Kickers not about to blow off preparation
FOXBOROUGH - All of the attention before the Patriots’ season opener seemed to hover around Tom Brady’s knee and the changing faces on defense. But in the final minutes Monday night, it was the special teams that made the big play.
Brandon Meriweather and Pierre Woods forced Buffalo’s Leodis McKelvin to fumble on a kickoff return. The turnover gave the Patriots possession with 1:56 left and led to the winning touchdown.
“You always want to create big plays in special teams and you want to limit the big plays against you,’’ Patriots punter Chris Hanson said. “You do that by having sound fundamental techniques and, as long as you continue to work on that each and every day, then you set yourself up for positive plays.’’
Today the kicking game could be challenged as the Patriots face the Jets at the Meadowlands, an environment known for its unpredictable winds. Of all the places to kick, Hanson said he wouldn’t call the Meadowlands the toughest, but it can be challenging.
Both Hanson and kicker Stephen Gostkowski made reference to Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo last December where 30-mile-per-hour winds and 65-mile-per-hour gusts swirled in the Patriots’ 13-0 win.
No matter the conditions, Hanson said preparation is key.
“You just go in and you focus on the little things and you work on little fundamentals,’’ Hanson said. “You work on things that when you don’t have wind situations that you might have to work on.
“Steve and I, we try to help our team as best as we can, and if that’s changing a drop or changing a kick for the wind then that’s what we have to do.’’
Sam Aiken joined the Patriots as a free agent last year after playing five seasons in Buffalo, where he became a self-described “special teams guru.’’
Izzo said from his time playing with Aiken, he can understand why Aiken was chosen to fill his role this season.
“I always had a lot of respect for [Aiken] in Buffalo for a long time and then he came to us,’’ Izzo said. “Everything he ever did in Buffalo he showed us the same kind of talent for what we were asking him to do.
“He’s a professional guy, he makes plays and he’s productive. I have a lot of respect for him. I could totally understand why they chose him to be captain.’’
“It’s important every week,’’ said Sammy Morris, who at times was in the fullback role against Buffalo. “But it’s maybe a little more of a necessity this week just because they do blitz so much.
“I think having a balanced offense, obviously is going to help us run the ball and pass it effectively and pick up the blitz when we do pass it.’’
Measuring the running backs’ effectiveness in yards alone would be unfair, coach Bill Belichick said, because of the number of responsibilities they’ll have in the running and passing games, particularly in blitz protection.
“They’re involved in every single play,’’ Belichick said.
“It’s like being a middle linebacker. It’s no plays off. They’ve got to do a good job in all of those and a mistake anywhere can be costly. Missing a blitz pickup, ballhandling, not running the right route, not catching the ball, any of those things can be a bad play and could also potentially be a big play.’’
Said Laurence Maroney, who led Patriot rushers with 32 yards on 10 carries, “We’ve definitely got to make sure the running game is present that day, because if the running game is doing its thing, I think they’re [the Jets are] going to shy away from a lot of blitzes and a lot of things they wanted to do.’’
Christopher L. Gasper and Julian Benbow of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 
