has the Bills ranked 3rd on their special teams rankings and has them projected to the best in the league on special teams at the end of the season.
I certainly didn’t expect Crossman’s special teams to be so vastly improved, but so far this season they’ve been nothing short of incredible.
How are the rookies doing so far? And as a personal bonus question, how is Duke Williams faring at safety in his second year? I was quite bullish on him during the draft process.
It’s been a mixed bag really. Sammy Watkins looked great against the Dolphins and has had moments in other games. He’s averaging a bit more than 4 receptions per game and about 50 yards per game. I’m interested to see how his stats improve with Orton at QB. Cyrus Kouandjio has been a disappointment. It’s odd that a 2nd round pick isn’t ready to contribute, but he’s been a real letdown. Preston Brown has been outstanding for Buffalo. He’s played terrific football for a rookie and has filled in well for Nigel Bradham and Keith Rivers. He has been the most consistent rookie on the Bills and if Brandon Spikes leaves after the season, I could see Brown being the MLB for many years to come. Ross Cockrell hasn’t played a defensive snap, but the team has terrific depth at cornerback. Cyril Richardson just started his first game at guard. Hopefully he stays there as the guard play has been awful and Richardson’s upside is much greater than Chris Williams’. Seantrel Henderson has started all four games at right tackle and really seems to have turned his life around. Doug Marrone told him he had one shot with the Bills upon being drafted and he’s taken it to heart. He’s been a great teammate by all accounts and earned his starting job. The talent was always there, so it’s nice to see Henderson doing so well in the NFL. Last, Randell Johnson has contributed on special teams. Pretty solid contributions from the rookie class.
As for Duke Williams, he just started his first game of the season in Week 4. It seems he’s starting to edge out Da’Norris Searcy at SS, but I truly haven’t seen him make much of an impact to this point. He’s still rather young, so I’m hoping he develops into a solid starter alongside Aaron Williams.
Who wins, and why?
Detroit wins 24-17. Both teams have terrific defenses, but there will be some scoring on Sunday. Buffalo has struggled in pass defense and Matthew Stafford will likely have a good deal of success passing the ball. For that reason, the Lions win by a touchdown and move to 4-1.
