According to a Boston Globe piece, one trend that seems to be the Patriots formula for winning is time of possession. The Patriots are holding the ball for an average of 35:08 per game to an opponents' average of 24:08. In the Patriots' 48-27 win over the Dallas Cowboys, New England held the ball for 38 minutes 15 seconds to 21:45 for Dallas.
"Our offense is our best defense," said Patriots linebacker Junior Seau. "They're able to give us time to make adjustments on the sideline and see what we need to do. Our offense is a big factor as to how we play our defense."
The Boston Herald notes that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick placed emphasis on the challenges of playing the Miami Dolphins this Sunday, a team which last year shutout the Patriots 21-0 at Dolphin Stadium.
"It's the same (defensive) coordinator, Dom (Capers). Most of the same players are down there, certainly the big ones - (Jason) Taylor, (Zach) Thomas, (Vonnie) Holliday - you can go right down the line. It's the same team that shut us out down there, essentially. I don't think we'll have any problem getting ready for that. The same thing defensively. They scored 21 and it could have been more. I hope we can play better than we played down there last year," said Belichick.
The *Providence Journal * offers a feature on Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who had an impressive day as the slot receiver, hauling in a career-high 11 receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Welker had 216 all-purpose yards in his best day as a pro.
"I'm not sure what the stats were, but as far as the feel of the game and being able to make some plays in critical situations, it's definitely (one of my best). ... I wouldn't say it was my busiest game, but I had the ball in my hands a lot, at least a lot more than I usually do. I feel like when I was in there, I was able to make some plays," said Welker of his performce on Sunday.
Through the first four games of the season the spotlight has been on Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss, but with teams now paying special attention to cover moss, wide receiver Donte' Stallworth has quickly become a favorite target of Tom Brady, notching his first 100-yard game with New England, totalling 136 yards on 7 catches(19.4 average). It was the second highest total receiving yards in his career. A Providence Journal piece highlights Stallworth's performance.
Quick Hits
The *Boston Herald * offers it's Patriots report card. High grades go out to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (A-) and the wide receiver corps (A ).
*MetroWest Daily News * reports that EMC has signed a sponsorship deal with the New England Patriots that makes it the "official information infrastructure provider" and puts the firm's name on the luxury box level of Gillette Stadium.
The *Boston Globe * notes that for the second straight week, the Patriots used wide receiver Wes Welker as a kickoff returner. Welker had two returns for 55 yards in the Patriots' 48-27 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
The Boston Globe's Patriots blog breaks down positional groupings for the Patriots offense against the Dallas Cowboys. The blog also notes that Sunday's game between the Patriots and Cowboys was the most watched national regular-season game on CBS since the network re-aquired the NFL in 1998.
