Watching the Patriots beat up on the Bills for what seems like the 459th consecutive time, I once again increased my admiration for Bill Belichick and the way he conducts his business at the expense of a loud mouth like Rex Ryan.
Sure, Ryan grabs headlines with his boastful blustering but at the end of the day, I'll take the better coached and more prepared team.
That is what you get from Belichick and his staff. They prepare their team better than any other in the NFL on a week-to-week basis. There may be weeks when Belichick gets out coached and there may be weeks when the Patriots do not win, but there is never a time when the Patriots are not prepared by Belichick enough to win a game.
Good luck with Rex, Bills fans, and enjoy the three or four years that he might be there before he's looking for work. The bravado he'll bring to your city might be fun to listen to during the week and in the offseason but come Sunday, your team will consistently be at a disadvantage,
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Allowing 32 points to the Bills would not commonly lead to a point being made about the defense but allow me to give it a shot.
Outside of a porous first possession in which Tyrod Taylor marched the Bills 80-yards to a touchdown and some late action in the fourth quarter when the Patriots seemed to be in the dreaded "prevent defense", the unit had an excellent day.
The defense recorded 8 sacks, 5.5 split between Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones, and picked off Tayloe 3 times while holding Buffalo to 13 points through the first three quarters as the Patriots built a commanding 37-13 lead.
It would be more comforting to see them finish the game strong but overall, this was a good performance to build upon and should put some confidence into the unit moving forward.
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Dion Lewis has been quite the player through two games.
He built on a strong opener against the Steelers yesterday, rushing for 40 yards and a touchdown on 7 carries while also catching 6 passes for an additional 98 yards.
The only criticism of Lewis so far is his lazy protection of the football as he has lost a fumble in each game. The memories of Stevan Ridley sitting and watching from the sidelines for long stretches of his Patriots career are still fresh in my mind and I hope Lewis solves this problem soon before he finds himself watching the game instead of making a positive impact with his ability to shred a defense.
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Tom Brady is really 38-years-old and you would never guess that based off of his start to the season.
In the wins over Pittsburgh and Buffalo, Brady has thrown for a league leading 754 yards and 7 touchdowns with no interceptions.
His stable of receivers - Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Lewis, Danny Amedola, Aaron Dobson, and Scott Chandler - give him a variety of weapons to pick apart his opponent with and he seems intent on spreading the ball around as much as possible.
Take yesterday for example. Dobson is a player who has not done much to live up to the hype of being a second round draft pick but caught 7 of Brady's 38 completions in Buffalo for 87 yards. The message is clear. If you are open, Brady will get you the ball. It's a lesson learned last year with Danny Amendola, who went from an often injured enigma to Brady favorite because he consistently got open and caught the ball. Now Brady will throw the ball to him in any situation and we should expect Amendola to come down with the pass.
It's amazing that Brady can produce at such a high level even as he approaches an age that find most quarterbacks in retirement or in a position in which they're in serious decline. Make sure you are enjoying every moment because no quarterback in our lifetime will likely challenge Brady's sustained individual and team success.
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On to Jacksonville.
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