Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe writes that when coach Bill Belichick assesses his defense through five games, he can point to a few areas of concern, such as too many big plays (20 yards or more) allowed in the secondary and too many points allowed (27.2 per game). The lack of turnovers is also an area of concern. The Patriots have two forced fumbles and one inteception through five games. "Some teams are more careless with the ball than others and you have more opportunities," he said. "Atlanta doesn't fit into that category and a lot of other teams don't fit into that category that we've been playing recently. They make it hard to get the ball and we haven't done enough to get it out when we have had a chance to get it. We haven't capitalized on those opportunities."
Michael Felger of the Boston Herald writes that rookie left tackle Nick Kaczur has more than held his own according to offensive tackle Matt Light. "I watch him out there and you're talking about playing in some of the toughest conditions you could possibly imagine. You're on the road, number one. You're a young guy, number two. You haven't experienced a lot of what the league can throw at you. It's not an easy situation and I think he's handled it really well," said Light.
Glenn Farley of The Enterprise writes that at 3-2 the Patriots are sitting on their customary perch atop of the AFC East. Farley breaks down the play of divisional rivals the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bill and the New York Jets.
Chris Kennedy of The Republican writes that a week ago the Patriots were a team looking for positives in a sea of negatives. They had just lost the San Diego Chargers 41-17. Now the Patriots have plenty of positives to focus on as they go into Denver coming off an exhilarating 31-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. New England will try to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. "That is one of the major things we do have to work on," said Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri . "We've have some ups and downs, some penalties and stuff. That's one of the things we've done in the past and we're trying to get back to, just playing sound football, so we have a chance to win every week."
Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe offers a story on Denver Broncos safety John Lynch. Lynch was a free agent after the 2003 season and was courted by the Patriots, but ultimately chose to sign with the Broncos. Lynch, who has often been compared to Patriots safety Rodney Harrison offered his comments on Harrison's injury. "It was a sad day for me," Lynch said. ''I just wanted to communicate to him that I love the way he plays the game. I hope whatever is in his best interests happens for him. If his career is over, he's had a tremendous run."
Tom Curran of the Providence Journal offers his daily sports blog with Patriots notes and commentary.
Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe offers his daily sports blog with Patriots notes. Reiss also offers his latest mailbag where he answers your questions.
