Around the AFC East: Week 7 Review
By
NFL Scout Staff
Jets
:: Dolphins :: Patriots
BUFFALO
BILLS
The Bills defense entered the season talking about becoming
one of the NFL's "elite" units.
After an embarrassing 38-17 loss
at Oakland on Sunday, the Bills defense will settle for merely being average.
Right now, the unit isn't even that.
Buffalo's season-long inability to
stop the run was not resolved against a desperate one-win Raiders team that entered
the game determined to get LaMont Jordan on track and succeeded in overwhelming
fashion.
Jordan, who finished with 122 yards on 28 carries, scored on runs
of 1, 17 and 7 yards, and backup Zack Crockett chipped in 33 yards and a 2-yard
TD run on just seven carries. Jordan became the sixth running back to top 100
yards on Buffalo in the past 10 games. The Bills had allowed only five such performances
during a previous stretch of 31 games.
Most alarming for Buffalo on Sunday
was how Oakland hogged the ball for 13:31 of the fourth quarter thanks to two
long touchdown drives that put the game away after the Bills had drawn to within
24-17.
On the Raiders' final drive, good for 69 yards, they ran the ball
on 14 of 15 plays. On the day, the Bills gave up 12 rushing first downs.
"We
recognize the enemy (us) and haven't been able to do anything about it,"
Bills coach Mike Mularkey said of his team, which ranked 30th against the run
entering the game. "We've got to get better. Whether it's looking at different
personnel ... we've just got to get better because it's happened consistently
against us, and we've got to stop it."
The Bills (3-4) were looking
to take over first place in the AFC East over idle New England, but instead lost
their third road game of the year. They now travel to New England, where the rested
Patriots (3-3) have dominated Buffalo in recent seasons.
Buffalo's team
is designed to control the ball on offense and rely on solid defense and special
teams. But if the defense, missing Pro Bowl linebacker Takeo Spikes (torn Achilles),
has indeed slipped several notches due to injury and age, the offense will have
to pick up the slack.
That didn't happen at Oakland, where running back
Willis McGahee was held to 50 yards on 16 carries and quarterback Kelly Holcomb
never attacked downfield and seemed incapable of mounting a comeback. He threw
for two short touchdowns but averaged only 8.4 yards per completion. Holcomb was
sacked three times and lost a fumble.
"The line of scrimmage, we lost
it (against Oakland) on both sides," Mularkey said.
SECOND LOOK
A
9-yard touchdown pass from Kelly Holcomb to Josh Reed early in the fourth quarter
drew the Bills to within a touchdown of the Raiders at 24-17.
But Oakland
responded with two clock-killing touchdown drives consuming 6:04 and 7:27, and
the Raiders finished off a 38-17 win at McAfee Coliseum.
For the seventh
straight time, the Bills won the coin toss, and for the sixth time in seven games,
they took the opening drive to a score. Holcomb capped that 14-play, 82-yard drive
with a 5-yard scoring pass to Lee Evans in the back of the end zone.
The
Raiders took a 10-7 lead on a 25-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal and a 22-yard
TD pass from Kerry Collins to Randy Moss. The Bills were then denied a go-ahead
touchdown when fullback Daimon Shelton was stuffed for no gain by linebacker Kirk Morrison on fourth-and-goal at the 1. The Bills were able to force a Raiders punt
and gain good field position to set up Rian Lindell's 41-yard field goal on their
next possession.
But the Raiders closed the half with a 1-yard LaMont Jordan
touchdown run and opened the second with a 17-yard Jordan TD to take a commanding
lead.
PLAYER NOTES
--QB Kelly Holcomb lost for the first time
in three starts for the Bills when Buffalo fell 38-17 at Oakland. Holcomb was
19-for-27 and threw for two short touchdowns without an interception. But he averaged
just 8.4 yards per completion and was no threat to lead a comeback.
--RB Willis
McGahee, who ran the ball a total of 60 times in Buffalo's two previous games,
both victories, had just 16 carries for 50 yards in Sunday's loss at Oakland.
In Buffalo's three road defeats, he has averaged 15 carries for 56 yards (3.7
average).
--KR/CB Terrence McGee, the NFL's No. 1-ranked return specialist,
had a 57-yard return against Oakland and fell just 2 yards shy of his fourth 100-yard
return game of the season. He injured his right leg while making a tackle on defense,
but was able to return to the game.
--WR Roscoe Parrish, Buffalo's top draft
pick who broke his right wrist in training camp, made his debut in Sunday's loss
at Oakland. Parrish returned one punt for 10 yards and played a few downs on offense,
but no passes were thrown his way.
--WR Josh Reed had four catches for 31
yards and a nifty 9-yard touchdown in Sunday's loss at Oakland. He deked two defenders
along the sideline, kept his balance and crossed the goal line.
--WR Lee Evans,
who led all rookies with nine TD catches a year ago, caught his first of 2005,
a 5-yarder in Sunday's loss at Oakland. Evans finished with three catches for
19 yards.
--PK Rian Lindell nailed a 41-yard field goal in Sunday's loss at
Oakland, making him 6-for-7 from 40 yards or longer this season. He entered the
season 4-for-12 from distance in his first two seasons with Buffalo.
--RT
Mike Williams, who missed three starts with an ankle injury, injured his ankle
again in Sunday's loss at Oakland. He was able to return to the game but was hobbled
throughout the second half. His status will be updated Wednesday.
MIAMI
DOLPHINS
The Dolphins don't necessarily have a full-fledged quarterback
controversy, but Gus Frerotte's time as a starter may be drawing to a close if
he doesn't begin to play better starting with Sunday's game against New Orleans
in Baton Rouge, La.
Dolphins coach Nick Saban had the chance to give Frerotte
a vote of confidence following a dismal performance in last Friday's 30-20 loss
to Kansas City. Instead, Saban didn't close the door on the possibility of backup
Sage Rosenfels getting the nod against the Saints.
Rosenfels threw only
one pass against the Chiefs, but it was a 77-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver
Chris Chambers after the game's outcome already was decided. In comparison, Frerotte
completed less than 50 percent of his passes for the fourth time in the past five
games in an 11-of-29 outing for 129 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
"I
haven't thought about it yet," Saban said when asked about whether Rosenfels
had a chance to unseat Frerotte for the Saints game. "I mean, (Rosenfels)
made one pass. I'm not here to say we're disappointed in Gus. I'm not here to
say we're satisfied with Gus. I'm sure Gus is not satisfied with himself. But
I am here to say we're here to help both guys get better and improve, and we'll
make the decisions based on what's best for our offensive team to get better.
"I
don't think it's just that position. I think there are other issues that create
a problem for that position in terms of how we execute together as a group. I
think it would be very unfair to put it on that position when the things are not
being done well enough around him."
Frerotte, though, didn't try to
defend his performance against a Chiefs team that entered with the NFL's 30th-ranked
pass defense.
"I missed some throws, and it is just like we are out
of sync," said Frerotte, who bested the now-departed A.J. Feeley for the
starting spot during the preseason. "We had a great week of practice and
we get in the game and for me personally, it felt like it fell apart a little
bit, whether it was that they played a good defense or we have to make better
throws, whatever it is. We are getting to that point."
SECOND LOOK
The
offense's struggles were compounded by Miami's defense turning in its worst performance
of the season. The Dolphins allowed season highs in rushing (185) and passing
(277) yards as Kansas City controlled time of possession for a whopping 41:40
in a 30-20 win at Miami.
Part of the problem may be the impact of injuries
to several starters. Strong-side linebacker Junior Seau (calf) was declared inactive
for his second consecutive game and was joined on the sideline after in-game injuries
hit strong safety Tebucky Jones (pectoral muscle) and cornerback Sam Madison (hip
pointer).
"They did wear us out," Dolphins middle linebacker Zach Thomas said. "You have to give credit to the Chiefs. They have a good offense
and we gave them some things, including myself. ... You could tell the energy
wasn't there for us, and you can't play football without a spark. There was nothing
there."
PLAYER NOTES
--SLB Junior Seau (calf) was declared
inactive for his second consecutive game in a 30-20 loss to Kansas City, but he
is likely to return for Sunday's matchup against New Orleans in Baton Rouge, La.
--SLB Donnie Spragan started against Kansas City in place of the injured Junior
Seau (calf) for a second consecutive game and again finished with six tackles,
although he was sealed by FB Tony Richardson on a 5-yard Priest Holmes touchdown
run in the first quarter.
--DE Jason Taylor played against Kansas City despite
a foot injury that had sidelined him for two practices. Taylor had seven tackles
and one pass defensed.
--SS Tebucky Jones suffered a season-ending right pectoral
injury against Kansas City. Jones, who underwent surgery Sunday to repair a tear,
will be replaced by Travares Tillman.
--SS Travares Tillman is expected to
enter the starting lineup after Tebucky Jones (pectoral) was injured against Kansas
City. Tillman received a $600,000 signing bonus as part of a two-year contract
he signed in the offseason, but he failed to hold onto a starting spot at free
safety during training camp.
--WR Marty Booker suffered a sprained ankle against
Kansas City. Dolphins coach Nick Saban said X-rays taken on Booker's ankle were
negative but was uncertain of his availability for the Saints game.
--CB Sam
Madison was sidelined for two-plus quarters against Kansas City because of a hip
pointer. Madison's availability for the Saints game wasn't immediately known.
NEW
YORK JETS
Linebacker Eric Barton, who was averaging eight tackles per
game before missing three games with a high ankle sprain, is scheduled to return
to the Jets after Monday's game -- a nice lift to a strong defensive unit that
was coming off a rough showing against the Bills two games ago.
Not to knock
Barton, but the Jets linebacking corps hadn't skipped much of a beat with third-year
player Mark Brown subbing for him.
Brown, who made the Jets out of training
camp in 2003 as an undrafted free agent, totaled 23 tackles in the three games
Barton sat out, including a career-high 11 against Baltimore in Week 4.
"I
feel decent. I feel that I went in and there wasn't a let-up when I went in,"
Brown said. "I feel good about it. I feel comfortable."
While
Brown was victimized by the Bills' running game just like everyone else, he came
though in a big way with an interception and an 18-yard return to the Buffalo
2 that led to a Jets touchdown.
"He did well," Barton said of
his sub. "He made a huge play last week to get us back in the game. Mark
is a good player."
Brown also started the final six games last season
replacing Victor Hobson on the other side and is also listed as Jonathan Vilma's
primary backup at middle linebacker.
"When we first watched him in
college, we knew he was an athletic guy who could make plays. We liked his ability
to play in space," coach Herman Edwards said. "We always felt that that
he was getting better and better, so we liked him from the beginning. (He's) become
a pretty great player for us, a good sub guy that really can play all three (linebacker)
positions."
PLAYER NOTES
--WR Wayne Chrebet has been
missing in the Jets offense lately but says he's content in his role as the third
receiver. A few years ago, Chrebet was outspoken with his distaste for former
coordinator Paul Hackett's offense.
--C Kevin Mawae is still one of the best
centers in the NFL, and certainly one of the most athletic, but because he's out
for the season with a torn triceps and turns 35 next year, the team will consider
parting ways with him before next season.
--QB Jay Fiedler may be less than
a month away from returning from a rotator cuff injury that's kept him out the
last month. There's a good chance he could be inserted as the starter, depending
on how well Vinny Testaverde performs.
--S Oliver Celestin will likely miss
another week with a sprained ligament in his knee.
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