The Buffalo Bills game is of course Sunday at 1:00 (eastern) against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The next match up that I am going to take a look at is the two teams special teams which will have a huge impact on the game. The match up is broken down into 3 categories, Punting (punters and punt coverage), Kicking (Place kickers and Kickoff Coverage) and Return Game.
PUNTING
BILLS:
The Bills have one of the best punters in the game with Brain Moorman. He got a ton of work in the first game of the year. Punted the ball 9 times for a 46.6 average per punt. Moorman also had a 19 yard TD pass for a perfect QB rating and he also put the ball inside the 20 3 times. He really helped the Bills pin the opponent deep in their own territory. The Bills did struggle a little bit on their punt coverage though. They let up an average of 13.5 yards on 4 returns. They didn’t let anyone get a huge return, although there was one punt return that went for 21 yards. A better job on coverage would really help out the field position battle.
JAGUARS
Seahawks punter Adam Podlesh was able to put 4 punts inside the 20, despite only averaging a 37.0 average on 6 punts. He also had one touchback. The Jaguars coverage team was very well and they will have to continue that this week against one of the most dangerous return men in the league, Roscoe Parrish. They did do a good job against the Titans. They averaged letting up 7.5 yards a return (with a long being of 8). Those kinds of numbers will have to continue if they want to keep the Bills out of end zone on special teams.
KICKING
BILLS
Rian Lindell went 2/3 in field goals so far this season. One of them was blocked though, something that cannot happen in close games. The Bills last opponent, Seattle, had a pretty respectable average of 26.5 yards on 4 returns with a long of 39. The Bills are set in the field goal department but again need to improve their coverage team.
JAGUARS
Josh Scobee went 1 for 2 on his field goals in their game vs. the Titans. The Jags kick coverage team was very good in the two times they got on the field, holding Chris Carr (of the Titans of course) to a 16.5 average with a long of 21. Very nice job there and that will need to continue this week.
RETURN GAME
BILLS
The Bills are loaded with return men. The starter on kickoffs is cornerback Terrence McGee while the punts are handled by speeding Roscoe Parrish. The Bills also have an X-Factor in rookie Leodis McKelvin, their first round draft pick. McKelvin has yet to return a kick or punt in a game. He is very dangerous though. He had 8 return touchdowns in college and 1 in a preseason game this year. McGee didn’t really stand out in the last game seeing as he had 1 return that went for 27 yards. He has big play capability though. You have to watch out for him on every play. Parrish of course returned a punt for a highlight reel TD last week. The play went for 63 yards. Parrish also had 6 returns in total that average 20.0 yards a return. Another big play threat. All three of these guys are very hard to contain.
JAGUARS
The Jags return men didn’t do too bad of a job themselves. Brain Witherspoon had 2 punt returns for that averaged 22.5 yards (long of 29). He also had a monster game on kickoff returns. Had 3 returns for 124 yards! That is good for a 41.3 yards a return average. He will need to be contained by the Bills to keep him from breaking a long one.
WHO WILL WIN THIS MATCH UP:
I love the Bills special teams and most weeks I will pick them by a landslide but they might have met their match in Jacksonville. The Bills overall kicking game is better and I like their return men more but how can you argue with the stats. It will definitely be a battle for field position all game between these two teams. It is more of a tossup but there is no way I’m going to call something a tie. The Jaguars are my pick to have a better game in today’s match up.
Remember if you disagree with anything I said in this article, be sure to put your opintions in a comment below. Have a good night everyone.
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Hello Bills fans. What a game yesterday. The Bills started off with an impressive drive and finished the game with one to get their second victory. I just wanted to talk about the play of cornerback Ashton Youboty. During the preseason, many felt that Youboty was either going to get traded or released after the Bills signed a cornerback in free agency and drafted one in the first round. Youboty had a great preseason and showed the coaches that he could be the full-time nickel back. He beat out veteran Will James and rookie Leodis McKelvin by his tenacious tackling and great ball skills. Youboty is one of the reasons we won yesterday. He had a great sack on Garrad in the first quarter. It was a corner blitz that the Jaguars didnt recognize. Youboty also had a great open field tackle on Garrad that prevented a first down. He also made a great play on a Jacksonville receiver to prevent another first down. It really shows that he could be a great player in this league. Youboty was a high draft pick but never really developed his first two seasons. He dealt with the passing of his mother during his first training camp and never really settled in. He is now showing signs of his ability and will continue to make the Bills secondary one to fear. With Terrence McGee, Jabari Greer, Donte Whitner, Ko Simpson and Ashton Youboty, the Bills have one of the best secondaries in the game. Congrats to Youboty. Lets Go Bills. 
