W2W4: Patriots' key areas vs. Raiders
By Mike Reiss | ESPNBoston.com
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-engl ... vs-raiders
Gronkowski's snap count rises. Tight end Rob Gronkowski played 38 snaps in the season-opener before the number dipped to 28 in Week 2 against the Vikings, in part because the Patriots were so focused on the run game, and offensive tackle Cameron Fleming was used as a blocking tight end. Gronkowski, who is still rounding into form, seemed to be chomping at the bit for more action last week, and he should see plenty of time early and often in this one. Do we see noticeable progress?
Interior offensive line solidified? After rotating backup center Ryan Wendell into the mix in the season opener in place of right guard Jordan Devey, the Patriots stayed with the same five offensive linemen in Week 2 until the game was well in hand. Wendell's knee injury (he was inactive) might have been part of the consideration in sticking with the same five, and we're interested to see if that continues this week or if rookie center Bryan Stork (12 snaps in mop-up duty last week) emerges among the top unit at some point.
Revis as a matchup option. The chess piece that is cornerback Darrelle Revis was used by the Patriots' coaching staff to mostly shadow receiver Greg Jennings last week, and the results were impressive. That was a reflection of how the staff viewed Jennings as the player to take away from the Vikings, and similar to how it was with Aqib Talib early last season, there is weekly fascination in how the Patriots might employ Revis. Is it against receiver James Jones? Someone else? Or is it simply a case of playing it straight up because the Raiders aren't overly threatening?
