New England Patriots GameDay: 5 key players vs. Buffalo Bills
Matt LaCosse, TE
Speaking of tight ends, look for Matt LaCosse to get involved a little more in the passing game.
He has had a couple of receptions over the last couple weeks that may be setting up for something. How much a factor will LaCosse be moving forward will depend on his health and blocking ability, but the increase workload is saying something about the team’s confidence in him.
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Of course, it could also be saying something about the lack of talent the Patriots have at the position. Take away the Rob Gronkowski days and Tom Brady has found ways to get tight ends involved with less talent.
In sharing the load with Ben Watson, Belichick says the team is just taking it week-to-week with Matt LaCosse and the tight end situation overall.
"“The last few weeks we’ve had Ben [Watson] and Matt kind of splitting the role a little bit,” Belichick said, via Patriots.com. “Ben’s been involved a little more in passing situations and Matt in the running situations, but they can do both, and they have done both and that could change a little bit from week-to-week by gameplan. So, we’ll see how it goes, but it’s more early-down situations than there are third-down situations, so if you do it that way, the playing time is almost always going to break that way.”"
Prediction: If Matt LaCosse is active, he will make a couple of key third-down catches that will keep the chains rolling for the New England Patriots offense.