PATS vs. Ravens Monday night

Trash taken out
Thomas won't rant at Ravens
By Christopher L. Gasper, Globe Staff November 27, 2007
FOXBOROUGH - Home for Adalius Thomas is Nixburg, Ala., but for the first seven seasons of his NFL career, his address was Baltimore. The Patriots linebacker returns to his old stomping grounds Monday, when the Patriots face the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
If there were any doubt that Thomas, who departed the Ravens during the offseason for a five-year, $35.04 million contract with New England, left Baltimore's brash-pack persona behind him, it was erased yesterday.
Quoth the ex-Raven: "It's another game, man. It's not Baltimore vs. me. The biggest thing is to just prepare for this game just like any other game.
"It's just the fact that you know some of the guys that are there; I know a lot of the guys that are there. I was there for seven years. There is nothing more than that."
Thomas returns to Maryland as a member of an 11-0 Patriots team that is still chasing history after pulling out a gutsy 31-28 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night, despite surrendering a season-high-tying point total and a season-high 391 yards of offense.
Adding to the intrigue is the war of words Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis sparked with Thomas earlier this season after the Ravens ringleader took offense to a quote attributed to Thomas in a Sports Illustrated piece that compared the Patriots and Ravens.
"People there wanted the limelight; people sought out the limelight, starting with the head coach," said Thomas, according to the piece. "It was a star-studded system. Here it's about as different as you can get. Everybody here shies away from being the star guy. Nobody on this team beats his chest. They just all go about their business. And win."
Lewis, an eight-time Pro Bowler, fired back in a Baltimore radio interview, saying, "When you take a shot at men that you claim to love to go to war with, I call those cowards. If you have something to say privately, you don't have to go to a newspaper. If you have something to say to a man, speak it."
Yesterday, Thomas was not interested in rehashing the saga.
"I'm not talking about that because you're going to take one thing I say and print half of it and put it in the paper and make it into something it's not," said Thomas. "I have talked to Ray. We talked, and all the nonsense that was printed that was half-true, all of that's done with."
Houston Texans safety Will Demps, who played with both Lewis and Thomas in Baltimore from 2002-05, said he thinks Thomas's quote in the Sports Illustrated article was never intended as a shot at his former team. Thomas was seen as a favorite of Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, and Demps said the buzz around the league among players is that Bill Belichick and the Patriots do things a different way.
"Knowing how he is, it wasn't nothing against Baltimore. All he said is it's a different organization," said Demps. "I left for New York [in 2006] and it was a totally different organization. What A.D. said was misinterpreted, and Ray took it as a shot to the organization and him.
"A.D. is a class act and he would never take shots at an organization that gave him an opportunity. He never would have been given that opportunity in New England if it was not for Baltimore."
Thomas's reputation as a jack-of-all-trades defender and disruptive force was cultivated in Baltimore's 3-4 defense. That versatility is part of what attracted the Patriots to him. It came in handy against the Eagles, as Thomas started the game at inside linebacker and ended it at outside linebacker after Rosevelt Colvin was injured in the third quarter.
Yesterday, Belichick said there was no news on Colvin, who left with what was announced as a foot injury, even though the Patriots medical staff appeared to be attending to his right arm. When the discrepancy was pointed out to Belichick, he cryptically said, "It was announced as a foot? Then we'll leave it with that."
Thomas, who was coming off a career-high 2 1/2-sack game against the Bills Nov. 18, said it was fun to reprise his role as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. He made the Pro Bowl for Baltimore playing there last year, leading the Ravens in sacks with 11, but has been primarily an inside linebacker with the Patriots, although he has lined up as a rush end in passing situations.
"It's always fun to change up and go different places," said Thomas, who has three sacks this season. "I think it gives the offense something more to look at it, being that you're here and you're there.
"A lot of guys have done that. I'm not the first guy to do it and I'm pretty sure I won't be the last. If I'm told to go somewhere, I go."
Even though his former team is struggling - the reeling Ravens are trying to snap a five-game losing streak that has left them tied for last place in the AFC North at 4-7 - Thomas expects their best effort.
"None of that matters. Whoever plays best on Monday night, that's who is going to win the game," said Thomas. "I'm pretty sure it's going to be a challenge. They're a very physical team and a veteran-laden team, and we have a challenge cut out for us again."

Pats D needs to be tip top

Colvin done for the season
Foot injury puts linebacker on IR
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff November 28, 2007
He had his right hand on the ground and was peering left toward the football before exploding out of his stance and shooting himself like a missile toward the quarterback.
For Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin, it was the routine act of rushing the passer, something he'd made a name for himself doing over his nine-year NFL career.
But this time, Sunday night against the Eagles, the quarterback wasn't sacked. Colvin was.
Colvin sustained a foot injury on the play, one serious enough to end his season. The Patriots placed him on injured reserve yesterday and signed veteran Chad Brown, who had been with the team in training camp and for four regular-season games.
Colvin's injury figures to have a significant trickle-down effect on the linebacking corps.
At outside linebacker in the 3-4 alignment opposite Mike Vrabel, Colvin was responsible for rushing the passer and setting a sturdy edge to limit running plays from getting to the outside. After he was hurt, the Patriots moved Adalius Thomas from inside to outside linebacker, and inserted Junior Seau next to Tedy Bruschi inside.
Now the Patriots have issues to consider.
Seau, 38, and Bruschi, 34, essentially had been splitting time, with Bruschi playing on early downs and Seau coming on in passing situations. Will they now assume full-time roles?
Thomas primarily played inside linebacker on early downs through the first eight games of the season before recently expanding his duties to include work on the outside. Should he make a permanent switch to the outside?
Among the players who could see increased playing time are the newly signed Brown, second-year player Pierre Woods (outside linebacker), and third-year player Eric Alexander (inside linebacker).
As a 15-year veteran, Brown has the most experience of the group and could back up at all four linebacker spots. The 6-foot-5-inch, 250-pound Woods, an undrafted free agent out of Michigan who was a surprise performer in 2006 training camp, has played sparingly in the base defense but is a solid special teams performer. Alexander (6-2, 240) has one career start, in last year's AFC Championship game against the Colts, and is also a core special teams player.
The Patriots could play a 4-3 defense more regularly, taking one linebacker off the field and adding a defensive lineman (Jarvis Green).
Colvin, 30, is the first opening-day defensive starter to be placed on injured reserve this season. In 11 games, 10 of which were starts, he was credited by coaches with 27 tackles, and his four sacks tied for second on the club. He also intercepted one pass, forced two fumbles, and recovered two fumbles.
An outside linebacker on early downs, he would often stay on the field and play a defensive end-type role on third down. That's when he sustained the injury.
On a third-and-10 play late in the third quarter, the 6-3, 250-pound Colvin came out of his stance and tried to speed past left tackle William Thomas. He lunged toward Eagles quarterback A.J. Feeley as the 6-7, 335-pound Thomas pushed him, and his left foot dragged underneath him.
When medical personnel tended to Colvin on the field, they held his arm, creating the impression that might have been the area of the injury. But it might have been that Colvin was being helped to maintain his balance.
It marked the second time Colvin has sustained a serious injury against the Eagles. In 2003, his first year with the Patriots, Colvin sustained a season-ending hip injury in the second game, at Philadelphia.
Colvin is signed through 2008, although he carries a high salary-cap charge next season at $7.63 million, which means his return isn't a guarantee. That currently projects to be the second-highest cap figure on the team, behind quarterback Tom Brady, and it's possible the Patriots will approach him about restructuring, similar to Willie McGinest's situation in 2005.
Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.

Veterans are the glue that hold everything together

Old boy network in place
At LB, Patriots prefer experience
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff November 29, 2007
It was Bill Belichick's third season as coach of the Cleveland Browns, in 1993, and Clay Matthews remembers one distinguishing trait among his fellow starting linebackers. If the NFL were a golf course, they were all on the back nine.
Matthews was in his 16th and final season with the Browns. Counting his time in the United States Football League, Mike Johnson also had double-digit years of pro experience. And then there was the free agent signee Pepper Johnson, who was in his eighth season.
In Matthews's view, Belichick put a high value on experience among his linebackers. It was something about the responsibilities of the linebackers in the detailed system that seemed to lend itself more to gray-haired veterans than hotshot rookies.
That appears to still be the case with Belichick and the Patriots.
In the wake of 30-year-old outside linebacker Rosevelt Colvin (foot) landing on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday, the Patriots could have turned exclusively to the youth on their roster in the form of backups Eric Alexander (third year) and Pierre Woods (second year), picking one to add to the five-man rotation that had been established.
Instead, they moved quickly to sign 37-year-old Chad Brown, with Belichick noting that Brown gives the Patriots "a level of depth and experience" that they are "fortunate to be able to have at this time of year."
To Matthews, the idea of turning to a veteran is consistent with what he experienced under Belichick, who often stresses the concept of team defense, with the linebackers the glue holding it together. Because of that, Matthews believes Belichick generally wants players who know some tricks of the trade.
"It's the type of situation where you might look at the individual parts and see some older guys who are not necessarily the fastest, but because of their experience they are less likely to make mistakes and are efficient at what they do," Matthews said. "You put all that together and the sum of the whole is greater than the individual parts."
The Patriots have nicely filled holes on their roster in recent years, and are seldom shy about turning to youth when they feel a player is ready. Yet if there is one position where that hasn't been the case, it is linebacker.
Part of the reason is that the Patriots have drafted few of them.
In the eight seasons in which Belichick and vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli have run the Patriots' football operation, seven linebackers have been selected by the team. One was in the fifth round, two in the sixth round, and four in the seventh round. Only one, 2007 seventh-rounder Oscar Lua, is still with the club (injured reserve). The biggest hit was 2003 seventh-rounder Tully Banta-Cain, who signed with the 49ers as a free agent last offseason.
Part of the reason for the lack of linebacker selections is that in the Patriots' 3-4 system, the outside 'backers are usually college defensive ends, making for a challenging projection for scouts.
Belichick also recently explained that another challenge in identifying linebackers, specifically inside linebackers, is determining how they will adjust to the pro passing game.
"It is a lot more sophisticated as it relates, especially, to the linebacker position," he said. "A player that can excel in the passing game at this level has a lot of value. I'm not sure in the college game there's as much of that. College is a lot more downfield throws, tear screens, plays to the perimeter. They don't have as many inside combinations like you see in a dropback passing game in the NFL."
So perhaps that explains why the Patriots have leaned more heavily on veterans at linebacker, as players such as Alexander and Woods - former undrafted free agents - continue to transition to the NFL game.
The linebacker position was a hot topic yesterday at Gillette Stadium, with players questioned on how the Patriots will adjust following the loss of Colvin.
Adalius Thomas, who moved outside to replace Colvin last Sunday night, said it "depends on what Coach sees fit." Brown said he's happy to be back and will do whatever is asked of him. Alexander said he'll be prepared for whatever opportunity comes his way. Woods referred all questions to Belichick.
Asked about the situation, Belichick said: "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. Whatever we feel like is the best thing to do, we'll use those combinations of people."
Reflecting on his three years playing under Belichick in Cleveland, Matthews remembers those combinations being filled mostly with veteran players. He's not surprised the current Patriots have a similar look.
"A lot of it is not only understanding what you have to do, but what all your teammates have to do," he said. "That can be a lot harder for a younger player to grasp."
Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.

Just some free time at work

My friend and her production team at an advertising firm created this website.
http://buildyourwildself.com/

Stooopid

Man with $1M bill busted at bank
A bank teller had a million reasons to deny this transaction.
Police say a man tried to open an account with a $1 million bill, which does not exist. The teller refused and called police while the man started to curse at bank workers, said Aiken County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Michael Frank.
Alexander D. Smith, 31, of Augusta, Ga., was charged with disorderly conduct and two counts of forgery, Frank said.
The second forgery charge came after investigators learned Smith bought several cartons of cigarettes from a nearby grocery store with a stolen check, Frank said.
Smith has a bail hearing scheduled Wednesday, but Deputy Angela Shunn of the Aiken County Detention Center did not know if he had an attorney. An off-hours call to the public defender's office went unanswered.

Some Holiday Reading!

I am currently reading "Girls who like boys who like boys"... it's a compilation book of essays about relationships between gays and their straight female friends. It's really good.
Over Thanksgiving, I finished reading "Middlesex" about an intersexed individual. It won the Pulitzer Prize and was a really good book. A little "heavier" in reading than my usual light fun fare stuff but it was really good nonetheless.

Back to the drawing board

Learn from this Bill!!!

No disguising Eagles' success
Defense had the right mix
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff November 26, 2007
FOXBOROUGH - The natural question following the Patriots' nail-biting win last night is: Has a blueprint been created to finally slow them down?
After running roughshod over their opposition - outside of the Colts and in one half against the Cowboys - the Patriots faced a stiff challenge from the Eagles. So, how did the Eagles do it?
Those looking for the simple answer can fall back on this: it was complementary football executed at a high level, a blend of offense, defense, and special teams coming together the way coaches hope it will when the plan is drawn up early in the week.
They possessed the ball on offense, thus keeping the Patriots' explosive offense - which had just eight total drives - off the field. That meant third downs were converted (8 of 13) against the NFL's top-ranked third-down defense. New England's normally aggressive pass rush never truly got in gear - and the secondary paid the price.
The Eagles masterfully mixed their pressure on defense, sometimes coming with blitzes and overloading certain sides of the field, while other times dropping seven players into coverage. They played fast and without fear - blitzing on about 50 percent of Patriots pass plays. Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said the Eagles' top two goals were pressuring quarterback Tom Brady and not letting receiver Randy Moss get behind the defense for big plays.
And on special teams, the Eagles played clean and gutsy. Despite one offside penalty on a second-half punt that ultimately didn't hurt them, the Eagles played to a stalemate in the field-position game, and even recovered a first-half onside kick.
The Eagles, who were called for just three penalties in the game, came with all they had last night, and if not for two Asante Samuel interceptions, perhaps they would have sprung the upset. While it wasn't the Patriots' best night, a lot of that was because the Eagles took it to them.
"They gave us a number of problems in all three phases of the game," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.
While the Eagles' offense and special teams did their part, the segment of the Eagles' plan that will surely be inspected by NFL coaches around the league was the team's defensive approach.
It was all about getting to Brady.
"We felt the only chance we had was that we had to pressure," Johnson said. "That was our game plan. We didn't know if they were going to run the ball, but we knew they were going to throw it. Even if we didn't get to him, we had to throw off his timing and make him move around the pocket a little bit. At times, we did."
The Patriots opened the game in a no-huddle, four-receiver set, with a lone running back. That meant they were determined to throw, playing mostly six-man pass protection.
Favoring an all-air approach, the Patriots (25 passes, 2 rushes) had some success in building a 24-21 halftime lead, but make no mistake, the Eagles still made life quite difficult for the offense, something no defense outside of the Colts had consistently accomplished.
The Patriots went away from the four-wide packages in the second half, but the pressure never stopped coming.
The Eagles' most significant wrinkle was using linebacker Chris Gocong as their "joker" - a cross between a defensive lineman and linebacker. The idea was to confuse the Patriots by mixing up Gocong's responsibilities.
"That was our game plan, to use him to drop into coverage and blitz, and he did a good job," Johnson said.
In all, the Eagles had three sacks of Brady and were credited with four quarterback hits. Considering Brady had been sacked just 10 times in 348 dropbacks entering the game, the second-best percentage in the NFL, it was a solid night's work.
Yet while all teams would like to dial up pressure, the concern is committing too many players to the rush, and thus leaving the back end of the field vulnerable. Johnson was concerned about that against the Patriots, specifically with Moss, and had J.R. Reed playing a deep safety on Moss's side to provide help.
"That was the biggest thing, we took their deep ball away," Johnson said.
The Patriots still finished with 380 passing yards, and 48 rushing yards, but it still seemed as if there was a bit of a dent in their armor.
So if future Patriots opponents watch the film of the game, might they be able to follow a blueprint to slow down New England's explosive offense?
"I think the blueprint is that you can't allow [Brady] to sit back and throw the ball," Eagles linebacker Takeo Spikes said. "If it's a 7-on-7 drill, you'll never win. They have too many great athletes. Like I said before earlier in the week, the hardest thing coming into this game is the matchups they present. I felt we matched up pretty well. It was just [making] the plays. We competed. Nobody worried about giving up the play.
"We played it how it was supposed to be played."
Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.

11-0 and play-offs clinched

Somehow, some way, survival
By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Columnist November 26, 2007
FOXBOROUGH - The inevitable happened.
And still the New England Patriots survived.
Through 10 games, except for a scare from the Colts, this charmed football team gave us absolutely no reason to ponder the possibility it might actually lose a game. The Patriots didn't just win, they dominated. They didn't just produce points, they concocted thrilling, acrobatic, otherworldly touchdowns.
They were equally intimidating on both sides of the ball. They exhibited depth, talent, guts and humility. And yet last night, with 7:30 left on the game clock, they trailed, 28-24 - outplayed, outsmarted, and outmuscled by an unlikely opponent.
If New England is able to run the table on this remarkable 2007 season, the Patriots will glance back at this grueling evening with the Philadelphia Eagles and gratefully recall a football game in which they scratched out a victory despite a porous secondary, a continually harassed franchise quarterback, and a negated star receiver who was relegated to the role of decoy down the stretch.
In other words, they will remember this as the game they should have lost, but still managed to pull out anyway.
"You guys have gotten spoiled," said cornerback Ellis Hobbs. "You've got to understand this is the NFL. You can't expect a blowout every time."
"We expected their best shot," said offensive lineman Stephen Neal. "There's a reason they call them the Screaming Eagles. They come from everywhere.
"But you can't ever get too worried. We don't panic. If you've got No. 12, then you've got a shot."
That's the point, isn't it? If Randy Moss is dealing with being bumped at the line of scrimmage, and facing double coverage, and seeing precious little daylight, then quarterback Tom Brady - he's No. 12 in your program - must go to Plan B. In this case, that was Wes Welker, the "other" new receiver who has served the role as the less glamorous go-to guy in this ever expansive and complex offense.
It was Welker who connected with Brady on three key receptions down the stretch, which culminated in a Laurence Maroney 4-yard touchdown run, and a 31-28 Patriots advantage that would - finally - hold. Although the players in the New England locker room said they never felt as if they were in trouble, to a man they agreed this was a close call that might have gone the other way.
"We played terrible, but we still got it," said Asante Samuel, whose interception in the end zone sealed it for the Patriots in the final minutes.
"We won," said veteran Rodney Harrison. "We're not happy about it, but we won."
The Patriots survived some truly disconcerting omens, among them Eagles defensive end Jacqua Thomas leveling Brady with a vicious hit in the first quarter, one of three sacks Brady would absorb on the night.
Then there was the successful onside kick that Philadelphia coach Andy Reid called for early in the second quarter, just after his team knotted the score, 14-14.
It was a gutsy gamble, reminiscent of the kind of unorthodox strategy Bill Belichick has been known to use himself, and it worked.
And, if that didn't qualify as cause for concern, consider that kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who has misfired only once during this season, hooked his 32-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter wide left.
As each of those events unfolded, the Eagles became more and more convinced this was their night. After all, they had pinned 345 passing yards on the Patriots secondary, and had "limited" Brady to 380 yards and one TD pass. They stalked Moss throughout, bumping him and hitting him and doubling him and holding him to five catches and 43 yards.
They frequently knocked the vaunted Patriots out of rhythm and out of sorts.
"I thought we had 'em," conceded receiver Greg Lewis, who had four catches for 88 yards. "It really stinks. We played so well, so focused, and we just couldn't finish. It was kind of eerie, in a way. It reminded me of the Super Bowl [XXXIX]. We just couldn't finish."
Even the most cautious experts breezed right past the possibility the Eagles would be the one to spoil New England's season of perfection, and Moss's season of redemption.
They were a 24-point underdog, for crying out loud, and their glitzy quarterback, Donovan McNabb, was on the sideline in street clothes because of thumb and ankle injuries.
And when Samuel jumped quarterback A.J. Feeley's tentative, ill-advised sideline pass to Brian Westbrook and ran it 40 yards into the end zone less than two minutes into the game, who could have possibly imagined the Patriots would find themselves embroiled in a tense battle with a team that had raised the ire of New England's veterans by daring to suggest their 2006 Super Bowl victory over the Eagles was tainted by SpyGate?
"Hey, they get paid, too," Harrison said. "We showed a lot of character and heart tonight. We stuck together as a team."
So, was Harrison ever worried?
"Not worried, but we became a little concerned," Harrison said. "But we knew sooner or later something was going to break. We didn't make the plays we normally make, and we still won."
The final score, 31-28, is in the books. New England is 11-0, still unbeaten, and tomorrow everyone will be looking ahead to Baltimore and Pittsburgh and all the other pitfalls that await them.
The Patriots don't care. They survived the night that should have gone up in flames, and have walked away without a scratch.
Again.
Jackie MacMullan is a Globe columnist. Her e-mail address is macmullan@globe.com.

60 minutes!

PATRIOTS 31, EAGLES 28
Chore thing
It's a challenge, but 11-0 Patriots cross another foe off list
By Christopher L. Gasper, Globe Staff November 26, 2007
FOXBOROUGH - Maybe Patriots defensive end Jarvis Green was prescient when he purchased the team T-shirts hailing them as 60-minute men. The Patriots needed almost every minute last night to prevent time from running out on their perfect season.
But the clock is still ticking on the status of Don Shula and his 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only undefeated team in NFL history. The Patriots rallied from a 28-24 fourth-quarter deficit to continue their run at the record books with a 31-28 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles last night at Gillette Stadium in front of 68,756.
"Hey, man, 60-minute men, that's what it had to be in Indianapolis. That's what it had to be [last night]. That's what it's going to have to be for the rest of the season," said Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs.
This game was less about perfection and more about survival against a game Eagles (5-6) squad that pushed the Patriots to the limit. New England (11-0) took the lead for good with 7:20 to go on a 4-yard run by Laurence Maroney, who got an assist from Logan Mankins. The Patriots' rugged left guard practically shoved Maroney into the end zone and New England back into the lead, 31-28.
"I didn't see it, but I'm glad he did," said wide receiver Donte' Stallworth.
Mankins also propelled the Patriots into the record books, as the 31 points gave them 452 for the season, besting the franchise mark of 441, set in 1980.
But it wasn't another relaxing record-setting night for the Patriots in prime time like last Sunday night's 56-10 victory over the Bills. The Eagles were primed to cancel their perfect season like a subpar sitcom.
New England survived a career night from A.J. Feeley, who was subbing for an injured Donovan McNabb. Feeley was 27 of 42 for a career-high 345 yards and a career-high-tying three touchdowns. His completions were also a career high, but he also uncorked three interceptions, two to cornerback Asante Samuel.
The first was returned 40 yards for a touchdown on Philadelphia's first possession and the second, an over-the-shoulder grab Samuel made in the Patriots' end zone with 3:52 remaining, prevented the Eagles, who had advanced to the New England 29, from attempting the tying field goal.
"He came up with a couple of big plays," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "He doesn't let too many get through his hands. That's what a great playmaker does."
Philadelphia put Tom Brady's assault on Peyton Manning's touchdown mark for a season on temporary hiatus, as it snapped Brady's NFL-record streak of 10 straight games with at least three touchdown passes, holding him to 34 for 54 for 380 yards and just one scoring pass, a 19-yarder to Jabar Gaffney with eight seconds left before halftime that erased a 21-17 Philadelphia lead and gave the Patriots a 3-point halftime advantage. Brady now has 39 on the season, 10 short of Manning's mark.
After the score, Gaffney, who had six catches for 87 yards, flapped his arms as a derisive gesture. He was released by the Eagles out of training camp in 2006. But it was Wes Welker who grounded the Eagles. The slippery slot receiver had a career highs in receptions (13) and receiving yards (149).
Those in the Gillette Stadium crowd who had planned on an early exit and a full night's rest before reporting to work were foiled by a game that had them restless for a different reason - it was actually still in doubt during the second half. That was something new, as the Patriots' average margin of victory at home entering last night was 29.3 points per game.
Any team intending to hand the Patriots their first loss was going to need some luck and the Eagles got it in the third quarter, when Stephen Gostkowski, who had made 11 straight field goals, missed a 32-yarder wide left, just his second misfire of the season.
That allowed the Eagles to head into the final frame with a 28-24 advantage on an 8-yard TD pass from Feeley to Reggie Brown with 1:34 left in the third quarter.
Hobbs said the Patriots' string of blowouts has spoiled many. They're just happy their undefeated season wasn't spoiled as well.
"I think guys done got spoiled," said Hobbs. "This is the NFL. It's the NFL. It's been a very weird season where the fans and the people that are going against us, the bettors, are like we should expect a blowout every time, but that's not how the NFL works now, and those guys came out and played a great game. They have a good team over there, man. I'm just glad we won."
Say this for the Eagles, they knew the best defense against the Patriots, regardless of whom was at quarterback, was a good offense.
Undaunted by an opponent averaging 41.1 points per game, the Eagles actually outgained the Patriots, 230-207, in the first half. The Patriots' defense was picked apart by a journeyman backup for most of the game.
"Feeley did a good job like we've seen him against us before," said Belichick.
Philadelphia let it be known it would pull out all the stops to try to hand New England its first loss in the Eagles' first regular-season visit to Gillette.
In the first half, Eagles coach Andy Reid went for it on fourth and 1 from the Patriots' 15, eschewing a field goal to set up Philadelphia's first touchdown, a 1-yard Brian Westbrook run; called a wide receiver throwback pass; and ordered a second-quarter onside kick, which his team recovered.
The Patriots offense, which scored on its first seven possessions last week against Buffalo, picked up where it left off against the Eagles, scoring on all three of its first-half opportunities.
But it was the defense that struck first with Samuel, who had his third regular-season interception return for a TD.
Philadelphia struck back with Westbrook, who had 17 of his 24 touches in the first half - he finished with seven receptions for 40 yards and 17 rushes for 52 yards.
It was back and forth from there.
"I anticipate more games like this," said linebacker Tedy Bruschi. "You come down the stretch in December and teams start playing their best football. I anticipate all teams to play us hard. I anticipate good players on the other side of the ball to make plays.
"I want the games to be close so we can win them in the fourth quarter because that's the way it has to be . . . That's the way we have to anticipate it. Let's take last week. Is it going to be like that every week? I doubt it. We're going to be in battles for the rest of the year."
Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com.

Who woulda thunk?

I watched the game last night in between my bouts of sleeping... a very good game i must say. A little nervous bc I hate the Eagles and who would've thought that they'd hang with the big boys? The Pats still pulled through- in Brady and Bill we trust!

Did Eagles finally expose New England's few flaws?

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Whether the defensive blueprint conjured up by Philadelphia coordinator Jim Johnson on Sunday night turns out to be a game plan adopted by the rest of New England's opponents, or becomes just another flawed strategy against the NFL's most lethal offense and its assault on the record book, remains to be seen.
But to Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who helped to scuttle the Eagles' upset plans, there was one primary reason why Johnson's terrific template ultimately failed to staunch the Patriots on their seemingly inexorable march toward the league's first 16-0 regular season.
"You're not going to fool [quarterback] Tom Brady, that's all there is to it," said Welker, who had 13 receptions for 149 yards in the Patriots' 31-28 comeback victory that stretched New England's unblemished record to 11-0. "As much as you try, it's not going to happen. Tom is simply too good and too smart ... and that's the bottom line."
Brady once again proved both sensational and savvy, completing 34 of 54 passes for 380 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, in rallying New England from a four-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter.
On the winning drive, which culminated with tailback Laurence Maroney's four-yard touchdown run over left guard, Brady made superb adjustments, eschewing the Pats' typical vertical game to Randy Moss, and instead zeroing in on his other talented receivers. Welker had three receptions for 39 yards on the drive, each catch moving the chain for first downs on an evening when he proved to be the one weapon in the considerable Patriots' arsenal that the creative Johnson and his ever-changing coverage scheme could not disarm.
Every catch was necessary because Moss did not have a reception in the second half and finished with just five catches for 43 yards. Sunday's nail-biter also marked the first time this season that Brady did not have at least three touchdown passes in a game, and in keeping with the preposterous tote-board style totals the Patriots have rung up, the 31 points actually represented their second-lowest output of the year.
"But the thing is," said wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, who had six catches for 87 yards and one score, and who was especially effective in the first half, "we still won."
True enough. But one can now expect that the video of Philadelphia's defensive package from Sunday night will become about as meticulously scrutinized a bit of celluloid as the Zapruder film. Because even though the Patriots finally overcame Johnson's devious and diverse design, which featured a "Joker" blitzer and a wide variety of rush-fronts, the Eagles clearly were effective in forcing New England to work for everything it got.

And while Brady was characteristically brilliant, the Pats still needed two interceptions from cornerback Asante Samuel -- one returned for a touchdown just 1:22 into the game, and the other coming in the end zone, when Philadelphia quarterback A.J. Feeley got overly greedy with 3:52 left in the game -- to stay undefeated.
"They forced us into some things," acknowledged Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "They're a good team and they showed us a lot of different things."
Long known for his exotic blitzes and for bringing late pass rushers from a variety of angles, Johnson used myriad fronts to thwart the potent New England passing attack. At various times, he used as few as three rushers and, on occasions, as many as six, the latter the style to which most Philadelphia opponents are accustomed. Only once did he blitz six defenders on successive plays, but Brady was still sacked three times, and he took one particularly hard hit, on a sack by defensive end Juqua Thomas that came off a three-man rush in the first quarter.
The Patriots countered by spreading the field, often relying on an "empty" formation that featured five receivers and no running back. And in the first half, New England all but abandoned the run. In fact, in the opening two quarters, the Patriots had just two rushes, and only one was on a designed running play, which netted one yard. The other was a 12-yard scramble by Brady when he was flushed from the pocket.
For much of the half, Brady operated from the shotgun, and the Pats simply kept throwing, with Brady finally connecting on a beautiful 19-yard pass to Gaffney at the very back of the end zone to lift New England into a 24-21 intermission lead with eight seconds left in the half.
There is a school of thought that, against a team that blitzes as injudiciously as the Eagles often do, it is best to spread the field. The rationale is that such a formation better allows a quarterback to see where the blitz is coming from. And it permits the receivers a better look, too, at the coverages, and lets them make quicker route adjustments.

"I'd say we kind of [subscribe] to that thinking," Gaffney said. "But they did a lot of other stuff, too, to keep us a little out of sync."
Part of the Eagles' game plan was to take away the deep ball, to roll additional defenders toward Moss to avoid the quick strike, and to force the other New England receivers to make plays. "And, thankfully, we did," Welker said.
On offense, the Eagles started the game by putting the ball in the hands of elusive tailback Brian Westbrook, forcing the slower New England linebackers to cover the league's best all-around back in space. Feeley also threw indiscriminately at the New England safeties, and at nickel cornerback Randall Gay. Strong safety Rodney Harrison was a frequent target.
But deep in the fourth quarter, with a viable chance for the upset, Feeley went for the big play, and overthrew Kevin Curtis in the deep right corner of the end zone on a second-and-four from the Patriots' 29-yard line. Samuel made his second interception of the night to keep the unbeaten streak alive.
"We thought we had a shot there," Feeley said, "but [Samuel] was just so deep, I couldn't get it over him. I tried to get it deep and allow [Curtis] to make a play. It was probably a mistake. We didn't make many, but that was one of them. But, basically, I thought that we came out and hung with them."
And in so doing, provided future New England opponents some hope and direction, perhaps, on how to do the same.
"Hey, it's a copycat league," Gaffney said. "I'm sure people all over the league are going to look at the tape from tonight and try to incorporate some of it into their game plans. And it's going to be up to us, just like we did here, to adjust and make plays."
Senior writer Len Pasquarelli covers the NFL for ESPN.com.

He NEVER does this

Moss on receiving end of praise
Belichick calls him best he's ever had
By Christopher L. Gasper, Globe Staff November 20, 2007
FOXBOROUGH - Randy Moss has caught nearly everything thrown his way this season, and yesterday he caught some praise from his coach.
A day after Moss caught 10 passes for 128 yards and a franchise-record four touchdowns (all in the first half) in a 56-10 victory over the Bills, coach Bill Belichick was asked if the draft-day deal for Moss could have turned out any better. The Patriots swapped a mere fourth-round pick for Moss, who leads the NFL in receiving yards (1,052) and touchdowns (16).
"I'm glad we have Randy Moss, let's put it that way," Belichick said. "I'm glad we got him. As a head coach, I've never had a better receiver than Randy. I've been on teams that have had a lot of other good receivers, but he's very good and he's been good for this football team.
"He's added a lot. He's brought a lot of leadership as well as playmaking ability and a lot of versatility to our football team. I'm glad we have him. I don't know about ranking anything. I don't know about all that, but I'm glad he's on our team. I'm glad he's playing for us."
Moss, the Patriots' first 1,000-yard receiver since Troy Brown in 2001, and Belichick seem to have something of a mutual admiration society, as Moss threw plaudits Belichick's way following the win.
"When you have a coach that really has the passion, desire, and love for the game of football and he puts players in positions that really love the game, you can't ask for anything more," Moss said. "You want guys out there that are hungry, and that's what coach Belichick puts on the field, some hungry football players. That's a guy you want to play for."
Moss not only wowed a national television audience on NBC, he also made himself a little money. According to an NFL Network report, Moss has incentive clauses in his renegotiated contract that give him a series of $350,000 bonuses for reaching 45, 55, 65, 75, and 85 catches. The 10 catches Moss had Sunday night gave him 66 on the season and his third $350,000 bonus.
Hear no evilOnce again Belichick was forced to defend his rationale for going for it on fourth down while his team was routing an opponent. With the Patriots holding a 42-10 lead over Buffalo late in the third quarter, Tom Brady completed a 3-yard pass to Moss on fourth and 1 from the Buffalo 10. Two plays later, Kyle Eckel scored on a 1-yard run to extend the advantage to 49-10.
The crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium serenaded Belichick and the Patriots with a crass chant when they went for it on fourth down.
"I mean, our offense was moving the ball pretty well, and in those situations, at that point in the game, I really don't like kicking field goals," Belichick said. "I feel like that's just adding points. I'd rather go for it on fourth down and give them an opportunity to stop us, and our offense was moving the ball well, so it gives them an opportunity to keep playing."
As for the chants, did Belichick hear them?
"No, not really," he said. "I'm just trying to coach our team."
More and more scoresAmong the many offensive marks the Patriots have set this season is the franchise record for touchdowns. With eight against the Bills, the Patriots now have 54 on the season. That breaks the mark of 52, which was set in 1961 and tied in 1980. The 411 points this season are already the sixth-highest total in team history and there are six games to go. The 1980 team holds the franchise record for points in a season with 441. The Patriots could topple that Sunday at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. "It is amazing to see this," said former Patriots linebacker Andre Tippett. "I haven't seen anything like this since the Dan Fouts days when he was with the Chargers. For us to put up these points, it is crazy. You may see more records being broken. They're not about the records, but that's part of success. When you have a lot of success, things like that happen. It really is unique to watch these guys score those points up there."
A place of their ownTippett and fellow Patriots Hall of Fame members Gino Cappelletti and Steve Nelson were on hand yesterday for the topping off ceremony of The Hall at Patriot Place, the 36,000-square-foot, high-tech, interactive exhibit hall that the Patriots are building as part of the Patriot Place development adjacent to Gillette Stadium. The Hall will be home to the Patriots Hall of Fame and will feature 30-foot-tall video pylons that use movable-ink technology to display video and other multimedia. "The past is very important to us," said Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. "We think of all the experiences we had coming as a family here, and there were some great moments and we're going to capture them here." Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said the $22 million facility will be unique in the NFL. "There is a great story with people like Tip, and with Gino and Steve Nelson, and [Steve] Grogan, and John Hannah, the greatest offensive lineman in the history of the game, so we're going to get a chance now to display the history of these guys on really a first-class scale that they never got while they were playing," said Jonathan Kraft. "And then also celebrate the present and the future to come. The Hall is going to be flexible and dynamic."

Defense whattttt

Defensive foundation is solid
By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Columnist November 20, 2007
And now, a word about the defense.
It's easy to overlook these guys. As New England continues to roll over opponent after opponent, providing us all with a public service by obliterating the overrated concept of parity, the focus is on the sexier part of Patriot Games. The appeal of Tom Brady and Randy Moss is undeniable, a guilty pleasure, like extra hot fudge and whipped cream on a sundae already piled to the ceiling with confections.
But there would be no sundae without a base of vanilla ice cream, which holds the darn thing together and keeps it from running amok (see: the dribbly, gooey, defenseless mess known as the Cincinnati Bengals).
New England's defense is the foundation of this team. Always has been, always will be. It would be a disservice to equate them to vanilla, because they have a certain pizzazz all their own. Let's call them rocky road - an ice cream with an edge, loaded with flavor and little hidden surprises that are pleasing to the football palate.
Here's one thing that's been constant with this defense: They set the tone by preventing opponents from scoring on the opening drive. It has been 10 weeks now and not one team has found the end zone on its maiden offensive series. The Patriots are the only team that can claim this distinction.
Opponents wearily point to the same characteristic week in and week out: versatility. When Indianapolis was in the midst of its preparation for New England in the biggest regular-season game of the past decade, do you think it ever occurred to the Colts to focus on exploiting a nickel defense? Why would it? The Patriots under Belichick are a team that traditionally sets up in a 3-4 alignment. And yet, in the biggest game of the year, New England completely altered its strategy. It was a risky gamble, but it paid off because the Patriots have the personnel who are intelligent enough and versatile enough to adjust on the fly.
They mixed it up again Sunday against Buffalo, sprinkling in a 4-3 alignment and bringing Adalius Thomas in from the edge to pressure J.P. Losman. Buffalo's young QB was sacked four times (2 1/2 by Thomas).
"You can watch them on film and you can watch them on tape as much as you want," said Losman with a sigh, "but every game they are going to do something new. They are going to find out what you are doing and counter it - and I'm talking about on the next series."
Buffalo managed one touchdown Sunday, and that was set up by a fluke play. Losman was looking at second and 10 from his 41 when Jarvis Green began pursuing him, pinning him in. Green stripped the ball but Losman was able to scoop it up, retreat, then toss it up to Michael Gaines, who made an acrobatic one-handed catch on the broken play to secure a first down inside New England territory. Two plays later, Losman connected with Roscoe Parrish on a 47-yard bomb over Ellis Hobbs.
The only other offense the Bills could muster was a 52-yard field goal by Rian Lindell.
You would be wise not to put too much stock in the Bills' inability to score against this defense, since they came into the game as the 31st-ranked offense in the NFL. But New England has held powerhouses such as San Diego (14 points), Cincinnati (13), and Indianapolis (20) at bay, too.
I've often maintained there are two indispensable players on the Patriots: Brady and All-Pro defensive end Richard Seymour. I'll stick with Brady as irreplaceable, and there's no doubt Seymour's presence on this defense is a tremendous asset, but he missed seven games and the team did not break stride. We've long ago identified Rodney Harrison as the heart of the defense, yet the team soldiered on without him, too, for four games - outings in which both Harrison and Seymour were sidelined.
The Patriots are able to maintain because they've systematically built up depth at most positions. The Colts, who remain this team's AFC barometer, had to overspend for so much top-flight talent that they didn't leave themselves enough petty cash to provide the kind of defensive depth that is so crucial in a league where significant injuries are guaranteed to affect every franchise. Thus, when Dwight Freeney is lost for the year, it is a blow that may prove fatal to Peyton Manning and his arsenal.
New England can hold its own without Seymour for a time, in part because Green is a team guy who knows the system inside and out, and also because Ty Warren and Vincent Wilfork have come into their own as Pro Bowl-caliber defenders who can anchor the line.
Likewise, a veteran linebacker corps that boasts the league leader in sacks, Mike Vrabel (he's tied with Jared Allen of the Chiefs with 9 1/2), can afford to allow him to play a limited role, as he did against Buffalo because of a shoulder injury, and still keep Losman under constant pressure. As a group, the Patriots have recorded 29 sacks for a loss of 220 yards.
In the secondary, Harrison has tutored James Sanders well, and Sanders has developed into an able fill-in. Asante Samuel may not pick off 10 passes as he did in 2006, but he still has four interceptions and is among the top 10 in the league in that category. Randall Gay has three picks of his own. Has anyone noticed Eugene Wilson is hurt again and has missed a slew of games? Didn't think so.
The Patriots' secondary gives up an average of 181.3 yards a game, but the more crucial statistic is third-down conversions. Teams succeed only 31.2 percent of the time on third down (34 of 109), compared with Brady and his merry band of receivers, who are converting at a 52.3 percent rate.
They aren't as glamorous as Moss and Brady and Laurence Maroney, but the guys on defense know the drill. The hot fudge needs ice cream.
Especially the kind that always stays cool.

Eckel what? I love the Pats... they run deep

Patriots running a bit low
Injuries put crimp in the ground game
By Christopher L. Gasper, Globe Staff November 20, 2007
FOXBOROUGH - The Patriots were nearly running on empty by the second quarter of their 56-10 blowout victory over the Buffalo Bills Sunday night at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
In the second quarter, both Kevin Faulk and Laurence Maroney were knocked out of the game because of injuries. Maroney left, somewhat mysteriously, because of a foot injury that didn't show up on the play-by-play sheet for the game, and Faulk suffered a head injury on New England's fourth possession after he took a shot from Buffalo safety Donte Whitner following a 10-yard catch-and-run. The veteran running back appeared dazed after the game.
Those injuries - and the loss of Sammy Morris, who was placed on injured reserve Nov. 2 because of a season-ending chest injury - left Heath Evans and Kyle Eckel as the remaining runners in the Patriots' stable. The two fullbacks filled the void for one night; Evans gained a team-high 56 yards on 10 carries, and Eckel had 40 yards on 10 rushes with a 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
"It's good to have guys who can handle the ball and block," coach Bill Belichick said. "Their big role for both of them has been in the kicking game, but they're big enough to block and they have enough running skills, mainly as inside runners, to be able to find holes and gain yards with the ball, so it's not like having a guard in the backfield kind of thing. They give us a little bit of flexibility in terms of ball-handling."
But could they carry the Patriots over a longer haul if Faulk and Maroney are unavailable for a few weeks, or would the team consider bringing in another back to help tote the ball?
Old friend Corey Dillon, through his agent, Steve Feldman, has said he would come out of retirement to rejoin the Patriots. Dillon has been working out with a trainer near his Calabasas, Calif., home for more than a month.
But Belichick rejected the idea of bringing back the recalcitrant running back, and as of last night, Feldman said the Patriots had not contacted him about the 33-year-old Dillon, who was the Patriots' leading rusher last season with 812 yards and 13 touchdowns on 199 carries.
"If they needed him, he'd be more than happy to come back and help," said Feldman. "At this point, they aren't in a position that they feel they need him."
At least not yet. Belichick wasn't giving any clues about the injuries to Faulk and Maroney yesterday. When asked if he would be comfortable with just Evans and Eckel as his running backs for a stretch, he said it was too hypothetical a question.
However, there is some precedent that indicates over a two- or three-game stretch the 6-foot, 250-pound Evans and the 5-11, 237-pound Eckel could fuel the Patriots' running attack, which after 10 games ranks fifth in the league at 131.8 yards per game.
Eckel rushed for 2,906 yards during his college career at Navy and had 13 career 100-yard games for the Midshipmen. This season he has rushed 33 times for 90 yards and a pair of garbage-time touchdowns.
In 2005, the Patriots were razor-thin at running back, as Dillon, coming off a career-high 1,635-yard season, was limited by a high ankle sprain and a right calf strain; Faulk missed eight games because of a broken foot; and third-string tailback Patrick Pass pulled up with a hamstring injury in the seventh game of the season.
The Patriots signed Evans, who had been released by the Dolphins, on Nov. 1, and after not touching the ball in a loss to the Colts, Evans was the lead back for the next two games, rushing for 158 yards on 33 carries (4.8 yards per carry).
Evans, who had a career-high 192 yards rushing in 2005, victimized the Dolphins for 84 yards on 17 carries and scored a 2-point conversion rush in a 23-16 Patriots win, and the next week he had 74 yards on 16 carries in a 24-17 victory over the Saints.
In a sign that the Patriots perhaps are not in as dire straits as they were two years ago, Belichick said, "Yeah, well, '05 is '05. I don't know what we'd do this year."
With Faulk injured, Evans, who has 30 carries for 117 yards and three receptions for 39 yards this season, became the lone running back when the Patriots went to their two-minute offense on their fifth and final drive of the first half. Although he lacks Faulk's elusiveness out of the backfield, Evans is a strong pass protector, which is important in the two-minute role.
During the drive, he converted a third and 1 from the Buffalo 19, and two plays later Tom Brady found Randy Moss for a 17-yard score.
"As much one-back as we are, that helps us, too," Belichick said. "It's hard to put another back in the backfield who all they can do is block. That kind of limits you offensively [and it] limits you in terms of your roster space.
"It's good to have guys that can block and also handle the ball and have some kind of role in the passing game, but most importantly play in the kicking game. That's where we really need those guys."

Hey SeXXXy

O-line protects Brady and gives him ample time

Line protected Brady, served him well
Offensive outburst started up front
By Rich Garven, Worcester Telegram & Gazette Staff November 19, 2007
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The Patriots' offense put up some staggering numbers in a 56-10 mauling of the Buffalo Bills last night at frosty Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Randy Moss set a team record with four touchdown receptions in the game - all in the first half - as the Patriots finished with seven offensive scores. That gives them 53 touchdowns, breaking the franchise record of 52 by the 1961 and 1980 squads.
Tom Brady completed 31 of 39 passes for 373 yards and five touchdowns. He wasn't intercepted and wasn't sacked.
It was the fourth time this season but the first time in five games that Brady made it through a game without hitting the turf. For that, he can thank an offensive line that gave him more free time than a Florida retiree.
"They set the tone," an appreciative Brady said.
It all starts in practice and, strangely enough, the linemen didn't have a great week of workouts.
"We've had better weeks," admitted Russ Hochstein, who smoothly stepped in for the injured Stephen Neal (shoulder) at right guard. "But you know, we got the 'W' tonight and in the end that's all that matters."
The Patriots are a perfect 10 in that department and, while their latest win looked easy, there were challenges galore for the linemen. The Bills blitzed a bit more than they have in past encounters and the Patriots regularly utilized four-receiver sets, meaning the line was often left to fend for itself.
No problem.
"I think it was a great night for us," left tackle Matt Light said. "This is a team that has shown a lot of different looks and was playing well up front. Everybody did their job."
And in the end, it was no sacks allowed, no false starts, no holding penalties. That's the Triple Crown for an offensive line.
"I thought the line was great," coach Bill Belichick said. "Tom was able to step up in the pocket several times, like on that long touchdown [43 yards] to Randy. The line did a good job of handling the blitzes, handling two- and three-man rushes.
"We got some production in the running game, too. Certainly enough to balance the offense."
The lineman of the hour was once again Hochstein. The seventh-year pro stepped in as a starter for the fourth time this season. This was his third time at guard, with the other start at center.
"He's done that for us from Day 1," Light said. "Russ takes the game seriously and whether he's in the lineup or not he's prepared to go. That's been his M.O."
Congratulated on making Brady look good out there, the humble Hochstein responded, "Tom makes us look good, too. Bottom line."
Offensive lines regularly ply their trade in anonymity, but the Patriots blockers are starting to get noticed nationally. Left guard Logan Mankins, center Dan Koppen, and Light all had their names pop up on various midseason all-star teams.
While Light is the only one of the bunch make a Pro Bowl, having earned his first berth last season, it seems there could be more in the future.
But in true lineman fashion, you can save the accolades for someone else and some other day.
"All we care about is winning football games," Koppen said. "That's all we focus on."

Moss grows in New England

Moss is even more polished
By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Columnist November 19, 2007
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Randy Moss took stock of the jeers of incensed Buffalo fans, who vociferously objected to New England's going for it not once, but twice, on fourth-down situations late last night as the Patriots steamrolled their beloved Bills.
Moss knows what it's like to be an anti-hero, a polarizing figure, an admired yet despised talent. He has lived that for most of his professional life, a mercurial, gifted athlete whose immense skills and football intelligence never have been questioned but whose work ethic and team-building skills have.
Until now. Until here.
Since Moss arrived in New England, he has been, by all accounts, a terrific teammate, a dutiful student, a Bill Belichick disciple. He has mastered the complex offensive system, has adopted a low profile, has deflected praise on the few occasions when he has spoken publicly.
In exhibition season, he predicted he would not be a distraction or a detriment. He told his doubters he would prove to them New England had done the right thing by taking him on.
Last night, in the wake of his finest performance yet as a Patriot, Moss was told he had every right to declare, "I told you so."
"I'll take a pass," he said.
"I'm past all that," he continued softly, shortly before an onslaught of media descended on his locker. "By me showing up at minicamp, I think I put that all behind me. Everything's going good now. It's working out. I don't even want to dwell on any negatives from the past.
"What we're doing as a team, I think it speaks for itself. I don't need to be in the paper. I don't need to say anything. I think what we're doing out there says it all."
So here is what Moss had to say in upstate New York last night, in case you couldn't keep up with the offensive barrage he and one Thomas Brady laid on the overmatched Bills.
With his 13th touchdown reception of the season (and his first of the night), Moss set a team record, eclipsing Stanley Morgan (12 in 1979), who once was the standard by which all New England receivers were measured. Nice to know you, Stanley. This rolling stone will gather more Moss before it's done, and you might have to get used to being second fiddle in the record books.
Moss also set a Patriots record with four touchdown catches - all in the first half. That wasn't just a team record, it was also a personal record.
Moss now has surpassed 1,000 yards for the season (1,052) and is well within range of Morgan's regular-season mark of 1,491 yards, which has been in place for 21 years.
He recorded his seventh 100-yard game of the season (128 yards in all) and the 53d of his career, putting him well within range of the idle and injured Marvin Harrison (59), who is third all-time on the list and better get well quick if he plans to stay there.
So who will stop this Patriots team, which steamrolled the shorthanded Bills, 56-10, by scoring on every possession orchestrated by Brady's steady hand? (That's 7 for 7, for those of you scoring at home).
Who, if anyone will make this franchise pay for going for it twice on fourth down and short yardage inside the 10-yard line? The first time, the Patriots were ahead, 35-7, and looking at fourth and 1 from the Bills 3. They went for it, and scored when Brady lobbed a rainbow pass to Benjamin Watson in the rear right corner of the end zone.
The second time, Belichick and the boys were on top, 42-10, in the waning seconds of the third quarter, and it was fourth and 2 with the ball at the 10. This time, Brady hit Moss on a quick out which, naturally, secured the first down and eventually led to a rushing touchdown by rookie Kyle Eckel.
And Belichick actually likes Bills coach Dick Jauron.
Just imagine what he'll do to Eric Mangini and the Jets in Week 15.
Frigid Bills fans were so furious with New England's fourth-down play calling, they start chanting a nasty two-syllable word that cannot be repeated here.
Naturally, none of this has any effect on your New England Patriots, who continue to dominate both sides of the ball with such fervor that one wonders how anyone can mount a legitimate challenge.
Asked to analyze the beating his team laid on Buffalo, Moss pointed the finger squarely at his coach.
"Coach Belichick put us through it," Moss explained. "He kept telling us, 'Be ready. Be ready.' It was a hard week. Especially mentally. He tore our heads off on Monday. He tore our heads off on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday. I've got to commend him for that. Not many coaches bite down hard like that."
Moss was an equal opportunity humiliator. He froze George Wilson on Brady's 43-yard touchdown bomb to him in the opening quarter to push the Patriots in front, 14-0. He burned old friend Jabari Greer on a 6-yard strike to make it 28-7. And, with 10 seconds left until halftime, he trashed Donte Whitner on a 17-yard score.
"From an execution standpoint, there's no telling what we can do," Moss said.
He has a dream quarterback, a dream team. He's not ready to declare it the best offensive team he's ever been a part of - "Check the '95 Vikings," he said. "We still hold the record for most points in a season" - but you wonder when those records will fall, too.
"It's all that humble pie that Coach Belichick fed us this week," Moss insisted. "It was more like humble pie casserole. Coach Belichick is not letting us get too ahead of ourselves. He has straight tunnel vision. I've always known Bill Belichick to be a helluva coach.
"I consider him to be the best ever."
The receiver knows his coach will catch some flak for those fourth-down calls. He's aware the Patriots are the most feared team in the NFL, but quickly have become the most disliked team as well.
Randy Moss can live with that. He already has.

Breaking the Bills

Buffing the resume
List of records long in Patriots' romp over Bills
By Christopher L. Gasper, Globe Staff November 19, 2007
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Randy Moss said he's not a fan of records, but he and his teammates keep collecting them.
The Buffalo Bills were the latest victim in the Patriots Pointapalooza tour. New England scored on its first seven possessions and tied a franchise scoring record in a 56-10 blowout last night in front of 71,338 at Ralph Wilson Stadium, the latest clinic in its 10-0 start. The Patriots first set the record Sept. 9, 1979 in a 56-3 win over the New York Jets.
That mark figures to be challenged when the Patriots meet the Jets and a certain coach Dec. 16. It was the second time in three games the Patriots hung half-a-hundred on a bewildered opponent. They routed the Washington Redskins, 52-7, Oct. 28.
Three individual records fell last night along with the Bills. Moss had 10 catches for 128 yards and four touchdowns - all in the first half - to establish the franchise mark for one game, and he increased his season total to 16 TD catches, breaking a tie with Stanley Morgan for most in a Patriots season (Morgan had 12 in 1979).
Tom Brady (31 of 39 for 373 yards) tossed five touchdown passes as he became the franchise's all-time leader in that category, bumping his career total to 185 and his season total to 38, just 11 shy of Peyton Manning's NFL record set in 2004. Brady orchestrated a Patriots offense that rolled up a season-high 510 yards, the fourth-most in team history.
"I've never been a fan of records," said Moss. "I learned at a young age that records are meant to be broken. I've never lived on records or my name in the record book or anything like that. We have a goal and the goal is to be still playing in January. It starts with the Eagles [next Sunday night] and after that we can look down the road, but we can't do that until we play Philadelphia."
Let the record show coach Bill Belichick did show the Bills some mercy. He sent Chris Hanson out to punt on fourth and 1 from the Buffalo 31 with 3:57 remaining. Even after a false start penalty and a chance to reconsider, the Patriots still booted the ball away, sending it into the ether like the Bills' four-game winning streak.
Coming off their bye, the Patriots were playing the first of three straight prime-time games as their pursuit of a perfect season has become a fascination for fans across the country and a mini-referendum on whether New England is deserving of the accomplishment.
The Bills fans didn't take to kindly to seeing their team embarrassed, especially when Belichick went for it on fourth and 1 from the Buffalo 10 with a 42-10 lead late in the third quarter. Brady competed a pass to Moss for the first down and a chorus of profanity rained down on the Patriots.
It doesn't matter whether they're liked or not. Nobody can stop them.
"We don't care," said cornerback Ellis Hobbs, who scored the final touchdown on 35-yard fumble return with 13:59 left. "You can throw what you want. That just lets us know that we're doing our job. This is not Pop Warner or anything like that. It's the NFL. We just go out there and play football no matter what."
It only took a half for the Patriots to prove that Buffalo's winning streak was meaningless, as they pounded the Bills into submission by intermission.
The Patriots scored on all five first-half possessions, rolling up 316 yards of total offense and taking no prisoners on their way to a 35-7 lead.
The Patriots weren't playing against the Bills as much as they were playing with them in front of a national television audience that got to watch Brady and Moss rewrite the New England record book.
"They're good players," said Belichick. "We see it in practice on a consistent basis. Tom doesn't make a lot of bad plays and neither does Randy."
By the break, Brady had 287 yards passing and four touchdown tosses, all to Moss.
Perhaps inspired by the four touchdown catches Terrell Owens, the self-dubbed Original No. 81, had in the Dallas Cowboys' 28-23 win over the Redskins earlier in the day - Moss said he was aware of Owens's performance - New England's No. 81 sliced through the Buffalo defense like a gridiron Ginsu, finishing the half with eight catches for 112 yards to become the first Patriots receiver since Troy Brown in 2001 to top 1,000 yards in a season.
The four touchdown passes made Brady, who looked like he was playing flag football back home in the Bay Area, the franchise's all-time leader in 43 fewer games than previous record-holder Steve Grogan (149). It also extended his NFL record of consecutive games with three or more touchdown passes to 10.
Brady set the franchise mark on a 6-yarder to Moss with 6:33 left before the half that made it 28-7.
Adalius Thomas had 2 1/2 sacks in the first half - two more than he had in the first nine games of the season - to lead a fierce defense that racked up four sacks and made the Bills' offense look as bad as its No. 31 ranking.
Bills quarterback J.P. Losman was making his first prime-time start at home. He didn't look ready for the spotlight when he tossed an interception to Randall Gay on the fourth play from scrimmage. Gay returned the ball 21 yards and the Patriots ended up at the Buffalo 13 after right tackle Langston Walker hit Gay out of bounds.
That set up running back Laurence Maroney's first touchdown of the season, a 6-yard jaunt with 12:17 left in the first quarter.
That was the least of the Bills' problems, as like Niagara Falls, Brady and Moss proved to be an unstoppable force of nature, accounting for the next four touchdowns. The first was a 43-yarder that came one play after Moss uncharacteristically dropped a pass.
"I'm with the New England Patriots, what more could you want?" asked Moss.

One of my favorite movies of all time.

I saw "American Gangster" this weekend and it was amazing. From start to finish, I was not bored and constantly on the edge of my seat. It was sooo good. Denzel was amazing (as usual) and Russell Crowe was amazing too. It was sooo awesome! Best Movie of 2007 by far.

10-0! 10-0! 10-0!

Patriots improve to 10-0 after scoring TDs on first seven possessions

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- Tom Brady. Randy Moss. Even Kyle Eckel.

The New England Patriots are showing no mercy to any opponent, not even the Buffalo Bills, a team for which coach Bill Belichick has publicly expressed affection.
Scoring touchdowns on their first seven offensive possessions and getting the eighth on a turnover, the Patriots won their 10th straight game, routing Buffalo 56-10 Sunday night. Brady and Moss, ready to rewrite the NFL record books, led the romp.
Brady was 31-for-39 for 373 yards with five TD passes, four to Moss, as New England became the 10th team since 1970 to start a season 10-0. The way they played, they appear unbeatable, and barring injury are an excellent bet to become the NFL's first perfect team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins.
"Can this offense play any better? Of course we can," said Moss. "With all 11 guys executing, there's no telling what we can do."
They've already done plenty.
It was the ninth time in 10 games New England won by more than 17 points and the ninth time it scored more than 34 points. The Patriots did it coming off a bye week after their only close game of the season, a 24-20 win in Indianapolis in which they came back from a 10- point deficit with less than 10 minutes left.
They also did it against a Buffalo team that came in 5-4 with four straight wins.
Brady, who has yet to throw fewer than three touchdown passes in a game, increased his TD passes to 38, just 11 short of Peyton Manning's single-season record, set in 2004. Moss' four TD catches gave him 16 for the season, six short of the record set by Jerry Rice in 1987.
"They are magnificent. They really are," said Buffalo president Marv Levy, who coached the Jim Kelly-led Bills that went to four Super Bowls between 1990-93 and, at the time, set the standard for offensive excellence.
On New England's last two offensive TD drives, the Patriots went for it on fourth down as the Buffalo crowd shouted obscenities clearly aimed at Belichick. Eckel, a fourth-string running back who also scored a rub-it-in TD against Dallas, was a part of the later scores.
After the first week of the season, Belichick was fined $500,000 after illegal tapes of the New York Jets' defense were confiscated by the NFL. The team was fined $250,000 and will forfeit a first-round draft pick.
Since then, Belichick seems on a mission to demonstrate his team has no need to break the rules, several times seeming to run up the score. After their bye week, he drove his players even harder.
"Coach says he puts you out there to score when you touch it," Brady said. "He doesn't put you out there to punt."
Belichick also is driving his stars hard, including Brady and Moss, who he described after the game as "pretty good players."
"He put that humble pie on us. Actually, it was a humble pie casserole. it wasn't really a pie," Moss said. "Just being the coach that he is and not letting us get too ahead of ourselves, coming off a bye."
Brady said the same.
"It's just the way he coaches," Brady said of Belichick. "There's never anything that's good enough. After a while you just get sick of it. You say 'enough, coach.' We've taken beating after beating. It helps us get in the right frame of mind."
Belichick finally took out Brady and Moss with a little less than 11 minutes left in this game. Perhaps because of the affection he expressed before the game for Buffalo coach Dick Jauron, he declined to go for a fourth-and-inches from the Buffalo 30 with 3:56 left, choosing to punt instead.
"I have no problem with that," Jauron said of the earlier fourth-down tries. "It's our job to stop it."
The 56 points were the most by a road team since 1973. And the 46 points was the worst margin of defeat for Buffalo, three points worse than a loss to Baltimore in 1970.
It came on a night in which Buffalo fans were encouraged by a taped video on the message board before the game from Kevin Everett, the tight end who suffered a severe spinal injury in the opening game. "One of the reasons this is a positive is that he's continued to improve," Jauron said of Everett. "He's gotten better. It's been a big plus for us and that he has gotten as far as he has."
As with most New England games in 2007, this was no contest from the start after Randall Gay intercepted J.P. Losman's pass on the fourth play from scrimmage to set up a 6-yard TD run by Laurence Maroney.
By halftime it was 35-7 on TD passes of 43, 16, 6 and 17 yards to Moss. The sixth score came on a 3-yard pass from Brady to Benjamin Watson on a fourth-down play at the start of third quarter.
After Rian Lindell's 52-yard field goal made it 42-10, New England scored another touchdown on fourth-string running back Kyle Eckel's 1-yard run after the Patriots once again had gone for it on fourth down, converting on a 3-yard pass from Brady to Moss.
The New England defense finished it off when Ellis Hobbs returned Dwayne Wright's fumble 35 yards for a score. The ball was knocked from Wright's arms by James Sanders and bounced straight to Hobbs.
Moss finished with 10 receptions for 128 yards.
"I'm just in a good situation," said Moss, obtained for a fourth-round pick after two miserable seasons in Oakland. "I'm in a dream. It's too good to be true. I'm with the Patriots."
It was left for Losman to define the rout and the way New England has played just about everyone.
"We felt like we were playing catch-up all day," he said. "But then everyone seems to feel like that against them."
Game notesMoss broke Stanley Morgan's Patriots record of 13 touchdown catches in a season. He also became the first Patriot to go over 1,000 yards receiving since Troy Brown in 2001. ... Maroney became the 19th member of the Patriots to score a touchdown this season. ... Buffalo's touchdown came on a 47-yard pass from Losman to Roscoe Parrish. Their deepest penetration in the game was to the New England 28 at the end of the game.

New Shoes!

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Pats vs. Bills this Sunday at 8pm on NBC!

Maroney doesn't have score to settle
By Christopher L. Gasper, Globe Staff November 16, 2007
FOXBOROUGH - Laurence Maroney scored seven touchdowns last season, and to match that total this season he's going to have to do it in seven games.
Nine games into the season, Maroney has yet to find the end zone. He'll try to break through Sunday night at Buffalo. Maroney, who rushed for 103 yards in the teams' first meeting Sept. 23, said he's not mad he hasn't crossed the goal line.
"Have you seen the victories we have? I can't be upset as long as we're winning," said Maroney. "I'm happy even though I haven't reached the end zone. Everybody wants to reach the end zone. I feel like my time is coming sooner than later. As long as we keep winning, I don't care if I never make it to the end zone."
Maroney, who missed three games with a groin injury, hasn't been the team's primary goal-line back. Sammy Morris and Heath Evans have gotten the bulk of the carries in close, but with Morris (chest) out for the season, Maroney could see more goal-line duty.
Maroney is averaging 4.7 yards this season (417 yards on 89 carries), but he has been criticized for dancing before hitting the hole, a detriment in short-yardage situations.
"I feel like I'm going to do the best thing I know how to do and that's run the ball," he said. "A lot of folks always want to talk about how somebody runs, but ask them have they ever ran the ball before. Everybody thinks it's as easy as getting the ball and go run. It's more [than] that. I feel like I didn't try to hide my running style. They knew my running style before they drafted me. They drafted me because of my running style and what I was able to do on the collegiate level, so I feel like I shouldn't have to change because I dance too much or one person feels like I should do this more. That ain't what got me here. I feel like I'm going to continue doing what got me here."
Winter warningThe Patriots are bracing for wintry weather in Buffalo. According to the National Weather Service, snow is likely tomorrow in Buffalo, although it is not expected to snow during the game.
The Patriots practiced indoors yesterday, and coach Bill Belichick said he'll address the elements with his team as it gets closer to game time. Other than ballhandling, Belichick said the kicking game is most affected by wind, moisture, and cold.
Stephen Gostkowski said the key is knowing your limitations.
"You know we're not going to be trying 55-yard field goals in the first quarter when it's 30 degrees outside and windy," he said. "And the touchbacks, you can't count on those, but our kickoff team does a great job. I have to suck up my pride and realize that maybe a kick to the 5-yard line is a great kick in these conditions. You have to realize what you can do and not try to do too much, and not change your approach."
The temperature could be below freezing. The Patriots have done well in cold weather, winning 16 of their last 18 when it's 34 degrees or below. "I think this team is going to be good no matter what weather we play in," said Maroney.
Brown gaining groundVeteran wide receiver Troy Brown, who has spent the season on the physically unable to perform list following offseason knee surgery, has already made an impression after beginning to practice this week.
"He looks quick. I saw that on film. He's moving great and he feels pretty strong," said safety Rodney Harrison. "He came and crackback-blocked on me [Wednesday], and I was like, 'Wow, Troy, you got a little hunger behind you.' Troy is doing great. He's worked his butt off to get in shape and put himself in a good position to come back and play."
The Patriots have until Nov. 28 to activate Brown or in all likelihood end his career by releasing him or placing him on injured reserve for the season. Belichick said Brown understands he's not going to receive special treatment because of his stature with the club.
"I think you always have to put the team first," said Belichick. "That's bigger than all of us, but Troy is a special guy and he's done a lot to help this football team win a lot of games since I've been here and before that. That's all well respected and pretty well documented, but at the same time, this year is this year, and we'll do what's best for the team this year. And he understands that. We all do."
Lynch misses practice againFor the second straight day, Bills running back Marshawn Lynch did not practice because of a sprained left ankle. On Wednesday, coach Dick Jauron said he was not "particularly optimistic" about Lynch's availability Sunday. The Bills did get some good news as defensive end Aaron Schobel fully participated in practice after sitting out Wednesday with an illness. Tight end Robert Royal, who suffered a concussion last week, returned to practice with limited participation. The Patriots had no changes to their injury report, as linebacker Eric Alexander (knee), safety Eugene Wilson (ankle), and safety Mel Mitchell (groin) all sat out practice.
Mike Reiss of the Globe staff contributed to this report; Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com.