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Ravens' Friday injury report

Out
QB Steve McNair - left shoulder
WR Demetrius Williams - ankle

Questionable
TE Todd Heap - thigh (dnp)
CB Chris McAlister - knee (dnp)
S Gerome Sapp - thigh (lp)

Probable
DT Justin Bannan - ankle (lp)
T Jared Gaither - illness (dnp)
OLB Jarrett Johnson - thumb (fp)
RB Willis McGahee - ankle (fp)
OLB Gary Stills - knee (fp)
TE Daniel Wilcox - foot (fp)

dnp - did not practice
lp - limited participation
fp - full participation

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Friday injury report: All systems go

The Patriots have released their Friday injury/participation report, and only one player is on it (guess who?) - Tom Brady, probable, right shoulder.

Much like last week, when Jarvis Green practiced only on Friday and played Sunday, Kevin Faulk (thigh) missed Wednesday and Thursday's sessions but practiced today and has been removed from the list.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Transcript: Bill Belichick's Friday press conference

Ron Jaworski this week had comments about Randy Moss and a perceived, on his part, lack of effort against Philadelphia running complimentary routes. How would you characterize his effort against Philadelphia, specifically in that category?
I think, like all of us, Ron’s a football guy. He’s entitled to his opinion and so is everybody else. [I] just think that Randy’s done a good job for us. He’s been a good leader, been a good player, been very productive, and I’d say the same thing I’d say about Randy as I’d say about myself and every other player. He’s not perfect. There are things he could do better. I make plenty of mistakes; so does everybody else. Is every play perfect for any of us? No. There’s room for improvement by all of us. I put everybody in that category.

Is that category - effort on complimentary routes -- a particular area that --
No, I’m just saying I think there’s plays in every game that any player could improve on. There’s plays that could be better coached or better called or better officiated or better anything. It’s a competitive game, so there’s always room for improvement for everybody, and that includes every player and every coach on our team. I can’t speak for any other ones.

So in some way you agree with his assessment?
I never said that. I said Ron’s entitled to his opinion. So is everybody else.

Want to talk more about Ed Reed?
Bring him on.

Tom [Brady] said you wanted to adopt him earlier this week.
That might be stretching [it] a little bit. Ed’s a great player. He’s a great player. [A] former Player of the Year, and deservedly so. He does a lot of things that very few other players at his position can do. He’s got a big impact on the game and there’s not a lot of defensive players you can say that about, but he’s one of the elite.

You’ve often talked about how you’re always going to prepare for every player and every team’s best game. Do you prepare for that bull’s-eye as your profile increases each week?
That’s the way it’s been all year. That’s the way it’s been every year. I mean, did you think the Jets were pointing for us? Did you think San Diego was pointing for us? Buffalo? Right down the line. Those were big games for us, they’re big games for them. Everybody’s putting out their best preparation and best game.

Can you see an increase as the season goes on?
It’s there every week. That’s what we try to do every week [and] I think that’s what our opponents try to do every week. That’s the National Football League. We have 16 games, not 162. Once a week, we play. If you can’t play once a week your best game, then…Every two weeks? Every three weeks? I don’t know. Believe it or not, we try to play [well] every week. I know it doesn’t look like it, but we do try to play [well] every week. I’m sure our opponents do, too. There are a lot of other great players and coaches in this league doing the same thing as we are, working just as hard, putting in just as much time, that have just as much experience. It’s a very competitive league and there isn’t much sometimes that decides winning and losing a game, so you’d better be able to do all of the little things, do them at the right time and any play can make the difference.

Junior Seau is in his 18th year and when you look at his career you’d say he’s a run-stopper, but here he’s kind of a third-down guy.
I wouldn’t say that. I think Junior has played on all three downs his entire career, and been productive on all three downs his entire career. In San Diego, I can’t remember him ever coming off the field and at Miami, Zach [Thomas] was really their every-down linebacker, but I don’t think it was because Junior couldn’t do it. I think that was just the role that they had him in down there for a couple of years. He’s played on every down for us.

Of those two aspects, is he better at one?
I think he’s [a] pretty well-rounded player. He’s big, he’s fast, he’s physical, he can tackle, he can run, he can cover, he can blitz. He’s [a] pretty versatile player. He plays up in the line, plays back off the line. I don’t see him as a one-dimensional player at all. I think he has a lot of versatility, more than probably most middle linebackers that have played in this league. I’d certainly put him in the top 10 percent of that group.

Is his productivity sort of surprising to you at this point in his career?
I think it is, if you look at the numbers. If you just look at how many 30 - whatever it is, [38, 39], however old he is, the number of those linebackers and what their production [is] - But, I mean, you look at Junior [and] just look at the man, there he is. He doesn’t look old, he doesn’t play old. He looks just like everybody else does that’s a veteran player. He’s got a lot of energy, he can run, he’s quick, he’s explosive, he’s got a high energy-level, he’s smart, he’s on top of it. I don’t want to say he doesn’t look his age, but [when] you watch him on the football field, you don’t look at him and say, wow, there’s an old man. It looks like he’s getting ready to retire. I don’t think anybody thinks that. You just don’t see it. You don’t see it on the practice field, you don’t see it on the game field. I think he has as much energy out there as anybody. I wish we had more that had the same kind of energy he does, to be honest with you, that are half his age or not much more than that.

Knowing how important football obviously is to you and talking about still getting butterflies on game day, can you talk about what the kids are going to feel on Saturday at the MIAA Emass Super Bowls at Gillette Stadium?
I’m sure it will be an exciting day for them and their families. When you look at high school athletes, so many of them, that’s their last game. And then there’s a fraction of them that go on and play in college and then there’s a fraction of them that go on and play professionally. But in a lot of cases, the kids that play in high school, that’s going to be their last competitive football game. And for some it isn’t, but for probably the majority, it is. I’m sure it’s an exciting experience for both them and their families and their school. It’s something that I’m sure that they’ll always remember. You remember the rivalry games and the big games that that they play within their conference or their rivals or whoever it was, but to play in a championship game, I think probably any athlete or coach, no matter how old you get you always remember the championship games you were in. There’s only so many of them, and that I’m sure will be, I think, a memory that all of those kids bring with them. It’ll probably always tie them together. I know a number of my friends that were involved in championship teams, even at the high school level, they have their reunions, they come back or an undefeated team or whatever. I had that in high school at Andover. We were undefeated in ’71 - or, I’m sorry, it was the fall of ’70. We still have those reunions every once in awhile for an undefeated team or that kind of thing. So, it is, you’ll always be connected to those - to your teammates and to that group of people, whoever they all encompassed - the coaches and everybody else that’s associated with the team. It’s a life-long memory. I think it’s great that we have the facilities to handle it and I’m sure it will be a memorable experience for all of those teams involved.

Have you had a chance to scout Dartmouth-Everett?
I haven’t seen them yet. Maybe we’ll see them Saturday.

You’ve had nine turnovers on offense, which is the fewest in the league. Where does that start, in terms of ball security? Does it start in practice or with the quarterback…?
It’s every player’s responsibility who handles the ball. When you handle the ball, you carry the entire fortunes of the team with you. No matter who it is - center, punter, quarterback, running back, defensive player on a turnover, returner - whoever it is, there’s nothing more important than possession of the ball, so it’s a tremendous amount of responsibility and anybody that has it needs to understand what the importance of it [is], and the importance of doing all that they can to secure it. It could cover a lot of different areas, from decision-making to technique and so forth, but yeah, it’s critical and everybody that touches it is part of it. It’s something that we emphasis. I know every team does. It’s important to us, and it’s an accountability that the players have to - whoever handles it has to accept. Hopefully we can keep those to a minimum. That’s important, especially this week against a turnover-driven team like the Ravens who’s record is so closely tied to the turnover ratio, like most games in this league are, but the Ravens in particular, they’re pretty heavily tilted towards their advantage in turnovers and their winning percentage.

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Transcript: Defensive coordinator Dean Pees' Friday press conference

Mike Vrabel has 9.5 sacks, one of the top marks in the league. When you look at his performance do you see him playing better than he has in the past seasons that you’ve been here?
It’s always hard to say whether a guy is playing better. I think Mike is doing the things we ask of him. I think he’s playing well. The thing about Mike is he is a really smart football player, maybe one of the most intelligent players that I’ve coached and we’ve got a lot of them. I just think he’s playing well right now and I think, being in the same spot, the thing that he’s provided for us in the past is his versatility to move around, which has helped us as a team. This year, we haven’t had to move him like that as much, which I think has helped him as an individual. I think he’s playing well. To say that he’s playing better, I’ve seen him play pretty good at times in ’02, ’04 and ’05 so I think he’s playing well right now.

How are these linebackers going to shake out now with Rosevelt Colvin out?
Well, as always, it seems like everybody has to go through it and we’ve gone through it in years past. You’ve got to just deal with injuries and that you hope somebody… When somebody else has a problem or is injured, it provides an opportunity for somebody else so you hope that somebody else can step up. The thing that happens with every team -- and it’s also with us -- is that you’re always concerned about depth. Whenever you lose somebody, like when we lost Rodney [Harrison] in the secondary or [Richard] Seymour up front, you lose depth, too. Somebody’s got to just pick up the slack and we’ve got to keep going and guys have got to fill in, the depth thing always concerns you.

How necessary is it to have that five-man rotation at that position?
I think it was important prior, even before Rosevelt got hurt. It’s always good if you can - up front, especially in the front seven - have a rotation to keep guys healthy as much as you can and try to keep them fresh. It’s even going to be more so. We’re going to need to try to find somebody that we can rotate in there now. That’s always good for the front seven to be able to rotate guys in, if you have them. If you don’t, you don’t. You’ve got to play with who you have.

Where is Chad Brown at this point? Is he ready to step in?
He’s on his way back. I mean he’s only been here two days, but it’s always great to have an older veteran guy who’s been in your system. You can get an older veteran guy that comes in and has not been in your system, he might as well be a rookie -- Sometimes it’s worse. But in Chad’s case, it’s great to have a guy that was out there, that was available to come in at short notice and know a little bit of something about our system. To be fair him, to say after two days of practice, Boys, he’s ready to just jump in there, [isn’t fair]. He’s working hard at it and I’m really happy that we have him.

Is Adalius [Thomas] going to slip outside now?
Well, you know us. We have the ability to play 3-4 and 4-3 and 4-2 and 2-4 and whatever you want. That’s always going to be a game-to-game thing. He slides outside; he can play inside. We’ve had the ability with guys like him, that’s one of the versatilities that those guys have. You’re always going to see a multiple [number] of defenses from us week-in and week-out.

Do you expect teams to try to attack you with the in-cuts like Philadelphia did last game?
Philly wasn’t so much the in-cuts. Sometimes it was the seams of the field. There’s a little difference. But one thing I give a lot of credit to [are] the Eagles and to [A.J.] Feeley, he had a good game. He threw a lot of passes when he was under duress and getting hit and put them on the money. At the same time, we need to play them better. The thing that got us a little bit in [trouble] the last game, and we’ve tried to work on it this week, is just fundamentally we got a little bit lax at times and let things happen that just shouldn’t happen. There are other plays that they made: He made a good throw, they made a good catch. And that’s football, but there were other times that we got caught kind of watching the rush, expecting that guy to get sacked and he didn’t get sacked and maybe we were out of position a little bit.

One of the things that some players mentioned was that maybe the pre-snap communication was maybe a little bit off. Did you see that at all?
Not particularly. They would be the better ones to ask on that because they’re the ones out there doing the communicating. I can’t always hear it from the sidelines, especially when the crowd’s into it. I didn’t see that as a big concern, but that would have to be something that they would answer.

How about Pierre Woods, a second-year player who could potentially see more time with Rosevelt Colvin going out? Can you just talk about him a little bit in his progression from year one to year two?
Well, again, he’s a guy that’s been a legitimate backup and he’s a guy that we are hoping that we can get in the mix. He’s done a great job on special teams for Brad [Seely]. You know, he would certainly… he’s working hard and he’s getting better all the time and we’re hoping that he just keeps progressing like that and, if he does, then he’s certainly going to give us some depth where we need it.

Can you also talk about Eric Alexander a little bit in his progression?
It’s kind of the same way. What’s set Eric back has been being hurt and being out for 4-5 weeks and not being involved in some things, but it’s kind of the same thing as Pierre. We just need him to keep progressing and getting better so hopefully we can use him in some kind of rotation to help balance it out a little bit, too. Again, he’s working real hard. He’s coming off that injury and both of those guys have been working real hard this week to try to get themselves in the mix.

How concerned are you about limiting wear and tear on Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau?
Well, I’m always concerned about all the players. I mean it’s not only those two. We have a few other guys back there too that you’re always trying to take reps off of them, if you can. One of the things that would help us do that is if we got off the field on third downs, which we were doing for the first 10 games. We did really well and that helped limit the number of plays that we were in the game. Now, we didn’t play a lot of plays in the Eagles game, but we could have played a lot less if we would’ve done a better job on third down. It’s always a concern on any player that has been around for a while. But, hey, we’ve got to play with the guys that we have and they know that and they’re ready to do that.

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Friday: perfect practice attendance

The Patriots are holding the day's practice in shells and sheatshirts and sweatpants, and there is perfect attendance.

That means Kevin Faulk, who has missed the last two days of practice with a bruised thigh, is on the field.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:34 PM to Kevin Faulk | Permalink | Comments 0

JIM DONALDSON: Cowboys - Patriots Super Bowl

If the Patriots-Colts game in Indianapolis was Super Bowl XLI-1/2, then let's call last night's Packers-Cowboys game in Dallas Super Bowl XLI-1/4.

Why XLI-1/4?

And why not XLI-3/4, since we're getting closer to Super Bowl XLII in Phoenix in February?

Because neither Dallas nor Green Bay is better than the Patriots. Or the Colts, for that matter.

But the Cowboys, after beating the Packers, 37-27, now are the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl against the winner of what just about everyone outside of Pittsburgh and San Diego is expecting to be a rematch of the Colts and Pats in the AFC championship game.

Which this time, thanks to New England's, come-from-behind, 28-24 win at Indianapolis, is almost certain to be in Foxboro.

If you're a Patriots fan, who should you have been rooting for last night?

Well, for starters, it was probably easier to pick a favorite between the Cowboys and Packers than it was between the NFL Network and the cable companies that refused to air last night's battle for NFC supremacy.

There is no sympathetic choice in the tussle between the greedy owners of football teams and the greedy owners of cable companies. The league wants cable operators to include the NFL Network in basic cable packages. A number of cable companies -- including those doing business in Wisconsin and Dallas -- insist that, if they're going to pay extra for the NFL Network, then so are their customers, and want to make it a premium purchase.

And so it was that, amidst cries from Dallas owner Jerry Jones for Cowboys fans to drop their cable services, less than 40 percent of America's households were able to watch what was a highly-entertaining game.

The Cowboys, with young QB Tony Romo looking sharp, jumped out to a 27-10 lead and, when veteran Green Bay QB Brett Favre went to the sidelines early in the second quarter with an injured elbow, it seemed as if Dallas would win as easily as, well, as easily as the Patriots have won most of their games this season -- including a 48-27 victory in Big D in mid-October, when both teams were undefeated.

That game with New England remains the only blemish on the Cowboys' record this season. Green Bay also had lost only once going into last night, so the winner was likely to wind up as host of the NFC championship game come January.

And if you don't think it makes a huge difference to the Cowboys whether they play the Packers in Dallas in January, or in Green Bay, well, you've never seen a playoff game played on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.

Not that it will matter much to the Patriots. (Or Colts, if you insist on including them.)

Although the Cowboys' 10-point margin of victory may look reasonably comfortable, it wasn't if you saw the game.

It was only because of a very questionable pass interference penalty that Dallas was able to open up a 34-24 lead against a Green Bay team which continued to move the ball effectively agains the Cowboys, even with backup QB Aaron Rodgers calling signals.

Rodgers ralled the Pack from 17 points down to within three with five minutes to go in the third quarter. After Dallas increased its lead to double-digits following the costly pass interference penalty against the Pack, Rodgers brought Green Bay to a 4th-and-1 at the Cowboys' 35 with just over five minutes remaining.

Instead of trying to pick up the first down, the Packers kicked a 52-yard field goal. But Romo and Cowboys answered that with a drive into the shadow of the goal line in the closing minutes that led to a field goal.

It was a good win for the 'boys, but not one what should strike fear into the hearts of Patriots fans. If Favre, who has started every game for the Packers since Sept. 27, 1992 -- a remarkable streak of 248 consecutive starts -- finally has to go to the sidelines, then Green Bay's chances of getting another crack at the Cowboys is severely compromised, despite how well Rodgers played filling in for Favre last night.

Dallas, now 11-1 clearly is the best team in the NFC, and, with likely home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, is in the fast lane for Phoenix and Super Bowl XLII.

But, if the Patriots can stay healthy down the stretch, it doesn't seem likely that the Cowboys can outscore New England's prolific offense.

If you're a Patriots fan should make Patriots fans feel good that the Cowboys had more trouble beating the Packers last night in Dallas than the Pats did beating the 'Boys.

-- JIM DONALDSON

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Go to the Super Bowl on Ty Warren

All-around good guy Ty Warren recently re-launched his personal website, and in addition to audio blogs from Ty and slick graphics, he's going to feature monthly giveaways like autographed items.

But from now until Dec. 12, you can logon to tywarren94.com and enter to win a pair of tickets to Super Bowl XLII in Arizona. You can enter the random drawing as many times as you'd like -- just as, as he says on the front page, you can vote for him to go to the Pro Bowl.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:08 PM to Ty Warren | Permalink | Comments 0

Ravens Thursday practice report

Out
QB Steve McNair - left shoulder
WR Demetrius WIlliams - ankle

Did Not Participate
T Jared Gaither - illness

Limited Participation
DT Justin Bannan - ankle
TE Todd Heap -thigh
OLB Jarrett Johnson - thumb
CB Chris McAlister - knee
RB Willis McGahee - ankle
OLB Gary Stills - knee
TE Daniel Wilcox - foot

Full Participation
S Gerome Sapp - thigh

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Thursday participation report

For the Patriots:

Did Not Participate
RB Kevin Faulk - thigh

Limited Participation
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder
WR Wes Welker - team decision
S Eugene Wilson - groin

**Stephen Neal (shoulder), Randall Gay (back) and Mike Vrabel (team decision) were removed from the list. Welker and Wilson are additions.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

A subdued Ray Lewis

Hey all --

Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis just held his conference call with the New England media, but it was not the energetic, talkative Ray Lewis most of us expected to talk with. Lewis is mourning the death of Sean Taylor, whom he called one of his best friends, and didn't want to blow off his commitment to the conference call but didn't want to talk about football either.

Lewis said Taylor's death is bringing make old wounds, those that came when his roommate at Miami, Marlin Barnes, was killed in their apartment before Lewis' junior year with the Hurricanes. And it has made him realize, again, that football is a game and life is precious, and that you only get but one.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Thursday practice peek

Thankfully, we're back inside after being kicked off the practice field on what is just a raw day here in Foxboro -- cold, cloudy, yuck.

Once again, Kevin Faulk (thigh) was the only player not on the field for practice, which is being held in shells and pants/shorts today.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:23 PM to Kevin Faulk | Permalink | Comments 0

Transcript: Bill Belichick's Thursday press conference

We’re moving along here on Baltimore. [This is our] situation day [when] we start to get into all the situations that -- One-play type situations or shorter ones, like red area, third down, short yardage, goal line, all of those types of things. The Ravens defensively, as we know, lead the league in the red area. They’re real good in those third down situations and in short yardage they’re tough, so we have a lot to get ready for. We’re moving along. If we didn’t have to play them it would be fun to watch them play on defense, but we have to play them, so it’s not too much fun.

Are they doing anything differently with Willis McGahee than the Bills did?
Well, they run their offense, so their offense is their offense. Buffalo’s offense is Buffalo’s offense, which is, as you know, kind of the San Diego, a cousin of the San Diego offense. So they do it similar to what they did when Jamal Lewis was there. It’s those plays.

All teams have good safeties and good players. What is it from your perspective that sets Ed Reed apart?
He’s really good at everything. He has great speed and quickness, which is a good combination, [is] very smart, understands and anticipates plays well, reads the quarterback probably better than anybody that I’ve ever seen or that I can remember seeing, great hands, gets the ball [and] runs them back for touchdowns. He’s a hard guy to tackle, he’s a big-play guy but he turns those big plays into even bigger plays. He takes some chances, but they’re calculated and he’s usually right, so he’s a little bit of an unpredictable guy. That makes it hard, too, because you don’t know exactly what he’s seeing or where he’s going to be. But he’s usually in the right place. He does a lot of things well and he has so much range back there that I think he enables their defense to not really need to play a lot of split-safety coverage. They can just put him back there and he can handle the whole deep part of the field, which is rare to find a guy that can handle it as well as he can.

Teams have their offense and their way of doing things. Is he the type of player that can alter your plan, or do you go ahead with it but have to be aware of where he is?
You better know where he is. You better know where he is. Absolutely. When that ball leaves the quarterback’s hands, the quarterback better know where he is. I think to some degree you have to look at what your plays are and decide how you think they’ll affect him or not affect him, based on what defense they’re in. But whatever you play you call and whatever defense they happen to be in, when you let it go, you better know where he is.

Yesterday you talked about Haloti Ngata playing linebacker. Is that a pre-snap thing or does he drop back? How does that work?
No, they line him up off the ball, five, six yards deep. Last week they had him hiding behind the umpire. Haven’t seen that in awhile. But yeah, he lines up off the ball, moves around back there. You don’t see a lot of 350lb guys walking around five, six, seven yards off the line of scrimmage.

Does it work?
Well, you know, they bring him in different spots. You don’t know exactly where he’s going to come from and when he does come he’s got quite a bit of momentum and speed, so no matter who gets in front of him, he’s quite a load coming up in there. He can run some people over. It just forces you to handle your protections. You need to decide who’s going to block him, how you’re going to handle it. Is he a linebacker? Is he a lineman? Are you going to zone it? Are you going to man it? What are you going to do with it? It’s just another rock on the pile. It’s already a big pile anyway, and it’s just another rock on the pile.

I know a couple years ago Rex Ryan said he was going to implement some of his father’s 46 defense. Do they still use that at all?
Very little. Very little. [They] run it in short yardage a little bit, but they haven’t run a lot of it this year. Most of it’s been in short yardage. I mean, they have used it, but on a percentage basis of very low percentage - two percent, one percent. But it does show up in short yardage.

Talking about Ngata a little bit again, are they able to use him on all three downs? Even at that size, can they use him on third down?
He’ll be out there. You’ll be able to see him - you can’t miss him. You can’t miss him. He plays the three-technique in the regular defense. They kind of flip-flop their line. He usually plays the three-technique, [Kelly] Gregg plays on the nose or the one-technique and then on third down he lines up - They have a lot of different third down packages. They probably have, I don’t know, four or five different sub combinations and he’s in on some of them, he’s not in on some of them. Again, it’s, like I said, more rocks on the pile. They don’t always do it, but they sprinkle some of that stuff in there. So he’s not always in on third down, no, but he is in one third down in some of their packages.

With he and Gregg, are they like five years ago when they had Sam Adams and Tony Siragusa in the middle?
Different style players. Gregg is probably one of the best defensive line technique players that we’ve played against in several years. He’s quick, he’s strong, he has a real good motor and he’s a very good technique player. He uses his hands well, he’s got great balance, he plays laterally down the line of scrimmage extremely well. He’s a much bigger version of a guy like Jim Burt that we had at the Giants. He’s extremely hard to block, and if you block him it’s very hard to get to Lewis, who plays behind him. That’s a lot different than the way Goose and Sam played. Ngata is a mountain of a guy, but has good mobility and so he plays on the three-technique. Again, it’s the same thing - if you double him or if you spend too much time blocking him, then you can’t get up to the next level to get to [Ray] Lewis and [Bart] Scott. If you leave too quickly to get up to Lewis and Scott, then you leave him standing on the line of scrimmage and it’s hard to get by him. It’s the same thing with Gregg. So that’s the problem with those kinds of guys. You can get one of them, but it’s hard to get the other one. It’s like in the 70’s when you had Joe Greene and Jack Lambert. You could never leave Greene to get to Lambert. If you did, you’re leaving Greene there, plus they had [Ernie] “Fats” Holmes. But that was such a combination that it didn’t really matter what you did. It’s like Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks down at Tampa. Those two guys played behind each other. You couldn’t leave Sapp to get to Brooks; If you did, Brooks makes 30 tackles. Whichever one you choose is usually a bad choice, so it’s a good setup for them. If you gave half of every one of Ray Lewis’ tackles to Gregg, then that would give you an appreciation for what Gregg’s production is. He probably doesn’t make [as many tackles], but what he does to free up Lewis, or in some cases Scott, but probably more Lewis than Scott, if you gave half of those to him, then you’d get a sense of what - How many tackles does Lewis have? He must have 150 tackles. Whatever it is. So you can give a lot of those, an assist or whatever you want to give, to Gregg.

How bad were those conditions the last time you guys played?
About as bad as they can get. I’d say by the end of the first quarter it was a full-out mud bowl. I can’t think of - I mean, we haven’t had a game worse than that. I don’t even think we’ve had a game that I would compare to that. That was significantly worse than any other game that we’ve had here - and we’ve had some muddy games, but that was in a class by itself.

Does it make it hard to look at the tape and get anything off that?
Well, yeah, but a lot of things have changed since then. It gives you some perspective, but there’s a lot of things that are different. Just as a comparison, I think there was a lot more carry-over between the Eagles game, last week’s Philadelphia game and the Eagles game in ’04 than what there was in the Baltimore game. Didn’t we play them in ’04, too? Having watched them back-to-back, I would say there was more carry-over, if you want to call it that, from that match-up than this one.

When you’re playing a team that presents the defensive challenge that Baltimore does, do you spend more time on your offense during that week in preparation?
You only have so much time, so whatever time you have, you have the same time every week. That’s what the offense works on. The defense works on what the Ravens do, just like they worked on what the Eagles did. Are you talking about me, personally?

As a coaching staff.
No, I think, believe me, as a coaching staff the offense works on whoever they play against defensively the whole week, and so does the defensive staff. And so does the special teams. That’s what you do - you prepare all week for it. And really, that’s a full-time job. It really is. Again, when you get into a lot of situational football, especially at this point in the year, we have 11 games, not counting last year’s games or previous games where we might have played a team, things like that. You have 11 games just from this year. Like with the Ravens, there’s games that [Kyle] Boller played. He hasn’t played all that many this year, so you might want to go back and look at him from last year, or even preseason when he did play. [Todd] Heap’s another guy that has been in and out, so if you want to see Heap, if all you watch is the last four games, all you’re going to see him in is that first quarter against Cincinnati. The last five games, whatever it was. So if you want to see Heap, you have to go somewhere else to look at him. When you start adding all of that up, you don’t feel like, well, I’m just sitting here, I have a lot of extra time. You just don’t feel that way. The same thing with [Jonathan] Ogden. There’s another guy who really hasn’t played much this year, so you could watch him in the last couple of games. If you really want to see him, you go back to last year.

Do the MIAA EMass Super Bowls at Gillette Stadium tomorrow interrupt you at all?
We haven’t ever had that before, but as we look at it going forward, not really, no. We think it should be all right. We’ll stay on our own schedule. But we’ve never really been through that, so maybe that’s a good question for next week. We’ll see how it goes.

Tom Brady joked yesterday that you want to adopt Ed Reed and maybe even kidnap him sneak him onto the plane with you on the way home Monday night. Should Ed be running?
I think Tom’s stretching it a little bit there. We can’t do that. We can’t do that. I have tremendous respect for Ed as a football player, and as a person. He was a guy that I had an experience to coach for a week last year and it was a great experience. He’s everything that I had heard he was at Miami, in terms of the way he sees the game, his intelligence, his instinctiveness, just all of those kinds of things. He’s a great guy to coach. You tell him something out on the field, he understands it, he can give you feedback on it. He plays football at a high level intellectually and also athletically. We have some pretty good players here. We have some good safeties and all of that. I’m not taking anything away from Rodney [Harrison] or James [Sanders] or any of our players. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying I had an opportunity to spend some time with him and we competed against him in the past. I think he’s pretty good. I mean, real good. Not pretty good - real good. Like I said, I think he’s a special player because he allows their team to do some things that I’d say most teams in this league just aren’t able to do in the passing game.

Posted by Art Martone  at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Thursday at Gillette

Hey all --

We've just been kicked out of the Pats' locker room, where it was a funny day -- a lot to observe, but not a lot of players talking.

Injured tight end David Thomas chatted briefly with a couple of reporters, and said the upside of being hurt means he gets to spend time with his newborn son. Thomas still has a walking boot on his right foot. Running back Sammy Morris also made an appearance, walking through the room in his street clothes.

Brandon Meriweather talked about his friend and former teammate, Sean Taylor, who Meriweather said "helped me with everything" at Miami. "He helped me take my game from a 'C' to a 'B,' with the playbook he sat me down and helped me learn it."

Meriweather said he last spoke to Taylor, who died early Tuesday morning, just before New England played the Redskins.

Troy Brown also talked to the media, and is glad to be back on the roster: "I'm always excited to be around this game. All I can do is take it one day at a time, one play at a time," he said.

We're headed out to practice shortly, and will post an update then.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Patriots writers Shalise Manza Young and Jim Donaldson discuss the potential impact of the loss of Rosevelt Colvin. Paul Kenyon reports on URI's victory over Northeastern, and Joe McDonald gets Jon Lester's reaction to winning the Tony Conigliaro Award.

Download a copy of the page in PDF format

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Jets claim K. Brown

Hey all --

The New York Jets have claimed rookie Kareem Brown off waivers. The defensive lineman was released by the Patriots yesterday to make room for Troy Brown; he had not been active for any of the team's games this season.

Brown is not happy about leaving New England; he was hoping to remain with the team on its practice squad. He and Brandon Meriweather are good friends from their days at Miami and Brown looks to fellow Hurricane Vince Wilfork for big brother-type guidance.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:40 PM to Kareem Brown | Permalink | Comments 2

Tippett chosen Hall semifinalist

After coming close to being voted in last year, former Patriots LB Andre Tippett has once again been chosen as a semifinalist for the 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction class.

Tippett is one of 26 modern era semifinalists named today; the list will be narrowed to 15 in the coming weeks before the Class of '08 is chosen during Super Bowl week. The Hall's Board of Trustees voted this year to increase the minimum and maximum number of players that can be chosen each year to 4 and 7 (from 3 and 6), and also there are now 44 selectors, up from 40.

A member of the Patriots Hall of Fame, Tippett recorded 100 sacks in his 151-game career.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:55 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel named AFC defensive player of the week

The hardware keeps rolling in for the Patriots, as Asante Samuel has been named AFC defensive player of the week for his two interception performance against the Eagles.

Samuel returned his first pick of the night 40 yards for a touchdown, and now has six on the season, tying him with San Diego's Antonio Cromartie for the league lead.

It is the second player of the week award for Samuel in his career and the eighth time this season a Pats player has been named player of the week.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:51 PM to Asante Samuel | Permalink | Comments 0

Wednesday participation report

The first participation/injury report of the week has been released, and there are a couple of new names for New England.

Did Not Participate
RB Kevin Faulk - thigh

Limited Participation
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder
CB Randall Gay - back
G Stephen Neal - shoulder
LB Mike Vrabel - team decision

The Ravens did not practice today, so there is no report for them.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Belichick offers condolences on Sean Taylor

Bill Belichick opened his press conference this morning with the following statement:

"First of all I’d like to on behalf of our team extend our condolences, thoughts and prayers to Sean Taylor’s family and his extended families with the Redskins and the University of Miami. Of course, we have a number of players from Miami on our team and some connections there. It’s a terrible tragedy. There’s no way to really explain it, obviously, it’s just our sympathies go out to them."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Transcript: Tom Brady's Wednesday press conference

Are you happy to have Troy Brown back?
It’s great. It’s great to see him. I know he’s excited. He’s been working very, very hard. [He’s] played a long time and it’s great to have him up and available. I sure hope he makes a big impact on the team. He always does, just with his leadership, his ability to bring people together and he always has positive words. He’s a great leader. He’s a great teammate and everybody loves having Troy Brown.

Because Troy has been around so long and he knows what to expect, does that make it easier for him to come back and produce?
Yeah, and he’s been in our offensive meetings however as long the season has been going on. Even though he hasn’t been out on the practice field, he’s been keeping up with the meetings and so forth. I know he’s excited and he can do a lot for us. He can play receiver. He can play DB. He contributes on special teams. He really does whatever this team needs.

The Ravens are a team, like the Eagles, that you aren’t that familiar with. Talk a little bit about the Ravens.
Yeah and I think you’re right. It’s a team that we haven’t played in a bunch of years. They’re very experienced and very battle-tested. They were one of the best teams in the AFC last year. We really have our work cut out for us. It should be a fun week. It’s a great defense that we’re facing, led by a bunch of great players on that defense in Ed Reed and Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs and they can all really play - Bart Scott. It’s a very challenging defense to face. I know that hopefully we can present those same challenges to them, but on a Monday night, that’s kind of what that teams live for.

Tedy Bruschi said after Sunday night’s game that he anticipates more tough games like that this time of the year. Do you agree with that?
I think you have anxiety before every game. You sit in a locker room just before you run out and really it’s the unknown. You just don’t know the way the games are going to go. You always hope for the best and you try to prepare for everything and, really, however they play out, whether you win 56-10 like in Buffalo, or this past weekend when it came down right to the end, you have to really be mentally tough and prepare for both. I think you always prepare for the tough ones and if it ends up not being as close as expected then you deal with that, too. That’s a good thing to deal with, but we’re always expecting whatever is the team’s best performance and what they’re capable of. Really, that’s what we expect.

Bill Belichick raves about Ed Reed --
He wants to adopt Ed Reed.

Yeah, he does.
It’s going to be Ed Belichick.

How does [Ed Reed] change what you look at in terms of their defense?
I know he coached him at the Pro Bowl last year and I think, as a defensive coach, you look at a player like that who’s such a game-changer. [Belichick] coached Lawrence Taylor and he knew what the impact on the game that Lawrence Taylor had when he was coaching. I think Ed Reed is similar, in different ways, but [he’s] really a game-changer. He’s a ballhawk. He covers so much ground back there. He’s really smart. He’s really aware. He loves football. He’s got all the great qualities of a great defensive player. I tell you, he better run after the game is over because Coach is going to try to bring him back on the plane with us if he could.

Personally, do you like the games that are close as opposed to the games that are really out-of-whack like some of the games you’ve had?
Yeah, we’ve had some games that in the fourth quarter haven’t been much of a game, not like this last one. I think we’ve showed some mental toughness in Dallas and in Indianapolis and [against] the Eagles, where we’ve been down the second half you have to find ways to make plays under pressure and I think this team has done a good job -- Whether we’re up or down we’re focusing on doing our job. A lot of it is composure and poise and it’s tough environments you’re playing in. Two of those games were on the road with the crowd really into it and we found ways to pull it out in the end. Anyway, the goal is to win. That’s what we approach every week as and, whether you win by 30 or you win by three, you’re trying to win the game. Everyone was happy we won this last game and it’s really going to be a challenge for us to get to 12-0.

Are you sick of all these night games?
I’m tired of them. I look around at all these tired faces today and I think everyone is just dragging a little bit. You don’t get home until late and it feels like you’re always trying to get caught up throughout the week so I’m glad we’ve got the extra day. It’s not a Sunday night game so it’ll be a long week this week I’m sure. Four days of practice, we can use each and every day of that to get ready for this team and, hopefully, put our best out there.

Is it a disadvantage for you guys because you’re like bats, you don’t the see light of day because you’re always playing at night --
(Laughs.) That’s the first I’ve heard of that.

And you’ve got so many in a row that it’s got to be tough.
It is and you play when they tell you to play and I think most guys in the NFL, you love Monday night games. The fun part about Monday night is just before the game at 8:00 when you’re ready to go out there and the bad part is about 11:30 as soon as the game is over. It’s fun to play on Monday night, but I think most guys would love to play Sunday at 1:00, every single week. That gives you the most time to let your body rest and your mind to get focused on those weeks ahead. Coaches love it because they get - on the Monday night games they get the extra day to practice you, which a lot of the older players don’t like so much. But we play when they tell us to play.

What are some of the particular challenges this defense poses to you?
They challenge you in a lot of ways. I think they have very athletic pass-rushers. They have a bunch of different packages that they run with different types of D-lineman that have different abilities. Some rush the passer. Some play the run really well. They get you in a lot of long-yardage situations. I think they’re very creative with what they do up front and [you] just can’t go to sleep on them. If one guy isn’t focused and concentrating and their job, it’s going to be a negative play. A guy like Ed Reed, or Ray Lewis, or Bart Scott, or Chris McAlister, they’re all looking to make interceptions. Not only that, they’re trying to return it for a touchdown. They’ve got a bunch of play-makers and we’ve got to be able to focus on every play and make sure we’re really aware of what they’re doing so we can really stay on track.

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:15 PM to Tom Brady | Permalink | Comments 0

Transcript: Bill Belichick's Wednesday press conference

First of all I’d like to on behalf of our team extend our condolences, thoughts and prayers to Sean Taylor’s family and his extended families with the Redskins and the University of Miami. Of course, we have a number of players from Miami on our team and some connections there. It’s a terrible tragedy. [There’s] no way to really explain it, obviously, it’s just our sympathies go out to them. On our end of it, we unfortunately had to put Rosie [Colvin] on injured reserve yesterday. He’s worked awfully hard this year, as he always does and I feel badly for him, as I do for the other players that are on IR - Sammy [Morris], Chad Scott, Dave Thomas and all of those guys. It’s unfortunate. [We] re-signed Chad Brown who, of course, has been with us and gives us some depth and experience at the position, as well as activated Troy [Brown] from the PUP roster. So we’ll as usual go into the game with the players that we feel like from the 53-man roster that give us the best chance to compete against the Ravens and we’ll make that decision at the end of the week. I don’t want to lead anybody in any direction other than that one and so that’s where we’re at, as far as the Ravens go. This is in a lot of ways similar to the Eagles that we talked about last week - veteran team, veteran coaches, a team that’s won, that’s played very well at home, that’s played in a lot of big games and won them, especially at this time of year, very good defensively, outstanding return game, good kicker, big play-makers on offense, especially at the skill positions, a lot of outstanding players, a lot of outstanding talent and a team that we have a lot of respect for. I know going down there playing Monday night it’s going to be a very energetic environment for us to go in to, so we’ll have to really be sharp on everything that we do, especially as it relates to snap counts and communication and things like that. We have a lot in front of us. [It’s] a team we haven’t played in a while. [There are] a lot of good players we have to get ready for, a lot of difficult schemes that they run. It’s probably good that we have the extra day. I’m sure we’ll be able to use it.

You guys rarely see the sun. This is your third night game in a row.
We’re so excited about that.

Does it take some special preparation to play at night?
I don’t think it’s [so] much the preparation for the night game. I think where it gets you is at the other end, is coming off the night game and you sort of lose more of Monday than you normally would on a 1:00 or 4:00 game. Then it kind of pushes you back into Tuesday, but at this point in the year I think everybody deals with short weeks and long weeks and all that. We’ve been through a lot of football and a lot of games and a lot of meetings and a lot of preparation, so you just make those adjustments and go on.

Is it in any way better to have them back-to-back so that they are the same week, rather than having a long week and then a short week?
I’m personally not that excited about it, but whatever. There’s things we don’t have any control over. I just don’t think there’s any sense in worrying about it. You just make whatever adjustments you make and move on. Everybody’s got to deal with something.

Having five linebackers playing four spots has worked pretty well for you so far. Is there any concern of especially Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi having to play more snaps than they had previously?
Yeah, well, sure. We certainly didn’t want to lose Rosie, but that’s where we’re at so we’ll just move on with what we have. We’ve added Chad. Like I said, Chad gives us a level of depth and experience that [we’re] probably fortunate to be able to have at this time of year. He knows our system, he’s been here, he’s played here. [He] played in one regular season game, played in some preseason games, was with us for a lot of practices, so I think everybody has a lot of confidence in Chad, as we should, and our other players. Whatever we feel like is the best thing to do, we’ll use those combinations of people and - Yeah, it’s certainly not the optimum situation, but that’s what we have.

Chad played a lot of inside here but was an outside guy primarily in his career before he got here. Do you see him better at one spot or is he a guy that has flexibility?
Yeah, well he’s done both. He’s a pretty versatile guy. He’s played inside, he’s played outside, he’s played defensive end for us in passing situations in the sub, he’s played off-line, he’s played on the line. I think he definitely has versatility. Like I said, it’s a big advantage for us to have a player like that at this point in the year, who has that kind of flexibility, knows our system, who’s played in it. He’ll just have to work hard - I know he will - to get back up to speed with the different things that we’re doing since he was here last in the first Buffalo game and get caught up on some of that stuff, but it’s a lot further along than we would be with a player who was totally new to our system. Plus, he has a lot of experience in the league and he’s played here.

Your kick coverage has been pretty strong all year, with Kelley Washington and guys mixing in with guys like Larry Izzo, the old core guys. Can you talk about the way that group has performed?
I think our kickoff coverage is certainly improved over a year ago. That’s a combination of the kicking and the coverage. We’re up against another real good returner this week in [Yamon] Figurs - well, Ed [Reed]’s been back there some, too, but I assume it would be mostly Figurs doing the punt and kickoff returns - but another fast, quick, elusive guy with good running skills and good vision. Those guys work hard on that. Larry, of course, is our special teams captain and he gives us great leadership in the entire special teams unit. Those guys spend a lot of time watching film, meeting, talking together. Like I said, the coordination of those coverage units is so important - the proper lanes and leverage, and any time you’re doing something a little bit different whether it’s twisting players or changing coverage lanes or picking to try to get somebody else free to try to get a better release off the line of scrimmage on punts - all of those little things, there’s really a lot of teamwork and communication involved. It may not seem like that to the average fan, but there’s a game within a game going on there and they’ve done a good job with it. Overall, our force players have done a good job. One thing you don’t want to have happen on those returns is let the guy get the ball and run down the sideline. Then it’s just a lot of easy yardage. No one really has a shot of them if they get outside. There’s nobody left. At least if you can force them back inside, you have other people who have a chance to make the play. It was a big play last week on the last punt when [Brian] Westbrook was back there, which didn’t surprise me, that he was in there in that critical situation. Pierre [Woods] kind of had him, but I don’t think he was really down. I don’t think they called him down, and Kyle Eckel was kind of heads-up and came in there and made the tackle so he didn’t spin out of that one. [We’ve] been getting good hang time on the punts, and Steve [Gostkowski]’s done, on the balls that haven’t gone out of bounds, done basically a pretty good job of kicking off and our coverage units have been pretty solid, other than the long kickoff return against Dallas.

Obviously you have great depth at wide receiver. What kind of a role do you envision Troy Brown in now that he’s back?
We’ll determine that on a week-to-week basis, same as we always do. Troy is a versatile guy for us. He’s done a lot of different things around here. He’s played on offense, defense, special teams and obviously [is a] very experienced player, a guy that has done a lot of different things, and I think has the opportunity to fill different spots for us. We’ll see how that works out on a game-to-game basis and that’s the way it’s been here for a while. That’s the way it will be this week, that’s the way it will be next week.

Is it possible he would see time in all of those areas, or would you rule out --
No, I wouldn’t rule anything out. Anything is possible. We’ll do whatever we need to do. I’m not going to sit here and say we’re not going to do something we think will help us win. Whatever it is, we’ll do it. That’s what we’re here for.

So it’s possible he could play defense as well?
It’s possible he could do anything that we need him to do to help us win.

Chris Hanson hasn’t had to punt much. How would you assess his performance? Is it tougher for a guy to get in a rhythm when he’s only punting twice a week? I know you don’t want him to be punting a lot.
No, that’s right. We don’t want him to punt nine times. We’re trying to avoid that. You know, we’ve talked about it many times. Punting is a lot like golf. It’s not like standing on the driving range and hitting all drivers out there as far as you can hit them. I’d say probably well over 50 percent of a punter’s punts are situational punts, either based on what the return team is doing or based on field position or the game-situation that dictates do you want the punt directional, do you want it with hang time, they’re rushing, you have to kick it a certain way, you’re trying to kick away from - You have a key that they’re going to run right-return, you’re going to punt the ball to the left - Whatever it happens to be. A lot of it is situational punting, like using all of the clubs in your bag that a golfer would do. I think that Chris is a very good athlete. He handles the ball well, he’s got good hands and he does a good job of getting the ball off and placing it and doing the things that we ask him to do from a situational standpoint. He’s given us some real good kicks in clutch situations where we needed the ball down the field and changed field position a little bit. Like last week against Philadelphia, kicking out of the end zone, we had the false start penalty and we were backed up on the, whatever it was, four, five-yard line or whatever, and he gave us a great field position punt and Kelley gave us a big tackle on that for little or no return, whatever it was. That was a big play. Sometimes that’s what the situation calls for. Sometimes it’s getting the ball down inside the five, 10-yard line and Chris does a good job of that. Sometimes it’s, like I said, directionally kicking or utilizing some type of wind or return key or whatever it is to get the ball. I think he’s been effective for us. Is there room for improvement? Of course. But I think he’s been effective for us.

A couple of years ago before you played the Ravens, I remember you saying that you felt Ed Reed was probably playing better defensively and was the defensive MVP at that point in the season. How is he playing now? Is there slippage?
No. No, Ed Reed is an awesome football player. To me, he’s one of the best football players in the league. I think he’s the type of guy that allows the Ravens to do some things defensively that you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to do. I would say that in a lot of cases - in most cases - just common sense would tell you that you could protect the deep part of the field better with two deep safeties than with one deep safety. I’m not sure that’s really the case. I think that probably Ed Reed by himself back there can control the deep part of the field better than any two guys can, because the other guy isn’t as good as Ed Reed, no matter who it is. So whichever side he’s on, whoever the other guy is doesn’t have the same kind of skill that Ed Reed has. To me, when he’s in the deep part of the field, it’s hard to throw in the deep part of the field with him being back there, and then that allows them to do whatever they want with the other 10 guys, which they have a lot of creative schemes and he’s a tremendous play-maker. Not only does he come up with a lot of balls, but as we’ve seen, when he has it in his hands he’s a threat to score, whether he runs it back or laterals it or does something creative to not only turn the ball over but have it find it’s way into the end zone on your end. He’s a tremendous football player. I really enjoyed working with him for a week in February and I got to spend a little more time with him on a person level and really talk to him a little bit about football and some of the things that we were doing. I mean, it was an all-star game, but still, he’s really, really good, as good as anybody I’ve ever seen.

You had him and Champ Bailey together on that. How good was that secondary?
Pretty good. Yeah, pretty good. Those two guys were real good - at different positions, so it’s an appreciation, but we had [Chris] McAlister out there, we had [Bart] Scott. I mean, they have a lot of good defensive players. Really, everybody’s good - their outside linebackers are, [Terrell] Suggs, we had him, he’s a tremendous pass-rusher, [Jarret] Johnson has done a great job for them, Scott and Ray Lewis inside. Their down-guys are good, [Dwan] Edwards has played well for them. [Haloti] Ngata blocks out the sun. He’s an enormous guy that plays linebacker a good part of the time, which is…You don’t often see 350lb guys playing linebacker, but he’s back there [and] plays it quite a bit. [Kelly] Gregg is one of the best defensive technique linemen in the league. He’s outstanding on the nose. They have great corners in [Samari] Rolle and McAlister. [Dawan] Landry has done a terrific job for them at safety, playing with Reed. I think that’s an excellent safety tandem. For a rookie, he came in and played great last year and he’s having a terrific year this year. Big kid, big hitter, but he’s got good coverage skills. I couldn’t say enough complimentary things about Ed Reed as a football player - his intelligence, his skill, his play-making ability, his ability to do things back there that…I mean, I’ve seen some good free safeties and they may have some elements of his game, but I think he pretty much has it all.

A little off the subject -- this weekend is the Army-Navy game. What makes that game so special for the people involved?
It’s kind of a season within a season for those teams. I think no matter what the record is, that game means more than all the other ones put together, if that makes any sense, so in some respects it’s probably better to go 1-11 and win that game than to go 11-1 and lose that game. I’ve kind of seen that from both sides of it. One of the things they do, they have such esprit de corps with the brigade and the corps of cadets and the brigade of midshipmen, is a lot of times the team that wins that game, the superintendent gives all the other members of the brigade special privileges, like an extra night out or they knock off the demerits or whatever it is as kind of moral-booster thing. So a lot of times that game means a lot more than just what meets the eye. I know there’s a couple kids, Max Lane and Kyle Eckel and [Roger] Staubach, but those kids aren’t playing football to be professional football players. They’re playing football because they’ve chosen a career in the military and that’s what’s really important to them, so to compete against their rival military academy, it’s a tremendous tradition that goes back forever, even back into the great Army-Navy teams in the 40’s and 50’s and 60’s where they were ranked in the top 10 on a pretty regular basis and [had] Heisman trophy winners and all of that, as well as guys going on to be great leaders of this country. The tradition in that game just flows. It just drips with tradition. But really, there’s a lot at stake within the brigade, within the institution, that is a little bit special relative to just another college football game. You know, you walk around there in March or April or May or whatever and there’s signs all over of “261 days until we beat Army” or “173 days until we beat Army.” I mean, literally, a lot of times the calendar in that Navy football office is just reflected on how many days to the Army-Navy game. When my dad was there, there were a lot of years when he would scout the opponent that Navy was going to play next. So if they were going to play Pitt, he would go to Pitt. If they were going to play BC, he’d go to BC. But then there were other years when the only team he scouted was Army. He would watch them play all 11 games. So if that gives you any sense of what that game meant, that you just put one guy on it the whole year, that was not uncommon. And Army would do the same thing.

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Wednesday practice peek

The Patriots are holding practice outside today on the upper practice field behind Gillette Stadium. "New" guys Troy Brown and Chad Brown were out there for the full pads session; the only player who was missing was running back Kevin Faulk.

Offensive lineman Billy Yates and Bam Childress were the men in black as practice players of the week.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

JIM DONALDSON: Colvin's loss costly

It's not good news that, on the heels of a disappointing defensive effort against the Eagles -- who, with backup QB A.J. Feeley starting for the first time since 2004, put together four long scoring drives Sunday night -- the Patriots have put outside linebacker Rosevelt Colvin on the Injured Reserve list for the remainder of the season.

A highly-effective speed rusher, Colvin led the team in quarterback sacks the past two years (he had 8.5 last season, 7 in 2005). He had four this season, along with an interception, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

His absence will be a blow to New England's highly-effective, but elderly, linebacking corps. Mike Vrabel is 32, Adalius Thomas is 30, Tedy Bruschi is 34, and Junior Seau will be 39 in January. With Colvin out, those four older players now will have to spend more time on the field, further wearing them down and increasing their own chance of injury.

There isn't much behind them on the depth chart. The backup at outside linebacker is Pierre Woods. Inside, it's Eric Alexander. To replace Colvin, the Pats today signed 36-year-old Chad Brown.

The Patriots have been fortunate, compared to many other teams, in having had relatively few significant injuries this season.

But this one hurts, no pun intended.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 7:04 PM to Rosevelt Colvin | Permalink | Comments 0

Troy Brown activated; Colvin to IR

Hey all --

The New England Patriots today activated veteran Troy Brown off the physically unable to perform list and placed linebacker Rosevelt Colvin on season-ending injured reserve.

Additionally, the Pats re-signed linebacker Chad Brown and released rookie Kareem Brown.

Troy Brown is returning from offseason knee surgery after being hurt in the AFC Championship game. He has played 191 games with New England and is the team's longest-tenured player.

Colvin was announced to have suffered a foot injury in Sunday's game with the Eagles, though on television it appeared that trainers were working on his arm.

Kareem Brown was New England's fourth-round draft pick this year out of Miami; he has not been active for any of the team's games this season. The Pats are likely hoping he will clear waivers so he can be retained on their practice squad.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza Young

Here is this week's edition, in pictures and audio.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

The Patriots had a tough fight on their hands against the Eagles, but they pulled it out to go to 11-0. Today's sports cover is all about the game.

Download a copy of the page in PDF format

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 7:28 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Gaffney and Stallworth get revenge against Eagles

FOXBORO – Jabar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth had extra motivation for beating the Eagles last night, as both had been dismissed by the team.

Gaffney signed with Philadelphia as a free agent before last season, only to be released at the start of the regular season. Five weeks later, he was signed by New England, which was thin at the position.

After playing the role of fourth fiddle for much of the season in the Patriots’ revamped offense, Gaffney had a big game last night, with six catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.

“It’s always good to beat the team that you were with, being able to catch a touchdown and make some key grabs,” Gaffney said.

“He played well,” said Stallworth, whose trade from New Orleans to Philly during training camp last year may have played a role in Gaffney’s release. “He wanted to play well too because he was there with me for a bit last year.”

Stallworth finished with four receptions for 54 yards.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:03 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Stallworth's Stall of Blues

FOXBORO – Donte Stallworth was one of the last players out of the Patriots’ locker room last night, and as he dressed and walked between his stall and the trainers’ room, songs from Alicia Keys’ newest album was coming from the small speakers inside his locker.

Stallworth took at least 10 minutes getting himself together before he faced the cameras and microphones, but before he did, he joked he’d be collecting $5 each from the gathered reporters for the privilege of listening to his “concert.”

When one media member joked that the quality of the speakers was sub-par, another quipped that the collection would actually go toward a better pair of speakers, not a concert charge.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:03 AM to Donte Stallworth | Permalink | Comments 0

Squib kicks

FOXBORO – Asante Samuel got things off to a rousing start for the Patriots last night, intercepting the Eagles’ A.J. Feeley on the third play of the game and returning the pick 40 yards for a touchdown.
The interception was the 21st of Samuel’s five-year career, tying him for 10th in New England history with Don Webb. Ty Law and Raymond Clayborn are tied for the franchise lead with 36 each.
Samuel now has six interception returns for touchdowns in his career, including an NFL record-tying three in the postseason. His three regular-season return TDs are third-best in team annals.
*****
Tom Brady’s season-long streak of games with three or more touchdown passes came to an end last night, as he threw just one against the Eagles, but the quarterback still found a way to get into the record books this week.
By throwing for 380 yards, Brady passed 25,000 yards for his career, making him just the third quarterback in Patriots’ history to do so, after Drew Bledsoe (29,657) and Steve Grogan (26,886).
With 39 touchdowns this season, Brady is still on pace to throw 57 for the season.
He also:
- Led New England to a fourth-quarter comeback win for the 26th time in his career;
- Upped his record to 28-5 in games where the margin of victory is seven points or less and 19-4 when the margin is four points or less;
- Is 21-3 when throwing for more than 300 yards;
- Is 33-2 on artificial turf;
- And is 41-8 on Thanksgiving or later
*****
By scoring 31 points last night, New England now has 442 points for the season, setting a new single-season franchise record.
The previous team record of 441 points was established in the 1980 season, when the Pats went 10-6.
*****
Randy Moss’ 11-yard reception in the second quarter was the 744th catch of his 10-year career, putting him 25th all time in NFL history.
Moss passed Andre Rison (743 receptions) to move into the top 25. Jerry Rice had a record 1,549 catches in his 20 year career.
*****
Wes Welker’s 13 receptions tie the franchise record for catches in a non-overtime game. Both Deion Branch (at San Diego, Sept. 29, 2002) and Terry Glenn (at Cleveland, Oct. 3, 1999) had 13-catch games with New England.
The single-game team record is Troy Brown’s 16 receptions on Sept. 22, 2002 in an overtime win against Kansas City.
*****
Patriots’ receiver Jabar Gaffney and Eagles’ cornerback Lito Sheppard are cousins, and spent most of their early football years as teammates.
Gaffney and Sheppard both attended Raines High School in Jacksonville, Fla., winning a state title in their first season together, and both played at the University of Florida.
Gaffney’s father, Derrick, also attended Florida, and played in the NFL with the Jets.
*****
With a touchdown on its first possession of the game, New England has scored points on its opening drive in 10 of 11 games this season.
It was only against the Colts that the Patriots did not score on their first possession.
*****
New England boasts the best home record in the NFL since 2002 (the year Gillette Stadium opened) as well as the best home defense in the league.
The Patriots are 41-9 at Gillette, just ahead of the 40-10 mark Indianapolis has at the RCA Dome over the last five-plus seasons.
They also allow just 15.64 points per game to the opposition over those 50 games, ahead of the 16.26 points Baltimore gives up to visitors to M&T Bank Stadium.
First-time visitors to the Stadium are 4-23, with New England winning 19 of the last 20.
*****
The Patriots are now 26-4 against NFC teams since 2001, a run that includes their three Super Bowl wins.
It also includes a current streak of 10 straight which began on Oct. 9, 2005 against Atlanta. New England’s last loss to an NFC team was in the second game of the 2005 season, 27-17 in Carolina.
*****
Last night was the first time New England has hosted Philadelphia in a regular-season game at Gillette Stadium, and the first time the Eagles have traveled to Foxboro since Nov. 29, 1987, a 34-31 overtime win for Philly.
The teams’ last three regular-season meetings were in the City of Brotherly Love, in the 1990, 1999 and 2003 seasons.
With the Eagles’ near 20-year streak without a Foxboro visit now ended, the Carolina Panthers now have the longest period of not playing in New England, at 12 years. The Panthers will visit Gillette in 2009.
Carolina, Arizona, Atlanta and St. Louis are the four remaining teams who have not visited Gillette Stadium since it opened in 2002.
*****
The inactive players for the Patriots were: Matt Gutierrez (third quarterback), receiver Chad Jackson, safeties Mel Mitchell and Eugene Wilson, guards Wesley Britt and Billy Yates, and defensive linemen Le Kevin Smith and Kareem Brown.
For the Eagles: quarterback Donovan McNabb, safety Quintin Mikell, running back Tony Hunt, guards Max Jean-Gilles and Scott Young, and defensive linemen Kimo von Oelhoffen, Victor Abiamiri and Montae Reagor.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:49 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

After a Bunch of Blowouts, Pats Almost Blew It

Nine of the Patriots' first 10 wins this season were blowouts.
Although they won again Sunday night against the upset-minded Eagles, the Pats almost blew the game because of their inability to contain Philly's backup quarterback, A.J. Feeley, who threw for 345 yards and three touchdowns and had his team -- 24-point underdogs in Las Vegas -- on top, 28-24, in the fourth quarter
"You're not going to be able to play your best game every week," New England's veteran strong safety Rodney Harrison said. "The thing that's encouraging is that we were able to pull it out, in spite of us not playing particularly well."
"You have to win like this sometimes," said Patriots wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, who caught Tom Brady's only touchdown pass. "You're not going to blow everyone out."
Brady had ignited those blowouts by throwing for at least three TDs in each of the Pats' first 10 games. Although he passed for 380 yards against the Eagles, completing 34 of 54 attempts, he had one TD toss.
"Everybody could have played better," Brady said. "But we won. We clinched the AFC East championship, we've won 11 straight games, and there's a lot to be happy about."
That was the prevailing feeling in the New England locker room after subduing the stubborn Eagles.
"We want to win the game, period," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "No matter how we do it -- whether it's one point, or 20 -- as long as we get that victory at the end of the day, that's all we care about."
"Everything's not going to be a blowout," said Adalius Thomas. "We're happy to get the win."
How happy the Patriots will be when they sit down to review the video of the game with coach Bill Belichick is another matter entirely.
"Philadelphia gave us a number of problems in all three phases of the game," Belichick said. "But we had a couple of big stops defensively at the end, and we made a couple of key plays offensively when we needed to make them."

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 1:29 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Game story: Remember the Eagles

BY SHALISE MANZA YOUNG
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO – Tedy Bruschi wants his youngest teammates on the New England Patriots to remember last night.

Wants them to file away that feeling of having to scratch and claw, to embrace that fear, no matter how small it might have been, that the Patriots might lose to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Wants them to know that the 31-28 win New England edged out over the Eagles is not the aberration – it is the 30- and 40-point wins and the luxury that they afford which are the aberrations.

“I hope a lot of the guys that are new here know this is how it is. This is reality. This is how you win in November and December,” Bruschi said, his brown eyes wide. “We’ve squeaked out games before – I know I’ve been a part of all of ‘em. The blowouts are the aberrations to me.”

The veteran linebacker knows better than almost every other player in the New England locker room what it takes to tip the scales of victory into the Patriots’ favor and has been a part of tight games throughout his dozen years with the team.

He also knows that championship teams are forged through victories like these.

That is a feeling shared by Asante Samuel, who was the star of the game for New England, running back an interception on the Eagles’ first possession to give the Patriots an early 7-0 lead, and ending a potentially dangerous drive at the end of the game with an end zone pick.

“I know what it feels like, a lot of us know what it feels like to pull it through at the end,” he said. “It was kind of close but we never gave up. We never give up.”

Samuel received the ultimate compliment from coach Bill Belichick after the game: Without Samuel’s two interceptions, Belichick said, “I don’t know if we’d have won. Probably not.”

The franchise cornerback picked off Eagles’ starter A.J. Feeley on the third play of the game, plucking Feeley’s wobbly ball and running it back 40 yards for his fifth interception and first touchdown of the season.

The free-agent-to-be – New England has agreed not to franchise him again in 2008 if the team wins 12 games or if he plays in 60 percent of the defensive snaps – then ended a successful drive for the Eagles, who had picked up 58 yards in seven plays. On second-and-4 from the New England 29 and around four minutes left to play, Feeley looked to the end zone rather than trying to run down some clock or get close enough for an easy game-tying field goal.

Whether it was a bad read by Feeley or a bad route by receiver Kevin Curtis, the ball was thrown way over Curtis’ head and Samuel was there at the back of the end zone for the touchback.

Samuel’s now-infamous tattoo may not actually say “Get Rich,” but the cornerback certainly is going to be just that after his performance last night.

“Asante, to me, is the best corner in the league,” Rodney Harrison said. “Week in and week out, he makes plays.”

Before Samuel’s second interception basically sealed the game, the surprising play of Feeley had been the story of the night.

Though Feeley ended the night with three interceptions (James Sanders picked him off at the end of the game), anyone who came here to Gillette Stadium thinking of all the ways the New England defense would pick apart the Eagles offense with him at the helm wound up being disappointed.

Making his first start since Dec. 26, 2004 with Donovan McNabb suffering from both ankle and thumb injuries, Feeley was efficient and decisive for much of the game, spreading the ball around to eight different receivers and completing nearly two-thirds of his passes.

One of the biggest wins in Feeley’s seven-year career, much of it spent as a backup, came against the Patriots, a 29-28 come-from-behind Monday Night Football win on Dec. 20, 2004 when he was with the Dolphins. Miami scored twice in four minutes in that game, and Tom Brady forced a throw as he was being sacked that was intercepted and led to the game-winning score.

Clearly Feeley was channeling those good vibes again last night.

“I thought he did a heck of a job,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “I know he threw a few picks there, (but) he stayed aggressive, got the ball out fast and made a couple plays down at the end there. He took a shot at the end and gave it everything he had on that last one and (Samuel) snagged it. He stayed aggressive and stayed competitive.”

But when Feeley needed to be at his best, it was the New England defense that was at its best, as has been the case so many times before.

The Patriots, though, were more than willing to give Philadelphia credit for its play. The Eagles’ defense, led by coordinator Jim Johnson did a good job in getting pressure on Brady, and their West Coast offense was run with a crispness that had the Pats on their heels.

“When there’s pressure, you can’t sit back there and hold the ball and we knew that. They hit us with some blitzes we hadn’t seen from them,” receiver Donte Stallworth said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be one of those games we’ve been fortunate to play (this season).”

No aberration here, just a nice, “normal” win for New England.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:26 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Little Wes Welker Comes Up Huge For Patriots

BY JIM DONALDSON
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO – Little Wes Welker continues to come up, not just big, but huge, for the New England Patriots.
The Pats would not still be undefeated this morning if not for what Welker did last night in a surprisingly tough, 31-28, victory over the Eagles in which New England trailed heading into the fourth quarter, and Philly had the ball inside the Patriots’ 30-yard line in the final four minutes.
Although he didn’t score a touchdown, Welker made six catches in the second half for first downs – three of them on the Pats’ game-winning drive.
With the Patriots passing on almost every play throughout the game, the Eagles blitzed Tom Brady almost as often.
Forced frequently to get rid of the ball quickly, Brady repeatedly threw to the quick and elusive Welker, who consistently found open areas in the Philadelphia secondary.
It wasn’t just that the 5-9, 185-pound Welker had career highs in both receptions (13) and yards (149) that was most impressive, it was the situations in which he caught them.
Of his seven catches in the second half, six of them were for first downs, and four of those came with the Patriots throwing on third down, needing a completion to retain possession.
“I found him a bunch,” Brady said. “He did a great job of getting open.”
Welker’s performance was reminiscent of another undersized Patriots receiver who has made clutch catches throughout his career – popular veteran Troy Brown, who has been on the Physically Unable to Perform list throughout this, his 15th season in New England.
“They’re very similar-type players – great quickness, great awareness, smart, great hands,” Brady said last night. “They’re both great leaders.
“They have a lot of similar qualities. They’re both 5-7, or 5-8, or whatever they are. They’re very nifty in the slot, very comfortable. It’s a great matchup for us.”
Actually,.Welker against the Philadelphia secondary was more of a mismatch.
His 13 catches tied the club record for receptions in a non-overtime game. Deion Branch had 13 at San Diego in 2002 and Terry Glenn caught 13 at Cleveland in 1999. Brown holds the team mark for catches in a game with 16, set in an overtime win over Kansas City in 2002.
What Welker lacks in height, he more than makes up for in quickness and savvy. He knows how to get open, rarely drops a ball that’s thrown his way, and has a knack for eluding tacklers after making the catch and picking up extra yards.
He’s also modest. Rather than talking about his own considerable accomplishments last night, Welker preferred to talk about the way Brady threw the ball in the face of repeated blitzes by the relentless Philly pass rushers.
“They gave us a lot of different looks,” Welker said. “You have to hand it to the Eagles, the way they played. But Tom never loses his poise. He’s always on top of things.”
The Eagles were determined to put as much pressure on Brady as possible.
“We blitzed quite a bit,” said Philly’s defensive coordinator, Jim Johnson. “At times, we covered well and, other times, we didn’t cover as well as we would have liked. But at least we were getting pressure.
“They went a lot with four wide receivers. We felt that, anytime they did that, we would pressure them. Basically, that was our game plan. We felt that, every chance we had, we had to bring pressure. Even if we didn’t get to (Brady), we had to throw off his timing and move him around in the pocket.”
The Eagles did that, but Brady still was able to find Welker, threading his way through the Eagles’ secondary.
“He’s tough on all that underneath stuff,” Philly head coach Andy Reid said of Welker. “He’s got great quickness.”

jdonalds@projo.com / 401-277-7340

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 1:20 AM to Wes Welker | Permalink | Comments 0

Jabar Gaffney has a breakout game

By ROBERT LEE
JOURNAL SPORTS WRITER

FOXBORO – After last season’s explosive performances in the playoffs where he led New England in receptions and receiving yards (21 catches, 244 yards, two touchdowns), becoming the only player in NFL history to record back-to-back playoff games with eight or more catches for 100 or more yards in the same postseason, Jabar Gaffney figured this would be his breakout season.

Unfortunately for him, the Patriots signed five-time Pro Bowler Randy Moss, and talented receivers Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth in the offseason, and Gaffney has gotten lost in the shuffle as the Patriots fourth receiver.

Last night it became clear that Tom Brady has not lost confidence in him.

Gaffney caught a season-high six passes for 87 yards and a touchdown to help the Patriots defeat the Eagles, 31-28.

“It always feels good to beat the team that you were with and being able to catch a touchdown and make some key grabs felt real good,” said Gaffney, who was signed by the Eagles in March of 2006 before being released by them in September of 2006.

Gaffney grabbed five of his catches in the first half for 71 yards and a touchdown. He hauled-in a 32-yard grab on the Patriots first possession of the game which helped set up a one-yard Heath Evans touchdown run.

“We needed a few yards and I just went down the middle and [Brady] put it up there and I was able to go up and grab it,” Gaffney said. “It was a nice ball, real nice.”

Gaffney’s 32-yard catch was his longest of the season and his second-longest since joining the Patriots in 2006, trailing only a 33-yard catch against the New York Jets on Dec. 12, 2006.

Gaffney’s final catch of the first half was a 19-yard reception in the back of the end zone that helped give New England a 24-21 lead with eight seconds in the half.

The reception shifted the momentum of the game into New England’s favor and it was his 10th career touchdown catch. It was his first touchdown since scoring against Buffalo on Sept. 23. Gaffney now has nine catches for 131 yards and a touchdown in his last two games.

Gaffney’s father Derrick played in 100 games over eight seasons as a wide receiver for the Jets (1978-84, 1987).

Posted by Rob Lee  at 1:16 AM to Jabar Gaffney | Permalink | Comments 1

Asante Samuel shines in Pats win

By ROBERT LEE
JOURNAL SPORTS WRITER

FOXBORO – Asante Samuel played like a franchise defensive back last season, intercepting an NFL-best 10 passes during the regular season and then two more passes in the playoffs.

So with a new contract looming, Samuel figured he would cash in like San Francisco cornerback Nate Clemens did. Clemens signed an eight year, $80 million contract this season.

Instead, the Patriots slapped him with the franchise tag. He waited until Aug. 28 to sign his one-year, $7.79 million contract – more than a month after training camp began.

Despite missing training camp, Samuel never missed a beat when the regular season arrived. He entered last night’s game leading the team in interceptions (four) and passes defensed (12), while often covering the opposing teams’ best wide receiver.

Last night against Philadelphia, Samuel intercepted his fifth and sixth passes of the season. The first came on the Eagles third play from scrimmage. He ran the pick back 40 yards for a touchdown.

“It was a quick drop,” Samuel said. “[Philadelphia quarterback AJ Feeley] tried to throw it out to [Brian] Westbrook and I just read it and broke on it. I saw him behind me a little bit so I had to try to speed it up a little bit and scored a touchdown.”

Samuel’s second interception ended a potential Philadelphia game-winning drive when he hauled-in a Feeley pass in the back of the end zone with 3:52 remaining in the game as New England held on to defeat Philadelphia, 31-28.

“I tracked it and I made sure that [Philadelphia receiver Kevin Curtis] was not coming up on me and I’m saying, `don’t drop this ball. This could win the game,” Samuel said. “That’s all I did. I tried to play the ball good, stayed focused and caught it.”

Samuel said that he was surprised that Feeley challenged him again after he nearly picked him off six plays earlier and returned it for a touchdown. Samuel, however, dropped the interception.

“I was kind of upset about that one,” Samuel said. “I dropped it. It was another touchdown but I made up for it.”

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said that without Samuel’s two interceptions the Patriots might not have won the game.

“He came up with a couple of big plays,” Belichick said. “He got us to a good start and of course on the deep ball at the end there he just had good position on the receiver. Asante has great hands, good instincts and he doesn’t let too many get through his hands. That’s really what a good playmaker in the secondary does – they catch the ball well and they’re able to turn those mistakes by the quarterback into turnovers instead of just foul balls and batted down [balls].

“He’s been very good at that since he’s been here and obviously did a good job of it tonight. Those two big plays, I don’t know if we’d have won without them. Probably not.”

“That’s a great compliment coming from my coach,” Samuel said. “I’m just out here trying to make plays for my team and to help my team win.”

Samuel’s interception return for a touchdown was his first touchdown of the season and his third interception return for a touchdown in the regular-season which ranks third on the Patriots’ all-time list, trailing only Ty Law (6) and Tedy Bruchi (4).

It was also his team-leading 21st of his regular-season career, tying him with Don Webb for 10th place on the Patriots’ all-time list. Samuel has also returned three interceptions for touchdowns in 11 postseason games. Samuel’s combined six interceptions returned for touchdowns rank second in franchise history to Ty Law’s seven.

“I’ve said it before, Asante, to me, he’s the best corner in the league,” fellow defensive back Rodney Harrison said. “Week in and week out he proves it. He makes plays and that’s what guys do that are the best. He makes plays all over the field. Two picks, what can you say, he’s a baller.”

Samuel agreed with Harrison’s statement, saying that he is the best cornerback in the league.

“No doubt about it,” Samuel said. “I always believed that in my mind and that’s how I feel. I never brag about it. I’m a humble guy…but I do feel that way.”

In addition to his two interceptions, Samuel made three tackles and had three passes defensed.

Samuel gives a lot of credit for his success to the Patriots coaching staff.

“The coaches do a great job. They get us well-prepared for the game. They tell us what to expect and I pay attention. Once they tell us what to do it’s our job to go out there and make the plays and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Posted by Rob Lee  at 12:47 AM to Asante Samuel | Permalink | Comments 0

Scoring record

Laurence Maroney's 4-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter not only regained the lead for the Patriots, 31-28, but also enabled the Pats to set a franchise record for points scored in a season -- 442, with five games still remaining.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 11:11 PM to Laurence Maroney | Permalink | Comments 0

Photo: Feeling the heat

Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson
Philadelphia quarterback A.J. Feeley is pressured by Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats Trail

When the Eagles scored on their fourth, long touchdown drive 13:36 into the third quarter to take a 28-24 lead, it marked the latest that the undefeated Patriots have trailed in a game this season.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Gostkowski Misses

When second-year kicker Stephen Gostkowski hooked a 32-yard field-goal attempt wide left late in the third quarter, it was only his second miss of the season in 14 attempts. He'd made a 23-yarder in the second quarter.

Earlier, the Pats had a touchdown taken off the board when Randy Moss was called for offensive pass interference in the end zone.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Maroney finally gets the ball, but no yards

FOXBORO -- Laurence Maroney finally got his first carry of the game, four minutes into the second half, but didn't gain any yards and promptly went to the sidelines. He did return to the field, however, after Brady scrambled for a first down at the NE 22.

-- JIM DONALDSON

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 10:12 PM to Laurence Maroney | Permalink | Comments 0

A score of Patriots have scored TDs in '07

FOXBORO -- Asante Samuel became the 20th -- that's right, 20th -- New England player to score a touchdown this season when he returned an interception 40 yards for a score in the opening minutes against the Eagles.

He joins Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Benjamin Watson, Sammy Morris, Donte Stallworth, Kyle Brady, Tom Brady, Kyle Eckel, Ellis Hobbs, Mike Vrabel, Willie Andrews, Matt Cassel, Rosevelt Colvin, Heath Evans, Kevin Faulk, Jabar Gaffney, Randall Gay, Laurence Maroney, and Adalius Thomas in getting into the end zone for the Patriots.

The NFL record for most players scoring in a season is 21, shared by the 2000 Denver Broncos and the 1987 Los Angeles Rams.

-- JIM DONALDSON

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

No running game for Patriots

FOXBORO -- Of the Patriots' 207 net yards in the first half, only 13 came on the ground, and 12 of those were on a scramble by QB Tom Brady. The Pats' only "real" carry was a 1-yard TD plunge by FB Heath Evans.

-- JIM DONALDSON

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Photo: Brady at the helm

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Tom Brady sets up a play at the line of scrimmage during the first half.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:48 PM to Tom Brady | Permalink | Comments 0

Points aplenty for Philly

BY JIM DONALDSON
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- With 21 points in the first 27 minutes, the Eagles already have scored more points against New England than 8 of the Patriots' previous 10 opponents did in entire games.

Oddly, it is the winless Dolphins who have scored the most points against the Pats -- 28. The Cowboys scored 27. New England won those games, 49-28 and 48-27. The high-scoring Colts were held to 20 in the Patriots' 24-20 victory at Indianapolis, which was undefeated at the time.

The Pats have appeared defenseless against Philly, which is led by backup QB A.J. Feeley, playing in place of the oft-injured Donovan McNabb. The Eagles' scoring drives have covered 77, 78, and 68 yards.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

No Maroney, no huddle

FOXBORO -- Finally getting on the field with 6:38 to play in the first quarter, the New England offense proceeded to score on its first possession for the 10th time in 11 games, driving 78 yards in 10 plays, culminating in a 1-yard touchdown run by Heath Evans.

The Patriots now have scored a league-high 58 points the first time they've had the football through 11 games this season.

Coming on after the Eagles had tied the score with a 14-play, 77-yard drive that consumed 7 minutes, the Patriots went without a huddle -- and a running back -- on their opening drive, until they brought in Evans at the goal line.

Keeping Laurence Maroney, injured last Sunday night in Buffalo, on the bench on their opening drive, the Pats instead went with five receivers -- primarily Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney and Kevin Faulk.

-- JIM DONALDSON

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Stopped 'em again

FOXBORO -- Not only did it take the Patriots just 1:22 to take a 7-0 lead -- Asante Samuel picking off a pass from A.J. Feeley intended for Philly running back Brian Westbrook and returning it 40 yards for a touchdown -- but they also extended their streak as the only team in the NFL not to have allowed any points to an opponent on the first possession of the game.

-- JIM DONALDSON

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 8:26 PM to Asante Samuel | Permalink | Comments 0

Hot at home (and on the road, too)

FOXBORO -- The undefeated, 10-0, Patriots take a 13-game, regular-season winning streak into tonight's meeting with the 5-5 Eagles.

It began with a 40-7 rout of Houston on Dec. 17, 2006, and is the second-longest winning streak in franchise history, behind only their NFL-record, 18 straight regular-season wins in 2003-04.

That skein was part of an overall, 21-game winning streak that included three victories in the 2003 postseason, highlighted by a dramatic, 32-29 win over Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

-- JIM DONALDSON

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Photo: Welker warms up

Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson
Wes Welker catches a pass during pregame warmups at Gillette Stadium.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 7:57 PM to Wes Welker | Permalink | Comments 0

Prime time players

BY JIM DONALDSON
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- Bill Parcells, who owns a home in Saratoga because he enjoys spending time at the track in the summer, once named one of his racehorses Sunday At One -- the time NFL teams start most of their games.

If Patriots owner Robert Kraft ever gets into the thoroughbred racing game, he'll have to name his first horse Nighttime.

Or, perhaps, Prime Time.

With last Sunday's switch of the Bills game in Buffalo from 1 o'clock to 8:15 to accommodate NBC, the Pats reached the league maximum of six prime-time telecasts, including next Monday night's game at Baltimore, and their season-ending, Saturday night game against the Giants at the Meadowlands.

The Patriots haven't played a game at 1 o'clock since Oct. 21, at Miami. Tonight is the second of three straight night games for New England, which previously played two straight games that started at 4:15.

They also host the Steelers at 4:15 on Dec. 9, then are scheduled for back-to-back, 1 o'clock kickoffs in Foxboro against the Jets and Dolphins, although both of those games are subject to the NFL's new flex-scheduling adjustments and could be moved to 4:15.

Even if those games do kickoff at 1, the Patriots still will have had only six games all season start at that time.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 7:41 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Infrequent visitors

FOXBORO -- This is the first time the Eagles have come to Foxboro for a regular-season game in 20 years. The last time Philly played at New England was in 1987, when the Pats lost in overtime, 34-31.

Carolina now has the longest streak without a visit to Foxboro, dating back to 1995. The Panthers are scheduled to come to town in the 2009 season.

-- JIM DONALDSON

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Game inactives

For the Patriots:

QB Matt Gutierrez - third QB
WR Chad Jackson
S Mel Mitchell
DB Eugene Wilson
G Wesley Britt
G Billy Yates
DL Le Kevin Smith
DL Kareem Brown

For the Eagles:

QB Donovan McNabb
S Quintin Mikell
RB Tony Hunt
G Max Jean-Gilles
DT Kimo von Oelhoffen
G Scott Young
DE Victor Abiramiri
DT Montae Reagor

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:02 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

AFC East champs -- again

Hey all --

Welcome to a chilly Gillette Stadium, where we get to share some news: thanks to Buffalo losing in Jacksonville earlier today, the Patriots have won their fifth straight AFC East division championship.

By clinching in the 11th week of the season, New England shares the mark for earliest to clinch since the NFL went to a 16-game season in 1978. The 1985 Bears, '97 49ers and 2004 Eagles also won their respective divisions in week 11.

Inside the stadium, Mike Vrabel is, as always, among the players going through early warmups. Vrabel is in his game pants and a long-sleeve shirt running the length of the field. Punter Chris Hanson and kicker Stephen Gostkowski are warming up together as well.

We'll have more as it gets closer to game time, including the inactives.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats win AFC East for fifth straight season

Buffalo's loss to Jacksonville enabled the Patriots to clinch their fifth consecutive AFC East title before they'd even taken the field for tonight's game against Philadelphia . . . and, indeed, before many of the players had even arrived at Gillette Stadium.

The Pats tied the earliest division clinch since the NFL established the 16-game regulat-season schedule in 1978. Three teams also clinched their division during the weekend of the 11th game since '78 -- the 1985 Bears, the 1997 49ers and the 2004 Eagles.

No team in history had ever won five straight AFL/AFC East titles prior to this year.

The Pats now won have 11 division titles in their history -- 1963, 1978, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. They also made the playoffs as a wild-card in 1976, 1982, 1985, 1994 and 1998.

Posted by Art Martone  at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pass patterns and traffic patterns

BY JIM DONALDSON
Journal Sports Writer

When it comes to pass patterns, the New England Patriots are brilliant.

When it comes to traffic patterns...not so much.

Not since the infamous opening day of the old Schaefer Stadium has traffic been worse along Route 1 on game days in Foxboro than it has been this season. And now, today, Patriots fans also will have to deal with shoppers driving to the Family Kraft's retail outlets in the shadow of the stadium.

Why anyone would fight game-day traffic to go shopping is beyond me. Then again, so is getting up at 4 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving to shop. I could see getting up at 4 a.m. to get in line for a tee time at Bethpage Black, but not to get a Christmas gift for Uncle Al.

Nevertheless, there doubtless will be hordes of determined shoppers further clogging the already overcrowded roads and further complicating what has been a slow, frustrating, and generally unpleasant commute to Gillette Stadium.

I'm planning on leaving for the game at the ridiculously early hour of 3 p.m., in hopes of settling into the press box in time to watch the 4 o'clock games. Which means I could be nodding off by the time the Pats and Eagles kickoff, shortly after 8. Or by the time the Patriots open up a 21-0 lead. Which also is likely to be shortly after 8.

For fans from Providence going to the game, I suggest that, once you get to Route 1, you stay in the two LEFT lanes, which move more quickly than the two right lanes (which provide entrance into the new shopping mall) and will lead you to the large new lot across the road from the stadium, from which I've been told post-game exiting is surprisingly efficient.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

McNabb, Mikell out for Eagles

Philadelphia has downgraded quarterback Donovan McNabb (ankle, thumb) and safety Quintin Mikell (knee) from doubtful to out for tomorrow night's game in Foxboro.

With McNabb on the bench, the Eagles will turn to A.J. Feely to start under center.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Friday injury report: And then there was one

The Patriots released their Friday injury/participation report, and only one player was listed: Tom Brady.

Brady, as he has every week for more than four seasons, is listed as probable-right shoulder. He is listed as having limited participation in practice today.

Jarvis Green, who practiced this afternoon for the first time this week, has been removed from the report.

For the Eagles, quarterback Donovan McNabb (ankle, thumb) and safety Quintin Mikell (knee) are listed as doubtful and did not practice; tackle William Thomas (illness) did not practice and is questionable; receivers Jason Avant (groin) and Kevin Curtis (thigh), safety Brian Dawkins (thigh), guard Todd Herremans (knee), corner William James (foot), and linebacker Takeo Spikes (hamstring) all had full participation and are probable.

Curtis and Spikes are new additions to the report.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:21 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

VIDEO: Pats get the nod in AP's NFL weekend preview

See Dave Lubeski's NFL preview, leading with the Pats and Eagles, here. (2:08 in duration)

Posted by Art Martone  at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice peek: perfect attendance

Hey all --

The Patriots are practicing inside Gillette Stadium today, where it is quite chilly and very windy, and provides the opportunity for the kicking team especially to prepare for possible similar conditions on Sunday night.

There is perfect attendance on the field, meaning defensive lineman Jarvis Green returned after missing the last two days with an ankle injury. It is the first time since Oct. 4 that all of the players on the 53-man roster were present at practice.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:56 PM to Jarvis Green | Permalink | Comments 0

Thursday participation report

Happy Thanksgiving!!

The Patriots held practice this morning, and have a shortened participation report:

Did Not Participate
DL Jarvis Green - ankle

Limited Participation
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder

**Adalius Thomas (did not participate, team decision), Stephen Neal (limited participation, shoulder) and Eugene Wilson (limited participation, ankle) were on yesterday's list.

UPDATE
For the Eagles:

Did Not Practice
QB Donovan McNabb - ankle, thumb
S Quintin Mikell - knee

Limited Participation
T William Thomas - illness

Full Participation
WR Jason Avant - groin
FS Brian Dawkins - thigh
LS Jon Dorenbos - abdomen
G Todd Herremans - knee
CB William James - foot
DT Mike Patterson - ankle
RB Brian Westbrook - knee

** Thomas was upgraded, as he did not practice Wednesday; also, linebacker Omar Gaither (back) is removed from the list.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Wednesday participation report

For the Patriots:

Did Not Participate
DL Jarvis Green - ankle
LB Adalius Thomas - team decision

Limited Participation
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder
G Stephen Neal - shoulder
S Eugene Wilson - ankle

**Despite returning to practice for the first time in a month, Eric Alexander (knee) is not on the list; also note that Kevin Faulk (concussion) and Laurence Maroney (foot) are not on the list.

For the Eagles:

Did Not Participate
QB Donovan McNabb - ankle, thumb
S Quintin Mikell - knee
T William Thomas - illness

Full Participation
WR Jason Avant - groin
FS Brian Dawkins - thigh
LS Jon Dorenbos - abdomen
LB Omar Gaither - back
G Todd Herremans - knee
CB William James - foot
DT Mike Patterson - ankle
RB Brian Westbrook - knee

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Moss named AFC Offensive Player of the Week

Randy Moss has been named AFC Offensive Player of the week for the second consecutive game.

Moss had 10 catches for 128 yards and four first-half touchdowns in New England's 56-10 win in Buffalo on Sunday. His four TDs were a single-game franchise record and pushed his season total to 16, which is a single-season franchise record.

Moss was also honored after the Pats' win in Indianapolis two weeks ago.

It is his sixth such honor in his 10-year career and the seventh time this season that a New England player has been named player of the week on offense, defense or special teams.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:11 PM to Randy Moss | Permalink | Comments 0

Transcript of Bill Belichick's Wednesday press conference

We’re on to the Eagles today. We’ve had a couple of days after the late night Sunday to get on Philadelphia and, as usual, they seem to be playing their best football this time of year, November and December, like they always do. Andy [Reid] I think does a terrific job. I have an awful lot of respect for him and the job that he does down there, and the entire organization. They’ve been a consistent winner for a number of years and we’ve kind of played them on a regular basis there in preseason for awhile and haven’t seen them for a little bit, but they have a lot of familiar faces, a lot of great players, some of the best players in the league that have been around for awhile and know how to win. Certainly [there is] a veteran core there and then they’ve supplemented that with both some young players and some guys that have come on to the team recently, like [Takeo] Spikes and [Kevin] Curtis, guys like that that they’ve added on to the roster that have continued to make them strong. They definitely can run the ball; they can stop the run. Defensively they’re excellent in the red area and on the goal line, as they usually are. They’re usually right up there at the top of the league defensively and they are in a number of categories. The red area, of course, is outstanding. I think Jimmy Johnson does an outstanding job. I’ve known him for a long time and I have tremendous respect for what he does on the defensive side of the ball. They’ve got some very experienced players and they also have a very good scheme. They’re a hard team to get ready for. We’re going to need all of the preparation time we can get to handle what they do offensively. Of course, Andy runs the west coast system. They’ve been running it for a long time. There’s a lot of consistency there. They certainly know what to do and how to handle different defensive schemes. They handle them well. They can run it and they can stop the run. It’s a veteran, proven team and I think that they know how to win at this time of year. They’ve been doing it for a long time. That’s what we’re looking forward to this week. We have a lot of work to do and we’ll need to be on top of things on Sunday night.

What’s the greatest change in the Eagles from the last time you played them, in the Super Bowl?
I don’t think the scheme has changed a lot. They have a very extensive scheme. I don’t mean to say that it’s just very simplistic -- That’s not the case at all. It’s very extensive, but it’s still the same comprehensive scheme that they’ve had and a lot of the key players are there - [Donovan] McNabb, [Brian] Westbrook, L.J. Smith, [Juqua] Thomas, [Jon] Runyan and defensively [Brian] Dawkins and [Lito] Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, guys like that. [David] Akers. There’s a lot of players that are constants. They’ve got some new players that are in there one way or another, whether they be draft choices or whether it be, again, guys they’ve brought in like Curtis and Spikes and players like that. I think it’s a combination of the old and the new. The scheme’s kind of what we’ve seen before, but there are some new players and we’ll have to be ready for them, so I guess that will be the biggest change. The two coordinators, in essence Andy and Jimmy, that has been pretty consistent.

I know they have the normal offensive scheme that they would normally use, but how different would it be with a [A.J.] Feeley running it verses a McNabb running it, because you don’t know that this week?
As always, we’ll be ready for both of them. Feeley beat us down there in Miami a couple years ago, so we have a lot of respect for him and a lot of respect for McNabb. They’re both outstanding quarterbacks. They both can run the system and Feeley got in there and ran it last week in Miami after McNabb went out. He played it very well. I think that they can keep it rolling no matter who’s in there. Again, it’s such a well-oiled system and they’ve had a lot of continuity. They have a very experienced offensive line, a very good offensive line, certainly one of the best offensive lines in the league, so they can pretty much keep it rolling probably with just about anybody in there. Just like they did last year when they plugged in [Jeff] Garcia. It seems it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is. They seem to be able to move the ball pretty effectively, and I think that’s a credit to not only the quarterback and the coaching but the entire offensive unit.

Trent Cole is not nearly a household name but he’s done a good job of getting to the quarterback. What’s distinctive about him?
Well, he does more than just get to the quarterback. He plays end very well. They’re a very active front up there. He’s got good quickness. [He’s] a little bit undersized compared to some ends, but he’s quick, he’s active, he’s very instinctive. Guys that overset him or don’t get out there quite on top of him like they need to, if there’s just a little bit of a mistake there by the tackle or by the tight end, whoever is standing there to block him, he has the quickness and explosiveness to get on the edge and make you pay for it. He has a lot of negative plays in the running game. He’s a disruptive pass-rusher. Thomas, [Jevon] Kearse on the other side, whoever it is, both of them - I think Kearse played very well early in the year. I know he hasn’t been playing as much lately, but he’s been productive for them this year. [Darren] Howard in passing situations coming inside, [Brodrick] Bunkley is an outstanding player. He has a lot of power. They play a lot of guys on the defensive front and they’re pretty good.

Why is Brian Westbrook such a difference-maker in their offense?
He does everything well. He’s just an outstanding player. He’s got great quickness, he’s a hard guy to tackle out in space, he’s very good on screen passes and out of the backfield. He’s obviously got good hands. He’s a good inside runner, he has good vision, good balance and good speed. Just like in the Washington game, he took a screen pass, got a key block from [Shawn] Andrews and went whatever it was, 50-some yards and that’s the difference in the game, so it doesn’t take much from him. He’s had great production in the return game for them, even though they haven’t used him as much on that this year, but in the past. So he’s very good in space, he’s got good vision and good power in the inside running game. He’s leading the league in production from the line of scrimmage. He does it in a lot of different ways. That’s what makes him hard to defend - he’s pretty good at everything.

Do you see similarities between Brian Dawkins and Rodney Harrison?
I mean, they’re both good players. Dawkins is a real good player. He’s been very productive for the Eagles. [He’s a] kid who was drafted there and played his whole career there. [He’s had] interceptions, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, good blitzer, good in the deep part of the field, good at man-to-man coverage, good in zone coverage, good down closer to the line when he does play down there, even though [Sean] Cosidine and [Quintin] Mikell and now even [J.R.] Reed, he’s been mainly the free safety, but there’s plenty of times when he plays down close to the line of scrimmage. I think he can do it all and he’s been very productive for them. Again, they [have] a very complex defensive scheme. They do a lot of - they have a lot of different schemes and I’m sure he’s a big part of getting that coordinated, getting everybody on the same page and executing. He’s an outstanding player. [Their] corners are good, too.

For years McNabb was more or less the face of that offence. Is Westbrook now the face of that offense?
No, they have a lot of good players. They have Curtis, they have Brown, L.J. Smith, who must be averaging 50 receptions a year for the last three or four years, they have a couple of big receivers - [Jason] Avant, [Hank] Basskett, those guys are big guys. Greg Lewis - he’s killed us before. They have a good receiving corps, they have good tight ends [and] they have good backs. [Correll] Buckhalter has come in there and given them a lot of production in the running back position when Westbrook was out. He’s a hard-nosed, tough guy that has a lot of positive plays, returns kicks for them, so I think they’re a well-balanced offense and it starts on the offensive line. You look at Thomas and Runyan and those guys - it seems like they’ve been there forever. And Andrews, he’s the best guard we’ve played against all year. I mean, this guy is really good. You talk about go-to guys [for] running backs and receivers and all of that - Andrews is a go-to guy. [When] you need yards, you run behind Andrews. You’ll get them. I mean, this guy is really a good player. They’re a well-balanced offense. They’re no one-man band. And they have a good scheme and they know what they’re doing. Andy is a good coach. He knows how to spread the ball around, he knows how to attack defenses. They move the ball.

Can you make a comparison between a player you’ve coached in the past and Heath Evans, in terms of the way one week he can be a lead blocker and the next week it might be running the ball, and he’s also fast enough to be out on coverages?
[Tommy] Vardell was similar to that in Cleveland before he got hurt. He probably had a couple of 100 yard games and was good on special teams, caught the ball well, was a good runner. And then he got hurt so it was never quite the same after that, but…Heath’s a versatile guy for us. He can play on third down, he can play on early downs, he can play on fourth down.

Is that unique or is it less unique than it would have been in the past because, as you’ve talked about, that traditional fullback isn’t really that prevalent in the league anymore?
When I came into the league in the 70’s and then even into the 80’s, the fullback and halfback, the carries were kind of evenly balanced. You had Franco Harris and Rocky Blier. You had fullbacks that carried the ball - [Larry] Csonka and [Jim] Kiick - all of those combinations - [Jim] Taylor and [Paul] Horning. I mean, that was a little before that, but I’m just saying that there was a time when - Before the I-formation you had some type of flat-backs, either away from the tight end, to the tight end or split backs. And the carries were kind of equally split between those two positions. And the halfbacks blocked for the fullbacks and the fullbacks blocked for the halfbacks. That’s kind of what Heath is. Heath can block, Heath can carry the ball. He would be a natural fullback for the offenses of the 60’s and 70’s. When teams went to the I-formation then you really, in essence, you put a guard in the backfield and you gave the ball to one guy. In I-formation there’s two backs back there, but it really isn’t a one-back set because the tailbacks get 90 percent of the carries, if not more. And then you get teams that decided, you know, like when Joe Gibbs and went to Washington, [Don] Coryell system and all of that, they said, well, look, why put another basically lineman back there who’s a big - you know, like [Jim] Braxton, Maurice Carthon and guys like that who were just kind of pure fullbacks - why put a fullback back there that’s basically a guard in the backfield? Let’s get another tight end or let’s get a more - what they called at H-back. Let’s get a guy who’s got a little more play-making ability. So then those teams became true one-back teams and they didn’t make any bones about it. We’re not going to put a guard back there in the backfield, we’re just going to go to a one-back set. So that’s kind of how the game has evolved. Of course, you watch college football and some teams don’t have any backs in the backfield - teams like Florida and all they have is a quarterback back there. Now you’re back to almost like a single-wing running game, where your quarterback, that’s your runner. It’s just kind of how the game has evolved, but Heath is a lot like the fullbacks from back in, like I said, the 70’s and early 80’s when I came into the league, and prior to that going back into the 60’s.

You mentioned Florida. There’s obviously more college teams going to that spread with just a quarterback in the backfield. Do you think that type of game will ever make it’s way to the NFL or is that strictly a college thing?
I don’t know. There’s times in the NFL where you see just a quarterback in the backfield. There are situations like that. But I mean, you watch the PAC-10 and a lot of times you can watch a whole game and not see two backs in the backfield. It’s empty or it’s the quarterback back there with one other back and three, four, five extended receivers. I mean, I don’t follow college football that closely, but I watch it in the spring when you watch certain teams play and you’re watching players. You watch the PAC-10, you watch…whatever it is out there. The Big West or whatever that conference is. Those teams are in - I don’t know if it’s five receivers, but they have four or five guys spread out over the field the entire game. That’s their goal line offense, too.

Could you see - Oregon has [Dennis] Dixon and Florida has [Tim] Tibow, where the quarterback runs the ball, too - Could you see that in the NFL?
I don’t know. We’ve seen it in Vince Young. The guy had - I don’t know how many yards he had rushing last year but it was quite a few. But I mean, I think when you look at teams like Florida and Oregon, teams like that that do that, their running game really then becomes, it’s like the single-wing. When you run the single-wing, you have an extra blocker. You don’t have a quarterback handing the ball off like you have in a T-formation, so you have a guy carrying it and there’s no wasted guy, which is really what the quarterback is. He hands it off and that’s it, whereas in the single-wing and those kinds of offenses, you pick up an extra guy that they either have to cover or you pick up an extra blocker in the play because you’re not having a quarterback hand the ball off. Really, that’s the essence of the single-wing offense. Everybody is a blocker and you have one ball-carrier. You don’t lose the T-formation quarterback.

What’s your schedule tomorrow for the holiday?
We’ll go a little bit earlier, finish a little bit earlier.

Will you have time to enjoy it?
Yeah, we’ll be done a little bit earlier. We’ll try to take what we do on a normal Thursday and just push it ahead a little bit and then what we don’t get we’ll add on to Friday.

It’s been awhile since you’ve had a Thanksgiving off, hasn’t it?
In the past a lot of times we’ve practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday and then given the players off on Thursday. We probably would have done that this week, but then when the game got moved to Sunday night we didn’t get back here until like 4:00 in the morning Sunday night. We just didn’t feel like we had enough time to prepare, as a staff, for the players to come in on Tuesday. Plus, it was kind of pushing it with them, too. We’ve done it both ways, but that’s what we’re on this week. We’re fine with that. I don’t think I’m going to go hungry, though, if that’s what you’re [worried about]. I don’t look like I’m undernourished, do I?

Will you have some of the coaches or anyone with you?
Well, yeah, I think everybody has kind of family time [and] does their own thing at Thanksgiving. We’ll all be a part of that.

Kelley Washington’s snaps on offense have been really limited. How has he done adjusting to becoming more of a special teams specialist?
Kelley’s always played in the kicking game. I thought he did a good job with that for Cincinnati. He’s done a good job of that for us, and he’s done a good job offensively when he’s been called on to play. I think he unfortunately missed a little bit of time early in the season in training camp and that let some other guys probably get a little bit ahead of him there and they’ve done a good job, but I have a lot of confidence in Kelley. I think he can do whatever - Whatever we’ve asked him to do, he can do it. We have other players that have been productive at that position, too - tight ends and slot receivers and perimeter receivers, but I don’t think there’s anything that he’s been asked to do from a receiver standpoint that he hasn’t shown he can do a good job of, whether it’s play outside, play inside, block, run after catch. We saw him do a lot of those things in preseason. He hasn’t had as many opportunities to do that in a regular season as… He hasn’t had very many opportunities, but I have every confidence that he could do it when he gets the opportunity to, and maybe it will come soon.

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice peek: Wilson, Alexander in; Green, Thomas out

The Patriots are holding their first practice of the week on a wet and very chiily practice field.

As the entry title indicates, Eugene Wilson and Eric Alexander returned to practice today, while Adalius Thomas and Jarvis Green were not spotted.

Kevin Faulk and Laurence Maroney are also on field for the full-pads practice.

Pierre Woods, Bam Childress, Tim Mixon and Santonio Thomas were each in black jerseys as practice player of the week.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Wednesday at the Razor

Hey all --

Injuries to both Kevin Faulk and Laurence Maroney in Sunday's game with Buffalo seemingly left the Patriots precariously thin at running back, but today Maroney said that he's not injured and expects to be available this Sunday against the Eagles.

As for Faulk, who suffered a first-half concussion, he said he'd like to play Sunday but if he doesn't, "you can't be mad about it because it's your health."

Tom Brady did not hold his customary Wednesday press conference.

In his chat, Bill Belichick spoke of the respect he has for Philadelphia coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, and noted that while their scheme is pretty much what it has been since that pair has been with the Eagles, it is a varied system with experienced players.

Belichick praised the Eagles' offensive line (he said right guard Shawn Andrews is the best offensive lineman the Pats have seen this season) and their red-zone defense, which is ranked third in the league.

Practice is being held outdoors today, and we'll give an update on who is and isn't there.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice squad moves

The Patriots today re-signed tight end Jason Rader to their practice squad; to make room for Rader on the eight-man unit, the team released quarterback David Greene.

New England has only two tights ends on its 53-man roster, Benjamin Watson and Kyle Brady.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Patriots re-sign tight end Jason Rader

---The Patriots today re-signed tight end Jason Rader. To make room for him on the roster, New England released quarterback David Greene from the practice squad.

New England only had two tight ends on its roster -- Benjamin Watson and Kyle Brady. Rader adds depth to the position.

From the press release:

Rader, 26, was previously signed to the Patriots practice squad on Sept. 3, 2007. He was placed on the practice squad reserve/injured list on Sept. 25 and was released from the practice squad reserve/injured list on Sept. 30.

The 6-foot-4-inch, 260-pound tight end has played in five career NFL games -- all with the Miami Dolphins in 2006. Rader was originally signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent out of Marshall in 2004. He was waived by Atlanta prior to the 2004 regular season and was signed by the Dolphins on June 13, 2005.

Rader spent eight weeks of the 2005 season on Miami’s practice squad. Last season, Rader split time between Miami’s active roster and practice squad and appeared in five games. He played for the Rhein Fire of the NFL Europe League in the spring of 2005.

Posted by Rob Lee  at 9:04 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Are the Pats running up the score?

With their 56-10 blowout victory over the Bill Sunday night, the debate over the Patriots running up the score has been renewed.

Cornerback Randall Gay said on ESPN Radio’s “GameNight” program that the Patriots are just doing their job and the Patriots shouldn’t be criticized for it.

"Basically, you have to ignore those people because this is a job. We're out there, and what are we supposed to do? Like we scored on defense, when Ellis [Hobbs] caught the fumble, should he have taken a knee because we were up by so much? We're out there to do our job, just like they're out there to do their job. It kind of makes me mad when you hear somebody from the other team's defense going 'they shouldn't have done thatl; that's disrespect.' Do we think it's disrespect when they went and picked up their checks for letting a team score 50 points on them? That should be disrespect, that you went to your owner and said 'All right, pay me for that game I just played.' You can't look at it like that. You have to go out there and do your best. If somebody is blowing you out, you have to play harder. You have to stop them."

Patriots defensive lineman Jarvis Green said on NFL live that he disagreed with Gay’s assessment that the Bills should be embarrassed for picking up their paycheck.

“No, I don’t agree,” Green said when asked if he agreed with Gay’s statement. “The Bills have more football to play. They’re 5-5. They can go out there and turn their season around also to finish up 11-5. What he said was his opinion. They’re competitors. They have been playing us well. We can go back to the year that they beat us 31-0 so it just wasn’t their day, Sunday.”

The Patriots have beaten Buffalo nine times in a row and 14 times in their last 15 tries.

Posted by Rob Lee  at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Madden & Tiki talk Pats

Hey all --

Earlier today, NBC had a conference call with members of its Sunday Night Football crew in advance of this week's New England-Philadelphia game, and as you'd expect, analysts John Madden and Tiki Barber had plenty of things to say about the Patriots.

Following are some quotes from that call on the Pats' dominance:

TIKI ON THE PATS DOMINANCE: "The New England Patriots are showing to be the greatest team that we've seen in a long time. Whether you are rooting for or against them having an undefeated season all the way to the Super Bowl, it is certainly entertaining and exciting to think about them going 19-0 and doing it in the dominating fashion they have been doing it."

MADDEN ON THE PATS DOMINANCE: "I think that New England, especially offensively, is as close to perfect as you can be. I think that they're obviously the best team in the NFL and I think the gap is pretty big."

MADDEN ON WHO IS THE NFL'S SECOND BEST TEAM: "For a long time everyone agreed that it was the Indianapolis Colts. Because of injuries and that they have now, it's probably not. You would probably have to go to Dallas and Green Bay."

MADDEN ON IF BELICHICK SHOULD REST GUYS ONCE PATS CLINCH: "That's going to be the dilemma. Do you go for a championship or do you go for a record? At some point he's going to have to make that decision. Knowing Bill Belichick, I know that championships are going to be more important than records. It's just very, very difficult to see, if you get to that point, where you have everything clinched and in essence it's a meaningless game, to have Tom Brady and Randy Moss and that group out there the whole game."

MADDEN ON PATS PLACE IN HISTORY: "It's the best offense that I've ever seen. Tom Brady is playing the position of quarterback, right now, better than anyone I've ever seen play it. So where are they as the best team, I think offensively, they are right there. The best offensive team that won was the San Francisco 49ers. In my mind, this team, the way they're playing right now, is probably better. I would say that this is the best offensive team that I've ever seen. Again, I'm putting the whole thing together with the offensive line, the receivers, the quarterback, everything. When you go to team, you have to put in defense. Their defense isn't the Pittsburgh Steelers defense; it's not the '85 Bears defense. Historically, when you put everything together, I'm not sure that they're the best team ever. I am sure, in my mind and just my observation, they are the best offensive team that I've ever seen."

MADDEN ON IF THE PATRIOTS ARE HATED AS MUCH AS RAIDERS: "When we played on the road and you knew you were going to get booed, I used to tell my people, 'I don't know if they're going to cheer you or they're going to boo you when you run out onto that field, but I'll tell you this, if they boo you, they respect you and they're afraid of you. If they cheer you, they don't respect you and they're not afraid of you.' I knew they were going to get booed. So when the boos would come I would say, 'Told you, they are scared to death of you.' So you would take that thing and just turn it and make a positive thing out of it, because we led the league in boos. I don't know that they [the Patriots] are hated like that. You can go back to the 'Spygate' thing but when you think of the players, I would think that this team is probably half loved and half hated. I think there's a lot of respect. When you see what Tom Brady is doing, what Randy Moss is doing, Wes Welker, the offensive line, Teddy Brushci, Junior Seau on defense, Richard Seymour, I don't know that people are really against those guys. I had some guys where fans really booed. I mean, they booed the guys. This is the kind of thing where, if they are against them, they're against the organization rather than the players."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Projo PatsTalk, in audio and pictures

Here it is at last, this week's edition of projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza Young. This week, we premiere our new look: PatsTalk in audio and pictures.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

It was a busy day in sports, and there's lots of action on today's sports cover. Shalise Manza Young describes how Bill Belichick continues to drive his Patriots to greatness; Sean McAdam examines the Red Sox' deal with Mike Lowell; and Mike Szostak reports on the firing of URI football coach Tim Stowers.

Download a copy of the page in PDF format

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

See and hear the projo Play of the Week: Hobbs for the score

Back after an absence is the projo Play of the Week. Click the play button below to see Bob Breidenbach's photos of Ellis Hobbs' crazy touchdown run in the fourth quarter, which followed a big hit by fellow defensive back James Sanders. The play didn't do much to determine the outcome, but it ensured that the Patriots matched their franchise record for points in a single game.

Click here to see other Plays of the Week.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:44 AM to Play of the Week | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

It was a stampede. That about sums up the Patriots' devastating win over Buffalo last night, and that story is the highlight of today's sports cover. We also discuss PC's loss to Miami and URI's win over UAB.

Download a copy of the page in PDF format

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Rude comments from Buffalo fans

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- With a New England Patriots victory clearly in hand late in the game Sunday night against the Buffalo Bills, the unbeaten Monster of the AFC East continued to do what it has done all season -- score.

Late in the game the Patriots decided to go for it on a fourth-and-two situation and scored to go up 42-7.

That's when the rude comments started from the Bills fans, calling Brady and his teammates not the nicest of names.

“We hear everything,” Brady responded with a big smile. “It’s not the worst word I’ve ever heard, and I’ve said plain worse than that. Coach says he puts us out there to score every time we touch it, so that’s what we’re trying to do and I think that’s the job description for every offense in the NFL. You score because you’re not out there to punt. . . If our fans ever called us that, then I would be pissed."

Safe to say that will never happen.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 2:24 AM to Tom Brady | Permalink | Comments 3

Record-breaking night

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The first thing Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did after yesterday’s dominating win over the Buffalo Bills was kiss Myra Kraft.

The young stud planted a huge one on the cheek of his boss’s wife before heading into New England’s locker room where the song “Another One Bits the Dust” was blaring.

The feeling of affection is surely reciprocal because Brady is becoming the best quarterback in franchise history, and he took another step toward immortality last night. He completed 31 of 39 passes for 373 yards, including five touchdowns. With his six-yard TD pass to Randy Moss with 6:33 remaining in the second quarter, Brady surpassed former Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan with 183 career touchdown passes to become the franchise leader in that category.

It took Grogan 16 seasons to reach that plateau. It has taken Brady only seven.

Even though Brady is not one to talk about individual accomplishments, he did say it was an honor to be put in the same category with someone with Grogan.

“We have a great history of players for the Patriots,” said Brady. “Every time we take the field (at Gillette Stadium) we see the banners of the history of our team and the players who led the way for us. Hopefully we make those guys proud. I follow in the footsteps of a great quarterback myself in Drew Bledsoe, who taught me how to play quarterback in the NFL. . . Every time I’m around (Grogan) I think he’s a great person. He’s a great representative of the Patriots organization.”

Brady wasn’t alone last night in the history-making class.

First-year teammate and wide receiver Randy Moss caught 10 passes for 128 yards, including four touchdowns. When he grabbed his first TD of the night – a 43-yard reception to give New England a 14-0 lead with 8:04 remaining in the first quarter – he set the new Patriots’ single-season record with his 13th touchdown reception to surpass former receiver Stanley Morgan, who caught 12 in 1979.

Moss wasn’t done.

He finished with three more touchdown catchers to set another franchise mark, the single-game touchdown record of four. It was the first four TD game in team history. Moss is also the first Patriots player to grab at least three TD passes since Ben Coates accomplished that feat on Nov. 26, 1995.

And, it’s only November.

“I’ve never been a fan of records,” said Moss. “I learned at a young age that records are made to be broken, and I’ve never lived for my name in the record books. We have a goal, and that goal is to still be playing in January.”

Every week the Patriots’ offense continues to impress, and yesterday was as a dominating performance as they scored a season-high 56 points. In fact, the scored seven times on their first seven possessions.

So, Moss was asked if he has ever been a part of an offense this dominating, and he quickly pooh-poohed the question for good reason.

“The ’98 Vikings still hold the record for most points in the season,” he answered from first-hand experience.

That record of 556 points by Minnesota in 1998 may not last too much longer as the Patriots have scored 411 in the first 10 games of this season.

Earlier Sunday afternoon, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens caught eight passes for 173 yards, including four touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 28-23 victory over Washington. Moss said he saw the performance, but that didn’t give him any more motivation than he already had heading into his game Sunday night.

“Yeah, I saw it,” he said. “But I don’t get into that. I have a job to do and that’s for me to block and catch balls. To go out there and try to duplicate another receiver, that’s not my game and I’m not going to do that.”

It was a record-setting day for the New England Patriots, one that ended with a kiss. The next time Brady kisses something immediately after a game, it could be another Vince Lombardi Trophy. Then, of course, he’ll pass it over to Moss.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 2:21 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Talking points: The rich get richer

With the San Francisco 49ers losing again and the Jets pulling off their upset of Pittsburgh, two things worked in New England's favor:

* They are now firmly in control for home-field advantage in the playoffs; Indianapolis is 8-2 but New England beat the Colts head-to-head, and Pittsburgh falls to 7-3 with a Dec. 10 date in Foxboro looming. Jacksonville is also 7-3.

* If the season ended today, by virtue of San Francisco's 2-8 record and other factors, the Patriots have the number two pick in next year's draft. Remember that New England traded its second first-round pick in this year's draft (28th overall) to the Niners for their fourth-rounder this year (which was then flipped for Randy Moss) and their first-rounder in '08.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:06 AM | Permalink | Comments 3

Talking points: Hobbs loses his shine

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Ellis Hobbs can light up a room with his smile, but after last night's win -- despite a nifty pluck-and-run that led to a 35-yard fumble-return touchdown -- Hobbs wasn't much in the mood to smile.

As he dressed and talked, the cornerback was frantically looking for his diamond earrings, which are of a substantial size. When asked if he really had lost the earrings, Hobbs replied, "I'm dead serious."

Hobbs was the last player out of the locker room as he looked for the diamonds; it's believed he did not find them.

But he's not the first Boston athlete to lose a pricey earpiece -- Manny Ramirez lost a $10,000 diamond stud sliding into third base playing a rehab game with Pawtucket. Of all places, the game was in Buffalo.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:54 AM to Ellis Hobbs | Permalink | Comments 0

Talking points: Adalius returns

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – During New England’s win in Indianapolis, Adalius Thomas became a football version of “Where’s Waldo?,” as the high-priced free agent linebacker wasn’t spotted too often on the RCA Dome turf.

Was he injured? In the dog house? A rare bust for Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli?

The answers: who knows, who knows, and probably not.

Last night, as New England played a high number of snaps in a 4-3 defense rather than its base 3-4, Thomas got to see a lot of time at outside linebacker, and got to fill out the stat sheet as a result: three tackles for 2 ½ sacks, four quarterback hits and one pass defensed.

"I was just really working," Thomas said of his ability to pressure J.P. Losman. "Anytime you can get a sack early in the game it sets the tone, especially on a long third down, it
gives you some momentum and it gives you a chance to get your offense back
on the field."

After Buffalo picked up 16 yards on its first play of the game, Thomas broke through the line completely unabated and dropped Losman for a nine-yard loss. One play later, on second-and-19, Losman dropped back again, and though he got off the pass, he probably would have preferred another up-close meeting with Thomas: his pass attempt was picked off by Randall Gay, setting up the Pats’ first touchdown.

“He’s a pretty versatile guy,” Bill Belichick said of Thomas. “He’s played inside and outside (linebacker). He does a great job for us. He’s able to do a lot of different things, which helps give our defense some flexibility.”

In all, the Patriots’ defense had four sacks on Losman, with one from Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi getting a half-sack as well.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:53 AM to Adalius Thomas | Permalink | Comments 0

Squib kicks: Another week, another record

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – For Tom Brady, making history has become a near-weekly event this season, and he went into last night’s AFC East matchup with the Bills with a chance to make even more.

With five touchdowns against the Bills, Brady now has 185 in his career, passing New England Hall of Famer Steve Grogan for the franchise career record.

In 16 seasons, Grogan threw 182 touchdowns. Brady is playing his eighth season and seventh as a starter.

Brady also extended his NFL record for consecutive games with three or more passing touchdowns to 10 games; against the Colts, he broke the record of eight games that he was sharing with Indy’s Peyton Manning.

More Brady numbers:
* He is on pace to throw a league-record 61 touchdowns against just six interceptions;
* He is now 32-2 on artificial turf;
* 45-16 on the road;
* 21-2 when the game-time temperature is 40 degrees or below;
* 20-3 when throwing for more than 300 yards;
* 71-3 when leading at halftime and 75-2 when leading after three quarters;
* 47-1 when is passer rating is 100 or better.
*****
One other team record went down last night, as Randy Moss scored four touchdowns, breaking the tie he had with Stanley Morgan after the Colts’ game for the single-season record for receiving touchdowns.

Moss now has 16, passing the record of 12 Morgan set in 1979. With six games to go, he is one away from tying his personal best of 17 scores, which he did in his rookie year, 1998, and in his final season with the Vikings, 2003.

The 30-year old also has a chance to break the single-season league record of 22 TDs, set by Jerry Rice in 1987. Moss is now on pace for 26 touchdowns.

Moss also topped 1,000 receiving yards for the season last night, making him the first Pats’ receiver to do so since Troy Brown in 2001 (1,199 yards on a franchise-record 101 grabs). Moss finished the night with 10 catches for 128 yards, giving him 66 catches for 1,052 yards (15.9 yards per catch).

It is the eighth 1,000-yard season in Moss’ 10-year career.
*****
New England established a new franchise record for total touchdowns in a single season last night, pushing its total to 54 with the eight-TD performance against the Bills.

The previous record was 52, set in 1961 and 1980. The NFL record for most touchdowns by a team is 70, set by the 1984 Miami Dolphins. The Patriots are currently on pace to shatter that record, with 86.
*****
Laurence Maroney's first quarter touchdown was his first of the season, but he is the 19th different player to get into the end zone for New England this season; the league record is 21, set by the 2000 Denver Broncos and 1987 Los Angeles Rams.
*****
The Patriots have now won nine straight games against Buffalo, the team’s third-longest regular-season win streak against an opponent.

Their longest win streak against the same opponent is 11 games, also over the Bills, from Jan. 2, 1983-Dec. 20, 1987. New England beat San Diego in 10 straight meetings from 1973-2001.
*****
Before last night, Buffalo’s record on Sunday Night Football was a league-best 5-0; Green Bay and Philadelphia are both 5-1 under the Sunday night lights.
*****
New England is now 33-9 against the AFC East since 2001, the best intra-divisional record in the NFL over that time – the Steelers are second, at 32-12.

The next best record in the AFC East belongs to the Jets, who are 20-22 in division play over the last six-plus years.
*****
Last night’s game inactives for the Patriots: Matt Gutierrez, third quarterback; safeties Eugene Wilson and Mel Mitchell; linebacker Eric Alexander; offensive linemen Stephen Neal and Wesley Britt; and defensive linemen LeKevin Smith and Kareem Brown.

For the Bills: Gibran Hamdan, third quarterback; running back Marshawn Lynch; tight ends Tim Massaquoi and Ryan Neufeld; linebacker Leon Joe; offensive lineman Christian Gaddis; and defensive linemen Copeland Bryan and Jason Jefferson.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:42 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Game story: Parity? What parity?

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Somewhere, Pete Rozelle must be spinning in his grave.

The longtime late NFL commissioner worked throughout his career to make sure that there would always be parity in the league, that at the start of each season and on any given Sunday, every team would have a chance to win.

And this year, the New England Patriots are making a mockery of Rozelle’s life’s work.

Making everything look easy from the opening snap, the Patriots returned to their dominating ways against the Buffalo Bills, tying the team record for points in a 56-10 embarrassment of their AFC East foe.

While New England’s supremacy this season has taken on an almost absurd quality, Tedy Bruschi said believing that they can be beaten is what drives the Pats.

“I can only tell you how I look at it as a player, and the reason we prepare so hard, I prepare so hard, each week is because of the knowledge that we can get beat each week,” he said.

With an average margin of victory of 24.4 points, the Patriots can make it look easy. But the finished product, Ellis Hobbs noted, is the result of long hours.

“The thing about it is, it’s not that easy,” said Hobbs, who flashed some great hands during a 35-yard fumble return touchdown in the fourth quarter. “You’re just seeing the finished product of hard work. We work hard all through the week.”

In its last game two weeks ago, New England needed 60 minutes to edge Indianapolis, but last night it took all of five plays to announce their intentions against Buffalo: to score often, and to score at will.

The Bills were without rookie running back Marshawn Lynch due to an ankle injury, and lacking their leading rusher, Buffalo became one-dimensional, putting the game almost squarely on the (shaky) right arm of quarterback J.P. Losman.

Losman found Lee Evans for a 16-yard gain on the first snap of the game, but then was dropped for a nine-yard loss by Adalius Thomas. On second-and-19, Losman dropped back, looked downfield for Josh Reed – and found Randall Gay instead.

Gay returned his third interception of the season 21 yards, and New England had 15 more tacked on after that when Bills’ offensive lineman Langston Walker shoved Gay after he had gotten out of bounds.

Starting at the Buffalo 13, Tom Brady hit Jabar Gaffney for a seven-yard gain. Then Laurence Maroney got the ball – an infrequent occurrence for him when the Pats are in a goal-line situation this year – and the middle of the line parted. Maroney ran untouched into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season.

The game was less than three minutes old and already, it seemed, the outcome had been decided.

Parity, as it has on so many Sundays (and one Monday) thus far this season when New England is playing, had taken the day off.

The plucky Bills, who have overcome a devastating Opening Day injury to one of its players and season-ending injuries to 11 others and came into the night on a four-game winning streak and an unblemished record at home on Sunday nights, would have no chance on this night.

No chance to win, and no chance to slow down Randy Moss.

The receiver, in his first season with the Patriots and 10th in the NFL, put up numbers in the first half that many wideouts long for in a game – eight catches, 112 yards and four touchdowns.

Yes, a single-game franchise-record four. In one half. He now has a single-season team record 16 scores in 10 games.

But Moss, who acknowledged after the game that he knew about Dallas’ Terrell Owens also recording four TDs on Sunday – though Owens needed four quarters, not just two – wasn’t all that impressed by his performance.

“I’ve never been a big fan of records. I learned at a young age that records are meant to be broken. I’ve never lived on records or getting my name in the record book,” he said.

Moss, like Brady, also knew where to give a lot of the credit for the passing game’s success.

“The whole offense executed, starting with the offensive line; they gave Tommy time to throw,” said Moss. “The offensive line did their job and it trickled down to everyone else.”

The first of Moss’ touchdowns, like so many of the throws and catches between Brady and Moss this season, was gorgeous, a 43-yard arching bomb on third-and-12. Moss had defensive back George Wilson all turned around, and when the ball came, Wilson was a good three yards from Moss – and facing the wrong way – more than enough space for Moss to work with.

“I saw the flight of the ball and I thought I had a shot at it,” Wilson explained. “But as I went back and jumped, the ball went over my hand and Moss was there in the end zone. It was a tough way to start out on defense.”

Buffalo did breathe life into aging Ralph Wilson Stadium on its next drive, as Losman connected with Roscoe Parrish for a 47-yard touchdown to cut the score to 14-7. Ellis Hobbs fell in coverage and was not able to make a play on the ball.

It was one of the few missteps by a Patriots player all night.

As if his first half weren’t impressive enough, Moss was on the field with the defense on the final play of the half, when Losman dropped back for a Hail Mary.

Not surprisingly, he got his hands on that ball as well, knocking it down to the turf.

Other players got involved in the second half, as Benjamin Watson made a nice catch in the right corner of the end zone, and Kyle Eckel dove over the goal line for his second score of the season.

And Hobbs, who has said he lives for the bright lights of prime time games, made a prime time play in the fourth. Losman completed a short pass to Dwayne Wright, and James Sanders jarred the ball loose knocking Wright out of bounds.

The ball popped up in the air, and Hobbs came down with it, racing 35 yards to the end zone and the Patriots’ eighth touchdown of the night.

Rozelle wanted parity, and he has it – everywhere but in New England.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:19 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Stat of the night

We can't claim this as our own, but it's crazy nonetheless:

The New England Patriots have scored 54 touchdowns this season.

The other three teams in the AFC East have a combined 53.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:37 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Belichick's a player, too

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. _ Bill Belichick’s name will never show up on the final score sheet.

But after the New England Patriots completely dismantled the Buffalo Bills 56-10 Sunday night at Ralph Wilson Stadium, every Patriots player gave their coach more props than usual.

With New England’s victory, the team is 10-0 in 2007 and things could only get better with the way the Patriots are playing, and with the way Belichick is coaching. In fact, during his eight-year tenure in New England, his ability to get the most out of his players has been quite obvious.

This season, however, it’s clear more than ever.

After the Patriots defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Colts, New England enjoyed a bye last weekend with Belichick giving his players five days off to do whatever they wanted. But, when they returned to Gillette Stadium last Monday, they were put through one of the toughest weeks they’ve had this season in order to prepare for last night’s game.

According to Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss, the coach gave the team a huge slice of humble pie.

The unbeaten record didn’t mean much. The complete dominance its shows every week didn’t mean much. Belichick wanted to make sure the Patriots weren’t getting too far ahead of themselves. After all, it’s only November.

“I’ve always known coach Belichick to be a hell of a coach,” said Moss. “I consider him the greatest coach ever, but I really didn’t expect the week of preparation he put us through. I’ve never been through that, so for us to come out and win this game the way we did is actually something to really smile about."

Moss said it was a hard week mentally and emotionally, something he’s never experience in his career.

“He really put us through it,” added Moss. “Coming off the bye week, and me not knowing what to expect, he tore our heads off Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It was just a big week, an emotional week.”

Moss, and the rest of the players in the cramped quarters of the visitor’s locker room at Ralph Wilson Stadium, said the coach placed a lot of emphasis on making sure the team was prepared.

“He didn’t want us to be satisfied by being 9-0 and coming off a bye week,” added Moss. “He put it to us this week. I have to commend him on that because not many head coaches will bit down hard, and put their team through the work he put us through this week. It surely paid off.”

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who always points out that the coach’s preparation is what allows New England to be so successful every Sunday, definitely made it a point after Sunday’s game to press it even further.

“He sets the tone for us,” said Brady. “He’s a great leader for us and he has high expectations, and when we don’t play up to those expectations in practice or the game, he let’s us know.”

Brady felt the team responded well to Belichick’s demeanor leading up to Sunday’s victory. He treated the team like it was 0-9 and not 9-0. For the players to respond so positively to Belichick’s philosophy the way they did is pretty amazing given this day and age of professional sports.

With such a big win on Sunday, the players are expecting much of the same this week.

“He doesn’t change his tone too often,” said Brady. “That’s just the way he coaches. There’s never anything that’s good enough, and after a well you get sick of it [saying] ‘enough coach.’ We take beating after beating after beating, but a lot of it helps us prepare and a lot of it puts us in the right frame of mind to go out there and play well each Sunday. It’s been 10 weeks and we have 10 victories, which is great.”

With the Bills now in the rear-view mirror, the Patriots have turned their focus to the Eagles.

“I hope we play up to his expectations,” said Brady.

Seriously, though. The team is 10-0 and is on pace to complete a historic season. What else is there to nitpick?

Belichick will find something.

“I missed a blitz pickup tonight from a look that I never expected them to blitz on,” said Patriots’ Heath Evans. “We are coached so diligently week in and week out, and we know so much coming into these games. Sometimes we relax because you’re not expecting [something] because of the way we are coached.”

Evans said there are always things you can improve on in order to play perfectly.

Belichick wouldn’t expect anything less.

“You know we’re going to be coached hard,” Evans said. “We’re going to practice hard, and that’s all I can guarantee you.”

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 12:32 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

FINAL: Patriots 56, Bills 10

BUFFALO -- The Patriots were almost completely unstoppable Sunday night as they destroyed the Bills, 56-10, and ran their record to 10-0.

Tom Brady threw five touchdown passes — four to Randy Moss — as New England ran up more than 500 yards of total offense and put together six scoring drives of 63 or more yards.

A complete report will be filed by Shalise Manza Young and Joe McDonald to this blog within the next 90-120 minutes.

Posted by Art Martone  at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Another record broken

The Patriots have scored eight touchdowns tonight against the Bills and now have a new franchise single-season mark of 53. New England scored 52 in 1961 and in 1980.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Maroney injury

Laurence Maroney has a foot injury. His return is probable.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:23 PM to Laurence Maroney | Permalink | Comments 0

Photo: What a half for Moss

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Randy Moss celebrates one of his four first-half touchdowns, jumping into the arms of tackle Nick Kaczur.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:21 PM to Randy Moss | Permalink | Comments 0

Halftime notes

These are provided by the Patriots' PR department:

BRADY SETS FRANCHISE CAREER TOUCHDOWN PASS MARK

Tom Brady has passed Steve Grogan to become the Patriots’ career touchdown pass leader. With a 6-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss in the second quarter – Brady’s third of the night and the 183rd of his career – Brady passed Grogan’s old career record of 182 touchdown passes. With four touchdown passes tonight (as of halftime) Brady has 184 touchdown passes in 106 career games (104 starts), while Grogan totaled his 182 scoring passes in 149 career games (131 starts). Brady’s 37 touchdowns in 2007 (as of halftime) are a Patriots single-season record (Babe Parilli, 31, 1964).

MOSS SETS FRANCHISE SINGLE-SEASON TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION RECORD

Randy Moss set a new Patriots single-season record with his 13th touchdown reception of the season and his first touchdown of the night, a 43-yard scoring catch in the first quarter to give the Patriots a 14-0 lead. With three more touchdowns in the second quarter, Moss raised his season total to 16 touchdowns (as of halftime). Moss eclipsed the previous team record of 12 touchdown receptions, achieved by Stanley Morgan in 1979. Moss’s 16 touchdown catches (as of halftime) are the third highest single-season total of his career, trailing only his career-high 17 scoring receptions in 1998 and 2003.

MOSS SETS FRANCHISE SINGLE-GAME TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION RECORD

With four touchdown receptions (as of halftime), Randy Moss has set the franchise’s single-game touchdown reception record, recording the first four-touchdown catch game in team history. Moss’s four scoring catches set a new single-game career high, topping his previous mark of three, achieved three previous times, most recently while playing for the Minnesota Vikings against San Francisco on Sept. 28, 2003. Moss is the first Patriot to catch at least three touchdown passes in a game since Ben Coates had three scoring grabs on Nov. 26, 1995. Coates’s performance also came in a game against the Bills in Buffalo.

MOSS BREAKS 1,000-YARD MARK FOR THE SEASON

With a 5-yard reception with 2:27 remaining in the second quarter, Randy Moss eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the year, becoming the first Patriots player to record 1,000 or more receiving yards since Troy Brown had 1,199 receiving yards in 2001. Moss’s 1,000-yard season is the 10th 1,000-yard receiving season in Patriots history and he joins Troy Brown (1), Terry Glenn (2), Ben Coates (1), Stanley Morgan (3), Irving Fryar (1) and Harold Jackson (1) as the only players in team history to achieve the feat. Morgan holds the team’s single-season record with 1,491 receiving yards in 1986. For Moss, the 1,000-yard season is the eighth of his 10-year career and his first since 2005, when he had 1,005 yards for the Oakland Raiders.

MARONEY REACHES END ZONE

Laurence Maroney scored his first touchdown of the season on a 6-yard run in the first quarter to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead. The touchdown was Maroney’s first since Dec. 31, 2006, when he scored on a 1-yard run at Tennessee in the 2006 regular-season finale. His touchdown against the Bills was the eighth touchdown of Maroney’s career (7 rush, 1 rec.).

MARONEY BECOMES 19th PATRIOT TO SCORE A TOUCHDOWN IN 2007

Laurence Maroney became the 19th player to score a touchdown for the Patriots this season, scoring on a 6-yard run in the first quarter to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead. The NFL record for most players scoring a touchdown in a single season is 21, achieved by the 2000 Denver Broncos and the 1987 Los Angeles Rams.

QUICK HITS

Ø Tonight’s kickoff temperature was 36 degrees, making this the Patriots’ coldest game since Nov. 5, 2006, when the temperature was 31 degrees for a Sunday night game against Indianapolis at Gillette Stadium.

Ø Jabar Gaffney caught a 31-yard pass from Tom Brady in the catch was Gaffney’s second longest since joining the Patriots in 2006, trailing only his 33-yard catch against the New York Jets on Nov. 12, 2006.

100-YARD GAME FOR MOSS

With 112 receiving yards on eight catches (as of halftime), Randy Moss has recorded his seventh 100-yard receiving game of the season and the 53rd 100-yard receiving game of his career. Moss’s 53 career 100-yard receiving games rank third all-time, trailing only Jerry Rice (76) and Marvin Harrison (59). Stanley Morgan holds the Patriots single-season record with nine 100-yard receiving games in 1986.

RANDALL GAY RECORDS THIRD INTERCEPTION OF THE SEASON

Randall Gay recorded his third interception of the season when he picked off a J.P. Losman pass on the Bills’ fourth offensive play of the game and returned it 21 yards to Buffalo’s 13-yard line. The interception set up a two-play touchdown drive that ended in a 6-yard scoring run by Laurence Maroney and a 7-0 Patriots lead. Gay’s three interceptions tie Junior Seau for the second highest total on the team, trailing only Asante Samuel’s team-high four interceptions. Gay’s three interceptions establish a new career high, topping his two interceptions as a rookie in 2004. Gay’s interception against Buffalo raised his career total to five interceptions.

VRABEL RAISES SEASON TOTAL TO 9.5 SACKS

Mike Vrabel was credited with a zero-yard sack of J.P. Losman in the first quarter. The sack raised Vrabel’s team-high season total to 9.5 sacks, tying his single-season career high, also achieved in 2003. Vrabel’s 9.5 sacks tie the highest total by a Patriots player since Willie McGinest had 11.0 sacks in 1995. Since then, a Patriot has totaled 9.5 sacks four times: Vrabel (2003, 2007), McGinest (1996, 2004).

THOMAS SETS SINGLE-GAME CAREER HIGH WITH 2.5 SACKS

Adalius Thomas recorded 2.5 sacks in the first half against the Bills, setting a new single-game career high and recording his fourth career game with at least two sacks. Thomas sacked J.P. Losman for a 9-yard loss in the first quarter and later dropped Losman for a 6-yard loss in the second quarter. He then teamed with Tedy Bruschi to drop Losman for a 7-yard loss in the second quarter. The sacks raised Thomas’s season total to 3.0 sacks and his career total to 41.5 sacks. Thomas is the fifth player to record 2.0 or more sacks in a game for the Patriots this season, joining Mike Vrabel (twice), Rosevelt Colvin, Tedy Bruschi and Jarvis Green.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Running Chad

We have a Chad Jackson sighting. The second-year receiver, activated off the PUP list last week, fielded the short second-half kickoff and returned it 15 yards.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:11 PM to Chad Jackson | Permalink | Comments 0

Anything you can do...

...I can do better.

Earlier today, Dallas' Terrell Owens -- aka the "original 81" -- scored four touchdowns in the Cowboys' win over Washington.

In the first half tonight, New England's Randy Moss -- aka the "other 81" as Owens dubbed him before the teams' week 5 showdown -- has four touchdowns, and now has 16 for the season.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:53 PM to Randy Moss | Permalink | Comments 0

Faulk's injury

It has just been announced that Kevin Faulk suffered a head injury and his return is questionable.

In our experience, that generally means the player won't be back.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:43 PM to Kevin Faulk | Permalink | Comments 0

Photo: Maroney on the board

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Patriots teammates celebrate Laurence Maroney's first-quarter touchdown.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:41 PM to Laurence Maroney | Permalink | Comments 0

Check that last post. . .

Tom Brady is the all-time franchise leader with 183 career passing touchdowns. The Pats' QB surpassed Steve Grogan for the mark, which took the former quarterback 14 seasons to reach. Brady has done it in seven. Brady connected with Randy Moss on a six-yard pass to set the new record.

Brady has also extended his personal mark of throwing for three or more touchdowns in 10 straight games.

--Joe McDonald

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady ties all-time mark

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady just connected on a touchdown pass with Randy Moss to give New England a 21-7 lead over the Bills. The TD gives Brady 182 in his career to tie former QB Steve Grogan for the all-time franchise mark. It took Grogan 14 seasons to reach that total, while Brady needed just seven.

--Joe McDonald

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Moss sets franchise record

Randy Moss' flat-out abuse of Buffalo safety George Wilson led to a 43-yard touchdown reception, and put New England up by two scored with less than seven minutes gone in the game.

The reception was Moss' 13th touchdown of the season, breaking the single-season team record he shared with Stanley Morgan. The Stanley Steamer had 12 TDs in 1979.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:41 PM to Randy Moss | Permalink | Comments 0

Message from Everett

Injured tight end Kevin Everett recorded a message for Bills' fans that was just played on the big board here at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Everett, who suffered a severe spine injury in Buffalo's opening game, has made miraculous progress since then, and thanked the Buffalo fans and fans around the country for their support.

He punctuated his message with "Let's beat the New England Patriots!," which set the crowd cheering.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:23 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Photo: Ready to go for 10-0

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Donte Stallworth warms up for tonight's game in Buffalo.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:12 PM to Donte Stallworth | Permalink | Comments 0

Game inactives

For the Patriots:

QB Matt Gutierrez - third quarterback
S Mel Mitchell
S Eugene Wilson
LB Eric Alexander
G Stephen Neal
T Wesley Britt
DL LeKevin Smith
DL Kareem Brown

For the Bills:

QB Gibran Hamdan - third quarterback
RB Marshawn Lynch
TE Tim Massaquoi
LB Leon Joe
OL Christian Gaddis
TE Ryan Neufeld
DE Copeland Bryan
DT Jason Jefferson

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Welcome to Buffalo

Hey all --

We are in Ralph Wilson Stadium, where there isn't a whole lot happening just yet. Just a bunch of kids on the field throwing and punting, warming up for the Punt, Pass and Kick competition.

It will likely be around 30 degrees at kickoff tonight, by far the coldest game the Pats have played in this year. And we're told the chill is just here for the weekend -- come Tuesday, it's supposed to back up around 50 degrees here.

We'll try to post more as we get closer to game time.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Two other injury changes

The Patriots have removed WR Wes Welker (questionable, team decision) from their injury list.

LB Mike Vrabel remains questionable, but the reason is now his shoulder, not team decision as had originally been listed.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments 3

Three players downgraded

The Patriots have downgraded three players to out for tomorrow night's game with Buffalo:

S Eugene Wilson (ankle)
G Stephen Neal (shoulder)
LB Eric Alexander (knee)

With Neal out, the Pats will have Billy Yates or Russ Hochstein fill in at right guard.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Friday injury/participation report

Today's injury/participation report has been released, and it's not looking good for Buffalo's Marshawn Lynch:

New England
Questionable
LB Eric Alexander -- knee (did not practice)
CB Eddie Jackson -- knee (limited participation)
G Stephen Neal -- shoulder (limited participation)
LB Mike Vrabel -- team decision (limited participation)
WR Wes Welker -- team decision (limited participation)
S Eugene Wilson -- ankle (did not practice)

Probable
QB Tom Brady -- right shoulder (limited participation)

**Benjamin Watson (ankle) and Mel Mitchell (groin) are no longer on the report.

Buffalo
Doubtful
RB Marshawn Lynch -- ankle (did not practice)

Probable
DE Aaron Schobel -- illness (full participation)
TE Robert Royal -- head (limited participation)

**CB Kiwaukee Thomas (groin) and TE Matt Murphy (calf) were placed on injured reserve earlier this week, so they will be out.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:44 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice peek: Mitchell yes, Wilson and Alexander no

The Patriots are back outside for their last on-field practice of the week, and as the entry title indicates, special teamer Mel Mitchell was back on the field but Eugene Wilson and Eric Alexander were not.

It is very windy today, and it was amazing to see a Stephen Gostkowski kickoff hit its peak and then fall straight down as if it hit a wall when a gust came. Probably a lot like the conditions in Buffalo on Sunday.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Shalise Manza Young discusses Laurence Maroney's attempt to change his running style to suit the Patriots' plans for him. Kevin McNamara reports on PC's season-opening victory over Temple in Puerto Rico, and of course we have coverage of Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds.

Download a copy of the page in PDF format

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Thursday participation report: No changes

There are no changes to New England's participation/injury report for today.

That means that Mike Vrabel and Wes Welker had limited participation due to a team decision.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Buy the 60-minute men t-shirt

Blog reader "mary" just posted this, and we wanted to pass it on.. you can buy the Patriots/Jarvis Green 60-minute men t-shirt at this website.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:44 PM to Jarvis Green | Permalink | Comments 1

Seven Pats lead Pro Bowl voting -- just not Brady

Hey all --

With a little more than a month until the AFC and NFC Pro Bowls are named, the NFL has announced early voting results. Seven New England players are the leading vote-getters at their respective position -- but record-setting quarterback Tom Brady is not among them.

The leading vote-getter for AFC quarterback is Peyton Manning (441,852); Brady is behind him at 440,354. Green Bay's miracle man Brett Favre (458,837) is the leading vote-getter overall.

Unhappy with the standings? You can vote here. Or if you have a Sprint cell phone, text "PRO" to 7777 to vote.

Here's the list of AFC leaders at each position and how many votes they've received:

QB - Peyton Manning, Colts - 441,852
RB - Joseph Addai, Colts - 297,504
FB - Lorenzo Neal, Chargers - 194,880
WR - Randy Moss, Patriots - 342,250
TE - Antonio Gates, Chargers - 199,593
T - Matt Light, Patriots - 179,054
G - Eric Steinbach, Browns - 188,052
C - Jeff Saturday, Colts - 168,502
DE - Dwight Freeney, Colts - 209,272
IL - Vince Wilfork, Patriots - 100,032
OLB - Shawne Merriman, Chargers - 148,287
ILB - Tedy Bruschi, Patriots - 121,099
CB - Champ Bailey, Broncos - 183,109
SS - Troy Polamalu, Steelers - 134,868
FS - Ed Reed, Ravens - 110, 412
P - Chris Hanson, Patriots - 52,131
K - Adam Vinatieri, Colts - 82,922
ST - Larry Izzo, Patriots - 105,147
KR - Wes Welker, Patriots - 69,590

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments 4

Lynch misses practice again

Hey all --

According to the Bills' website, rookie running back Marshawn Lynch did not practice again today, so the chances of his playing are probably pretty slim.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice peek: New day, same three absent

Thanks to the rain, the Patriots moved their practice today indoors, to the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse. Players today were in shells and shorts/pants.

The same three players were absent as have been all week: Eugene Wilson, Eric Alexander and Mel Mitchell.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:06 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza Young: Back to the pursuit of perfection

Click here to listen to this week's edition of projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza Young. The topics: players coming off the bye week, lingering media hype, Wes Welker on the injury report, Buffalo's surprisingly successful season, the injury to running back Marshawn Lynch, the Patriots' outstanding record against J.P. Losman, and snow in the weekend forecast for Buffalo.

Following are some excerpts from Shalise's comments.

The bye week: "I think it kind of came at the perfect time. ... after all the hype, and not just the hype but everything they had to expend to win that Indianapolis game ... they needed every one of those 60 minutes, and that's a tough high to come down from. So I think, obviously, having the week off they were just able to not think about that for a couple days."

Welker's limited practice participation: "There might be something slightly nagging him. It was the first time he showed up [on the injury report]; they've done it with Randy Moss and Kyle Brady before ... and you can't say it's done anything but help Randy, because he couldn't play any better, and Kyle I think has been battling an injury all season, and just maybe to take a couple reps off here and there helps him out. So it might be the same type of thing with Wes."

The Buffalo Bills, a surprising 5-4: "They have 12 guys on injured reserve ... and that's amazing. It's a tribute to their depth, and they have a very young team. Obviously [head coach] Dick Jauron and [general manager] Marv Levy, they may not be putting the best product out there, but at least they have a system in place and it seems to be working for them."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Madden: "I think someone is going to beat the Patriots"

Last week the NFL and NBC announced that this week's Patriots-Bills game would be flexed from Sunday afternoon to Sunday Night Football, and today NBC forwarded some comments on the Pats from members of the SNF crew:

John Madden on if the Patriots can go undefeated:
"I think someone is going to beat the Patriots. The decision is going to come at the end of the season when they clinched the playoffs and they clinched home field and everyone tends to rest their players. That's going to be a dilemma for them. Do you go for the all-time record or do you go for the championship? In my mind, you always go for the championship."

Tiki Barber on the Pats' chances of going 16-0:
"I think the Pats are going to run the table. They're special. Without a doubt they're the best team I've ever seen."

With the league announcing this week that there will be no change to the Week 12 schedule, New England will play consecutive Sunday Night games -- this week in Buffalo and next week at home against Philadelphia.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:46 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Wednesday participation/injury report

New England and Buffalo have released the first participation/injury report of the week:

Did Not Participate
LB Eric Alexander - knee
S Mel Mitchell - groin
S Eugene Wilson - ankle

Limited Participation
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder
CB Eddie Jackson - knee
G Stephen Neal - shoulder
LB Mike Vrabel - team decision
WR Wes Welker - team decision

* Neal missed three games earlier this season with a shoulder injury; Vrabel has been on the report in past weeks with a shoulder problem. This is Welker's first appearance on the list this season. But the team has listed both Randy Moss and Kyle Brady has having limited participation on Wednesdays and Thursdays this season, and both were just getting rest.

For Buffalo:

Out
TE Matt Murphy - calf
CB Kiwaukee Thomas - groin

Did Not Participate
RB Marshawn Lynch - ankle
TE Robert Royal - head
DE Aaron Schobel - illness

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Jauron "not particularly optimistic" about Lynch

We've just wrapped our conference calls with Buffalo head coach Dick Jauron and quarterback J.P. Losman, and when Jauron was asked about rookie running back Marshawn Lynch, who sprained his left ankle Sunday in Miami.

"He's really sore," Jauron said. "We're not particularly optimistic" that he'll play against the Patriots.

Losman was asked about the teams' first meeting, when Vince Wilfork tumbled onto his knee on the Bills' first play of the game. His voice immediately dropped when asked about it.

"I don't know...it's football. It's a rough game. No one wishes for those things to happen."

Losman said he has not been contacted by Wilfork, but also that he has no hard feelings toward the nose tackle. When asked about his comments in the wake of the hit that Wilfork's $12,500 fine wasn't enough, Losman explained that he felt it wasn't enough if it had been ruled a dirty hit.

Wilfork maintains that it was an accident.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:34 PM to Vince Wilfork | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice peek: Same three absentees

The Patriots are holding today's practice on the windy practice fields behind Gillette and are in full pads.
The same three players absent on Monday were absent again today - Mel Mitchell, Eugene Wilson and Eric Alexander.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

New England's 60 minute men

Hey all --

Our time in the locker room today saw the unveiling of a new t-shirt for the Patriots players -- and you'll be able to get your hands on this one as well, giving to a good cause in the process.

Jarvis Green designed shirts that say "New England's 60 minute men," and at the bottom of the navy blue tees is a small circle with the number 91 in the middle. It's ringed with the words, "In memory of Marquise Hill."

Green came up with the shirts both to remind the players -- and their critics -- that football is a 60-minute game, and also in because of the Minute Men of the American Revolution, whom New Englanders know well.

Proceeds from the sales will go to Green's foundation to benefit Hill's family. The t-shirts will be available through local reatilers and at jarvisgreen.com soon.

Also in the locker room, Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Adalius Thomas and Mike Vrabel all drew big crowds.

We noticed that national outlets like ESPN and USA Today have reporters here despite this game not having the cache of Dallas or Indy; they likely will be here every week to document New England's potentially historic season.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:27 PM to Jarvis Green | Permalink | Comments 1

Practice peek

Hey all --

The Patriots are holding a rare Monday practice today, as the team re-assembled after their five-day bye week break. The session is being held inside Gillette Stadium.

Troy Brown was in a practice uniform for the first time this season, and number 80 resumed his usual spot in the stretching "formation" -- on the front line of the offense, right next to Tom Brady.

Missing from practice today were Mel Mitchell, Eugene Wilson and Eric Alexander.

The practice players of the week are: Ray Ventrone, C.J. Jones, Kelley Washington and Rashad Baker.

Locker room access has been bumped back to 3:45 p.m.; we'll try to post an update after that.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

More Spygate: Goodell on "sweeping it under the rug"

Hey all --

The NFL held its fall meetings a couple of weeks ago in Philadelphia, but the transcript of a Q&A league commissioner Roger Goodell held during the meetings has just today been made available. During the session, Goodell was asked about the perception that the NFL was sweeping things under the rug when it came to the Patriots' spying incident, specifically the way the materials Goodell demanded from New England were destroyed and their contents not discussed.

"First, we were the ones who brought it out so if we’re sweeping it under the rug…we’re the ones who raised it," Goodell said. "I don’t agree with that assessment. I think we dealt with it forcefully, aggressively, and effectively.

"The thing that you want in discipline is to make sure that it doesn’t happen again and the other clubs understand that there are very significant consequences if policies are violated. I think that message was sent. We also want to send that message to our fans so they understand that all teams are playing by the same rules. The inference that you make in regards to us destroying the tapes, that was our intention from the get-go. There was no purpose for those. We said that we wanted those materials destroyed because we didn’t want anyone to have that material or the notes that could’ve come out from that. We went ahead and did that as we expected to do. Everything that we found was consistent with what we thought."

Also in that Q&A, Goodell was asked about Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson's proposal that Bills play one regular-season game a year for the next five years in Toronto, which he said there was no objection to from any of the other owners; and the league's ongoing issue with cable companies who do not carry NFL Network, or want to charge subscribers a monthly fee for the network, as though it were a premium channel.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Ventrone re-signed to practice squad

As expected, the Patriots have re-signed defensive back Ray Ventrone to their practice squad.

Ventrone had been released from the 53-man roster on Tuesday to make room for Chad Jackson or Eddie Jackson, who were activated off the PUP list that day. Ventrone was elevated off the practice squad for Sunday's win in Indianapolis and got his first NFL snaps on special teams.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:07 AM to Ray Ventrone | Permalink | Comments 0

Moss honored

FOXBORO -- Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Week after catching nine passes for 145 yards and one touchdown in Sunday's win over the Colts.

His 55-yard catch helped set up a touchdown three plays later to help the Patriots cut Indy's lead to 20-17 with 7:59 to play.

It was his sixth 100th yard game of the season and 52nd of his career. He also caught his 12th touchdown of the season, tying a franchise record.

The last time Moss won a player of the week honor was in 2001, with the Vikings.

Posted by Rob Lee  at 6:24 PM to Randy Moss | Permalink | Comments 2

Jackson & Jackson activated; Ventrone released

Hey all --

The Patriots had until today to make a decision on receiver Chad Jackson and cornerback Eddie Jackson -- whether they'd activate the players off the PUP list and onto the 53-man roster, or whether one or both would be moved to injured reserve -- and the team decided to activate both.

New England had one open roster spot after cutting tight end Marcellus Rivers yesterday, and today released defensive back Ray Ventrone to open up the second spot needed. Ventrone, who played his first NFL game on Sunday against the Colts, will likely clear waivers and be re-signed to the Pats' practice squad.

Chad Jackson was New England's second-round draft pick last year out of Florida, and struggled with a hamstring injury during the preseason which lingered into the regular season. He finished his rookie season with 13 catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns, and the Pats also used his speed out of the backfield a few times, as he had four rushes for 22 yards.

Jackson suffered a torn ACL in the AFC Championship game.

Eddie Jackson, 26, was signed by the Patriots as a free agent this offseason despite suffering a torn ACL late in the season with Miami. Jackson typically plays in nickel/dime situations and on special teams.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza Young: The noise didn't help

Click here to listen to today's edition of projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza Young. The topics: the gamesmanship of the Patriots-Colts rivalry; crowd noise conspiracy theory; the increasing chances of a perfect season; the toughest remaining tests; the wisdown of playing for perfection; giving the players a rest on the bye week; and, of course, Don Shula.

Here are some excerpts from Shalise's comments.

Do the Patriots and Colts players particularly dislike each other? "I don't think there's necessarily dislike between the players. There's definitely some things between the organizations. ... But for the players, when they're between the lines all they want to do is win. ... They're just two very good teams, and they know that one has to beat the other, more than likely, to get to the ultimate goal at the end of the season."

The quest for perfection: "The biggest threat that I see for them, going forward, is the Steelers. That game is here at home, but the Steelers put on a heck of a show against the Ravens the other night. ... It seemed like as soon as the ball was snapped they were on the ball. Ben Roethlisberger is a good enough quarterback -- if he can put up just enough points, and if the Pittsburgh defense gets to Tom Brady early and often, and maybe they hold the Patriots to just 14 points. ... the Steelers seem like they're good enough that they could put up 17. It may be one of those lower scoring games, or lower-scoring for the Patriots."

The bye week schedule: "They had some meetings yesterday, and that's it -- the guys are free to go wherever they want, do whatever they want. ... They're not due back at Gillette Stadium until Monday morning. Belichick if I had to guess will probably take Monday to work on some fundamental, basic things on the field, use it as a teaching day, and then they will have Tuesday off like they usually do, and then Wednesday they'll get right into game planning for Buffalo."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Boston cameraman says Colts employee talked about manipulation of crowd nose

Here's more fuel for the fire surrounding the Colts' alleged manufacturing of crowd noise at the RCA Dome. WBZ photojournalist Bryan Foley says in this video clip that he was on the sideline during Sunday's game, and asked a security employee how the man coped with the tremendous noise every week. Foley says that the guard told him that the crowd noise is recorded and then played over the PA system to enhance the overall sound when the opponent has the ball.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Belichick among choices for Motorola coach of the week

New England head coach is one of three nominees for the Motorola Coach of the Week award after the Patriots' 24-20 win over Indianapolis.

Visitors to nfl.com select the winner.

Here's a bit about each of the coaches and their teams:

BILL BELICHICK led his Patriots to beat a previously undefeated Indianapolis Colts by a score of 24 - 20 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis and to remain the only undefeated team in the NFL at 9 - 0. Tom Brady completed 21 passes for 255 yards and put up three touchdowns, including two within four minutes in the fourth quarter. In the second half of the game, the Patriots outgained the Colts 228 -100 yards. The Patriots defense limited Peyton Manning to one touchdown pass and forced two turnovers, including one key forced fumble off a sack by DE Jarvis Green that was recovered by LB Rosevelt Colvin allowing the Patriots to run down the clock for the win.

ROMEO CRENNEL brought the Cleveland Browns to a 5 - 3 record with a 33 - 30 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Browns QB Derek Anderson threw for 364 yards and led an offense that gained 428 yards. Cleveland's RB Jamal Lewis ran the ball into the end zone four times and caught four balls for 67 yards while Kellen Winslow made 11 catches for 125 yards. The Browns defense forced the Seahawks offense to turn over the ball two times and stopped the Hawks on 4-1 to turn the ball over to the Browns in overtime. Phil Dawson kicked a 25-yard field goal in overtime to give the Browns their third straight victory for the first time since 2001.

SEAN PAYTON led New Orleans to a 41 - 24 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Saints' fourth straight win. This victory brings the Saints (4-4) to only a half-game behind division-leading Tampa Bay (5-4). This latest victory over Jacksonville (5-3) was the Saints' most impressive, given the quality of the opponent. Drew Brees completed 35 of his 49 passes for 445 yards, helping the Saints gain 538 total yards. Brees also put up three touchdowns passing to three different receivers and Reggie Bush ran one into the endzone in the first quarter. On defense the Saints forced three turnovers including one third-quarter interception that Mike McKenzie ran back for a touchdown.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

J. Green up for GMC Defensive Player of the Week

Hey all --

Yet another Patriots' player has the chance to win a weekly award, as defensive lineman Jarvis Green is one of five nominees for the GMC Defensive player of the week.

Fans can vote at nfl.com.

Here's a bit about each of the players nominated:

* New England’s JARVIS GREEN collected five tackles (four solo), one sack and one forced fumble in the Patriots' 24 - 20 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Green's fourth-quarter sack and forced fumble led to the final Patriots' possession in which they were able to run out the clock for the win.

* New York Jets’ DAVID HARRIS made 24 tackles (20 solo) in the Jets' 23 - 20 loss to the Washington Redskins. Harris made a critical stop on Clinton Portis late in the fourth quarter that allowed the Jets to embark on their game-tying field goal drive to push the game into overtime.

* Pittsburgh’s JAMES HARRISON registered nine tackles (eight solo), 3.5 sacks, six quarterback hits, an interception, one defensed pass, two forced fumbles and one recovered fumble in the Steelers’ 38 – 7 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Harrison forced a fumble and recovered the ball on the Baltimore 20 that led to a first-quarter drive to the endzone to start Pittsburgh on their way to a 35-point first half.

* Atlanta’s LAWYER MILLOY recorded eight tackles (six solo) and one interception in the Falcons' 20 - 16 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Twice Milloy made tackles on third down that resulted in a loss of yards and prevented the 49ers from converting, forcing them to kick field goals instead of getting into the end zone. Milloy led a secondary that limited the 49ers to 251 total net yards.

* Detroit’s SHAUN ROGERS made three tackles, 2.5 sacks and one interception in the Lions' 44 - 7 win over the Denver Broncos. Rogers returned the interception 66 yards for a touchdown to put the Lions up 36 - 0 in the fourth quarter.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:28 PM to Jarvis Green | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats-Steelers flexed to 4:15 p.m.

One day after announcing that the Patriots' game in Buffalo on Nov. 18 would be flexed to Sunday Night Football, the NFL and CBS announced that New England's Week 14 home game with Pittsburgh will be flexed to 4:15 p.m.

It was originally slated for a 1 p.m. start.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:03 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats-Colts racks up viewers

Hey all --

The Patriots-Colts game on Sunday, as expected, drew giant ratings for CBS.

New England's 24-20 win drew an average audience of 33.8 million viewers, making it the largest audience for a Sunday afternoon regular season game since 1987 -- which is as far back as CBS keeps records on such numbers. 66.4 million viewers watched the game for at least six minutes.

The previous high for a Sunday regular-season game was Cowboys-49ers on Nov. 12, 1995.

Pats-Colts earned a national rating/share of 20.1/36, the highest-rated Sunday afternoon regular-season game since another Cowboys-49ers game, on Nov. 10, 1996, drew a 20.2/36. It was the highest-rated program since the Academy Awards (23.8/37).

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:47 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

M. Rivers cut again

The Patriots have released tight end Marcellus Rivers again, in a move that shows that Benjamin Watson will be fully healthy by the time New England plays again, and leads one to believe that his spot on the 53-man roster will soon be filled.

Who it will be filled by is another question altogether. Bill Belichick said yesterday that the team will start the clock on veteran Troy Brown this week, and corner Eddie Jackson and wideout Chad Jackson have been practicing for the last three weeks as well.

This is the fourth time this season that Rivers has been released by the Pats; he did play in three games this season but did not record any statistics. Against the Redskins, he had two dropped passes, including one in the end zone.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Opie, Anthony & Brady

According to profootballtalk.com, the Opie and Anthony radio show has been pushing a rumor that Tom Brady failed a drug test. The site, which keeps a daily inventory on NFL rumors, throws cold water on the show's assertion. Click here to see the site's daily rumor mill, which also contains a link to the mysterious audio glitch that CBS has taken the blame for, and that has fed the Patriots-Colts crowd noise dispute.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:35 AM to Tom Brady | Permalink | Comments 5

Download Tuesday's sports cover

Today's cover goes into the latest allegations in the Patriots-Colts rivalry, as well as news that Curt Schilling is close to a deal with the Red Sox, and a report on URI's exhibition win over Concordia.

Download a copy of the page in PDF format

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Belichick: Clock will start on Troy this week

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in his press conference this morning that the team will "start the clock" on veteran Troy Brown, meaning he will officially start practicing. Brown probably won't get a lot of on-field time this week, however: New England will hold team meetings tomorrow and then will be off until Monday morning.

Brown has been on the PUP list since training camp began thanks to offseason knee surgery.

Once the team notifies the league that it has started the clock on Brown, it has 21 days to determine if it wants to activate him to the 53-man roster or place him on injured reserve.

Along those lines, a decision will have to be made on both Chad Jackson and Eddie Jackson by the end of this week; the team started the clock on those players after week 6.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:39 PM to Chad Jackson , Eddie Jackson , Troy Brown | Permalink | Comments 0

NFL: No extra crowd noise; Colts release statement

Since we were on a plane home for the early part of the day, we've been catching up on this whole artificial crowd noise issue.

Apparently, Patriots' team president Jonathan Kraft approached NFL NFL Vice President of Security Milt Ahlerich, alleging that the Colts were pumping in artificial crowd noise at the RCA Dome when the Patriots were on offense. During the telecast (which of course we didn't see or hear), there was a strange noise, like a CD skipping, at one point when New England had the ball, which led some viewers and website profootballtalk.com to surmise that the Colts' "noise" was having issues.

CBS, which broadcast the game, took blame for the issue, saying it was a feedback problem in the broadcast truck, and the NFL has apparently closed the issue.

The Colts, meanwhile, found it necessary to release a statement on their website:

In reference to questions regarding the audio transmission of yesterday’s game, please refer to the following statement from the NFL:

“CBS has informed us that the unusual audio moment heard by fans during the Patriots-Colts game was the result of tape feedback in the CBS production truck and was isolated to the CBS broadcast. It was in no way related to any sound within the stadium and could not be heard in the stadium.”

We trust this will put an end to the ridiculous and unfounded accusations that the Colts artificially enhanced crowd noise at the RCA Dome in any way.

As if there weren't enough drama between these two teams. Who needs "Days of Our Lives" when you have Bill Polian?

Now, we were obviously at the game, and the RCA Dome has an open press box (we media types aren't behind glass), and it was extremely loud in there. We were wishing we had earphones, and photographers on the field needed headphones because, as one told us, "It was like being at a concert."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats-Bills to be "flexed" to prime time

The NFL just announced that the first game to be moved under "flexible scheduling" is the Nov. 18th Patriots-Bills game from Ralph Wilson Stadium.

With New England undefeated and the idea that they could go 16-0 seeming less ridiculous in the wake of yesterday's win over Indianapolis, the league and NBC want to capitalize.

Thus, the 1 p.m. game will now be played at 8:15 p.m., and becomes the sixth prime-time game on the Pats' schedule -- they've already played Sunday night against the Chargers, Monday night in Cincinnati, and have a Sunday night game with the Eagles, Monday night game in Baltimore, and Saturday night season finale against the Giants still to go.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats-Colts to be re-aired Wednesday

Hey all --

NFL Network will re-air Sunday's Patriots-Colts showdown on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. on its "Replay" show, which condenses choice games down to 90 minutes.

Tomorrow night at 8 p.m., the Network will feature Adrian Peterson's record-setting 296-yard performance in the Vikings' win over San Diego -- which also featured a 109-yard missed field goal return for a touchdown by the Chargers' Antonio Cromartie.

At 10:30 p.m. tomorrow, Brett Favre and the Packers' come-from-behind win over Kansas City will be on Replay.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download Monday's sports cover

The cover story is, of course, the Patriots' come-from-behind victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

Download a copy of the page in PDF format

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats' postgame notes

These are courtesy of the New England media-relations department:

BRADY SETS SINGLE-SEASON FRANCHISE TOUCHDOWN PASS MARK

With three touchdown passes against the Colts today, Tom Brady raised his season total to 33 touchdown passes, setting a new franchise record and passing Vito “Babe” Parilli’s previous record of 31 touchdown passes in 1964. Brady tied the record with a 4-yard scoring strike to Randy Moss in the second quarter and set a new record with his 32nd scoring pass of the season, a 3-yard strike to Wes Welker in the fourth quarter. He added his 33rd touchdown pass of the season on a 13-yard score to Kevin Faulk in the fourth quarter. Parilli threw his 31 touchdown passes for the Boston Patriots during the 14-game American Football League season. Brady reached 33 passes in the ninth game of the season.

BRADY SETS NFL RECORD FOR MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH 3+ TOUCHDOWN PASSES

Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes today, setting an NFL record with his ninth straight game with three or more touchdown passes. He broke the old record of eight consecutive games, set by Peyton Manning in 2004. Through nine games this season, Brady has totaled 32 touchdown passes and just four interceptions.

BRADY LEADS 25th CAREER COMEBACK

Tom Brady led the Patriots to a 24-20 victory following a 20-10 fourth-quarter deficit, marking the 25th time in his career that he has led the Patriots to a win following a fourth-quarter deficit or tie. He accomplished the feat for the 19th time in the regular season and has also done it six times in the playoffs (including three times in the Super Bowl. Against Indianapolis, the Patriots trailed 20-10 following an Indianapolis touchdown with 9:42 left in the game. Brady then led the team on a seven-play, 73-yard scoring drive to make the score 20-17 on a 3-yard touchdown catch by Wes Welker with 7:59 left and on the Patriots' next drive led a three-play, 51-yard drive that ended in a 13-yard touchdown catch by Kevin Faulk that gave the Patriots a 24-20 lead with 3:15 remaining in the game. The comeback against the Colts marked the Patriots’ fourth fourth-quarter comeback from a deficit of 10 or more points with Brady at the helm and the first one that was won in regulation time. The last time Brady led a comeback of 10 or more points was on Dec. 29, 2002, when the Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins 27-24 in overtime after trailing 24-13 with 4:59 remaining in regulation. Brady’s other comebacks of 10 or more points in the fourth quarter came on Nov. 10, 2002 at Chicago (a 33-30 win following a 30-19 deficit with 5:16 remaining in regulation) and in the 2001 divisional playoffs against Oakland on Jan. 19, 2002 (a 16-13 overtime win following a 13-3 deficit entering the fourth quarter).

MOSS TIES SINGLE-SEASON FRANCHISE RECEIVING TD RECORD

Randy Moss hauled in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the second quarter to give the Patriots a 7-3 lead. The touchdown was Moss’s 12th receiving touchdown of the season, tying the Patriots’ single-season franchise record also achieved by Stanley Morgan in 1979. Moss’s 12 touchdown catches are the fifth highest total of his 10-year career, trailing his career-best 17 scoring grabs in 1998 and 2003, his 15 touchdown catches in 2000 and his 13 scoring receptions in 2004. On the same touchdown pass where Moss tied the franchise touchdown reception record, Tom Brady tied Babe Parilli’s 1964 mark with his 31st touchdown toss of the year.

100-YARD GAME FOR MOSS

Randy Moss had 145 receiving yards on nine receptions, marking his sixth game this season with at least 100 receiving yards. The 100-yard receiving game was the 52nd of his career, a total that ranks third all-time behind Jerry Rice (76) and Marvin Harrison (59). Stanley Morgan holds the Patriots single-season record with nine 100-yard receiving games in 1986.

GREEN MACHINE

Jarvis Green strip-sacked Peyton Manning with 2:30 remaining in the game on third-and-nine at the Colts’ 49-yard line with New England holding a 24-20 lead. Rosevelt Colvin recovered the fumble, giving the Patriots possession at the Indianapolis 46-yard line and ending Indianapolis’ bid for a potential go-ahead score. The sack was Green’s fourth of the season and raised his career total to 22.5 sacks. It was his first forced fumble of the season and was the seventh forced fumble of his career. Last season, Green tied Mike Vrabel for the team lead with three strip sacks.

FAULK SCORES FIRST TOUCHDOWN OF THE SEASON

Kevin Faulk scored his first touchdown of the season on a 13-yard reception from Tom Brady that gave the Patriots a 24-20 lead with 3:15 remaining in the game. The touchdown was the 24th of Faulk’s career and was his 11th career touchdown reception. He has also scored 11 rushing touchdowns and two touchdowns on kickoff returns.

WELKER CATCHES SEVENTH TOUCHDOWN PASS OF THE SEASON

Wes Welker caught his seventh touchdown pass of the season, a 3-yard scoring grab from Tom Brady in the fourth quarter to cut the Indianapolis lead to 20-17. Welker, who had just one touchdown reception entering the 2007 season, has now caught six touchdown passes in his last four games. Welker entered the game tied for second in the NFL with a team-high 56 receptions this season.

SEYMOUR TIPS FIELD GOAL TRY

Richard Seymour tipped Adam Vinatieri’s 50-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, getting his fingertips on the ball and forcing Vinatieri’s first career miss in the RCA Dome. In his seven-year career, Seymour has blocked five career field goals in the regular season and one in the playoffs. Heading into today’s game, Vinatieri was 55-for-57 on indoor field goal attempts in the regular season, with his only two misses coming at Houston’s Reliant Stadium on Nov. 23, 2003 while playing for the Patriots against the Houston Texans.

MOSS CATCHES 55-YARD PASS

Randy Moss hauled in a 55-yard pass in the fourth quarter that gave the Patriots a first-and-goal at the Colts’ 3-yard line. The catch was Moss’s longest of the season and his longest since Oct. 2, 2005, when he grabbed a 79-yard pass while playing for the Oakland Raiders against the Dallas Cowboys. Moss’s 55-yard grab was the second longest by a Patriots player this season, trailing only Donte Stallworth’s 69-yard touchdown reception at Dallas on Oct. 14.

VRABEL RAISES SEASON TOTAL TO 8.5 SACKS

Mike Vrabel sacked Peyton Manning for a 4-yard loss in the third quarter. The sack raised Vrabel’s season total to 8.5 sacks, a mark that leads the team. Entering this week’s games, Vrabel’s 7.5 sacks led all NFL linebackers and ranked second overall in the AFC and fifth overall in the NFL. Last season, Rosevelt Colvin led the Patriots with 8.5 sacks. Vrabel’s single-season career high is 9.5 sacks, achieved in 2003 with the Patriots. Following his sack of Manning, Vrabel had 47.0 career sacks, a mark that ranks sixth among all active NFL linebackers.

HARRISON HAS FIRST INTERCEPTION OF THE SEASON

Rodney Harrison intercepted a Peyton Manning pass in the third quarter, giving the Patriots possession at the Indianapolis 30-yard line. The interception was Harrison’s first of the season and was the 33rd of his career. Harrison’s last interception came on Oct. 30, 2006 at Minnesota. Harrison, who also has 30.5 career sacks, is the only player in NFL history with at least 30 career sacks and at least 30 career interceptions.

DEFENSE BEARS DOWN

The Patriots defense clamped down and held the Colts to a field goal on two occasions in the first half after long pass interference penalties gave the Colts a first-and-goal from inside the 10-yard line. In the first quarter, a 37-yard penalty gave Indianapolis a first-and-goal from the 9-yard line, but Asante Samuel’s pass deflection in the end zone on third down kept Indianapolis out of the end zone and forced a 21-yard field goal by the Colts. In the second quarter, a 40-yard penalty gave the Colts a first-and-goal from the six-yard line, but Randall Gay stuffed Dallas Clark on third down for a 2-yard loss on a pass play that once again kept the Colts out of the end zone and forced a 25-yard field goal.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Patriots come back for improbable win

They played poorly for much of the game and set a franchise record for penalty yards, but the New England Patriots still emerged undefeated from today's showdown with the Indianapolis Colts.

The Patriots came back from a 20-10 fourth-quarter deficit, with Tom Brady throwing touchdown passes in the final eight minutes of action to Wes Welker and Kevin Faulk. Brady, who was picked off twice, ended with three touchdowns and 255 yards.

With the Patriots ahead, 24-20, and the Colts driving near midfield with less than three minutes left, Jarvis Green helped seal the win by knocking the ball out of Peyton Manning's arm just as Manning was attempting to throw the ball away. Rosevelt Colvin picked off the ball out of the air, and the Patriots needed to get just one first down to cinch the win. They got it, on a pass from Brady to Welker.

We'll have a complete report tonight on projo.com's Patriots page, including stories as soon as they are filed and a photo gallery from Bob Breidenbach, who is in Indianapolis. For now, we invite you to post your comment on the game.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 7:23 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Brady sets new team mark

INDIANAPOLIS -- Tom Brady's three-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker was his second of the game and his 32nd of the season, a new Patriots record.

Brady surpassed Vito "Babe" Parilli's team standard of 31 TDs, which stood for 43 years.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:56 PM to Tom Brady | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady picked AGAIN

INDIANAPOLIS -- After throwing just two interceptions all season, Tom Brady now has had two passes picked off this afternoon.

Colts linebacker Gary Brackett grabbed an underthrown Brady pass in the first minute of the fourth quarter and returned it 28 yards.

Indianapolis proceeded to turn that turnover into a touchdown, driving 32 yards in 8 plays, QB Peyton Manning sneaking over from the 1 for the score.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 6:33 PM to Tom Brady | Permalink | Comments 0

Kaczur struggling, too

INDIANAPOLIS -- Not only do the Patriots have to be concerned about what Colts DE Dwight Freeney is doing against LT Matt Light, but RT Nick Kaczur is having all sorts of problems pass-blocking against Indy end Robert Mathis, who recorded his second sack of the game in helping to push New England back out of field-goal range, after a Rodney Harrison interception had given the Pats excellent field position early in the third quarter.

The vaunted New England offense finished the first half with only half as many yards (114) as Indianapolis (229).

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 6:03 PM to Nick Kaczur | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady ties Parrilli, Moss ties Morgan

INDIANAPOLIS -- Forgot to mention that Tom Brady's six-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss tied him with Vito "Babe" Parrilli for the Patriots' single-season touchdown record.

Brady now has 31 TDs, a mark Parrilli set in 1964.

Moss' reception was his 12th touchdown of the season, tying the Pats' franchise mark for receiving scores in a season, set by Stanley Morgan in 1979.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:52 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

First halftime deficit

This is the first time this season that New England has trailed at halftime. They were behind in the third quarter against the Cowboys briefly, but led at the half.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

REALLY LOUD

INDIANAPOLIS -- When the Patriots have the ball, the Colts fans are roaring on every play. It is, without question, the loudest, most-adverse conditions the Patriots have faced this season.

I don't know what the decibel level is, but I've spent some time on the flight deck of aircraft carriers, and it seems the crowd noise this afternoon ranks right up there with the sound when (in my day) an F-4 was catapulted off the deck.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Seymour credited with tip

It has just been announced that Richard Seymour is being credited with tipping Adam Vinatieri's 50-yard field goal attempt earlier in the first quarter.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:46 PM to Richard Seymour | Permalink | Comments 0

Time to re-think strategy?

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pats have played only two linebackers on the Colts' first two possessions and Indy has taken advantage of it by carving up New England on the ground.

Still, Indy has only 3 points, thanks to Anthony Gonzalez's drop in the end zone on third-and-goal.

If you're a Colts' fan, do you think Marvin Harrison would've hung on to Peyton's pass?

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Vinatieri misses

INDIANAPOLIS -- When Adam Vinatieri -- he of the the two, Super Bowl winning kicks when he was playing for the Patriots -- missed a 50-yard attempt on the Colts' first possession, it was only the second time in 16 tries this season that he'd failed to put the ball through the uprights.

Of course, it also was the first one he'd tried from beyond 40 yards.

More surprisingly, it was the first attempt Vinatieri had missed in the RCA Dome since coming to Indianapolis last season.

Still, the Colts drive consumed about six-and-a-half minutes, while the Patriots were 3-and-out on their first possession -- the first time all season they've failed to put points on the board the first time they had the ball.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

First drive, no points

INDIANAPOLIS -- This is the first time this season that New England has not scored on its opening drive of the game. They ended their first possession of every other game this season by putting points on the board -- six TDs and two FGs, if memory serves.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Interesting alignment

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pats opened defensively in a 4-2-5 alignment, using an extra defensive back, even on first down, in attempt to control the Colts' passing game.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

You'd think it was a playoff game

BY JIM DONALDSON
Journal Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS -- The press box is more than full this afternoon. Not only is every seat taken, but the Colts have had to set up an auxiliary press area in what usually is the dining area of the press box to accommodate writers and broadcasters from across the country. Craig Kelley, the Colts' highly-capable, longtime V.P. for Media Relations, said this is the largest press corps he can remember for a regular-season game in Indy.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 3:50 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Big break for the Patriots

BY JIM DONALDSON
Journal Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS -- It's a huge plus for the Pats that both Marvin Harrison and Tony Ugoh will be inactive this afternoon -- and that TE Ben Watson will play.

With Harrison out, the Pats can concentrate more on stopping Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. Anthony Gonzalez may be a first-round draft choice, but he's still a rookie, and does not pose the threat that a healthy Harrison does.

Ugoh, Indy's second-round pick this year, out of Arkansas, is the Colts' starting left tackle. His absence could require the Colts to put a tight end on that side to help protect Peyton Manning.

Similarly, keep an eye on how Pats' LT Matt Light does with Indy's speed rusher, Dwight Freeney. Light sometimes struggles with speed guys, which may result in Kyle Brady staying in more often to block, rather than running routes. Stating the obvious, it's imperative that the Pats protect QB Tom Brady.

Conversely, having Watson in the lineup will make the Pats' already-potent passing game even more effective. When opposing defenses already have to worry about Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and Donte Stallworth, adding a 6-3, 255-pound tight end who can run is another huge headache.

Yesterday, if pressed, I'd probably have taken the Colts, plus the points. Now, with Harrison and Ugoh out, and Watson playing, I like the Pats.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Game inactives: Watson to play; M. Harrison, Ugoh will not

Here are the game inactives:

For the Patriots:
QB Matt Gutierrez - third quarterback
S Mel Mitchell
S Eugene Wilson
LB Eric Alexander
T Wesley Britt
G Billy Yates
TE Marcellus Rivers
DL Kareem Brown

For the Colts:
WR Craphonso Thorpe
DB Michael Coe
DB Brannon Condren
LB Freddy Keiaho
LB Tyjuan Hagler
T Tony Ugoh
WR Marvin Harrison
DT Quinn PItcock

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Watson warming up

The Patriots have started filtering on to the surface here at the Dome, and Benjamin Watson (questionable, ankle) is out there warming up. He is not being carefully watched by members of the training staff, which has shown to be a good sign with players in recent weeks.

Watson has been stretching, doing plyometric drills, and also ran some sprints with Mike Vrabel.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:41 PM to Ben Watson | Permalink | Comments 0

Welcome to the RCA Dome

Hey all --

Praise be, the day is finally upon us.

For three-plus hours, at least, there will be no debate, no speculation, no discussion about who is better, why they're better...the Pats and Colts will just get to play.

Of course, depending on the results, the debates and discussions will begin anew: how much were the Colts hurt by the injuries to Marvin Harrison and Tony Ugoh? Can the Patriots really go undefeated? Is Bob Sanders the best defensive player in the NFL? Is Tom Brady the best quarterback ever?

But as the game is going on at least, all of that stuff will be tabled. We hope.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Showtime: When all's said and done, it'll be the Patriots who come out on top

By Shalise Manza Young
Journal Sports Writer

It's time.

After a week of hype and hyperbole, analysis and overanalysis, the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts face off today in one of the most highly anticipated regular-season games in National Football League history. Today, at 4:15 p.m., all the questions that have arisen regarding the first matchup ever between two undefeated teams this late in an NFL season will be answered.

WHEN THE PATRIOTS RUN THE BALL
The key for the Pats is a healthy Laurence Maroney, and he seems to be just that after missing three games because of a groin injury and then seeing limited playing time when he returned two weeks ago against Miam. The Pats will need a strong running game to keep Indianapolis from (a) loading the secondary with defensive backs in an attempt to clamp down on the Pats' passing attack, and (b) teeing off on Tom Brady. The Colts' run defense is better than last year but is still just fair -- it allowed 141 yards to Tennessee, 223 to Denver -- and Maroney could be in for a big game. His backups, Kevin Faulk and Heath Evans, have dramatically different styles than Maroney, which could complement the overall running game.
Edge: Patriots

WHEN THE PATRIOTS PASS THE BALL
For as much of an impact as Randy Moss has had this season, this is the game where he may make the biggest difference. Indianapolis has a small and quick secondary, and those are the types of players the taller Moss has taken advantage of all season. The Colts will have to account for him on every snap, which should open the field for the other receivers, in general, and Wes Welker, in particular. Benjamin Watson has been hampered by an ankle injury, but if he plays he could also be a big factor. If the offensive line continues to give Brady the kind of time they've provided all season, he should continue his unprecedented streak of throwing at least three touchdown passes in every game.
Edge: Patriots

WHEN THE COLTS RUN THE BALL
The Patriots have allowed opponents to rush for more than 100 yards only twoice all season, and keeping their foes under 100 is a weekly team goal. They'll have their work cut out for them today because the Colts' one-two combination of Joseph Addai and Kenton Keith has been effective all season. But this is where the return of Richard Seymour should make a difference for the Pats. If Vince Wilfork draws extra attention from the Colts' offensive line, as he probably will, it will free Seymour -- along with fellow defensive linemen Ty Warren and Jarvis Green -- to block the running lanes and prevent Addai from getting outside the tackles, where he does his best work.
Edge: Patriots

WHEN THE COLTS PASS THE BALL
After playing so poorly for so long against the Patriots, Peyton Manning seems to have unlocked the secrets of Bill Belichick's defense. He has passed for 320-plus yards in each of his last three games against the Pats and won all of them, after going 2-10 against New England over the first six seasons of his career. (The first four games were played before Belichick's arrival as head coach.) He'll be hampered today if Marvin Harrison, who missed practice most of the week because of a knee injury, isn't at 100 percent, but he still has weapons in receivers Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. The Pats' best defense may be their offense. If Brady & Co. can control the ball and keep Manning off the field, it may be New England's best shot at containing a quarterback who has rung up 105 points against them in the last three meetings.
Edge: Colts

SPECIAL TEAMS
Adam Vinatieri may be as automatic as they come on field-goal attempts, but the knock against him has always been his leg strength, particularly on kickoffs. This may be a big hidden edge for the Pats. They're averaging more than 29 yards per kickoff return -- and they may be better than that against the Colts, who allow an average of 25 yards per kick return. And that could give New England a huge advantage in the field-position battle. Brady and his offense are difficult enough to contain. Brady and his offense on a short field are even tougher to stop. The punting game could be another boon for the Pats, as Welker is averaging 10.1 yards per return and the Colts are the worst in the league in punt coverage.
Edge: Patriots

COACHING
This is Belichick's first shot at the Colts after one of the most bitter defeats of his career -- the last-minute 38-34 loss in the AFC Championship Game last January, in which the Pats blew a 21-3 lead. Historically, the Patriots are ready to play in big games. Motivation should be no problem today, not with the memory of last January and all that's happened since (Spygate, the tarnishing of the Pats' image, the comment by Colts coach Tony Dungy that New England's rule-breaking was "a sad day" in the NFL) still so fresh in their minds.
Edge: Patriots

THE WINNER?
The oddsmakers have installed the Pats as 5 1/2-poing favorites, which is incredible when you consider that they're playing the defending Super Bowl champions -- who, by the way, are also undefeated -- on the road. Incredible though it may be, that's what they're saying.

And that's what we're saying, too.

Edge: Patriots

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 7:42 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Wilson, Alexander downgraded

Safety Eugene Wilson and linebacker Eric Alexander have been downgraded to out for tomorrow's game with Indianapolis.

Wilson, who has been battling an ankle injury, practiced on Friday; Alexander, who has a knee injury, has not practiced since getting hurt in Cincinnati.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Ventrone promoted

Hey all --

The New England Patriots yesterday filled the 53rd roster spot opened when they placed running back Sammy Morris on injured reserve with practice squad defensive back Ray Ventrone.

Promoting Ventrone was not the move most assumed the team would make. With safety Eugene Wilson and special-teamer Mel Mitchell battling injuries, it was thought the Patriots would activate cornerback Eddie Jackson off the physically-unable-to-perform list, a move that would help cover both issues.
Ventrone, 25, was originally signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Villanova in 2005, and spent the season on the practice squad. Before the 2006 season, he was allocated to the now-defunct NFL Europa, but suffered an injury there that landed him on injured reserve. The Patriots released him this February, and he was signed by the Jets eight days later. Ventrone was among New York’s final cuts in September, but was re-signed to their practice squad before being released outright.

He was signed to the Patriots’ practice squad on Sept. 18 and has been named one of the team’s practice players of the week twice so far this year.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Colts injury report

Questionable
WR Marvin Harrison - knee
LB Tyjuan Hagler - neck
LB Freddy Keiaho - ear
T Tony Ugoh - neck

Probable
T Ryan Diem - buttock

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:08 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Pats injury report

New England has released its Friday injury/participation report:

Questionable
LB Eric Alexander - knee
S Mel Mitchell - groin
LB Mike Vrabel - shoulder
TE Benjamin Watson - ankle
S Eugene Wilson - ankle

Probable
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Morris to IR

The Patriots have placed running back Sammy Morris on season-ending injured reserve with a chest injury.

Morris, signed as a free agent in the offseason, was enjoying great success with the Patriots before suffering his injury, reported to be a bone bruise, against Dallas in week six.

He finishes the season with 85 carries for 384 yards (4.5 ypc) and three touchdowns. Morris had back-to-back 100 yard rushing games against the Bengals and Browns.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:17 PM to Sammy Morris | Permalink | Comments 2

Season is over for Patriots running back Sammy Morris

FOXBORO -- The Patriots placed running back Sammy Morris on season-ending injured reserve yesterday.

Morris injured his chest on Oct. 14 against Dallas. Morris leads the Patriots in rushing with 384 yards and three touchdowns.

Second-year back Laurence Maroney (74 carries, 358 yards, 4.8 yards per rush) will now carry the bulk of the load for the Patriots, with Kevin Faulk, Heath Evans, and Kyle Eckel chipping in.

The Patriots average 135.8 rushing yards per game, the eighth-best average in the NFL.

"They've been productive, whoever is in there,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said of the Patriots running backs. “Heath and Kevin have done a nice job when either Laurence or Sammy hasn't been available to us. Kyle has done a nice job when he's gotten in the game, too. I think the running back position as a whole has done a decent job in protection and also catching the ball out of the backfield, which is an important part of the game…

"I think as a whole they're doing a nice job both running the ball and then in the other areas of the game, which are very important to us, which includes pass protection and then catching the ball from the backfield.”

-- Robert Lee

Posted by Rob Lee  at 4:10 PM to Sammy Morris | Permalink | Comments 1

A sampling of expert predictions

Dave Goldberg, Associated Press: Colts 38, Patriots 34
Peter King, Sports Illustrated: Patriots 40, Colts 31
Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated: Patriots 34, Colts 24
Scouts Inc.: Patriots 35, Colts 31
Pete Prisco, CBS SportsLine: Colts 41, Patriots 27
Indianapolis Star: All four writers pick the Colts
ESPN: A split vote, with Eric Allen, Chris Mortensen and Mike Golic going for the Colts; Ron Jaworksi and Greg Wickersham going for the Pats.
Yahoo Sports: All five experts go with the Patriots.
Jeff Zillgitt, USA Today: Patriots 34, Colts 27
Greg Cote, Miami Herald: Patriots 34, Colts 24
Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Patriots 34, Colts 24

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice peek: Wilson, Mitchell return

The Patriots moved their practice inside at the last minute today, and are practicing inside the controlled atmosphere of the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse.

The news of the day is that Eugene Wilson and Mel Mitchell returned to practice, while Benjamin Watson, who practiced the first two days this week, was not spotted.

In addition to Watson, Sammy Morris and Eric Alexander were missing.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Friday at Gillette: Got it all figured out?

Hey all --

Bill Belichick was once again in a pretty good mood today, starting his press conference with the question in the title of this entry: "Have you got it all figured out yet?" Asked if he had, Belichick smiled and said, "I don't know. This is a big day for us. We're two-thirds of the way there," meaning the team had gotten two of its three practice days completed.

In the locker room, Junior Seau was heard singing something that sounded a lot like the "Golden Girls" theme song (loved that show), and the usual players were at the game table. It was again a light-hearted scene, which is likely a good sign for the Patriots.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:46 AM to Junior Seau | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

Today's sports cover examines the history of the Tom Brady-Peyton Manning rivalry as the two quarterbacks prepare to meet for the 10th time.

Download a copy of the page in PDF format

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

McGinest: "New England is going to dominate"

Former Patriots' linebacker Willie McGinest appeared on NFL Network's "Point After" today and was asked about the Patriots-Colts matchup. McGinest, who now plays for Romeo Crennel in Cleveland, expressed a lot of confidence in his former teammates, according to quotes provided by the network:

“Really, I don’t think it’s gonna be close. I think New England is going to pretty much dominate this game. I think, if it’s close and it comes down to a field goal, you’ve got to go with Vinatieri, ‘cause he’s clutch, but I don’t think it will be a close game. I think it’s a lot of hype to it, but I don’t think it’s gonna live up to the game.

“…all the weapons that they added in the off-season, add that to what they already had and it’s crazy what they’re doing up there and they’re playing great. They’re all being humble and saying the right things, but I don’t think it will be close.”

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:23 PM | Permalink | Comments 5

Vrabel voted GMC defensive player of the week

Voters at nfl.com selected New England linebacker Mike Vrabel as the GMC defensive player of the week for his performance against Washington.

Vrabel, in case you didn't know -- and we're suspecting a good deal of you do and had a hand in his winning -- had 13 tackles, including 11 solo takedowns, and three strip-sacks against the Redskins, with all of the fumbles being recovered by Pats players and leading to 17 points for the undefeated team. The sometime tight end also added a first-half touchdown.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:55 PM to Mike Vrabel | Permalink | Comments 0

Colts' Thursday participation report

Here is Indianapolis' Thursday report:

Did Not Participate
WR Marvin Harrison - team decision
WR Aaron Morehead - team decision
S Bob Sanders - team decision
T Tony Ugoh - neck

Limited Participation
T Ryan Diem - team decision
LB Tyjuan Hagler - neck
LB Freddy Keiaho - ear
G Ryan Lilja - team decision

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:41 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Thursday participation report

New England has released its second participation report of the week:

Did Not Participate
S Mel Mitchell - groin
RB Sammy Morris - chest
S Eugene Wilson - ankle
LB Eric Alexander - knee

Limited Participation
TE Kyle Brady - team decision
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder
LB Mike Vrabel - shoulder
TE Benjamin Watson - ankle

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice peek - Asante returns

As indicated by Bill Belichick this morning, the Patriots are practicing inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse today, where conditions are pristine and he can pump up the noise to simulate the RCA Dome atmosphere.

Cornerback Asante Samuel returned to the practice field after missing yesterday tending to a personal matter.

That meant four players were not on the field: Sammy Morris, Eric Alexander, Mel Mitchell and Eugene Wilson.

The players were in shorts and shells/shorts.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Dowload today's Sports cover

Download file

Posted by Rich Lee  at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments 1