Aug 11, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Buffalo Bills fans yell their support at the Bills after they walk of the field at Lucas Oil Stadium after their pre-season game against the Indianapolis Colts. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
After a productive first preseason game, the Bills look to keep their momentum going when they play host to the Minnesota Vikings on Friday at 7 pm.
"“You’re looking for that improvement,” said Marrone. “Obviously they’re keeping score so the goal is to win, but at the same time from an individual standpoint you’re looking for separation. There’s a lot of other competition going on outside the quarterback, for spots on the roster, depth chart, special teams. So you’re looking for people to step up in those areas and you’re looking to see the progress in them. The coaching points that you’ve made and corrected you’re making sure they don’t make those mistakes again.”"
Marrone wants to keep the QB competition equal so with that Kevin Kolb will be starting on tonight and Manuel is slated to be the #2 and Tuel the #3.
Stevie Johnson and Leodis McKelvin will not be in the line-up again for the Bills. The frustrating part is McKelvin not being in because this CB corps is in desperate need of someone to step up after Gilmore. I am in not means saying that McKelvin is that guy but Ron Brooks showed that he wasn’t there yet either. Just more or less would like to see if McKelvin is the same old same old at this point.
Other line-up changes include, Kiko Alonso not dressing as well as TJ Graham. Woods and Goodwin are expected to get the start at WR and Moats will start in place of Kiko. Chandler is expected to get some playing time against the Vikings.
Chris Brown, the Buffalo Bills Beat Reporter, reported on the factors of why Alonso will not dress for Friday.
"“As coach Marrone explained to a few media members, Kiko Alonso is cleared to practice and play Friday night, but his “player load” which is a combination measurement of his distance traveled in practice, amount of high intensity running, top speed, change of direction and a host of other variables, was at a level putting him at risk for injury.”“Marrone said Alonso did have a minor shoulder injury, but that the doctors cleared him.”“The Bills are measuring player load in practice with GPS tracking devices, which sit inside the undershirts of players and measure all that data. We did a detailed video report on the analytic technology, courtesy of their analytic partner Catapult, in Bills Focus right before training camp began.”"
As for the Vikings, they were handed a loss in their first preseason game against the Texans. With our Q&A with The Viking Edge, we don’t expect to see Adrian Peterson for this game or any during the preseason. We also know that rookie WR Cordarrelle Patterson is one to keep our eye on.
Other notable additions to the Vikings ship are WR Greg Jennings, QB Matt Cassel and from the 2013 draft in DT Shariff Floyd and CB Xavier Rhodes.
The Vikings were not able to put a lot of production together in their first game so I would expect them to come out swinging.