Buffalo Bills Nickel
If the Buffalo Bills are able to put pressure on Tom Brady, he will try to get rid of the ball quickly. This means he will look for his favorite target, slot receiver Julian Edelman. This means that whoever is playing nickel for the Bills will likely have a busy day.
The reason there is question about who will play this role for the Bills is that Taron Johnson, who was the team’s starter to open the regular season, has been dealing with a hamstring injury. He has been forced to miss the past two games but was practicing on a limited basis earlier this week.
If Johnson is not able to play, the Bills likely will once again turn to three players to fill the role: Siran Neal, Dean Marlowe and Kevin Johnson.
While it is unlikely to completely neutralize Edelman, the Bills defense should hope for a performance similar to what they did against Jamison Crowder. The Jets’ slot receiver had 14 receptions against the Bills but only had 99 receiving yards. This shows that these players do a great job of keeping the receiver in front of them and not allowing him to break big plays.
If the Buffalo Bills can keep Edelman in front of them, limit the yards after the catch, it can limit his impact on the outcome and hopefully force more three and outs against the New England Patriots.