Titans at Bills
Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.
Sunday, Sept. 3, 2000
AT A GLANCE: The Bills have payback on their minds after losing to the
Titans in the wild-card round last season. Rest assured, Buffalo will be looking for
"Home run throw back" on every kickoff.
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| OVERVIEW: The Buffalo Bills need to hear only three
words to rile their emotions and color their faces red with anger: Music City Miracle. The
Bills led their AFC wild-card game vs. Tennessee 16-15 with 16 seconds left when the
miracle occurred. Tennessee’s Kevin Dyson took an apparent lateral from Frank Wycheck
and sprinted 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The 2000 regular-season opener gives
the Bills a chance to not only redeem themselves but throw a wrench into the Titans’
quest for another Super Bowl run.
Buffalo and Tennessee have gone in different directions since their last meeting. While
the Titans added to their arsenal with the signings of MLB Randall Godfrey and WR Carl
Pickens, the Bills cut ties with defensive mainstays Bruce Smith, Thomas Smith and Kurt
Schulz, as well as RB Thurman Thomas.
The Titans also replaced offensive coordinator Les Steckel with Mike Heimerdinger,
formerly the Broncos’ WR coach. Heimerdinger figures to give the Titans’
often-dormant passing game more pizzazz.
WHEN THE TITANS HAVE THE BALL:
Tennessee will not veer from its run-first policy, but the passing game is expected to
be more potent with the addition of Heimerdinger and Pickens. The Titans have the edge in
size in this matchup, with Pickens (6-2) and Kevin Dyson (6-1) facing Bills CBs Ken Irvin
(5-10) and Antoine Winfield (5-8). In Tennessee’s three-wide, Yancey Thigpen (6-1)
will take the field, while the Bills will send nickel DB Donovan Greer (5-9). The Titans
have had a great deal of success in the short time they’ve used their newfound
three-WR set. In the red zone, look for QB Steve McNair to take advantage of Pickens’
size on fade routes.
While McNair continues to improve his downfield passing, he still has a soft spot for
passes underneath to TE Frank Wycheck. However, the middle of the field doesn’t
belong solely to Wycheck anymore. Heimerdinger is looking for better pass distribution,
and the Titans’ wide receivers have made plays underneath as well. McNair has been
known to make plays with his feet. The Bills’ pass rushers will have to make sure
McNair doesn’t break their contain, or he could take off for a long run. |
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| Ralph Wilson Stadium |
| Orchard Park, N.Y. |
| Date: Sunday, September 3, 2000 |
| 8:35 p.m. Eastern Time |
| Type Of Turf: Artificial |
| Meeting Of The Year: Only |
| Season Record: |
| |
Tennessee |
0-0-0 |
| |
Buffalo |
0-0-0 |
| Season Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
Tennessee |
0-0-0 |
| |
Buffalo |
0-0-0 |
| Home/Road Record: |
| |
Tennessee (R) |
0-0-0 |
| |
Buffalo (H) |
0-0-0 |
| Home/Road Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
Tennessee (R) |
0-0-0 |
| |
Buffalo (H) |
0-0-0 |
| Record On Artificial Turf: |
| |
Tennessee |
0-0-0 |
| |
Buffalo |
0-0-0 |
| Record On Artificial Turf Vs. Spread: |
| |
Tennessee |
0-0-0 |
| |
Buffalo |
0-0-0 |
|
|
| RB Eddie George remains the heart and soul of Tennessee’s offense. He’s a
hard-nosed runner who always seems to fall forward for extra yardage. But George will face
the strength of the Bills’ defense, an interior that features NT Ted Washington and
ILBs Sam Cowart and John Holecek. Washington tends to wear down quickly, but when
he’s fresh, he’s excellent at keeping blockers off the linebackers. That allows
Cowart and Holecek to make a lot of plays. A good matchup to watch in the trenches is
new Titans ORT Fred Miller vs. Bills DLE Phil Hansen. As a Ram last season, Miller
didn’t fare well in noisy Adelphia Coliseum, and Ralph Wilson Stadium figures to be
just as loud. He has some big shoes to fill as Jon Runyan’s replacement. Hansen has
quietly played at a high level for years.
WHEN THE BILLS HAVE THE BALL:
Even if Doug Flutie were healthy (groin; out), Rob Johnson would still be running the
Bills’ offense. Johnson is a pure passer with good mobility, and he earned favorable
reviews for his efforts in the playoff game vs. Tennessee. Johnson will have to make
quick, sound decisions against a very aggressive Titans defense. His top target is Eric
Moulds, a receiver with great size, speed, strength and leaping ability. He’s sure to
see a lot of Titans CB Samari Rolle, who many believe is close to joining the NFL’s
elite cover men.
In his second year, WR Peerless Price is being asked to live up to his billing. While
he’s had his share of drops and mistakes, he does have big-play speed and ability.
But whether he’s improved enough to take double-teams away from Moulds is doubtful.
Despite the loss of CB Donald Mitchell (knee; out), Tennessee has good depth in the
secondary and should be able to match up with the Bills’ wideouts.
The Bills will mostly use one-RB sets to take advantage of their rushers’
abilities. Antowain Smith, Jonathan Linton and Shawn Bryson are all big, strong backs,
though Smith, the starter, is the most complete. When healthy, he runs with power and
skill. However, Smith was bothered by a minor knee injury at presstime. Bryson will be the
third-down back and possibly more.
All three rushers will have the advantage of running behind a healthy offensive line,
which they couldn’t in their last meeting with Tennessee. (Bryson missed that game
with a knee injury.) Bills ORT Robert Hicks, a mammoth blocker at 6-7, 338 pounds, will
face Titans DLE Jevon Kearse, the 1999 Defensive Rookie of the Year. Kearse has spent the
offseason studying film to increase his repertoire of moves. He has a tough challenger in
Hicks, whose huge wingspan can take pass rushers out of games. However, Hicks is not the
swiftest afoot, and Kearse has great quickness.
All game previews and depth charts were compiled as of Aug. 20, 2000 |
|
OFFENSE |
| WR |
18 PICKENS, 81 Sanders, 85 Mason |
| OLT |
72 HOPKINS, 73 Sanderson |
| OLG |
74 MATTHEWS, 69 Piller |
| C |
60 LONG, 62 Page |
| ORG |
75 OLSON, 68 Shivers* |
| ORT |
71 MILLER, 76 Mathews |
| TE |
89 WYCHECK, 88 Kinney*, 80 Roan |
| WR |
87 DYSON, 82 Thigpen, 83 Byrd, 86 Kent |
| QB |
9 MCNAIR, 14 O'Donnell, 13 Daft |
| RB |
27 GEORGE, 22 Thomas, 20 Green* |
| FB |
41 NEAL, 45 Gould |
DEFENSE |
| DLE |
90 KEARSE, 93 Frisch* |
| DLT |
78 THORNTON, 98 Smith* |
| DRT |
97 FISK, 95 Salave'a |
| DRE |
99 HOLMES, 92 Ford |
| LLB |
51 FAVORS, 53 Bulluck*, 50 Killens |
| MLB |
57 GODFREY, 57 Chamberlin* |
| RLB |
55 ROBINSON, 54 Glover, 59 Sirmon |
| LCB |
25 WALKER, 37 Sidney, 30 Howard |
| RCB |
21 ROLLE, 38 McCullough |
| SS |
23 BISHOP, 35 Phenix, 28 Morris* |
| FS |
31 ROBERTSON, 32 Myers* |
SPECIALIST |
| P |
15 HENTRICH |
| PK |
3 DEL GRECO |
| H |
15 HENTRICH |
| PR |
85 MASON, 83 Byrd |
| KR |
85 MASON, 22 Thomas |
| KC |
74 MATTHEWS, 60 Long |
* Rookie |
|
|
OFFENSE |
| WR |
80 MOULDS, 86 McDaniel, 82 Cavil* |
| OLT |
70 FINA, 77 Hicks |
| OLG |
79 BROWN, 66 Allotey |
| C |
60 OSTROSKI, 63 Conaty |
| ORG |
72 PANOS, 74 Nails |
| ORT |
77 HICKS, 69 Spriggs |
| TE |
85 RIEMERSMA, 84 Collins |
| WR |
81 PRICE, 89 Black*, 16 Haddad* |
| QB |
11 JOHNSON, 10 Van Pelt, 7 Flutie |
| RB |
23 SMITH, 38 Bryson, 35 Linton, 31 Gordon |
| H-b |
88 JACKSON, 45 Morris* |
DEFENSE |
| DLE |
90 HANSEN, 91 Price, 97 Larsen* |
| NT |
92 WASHINGTON, 93 Williams |
| DRE |
75 WILEY, 96 Flowers* |
| WOLB |
59 ROGERS, 54 Moore* |
| WILB |
56 COWART, 55 Foreman |
| SILB |
52 HOLECEK, 51 Polk* |
| SOLB |
53 NEWMAN, 95 Cohen* |
| LCB |
26 WINFIELD, 25 Greer |
| RCB |
27 IRVIN, 25 Greer |
| SS |
20 JONES, 39 Hill |
| FS |
29 CARPENTER, 22 Porter, 28 Tillman* |
SPECIALIST |
| P |
9 MOHR |
| PK |
2 CHRISTIE |
| H |
9 MOHR |
| PR |
89 BLACK*, 16 Haddad* |
| KR |
89 BLACK*, 45 Morris* |
| KC |
76 ALBRIGHT, 63 Conaty |
* Rookie |
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