Know Thine Enemy

This week the Titans take on one of the other good stories from the NFL this year.  Many folks had the Bills picked to finish in the bottom 5 just like the Titans.  They, like the Titans, have gone on a nice run to put themselves right in the midst of the playoff hunt.  They have won 5 of their last 7 and the 2 losses came to the Colts by 1 point and the Chargers by 3 points.

I can honestly say that I have not seen 1 minute of a Bills game this year.  I do know they have some good skill players on the offensive side of the ball in Willis McGahee, Lee Evans and JP Losman.  Losman is quietly putting up a pretty solid year completing 63% of his passes for 2,548 yards with 17 TDs and 10 INTs.  In his last 7 games he has thrown 11 TDs vs. only 4 INTs.  He is quietly becoming everything the Bills thought he would when they used a 1st round draft pick on him in 2004.

Willis McGahee, who has been slowed this year with some rib problems, is healthy now and playing pretty well.  On the season he has 872 yards and 5 TDs.

Lee Evans is the main threat at receiver with 70 catches for 1,083 yards and 6 TDs.  He is a burner who can get down the field.  

The Bills also have a pretty solid defense that allows around 325 yards per game which ranks them 14th in the NFL.  They can be exploited against the run though.  They are giving up 138 yards per game on the ground which ranks them 27th.  They are very stingy against the pass ranking 9th and giving up 187 yards per game.

The toughest thing about playing the Bills is their home field advantage.  Buffalo has always been one of the toughest places to play because of the swirling winds that usually make a wind chill around 15 degrees colder than the actual temperature.  The good thing is the temperatures there are actually mild for this time of year.  The forecast for Sunday is partly cloudy with a high of 39.  The wind will be blowing though at 14 mph.

This game figures to be pretty evenly matched and I would imagine the Titans will try to establish the run early.  Travis Henry should have a big day on Sunday.  If he does look for the Titans to win pretty easily.