trashtastic thursday. This too shall pass
Bills thoughts
Pretty spot on to what happened last week, but I'm very curious to see how this one plays out. As I suspected McCoy had 22 carries (2nd most in his Bills career) and despite getting a little banged up showed why he is an elite back. As a Bills fan (&fantasy owner) I must admit I'm holding my breath after every hit on him... but regardless of the score I would expect 20+ carries on a weekly basis with McDermott at the helm. Left side of the oline played well as expected, Tyrod by his standards played a solid game, should have connected with Clay for a td instead of a pick... Clay was the leader in the passing game with 9 targets, he's TT safety net and may end up the teams leading target. Just 8 of TT 28 attempts went to wrs, with Matthews making the most of his 3 targets... It's a concern that they don't attempt many downfield passes but at the same time there was really no need to in a game they controlled pretty much from the start. This week will be much more telling for this offensive unit. I think the Panther's secondary is it's weakest link defensively, but stop short of thinking the Bills can exploit it.
Defensively Buffalo took away the run relatively early and were content to give up all the underneath passes for short gains. The secondary looked good (as most will vs the Jets) but I was once again impressed by White. Poyer had a solid game as well, but I still think they struggle vs team that spread the ball around. For me the biggest surprise was Humber, a relatively unknown, flying around at LB. If he can contribute on a weekly basis that lb core gets exponentially better. Safe to say we will know more about them after today, as I suspect Carolina will work to get Olsen/McCaffery vs lbs in coverage. The Dline is definitely taking a new approach this season as they continually rotate guys in to keep them fresh. Dareus was in for the least amount of snaps and didn't record a tackle that scumbag. It's a great idea but we will see how it works vs. a team commits to pounding the run. Cam looked rusty week 1, but I do think Stewart/McCaffery combo are the type that will give the Bills fits. Carolina won't shy away from the run game like NY did, and if Stewart is successful it will open everything up. I do think Cam comes out looking much more composed.
I think the Bills can keep the game close barring a total meltdown, but I stop short of thinking they can win su. They have a history of making too many mistakes down the stretch to pull it off. Hate the matchup of Panthers rbs vs our lbs, if they allow the dink and dunk in this game they will lose by 10. I actually think Stewart may be a decent dfs play.... I haven't seen enough from the Bills passing game to play them ats on the road, but I do think the offense puts up 20 today. Hopefully Matthews gets more than 3 targets but if he does they are likely playing from behind.
If you were thinking about a BIlls wager I would say +4 1sth looks like the best option, but in my opinion the over is the best wager in this game. Shady will get his with the oline looking pretty solid, but it will be up to TT to make the throws....thinking something like 27-23.
Bills/Panthers o43-109
4 units
