Week 1 rewind

There was a strange sight on Sunday... A Patriots' wide receiver other than Troy Brown wearing #80 in a regular season game. A couple of guys have worn the number since Mr. Patriot retired, but this was the first time anyone noticed.

Danny Amendola did the number proud. And, of course, being Danny Amendola he might not get another chance to do that for a while. The first of the weekly rewind of the good and the bad of each game starts off with the Pats' new receiver qualifying in both categories. The team's last-second 23-21 win was that kind of game.

GOOD

• Amendola. Wes Welker's replacement had 10 catches for 104 yards. And most of those 10 were of the key variety. Very Welker-like. A few of them were of the "did you see that?" variety. Not so Welker-like. Amendola is younger, faster, and bigger than Welker. He can get to balls that Welker couldn't. I'm thinking of a pass in a Super Bowl a few years ago.
• Vereen. I was pretty happy when the Pats brought veteran Leon Washington back last weekend. I love the guy. I've been hoping he will take over the Kevin Faulk/Woody role. No need. That role belongs to Shane Vereen. And he may do it better than either of them.
• Gosty: As the Pats moved into position for the game-winning kick, my nephew texted me "How's your confidence level in Gosty?"  "Strong," I replied. It was more wishful thinking than actual confidence. Gosty missed a game-winner in the home opener last year and missed six for the season. Six is just a few too many. But he was 3-for-3 yesterday and confidence is strong.
• Defense. It wasn't exactly Matt Ryan and the Falcons' offense. (That comes in a few weeks). But the Pats D held the Bills to under 300 total yards (286) and forced two big turnovers. The secondary did a solid job considering the Pats' pass rush hasn't arrived for the season yet. Talib and co. gave up two 18-yard TD passes, but also made many big stops on third down. The Bills scored seven points on a turnover and another touchdown came after a Brady pick. It's the way the D needs to play against lesser offenses.
• Brady. He did not have one of his best days numbers-wise. He had a fumble at the Buffalo two and a pick at the Pats' 37. It took him 52 passes to throw for 288 yards. He and his young group of receivers are far away from gelling. But with the game on the line he was classic Brady. He's as good as ever.

BAD

• Amendola. The knock on him is that he is injury-prone. Not that he's not tough because it's clear he is. But that he can't stay on the field. It didn't take long for that problem to return. When he wasn't catching passes, Amendola was limping around with a sore groin. He will probably miss some games.
• Ridley. BenJarvus spoiled Pats' fans. And Belichick. He went his entire career here (53 games) without fumbling. Ever. It's a pretty tough act to follow when it comes to ball security. Ridley fumbled four times last year and found himself in the coach's dog house a few times. He moved into the outhouse yesterday when he fell down and fumbled without being touched.  
• Pass rush. Or more accurately... Where the hell is the pass rush? The Pats got zero sacks. They need more out of Chandler Jones in his second year. And Tommy Kelly and Ninko. Lots more.
• Rookies. It's not often you see the Pats' snap the ball and then watch as the wide receivers run into each other like they were pieces on an electric football field. But it happened a couple of times in Week 1. But that's what happens when you starts a season with more than a dozen rookies on the roster.

I'm sure there will be lots of concern from the Blabosphere due to the fact that the heavily-favored Pats had to steal a win. But steal it they did. The 2013 Patriots are a work in progress. All the mistakes they made are fixable. They have till Thursday to get some of them fixed.