Inside The Afc East

Sporting News, The, Sept 11, 2000

GAME OF THE WEEK

New England at N.Y. Jets. Both teams are picked to finish near the cellar, but they always get up for each other. The teams have split their last eight games. This also marks the first meeting between Bill Parcells (yes, he's still in charge) and longtime assistant Bill Belichick.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

Colts WR Marvin Harrison vs. Raiders CB Charles Woodson. The first meeting of the former first-round picks has all the makings of a classic WR-CB duel. Watch for Woodson to use every trick to throw Harrison off of his game. The Raiders may put Eric Allen on Harrison on some plays.

ON THE SPOT

Jets WR Wayne Chrebet. With Keyshawn Johnson gone, defenses will be able to key on Chrebet, who will have to get open early and often to keep the Patriots' defense spread and to give Curtis Martin running room.

KEEP AN EYE ON

Bills WR Peerless Price. With defenses keying on Eric Moulds, Price should have plenty of balls thrown his way. Price has great speed, which will stretch the defense and test Packers CBs Tyrone Williams and Mike McKenzie.

ROOKIE REPORT

Rob Morris is still trying to work his way into the starting lineup. If he plays against the Raiders, he'll have his hands full going against RBs Tyrone Wheatley and Napoleon Kaufman while also keeping an eye on TE Rickey Dudley.

FEARLESS FORECAST

The Patriots, who face a brutal schedule over the first eight weeks, will finish the first half of the season 1-7. Their best chances to win will come in Week 3 at home against Minnesota and Week 7 in Foxboro against the Jets.

FANTASY SOURCE

After a hot start in Week 1 against the Packers, the Jets' Martin faces his old teammates from New England. In four career games against the Patriots, he has averaged nearly 110 yards rushing but has scored only two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving).

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Buffalo

1-0: T 1st

Highly touted defense still has plenty of work to do

It's hard to improve if you're the NFL's top-ranked defense, but if the Bills are to retain that title, they need to create more big plays. The team ranked 15th in the AFC and 28th leaguewide with 21 forced turnovers (12 INTs, nine fumble recoveries) last season. With 37 sacks, the Bills were 13th in the AFC and tied for 20th overall. The Bills did collect 13 sacks and 10 takeaways in the preseason, a sign they were moving in the right direction, and they produced one turnover and four sacks in the opening win over Tennessee.... Keep an eye on third-round pick Corey Moore, who is making the move from college end to outside linebacker. Moore has speed, agility and strength that surprises bigger offensive linemen. Because of his size (5-11, 225), he can be manhandled at the point of attack when teams run at him. But what thrills the Bills is Moore's potential as a pass rusher. With 35 sacks at Virginia Tech, he broke Bruce Smith's school record, and the Bills plan to use their linebackers to harass quarterbacks more this year... The team gambled and won. The Bills kept only two healthy QBs on cutdown day because Doug Flutie's recovery from a groin injury had been faster than expected. The decision looked a bit shaky Sunday when Rob Johnson went down in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. But Alex Van Pelt survived the rest of the game and guided the Bills to a winning field goal. It's quite possible Flutie will be ready to play, if needed. Sunday against Green Bay.

SCOUTING REPORT: Seventh-year LB Sam Rogers is one of the least touted players on defense, yet he's one the team can't do without. A defensive end in college, Rogers made a quick transition to linebacker and has been starting since his second year. Last year, Rogers played on the strong side, where he often lined up in front of tight ends, producing a career-high 112 tackles. This season, he's on the weak side, where the team can take advantage of his pass-rushing ability. Rogers' pass coverage has improved greatly, the last step toward his becoming a complete linebacker.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: K Steve Christie was able to kick three field goals Sunday despite a bruised right kicking leg, which he suffered when a defender dived while trying to block a field-goal attempt August 24 at Philadelphia. Even if Christie's leg were worse, he still might have been able to kick. That's because he also can kick with his left leg. He has kicked field goals as long as 55 yards with his left in practice. --Allen Wilson

GRADING OUT vs. Tennessee

OFFENSE C

The Bills moved the ball well at times but struggled to sustain drives.

DEFENSE A

It held the Titans to 172 total yards--53 rushing yards--and nine first downs.

SPECIAL TEAMS D

Breakdown in kick coverage during the final seconds almost cost the Bills--again.

COACHING B

Using both nose tackles was the major reason the Titans were unable to run the ball.

BILLS

PASSING    Att.   Comp.   Pct.   Yds.   Long

Johnson     18      9     50.0    107    23
Van Pelt     8      4     50.0     67    36

PASSING    TD   Int.   Rate   Sacks

Johnson     1    0     87.0     5
Van Pelt    0    0     78.6     0

RUSHING    Att.   Yds.   Avg.   TD

Johnson      6     60    10.0    0
A. Smith    17     42     2.5    0
Bryson      10     16     1.6    0

RECEIVING   No.   Yds.   Avg.   TD

P. Price     4     42    10.5    1
McDaniel     3     40    13.3    0
Moulds       2     46    23.0    0
Riemersma    2      9     4.5    0

SCORING    XPM   XPA   FGM   FGA   Pts.

Christie    1     1     3     4     10

PUNTING        No.   Yds.   Avg.   Blk.

Mohr            9     375   41.7    0

KO RETURNS     No.   Yds.   Avg.   TD

Watson          3      35   11.7    0

PUNT RETURNS   No.   Yds.   Avg.   TD

Watson          5      10    2.0    0