1 - Mobility at quarterback critical to Bills offense
If you're watching Tyrod Taylor on Sundays, it's no secret that he's a magician with his legs. Through three weeks he has over 100 yards rushing. He also is getting his groove with slinging the ball. Last week he had a career-high completion percentage. Combine the arm and a leg, Taylor is a nuisance for opposing defenses.
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Andy Benoit from MMQB expressed his feelings towards Taylor's mobility.
"The Bills are finding an identity on offense. Much of it centers around putting Tyrod Taylor on the move," he said.
Taylor's threat to break a run at any second puts most defenses in zone coverage. Something we should see from the Atlanta Falcons defense.
"This means a lot of crossing patterns downfield. Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison has been shrewd in his zone coverage-attacking designs here, which is important given how Bills opponents play less man-to-man because of Taylor's mobility. There will be more zone this week when the Bills travel to Atlanta," Benoit said. "Dan Quinn's young safeties and linebackers had trouble identifying downfield crossing routes early last season but improved in the second half. Dennison will test those improvements."
2 - Alexander's keys to slowing down Atlanta's offense
Buffalo Bills linebacker, Lorenzo Alexander, knows his defense is going to be tested against the Atlanta Falcons. It's inevitable. Their prolific offense is going to make plays. One of Alexander's keys to slowing down the Falcons is having early success on the defensive side of the ball.
"That's why first and second down are so important. We want to put these guys in some third-and-long situations… if you look at them I think they've only had one third-and-eleven plus. That means their winning big on first and second down," Alexander said in his weekly appearance on the John Murphy Show.
Having Atlanta in third-and-short situations won't be ideal for Buffalo. They have a two-headed monster in the backfield that averages over four yards per carry. That will also open up the play action game for the Falcons which can be lethal. The Bills want third-and-long situations where they know it's going to be a pass play.
Alexander, who's tied for the team lead in sacks (2), knows they have to be quick to Matt Ryan on those passing plays.
"Relentless, tenacious, pursuit of getting after the quarterback. With me, Jerry, Kyle, and Marcell," he said. "Then also our rotational guys that come in and play at a high level too. Eddie Yarbrough, Ryan Davis, Adolphus Washington. We're going to need everybody."
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3 - Poyer anxious to see defense's progression from last week**
The Bills defense as a whole has been flawless this season. One of the most promising areas of that defense has been the secondary. First-year safety, Jordan Poyer, has given opposing offenses something to be wary of.
Through the first three weeks he's the top graded safety in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Poyer feels the sky is the limit with Buffalo's defense.
"It's going to be exciting for us to go out there, and see the jump we can get from Week Three to Week Four against a really good offense, a really good football team," he said. "We're preparing hard, just like each and every week. Preparing hard, and we understand what we have to do to get a victory."
The Bills run defense has been solid. They haven't allowed a rusher over 60 yards this season. Poyer hasn't been afraid to step up and stuff run plays. In Week Two he had a team-high 11 tackles.
The Atlanta Falcons will test how stout the Bills run defense is. Running back, Devonta Freeman, has been hot this season. In the past two weeks he has gone for 84 and 106 yards. Poyer knows they need to limit Freeman to be successful.
"Coming in, we know we have to be physical with these guys and we have to stop the run. [We need to be] able to stop the run, make them one-dimensional, and prevent the big plays," he said.
The Falcons have been taking early leads in pursuit to their 3-0 record this season. They're yet to trail a single second in the 2017 season. The Bills will have to end that feat if they want to advance to 3-1.
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