The wait is finally over.
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Analyst Matt Sabuda discusses the Buffalo Bills twice a week on WBFO’s Beyond the Playbook.
The season opener between the Ravens and Ryan’s Buffalo Bills on Sunday matches two AFC teams coming off a disappointing 2015 season.
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES – Bills coach Rex Ryan spent 10 years with Ravens, last four as defensive coordinator from 2005-08. Kamar Aiken emerged as the go-to target in Smith’s place and is eager to prove his success wasn’t a fluke. It’s no coincidence that Buffalo has failed to win the AFC East since Tom Brady was unleashed on the National Football League, spending much of his career upending the Bills and, previously, Rex Ryan’s Jets. “It was like, ‘Tyrod, I promise you I’ll give you a chance.’ And he bet on himself and won the job”. That’s not how you make a fairly boring game seem special. OLB Jerry Hughes, who Joe Buscaglia of WKBW called the Bills’ best player in training camp, is key for the team. Without Watkins, there’s a huge dropoff in the passing game. While he isn’t exclusively on one side, Watkins mainly lines up on the left of the offense. Week one the two face off on Baltimore’s stomping grounds. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor received a new deal in the offseason and he will once again be joined by LeSean McCoy, Sammy Watkins and Charles Clay on offense.
The offense for both teams sputtered in the second half. As Perriman draws more attention, look for Steve Smith Sr.to make an impact in the slot too.
But Reed didn’t deny he might get emotional before the game. The Ravens are an organization that is used to winning and that’s what they will do on Sunday. At first glance, that looks concerning. Defensive players are dropping like flies. Unlike last season, the Jags defense might also be ready to turn the corner. In Baltimore it’s pretty obvious who the starting quarterback is.
The Ravens had one of the worst running attacks past year as they attempted a franchise-low 363 rushing attempts.
“I think it’s bigger for Tyrod than obviously it is going back for me because this will be only his second year removed from it. Hopefully we can get the film one day and watch it when we’re old, sitting somewhere”.
Baltimore was ravaged by injuries a year ago as QB Joe Flacco, RB Justin Forsett, LB Terrell Suggs and WR Steve Smith Sr. were lost to season-ending injuries. Beware of No. 11 in purple and black. “This game is about the Buffalo Bills going to Baltimore and trying to get a win on the road”. The Ravens will use the highly touted Ronnie Stanley, the team’s first round pick, at left tackle. Bills DT Jerel Worthy left with a knee injury in the fourth quarter and did not return.
Rex Ryan is now 6-2 all-time in Week 1 games as a head coach. They have a real oppurtunity to sprint out to a lead in the first quarter of the season. Losing a few hurt them along the way, but they should have enough to keep it close.
In a nutshell: The Baltimore Ravens scored the first 10 points of the game, but it was a defensive struggle after that.
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Hester, 33, may not have the speed he once did to set the National Football League record for return touchdowns, but he’s as reliable as they come.
