Gronkowski Out a Month or More

New England Patriots all-world tight end Rob Gronkowski broke his forearm during Sunday’s game blocking on the teams final extra point attempt in a 59-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts.  He reached to try to block former Patriot Sergio Brown and was hit just the right way breaking his left forearm.

Gronkowski, who had two more TD catches against the Colts, now has 37 TD catches in career.  He became the first tight end in NFL history to have three consecutive seasons of 10 or more TD catches when he grabbed a 24-yard pass from Tom Brady as the team capitalized on an Andrew Luck fumble.

He had surgery on his forearm on Monday morning in the Boston area and is expected to miss anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks.

That time timetable would have him returning at the earliest on December 23rd in a game at Jacksonville or as late as the divisional playoff round.

The loss of Gronkowski could be a big blow as he has played 93% of the teams offensive snaps this year.  On the bright side it appears fellow TE Aaron Hernandez who has missed 6 of the last 8 games with an ankle injury appears to be ready to return on Thursday night against the New York Jets. 

Also what’s good is that veteran TE Visanthe Shiancoe has now played a couple of games and is better in the system, TE Daniel Fells has some game action and TE Mike Hoomanawanui is fully invested and can play the system.

Other options for New England are to see who is available on the waiver wire or through free agency.  One of those options could be the return of TE Alex Silvestro who has been with the team a number of times last two seasons bouncing between the regular roster and the practice squad.

Yet another option could have be TE Jake Ballard who they picked up in the off season from the New York Giants.  Ballard you may recall is the player who tore his ACL in the Super Bowl. He is 10 months post-injury, most medical experts consider an ACL a year injury, yet some players have come back sooner. Currently he is on the Patriots PUP list and according to the PUP list rules the time to activate him has passed so he should be ineligible to play for the remainder of this season.

And probably a final option is to use the tight ends currently on the roster to the best of their abilities and feature players like RB Danny Woodhead out of the backfield more, and slot receivers Julian Edelman and Wes Welker more as well.

This offense is designed around multiple weapons and it’s up to Brady and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to find ways to use them.

Whatever happens, life without Gronkowski won’t be fun or easy but above all it is survivable. 

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News and Notes

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had his weekly day after conference call with the media on Monday.  (patriots.com)

QB Tom Brady had his weekly Patriots Monday call in. (WEEI)

Offensive snaps by skill players vs. Indianapolis  (ESPN Boston)

Defensive snaps played vs. Colts (ESPN Boston)

Five takeaways from Colts – Patriots (Boston Globe)

Gronk shouldn’t be blocking on extra points (Boston Herald)

Talib shows his stuff (Boston Herald)

Win comes at a cost (Boston Herald)

Patriots show signs of life on defense (Comcast Sports Net New England)

In case anyone hasn’t notice I am having an awful year predicting wins vs. the spread having only gotten two correct so far I sit at 2-8 this year.  Maybe a network TV job is in my future?  I am much better on the under/over calls through 10 games I have gotten 7 out of 10 correct.

Yesterday was the Patriots 200th consecutive sell out dating back to Week 1 in 1994.  It includes preseason and post season games.  The Kraft family saved this franchise and this is a testament to them.

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 154-64.

In the last ten seasons the Patriots are 37-8 in games played November 1 or later.

New England has a 4-game winning streak and is 6-1 in the last 7 games after starting the season 1-2.

The Patriots lead the overall series 47-29, which includes a 2-1 post season advantage.

New England is 27-12 vs. the Colts at home, 6-2 at Gillette Stadium.

Since the Colts won 5 of the 6 meetings the Patriots have won the last three games.

The Patriots are now a combined 18-0 in the second half of the season since 2010.  Their last loss in the second half was in 2009 in the season finale at Houston.

Belichick’s 199 wins are good for 8th all-time.  Former Broncos, Giants and Falcons head coach Dan Reeves is 7th with 201 wins.

Bill Belichick is 13-8 vs. the Colts in his career.

Tom Brady is 10-4 against Indianapolis in his career including the playoffs.  Overall including playoffs he is 147-44.

Brady has 321 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 42 consecutive games.

The Patriots are 87-16 when Brady throws at least 2 TD passes in a game.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 111 consecutive games including playoffs, 94 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

LB Jerod Mayo continues to lead the team in tackles.  Unofficially he has 125 tackles (69 solo).  The team usually adjusts the counts based on coaches film study so in the Friday game preview we will have Mayo’s official total.  He is on pace for another 200 tackle season.

DE Rob Ninkovich had a strip sack and a fumble recovery on Sunday it was his 5th forced fumble of the season tying a team record held by former LB Mike Vrabel.

There were 6 QB hits by the Patriots; 2 each by Ninkovich and DE Jermaine Cunningham and 1 a piece by LB Brandon Spikes and LB Dont’a Hightower.

CB Aqib Talib, CB Alfonzo Dennard and S Tavon Wilson all had an INT on Sunday.  Talib and Dennard returned their INTs for a TD.  Wilson’s was a team leading 4th on the year.

Talib’s INT return for a TD was the fourth of his career and his first as a Patriot in his first game.  Nice way to make an impression.

Dennard’s INT return for a TD was the first of his career.

WR/PR Julian Edelman had two TD’s Sunday one on a punt return the other catching a pass from Brady.  He nearly had a 3rd and on end around.  He just missed the hat trick of a receiving, rushing and special teams TD in the same game.

The team had three non-offensive TD’s in the game for the third time in franchise history.  They did it in 2001 and again in 2011.

The Patriots tied a franchise record with 59 points in game set in 2009 vs. Tennessee.

The Patriots had four takeaways on Sunday and three of them led to touchdowns.

New England scored 8 TD’s and had a field goal and they only had 9 possessions and that included 2 punts and a missed field goal.  They had 5 TD’s on offense, 2 on defense and 1 on special teams.

Indianapolis had 13 possessions.  3 TD’s, 3 INT’s, 3 punts, 1 field goal, 1 missed field goal, 1 fumble and end of game clock expired.

The Patriots sacked Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck 1 time, while Brady was not sacked.

New England is PLUS 20 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 3 INT and 4 fumbles, while the defense has 13 INTs and 14 fumble recoveries. 

The Patriots were 4 for 6 (66.7%) in the red zone.  They had 4 TDs, 1 FG and 1 missed FG.

New England was 8 for 12 (66.7%) on third down conversions and 0 for 0 on 4th down attempts.

Indianapolis offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is the interim head coach in head coach Chuck Pagano’s absence.  Since taking over Arians is 5-2 is his NFL career.

Luck is 6-4 in his NFL career.

Indianapolis is 2-11 as the road team in the series since 1998.

The Colts are 7-18 in the last 24 games vs. the Patriots dating back to 1996.

Indianapolis was 8 for 14 (57%) on 3rd down conversions and 0 for 0 on 4th down attempts.

The Colts were 2 for 2 (100%) in the red zone.  They had 2 TD’s.

Indianapolis is MINUS 13 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 12 INT and 7 fumbles, while the defense has 4 INTs and 2 fumble recoveries.

Next Week

The Patriots visit the New York Jets on Thanksgiving night at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford NJ.  Kick off is at 8:20 p.m. on NBC.

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The Indianapolis Colts came into Foxboro on Sunday to face the New England Patriots sporting a 6-3 record and looking very far removed from the disaster of 2011. 

After one quarter they even had a 14-7 lead.  That lead though evaporated in the late New England afternoon air quicker than you could say “Julian Edelman”.

In a blink of an eye, or 1:01 on the game clock, Edelman returned a punt 68-yards for a TD.  Then on the ensuing Indianapolis drive newly acquired CB Aqib Talib picked rookie QB Andrew Luck and returned it 59-yards for a TD and like that it was 21-14 New England and they were on their way to a convincing 59-24 win.

Up 24-17 to start the third quarter New England exploded in the second half putting up 35 points in the final 30 minutes.  Edelman got his second score of the day on a 2-yard pass from QB Tom Brady and TE Rob Gronkowski got his second TD of the day off a 24-yard pass.  He had scored the Patriots first TD in the first quarter off a 4 yard catch.

In the fourth quarter the Patriots put up 21 more points on an 87-yard INT returned for a TD by rookie CB Alfonzo Dennard and rushing TD’s of 3-yards by RB Stevan Ridley and 4-yards by RB Shane Vereen. 

In the second half the only points the New England defense gave up came long after the outcome was decided when Colts rookie WR T.Y. Hilton went 43-yards to the house on a Luck TD pass.  It was Hilton’s second TD catch of the afternoon.

The 59-points tied a franchise record for most points in a game, they put up 59 against Tennessee in 2009 at Foxboro.

It was a remarkable game as the Colts had the ball nearly 6 minutes longer, had more first downs, more total yards, ran more plays and more rushing yards.  It was the Patriots special teams and defense that had four more takeaways that made the difference in the game. 

The Patriots had more return yards, more yards off turnovers, more turnovers and more touchdowns.  And when you have more touchdowns you usually win the game.

Now it’s off to the Thanksgiving Night matchup with AFC East Rival New York Jets, let’s hope New England has another performance like this stuffed into the Thanksgiving turkey.

Comcast Sports Net New England’s Tom E. Curran is reporting post game that TE Rob Gronkowski has suffered a broken forearm.  The team hasn’t confirmed the injury.  The NFL Network is reporting Gronkowski will be out a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks which is the remainder of the regular season.

Colts at Patriots Gamebook includes the box score, all the stats, play by play, drive charts and more.

Colts at Patriots Game Recap.

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Turning Point of the Game

In the matter of 1:01 in the 2nd quarter the Patriots scored 14 points on special teams and defense and took over the game.

Offensive Player of the Game

Patriots WR/PR Julian Edelman had 1 carry for 47 yards, 5 catches for 58 yards and 1 TD and 2 punt returns for 117 yards and a TD.

Defensive Player of the Game

Patriots DE Rob Ninkovich had 8 tackles (4 solo); 1 sack; 2 tackles for loss; 2 QB hits; 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.

Game Notes

Starters for the Patriots were:

On Offense:

LT Solder

LG Thomas

C Wendell

RG McDonald

RT Vollmer

TE Gronkowski

WR Edelman

WR Welker

WR Lloyd

QB Brady

RB Ridley

On Defense:

DE Ninkovich

DT Wilfork

DT Love

DE Jones

LB Mayo

LB Spikes

LB Hightower

CB Talib

CB Arrington

S Gregory

S McCourty

Inactives for the Game:

Patriots

1. TE Aaron Hernandez (ankle)

2. G Dan Connolly (back)

3. S Patrick Chung (shoulder)

4. DE Jake Bequette

5. DL Justin Francis

6. TE Daniel Fells

7. G Logan Mankins (ankle/calf)

Colts

1. CB Vontae Davis (shoulder)

2. LB Mario Harvey

3. T Bradley Sowell

4. DL Josh Chapman

5. NT Martin Tevaseu

6. T Tony Hills

7. TE Colby Fleener (knee)

The spread (Patriots MINUS 10) WAS covered.  The over/under (53) WAS COVERED.  I TOOK the points (COLTS) and took the OVER.  I am now 2-8 vs. the spread and 7 of 10 calling the under/over.

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 154-64.

In the last ten seasons the Patriots are 37-8 in games played November 1 or later.

New England has its first 4-game winning streak of the season.

The Patriots lead the overall series 47-29, which includes a 2-1 post season advantage.

New England is 27-12 vs. the Colts at home, 6-2 at Gillette Stadium.

Since the Colts won 5 of the 6 meetings the Patriots have won the last three games.

The Patriots are now a combined 18-0 in the second half of the season since 2010.  Their last loss in the second half was in 2009 in the season finale at Houston.

Bill Belichick is now 199-107 including playoffs in his career.

Belichick’s 199 wins are good for 8th all-time.  Former Broncos, Giants and Falcons head coach Dan Reeves is 7th with 201 wins.

Bill Belichick is 13-8 vs. the Colts in his career.  He is 11-6 against them as the head coach in New England and that includes a 2-1 post season record.

Tom Brady is 10-4 against Indianapolis in his career including the playoffs.  Overall including playoffs he is 147-44.

Brady has 321 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 42 consecutive games.

The Patriots are 87-16 when Brady throws at least 2 TD passes in a game.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 111 consecutive games including playoffs, 94 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

DE Rob Ninkovich had a strip sack and a fumble recovery on Sunday it was his 5th forced fumble of the season tying a team record held by former LB Mike Vrabel.

There were 6 QB hits by the Patriots 2 each by Ninkovich and DE Jermaine Cunningham and 1 a piece by LB Brandon Spikes and LB Dont’a Hightower.

CB Aqib Talib, CB Alfonzo Dennard and S Tavon Wilson all had an INT on Sunday.  Talib and Dennard returned their INTs for a TD.  Wilson’s was a team leading 4th on the year.

S Nate Ebner had two special teams tackles on Sunday to lead the team.

LB Jerod Mayo led the team with 10 tackles (1 solo).

Roster moves Saturday:

• CB Aqib Talib was activated and placed on the 53-mam roster.
• WR Deion Branch was released
• CB Malcolm Williams was released
• WR Greg Salas was signed from the practice squad
• WR Jarred Fayson was released from the practice squad

The Patriots sacked Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck 1 time, while Brady was not sacked.

New England is PLUS 20 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 3 INT and 4 fumbles, while the defense has 13 INTs and 14 fumble recoveries. 

The Patriots were 4 for 6 (66.7%) in the red zone.  They had 4 TDs, 1 FG and 1 missed FG.

New England was 8 for 12 (66.7%) on third down conversions and 0 for 0 on 4th down attempts.

Indianapolis offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is the interim head coach in head coach Chuck Pagano’s absence.  Since taking over Arians is 5-2 is his NFL career.

Arians is 0-1 vs. New England as a head coach.

Luck is 6-4 in his NFL career.

He is 0-1 vs. the Patriots.

Indianapolis is 2-11 as the road team in the series since 1998.

The Colts are 7-18 in the last 24 games vs. the Patriots dating back to 1996.

Indianapolis was 8 for 14 (57%) on 3rd down conversions and 0 for 0 on 4th down attempts.

The Colts were 2 for 2 (100%) in the red zone.  They had 2 TD’s.

Indianapolis is MINUS 13 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 12 INT and 7 fumbles, while the defense has 4 INTs and 2 fumble recoveries. 

John Parry was the game referee.  The temp at kickoff was 42 and clear.

Attendance – 68,756 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA.

Post Game Interviews

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Patriots QB Tom Brady post game press conference via patriots.com

This Week in the AFC East

Jets whipped the Rams, 27-13

Bills beat the Dolphins, 19-14 on Thursday night

AFC East Standings

Patriots                   7-3/3-0

Dolphins                  4-6/1-2

Jets                        4-6/2-2

Bills                        4-6/1-3

Next Week

The Patriots visit the New York Jets on Thanksgiving night at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford NJ.  Kick off is at 8:20 p.m. on NBC.

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photo credit: getty images

The New England Patriots will get some help in the secondary for Sunday's game as they have activated CB Aqib Talib in a series of roster moves that also sees Deion Branch get released for second time this season.

Here's the release from the Patriots:

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots activated CB Aqib Talib to the 53-man roster and signed WR Greg Salas to the 53-man roster from the practice squad. The Patriots acquired Talib in a trade with Tampa Bay on Nov. 1, 2012. In addition, the Patriots released WR Deion Branch and DB Malcolm Williams and WR Jarred Fayson from the practice squad.

Talib, 26, is in his fifth NFL season after joining the Buccaneers as a first-round draft pick (20th overall) out of Kansas in 2008. The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder has played in 58 NFL games with 45 starts and has accumulated 160 total tackles, 18 interceptions with three returned for touchdowns, 53 passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He played in four games for the Buccaneers in 2012 and has registered 20 tackles, one interception and defensed seven passes.

Salas, 24, was originally acquired by New England in a trade with St. Louis on Sept. 1, 2012 in exchange for an undisclosed future draft choice. He dressed for the 2012 season-opener at Tennessee but did not play and was inactive vs. Arizona in the home-opener. Salas was released on Sept. 19 and signed to the practice squad on Sept. 20. Salas was originally drafted by St. Louis in the fourth round (112th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Hawaii. The 6-foot-1, 209-pounder played in six games for the Rams last season and finished with 27 receptions for 269 yards. His season was limited to six games due to a leg injury.

Branch, 33, was originally selected by the Patriots in the second round (65th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft out of Louisville. He was traded by the Patriots to the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 11, 2006 and then reacquired through a trade with Seattle on Oct. 12, 2010. Branch was released by the Patriots on Aug. 31 and re-signed on Sept. 19. He played in seven games with three starts and caught nine passes for 80 yards in 2012. Branch, 5-9, 195 pounds, has played in 137 games with 110 starts and accumulated 511 receptions for 6,579 yards and 39 touchdowns. He has played in 15 postseason games with 13 starts and has 62 receptions for 932 yards and four touchdowns. His 24 receptions in three Super Bowls are third all time to the 33 by Jerry Rice (four Super Bowls) and the 27 by Andre Reed (four Super Bowls).

Williams, 24, was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad on Oct. 27, 2012 and played as a reserve in the win at St. Louis (10/28). He was signed to the New England practice squad on Sept. 1, 2012 after being released following training camp on Aug. 31, 2012. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder was originally drafted by New England in the seventh round (219th overall) out of Texas Christian in the 2011 NFL Draft. He was released by the Patriots at the end of his first training camp before being signed to the practice squad in November. Williams rotated between the practice squad and 53-man roster after being re-signed and played in two regular season games and all three postseason games, including Super Bowl XLVI, mostly on special teams.

Fayson, 25, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the New Orleans Saints in 2011 out of Illinois. The 6-foot, 213-pounder was released by the Saints following training camp and joined the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad on Nov. 22, 2011, where spent the remainder of the season. He was released by Indianapolis on Aug. 28, 2012. Fayson spent his first two seasons in college at Florida before transferring to Illinois. He joined the Patriots practice squad on Nov. 1.

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This Week

The New England Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium on Sunday at 4:25 p.m.  The game was flexed by CBS from it’s original 1 p.m. time slot.

The Colts		—-	The Patriots
Overall	6-3		Overall	6-3
Road record	2-2		Home record	3-1
AFC East	1-1		AFC South	1-0
AFC	4-2		AFC	5-1

John Parry is the referee assigned to the game.  Parry also officiated the Patriots Week 4 game in Buffalo.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from 5dimes.eu via Yahoo Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 10.  The over under is 54.  

My Prediction is Patriots 35, Colts, 27.  Take the points (COLTS) and take the over.  I am 2-7 against the spread and 6 of 9 on calling the over/under in 2012.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 200th 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 stadium directions, parking and information and map and a Gillette 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 You Drink, You Drive, You Lose.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

CBS in televising the game regionally and Jim Nantz will do play by play while Phil Simms will provide the game analysis.  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. Gil Santos 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 1 p.m. along 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, XM Channel 228 and on SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Colts Radio Network has Bob Lamey calling the game while former Colt Will Wolford provides the game analysis via their flagship station WFNI.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 137 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 813.

Dial Global Radio Sports will be broadcasting the game to their national affiliates.  Tom McCarthy and Tony Boselli will call the action.

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.

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Last Week

The Patriots held off the Bills at home, 37-31.  The Colts beat the Jaguars on the road, 27-10.

History

• This is the 76th meeting between the Patriots and the Colts since the 1970 merger.
• Since 2001, these teams have represented the AFC in 7 Super Bowls winning four.
• The Patriots lead the overall series 46-29, which includes a 2-1 post season advantage.
• The Colts have won 5 of the last 8 meetings but the Patriots have won the last two games.
• The Patriots won the last meeting Week 13 in 2011 at Foxboro, 31-24.

Patriots Team Notes

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

2012 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 420-368-9.  They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances.  Overall they are 23-16 in the post season.

They last appeared in the playoffs in 2011 when they beat Denver home in the AFC Divisional Playoff, 45-10 and defeated Baltimore 23-20 in Foxboro in the AFC Championship Game.  They lost Super Bowl XLVI to the New York Giants 21-17. 

The Patriots were 13-3 (2-1 in playoffs) in 2011 and are the defending two-time AFC East Champions as well as the defending AFC Conference Champions.  They have won the division 8 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 153-64.

In the last ten seasons the Patriots are 36-8 in games played November 1 or later.

New England has its first 3-game winning streak of the season.

This is the Patriots second consecutive home game.

New England is 26-12 vs. the Colts at home, 5-2 at Gillette Stadium.

This is the third straight meeting at Gillette Stadium after a streak of four in a row in Indianapolis.

The Patriots and the Colts have played each other ten years in a row despite not being in the same division since 2001.

The Patriots are now a combined 17-0 in the second half of the season since 2010.  Their last loss in the second half was in 2009 in the season finale at Houston.

This is the 7th year in a row the Patriots are 6-3 or better after 9 games.

The Patriots have lost 3 games this season by a combined total of 4 points.

The Patriots are 1st in the NFL in points per game with 33.2.  While they allow 22.3 points per game good for a tie for 15th in the NFL.

The New England defense has sacked the opponents quarterback 20 times this season while their quarterbacks have been sacked 15 times.

New England is PLUS 16 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 3 INT and 4 fumbles, while the defense has 10 INTs and 13 fumble recoveries. 

The Patriots are 64 for 129 (49.6%) in 3rd down efficiency and 1 for 3 (33.3%) on fourth down attempts.  Opponents are 50 for 112 (44.6%) in 3rd down efficiency and 5 for 11 (45.5%) on 4th down attempts.

New England is 28 of 43 (65.1%) in the red zone while opponents are 15 for 25 (60%) in the red zone in 2012.

In goal to go situations New England is 21 for 26 (80.8%) and opponents are 11 for 14 (78.6%).

Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 199.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 218.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 11.
• Have the most playoff wins, 19
• Have played the most playoff games, 29.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 13.
• Have the best playoff win percentage, .671.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

New England set the following team records in 2011:

• Total yards, 6,848.
• First downs, 399.
• Net passing yards, 5,084.
• 100+ yard receiving games, 18.
• Games with 30+ points, 12 (tied for most in NFL history).

Patriots Staff Notes

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

Bill Belichick is 12-8 vs. the Colts in his career.  He is 10-6 against them as the head coach in New England and that includes a 2-1 post season record.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 181-100 in his 18th NFL season.  He is 145-56 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland.  He is 17-7 in the playoffs, 16-6 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season.  When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 198-107.

Belichick’s 198 wins are good for 8th all-time.  Former Broncos, Giants and Falcons head coach Dan Reeves is 7th with 201 wins.

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.

He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 9 consecutive seasons.

Belichick was a special assistant for the Baltimore Colts in 1975.  It was his first NFL job.

Asst. Head Coach/Offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia was the offensive line coach for the Colts in 1989-90.

Defensive line coach Patrick Graham coached at University of Notre Dame in South Bend IN.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: D. Thomas
• C: Wendell
• RG: McDonald
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• TE: Hoomanawanui
• WR: Lloyd
• WR: Welker
• QB: Brady
• RB: Ridley

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Love
• DE: Jones
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Spikes
• LB: Hightower
• LCB: McCourty
• RCB: Talib
• S: Gregory
• S: Wilson

Patriots Players Notes

This is Tom Brady’s 13th NFL season he is 9-4 against Indianapolis in his career including the playoffs.  His very first NFL start came against the Colts on September 30, 2001 at Foxboro Stadium.

Overall Brady is 130-38 as a starting QB and is 16-6 in the playoffs for an overall record of 146-44.  Brady is a 7 time Pro Bowl QB; 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 was ranked in the preseason by ESPN’s Ron Jaworski as the 3rd best quarterback in the NFL.

Brady has 318 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has 130 career wins he is 5th all-time.

Brady finished the 2011 season with 5,235 passing yards and joined Drew Brees (5,476 in 2011 and 5,069 in 2008), Dan Marino (5,084 in 1984) and Matthew Stafford (5,038 in 2011) as the only players in NFL history to reach 5,000 passing yards in a single season.

Brady has thrown for at least 1 TD in 41 consecutive games.

The Patriots are 86-16 when Brady throws at least 2 TD passes in a game.

On the season Brady is 232 of 358 (64.8%) for 2645 yards with 18 TDs and 3 INTs his QB rating is 100.1.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 110 consecutive games including playoffs, 93 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

Welker leads the team with 66 catches for 810 yards.

TE Rob Gronkowski has 35 receiving touchdowns and 36 touchdowns overall (1 rushing) since 2010. The NFL record for most receiving touchdowns in a player’s first three NFL seasons is 43 by Randy Moss and the NFL record for most touchdowns overall by a player in his first three NFL seasons is 47 by Barry Sanders (4 receiving and 43 rushing).

He leads the team with 8 TDs, RB Stevan Ridley is 2nd with 6 TDs.

K Stephen Gostkowski has two field goals of 50 or more yards in 2012.  With one more he will be the first Patriots kicker with three field goals of 50 or more yards in one season.

Gostkowski (7 for 10) needs one more field goal of 50 or more yards to tie Adam Vinatieri (8 for 17) for most in team history.

RB Danny Woodhead had his first two TD game of his NFL career against Buffalo last week.

Newly acquired CB Aqib Talib is eligible for Sunday’s game after serving a league suspension for taking Adderall without a prescription/authorization.

Rookie DE Chandler Jones leads the team with 6 sacks; DE Rob Ninkovich is second with 5 sacks.

Patriots rookie record for sacks is held by Garin Veris who had 10.5 in 1985.

Jones also leads the team with 11 QB hits.

Ninkovich leads the team in forced fumbles with 4 while Jones, LB Jerod Mayo and LB Brandon Spikes have 3 forced fumbles each. 

With one more forced fumble Ninkovich will tie Mike Vrabel for the team record of 5 in one season.

Mayo leads the team in tackles through 9 weeks with 116 (69 solo).

Rookie S Tavon Wilson leads the team in INTs with 3. He has as many INT in his rookie NFL season as he did in his college career at Illinois.

McCourty also has team high 9 passes defensed in 2012. Wilson is 2nd with 5 passes defensed.

DT Vince Wilfork has 3 recovered fumbles.

He had a strip sack last Sunday against Buffalo it was the teams 5th strip sack of the season.

WR Matthew Slater has a team high 8 tackles on special teams, rookie S Nate Ebner is 2nd with 7 tackles.

There are only three players on the team who played on at least one of the Super Bowl championship teams, Brady (3), Branch (2) and Vince Wilfork (1).

Roster moves this week:

• Signed LB Jeff Tarpinian to the practice squad
• Signed G Mitch Petrus

On Wednesday the following players were on the injury list. G Dan Connolly (back); G Logan Mankins (ankle/calf); and WR Wes Welker (ankle) did not practice.  DT Ron Brace (back); S Patrick Chung (shoulder); S Steve Gregory (hip); TE Rob Gronkowski (hip); TE Aaron Hernandez (ankle); LB Dont’a Hightower (hamstring); WR Brandon Lloyd (knee); G Nick McDonald (shoulder); DE Trevor Scott (hamstring); LB Brandon Spikes (knee); T Sebastian Vollmer (back/knee); LB Tracy White (foot) and CB Malcolm Williams (thigh) had limited participation.  WR Julian Edelman (hand); DT Kyle Love (knee) and LB Jerod Mayo (elbow) had full participation in practice.

On Thursday the following players were on the injury list.  G Dan Connolly (back); G Logan Mankins (ankle/calf); and WR Wes Welker (ankle) did not practice.  DT Ron Brace (back); WR Deion Branch (hamstring); S Patrick Chung (shoulder); S Steve Gregory (hip); TE Rob Gronkowski (hip); TE Aaron Hernandez (ankle); LB Dont’a Hightower (hamstring); WR Brandon Lloyd (knee); G Nick McDonald (shoulder); DE Trevor Scott (hamstring); LB Brandon Spikes (knee); T Sebastian Vollmer (back/knee); LB Tracy White (foot) and CB Malcolm Williams (thigh) had limited participation.  WR Julian Edelman (hand); DT Kyle Love (knee) and LB Jerod Mayo (elbow) had full participation in practice.

The Patriots captains for 2012 are QB Tom Brady, DT Vince Wilfork, G Logan Mankins, LB Jerod Mayo, CB Devin McCourty and WR Matthew Slater (special teams).

The Patriots have 5 New England natives on the roster they are: TE Aaron Hernandez (Bristol CT); OL Donald Thomas (New Haven CT); DE Ron Brace (Worcester MA); LB Niko Koutouvides (Plainville CT) and OL Jamey Richard (Weston CT – IR).  They have 12 players who played for a New England school or a Big East Conference member.  They are CB Will Allen (Syracuse – IR); DE Ron Brace (Boston College); WR Deion Branch (Louisville); RB James Develin (Brown – Practice Squad); RB Tony Fiametta (Syracuse – Exempt List); DE Justin Francis (Rutgers); S Stephen Gregory (Syracuse); DE Chandler Jones (Syracuse); CB Devin McCourty (Rutgers); OL Donald Thomas (UConn); OL Jeremiah Warren (South Florida – Practice Squad) and NT Vince Wilfork (Miami).

The Patriots have 6 retired numbers: 20 – Gino Cappelletti, 40 – Mike Haynes, 73 – John Hannah, 78 – Bruce Armstrong, 79 – Jim Lee Hunt and 89 – Bob Dee.

Colts Team Notes

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

2012 Colts Schedule/Results

Indianapolis' all-time record is 459-413-7 they are 19-20 in the post season with their last post season appearance coming in 2010 when they lost to the New York Jets in the AFC Division game. 

They last won the AFC Championship in 2009 by beating Baltimore in the AFC Division Card game and the New York Jets in the AFC Championship game.  They lost to New Orleans in Super Bowl XLIV, 31-17.

They have won 2 Super Bowls (V, XLI) in 4 appearances.

The Colts also won three NFL Championships while in Baltimore in 1958, 1959 and 1968.

Indianapolis has a 4 game winning streak and they have won 5 of 6 since their bye in Week 4.

Despite not being in the same division since 2001, the two teams have met at least once in 10 consecutive seasons.

Indianapolis is 2-10 as the road team since 1998.  They are 2-5 in Gillette Stadium.

Overall Indianapolis is 12-26 as the road team in the series.

The Colts are 7-17 in the last 24 games vs. the Patriots dating back to 1996.

The Colts are 22nd in the NFL in points per game with 20.7.  While they allow 22.3 points per game good for a tie for 15th in the NFL.

The Indianapolis defense has sacked the opponents quarterback 21 times this season while their quarterbacks have been sacked 21 times.

Indianapolis is MINUS 9 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 9 INT and 6 fumbles, while the defense has 4 INTs and 2 fumble recoveries. 

The Colts are 58 for 133 (43.6%) in 3rd down efficiency and 5 for 6 (83.3%) on fourth down attempts.  Opponents are 41 for 110 (37.3%) in 3rd down efficiency and 3 for 6 (50%) on 4th down attempts.

Colts Staff Notes

Read what Indianapolis Colts interim head coach Bruce Arians had to say to the New England media about the match up.

Indianapolis head coach Chuck Pagano, is in his 1st season as a NFL head coach, he was 1-2 before taking medical leave due to a cancer diagnosis.

He was previously the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.

Pagano replaced Jim Caldwell who in 3 seasons was 28-24 including the post season and took the team to Super Bowl XLIV.

Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is the interim head coach in Pagano’s absence.  Since taking over Arians is 5-1. 

Colts Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Castonzo
• LG: Reitz
• C: Shipley
• RG: McGlynn
• RT: Linkenbach
• TE: Saunders
• WR: Hilton
• WR: Wayne
• WR: Avery
• QB:  Luck
• RB: Brown

Defense:

• DE: Redding
• DT: Johnson
• DT: Moala
• DE: Freeney
• LB: Hughes
• LB: Conner
• LB: Freeman
• LCB: Vaughn
• RCB: Butler
• S: Zbikowski
• S: Bethea

Colts Players Notes

Colts QB Andrew Luck is in his first NFL season and he is 6-3.  Luck was the 1st overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft out of Stanford University.

Luck is 208 of 362 for 2,631 yards with 10 TDs and 9 INTs his quarterback rating is 79.1.

RB Donald Brown is the Colts leading rusher he has 361 yards on 88 carries with 1 TD.

WR Reggie Wayne leads Indianapolis in receiving with 69 catches for 931 yards and 3 TDs.  He has caught a pass in 105 consecutive regular season games.

Former Patriots K Adam Vinatieri; S Sergio Brown and CB Darius Butler return to Foxboro as Colts.

LB Dwight Freeney is from Bloomfield CT.

LB Scott Lutrus (IR) is from Brookfield CT.

LB Jerrell Freeman leads the Colts in tackles with 111 (59 solo). 

CB Darius Butler leads the team with 2 INTs.

Butler was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 10.

LB Robert Mathis leads Indianapolis with 6 sacks.

Three players each have one forced fumble on the year.

CB Jerraud Powers has 7 passes defensed the most on the Colts.

Peyton Manning’s Number 18 was retired by the Colts when he was released this past offseason.  He may possibly be the only NFL player to have his number retired while he was still active.

On Wednesday and Thursday the following players were on the injury list.  TE Colby Fleenor (shoulder) and CB Vontae Davis (knee) did not practice.  RB Donald Brown (knee); T Winston Justice (knee); LB Robert Mathis (back) and C Samson Satele (back) had full participation in practice.

Indianapolis does not have regular captains, they are appointed by the staff on a weekly basis.

There are 9 players on the Colts roster from Big East universities and New England based colleges.  They are: RB Donald Brown (UConn); CB Darius Butler (UConn); RB Delone Carter (Syracuse); T Anthony Castonzo (Boston College); DE Dwight Freeney (Syracuse); S Joe Lefeged (Rutgers); T Jeff Linkenbach (Cincinnati); G Mike McGlynn (Pittsburgh) LB Scott Lutrus (UConn – IR) and DT Ricardo Matthews (Cincinnati).

The Colts have retired the following numbers: 18 – Peyton Manning; 19 – Johnny Unitas; 22 – Buddy Young; 24 – Lenny Moore; 70 – Art Donovan; 77 – Jim Parker; 82 – Raymond Berry and 89 – Gino Marchetti.

Next Week

The Patriots visit the New York Jets on Thanksgiving night at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford NJ.  Kick off is at 8:20 p.m. on NBC.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Something Has to Change

I hate beating a dead horse, playing the same tune and writing the same thing seemingly week after week, but something has to change with the defense on this team.

The acquisition of CB Aqib Talib from Tampa Bay is a start and he will help as soon as he is caught up into the system but it’s totally unfair to pin the hopes of turning the entire secondary around on Talib, especially before he even takes the field.

I am projecting him to start Sunday against Indianapolis and that may bit unfair as well.  I am unsure what his football acumen is and how he will fit in the first week or so but he can’t be any worse than what we’ve been seeing can he?

He has a reputation for being a solid corner not as string on technique as he is on natural ability.  But if he can cut down on the big plays and the awful tackling the trade will be a solid one.

The secondary misses S Patrick Chung.  While he has struggled at times this year I think he plays hurt a lot more than he or the team let on.  If Chung returns healthy you have some options with CB/S Devin McCourty.  You can play McCourty on the corner with Talib or use him as a safety.  My preference is McCourty and Talib on the corners with Steve Gregory and Chung at safety with CB Kyle Arrington playing the nickel slot he played fairly well last season.

There are seven games left this season and the Patriots have a two game division lead over Miami who they will play twice in those seven games.  They also have a division game on Thanksgiving night in New York against the Jets.  That leaves this weekends matchup with the Colts, home games against the Texans and 49ers and a road game against the pitiful Jaguars.

Corrections need to be made in these next seven weeks or this team will not survive the playoffs against better teams and quarterbacks.

News and Notes

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had his weekly day after conference call with the media on Monday.  (patriots.com)

QB Tom Brady had his weekly Patriots Monday call in. (WEEI)

Offensive snaps by skill players vs. Buffalo  (ESPN Boston)

Defensive snaps played vs. Bills (ESPN Boston)

Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick on LB Brandon Spikes says “I think he’s a punk, at times.” (ESPN Boston)

Five takeaways from Bills – Patriots (Boston Globe)

Patriots knew it was going to be tough (Boston Globe)

Roster moves:

• Released LB Jeff Tarpinian.
• CB Aqib Talib added to roster after finishing his NFL suspension.

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 153-64.

In the last ten seasons the Patriots are 36-8 in games played November 1 or later.

New England has its first 3-game winning streak of the season.

The Patriots lead the series 64-41-1.

The 64 wins are the most the Patriots have over any opponent.

New England has won 23 of the last 26 meetings.

The Patriots swept the series for the 10th time in last 13 seasons.

The Patriots are 34-19 as the home team in the series; they are 11-0 at The Razor; 17-14 in Foxboro/Sullivan/Schaefer Stadium and 6-5 in the Boston venues.

New England has won 12 consecutive home games against Buffalo.

New England is 56-15 vs. the AFC East since 2001 in the regular season.  In that time span they are 30-6 in division home games.

New England’s NFL record 17 game streak with at least 350 total yards on offense was snapped Sunday when they only got 347 total yards.

Bill Belichick is now 198-107 including playoffs in his career.

Belichick coached teams are 23-4 vs. Buffalo. Belichick was 0-1 against the Bills as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

Tom Brady is 19-2 vs. the Bills in his career.  Overall including playoffs he is 146-44.

Brady has 318 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 41 consecutive games.

The Patriots are 86-16 when Brady throws at least 2 TD passes in a game.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 110 consecutive games including playoffs, 93 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

LB Jerod Mayo now has a team high 115 tackles (68 solo) and LB Brandon Spikes is 2nd with 83 tackles (55 solo).

Spikes forced a fumble and is tied with DE Rob Ninkovich for the team lead with 4 forced fumbles.  DT Vince Wilfork and S Devin McCourty also had forced fumbles on Sunday.

Ninkovich, Wilfork and DE Jermaine Cunningham each had a sack against the Bills.  Ninkovich is now tied for the team lead in sacks with rookie DE Chandler Jones they each have 6.

McCourty also had the lone INT he is now tied with rookie S Tavon Wilson with 3 INTs each.

TE Visanthe Shiancoe made his New England debut on Sunday and was on the field for just 8 plays and was not targeted for a pass.

The Patriots sacked Buffalo QB Ryan Fitzpatrick 3 times, while Brady was sacked once.

Overall as the road team in the series the Bills are 19-32.

The Bills last won in Foxboro in 1999 when they beat the Patriots, 13-10 in Week 16 behind Doug Flutie and Thurman Thomas.

Buffalo set a team record with 35 first downs on Sunday.

Buffalo head coach Chan Gailey is 1-6 vs. the Patriots in his career, 1-5 with Buffalo and 0-1 with Dallas.

Fitzpatrick is 1-5 vs. the Patriots.

Fitzpatrick had the second 300-yard game of his season on Sunday; both have been against New England.  Against the other opponents the most yardage he has thrown for is 238.

New England is PLUS 16 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 3 INT and 4 fumbles, while the defense has 10 INTs and 13 fumble recoveries. 

The Patriots are 64 for 129 (49.6%) in 3rd down efficiency and 1 for 3 (33.3%) on fourth down attempts.  Opponents are 50 for 112 (44.6%) in 3rd down efficiency and 5 for 11 (45.5%) on 4th down attempts.

New England is 28 of 43 (65.1%) in the red zone while opponents are 15 for 25 (60%) in the red zone in 2012.

In goal to go situations New England is 21 for 29 (72.4%) and opponents are 11 for 14 (78.6%).

Next Week

The Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA.  Kick off is at 4:25 p.m. on CBS.  The game was flexed from it’s original 1 p.m. time slot.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

The Buffalo Bills came to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots and while the team had been reeling a bit dropping four of their previous five games they did come to play. And if it wasn’t for New England S Devin McCourty being in the right place at the right time the Bills may have had their second win over the Patriots in the last two seasons.  Instead they lost 37-31 at Gillette Stadium.

For the Bills the loss to the Patriots is nothing new having never won on the road in the 11 seasons of Gillette Stadium existence.  In fact the Patriots have swept the season series from the Bills for the 10th time in the last 13 seasons and have won 23 of the last 26 meetings between the original AFL teams.

Buffalo set a team record for first downs with 35, getting 4 by penalty, 11 in the air and 20 on the ground as Buffalo QB Ryan Fitzpatrick had his 2nd 300 yard game of the year, both against the New England defense.

The Patriots defense was pathetic today.  Usually we just have to complain about the pass defense and the big plays but today you can add the run defense to the list this week, as they were awful.  They allowed 162 rushing yards on 28 carries, 150 of those yards came from RB Fred Jackson (80 yards) and RB C.J. Spiller (70 yards).  Spiller added 61 more yards receiving and Jackson tacked on another 35 as the duo had quite a day.

The tackling in both aspects of the defensive game is just awful.  I have seen high school teams that can pursue, contain and tackle better than this team.

Offensively the Patriots were led by RB Stevan Ridley who had 98 rushing yards and a TD, RB Danny Woodhead who had 61 combined yards as well as a TD rushing and another receiving and WR Wes Welker who had 6 grabs for 74 yards.

Patriots QB Tom Brady was 23 of 38 for 237 yards 2 TDs, 0 INTs and he was sacked one time by Buffalo. 

A win is a win and with this win the Patriots are now 6-3 and have a two game division lead with Indianapolis and rookie QB Andrew Luck at home next Sunday.

Bills at Patriots Gamebook includes the box score, all the stats, play by play, drive charts and more.

Bills at Patriots Game Recap.

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Turning Point of the Game

Patriots CB Devin McCourty’s INT in the end zone in the games final minute sealed the Patriots six point win.

Offensive Player of the Game

Patriots RB Stevan Ridley had 98 yards on 22 carries and 1 TD.

Defensive Player of the Game

Patriots CB Devin McCourty had 8 tackles (4 solo), 1 pass defensed, 1 INT and 1 forced fumble.

Game Notes

Starters for the Patriots were:

On Offense:

LT Solder

LG Mankins

C Wendell

RG Connolly

RT Vollmer

TE Gronkowski

TE Hoomanawanui

WR Welker

WR Lloyd

QB Brady

RB Ridley

On Defense:

DE Ninkovich

DT Wilfork

DT Love

DE Jones

LB Mayo

LB Spikes

LB Hightower

CB Dennard

CB Arrington

S Gregory

S McCourty

Inactives for the Game:

Patriots

1. TE Aaron Hernandez (ankle)

2. CB Malcolm Williams

3. S Patrick Chung (shoulder)

4. DE Jake Bequette

5. DE Ron Brace (back)

6. LB Tracy White (foot)

7. DE Trevor Scott (hamstring)

Bills

1. QB Tarvaris Jackson
2. CB Aaron Williams (knee)
3. LB Mana Silva
4. LB Keith Morrison
5. OL Tom Welch
6. DE Chris Kelsay (neck)
7. DE Mark Anderson (knee)

The spread (Patriots MINUS 12 1/2) WAS NOT covered.  The over/under (52) WAS COVERED.  I GAVE the points (PATRIOTS) and took the OVER.  I am now 2-7 vs. the spread and 6 of 9 calling the under/over.

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 153-64.

In the last ten seasons the Patriots are 36-8 in games played November 1 or later.

New England has its first 3-game winning streak of the season.

The Patriots lead the series 64-41-1.

The 64 wins are the most the Patriots have over any opponent.

New England has won 23 of the last 26 meetings.

The Patriots swept the series for the 10th time in last 13 seasons.

The Patriots are 34-19 as the home team in the series; they are 11-0 at The Razor; 17-14 in Foxboro/Sullivan/Schaefer Stadium and 6-5 in the Boston venues.

New England has won 12 consecutive home games against Buffalo.

New England is 56-15 vs. the AFC East since 2001 in the regular season.  In that time span they are 30-6 in division home games.

New England’s NFL record 17 game streak with at least 350 total yards on offense was snapped Sunday when they only got 347 total yards.

Bill Belichick is now 198-107 including playoffs in his career.

Belichick’s 198 wins are good for 8th all-time.  Former Broncos, Giants and Falcons head coach Dan Reeves is 7th with 201 wins.

Belichick coached teams are 23-4 vs. Buffalo. Belichick was 0-1 against the Bills as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

Tom Brady is 19-2 vs. the Bills in his career.  Overall including playoffs he is 146-44.

Brady has 318 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 41 consecutive games.

The Patriots are 86-16 when Brady throws at least 2 TD passes in a game.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 110 consecutive games including playoffs, 93 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

CB Devin McCourty, LB Brandon Spikes and DT Vince Wilfork all forced a fumble on Sunday against Buffalo.  Wilfork leads the squad with 4 forced fumbles on the year.

McCourty also had the game saving INT in the end zone, it was his 3rd of the season he along with rookie S Tavon Wilson lead the team.

Wilfork, DE Rob Ninkovich and DE Jermaine Cunningham each had a sack vs. the Bills.  Ninkovich is tied for the team lead with rookie DE Chandler Jones, each has 6 sacks on the season.

LB Jerod Mayo led the team with 12 tackles (4 solo).

Spikes, McCourty and CB Kyle Arrington each defensed a pass on Sunday.

Roster moves this week:

• Saturday the Patriots placed activated TE Visanthe Shiancoe from the IR.

The Patriots sacked Buffalo QB Ryan Fitzpatrick 3 times, while Brady was sacked 1 time.

New England is PLUS 16 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 3 INT and 4 fumbles, while the defense has 10 INTs and 13 fumble recoveries. 

The Patriots were 4 for 5 (80%) in the red zone.  They had 4 TDs and 1 FG.

New England was 7 for 12 (58%) on third down conversions and 0 for 0 on 4th down attempts.

Buffalo head coach Chan Gailey in his 5th NFL season as a head coach he is 31-44 including playoffs.

Gailey is 1-6 vs. the Patriots in his career, 1-5 with Buffalo and 0-1 with Dallas.

Fitzpatrick is 21-40-1 in his NFL career.

He is 1-5 vs. the Patriots.

Overall as the road team in the series the Bills are 19-32.

The Bills last won in Foxboro in 1999 when they beat the Patriots, 13-10 in Week 16 behind Doug Flutie and Thurman Thomas.

Buffalo had a team record 35 first downs.

The Bills are 21-49 vs. the AFC East since 2001.

Buffalo was 7 for 11 (64%) on 3rd down conversions and 1 for 1 (100%) on 4th down attempts.

The Bills were 4 for 7 (57%) in the red zone.  They had 4 TD’s, 1 FG and 2 turnovers.

Buffalo is MINUS 10 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 11 INT and 10 fumbles, while the defense has 6 INTs and 5 fumble recoveries. 

Bill Leavy was the game referee.  The temp at kickoff was 56 and sunny.

Attendance – 68,756 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA.

Post Game Interviews

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Patriots QB Tom Brady post game press conference via patriots.com

This Week in the AFC East

Tennessee crushed Miami, 37-3

Seattle spanked the Jets 28-7

AFC East Standings

Patriots                   6-3/3-0

Dolphins                  4-5/1-1

Jets                        3-5/2-2

Bills                        3-6/0-3

Next Week

The Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA.  Kick off is at 4:25 p.m. on CBS.  The game was flexed from it’s original 1 p.m. time slot.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

photo credit: getty images

This Week

The New England Patriots host their AFC East Rival Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Bills		—-	The Patriots
Overall	3-5		Overall	5-3
Road record	2-3		Home record	2-1
AFC East	0-2		AFC East	2-0
AFC	2-4		AFC	4-1

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from 5dimes.eu via Yahoo Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 12.5.  The OVER/UNDER is 52.

My Prediction is Patriots 38, Bills, 21.  Give the points (Patriots) and take the over.  I am 2-6 against the spread and 5 of 8 on calling the over/under in 2012.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 199th 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 stadium directions, parking information and map and a Gillette 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 You Drink, You Drive, You Lose.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

CBS in televising the game regionally and Ian Eagle will do play by play while Dan Fouts will provide the game analysis.  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 710.

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. Gil Santos 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. along 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, XM Channel 228 and on SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

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

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 106 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.

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Last Week

The Patriots were off on their bye week.  The Bills lost to the Texans in Houston 21-9.

History

• This is the 106th meeting between the Patriots and the Bills since they started to face each other as AFL foes in 1960.
• The Patriots lead the series 63-41-1.
• The 63 wins are the most the Patriots have over any opponent.
• New England has won 22 of the last 25 meetings.
• The Patriots beat the Bills in Week 4 at Buffalo, 52-28.  Trailing 21-7 in the 3rd quarter the Patriots scored 45 second half points on their last 7 possesions.

Patriots Team Notes

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

2012 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 419-368-9.  They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances.  Overall they are are 23-16 in the post season.

They last appeared in the playoffs in 2011 when they beat Denver home in the AFC Divisional Playoff, 45-10 and defeated Baltimore 23-20 in Foxboro in the AFC Championship Game.  They lost Super Bowl XLVI to the New York Giants 21-17. 

The Patriots were 13-3 (2-1 in playoffs) in 2011 and are the defending two-time AFC East Champions as well as the defending AFC Conference Champions.  They have won the division 8 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

The Patriots will be honoring recently retired RB Kevin Faulk at halftime on Sunday.  Faulk, drafted by the Patriots in the 2nd round out of LSU in 1999, played 13 seasons with New England.  He was a mmeber of all three Patriots Super Bowl Championship teams and is the franchise leader in all-purpose yards, kickoff return yardage and receptions by a running back.  

New England has its second 2-game winning streak of the season.

The Patriots have lost three games in 2012 by two points or fewer. They are the first team to lose three games by two points or less in the first six games since the 1960 Dallas Texans.

New England has the same record after 8 games that they had in 2011, 5-3.

In the last ten seasons the Patriots are 35-8 in games played November 1 or later.

New England has a 17 game streak with at least 350 total yards on offense.  It is an NFL record.

The Patriots are 33-19 as the home team in the series, they are 10-0 at The Razor; 17-14 in Foxboro/Sullivan/Schaefer Stadium and 6-5 in the Boston venues.

New England has won 11 consecutive home games against Buffalo.

New England is 55-15 vs. the AFC East since 2001 in the regular season.  In that time span they are 29-6 in division home games.

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

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

The Patriots are 1st in the NFL in points per game with 32.8.  While they allow 21.3 points per game good for 12th in the NFL.

The New England defense has sacked the opponents quarterback 17 times this seaso while their quarterbacks have been sacked 14 times.

New England is PLUS 13 in turnover differential 3rd in the NFL. The offense has given up 3 INT and 4 fumbles, while the defense has 9 INTs and 11 fumble recoveries. 

The Patriots are 57 for 117 (48.7%) in 3rd down efficiency and 1 for 3 (33.3%) on fourth down attempts.  Opponents are 43 for 101 (42.6%) in 3rd down efficiency and 4 for 10 (40%) on 4th down attempts.

New England is 24 of 38 (63.2%) in the red zone while opponents are 11 for 18 (61.1%) in the red zone in 2012.

In goal to go situations New England is 19 for 23 (82.6%) and opponents are 8 for 11 (72.7%).

Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 197.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 216.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 11.
• Have the most playoff wins, 19
• Have played the most playoff games, 29.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 13.
• Have the best playoff win percentage, .671.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

New England set the following team records in 2011:

• Total yards, 6,848.
• First downs, 399.
• Net passing yards, 5,084.
• 100+ yard receiving games, 18.
• Games with 30+ points, 12 (tied for most in NFL history).

Patriots Staff Notes

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

Bill Belichick coached teams are 22-4 vs. Buffalo. Belichick was 0-1 against the Bills as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 180-100 in his 18th NFL season.  He is 144-56 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland.  He is 17-7 in the playoffs, 16-6 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season.  When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 197-107.

Belichick’s 197 wins are good for 8th all-time.  Former Broncos, Giants and Falcons head coach Dan Reeves is 7th with 201 wins.

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.

He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 9 consecutive seasons.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Vollmer
• LG: Mankins
• C: Wendell
• RG: Waters
• RT: Solder
• TE: Gronkowski
• TE: Hernandez
• WR: Lloyd
• WR: Welker
• QB: Brady
• RB: Ridley

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Love
• DE: Jones
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Spikes
• LB: Hightower
• LCB: McCourty
• RCB: Dennard
• S: Wilson
• S: Gregory

Patriots Players Notes

This is Tom Brady’s 13th NFL season he is 19-2 vs. the Bills in his career.

Overall Brady is 129-38 as a starting QB and is 16-6 in the playoffs for an overall record of 145-44.  Brady is a 7 time Pro Bowl QB; 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 was ranked in the preseason by ESPN’s Ron Jaworski as the 3rd best quarterback in the NFL.

Brady has 316 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has 129 career wins he is 5th all-time.

Brady finished the 2011 season with 5,235 passing yards and joined Drew Brees (5,476 in 2011 and 5,069 in 2008), Dan Marino (5,084 in 1984) and Matthew Stafford (5,038 in 2011) as the only players in NFL history to reach 5,000 passing yards in a single season.

Brady has thrown for at least 1 TD in 40 consecutive games.

The Patriots are 85-16 when Brady throws at least 2 TD passes in a game.

On the season Brady is 209 of 320 (65.3%) for 2408 yards with 16 TDs and 3 INTs his QB rating is 100.6.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 109 consecutive games including playoffs, 92 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

Welker leads the team with 60 catches for 736 yards.

TE Rob Gronkowski has 34 receiving touchdowns and 35 touchdowns overall (34 receiving and 1 rushing) since 2010. The NFL record for most receiving touchdowns in a player’s first three NFL seasons is 43 by Randy Moss and the NFL record for most touchdowns overall by a player in his first three NFL seasons is 47 by Barry Sanders (4 receiving and 43 rushing).

He leads the team with 7 TDs, RB Stevan Ridley is 2nd with 5 TDs.

Gronkowski grew up in Williamsville NY 14 miles outside of Buffalo.

TE Aaron Hernandez celebrated his 23rd birthday on Election Day, November 6th, with the birth of his daughter, Avielle Janelle Hernandez.

DE Trevor Scott played football at the University of Buffalo from 2003-07 and grew up in Potsdam, N.Y.

K Stephen Gostkowski has two field goals of 50 or more yards in 2012.  With one more he will be the first Patriots kicker with three field goals of 50 or more yards in one season.

Gostkowski (7 for 10) needs one more field goal of 50 or more yards to tie Adam Vinatieri (8 for 17) for most in team history.

Newly acquired CB Aqib Talib is ineligible for Sunday’s game.  He is serving the fourth and final game of a league suspension for taking adderall without a prescription/authorization.

Rookie DE Chandler Jones leads the team with 6 sacks; the other DE Rob Ninkovich is second with 5 sacks.

Patriots rookie record for sacks is held by Garin Veris whio had 10.5 in 1985.

Jones also leads the team with 11 QB hits.

Ninkovich leads the team in forced fumbles with 4 while Jones, LB Jerod Mayo and LB Brandon Spikes have 3 forced fumbles each.

Mayo leads the team in tackles through 9 weeks with 103 (64 solo).

Rookie S Tavon Wilson leads the team in INTs with 3. He has as many INT in his rookie NFL season as he did in his college career at Illinois.

McCourty also has team high 9 passes defensed in 2012. Wilson is 2nd with 5 passes defensed.

DT Vince Wilfork has 3 recovered fumbles.

WR Matthew Slater has a team high 8 tackles on special teams, rookie S Nate Ebner is 2nd with 7 tackles.

LS Danny Aiken is a former Bill.

There are only three players on the team who played on at least one of the Super Bowl championship teams, Brady (3), Branch (2) and Vince Wilfork (1).

Roster moves this week:

• LB Jerelle Harris was signed to the practice squad.
• Acquired CB Aqib Talib and 7th round pick in 2013 from Tampa Bay for a 4th round selection in 2013.

On Wednesday and Thursday the following players were on the injury list.  RB Brandon Bolden (knee); DE Trevor Scott (hamstring) and LB Tracy White (foot) did not practice.  CB Kyle Arrington (concussion); DE Ron Brace (back); S Patrick Chung (shoulder); S Steve Gregory (hip); TE Rob Gronkowski (hip); TE Aaron Hernandez (ankle); LB Dont’a Hightower (hamstring); WR Brandon Lloyd (knee); G Logan Mankins (calf/hip); C/G Nick McDonald (shoulder); T Sebastian Vollmer (back/knee) and WR Wes Welker (ankle) were limited in practice.  WR Julian Edelman (hand) and DT Kyle Love (knee) had full participation in practice.

The Patriots captains for 2012 are QB Tom Brady, DT Vince Wilfork, G Logan Mankins, LB Jerod Mayo, CB Devin McCourty and WR Matthew Slater (special teams).

The Patriots have 5 New England natives on the roster they are: TE Aaron Hernandez (Bristol CT); OL Donald Thomas (New Haven CT); DE Ron Brace (Worcester MA); LB Niko Koutouvides (Plainville CT) and OL Jamey Richard (Weston CT – IR).  They have 14 players who played for a New England school or a Big East Conference member.  They are CB Will Allen (Syracuse – IR); DE Ron Brace (Boston College); WR Deion Branch (Louisville); RB James Develin (Brown – Practice Squad); RB Tony Fiametta (Syracuse – Exempt List); DE Justin Francis (Rutgers); S Stephen Gregory (Syracuse); DE Chandler Jones (Syracuse); CB Devin McCourty (Rutgers); OL Donald Thomas (UConn); OL Matt Tennant (Boston College); TE Alex Silvestro (Rutgers – Practice Squad); OL Jeremiah Warren (South Florida – Practice Squad) and NT Vince Wilfork (Miami).

The Patriots have 6 retired numbers: 20 – Gino Cappelletti, 40 – Mike Haynes, 73 – John Hannah, 78 – Bruce Armstrong, 79 – Jim Lee Hunt and 89 – Bob Dee.

Bills Team Notes

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

2012 Bills Schedule/Results

Buffalo's all-time record is 367-421-8 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 in 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.

The Bills are 0-10 all-time at Gillette Stadium.  Overall as the road team in the series they are 19-32.

The Bills last won in Foxboro in 1999 when they beat the Patriots, 13-10 in Week 16 behind Doug Flutie and Thurman Thomas.

The Bills have lost the season series to the Patriots 9 times in the last 12 seasons.

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

The Bills are 21-49 vs. the AFC East since 2001.

The Bills are 18th in the NFL in points per game with 22.5.  While they allow 31.0 points per game good for 31st in the NFL.

The Buffalo defense has sacked the opponents quarterback 19 times this season, while their quarterbacks have been sacked 11 times.

Buffalo is MINUS 7 in turnover differential 27th in the NFL. The offense has given up 10 INT and 8 fumbles, while the defense has 6 INTs and 5 fumble recoveries. 

The Bills are 38 for 96 (39.6%) in 3rd down efficiency and 2 for 3 (66.7%) on fourth down attempts.  Opponents are 47 for 102 (46.1%) in 3rd down efficiency and 4 for 6 (66.7%) on 4th down attempts.

Buffalo is 11 for 21 (52.4%) in the red zone in 2012.  Opponents are 21 of 28 (75%) in the red zone.

The Bills are 8 for 10 (80%) in goal to go situations, while opponents are 12 for 13 (92.3%) in goal to go situations in 2012.

Bills Staff Notes

Hear what Buffalo Bills head coach Chan Gailey had to say to the New England media about the match up.

Buffalo head coach Chan Gailey in his 3rd season with the team is 13-27 since taking over.  He was previously the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for two seasons and had an 18-14 record and is 0-2 in the playoffs. His overall NFL record is 31-43 including playoffs.

Gailey is 1-5 vs. the Patriots in his career, 1-4 with Buffalo and 0-1 with Dallas.

Wide Receivers Coach Bob Bicknell is a native of Holliston MA and played tight end at Boston College.  Following his graduation in 1992, Bicknell took his first coaching job at Boston University.

Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Eric Ciano graduated from Springfield College in 1997 and played football for the Pride.

Assistant Offensive Line Coach Andrew Dees served as the Recruiting Coordinator and Running Backs coach at UMass in 2011.

Assistant defensive Backs coach Adrian White was a CB for the Patriots in 1993.

Bills Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Glenn
• LG: Levitre
• C: Wood
• RG: Urbik
• RT: Hairston
• TE: Chandler
• WR: Jones
• WR: Steve Johnson
• WR: Graham
• QB: Fitzpatrick
• RB: Spiller

Defense:

• DE: M. Williams
• DT: Dareus
• DT: K. Williams
• DE: Kelsey
• LB: Bradham
• LB: Sheppard
• LB: Barnett
• LCB: Rogers
• RCB: Gilmore
• S: Wilson
• S: Byrd

Bills Players Notes

Ryan Fitzpatrick is 1-5 vs. New England and 21-39-1 in his NFL career with St. Louis, Cincinnati and Buffalo.

He was a 7^th round choice of St. Louis in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Harvard.  He was the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2004.

Fitzpatrick was the 24th best of the 30 starting quarterbacks rated by ESPN’s Ron Jaworski.

RB C.J. Spiller leads the Bills with 5 TDs, 4 rushing and 1 receiving.

Spiller leads the team in rushing on 78 carries he has 562 yards for a 7.2 YPC average.  He leads the NFL in average yards per carry.

TE Scott Chandler and WR Stevie Johnson lead the team with 4 receiving TDs. 

Johnson leads the team in receiving he has 35 catches for 416 yards.

LB Nick Barnett leads Buffalo with 65 tackles (41 solo).

DT Kyle Williams and DE Mario Williams each have 4.5 sacks a piece to lead the Bills.

S Jairus Bird leads Buffalo is INTs (3) and forced fumbles (3).

CB Stephon Gilmore leads Buffalo with 11 passes defensed.

LB Bryan Scott has two fumble recoveries to lead the Bills.

LB Nigel Bradham and LB Chris White lead Buffalo with 6 special teams tackles each.

DT Alex Carrington has two blocked field goals in 2012.  The most by a Bill since DE Bruce Smith blocked 3 in 1996.

CB Leodis McKelvin leads the NFL in punt return average (19.5 yards per return).

Buffalo has three former Patriots on their roster DE Mark Anderson, TE Dorin Dickerson and TE Lee Smith.

WR Marcus Easley is from Stratford CT.

On Wednesday the following players were on the injury list.  DE Mark Anderson (knee); WR Steve Johnson (thigh); CB Terrance McGee (knee); T Erik Pears (hip); CB Aaron Williams (knee) and DT Kyle Williams (ankle) did not practice.  DT Spencer Johnson (ankle) and G Kraig Urbik (foot) were limited in practice.  TE Scott Chandler (groin); DT Marcell Dareus (shoulder); QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (chest); CB Stephon Gilmore (shoulder); T Chris Hairston (knee); G Andy Levitre (knee); CB Leodis McKelvin (groin); CB Justin Rogers (thigh); RB C.J. Spiller (shoulder); LB Chris White (back); DE Mario Williams (wrist/knee) and C Eric Wood (knee) all had full participation. 

On Thursday the following players were on the injury list. DE Mark Anderson (knee); CB Terrance McGee (knee); T Erik Pears (hip) and CB Aaron Williams (knee) did not practice. WR Steve Johnson (thigh); DT Spencer Johnson (ankle); DE Chris Kelsey (neck); LB Shawne Merriman (chest); G Kraig Urbik (foot) and DT Kyle Williams (ankle) were limited in practice.  DT Marcell Dareus (shoulder); CB Stephon Gilmore (shoulder); T Chris Hairston (knee); G Andy Levitre (knee); CB Leodis McKelvin (groin); CB Justin Rogers (thigh); RB C.J. Spiller (shoulder); DE Mario Williams (wrist/knee) and C Eric Wood (knee) all had full participation. 

Buffalo’s captains for 2012 are QB Ryan Fitzpatrick; RB Fred Jackson; DT Kyle Williams; S George Wilson and RB Corey McIntyre (Special Teams).

There are 4 players on the Bills roster from Big East Universities and New England based colleges.  They are TE Dorin Dickerson (Pittsburgh); QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (Harvard), WR Marcus Easley (UConn) and C Eric Wood (Louisville).

The Bills have one retired number: 12 – Jim Kelley.

Next Week

The Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA.  Kick off is at 4:25 p.m. on CBS.  The game was flexed from it’s original 1 p.m. time slot.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

The NFL announced on Monday that they would be flexing the Week 11 matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots from 1 p.m. to 4:25 p.m.

Week 11 is the first week that the NFL allows the flexing of more meaningful games into prime time or late afternoon positions.

Originally the schedule called for only two late games on November 18.  FOX is carrying the New Orleans Saints at Oakland Raiders at 4:05p and CBS carries the San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos game as the second half of their doubleheader at 4:25p.  Now CBS will also have the Indianapolis at New England matchup.

It is expected that Colts/Patriots will only see select markets (Indy and New England) while most of the country will continue to receive the Chargers/Broncos game. At this time CBS still plans on leaving the announce teams as scheduled and the Jim Nantz/Phil Simms duo will remain calling the San Diego at Denver game.

NBC also chose to keep the Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers as the Sunday Night Football game for Week 11.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Grading the Patriots First Half

Eight games into the NFL season is a good time to get a feel for how the 5-3 New England Patriots are doing along with some grades.

The coaching staff has done a pretty good job.  They’ve taken a lot of young players on both sides of the ball and are mixing them in fairly well. 

My points of contention with the staff are the flow of the play calling which I discussed a week or so ago.  Even though they lead the league in scoring and yards gained offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels needs to open this puppy up.  He has to realize he’s driving a sports car and not a family sedan.  The tools are there he needs to use them.

My other contention is the secondary coaching.  The cornerbacks and safeties coaches need to get these guys to play smarter and get better positioning.  There has been an incredible amount of pass interference penalties garnered by the Patriots DBs and that needs to stop.

Overall I give the staff a B minus.

Like in years past the offense is going to carry this team and as soon as McDaniels realizes that he has Tom Brady at the controls and not Tim Tebow the team will be better off.

This team has lost games this season for the mere fact that the offense didn’t make convertible plays to continue drives or with some poor play calling down the stretch.  By converting on some of these all three losses could very well be wins.

The offensive line has had its ups and downs this season.  They have had games when they’ve done a great job protecting Brady and others where they weren’t so good.  They’ve had games when the team has been able to run the ball at will and a couple where they haven’t.  They need to be more consistent and with the occasional absence of G Logan Mankins and the loss of G Brian Waters the line isn’t the same.

I give the offensive line a B minus/C plus.

The skill players on offense have been very good.  The receivers, with the exception of drops on catchable balls, have done well.  The group as a whole, Brandon Lloyd, Wes Welker, Deion Branch and Julian Edelman have all contributed. 

The wide receivers get a B.

The tight ends, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells and Mike Hoomanawanui are among the best in the league with Gronk being All-World and Hernandez, when healthy, a close second.  Fells and Hoomanawanui have both played small parts but have done what's been asked.

The tight ends get an A minus.

The running backs have added a dimension this team hasn’t had in a while and may possibly never have had before and that’s a three-headed monster of Stevan Ridley, Danny Woodhead and Brandon Bolden.  And lately even the oft-injured Shane Vereen has seen a spike in playing time and been productive when given the chance.  All four add something to the team and are becoming extremely valuable.

The running backs get a B plus.

And that leaves us with Tom Brady.  13 seasons into one of the most illustrious careers in NFL history he is slowing no signs of slowing down.  He has been good but not as good as he can be.  He has had games this year where he has been a bit inaccurate and not as sharp as he can be.  But when put in the hurry up no huddle offense he is a pure assassin.

The quarterback gets a B; the offense as a whole gets a B as well.

Defensively this team is a tale of two different units.  The run stoppers vs. the pass defenders and the run stoppers are top notch. 

A front seven that has two big ass lineman in the middle in Vince Wilfork and Kyle Love with several athletic ends led by rookie Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich and Jermaine Cunningham and a swarming group of linebackers led by Jerod Mayo, 3rd year player Brandon Spikes and rookie Dont’a Hightower are really good against the run. 

It’s the pass defense that is suspect.  There have been too many penalty flags against the secondary, especially in the known passing downs.  Plus they’ve given up an exceptional amount of big pass plays.  I hate to bring it up but the Seattle game was just brutal especially against a rookie quarterback who has been nothing but average.  With the exception of Jones and Ninkovich there hasn’t been much of a pass rush either.

But even with the big plays against them somehow the team is 12th in the league in points allowed when they should be much worse.

Defensively I give the run stopping front seven a B plus and the secondary a D.  Overall the defense as a whole gets a C minus.

The team I am going to undergrade.  I realize they should probably be higher but there’s a lot of untapped potential here and they need to make the adjustments that take them from a good team to a very good or great one.  Bill Belichick teams have a history of having great second halves and playing their best football after Thanksgiving and I expect more of that in 2012.

Overall the team is given a C plus.

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Patriots Acquire Talib

On Thursday afternoon the New England Patriots made a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to acquire some defensive backfield help.

New England got CB Aqib Talib and a 7th round pick in 2013 in exchange for a 4th round pick in the same draft.

Albert Breer of the NFL Network talked to some NFL execs that weighed in on the deal saying Talib is a “good player, but a head case. Will help, if he buys in.”

Another exec added that he has “No. 2 corner ability.  He’s got talent, but discipline, consistency are issues.  Better athleticism than technique.”

This move may also allow the Patriots to move Devin McCourty from cornerback to safety on a regular basis.

ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss resets the 2013 Patriots draft picks after the deal.

News and Notes

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had his weekly day after conference call with the media on Monday.  (patriots.com)

QB Tom Brady had his weekly Patriots Monday call in. (WEEI)

Offensive snaps by skill players vs. St Louis  (ESPN Boston)

Defensive snaps played vs. Rams (ESPN Boston)

Patriots defense improved with exotic pressure packages (Boston Globe)

Welker thinks he’s okay after injuring his ankle vs. Rams. (Boston Herald)

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 152-64.

Since 2003 New England is 35-7 in October games.

New England is 65-35 on the road since 2000.

The Patriots lead the all-time series 7-5 vs. the Rams, which includes a Super Bowl win.

The Patriots are 4-2 as the road team in the series.

New England had 473 yards of offense on Sunday for the 17th consecutive game.  They broke the tie with St. Louis for most consecutive games a team has had at least 350 yards in offense.

Patriots released LB Bobby Carpenter and CB Sterling Moore during the bye.  They signed LB Mike Rivera and LB Derrick Martin.  TE Alex Silvestro was released from the practice squad.

Bill Belichick’s 197 wins are good for 8th all-time.  He is now 197-107 including playoffs in his career.

Belichick coached teams are 5-1 vs. the Rams, he is 4-1 with New England including a Super Bowl win.

Tom Brady is 3-1 vs. the Rams including 1-0 in the Super Bowl.  Overall including playoffs he is 145-44.

Brady was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against St Louis.

Brady has 316 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 40 consecutive games.

The Patriots are 85-16 when Brady throws at least 2 TD passes in a game.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 109 consecutive games including playoffs, 92 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

LB Jerod Mayo and LB Brandon Spikes led the team on Sunday with 8 tackles each.  Mayo now has a team high 92 tackles and Spikes is 2nd with 68.

Mayo also forced a fumble for the second week in a row.  He now has 2 forced fumbles on the season.  DE Rob Ninkovich leads the team with 4 forced fumbles.

Ninkovich and DE Chandler Jones each had a sack against the Rams.  Ninkovich is now 2nd on the team in sacks with 5, Jones leads the team with 5.

The Patriots sacked St Louis Rams QB Sam Bradford 2 times, while Brady and Ryan Mallett were not sacked.

Jeff Fisher in his 18th season as a NFL head coach is 145-125.  He is 5-6 in the playoffs all with Tennessee/Houston for an overall record of 150-131.

He is 1-6 vs. New England (including the playoffs) in his career, 0-1 with St Louis.

Sam Bradford is 11-23 in his career as a starting QB. 

He is 0-1 vs. the Patriots.

St. Louis is 2-4 vs. New England as the home team in the series.

New England is PLUS 13 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 3 INT and 4 fumbles, while the defense has 9 INTs and 11 fumble recoveries. 

The Patriots are 57 for 117 (48.7%) in 3rd down efficiency and 1 for 3 (33.3%) on fourth down attempts.  Opponents are 43 for 101 (42.6%) in 3rd down efficiency and 4 for 10 (40%) on 4th down attempts.

New England is 24 of 38 (63.1%) in the red zone while opponents are 11 for 18 (61.1%) in the red zone in 2012.

In goal to go situations New England is 19 for 26 (73.1%) and opponents are 8 for 11 (72.7%).

Next Week

The Patriots will have their bye week.  When they return they host the Buffalo Bills on November 11 at Gillette Stadium.  Kick off is at 1 p.m. on CBS.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Tune into SportsNation on ESPN2 tomorrow, Nov. 1 at 5 PM ET/2 PM PT to see Victor Cruz, Ramses Barden and Terrell Thomas face Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker and Donald Thomas for ultimate “Halo” gridiron glory

When “Halo 4” launches on Nov. 6, it won’t only mark the return of Master Chief, it will usher in a new era of competitive gameplay with War Games, the new “Halo 4” multiplayer arena where fans, friends and mortal rivals can meet to join forces or compete against one another for ultimate battlefield bragging rights.

Kicking things off in heroic fashion, Microsoft, 343 Industries and ESPN today announced the SportsNation “Halo 4” Bowl. Airing tomorrow at 5 PM ET/2 PM PT on ESPN2 during a special one-hour episode of SportsNation, one of the newly spawned rivalries in professional football will be rekindled and set ablaze via the most anticipated game of the year.  Victor Cruz and his teammates will go head-to-head in “Halo 4” against Rob Gronkowski’s squad to settle the score once and for all.

In a best-of-three showdown, Team Cruz (Victor Cruz, Ramses Barden and Terrell Thomas) and Team Gronk (Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker and Donald Thomas) will go blow-for-blow to crown the “Halo 4” Bowl champion.

Not only can you can catch all the action on ESPN2, but you can also jump on Twitter and Facebook for a chance to win some amazing “Halo 4” prizes, like the Xbox 360 320GB Halo 4 Limited Edition Console, the GAEMS Halo UNSC Vanguard Personal Gaming Environment, the Halo 4 TRITTON Warhead 7.1 Wireless Surround Headset, Halo 4 video game copies, and more.

Here’s how to get into the game:

On Twitter…

During tomorrow’s episode of SportsNation, fans should jump on Twitter and voice their support for either Team Gronk (#SNHalo4Gronk) or Team Cruz (#SNHalo4Cruz).  Whichever team wins the best of three series, the users who tweeted with that team’s hash tag will be eligible to win “Halo” and SportsNation prizes. The @SportsNation twitter feed will contact winners by DM.

On Facebook…

Tomorrow, the official SportsNation Facebook page (www.facebook.com/SportsNation) will post a photo from “Halo 4” Bowl – just SHARE the post to be automatically entered to win the grand prize.

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Launching worldwide exclusively on Xbox 360 Nov.6, 2012, “Halo 4” is the next blockbuster installment of the iconic franchise that has shaped entertainment history and defined a generation of gamers. Developed by 343 Industries, “Halo 4” continues the story of the series’ iconic hero the Master Chief as he returns to confront his destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe. “Halo 4” takes the series in a bold new direction by delivering its most epic and explorative campaign yet, alongside an emotionally resonant story and a groundbreaking multiplayer offering unlike anything before it – setting the stage for an epic new sci-fi saga.

The standard edition of “Halo 4” will be available for $59.99 (U.S. ERP**), and the Limited Edition, which includes an extended 90-minute version of the live-action digital series “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” and additional content, will be available for $99.99 (U.S. ERP). Fans can also pick up the Xbox 360 Limited Edition “Halo 4” Console Bundle for $399.99 (U.S. ERP) and a standalone Xbox 360 Limited Edition “Halo 4” Wireless Controller for $59.99 (U.S. ERP).

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