What to Watch For: Patriots vs. Bills
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
What to Watch For: Patriots vs. Bills
However, the Bills franchise has a new energy and it comes in the form of former New York Jets coach Rex Ryan.
"The atmosphere here is pretty amazing and Rex has a lot to do with that. He is always positive, very upbeat and enthusiastic and once he got his hands on the players in April I think that they bought in as well," said Buffalo Bills radio play-by-play man John Murphy.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Bills had a convincing 27-14 win over the Colts last week which saw Bills fans chanting "we want Brady" towards the end of the game.
"I think fans are happy that the game is here and I think everyone is happy that Brady is playing. We want to play against the best and try and beat the best and he is one of the best," Murphy said.
The Patriots come into the game after a 28-21 win over the Steelers and ten days to prepare for Buffalo.
"A good football team, well coached, very explosive, got a lot of guys that can score from pretty much anywhere on the field in the return game and offensively. We're going to have our hands full in terms of defending them and blocking them. They're a good coverage team as well, obviously have a lot of different schemes to prepare for," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said of the Bills earlier this week.
Here are Five Things to Watch For When the Patriots Face the Bills
5 Things to Watch For When the Patriots Visit Buffalo
Jerod Mayo
Jerod Mayo is coming off back-to-back injury riddled seasons and had to restructure his contract to a more team friendly deal prior to the season starting.
In the first game against Pittsburgh, Mayo play all of 11 defensive snaps in the game.
When Belichick was asked about it in his press conference he said "We'll see. There is no set number or no set anything one way or the other for a lot of players, so we'll just see how it goes, do what we think is best in each game."
It's still early in the season for sure but for a leader of the team and leader of the defense to only play 11 snaps in an entire game is a bit surprising.
Just something to watch in this game and as the season goes on.
Belichick vs Taylor
Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor is not a rookie quarterback so Belichick's stats against rookie quarterbacks get thrown out here but this will be the first time that Belichick has faced him.
Last week against Indy, Taylor completed 14-of-19 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown to beat Indianapolis. Taylor also ran for 41 yards in the game.
"He was a really good player for the Ravens when he had an opportunity to play. He's experienced, showed a lot of poise, has been very productive when he's played, particularly the Pittsburgh game there in preseason - thought he had a great game there. He played very well against the Colts last week. I have a lot of respect for him and his ability. Good player," Belichick said earlier in the week.
So what will we see from the Patriots defense against Taylor. Who will they take away?
Taylor is going to have to complete more than 14 passes ton win this game, Patriots are going to make him have to make plays.
Stopping the Run
Overall, the Patriots defense was good against Pittsburgh, but the run defense was an issue.
New England's run defense gave up 134 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries against the Steelers and this week will face LeSean McCoy.
Against Indy, McCoy had 17 carries for 41 yards but is capable of breaking a big run at any time. As a team, Buffalo ran for 147 yards on 36 carries and scored two touchdowns. The Bills, like previous Rex Ryan teams, are very much a running team, especially with Tyrod Taylor still getting his confidence under his belt.
The Patriots run defense will be tested once again in this game, lets see if Hightower and the rest of the front seven do a better job of clogging up the middle.
*Note: LeSean McCoy left Friday's practice with a hamstring injury and is currently listed as probable on the Bills latest injury report.
Malcolm Butler's matchup
Malcolm Butler will likely be on the watch list very often this season depending on who the Patriots are playing because he is the Patriots top cornerback.
The Bills have two receivers who Butler who take, the first is Sammy Watkins who was a non-factor for the Bills last week but is their big play maker. The other option is Percy Harvin who had five catches and a touchdown last week.
Putting Butler on Sammy Watkins would create a size advantage for the Bills as Butler is only 5'11" while Watkins is listed at 6'1."
Percy Harvin is listed at 5'11" so Butler on Harvin would make more sense at least from that standpoint.
Young Team/ Road Game
Ryan Wendell has already been ruled out for the game which means the Patriots will start a young offensive line for the second game in a row, led by center Dave Andrews.
Make no mistake, the Patriots O-Line was pretty good against Pittsburgh, Tom Brady didn't take too many big hits and it looked like the communication was on point.
How will this young offensive line hold up on the road in what will be a very loud stadium in Buffalo? Not to mention having to face a Rex Ryan defense in which you know he will be moving players around everywhere.
