AFC Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

Bills’ DC Leslie Frazier disagrees with the talk that CB Tre’Davious White has shown some regression and his new contract could be weighing on him. 

“I think he’s handled it really well around his teammates,” said Frazier, via The Athletic. “Just watching him in the locker room and on the practice field, I think he’s done a really good job in not letting the contract affect his play on the field, and really, of late, he’s playing his best football right at the right time. I talked to him about this a few days ago. I’m just really encouraged about the things I’ve been seeing over the last few weeks, looking more and more like the Tre’Davious we’ve been accustomed to. That will help us as we get ready to enter this last week over November going into December, the way his performance has improved as the year has gone on. So to answer your question, I think he’s handled the contract signing extremely well and his teammates hold him in such high regard. Part of it is the way he’s handled the success that’s come his way. One of those areas is his tackling. His tackling has picked up. A lot of guys struggled in our league coming out of the training camp we had from a tackling standpoint, and then when we’ve put him in situations of late where he was locked down on a particular receiver, we’ve seen him shut that guy down. We’ve just got to do it more. We’ve got to give him an opportunity to do it more. We haven’t done it as much this season as we’ve done it in years past for different reasons. But he’s begun to show that he’s back at that level, where if we want to follow a receiver, he’s ready to get that done.”

Jets

• ESPN’s Rich Cimini writes he took a closer look at the game and didn’t see Jets HC Adam Gase showing too much concern on the sideline before DC Gregg Williams‘ game-losing Cover-0 call. He thinks Gase fired Williams to cover his own role in it. 
• Cimini says Blake Williams, Gregg Williams’ son, will finish out the season as the defensive line coach. He’s followed his father at various jobs around the NFL. 

Patriots

While QB Jarrett Stidham came in to relieve QB Cam Newton in the fourth quarter for the Patriots in their last game, the team is still sticking with Newton as their starter. Patriots’ OC Josh McDaniels says that the issues are not all on the quarterback.

“Cam’s certainly been the best option for us all year long since he earned the opportunity in training camp,” McDaniels said via Doug Kyed of NESN. “Whenever the offense struggles, I know the attention is going to turn to that position. It’s my responsibility to put us in a position to be more productive.”

• ESPN’s Mike Reiss says Patriots HC Bill Belichick has been steadfast that he thinks Newton is the best quarterback on the roster and gives them the best chance to win. 
• However, Newton also helps cover up for roster deficiencies in areas like wide receiver and tight end that Belichick and the front office haven’t been able to fill. 
• Belichick noted the point of putting in backup QB Jarrett Stidham late in games isn’t to assess his development: “Sometimes there’s situations in a game when you can put somebody in, but we’re trying to win the game. That’s what we’re here for — to win the game. The point is to try to win. That’s what’s important to us.”
• Undrafted Patriots CB Myles Bryant has carved out a role in New England’s secondary in what is a tough year for undrafted rookies to make an impact. He had an interception Thursday and S Devin McCourty said Bryant’s versatility has been huge: “Myles knows what everybody has [to do] in the secondary and is ready to go at any position, whether it’s been the nickel [in the slot], safety. Any position we’ve asked Myles to be at, he not only shows up and plays, but he knows what the other guys are doing. … I think he’s going to be a really good player just because of his study habits and how hard he works.”