Well really theres not much seperating these two teams other than the Win-Loss columns and the ways in which these two teams are winning. The Bills have had a more traditional view on winning. Relying on a tough bend but do not break defense and a very balanced offensive attack, Buffalo has improved to a four and one record. Miami however has relied on a very stingy defense and an unconventional offense. They've shuffled personnel around so that they could make the most out of their running back tandem of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams in the Wildcat formation, and they have also used different offensive styles to try and out wit defenses. While this has worked to some extent and has put up good numbers, it just hasn't produced as many wins as they would have liked.
Quarterback
Chad Pennington and Trent Edwards on paper are about deadlocked. Really the closeness between the numbers are so close they could almost be the same person. Pennington has 118 completions for 1396 yards and a 68.6% completion rating, has thrown for 6 touchdowns and has a QB rating of 97.4. Trent Edwards on the other hand has 106 completions for 1209 yards and a 69.7% completion rating, he has thrown for 5 touchdowns and has a Qb rating of 98.8. Both of them are leaders, both of them are game managers. If there is any difference its the arm strength, but the word is still out on that one.
ADV: Push
Running back:
Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams have been a force so far for the Miami Offense and have been whats driving them so far. Through use of the Wildcat formation and going behind a good offensive line they have produced 8 touchdowns and have ammassed 614 yards on the ground between the both of them. They are the strength of the offense, you stop them you stop the Dolphins. Lynch and Jackson however have been more of a compliment top the Bills offense then a highlight. They have scored 6 touchdowns between the two fo them and have accounted for 556 yards on the ground so far. Their not as flashy as Brown and Williams but have produced almost the same amount of numbers.
ADV: Push
Wide Receivers:
Buffalo holds a strong edge in this category just because of the number of weapons it has produced. Lee Evans has 3 touchdowns so far and has caught 24 balls for 389 yards. His counterpart in Josh Reed also has 24 catches for 269 yards. Roscoe Parrish is back in the lineup and has helped minimally in the passing game with 9 catches for 79 yards and a score. Miami's receivers have had less success so far. Camarillo has the most catches with 27 for 377 yards but only one score and 2nd year man Tedd Ginn Jr. has 20 catches for 177 yards but no scores. Their TE however Anthony Fasano has 17 catches for 2 scores.
ADV: Buffalo
Offensive Line:
The Dolphins line has been fairly consistent so far this year in protecting Chad Pennington however one has to take into account that they are running out of the Wildcat Formation a good deal in which their aren't any sacks on the QB. They still have allowed 16 sacks so far this year and have shown that if defenses send the right pressure packages Chad Pennington with his immobility will go down. The Bills last week against a good linebacking corps and probably one of the best defensive tackles in the league did not allow one sack or one hit on quarterback Trent Edwards in their best outing so far this year. They've shown flashes of greatness so far this year but have yet to put together a complete game until this last Sunday. If they continue to play like they did, this offense will be a dominant force in the NFL.
Defense:
Buffalo's defense has been good so far this year in most categories other than producing sacks. Miami's defense has been extremely stingy this year after last years debacle and Joey Porter has lit a fire underneath the defense so far with his impressive play. Though the same really can be said for off season aquisition Kawika Mitchell for the Buffalo Bills. Mitchell is coming off his best performance this season with 7 tackles a forced fumble and a crucial interception in the Red Zone. Both defenses are showing that they are key factors in every game and aren't going to be easy to do anything against.
ADV: Push
Special Teams:
Buffalo holds a good edge in this category as well thus far this year. Ted Ginn Jr. last year was a standout for the Dolphins but him being featured more in the passing game has hurt his return statistics. His up man Davone Bess, has been flashy in both return games but only has a longest return of 32 yards and a 22.2 average return. McKelvin and Parrish for the Bills have been more effective however with Parrish having a return for a touchdown and McKelvin is averaging 24.6 yards per return with a long of 56 yards. They also improved on their coverage this past week and is rounding out to be one of the best Special Team units in the league yet again.
ADV: Buffalo
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Larryfinfan, Disnardo, Idahophin and 19 others like this.
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So who gets the advantage on offensive line?
Pretty fair write up. I'd actually give Buffalo the edge on defense. -
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I think he set ThePhins record for fewest amount of words typed before getting banned. I counted 11.SICK, njfinfan and opfinistic like this.
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haha do you guys have no faith in your team in all? Im actually pleasently surprised with the Dolphins. A few more things go their way and their an above .500 team this year.
Disnardo likes this. -
I sure do. I've always been a believer and if I didn't think the Dolphins could win every game, I wouldn't be watching.
Good write up bro, Bills and Dolphins is always fun and this Sunday should be no different. -
Yeah, we have faith, but most of us are also realists. We're a rebuilding team and this recent success is a pleasant surprise, but we still have a long way to go. With Fergy out for the game we are going to struggle against the run, allowing Lynch and Co to pound the ball early and often. Hopefully Miami can get the running game going, without it we are a different team and relying on Penny's arm to carry us is a scary thought IMO.
Buffalo is actually the surprise team in the NFL, you guys should be quite proud and excited. While I won't wish you luck, I will wish you well. :)Larryfinfan, njfinfan and calphin like this. -
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:lol::hi5:
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It's just that some of us don't think Miami matches up well with the Bills right now. I think Lee Evans will have his way out there. Not to mention their starting nose tackle could be out. That seriously hurts their ability to stop the run which is key.
And RB is not a push, there is no back in the AFC East better than Ronnie Brown. But if the Bills are running and throwing down the field to Evans at will he will not be a factor. -
You're completely wrong. They turned the ball over four times. They were lucky to be in it.MonstBlitz likes this.
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You lose the turnover battle 4 to 1 you are lucky to be in any game. It doesn't matter if they earned it.Brown42000 and MonstBlitz like this.
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Nice post Beast23Mode!:up:
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Actually as hard as it might be to believe we played good defense on the last drive, with the exception of the final play. The ball that Johnson caught was defended almost perfectely. Johnson just stole the ball away from the defender. There was pressure on the QB almost every down. The Texans just flat out made plays.
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haha well i will say good luck to you miami fans. I actually told my one friend (a phins fan...curse him) that it would be awesome to see Buffalo win the division and have Miami get a wild card berth. Just to put the Cheatriots and the Bretts in their place. So good luck to you guys...except for this week, and when we play you again.
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Welcome and thanks for the kudos...
Many of us Fin fans are not aware that by changing two plays outcome on Defense we get a win at Houston and at home against the Jest...
We could have been easily 4-3 right now... -
what are you talking about? We should have won that Houston game. They are the ones that escaped defeat. We beat SD and NE, and make them looks like fools in the process. Please explain to me why Houston is so superior that we should have lost by more than we did?dolphindebby and cnc66 like this.
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he struggled the first few weeks back. But as you guys might have heard last week against a 3-4 scheme Buffalo didn't allow Trent Edwards to get sacked let alone get hit. This allowed him to throw 25 of 30 with only 2 passes really being off target. (2 got knocked down at the line of scrimmage and 1 got deflected off of a defender). If your line especially with Ferguson out again this week doesn't do something. Buffalo's passing attack will tear you apart.
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Because they had almost 500 yards of total offense and we couldn't get our running game going. Our defense could barely stop them throughout the whole game; luckily they kept stopping themselves with turnovers.
Of course Houston isn't superior to NE (if you can figure out how good/bad the Chargers are, you're a lot smarter than I am), but the Texans were better than we were that day. -
lol, the past couple of years we don't emotionally attach to anything. I compare Dolphins fans to the planewrecked boys from Lord of the Flies!! All we need to do is put a Patriots fans head on a stick and kill one of our own and I'm going to write it up and send it to the Publisher.
"I have the conch Fatty!"