Saturday, November 5, 2011

Bills seek consistent pass rush vs. Jets

The Bills' pass rush was in dire need of a statement game last week, and it got what it was looking for, amassing 10 sacks in a shutout victory over the Redskins.

Sunday's matchup against the Jets is primed to be a division-shaker, as the Bills look to solidify their place atop the conference and New York tries desperately to crawl back into the playoff position it was in a year ago. Buffalo's pressure on quarterbacks has been a key issue all season, and now that its presence has been made, coach Chan Gailey told reporters this week he hopes he can see a bit more conformity out of his squad.

“I expect us to be more consistent in our pass rush,” he said. “I don’t expect us to go from four in the season to 10 in one game and I don’t expect us to go back to zero. But the bottom line is to get pressure on the guy and you either need to get sacks or turnovers or sacks or out on third down.”

First-round pick Marcell Dareus “took (the lack of pass rush) personally,” and as the team's sack leader, was excited about the performance Buffalo put up last week.

“It was Giff (Smith) our D-line coach, he really put a lot of emphasis on 'keep your motor running,' staying low, getting after the ball, don’t look in the backfield, work your man and make your move,” Dareus said this week. “It always kind of went from there.”

The boost from the line gives Buffalo a one-two punch on defense if it can show up week-to-week, as the team already leads the league in interceptions and takeaways. And don't think the Jets haven't noticed.

“It will be a challenge for us,” left guard Matt Slauson told reporters this week. “They’re a much-improved team, and they’ve got a lot of big guys on that line now. It’s a matter of executing and really sustaining our blocks. In the past, we’ve had a great game plan going in. We’ve been really committed to the run, and our execution has been great.”

You don't have to remind the Bills of the Jets' success in the rushing attack. Both coaches and players commented on the impact New York has had on the ground in previous meetings, particularly their last first-of-two meetings when Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson combined for 250 yards and two touchdowns in a blowout win.

“We certainly remember how they dominated us at the line of scrimmage a year ago,” safety George Wilson said earlier this week. “They had their way with us in the running game and over the past few weeks they’ve gotten back to that brand of football. So we know they’re going to come in and challenge us in every aspect of the game and we have to do a great job as we did last week limiting their running game to make them as one dimensional as we possibly can.”

With Greene averaging nearly 90 yards per game his last three games, it will be interesting to see which squad can be the difference maker, especially with Pro-Bowl center Nick Mangold expected to start in Buffalo.

“You’re getting the butterflies before these games,” Bills center Eric Wood said Wednesday. “When you come out the crowd is going nuts and it’s a good feeling. At this point it’s our biggest game by far. People are expecting us to win now, expecting us to do well and you have to keep that chip on your shoulder.”