Buffalo offense vs. Baltimore defense

	BILLS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	7
	Pass	16
	Tot. Yds.	9
	Scoring	17
	Int's allowed	8
	Sacks allowed	14
	RAVENS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	10
	vs. Pass	5
	Total yds. allowed	6
	No. of INTs	3
	No. of Sacks	13
	Turnover differential	-6

The loss of WR Eric Moulds is as big a loss as there could be to an offense in this league. Moulds is Doug Flutie's go-to-receiver and the reason the Bills have been so successful spreading the field and running a wide-open offense. Now, with Moulds out of the lineup, the Bills are forced to shorten up the field and play a more condensed version of their offensive scheme. Peerless Price moves to the No. 2 receiver spot, Kamil Loud and Kevin Williams to handle the No. 3 receiver duties. Expect to see RB's Antowain Smith and Jonathan Linton lining up in the slot and running some routes as the No. 4 receiver.

The Bills offensive philosophy is to stretch the defense horizontally and vertically in order to give Flutie room to work. Flutie has been so successful in the past because he is able to get outside the tackles, see the field better and force the defense to defend against the run/pass option. Without his No. 1 receiver, Flutie becomes handcuffed. Teams are able to concentrate on pressuring the quarterback up the middle. They can remove themselves from the edges now that they can get out of the nickel set and cover the No. 3 and No. 4 receivers with linebackers and safeties in a zone.

The Ravens outside linebackers have been doing an excellent job in coverage and will be responsible for matching up with the back out of the backfield and TE Jay Riemersma off the line of scrimmage. This means that FS Rod Woodson will be matched up with either Loud or Williams (the No. 3 receiver), allowing the Ravens to keep base personnel in the game defensively. This gives them a chance to spy Doug Flutie with a defensive end or an outside linebacker, depending on how many receivers are in the game.

The Bills are going to have a tough time establishing the run game against the Ravens front seven. The defensive tackles, Tony Siragusa, Larry Webster and even Lionel Dalton in certain situations, have been doing an excellent job of taking up one or two blockers, allowing MLB Ray Lewis to cover ground and make plays on the move.

The key to the run game is going to be the play of OC Jerry Ostroski. Ostroski is a scrappy veteran, but lacks the great quickness and speed needed to get out and chip the middle linebacker. The Bills, because of their running scheme, will call upon Ostroski to take the angle in pursuit and try to cut down Lewis as he chases the play. Lewis will win this matchup most of the afternoon and should be a big factor in how the Ravens shut down the Bills run game.

Because of Case's ineffectiveness, coach Brian Billick has made the decision to start Tony Banks. Banks is similar to Case in the fact that he will make mistakes, but the advantage of having Banks in the game is that he can throw the ball down the field. Banks' trouble has been the fact that he folds under pressure. Banks has a tendency to throw off his back foot and force the ball into coverage when the rush is in his face.

Buffalo has done an excellent job of rushing the passer, putting enormous pressure on the offensive guards by stunting inside and blitzing the C and D gaps with outside linebackers Gabe Northern and Sam Rogers. The Bills only have eleven sacks on the season, but they have been hurrying and knocking down quarterbacks with great consistency. Pay close attention to the matchup between RG Jeff Blackshear versus RDE Bruce Smith. Because of the loss to LDE Phil Hansen to injury, the Bills are going to attack the left side of the Ravens offensive line, stunting Smith to the inside and allowing OLB Gabe Northern to attack the vacated area.

The Ravens will be almost equally ineffective running the ball against Buffalo simply because the Bills are able to cheat in the game plan. Knowing the Ravens passing woes, Buffalo will stack the line of scrimmage and dare the Ravens to beat by throwing the ball. Thomas Smith and Ken Irvin will line up in single-man coverage, allowing Kurt Schultz to walk up close to the line of scrimmage and play more run support.

The Bills have allowed just 88.1-yards per game on the ground and should be well-equipped to shut down the Ravens tackle-to-tackle run game with an extra man in the box. RB Errict Rhett has been picking up most of his yardage inside the hashes, but teams are now recognizing that he is incapable of bouncing it outside, so the key is to clog the middle. The Bills have one of the top run-stuffing defensive nose tackles in the league, Ted Washington, and should be able to pinch inside with the defensive ends and run-blitz the inside linebackers in order to flush Rhett outside and force him wide to the sideline.

PK Matt Stover continues to dig his grave, missing a 37-yard field goal on Thursday night. Coach Brian Billick has been less than impressed with Stover and seems dead set on bringing in a new kicker. Kyle Richardson, on the other hand, has been brilliant for the Ravens. He landed four punts inside Kansas City's twenty-yard line last week, and upped his season punting average to 42.3-yards per punt. The return game has been middle of the pack, but the concern here is the play of punt return man Jermaine Lewis, who has averaged just 8.4-yards per return.