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The Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers are set to square off tomorrow morning.  It's looking like a tough battle for the 49ers who are looking to spark some consistency.  In anticipation of the matchup, Brian of Buffalo Rumblings and I have gotten together for a little cage match debate surrounding four of the game's key personnel matchups.

Which blogger - and by extension, which community - is right?  Take a gander, gather your thoughts, and let's duke it out in a Bills/49ers blogger cage match.

MATCHUP #1: Bills C Duke Preston vs 49ers NT Aubrayo Franklin
Fooch: You could probably stick me at center and at worst the matchup would be a push.  That term (push) is fitting because Aubrayo Franklin gets none.  As big a guy as he is, his technique is simply insufficient as a starter.  The nose tackle in the 3-4 needs to get some push off the snap to open up holes for the pass rushers.  If the 49ers decide to stick with the 3-4 next season, I really would like to see them draft the big Alabama nose tackle, Terrence "Mount" Cody.  The pass rush has been a huge weakness for the 49ers because it affects every aspect of the defense.  As long as they aren't getting much form their nose tackle, it will remain a problem.  Advantage: Bills

Brian Galliford: Fooch says that Franklin gets no push; I'll retaliate with the fact that Preston doesn't get push, either.  This is the battle of the stoppable force and the moveable object, folks.  I like the way that Buffalo has been running of late, so I feel comfortable with this matchup, but due to the mediocrity of these two players, I'm betting that both fan bases will be remarking how their respective guy will have just had their best game of the season after this one.  Advantage: Bills

MATCHUP #2: 49ers CB Nate Clements vs Bills WR Lee Evans
Brian Galliford: There isn't a team this year that has given Evans single coverage - and he's still averaging nearly 20 yards per reception.  He is, quite clearly, the best pure deep threat in the league.  Lately, teams have tried to take Evans out of the game to force Buffalo to beat them elsewhere, but I can see things going differently this week with Nate coming back to Buffalo.  If the Niners think that Nate can take Lee one-on-one all day, Evans is going to put up big numbers.  I pray Nate is singled up on this guy, particularly early in the game.  Advantage: Bills

Fooch: In a straight man-to-man battle, Clements would be able to contain Evans.  He's shut down the likes of Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson and I think he can do the same with Evans.  Clements had a bad day last week against the Cowboys, but a lot of his problems were in the support he was supposed to get from the safeties.  If the 49ers coaches are smart (no sure bet), I would hope that they would realize Clements should just cover his man 1-on-1 and avoid any cutesy over the top help from Mark Roman or Michael Lewis.  If they let Clements just cover his man straight up I think he'll be fine.  The same can't be said for Walt Harris... Advantage: 49ers

MATCHUP #3: Bills LB Paul Posluszny vs 49ers RB Frank Gore
Fooch: Gore is coming off an ugly game against the Cowboys in which he was clearly frustrated with his role.  Mike Singletary called this a "black and blue" game and I'd like to think this means a heavy dose of Gore.  Gore is not one to have back-to-back poor performances, and I'd hope that standard holds.  Part of the problem in the poor performances has been his offensive line.  Gore can make things happen, but if the line gets no push at all, it makes life a lot more difficult.  I think my prediction is based more on expecting an improved o-line performance.  Advantage: 49ers

Brian Galliford: First thing's first - anybody who thinks that Posluszny has disappeared over the past couple of games is mistaken.  With 9 tackles in the past two games, statistically, yes, he's been largely absent.  But Cleveland spent a large amount of time getting blockers on Buffalo's best run defender, and Kansas City ran the ball a whopping 13 times.  Poz is still Poz, folks.  With that said, Buffalo's run defense is suddenly a concern again, and Gore is precisely the type of back that Buffalo struggles with most.  Advantage: 49ers

MATCHUP #4: 49ers RG Chilo Rachal vs Bills DT Marcus Stroud
Brian Galliford: Stroud has really returned to form over the past three games, even though the Chiefs gashed Buffalo last week on the ground.  He's back to his near-dominant form, and he's going to pose big problems for the vastly inexperienced, yet highly talented Rachal.  Stroud should do well against the run, and when Shaun Hill drops back to pass, the Bills are going to run a lot of stunts in an attempt to get defenders clean past the rookie right guard.  Advantage: Bills

Fooch: The 49ers inserted the rookie Rachal into the starting lineup this past week.  Although he didn't get any penalties, Coach Singletary was quick to point out that he "played like a rookie."  However, they're going to keep running him out there and get him acclimated to the league.  Most people thought he came out too early after his junior season.  Unfortunately, his mother and father have some medical issues and he felt he had to leave at the point he did.  It's a shame, but he's shown that he's not completely out of his element.  At the same time, a veteran like Stroud will prove a strong test for him.  I'd imagine he'll struggle against a seasoned veteran like Stroud, but hopefully he'll show improvement over the course of the morning (well afternoon for you guys).  Advantage: Bills

***

OK, Bills and 49ers fans.  Respect is the name of the game, but trash talk is a must (unless, of course, you're too down on your team to get cocky).  Who's right?  Who's just a "homer"?  Thanksgiving makes me forget about the coming weekend of football, but now it's Friday and time to get back into game shape.  Let's hope the Bills loaded up on just a little bit too much tryptophan.

Yesterday's game left me a little baffled and a little frustrated.  The 49ers left points on the field numerous times and once the Cowboys offense began clicking, it was all over from there.  TO made Nate Clements look like a rookie and the Mike Martz offense seemed to favor the pass way too heavily in the red zone (more on that coming Wednesday from Florida Danny).

Problems still exist and nobody would question that.  However, I don't think there's anything wrong with looking at the good to come from the game.  Mike Sando does something similar at his ESPN blog called Silver Linings and I'd imagine his will be up sometime soon.  Consider this more a look at performances that gave me pause to think about guys who could be contributors next year and beyond.

Chilo Rachal: As Barrows pointed out, Rachal had no penalties and seemed to do a pretty decent job in his first career start.  Although (and correct me if I'm wrong), wouldn't offensive tackles be more likely to be penalized than guards?  Hill ended up on his butt a little too often but I still think Rachal is starting to show us something.  If we can have this kind of young player at right guard going forward for the foreseeable future, it makes life a lot easier for developing that o-line.

I'm assuming Rachal will continue to start, and if so, he faces a tough matchup this coming weekend in Buffalo.  He'll be facing off against DT Marcus Stroud, although Brian from Buffalo Rumblings indicated to me that the Bills will use a lot of stunting and blitzing (more previews from Brian coming on Friday).  The Cowboys brought a strong pass rush so Rachal has certainly been tested.  We'll see what kind of game he brings if the blitzes and stunts are free-flowing.

Manny Lawson: Barrows also mentioned how the 49ers need to figure out what they can do to keep Manny Lawson on the field for 3 downs.  Any thoughts on that?  He's clearly making a strong recovery from the ACL injury with some impressive showings the last few weeks.  Yesterday he had a tackle, a sack, a pass deflection and a fumble recovery. 

It seems like he's always been considered more of a pass coverage guy than a pass rusher.  However, I've always wondered why they don't use him more in pass rushing.  While he's a large individual it's more length than width.  Is it possible he's too tall to be an effective pass rusher in the traditional sense?  He's 6-5 and from what I saw of him in training camp, it's all legs.  It almost makes more sense for him to be in coverage since he needs to cover greater distances.  Anyways, the good news is we're seeing increased production from Lawson.  If they can turn him into a more effective player first THROUGH third down, the 49ers will be a much better team for it.

Dominique Zeigler: Early in the game Troy Aikman criticized Zeigler on a player where Zeigler seemed to stop trying to get open.  Late in the fourth quarter, he was quick to praise when Zeigler continued across the field to get open.  The word on the street (Maiocco and Barrows) is that Zeigler has phenomenal hands.  He hasn't had a ton of opportunities to showcase that skill but I really hope we continue to see more of him going forward. 

I'd imagine Battle will probably be back this coming weekend, but Morgan seems less likely given that it's a groin injury.  That means Zeigler should continue to be on the active roster.  Even if he's not a reasonable answer going forward, the 49ers need to figure this out.  If his hands are as good as people say, I don't see why he couldn't be a solid possession receiver for the team.  He's a bit lanky but he has decent size to get up after the ball.  Do people see him as any sort of answer to any question going forward?  Or is it way too soon to tell?

Feel free to throw out other guys you saw good things from that we'd like to see more of going forward.  We can discuss the likes of Shaun Hill ad nauseum.  It's a little more interesting to look at some of the other guys out there.

How many of you remember how Chris Berman used to pick the Bills and the 49ers in the Super Bowl at the beginning of EVERY NFL season.  I still don't know why he did it, but I always found that amusing.  Way back in the early 90s I was usually rooting for those Bills teams in the Super Bowl as I couldn't stand the Cowboys, Redskins and Giants. 

Long story short, while I'm not a Bills fan, I find myself particularly intrigued by the Bills of last year and this year.  I'm not a Stanford fan but I expect some decent things from Trent Edwards.  Although, I will confess that I have Trent Edwards in a dynasty fantasy football league (keep an entire 28 man roster), so that may explain why I like Trent.  The Bills addition of James Hardy to pair with Lee Evans keeps me just as interested.  For those who don't remember, back before the draft from January to April I became more and more enamored by the monstrous Indiana receiver.

The SB Nation Bills blog is Buffalo Rumblings, and is run by Brian Galliford.  It's a very solid blog and I recommend checking it out when you get a chance.

Overview
The Bills rolled off their second straight 7-9 season last year, but I think it's safe to say that it could be considered a season of growth.  They added four starters via the 2006 draft (Lynch, Posluszny, Edwards and and Derek Schouman at fullback) and if not for a 3-game swoon to finish the season, they would have finished at or above .500.

Edwards split time with JP Losman over the course of 2006.  While Edwards did not blow people away with his numbers, he should some signs of being a solid signall-caller.

Additions
The Bills appear to be talking a cautious but smart approach in building through the draft, while adding some key parts through free agency.  They added starters in defensive tackle Marcus Stroud and outside linebacker Kawika Mitchell.  The Bills finished in the middle of the pack in both rushing and passing defense, so I'd imagine they hope for an impact from Stroud and Mitchell.

The Bills had 10 picks in the 2007 draft and came with two potential immediate starters.  Leodis McKelvin, a cornerback out of Troy, is battling Jabari Greer for the #2 cornerback position and I'd imagine he'll get every opportunity to win the job.  On the offensive side of the ball, big James Hardy currently sits behind Josh Reed and will be battling with Reed and Roscoe Parrish for catches.  Young wide receivers take time to develop and Hardy is a guy I'm especially curious about.  He's got the physical tools, but so did JJ Stokes.  He needs to convert that potential into production if he wants to make a name for himself (in a good way!).

Subtractions
The Bills didn't get hurt too badly by free agency losses.  The toughest loss, technically, would probably be Jason Webster, the former 49er who will now be a starting corner in New England.  Of course, the Bills went with a cornerback in the first round so I'd imagine they're not too shaken up over the loss.  Other than that, the Bills remain a young team looking to lock up the youngsters.

2008 Questions and Answers
As is always the case with a young QB, the biggest question is whether Trent Edwards will step up and take the mantle of control.  The addition of James Hardy gives him one more weapon to throw too.  Now it's just a matter of Edwards producing.

Can Marshawn Lynch improve upon 2007?  For a rookie he put up solid numbers, but I think it's safe to say the Bills would like him to improve upon the 4.0 yards per rush.  If the Bills are going to improve their passing game, they really need to get continued production out of Lynch.

vs. San Francisco
Depending on how the first 12 weeks of the season shake out, this week 13 matchup could be HUGE.  Back during the favorite/underdog predictions, I predicted the Bills would be a favorite in this game.  The 49ers will have gone through the toughest stretch of their schedule and this could be a make or break game for any potential playoff chances for both teams.  The Bills are a prime candidate to surprise people and make the playoffs (or at least a run at the playoffs) and we've discussed thoughts on the 49ers chances aplenty.

The outcome of this game will depend in part on the 49ers development and in part on the development of Trent Edwards.  If the 49ers want to make the playoffs, I think this game falls into the must-win category, and I don't think a win is entirely out of the question.  I think the 49ers defense holds firm and Frank Gore powers through the undoubtedly freezing weather to lead the 49ers to victory.  I smell a last second Joe Nedney field goal and the 49ers pull out a 23-20 victory.