Patriots Team Report

INSIDE SLANT

Tom Brady’s(notes) comments following last week’s loss to Miami regarding his teammates’ perceived inability to fight hard when the chips are down raised a few eyebrows.

Three days later, the latest rumblings from Foxboro now have fans wondering if the Patriots are becoming less and less tolerant of insubordination and overall malaise.

Head coach Bill Belichick sent four players (Adalius Thomas(notes), Randy Moss(notes), Derrick Burgess(notes) and Gary Guyton(notes)) home Wednesday after they arrived late for an 8 a.m. meeting citing problems with the wintry weather conditions.

Other Patriots suggest this is just part of Belichick’s normal routine—break the rules and pay the price—but the timing is curious. Coming off back-to-back losses for just the second time in nearly five years, perhaps the Patriots need a swift kick in the behind as they prepare to host the Carolina Panthers.

“I think (the law) would’ve been laid down at any time of the year, regardless of whether we lost. That’s not acceptable here,” linebacker Tully Banta-Cain(notes) told the Boston Globe. “That’s Bill’s deal, and I think in general, everyone’s sense of urgency is a little higher now. We’re in that part of the season where it’s a four-game season.

“The antennas are way up. I think if anything it just brings the sense of urgency up even higher.”

The most insulting part of Wednesday’s development is the fact Brady managed to show up on time despite not getting much sleep after his wife, Giselle Bunchden, gave birth to Brady’s second son the night before.

“I’ve got to do my job,” Brady said. “I’ve got plenty of things to do. Like I said, I’ve got to show up every day and bring whatever I have—the energy and the leadership that I have—to this team, because that’s what all those guys (do). That’s what our job is.”

The Patriots need all the help they can get following back-to-back losses, most recently in Miami where they scored just seven points in the second half of a 22-21 loss. The passing game is off and the defense has been unable to make key stops down the stretch. No wonder Brady made it a priority to show up on time Wednesday.

“It’s really a normal week for me in that sense,” he said. “Had a lot of good work done Monday and we came in as a team and did a bunch of work. I had stuff to do yesterday here, so it’s part of what we do.”

The rest of the team might need to follow Brady’s lead in order to avoid Belichick’s wrath.

“I think every team in the league—every year—goes through adversity in different forms,” Belichick said. “That’s part of competition. Not every play is a touchdown. Not every play is a sack. Not every play is an interception. There’re going to be plays that people get against us. Within the game, within the season, when you start playing football in August and play through December, January, whatever it is, not everything is going to go perfect. Every team has to deal with that. Certainly we’re one of those.”

Series History:   4th regular-season meeting. Panthers lead series 2-1. That record does not include New England’s 32-29 victory in Super Bowl XXXVIII. The Patriots lost the only meeting in Foxboro in 1995, but avenged the loss in Carolina in 2002. The last meeting between the Panthers and Patriots was in 2005 when Carolina coasted to a 27-17 win.

NOTES, QUOTES

—The Patriots are looking to continue their recent dominance of the NFC at home. Since 2001, the Patriots are 30-5 against NFC foes (.857 winning percentage). Including the playoffs, they are 33-6.

The Patriots are 2-1 against NFC opponents in 2009 and are 21-14 against the NFC South overall.

• Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Patriots have not been kind to first-time visitors. They’re 26-4 overall against teams playing at Gillette for the first time, including a 22-1 mark in the last 23 games. They’ve also won 10 in a row against first-time visitors dating back to 2005.

• For the first time in his career, Tom Brady completed three passes of 50 yards or more last weekend against Miami. The passes included a 58-yard completion to Wes Welker(notes), a 58-yard touchdown to Randy Moss and an 81-yard touchdown to Sam Aiken(notes).

• Moss cracked the 1,000-yard mark last weekend in Miami, becoming just the second player in NFL history with 10 seasons of 1,000 yards or more, joining Jerry Rice(notes). Moss reached the plateau on a 58-yard touchdown catch and now has 1,058 yards this season.

Moss is chasing Rice in another category, this one for touchdowns of 50 or more yards. He now has 28 TDs of 50+ yards for his career, which pushed him past Lance Alworth on the NFL’s all-time list. Rice leads the pack with 36 touchdowns of 50 yards or more.

• Welker finished Sunday’s game with 10 catches for 167 yards, which was the ninth game of his career with 10 or more receptions and his fifth this season.

The record for most games with 10-plus receptions in a season is seven, set by Andre Johnson(notes) in 2008.

• Few players in the locker room disagreed with Brady’s comments that the team doesn’t fight hard enough at times when trailing in games.

“We all know that or felt it,” running back Sammy Morris(notes) said. “I think him saying it kind of puts a little more emphasis on it. … I think we’re all on the same page and realize that we have a lot of things we need to correct and work on.”

By The Numbers:   3—The number of 300-yard passing games Tom Brady needs to tie the single-season record of 10 shared by Rich Gannon (2002) and Drew Brees(notes) (2008).

Quote To Note:   “Anything that happens with discipline on the team will stay between me and the players.”—Head coach Bill Belichick on the report that he sent four players home Wednesday for arriving late to practice.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

The Patriots won’t be making any wholesale changes at this point, but they did make two minor additions to the practice squad by signing QB Jeff Rowe(notes) and WR Darnell Jenkins(notes).

Rowe isn’t here to do much other than perhaps provide some looks for the scout team. Although Tom Brady’s wife gave birth to the couple’s first child and Brady’s second this week, don’t expect the quarterback to miss any time in practice or at the game this weekend.

Jenkins’ role is uncertain. He spent some time on the practice squad with Cleveland and Tampa Bay, but doesn’t have any noticeable experience to fall back on. Again, he might be a scout team contributor this week as the team prepares for an unfamiliar opponent.

As far as roster changes are concerned, the Patriots simply need more help from their regular contributors, not a major shakeup. They’ve reached the point in the season where it’s too late to do anything that would require addition learning and adjustments.

Player Notes  

• QB Tom Brady did not practice Wednesday due to what is being reported as in injured finger, though he is expected to play Sunday against Carolina. Brady also welcomed the birth of his second son this week.

• DL Myron Pryor(notes) missed Wednesday’s practice with a chest injury suffered in Sunday’s loss at Miami. There’s no word yet on whether he’ll play Sunday, but it doesn’t appear he’ll be ready in time.

• LB Tully Banta-Cain is suffering from a shoulder injury and participated in a limited amount of Wednesday’s practice. He should be available Sunday barring any setbacks.

• RB Fred Taylor(notes) did not practice Wednesday as he continues to battle back from midseason ankle surgery. Taylor appears close to playing, but there’s no word on whether this is the week he returns.

• G Stephen Neal(notes) is back on the practice field in a limited capacity despite a head injury suffered three weeks ago. Neal could return Sunday.

Game Plan:   The Panthers have been horrible in the passing game this season, so this is another game in which the Patriots should be able to take advantage considering it’ll be played in their own backyard.

The only true constant for this year’s team has been its ability to dominate inferior competition at Gillette Stadium. The defensive backs have been lit up in recent weeks, but there shouldn’t be too many problems if the Patriots can stop the run and force Carolina into long situations on second and third down.

With lousy weather set to creep in, this could be the kind of game where the Patriots grind it out on the ground, especially with Tom Brady suffering a slight finger injury. Whether or not that impacts his performance remains to be seen, but it wouldn’t hurt to establish the run to take some pressure off him.

Matchups To Watch:   Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams(notes) vs. Patriots LB Jerod Mayo(notes). Williams’ touchdowns are down a bit, but he’s still a productive runner who likely will be the focal point of Carolina’s offense Sunday considering their problems in the passing game. The Patriots’ defense holds the key to this game; stop the run and the rest will follow.

Panthers FB Brad Hoover(notes) vs. Patriots LB Tully Banta-Cain. Over the past few weeks, it’s become clear Banta-Cain is the Patriots’ best pass-rusher. Hoover may be asked to help keep the pocket clean if and when Banta-Cain is looking to rush. The Patriots haven’t had much of a pass rush outside of Banta-Cain, so this inevitably will become a major part of how the game turns out.

Patriots CB Jonathan Wilhite(notes) vs. Panthers WR Muhsin Muhammad(notes). This has been a down year for the Panthers’ passing game in general, so Muhammad hasn’t had much success. He’s yet to catch a touchdown pass in 2009 after catching at least three in each of the last five years. The struggling Wilhite might be just what the doctor ordered for Muhammad, or perhaps this game will be a confidence-booster for the maligned cornerback.

Injury Impact:   Unless Tom Brady is suffering any ill effects from his reported finger injury, the Patriots shouldn’t have any major concerns in the health department come Sunday afternoon. The key is running the ball, which they should have no problem doing against the struggling defense now that Sammy Morris and Laurence Maroney(notes) are both healthy.