1. One of the themes of the Patriots defense this year has been how deep it is and how it gets contributions from a number of players. This was something Bills coach Sean McDermott brought up unsolicited on a conference call with the New England media earlier in the week. "I think their defensive coaches, Steven Belichick and [Jerod] Mayo have done just a phenomenal job of organizing things, and they're playing at abnormal, unique numbers right? At an unbelievable level," he said. This caught our eye, so we looked it up. The Patriots have 15 players playing at least 40 percent of the snaps through three games, which is by far the most in the NFL. Overall, they have used 22 players, which is also the most in the league. It was interesting to see just how deep the Patriots defense is compared to other teams in the league, and this should show up later in the year when the team is more fresh compared to some other teams.
2. There's been a lot of chatter this week when it comes to who the Patriots' two players to come off injured reserve will be. As of now, there's rookie wide out N'Keal Harry, offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn and fullback James Develin. They will likely wait as long as possible to make the call. Wynn seems like a lock to be one of the two, but the second one is a tough choice. If the Patriots figure out their running game, then maybe Harry is the best option given the number of questions at receiver. But if the running game continues to struggle, then it seems like a no-brainer to bring back Develin. From this viewpoint, unless the receiving position has major issues, Harry seems like the odd-man out.
3. Antonio Brown continues to negatively impact the Patriots. According to NFLPA records, they currently have $192,198 in cap space. This doesn't seem like a number the team will be comfortable going into the trade deadline with, so do not be surprised to see a move or two to create some cap space in the coming weeks. The most likely way is to extend a player to spread out their cap hit. Potential candidates are Kyle Van Noy, Dont'a Hightower and Joe Thuney. The team could always cut/trade a player, but that seems unlikely.
4. The Patriots will have a roster decision to make early this week with Benjamin Watson coming back from his four-game suspension. There aren't too many options for the corresponding move, but one possibility is quarterback Cody Kessler. With Tom Brady being a full participant Thursday and Friday, perhaps there isn't a need for a third quarterback. Other potential options seem to be along the offensive line, as the team is carrying a few extra bodies given all the moving parts early on in the year.
5. While the Patriots are off to a great start to the year, Stephen Gostkowski is not. The kicker missed three kicks in Miami during Week 2 and then missed another extra point last week against the Jets. It's worth noting the team has not brought in any kickers for workouts, and it goes beyond just this year. Over the years, Gostkowski is the only player on the roster who hasn't had a player or two come in to push him and compete for a roster spot. If Gostkowski does struggle for a third straight week, it will be interesting to see how Bill Belichick handles things.
6. Listening to Belichick speak this week, it's pretty clear he has a ton of respect for McDermott and the way he's doing things in Buffalo. Its defense is one of the best in the league and while the offense is not quite there yet, the pieces are certainly in place. If Josh Allen develops the way many expect him to, the Bills could be a year or two away from potentially challenging the Patriots in the AFC East.
7. New England is coming up on a nice part of its schedule. Next week it will take on the struggling Redskins, which will be followed by a home game on Thursday night against the Giants. It appears Saquon Barkley will miss the game with an ankle injury, which is a huge break. After that comes a Monday night game in New York, so with 10-day layoff it will be like a mini-bye week.
