Comments:
- It was a division road game....those are always ugly.
- For the last 2 weeks (@CHI and @BUF), I have felt that the Patriots were in complete control of games from start to end. For instance, last night we were not able to punch it in the EZ...so we settled for figgies..but at the same time we did not turn over the ball...and let our defense do the work. Complementary football, yo!
- Our defense was +1 last night...giving up 6 and scoring 7. Yes, it was Anderson and the weapon-less Bills...but it was still a NFL offense. Any time our D plays like this.....we have a chance in every game.
- For those talking about McCourty losing speed....after his pick six ESPN put up a "NextGen" stat graphic showing that he ran 22.05 MPH on that pick six which was "fastest any ball carrier ran this season".
- For all the Gronk-Is-Slow comments...remember last year Gronk took his frustration out on Tr'e White the Bills CB? I was seeing a lot of the same last night...defensive players are being ALLOWED to hang onto Gronk...grab him...etc...constantly. I think things will open up more once Brady starts lighting up Hogan (PFK was correct, I also saw Hogan open on multiple occasions), IMO. Also, I think it is time to try throwing the ball a bit to Dwayne Allen....I mean if we are throwing it to Develin...why not Allen up the seam a bit now and then? In addition, when is Jacob Hollister coming back? He is like a poor man's Hogan, IMO....he can help us.
- Patterson at RB...I loved it. Yeah, he runs too high and shouldn't be running between the tackles...but the dude is an absolute beast in open space...we need to keep trying to get him in open spaces where he's a big play waiting to happen.
- The Bills opened with some Wildcat...which made me wonder if Daboll remembered the Saparano Dolphins cramming it down our throats and tried to use it for that reason.
- Brady actually was off on some throws last night...the big one to Gordon early...he actually underthrew Gordon as JG needed to turn back to catch the ball. Also, early on he over threw Gronk along the sideline. Then later on 3rd down he missed Edelman by 4-5 feet over the middle. And of course the ground ball to James White at the goal line.
- I am worried about the amount of hits Brady is taking...it is too much, IMO. Was happy he took an intentional grounding call before a Figgie yesterday at least....and on another throw threw the ball at the feet of an OL-man, but was out of the pocket anyway.
- Hope Mason is OK and that we get Cannon/Hightower back on Sunday. Despite Cannon being out...I am liking the reps we are giving Waddle. We might have to lean on him in Dec/Jan given how unreliable Cannon has become.
- The Packers game might be a BIG one, but ultimately it isn't important standings-wise as this is a NFC match up. More importantly, we need to beat Tennessee in Nashville before the BYE. I would be happy with 7-3 before the BYE with a final 6 of: MIN, NYJ, @NYJ,
@Mia, BUF, and @PIT. That looks like a 4-2 finish for us at worst for a 11-5 record. A 11-5 record might be enough for us to take the 2nd BYE given that we have already beaten the Texans...and (if we beat the Titans) gone 3-1 vs. the AFC south that will beat itself up more...and likely not have a team better than 11-5. Then for the ACF North...there's only Cincinnati and Pittsburgh with a shot at being 11-5 or better...but both teams would need to go 6-2 and 7-2 respectively. I think the play-off field will likely look like this: 1.) K.C. vs. BYE, 2.) NE vs. BYE, 3.) Steelers vs. 6.) Bengals, 4.) Texans vs. Chargers. Round 2: Steelers @ Patriots and Chargers/Texans @ Chiefs......I like the Chargers/Texans getting first crack at K.C. in K.C. though....
