Bills Behind Jaguar Lines: Five Questions With an Enemy Blogger

Filed under: Bills, Jaguars, AFC East, AFC South, Buffalo

Welcome to another successful installment of Five Questions with an Enemy Blogger, where each week, via email, I will be exchanging hot questions and [sometimes] answers with a rival blogger about their team and the upcoming matchup.

This week I sat down with Brendan Sonnone of Jaguars Journal, a Most Valuable Network column that covers the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Dan Benton: “The Jaguars are 7-3, but you’d hardly know it. This team has flown under the radar all season long and most casual NFL fans are shocked when they hear how well they’re doing. Would you prefer them to be a loud 7-3 or are you perfectly fine with them dominating silently?”

Brendan Sonnone: “Of course everyone loves to see their team on the cover of Sports Illustrated or ESPN Magazine, but I am perfectly content with the Jaguars being overlooked. The element of surprise always helps, but I can guarantee you that amongst the NFL community, teams certainly respect and maybe even fear Jacksonville. For now, being silent assassins suits me just fine, and I’m sure any team in the NFL enjoys the underdog role. “

Benton: “Byron Leftwhich who?”

Sonnone: “Letting Leftwich go surprised a lot of people. For me, it was purely the timing of his release (September) that came as a shock. I always said that Leftwich’s release would prevent him from being an above average QB and I think seeing him play and struggle in Atlanta validates that. I honestly preferred David Garrard for the past few years, but the system he was in wasn’t suited for his specific strengths. Now, new Offensive Coordinator Dirk Koetter is really playing to Garrard’s strengths … rolling out, bootlegs, play actions, safe passes to big TEs. More importantly, Garrard is finally comfortable and isn’t looking over his shoulder like he did when relieving Leftwich the last two seasons. With a 104 QB Rating and 0 interceptions thrown, Garrard has been extremely efficient and his play is helping Jacksonville fans forget about Byron “the Bust” Leftwich.”

Benton: “Although they were just destroyed by the New England Patriots, the Bills are riding a little bit of a hot streak. They’ve won four of their last five games and still have a lot to lose on a weekly basis. Do they concern you?”

Sonnone: “Yes, they horrify me in fact and for several reasons. First, the Bills are playing good football right now and most people don’t realize that they can easily be 7-3 like the Jags opposed to 5-5. Remember, the Bills lost to both the Broncos and Cowboys on literally, last second field goals. This Buffalo team is overachieving and is easily capable of pulling off an upset. Lee Evans is really starting to pick it up and anytime you have a homerun threat like that, an offense can really take off. Rashean Mathis is hurt with a groin injury and his status is unknown, so Buffalo might be able to put some quick points on the board with long bombs. Their defense subscribes to a ‘bend but don’t break’ philosophy, and has the potential to cause problems. Factor in that Jacksonville has been inconsistent at certain times this season (Indianapolis and New Orleans games), and it’s more than probable that Buffalo will cause problems.”

Benton: “If you could pick one player off the Bills and add them to the Jaguars roster, who would it be and why?”

Sonnone: “If I could take any one player from the Bills? Evans, no doubt. Jacksonville has lacked a big play threat at receiver for years now, and Evans certainly brings that. He started off slow, but has really turned it on as the season has progressed. Imagine how effective Garrard would be if he had a prolific receiver like Evans to throw to?”

Benton: “Prediction time! Who wins, and what’s the score?”

Sonnone: “This has the potential to be a trap game, as the Jags might be looking ahead to a duel with Indy next week. As I said, Buffalo has some talent and is playing well. If the Jaguars don’t take them seriously, the Bills can upset them. However, this Jacksonville squad seems to be more focused than other Jack Del Rio teams have been in the past and I am thinking the Jaguars will be looking to avenge a last second loss to Buffalo last season. Too much Garrard and Maurice Jones-Drew, as the Jags take down Buffalo, 27-17.”

A special thanks to Brendan Sonnone for taking the time. Again, you can read his Jaguars coverage on Jaguars Journal over at Most Valuable Network.

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