Coach Rex Ryan had a somewhat different take on things.
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“I don’t think you really want to resist some of those collisions”, Brady told WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan Show on Tuesday. “They wanted to rest my throwing today”.
“We got to find ways to get him the football because he is that kind of talented and that’s a challenge to our staff and everyone around it, even our quarterback”, says Ryan. “We tried to mix it up and I think it caught them off guard and their offensive line struggled a little. It’s nearly like, if you don’t use LeSean McCoy, that’s a mistake”.
In a game where the Bills’ defense held Tom Brady and the Patriots to just 20 points, the offense couldn’t come through. Even then, he knows the Bills can’t ignore such a playmaker.
Amendola suffered a knee injury in the second half. The team used Chris Hogan effectively for an entire game against the Patriots to combat this, so eventually Watkins might see not only more looks, but effective ones. Once he burnt him, for 42 yards.
SHOULDERING THE LOAD: Tyrod Taylor was 20 of 36 for 233 yards for Buffalo.
Based on Brady’s film review, and evident in the tape, Rex Ryan loves to rush extra defensive backs from the right side of the offensive formation, especially on third down.
Taylor, to a point, echoed his coach. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady survived a sustained buffeting from the Buffalo defense to steer the reigning Super Bowl champions to their 10th win of the current campaign. “Look, I assumed it, too, that we were going to be further along. The coverage dictates where the ball goes”. Huge 3rd down play for New England. “A short week, got to prepare for Kansas City”. The Chiefs also have a favorable schedule down the stretch, with the Bills representing their only opponent with a record of. Last week, Peters shadowed Cincinnati’s A.J. Green.
That’s not the type of consistent production or role the Bills envisioned in 2014, when they traded a 2015 first-round pick to Cleveland to move up five spots in the draft and select Watkins fourth overall.
Sitting at his locker this Wednesday, Watkins pointed to the fact that this Buffalo offense is still young and searching for “chemistry” and “trust”.
The New England Patriots are still undefeated. “It just happens to be this week”, Brady said. “So we’ve got to keep gaining trust and keep practicing together”.
“At the end of the day”, Watkins said. Whether you have a championship contender, need that key addition to make playoffs, or are already eliminated and just looking to play the spoiler, the week 12 waiver wire is the gem we were all waiting for.
“It was definitely more attacking; we sent a lot of things at them”, he said.
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“It seems that every week there’s another guy that we’re leaning on”, said special teamer Matthew Slater, who is listed on the roster as a receiver but has caught only one pass in eight seasons. If anything, they emerge from the defeat looking more like a legitimate wild-card contender than they did going in.
