Patriots vs Bills: First Impressions
Some first impressions following this win over the Bills:
- The battle between Kyle Arrington and Darius Butler appears to have gone to Arrington, as Butler was a little more inconsistent today than Arrington was. It’s obviously a little early to pass judgment on either of these two considering it’s only the third game of the season, and one would have to believe we’ll see improvement from both of these players in the coming weeks.
- It was nice to see Jermaine Cunningham play well out there today. He did a solid job of helping create pressure and was also key in helping free up a couple of guys who made tackles on the inside on rushing plays. It looks like he’s developing fairly well so far.
- Shawn Crable got his feet wet Sunday, and did a good job bringing down Marshawn Lynch early in the fourth quarter. It's hard to tell how many plays he was in on due to the limited vantage points available from watching the game on television, but the fact he was out there at all is a positive considering his troubles over the past couple of years overcoming injuries. Hopefully we'll see more from him in the coming weeks.
- BenJarvus Green-Ellis had a great game, gaining 98-yards on 16-carries (6.1 avg) and a touchdown. New England needed a spark and it was nice to see him come in and contribute.
- Danny Woodhead came in and did exactly what they needed him to with Kevin Faulk out of the line-up. He’s a good change of pace player who ran the ball well, finishing with 3 carries for 42-yards including a 22-yard touchdown run.
- We saw yet another good game from rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez who finished with 6-catches for 65-yards and also had a 13-yard rush on an end around.
- It was good to see Randy Moss catch a couple of touchdowns Sunday, including a 35-yard touchdown between three defenders and the official. He only had two receptions Sunday, but each of them were in the endzone.
- Rob Gronkowksi had a good day, grabbing three receptions for 43-yards including a touchdown. His one mistake was an interference call which put them in a 1st-and-20, which later resulted in a fumble by Brandon Tate. The Bills went on to punch one in after that. I’m guessing he’ll hear about it during the film sessions this week.
Overall it wasn’t their best performance, but there were plenty of positives to take away from this one. We’ll have more analysis from this one shortly.
