A couple of things:
* Ryan Allen has gotten plenty of props for a great job of punting, but the attention to detail on all the kick coverage teams was really impressive. Special teams aren't sexy, but they win ballgames and aside from Cyrus Jones bobbling a couple that could have been turnovers, it was about as dominant of a game that you will ever see from a special teams unit or units. I did notice Matt Slater grabbing his hammy in the second half, so that bears watching, but....man. That was an impressive game from one of the three phases.
*In the "little things" category, I'm not sure if I've ever seen a group of Patriots WRs that block like these guys. Edelman pancaked a guy on Blount's long run and generally worked his ass off all over the field. As usual. His timing on the jet sweep was letter perfect. It does appear that Julian's chemistry with Brisset is questionable with a dropped TD after dropping two last week during Jacoby's relief appearance. That is a two-way street, however and Julian appeared slightly upset after Jacoby led him into traffic a couple of times. I suppose that is to be expected.
* The Oline bears little resemblance to the one that finished the season in tatters last year. Nate Solder looks as good as he has ever looked and is moving and running extremely well. One thing of note is that all last season we saw frequent substitutions and guys swapping sides and so far this year Thuney, David Andrews and Marcus Cannon have stayed put for every single snap. It appears to this juncture that familiarity and positional repetition is proving far more effective than last season's "versatility" that threw a lot of people, like Jon Gruden, for a loop last year. While Joe Thuney picked up his 3rd penalty in the last two games with a slight flinch for a false start, the kid is throwing beautiful blocks all over the field and his ability to get to the 2nd level and take out a defender is about as good as it gets. Overall, it is encouraging to watch them improve.
* I thought it was a strong game from the DL with particular kudos to Long, Alan Branch, Sheard and Trey Flowers. On the flip side, I'm beginning to wonder what the deal is with Malcom Brown. His play to this point is OK, but nothing to write home about. He gives you nothing on the pass rush and is hardly dominant versus the run. He doesn't look like a first-round impact defender should look at this early point in his career.
* On a semi-related note, if Dont'a can't go versus Buffalo it is going to be very interesting to see how we handle their ground game. The way this D is constructed it is possible that running early and often is the best way to attack us. With two QBs that would appear to be at least limited by injury it's going to be tough to control the ball on offense. I'm not thinking we blow Buffalo out by any stretch. We should be in a real battle to get a W.