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The long anticipated start of the regular season is here! The new look Bills will take on the defending NFC West champion New Orleans Saints. New head coach Gregg Williams has been preparing for this game since he took over as head coach of the Bills back in February. It will be interesting to see how the new West Coast Offense and 46 defense performs now that the full playbook will be unveiled. The Bills played with a mostly vanilla gameplan throughout the preseason.
Facts and Figures
| Matchup: | New Orleans (0-0) at Buffalo (0-0) |
| Date: | Sunday September 9th |
| Place: | Ralph Wilson Stadium |
| Time: | 1:00pm |
| Television: | FOX |
| Announcers: | Scott Graham and D.J. Johnson |
| Spread: | Saints by 1 |
| Series: | Bills Lead 4-2 |
| Last Meeting: | Bills 45-33 in 1998 |
| Saints Offense (2000): | Rush (8th); Pass(14th); overall (10th) |
| Saints Defense (2000): | Rush (10th); Pass (10th) ; overall (8th) |
| Bills Offense (2000): | Rush (13th); Pass (11th); overall (9th) |
| Bills Defense (2000): | Rush (6th); Pass (4th); overall (3rd) |
Injury Update
The Bills made it through the preseason and training camp with only one serious injury. Left Guard Jerry Ostroski broke his leg and will miss the majority of the season. The Bills suffered many bumps and bruises along the way but entered the week very healthy. They only had three players on the original injury report but had to add Steve Christie when he injured his groin on Thursday. He is now questionable for the game. LB Brandon Spoon who has tightness in his hamstring is doubtful. The Saints also have no significant injuries heading into the season.
For complete injury news throughout the week and the Official NFL Injury Report go to our Injury Page.
Key Matchups
LG Ruben Brown vs. DT La'Roi Glover: The Bills will have enough question marks on the right side of the offensive line, Brown needs to contain Glover who is one of the best tackles in the league. The Saints Defense recorded an NFL leading 66 sacks last season.
RT Jonas Jennings vs. DE Darren Howard: The rookie Jennings earned the starting spot in preseason and will have to face an underrated Howard who is an up and coming star on a very talented defense.
CB Antoine Winfield vs. WR Joe Horn: Winfield will most likely be matched up with the Saints best receiver. This will be a battle of two up and coming young players.
LG Corey Hulsey vs. DE Joe Johnson: Hulsey draws a tough assignment in his first career start. Johnson is one of the stars of this unit.
DT Pat Williams vs. RB Ricky Williams: It won't be Pat's job to stop Ricky alone but how he does in the middle will go along way in stopping the Saints big rushing threat.
Game Plan
When The Bills Have The Ball: The Bills will use the running of rookie Travis Henry to try and open up the passing game in the new West Coast Offense. Rob Johnson will be under the microscope as his progress in the offense will be judged in this game. He will probably be under pressure many times so his poise needs to be there so he can get rid of the ball and avoid sacks.
When The Saints Have The Ball: The Saints offense starts with Ricky Williams but it doesn't end there. They will try to establish the run but they have an explosive passing attack with Aaron Brooks throwing to Horn and free agent signee Albert Connell.
Bills Daily Prediction
The Saints are definitely the more talented and experienced team and should have the edge in matchups. The Bills have been preparing for this game from day one of the new regime and should have a very enthusiastic homefield advantage that will be the difference: Bills 16, Saints 13
Season Prediction Record: (0-0)
Season Record Against The Spread: (0-0)
Complete Statistical MatchupGame Analysis and Review - Coming Monday!Positional Breakdown and Grades - Coming Monday!
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