This Week

The New England Patriots host the Denver Broncos at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA on Sunday at 4:25 p.m.

At half time, the Patriots will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of their 3rd Super Bowl win. 17 of the 22 players who earned all three rings will be on the field.

The Broncos			The Patriots
Overall Record	6-1		Overall Record	6-2
Road Record	1-1		Home Record	4-0
AFC East	1-0		AFC West	1-1
AFC Conf	4-0		AFC Conf	4-2

Walt Anderson is the referee for the game.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from sportsbetting.ag via Yahoo Sports has the Patriots at PLUS 3. The over/under is 54.5.

My Prediction is Broncos 33, Patriots, 31.

Take the points (Patriots) and take the over. I am 5-3 against the spread and 4 of 8 on calling the over/under in 2014.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 223rd consecutive sell out dating back to the 1994 season opener. The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

After market tickets are available through the Official Patriots Ticket Exchange where season ticket holders can sell their unused seats to fans on the season ticket waiting list.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Foxboro make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Foxboro MA.

Click for all the game day information including Gillette Stadium directions, parking information, seating chart and map.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

You can find other recipes from the team on their website. Includes Gronk’s Buffalo Chicken Dip, Carne Asada Fries, Cincinnati Chili and more.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember drive sober or get pulled over.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

CBS in televising the game nationally, Jim Nantz will do play by play, former NFL QB Phil Simms will provide the game analysis and Tracy Wolfson works the sidelines. You can look here for your local affiliate.

The DirecTV Sunday Ticket channel is 713.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules; flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Bob Socci handles the play-by-play and former Patriots QB Scott Zolak will do game analysis. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 1 p.m. on the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots Radio Network call is available on Sirius Channel 132, XM Channel 232 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Broncos Radio Network has former Broncos players Dave Logan calling the play by play and Ed McCaffrey does the color via their flagship station 850 KOA AM and KRFX 103.5 FM.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 85, XM Channel 85 and on SiriusXM Internet Channel 809.

The game will be carried nationally by Sports USA with Larry Kahn doing play by play, Doug Plank has the game analysis and Troy West is the sideline reporter.

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team. It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Saturday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

Last Week

The Patriots routed the Bears at home, 51-23.

The Broncos at home handled the Chargers on TNF, 35-21.

History

• This is the 49th meeting between the two teams.
• Denver leads the regular season series 25-19.
• Broncos also hold the post season series lead, 3-1 for an overall record vs. New England of 28-20.
• This is the sixth meeting since December 2011 and the Patriots have won those three of the previous four games.
• Patriots and Broncos met twice in 2013. Patriots won the regular season meeting in Foxboro, 34-31 and lost in the AFC Championship Game in Denver, 26-16.

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Patriots Schedule/Results

Franchise notes:

• The Patriots overall franchise record is 444-375-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances. Overall they are 25-18 in the post season.

• They last appeared in the playoffs in 2013 when they beat Indianapolis in the AFC Divisional Round 43-22 and lost at Denver 26-16 in the AFC Championship Game.

• It was the 3rd consecutive AFC Championship game appearance for the franchise and 10th overall. They are 7-3 in those AFC title games.

• The Patriots were 12-4 (1-1 in playoffs) in 2013 and are the defending five-time AFC East Champions. They have won the division 11 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

• New England is the only NFL team to finish .500 or better in each of the last 13 seasons (2001-2013).

• They have 11 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins.

• They are the first team in the free agency era (1993) to win more than half their games in a 13-season span.

The Kraft Family Era (1994-present):

This is the 21st season of Patriots ownership by the Kraft family. Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 223.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 244.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 13.
• Have the most playoff wins, 21
• Have played the most playoff games, 33.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 15.
• The fewest head coaches within the division, 3.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

From 1960 to 1993 the New England/Boston Patriots won a total of 225 games.

In the Belichick Era (2000-present):

• Since 2003 the Patriots have the NFL’s best record at 144-40.

• Since Gillette Stadium opened they are 85-15 at home in the regular season.

• Since October 2003 the Patriots are a NFL best 41-9 in October games including a home record of 25-1.

• They have won 32 of their last 36 October games.

Against the Broncos and the AFC:

• New England is 11-9 vs Denver as the home team.

• Patriots are 4-2 at Gillette Stadium against the Broncos.

• Last November Patriots came back to win 34-31 in OT after being down 24-0 at half time. It was the largest comeback in team history.

• Have won the last four meetings at home including playoffs.

• Twice in wins at Denver Bill Belichick took intentional safeties to secure a win.

• Have 33 consecutive regular season home wins over AFC opponents.

Last Week vs. the Bears:

• Brady was 30 of 35 for 354 yards, 5 TD’s and 0 INT.

• Scored three TD’s in 57 seconds in late in the first half.

• 38 points scored were the most ever against a Chicago team in one half of football.

• For 34th time in time in team history had two receivers both with 100-yard games in Gronkowski and LaFell.

• Gronkowski (11), LaFell (9) and Wright (7) were targeted 27 times and caught all 27 passes five for TD’s.

• DE Zach Moore had his first career forced fumble Week 8 vs. Chicago that was returned for a TD by DE Rob Ninkovich.

• Ninkovich’s return TD was the second defensive TD of the season for New England. Kyle Arrington also returned a fumble for a TD.

• Defense had 3 sacks (Ayers 1, Hightower 0.5, Easley 0.5, Moore 0.5 and Wilfork 0.5).

• Had 32 first downs to the Bears 27 first downs.

• Bears had 384 total yards to Patriots 487 total yards.

• One week after giving up points in first five defensive drives (4 field goals, 1 TD) the Patriots reversed the tide and scored the first 6 times (5 TD’s, 1 field goal) the offense had the ball.

• Patriots had the ball 9 times and scored on 8 drives (5 TD’s and 3 FG’s) and added a defensive touchdown on a fumble return.

• Offensive line played very well, only allowed one sack and was really good when running ball.

• Patriots continue to get penalized at a high rate, had 7 penalties vs. the Bears and are averaging over 8 penalties per game.

• The Bears top 4 yardage plays allowed by the defense were all passing plays the longest being 34 yards. Their longest rush against the defense was 19 yards.

• Four of the top five yardage plays for the offense were pass plays the longest being the 46-yard TD pass to Gronkowski. The longest rush was by Gray for 19-yards.

In the 2014 Season:

• Have a bye next week before traveling to Indianapolis for a Sunday night game.

• Have won 13 games in a row at Gillette including playoffs since losing to Baltimore in the 2012 AFC Championship Game. It is the longest current home win streak in the NFL.

• Have won 4 games in a row after a 2-2 start. Beat Cincinnati, at Buffalo, NY Jets and Chicago since a miserable loss in Kansas City Week 4.

• New England has 70 penalties this season in 8 weeks and has been penalized 628 yards.

• Patriots have had multiple turnovers on both losses this season while having no turnovers in 5 of their 6 wins.

• New England is PLUS 11 in turnover differential they are 1st in the NFL. They have 8 INT and have recovered 8 fumbles while they have thrown 2 INT’s and lost 3 fumbles.

• The Patriots are 3rd in points scored averaging 29.8 points per game and are 14th in points allowed with 22.1 points per game.

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Broncos.

Bill Belichick notes:

• Bill Belichick is 7-11 vs. the Broncos overall in his career. He is 7-7 as the head coach in New England including 1-2 in the playoffs.

• Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 205-106 in his 20th NFL season as a head coach. He is 168-62 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 19-9 in the playoffs, 18-8 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season. When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 224-115.

• Belichick’s 224 wins are good for 5th all-time. Hall of Fame member Curly Lambeau is 4th with 229 wins.

• He has won 5 conference titles; he needs one more to tied Don Shula’s record of 6.

• He is the first head coach to have had 4 teams that scored at least 500 points in a season.

• Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league. The others are former Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).

• Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three Super Bowls, joining Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (3) and Bill Walsh (3). Those men are all in the Hall of Fame.

• He is the only coach in NFL history to win three championship titles in four seasons.

• No coach either as the head coach or an assistant has appeared in more Super Bowls than Belichick who has been to 8 (five as a head coach).

• He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 11 consecutive seasons.

• He has been NFL Coach of the Year three times he and Chuck Knox are the only three time winners, while Don Shula won four times.

• Belichick spent one season in Denver as an assistant special teams coach in 1978 under Red Miller.

Other Personnel/Coaches:

• Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels was the Broncos head coach in 2009 and 2010 and compiled an 11-17 record.

• Special teams coach Scott O’Brien was the Denver Special Teams Coordinator in 2007 and 2008.

• Strength and conditioning coach Moses Cabrera had the same position at the University of Colorado in 2010.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Connolly
• C: Stork
• RG: Wendell
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• WR: LaFell
• WR: Edelman
• WR: Tyms
• QB: Brady
• RB: Gray

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Chr. Jones
• DE: Easley
• LB: Collins
• LB: Hightower
• LB: Ayers
• LCB: Revis
• RCB: Browner
• S: Chung
• S: McCourty

Patriots Players Notes

Tom Brady Notes:

• This is his 15th NFL season he is 5-7 vs. the Broncos in his career including 1-2 in the playoffs. He is 81-13 at home in the regular season.

• Was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for October.

• Makes his 200th NFL start this week against Denver.

• Overall he is 154-45 as a starting QB and is 18-8 in the playoffs for an overall record of 172-53. He is a 9 time Pro Bowl QB; 3 time All-Pro selection; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP. He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

• Had back-to-back-to-back-to-back multiple TD pass games Week 5 vs. Cincinnati (2), Week 6 at Buffalo (4), Week 7 vs. NYJets (3) and Week 8 vs. Chicago (5).

• 377 TD passes in his career makes him tied for 4th in NFL history with Drew Brees.

• 154 career wins are 3rd all-time behind only Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

• He has thrown for 2 or more TD’s in 119 games; the team’s record is 102-17.

Rob Gronkowski notes:

• Has caught a pass in 58 consecutive games it’s the 4th longest streak all-time for a tight end. Heath Miller is 3rd with a catch in 89 consecutive games.

• Leads team in TD’s with 7 and receiving yards with 558.

• Had 9 catches for 149-yards and 3 TD’s vs. Chicago Week 8.

• It was his 14th 100+ receiving yard games in his career. Most ever for a Patriots tight end.

• Had 6 catches for 100-yards and 1 TD vs. Cincinnati Week 5.

• Is tied for 2nd in team history with 50 touchdowns (49 rec, 1 rush) with Ben Coates (50 rec) and Randy Moss (50 rec).

• He is 4th in team history with 49 TD catches. He is 1 behind Randy Moss and Ben Coates for 2nd place.

Julian Edelman notes:

• Held to 1 catch for 14 yards Week 8 vs. Chicago.

• Had 9 catches for 91 yards, 1 carry for 10 yards and 3 punt returns for 12 yards for 113 total yards Week 6 at Buffalo.

• Has 4 career games with 10 or more catches after a 10-catch game Week 3 vs. Oakland.

• Leads team in receiving with 45 catches.

• Had a 34-yard punt return at Minnesota Week 2 it was the 11th punt return of 30 yards or more in his career. That ranks third in team history.

• Opened the season with a 95 receiving yards at Miami and added 81 yards receiving at Minnesota Week 2.

• Had 156 total yards Week 2 at Minnesota (81 receiving, 9 rushing and 66 on punt returns).

Tim Wright notes:

• Had 7 catches for 61-yards and a TD vs. Chicago Week 8.

• Has TD catches in 3 of the last 4 games Week 5 vs. Cincinnati,Week 6 at Buffalo and Week 8 vs. Chicago.

Brandon LaFell notes:

• Had 11 catches for 124 yards (both career highs) and 1 TD vs. Chicago Week 8.

• Had 4 catches for 97 yards and 2 TD’s at Buffalo Week 6.

• Week 6 at Buffalo was his 2nd two TD game of his career.

Shane Vereen notes:

• Had 43 rushing yards on 11 carries and 5 catches for 71 yards and 2 TD’s for 114 total yards from scrimmage Week 7 vs. New York.

• Had 90 rushing yards on 9 carries and 3 catches for 18 receiving yards for 108 yards from scrimmage Week 5 vs. Cincinnati.

• Set franchise record with receptions (12) and receiving yards (153) by a running back in a single-game Week 14 (2013) vs. Cleveland.

• Became just fourth NFL running back to post 150 receiving yards in a single-game in the last 10 seasons.

Jonas Gray notes:

• Had 86 yards on 17 carries in his second NFL game Week 8 vs. Chicago.

Stephen Gostkowski notes:

• Had a 15-point game vs. Chicago Week 8 with 3 field goals and 6 XPT’s.

• Missed his first field goal attempt of 2014 in first quarter, Week 6 at Buffalo.

• Had a 19-point game vs. Cincinnati Week 5 with 5 field goals and 4 XPT’s. The five field goals were a new career high.

• Has converted 32 consecutive 4th quarter field goals.

• Has not missed an extra point since Week 17 2006 at Tennessee in his rookie season.

• Lead NFL in scoring in both 2012 and 2013.

• Has scored at least 1 point in 115 consecutive games a franchise record.

• He is 3rd in team history in points with 1,110 trailing only Gino Cappelletti (1,130) and Adam Vinatieri (1,158).

• Has team record of 13 career field goals of 50+ yards.

Vince Wilfork notes:

• Was in on 6 tackles (2 solo) Week 6 at Buffalo.

• Had his 3rd career INT vs. Oakland Week 3. He is the first Patriots lineman to have 3 career INT’s.

• Has 7 fumbles recoveries since 2010 the second most in the NFL in that span behind teammate Rob Ninkovich.

Darrelle Revis notes:

• Has 23 career INT’s and is one of the top shutdown corners in the NFL.

• Got his 2nd INT of the year at the end of half Week 8 vs. Chicago.

• Leads team with 2 INT’s.

• Had his first forced fumble of the year Week 5 vs. Cincinnati.

• In Patriots debut Week 1 at Miami had 1 tackles, 2 passes defensed and recovered a fumble.

• Had his first Patriots INT Week 2 at Minnesota against Matt Cassel. Also had 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

Rob Ninkovich notes:

• Had his 13th career fumble recovery Week 8 vs. Chicago. The 13-fumble recoveries are the most in the NFL since 2010.

• The TD return was the second of his career. He had an INT return for TD in 2011 Week 9 at NY Jets.

• In 6 seasons with New England has only missed one game.

• Second on team with 4 sacks.

• Week 6 at Buffalo had 6 tackles (4 solo) and 3 sacks. It was his first career 3-sack day.

• Week 2 at Minnesota had 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 2 QB hits.

Dont’a Hightower notes:

• Had 10 tackles (4 solo) vs. Chicago Week 8.

• Returned after a 2 week absence and had 13 tackles (9 solo), 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 1 QB hit Week 7 vs. the Jets.

• Didn’t play Week 5 vs. Cincinnati or Week 6 at Buffalo due to a knee injury.

• Third on team with 3.5 sacks.

• Along with Chandler Jones he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 2 tackles for loss, 2 QB hits and 1 pass defensed.

• Had his first career 2-sack game Week 2 at Minnesota.

Jamie Collins notes:

• Led team in tackles Week 8 vs. Chicago with 11 (6 solo).

• Had 13 tackles (7 solo) Week 7 vs. NY Jets.

• Second on team with 49 tackles (34 solo).

• Had 4 tackles (2 solo) and an INT Week 6 at Buffalo. It was his first NFL INT.

• Has also forced and recovered a fumble in 2014.

Akeem Ayers notes:

• Had a sack in his first game as a Patriot Week 8 vs. Chicago. Also had 5 tackles (2 solo), 1 QB hit and 1 tackle for loss.

• Has 10 career sacks, 2 career INT’s and 3 forced fumbles.

Alan Branch notes:

• Was a 2nd round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2007 NFL Draft out of Michigan.

• Played for Arizona, Seattle and Buffalo.

• Was released in August by the Bills after a DUI arrest.

• Has 170 career tackles, 8 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

Jonathan Casillas notes:

• Played at Wisconsin and signed as a UDFA with New Orleans in 2009-12 also played with Tampa Bay from 2013-14.

• Acquired along with a 6th round pick in 2015 NFL draft for a 5th round pick in 2015 from the Buccaneers.

• Played in Super Bowl XLIV with Saints and recovered the onside kick to start the second half.

• Has 129 career tackles and 3 sacks.

General Team news:

Roster moves this week:

• Signed DE Alan Branch
• Released LB Deontae Skinner
• Acquired LB Jonathan Casillas in trade with Tampa Bay

Patriots team captains for 2014:

• QB Tom Brady
• G/C Dan Connolly
• WR Matthew Slater (special teams)
• DT Vince Wilfork
• LB Jerod Mayo (IR)
• S Devin McCourty (replaces Mayo)

Former Broncos on the Patriots:

• S Brandon Browner

Players with New England roots:

• none

Players with Colorado roots:

• T Nate Solder – Buena Vista CO

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• RB James Develin – Brown

Players from Colorado based colleges and universities:

• T Nate Solder – Colorado

The Patriots have 6 retired numbers:

• 20 – Gino Cappelletti
• 40 – Mike Haynes
• 73 – John Hannah
• 78 – Bruce Armstrong
• 79 – Jim Lee Hunt
• 89 – Bob Dee

Broncos Team Notes

Here is the Broncos roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Broncos Schedule/Results

Franchise Notes:

• The Broncos all-time record is 438-379-10 and they are 20-18 in the playoffs with their last playoff appearance coming in 2013. That season the Broncos won at home against San Diego 24-17 in the AFC Divisional Game and beat New England 26-26 at home in the AFC Championship Game before losing to Seattle in the Super Bowl.

• Denver has won two Super Bowls (XXXII and XXXIII) in 7 appearances.

• The Broncos last appeared in a Super Bowl following the 2013 season and lost to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII, 43-8.

In the Bowlen Family Era:

• This is their 31st year of team ownership.

• Under the Bowlen’s ownership the Broncos have won their two Super Bowls and have been to the big game six times.

• Since 1984 the Broncos are 3rd in overall wins in the NFL with 313 behind New England (314) and San Francisco (323).

• Won 18 playoff games and 11 division titles.

• Since 1984 Denver has the most seasons at .500 or better with 26.

• Denver has 13 AFC West Division titles one more than Oakland.

• One of just three franchises to record 90+ wins in three decades since 1960 and only one to do it in last three decades.

• Denver has not been shutout since 1992 a streak that has gone 335 games.

Against the Patriots:

• This is Denver’s 4th trip to Gillette Stadium in the last 5 meetings.

• Broncos are 9-11 as the road team in the series and are 2-4 in Gillette Stadium. Both marks include the playoffs.

• Denver was the second visiting team to win in Gillette Stadium when they beat the Patriots 24-16 on October 27, 2002 just two weeks after the Green Bay Packers became the first visiting team to win in Gillette Stadium.

• Broncos won their first two games at Gillette before dropping the last four.

Last Week vs. Chargers:

• Peyton Manning extended his TD pass record with 3 more TD passes all to Emmanuel Sanders.

• Emmanuel Sanders had 9 catches for 120-yards and 3 TD’s.

• Had no turnovers for 5th game this season.

• Ronnie Hillman ran for 109 yards on 20 carries

• Juwan Thompson had a pair rushing TD’s in limited duty (7 carries/24 yards).

In the 2014 Season:

• Have won their last four in a row vs. Arizona, at NY Jets, San Francisco and San Diego.

• After five home games in their first 7, they now head on the road for 3 consecutive weeks (at New England, at Oakland and at St. Louis) and 4 out of the next 5 and 6 of their last 9 are on the road.

• They haven’t had a turnover in 3 consecutive games.

• They have been penalized 57 times for 482 yards.

• Denver is PLUS 4 in turnover differential tied for 6th in the NFL. They have 7 INT and have recovered 1 fumble while they have thrown 3 INT’s and lost 1 fumble.

• The Broncos are 1st in points scored averaging 32.0 points per game and are 6th in fewest points allowed with 20.3 points per game.

Broncos Staff Notes

Read what Denver Broncos head coach John Fox had to say to the New England media about the match up.

John Fox notes:

• This is Fox’s 4th season as the head coach in Denver he is 40-15 in the regular season and 3-3 in the playoffs for an overall record of 43-18. Prior to that Fox was the head coach of the Carolina Panthers for 9 seasons and had a record of 73-71 in the regular season and 5-3 in the playoffs. Combined between Denver and Carolina he is 113-86 in the regular season and 8-6 in the playoffs for an overall mark of 121-92.

• Fox is 2-7 vs. New England as a head coach including 1-2 in the post season combined between Denver and Carolina.

• He is the 15th head coach in Denver history.

• He is third in team history in coaching wins behind Mike Shanahan (146) and Dan Reeves (117).

Other Staff/Personnel:

• Offensive Coordinator is Adam Gase it’s his second year in the position after serving as quarterbacks coach (2011-12) under Fox and wide receivers coach (2009-10) under Josh McDaniels.

• Jack Del Rio is the defensive coordinator in his 3rd year with Denver. Prior to that he was head coach in Jacksonville from 2003-11. Was interim head coach for a period last season when Fox was out with health issues.

• Director of Player Personnel Matt Russell served as a pro scout for the Patriots from 2000-01 and an area scout from 2003-2005, winning three Super Bowls during his time in New England in 2001, 2003 and 2004.

• Defensive Backs coach Cory Undin was a Patriots defensive assistant in 2004.

• Offensive Line Coach Dave Magazu is a native of Taunton MA and attended Taunton High School before graduating from Springfield College, where he was a four-year starter as a defensive tackle on the football team. Magazu also served as the offensive line coach at Boston College from 1999-2002.

Broncos Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Clady
• LG: Franklin
• C: Ramirez
• RG: Vasquez
• RT: Cornick
• TE: J. Thomas
• WR: D. Thomas
• WR: Welker
• WR: Sanders
• QB: Manning
• RB: Hillman

Defense:

• DE: Wolfe
• DT: Williams
• DT: Knighton
• DE: Ware
• LB: Miller
• LB: Irving
• LB: Marshall
• LCB: Talib
• RCB: Harris Jr
• S: Ward
• S: Moore

Broncos Players Notes

Peyton Manning notes:

• Was first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts out of Tennessee.

• In his career he is 8-14 vs. New England including 2-2 in the playoffs.

• 13 time Pro Bowl selection and named to 7 All-Pro teams.

• He is a 5-time NFL MVP and has won one Super Bowl MVP Award.

• In his 3rd season in Denver he is 32-7 and 2-2 in the post season for an overall record of 34-9.

• In 14 years in Indianapolis was 141-67 in the regular season and 9-10 in the post season for an overall record of 150-77.

• For his career he is 173-74 in the regular season and 11-12 in the post season for an overall record of 184-86. He has won one Super Bowl (XLI) in three appearances.

• Is 78-44 in his career on the road.

• Wears number 18 after Frank Tripucka made the gesture to let him wear the retired number.

• Son of former NFL QB Archie Manning and brother of New York Giants QB Eli Manning.

• Set NFL record for TD passes in Week 7 vs. San Francisco and now has 513 TD passes in his career.

• Threw for record 55 TD’s and 5,477 passing yards in 2013.

• Only he and Brett Favre have a career win vs. all 32 NFL teams.

• Second all-time in passing attempts, completions, yards and QB wins.

• Along with Brady and Hall of Famer Joe Montana are considered the Holy Trinity among NFL quarterbacks.

• Has thrown a TD pass in 46 consecutive games fourth longest streak in the NFL. With 1 TD pass will tie Johnny Unitas for 3rd longest streak (47). Brady is second with 52 games and Drew Brees holds the record with 54 games.

Wes Welker notes:

• Has 19 catches for 181 yards and 1 TD this season.

• Played six seasons in New England (2007-12).

• Has most catches in NFL history by an undrafted player (860).

• One of two players in NFL History with 5 100-catch seasons.

• Had a five year streak with 100+ catches snapped in 2013.

• In his 6 years in New England had the most prolific 6-year period for any NFL receiver with 672 regular season catches.

• Patriots all-time receptions leader with 725 catches.

• Made five Pro Bowls as a Patriot.

• Has 49 career TD’s.

Demaryius Thomas notes:

• Has four consecutive 100-yard receiving games.

• Set Broncos record with 226 yards receiving and 2 TD’s on 8 catches Week 5 vs. Arizona.

• Leads team in catches (47) and receiving yards (767).

• Second on team in TD catches (6).

• Has back-to-back 1,000 receiving yard seasons.

• Had a career high 1,434 receiving yards in 2012.

• Made his first Pro Bowl in 2012.

Julius Thomas notes:

• Has 3 career 100-yard, 2 TD games only Shannon Sharpe has more (4).

• Has 9 TD’s this season to lead the team after having 12 TD’s in 2013.

• Tied for most receiving TD’s in NFL in 2014.

• Made his first Pro Bowl in 2013.

Von Miller notes:

• Has a sack in 6 consecutive games.

• Leads team with 9 sacks.

• Only player in Broncos history to make the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons.

Demarcus Ware notes:

• Has 7 sacks on the season, second on the team.

• 15th on NFL All-Time sack list with 124 career sacks.

• Has 29 multi-sack games.

Aqib Talib notes:

• Signed with Denver after 1.5 years with New England.

• Has 2 INT’s in 2014 one returned for a TD Week 6 at NY Jets.

• Has 25 career INT’s third most for a corner back since 2008.

General Team notes:

Former Patriots with the Broncos:

• CB Tony Carter
• WR Wes Welker
• CB Aqib Talib

Players with New England ties:

• DT Terrance Knighton – Windsor CT
• C Will Montgomery – Brunswick ME

Players who attended New England based colleges or universities:

• none

Denver team captains for 2014 are:

• QB Peyton Manning
• WR Demaryius Thomas
• DT Terrance Knighton
• DE Demarcus Ware
• S David Bruton

Denver has 3 retired numbers:

• 7 – John Elway
• 18 – Frank Tripucka
• 44 – Floyd Little

Next Game

Up next: Indianapolis Colts – AFC South

Location: Indianapolis IN

Date/Time: Sunday November 2 at 8:15 p.m.

TV Network: NBC

This Week

The New England Patriots host the Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Bears			The Patriots
Overall Record	3-4		Overall Record	5-2
Road Record	3-1		Home Record	3-0
AFC East	1-2		NFC North	1-0
AFC Conf	1-2		NFC Conf	1-0

Brad Allen is the referee for the game.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from sportsbetting.ag via Yahoo Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 6. The over/under is 50.5.

My Prediction is Patriots 30, Bears, 17.

Give the points (Patriots) and take the under. I am 4-3 against the spread and 4 of 7 on calling the over/under in 2014.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 222nd consecutive sell out dating back to the 1994 season opener. The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

After market tickets are available through the Official Patriots Ticket Exchange where season ticket holders can sell their unused seats to fans on the season ticket waiting list.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Foxboro make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Foxboro MA.

Click for all the game day information including Gillette Stadium directions, parking information, seating chart and map.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

You can find other recipes from the team on their website. Includes Gronk’s Buffalo Chicken Dip, Carne Asada Fries, Cincinnati Chili and more.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember drive sober or get pulled over.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

FOX in televising the game regionally, Sam Rosen will do play by play while former safety John Lynch will provide the game analysis and Pam Oliver works the sidelines. You can look here for your local affiliate.

See if you’re getting the game courtesy of J.P. Kirby at the506.com.

The DirecTV designation is Channel 707.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules; flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Bob Socci handles the play-by-play and former Patriots QB Scott Zolak will do the game analysis. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 10 a.m. on the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots Radio Network call is available on Sirius Channel 132, XM Channel 231 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Bears Radio Network has Jeff Joniak calling play by play and former Bears center Tom Thayer doing the color with Zach Zaidman on the sidelines via their flagship station WBBM-AM 780 and FM 105.9.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 85, XM Channel 85 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 805.

ESPN Radio will carry the game nationally with Marc Kestecher doing play by play, Bill Polian offers analysis and Ian Fitzsimmons covers the sidelines.

Their call is also available on Sirius Channel 84, XM Channel 84 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 84.

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team. It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Saturday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

Last Week

The Patriots defeated the Jets on Thursday night at Gillette, 27-25.

The Bears lost again at home this time to the Dolphins, 27-14.

History

• The Patriots lead the series between the teams, 8-4 including playoffs.
• Teams met in Super Bowl XX with Chicago winning, 46-10.
• New England has won the last three meetings and 6 of the last 7.
• Patriots won the only ever meeting at Gillette Stadium in 2006, 17-13. That was first game at Gillette played on Field Turf.
• Patriots won the last meeting at Soldier Field in the fog, 36-7.

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Patriots Schedule/Results

Franchise notes:

• The Patriots overall franchise record is 443-375-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances. Overall they are 25-18 in the post season.

• They last appeared in the playoffs in 2013 when they beat Indianapolis in the AFC Divisional Round 43-22 and lost at Denver 26-16 in the AFC Championship Game.

• It was the 3rd consecutive AFC Championship game appearance for the franchise and 10th overall. They are 7-3 in those AFC title games.

• The Patriots were 12-4 (1-1 in playoffs) in 2013 and are the defending five-time AFC East Champions. They have won the division 11 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

• New England is the only NFL team to finish .500 or better in each of the last 13 seasons (2001-2013).

• They have 11 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins.

• They are the first team in the free agency era (1993) to win more than half their games in a 13-season span.

The Kraft Family Era (1994-present):

This is the 21st season of Patriots ownership by the Kraft family. Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 222.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 243.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 13.
• Have the most playoff wins, 21
• Have played the most playoff games, 33.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 15.
• The fewest head coaches within the division, 3.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

From 1960 to 1993 the New England/Boston Patriots won a total of 225 games.

In the Belichick Era (2000-present):

• Since 2003 the Patriots have the NFL’s best record at 143-40.

• Since Gillette Stadium opened they are 84-15 at home in the regular season.

• Since October 2003 the Patriots are a NFL best 40-9 in October games including a home record of 24-1.

• They have won 31 of their last 35 October games.

Against the Bears and the NFC:

• 3-0 vs. Chicago at home with wins in 1988, 1997 and 2006.

• Since 2002 they are 20-4 at home vs. NFC teams.

• They have won 12 consecutive games vs. the NFC North; the last loss to a NFC North team was vs. Green Bay in October 2002.

Last Week vs. the Jets:

• Won for the 2nd time since 2000 when possessing the ball for less than 20 minutes. The last win was in 2010 vs. Green Bay.

• Only had the ball for 19:06. Only had the ball for 2:36 in the first quarter. Yet they only trailed in the game for a total 8:18 of playing time.

• DT Chris Jones was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his blocked field goal that sealed the win last week vs. the Jets.

• DT Casey Walker has his first NFL sack Week 7 vs. Jets.

• Had 16 first downs to the Jets 28 first downs.

• Jets had 423 total yards to Patriots 323 total yards.

• Gave up points in first five defensive possessions (4 field goals, 1 TD).

• The defense allowed 218 yards rushing in Week 7 vs. New York.

• First game of the season in which neither team had a turnover.

• Patriots continue to get penalized at a high rate, had 9 penalties vs. the Jets and are averaging 9 penalties per game.

• The Jets top five yardage plays allowed by the defense were all passing plays the longest being 28 yards. Their longest rush against the defense was 15 yards.

• The top six yardage plays for the offense were pass plays the longest being the 49-yard TD pass to Shane Vereen on the opening drive. The longest rush was by Vereen for 17-yards.

In the 2014 Season:

• Played four games (@KC, Cincy, @Buf, NYJ) in 19 days and won the last 3 including two in the division.

• New England has 63 penalties this season in six weeks and has been penalized 590 yards.

• Patriots have had multiple turnovers on both losses this season while having no turnovers in 4 of their 5 wins.

• New England is PLUS 9 in turnover differential they are 2nd in the NFL. They have 7 INT and have recovered 7 fumbles while they have thrown 2 INT’s and lost 3 fumbles.

• The Patriots are 7th in points scored averaging 26.7 points per game and are 12th in points allowed with 22.0 points per game.

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Bears.

Bill Belichick notes:

• Bill Belichick is 4-1 vs. the Bears in his career. He is 3-1 against them as the head coach in New England.

• Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 204-106 in his 20th NFL season as a head coach. He is 167-62 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 19-9 in the playoffs, 18-8 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season. When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 223-115.

• Belichick’s 223 wins are good for 5th all-time. Hall of Fame member Curly Lambeau is 4th with 229 wins.

• He has won 5 conference titles; he needs one more to tied Don Shula’s record of 6.

• He is the first head coach to have had 4 teams that scored at least 500 points in a season.

• Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league. The others are former Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).

• Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three Super Bowls, joining Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (3) and Bill Walsh (3). Those men are all in the Hall of Fame.

• He is the only coach in NFL history to win three championship titles in four seasons.

• No coach either as the head coach or an assistant has appeared in more Super Bowls than Belichick who has been to 8 (five as a head coach).

• He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 11 consecutive seasons.

• He has been NFL Coach of the Year three times he and Chuck Knox are the only three time winners, while Don Shula won four times.

Other Personnel/Coaches:

• Running backs coach Ivan Fears was the Bears wide receiver coach from 1993-98.

• Defensive assistant Brendan Daly is a Springfield IL native who also coached the tight ends at Illinois State in 2004.

• Linebackers coach Patrick Graham was born in Des Plaines IL.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Devey
• C: Wendell
• RG: Kline
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• WR: LaFell
• WR: Edelman
• WR: Amendola
• QB: Brady
• RB: S. Vereen

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Walker
• DE: Chr. Jones
• LB: Collins
• LB: Hightower
• LB: Skinner
• LCB: Revis
• RCB: Browner
• S: Chung
• S: McCourty

Patriots Players Notes

Tom Brady Notes:

• This is his 15th NFL season he is 3-0 vs. Chicago in his career. He is 86-13 at home in the regular season. He is 39-10 against the NFC in his career.

• Became the third Patriot to play in 200 games for the franchise joining Bruce Armstrong (212) and Julius Adams (206).

• Overall he is 153-45 as a starting QB and is 18-8 in the playoffs for an overall record of 171-53. He is a 9 time Pro Bowl QB; 3 time All-Pro selection; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP. He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

• Had back-to-back-to-back multiple TD pass games Week 5 vs. Cincinnati (2), Week 6 at Buffalo (4) and Week 7 vs. NYJets (3).

• 372 TD passes in his career makes him 5th in NFL history.

• 153 career wins are 3rd all-time behind only Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

• He has thrown for 2 or more TD’s in 118 games; the team’s record is 101-17.

Rob Gronkowski notes:

• Has caught a pass in 57 consecutive games it’s the 4th longest streak all-time for a tight end. Heath Miller is 3rd with a catch in 88 consecutive games.

• Leads team in TD’s with 4.

• Had 7 catches for 94-yards at Buffalo Week 6.

• Had 6 catches for 100-yards and 1 TD vs. Cincinnati Week 5.

• It was his 13th 100+ receiving yard games in his career.

• Is 7th in team history with 46 touchdowns.

• He is 4th in team history with 45 TD catches.

Julian Edelman notes:

• Had 9 catches for 91 yards, 1 carry for 10 yards and 3 punt returns for 12 yards for 113 total yards Week 6 at Buffalo.

• Has 4 career games with 10 or more catches after a 10-catch game Week 3 vs. Oakland.

• Leads team in receiving with 40 catches for 409 yards.

• Had a 34-yard punt return at Minnesota Week 2 it was the 11th punt return of 30 yards or more in his career. That ranks third in team history.

• Opened the season with a 95 receiving yards at Miami and added 81 yards receiving at Minnesota Week 2.

• Had 156 total yards Week 2 at Minnesota (81 receiving, 9 rushing and 66 on punt returns).

Tim Wright notes:

• Had 1 catch for 1- yards and a TD at Buffalo Week 6.

• Has TD catches in back-to-back games Week 5 vs. Cincinnati and Week 6 at Buffalo.

Brandon LaFell notes:

• Had 4 catches for 97 yards and 2 TD’s at Buffalo Week 6.

• Week 6 at Buffalo was his 2nd two TD game of his career.

• Had Patriots longest pass play of the game 56 yards for a 4th quarter TD.

Shane Vereen notes:

• Has back-to-back games of 100-yards from scrimmage.

• Had 43 rushing yards on 11 carries and 5 catches for 71 yards and 2 TD’s for 114 total yards from scrimmage Week 7 vs. New York.

• Had 90 rushing yards on 9 carries and 3 catches for 18 receiving yards for 108 yards from scrimmage Week 5 vs. Cincinnati.

• Set franchise record with receptions (12) and receiving yards (153) by a running back in a single-game Week 14 (2013) vs. Cleveland.

• Became just fourth NFL running back to post 150 receiving yards in a single-game in the last 10 seasons.

• His brother Brock plays for the Bears.

Stephen Gostkowski notes:

• Missed his first field goal attempt of 2014 in first quarter, Week 6 at Buffalo.

• Had a 19-point game vs. Cincinnati Week 5 with 5 field goals and 4 XPT’s. The five field goals were a new career high.

• Has converted 30 consecutive 4th quarter field goals.

• Has not missed an extra point since Week 17 2006 at Tennessee in his rookie season.

• Lead NFL in scoring in both 2012 and 2013.

• Has scored at least 1 point in 114 consecutive games a franchise record.

• He is 3rd in team history in points with 1,096 trailing only Gino Cappelletti (1,130) and Adam Vinatieri (1,158).

• Has team record of 13 career field goals of 50+ yards.

Vince Wilfork notes:

• Was in on 6 tackles (2 solo) Week 6 at Buffalo.

• Had his 3rd career INT vs. Oakland Week 3. He is the first Patriots lineman to have 3 career INT’s.

• Has 7 fumbles recoveries since 2010 the second most in the NFL in that span behind teammate Rob Ninkovich.

Darrelle Revis notes:

• Has 22 career INT’s and is one of the top shutdown corners in the NFL.

• Had his first forced fumble of the year Week 5 vs. Cincinnati.

• In Patriots debut Week 1 at Miami had 1 tackles, 2 passes defensed and recovered a fumble.

• Had his first Patriots INT Week 2 at Minnesota against Matt Cassel. Also had 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

Rob Ninkovich notes:

• In 6 seasons with New England has only missed one game.

• Second on team with 4 sacks.

• Week 6 at Buffalo had 6 tackles (4 solo) and 3 sacks. It was his first career 3-sack day.

• Week 2 at Minnesota had 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 2 QB hits.

Dont’a Hightower notes:

• Returned after a 2 week absence and had 13 tackles (9 solo), 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 1 QB hit Week 7 vs. the Jets.

• Didn’t play Week 5 vs. Cincinnati or Week 6 at Buffalo due to a knee injury.

• Third on team with 3 sacks.

• Along with Chandler Jones he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 2 tackles for loss, 2 QB hits and 1 pass defensed.

• Had his first career 2-sack game Week 2 at Minnesota.

Chandler Jones notes:

• Expected to miss a month with a hip injury suffered Week 7 vs. the Jets.

• Leads team with 4.5 sacks.

• Scored his 2nd NFL TD Week 2 at Minnesota when he blocked a field goal attempt and returned it 58-yards. His first NFL TD was Week 16, 2013 at Baltimore on a fumble recovery. It was his second blocked field goal attempt (2013 Week 8 vs. Miami).

• Had the 5th blocked field goal returned for a TD in Patriots history Week 2 at Minnesota, first since 2010 when Patrick Chung returned one at Miami.

• Now has 5 career 2-sack games with a pair at Minnesota in Week 2.

• Along with Dont’a Hightower he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 3 tackles for loss, 3 QB hits, the blocked field goal attempt and return for TD.

Jamie Collins notes:

• Had 13 tackles (7 solo) Week 7 vs. NY Jets.

• Second on team with 31 tackles (27 solo).

• Had 4 tackles (2 solo) and an INT Week 6 at Buffalo. It was his first NFL INT.

• Has also forced and recovered a fumble in 2014.

Alan Branch notes:

• Was a 2nd round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2007 NFL Draft out of Michigan.

• Played for Arizona, Seattle and Buffalo.

• Was released in August by the Bills after a DUI arrest.

• Has 170 career tackles, 8 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

Akeem Ayers notes:

• Was a 2nd Round pick in 2011 NFL Draft by Tennessee out of UCLA

• Acquired this week along with a 2015 7th round pick from Jacksonville for a 6th round pick in 2015.

• Has 9 career sacks, 8 have come as an edge rusher, the other from OLB.

• Also has 2 career INT’s and 3 forced fumbles.

General Team news:

Roster moves this week:

• Signed OL Chris Barker to the 53-man roster.
• Signed RB Jonas Gray to the 53-man roster.
• Released LB Ja’Gared Davis
• Traded a 2015 6th round pick to Tennessee for LB Akeem Ayers and a 7th round pick in 2015.
• Signed DE Alan Branch.

Patriots team captains for 2014:

• QB Tom Brady
• G/C Dan Connolly
• WR Matthew Slater (special teams)
• DT Vince Wilfork
• LB Jerod Mayo (IR)
• S Devin McCourty (replaces Mayo)

Former Bears on the Patriots:

• none

Players with New England roots:

• none

Players with Illinois roots:

• DE Michael Buchanan (IR) – Homewood IL
• LB Darius Flemming (practice squad) – Chicago IL
• DE Rob Ninkovich – Blue Island IL
• DL Zach Moore – Chicago IL
• TE Michael Hoomanawanui – Bloomington IL
• QB Jimmy Garappolo – Arlington IL

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• RB James Develin – Brown

Players from Illinois based colleges and universities:

• QB Jimmy Garappolo – Eastern Illinois
• TE Michael Hoomanawanui – Illinois
• S Tavon Wilson – Illinois
• DE Michael Buchanan (IR) – Illinois

The Patriots have 6 retired numbers:

• 20 – Gino Cappelletti
• 40 – Mike Haynes
• 73 – John Hannah
• 78 – Bruce Armstrong
• 79 – Jim Lee Hunt
• 89 – Bob Dee

Bears Team Notes

Here is the Bears roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Bears Schedule/Results

Franchise Notes:

• Chicago’s all-time record is 733-538-42 and they are 17-18 in the playoffs and have won one Super Bowl (XX vs. New England, 46-10) in two appearances. Their last playoff appearance came in 2010 when they beat Seattle at home in the NFC Division game, 35-24 and lost to Green Bay at home in the NFC Championship game, 21-14.

• With win Week 6 at Atlanta became first NFL franchise with 750 wins (regular and post season combined).

• They’ve also won 8 NFL Championships (1921, 1932-33, 1940-41, 1943, 1946 and 1963) which occurred before the Super Bowl era (1966-present).

• The Bears last appeared in a Super Bowl following the 2006 season and lost to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI.

• They are 6-10 in the post season since they won Super Bowl XX.

Against the Patriots and AFC:

• The Bears are 0-1 all-time at Gillette Stadium. Overall as the road team in the series they are 0-3.

• This is only the franchise’s third time in Foxboro since 1997 and all three previous visits have come since 1988.

• First Bears visit to Gillette in 8 seasons (last in 2006).

• Largest margin of victory in the series: 36 points (Super Bowl XX).

• Largest margin of defeat in the series: 29 points (at Chicago, 2010).

• Last week they suffered their third loss at home this season two have been to AFC East teams – Miami and Buffalo.

• This is their final non-conference game of the season, after this week they will have already played all four AFC East teams in the first 8 weeks.

Last Week:

• Had the ball for only 22:38 of game time week 7 vs. Miami.

• Had 14 first downs while allowing 24 to Miami.

• Had only 2 first downs and 54 total yards in the first half.

• Chicago was held to 54 yards rushing for the game.

• Had 4 fumbles (recovered 2) and an INT vs. Dolphins.

• Defense allowed Miami to score in the second half on 3 of 4 drives.

• 7 of 9 offensive possessions ended on either a punt, a turnover or loss of downs.

• On the ten longest plays allowed by the defense, all ten were passes of 13 yards or more with the longest pass allowed being 30 yards.

• The Bears longest play was a 24-yard pass, all 10 of their top 10 yardage plays were also passing plays of 10 yards or more.

• Bears never played with a lead the entire game.

This Season:

• After the game the Bears will have a bye week.

• Chicago has 48 penalties in 2014 for 384 yards.

• The Bears are 18th in points scored averaging 22.4 per game and are 22nd in points allowed with an average of 24.4 points per game.

• Chicago is MINUS 1 in turnover differential for the season tied for 19th in the NFL. They have recovered 4 fumble and have 8 INT’s while they have give up 7 INT’s and 6 fumbles lost.

Bears Staff Notes

Read what Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman had to say to the New England media about the match up.

Marc Trestman notes:

• Trestman is 11-12 in two seasons as the Chicago head coach. In five seasons in the CFL he was 59-31 in the regular season and 5-3 in the playoffs.

• He has never coached against New England.

• He is the 14th different head coach in Bears history. The legendary George Halas who won 318 games and is in the Hall of Fame coached the team 4 separate times (1920-29, 1933-42, 1946-55 and 1958-67).

• Trestman previously was an offensive coordinator for Cleveland (1989), San Francisco (1995-96), Arizona (1998-2000), Oakland (2002-03) and North Carolina State University (2005-06). He was also the assistant head coach for Miami in 2004.

• Before taking the Bears job he was head coach of the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes from 2008-12 where he won two Grey Cup Championships in 2009 and 2010.

Other Personnel/Coaches:

• Aaron Kromer is in his second season as Chicago’s offensive coordinator under Trestman. He previously worked in New Orleans and was one of the interim head coaches along with Joe Vitt in 2012 when Sean Peyton was suspended.

• Defensive Coordinator Mel Tucker is in his second season with the Bears. He previously was the defensive coordinator for Cleveland (2008) and Jacksonville (2009-12).

• Quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh was originally drafted by the Patriots in the second round (50th overall) in the 1978 NFL Draft, spending five seasons with the club (1978-82).

• Defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni was head coach of UConn from 2011-13, and previously served as the head coach of Western Connecticut from 1982-86. He began his coaching career in 1972 at his high school alma mater, Cheshire CT High School. Pasqualoni was at Southern Connecticut State as an assistant coach from 1976-79 and defensive coordinator from 1980-81.

• Strength and conditioning coach Jim Arthur is a native of Cheshire CT and attended Springfield College, where he worked until 2002. He also interned at Boston College while finishing his master’s degree.

• Defensive quality control coach Sean Desai started his coaching career at his alma mater, Shelton CT High, working in several positions from 2001- 04. He later spent one season (2012) as the running backs coach/special teams coordinator for Boston College.

Bears Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Bushrod
• LG: Slauson
• C: Garza
• RG: Long
• RT: Mills
• TE: Rosario
• WR: Marshall
• WR: Jeffery
• WR: Morgan
• QB: Cutler
• RB: Forte

Defense:

• DE: Houston
• DT: Ratliff
• DT: Paea
• DE: Allen
• LB: Greene
• LB: Williams
• LB: McClellin
• LCB: Jennings
• RCB: McMannis
• S: Mundy
• S: B. Vereen

Bears Players Notes

Jay Cutler notes:

• He is 59-52 in 9 seasons as a starting QB. He is 39-29 after six seasons in Chicago and was 17-20 in 3 seasons with Denver. He is 1-1 in the post season for an overall career record of 60-53.

• He was Denver’s 1^st round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft out of Vanderbilt.

• He has made 1 Pro Bowl in his career in 2008 his final season in Denver.

• He has played two career games vs. New England and he is 0-2 with 1 TD pass and 4 INT’s.

• Holds Chicago franchise records for most completions (1,435), most attempts (2,353) and most passing yards (16,779).

• He is a native of Santa Claus IN

• He is married to former reality TV star and clothing designer, Kristin Cavallari who starred in the MTV shows “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills”.

Matt Forte notes:

• Two-time Pro Bowl Selection.

• Has 1 career game vs. Patriots had 9 carries for 25 yards 0 TD’s.

• 2nd in Bears history in yards from scrimmage and rushing yards.

• Has had four seasons with 1000+ rushing yards.

• Set career high in rushing TD’s in 2013 with 9.

• Tied career high in total TD’s with 12 in 2013 (9 rushing, 3 receiving).

• This season has 399 yards rushing on 99 carries with 2 TD’s.

• Also has 46 catches for 376 yards and 1 TD in 2014.

Brandon Marshall notes:

• 5-time Pro Bowl selection and 1-time All-Pro selection.

• Has played for Denver, Miami and now Chicago.

• Only NFL player with 7 consecutive 1,000 yards receiving seasons (2007-13).

• Has Chicago single season franchise records for catches (118) and receiving yards (1,508).

• Has 100-yards receiving Week 6 at Atlanta.

• Has 7 career games vs. New England. Has 37 catches for 570 yards and 3 TD’s.

• Has 5 career seasons with 100+ catches.

• Set a career high with 12 TD catches in 2013.

• In 2014 he has 25 catches for 301 yards and 5 TD’s.

• Reportedly called out Jay Cutler in a heated locker room post game to teammates.

Alshon Jeffery notes:

• Made his first Pro Bowl team in 2013 when he had 89 catches for 1421 yards and 7 TD’s.

• He has 31 catches for 495 yards and 2 TD’s in 2014.

• Had 100-yards receiving Week 3 at NY Jets and Week 6 at Atlanta.

• He has never played against New England.

Lance Briggs notes:

• 7 time Pro Bowl selection

• Has 6 career defensive TD’s third most in Bears history.

• In 2013 had 9-year streak of 100+ tackle seasons broken (2004-12).

• Did not play Week 6 at Atlanta or Week 7 vs. Miami due to a rib injury.

Willie Young notes:

• Leads team with 7 sacks in 6 games. Tied for 2nd in NFL.

• Had a blocked FGA Week 4 vs. Green Bay.

• More than doubled his career sack total, started the year with 6 career sacks.

• In his first season in Chicago after being drafted by Detroit in 2010 and spending four years with the Lions.

Jared Allen notes:

• 5-time Pro Bowl player and 4-time All-Pro selection.

• Has 7 consecutive double-digit sack seasons (2007-13).

• Shares NFL record for 4 career safeties.

• Has 20 tackles and 1 sack in 2014 after coming to Chicago as a free agent from Minnesota.

• In 3 games vs. New England has 2 sacks and 4 tackles (3 solo).

Kyle Fuller notes:

• Broke his hand and suffered a hip pointer vs. Miami Week 7.

• Rookie has played all 7 games starting last 5 in a row he is doubtful for Sunday.

• Tied for 3rd in NFL with 3 INT’s.

• Tied for 1st in NFL with 3 forced fumbles.

General Team News:

Former Patriots on the Bears:

• K Robbie Gould
• DE Trevor Scott
• S Shamiel Gary

Bears captains:

• Chicago names captains on a weekly basis

Players with New England ties:

• CB Al Louis-Jean – Brockton MA

Players who played for a New England based college or university:

• LS Jeremy Cain – UMass
• CB Al Louis-Jean – Boston College

Chicago has retired 14 numbers:

• 3 – Bronko Nagurski
• 5 – George McAfee
• 7 – George Halas
• 28 – Willie Galimore
• 34 – Walter Payton
• 40 – Gale Sayers
• 41 – Brian Piccolo
• 42 – Sid Luckman
• 51 – Dick Butkus
• 56 – Bill Hewitt
• 61 – Bill George
• 66 – Bulldog Turner
• 77 – Red Grange
• 89 – Mike Ditka

Next Week

Up next: Denver Broncos – AFC West

Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro MA

Date/Time: Sunday October 26 4:25 p.m.

TV Network: CBS

This Week

The New England Patriots host their AFC East Rivals the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA on Thursday at 8:25 p.m.

Patriots Hall of Fame Inductee Ty Law will be honored at halftime. Law is the 22nd player inducted into the Hall at Patriots Place.

The Jets			The Patriots
Overall Record	1-5		Overall Record	4-2
Road Record	0-2		Home Record	2-0
AFC East	0-0		AFC East	1-1
AFC Conf	1-2		AFC Conf	3-2

Bill Leavy is the referee for the game.

The Line/Prediction

As of Tuesday the line on the game from SportsBetting.ag via Yahoo Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 10. The over/under is 45.

My Prediction is Patriots 33, Jets, 24.

Take the points (Jets) and take the over. I am 3-3 against the spread and 3 of 6 on calling the over/under in 2014.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 221st consecutive sell out dating back to the 1994 season opener. The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

After market tickets are available through the Official Patriots Ticket Exchange where season ticket holders can sell their unused seats to fans on the season ticket waiting list.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Foxboro make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Foxboro MA.

Click for all the game day information including Gillette Stadium directions, parking information, seating chart and map.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember drive sober or get pulled over.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

CBS in televising the game nationally, Jim Nantz will do play by play, former NFL QB Phil Simms will provide the game analysis and Tracy Wolfson works the sidelines. You can look here for your local affiliate.

There is no DirecTV Sunday Ticket channel designation.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules; flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Bob Socci handles the play-by-play and former Patriots QB Scott Zolak will do the game analysis. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 5 p.m. on the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots Radio Network call is available on Sirius Channel 92, XM Channel 226 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Jets Radio Network has Bob Wischusen calling play by play and former Jet Marty Lyons doing the color via their flagship station WEPN-FM, ESPN New York 98.7.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 93, XM Channel 225 and on SiriusXM Internet Channel 821.

Westwood One will broadcast the game nationally to all its radio affiliates. Ian Eagle and Boomer Esiason will call the game with Laura Okmin as the sideline reporter.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 88, XM Channel 88 and on SiriusXM Internet Channel 88.

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team. It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Sunday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

Last Week

The Patriots stopped the Bills for a 37-22 win on the road.

The Jets lost their fifth straight this one to the Broncos at home, 31-17.

History

• This is the 111th meeting between the teams.
• The Patriots lead the all-time series 56-53-1 including playoffs.
• The Patriots are 30-25-1 as the home team in the series.
• The lone tie in the series (24-24) came on October 2, 1966 when both clubs were part of the AFL.
• Since Gillette opened in 2002 New England is 10-4 (including playoffs) vs. the Jets at home.
• The Patriots and Jets split the 2013 season series. Patriots won Week 2 at home, 13-10 while the Jets won at MetLife week 7, 30-27.

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 442-375-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances. Overall they are 25-18 in the post season.

They last appeared in the playoffs in 2013 when they beat Indianapolis in the AFC Divisional Round 43-22 and lost at Denver 26-16 in the AFC Championship Game.

It was the 3rd consecutive AFC Championship game appearance for the franchise and 10th overall. They are 7-3 in those AFC title games.

The Patriots were 12-4 (1-1 in playoffs) in 2013 and are the defending five-time AFC East Champions. They have won the division 11 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

New England is the only NFL team to finish .500 or better in each of the last 13 seasons (2001-2013).

They have 11 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins.

They are the first team in the free agency era (1993) to win more than half their games in a 13-season span.

Since 2001 the Patriots are 64-18 vs. the AFC East.

New England has 32 consecutive regular season wins at home against AFC teams.

Since 2003 the Patriots have the NFL’s best record at 142-40.

Since October 2003 the Patriots are a NFL best 39-9 in October games including a home record of 23-1.

They have won 30 of their last 34 October games.

When playing on Thursday the Patriots are 7-5. They have won their last three Thursday games.

Since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994 the Patriots are 27-15 vs. the Jets.

An AFC East rival has not swept the Patriots in a season series since 2000 when Miami and New York swept them.

The Patriots have swept the Jets 15 times in the series the last time was in 2012.

New England has 54 penalties this season in six weeks and has been penalized 526 yards.

Patriots have had multiple turnovers on both losses this season while having no turnovers in their 4 wins.

New England is PLUS 9 in turnover differential they are tied for 1st in the NFL. They have 7 INT and have recovered 7 fumbles while they have thrown 2 INT’s and lost 3 fumbles.

The Patriots are 11th in points scored averaging 24.6 points per game and are 11th in points allowed with 21.4 points per game.

This is the 21st season of Patriots ownership by the Kraft family. Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 221.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 242.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 13.
• Have the most playoff wins, 21
• Have played the most playoff games, 33.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 15.
• The fewest head coaches within the division, 3.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

From 1960 to 1993 the New England/Boston Patriots won a total of 225 games.

Patriots Staff Notes

Read what head coach Bill Belichick said during conference call to the media on the Jets.

Bill Belichick is 21-11 vs. the Jets in his career. He is 20-10 against them as the head coach in New England and that includes two playoff games (1-1).

Belichick is 7-2 in Thursday games, 6-2 as Patriots coach.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 202-106 in his 20th NFL season as a head coach. He is 166-62 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 19-9 in the playoffs, 18-8 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season. When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 221-115.

Belichick’s 221 wins are good for 5th all-time. Hall of Fame member Curly Lambeau is 4th with 229 wins.

He has won 5 conference titles; he needs one more to tied Don Shula’s record of 6.

He is the first head coach to have had 4 teams that scored at least 500 points in a season.

Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league. The others are former Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).

Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three Super Bowls, joining Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (3) and Bill Walsh (3). Those men are all in the Hall of Fame.

He is the only coach in NFL history to win three championship titles in four seasons.

No coach either as the head coach or an assistant has appeared in more Super Bowls than Belichick who has been to 8 (five as a head coach).

He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 11 consecutive seasons.

He has been NFL Coach of the Year three times he and Chuck Knox are the only three time winners, while Don Shula won four times.

Belichick is the former defensive coordinator for the Jets from 1997-99 under Bill Parcells. He was head coach for less than 24 hours before resigning to take the Patriots job.

Tight ends coach Brian Daboll spent two years as quarterbacks coach for the Jets from 2007-2008.

Offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo was the Jets offensive line coach in 2012.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Cannon
• C: Wendell
• RG: Kline
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• WR: LaFell
• WR: Edelman
• QB: Brady
• RB: Vereen
• RB: Develin

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Walker
• DE: Cha. Jones
• LB: Collins
• LB: White
• LB: Skinner
• LCB: Revis
• RCB: Dennard
• S: Chung
• S: McCourty

Patriots Players Notes

Tom Brady Notes:

• This is his 15th NFL season he is 19-6 vs. the Jets in his career including playoffs. He is 85-13 at home in the regular season.

• Overall he is 152-45 as a starting QB and is 18-8 in the playoffs for an overall record of 170-53. He is a 9 time Pro Bowl QB; 3 time All-Pro selection; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP. He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

• Had back-to-back multiple TD pass games Week 5 vs. Cincinnati (2) and Week 6 at Buffalo (4).

• 369 TD passes in his career makes him 5th in NFL history.

• 152 career wins are 3rd all-time behind only Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

• He has thrown for 2 or more TD’s in 117 games; the team’s record is 100-17.

Rob Gronkowski notes:

• Has caught a pass in 56 consecutive games it’s the 4th longest streak all-time for a tight end. Heath Miller is 3rd with a catch in 87 consecutive games.

• Leads team in TD’s with 4.

• Had 7 catches for 94-yards at Buffalo Week 6.

• Had 6 catches for 100-yards and 1 TD vs. Cincinnati Week 5.

• It was his 13th 100+ receiving yard games in his career.

• Is 7th in team history with 46 touchdowns.

• He is 4th in team history with 45 TD catches.

Julian Edelman notes:

• Had 9 catches for 91 yards, 1 carry for 10 yards and 3 punt returns for 12 yards for 113 total yards Week 6 at Buffalo.

• Has 4 career games with 10 or more catches after a 10-catch game Week 3 vs. Oakland.

• Leads team in receiving with 40 catches for 409 yards.

• Had a 34-yard punt return at Minnesota Week 2 it was the 11th punt return of 30 yards or more in his career. That ranks third in team history.

• Opened the season with a 95 receiving yards at Miami and added 81 yards receiving at Minnesota Week 2.

• Had 156 total yards Week 2 at Minnesota (81 receiving, 9 rushing and 66 on punt returns).

Tim Wright notes:

• Had 1 catch for 1- yards and a TD at Buffalo Week 6.

• Has TD catches in back-to-back games Week 5 vs. Cincinnati and Week 6 at Buffalo.

Stevan Ridley notes:

• Had his 2nd 100- yard rushing game of the season Week 5 vs. Cincinnati when he ran for 113 yards on 27 carries and had 1 TD. Also had a 100-yard game Week 2 at Minnesota when he ran for 101 yards on 25 carries and had 1 TD.

• Leads team in rushing with 340 yards on 94 carries.

• Has 7 career 100+ rushing yard games in his career.

• Suffered a knee injury week 6 at Buffalo, placed on season ending IR with ACL/MCL tear.

Brandon LaFell notes:

• Had 4 catches for 97 yards and 2 TD’s at Buffalo Week 6.

• Week 6 at Buffalo was his 2nd two TD game of his career.

• Had Patriots longest pass play of the game 56 yards for a 4th quarter TD.

Brian Tyms notes:

• Had 3rd NFL catch for 1st NFL TD Week 6 at Buffalo on a 43-yard bomb.

Stephen Gostkowski notes:

• Missed his first field goal attempt of 2014 in first quarter, Week 6 at Buffalo.

• Had a 19-point game vs. Cincinnati Week 5 with 5 field goals and 4 XPT’s. The five field goals were a new career high.

• Has converted 30 consecutive 4th quarter field goals.

• Has not missed an extra point since Week 17 2006 at Tennessee in his rookie season. He has made 369 consecutive extra points. He is 411 for 412 in his career.

• The 377 XPA converted in a row is fourth longest streak in NFL history.

• Lead NFL in scoring in both 2012 and 2013.

• Has scored at least 1 point in 113 consecutive games a franchise record.

• He is 3rd in team history in points with 1,087 trailing only Gino Cappelletti (1,130) and Adam Vinatieri (1,158).

• Has team record of 13 career field goals of 50+ yards.

Vince Wilfork notes:

• Was in on 6 tackles (2 solo) Week 6 at Buffalo.

• Had his 3rd career INT vs. Oakland Week 3. He is the first Patriots lineman to have 3 career INT’s.

• Has an INT against the Raiders in each of the last two games against them.

• Has 7 fumbles recoveries since 2010 the second most in the NFL in that span behind teammate Rob Ninkovich.

Darrelle Revis notes:

• Has 22 career INT’s and is one of the top shutdown corners in the NFL.

• Since 2007 has the most passes defensed in the NFL with 110 including a record 31 in 2009.

• Had his first forced fumble of the year Week 5 vs. Cincinnati.

• In Patriots debut Week 1 at Miami had 1 tackles, 2 passes defensed and recovered a fumble.

• Had his first Patriots INT Week 2 at Minnesota against Matt Cassel. Also had 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

Jerod Mayo notes:

• Leads team with 52 tackles (40 solo).

• Had streak of five consecutive 100+ tackle seasons snapped last year due to injury. He has led the team in tackles in those five seasons (2008-2012).

• Shares franchise record for leading team in tackles for 5 seasons with Steve Nelson and Vincent Brown.

• Week 1 at Miami he had 12 tackles and the teams only sack.

• Suffered season ending knee injury Week 6 at Buffalo.

Rob Ninkovich notes:

• In 6 seasons with New England has only missed one game.

• Leads team with 4 sacks.

• Week 6 at Buffalo had 6 tackles (4 solo) and 3 sacks. It was his first career 3-sack day.

• Week 2 at Minnesota had 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 2 QB hits.

Dont’a Hightower notes:

• Didn’t play Week 5 vs. Cincinnati or Week 6 at Buffalo due to a knee injury.

• Third on team with 2 sacks.

• Along with Chandler Jones he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 2 tackles for loss, 2 QB hits and 1 pass defensed.

• Had his first career 2-sack game Week 2 at Minnesota.

Chandler Jones notes:

• Second on team with 3.5 sacks.

• Scored his 2nd NFL TD Week 2 at Minnesota when he blocked a field goal attempt and returned it 58-yards. His first NFL TD was Week 16, 2013 at Baltimore on a fumble recovery. It was his second blocked field goal attempt (2013 Week 8 vs. Miami).

• Had the 5th blocked field goal returned for a TD in Patriots history Week 2 at Minnesota, first since 2010 when Patrick Chung returned one at Miami.

• Now has 5 career 2-sack games with a pair at Minnesota in Week 2.

• Along with Dont’a Hightower he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 3 tackles for loss, 3 QB hits, the blocked field goal attempt and return for TD.

Jamie Collins notes:

• Tied for second on team with 24 tackles (20 solo).

• Had 4 tackles (2 solo) and an INT Week 6 at Buffalo. It was his first NFL INT.

• Has also forced and recovered a fumble in 2014.

There are only two players on the team who played on at least one of the Super Bowl championship teams, Brady (3) and Wilfork (1).

Roster moves this week:

• LB Jerod Mayo placed on IR
• RB Stevan Ridley placed on IR
• OL Chris Martin released from practice squad
• OL Caylin Hauptmann signed to practice squad

Patriots team captains for 2014:

• QB Tom Brady
• G/C Dan Connolly
• WR Matthew Slater (special teams)
• DT Vince Wilfork
• LB Jerod Mayo (IR)

Former Jets on the Patriots:

• CB Darrelle Revis

Players with New England roots:

• none

Players with New York City metro roots:

• S Devin McCourty – Montvale NJ
• CB Logan Ryan – Vorhees NJ
• TE Tim Wright – Neptune NJ
• DE Dominique Easley – Staten Island NY

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• RB James Develin – Brown

Players from New York City metro based colleges and universities:

• S Devin McCourty – Rutgers
• S Duron Harmon – Rutgers
• CB Kyle Arrington – Hofstra
• TE Tim Wright – Rutgers

The Patriots have 6 retired numbers:

• 20 – Gino Cappelletti
• 40 – Mike Haynes
• 73 – John Hannah
• 78 – Bruce Armstrong
• 79 – Jim Lee Hunt
• 89 – Bob Dee

Jets Team Notes

Here is the Jets roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Jets Schedule/Results

The Jets all-time record is 374-444-8 and they are 12-13 in the playoffs with their last playoff appearance coming in 2010. That season the Jets lost on the road to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game, after having beaten Indianapolis and New England on the road to get there.

The Jets last appeared in a Super Bowl following the 1968 season and defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7 to win Super Bowl III. At that time was considered the biggest upset in sports history. They were the first AFL team to win the Super Bowl.

The Jets also won the 1968 AFL Championship when they beat the Oakland Raiders, 27-23 at Shea Stadium.

New York is 40-42 vs. the AFC East in the regular season since 2001.

This is the 3rd year in a row and 4th since 2008 that the Jets have played the Patriots on a Thursday night game and 3rd time at Gillette Stadium.

The Jets are 6-9 in Thursday games.

New York has lost 16 of the last 24 meetings with New England including playoffs.

The Jets have swept the Patriots 15 times in the series the last time was in 2000.

The Jets are 4-10 all-time at Gillette Stadium. Overall as the road team in the series they are 25-30-1.

This is New York’s first division game of the season.

New York has 44 penalties this season in six weeks and has been penalized 400 yards.

New York is MINUS 9 in turnover differential 31st in the NFL. They have 1 INT and have recovered 2 fumbles while they have thrown 7 INT’s and lost 5 fumbles.

The Jets are 30th in points scored averaging 16.0 points per game and are 25th in points allowed with 26.3 points per game.

Jets Staff Notes

Read what New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan had to say to the New England media about the match up.

Ryan is 43-43 in his 6th season as a head coach. He is 4-2 in the playoffs for an overall record of 47-35.

Ryan is 2-3 in Thursday games.

He is 4-7 vs. New England in his career including playoffs. He is 1-5 at Gillette Stadium.

Ryan is the third longest tenured head coach in Jets history behind Weeb Ewbank (11 seasons) and Joe Walton (7).

He is third in wins by a coach in team history behind Ewbank (71) and Walton (53).

General Manager John Idzik graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors from Dartmouth College in Hanover NH in 1982 and played wide receiver for the Big Green for four seasons.

The offensive coordinator is Marty Mornhinweg former head coach of the Detroit Lions. He is in his second season with the Jets.

Dennis Thurmond is the Jets defensive coordinator. He is in his sixth season with the team.

Defensive Backs Coach Brian Smith graduated in 2000 from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst where he was a three-year starter at safety and cornerback. Smith went on to coach at UMass.

Jets Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Ferguson
• LG: Aboushi
• C: Mangold
• RG: Colon
• RT: Giacomini
• TE: Cumberland
• WR: Kerley
• WR: Decker
• WR: Salas
• QB: Smith
• RB: Ivory

Defense:

• DE: Wilkerson
• NT: Harrison
• DE: Richardson
• LB: Couples
• LB: Davis
• LB: Harris
• LB: Pace
• LCB: Allen
• RCB: Walls
• S: Pryor
• S: Landry

Jets Players Notes

Geno Smith notes:

• Jets starting QB was their second round pick out of West Virginia in the 2013 NFL Draft.

• Smith is 9-13 as a starter in his second season with New York. He is 1-1 vs. New England in his career.

• Has thrown 6 TD’s and 7 INT’s, has been sacked 12 times and fumbled 5 times in six weeks.

• The 7 INT’s are 2nd most and the 5 fumbles are the most in the NFL.

Zach Sudfeld notes:

• Signed as an UFA by Patriots in May 2013 and made team out of camp. Released by Patriots after Week 4 and signed by Jets the next day.

• Has just 1 catch for 15 yards this season.

• Has 7 tackles on special teams to lead the team.

Greg Salas notes:

• Played for the Patriots in 2012.

• Has 8 catches for 167 yards and 0 TD’s this year.

• Has averaged 19.4 yards per catch since joining the Jets in 2013.

Eric Decker notes:

• Signed as a free agent after spending last few seasons in Denver.

• Leads team with 258 yards receiving and 3 TD’s.

• Tied for second on team with 20 receptions.

Jace Amaro notes:

• Leads team with 24 catches.

• Second on team in receiving yards with 212.

• Had his 1st career TD and 10 catches for 68 yards Week 6 vs. Denver.

Jeremy Kerley notes:

• Tied for second team with 20 catches.

• Third on team in receiving yards with 172.

Chris Ivory notes:

• Leads team with 325 yards on 67 carries and 2 TD’s.

• Also has 8 catches for 85 yards.

Muhammad Wilkerson notes:

• Leads team with 4 sacks.

• Has 2 passes defensed as well as 32 tackles (17 solo).

• 7th career game vs. Patriots.

• Has 1 sack and 23 tackles vs. New England.

Calvin Pace notes:

• 12th career game vs. New England.

• Has 45 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his career vs. Patriots.

• Has 3.5 sacks in 2014 along with 19 tackles (15 solo).

Former Patriots on the Jets:

• WR Greg Salas
• TE Zach Sudfeld
• LB Jermaine Cunningham (IR)
• LB A.J. Edds
• CB Phillip Adams

Players with New England ties:

• Breno Giacomini – Malden MA

Players who attended New England based colleges or universities:

• P Ryan Quigley – Boston College

New York does not name team captains. They are appointed on a weekly basis prior to the game.

New York has 5 retired numbers:

12 – Joe Namath

13 – Don Maynard

28 – Curtis Martin

73 – Joe Klecko

90 – Dennis Byrd

Next Week

Up next: Chicago Bears – NFC North

Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro MA

Date/Time: Sunday October 26 at 1 p.m.

TV Network: FOX

This Week

The New England Patriots visit their AFC East rival Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park NY on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Patriots			The Bills
Overall Record	3-2		Overall Record	3-2
Road Record	1-2		Home Record	1-1
AFC East	0-1		AFC East	1-0
AFC Conf	2-2		AFC Conf	1-2

Walt Coleman will be the referee for the game.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from sportsbetting.ag via Yahoo Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 3. The over under is 45.

My Prediction is Patriots 31, Bills, 24.

Give the points (Patriots) and take the over. I am 2-3 against the spread and 2 of 5 on calling the over/under in 2014.

Tickets

The Bills are reporting the game as a sell out.

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be shuffling off to Buffalo for the game make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Orchard Park NY.

Click for all the game day information including stadium directions, parking and stadium information, parking map and a Ralph Wilson Stadium seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out DrinkNation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember You Drink, You Drive, You Lose.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

FOX in televising the game regionally and Kenny Albert will do play by play while former Cowboy Darryl Johnston will provide the game analysis and former Raven Tony Siragusa works the sidelines. You can look here for your local affiliate.

Note: This weeks game is carried by FOX as part of the new NFL TV contract that allows the league to balance out the weekly games between the networks.

See if you’re getting the game courtesy of J.P. Kirby at the506.com.

The DirecTV designation is Channel 705.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules; flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Bob Socci handles the play-by-play and former Patriots QB Scott Zolak will do game analysis. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 10 a.m. on the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots radio network call is available on Sirius Channel 85, XM Channel 85 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Bills Radio Network has John Murphy calling the game while former Bills DB Mark Kelso provide the game analysis and Sal Capaccio works the sidelines via their flagship station, WGR-AM.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 135, XM Channel 225 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 803.

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team. It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Sunday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

Last Week

The Patriots crushed the previously undefeated Bengals 43-17 at Gillette Stadium.

The Bills won on the road in Detroit beating the Lions, 17-14.

History

• This is the 109th meeting between the Patriots and the Bills since they started to face each other as AFL foes in 1960.
• The Patriots lead the series 66-41-1
• The 66 wins are the most the Patriots have over any opponent.
• Patriots have won 20 of the last 21 meetings with Buffalo’s only win coming in Week 3 of the 2011 season.
• The Patriots swept the Bills in 2013 winning in Buffalo 23-21 and at Gillette 34-20.

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 441-375-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances. Overall they are 25-18 in the post season.

They last appeared in the playoffs in 2013 when they beat Indianapolis in the AFC Divisional Round 43-22 and lost at Denver 26-16 in the AFC Championship Game.

It was the 3rd consecutive AFC Championship game appearance for the franchise and 10th overall. They are 7-3 in those AFC title games.

The Patriots were 12-4 (1-1 in playoffs) in 2013 and are the defending five-time AFC East Champions. They have won the division 11 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

New England is the only NFL team to finish .500 or better in each of the last 13 seasons (2001-2013).

They have 11 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins.

They are the first team in the free agency era (1993) to win more than half their games in a 13-season span.

Since 2001 the Patriots are 63-18 vs. the AFC East.

Since 2003 the Patriots have the NFL’s best record at 141-40.

Since October 2003 the Patriots are a NFL best 38-9 in October games including a road record of 15-8.

They have won 29 of their last 33 October games.

The Patriots are 30-22-1 all time in Buffalo, 23-16 at Ralph Wilson/Rich Stadium. The other games were played at old War Memorial Stadium.

New England’s largest margin of victory in the series is 46 points set in 2007.

The Patriots have scored 30 or more points against the Bills in 7 of the last 8 games.

An AFC East rival has not swept the Patriots in a season series since 2000 when Miami and New York swept them.

Last Week New England recovered 3 fumbles against Cincinnati. The last time they had three or more fumble recoveries in a game was at New York Jets on Thanksgiving night 2012, aka Butt Fumble Day.

The Patriots had first downs on the first drive of either half for the first time in 2014.

New England is 39-1 with a 100-yard rusher under Bill Belichick.

New England has 45 penalties this season in five weeks and has been penalized 466 yards.

Patriots have had multiple turnovers on both losses this season while having no turnovers in their 3 wins.

New England is PLUS 6 in turnover differential. They have 6 INT and have recovered 5 fumbles while they have thrown 2 INT’s and lost 3 fumbles.

The Patriots are 12th in points scored averaging 24.6 points per game and are 11th in points allowed with 21.4 points per game.

This is the 21st season of Patriots ownership by the Kraft family. Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 220.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 241.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 13.
• Have the most playoff wins, 21
• Have played the most playoff games, 33.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 15.
• The fewest head coaches within the division, 3.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

From 1960 to 1993 the New England/Boston Patriots won a total of 225 games.

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Bills.

Bill Belichick coached teams are 25-4 vs. Buffalo. Belichick was 0-1 against the Bills as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 202-106 in his 20th NFL season as a head coach. He is 166-62 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 19-9 in the playoffs, 18-8 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season. When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 221-115.

Belichick’s 221 wins are good for 5th all-time. Hall of Fame member Curly Lambeau is 4th with 229 wins.

He has won 5 conference titles; he needs one more to tied Don Shula’s record of 6.

He is the first head coach to have had 4 teams that scored at least 500 points in a season.

Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league. The others are former Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).

Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three Super Bowls, joining Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (3) and Bill Walsh (3). Those men are all in the Hall of Fame.

He is the only coach in NFL history to win three championship titles in four seasons.

No coach either as the head coach or an assistant has appeared in more Super Bowls than Belichick who has been to 8 (five as a head coach).

He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 11 consecutive seasons.

He has been NFL Coach of the Year three times he and Chuck Knox are the only three time winners, while Don Shula won four times.

Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia attended Vernon-Verona-

Sherrill HS in Sherrill, N.Y., before going on to serve as a graduate assistant at Syracuse from 2001-03.

Tight ends coach Brian Daboll is a Buffalo native and attended St. Francis (Buffalo) High School before graduating from the University of Rochester in 1997.

Running backs coach Ivan Fears coached the wide receivers at Syracuse from 1980-90.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Connolly
• C: Stork
• RG: Wendell
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• WR: Amendola
• WR: Edelman
• QB: Brady
• RB: Vereen
• RB: Develin

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Cha. Jones
• DE: Easley
• LB: Collins
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Skinner
• LCB: Revis
• RCB: Dennard
• S: Chung
• S: McCourty

Patriots Players Notes

Tom Brady Notes:

• This is his 15th NFL season he is 22-2 vs. the Bills in his career. He is 66-32 on the road in the regular season.

• Overall he is 151-45 as a starting QB and is 18-8 in the playoffs for an overall record of 169-53. He is a 9 time Pro Bowl QB; 3 time All-Pro selection; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP. He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

• Had first multiple TD pass (2) game of season Week 5 vs. Cincinnati.

• 365 TD passes in his career makes him 5th in NFL history.

• 151 career wins are 3rd all-time behind only Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

• He has thrown for 2 or more TD’s in 116 games; the team’s record is 99-17.

• With 292 passing yards Week 5 vs. Cincinnati he surpassed 50,000 in his career. He is 6th all-time in passing yards.

• In 5 games he has fumbled 5 times losing 3 of them to the opponent.

Rob Gronkowski notes:

• Has caught a pass in 55 consecutive games it’s the 4th longest streak all-time for a tight end. Heath Miller is 3rd with a catch in 86 consecutive games.

• Leads team in TD’s with 4.

• Had 6 catches for 100-yards and 1 TD vs. Cincinnati Week 5.

• It was his 13th 100+ receiving yard games in his career.

• Is 7th in team history with 46 touchdowns.

• He is 4th in team history with 45 TD catches.

Julian Edelman notes:

• Has 4 career games with 10 or more catches after a 10-catch game Week 3 vs. Oakland.

• Leads team in receiving with 31 catches for 318 yards.

• Had a 34-yard punt return at Minnesota Week 2 it was the 11th punt return of 30 yards or more in his career. That ranks third in team history.

• Opened the season with a 95 receiving yards at Miami and added 81 yards receiving at Minnesota Week 2.

• Had 156 total yards Week 2 at Minnesota (81 receiving, 9 rushing and 66 on punt returns).

Tim Wright notes:

• Had his first significant game as a Patriot Week 5 vs. Cincinnati.

• Had 5 catches for 85 yards and a TD vs. Cincinnati Week 5.

• TD catch vs. Bengals was for 17-yards. It was his first as a Patriot.

Stevan Ridley notes:

• Had his 2nd 100- yard rushing game of the season Week 5 vs. Cincinnati when he ran for 113 yards on 27 carries and had 1 TD. Also had a 100-yard game Week 2 at Minnesota when he ran for 101 yards on 25 carries and had 1 TD.

• Leads team in rushing with 317 yards on 84 carries.

• Has 7 career 100+ rushing yard games in his career.

Shane Vereen notes:

• Had 90 rushing yards on 9 carries and 3 catches for 18 receiving yards for 108 all-purpose yards Week 5 vs. Cincinnati.

Stephen Gostkowski notes:

• Had a 19-point game vs. Cincinnati Week 5 with 5 field goals and 4 XPT’s. The five field goals were a new career high.

• Has converted 30 consecutive 4th quarter field goals.

• Has not missed an extra point since Week 17 2006 at Tennessee in his rookie season. He has made 369 consecutive extra points. He is 411 for 412 in his career.

• The 373 XPA converted in a row is fourth longest streak in NFL history.

• Lead NFL in scoring in both 2012 and 2013.

• Has scored at least 1 point in 112 consecutive games a franchise record.

• He is 3rd in team history in points with 1,074 trailing only Gino Cappelletti (1,130) and Adam Vinatieri (1,158).

• Has team record of 12 career field goals of 50+ yards.

Vince Wilfork notes:

• Played only 4 games in 2013 after suffering a torn Achilles.

• Prior to 2013 had played in all 16 games in 5 of the previous 6 seasons.

• Had his 3rd career INT vs. Oakland Week 3. He is the first Patriots lineman to have 3 career INT’s.

• Has an INT against the Raiders in each of the last two games against them.

• Has 7 fumbles recoveries since 2010 the second most in the NFL in that span behind teammate Rob Ninkovich.

Darrelle Revis notes:

• Has 22 career INT’s and is one of the top shutdown corners in the NFL.

• Since 2007 has the most passes defensed in the NFL with 110 including a record 31 in 2009.

• Had his first forced fumble of the year Week 5 vs. Cincinnati.

• In Patriots debut Week 1 at Miami had 1 tackles, 2 passes defensed and recovered a fumble.

• Had his first Patriots INT Week 2 at Minnesota against Matt Cassel. Also had 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

Jerod Mayo notes:

• Leads team with 47 tackles (35 solo).

• Had streak of five consecutive 100+ tackle seasons snapped last year due to injury. He has led the team in tackles in those five seasons (2008-2012).

• Shares franchise record for leading team in tackles for 5 seasons with Steve Nelson and Vincent Brown.

• Week 1 at Miami he had 12 tackles and the teams only sack.

Rob Ninkovich notes:

• In 6 seasons with New England has only missed one game.

• Week 2 at Minnesota had 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 2 QB hits.

Dont’a Hightower notes:

• Didn’t play Week 5 vs. Cincinnati due to a knee injury.

• Tied for second on team in tackles with 22 (19 solo).

• Second on team with 2 sacks.

• Along with Chandler Jones he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 2 tackles for loss, 2 QB hits and 1 pass defensed.

• Had his first career 2-sack game Week 2 at Minnesota.

Chandler Jones notes:

• Was limited Week 5 vs. Cincinnati due to shoulder injury but did have 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 QB hit and 1 tackle for loss.

• First on team with 2.5 sacks.

• Scored his 2nd NFL TD Week 2 at Minnesota when he blocked a field goal attempt and returned it 58-yards. His first NFL TD was Week 16, 2013 at Baltimore on a fumble recovery. It was his second blocked field goal attempt (2013 Week 8 vs. Miami).

• Had the 5th blocked field goal returned for a TD in Patriots history Week 2 at Minnesota, first since 2010 when Patrick Chung returned one at Miami.

• Now has 5 career 2-sack games with a pair at Minnesota in Week 2.

• Along with Dont’a Hightower he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 3 tackles for loss, 3 QB hits, the blocked field goal attempt and return for TD.

Jamie Collins notes:

• Tied for second on team with 22 tackles (18 solo).

• Has also forced and recovered a fumble in 2014.

There are only two players on the team who played on at least one of the Super Bowl championship teams, Brady (3) and Wilfork (1).

Roster moves this week:

• Released WR Kenbrell Thompkins
• Signed LB Ja’Gared Davis from practice squad
• CB Brandon Browner activated to 53-man roster.
• WR Brian Tyms activated to 53-man roster.
• Released DL Joe Vellano
• Placed DL Michael Buchanan on IR
• Signed DT Joe Vellano to the practice squad.
• Signed T Chris Martin to the practice squad.

Patriots team captains for 2014:

• QB Tom Brady
• G/C Dan Connolly
• WR Matthew Slater (special teams)
• DT Vince Wilfork
• LB Jerod Mayo

Former Bills on the Patriots:

• LB Chris White
• LS Danny Aiken

Players with New England roots:

• none

Players with New York roots:

• TE Rob Gronkowski – Williamsville NY
• DE Chandler Jones – Rochester NY

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• RB James Develin – Brown

Players from New York based colleges and universities:

• DE Chandler Jones – Syracuse

The Patriots have 6 retired numbers:

• 20 – Gino Cappelletti
• 40 – Mike Haynes
• 73 – John Hannah
• 78 – Bruce Armstrong
• 79 – Jim Lee Hunt
• 89 – Bob Dee

Bills Team Notes

Here is the Bills roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Bills Schedule/Results

Buffalo’s all-time record is 379-438-8 they are 14-15 in the post season with their last post season appearance coming in 1999 when they lost to Tennessee in the AFC Wild Card game, best known as the “Music City Miracle”.

They last played for a conference championship in 1993 when they beat Kansas City in the AFC Title game, 30-13. They then went on to lose to Dallas in Super Bowl XXVIII. They have never won a Super Bowl title in four appearances.

The Bills franchise started in 1960 in the AFL and they won two AFL Championships in 1964 and 1965.

This is the first game in Buffalo franchise history in which the Wilson Family does not own the team. The NFL approved the sale of the Bills to Terry Pagula, who also owns the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, this week.

Since 2001 the Bills are 27-54 vs. the AFC East. They are the only team who hasn’t won the division in that time span.

The Bills have lost the season series to the Patriots 11 times in the last 14 seasons.

The Bills are 22-31-1 as the home team in the series.

The largest margin of victory for the Bills in the series is 35 points set in 1970.

A win on Sunday will give Buffalo sole possession of first place in the AFC East for the first time since Week 7 of the 2008 season.

A Bills win on Sunday will make them 2-0 vs. the AFC East for the first time since 2005.

Buffalo has 11 pass plays this season for 25 yards or more that is 4th in the NFL.

Bills have the second best rush defense (71 ypg) in the NFL behind Seattle.

Buffalo is first in the NFL in sacks with 17 after setting a franchise record with 57 in 2013.

They have their last 7 first round draft picks still on the roster.

Buffalo has 6 players with the surname of Williams, 2 with the surname of Brown as well as a Wood and a Woods.

Buffalo has 45 penalties this season in five weeks and has been penalized 372 yards.

Bills are tied for first in turnover differential (PLUS 6) with the Patriots, Packers and Chargers.

Buffalo is PLUS 6 in turnover differential. They have 6 INT and have recovered 4 fumbles while they have thrown 4 INT’s and lost 0 fumbles.

The Bills are 28th in points scored averaging 19.2 points per game and are 5th in points allowed with 17.8 points per game.

Bills Staff Notes

Read what Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone had to say to the New England media about the match up.

Buffalo head coach Doug Marrone is his 2nd season as a NFL head coach he is 9-12.

He is 0-2 vs. New England.

He is the 16th head coach in Buffalo Bills history.

Was head coach for Syracuse University for four seasons (2009-12) and compiled a 25-25 record for the Orange. He was also previously the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints (2006-08) and offensive line coach for the New York Jets (2002-05) and was the offensive line coach at Coast Guard in 1993 and at Northeastern in 1994.

Jim Schwartz is the defensive coordinator after serving the last five seasons as the head coach of the Detroit Lions (2009-13). He was also defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans from 2001-08.

Nathaniel Hackett returns for his second season as the Bills offensive coordinator. He was Marrone’s offensive coordinator for two seasons at Syracuse and 1 year he was the quarterbacks coach for the Orange.

Linebackers coach Pepper Johnson served in several defensive coaching roles for the Patriots from 2000-13. Notably, he was the defensive line coach from 2004-11 and the linebackers coach from 2012-13.

Bills Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Eric Ciano and Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Hal Luther both played football at Springfield College.

Strength and Conditioning Assistant Dan Liburd also spent time at Springfield as a graduate associate and graduated from Boston University in 2006.

Bills Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Glenn
• LG: Urbik
• C: Wood
• RG: Pears
• RT: Henderson
• TE: Chandler
• WR: Watkins
• WR: Woods
• QB: Orton
• RB: Spiller
• RB: Summers

Defense:

• DE: M. Williams
• DT: Charles
• DT: Dareus
• DE: Hughes
• LB: Rivers
• LB: Spikes
• LB: P. Brown
• LCB: McKelvin
• RCB: Gilmore
• S: Searcy
• S: A. Williams

Bills Players Notes

Kyle Orton notes:

• Drafted in the 4th round of the 2005 NFL Draft by Chicago out Purdue.

• He is in his 10th NFL season and has a 36-35 career record with Chicago (21-12), Denver (12-21), Kansas City (2-1), Dallas (0-1) and Buffalo (1-0). He has never appeared in the playoffs.

• He is 1-0 vs. New England in his career. In 2009 he beat the Patriots in Denver 20-17.

• Made first start of 2014 last week at Detroit in a 17-14 win. He was 30 of 43 for 308 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.

• Has passed for 300 yards in his last two starts.

• He is the 5th quarterback since 1960 to have passed for 300+ yards in a game for five different teams.

E.J. Manuel notes:

• He was the Bills first round choice out of Florida State in the 2013 NFL Draft.

• He is in his second season in the NFL and has a record of 6-8 and was replaced by Kyle Orton as the starting QB last week at Detroit.

Fred Jackson notes:

• Second on team in rushing with 201 yards on 42 carries.

• Has 26 catches for 228 yards and 1 TD.

• His 26 catches are tops on the team.

• Needs 2 rushing TD’s for 30 in his career.

• Third in Bills history in 100-yard rushing games (15) and rushing yards (5,323) behind O.J. Simpson (41/10,183) and Thurman Thomas (46/11,938).

C.J. Spiller notes:

• Leads team in rushing with 215 yards on 61 carries.

• Has 13 catches for 106 yards and 1 TD

• Also has a 102-yard KOR for a TD. It was the 3rd longest in Bills history.

• Has highest yards per carry in Bills history (4.97).

Sammy Watkins notes:

• Bills first round pick in 2014 NFL Draft out of Georgia.

• Has 24 catches for team leading 284 yards and 2 TD’s.

• Leads team in receiving yards and TD’s.

Brandon Spikes notes:

• First season as a Bill after 4 seasons as a Patriot.

• Drafted by New England out of Florida in 2nd Round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

• Has started 2 of 5 games.

• Has 19 tackles (10 solo), 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed.

Mario Williams notes:

• Has 3.5 sacks in 5 games.

• Has 13 tackles (11 solo).

• 3rd in tackles in the NFL since 2006 (425).

• 4th most sacks in NFL (80) since 2006.

Kyle Williams notes:

• Has registered 1 sack and 1 INT this year

• The defensive end also has 2 passes defensed.

• Has 11 tackles (8 solo)

Marcell Dareus notes:

• Has 5 sacks to lead the team, 3rd most in NFL.

• Has 1 forced fumble and 20 tackles (16 solo).

Buffalo’s team captains for 2014 are:

• RB Fred Jackson
• DT Kyle Williams
• C Eric Wood
• DE Mario Williams
• CB Corey Graham
• LB Brandon Spikes

Former Patriots on the Bills:

• LB Brandon Spikes
• TE Lee Smith

Players with New England roots:

• WR Marcus Easley (Out/knee) – Bridgeport CT
• G D.J. Morrell (practice squad) – Norwalk CT

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• WR Marcus Easley (Out/knee) – UConn
• CB Corey Graham – New Hampshire
• LB Ikponmwosa Igbinosun (practice squad) – Southern Connecticut State

The Bills have one retired number:

12 – Jim Kelley

Next Week

Up next: New York Jets – AFC East

Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro MA

Date/Time: Thursday October 16 at 8:25 p.m.

TV Network: CBS

This Week

The Cincinnati Bengals visit the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday at 8:20 p.m.

This is the second of four games in an 18 day span for the Patriots.

The Bengals		=	The Patriots
Overall Record	3-0	–	Overall Record	2-2
Road Record	1-0	–	Home Record	1-0
AFC East	0-0		AFC North	0-0
AFC Conf	2-0		AFC Conf	1-2

Jerome Boger is the referee for the game

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from sportsbetting.ag via Yahoo Sports has the game as Patriots PLUS 1. The over/under is 46.

My Prediction is Bengals 33, Patriots, 24. Give the points (Bengals) and take the over. I am 2-2 against the spread and 1 of 4 on calling the over/under in 2014.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 220th consecutive sell out dating back to the 1994 season opener. The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

After market tickets are available through the Official Patriots Ticket Exchange where season ticket holders can sell their unused seats to fans on the season ticket waiting list.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Foxboro make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Foxboro MA.

Click for all the game day information including Gillette Stadium directions, parking information, seating chart and map.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember drive sober or get pulled over.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

NBC in televising the game nationally and Al Michaels will do play by play while Cris Collinsworth will provide the game analysis and Michele Tafoya will cover the sidelines. You can look here for your local affiliate.

There is no DirecTV Sunday Ticket designation as the game is broadcast nationally.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules; flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Bob Socci handles the play-by-play and former Patriots QB Scott Zolak will do game analysis. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 5 p.m. on the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots Radio Network call is available on Sirius Channel 92, XM Channel 226 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Bengals Radio Network has former PawSox announcer Dan Hoard calling play by play and Dave Lapham doing the color via their flagship stations WCKY-AM ESPN 1530, WLW AM 700 and WEBN-FM 102.7.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 93, XM Channel 225 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 806.

Westwood One will broadcast the game nationally with Kevin Kugler, James Lofton and Anthony Becht calling the game.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 84, XM Channel 227 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 963

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team. It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Saturday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

Last Week

The Patriots got crushed in Kansas City by the Chiefs on MNF, 41-14.

The Bengals had their bye week after beating the Titans at home in Week 3, 33-7.

History

• This is the 24th meeting between the Patriots and the Bengals all since 1968.
• New England leads the series 14-9.
• Patriots have won 7 of the last 9 meetings.
• New England is 8-2 as the home team in the series.
• First visit by Cincinnati since 2010.
• The Bengals won the last meeting between the teams in 2013 at Paul Brown Stadium 13-6.

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 440-375-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances. Overall they are 25-18 in the post season.

They last appeared in the playoffs in 2013 when they beat Indianapolis in the AFC Divisional Round 43-22 and lost at Denver 26-16 in the AFC Championship Game.

It was the 3rd consecutive AFC Championship game appearance for the franchise and 10th overall. They are 7-3 in those AFC title games.

The Patriots were 12-4 (1-1 in playoffs) in 2013 and are the defending five-time AFC East Champions. They have won the division 11 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

New England is the only NFL team to finish .500 or better in each of the last 13 seasons (2001-2013).

They have 11 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins.

They are the first team in the free agency era (1993) to win more than half their games in a 13-season span.

New England is 20-16 on SNF, 12-6 as the home team and 7-4 at Gillette Stadium.

Since 2003 the Patriots have the NFL’s best record at 140-40.

Since October 2003 the Patriots are a NFL best 37-9 in October games including a home record of 22-1.

They have won 28 of their last 32 October games.

New England is 18-6 vs. the AFC North since the realignment of the divisions in 2002.

Patriots have a 31 game home win streak against the AFC. It is the longest win streak ever by one team against a conference.

The last regular season home loss was November 30, 2008 vs. Pittsburgh, 33-10.

Since 2003 the Patriots are 35-4 in the regular season after a loss.

Patriots have scored 54 of their 80 points in the first half, with 34 coming in the second quarter.

New England has 33 penalties this season in four weeks and has been penalized 352 yards.

Patriots have had multiple turnovers on both losses this season while having no turnovers in both wins.

Monday night was the first game this season they did not have a takeaway.

New England is PLUS 3 in turnover differential tied for 7th in the NFL. They have 6 INT and have recovered 2 fumbles while they have thrown 2 INT’s and lost 3 fumbles.

The Patriots are 24th in points scored averaging 20.0 points per game and are tied for 14th in points allowed with 22.5 points per game.

This is the 21st season of Patriots ownership by the Kraft family. Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 219.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 240.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 13.
• Have the most playoff wins, 21
• Have played the most playoff games, 33.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 15.
• The fewest head coaches within the division, 3.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

From 1960 to 1993 the New England/Boston Patriots won a total of 225 games.

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Bengals. #OnToCincinnati

Bill Belichick is 13-4 against the Bengals; 5-2 as the head coach in New England and 8-2 as the head coach in Cleveland.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 201-106 in his 20th NFL season as a head coach. He is 165-62 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 19-9 in the playoffs, 18-8 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season. When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 220-115.

Belichick’s 220 wins are good for 5th all-time. Hall of Fame member Curly Lambeau is 4th with 229 wins.

He has won 5 conference titles; he needs one more to tied Don Shula’s record of 6.

He is the first head coach to have had 4 teams that scored at least 500 points in a season.

Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league. The others are former Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).

Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three Super Bowls, joining Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (3) and Bill Walsh (3). Those men are all in the Hall of Fame.

He is the only coach in NFL history to win three championship titles in four seasons.

No coach either as the head coach or an assistant has appeared in more Super Bowls than Belichick who has been to 8 (five as a head coach).

He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 11 consecutive seasons.

He has been NFL Coach of the Year three times he and Chuck Knox are the only three time winners, while Don Shula won four times.

Cornerbacks coach Josh Boyer is a native of Heath OH and served as a graduate assistant at Dayton in 2001.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Connolly
• C: Stork
• RG: Wendell
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• WR: Amendola
• WR: Edelman
• WR: LaFell
• QB: Brady
• RB: Vereen

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Chr. Jones
• DT: Wilfork
• DE: Easley
• LB: White
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Skinner
• LCB: Revis
• RCB: Ryan
• S: Chung
• S: McCourty

Patriots Players Notes

Tom Brady Notes:

• This is his 15th NFL season he is 4-1 vs. the Bengals in his career. He is 84-13 at home in the regular season.

• Overall he is 150-45 as a starting QB and is 18-8 in the playoffs for an overall record of 168-53. He is a 9 time Pro Bowl QB; 3 time All-Pro selection; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP. He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

• He now has 41 wins in his career (34 in the regular season and 7 in the playoffs) in which the team was trailing or tied in the fourth quarter. He had 5 comeback wins in 2013.

• The 5 comeback wins in 2013 tie his career best set in 2003.

• Threw his first INT’s of the season Week 4 at Kansas City.

• 363 TD passes in his career makes him 5th in NFL history 2 TD passes behind John Elway.

• 150 career wins are 3rd all-time behind only Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

• He has thrown for 2 or more TD’s in 115 games; the team’s record is 98-17.

• Needs 60 passing yards for 50,000 in his career. He is 6th all-time in passing yards.

• In 4 games he has fumbled 5 times losing 3 of them to the opponent.

Jimmy Garoppolo notes:

• Played in his first NFL game relieving Brady in the 4th quarter Week 4 at Kansas City.

• In his first game he was 6 of 7 for 70 yards and threw his first NFL TD pass.

Rob Gronkowski notes:

• Has caught a pass in 54 consecutive games it’s the 4th longest streak all-time for a tight end. Heath Miller is 3rd with a catch in 85 consecutive games.

• Leads team in TD’s with 3.

• Caught Jimmy Garoppolo’s first NFL TD pass.

• He is 10th in points in franchise history.

• Is 7th in team history with 46 touchdowns.

• He is 4th in team history with 45 TD catches.

Julian Edelman notes:

• Had a streak of 9 consecutive games with at least 6 catches come to end Week 4 at Kansas City.

• Has 4 career games with 10 or more catches after a 10-catch game Week 3 vs. Oakland.

• Leads team in receiving with 26 catches for 283 yards.

• Had a 34-yard punt return at Minnesota Week 2 it was the 11th punt return of 30 yards or more in his career. That ranks third in team history.

• Opened the season with a 95 receiving yards at Miami and added 81 yards receiving at Minnesota Week 2.

• Had 156 total yards Week 2 at Minnesota (81 receiving, 9 rushing and 66 on punt returns).

Brandon LaFell notes:

• Had his first significant game as a Patriot Week 4 at Kansas City.

• Had 6 catches for 119 yards and a TD at Kansas City Week 4.

• TD catch vs. Chiefs was for 44-yards. It was his first as a Patriot.

Stevan Ridley notes:

• Had his first 100- yard rushing game of the season Week 2 at Minnesota when he ran for 101 yards on 25 carries and had 1 TD.

• Leads team in rushing with 204 yards on 57 carries.

Stephen Gostkowski notes:

• Has converted 27 consecutive 4th quarter field goals.

• Has not missed an extra point since Week 17 2006 at Tennessee in his rookie season. He has made 369 consecutive extra points. He is 407 for 408 in his career.

• The 369 XPA converted in a row is fourth longest streak in NFL history.

• Lead NFL in scoring in both 2012 and 2013.

• Has scored at least 1 point in 111 consecutive games a franchise record.

• He is 3rd in team history in points with 1,055 trailing only Gino Cappelletti (1,130) and Adam Vinatieri (1,158).

• Has team record of 12 career field goals of 50+ yards.

Vince Wilfork notes:

• Played only 4 games in 2013 after suffering a torn Achilles.

• Prior to 2013 had played in all 16 games in 5 of the previous 6 seasons.

• Had his 3rd career INT vs. Oakland Week 3. He is the first Patriots lineman to have 3 career INT’s.

• Has an INT against the Raiders in each of the last two games against them.

• Has 7 fumbles recoveries since 2010 the second most in the NFL in that span behind teammate Rob Ninkovich.

Darrelle Revis notes:

• Has 22 career INT’s and is one of the top shutdown corners in the NFL.

• Since 2007 has the most passes defensed in the NFL with 110 including a record 31 in 2009.

• In Patriots debut Week 1 at Miami had 1 tackles, 2 passes defensed and recovered a fumble.

• Had his first Patriots INT Week 2 at Minnesota against Matt Cassel. Also had 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

Jerod Mayo notes:

• Leads team with 39 tackles (28 solo).

• Had streak of five consecutive 100+ tackle seasons snapped last year due to injury. He has led the team in tackles in those five seasons (2008-2012).

• Shares franchise record for leading team in tackles for 5 seasons with Steve Nelson and Vincent Brown.

• Week 1 at Miami he had 12 tackles and the teams only sack.

Rob Ninkovich notes:

• In 6 seasons with New England has only missed one game.

• Week 2 at Minnesota had 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 2 QB hits.

Dont’a Hightower notes:

• Second on team in tackles with 22 (19 solo).

• Second on team with 2 sacks.

• Along with Chandler Jones he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 2 tackles for loss, 2 QB hits and 1 pass defensed.

• Had his first career 2-sack game Week 2 at Minnesota.

Chandler Jones notes:

• Third on team in tackles with 16 (9 solo).

• First on team with 2.5 sacks.

• Scored his 2nd NFL TD Week 2 at Minnesota when he blocked a field goal attempt and returned it 58-yards. His first NFL TD was Week 16, 2013 at Baltimore on a fumble recovery. It was his second blocked field goal attempt (2013 Week 8 vs. Miami).

• Had the 5th blocked field goal returned for a TD in Patriots history Week 2 at Minnesota, first since 2010 when Patrick Chung returned one at Miami.

• Now has 5 career 2-sack games with a pair at Minnesota in Week 2.

• Along with Dont’a Hightower he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 3 tackles for loss, 3 QB hits, the blocked field goal attempt and return for TD.

There are only two players on the team who played on at least one of the Super Bowl championship teams, Brady (3) and Wilfork (1).

Roster moves this week:

• Signed DL Ben Bass to the practice squad.
• Released OL Chris Martin from the practice squad.
• Signed DL Casey Walker of Carolina practice squad to 53-man roster.
• Placed DT Sealver Siliga on IR (designated to return).
• CB Brandon Browner is eligible to return after 4-game suspension.
• WR Brian Tyms is eligible to return after 4-game suspension.

Patriots team captains for 2014:

• QB Tom Brady
• G/C Dan Connolly
• WR Matthew Slater (special teams)
• DT Vince Wilfork
• LB Jerod Mayo

Former Bengals on the Patriots:

• RB James Develin

Players with New England roots:

• none

Players with Ohio roots:

• S Nate Ebner – Dublin OH
• G Josh Kline – Mason OH
• WR Greg Orton (IR) – Huber Heights OH

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• RB James Develin – Brown

Players from Ohio based colleges and universities:

• WR Kenbrell Thompkins – Cincinnati
• G Josh Kline – Kent State
• WR Julian Edelman – Kent State
• S Nate Ebner – Ohio State

The Patriots have 6 retired numbers:

• 20 – Gino Cappelletti
• 40 – Mike Haynes
• 73 – John Hannah
• 78 – Bruce Armstrong
• 79 – Jim Lee Hunt
• 89 – Bob Dee

Bengals Team Notes

Here is the Bengals roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Bengals Schedule/Results

Cincinnati’s all-time record is 319-390-2 they are 5-12 in the post season with their last post season appearance coming in 2013 when they lost to San Diego at home in the AFC Wildcard Game.

The Bengals have played in two Super Bowls and lost in both appearances to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XVI (26-21) and Super Bowl XXIII (20-16).

Cincinnati is the AFC’s only unbeaten team. Only Arizona in the NFC is also unbeaten.

Bengals are just 2-8 as the road team in the series.

They last won in Foxboro in 1986, they also won in Foxboro in 1972. Both times the score was 31-7.

Cincinnati is 3-12 on SNF and just 1-8 on the road. The last won a SNF game on the road in 1992 at Chicago.

Under Marvin Lewis the Bengals are 4-7 after their bye week.

Cincinnati will wear white jerseys and white game pants on Sunday. Since 2004 the Bengals are 14-21 in the white/white combo.

Bengals return 9 starters on offense and 8 starters on defense from their game against the Patriots in 2013.

Have been penalized 18 times for 150 yards.

Cincinnati is PLUS 6 in turnover differential tied for 1st in the NFL. They have 6 INT’s and have recovered 1 fumble while they have thrown 1 INT and lost 0 fumbles.

The Bengals are 6th in points scored averaging 26.7 points per game and are 1st in points allowed with also 11.0 points per game.

Bengals Staff Notes

Read what Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis had to say to the New England media about the match up.

Lewis is in his 12th season with the team, he is 93-85-1 since taking over and is 0-5 in the playoffs for an overall record of 93-90-1.

His 93 wins are most for a head coach in Bengals history.

He is 39-50 as the Bengals coach on the road.

Second longest tenured head coach with one team behind Bill Belichick.

He has only had 5 winning seasons in the previous 11 years. Three times he has been at .500 and three times he has a losing record.

He is 1-4 vs. New England in his career.

Was defensive coordinator for the 2000 Baltimore Ravens who won Super Bowl XXXV and are considered one of the best defenses of all-time.

President Mike Brown graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover NH in 1957 and played quarterback on the Big Green football team. He also went on to graduate from Harvard Law School in 1959.

Executive Vice President Katie Blackburn also attended Dartmouth College, where she played on the women’s ice hockey team.

Strength and Conditioning Coach Chip Morton is a native of Hamden CT.

Linebackers coach Matt Burke is a native of Hudson MA. He played safety at Dartmouth College. He began his coaching career at Bridgeton ME Academy from 1998-99 before elevating to the college ranks as a graduate assistant at Boston College from 2000-02 and an assistant at Harvard in 2003.

Bengals Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Whitworth
• LG: Boling
• C: Bodine
• RG: Johnson
• RT: An. Smith
• TE: Gresham
• TE: Eifert
• WR: Green
• WR: Sanu
• QB: Dalton
• RB: Bernard

Defense:

• DE: Dunlap
• DT: Peko
• DT Atkins
• DE: Gilberry
• LB: Lamur
• LB: Maualuga
• LB: Porter
• LCB: Newman
• RCB: Hall
• S: Williams
• S: Nelson

Bengals Players Notes

Andy Dalton notes:

• He is 32-18 in his career in the regular season and 0-3 in the playoffs for an overall record of 32-21 in 4 seasons.

• Dalton was a 2nd round draft pick in the 2011 NFL Draft out of TCU.

• In his career Dalton is 1-0 vs. New England.

• Has thrown 37 career red zone TD’s and no INT’s in the red zone.

• Has led the Bengals to the playoffs in his first 3 seasons.

• Has just 2 TD’s but only 1 INT in 2014.

• Had season high 25 for 38 with 301 passing yards and 1 TD Week 1 at Baltimore.

• In 2013 vs. New England was 20 of 27 with 0 TD and 1 INT.

Jermaine Gresham notes:

• Only Bengals TE to have three seasons with 50 or more catches.

• Two-time Pro Bowl TE.

• Career high in TD’s is 6 in 2011.

• Best overall season was 2012 64 catches, 737 yards and 5 TD’s.

• Has 6 catches for just 46 yards and 0 TD’s in 2014.

• Biggest game this season was Week 2 vs. Atlanta had 3 catches for 25 yards.

• In two career games vs. Patriots has 5 catches for 25 yards and 1 TD.

A.J. Green notes:

• Three time Pro Bowl Selection

• Has had 3 seasons with 1000+ yards receiving and 2 seasons each with 11 TD catches and 97+ receptions.

• Leads the team with 12 catches, 233 yards and 1 TD receiving through Week 4.

• Had 6 catches for 131 yards and 1 TD Week 1 at Baltimore

• Was shot out by Atlanta had zero catches vs. the Falcons Week 2.

• Had 6 catches for 102 yards vs. Titans Week 3.

• Had 5 catches for 61 yards vs. New England in 2013.

Giovanni Bernard notes:

• Leads team with 185 rushing yards on 55 carries and 3 TD’s.

• Also has 12 catches for 148 yards.

• Had 90 yards on 27 carries with a TD Week 2 vs. Atlanta

• Had 2 TD’s Week 3 vs. Tennessee.

• In 2013 had 62 yards on 13 carries vs. New England.

Brandon Tate notes:

• Former Patriots WR drafted by New England in 2009.

• Signed with Cincinnati in 2011.

• Has 6 catches for 74 yards in 2014 but is yet to score a TD.

• Had a season high 4 catches Week 1 at Baltimore.

• Had a season long 50-yard catch Week 2 vs. Atlanta.

• Has more catches in 2 seasons as a Patriot (24, 3 TD’s) than in 3 plus seasons as a Bengal (20, 1 TD).

Adam Jones notes:

• Has 81 punt returns since his last fair catch on a punt.
• Leads NFL in punt return average with 17.8 yards per return.
• Has 5 TD’s in his career on punt returns.

Bengals CB Darqueze Dennard is the cousin of Patriots CB Alfonzo Dennard.

Former Patriots on the Bengals:

• WR Brandon Tate

Players with New England roots:

• none

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• G/T Emmett Cleary (Practice Squad) – Boston College

The Bengals have 1 retired number:

• 54- Bob Johnson

Next Week

Up next: Buffalo Bills – AFC East

Location: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park NY

Date/Time: Sunday October 12 at 1 p.m.

TV Network: FOX

This Week

The New England Patriots visit the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday at 8:30 p.m.

The Patriots			The Chiefs
Overall Record	2-1		Overall Record	1-2
Road Record	1-1		Home Record	0-1
AFC West	1-0		AFC East	1-0
AFC Conf	1-1		AFC Conf	1-2

John Parry is the referee for the game

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from sportsbetting.ag via Yahoo Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 3. The over/under is 44.5.

My prediction is Patriots 24, Chiefs, 20. Give the points (Patriots) and take the under. I am 2-1 against the spread and 1 of 3 on calling the over/under in 2014.

Tickets

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Kansas City MO make sure you check out the links.

Kansas City Road Trip Travel Guide

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Kansas City MO

Click for all the game day information including stadium directions, parking information and map and an Arrowhead Stadium seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember drive sober or get pulled over.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

ESPN is televising the game nationally, Mike Tirico will do play by play while Jon Gruden will provide the game analysis and Lisa Salters will work the sidelines.

In the Boston MA market you can also watch the game on WCVB Channel 5.

In the Kansas City MO market you can also watch the game on KMBC Channel 9.

There is no DirecTV designation as the game is broadcast nationally.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules; flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Bob Socci handles the play-by-play and former Patriots QB Scott Zolak will do game analysis. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 5:30 p.m. on the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots Radio Network call is available on Sirius Channel 93, XM Channel 225 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Chiefs Radio Network has Mitch Holtus calling the game while Hall of Fame QB Len Dawson provides the game analysis and Kendall Gammon covers the sideline via their flagship station KCFX-FM, 101 The Fox.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 92, XM Channel 226 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 815.

Westwood One will carry the game nationally to its affiliates. Kevin Harlan, Kurt Warner and Laura Okmin will call the game.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 88, XM Channel 88 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 88.

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team. It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Saturday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

Last Week

The Patriots struggled to get past the Raiders, 16-9 in their home opener.

The Chiefs crushed the Dolphins in Miami, 34-15.

History

• This is the 33rd meeting between the Patriots and the Chiefs since 1960 in the AFL when the Chiefs were the Dallas Texans.
• Kansas City leads the overall series 16-13-3.
• The Patriots have won 6 of the last 8 meetings dating back to 1998.
• New England beat Kansas City in their last meeting in 2011 at Gillette Stadium, 34-3.

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 440-374-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances. Overall they are 25-18 in the post season.

They last appeared in the playoffs in 2013 when they beat Indianapolis in the AFC Divisional Round 43-22 and lost at Denver 26-16 in the AFC Championship Game.

It was the 3rd consecutive AFC Championship game appearance for the franchise and 10th overall. They are 7-3 in those AFC title games.

The Patriots were 12-4 (1-1 in playoffs) in 2013 and are the defending five-time AFC East Champions. They have won the division 11 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

New England is the only NFL team to finish .500 or better in each of the last 13 seasons (2001-2013).

They have 11 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins.

They are the first team in the free agency era (1993) to win more than half their games in a 13-season span.

Since 2003 the Patriots have the NFL’s best record at 140-39.

Overall against the AFC West since the 2002 realignment New England is 19-11 including playoffs.

They are 8-8 vs. the AFC West on the road since 2002.

The Patriots are 3-10-1 on the road in the series since 1960. Their last win at Arrowhead was in 2004 on MNF.

They are 22-23 on MNF in the franchise history. They are 11-15 overall in road games on MNF.

Last year they were 0-1 on MNF losing at Carolina, 24-20.

This is New England’s first visit to Arrowhead since 2005.

New England has 30 penalties this season in three weeks and has been penalized 322 yards. That ranks 30th in the NFL.

In week 3 the Patriots held the Raiders to 67 rushing yards after holding the Vikings to 54 rushing yards in Week 2.

The Patriots have a takeaway in each game in 2014 and are on pace for 43 takeaways which would be third highest in the team history.

They have a league high 8 takeaways in 2014.

Since 1994 the Patriots lead the NFL in turnover margin with a PLUS163. The Chiefs are second in that time frame with a PLUS 91.

New England is PLUS 6 in turnover differential tied for 1st in the NFL. They have 6 INT and have recovered 2 fumbles while they have thrown 0 INT’s and lost 2 fumbles.

The Patriots are tied for 14th in points scored averaging 22.0 points per game and are tied for 4th in fewest points allowed with 16.3 points per game.

This is the 21st season of Patriots ownership by the Kraft family. Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 219.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 240.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 13.
• Have the most playoff wins, 21
• Have played the most playoff games, 33.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 15.
• The fewest head coaches within the division, 3.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

From 1960 to 1993 the New England/Boston Patriots won a total of 225 games.

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Chiefs.

Bill Belichick is 7-2 against Kansas City, 5-1 as the head coach in New England.

He is 16-9 on MNF, 15-6 as the Patriots head coach. With New England he is 8-5 on the road on MNF.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 201-106 in his 20th NFL season as a head coach. He is 165-62 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 19-9 in the playoffs, 18-8 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season. When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 220-115.

Belichick’s 220 wins are good for 5th all-time. Hall of Fame member Curly Lambeau is 4th with 229 wins.

He has won 5 conference titles; he needs one more to tied Don Shula’s record of 6.

He is the first head coach to have had 4 teams that scored at least 500 points in a season.

Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league. The others are former Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).

Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three Super Bowls, joining Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (3) and Bill Walsh (3). Those men are all in the Hall of Fame.

He is the only coach in NFL history to win three championship titles in four seasons.

No coach either as the head coach or an assistant has appeared in more Super Bowls than Belichick who has been to 8 (five as a head coach).

He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 11 consecutive seasons.

He has been NFL Coach of the Year three times he and Chuck Knox are the only three time winners, while Don Shula won four times.

Tight ends coach Brian Daboll served as the Chiefs offensive coordinator in 2012, helping them rank fifth in the NFL with 149.7 rushing yards per game.

Wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea broke into the NFL as a volunteer special teams assistant with the Chiefs in 2003. He then assisted with special teams and linebackers from 2004-05.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Cannon
• C: Stork
• RG: Connolly
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• WR: Edelman
• WR: LaFell
• QB: Brady
• RB: Ridley
• RB: Develin

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Vellano
• DE: Cha. Jones
• LB: Collins
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Hightower
• LCB: Revis
• RCB: Arrington
• S: Chung
• S: McCourty

Patriots Players Notes

Tom Brady Notes:

• This is his 15th NFL season he is 4-1 vs. the Chiefs in his career. He is 66-31 on the road in the regular season.

• Brady is 13-5 on MNF with 42 TD passes and 15 INT’s. On the road on MNF his is 8-4 with 24 TD’s and 14 INT’s.

• Overall he is 150-44 as a starting QB and is 18-8 in the playoffs for an overall record of 168-52. He is a 9 time Pro Bowl QB; 3 time All-Pro selection; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP. He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

• He now has 41 wins in his career (34 in the regular season and 7 in the playoffs) in which the team was trailing or tied in the fourth quarter. He had 5 comeback wins in 2013.

• The 5 comeback wins in 2013 tie his career best set in 2003.

• Has not thrown an INT in first three weeks of the season.

• 362 TD passes in his career makes him 5th in NFL history 3 TD passes behind John Elway.

• 150 career wins are 3rd all-time behind only Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

• He has thrown for 2 or more TD’s in 115 games; the team’s record is 98-17.

• Needs 229 passing yards for 50,000 in his career. He is 6th all-time in passing yards.

Rob Gronkowski notes:

• Has caught a pass in 53 consecutive games it’s the 4th longest streak all-time for a tight end. Heath Miller is 3rd with a catch in 82 consecutive games.

• Leads team in TD’s with 2.

• He is 10th in points in franchise history.

• Is 7th in team history with 45 touchdowns.

• He is 4th in team history with 44 TD catches.

Julian Edelman notes:

• Has a streak of 9 consecutive games with at least 6 catches.

• Has 4 career games with 10 or more catches after a 10-catch game Week 3 vs. Oakland.

• Leads team in receiving with 22 catches for 260 yards.

• Had a 34-yard punt return at Minnesota Week 2 it was the 11th punt return of 30 yards or more in his career. That ranks third in team history.

• Opened the season with a 95 receiving yards at Miami and added 81 yards receiving at Minnesota Week 2.

• Had 156 total yards Week 2 at Minnesota (81 receiving, 9 rushing and 66 on punt returns).

Stevan Ridley notes:

• Had his first 100- yard rushing game of the season Week 2 at Minnesota when he ran for 101 yards on 25 carries and had 1 TD.

• Leads team in rushing with 176 yards on 52 carries.

Stephen Gostkowski notes:

• Has converted 27 consecutive 4th quarter field goals.

• Has not missed an extra point since Week 17 2006 at Tennessee in his rookie season. He has made 366 consecutive extra points. He is 405 for 406 in his career for 99.8%.

• The 367 XPA converted in a row is fourth longest streak in NFL history.

• Lead NFL in scoring in both 2012 and 2013.

• Has scored at least 1 point in 110 consecutive games a franchise record.

• He is 3rd in team history in points with 1,053 trailing only Gino Cappelletti (1,130) and Adam Vinatieri (1,158).

• Has team record of 12 career field goals of 50+ yards.

Vince Wilfork notes:

• Played only 4 games in 2013 after suffering a torn Achilles.

• Prior to 2013 had played in all 16 games in 5 of the previous 6 seasons.

• Had his 3rd career INT vs. Oakland Week 3. He is the first Patriots lineman to have 3 career INT’s.

• Has an INT against the Raiders in each of the last two games against them.

• Has 7 fumbles recoveries since 2010 the second most in the NFL in that span behind teammate Rob Ninkovich.

Darrelle Revis notes:

• Has 22 career INT’s and is one of the top shutdown corners in the NFL.

• Since 2007 has the most passes defensed in the NFL with 110 including a record 31 in 2009.

• In Patriots debut Week 1 at Miami had 1 tackles, 2 passes defensed and recovered a fumble.

• Had his first Patriots INT Week 2 at Minnesota against Matt Cassel. Also had 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

Jerod Mayo notes:

• Leads team with 29 tackles (18 solo).

• Had streak of five consecutive 100+ tackle seasons snapped last year due to injury. He has led the team in tackles in those five seasons (2008-2012).

• Shares franchise record for leading team in tackles for 5 seasons with Steve Nelson and Vincent Brown.

• Week 1 at Miami he had 12 tackles and the teams only sack.

Rob Ninkovich notes:

• In 6 seasons with New England has only missed one game.

• Week 2 at Minnesota had 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 2 QB hits.

Dont’a Hightower notes:

• Second on team in tackles with 18 (15 solo).

• Tied for first on team with 2 sacks.

• Along with Chandler Jones he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 2 tackles for loss, 2 QB hits and 1 pass defensed.

• Had his first career 2-sack game Week 2 at Minnesota.

Chandler Jones notes:

• Third on team in tackles with 16 (9 solo).

• Tied for first on team with 2 sacks.

• Scored his 2nd NFL TD Week 2 at Minnesota when he blocked a field goal attempt and returned it 58-yards. His first NFL TD was Week 16, 2013 at Baltimore on a fumble recovery. It was his second blocked field goal attempt (2013 Week 8 vs. Miami).

• Had the 5th blocked field goal returned for a TD in Patriots history Week 2 at Minnesota, first since 2010 when Patrick Chung returned one at Miami.

• Now has 5 career 2-sack games with a pair at Minnesota in Week 2.

• Along with Dont’a Hightower he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 3 tackles for loss, 3 QB hits, the blocked field goal attempt and return for TD.

Kyle Arrington notes:

• Week 2 at Minnesota had 3 tackles, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble.

Dominique Easley notes:

• The 2014 1st Round pick (Florida) had his first NFL INT Week 2 at Minnesota. It was his first INT since high school.

There are only two players on the team who played on at least one of the Super Bowl championship teams, Brady (3) and Wilfork (1).

Roster moves this week:

• none

Patriots team captains for 2014:

• QB Tom Brady
• G/C Dan Connolly
• WR Matthew Slater (special teams)
• DT Vince Wilfork
• LB Jerod Mayo

Former Chiefs on the Patriots:

• DL Kona Schwenke (Practice Squad)

Players with New England roots:

• none

Players with Missouri roots:

• C/G Dan Connolly – St. Louis

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• RB James Develin – Brown

Players from Missouri based colleges and universities:

• C/G Dan Connolly – SE Missouri State

The Patriots have 6 retired numbers:

• 20 – Gino Cappelletti
• 40 – Mike Haynes
• 73 – John Hannah
• 78 – Bruce Armstrong
• 79 – Jim Lee Hunt
• 89 – Bob Dee

Chiefs Team Notes

Here is the Chiefs roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Chiefs Schedule/Results

Kansas City’s all-time record is 416-395-12 they are 8-15 in the post season with their last post season appearance coming in 2013 when they lost on the road to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wild Card game.

They have played in two Super Bowls, winning one Super Bowl IV vs. Minnesota 23-7.

They also have won 3 AFL Championships (1962, 1966, 1969).

They were the AFL representative in Super Bowl I vs. Green Bay on January 15, 1966 and lost 35-10.

Originally started play in the AFL in 1960 as the Dallas Texans before Lamar Hunt moved them to Kansas City for the 1963 season.

A Guinness World Record auditor will be on hand as the Arrowhead crowd will attempt to reclaim their title as the loudest outdoor stadium, currently held by the Century Link Field crowd in Seattle.

3M Corp is donating 36,000 pairs of earplugs for those who want them.

Kansas City got its first win of 2014 in Miami Week 3.

Chiefs had 4 sacks, 3 tackles for loss and 6 QB pressures at Miami Week 3.

This is the 4th MNF meeting between the Chiefs and Patriots and 2nd in a row. The Chiefs are 0-3 vs. the Patriots on MNF.

The Super Bowl IV Champion Chiefs were on the second ever MNF telecast at Baltimore on September 28, 1970.

Kansas City is 22-17 on MNF. They are 12-7 as the home team.

Since 2003 the Chiefs have the 3rd most rushing TD’s with 177 behind San Diego (191) and New England (200).

Offensively the Chiefs are better than the Patriots in yards per game, rushing yards per game, passing yards per game, yards per play, third down pct and red zone TD pct.

Since 1994 Kansas City is second in the NFL in turnover margin at PLUS 91, New England is first with PLUS 163.

Kansas City has 14 penalties this season in three weeks and has been penalized 110 yards. 4th fewest in the NFL.

The Chiefs are 22nd in the NFL in points per game with 20.3. While they allow 21.7 points per game good for 13th in the NFL.

Kansas City is MINUS 5 in turnover differential, 32nd in the NFL. The offense has given up 3 INT and 4 fumbles, while the defense has 0 INT and 2 fumble recoveries.

Chiefs Staff Notes

Hear what Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid had to say to the media about the match up.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is in his 16th season as a NFL head coach, 2nd in Kansas City. Overall in his NFL career Reid is 142-100-1 as a head coach. He is 12-7 with Kansas City and was 130-93-1 with Philadelphia. He is 10-10 in the playoffs, 0-1 as head coach of the Chiefs in the post season. When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 152-110-1.

He is the 13th head coach in Chiefs franchise history he succeeded former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel after the 2012 season.

Reid is 1-4 vs. New England including a loss in Super Bowl XXXIX.

He is the winningest coach in Philadelphia Eagles history.

Of Reid’s 10 playoff losses, 4 were in NFC Conference Championship games and 1 was in the Super Bowl.

His teams have won 6 division championships and 1 conference championship since 1999.

Chiefs general manager John Dorsey played linebacker at UConn from 1980-83, where he was named two-time Defensive Player of the Year in the now-defunct Yankee Conference.

Kansas City’s Director of College Scouting Marvin Allen was drafted by the Patriots in the 11th round of the 1988 NFL Draft. He played four seasons with New England and then joined their front office for 12 more.

Doug Pederson is in his second season as the offensive coordinator. Prior to that he was the quarterbacks and offensive quality control coach under Reid in Philadelphia from 2009-12.

Bob Sutton is in his second season as the defensive coordinator. He was previously the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets under Eric Mangini from 2006-08.

Special teams coordinator Dave Toub was an offensive lineman at Springfield College from 1980-81.

Chiefs quality control coach Mark DeLeone served as director of football operations/assistant offensive line coach at New Hampshire in 2009.

Assistant offensive line coach Eugene Chung was drafted by the Patriots in the first round (13th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft and played forthree seasons with the team, earning all-rookie honors in 1992.

Defensive line coach Tommy Brasher served in the same capacity for the Patriots from 1982-84.

Chiefs Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Fisher
• LG: McGlynn
• C: Hudson
• RG: Fulton
• RT: Harris
• TE: Fasano
• WR: Avery
• WR: Bowe
• QB: A. Smith
• RB: Charles
• RB: Sherman

Defense:

• DE: Walker
• DT: Poe
• DT: Bailey
• DE: Houston
• LB: Mauga
• LB: Johnson
• LB: Hali
• LCB: Cooper
• RCB: S. Smith
• S: Coleman
• S: Abdullah

Chiefs Players Notes

Alex Smith notes:

• Drafted Number 1 overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Utah.

• He is in his 10th season in the NFL. This is his second season with the Chiefs and he is 12-6 in the regular season and 0-1 in the post season. In his career he has a 50-42-1 record in the regular season and is 1-2 in the post season for an overall record of 51-44-1.

• He has never face New England.

• He made the Pro Bowl for the first time in 2013, his first season with Kansas City.

• He has 13 career game winning drives, 17th among active QB’s.

• Since 2010 has thrown only 30 INT’s the fewest in the league in that time span.

• Is second among QB’s in rushing yards (95) in 2014.

• Has the 3rd best QB winning pct since 2011 behind only Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

Jamaal Charles notes:

• Has three 20-yard games rushing in his career. They are the top three marks in Chiefs history.

• Also has the two longest runs (91 yards and 86 yards) in Chiefs history both for TD’s.

• Fifth in team history in rushing attempts.

• Fourth in team history in receptions (227) and fifth in receiving yards (1,998) by a RB.

Dwayne Bowe notes:

• Second in team history behind Tony Gonzalez in pass receptions with 478.

• Fourth in Chiefs history in receiving yards (6,473).

Tamba Hali notes:

• Third in Chiefs history in sacks (75.5)

• Tied with Neil Smith for second most forced fumbles by a Chief with 29.

Former Chiefs WR Frank Pitts who played in Super Bowl I and IV is the grandfather of Patriots RB Brandon Bolden.

Kansas City’s captains for 2014 are:

• Named on a weekly basis

Former Patriots playing for the Chiefs:

• none

Players from New England colleges or universities:

• RB Anthony Sherman – UConn
• DE Mike Devito – Eastham MA

Players with New England ties:

• RB Anthony Sherman – North Attleboro MA
• DE Mike Devito – Maine

The Chiefs have retired ten numbers.

• 3 – Jan Stenerud
• 16 – Len Dawson
• 18 – Emmitt Thomas
• 28 – Abner Hayes
• 33 – Stone Johnson
• 36 – Mack Lee Hill
• 58 – Derrick Thomas
• 63 – Willie Lanier
• 78 – Bobby Bell
• 86 – Buck Buchanan

Next Week

Up next: Cincinnati Bengals – AFC North

Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro MA

Date/Time: October 5 at 8:20 p.m.

TV Network: NBC

This Week

The New England Patriots host the Oakland Raiders at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA on Sunday at 1 p.m. It is the Patriots home opener for 2014.

The Raiders			The Patriots
Overall Record	0-2		Overall Record	1-1
Road Record	0-1		Home Record	0-0
AFC East	0-1		AFC West	0-0
AFC Conf	0-2		AFC Conf	0-1

Pete Morelli is the referee for the game.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday, the line on the game from Sports Betting via Yahoo Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 14. The over/under is 46.5.

My Prediction is Patriots 30, Raiders, 21. Take the points (Raiders) and take the over. I am 1-1 against the spread and 1 of 2 on calling the over/under in 2014.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 219th consecutive sell out dating back to the 1994 season opener. The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

After market tickets are available through the Official Patriots Ticket Exchange where season ticket holders can sell their unused seats to fans on the season ticket waiting list.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Foxboro make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Foxboro MA.

Click for all the game day information including Gillette Stadium directions, parking information, seating chart and map.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember drive sober or get pulled over.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

CBS in televising the game regionally, Greg Gumbel will do play by play, former NFL QB Trent Green will provide the game analysis and Evan Washburn works the sidelines. You can look here for your local affiliate.

See if you’re getting the game courtesy of J.P. Kirby at the506.com.

The DirecTV designation is Channel 709.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules; flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Bob Socci handles the play-by-play and former Patriots QB Scott Zolak will do game analysis. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 10 a.m. on the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots Radio Network call is available on Sirius Channel 113, XM Channel 230 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Oakland Raiders Radio Network has Greg Papa calling the play by play, former Raiders head coach Tom Flores does the color and former Raiders player Lincoln Kennedy is the sideline reporter via their flagship station KGMZ-FM 97.5, The Game.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 140 and on SiriusXM Internet Channel 822.

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team. It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Saturday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

Last Week

The Patriots got their first win of the year demolishing the Vikings, 30-7 at Minnesota.

The Raiders dropped their home opener and 2nd game in a row to the Texans, 30-14.

History

• This is the 34th meeting between the teams with the Patriots holding a 17-15-1 advantage including the playoffs.
• The Patriots are 10-5-1 as the home team in the series.
• The teams first met in 1960 (AFL) the Raiders won at home, 27-14.
• This is just the fifth game between the two franchises since 1989.
• Patriots have won last three meetings, including last two in Oakland.
• Teams last played in 2011 with the Patriots winning on the road, 31-19.

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 439-374-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances. Overall they are 25-18 in the post season.

They last appeared in the playoffs in 2013 when they beat Indianapolis in the AFC Divisional Round 43-22 and lost at Denver 26-16 in the AFC Championship Game.

It was the 3rd consecutive AFC Championship game appearance for the franchise and 10th overall. They are 7-3 in those AFC title games.

The Patriots were 12-4 (1-1 in playoffs) in 2013 and are the defending five-time AFC East Champions. They have won the division 11 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

New England is the only NFL team to finish .500 or better in each of the last 13 seasons (2001-2013).

They have 11 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins.

They are the first team in the free agency era (1993) to win more than half their games in a 13-season span.

Since 2003 the Patriots have the NFL’s best record at 139-39.

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Patriots have the best NFL regular season home record at 81-15 and are 92-18 including playoffs also a NFL best.

This kicks off their 13th season at Gillette Stadium and they are 11-1 in the previous home openers.

In franchise history the Patriots are 29-25 in home openers.

New England has won the last 9 home games against AFC West opponents, their last home loss vs. an AFC West team was in 2006 to Denver, 17-7.

Overall against the AFC West since the 2002 realignment New England is 18-11 including playoffs.

They are 11-3 vs. the AFC West at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots and the Raiders have the most overall wins among the original eight AFL teams.

Overall Victory Total of All AFL Teams (including playoffs)

Team	Win	Loss	Tie
New England Patriots	462	392	9
Oakland Raiders	459	395	11
Denver Broncos	454	396	10
Kansas City Chiefs	423	410	12
San Diego Chargers	420	419	11
Tennessee Titans	414	435	6
Buffalo Bills	392	451	8
New York Jets	386	453	8

Under Bill Belichick the franchise is 38-1 when they have a 100-yard rusher. Last week Stevan Ridley had 101 rushing yards.

Last week the defense had 6 sacks and 4 INT’s for the 4th time in team history.

With last weeks win at Minnesota the Patriots are 35-4 since 2003 after a loss.

New England has 24 penalties this season in two weeks (31st in NFL) and has been penalized 263 yards.

New England is PLUS 5 in turnover differential tied for 2nd in the NFL. They have 5 INT and have recovered 2 fumbles while they have thrown 0 INT’s and lost 2 fumbles.

The Patriots are tied for 8th in points scored averaging 25.0 points per game and are 14th in fewest points allowed with 20.0 points per game.

This is the 21st season of Patriots ownership by the Kraft family. Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 218.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 239.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 13.
• Have the most playoff wins, 21
• Have played the most playoff games, 33.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 15.
• The fewest head coaches within the division, 3.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

From 1960 to 1993 the New England/Boston Patriots won a total of 225 games.

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Raiders.

Bill Belichick is 6-1 against the Raiders, 4-1 as the head coach in New England.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 200-106 in his 19th NFL season as a head coach. He is 164-62 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 19-9 in the playoffs, 18-8 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season. When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 219-115.

Belichick’s 219 wins are good for 5th all-time. Hall of Fame member Curly Lambeau is 4th with 229 wins.

He has won 5 conference titles; he needs one more to tied Don Shula’s record of 6.

He is the first head coach to have had 4 teams that scored at least 500 points in a season.

Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league. The others are former Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).

Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three Super Bowls, joining Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (3) and Bill Walsh (3). Those men are all in the Hall of Fame.

He is the only coach in NFL history to win three championship titles in four seasons.

No coach either as the head coach or an assistant has appeared in more Super Bowls than Belichick who has been to 8 (five as a head coach).

He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 11 consecutive seasons.

He has been NFL Coach of the Year three times he and Chuck Knox are the only three time winners, while Don Shula won four times.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Cannon
• C: Stork
• RG: Connolly
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• WR: Edelman
• WR: Amendola
• QB: Brady
• RB: Ridley
• RB: Develin

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Vellano
• DE: Cha. Jones
• LB: White
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Hightower
• LCB: Revis
• RCB: Arrington
• S: Chung
• S: McCourty

Patriots Players Notes

Tom Brady Notes:

• This is his 15th NFL season he is 3-1 vs. the Raiders in his career including playoffs. He is 83-13 at home in the regular season.

• Brady’s first win over Oakland was the “Tuck Rule” game a 16-13 Patriots overtime win in the AFC Divisional Game. He was 32 of 52 for 312 yards and 1 INT in the snow.

• Overall he is 149-44 as a starting QB and is 18-8 in the playoffs for an overall record of 167-52. He is a 9 time Pro Bowl QB; 3 time All-Pro selection; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP. He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

• He now has 41 wins in his career (34 in the regular season and 7 in the playoffs) in which the team was trailing or tied in the fourth quarter. He had 5 comeback wins in 2013.

• The 5 comeback wins in 2013 tie his career best set in 2003.

• Has not thrown an INT in first two weeks of the season.

• 361 TD passes in his career makes him 5th in NFL history 4 TD passes behind John Elway.

• 149 career wins are 3rd all-time behind only Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

• He has thrown for 2 or more TD’s in 115 games; the team’s record is 98-17.

• Needs 453 passing yards for 50,000 in his career. He is 6th all-time in passing yards.

Rob Gronkowski notes:

• Has caught a pass in 52 consecutive games it’s the 4th longest streak all-time for a tight end. Heath Miller is 3rd with a catch in 82 consecutive games.

• Needs 4 points to move into Top 10 in franchise history.

• Is 7th in team history with 44 touchdowns.

• He is 4th in team history with 43 TD catches.

Julian Edelman notes:

• Has a streak of 8 consecutive games with at least 6 catches.

• Had a 34-yard punt return at Minnesota Week 2 it was the 11th punt return of 30 yards or more in his career. That ranks third in team history.

• Opened the season with a 95 receiving yards at Miami and added 81 yards receiving at Minnesota Week 2.

• Had 156 total yards Week 2 at Minnesota (81 receiving, 9 rushing and 66 on punt returns).

• Had his first 100-catch, 1000-yard season in his career in 2013 and just the third Patriot behind Troy Brown and Wes Welker.

• Set career high with 13 catches and 139-yards at Miami Week 15 (2013).

Stevan Ridley notes:

• Had his first 100- yard rushing game of the season Week 2 at Minnesota when he ran for 101 yards on 25 carries and had 1 TD.

Shane Vereen notes:

• Set franchise record with receptions (12) and receiving yards (153) by a running back in a single-game Week 14 (2013) vs. Cleveland.

• Became just fourth NFL running back to post 150 receiving yards in a single-game in the last 10 seasons.

Stephen Gostkowski notes:

• Has not missed an extra point since Week 17 2006 at Tennessee in his rookie season. He has made 366 consecutive extra points. He is 404 for 405 in his career for 99.8%.

• The 366 XPA converted in a row is fourth longest streak in NFL history.

• Lead NFL in scoring in both 2012 and 2013.

• Has scored at least 1 point in 109 consecutive games a franchise record.

• He is 3rd in team history in points with 1,043 trailing only Gino Cappelletti (1,130) and Adam Vinatieri (1,158).

• Has team record of 12 career field goals of 50+ yards.

Vince Wilfork notes:

• Played only 4 games in 2013 after suffering a torn Achilles.

• Prior to 2013 had played in all 16 games in 5 of the previous 6 seasons.

• First defensive player to have played 10 seasons under Belichick.

• Has been a team captain since 2008.

• Has 7 fumbles recoveries since 2010 the second most in the NFL in that span behind teammate Rob Ninkovich.

Darrelle Revis notes:

• Has 22 career INT’s and is one of the top shutdown corners in the NFL.

• Since 2007 has the most passes defensed in the NFL with 110 including a record 31 in 2009.

• In Patriots debut Week 1 at Miami had 1 tackles, 2 passes defensed and recovered a fumble.

• Had his first Patriots INT Week 2 at Minnesota against Matt Cassel. Also had 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

Jerod Mayo notes:

• Had streak of five consecutive 100+ tackle seasons snapped last year due to injury. He has led the team in tackles in those five seasons (2008-2012).

• Shares franchise record for leading team in tackles for 5 seasons with Steve Nelson and Vincent Brown.

• Week 1 at Miami he had 12 tackles and the teams only sack.

Rob Ninkovich notes:

• In 6 seasons with New England has only missed one game.

• Week 2 at Minnesota had 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 2 QB hits.

Dont’a Hightower notes:

• Along with Chandler Jones he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 2 tackles for loss, 2 QB hits and 1 pass defensed.

• Had his first career 2-sack game Week 2 at Minnesota.

Chandler Jones notes:

• Scored his 2nd NFL TD Week 2 at Minnesota when he blocked a field goal attempt and returned it 58-yards. His first NFL TD was Week 16, 2013 at Baltimore on a fumble recovery. It was his second blocked field goal attempt (2013 Week 8 vs. Miami).

• Had the 5th blocked field goal returned for a TD in Patriots history Week 2 at Minnesota, first since 2010 when Patrick Chung returned one at Miami.

• Now has 5 career 2-sack games with a pair at Minnesota in Week 2.

• Along with Dont’a Hightower he led team with 8 tackles and 2 sacks Week 2 at Minnesota. He also had 3 tackles for loss, 3 QB hits, the blocked field goal attempt and return for TD.

Kyle Arrington notes:

• Week 2 at Minnesota had 3 tackles, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble.

Dominique Easley notes:

• The 2014 1st Round pick (Florida) had his first NFL INT Week 2 at Minnesota. It was his first INT since high school.

There are only two players on the team who played on at least one of the Super Bowl championship teams, Brady (3) and Wilfork (1).

Roster moves this week:

• Signed LB Deontae Skinner from practice squad.
• Released LB Darius Flemming
• Had DL Kelcey Quarles signed off practice squad by Indianapolis.
• Released RB Marcus Thigpen from practice squad.
• Released DL Cameron Henderson from practice squad.
• Re-signed LB Darius Flemming to the practice squad.
• Signed OL Caylin Hauptmann to the practice quad.
• Signed DL Kona Schwenke to the practice squad.

Patriots team captains for 2014:

• QB Tom Brady
• G/C Dan Connolly
• WR Matthew Slater (special teams)
• DT Vince Wilfork
• LB Jerod Mayo

Former Raiders on the Patriots:

• none

Players with New England roots:

• none

Players with California roots:

• CB Brandon Browner (Suspended) – Sylmar CA
• S Patrick Chung – Rancho Cucamonga CA
• WR Matthew Slater – Anaheim CA
• QB Tom Brady – San Mateo CA
• C Ryan Wendell – Pomona CA
• WR Julian Edelman – Redwood City CA
• RB Shane Vereen – Valencia CA
• RB Tyler Gaffney (IR) – San Diego CA

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• RB James Develin – Brown

Players from California based colleges and universities:

• RB Tyler Gaffney (IR) – Stanford
• RB Shane Vereen – California
• WR Matthew Slater – UCLA
• C Ryan Wendell – Fresno State
• T Cameron Flemming – Stanford

The Patriots have 6 retired numbers:

• 20 – Gino Cappelletti
• 40 – Mike Haynes
• 73 – John Hannah
• 78 – Bruce Armstrong
• 79 – Jim Lee Hunt
• 89 – Bob Dee

Raiders Team Notes

Here is the Raiders roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Raiders Schedule/Results

Oakland’s all-time record is 434-377-11. They have won three Super Bowls (XI, XV and XVIII) in five appearances. Overall they are 25-18 in the post season with their last post season appearance coming in 2002.

That year they beat the New York Jets 30-10 at home in the AFC Division Game, beat the Tennessee Titans 41-24 in the AFC Championship and lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, 41-24.

Oakland also has one AFL Championship in 1967.

The Raiders franchise has had 20 National Football Hall of Fame members wear their uniform including owner Al Davis and head coach John Madden.

First NFL team to play in a Super Bowl in four different decades.

Only one of two NFL teams to play for a conference championship in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. Minnesota is the other.

They were one of the very first professional sports team with an online presence launching raiders.com in 1995.

The Raiders along with the Patriots are the only two former AFL teams with 3 Super Bowl victories.

Oakland is only one of five AFC teams to win more than one Super Bowl since 1980. The others are Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Denver and New England.

The Raiders are on an 11-game road trip they play Sunday in Foxboro and Week 4 they are in London to face to face the Dolphins. They leave for England after Sunday’s game.

This is Oakland’s first trip to Gillette Stadium since 2005 and only second time in Foxboro since 2002.

Raiders are 5-10-1 on the road against the Patriots their last win in Foxboro was Oct 9, 1994 they beat the Patriots 21-17 as the Los Angeles Raiders at Foxboro Stadium.

The Raiders are yet to attempt a field goal in 2014. It is the longest the franchise has gone without a FGA to open a season in team history.

The Raiders are tied for 28th in the NFL in points per game with 14.0. While they allow 24.5 points per game tied for 21st in the NFL.

Oakland is MINUS 2 in turnover differential, tied for 20th in the NFL. The offense has given up 2 INT’s and 4 fumbles, while the defense has 1 INT and 3 fumble recoveries.

Raiders Staff Notes

Read what Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen had to say to the New England media about the match up.

Oakland’s Dennis Allen is in his 3rd season as a NFL head coach and he is 8-26.

He has never faced New England.

Before taking over the Raiders in 2012 Allen was the Defensive Coordinator for the Denver Broncos in 2011. He also spent 5 seasons with the New Orleans Saints as the Asst. Defensive Line coach (2006-07) and Secondary Coach (2008-10).

He is the 19th head coach in Raiders history. And since the glory days of John Madden (1969-78) and Tom Flores (1979-87) he is the 12th man to occupy the top spot for the Silver and Black.

Greg Olson is in his 2nd season as the offensive coordinator. He previously held the same position for Tampa Bay (2009-11), St. Louis (2006-07) and Detroit (2005).

Jason Tarver is in his 3rd season as the defensive coordinator. He previous was the defensive coordinator at Stanford (2011) and spent 10 seasons in San Francisco (2001-10) mostly coaching the 49ers linebackers.

Assistant head coach/offensive line coach Tony Sparano is a native of

West Haven CT and he played center at Richard C. Lee HS in New Haven CT attended the University of New Haven. Sparano had a stint at his alma mater (1984-

87) as the school’s offensive line coach. He also coached at offensive line at Boston University (1988-93); and was the offensive coordinator from 1990-93. Sparano returned to New Haven to serve as the team’s head coach from 1994-98.

Raiders Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Penn
• LG: Jackson
• C: Wisniewski
• RG: Howard
• RT: Barnes
• TE: Ausberry
• WR: J. Jones
• WR: Holmes
• QB: Carr
• RB: Jones-Drew
• RB: Reece

Defense:

• DE: Woodley
• DT: Smith
• DT: Sims
• DE: Tuck
• LB: S. Moore
• LB: Maiava
• LB: Mack
• LCB: Carrie
• RCB: Brown
• S: Woodson
• S: Branch

Raiders Players Notes

Derek Carr notes:

• Was Oakland’s 2nd round pick out of Fresno State in the 2014 NFL Draft. In his first season in the NFL he is 0-2.

• He has never faced New England.

• His brother David Carr, was the Overall 1st pick by Houston in the 2002 NFL Draft.

• Has more passing yards (414:398), TD passes (3:2) and a better completion percentage (63.5:56.4) than Tom Brady after two weeks.

• Is tied for 3rd place with Todd Marinovich and David Humm among for most TD passes by a Raiders rookie quarterback with three.

Maurice Jones-Drew notes:

• This is his first season in Oakland after spending his entire career in Jacksonville.

• Is the 4th leading active rusher in the NFL with 8,082 rushing yards and 2nd among active running backs with 68 rushing TD’s.

• Has 81 career TD’s 4th among active players.

• Three time Pro Bowl selection with Jaguars.

• Is the host of SiriusXM fantasy football show “Running with MJD”.

• Has 27 games with 100 pr more rushing yards.

Darren McFadden notes:

• Is 8th in Raiders franchise history in rush attempts with 899.

• Is 7th in Oakland history in rushing yards and 11th in all-purpose yards.

• Has 13 games with 100 or more rushing yards.

Charles Woodson notes:

• Has 57 career INT’s, 12th all-time in NFL history.

• Has 13 career defensive INT’s tied for first all-time in NFL history with Rod Woodson and Darren Sharper.

• Second all-time in INT return TD’s with 11, one behind Rod Woodson.

• Owns his own wine label called “TwentyFour by Charles Woodson”.

• One of only two NFL players to win the Heisman Trophy, AP Rookie of the Year, AP Player of the Year and a Super Bowl in their career. The other is Marcus Allen.

Justin Tuck notes:

• This is his first season in Oakland after playing 7 seasons with the New York Giants.

• Since 2007 is 11th in the NFL in sacks with 60.5.

• Had 11 sacks in 2013 with the Giants.

• Played on two Super Bowl championship teams with the Giants.

Lamar Woodley notes:

• This is his first season in Oakland after spending 7 seasons in Pittsburgh.

• Since 2007 is tied for 12th in the NFL in sacks with 57.5

• Won a Super Bowl with the Steelers.

Tyvon Branch notes:

• Played at UConn was drafted by Oakland in the 4th round in 2008.

• Co-leads team in tackles with 24 and sacks with 1.

• Has 8 sacks, 4 INT’s, 2 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recovery and 1 fumble recovery returned for a TD in his career.

• Played just two games in 2013 due to injury after posting a career high 146 tackles in 2012.

Sio Moore notes:

• Played at UConn was drafted by Oakland in the 3rd round in 2013.

• Co-leads team in tackles with 24 and sacks with 1.

• In just 2 NFL seasons has 5.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

• Was named to the Pro Football Writers Association 2013 All-Rookie Team.

Oakland appoints captains on a weekly basis.

Former Patriots playing for the Raiders:

• CB Ras-I Dowling (Practice Squad)

Players from New England colleges or universities:

• CB Tyvon Branch – UConn
• LB Sio Moore – UConn
• TE Scott Simonson (Practice Squad) – Assumption

Players with New England ties:

• LB Sio Moore – New Haven CT
• RB Kory Sheets (IR) – Manchester CT

The Raiders do not retire uniform numbers.

Next Week

Up next: Kansas City Chiefs – AFC West

Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City MO

Date/Time: Monday, September 29, 2014

TV Network: ESPN

This Week

The New England Patriots visit the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Patriots			The Vikings
Overall Record	0-1		Overall Record	1-0
Road Record	0-1		Home Record	0-0
NFC North	0-0		AFC East	0-0
NFC Conf	0-0		AFC Conf	0-0

Tony Corrente is the referee for the game

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Sports Betting via Yahoo Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 3. The over/under is 49.

My Prediction is Vikings 30, Patriots, 24. Take the points (Vikings) and take the over. I am 1-0 against the spread and 1 of 1 on calling the over/under in 2014.

Tickets

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Minneapolis make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Minneapolis MN.

Click for all the game day information including stadium directions, parking information and map and a TCF Bank Stadium seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember drive sober or get pulled over.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

CBS in televising the game regionally and Ian Eagle will do play by play while Hall of Fame QB Dan Fouts will provide the game analysis and Jenny Dell will work the sidelines. You can look here for your local affiliate.

See if you’re getting the game courtesy of J.P. Kirby at the506.com.

The DirecTV designation is Channel 706.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules; flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Bob Socci handles the play-by-play and former Patriots QB Scott Zolak will do game analysis. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 10 a.m. on the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots Radio Network call is available on Sirius Channel 132 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Vikings Radio Network has Paul Allen calling play by play and former Vikings linebacker, former coach Pete Bercich doing the color and former Vikings punter Greg Coleman works the sidelines via their flagship stations KFAN-FM 100.3 and KTLK-AM 1130.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 85, XM Channel 85 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 817.

National Sports Radio USA is also broadcasting the game to their national affiliates with Larry Kahn on play by play, John Robinson doing analysis and Troy West covering the sidelines.

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team. It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Saturday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

Last Week

• The Patriots opened in Miami and lost a Week 1 for first time since 2003, 33-20.
• The Vikings also started on the road at St. Louis and beat the Rams, 34-6.

History

• This is the 12th meeting between the Patriots and the Vikings all since 1970.
• The Patriots lead the series 7-4; New England has won the last three meetings.
• This is the 5th time they’ve played in Minnesota. Three times in the Metrodome, once at Metropolitan Stadium and now at TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
• 2 of the series games have gone to OT with New England winning both times.
• The Patriots are 2-2 as the road team in the series.
• The Patriots won the last meeting between the teams in 2010 at Gillette Stadium 28-18.

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 438-374-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances. Overall they are 25-18 in the post season.

They last appeared in the playoffs in 2013 when they beat Indianapolis in the AFC Divisional Round 43-22 and lost at Denver 26-16 in the AFC Championship Game.

It was the 3rd consecutive AFC Championship game appearance for the franchise and 10th overall. They are 7-3 in those AFC title games.

The Patriots were 12-4 (1-1 in playoffs) in 2013 and are the defending five-time AFC East Champions. They have won the division 11 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

New England is the only NFL team to finish .500 or better in each of the last 13 seasons (2001-2013).

They have 11 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins.

They are the first team in the free agency era (1993) to win more than half their games in a 13-season span.

Since 2003 the Patriots have the NFL’s best record at 138-39.

Since 2000 New England is a NFL best 73-40 in road games.

They are 0-1 for the first time since 2003 when they lost at Buffalo 31-0.

New England is 11-1 vs. the NFC North since 2002 in the regular season.

Patriots have an 11-game win streak vs. the NFC North.

It is the longest streak any team has vs. any division.

Patriots have never played at TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota. The last time the team played on a college campus was in 2002 when they beat the Chicago Bears at the University of Illinois in Champaign, IL.

New England and Minnesota played at the University of Minnesota before. On August 8, 1971 they had a preseason game at Memorial Stadium to benefit the U of M scholarship fund.

This is the 27th time under Bill Belichick the Patriots have played consecutive road games in those 55 games they are 36-19. They have won back-to-back road 10 times and lost back-to-back road games just twice.

New England is PLUS 1 in turnover differential tied for 11th in the NFL. They have 1 INT and have recovered 2 fumbles while they have thrown 0 INT’s and lost 2 fumbles.

The Patriots are tied for 16th in points scored averaging 20.0 points per game and are 26th in fewest points allowed with 33.0 points per game.

This is the 21st season of Patriots ownership by the Kraft family. Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 217.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 238.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 13.
• Have the most playoff wins, 21
• Have played the most playoff games, 33.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 15.
• The fewest head coaches within the division, 3.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

From 1960 to 1993 the New England/Boston Patriots won a total of 225 games.

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Vikings.

Bill Belichick is 3-3 against the Vikings, 3-1 as the head coach in New England.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 198-106 in his 19th NFL season as a head coach. He is 163-62 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 19-9 in the playoffs, 18-8 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season. When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 218-115.

Belichick’s 218 wins are good for 5th all-time.

He has won 5 conference titles; he needs one more to tied Don Shula’s record of 6.

He is the first head coach to have had 4 teams that scored at least 500 points in a season.

Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league. The others are former Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).

Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three Super Bowls, joining Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (3) and Bill Walsh (3). Those men are all in the Hall of Fame.

He is the only coach in NFL history to win three championship titles in four seasons.

No coach either as the head coach or an assistant has appeared in more Super Bowls than Belichick who has been to 8 (five as a head coach).

He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 11 consecutive seasons.

He has been NFL Coach of the Year three times he and Chuck Knox are the only three time winners, while Don Shula won four times.

Only one of three coaches in NFL history with 100 more wins than loses joining Don Shula and George Halas.

Defensive assistant Brendan Daly had two stints with the Vikings, serving as the defensive assistant/defensive line coach from 2006-2008 and most recently as the defensive line coach during the 2012-2013 seasons.

WR coach Chad O’Shea served as the offensive assistant/wide receivers coach with the Vikings from 2006-2008.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Cannon
• C: Stork
• RG: Connolly
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• WR: Amendola
• WR: Edelman
• WR: Thompkins
• QB: Brady
• RB: Ridley

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Vellano
• DE: Cha. Jones
• LB: Collins
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Hightower
• LCB: Revis
• RCB: Dennard
• S: Chung
• S: McCourty

Patriots Players Notes

Tom Brady Notes:

• This is his 15th NFL season he is 2-0 vs. the Vikings in his career. He is 64-31 on the road in the regular season.

• This will be the first time Brady has started against the Vikings in Minnesota. The last time the teams played in Minnesota (2008) he was out with a torn ACL.

• Overall he is 148-44 as a starting QB and is 18-8 in the playoffs for an overall record of 166-52. He is an 8 time Pro Bowl QB; 3 time All-Pro selection; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP. He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

• He now has 41 wins in his career (34 in the regular season and 7 in the playoffs) in which the team was trailing or tied in the fourth quarter. He had 5 comeback wins in 2013.

• The 5 comeback wins in 2013 tie his career best set in 2003.

• He did not have a multiple INT game in 2013.

• 360 TD passes in his career makes him 5th in NFL history 4 TD passes behind New Orleans QB Drew Brees.

• 148 career wins tie him with John Elway for 3rd all-time.

• He surpassed 4,000 passing yards in 2013 Week 15 at Miami it was his 6th time having 4,000 passing yards in a season.

• He has thrown for 2 or more TD’s in 115 games; the team’s record is 98-17.

• Is only 5th NFL QB to have achieved 140 regular season wins joining Peyton Manning, John Elway, Dan Marino and Brett Favre.

• He is tied with Drew Brees for most 4 TD 0 INT games in his career with 15.

• Needs 602 passing yards for 50,000 in his career. He is 6th all-time in passing yards.

Rob Gronkowski notes:

• Has caught a pass in 51 consecutive games it’s the 4th longest streak all-time for a tight end. Heath Miller is 3rd with a catch in 82 consecutive games.

• Needs 4 points to move into Top 10 in franchise history.

• Is 7th in team history with 44 touchdowns.

• He is 4th in team history with 43 TD catches.

Danny Amendola notes:

• Finished season with 54 catches for 633 yards and 2 TD’s.

• Set career high for yards per catch (11.7) and longest catch (57-yards).

• Ha6 3 100-yard games as a Patriot in 2013 at Miami Week 15, vs. Pittsburgh in Week 9 and in Week 1 at Buffalo.

• Has missed 4 games in 2013 due to injuries (groin, 3 and concussion, 1).

Julian Edelman notes:

• Had a 43-yard punt return vs. Pittsburgh Week 9 it was the 10th punt return of 30 yards or more in his career. That ranks third in team history.

• Had his first 100-catch, 1000-yard season in his career and just the third Patriot behind Troy Brown and Wes Welker.

• His previous career high was 37 receptions for 357 yards in 2009.

• Had 4 of his 5 career 100-yard games in 2013, at Miami Week 15, at Houston Week 13, Week 12 vs. Denver and Week 4 at Atlanta.

• Set career high with 13 catches and 139-yards at Miami Week 15.

• Lead the team with 105 catches for 1,056 yards. He also had 6 TD catches. He had just 21 catches in 2012.

• He was 5th in NFL in catches for 2013.

• Had 9 games with 7 or more catches in 2013.

Stevan Ridley notes:

• Had his 4th 2-TD game of his career against Pittsburgh in Week 9.

• Second season in a row with 4 fumbles

• Lead the team with 773 rushing yards in 14 games

• Lead team in TD’s with 7 with LeGarrette Blount.

• Has 14 runs of 20 or more yards in his career most for franchise since 2000.

Shane Vereen notes:

• Set franchise record with receptions (12) and receiving yards (153) by a running back in a single-game Week 14 vs. Cleveland.

• Became just fourth NFL running back to post 150 receiving yards in a single-game in the last 10 seasons.

• Finished with 47 catches for 417 yards and 3 TD’s and 205 yards rushing with 1 TD.

Stephen Gostkowski notes:

• Has not missed an extra point since Week 17 2006 at Tennessee in his rookie season. He has made 361 consecutive extra points. He is 400 for 401 in his career for 99.8%.

• The 361 XPA converted in a row is fourth longest streak in NFL history.

• Lead NFL in scoring in both 2012 and 2013.

• He is the most accurate kicker by percentage in team history at 86.4% (210 0f 243).

• Has scored at least 1 point in 108 consecutive games a franchise record.

• He is 3rd in team history in points with 1,031 trailing only Gino Cappelletti (1,130) and Adam Vinatieri (1,158).

• Has team record of 12 career field goals of 50+ yards.

Vince Wilfork notes:

• Played only 4 games in 2013 after suffering a torn Achilles.

• Prior to 2013 had played in all 16 games in 5 of the previous 6 seasons.

• Has been a team captain since 2008.

• Has been named to 5 Pro Bowls and selected as an All-Pro 3 times in his career.

• 2010 Ron Burton Community Service Award winner

• He is the fourth Patriots lineman to have two career INT’s.

• Has 7 fumbles recoveries since 2010 the second most in the NFL in that span behind teammate Rob Ninkovich.

Darrelle Revis notes:

• Played six seasons with the Jets and one with the Buccaneers before signing with the Patriots.

• Was a first round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft (14th overall).

• Has 21 career INT’s and is one of the top shutdown corners in the NFL.

• 10 of his 21 INT’s have come in the 4th quarter, 5 in the last two minutes of games within 7 points.

• 2009 AFC Defensive Player of the Year

• Named to 5 Pro Bowls and selected an All Pro 3 times in his career.

• Since 2007 has the most passes defensed in the NFL with 109 including a record 31 in 2009.

• In Patriots debut had 1 tackles, 2 passes defensed and recovered a fumble.

Jerod Mayo notes:

• Had streak of five consecutive 100+ tackle seasons snapped last year due to injury. He has led the team in tackles in those five seasons (2008-2012).

• Shares franchise record for leading team in tackles for 5 seasons with Steve Nelson and Vincent Brown.

• Has two seasons with 180+ tackles

• Had the 5th highest tackle total (184) in team history in 2012 and the 3rd highest (193) in 2010.

• Has two seasons with 10 games with at least 10 tackles.

• Had 12 tackles in week 1 at Miami.

• Had teams only sack Week 1 at Miami.

Rob Ninkovich notes:

• In 5 seasons with New England has only missed one game.

• Forced 2 fumbles in 2013 and tied for team lead with DB Kyle Arrington and S Devin McCourty.

• Has 12 fumble recoveries since 2010 the most in the NFL in that span.

• Led the team with 2 fumble recoveries.

• Tied for 2nd on team in sacks with 8 and QB hits with 18.

• Had back to back 8 sack seasons, a career high.

Chris Jones notes:

• Rookie had his first NFL sack Week 5 at Cincinnati.

• Made first NFL start Week 6 vs. New Orleans and had 3 tackles.

• Had 56 tackles, 6 sacks and 8 QB hits as a rookie.

• Was second in NFL for sacks by a rookie.

• Had three games with multiple sacks in 2013.

Chandler Jones notes:

• Scored his first NFL TD Week 16 at Baltimore on a fumble recovery.

• Led the team in sacks with 11.5 and QB hits with 21.

• Was 7th in sacks in NFL and had 4th highest total in franchise history.

• First player since Chris Slade to start career with two 5+ sack seasons.

• Blocked his first NFL field goal attempt Week 8 vs. Miami.

There are only two players on the team who played on at least one of the Super Bowl championship teams, Brady (3) and Wilfork (1).

Roster moves this week:

• Released TE Allen Reisner from practice squad
• Re-signed DL Kelcey Quarles to practice squad
• Signed DE Cam Henderson to practice squad
• Released QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson from practice squad

Patriots team captains for 2014:

• QB Tom Brady
• G/C Dan Connolly
• WR Matthew Slater (special teams)
• DT Vince Wilfork
• LB Jerod Mayo

Former Vikings on the Patriots:

• none

Players with New England roots:

• none

Players with Minnesota roots:

• none

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• RB James Develin – Brown

Players from Minnesota based colleges and universities:

• DL Zach Moore – Concordia University

The Patriots have 6 retired numbers:

• 20 – Gino Cappelletti
• 40 – Mike Haynes
• 73 – John Hannah
• 78 – Bruce Armstrong
• 79 – Jim Lee Hunt
• 89 – Bob Dee

Vikings Team Notes

Here is the Vikings roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Vikings Schedule/Results

Minnesota’s all-time record is 432-365-10 they are 19-27 in the post season with their last post season appearance coming in 2012 when they lost at Green Bay 24-10 in the NFC Wildcard Game.

The Vikings have played in four Super Bowls losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 23-7 (Super Bowl IV), to the Miami Dolphins 24-7 (Super Bowl VIII), the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-6 (Super Bowl IX) and to the Oakland Raiders 32-14 (Super Bowl XI).

They last played in a Conference Championship Game in 2009 losing at New Orleans, 31-28 in overtime.

Vikings have 25 playoff seasons since the 1970 merger second most in league history behind Pittsburgh and Dallas who each have 26.

The Norsemen have 7 undefeated home seasons.

This is just the second regular season game played by Minnesota at TCF Bank Stadium their temporary home in 2014 and 2015 while their new stadium is being built on site of the old Metrodome.

They are 0-1 at TCF losing to Chicago 40-14 on December 20, 2010 after the Metrodome bubble collapsed.

The Norsemen were 97-59-4 at Metropolitan Stadium (1961-81), 168-92 at the Metrodome (1982-2013) and 0-1 at Ford Field in Detroit (2010) where they hosted the New York Giants the day after the bubble collapse because the Giants didn’t have any cold weather gear available.

All time vs. the AFC East the Vikings are 18-26.

Minnesota is seeking its first outdoor home win since November 1981.

Vikings have lost last three games to the Patriots.

Minnesota’s 28-point margin of victory in week 1 at St. Louis is the franchises largest since 1994 and 8th largest in team history.

The Vikings 28-point margin of victory is the 2nd most in team history in season opening road games (40-9 at New Orleans, 9/12/76). The 6 points allowed is the 2nd fewest ever in an opening game (24-3 at Atlanta, 9/9/07).

Minnesota is PLUS 2 in turnover differential tied for 4th in the NFL. They have 2 INT’s and have recovered 0 fumbles while they have thrown 0 INT’s and lost 0 fumbles.

The Vikings are tied for 4th in points scored averaging 34.0 points per game and are tied for 1st in fewest points allowed with 6.0 points per game.

Vikings Staff Notes

Read what Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer had to say to the New England media about the match up.

Zimmer is in his 1st season as a NFL head coach, he is 1-0 since taking over. This is his home debut as a head coach. He is the 9th head coach in Vikings history.

He was previously the defensive coordinator for Cincinnati (2008-13), Atlanta (2007)and Dallas (2000-06). He has never been a head coach in college or the NFL.

George Edwards is the defensive coordinator for Minnesota. In the past was a defensive coordinator for Washington (2003) and Buffalo (2010-11). He was Miami’s linebackers coach the last two seasons.

Norv Turner is the Vikings offensive coordinator after spending last season as the OC in Cleveland. He has also been the OC at Dallas (1991-93), San Diego (2001), Miami (2002-03) and San Francisco (2006). He has also been the head coach at Washington (1994-2000), Oakland (2204-05) and San Diego (2007-12).

RB coach Kirby Wilson held the same position with the Patriots from 1997-99.

OL coach Jeff Davidson worked as the New England offensive line coach from 1997-2004.

DL coach Andre Patterson served as the Patriots defensive assistant during the 1997 season.

Vikings Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Kalil
• LG: Johnson
• C: Sullivan
• RG: Fusco
• RT: Loadholt
• TE: Rudolph
• WR: Jennings
• WR: Patterson
• QB: Cassel
• RB: Asiata
• RB: Felton

Defense:

• DE: Robison
• DT: Johnson
• DT: Joseph
• DE: Griffen
• LB: Greenway
• LB: Brinkley
• LB: Barr
• LCB: Munnerlyn
• RCB: Price
• S: Blanton
• S: Smith

Vikings Players Notes

Matt Cassel notes:

• He is 32-36 in his career in the regular season and 0-1 in the playoffs for an overall record of 32-37 in 9 NFL seasons with New England, Kansas City and Minnesota.

• Cassel was a 7th round draft pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of USC 230th overall by the Patriots.

• Spent four seasons in Foxboro as Brady’s backup and played in all 16 games in 2008 when Brady tore his ACL. In his 15 starts he was 10-5 but the team missed the playoffs.

• He spent the next four seasons in Kansas City and posted a 19-28 record and 0-1 in the playoffs.

• In 2013 he was 3-3 with Minnesota.

• He has 11 comeback wins in his career, 2 as a Patriot, 2 as a Viking and 7 as a Chief.

• Tied team record with two TD passes of 70 yards or more in one season (2013).

• Was named starting QB over Teddy Bridgewater prior to the 4th preseason game.

Adrian Peterson notes:

• On Friday the Vikings deactivated Adrian Peterson for Sundays game after he was indicted on charges in Texas involving his 4 year old son.
• Vikings first round draft pick (7th overall) in 2007 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma.

• Is a 6 time Pro Bowl selection and 3 time First Team All-Pro.

• In 2012 after returning from a devastating ACL injury he rushed for a league high 2097 yards with 12 TD’s.

• In his career he has six 1,000+ yard seasons and would have had 7 if he hadn’t gotten injured in 2011 (970 in 12 games).

• Has a career average of 5.0 yards per carry.

• With 10,190 career rushing yards he is 2nd among active running backs behind only Steven Jackson (10,678) and is 27th on the career list.

• His 86 TD’s are 1st among active running backs and 14th all-time.

• He is also the active leader in rushing yards per game with 98.2 (3rd all-time).

• Is a former Rookie of the Year (2007), NFL MVP (2012) and Offensive Player of the Year (2012) winner.

• Needs 78-yards to break Cris Carter’s team record for combined yards (12,410) in a career.

• Needs 2 TD’s to tie Randy Moss for 2nd in team history with 93 TD’s. Carter holds the franchise record with 110 TD’s.

• Most rushing yards in NFL since 2007 with 10,190.

• 16 times in his career he has 100 yards rushing in one half.

• His 5 career 200+ rushing yard games are second in NFL history to O.J. Simpson who had 6 career 200+ rushing yard games.

Cordarrelle Patterson  notes:

• Has a TD in 6 consecutive games.

• First Viking WR to have a 100-yard rushing game with 102 rushing yards at St. Louis in Week 1.

• Has 4 career rushing TD’s tied with Percy Harvin for most by a Viking WR.

• Set a team record with the longest run from scrimmage by a Vikings WR when he scored on a 67-yard run.

Greg Jennings notes:

• Joins Minnesota after seven seasons in Green Bay.

• His 55 TD’s are tied for 4th most TD catches in NFL since 2007.

Chad Greenway notes:

• Is 7th Viking and 5th team linebacker to reach 1,000 tackles.

• In 2013 became 5th Vikings player to have a season with 3+ sacks and 3+ INT’s.

• Since 2007 has 11 fumble recoveries, second in NFL to New England’s Rob Ninkovich.

• Has led Minnesota in tackles for 6 consecutive seasons.

Former Patriots on the Vikings:

• QB Matt Cassel

Players with New England roots:

• G Vladimir Ducasse – Stamford CT
• C John Sullivan – Greenwich CT

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• G Vladimir Ducasse – UMass
• DT Shamar Stephen – UConn
• G Josh Samuda (IR) – UMass

Vikings team captains:

• Team selects captains on a weekly basis.

Minnesota has 6 retired numbers:

• 10 – Fran Tarkenton
• 53 – Mick Tingelhoff
• 70 – Jim Marshall
• 77 – Korey Stringer
• 80 – Cris Carter
• 88 – Alan Page

Next Week

Up next: Oakland Raiders – AFC West

Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro MA

Date/Time: Sunday September 21 at 1 p.m.

TV Network: CBS

This Week

The New England Patriots visit the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Patriots			Dolphins
2013 Record	13-5		2013 Record	8-8
Road Record	4-5		Home Record	4-4
AFC East	4-2		AFC East	2-4
AFC Conf	10-4		AFC Conf	7-5

Walt Anderson is the referee for the game

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Sports Betting via Yahoo Sports has the game as Patriots MINUS 5. The over under is 47.

My Prediction is Patriots 28, Dolphins, 24. Take the points (Dolphins) and take the over.

In 2013 including the post season I was 6-12 vs. the spread and 9 of 18 on the over/under.

Tickets

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

Getting To The Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Miami make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast for the game from weather.com.

Click for all the game day information including stadium directions, parking and stadium information, parking map and a Sun Life Stadium seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember drive sober or get pulled over.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

CBS in televising the game regionally and Greg Gumbel will do play by play while Trent Green will provide the game analysis and Evan Washburn will work the sidelines. You can look here for your local affiliate.

See if you’re getting the game courtesy of J.P. Kirby at the506.com.

The DirecTV designation is Channel 711.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules; flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Bob Socci handles the play-by-play and former Patriots QB Scott Zolak will do game analysis. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 10 a.m. on the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots Radio Network call is available on Sirius Channel 91 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Dolphins Radio Network has former Dolphins WR Jimmy Cefalo calling play-by-play and former Dolphins TE Joe Rose and Hall of Famer Bob Griese providing the color with Kim Bokamper on the sidelines via their flagship stations WINZ and WBGG-FM.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 136, XM Channel 230 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 816.

ESPN Radio will carry the game nationally Mark Kestescher has the play by play, Louis Riddick does the analysis and Ian Fitzsimmons works the sidelines.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 83 and XM Channel 83.

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team. It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Saturday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

Last Week

This is the season opener for 2014. It is the first of two consecutive road games for the Patriots who travel to Minnesota next week.

The Patriots finished the preseason 2-2, while the Dolphins were 3-1.

History

• This is the 98th meeting between the teams including playoffs.
• The Dolphins lead the series 51-46 including playoffs.
• The Patriots have the edge in post season meetings, 2-1.
• The teams split the 2013 series. New England won at Gillette, 27-17 in Week 8 and Miami rebounded to win at Sun Life in Week 15, 24-20.
• The Patriots have won 9 of the last 12 games between the teams.
• The Patriots are 15-34 vs. the Dolphins on the road including playoffs.

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 438-373-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances. Overall they are 25-18 in the post season.

They last appeared in the playoffs in 2013 when they beat Indianapolis in the AFC Divisional Round 43-22 and lost at Denver 26-16 in the AFC Championship Game.

It was the 3rd consecutive AFC Championship game appearance for the franchise and 10th overall. They are 7-3 in those AFC title games.

The Patriots were 12-4 (1-1 in playoffs) in 2013 and are the defending five-time AFC East Champions. They have won the division 11 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

New England is the only NFL team to finish .500 or better in each of the last 13 seasons (2001-2013).

They have 11 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins.

They are the first team in the free agency era (1993) to win more than half their games in a 13-season span.

New England is 30-24 in Week 1 games in franchise history. They are 11-12 in week 1 games on the road.

They have won their last 4 Week 1 games on the road dating back to 2007.

Patriots are seeking their 11th consecutive opening day win. Only Dallas (17, 1965-81), Miami (11, 1992-2002) and Detroit (10, 1930-39) have had at least 10 consecutive opening day wins.

They are 11-3 under Bill Belichick in Week 1.

This is the fourth consecutive year New England has opened on the road.

New England is 23-8 in September since 2004 the best record in the NFL.

Since 2003 the Patriots have the NFL’s best record at 138-38.

New England is 65-23 vs. the AFC East since 2000 in the regular season.

Patriots are 11-16 at Sun Life Stadium.

New England had their longest win streak vs. Miami (7) snapped last season in Week 15 when they lost at Sun Life Stadium 24-20.

The Patriots have swept the Dolphins 9 times.

New England finished 3rd in scoring with 444 points (27.8 PPG) and 10th in points allowed with 338 (21.1 PPG)

This is the 21st season of Patriots ownership by the Kraft family. Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 217.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 238.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 13.
• Have the most playoff wins, 21
• Have played the most playoff games, 33.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 15.
• The fewest head coaches within the division, 3.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

From 1960 to 1993 the New England/Boston Patriots won a total of 225 games.

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Dolphins.

Bill Belichick is 18-12 vs. the Dolphins in his career. He is 18-10 against them as the head coach in New England.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 198-105 in his 19th NFL season as a head coach. He is 163-61 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 19-9 in the playoffs, 18-8 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season. When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 218-114.

Belichick’s 218 wins are good for 5th all-time. Curly Lambeau is 4th with 229 wins.

He has won 5 conference titles; he needs one more to tied Don Shula’s record of 6.

He is the first head coach to have had 4 teams that scored at least 500 points in a season.

Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league. The others are former Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).

Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three Super Bowls, joining Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (3) and Bill Walsh (3). Those men are all in the Hall of Fame.

He is the only coach in NFL history to win three championship titles in four seasons.

No coach either as the head coach or an assistant has appeared in more Super Bowls than Belichick who has been to 8 (five as a head coach).

He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 11 consecutive seasons.

He has been NFL Coach of the Year three times he and Chuck Knox are the only three time winners, while Don Shula won four times.

Only one of three coaches in NFL history with 100 more wins than loses joining Don Shula and George Halas.

Special Teams Coach Scott O’Brien spent two seasons (2005-06) with the Dolphins as coordinator of football operations/assistant to the head coach.

Patriots tight ends coach Brian Daboll was the Dolphins offensive coordinator in 2011.

Patriots new offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo coached the Dolphins’ offensive line from 2009-11.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Connolly
• C: Wendell
• RG: Cannon
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• WR: Amendola
• WR: Edelman
• WR: Thompkins
• QB: Brady
• RB: Ridley

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Vellano
• DE: Cha. Jones
• LB: Collins
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Hightower
• LCB: Revis
• RCB: Dennard
• S: Harmon
• S: McCourty

Patriots Players Notes

Tom Brady Notes:

• This is his 15th NFL season he is 17-7 vs. the Dolphins in his career. He is 64-30 on the road in the regular season.

• He is 6-6 vs. the Dolphins in Miami.

• Overall he is 148-43 as a starting QB and is 18-8 in the playoffs for an overall record of 166-51. He is an 8 time Pro Bowl QB; 3 time All-Pro selection; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP. He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

• He now has 41 wins in his career (34 in the regular season and 7 in the playoffs) in which the team was trailing or tied in the fourth quarter. He had 5 comeback wins in 2013.

• The 5 comeback wins in 2013 tie his career best set in 2003.

• He did not have a multiple INT game in 2013.

• 359 TD passes in his career makes him 5th in NFL history 3 TD passes behind New Orleans QB Drew Brees.

• 148 career wins tie him with John Elway for 3rd all-time.

• He surpassed 4,000 passing yards in 2013 Week 15 at Miami it was his 6th time having 4,000 passing yards in a season.

• He has thrown for 2 or more TD’s in 115 games; the team’s record is 98-17.

• Is only 5th NFL QB to have achieved 140 regular season wins joining Peyton Manning, John Elway, Dan Marino and Brett Favre.

• He is tied with Drew Brees for most 4 TD 0 INT games in his career with 15.

• He is 11-1 on opening day it is the best record among QB’s in the Super Bowl era.

Rob Gronkowski notes:

• Has caught a pass in 50 consecutive games it’s the 4th longest streak all-time for a tight end.

• Needs 10 points to move into Top 10 in franchise history.

• Is 7th in team history with 43 touchdowns.

Danny Amendola notes:

• Finished season with 54 catches for 633 yards and 2 TD’s.

• Set career high for yards per catch (11.7) and longest catch (57-yards).

• Ha6 3 100-yard games as a Patriot in 2013 at Miami Week 15, vs. Pittsburgh in Week 9 and in Week 1 at Buffalo.

• Has missed 4 games in 2013 due to injuries (groin, 3 and concussion, 1).

Julian Edelman notes:

• Had a 43-yard punt return vs. Pittsburgh Week 9 it was the 10th punt return of 30 yards or more in his career. That ranks third in team history.

• Had his first 100-catch, 1000-yard season in his career and just the third Patriot behind Troy Brown and Wes Welker.

• His previous career high was 37 receptions for 357 yards in 2009.

• Had 4 of his 5 career 100-yard games in 2013, at Miami Week 15, at Houston Week 13, Week 12 vs. Denver and Week 4 at Atlanta.

• Set career high with 13 catches and 139-yards at Miami Week 15.

• Lead the team with 105 catches for 1,056 yards. He also had 6 TD catches. He had just 21 catches in 2012.

• He was 5th in NFL in catches for 2013.

• Had 9 games with 7 or more catches in 2013.

Stevan Ridley notes:

• Had his 4th 2-TD game of his career against Pittsburgh in Week 9.

• Second season in a row with 4 fumbles

• Leads the team with 773 rushing yards in 14 games

• Lead team in TD’s with 7 with LeGarrette Blount.

• Has 14 runs of 20 or more yards in his career most for franchise since 2000.

Shane Vereen notes:

• Set franchise record with receptions (12) and receiving yards (153) by a running back in a single-game Week 14 vs. Cleveland.

• Became just fourth NFL running back to post 150 receiving yards in a single-game in the last 10 seasons.

• Finished with 47 catches for 417 yards and 3 TD’s and 205 yards rushing with 1 TD.

Stephen Gostkowski notes:

• Has not missed an extra point since Week 17 2006 at Tennessee in his rookie season. He has made 360 consecutive extra points. He is 399 for 400 in his career for 99.8%.

• The 360 XPA converted in a row it is fourth longest streak in NFL history.

• Lead NFL in scoring with 158 points.

• Set franchise record for points in a season and field goals made (38) tied franchise record for field goal attempts (41).
• He is the most accurate kicker by percentage in team history at 86.3% (208 0f 241).

• Has scored at least 1 point in 107 consecutive games a franchise record.

• He is 3rd in team history in points with 1,023 trailing only Gino Cappelletti (1,130) and Adam Vinatieri (1,158).

• Has team record of 12 career field goals of 50+ yards.

• Has made 16 field goals of 40 or more yards in 2013, a franchise record.

• Has three game winning field goals in 2013 Week 1 at Buffalo, Week 12 vs. Denver and Week 13 at Houston he now has 4 regular season game winners in his career.

• The 54-yard field goal against New Orleans set a new career long.

Vince Wilfork notes:

• Played only 4 games in 2013 after suffering a torn Achilles.

• Prior to 2013 had played in all 16 games in 5 of the previous 6 seasons.

• Has been a team captain since 2008.

• Has been named to 5 Pro Bowls and selected as an All-Pro 3 times in his career.

• 2010 Ron Burton Community Service Award winner

• He is the fourth Patriots lineman to have two career INT’s.

• Has 7 fumbles recoveries since 2010 the second most in the NFL in that span behind teammate Rob Ninkovich.

Darrelle Revis notes:

• Played six seasons with the Jets and one with the Buccaneers before signing with the Patriots.

• Was a first round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft (14th overall).

• Has 21 career INT’s and is one of the top shutdown corners in the NFL.

• 10 of his 21 INT’s have come in the 4th quarter, 5 in the last two minutes of games within 7 points.

• 2009 AFC Defensive Player of the Year

• Named to 5 Pro Bowls and selected an All Pro 3 times in his career.

• Since 2007 has the most passes defensed in the NFL with 109 including a record 31 in 2009.

Rob Ninkovich notes:

• In 5 seasons with New England has only missed one game.

• Forced 2 fumbles in 2013 and tied for team lead with DB Kyle Arrington and S Devin McCourty.

• Has 12 fumble recoveries since 2010 the most in the NFL in that span.

• Led the team with 2 fumble recoveries.

• Tied for 2nd on team in sacks with 8 and QB hits with 18.

• Had back to back 8 sack seasons.

• Had sacks in three consecutive games vs. Miami, vs. Pittsburgh and at Carolina.

Chris Jones notes:

• Rookie had his first NFL sack Week 5 at Cincinnati.

• Made first NFL start Week 6 vs. New Orleans and had 3 tackles.

• Had 56 tackles, 6 sacks and 8 QB hits as a rookie.

• Was second in NFL for sacks by a rookie.

• Has three games with multiple sacks in 2013.

Chandler Jones notes:

• Scored his first NFL TD Week 16 at Baltimore on a fumble recovery.

• Led the team in sacks with 11.5 and QB hits with 21.

• Was 7th in sacks in NFL and had 4th highest total in franchise history.

• First player since Chris Slade to start career with two 5+ sack seasons.

• Blocked his first NFL field goal attempt Week 8 vs. Miami.

Logan Ryan notes:

• Had his first NFL 2 INT game week 16 at Baltimore.

• Led NFL rookies, the team and the AFC with 5 INT’s. Was 3rd overall in NFL.

• Had his first NFL INT at New York in Week 7 and returned it 79-yards for a touchdown. He was the 11th Patriots player to return his first INT for a TD.

• Forced a fumble on his first NFL sack Week 8 vs. Miami.

There are only two players on the team who played on at least one of the Super Bowl championship teams, Brady (3) and Wilfork (1).

Former Patriots G Brian Waters announced his retirement on Tuesday. He also played with the Chiefs and the Cowboys.

Roster moves this week:

• Finalized 53-man roster and practice squad
• Placed WR Brian Tyms on the suspended list for 4 games
• Placed CB Brandon Browner on the suspended list for 4 games
• Released LB Chris White
• Released G Chris Barker
• Traded QB Ryan Mallett to Houston for conditional 7th round pick in 2015
• Claimed DL Kelcey Quarles off waivers from New York Giants
• Claimed S Don Jones off waivers from Miami Dolphins
• Claimed DL Bruce Gaston off waivers from Arizona Cardinals
• Released S Kannoris Davis from practice squad
• Released CB Dax Swenson from practice squad
• Released QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson from practice squad
• Signed G Chris Barker to practice squad
• Signed RB Marcus Thigpen to practice squad
• Signed TE Allen Reisner to practice squad
• Re-signed LB Chris White
• Re-signed LS Danny Aiken
• Re-signed QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson to practice squad
• Released LS Charley Huglett from practice squad
• Released DL Kelcey Quarles
• Released DL Bruce Gaston

Patriots team captains for 2014:

• QB Tom Brady
• C/G Dan Connolly
• WR Matthew Slater (special teams)
• DT Vince Wilfork
• LB Jerod Mayo

Former Dolphins on the Patriots:

• DE Rob Ninkovich
• DB Don Jones

Players with New England roots:

• none

Players with Florida roots:

• WR Kenbrell Thompkins – Miami
• DT Vince Wilfork – Boynton Beach
• RB James White – Ft. Lauderdale
• C/G Bryan Stork – Vero Beach

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• RB James Develin – Brown

Players from Florida based colleges and universities:

• DT Vince Wilfork – University of Miami
• DT Dominque Easley – University of Florida
• C/G Bryan Stork – Florida State
• WR Brian Tyms (Suspended) – Florida A&M

The Patriots have 6 retired numbers:

• 20 – Gino Cappelletti
• 40 – Mike Haynes
• 73 – John Hannah
• 78 – Bruce Armstrong
• 79 – Jim Lee Hunt
• 89 – Bob Dee

Dolphins Team Notes

Here is the Dolphins roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2014 Dolphins Schedule/Results

The Dolphins all-time record is 415-317-4 and they are 20-20 in the playoffs with their last playoff appearance coming in 2008. That season the Dolphins lost at home to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wild Card Game.

They last played for a conference championship in 1992 when they lost to San Diego in the AFC Title game, 29-10.

They have won two Super Bowl titles (VII, VIII) in five appearances. They last appeared in a Super Bowl in 1984 losing to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XIX, 38-16. The Dolphins franchise started in 1966 in the AFL.

They finished 2nd in the AFC East last season four games behind the Patriots.

The Dolphins first four games all vs. the AFC are split even among home and road and they have two division games in the first four before they have their bye in Week 5.

Hall of Fame QB Dan Marino and DE Jason Taylor are the alumni captains and will be part of the pregame ceremonies.

Dolphins looking for back-to-back season opening wins for first time since 2001-02.

With a win would have back-to-back wins over New England for first time since they won in 2000 (Wk 17) and 2001 (Wk 4).

Dolphins are 25-22-1 in Week 1 games in their history. They are 9-8 at home.

Miami is 33-47 vs. the AFC East in the regular season since 2001.

This is the 8th time the Dolphins have opened against the Patriots they are 3-4.

Miami has lost 11 of the last 14 meetings with New England.

The Dolphins have swept the Patriots 13 times in the series the last time was in 2000.

Miami’s longest win streak against New England is 9 games from 1989 to 1993.

They have not won via a shutout since they beat Seattle 23-0 in September 2000.

Miami finished 26th in points scored with 317 (19.8 PPG) and 8th in points allowed with 335 (20.9 PPG).

Dolphins Staff Notes

Hear what Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin had to say to the New England media about the match up.

He is the 10th head coach in Dolphins team history.

Miami head coach Joe Philbin is in his 3rd season as a NFL head coach and he has a 15-17 record since taking over.

He is 1-3 against New England in his career.

Philbin, a Springfield MA native, is a former high school player and coach at Longmeadow (MA) High School. He also coached at Northeastern and Harvard as the offensive coordinator.

Miami has a new general manager in Dennis Hickey. He spent 18 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He replaces Jeff Ireland.

Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino has also returned to the team a special advisor after leaving CBS television.

Defensive Coordinator Kevin Coyle graduated from the University of Massachusetts and spent nine years at The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator.

Wide Receivers Coach Ken O’Keefe is from Milford CT and previously coached at the University of New Haven.

Dolphins linebackers coach Mark Duffner served as the College of Holy Cross’ defensive coordinator from 1981-86 before being promoted to head coach from 1986-91.

Dolphins assistant offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. played collegiately for his father at Boston College from 1981-85. Bicknell Jr. served as a graduate assistant for Boston College before moving on to New Hampshire, where he coached the defensive (1987-92) and offensive (1993-96) lines. He returned to Boston College to become the Eagles’ offensive line coach in 2007.

Dolphins assistant quarterbacks coach Ben Johnson was a graduate assistant (2009-10) and tight ends coach (2011) at Boston College.

Dolphins secondary coach Lou Anarumo served as assistant head coach at Harvard from 1995-2000.

Dolphins defensive assistant Jeff Burris spent the 2012 season as the University of Massachusetts’ cornerbacks coach.

Dolphins assistant linebackers coach David Corrao served as tight ends coach at Northeastern in 2004.

Dolphins Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Albert
• LG: Colledge
• C: Satele
• RG: Smith
• RT: James
• TE: Clay
• WR: Hartline
• WR: Wallace
• WR: Gibson
• QB: Tannehill
• RB: Miller

Defense:

• DE: Wake
• DT: Starks
• DT: Odrick
• DE: Vernon
• LB: Wheeler
• LB: Misi
• LB: Ellerbe
• LCB: Grimes
• RCB: Finnegan
• S: Delmas
• S: Wilson

Dolphins Players Notes

Ryan Tannehill notes:

• Dolphins starting QB was their first round pick out of Texas A&M in the 2012 NFL Draft.

• Tannehill has a 15-17 record as he starts his 3rd NFL season.

• He threw 20+ TD passes in 2013 joining other Dolphin QB’s with 20+ TD seasons Dan Marino (13 times); Bob Griese (2) and Jay Fielder (1).

• His wife, Lauren, is H-O-T, hot.

• Has 9 300-yard passing games in his career; Marino had 63 300-yard games.

• He (2) and Marino (13) are only Dolphin QB’s to have multiple 3,000-yard seasons.

• Had 4 4th quarter comebacks and 3 game winning drives in 2013.

• Has 7,207 career passing yards fifth most for a QB in NFL history in first two seasons.

Mike Wallace notes:

• Second year with Miami after four seasons in Pittsburgh.

• Had 73 catches for 930 yards and 5 TD’s in 2013.

• Has 13 career games with at least 7 catches.

• Has 17 career 100-yard receiving games.

• Needs 28 receiving yards to reach 5,000 in his career.

Brian Hartline notes:

• Had 76 catches for 1,016 yards and 4 TD’s in 2013.

• Tied franchise record with back-to-back 1,000 receiving yard seasons.

• Led the team in catches and reception yards in 2012 and 2013.

• Needs 41 catches for 300 in his career.

• Needs 231 receiving yards for 4,000 in his career.

Cameron Wake notes:

• Has 50.5 career sacks most by an undrafted player in Dolphins history and 11th most in NFL since 1982.

• Has 11 multi-sack games in his career and 2 this season.

• Has the 7th most sacks in Miami history.

• Needs 38 solo tackles for 200 in his career.

• Has 9 career forced fumbles.

Caleb Sturgis notes:

• Leads team in scoring and is perfect on extra points (29/29) and 25 for 33 on field goal attempts.

• Had missed field goals in 7 of his last 9 games including the last 3 games.

• Only 20 of 28 from 30+ yards, 11 of 17 from 40+ yards and 3 of 7 from 50+ yards.

• Was a fifth round pick in 2013 draft out of University of Florida

Charles Clay notes:

• Had career high 7 catches Week 14 at Pittsburgh and 97-yards receiving.

• Led team in TD’s with 6.

• Recorded 69 receptions for 759 receiving yards and 6 TD’s in 2013.

• His receptions and reception yardage totals are the second-highest single-season figures in Dolphins history among the team’s tight ends.

• His touchdown reception total ranks tied for third among all-time for the Dolphins.

Lamar Miller notes:

• Led team in rushing with 709 yards on 177 carries and had 2 TD’s

• His season long run was for 67-yards

• Had 100-yard game vs. Cincinnati Week 9 had 105-yards on 16 carries.

• Needs 41 rushing yards for 1,000 yards for his career.

Former Patriots on the Dolphins:

• DL A.J. Francis (IR)

Players with New England roots:

• TE Arthur Lynch (IR) – Dartmouth MA

Players from New England based colleges and universities:

• none

The Dolphins do not name team captains. They are appointed on a weekly basis prior to the game.

Miami has 3 retired numbers:

• 12 – Bob Greise
• 13 – Dan Marino
• 39 – Larry Csonka

Next Week

Up next: Minnesota Vikings – NFC North

Location: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis MN

Date/Time: Sunday September 14 1 p.m.

TV Network: CBS

The NFL mandates in the league calendar that all teams have to be at or below their 53-man roster limit by 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday. So as the morning rolled into afternoon there were several players notified by the Patriots that they would be released.

Here is the list of today’s cuts:

• LB James Morris
• DT Eathyn Manumaleuna
• OL Braxton Cave
• WR Jeremy Gallon
• RB Roy Finch
• DT L.T. Tuipulotu
• S Kannoris Davis
• LB Ja’Gared Davis
• LB Taylor McCuller
• DL Jerel Worthy
• DE Jake Bequette
• LB Steve Beauharnais
• RB Jonas Gray
• TE Steve Manieri
• WR Josh Boyce
• OL Jon Halapio
• S Shamiel Gray
• CB Dax Swenson
• LS Danny Aiken

Several of these players could return as members of the practice squad once they clear waivers.

So as of 4 p.m. cutdowns here are the 53 members of the New England Patriots:

Quarterbacks (3)
12 Tom Brady	Michigan	San Mateo CA
15 Ryan Mallett	Arkansas	Texarkana TX
10 Jimmy Garoppolo	Eastern Illinois	Arlington Heights IL
Running Backs (5)
22 Stevan Ridley	LSU	Natchez MS
34 Shane Vereen	California	Valencia CA
38 Brandon Bolden	Mississippi	Baton Rouge LA
46 James Develin	Brown	Gilbertsville PA
28 James White	Wisconsin	Ft. Lauderdale FL
Tight Ends (3)
87 Rob Gronkowski	Arizona	Williamsville NY
47 Michael Hoomanawanui	Illinois	Bloomington IL
81 Tim Wright	Rutgers	Wall Township, NJ
Wide Receivers (6)
80 Danny Amendola	Texas Tech	The Woodlands TX
19 Brandon LaFell	LSU	Houston TX
17 Aaron Dobson	Marshall	Dunbar WV
85 Kenbrell Thompkins	Cincinnati	Miami FL
18 Matthew Slater	UCLA	Anaheim CA
11 Julian Edelman	Kent State	Woodside CA
Offensive Line (10)
76 Sebastian Vollmer	Houston	Neuss Germany
77 Nate Solder	Colorado	Denver CO
63 Dan Connolly	Southeast Missouri State	Chesterfield MO
62 Ryan Wendell	Fresno State	Diamond Bar CA
61 Marcus Cannon	TCU	Odessa TX
67 Josh Kline	Kent State	Mason OH
66 Bryan Stork	FSU	Vero Beach FL
64 Chris Barker	Nevada	Etiwanda CA
65 Jordan Devey	Memphis	American Fork UT
71 Cameron Fleming	Stanford	Houston TX
Defensive End (4)
95 Chandler Jones	Syracuse	Rochester NY
50 Rob Ninkovich	Purdue	New Lennox IL
99 Michael Buchanan	Illinois	Homewood IL
71 Zach Moore	Concordia	Chicago IL
Defensive Tackle (5)
75 Vince Wilfork	Miami	Boynton Beach FL
74 Dominque Easley	Florida	Staten Island NY
64 Joe Vellano	Maryland	Rexford NY
94 Sealver Siliga	Utah	West Jordan UT
96 Chris Jones	Bowling Green	Brownsburg IN
Linebackers (5)
51 Jerod Mayo	Tennessee	Hampton VA
54 Dont’a Hightower	Alabama	Lewisburg TN
59 Chris White	Mississippi State	Vancleave MS
91 Jamie Collins	Southern Mississippi	McCall Creek MS
44 Darius Fleming	Notre Dame	Chicago, IL
Cornerbacks (5)
24 Darrelle Revis	Pitt	Aliquippa PA
25 Kyle Arrington	Hofstra	Brandywine MD
37 Alfonzo Dennard	Nebraska	Rochelle GA
26 Logan Ryan	Rutgers	Vorhees NJ
29 Malcolm Butler	West Alabama	Vicksburg MS
Safety (5)
32 Devin McCourty	Rutgers	Montvale NJ
30 Duron Harmon	Rutgers	Magnolia DE
27 Tavon Wilson	Illinois	Washington DC
23 Patrick Chung	Oregon	Kingston, Jamaica
43 Nate Ebner	Ohio State	Dublin OH
Specialists (2)
03 Stephen Gostkowski – PK	Memphis	Madison MS
06 Ryan Allen – P	LSU	Salem, OR
Suspended (2)
39 Brandon Browner (CB)	Oregon State	Sylmar CA
84 Brian Tyms (WR)	Florida A&M	Kent WA

#Some numbers will change, as there are duplicates.