Friday, October 14, 2011

Escape From New York


It is a 363 mile drive from the Buffalo Bills home turf of Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY to Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ; stomping ground of the New York Giants. For many years the Bills faithful have made the standstill argument that the Buffalo Bills are the only "true" New York team because of Metlife Stadium’s location within New Jersey state lines.

Matching up for only the third time in over ten years, the often harmless Upstate New York team now has the opportunity to prove their worthiness for recognition as New York State's sole NFL team.  The only difference is this year, the Bills have found a consistent quarterback.

Enter Ryan Fitzpatrick, a prominent leader of this Cinderella team.  After beginning the season on fire statistically, Fitzpatrick has since come back down to earth, but has continued doing nothing but the right things to lead his team to victory.  Although he may not have the fire that Snake Plissken possessed in the 1980s classic film "Escape From New York", the "Amish Rifle" has consistently provided a spark for his Bills.

Despite the Buffalo Bills (4-1) coming off a big win, they travel to New York as underdogs to face a Giants team (3-2) trying to regain their footing after a crushing loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Following the week 5 defeat, Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin stated what he has sought to improve during this week’s practices. "We didn't complement each other at all today. This week the sloppiness of the game, the turnovers, you know you are not going to win when you are handing people the ball (at) point blank range."

Most NFL fans are well aware of the struggles that the New York Giants have had turning the ball over. However, few and far between are conscious of the Bills' league leading +11 turnover differential this season (16 total takeaways).

Through 5 weeks of football, the Giants are still winless over a team with a winning record, a fact that favors the AFC East's first place Bills, especially if the "G-Men" are unable to minimize their giveaways.

After the Bills key win over the Philadelphia Eagles, team-captain George Wilson declared, "When you make mistakes, it’s alright to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. We learned from those mistakes a year ago."

Five weeks into the regular season, the Bills have already met their win total from 2010. However, the Bills are still on the prowl to prove their belonging as an upper echelon NFL team.  Keep an eye out for Ryan "Snake Plissken" Fitzpatrick to ignite his team's fire in this week 6 showdown.

The Buffalo Bills will attempt to "Escape From New York" (New Jersey) with a win over the Giants at 1:00 ET on CBS.

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