Buffalo Bills Run Over The Colts 34-21

It took four plays for rookie first-round draft pick C.J. Spiller to begin delivering on his dynamic billing, as the running back sparked the Buffalo Bills in a 34-21 preseason victory over Indianapolis on Thursday.

Starting in place of injured veterans Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch, Spiller opened the scoring on a powerful 31-yard run 3 minutes in. Drafted ninth overall out of Clemson, Spiller finished with 10 carries on 54 yards.

The Bills offense followed suit. Shaking off an inconsistent debut in last week's 42-17 loss at Washington, quarterback Trent Edwards produced two scoring drives in five series, including a 70-yard touchdown pass to Lee Evans to put Buffalo up 21-14. Furthering his bid to reclaim the starting job he lost midway through last season, Edwards went 5 for 8 for 93 yards and the Bills (1-1) never trailed.

The 14 points scored by Buffalo's first-stringers more than doubled the two field goals they had managed in their previous six preseason games, dating to last year.

Rian Lindell hit a 24-yard with 22 seconds left in the first half to put Buffalo ahead for good, 24-21.

Peyton Manning and the high-powered Colts (0-2) didn't disappoint in what proved to be a wide-open and entertaining first half in the fourth installment of Buffalo's five-year, eight-game series in Toronto.

After opening with a three-and-out, Manning engineered two scoring drives on the next four series, including a perfectly placed 21-yard touchdown pass over the middle to tight end Jacob Tamme on a third-and-9. Joseph Addai also scored on a 17-yard run.

Manning went 8 for 15 for 91 yards, with an interception that was returned 78 yards for a touchdown by Terrence McGee. Manning was attempting to squeeze a pass into Anthony Gonzalez when defender Drayton Florence got his hand in, deflecting the ball directly to McGee, who ran it back untouched up the left sideline.

The biggest disappointment was an announced crowd of 39,583 - well over 14,000 below capacity. That's considered the latest blow for Rogers Communication, which has been under heavy criticism in the Toronto media this week for paying the Bills $78 million two years ago for the right to host the series, which runs through 2012.

Neither of the first three games of the series fully sold out the 54,000-seat facility.

Spiller provided the early highlight by capping a four-play drive on Buffalo's opening possession. Spiller shed defensive end Robert Mathis in the backfield and then cut left across the middle, where he broke Jacob Lacey's arm tackle. He then cut up the left sideline where a shifty move allowed him to get by Antoine Bethea and into the end zone.

"I just cut back, made a guy miss," Spiller said. "It felt good to get in there."

Spiller credited the offensive line, which returned three starters who missed last week's game: tackles Demetrius Bell and Cornell Green and guard Eric Wood.

"It starts with our running game," Edwards said. "If C.J. can pound out yards, move the ball and the chains, it helps scoring touchdowns."

Initially supposed to be eased into this preseason, Spiller will get a bulk of the action after Jackson (broken hand) and Lynch (sprained ankle) were both hurt in last week's 42-17 loss at Washington. Jackson is expected to miss at least the next three weeks, while Lynch is considered week to week.

The crowd that did show proved lively, but it's unclear how many paid full price for their tickets, which ranged from $75 to $275. About 15 minutes before the game, a group of three fans purchased lower bowl tickets, originally priced at $275, for half price from a scalper.

And it was a mixed group of fans in attendance, with a number of them wearing Colts jerseys. The Bills did have the larger contingent, and attracted several loud and extended cheers throughout much of the first half. A wave even made its way around the upper bowl in the fourth quarter.

Colts backup quarterback Curtis Painter had an encouraging outing after he was booed off the field while throwing three interceptions in a 37-17 loss to San Francisco on Sunday. On his second series, Painter drove the Colts 81 yards on two plays for a touchdown. After hitting Taj Smith for a 38-yard pass, Painter went back to Smith for a 43-yard touchdown pass.

Bills rookie running Joique Bell capped the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:55 left.

Buffalo Bills vs Indianapolis Colts Preseason Preview

Tomorrow night at 7:30 PM EST the Buffalo Bills will compete in their second preseason matchup with the new head coaching staff, consisting of head coach, Chan Gailey, offensive coordinator, Curtis Modkins, and former University of Florida defensive coordinator, George Edwards.
Last week the Bills were demoralized in a 42-17 embarassing defeat that left both running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson injured for the remainder of preseason games. Jackson suffered a broken bone in his hand, while Lynch had a high ankle sprain after being pushed out of bounds.
This slideshow will preview the top five storylines and keys to a Buffalo Bills victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
In last weeks preseason game against the Washington Redskins, head coach, Chan Gailey, opted to let rookie seventh round draft pick, Levi Brown, get extended playing time instead of playing fourth quarterback, Brian Brohm.

Tomorrow night, Brian Brohm will see action after both Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick, while Brown sits on the bench.
Most Buffalo fans are rooting for Brohm to win the starting job, but coach Gailey wants to see a bit more from the former Louisville standout, where he passed for 10,775 yards, 70 touchdowns and only 24 interceptions, while completing 65.8% of his passes.
Last year, after Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick were injured, Brohm was thrown into his first NFL action, in a 31-3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, in which he went 17-29 for 146 yards and two interceptions.
All the pundits who criticized Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey for selecting Clemson running back, C.J. Spiller in the first round of the draft when there were other glaring needs to fill, were given their reasoning last week when both Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson were injured in the first half.
C.J. Spiller will be starting for the Bills, with Chad Simpson, Joique Bell, and the newly signed Andre Anderson getting carries as well.
The Bills' running game was one of their only strong points aginst the Redskins, as both Chad Simpson and Joique Bell shined.

After Lee Evans, the Buffalo Bills depth at the wide receiver position is untapped. Steve Johnson, a former 7th round draft pick out of Kentucky, is the favorite to earn the job.
Wide receiver is still a major hole in the Bills depth chart, as the Terrell Owens experiment is over. James Hardy, the former second round draft pick out of Indiana, has been plagued by leg injuries, and will miss his second straight week of action, and is at risk of being cut.
David Nelson, an undrafted rookie out of the University of Florida, led the Bills in receiving against the Redskins, but injured his ankle yesterday and is expected to miss the remainder of the preseason.

Tomorrow night, both Eric Wood and Demetrius Bell return to the Bills' starting lineup, after missing time last season and some offseason training due to leg injuries.
Right tackle Cornell Green, an offseason acquisition who played for the Oakland Raiders last season is a game-time decision, as he is battling injury also.

The Bills new 3-4 defense was absolutely smoked on multiple occasions by the Redskins offense, as Donovan McNabb, Rex Grossman, and John Beck passed for 212 yards, and the Redskins running backs gained another 140.
The Redskins were moving the ball down the field fast, and had nine plays of 15+ yards, and four plays over 20 yards.
The Bills couldn't stop the Redskins on third down either, as they converted 12 of 19 chances, compared to Buffalo's one for 10 efficiency.
The Colts are an even more explosive offense than the Redskins, so hopefully the Bills can get it together this week.

Sean Payton's Genius Helped New Orleans Saints Upset Indianapolis Colts 31-17

For the last four years, fans on the message board SaintsReport.com have been adding to a thread called "Write the Times-Picayune's Headline for the Day After the Saints Win the Super Bowl." The 13 pages of suggestions that piled up between 2006 and the opening kickoff of Sunday's Super Bowl XLIV—"Convoy of Snow Plows arrives in Hell!"; "Holy *Bleep*!!!"; "We Won! We Actually Won!!!"; and "New Orleans Runs Out of Liquor," to name a few—reveal that, even for the most-optimistic Saints fans, this day was unimaginable. When it actually happened—holy bleep, the Saints really, seriously won the Super Bowl 31-17 over the Indianapolis Colts—the Times-Picayune's real-life headline writers shrugged and admitted defeat. On the field, Saints coach Sean Payton held up a paper that said, simply, "World Champs." Yeah, there really are no words.

If New Orleanians couldn't picture their team winning the Lombardi Trophy, the Saints played like a team that didn't show up to lose. Head coach Sean Payton's Super Bowl philosophy, it appeared, was that it was better to look foolish than act timid. Down seven at the end of the second quarter, Payton chose to go for a touchdown on 4th and goal rather than kick an easy field goal. The Saints got stuffed. The coach's response: an onside kick to start the second half, the first in Super Bowl history before the fourth quarter. Win, lose, or lose while taking huge risks that could make you look totally ridiculous, Payton had decided the Saints would be aggressors. After an unholy mid-field scrum, New Orleans recovered that onside kick and drove for a score to take the lead. "I wasn't worried," Saints kicker Thomas Morstead said after the game about the surprise onside try, which he executed flawlessly. "I was terrified."

The Saints had good reason to be terrified of Peyton Manning. A narrow victory over Brett Favre and the Vikings in the NFC championship game revealed that the Saints' defense struggles to stop a good quarterback without a silly amount of fumbles and interceptions. In the Super Bowl, New Orleans showed there's one other way for a not-so-great defense to stop a great quarterback: Don't let him take the field. Thanks to some time-killing second quarter drives and Morstead's onside kick, the Saints kept the Colts star and New Orleans native on the bench for a shockingly long stretch in the middle of the game.

When he did get a chance to fling the ball around, Manning showed the Saints were right to play keep-away. The Colts' QB repeatedly evaded the New Orleans blitz—no "remember me shots" in this game, despite defensive coordinator Gregg Williams' promise—and zipped passes to tight end Dallas Clark. Struggling to stop the pass, the Saints' defense also couldn't get a hand on running back Joseph Addai. All that kept the Colts from running up the score in the first half was a third-down drop by a wide open Pierre Garçon.

And then, after holding the Saints on 4th and goal with less than two minutes to go, the Colts stopped themselves. Rather than let Manning try to throw the team into field goal range, Indy strangely complied with the Saints' plan to keep the NFL's most valuable player on the sidelines. After three faint-hearted running plays, the Saints had the ball back with enough time to cut their halftime deficit to 10-6 on a 44-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley.

Nonetheless, New Orleans' second half comeback wasn't solely the product of momentum or an audacious onside kick. The Saints won for the reason they usually win: Drew Brees' scary accuracy. After the 2008 season, a show called Sport Science asked Brees to throw a football at an archery target ten times; he hit the bull's-eye on all ten throws. The Saints' quarterback doesn't do much worse with huge defensive linemen trying to kill him. Brees set an NFL record this season by completing 70.6 percent of his passes. He did even better on Sunday night, completing more than 82 percent of his throws. The final stats for the deserving Super Bowl MVP: 32-39 for 288 yards and two touchdowns.

Brees moved his team against a Colts defense that tackled surely and didn't allow any big plays. All year long, the Saints piled up points with long passes. In the Super Bowl, they had just two offensive plays longer than 20 yards. In today's NFL, though, there's no way to keep a good passing game down without a dominant pass rush. By the second half, Indy's star defensive end Dwight Freeney was hobbling around on his busted ankle and Brees had time to thread the ball to Pierre Thomas for 12 yards, Devery Henderson for nine, and Marques Colston for eight. Every ball was on somebody's fingertips, and the Saints receivers didn't drop anything after Colston let a ball bounce off his face in the first quarter.

Despite Brees throwing close to a perfect game, the Colts still had a 17-16 lead in the fourth quarter. In a game of huge kicks, both onside and conventional—a hat tip to Hartley, the first kicker in Super Bowl history to make three field goals of longer than 40 yards—Matt Stover's missed 51-yard field goal with 10:39 to go had the biggest effect on the outcome. Instead of giving the Colts a four-point lead, the errant kick set up the Saints at their 40-yard line—field position they'd use to drive for the game-winning touchdown.

Stover deserves no blame for missing that crucial kick—he hasn't made a 50-yard field goal since 2006. Blame Colts coach Jim Caldwell. Sure, it would've taken Sean Payton-esque chutzpah to go for it on 4th and 11 from the 33-yard line in a one-point game. But to hell with convention: When your elderly kicker has no chance of knocking it through, why have him try?

Aside from Caldwell's iffy game management, this was a Super Bowl free of all things that make football annoying. The refs kept their flags in their pockets and CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Phil Simms kept their feet out of their mouths, sticking to the on-field action rather than waxing poetic about the Saints uniting a hurricane-ravaged city. (Dishonorable mention does go to Katie Couric, who asked Brees in a pre-game interview, "Did you help save New Orleans, or did New Orleans help save you?") There was also just one contested call—a replay reversal on Lance Moore's catch for a two-point conversion—that, by comparison with your average Super Bowl imbroglio, barely qualified as controversial. (Saints fans should send black-and-gold bouquets to CBS for the copious super-slo-mo replays of Moore lunging the ball across the goal line.)

Even after Brees, Moore, and the guy in the replay booth gave the Saints a 24-17 lead, Peyton Manning still had the ball with a chance to tie the score. Manning trails just Dan Marino in come-from-behind fourth quarter victories, and the Colts had seven such wins this season. One of those comebacks came when Patriots coach Bill Belichick—showing confidence, or boldness, or stupidity—chose to go for it on fourth down from inside his own 30-yard line rather than willingly put the ball in Manning's hands.

On Sunday night, the Saints had no choice but to let the comeback king do his thing. The thing Manning did, shockingly, was seal the Super Bowl for his hometown Saints. On 3rd and 5 from the Saints' 31, Manning threw a quick slant to Reggie Wayne. It's a play the Colts have run a million times, one that's impossible to defend when a receiver and quarterback hit their marks. This time, the Colts went 0-for-2. Wayne appeared to slip and didn't make a sharp break on the ball. Manning, maybe too eager to stick with an old, reliable play call, didn't notice that Tracy Porter—the Saints cornerback who picked off Favre to save the NFC championship game and came out for Super Bowl XLIV with the Superdome and the Lombardi Trophy shaved into the side of his head—had the route sussed out. Porter jumped in front of Wayne, caught the ball in full stride, and streaked 74 yards for the game's final points. "I'm sure when Peyton Manning was growing up he always wanted to throw the TD pass that gave the Saints a Super Bowl win," ESPN the Magazine's Jorge Arangure wrote after the game. "Now he has."

For a team that went two full decades without a winning season and had just two all-time playoff wins before 2010, this ridiculous ending was just as plausible as any. When the game was over, I tried to call home and couldn't get through to anyone for 15 minutes. "All circuits are busy"—that is, everyone who knows what it means to miss New Orleans was dying to find out what they were missing. When I managed to reach a friend who'd been watching the game in the French Quarter, he told me that all the folks in Brees jerseys had sprinted full out for Bourbon Street after the final horn. Once everybody was smashed together, dancing on cars and screaming "Who dat!", there was no doubt it had really happened. We won! We actually won!!!

Super Bowl 44 Gameday Edition: Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints

FOUR IMPACT PLAYERS
Colts QB Peyton Manning For the Saints to have any chance, they have to stop Manning on third down. The Vikings were able to convert seven of 12 third-down opportunities against the Saints in the NFC title game. The Colts convert at an amazing rate of 49 percent. That's partly because of Manning's passing abilities, but also because of how he manages first and second down to create more third-and-short situations than any other team in the league.

Saints QB Drew Brees Brees didn't have a great NFC title game, but he also didn't throw the game away like Brett Favre did at the end. Brees hasn't been intercepted in 63 postseason passes. And he threw only 11 in 514 regular-season attempts. And, oh yeah, he broke an NFL record by completing 70.6 percent of his passes during the regular season. Brees threw for only 197 yards against the Vikings, but he did have three TDs. The Colts play a similar Tampa 2 defense.

Colts DE Dwight Freeney All eyes will be on the Colts pass rusher to see whether he's: A) able to play on a damaged right ankle that has a torn ligament; and B) able to play well enough to put any kind of pressure on Brees. One would have to assume Freeney will give it a try since it's the Super Bowl. If he can play well, Saints left tackle Jermon Bushrod will have to deal with a player who has more sacks (89), tackles for loss (119) and forced fumbles (37) than Saints CB Jabari Greer When Greer is healthy, which he finally is now, the Saints' pass defense is much better. He did a decent job containing the Vikings' Sidney Rice in the NFC title game. Sunday, he'll be matched up with Reggie Wayne, who caught 100 passes, including 10 for TDs, during the regular season. Wayne was shut down in the AFC title game by Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis. Manning would like to go back to Wayne but doesn't have a problem spreading it around. Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon combined for 18 catches and 274 yards and two TDs against the Jets.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
Protecting the passer For the first time in years, the Super Bowl features the two best teams with the two best quarterbacks in the league. Protecting them will be the key to victory. The Colts' Peyton Manning was sacked a career-low 10 times during the regular season but has gone down four times in two playoff games. Brees' accuracy and aggressiveness down the field depend heavily on good protection. The Vikings disrupted his rhythm some in the NFC title game. The Colts can do the same if Dwight Freeney is healthy.

Control the ball Neither team is built around running the football. But the Saints are better equipped with a more physical offensive line and the diverse running styles of the more powerful Pierre Thomas, the elusive Reggie Bush and the short-yardage efficiency of Mike Bell and Lynell Hamilton. Limiting Manning's number of possessions is the best way to beat him, although it's not a foolproof method for success, as the Dolphins found out early in the season. The Colts offensive line is built for one thing -- to protect Manning. Indy was last in the league in rushing (80.9), but Manning is talented enough to control the ball with the passing game.

It's the turnovers, stupid Most of this other stuff won't end up meaning squat if the turnover bug bites. Two weeks ago, the Vikings dominated the Saints in every statistical category but lost in overtime because they turned the ball over five times. One of the main reasons the Saints are playing Sunday is takeaways. They were second in the league with 39 this season. They also were third in turnover differential (plus-11), while the Colts were tied for 13th at plus-2.

Saints CB Jabari Greer When Greer is healthy, which he finally is now, the Saints' pass defense is much better. He did a decent job containing the Vikings' Sidney Rice in the NFC title game. Sunday, he'll be matched up with Reggie Wayne, who caught 100 passes, including 10 for TDs, during the regular season. Wayne was shut down in the AFC title game by Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis. Manning would like to go back to Wayne but doesn't have a problem spreading it around. Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon combined for 18 catches and 274 yards and two TDs against the Jets.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
Protecting the passer For the first time in years, the Super Bowl features the two best teams with the two best quarterbacks in the league. Protecting them will be the key to victory. The Colts' Peyton Manning was sacked a career-low 10 times during the regular season but has gone down four times in two playoff games. Brees' accuracy and aggressiveness down the field depend heavily on good protection. The Vikings disrupted his rhythm some in the NFC title game. The Colts can do the same if Dwight Freeney is healthy.

Control the ball Neither team is built around running the football. But the Saints are better equipped with a more physical offensive line and the diverse running styles of the more powerful Pierre Thomas, the elusive Reggie Bush and the short-yardage efficiency of Mike Bell and Lynell Hamilton. Limiting Manning's number of possessions is the best way to beat him, although it's not a foolproof method for success, as the Dolphins found out early in the season. The Colts offensive line is built for one thing -- to protect Manning. Indy was last in the league in rushing (80.9), but Manning is talented enough to control the ball with the passing game.

It's the turnovers, stupid Most of this other stuff won't end up meaning squat if the turnover bug bites. Two weeks ago, the Vikings dominated the Saints in every statistical category but lost in overtime because they turned the ball over five times. One of the main reasons the Saints are playing Sunday is takeaways. They were second in the league with 39 this season. They also were third in turnover differential (plus-11), while the Colts were tied for 13th at plus-2.

Saints RB Pierre Thomas Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and the Saints receivers typically get most of the publicity. But the Saints have a better chance of winning if Thomas has the kind of game he had against the Vikings. It wasn't a huge game, but he had 14 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown, two catches for 38 yards and a touchdown, and a 40-yard kickoff return in overtime that set up a short drive to the game-winning field goal.

Colts special teamer Ramon Humber Bush is one of the league's most-feared punt returners. Humber is a rookie free agent from North Dakota State and Champlin Park High. They may be on different pay levels, but Humber will play a big role in trying to contain Bush, as well as the Saints' sneaky-good kickoff returners. Humber, a 5-11, 232-pound linebacker, led the Colts in special teams tackles with 17 this season.

ONE BOLD PREDICTION
The Saints and New Orleans are the feel-good story. The story everyone outside of Indiana wants to see as the storybook ending to this season. This is their first Super Bowl in their 43-year existence. It's a city still recovering from the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina 4 1/2 years ago. The Saints and New Orleans are simply impossible to hate. But sorry, Big Easy, the Colts will win. Peyton Manning will not have one of those Bad Brett moments. In fact, I think he'll have his way with the Saints defense and win by double digits. Colts 41, Saints 31