Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe writes about former and future offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels officially rejoining the Patriots coaching staff. McDaniels was with the Patriots from 2001-2008 before taking a head coaching job with the Denver Broncos. He will join the team as an offensive assistant through the playoffs and will take over the role of offensive coordinator when current offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien leaves to coach Penn State next year.
Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald writes about Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio's decision to stay with the Patriots after being contacted by the Indianapolis Colts about their open General Manager position. NFL teams also contacted the Patriots about Jason Licht, the team's director of pro personnel.
Zuri Berry of the Boston Globe gives Patriots fans five topics to worry about, and five topics not to worry about for Saturday's game against the Denver Broncos. Worries include the secondary. The loss of Andre Carter and the revolving door that has been the center position this year. Things not to worry about include the play of Mark Anderson and Brian Waters, and the quarterback, Tom Brady.
Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald writes about the special bond that Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft has with the 2011 Patriots team. "This year, I think we have a locker room ... there's something about it. You go in there, you see it," Kraft said. "There's an openness. We have a great group of captains. They have great communication with Bill (Belichick). There's just a good *esprit de corps *in that locker room. Think about the last two weeks how we've come back, especially being down 21-0 in the first quarter. Most teams would just crack. We stayed together and didn't allow (the Bills) to score another point while we scored 49. It says something when you can have bad things happen and come back like we have on several occasions."
ESPNBoston.com writes about recent comments made by Tom Brady on his weekly radio appearance on WEEI. Brady covered a wide range of topics concerning the Patriots and Denver Broncos. "That game that we played in Denver four weeks ago will mean nothing. Nothing. The determining factor in this game will be our level of execution. That's why we'll need to be at our best." Last time these two teams met, Aaron Hernandez set career highs in catches and yards.
Jeff Howe of* NESN.com* writes about recent comments by Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio regarding his future with the Patriots. "I would just say that I've got a great job here in New England, work with a great staff, coming to work for the head coach that I do and today's no different than it was any other day," Caserio said. "I enjoy being here, and right now the focus is on getting ready for the Denver Broncos, and that's where we're at."
Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com writes about recent comments from Bill Belichick about the return of Josh McDaniels. "It's good to have Josh on the staff. He's a person I've spent a lot of different time with, in a lot of different situations, and I have a lot of confidence in him," Belichick said. "He's smart, has great experience and background, and he knows our system. I've enjoyed our conversations the last couple days. We've got caught up on some things. As we move forward into the playoffs here, and I think he'll be a good asset to our team for the remainder of the season. We'll deal with next year, next year." McDaniels rejoined the Patriots as an offensive assistant after spending time as Denver's head coach and St. Louis' offensive coordinator.
