Game Rewind: The Patriots survived an ugly game beating the Bucs 19-14. The defense played much better than they have thus far this season but the offensive line continued to struggle.

Here are my thoughts on this bore of a game. 

1. The Offensive Line Woes Continue: The offensive continued to struggle last night. Tom Brady was sacked four times and got hit a lot. It is hard to explain why they have been so bad thus far this season but Dante Scarnecchia needs to fix it. This group was one of the top units in the NFL last season. Their struggles are hard to comprehend. 

2. The Defense Played Much Better: The defense played much better last night. The front four got more pressure and the secondary did a better job of communicating and taking better angles to the ball. It was an encouraging performance especially when you consider the Patriots were playing historically bad defense through the first four weeks of the season. 

3. The Patriots Blended Coverages More: The Patriots did a good job of blending coverages last night. They didn’t just strictly play man or zone. Matt Patricia mixed up his coverage calls based on the situation. The Patriots thought they could play more Cover 2 this season. It hasn’t happened. Playing more man and single high coverage last night proved to be beneficial. 

4. Big Game Danny Steps Up: Big Game Danny Amendola had another big game last night. He always seems to play his best football when the team needs him the most. He caught a handful of pssses last night that got the Patriots first downs. Amendola finished with 8 catches for 77 yards. He was targeted eight times. 

5. The Big Brittle Misses Another Game: Rob Gronkowski ended up being a late scratch and missed the game. I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s Gronk. Counting on him to play week to week is risky proposition. Gronkowski should be back next week. The Patriots need him because without him, they have nothing at the tight end position.