Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi is in a 21-day window as the team evaluates him. If the Patriots intend to play him Sunday, they must take him off the physically unable to perform list before 4 p.m. Saturday. If he is activated and plays Sunday, Cafardo writes that it is likely that the Patriots will gradually ease him into the mix. Cafardo also offers Patriots notes in his article.
Michael Felger of the Boston Herald writes that cornerback Tyrone Poole took strong exception with a Herald article last week, also written by Felger, in which he was criticized for comments he made regarding his latest injury setback. Poole said he has worked tirelessly to come back from a sprained ankle suffered in the season opener and that the full extent of the problem has not been made known. "It's one of the many things where you write things the way reporters write things, and you mislead the public,'' Poole said. "That's why I was really upset. What you do is you take the missing part, and you try and fill in the gap, and that's where you really mislead. Even with that, you guys really don't take what we say and write it verbatim. You take what you want to write, what you think will make a good news article, and that's what you write. And that again misleads the public. That's why a lot of people think all athletes are bad news. And there are probably a majority of guys who do good vs. the guys that are out there messing up."
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe previews the matchup between the Patriots and the Bills this Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Cafardo writes that the Patriots are in first place at 3-3 and appear to be getting healthier as they approach a far easier stretch of schedule than they played in the first six weeks. Their AFC East opponents are clinging to the ledge for dear life. Now it's up to the Patriots to begin stepping on the fingers, one by one. It all starts this week against the Buffalo Bills as the Patriots take on their first divisional foe.
Chris Kennedy of The Republican writes that the Patriots (3-3) have been devastated by the big play, something that coach Bill Belichick's defenses have usually been successful at stopping. When you prevent the big play, it forces teams to execute more plays and convert more third downs before reaching the end zone. That means more chances for a defense to come up with a play that stops a drive. Kennedy cites an interesting fact that two of the last three Patriots opponents have managed to average more than 10 yards per pass attempt, a pretty steep number.
Glen Farley of The Enterprise writes that according to the Elias Sports Bureau, no other NFL team has ever had a five-game stretch in which four games were on the road and the five opponents averaged 11 wins or better the previous year.
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.
Tom Curran of the Providence Journal offers his daily sports blog with Patriots notes and commentary.
