Two games into a rookie coach’s tenure is too early to say if he’s got what it takes or not, but Sunday’s visit to Oakland provides the first huge test for Buffalo’s Mike Mularkey.
In his debut against Jacksonville, the Bills played hard, if not always smart, for their novice commander for nearly the entire afternoon.
They corrected a number of flaws that helped bring down Gregg Williams, running the ball with purpose, doing a decent job of protecting Drew Bledsoe and keeping their number of penalties incurred in the single digits.
Until it all fell apart, that is. Without recounting the blow-by-blow of the final two-plus minutes of what turned out to be an excruciating loss to a team begging to be beat, let’s just say that inducing a similar performance Sunday in Oakland presents an immense challenge for a helmsman of any experience level.
Not that the players should need motivation at this early date. But plenty of coaches can get their teams to play with intensity. There were only a few occasions over the past three years when you could question the effort displayed by Williams’ teams.
Playing well isn’t the same thing, though. Attention to detail and game awareness are just as crucial as the willingness to bang your head against a locker-room wall, and the vaunted (in some circles) Bills defense came up woefully short in both categories on Jacksonville’s final drive last week.
Speaking of which, Buffalo has the second-ranked defense in the entire National Football League after one week. Which shows, once again, how little those rankings mean. Does the second-best defense in the league (and “best” in the AFC by statistical measure) allow not one, not two, but THREE successful fourth-down conversions on a decisive drive? So please, let’s not talk about how great Buffalo’s defense is until it actually plays well enough to win a game.
Fortunately for Mularkey and the Bills, these Raiders bear little resemblance, beyond their attire, to the Silver and Black of the past. Last week’s 24-21 loss at Pittsburgh bore little resemblance to its score, with Oakland getting pushed around for most of the day at the line.
The Raiders’ committee of running backs did little, totaling but 61 yards. Meanwhile, the mammoth defensive line rotation anchored by ex-Bills Ted Washington and John Parella, not to mention Warren Sapp, allowed 91 yards to Duce Staley and three touchdown plunges to Jerome Bettis.
The Bills veered away from their commitment to the run at a pivotal point last week, with Bledsoe getting sacked on third-and-goal from Jacksonville’s 1-yard line. Pittsburgh proved last week that you can wear down Oakland’s defensive front by hammering away, so you’d hope there won’t be any more play-action passes to the fullback at the goal line, should Buffalo reach that point.
Given Oakland’s problems, not the least of which are antique quarterback Rich Gannon and never-was head coach Norv Turner, the Bills are a tempting pick as a 3.5-point underdog.
But until Mularkey and his team prove that they can win anywhere, much less on the road, it’s awfully tough to predict that they will. Raiders, 21-17.
Denver (-3) at Jacksonville: Denver will score a lot more than 10 points. Broncos, 30-13.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore (-4): If last week’s disaster in Cleveland didn’t convince the oddsmakers that the Ravens are badly overrated, this one will. Steelers, 19-16.
Houston at Detroit (-3): What’s a bigger surprise? Detroit starting 2-0 … Lions, 24-14.
Indianapolis at Tennessee (-1.5): … or the Colts starting 0-2? Titans, 30-27.
Chicago at Green Bay (-8.5): Fortunately, you can still count on the Bears to stink. Packers, 30-13.
Washington (-3) at N.Y. Giants: And the Giants. Redskins, 26-17.
San Francisco at New Orleans (-7): If the Saints don’t get it together against the pathetic 49ers, Jim Haslett – for some reason considered a coaching genius in these parts – will be the first coach axed. He’ll be OK for another week, at least. Saints, 35-24.
St. Louis at Atlanta (-2): Mike Martz might be getting himself into trouble in St. Louis, though. Falcons, 23-20.
Carolina at Kansas City (-6): Carolina bounces back from Monday night’s mess. Panthers, 27-24.
Seattle (-3) at Tampa Bay: It’s tough to win many games with an overrated defense, creaky running backs and anonymous receivers, even if you are Jon Gruden. Seahawks, 28-17.
Cleveland at Dallas (-4): The Browns might have a better season, but it’s tough to pick against a Parcells team in a home opener after a bad road loss. Cowboys, 13-7.
New England (-8) at Arizona: The Cardinals hung tough with the Rams, but Tom Brady is no Marc Bulger. Patriots, 37-14.
N.Y. Jets (-3) at San Diego: The win over Houston was more about the Texans being overrated than the Chargers being any good. Jets, 31-21.
Miami at Cincinnati (-4.5): No truth to the rumor that the Dolphins are trying to talk Don Strock out of retirement. Bengals, 24-10.
Minnesota at Philadelphia (-3.5): Antoine Winfield gets the honor of trying to cover Terrell Owens. Of course, Randy Moss is no picnic, either. Eagles, 30-24.
(Last week: 10-6 overall, 7-9 against the spread).
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Sept. 16 2004 |