10 Things We Learned Yesterday
In no particular order, here are 10 things we learned about the Patriots in yesterday’s game, a 20-10 win over the Buffalo Bills:
1. You can’t overestimate the importance of a division win, even one over the reeling Bills. The Patriots opened a difficult three-game stretch within the division with a resounding victory. It was a big win on a number of levels — they moved to 2-1 within the AFC East, they kept pace with the Jets for first place and they were able to move Buffalo to 0-3 in divisional play, putting a huge crimp in the Bills playoff chances. If it wanted to start the toughest stretch of the season on a positive note, New England couldn’t have done any much better. “It’s very important,” said safety James Sanders when asked about the importance of yesterday’s game. “Coming into today, us — along with the Jets and Buffalo — were all tied for first, and we took a major step forward, beating Buffalo head-to-head. Now, we’ve got the Jets coming up, and it’s going to be just as big a game as today was.”
2. Matt Cassel keeps moving forward. These are the sorts of games that will get him a sizable raise when free agency begins. He looked decisive, taking off and running when the play broke down. (Although unless your name is Michael Vick, you never want to be leading your team in rushing throughout much of the first half.) He was able to manage drives of 11, 13 and 19 plays, and helped the Patriots hold a colossal 37-22 edge in time of possession. He spread the ball around to all his receivers, including 10 catches for Wes Welker and five for Randy Moss (it would have been six if Moss hadn’t gotten blown up by Ko Simpson on his first attempted reception of the afternoon, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty). There was one black mark against him — he took a sack, and, in the process, fumbled the ball away in the second half — and he did it with Buffalo missing its two best defenders in Donte Whitner and Aaron Schobel. But overall, it was a very good day for the quarterback. “I would rather have Matt than about 99 percent of the quarterbacks in the league. That’s my opinion,” said left guard Logan Mankins. “He’s playing great and we’re winning games with him and he’s doing everything that’s asked of him. He’s seeing the game and making plays.”
3. Not even Stephen Gostkowski is immune to the swirling winds of Gillette Stadium. The Patriots kicker was fighting some difficult winds, missing a 49-yard field goal attempt with 2:24 left in the first half and knocking a second-quarter kickoff out of bounds. Patriots coach Bill Belichick gave him a mulligan because of the conditions. “I think the wind was more of a factor in the kicking game,” Belichick said. “I would say it affected the kicking game, the long field goal with Stephen — it was probably a little bit of a factor on that kick.” Regardless, Gostkowski’s accuracy rate this season is still one of the best in the league — he’s 21-for-23 for 91 percent. He has hit 28 of his last 30 field goals (93 percent) dating back to last season, and his career accuracy rate of 85 percent (62-for-73) is the best in Patriots history.
4. In fact, it probably wasn’t the best day for the entire special teams unit, specifically, the group that was working in kickoff coverage. Leodis McKelvin made New England pay for passing on him on draft day. He had three returns for 138 total yards, including an 85-yard return at the end of the game that set up Buffalo’s only touchdown of the afternoon, a garbage time connection from Trent Edwards to James Hardy with less than two minutes remaining that made it 20-10. In all, Buffalo’s average starting field position was their own 36.
5. But the defense was more than able to make it for the shortcomings in kickoff coverage. It was a superlative effort for the New England defense, both up front and in the secondary. New England smothered the Buffalo offense, holding the Bills to just 60 rushing yards and 168 yards from scrimmage. Marshawn Lynch never got going (he had just one more rushing yard than Cassel at halftime), and the Buffalo receivers were bottled up. The Patriots were able to generate a lot of pressure up front, and that meant it was a good day for the cornerbacks — Ellis Hobbs III and Deltha O’Neal both came away with interceptions, and Ty Warren and Richard Seymour both picked up sacks. “There have been games where we’ve put pressure on quarterbacks, but we haven’t finished our rushes and got sacks. I think today, we got some key sacks,” said linebacker Tedy Bruschi. “That set the tone for us.”
6. Undrafted free agents continue to be important parts of New England’s success on both sides of the ball. Linebacker Gary Guyton and running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis did not hear their names called on draft day, but it would have been difficult for the Patriots to win yesterday without either of them in the lineup. Guyton continues to be an integral part of the New England linebacking corps, spelling Tedy Bruschi in third down and other passing situations. (Yesterday, he was in for 17 of the 43 defensive snaps.) And Green Ellis had 26 rushes for 105 yards. Since being signed to the Patriots active roster on Oct. 11, Green-Ellis has scored touchdowns in four of five games, becoming the first Patriots rookie to score touchdowns in as many as four of his first five career games since running back Robert Edwards scored in each of his first six career games in 1998. “[Green-Ellis] had two good years at Mississippi,” Belichick said. “And Gary had the same thing at Georgia Tech. We give our scouts and organization credit for having a group of guys there, and fortunately, those two have come through for us.”
7. The idea that Bill Belichick doesn’t trust rookies or relatively inexperienced players at linebacker is a myth that should be laid to rest this season. Jerod Mayo is one thing — he’s been a rock at inside linebacker since the start of the season — but Guyton and outside linebacker Pierre Woods saw plenty of action yesterday. The majority of Woods’ time came when Adalius Thomas left after suffering an arm injury in the first half. Woods ended up playing 31 of the 43 defensive snaps, while Guyton continues to see more and more time on the inside. It’s a pleasant sight for Bruschi, who is amazed at how the young linebackers continue to progress within the New England system. “They are willing to learn, and that always makes me happy, when I see young players willing to learn and accept coaching and accept suggestions from the younger players,” Bruschi said. “I like playing with them. I like having fun with them. What makes it more enjoyable for me is that they’re getting the job done when they’re out there, too. Now that we have minicamps and offseason workouts and training camps and half a season together, I really don’t see them as rookies anymore. We really expect a lot out of them.” In all, the defensive snaps for the linebackers yesterday broke down like this: Mike Vrabel, 40 of the 43 defensive snaps; Mayo, 36 snaps; Woods, 31 snaps; Bruschi, 26 snaps; Guyton, 17 snaps; Thomas, 16 snaps.
8. Wes Welker and Matt Cassel have developed an extraordinary chemistry together. The two continue to operate on another plane — yesterday, Welker had a season-high 10 receptions for a season-best 107 yards. On the season, Welker has 66 catches for 610 yards, both tops on the team, and is just about on pace to better his mark of 112 receptions, a franchise-record he set last season. Whether it’s operating as the No. 1 option in the screen pass or as a slot receiver who gets six to eight yards downfield and simply waits in a hole in zone coverage, he’s grown into Cassel’s sure thing. “He’s just a stud,” Cassel said of Welker who caught 10 of the 11 passes thrown in his direction yesterday. “He goes out and gives you 150 percent every single play. There’s no let up in the guy — he’s got fight and he’s got grit.” When it comes to receiver ratio (number of times the receiver was thrown to vs. his total number of catches), here’s how it broke down for the rest of the New England receivers yesterday: Sam Aiken, two passes, two catches; Jabar Gaffney, five passes, four catches; Randy Moss, nine passes, five catches; Ben Watson, two passes, one catch; Kevin Faulk, three passes, one catch; Green-Ellis, one pass, no catches, and one pass was batted down.
9. The Bills continue to play the role of Washington Generals to the Patriots’ Harlem Globetrotters. Remember September 2003? It was the first term for George W. Bush. Aaron Boone, Dave Roberts, Curt Schilling’s bloody sock, Kevin Garnett and Randy Moss weren’t part of the local sporting vernacular. And Tom Jackson memorably uttered the phrase that would get his cussed out by Belichick after Super Bowl XXXVIII: “They hate their coach.” That was the last time the Patriots lost to the Bills. If it seems like an eternity ago, it was, at least in sporting terms: Yesterday marked the 10th straight time the Patriots have beaten the Bills, tying the longest current winning streak by one NFL team over another (San Diego has beaten Oakland 10 straight times and Pittsburgh has defeated Cleveland 10 straight times). The 10 straight wins over Buffalo ties the second longest streak over an opponent (they also beat San Diego 10 straight times from 1973-2001). The Patriots franchise record for most wins over a single opponent is 11, achieved against the Bills from 1983-87.
10. Bill Belichick still isn’t too fond of foolish questions. Some unfortunate soul asked the Patriots coach in the postgame press conference, with a short week coming up, if he was concerned about the fact he wasn’t able to rest his starters in the second half because the score was so close. It created a genuine Coors Light press conference moment, although no one was laughing at the time. “What?” he responded, looking incredulous. “We’re trying to win the game. We’re trying to beat the Buffalo Bills. They’re a good football team — they’re 5-3. We’re trying to win the game. We’re not trying to rest anybody. It’s the Buffalo Bills. They’re 5-3. You’re playing for first place. You don’t rest when you’re playing for first place.”
Christopher Price has covered the Patriots for Boston Metro since 2001. His book, “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower” is current available from St. Martin’s Press in paperback. He can be reached at christopher.price@metro.us.
