Belichick questions Colts injury reports!

You just have to love Patriots Coach Bill Belichick! Belichick took issue this week with the contention that Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is playing hurt.

When a questioner asked Belichick his thoughts on Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and how he's battled through injuries, Belichick responded by calling him a "great player" and detailed what makes him tough to defend.

Belichick had completed his answer and then was asked a different question. In his answer to the new question, about the Patriots and Colts once again meeting in early November, he stopped mid-sentence and said:

"Going back to Manning for a second, if I'm not mistaken, he hasn't shown up on the injury report all year except maybe one day at the beginning of the season. I am not really sure what injuries you're talking about, but he hasn't been listed on the injury report all year."

Manning, of course, underwent two procedures on his knee during the summer to remove an infected bursa sac. He missed the entire preseason and didn't take a snap with the Colts until the opener. He has thrown 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions for the 3-4 Colts.

"He looks pretty good to me," Belichick said. "I don't think he's injured. He hasn't been on the injury report, so I'm assuming he's not hurt." (who says Bill doesn't have a sense of humor?)

There seemed to be a message in those words from Belichick. The Patriots' injury reporting procedures are often discussed by media members, and it seemed as if Belichick was pointing out that other teams deserve some attention too.

Rams doubtful about Patriots penalty free game

The New England Patriots had committed 22 penalties in their first six games this season. The Pats' total still is 22 (a league low)after they pitched a perfect game Sunday in turning aside the St. Louis Rams 23-16. That's right: New England was assessed zero penalty yards. "Never ever, ever, ever played a perfect team before," Rams guard Richie Incognito quipped. "That's all I am going to say on that one." The one penalty that was called against the Pats -- offensive holding in the fourth quarter -- was declined by the Rams because quarterback Matt Cassel was sacked for an 8-yard loss on the play. The Rams were flagged 12 times (three were declined) and set back 63 yards. "We did commit some penalties," coach Jim Haslett conceded Monday after watching the game tape. "I thought there should have been some calls on the other side." Haslett noted three instances in which he felt New England should've been hit with a personal foul: a facemask on quarterback Marc Bulger, a late hit on Bulger and an out-of-bounds hit on cornerback Fakhir Brown after an interception. -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Patriots vs. Rams: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Patriots Game 7: Patriots 23 – Rams 16

With a depleted running back corp, the Patriots (5-2) held on when it mattered most, winning a tight game six days after routing Denver 41-7. The Rams (2-5) couldn't overcome the absence of RB Steven Jackson, their leading rusher and receiver who missed the game with a strained right thigh muscle. Defensive end Leonard Little left in the first half with a hamstring injury as well.

The Good:

The Patriots were not flagged for any accepted penalties against St. Louis (a holding penalty was declined), marking the first penalty-free game in the franchise’s 731-game history. The Rams committed nine penalties for 63 yards!

Patriots CB Deltha O'Neal returned to the game after suffering a head injury in the first quarter and intercepted Marc Bulger with a juggling catch. O'Neal returned the pick 47 yards and ended the Rams' potential game-tying drive in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Matt Cassel lead his first fourth-quarter comeback, and finished 21-of-33 for 267 yards (1 TD, 2 INT).

With the Patriots dressing just three healthy running backs, Kevin Faulk was the workhorse at the position. BenJarvus Green-Ellis started, but once the Patriots settled into their three-receiver attack on a more consistent basis, Faulk stayed on the field. Faulk finished with 60 yards on 13 carries, while catching four passes for 47 yards, including the game-winning 15-yard TD strike.

Defensive lineman Richard Seymour totaled seven tackles, one sack, and is credited with four quarterback hits as he consistently pushed the pocket.

Outside linebacker Adalius Thomas' two first-half sacks ultimately lead to 10 points.

Defensive end Ty Warren totaled four tackles and came up with a quarterback sack on the first play after the Patriots tied the game at 16. This play ultimately set up a short field for the Patriots' offense.

The Bad:

Defensive backs Ellis Hobbs/James Sanders were the closest to the play in which WR Donnie Avery hauled in a 69-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

The Rams surprised the Patriots with an onside kick to start the second half and it was recovered by Travis Minor at the St. Louis 41.

The Rams stopped Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis for no gain on 4th-and-1 from the St. Louis 36 to force a turnover on downs.

A comedy of errors...CB Ellis Hobbs broke free on a 49-yard kickoff return, but couldn't outrun kicker Josh Brown, who made a potential touchdown-saving tackle at midfield. WR Wes Welker dropped a first-down pass in which he had gotten behind his defender and had space to run. On the very next play, RB Kevin Faulk dropped a pass over the middle. Rams defensive end Chris Long then sacked QB Matt Cassel for a 7-yard loss forcing the Patriots to punt and Chris Hanson's ball hit hard before the goal line, where WR Kelley Washington couldn't keep it from bouncing into the end zone for a touchback.

The Ugly:

QB Matt Cassel was sacked four times...he is still holding onto the ball too long.

CB Ellis Hobbs left the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury.

Final Thoughts:

"Like I told the team after the game, this is a good example of having to play 60 minutes, like we always have to do in this league. Those guys really stepped up and made some big plays there in the fourth quarter. I'm really proud of them. We had contributions from everybody. There's no way ... you can go down the line and name them all. A lot of guys stepped up. A lot of guys made big plays." -- New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick

"The game really boiled down to second half field position. They had great field position on offense all day. Our offense had short field position all day. We had too many penalties on special teams and that is really what it came down to. It’s a shame because we fought hard, we played hard, we competed, we did a nice job in that area. It is just disappointing, the outcome." -- St. Louis Rams interim head coach Jim Haslett

WR Randy Moss recorded his 800th career reception on his first catch of the day, a 10-yard grab in the 1st quarter. Moss became the 19th player in NFL history to break the 800-reception mark, and did it in the fifth-fewest number of games in league history.

The Rams played for the first time in Gillette Stadium, which opened in 2002. The Patriots are 24-4 against first-time visitors there.

Preview: Patriots VS. Rams

Last Week: Matt Cassel threw for three touchdowns, two of them to Randy Moss, Sammy Morris rushed for a career-high 138 yards, and the Patriots walloped the Denver Broncos 41-7 on Monday Night Football at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots rushed for 257 yards as a team, the most in a game by the Patriots since a 1985 game against Cincinnati. The Broncos suffered three lost fumbles and two interceptions, but surprisingly sacked Cassel six times. The Patriots are now 4-2 and host the St. Louis Rams at home. The Rams last week had Steven Jackson run for 160 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rams to a 34-14 dismantling at home of the Cowboys. This was the Rams second consecutive win under interim coach Jim Haslett.

Patriots vs. Rams: Things to watch for...

PATRIOTS:

Patriots QB Matt Cassel had his best performance of the season on Monday night, throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions. Cassel appears to be getting more comfortable in the Patriots' offense, but he still has a tendency to hold on to the ball too long. He's being sacked an average of four times a game after going down six times in the Denver game.

With Rodney Harrison lost for the season, the Patriots' secondary will have to regroup, likely starting second-year DB Brandon Meriweather in his place. Meriweather has been a bright spot in a shaky Patriots defensive backfield, recording three interceptions in his last five games.

A player like Kevin Faulk could see an expanded role, as the Patriots are shorthanded at running back. Look for BenJarvus Green-Ellis to be the primary ball carrier for the Patriots. "He knows where the hole is at, he finds it, he hits it and he is not going to try to do much sideline-to-sideline running."

RAMS:

The Rams are a faster-style defense, and will sometimes stress the opposition's protections with zone blitzes. Leonard Little (team-high 4.5 sacks) is a top pass rusher, while Chris Long is coming off his best game of the season in terms of generating pressure. In turn, the Rams have had their struggles defending the run.

Steven Jackson is the lead rusher and receiver on the team, leading the Rams with 508 rushing yards and 25 receptions. The Patriots will likely commit their resources to ensuring Jackson doesn't beat them, assuming Jackson, who is battling a thigh injury, is healthy enough to play.

Having spent the first five years of his career with the Seahawks, Josh Brown delivered some clutch kicks to help beat the Rams late in games. He's already delivered one winning kick, nailing a 49-yarder with no time left against the Redskins. In a close game, Brown to could be a key to the offense.

Brady Mentoring Cassel?

Matt Cassel remains in contact with injured quarterback Tom Brady, getting advice and heeding his words. Cassel said the talk is always about football and not about Brady's recent medical woes. "We don't really talk about his injury situation much," Cassel said about Brady's surgically repaired knee. "I really don't know the status of Tom from an injury standpoint. All I know is that when I talk to him, he's in high spirits and he sounds good, and he says that he's recovering well." Cassel has done his best to follow the advice Brady gives him, especially one pearl of wisdom. "He said, 'Just be yourself, don't try to do too much, don't take the weight of the world on your shoulders and just go out and try to execute the offense, and move forward and you'll get better week by week,' " Cassel said. -- Boston Herald

Recovery setbacks for Patriots Tom Brady?

Things have not gone well for Tom Brady with regards to repairing his knee.

Surgeons repaired Brady's two torn knee ligaments (anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament) on Oct. 6, but within days discovered that the knee had become infected to the point that it threatened his recovery. Brady is now dealing with a "septic joint" from the surgery.

"Infections in a joint can lead to permanent damage, eventually permanent stiffness and permanent pain, or even permanent arthritis of the knee," said Dr. Charles Bush-Joseph, a sports medicine and knee specialist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

An infected joint following ACL reconstruction is a rare and major complication, occurring in less than 1 percent of patients. Along with blood clots, septic joints are the complication orthopedic surgeons fear the most. While infections can occur under the best circumstances, that has not lessened the second-guessing of Brady's decision to undergo surgery outside Boston and away from team doctors.

When doctors wash out a septic joint, a similar action often must be done two or three times to help clear out the infection (Brady reportedly has had two more operations to clean out the infection). He's also been placed on extensive antibiotics.

Now with the added issues of infection, Brady's rehabilitation could end up being longer and a lot more painful. The infection could create long-term knee problems, including reduced mobility, stiffness, weakness, and lingering pain.

As for Brady though, in a message posted on his Web site, he sounded optimistic about returning next season: "I am excited to begin rehabbing my knee and will continue preparing for 2009."

Patriots vs. Broncos: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Patriots Game 6: Patriots 41 – Broncos 7

The Good:

The Patriots forced five Denver turnovers and scored 20 points off of those turnovers.

QB Matt Cassel posted a career-high passer rating of 136.3, completing 18-of-24 passes (75 percent) for 185 yards and three touchdowns.

Running back Sammy Morris totaled 138 yards on 16 carries, playing only in the first half before leaving with a knee injury. Who knows how well he would have done if not injured.

Benjamin Watson (3 catches, 40 yards) and David Thomas (0 catches) were excellent in the run-blocking game, and their high snap counts reflect how the Patriots went with more double-tight end packages as the running game built momentum.

Ty Warren, Lewis Sanders and Mike Wright force fumbles that are all recovered by the Patriots, while James Sanders and Brandon Meriweather intercept QB Jay Cutler passes.

WR Randy Moss and Wes Welker were on fire for a total of 11 receptions for 132 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus Welker adds 63 yards on 3 punt returns.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored his first NFL touchdown on 1-yard run with 3:09 remaining as the Patriots increased their lead over the Broncos to 41-7 (final score).

The Bad:

Different week, same story! Matt Cassel is sacked six times and knocked to the turf a total of 11 times. He needs to learn to get rid of the ball faster.

TE Daniel Graham hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to break up the Patriots' shutout bid with 13:21 remaining in the game.

The Ugly:

Penalties, penalties, penalties! Rodney Harrison (roughing the passer), Vince Wilfork (unneccesary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct), and Jonathan Wilhite (unnecessary roughness) total 60 yards in penalties.

Patriots safety Rodney Harrison suffered a torn quadriceps in his right leg. The injury definitely ends Harrison's 2008 season and very likely could signal the end of an outstanding 15-year career.

Final Thoughts:

"That was a real great job by our football team tonight, I couldn’t be prouder of them. It was a tough loss last week; we came back across county. We had our best week of practice and we played our best football tonight and we needed to. That’s [Denver] a good football team. I can’t say enough about the way those guys went about it all week. We played a good complementary game. I thought the offense took advantage of the field position that we got. Defensively we took advantage of some of the opportunities we had to turn the ball over. In the end it was a good complementary, complete game. I’d like to give the players all the credit. They played hard. They played tough and they made some plays. It was good to beat Denver. There haven’t been a lot of those." -- New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick

"Well, obviously the Patriots played much better than we did, the obvious. We went into the game knowing we couldn’t turn the football over. Any time you turn the ball over five times and you get no turnovers in return, obviously good things aren’t going to happen." -- Denver Broncos Coach Mike Shanahan

The Patriots ran for 257 yards on 38 carries (6.8 avg.), tying the team’s highest single-game rushing total since Dec. 22, 1985, when the Patriots posted 281 yards on 46 carries (6.1 avg.) against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Turnover Outlook:

Defensive lineman Le Kevin Smith recovered an Andre Hall fumble at the Patriots 32 with 8:53 remaining in the first quarter.

Defensive lineman Ty Warren forced Broncos running back Andre Hall to fumble for the second time in the first quarter and linebacker Jerod Mayo recovered for the Patriots at the Denver 37.

Safety Brandon Meriweather intercepted a Jay Cutler pass at the Patriots 16 with 5:10 remaining in the first half.

Defensive lineman Mike Wright forced a fumble with a strip sack of Denver quarterback Patrick Ramsey and linebacker Gary Guyton recovered at midfield to short-circuit a Denver scoring chance late in the first half.

Safety James Sanders came up with the team's fifth turnover of the game when he intercepted Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler with 5:59 remaining in the third quarter.

Pats Rodney Harrison's future in question after another knee injury

Rodney Harrison, the hard-hitting but injury-plagued safety of the New England Patriots, appears to be done for the season — and perhaps his career. The emotional of leader of the Patriots had to be carted off the field at the end of the third quarter with a knee injury, as cheers from the Gillette Stadium crowd raining down on him as he was riding off. Harrison gave a brief wave of recognition, appearing as though he was fighting back tears. Harrison may have been waving goodbye. The 15-year veteran is in the last year of his contract with New England, and at 35 years old, it may be too much for him to come back from another season-ending injury. Harrison missed much of the 2005 season after tearing all three major ligaments in his knee against the Steelers. "We'll have to see how that is. It doesn't look too good," Bill Belichick said of Harrison's injury after the game.

The injury to the 35-year-old Harrison is his fourth in four years.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Patriots contact John Lynch. Lynch is the kind of safety/linebacker needed to fill the role left by Harrison.

Patriots RB Laurence Maroney going to IR

Move over Tom, you are going to have company...

The Patriots have placed running back Laurence Maroney on season-ending injured reserve. Maroney, now in his third season, missed Sunday's game against the Chargers with a shoulder injury, as well as the Dolphins game with a shoulder injury.

Maroney has only totaled 28 carries for 93 yards this season. A first-round draft choice in 2006, he is signed through the 2010 season.

At Runningback, the Patriots have Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, LaMont Jordan, Heath Evans and BenJarvus Green-Ellis on the roster.

Tom Brady under the knife again...

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady underwent a second procedure on his injured left knee Wednesday to clear out an infection, according to a source close to Brady on the West Coast. Brady had surgery Oct. 6 at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. Doctors said the procedure went well, but Brady began to feel ill this week because of the infection. While he has not seen Brady's injury, Dr. Nicholas DiNubile - a knee specialist and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons - said an infection must be aggressively treated and monitored. He noted there are different types of infections, with different degrees of severity, and some are more easily managed than others. -- Boston Globe

Patriots vs. Chargers: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Patriots Game 5: Patriots 10 – Chargers 30

The Good:
(yes, there was some good...)

Defensively the Patriots did a good job against the run (the Chargers had 28 rushes for 98 yards), on third down (San Diego was 3 of 10) and even in pass defense on short and intermediate routes.

Belichick had a positive assessment of the job Mark LeVoir did filling in for Kaczur at right tackle, after Kaczur was forced to leave the game in the first quarter.

The Bad:

Quarterback Mark Cassel struggled in finishing 22 of 38 for 203 yards and one interception. He also was sacked four times. He needs to release the ball sooner.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers dropped back to pass 27 times and was hit a grand total of zero times.

A 59-yard pass from Philip Rivers to Vincent Jackson set up a 1-yard touchdown pass to Antontio Gates to make it 24-3.

Offensively, the Patriots struggled to generate consistency in any phase of the game. The San Diego defenders tackled well, limiting the effectiveness of the Patriots’ screen game.

Wide Receiver Randy Moss cannot come up with two grabs along the sidelines. He was open two other times but the ball wasn't delivered accurately.

The Ugly:

Big plays hurt the Patriots, and specifically the coverage of cornerback Deltha O’Neal.

Cornerbacks Ellis Hobbs/Deltha O'Neal/Terrence Wheatley all get beaten for big plays or are called for costly penalties (mostly in man-to-man coverage) as the Chargers attacked them in the deep part of the field.

Final Thoughts:

Belichick was asked if he still has confidence in quarterback Matt Cassel leading the team, and he simply replied yes. “Matt is our starting quarterback. He gives our team the best chance to win. We’ve all got to play better, and coach better than we did last week. We have to do a better job than we did against San Diego. But he’s our quarterback.”

“San Diego obviously did a good job tonight, a lot better than we did. They hit the deep balls on us. They did a good job of getting field position in the kicking game, and offensively. They were able to keep us out of the end zone, until the end. They played a solid game in all three phases. They just did a better job than we did. Give them credit. We need to work harder and just do a better job all the way around than we did tonight. It’s as simple as that.” -- Patriots Coach Bill Belichick

"I think it took a lot out of the Patriots, offensively and defensively. Any time you stop a team on the 2-yard yard line and then drive it 98 yards, it's deflating to anybody." -- San Diego CB Quentin Jammer

“We did a terrible job of playing the deep balls. You just can’t win the National Football League giving up 50 yard bombs and pass interference for 50-plus yards.” -- Patriots S Rodney Harrison

Where's the Proof Mr. Davis?

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis received a letter from the NFL this week saying, in essence, that if he has evidence the New England Patriots tampered with his team prior to a 2007 trade involving Randy Moss, he should present it.

There is an NFL policy that does say that teams can be subject to sanctions for issuing false allegations in public. The punishment for violating the policy could range from a substantial fine -- $250,000 or more -- to docking the Raiders one or more draft picks, or both.

Davis said the Patriots had tampered with Randy Moss before a deal in April 2007 that brought the wide receiver to New England for a fourth-round choice the weekend of the NFL draft. Patriots coach Bill Belichick denied the claim by Davis that New England had a workout with Moss before obtaining him in the trade.

Asked by the Globe about Davis's claims, Belichick said, "I've told the story a hundred times. The first time I talked to Randy was after I talked to Mr. Davis, Saturday night/Sunday morning before the draft, the second day of the draft. I don't know what this workout is. No idea."

Patriots vs. 49ers: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Patriots Game 4: Patriots 30 – 49ers 21

The Good:

The New England Patriots didn't forget how to win just because their regular-season winning streak is over. Two key plays: Randy Moss' dynamic 66-yard TD catch and Kevin Faulk's gutsy fourth-down score on a direct snap (at least the Patriots learned something from the Dolphins).

On third and eight from the 49ers' 34-yard line in the first quarter, Matt Cassel rolled to his right and hit Randy Moss, who had split the defense down the middle, on a 66-yard touchdown. The catch was Moss’s longest reception as a Patriot.

New England kept the ball for more than 32 minutes in the first three quarters, while Mike Martz's Niners offense couldn't get a first down during a 36-minute stretch spanning the middle periods.

Stephen Gostkowski was 3 of 3 on field goals, including his 49-yarder in the fourth quarter to make it a two-score game. The kicks were Gostkowski’s 15th, 16th and 17th consecutive successful field goals.

When the tempo was high early, and the Patriots needed to slow things down, the running backs delivered, led by Sammy Morris.

Brandon Meriweather recorded his second interception of the season and the second interception of his career when he made an acrobatic play to intercept a J.T. O'Sullivan pass at the San Francisco 4-yard line in the first quarter.

The Bad:

Although Matt Cassel had a solid performance in the passing game, he still had two interceptions and was sacked five times.

RB Lauernce Maroney finished with just 26 yards on 10 carries (2.6 avg) while playing just 17 snaps. He is being outplayed my Morris, Jordan, and Faulk.

The Ugly:
Although it was not a perfect game, there was nothing ugly about it.

Final Thoughts:

“It always feels good when you win, especially after a loss. It’s good for the whole team, the morale. Especially when you’re on the road against a good team, it always feels good. You try to build on it and go to next week. ” -- Patriots Kicker Stephen Gostkowski

"That was a good win for our football team today. I was really proud of the way they played. We didn't get off to a good start, got behind a couple of times here on the road, and the fans were really into it. The 49ers played hard. They're a good football team. They do a lot of things well, certainly move the ball offensively, and rush the passer on defense. I was proud of our guys. They fought back. Kept making a few plays. In the end, we made enough to win, a few more than they did. Credit all the way -- a good team win." -- Patriots Coach Bill Belichick

The Patriots 30-21 victory over the 49ers was the teams first win in San Francisco. New England had lost in each of their four previous road matchups with the 49ers. The Washington Redskins are now the only NFL team the Patriots have never beaten on the road.

Patriots Grade: Patriots vs Dolphins

Week 3: New England vs. Miami Dolphins

Grogan's Grade: Former New England Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan provides weekly insights on the progress of the Patriots during the 2008 football season. Here are some snippets from week 3:

Overall View of the game: "Every team, or most every team, seems to have a game or two like this a season where just nothing can go right for you. I was a little surprised that it happened against the Dolphins Sunday, but I don't think it's time to panic. I'm sure people will be calling for Cassel's head, and the defense is getting old, and we've got to make changes. But this is just one of those games where the Dolphins had a great game plan offensively and defensivly coming into the game and it worked better than the Patriots game plan did, and consequently it was a blow out. "

View on Defense: "Four of the touchdowns came off of the same play, three were the exact same play and one was the pass off of it. To me the players can't be that bad all of a sudden. To me that means the coaches didn't have a very good game plan, or didn't make adjustments during the game to put the players in the proper positions to make plays. You just don't get that bad in a week. So hopefully, and I'm confident, they will turn it around."

View of the Dolphins passing attack: "It looked to me that the game plan for the Patriots defense was to defend the perimeter because they were throwing the ball down the middle constantly to people that were wide open, particularly the tightends were running down the middle making big catches for them. When you give a guy like Chad Pennington, who's not a great quarterback but he's been around long enought to know whats going on. If you don't get some pressure on him he's going to chip you to death and that's what he did Sunday. "

View of Matt Cassel: "In defense of Matt Cassel, I was glad I was at the stadium to see that, because there were not people open. They just were not getting open for him. After the first quarter he had no place to throw the ball. I know people will blame him but a quarterback can't throw the ball if there's not somebody open."

GROGAN'S GRADES FOR WEEK 3

OFFENSE: D
DEFENSE: F
SPECIAL TEAMS: A
OVERALL: D

On the Offense: I gave the offense a 'D'. They looked pretty good for the first quarter, but then Cassel had no pass protection, no running game, and no receivers getting open for him. I thought the game plan was a bit of a grab bag.

On the Defense: I have to give the defense an 'F'. They had a poor game plan, which left the middle of the field open far too much in the passing game. They made no adjustments to the Dolphin's special formation, which they scored 4 touchdowns on. There was also poor tackling by the secondary and no pass ruch by the front seven.

On the Special Teams: I gave special teams an 'A' They had several good kickoff returns and punt returns to give the offense good feild position. I thought the coverage teams also did a nice job in giving the Dolphins a long feild to have to work with.

On the Overall Performance: I think I'm going to go with a D and part of the reason it's that high is I thought the special teams did a nice job Sunday. Ellis Hobbs had some really nice returns and so did Kevin Faulk on the punts but thats the only thing that saved them from failing Sunday.

Note: Grogan's Grade Airs On "The Morning Buzz" every Monday at 7:30am, and appears on PatsFans.com every Tuesday Morning. Grogan played in 149 games with the Patriots from 1975-1990, and was named to the Patriots Hall of Fame in 1995.

Patriots Bye Week at the right time...

After the loss to the Dolphins, it is good to see that the Bye week came at the right time for both Cassel and Moss.

Matt Cassel said that one of the benefits of an extra week to prepare for Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers was he had a chance to take a breather from digesting the game plan and sit down with wide receiver Randy Moss. "We had some time off to really sit down and elaborate on what we were thinking, both of us, and really get on the same page."

As for Moss, "Well, I think that first of all he [Matt Cassel] has to believe in himself. I think it will trickle on down to the whole offense. We have seen Matt progress in these last couple of weeks quicker than we expected him to. We just have to put guys around him. Luckily he is the quarterback so he gets the good and the bad. With the 10 guys that we put around him, we have to make it happen. Not really everything is on him or his shoulders. He has to be smart and distribute the ball but at the same time there are still 11 guys out there that have to get the job done. We like what we are doing as a whole offensive unit and hopefully we can keep it going."