The good news for the New England Patriots is, they got the win Sunday. Perhaps the better news is, they also are able to take away plenty of coaching points, too.
The Patriots dominated much of the play in their 40-32 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, but they also left some room for improvement. New England’s mid-game dominance was book-ended by a quick start from the Bills and a late Buffalo push to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. The Patriots scored 40 points and gained more than 500 yards of offense — but they also turned over the ball twice. They forced three turnovers and sacked the quarterback eight times — but they also allowed 32 points.
So while the Patriots ultimately have to be happy to be 2-0, head coach Bill Belichick now has a list of things he can pinpoint in practice week in order to try and improve before next weekend’s game with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“I thought we did a lot of things well as a team. I think individually we had a lot of plays that were good plays and some individuals that had good plays, but I don’t think we were consistent enough really in any area,” Belichick said Monday on a conference call. “We left a lot of plays out on the field. There were some things that we did well at times, but then we didn’t do well at other times. Sometimes it was pretty much the same thing. And that is kind of true for all the players.”
Belichchick took stock of his team’s play through two games, and as you might imagine, is taking a real big-picture approach to things. It’s only been two weeks, of course, and while Belichick is never one to tip his hand, he made it’s clear there’s plenty of work to do, no matter what the 2-0 record might say.
“That’s kind of the way we’ve been these first two games in every position, whether it be the secondary or pretty much anything else,” he added. “There have been some good things — good enough to win a couple games and beat a couple good teams – but it’s not consistent and there is a lot of room for improvement. That’s where I think we are.”
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports Images
