CHARLOTTE — Rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald is getting a lot of credit for his knuckleballs and oddball bounces, which have helped the Panthers lead the league in kickoff coverage through three games. Enough so that Patriots coach Mike Vrabel told reporters Wednesday he spent two hours watching tape of it .

But Fitzgerald laughed a little when asked what it's like to watch his coverage unit work, knowing that in the compressed spaces of the new kickoff rules, once he swings his leg, he's pretty much done with the play.

"It feels great knowing that I don't have to do a lot," he joked about his own role in the coverage part. After seeing it go so well for three weeks, really, but especially last week, he's asked if one in particular stands as a favorite.

"We had a lot of good ones," he

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