Projo Pats Blog

FOXBORO - After fumbling and bumbling for the majority of the afternoon, the Patriots put the ball in Tom Brady's hands with the game on the line and he delivered in a 20-16 New England victory.

Trailing for the first time all day, 16-13, with 2:31 to play, Brady took the Patriots 80 yards in 10 plays. He completed nine of his 10 passes with the final one going to Aaron Hernandez for an eight-yard touchdown. Just 22 seconds were left on the clock.

The Patriots high-powered offense short-circuited all day thanks to four turnovers. Two were Brady interceptions.

Dallas wasn't all that sharp either but Dan Bailey's 26 yard field goal with just over five minutes left gave the Cowboys their first lead of the game, 16-13. The defense couldn't hold, however, with the game on the line as Brady engineered the two-minute drill to perfection.

Brady finished with 289 yards passing on 27-of-41 with two TD's and two interceptions.

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After Tom Brady's second interception of the game, the Cowboys have gone ahead on a 26 yard field goal by kicker Dan Bailey. It's 16-13 Dallas with 5:13 to play.

This is Dallas' first lead of the game. The Patriots have been shut out in the second half.

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The Patriots just halted a Dallas drive inside the 10 yard line and the Cowboys settled for a 22 yard field goal and tie the score, 13-13.

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Dallas has just marched down the field for a 93 yard scoring drive that lasted 7:01. The Cowboys scored when Tony Romo hit Jason Witten on a 1-yard TD pass. With the extra point, it is New England 13-10 with just 33 seconds left in the half.

The big play in the drive was a 33 yard pass-and-catch by the impressive Dallas receiver Dez Bryant.

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The Patriots have just taken a 13-3 lead over the Cowboys after a Tom Brady-to-Wes Welker connection for a 5 yard touchdown. It is Welker's sixth TD catch of the season.

The score came after a successful challenge flag protest from coach Bill Belichick. Welker was ruled out as he stretched for the goal line but clearly broke the plane of the goal line on review. The TD pass was the 276th of Tom Brady's career, moving him into 8th place all-time. It is also the 22nd straight game for him to connect on a TD pass, a Patriots record.

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A Tom Brady-to-Deion Branch pass that broke free for 45 yards helped the Patriots work their way into field goal range where Stephen Gostkowski booted a 26 yard field goal to give the Pats the lead again, 6-3.

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Tom Brady's seventh interception of the season midway through the first quarter helped Dallas kick a 48 yard field goal and tie the score, 3-3.

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Anyone assuming Tony Romo might be a bit sloppy today at Gillette Stadium was quickly rewarded. Romo threw his first interception of the game on the opening drive.

The Patriots took over and drove to the Dallas 14 yard line before being held. Stephen Gostkowski booted a 31-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 3-0 lead.

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The Patriots have won the toss and elected to kick off to the Dallas Cowboys this afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

The Pats' scratched players include WR Julian Edelman, defensive backs Ras-I Dowling, Josh Barrett and Sergio Brown and linebacker Jerod Mayo.

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FOXBORO, Mass. -- One day after he was placed on injured reserve because of lingering issues from a concussion, defensive end Mike Wright expressed both frustration about his present diagnosis and hope for his future.

Wright missed the end of last season with a concussion incurred on Nov. 21 against Indianapolis -- one he said took him roughly three-and-a-half months to overcome in the off-season. The concussion made simple tasks such as watching television or looking at a computer screen sickening for Wright.

"It's hard to watch TV. You get a motion-sick type of feeling. It's not comfortable. It's frustrating," Wright said. "The computer -- you can't do much of that. You're basically just trying to relax your brain most of the day to let it heal. At the same time, anxiety comes with that. When you're not able to do those things, your mind just wanders and goes all over the place. In my situation, as attuned to my body and my everyday routine as I am brings a lot of anxiety. This year, I'm able to control that a little better."

After working his way back, Wright suffered another concussion in Week One when an offensive lineman pulling in his direction chipped him on the side of the head.

"It kind of triggered a few things and turned into a little bit more than I thought at the time," said Wright. "I thought it was good and it was out of my mind. I was just happy to be back on the field. It was good to go through training camp and get back out there for a game in preseason. To be out there for the opener was great and to have something like that was frustrating to say the least."

It's a tough blow for New England's defensive line. Wright had accumulated 10.5 sacks in 14 starts from 2009-10, and he had a half-sack in the opening win over Miami before leaving.

Wright still contends he feels much better than he did after suffering the concussion last season. He figured he'd be able to return to the lineup soon as recently as last week, when he was practicing with the team. But not everything has gone away.

"I have had some troubles, and that's why we are where we are," he said. "I felt like I was going to be ready. Based off my concussion history, it was just the right decision to do what we did. I did not want to go on IR. That's the last thing I wanted to do."

Wright wasn't ready yet to discuss whether his playing career could be over.

"I'll make that decision with the doctors and coaches after the season," said the 29-year-old. "Right now my focus is on getting everything better and back to normal."

He also had some advice for younger football players.

"Pushing through getting hit on the field and being dizzy is not normal. Your brain is extremely important," Wright said. "You have no idea what your brain has to process to even stand up out of a chair. Kids and high school players can learn a lot if they keep their ears open. They need to look out for the other guys on the field. Football is a game of toughness; some guys may feel some minor pain or minor dizziness is OK. It's not. When it comes to your brain, it's very serious and it's nothing to play with."

Photo: Steve Milne, AP
Twitter: @TBritton_Projo

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FOXBORO, Mass. -- BenJarvus Green-Ellis was limited in practice on Friday and is officially listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Dallas with a toe injury.

Green-Ellis was limited on Wednesday as well and didn't practice at all on Thursday.

Speaking before practice, head coach Bill Belichick said the status of his starting running back was very much up in the air.

"I don't know. We'll see how it is today and if he can practice today, he'll practice," Belichick said. "Whatever his availability is for the game then we'll take our best estimate of that and list it that way in the injury report. We'll see how it is today, I don't know."

Green-Ellis rushed for a career-best 136 yards last week on a career-high 27 carries.

Fellow running back Danny Woodhead is also questionable with the ankle injury that kept him out of last week's game against the Jets. Woodhead has been limited in practice all week.

Twitter: @TBritton_Projo

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FOXBORO, Mass. -- Growing up in Oklahoma City, Wes Welker couldn't help but root for "America's Team" during its dynasty in the early '90s.

Yes, Welker grew up pulling for the Cowboys.

"The era of Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin -- I was definitely a big fan," Welker said.

Those teams won three Super Bowls in a four-year stretch from 1992 to 1995. The 30-year-old Welker was just becoming a teenager at that time.

While there were plenty of fond memories of those days, there were some harder ones, too. Asked if he believed in the curse of the blue jerseys -- Dallas barely ever wears its darker tops -- Welker said it never concerned him.

"I was more concerned when D-linemen were trying to handle the ball," he said with a smile, recalling Pro Bowler Leon Lett's memorable struggles with ball control in Super Bowl XXVII and in a regular-season game the following year against the Dolphins.

In the Super Bowl, Lett was showboating into the end zone when Buffalo wideout Don Beebe caught him from behind to force a fumble at the goal line. In the Thanksgiving 1993 game versus Miami, Lett unnecessarily tried to recover a blocked field goal in the final seconds, giving the Dolphins' Pete Stoyanovich a second chance to win the game.

"They still won that [Super Bowl], so it wasn't too tough," said Welker. "The one in the snow where he kicked the ball, that was a little discouraging at the time."

Twitter: @TBritton_Projo

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The Patriots have listed only one player -- safety Josh Barrett (thumb/hamstring) -- as out for Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys.

There is a long list of players who are listed as questionable, which means they are 50/50 for Sunday. The list is headlined by linebacker Jerod Mayo, who had been expected to miss several weeks after injuring his knee two weeks ago in Oakland. Mayo returned to practice on a limited basis Friday. Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis (toe), who returned to limited practice today after sitting out Thursday, is also questionable.

The other questionables: cornerback Leigh Bodden (thumb), safety Sergio Brown (chest), cornerback Ras-I Dowling (hip), wide receiver Julian Edelman (ankle), defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth (back), tight end Aaron Hernandez (knee), defensive lineman Kyle Love (back), wide receiver Matthew Slater (ribs), tackle Sebastian Vollmer (back) and running back Danny Woodhead (ankle).

Safety Patrick Chung (hand) and linebacker Dane Fletcher (thumb) are probable.

For the Cowboys, kicker David Buehler (groin), guard Derrick Dockery (knee), fullback Tony Flammetta (hamstring) and defensive end Jason Hatcher (calf) are all out. Guard Kyle Kosier (foot) is questionable. Listed as probable are wide receivers Miles Austin (hamstring) and Dez Bryant (thigh), safety Barry Church (shoulder), running back Felix Jones (shoulder), safety Danny McCray (ankle), quarterback Tony Romo (ribs), cornerback Orlando Scandrick (ankle) and safety Gerald Sensabaugh (concussion).

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FOXBORO, Mass. -- Coming off their best defensive performance of the season, the Patriots will again find themselves fighting against an explosive offense on Sunday. At the heart of the Cowboys' playmaking offense is their pair of young, electric wide receivers: Miles Austin and Dez Bryant.

The two are back healthy following Dallas' bye week -- something that the Cowboys haven't been able to say since Week One.

"They're both very good. They're different receivers but both big-play receivers. They're both good after the catch," head coach Bill Belichick said. "Obviously Dez had the punt returns last year and strong with the ball in his hands. Same thing with Miles - the reverses, the catch-and-run plays that he has. He's a very, very difficult guy to tackle."

Austin is a two-time Pro Bowler who caught 14 balls for 233 yards in the first two games of the season, including four touchdowns. He missed the last two games for Dallas with a hamstring injury.
In his second year out of Oklahoma State, Bryant has been hampered by a quadriceps injury.

"He's got, like a lot of these receivers, they have great reach and even if you have them covered, you really don't have them covered because of their length and their ability to either body-up the defender or just out-jump them or out-reach them for the ball," Belichick said of Bryant.

If it sounds familiar, well, the Patriots have their fair share of experience already this season opposing bigger wideouts such as Brandon Marshall and Vincent Jackson.

"It always helps that it's not the first time you've seen it," cornerback Devin McCourty said. "Going against different guys this season who have been those bigger-type of receivers, you can use some of what they did against us and how they played. I think the biggest thing is just the physical nature of the bigger receivers - most of the time they're bigger than the corners they're facing so they try to use that to their advantage."

"It's evident every week on SportsCenter that they're going to make some big plays," said Wes Welker. "As an offense, we've got to make sure we're coming back to try to put points on the board."

Twitter: @TBritton_Projo

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The Patriots have signed Marcus Harrison, a 6-3, 316-pound defensive tackle formally of the Chicago Bears. To make room for Harrison on the roster, the Pats released defensive back Phillip Adams, who had just been re-signed on Thursday.

The Bears used a third-round draft choice on Harrison, who is out of the University of Arkansas, in 2008. He played in 37 games from 2008 to 2010, starting nine of them, and compiling 55 tackles and 3 sacks.

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In a story on ESPNChicago.com, former Bears wide receiver Tom Waddle says there's no room in the game for the dirty play of ex-Patriot and current Bears safety Brandon Meriweather.

Waddle sustained several concussions during his brief six-year NFL career.

Meriweather has been fined twice this season for helmet-to-helmet hits and once last season with the Patriots.

Here are some of Waddle's comments:

"I don't approve of the way he plays the game," Waddle said. "And you can call me a sissy all you want. OK? I was on the receiving end of a lot of head-to-head hits. And maybe it's the reason I act the way I do. But in football there are going to be moments when a guy is trying to make a tackle and his helmet hits yours. It's going to happen, and in today's game you're going to get flagged for it. And that's the way it is.

"Intent, to me, means a lot. If you make helmet-to-helmet contact and you're just trying to play good, solid NFL football and you get flagged I'll give you a pass. You have to be aware of it, maybe you need to work on your tackling technique, get the head to the side and wrap your arms, but I can give you a pass. When I interpret the way you go about your job that you have the intent to hurt somebody, I've got no time for you. I've got no place for you. The game's got no place for you."

"He's going to hurt himself, and he's going to hurt someone else because of the intent," said Waddle, who played for the Bears from 1989-94. "And maybe that intent is not in his heart. I don't know Brandon. I haven't had a discussion with him. But it sure looks by the way he plays the game that the intent isn't to put a big hit on someone and legally knock them out, it's to hurt someone."

"I did not realize how undisciplined a player Brandon Meriweather was. He comes with two Pro Bowls. And he came with a lot of interceptions. But ... red flag goes up when a guy like Bill Belichick decides to let you go."

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Mike Wright's season with the Patriots is finished and there is concern that his career could be in jeopardy, as well.

The defensive lineman, who went from undrafted free agent to significant contributor over the last six years, was placed on injured reserve Thursday, thus ending his season. Wright suffered a concussion in the season-opener at Miami.

Wright also missed the last 10 games of last season because of a concussion. Wright returned to practice briefly last week, but it was decided that he s imply is not ready to play.

His spot on the active roster was taken by cornerback Phillip Adams, who had been cut by the Patriots earlier in the week. Adams, who was with San Francisco last season, was signed by the Patriots on Sept. 21st and was active for two games. He had een released by the Pats on Oct. 8.

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The NFL Wednesday released schedules for 2012, at least most of the games.

Highlights for the Patriots include another visit by the Colts as well as one from San Francisco. Away games will include a trip to Seattle.

Here is what it looks like:

At Home: 49ers, Bills, Cardinals, Colts, Dolphins, Jets, Texans and one AFC West team to be determined based on finish this season.

On the road:: Bills, Dolphins, Jaguars, Jets, Rams, Seahawks, Titans and one AFC North team, based on final standings.

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Sebastian Vollmer, the starting right tackle who has played only one game thus far because of a back injury, returned to the Patriots practice field Wednesday.

The team worked only in shells and sweats and did no real work while the media was able to observe, but getting Vollmer back would be a significant boost. Rookie Nate Solder has stepped into Vollmer's spot and performed well, but Vollmer's absence left the Pats very thin at the position.

One of those who has helped at that spot, as well as at a tight end, Thomas Welch, was re-signed for the practice squad Wednesday after being released on Monday.
Welch, a seventh round pick in 2010 from Vanderbilt, has had two otherstints on the 53-man roster.

Runing back Danny Woodhead and receiver/returner Julian Edleman, both of whom missed the Jets game with ankle injuries, also returned to practice. Safety Josh Barrett remained out, as did linebacker Jerod Mayo and lineman Mike Wright.

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Tony Romo has made some critical mistakes that have hurt his Dallas team this season, but Bill Belichick does not relish the chance to go against Romo on Sunday.

The Patriots' coach heaped heavy praise on the Dallas quarterback Wednesday.

``I think he does everything well,'' Belichick said. ``He throws the deep ball well, the short and medium throws. He gets rid of the ball quickly. He uses all of his skill players.

``He's athletic. He can get out of the pocket. He makes some plays with his feet. He keeps some plays alive,'' he went on.

``He doesn't run just to run. He runs when plays break down,'' Belichick said.

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