Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald writes about the upcoming test that Patriots defensive backs face when they travel to Pittsburgh to face Mike Wallace and the Steelers. "He's probably the fastest (we've seen)," Pats cornerback Devin McCourty said yesterday. "I know there's a couple guys in this league and it'd be interesting to see them line up and race, but when you watch him on film, he's definitely the fastest guy."
Jeff Howe of NESN.com writes about the career success Tom Brady has had against the Pittsburgh Steelers. When asked if there was something different the Patriots did against the Steelers Brady said, "It's just execution. It's guys getting open and us completing it. There's no special thing that we do. There's no magic dust we put in our cereal in the morning or anything like that. We just played really well. That does pretty well against any defense." Brady enjoys a 6-1 career record over the Steelers.
Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald writes about Dan Koppen, who was seen in the Patriots locker room for the first time since being placed on injured reserve. "I just got off crutches, and I'm pretty happy about that," said Koppen, who went on injured reserve on Sept. 21 with a broken fibula suffered in the opener. "Just getting back into working out, taking it slow. No rushing back now. Just get it 100 percent, be back next year." Koppen will be eligible for free agency at the end of the 2011 season.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes about the importance of offensive continuity for both Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger. Brady is in his 10th year as the Patriots starting quarterback while Roethlisberger is in his eighth year as the Steelers starter. "It's been very important for me to never really change offenses or learn new terminology," Brady said. "We've just built on it over the years - the things I learned 12 years ago when I came here. It's great for a quarterback to have that continuity with coaching and obviously the terminology of the plays. It's been a huge benefit."
Steve Silva of the Boston Globe writes about Tom Brady's goal for this Sunday's game against the Steelers. Avoid the daunted Steelers pass rush. "These guys make it tough on you," Brady said. "They're very physical. They cover well. They have continuity in their defense. You watch the Super Bowl from last year, they get after the quarterback. They really do and that's the hallmark of this defense. They rush the passer. They stop the run. They're a big physical defense that plays very hard, well coached, they don't make many mental errors at all."
