What to Watch For: Bills vs. Patriots
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv, Sports Team
What to Watch For: Bills vs. Patriots
"I think that the Bills are playing really well here, played very well against Miami, ran the ball for 220-some yards, whatever it was. Big win against the Jets, got contributions from all three phases – big play on the kickoff, defensively played well, offensively another 150 yards rushing against the Jets, which isn't easy to do," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
Losing Julian Edelman
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTLast week against the Giants, the Patriots saw receiver Julian Edelman go down with a broken foot. Edelman had 61 catches for 692 yards and seven touchdowns on the season and is expected to be out for 6-8 weeks.
"You wish you could just plug someone else in, but that's, you know, it's impossible to plug in those ... Julian Edelmans just aren't sitting out on the street or else they'd be playing for another team, but the guys who are going to be in there, we'll have confidence in the things that they can do well," said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Replacing Edelman
One player that is expected to have an increased role in the offense is Danny Amendola. Amendola has 40 receptions for 403 yards and two touchdowns on the season and has averaged four catches per game.
"He's going to basically play the same position and do the same things that he's done. We're not moving him to tackle or anything. He's going to do what he does," said Belichick.
While Amendola won't be playing tackle, expect his role to increase significantly in the offense especially with tight end Rob Gronkowski now seeing more double teams than he did before.
Kick off is set for 8:30 p.m.
See What to Watch For in the Slideshow Below
What to Watch For: Bills vs. Patriots
Jamie Collins
Jamie Collins has been ruled out for tonights game with illness and has yet to return to practice.
The last time we saw Collins was week eight against Miami and he has been out since.
Collins has grown into an important part of the defense and the longer he is out, the higher the concern level is.
Rob Gronkowski
Not only in this game but in games going forward, Gronkowski is going to have to work even harder to get open.
No Edelman means Gronkowski will likely see double teams in every game.
Gronkowski has 49 receptions for 806 yards and eight touchdowns on the season so far.
Run Defense
A typical Rex Ryan offense loves to run the ball, ground and pound, and the Bills have been doing that with a healthy LeSean McCoy.
McCoy has 113 rushes for 528 yards and two touchdowns on the season, including 112 yards in each of the Bills last two games.
McCoy also has 18 receptions for 177 yards and a touchdown on the season.
Buffalo currently ranks second in the NFL with 142 rushing yards per game.
On the flip side, the Patriots currently rank as the second best run defense as far as yards per game in the NFL, only giving up 88 yards per game.
They will be put to the test against McCoy.
Offensive Line
Knowing Rex Ryan and his defenses, there will be lots of pressure coming, lots of different blitzes and packages to watch for.
Last week against the Giants was really the first time that a banged up offensive line was getting beat and Brady took some big hits.
You can be sure that Rex Ryan is licking his chops coming into this game.
Danny Amendola
With Julian Edelman out for 6-8 weeks, Danny Amendola's role in the offense is going to greatly increase.
So far this season, Amendola has 40 catches for 403 yards and two touchdowns and averages 10 yards per catch.
So far, Amendola has averaged 4 receptions per game.
Will he be able to handle an increased work load?
