Projo Pats Blog

December 23, 2007 - December 29, 2007 Archives

The New England Patriots overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to beat the New York Giants, 38-35, and finish their season 16-0. The Pats took the lead for good with just over 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, on a 65-yard touchdown strike from Tom Brady to Randy Moss. The touchdown set NFL records for Brady (his 50th touchdown of the season, breaking Peyton Manning's mark) and Moss (his 23rd TD catch of the season, breaking Jerry Rice's mark).

We'll have extensive coverage throughout the night on projo.com.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Randy Moss makes the double-record-setting touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.

So here's my question: who gets to keep the ball?

With that amazing 65-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss, both Moss and Tom Brady now own single-season NFL records. Brady becomes the first ever with 50 TD passes, and Moss now has 23 TD catches.

Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson
Laurence Maroney runs for yardage in the second quarter.

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- If the Patriots hope to remain undefeated, they're going to have to stage their biggest comeback of the season.

Their 12-point deficit (28-16) six minutes into the third quarter is the Pats' largest of the season. What may be encouraging to New England fans is that the Patriots trailed by 10 with less than 10 minutes remaining at Indianapolis and pulled out the win.

What isn't encouraging is that Tom Brady now will have to throw against an even more aggressive Giants pass rush.

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The three field goals in the first half by Stephen Gostkowski are more than the Patriots' second-year kicker has had in any game this season.

He tried three against the Steelers, but missed one.

So far, he has converted from 37 yards in the first quarter, and 45 and 37 in the second quarter. The last field goal put the Patriots on top, 16-14.

Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson
Tom Brady raises his arms after tossing his second-quarter touchdown to Randy Moss.

Another one we forgot: with 158 passing yards on the day, Tom Brady has set a new franchise record for passing yards in a season.

In 1994, Drew Bledsoe threw for 4,555 yards; Brady currently has 4,608.

In between writing and blogging other things, we forgot to mention one more record the Patriots have already set tonight: points scored.

The Brady-to-Moss touchdown gave the Pats 560 points for the season, setting a new single-season record. The 1998 Vikings -- featuring a rookie named Randy Moss -- scored 556 points.

With 13 points currently, New England has 564 points for the year.

Domenik Hixon's 74-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was the first special-teams touchdown New England has allowed this season and the first kickoff return touchdown allowed by the Patriots since 2004.

Hixon, then with Denver, is the player Bills tight end Kevin Everett collided with on opening weekend, leading to a near-fatal spine injury for Everett.

With Tom Brady's 4-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss, the players each tied an NFL record: for Brady, it was his 49th touchdown pass, tying Peyton Manning's 2004 record, and for Moss, it was his 22nd touchdown catch of the season, matching the mark set by Jerry Rice in 1987.

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and his son were spotted just to the left and behind the Patriots' bench area.

Weis was the offensive coordinator for Bill Belichick on all three of New England's Super Bowl championship teams, and also was an assistant with the Giants under Bill Parcells.

After taking the Irish to BCS bowl games in his first two years, Weis lost his first eight games this season before finishing 3-8.

Notre Dame fans hope this is the last time the Irish coach won't be busy preparing for a game as the New Year rolls around..

Wes Welker's first catch of the game was his 102nd of the season, breaking Troy Brown's franchise record for receptions in a season. In 2001, Brown had 101 catches.

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- For the first time since the Baltimore game, the Patriots gave up a touchdown in the red zone.

And it came on the Giants' first possession.

Starting at their own 26 following the opening kickoff, the Giants drove 76 in 7 plays, scoring on a 7-yard pass from Eli Manning to Brandon Jacobs, who ran through a Tedy Bruschi tackle at the 2 on his way to the end zone.

The big play in the drive was a 52-yard pass from Manning to Plaxico Burress.

In the previous three games, New England had allowed opponents just two field goals in nine trips into the red zone.

For the Patriots:
QB Matt Gutierrez (3QB)
WR Chad Jackson
DB Willie Andrews
RB Kyle Eckel
G Stephen Neal
T Nick Kaczur
WR Troy Brown
TE Kyle Brady

For the Giants:
QB Jared Lorenzen (3QB)
CB Kevin Dockery
RB Ahmad Bradshaw
LB Tank Daniels
T Adam Koets
DT Manny Wright
WR Sinorice Moss
TE Jerome Collins

BY JIM DONALDSON
Journal Sports Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Call me a worry wart, if you will, but I'm putting this out there, an hour before kickoff, hoping the worst won't happen, but concerned that it might.

The Giants have a fearsome pass rush. Osi Umenyiora has 13 sacks, Justin Tuck has 10, and Michael Strahan has 91/2. Particularly troublesome to the Patriots is that Strahan and Umenyiora rely more on speed than power, and both Matt Light and regular right tackle Nick Kaczur seem to handle strong guys better than speed guys. Power, they can deal with. Quickness is another matter.

What's worse is that Kaczur, who has started every game this season, will not play tonight because of a foot injury. Replacing him will be 6-foot-7, 330-pound Ryan O'Callaghan, who started six games last season, when he was a 5th-round pick of the Pats out of the University of California, but hasn't started any this year.

Russ Hochstein will be making his third straight game at right guard in place of Stephen Neal, who now has missed four of the last six games with a shoulder injury.

As if it weren't bad enough that two regulars will be missing from the right side of New England's offensive line, veteran tight end Kyle Brady also is "out" with a foot injury. A powerful blocker, the 6-6, 280-pound Brady often is used to help pick up opposing pass rushers.

So it should be obvious that protection could be a concern tonight for New England QB Tom Brady.

It's no secret that Brady (Tom, not Kyle) is the key to the Patriots' hopes for winning a fourth Super Bowl in seven seasons. He has been remarkably durable -- never missing a start since stepping in after Drew Bledsoe was injured in the third game of the 2001 season.

But it's also no secret that the best way to beat the Pats -- if, in 2007, there IS a way to beat the Pats -- is to put pressure on Brady. So expect the Giants to come after him early and often. If they get to him, it's possible the Patriots actually could lose. But the much greater concern is that the Pats might lose Brady for the playoffs.

Expect him to throw many of those short, quick routes he executes so well in order to minimize the effect of the Giants' pass rush.

Hey all --

No thanks to Continental Airlines, we have arrived here at Giants Stadium, where you may have heard there's a big football game going on tonight.

The field below is devoid of players, but that won't last long. There are, however, plenty of cameras and lights and all manner of broadcasting equipment just off the sidelines, and NFL Network has set up a mini-studio overlooking the field on the Giants' sideline.

One funny note: as we were walking into the building, NFLN commentator and future Hall of Famer Deion Sanders ran by in a dark suit -- and bright white sneakers to make his sprint easier. We know that trick well.

shalise

The Patriots have promoted practice squad cornerback Antwain Spann to fill the final spot on the 53-man roster after Thursday’s release of linebacker Chad Brown.

Spann, who was one of three practice players of the week this week for his work in preparing New England for its game with Miami, appeared in eight games with the Pats last year, shuttling back and forth between the practice squad and active roster. He played in all three playoff games as well. All told, Spann had eight special teams tackles last season.

The 6-foot, 195 pound California native attended the same high school – Oceanside -- as Junior Seau.

New England also downgraded five players to out for tonight’s game: defensive back Willie Andrews (elbow), tight end Kyle Brady (foot), fullback Kyle Eckel (stomach), tackle Nick Kaczur (foot) and guard Stephen Neal (shoulder).

Brady and Eckel had been designated as doubtful earlier yesterday, while Andrews, Kaczur and Neal were listed as questionable.

Benjamin Watson (ankle) and Billy Yates (foot) remain listed as questionable; Tom Brady (right shoulder) and Rodney Harrison (thigh) are probable.

For the Giants, corner Kevin Dockery (hip flexor) and receiver Sinorice Moss (back) are listed as doubtful, and running back Ahmad Bradshaw (calf) and defensive tackle Manny Wright (ankle) are questionable. Receiver Plaxico Burress (ankle) and running back Brandon Jacobs (ankle) are probable.

On today's sports cover, Shalise Manza Young goes over the arguments -- from the Giants' point of view -- against using starters in Saturday's game against the Patriots. Also, Joe McDonald writes on the Red Sox' program of offseason physical evaluations for pitchers.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

New England has once again released veteran linebacker Chad Brown. Brown was signed last month after Rosevelt Colvin was placed on injured reserve.

Brown appeared in one game in his most recent stint with the Pats, Dec. 16 against the Jets.

The team did not announce who would take Brown's roster spot.

Hey all --

Bill Belichick was in a pretty light mood today, and poked some fun at himself when asked about this week's Sports Illustrated cover, which has been photoshopped to show Belichick in a Santa hat and furry red jacket with the headline "Perfect Season's Greetings."

"Well, you know, being associated with Santa Claus - there’s a lot worse associations to have. I’ll take it," Belichick said, smiling. "When you’re a kid, sometimes you dream about being on the cover of Sports Illustrated. That’s not actually the one I pictured, but it’s pretty funny."

But shouldn't he have been shown in his infamous grey hoodie? "Whatever sells," he replied.

shalise

Thanks to the rain, New England moved today's practice inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse; after yesterday's walkthrough, today the players are in shoulder pads and shorts/sweatpants.

Three players were not spotted at the session: Kyle Brady, Nick Kaczur and Kyle Eckel.

Three players were in black as the team's practice players of the week: Matt Gutierrez, Ray Ventrone and Antwain Spann.

Shalise Manza Young and Mike McDermott talk about the Patriots' quest to beat the Giants on Saturday and finish a perfect regular season. Click on the play button below to see and hear the show.

Today's Sports cover features Shalise Manza Young's story about Laurence Maroney, and his emergence as a more important part of the Patriots' offense as the weather gets cold. Also, Bill Reynolds writes about the URI Rams' ascent to the Top 25, and Joe McDonald tells us about Red Sox prospects Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

Laurence Maroney is one of three nominees for the FedEx Ground player of the week after his 14 carry, 156-yard, one touchdown day against the Dolphins. Maroney had two runs of over 50 yards against Miami, including a 59-yard touchdown.

The other nominees are New York Giant Brandon Jacobs and Kenny Watson of the Bengals.

Fans can vote at nfl.com.

Since the Patriots had a walkthrough and not a formal practice, they do not have a report.

For the Giants:

Did Not Participate
RB Ahmad Bradshaw - calf
CB Kevin Dockery - hip flexor
WR Sinorice Moss - back
DT Manny Wright - ankle

Limited Participation
WR Plaxico Burress - ankle

Full Participation
RB Brandon Jacobs - ankle

You will be able to watch the New England Patriots' season finale against the Giants at home after all.

The National Football League just announced it has arranged an "unprecedented" three-way national simulcast of the NFL Network telecast of this Saturday night's game with broadcast partners CBS and NBC.

Locally, that means both Channels 10 and 12 can carry the game, an NFL spokesman said. Shortly after, both stations confirmed to The Journal that they will broadcast the game.

The Patriots, 15-0, have the chance to finish the regular season undefeated. But a lot of Pats' fans in Rhode Island were likely to miss the momentous event, since the game was to be available locally only to subscribers to the NFL Network.

Lisa Churchville, president and general manager of NBC 10, sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Monday offering to clear the station’s Saturday prime time schedule to air the game.

WPRI-TV Channel 12 carried most of the team's games this season, while NBC 10 carrried two.

This Saturday's game will also be televised by WCVB-ABC (Channel 5) in Boston, WMUR-ABC in Manchester, New Hampshire (Channel 9) and WWOR (Channel 9) in New York.

The telecast begins at 8 p.m. ET with kickoff set at 8:15 p.m. ET.

The NFL describes it as the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and the first simulcast of any kind of an NFL game since Super Bowl I in 1967 when CBS and NBC both televised the first meeting of the champions of the newly merged National Football League and American Football League.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Paul Edward Parker

In a way, it doesn’t seem that long ago that we played the Giants there in the last preseason game. On the other hand, it seems like it was four years ago. But looking back on it and the Giants from when we saw them earlier in the year, certainly there’s a lot of - that game’s a lot different from this one, but we know the Giants a little bit from going against them pretty much on an annual basis. They’re tough, they’re physical, they’re well-coached, they’re hard to beat. They don’t do a lot of things that make it easy for you. You have to really go out there and play a good, tough football game. The division they’re in - Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington - we’ve seen those teams a lot on film. That’s a pretty physical division and certainly the Giants are as physical as any team that we’ve faced all year on both sides of the ball, particularly in the front. They have some good play-makers, offensively. The running backs are good, the receivers are big-play guys down the field, they have an athletic quarterback, their offensive line is real good and defensively they’re strong on the front. They can rush the passer, they can stop the run [and] they’re a good third down team. [Sam] Madison’s always a guy that’s the play-maker in the secondary, giving us and everybody else trouble, and they have a good blitz-scheme. I think their defense is a combination of just a good, basic, sound defense but it pressures the offense a lot as well, so we’re going to have to do a good job on that. I think all of those elements that I just talked about carry over into the kicking game. They’re a physical coverage team. They’re a strong blocking team. They take people on and they take them on hard, and they’re tough. I think last week’s game against Buffalo is a good example of it, where they just basically controlled the game. Even though they spotted them a two touchdown lead, they controlled the game on the line of scrimmage and in the kicking game on the line of scrimmage, and that was the difference in the game. We have a lot of respect for the Giants, always have. We need a good week of practice here, even though it’s on a short week, to get everything ready to go. This will be a big challenge for us, with their scheme and their style of play and their play-makers.

Eli Manning has had an up and down season at times, but when he’s hot he’s particularly good. Can you talk a little about him?
I think he’s become an experienced quarterback that sees the field well. He’s athletic enough to get out of some trouble. I’m not saying he’s a big-time scrambler, but he’s certainly athletic enough in the pocket to get out of some trouble and he’s made a lot of big plays. Kind of like -- different, but sort of like [Ben] Roethlisberger, where he gets some time, looks down the field, finds [Plaxico] Burress, [Amani] Toomer, [Steve] Smith -- one of those guys running around down there. [Jeremy] Shockey, until last week - and makes big plays in the passing game off scrambles. They do all of the stuff that you would do with Manning, that you would expect them to do with a good quarterback like that. They drop back, they play-action, they bootleg, they sprint out, they run max-protection patterns, they run the empty patterns and stuff like that where they’ll get everybody out. They have a good variety in their passing game. They utilize all of their players - the backs, the tight ends, the receivers, both down the field and on shorter, quicker throws, three-step drops and that kind of thing. They do a good job keeping you off-balance. They’re a well-balanced offensive football team and Manning can do all that they need him to do.

Are the Giants the most blitzing team that you’ll see or that you expect to see? Thinking back, Pittsburgh blitzed you a lot and the Eagles blitzed you a lot.
It depends on how much they want to call it. I mean, they blitz. They could blitz a lot or not as much. That’s hard to tell, how they’re going to play the game. I’m sure they’ll blitz some. It’s a question of how many they want to call and whether that’s more or less than somebody else. I’m sure not - certainly, we have to be ready for it, but I don’t know.

They have a league high, I think, for sacks. When you see that, are those coming off blitzes?
No. No. They get them off blitzes, but they can rush. Those guys - [Justin] Tuck and Osi [Umenyiora] and [Michael] Strahan, they don’t need any help. They can get there, definitely. They do a good job. They’ve got a good pass rush. They lead the league in sacks, they lead the league in runs for negative yardage. They create negative yardage in both the running game and the passing game, and then they get you in long yardage and it’s hard to convert. And they’re a good third down team. They’re a real good defensive football team. They’re good all the way around, but it certainly starts up front. And no, they don’t need to blitz to get there at all. Definitely not. They have plenty of sacks and plenty of pressure on three and four-man rushes, if that’s what they want to do.

Tom Brady and Randy Moss have been a great combination, as have Tom and Wes Welker. Even with a quarterback as good as Tom is, is there a danger sometimes that you get into a comfort zone with a player and you end up trying to force the ball in?
I think every pass is - Every play is designed to be executed differently against different defenses and the way the play comes out, so I think we have to do the same thing we do in the passing game every week, which is put in our game plan [and] prepare for all the different contingencies. Again, a team like the Giants is a tough team to prepare for because they give you a lot of different looks. They play man, they play zone, they play two-deep, they play three-deep, they blitz with help, they blitz with no help. Depending on what happens on the play, how we execute the pattern and adjust it if we have to, how the quarterback reads it and delivers the ball, that’s all going to be a function of, to a degree, what’s going on on the other side of the ball, as well as it is us doing the right thing. That’ll definitely be a big part of the passing game this week. I don’t think you want to go into this game - or any game, for that matter --- without an open mind to the pattern, because it’s hard to tell what they’re going to do and where the best place to throw the ball is going to be until after the ball is snapped and you see what coverage they’re in.

How much practicing in pads will the guys do this week?
We’ll take it on a day-by-day basis.

How much has being able to establish the rush in the past couple of weeks helped your team going forward?

I don’t know. I don’t know. We’ll see how we do against the Giants. That’s really all that matters right now, is how we’re able to play against them, whether that’s running it, throwing it [or] doing a little bit of each. Maybe there’s more one way or the other - I’m not sure. Whatever plays we call, we hope we go out there and can execute them well. That’s why we’re calling them, but it’s not always the same every week. Whether there’s a carry-over from one game to the next, whether those plays carry over or even that style attack carries over, I’m not really sure.

It seemed like Brandon Meriweather maybe had a little more time on defense in the last game. If that’s the case, how do you think he responded to seeing more time?
I think Brandon’s improved all year. He played more two weeks ago against the Jets when James [Sanders] was out and then played in some dime situations last week. He’s improved through the course of the year and there’s still a lot of things he needs to work on, but I think he gives us good depth at the position. I’d like to see him catch the ball a little bit better, but that’s… He’s around it and I think he’s making progress.

How much does the fact that you played them in a preseason game factor into this game, if at all?
Well, a lot of the players that played in that game won’t be playing in this one, but from a scheme standpoint, they line up in some of the same - basically the same places, and so do we. The way the plays are blocked or the plays are defended, whichever side of the ball you’re talking about, you can definitely see how some of the schemes fit together. Maybe it’s not necessarily the players - You know, we played them two years ago in preseason as well, so I think there’s some good… There’s certainly some good teaching from those tapes because it’s us and them and it’s our scheme and their scheme, but some of the individual match-ups are different, so we’ll have to account for those, but there’s something to be gained from looking at it.

Do you mean players who were back-up players won’t be playing in this game or players that have been released since the preseason?
I think both teams played a lot of players in the preseason game that aren’t on the roster now for either team.

Does it feel like the season has flown by or does it feel like a long time when you look back to training camp?
Probably a little of both. Some weeks, it does fly by; other weeks really feel like it’s been a grind. I’m glad it’s a 16-game schedule as opposed to a 22-game schedule or something like that. I think everyone’s excited for this week, realizing that it’s the last regular-season game. I’m really just hoping that we go out and play our best.

Is it hard not to look at the importance of this game, as far as history is concerned?
I think we all realize what a win would mean, but a win’s always big. A win is always important for us and we’ve prepared pretty hard over the last four months, as every team prepares pretty hard. Being 16-0 would be a very special achievement, one that no other team has ever achieved and we’re finally at that point.

As much as you obviously would like to finish 16-0, you want to play better and better football every week. Do you guys feel like you’re doing that?
I think we’re constantly trying to make improvements and I think we’re trying, as a team, to find ways to be consistent and efficient out there. Some weeks are better than others. Ultimately, the goal is to win the game. You’re really judged by your wins and losses and I’d love to be playing our best football come January. This will be a great step in the process and [the Giants are] a very tough opponent, on the road. Hopefully, we can put our best out there.

At the beginning of the season, could you ever anticipate a season like this, where you’re undefeated heading into the 16th game of the season?
I think whatever hopes you might have . . . We’ve had great seasons and we’ve been 14-2. This has been a very special season. I’d hate to think that we’d go out there and not put our best out there this week so we’ve got to bring energy and excitement. It’s going to be a big test to beat these guys because they’re very good and they play well at home, too. I just hope that we’re able to finish off the season the way that we’d really hoped.

You’ve been on a lot of great teams and you always hear the cliché that you’re only as good as you practice. How good of a practice team is this? Is it any different from any other team that you’ve been around and what, if anything, makes it a great practice team?
I think that’s really where you get better. It’s where you find a lot of situations that you can carry over into the game of what you’re trying to do and understand as an offense, as a defense. I think, offensively, we do practice every situation. We’re very situationally aware. I hope that carries over to the way we play. Once again, I think at times it’s been better than in others. We put a lot into practice. There’s a quite of bit of emphasis, as a team, on it and Coach Belichick is pretty tough on us in practice. He always expects the best out of us. I think the pressure is always on us to go out there and achieve, even if it is practice because you can gain a lot of confidence playing well in practice.

Did you and Randy Moss click right away in training camp, or did it take a while to really get it down?
I think it always takes a little bit of time and we still… Things come up at this point that we try to improve on. We’re still learning from each other and we’re still trying to understand situations and read each other - for him to really know what I’m looking for and vice versa. It only leads to, hopefully, more success.

At the beginning of each season, there are probably similar goals: Win the division, make the playoffs, win the Super Bowl. What’s it like when a new goal is presented to you, something like going undefeated? Is that taken as a distraction?
No, I don’t think it’s like winning too many games. That’s a good distraction to have, I guess. I don’t think that distracts us. It’s always one-week seasons. We’ve [said] this all year, that we’re just focused on the team that we’re playing and this week it happens to be the Giants. If we win it we’ll be 16-0, like last week was 15-0 and the week before was 14-0. It’s very short-term goals that hopefully at the end of the season you can look back and be very proud of what you accomplished.

One of the trademarks of this Giants defense has always been bringing pressure. Can you talk about them?
They’re very talented. I think definitely [Michael] Strahan and Osi [Umenyiora] should take the weekend off. I’d rest them. I know that, definitely not playing those two. They’re great. They’ve got 40 sacks, I think, between Osi and Michael Strahan and [Justin] Tuck. They can rush. They have some very experienced cover guys back there. It’s a very veteran defense. I’ll be lobbying for that. Coach [Tom] Coughlin, if you’re listening, definitely rest those guys.

You’re comfortable with Randy Moss obviously. Do you think that comfort level will sometimes lead you to force the ball in there or take chances with him?
It all depends on whether you complete it or you don’t. There have been times when I’ve forced it and he caught it and it’s a great play. He’s always a big part of the plan. I’m always trying to find ways to get him the ball. You can always look back and say if it’s incomplete that maybe you should have made a better throw, but at the same time, you want to give him opportunities to make those plays.

Have you been surprised that he’s such a good guy after all you’ve heard about him otherwise?
I’m not surprised. I really try not to prejudge anybody or stereotype anybody. I just kind of deal with them as I have in my relationships with all the guys on the team. Regardless of what people say about somebody, oftentimes it’s very misleading. He’s a great guy and a great teammate and we’re all lucky to have him.

What would getting two more touchdown passes mean to you? It’s a pretty significant NFL record if you get it.
Yeah, we’ve got a lot of records at stake, the most important one being the 16-0. I hope we achieve that. It’d be a great feat for the team. We’d go down as the only team to be 16-0 so that’s the goal I’ve got in mind.

You can have a perfect record, but do you think there can ever be a perfect team?
I really feel you can have a perfect record. I don’t know if anybody’s perfect. I haven’t experienced that. We all make mistakes and we all try to learn from them and try to work hard to achieve your goals. We set very high goals around here, as every team does. I just think we’ve been fortunate this season in a lot of ways. Along with a lot of hard work, you need quite a bit of luck, too. I think we’ve been on the good side of that, in terms of injuries and the ball bouncing our way at certain times.

It’s kind of strange in a sense that you’re such a team guy and around here it’s all team. Sure, you can look back on those records and say, ‘I want Randy Moss to break Jerry Rice’s record,’ with all the history and everything else, and other people want to see you break records. Is that a strange thing to come into this week?
We’re in team sports so part of achieving anything in sports [is] you rely heavily on everybody else. I’m only as good as the guys I have playing around me. For every touchdown pass you throw, you need somebody to catch it, you need somebody to block for it. Nothing in this sport is achieved on your own. Like I said, being 16-0 would be the most important thing for all of us. If you take any energy away from that as a goal, then you’re really not doing yourself or your team any justice. Maybe when you look back at the end of your career you look at those things and it’s a cool thing to have, but everything I’ve experienced in the NFL and the greatest moments I’ve had is not when you throw five touchdown passes. It’s when you win championships.

Your numbers have gone down in the last three to four games from where they were at the start of the season. Does that trouble you or do you think it was an inevitable downturn and can you get it back up to what it was?
Yeah, we’re slumping. A negative trend, that’s never good. You just try to be as efficient as you can and we’ve been winning games so you always look at those. I’m not a big statistics guy. I evaluate each play. “What could I have done? What could I have done better?” I always feel I try to play very consistently and the team really can depend on me as a consistent player. I hope that continues.

We're just in from the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse, where the Patriots are not holding a practice, but rather a walkthrough despite the short week.

Since no one was in jerseys, it was hard to take attendance, but it seemed like everyone was there, as Benjamin Watson, Kyle Brady, Stephen Neal and Billy Yates, all of whom did not play in Sunday's game, were in the building.

Media watched some kickoff return and coverage work; on the sidelines, Laurence Maroney, Jabar Gaffney and Randy Moss were playing catch, trying to catch the ball between their legs.

WJAR-TV NBC 10 still hasn't heard from the NFL on its request to broadcast the New England Patriots' final regular season game Saturday night against the New York Giants.

The Patriots, 15-0, have the chance to finish the regular season undefeated. But a lot of Pats' fans in Rhode Island could miss the momentous event, since the game will be available locally only to subscribers to the NFL Network.

Lisa Churchville, president and general manager of NBC 10, sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Monday offering to clear the station’s Saturday prime time schedule to air the game.

The station had not gotten a response as of about noon today, according to Barbara Beresford, the station's director of marketing. "We're hoping to hear today," Beresford said.

WPRI-TV Channel 12 carried most of the team's games this season, while NBC 10 has carrried two.

As currently scheduled, Boston's Channel 5 is the only New England station scheduled to carry the game on free, over-the-air television.

Rhode Islanders and other fans across New England will only be able to view the game if they are paid subscribers to the NFL Network, visit a bar or restaurant that subscribes, or if they can pick up Channel 5 in Boston.

Your turn: Will you be able to watch the Patriots-Giants game? Where?

-- projo.com staff writer Jack Perry

Hey all --

First off, belated holiday wishes and I hope everyone (who celebrates the day) enjoyed Christmas with family and friends. Personally, I had to wake up at 4:30 this morning to fly back here from Atlanta and drive directly from Logan here to Gillette. But hey, I love my readers (and having my job).

At any rate, as you'd expect, and as has become custom in recent weeks, there's a lot of media here. The NFL Network, ESPN, the New York Times, USA Today, and even Canada's TSN are on hand.

Bill Belichick opened his press conference by saying that "in a way, it doesn't seem that long ago that were played the Giants in our last preseason game, and in another way, it seems like we played them four years ago."

Belichick lauded the Giants for being a physical team, and noted that the defensive front seven is especially strong, leading the league in both quarterback sacks and runs for negative yardage.

In the locker room, Tom Brady, Heath Evans, Kevin Faulk, Kelley Washington, Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi all chatted for a few minutes, and of course, 16-0 was on everyone's minds.

"Right now, our focus is the New England Patriots and doing what's best for this team," Faulk said. "If (16-0) falls into that category, then it becomes important to us."

Though they have a short week due to the Saturday game, the Patriots will have only a walkthrough today inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse.

shalise

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
The Patriots' Randy Moss and teammate Donte Stallworth celebrate Moss' first-quarter touchdown.

With 21 touchdowns, Randy Moss leads the league, but hasn't yet broken the record 22 held by Jerry Rice in 1987.

Remember, Moss was brought to New England at the cost of a fourth-round draft choice.

FOXBORO -- Punting from the back line of the New England end zone, Chris Hanson got off his longest kick of the season -- 64 yards to the Miami 35, where it bounced out of bounds.

The Patriots were backed up deep following a goal line stand in which Miami QB Cleo Lemon threw an incompletion on third down from the 1 and then, on fourth down, just barely failed to get inside the pylon when he scrambled to his right and tried to run for the end zone. The play was reviewed, but the ruling on the field was upheld because Lemon was carrying the ball in his right hand and it clearly never crossed the goal line.

Wes Welker's catch on the first play of the second half is his 100th of the season, making him just the second player in franchise history to hit the century mark.

Troy Brown had a franchise record 101 in 2001.

That Tom Brady-to-Jabar Gaffney (with the assist to Lance Schulters) touchdown was the 71st of the season for New England, breaking the record of 70, set by the 1984 Dolphins.

The Pats are six points away from breaking the single-season scoring record of the 1998 Vikings, who had 556 points. New England currently has 551, but at this rate, that record won't be around much longer.

Tom Brady now has 48 touchdown passes this season, tying him with Dan Marino for second-most in a single season. In 1984, Marino also threw for 48 touchdowns.

Laurence Maroney's touchdown was the 70th of the season for New England, tying the NFL single-season record. In 1984, the season Dan Marino threw for a then-record 48 touchdowns, Miami also scored 70 TDs.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Boston Red Sox players David Ortiz and Curt Schilling, with the World Series trophy, acknowledge the crowd prior to the Patriots' game against the Miami Dolphins.

Red Sox principal owner John Henry, designated hitter David Ortiz (wearing a Laurence Maroney jersey), pitcher Curt Schilling (in a Tedy Bruschi jersey) and first baseman Kevin Youkilis (in a Tom Brady jersey) were just announced to the Gillette crowd.

A highlight film was shown of the Sox' season to a soundtrack of (what else?) "Dirty Water," and they also have both World Series trophies with them.

Thanks to Laurence Maroney's 59-yard touchdown run, the Patriots now have 6,015 net yards this season, setting a new franchise record.

In 1978, New England had 5,965 yards.

FOXBORO -- Less than five minutes after breaking loose for the longest run of his career -- a 51-yarder on the last play of the first quarter -- Laurence Maroney darted through a gaping hole off left tackle and sprinted 59 yards, untouched, to a touchdown that gave the Patriots a 21-0 lead with 10:04 remaining in the first half.

Once Maroney zipped past the line of scrimmage, there wasn't a Miami player anywhere near him -- no linebackers, no defensive backs -- leaving him an easy romp to the end zone.

With that sack, Mike Vrabel now has 10.5 sacks for the season, and the newly minted Pro Bowler becomes the first Patriots player with 10 or more sacks in a season since Willie McGinest's 11 in 1995.

FOXBORO -- So, you think Tom Brady wants the NFL record for TD passes?

Faced with a first-and-goal at the 1 early in the second quarter, following a pass interference penalty on Miami in the end zone, the Pats put in their power alignment -- Heath Evans and Kyle Eckel in the backfield; Ryan O'Callaghan, normally an offensive lineman, at tight end; and backup tight end Stephen Spach, signed just prior to the Jets game, at H-back.

That left Moss as the only wideout.

Instead of running, Brady whipped a quick pass to Moss for his 47th passing TD, and Moss' 21 TD reception.

Brady now is two shy of tying Peyton Manning's season record of 49 TD passes, set in 2004. Manning broke the record of 48, set by Dan Marino in 1984.