Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions Preview

by Mario "Game" Granata
With the new change at quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, Kyle Orton will be under center as the Bills take on the Detroit Lions on the road trying to go to 3-2 on the season.  What is lost in the mix is that former Head Coach of the Lions, Jim Schwartz, now Defensive Coordinator for the Bills will be looking for some revenge, and the Savage Boys of the Bills will be ready to help their coordinator gain some revenge. 

Jim Schwartz, ever since the schedule came out for the 2014 season, had this game circled on the calendar.  The day where he would return to Detroit to exact some revenge on the team who he coached for the previous 5 seasons.  While most of the talk has centered around the quarterback change in Buffalo, this could be the perfect smoke screen for Schwartz to prove to the Lions and the city of Detroit what they are missing. 

Now on the surface, it doesn't seem like the Lions are missing much as their defense is in the Top 10 in a lot of the defensive categories.  However, with the way that the Bills defense has played, and who they are playing for, this game might be closer than many people are anticipating. 

Kyle Orton, who is a veteran of the NFL for a decade, will try to use his experience to better diagnose the Lions defense, and get the ball in the hands of the play makers.  Will he be better than Manuel?  The fan base in Buffalo hopes so.

CJ Spiller has been a little 'quiet' putting aside his explosive kickoff return against the Dolphins.  How will Spiller fair against a defense that has to see Reggie Bush everyday in practice.  With the edge in speed going to Spiller, one has to question that in critical times that the Bills have had in the past two weeks, why was #28 on the sideline and not in the slot.  He needs to be fed the ball, and fed the ball a lot.

The offensive line has been relatively good in the first quarter of 2014 season.  Facing Jared Allen, Cameron Wake, Dwight Freeney, and JJ Watt, they have only surrendered 1 sack to those four, and the only big mistake came last week against Watt with his interception return: something that can't be blamed on the line.  With Chris Williams out, the Bills line did have a little trouble with Watt, but then again, who in the NFL doesn't have trouble with him?

All in all, this is going to be a very hard fought game, and one that the Bills can come out victorious if the fire that Schwartz lights under his defense.  Another thing to look for, both this week and in upcoming weeks, is the status of Nathaniel Hackett.  The only variable that has been removed from the offensive equation has been EJ Manuel.  If Orton performs on par, or worse as Manuel has played, would it be shocking for Hackett to be gone as OC in Buffalo during their bye week?  Time will tell.