Picked-up pieces from fourth-quarter review of the Patriots' 42-20 win over the Colts:
1. After playing 12 defensive snaps in his debut against Denver, free-agent defensive tackle Alan Branch played 15 against Indianapolis. He showed up several times in the running game and was the heart of the wall built on second-and-goal from the 1 that kept Ahmad Bradshaw out of the end zone (14:18). Branch stood up center Jonotthan Harrison and Bradshaw (who was hurt on the play) ran into his backside, while fellow defensive tackle Chris Jones also knifed in to create some disruption. On a night the Patriots won with size and power, it made sense that the 6-foot-6, 325-pound Branch would make his first notable contributions to the team.
2. When 325-pound rookie offensive tackle Cameron Fleming was in the game as an eligible receiver/sixth offensive lineman, the Patriots rushing production in the quarter was 11 carries for 39 yards and one touchdown (includes one penalized play). So for the game, the rushing statistics with Fleming on the field were 31 carries for 173 yards (5.58 avg.) and four touchdowns. Passing connections with Julian Edelman (14 yards) and Brandon LaFell (22 yards) also came with Fleming on the field in that role, as did a late second-quarter interception.
3. In a sign of how the Patriots had confidence in Fleming in the role, and how big of a part of the plan it was, they used him on nine of the 10 plays on the scoring drive after the Colts had closed to 28-20. That was a critical point in the game.
4. I counted five Colts who either bounced off or made arm tackle/ball-stripping attempts on Rob Gronkowski during his remarkable 26-yard catch-and-run touchdown. At that point in the game, they wanted no part of him, and receiver Julian Edelman also delivered a crunching block on safety Mike Adams on the play.
5. Why was offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo so wide open on his tackle-eligible 1-yard touchdown catch? It looked like rookie Zach Moore got caught peeking into the offensive backfield and didn’t account for him.
6. One of the few negative plays in the running game, when Gray was tackled for no gain at 10:57, came when receiver Brandon LaFell couldn’t square up safety Sergio Brown on a block after coming in motion to do so.
7. Not too much negative when fullback James Develin was leading the way on the goal-line. This was his type of game and he brings a hard-nosed attitude to the attack, paving the way for Jonas Gray on his final two touchdown runs.