(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
by Dakota Antelman
The New England Patriots roll into their season finale against Buffalo with their postseason seeding already locked in.
Following their win last Sunday and a corresponding Broncos loss on Monday, a lot of talk has been made of the team resting its starters in this game. Patriots coach Bill Belichick wants none of that talk however, insisting all week the perceived importance of this game.
The Patriots have been hard at work this week, taking only Christmas day off as they prepare to host the 8-7 Buffalo Bills Sunday at 4:25. Tom Brady has been taking first team snaps all week and appears to be slated to at least start Sunday’s game. Beyond the quarterback position, even injury prone tight end Rob Gronkowski has been saying that he hopes to play “the entire game.”
"With the (first-round bye), you realize we're going to have a little time to rest up," Brady said this week. "We just want to go out and play well and see if we can string together as many good plays as possible.”
If the Patriots go all out Sunday it will be in pursuit of a win that would give them morale and momentum going into the post-season. A convincing win could in fact be immensely helpful especially after the Patriots just barely scraped past the Jets last week.
Their offence got fewer yards than they had all season in the 17-16 victory over their rivals. Their defense struggled to lock down the middle of the field and the Patriots offensive line allowed the Jets to have Brady under pressure for much of the game, sacking him four times.
Many questions were raised by the weak play calling that allowed the Jets to solve New England. Unless the Patriots can prove Week Sixteen to be an anomaly, the game film from that game could become welcomed required reading for upcoming playoff opponents.
But all that of course is riding on the assumption that Brady starts and finishes the game and Gronkowski’s wish to play every snap is granted. If the whispers of backup Jimmy Garappolo playing the second half are in fact true than all those game film projections and momentum building strategies go down the drain.
If Garappolo makes an appearance it will be his first extended stint with the offence since the fourth quarter of the Patriots Week Four loss to the Chiefs. Save for the few who have attended Patriots practices since that game, Garappolo has been invisible to the Patriot fan’s eye. During that time though, Belichick says he has improved fundamentally, learning about the NFL and its teams in a deeper sense.
“I think Jimmy’s worked hard,” Belichick said Friday. “I’d say similar to (rookie center Bryan) Stork, he’s been consistent, he’s improved every week. He’s running different offenses for the scout team and having to keep up with what we’re doing in our installation and our game planning on a weekly basis, but he’s, again, been durable, been healthy, been out there every day, keeps getting better.”
The Patriots could go one of two ways Sunday vs the Bills. They could trot Tom Brady and company out as if this was a Week Seven game with playoff implications or they could pull him after a quarter and throw in the rookies and second team players to finish Week Seventeen like Week Four of the preseason.
Whatever direction the Patriots decide to go in though, they will remain professional and search for the win with whoever Belichick calls to action.
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