Admittedly, I gave Brian Galliford a VERY generic question to answer, something difficult to grab onto. He essentially game planned out what the Buffalo Bills need to do in order to go home with a W. Also admittedly, this is getting exhausting. I haven't come up with, no answered, so many questions with an opponent in a long time. I have a feeling Brian feels the same way, too. ;-)
Q: The Patriots will, undoubtedly, be looking to herald the second coming of Tom Brady with an aerial assault. I also think they'll be looking to test out their running game, to make sure there's balance between the two. What weapons can Buffalo bring to bear to halt these offensive strategies? What strengths and weaknesses do you think will help and hurt Buffalo respectively?
If I'm understanding correctly, you're asking me how to stop Tom Brady and the Patriots' passing attack, and how to stop the Patriots' severely underrated rushing attack. I feel quite certain that if I had a straight answer to give you, I'd be employed by a professional football franchise in either Buffalo, Miami or New Jersey.
The Pats are going to put up points on every team they face this season. I'll tell you this much: the only chance the Bills have of forcing the Patriots into anything is if they score points themselves. This Bills team is built to play with leads; their defense is light, fast, and built to make things happen as opposed to grind down opponents over the course of a game. Teams can wear this defense down. In that vein, the only way Buffalo can possibly fathom slowing down the Pats' offense - with obvious factors such as pressuring Brady clearly not forgotten - is if they grab an early lead and use their speed across the board to force Brady into a mistake or two. That scenario is precisely what Bill Belichick and his staff should try to avoid.
That's a fairly accurate and fair representation of the Bills' defensive capabilities. A long, grind out session would probably drive them nuts, but if Trent Edwards can connect with the likes of Terrell Owens, early and often, we could be in for a long day.
Many thanks to Brian Galliford for providing his insight to our current matchup. You can find my answers to his question about our defense by heading over to Buffalo Rumblings.