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Friday, September 24
War Room: Eagles at Bills

The War Room

Philadelphia offense vs. Buffalo defense

EAGLES OFFENSE

Ranking in the NFL:
Run 14

Pass 29

Tot. Yds. 29

Scoring 28

Int's allowed 11

Sacks allowed 1

BILLS DEFENSE

Ranking in the NFL:

vs. Run 12

vs. Pass 11

Total yds. allowed 8

Ints. 14

Sacks 27

Turnover differential -2

For the Eagles to have any chance of winning, the offense has to be able to run the football. Their best chance to do this is behind the left side of the line. LOT Tra Thomas and rookie LOG Doug Brezinski are huge bodies and technically sound run-blockers who will need to have big days if Philly is to have any success on the offensive side of the ball.

Aside from Thomas and Brezinski, the remainder of the Eagles offensive line must pull together -- as a unit, the line surrendered nine sacks to Tampa Bay last weekend. Another week of reps together should help C Steve Everitt, ROG Jeff Dellenbach and ROT Jermane Mayberry improve, but it won't be enough to slow the momentum of Buffalo, which sacked Rick Mirer twice and held the Jets to only 79 yards rushing.

Eagles coach Andy Reid needs to make a commitment to one quarterback, instead of waffling between journeyman Doug Pederson and promising rookie Donovan McNabb. McNabb saw his first regular season action last weekend, but was terrorized by Warren Sapp and sacked six times in limited second-half action. If the Eagles are going to establish any offensive continuity this season, Reed needs to pick a QB and stay with him.

Early in the week, Reid named Pederson the starter, but would not rule out using McNabb.

Buffalo NT Ted Washington epitomizes the blue-collar mentality of his team's defensive unit. An unheralded nine-year veteran, Washington gave the Jets interior offensive line fits as he helped shut down the Jets running game in the Bills 17-3 victory. Washington uses his hands and his quickness to shed blockers, penetrate and make tackles along the line of scrimmage. He should be a formidable opponent for the Eagles' interior offensive line and will look to shut down Philly's running game between the tackles. Behind Washington, second-year LILB Sam Cowart is a solid run stopper who has improved in every game since becoming a starter midway through last season. Along with RILB John Holacek, Washington and Cowart should control the middle of the field and make it next to impossible to run between the tackles.

The Bills secondary, anchored by veteran FS Kurt Schultz, established a physical presence early in their game against New York. The result was that Jets receivers grew "alligator arms" and dropped quite a few balls as the game progressed. This week, they should enjoy themselves and continue their physical play against the worst receiving corps in the NFL.

Buffalo offense vs. Philadelphia defense

BILLS OFFENSE

Ranking in the NFL:
Run 6

Pass 14

Tot. Yds. 11

Scoring 23

Int's allowed 16

Sacks allowed 12

EAGLES DEFENSE

Ranking in the NFL:

vs. Run 19

vs. Pass 9

Total yds. allowed 9

Ints. 21

Sacks 16

Turnover differential -2

Doug Flutie has shown time and again that he is the man to be running the Bills offense. Against the Jets, Flutie made up for an average day passing the football by scrambling for 67 yards and a touchdown.

This weekend, he will be forced to scramble again, as he will face a variety of blitz packages conceived by Philly defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. The Bills will resort to what served them best against the Jets -- pounding the ball between the tackles with their big running backs, Antowain Smith and Jonathan Linton.

The Eagles defense showed its vulnerability to a war of attrition in the trenches last week against Tampa Bay, as the Bucs amassed 156 yards on the ground and held an eight-minute advantage in time of possession. The Bills will try to run at Eagles undersized LDE Mike Mamula, who is moving over from the right side to replace injured teammate Hugh Douglas. ROG Dusty Zeigler and ROT Robert Hicks will attack the undersized Mamula, who has never been a good run-stopper.

With the run firmly established, Flutie will use play action fakes and look down field for the ever dangerous WR Eric Moulds, as well as underneath for emerging TE Jay Riemersma. With the blitzes and various packages the Eagles will have to run to put pressure on Flutie, he should often find his receivers in single coverage situations and should have a big day throwing the football.

The loss of LDE Douglas puts the Eagles in defensive dire straits. Douglas was the only accomplished pass rusher on the Eagles defensive line and the only guy who has consistently gotten after the passer this season. Without Douglas, the Birds will be forced to start Mamula and RDE Greg Jefferson, both of whom are undersized and will have problems shedding and making tackles at the point of attack.

The Eagles need to use slants and blitz packages to get into the backfield and blow up the Bills running plays before they have a chance to develop. Expect Philadelphia to put eight men in the box and force Flutie to beat them.

The Eagles have three solid corners who are capable of shutting down the Bills in man coverage -- if the rest of the defense doesn't give Flutie all day in the pocket. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they stacked the line of scrimmage against Tampa Bay last week and still couldn't stop the Bucs' running game.

Philadelphia's defense has played valiantly over the first two weeks, but wears down late in games due to the offense's inability to mount a sustained drive. In the team's Week 1 loss to Tampa Bay, the defense was on the field for 13 of 15 minutes in the third quarter. It doesn't get any easier this weekend against the Bills.

Special teams

NFL RANK

Category PHI BUF

Punt return avg. 27 2

Kickoff return avg. 21 2

Opp. punt return avg. 8 12

Opp. kickoff ret. avg. 27 5

Time of possession 27 13

Buffalo's aging KOR Kevin Williams is always a threat, but not as potent as he was earlier in his career. Philadelphia's Allen Rossum is gaining confidence each week, and seems on the brink of breaking one for a touchdown. With its lack of offense, Philadelphia needs its special teams to come up big if the team is to have any chance of staying in this game. Eagles' PK Norm Johnson came up small against the Bucs last week, running onto the field as time was running out and missing a gimme field goal wide left.

Key matchups

Philadelphia LDE Mike Mamula vs. Buffalo ROT Robert Hicks
Mamula is a speed guy who will have to pressure Flutie for the Eagles to have success on the defensive side of the football.

Philadelphia interior OL vs. Buffalo NT Ted Washington
Washington was a force last week against one of the top OCs in the game-the Jets' Kevin Mawae. It will take two and sometimes three players to occupy Washington.

Buffalo RB Antowain Smith vs. Philadelphia ILB Jeremiah Trotter
Antowain Smith will find success against the Eagles running between the tackles, and it will be Trotter's responsibility to read and react, coming up to stuff Smith at the line of scrimmage. If Smith consistently gets past Trotter, it is going to be a long day for the Eagles defense.

Philadelphia will win if...

They can establish some sort of balance on offense. If they don't, their quarterbacks will not make it through the game.

The can neutralize the Bills pass rush. It is not inconceivable to think that Head Coach Andy Reid might start Pederson at QB just to protect his prized rookie McNabb.

They can establish a ground control game with low-risk drives. If they win the battle of field position, the Eagles' defense might be up to the task of stopping Flutie.

Buffalo will win if...

They set a tone early with physical play. The Bills ran for 274 yards last week for one reason-they dominated the line of scrimmage.

Bruce Smith takes control of the game on the defensive side of the ball. Aside from LOT Thomas, the Eagles don't have anyone that can block Smith.

They keep McNabb in the pocket. The only way this rookie can hurt you is when he breaks contain and makes plays with his feet.

The War Room edge
There is really no question which team has the edge in this one. Buffalo is deeper and more talented on both sides of the ball. If the Eagles can't find any continuity on offense, Buffalo will rely on its running game to eat up the clock and exhaust Philadelphia's defense. Flutie should have a big day, as his receivers will be in single coverage for much of the game.

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