The Buffalo Bills? defense will be the one unit in the house at full strength and will try to gauge its progress tonight against the Indianapolis Colts.
Both starting quarterbacks ? Peyton Manning and Trent Edwards ? will sit out the game, and the Colts? defense also has some significant injuries.
However, the inaugural game in the Colts? new Lucas Oil Stadium still could give the Bills? defenders a quality tuneup for the regular season.
While Manning?s absence is huge, the Colts? offense still has Pro Bowlers in receiver Reggie Wayne, running back Joseph Addai and center Jeff Saturday. Dallas Clark is one of the best tight ends in the league. And, let?s not forget Hall of Famebound receiver Marvin Harrison.
?They have a very effective offense,? said Bills coach Dick Jauron. ?They?re very comfortable in their scheme, they?ve run it for a long time, and they put a lot of pressure on you. They put themselves in the right play. . . . It?ll be a good test for our defense in terms of movement and disguise [by the Bills before the snap].?
The Colts? offense has ranked among the top five in scoring five straight years and among the top two in passing 10 straight years. The Bills? defense will see a lot of spread offense, which will be good preparation for the regular season.
?They?re obviously very talented, and they?re well-coached,? said Bills middle linebacker Paul Posluszny. ?What they do in the passing game, we?ll see other teams do that throughout the year, so it?s good to get reps against these guys because we?ll see similar offenses later on in the season.?
The Colts also run a lot of no-huddle offense, another test for the Bills.
?Generally you have to show them what you?re going to play [before the snap],? Jauron said. ?Even if you don?t show it, they?ve been very smart with their play selection.?
Replacing Manning will be Jim Sorgi, who is in his fifth season as Manning?s backup. Manning never has missed a game in 10 years. Sorgi, a Wisconsin product, has thrown 126 passes in mop-up duty, with six touchdowns and one interception.
The Colts? first-team offense has not produced a touchdown in three games this summer, but Sorgi has looked pretty good. The Colts? starting offense has played five series and produced three field goals, all on drives of at least 12 plays and 55 yards.
Sorgi is completing 64.5 percent of his passes.
The Bills? first-string defense has played just three series in two games. The Bills? starters have given up four first downs, forced two punts and had an interception.
Most of the starters for both teams are expected to play all of the first half and perhaps one series in the third quarter.
Posluszny, who missed 13 games of his rookie season to injury last year, is looking forward to extended action.
?I need the work, to be honest with you, especially after last year,? he said. ?Some older guys who have played six, seven, eight years, that?s not the case for them. I have relatively limited experience; I definitely need the work, and the more plays I can get in the preseason, the better.?
Starting in place of Edwards will be J. P. Losman, who has looked good this summer.
Losman has completed 11 of 14 passes for 92 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
The absence of James Hardy and Roscoe Parrish will give young receivers like Justin Jenkins, Stevie Johnson, Scott Mayle and Felton Huggins more of a chance to make an impression.
Jenkins, a special teams stalwart, is the favorite to win the No. 5 receiving spot on the squad.
?You want the coaches to have confidence in you,? Jenkins said. ?When someone goes down, you don?t want them to have to change the whole offensive game plan. You want to have their confidence so they can stick with what they?ve been working on all week, and have the confidence to put me in at any time, just as confident if they had Roscoe or James in there as well as Josh [Reed].?
Both starting quarterbacks ? Peyton Manning and Trent Edwards ? will sit out the game, and the Colts? defense also has some significant injuries.
However, the inaugural game in the Colts? new Lucas Oil Stadium still could give the Bills? defenders a quality tuneup for the regular season.
While Manning?s absence is huge, the Colts? offense still has Pro Bowlers in receiver Reggie Wayne, running back Joseph Addai and center Jeff Saturday. Dallas Clark is one of the best tight ends in the league. And, let?s not forget Hall of Famebound receiver Marvin Harrison.
?They have a very effective offense,? said Bills coach Dick Jauron. ?They?re very comfortable in their scheme, they?ve run it for a long time, and they put a lot of pressure on you. They put themselves in the right play. . . . It?ll be a good test for our defense in terms of movement and disguise [by the Bills before the snap].?
The Colts? offense has ranked among the top five in scoring five straight years and among the top two in passing 10 straight years. The Bills? defense will see a lot of spread offense, which will be good preparation for the regular season.
?They?re obviously very talented, and they?re well-coached,? said Bills middle linebacker Paul Posluszny. ?What they do in the passing game, we?ll see other teams do that throughout the year, so it?s good to get reps against these guys because we?ll see similar offenses later on in the season.?
The Colts also run a lot of no-huddle offense, another test for the Bills.
?Generally you have to show them what you?re going to play [before the snap],? Jauron said. ?Even if you don?t show it, they?ve been very smart with their play selection.?
Replacing Manning will be Jim Sorgi, who is in his fifth season as Manning?s backup. Manning never has missed a game in 10 years. Sorgi, a Wisconsin product, has thrown 126 passes in mop-up duty, with six touchdowns and one interception.
The Colts? first-team offense has not produced a touchdown in three games this summer, but Sorgi has looked pretty good. The Colts? starting offense has played five series and produced three field goals, all on drives of at least 12 plays and 55 yards.
Sorgi is completing 64.5 percent of his passes.
The Bills? first-string defense has played just three series in two games. The Bills? starters have given up four first downs, forced two punts and had an interception.
Most of the starters for both teams are expected to play all of the first half and perhaps one series in the third quarter.
Posluszny, who missed 13 games of his rookie season to injury last year, is looking forward to extended action.
?I need the work, to be honest with you, especially after last year,? he said. ?Some older guys who have played six, seven, eight years, that?s not the case for them. I have relatively limited experience; I definitely need the work, and the more plays I can get in the preseason, the better.?
Starting in place of Edwards will be J. P. Losman, who has looked good this summer.
Losman has completed 11 of 14 passes for 92 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
The absence of James Hardy and Roscoe Parrish will give young receivers like Justin Jenkins, Stevie Johnson, Scott Mayle and Felton Huggins more of a chance to make an impression.
Jenkins, a special teams stalwart, is the favorite to win the No. 5 receiving spot on the squad.
?You want the coaches to have confidence in you,? Jenkins said. ?When someone goes down, you don?t want them to have to change the whole offensive game plan. You want to have their confidence so they can stick with what they?ve been working on all week, and have the confidence to put me in at any time, just as confident if they had Roscoe or James in there as well as Josh [Reed].?
