A couple of Patriots have made moves in the voting for the Pro Bowl, most notably quarterback Tom Brady.
Last week Brady was not among the top 10 quarterbacks in the AFC, but this week he has moved up to eighth place with 46,613 votes through Thursday despite not being on the ballot for much of the voting period. The top four at the position, who are still well ahead of the pack, are Oakland's Rich Gannon, Indy's Peyton Manning, San Diego's Doug Flutie and Denver's Brian Griese. Brady has a better quarterback rating and winning record than all but Gannon.
Also moving up were special teamer Larry Izzo, strong safety Lawyer Milloy and guard Joe Andruzzi. With 36,169 votes, Izzo passed Oakland's Randy Jordan for second place and now trails only Pittsburgh's John Fiala, who leads with 44,468 votes.
Milloy moved from seventh place to sixth place, while Andruzzi went from ninth to eighth place. Both are considerably behind the pack. Defensive lineman Bobby Hamilton did strengthen his hold on second place among interior linemen, leading Baltimore's Tony Siragusa 57,833-51,158. Seattle's John Randle leads that position with 127,384 votes.
Other New England players in the top 10 at their respective positions are wide receiver Troy Brown (5th) and fullback Marc Edwards (both 5th); center Damien Woody (6th); and inside linebacker Bryan Cox and strong safety Lawyer Milloy (both 7th).
Brown is the leading vote-getter for the Patriots with 118,948 tallies. Unfortunately his position is deep with talent. Indy's Marvin Harrison is the leader, followed by Denver's Rod Smith and the Raider duo of Tim Brown and Jerry Rice. Of the four Troy Brown trails, only Rice has less than 200,000 votes.
Big play rep proving true
Cornerback Terrell Buckley came to the Patriots with a reputation of having a knack for the big play.
It's easy to understand why. In limited time this season he is tied with Otis Smith for the team lead in interceptions with three. This is nothing new for Buckley. Now in his ninth season, Buckley led his team in picks five of his first eight seasons, and could very well do it for the ninth time this year.
Buckley's interception against Cleveland was the 41st of his career, which tied him with Atlanta's Ray Buchanan for fifth among active players.
Injury Report
The Patriots made one late addition to the injured list, announcing tackle Matt Light as probable for this Sunday. Light missed Thursday's practice with the flu, but he is still expected to be able to play.
The rest of the list remained the same. Defensive end Willie McGinest is questionable with a leg injury, and defensive end Anthony Pleasant is probable with a shoulder problem.
For Buffalo, quarterback Rob Johnson (shoulder) and defensive tackles Shawn Price (knee) and Pat Williams (leg) are all out. Wide receiver Jeremy McDaniel (groin), free safety Travares Tillman (chest) and outside linebacker Kenyatta Wright (shoulder) are all questionable.
Notes
With 85 catches and more than 1,000 receiving yards, Brown is having his most prolific season in the Patriots. Yet he still has managed to be a top-notch punt returner. With 21 returns for 293 yards, his 14-yard return average leads the AFC and ranks second in the league… With a victory over Buffalo this weekend, New England could clinch its first winning record in divisional play since 1997, when the Patriots went 7-1 against the AFC East. The team is 4-2 in division games thus far… The Patriots have 35 sacks on offense, good for third in the conference. They had 29 all of last season.
