Buffalo offense vs. Washington defense

	BILLS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	10
	Pass	14
	Tot. Yds.	13
	Scoring	18
	Int's allowed	11
	Sacks allowed	16
	REDSKINS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	23
	vs. Pass	9
	Total yds. allowed	7
	# of Ints.	14
	# of Sacks	16
	Turnover differential	+5

The Bills offensive woes continue with the loss of WR Eric Moulds, as defenses are taking advantage of a less dynamic scheme. Buffalo has been forced to condense the offense because of personnel, and they have been unable to generate any rhythm in the passing game because of it.

The Redskins have finally been getting the kind of play from DTs Dan Wilkinson and Dana Stubblefield that they originally envisioned, which gives them a great chance to shut down the Bills running game on Sunday. The Redskins match up extremely well in the trenches and should be able to control the line of scrimmage against the run. Knowing this, Buffalo is going to try to throw the ball to set up the run game.

The Bills will run a lot of three- and four-receiver sets with TE Jay Riemersma coming in motion out of the slot position. The fourth receiver will be either RB Jonathan Linton or Antowain Smith, lining up inside the wide receiver and running a lot of crossing routes underneath. The Bills have had to pack in their offense with the loss of Moulds, but they realize that in order to get production out of Doug Flutie, the offense needs to be more wide open. By spreading the field and pressuring the Redskins secondary, the Bills force Washington to back players into coverage and rush fewer personnel than they would normally like.

To counter the Bills attack, Washington will run what has come to be known as the "vogue defense." The vogue is a "32" dime or "33" nickel package, giving the Redskins five or six defensive backs in coverage. In order to create a pass rush, Washington will stunt its down lineman and blitz two or three of its linebackers. The vogue defense is so effective because it allows teams to play combination man/zone coverage with its five or six defensive backs, while creating pressure up front because of the confusion it puts on blocking techniques and schemes with a lot of activity from all different angles.

The one twist that the Redskins will throw into the equation is with OLB Shawn Barber. Barber will be responsible for spying Doug Flutie and making sure that he contains the mobile quarterback throughout the game. Teams have been very successful the past few weeks shutting down Flutie because they use a spy defender to follow the quarterback's every move. By containing Flutie and keeping him in the pocket, you take away his ability to turn the corner and force the run/pass option. You also force the undersized quarterback to make throws behind the line of scrimmage, where the throwing lanes are smaller and he has trouble seeing the entire field. Barber is an excellent athlete who should excel in his role as the spy for the Redskins, as he has the speed and instincts to follow Flutie around the field. It actually plays into his strength, because he does a lot better job chasing than he does in coverage or when teams run right at him.

RB Stephan Davis is a product of a great offensive line and a receiving corps that stretches the field vertically, but the bottom line is that Davis is running the ball hard and taking advantage of gaping holes up front. Davis has shown excellent vision and change of direction as a runner this year, something that has never been seen before in Davis at the NFL level. Buffalo's linebacking corps has their hands full against the Redskins for a couple of reasons. First, ILB's Sam Cowart and John Holececk are going to have to create a great presence in the middle and string the running game outside. The problem is that Buffalo needs to generate pressure on the outside without having to overextend their linebacking corps. Davis has been burning teams that come with too much personnel on the blitz because he has been picking out the cutback lanes and bursting through them.

The other big matchups to watch will be outside where CB's Thomas Smith and Ken Irving will lock on to WR's Michael Westbrook and Albert Connell. Smith/Westbrook is a targeted matchup for the Redskins on Sunday that should dictate their offensive game plan. If Westbrook can force the Bills to use a safety to help Smith in the deep third, it will not only open up a lot of room for Connell to work on the opposite side, but it will also back the Bills defense off and open up some room underneath for the running game. If Smith can handle the matchup alone, it will give the Bills more personnel to work with in the blitz package.