Vince Wilfork ready for some smash-mouth football.

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Shalise Manza Young notes Jerod Mayo says discipline is the key to stopping the WIldcat.

Asked on Thursday what his thoughts were after that initial play, Mayo smiled.

"Um…call a timeout," he said, laughing. "I know we came to the sideline and Bill (Belichick) just told everybody to calm down and made a couple of adjustments, but unfortunately they didn’t work out that day." 

It didn’t help that even Mayo mentioned that tackling was a big issue for the Patriots in that game.

Mayo and the Patriots did a much better job the second time around last season, and they know what is required for them to be successful again on Sunday.

"I wouldn’t say patience; I would say discipline," the defensive captain said. "If everybody does their job, I feel we’ll be OK."

Ron Borges captures Vince Wilfork's feeling that this will be a physical fight to the finish against Miami.

"One thing is sure, we’re gonna have to tackle," Wilfork said yesterday of the task that awaits Sunday in facing the NFL’s third-most productive rushing attack, one that attacks not only with Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams but often with both of them in the hybrid, Wildcat offense that undressed Wilfork and his teammates when first unveiled a year ago. "They want to run the football. That’s the challenge for us. On Sunday, you’re gonna see a big-time match."

"We’re going to have our mind right," Wilfork said, smiling broadly. "That’s my style of game. They’re not trying to trick you. They’re going to try to run the ball."

"They’re strong, they can move, they’re powerful and they want to be physical," he said. "If we don’t have our mind right it’s going to be a long day for us, but I think we understand how we want to play this game. We’re looking forward to it and I’m sure they’re looking forward to it."

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Vince Wilfork (75), Brandon McGowan (30), Ty Warren and head coach Bill Belichick laugh as the team stretches before practice.

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Vince  Wilfork on the challenges posed by the Miami Dolphins' offense.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves, just to be accountable,” he replied. “When you step on the field, you want to make sure you play at a high level. And this week is a challenge. The Dolphins run the ball well, they have a real explosive offense, good offensive line, good backs, a quarterback who doesn’t make mistakes. So, we need to do a good job of controlling the game up front.

“They’ll do what they do. They want to run the football. That’s a challenge for us up front. If we don’t have our minds right, it’s going to be a long day for us again. It’s another division game, and we want to get out of it with a win.”

Bill Belichick talks up the Miami running backs, Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown.

[Ricky Williams has] got good power. I think Ronnie Brown is the more powerful of the two, but they're both strong, they're both big. They have to be 240, 235 [pounds] - whatever they are. They're strong. They break a lot of tackles with their lower body. Ricky's fast. He's done a good job on the outside plays [and] the screens. He catches the ball well, as Brown does, too. I think either one of those backs could be the back for anybody. They have two of them and they use them both a lot. They run the ball as much as anybody in the league and they try to wear you down in the fourth quarter. I think either one of them could probably do it by themselves and they both have. And together it just puts more stress on the defense, whether they're both in there at once or not.

Only one guy can carry the ball, but fresh backs, running hard with that kind of skill are better than guys that are getting worn down a little bit. But those two guys could go all day and they run hard. They break a lot of tackles, make a lot of yards on their own and they have a good offensive line, too, don't get me wrong. They get them started and those guys break tackles and they pile up the yardage.

Tom Brady talks about what he could have learned about the team from the last two games.

When we execute well, we produce points, we move the ball, we get first downs. When we don't execute well and we don't move the ball, we don't convert on third down, we don't get the ball in the red area. If you're a quarterback, and you drop back, and you have guys open and overthrow them by about five yards, you know you're not going to score points. That's understanding plays that we had where we haven't done what we're coached to do. That's just not the way you can play football. In times that we go out and execute well, like what we did against Tennessee, what we did against Tampa, we scored points. I think it's just a much more concerted effort in practice and the concentration to get those things done.

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Patriots versatile sack-leader Mike Wright.

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Kerry Byrne gives the Cold Hard Football Facts about the WIldcat: None of it matters. It’s all bells, whistles and BS. 

The Wildcat is, at the end of the day, little more than window dressing that shades the eternal truth of pro football over the past 70 years: The team that wins the passing battle wins the game.

The Dolphins of the past two seasons aren’t the exception to this rule, as Wildcat advocates contend. They are the proof of this rule.

The 2008 Dolphins didn’t enjoy unexpected success because they ran the ball so well. The 2008 Dolphins enjoyed unexpected success because they suddenly passed the ball so well. Here’s the proof:

• The 1-15 Dolphins of 2007 averaged 4.0 YPA running the ball — 16th in the NFL.
• The 11-5 Dolphins of 2008 averaged 4.2 YPA running the ball — 15th in the NFL.

So, the much-improved Dolphins of 2008 barely improved over the awful Dolphins of 2007 in their ability to run the ball. They were mediocre running the ball each year.

But take a look at Miami’s passing game from 2007 to 2008:

• The 1-15 Dolphins of 2007 averaged 5.9 YPA passing the ball — 30th in the NFL
• The 11-5 Dolphins of 2008 averaged 7.4 YPA passing the ball — 7th in the NFL.

The much-improved Dolphins of 2008 showed a dramatic improvement in their ability to pass the ball. In fact, this improvement in Miami’s passing game was probably the greatest statistical story of 2008. But it was a story that barely got mentioned in the hype that surrounded the Wildcat.

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More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

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It's midway through the season and, yet again, the New England Patriots are facing the second half of the season with a depleted backfield.  Sammy Morris is listed as doubtful; Fred Taylor recently had ankle surgery and best guesses have him returning by the end of the season, if at all.  That leaves Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis: a guy struggling to emerge, a third down specialist, and second year man who earned his stripes last season.  With Sammy and Fred, we at least had a chance of establishing a ground threat and making opposing defenses think about our backfield.  Without those 2, I don't think our backfield is taken seriously at all.

This brings me to Edge, aka: Edgerrin James.  Edge has had an amazing career.  His 7 years with the Colts set him firmly as one of the best backs in the NFL.  His first 2 years with Arizona were similar, but his star began to fade in his third with the Cardinals.  Seattle Seahawks picked him up for 2009 and promptly released him after 7 games.  Why?

The Seahawks' decision to sign veteran running back Edgerrin James made sense when Seattle was expecting to immediately contend for an NFC West title.

James apparently became a luxury the team couldn't afford once it struggled to a 2-5 start, particularly with Justin Forsett backing up the promise he showed during the preseason (minus that fumble Sunday).

Seattle's decision makes perfect sense.  If they're not going anywhere and will, most likely, not contend for a title, why not give more playing time to other backs who could end up being the future of the franchise?  It makes sense for the Seahawks to jettison him, but would it be prudent for NE to pick him up?  Here's a few thoughts as to why it makes sense: a) Edge comes cheap, about $1 million cheap, b) we're in desperate need of veteran depth at running back, c) see "b".

I am not jumping for joy at having to pull a 31 year old back to our team in the middle of the season.  In fact, I'm hurling over the prospect.  But what's a team to do?  As recently as this Monday, the Patriots have worked out 3 backs, reports Chris Gasper of the Boston Globe.  Not one of these 3 have the career stats Edge has, nor the experience.

Is Edge washed up?  Who knows.  He's not a long term solution, but could he provide much needed depth for a faltering running game?

Ty Warren raring to go for Sunday's game.

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Bill Belichick evaluates where the team is right now and where they need to be.

Well, we need to be better in a lot of areas, and that’s always the case so, yeah … we looked at some of things we’ve done, trying to find ways to improve it. Certainly, the red area is always a good place to start, on both sides of the ball. And third down — even though statistically, we’re not bad, we could be better there. Score more points. Give up fewer. Keeping the ball in third-down situations. Two-minute. Our special teams, always better coverage. Explosive plays in the return game. The running game, the run defense. All … you know —  everything.

Tom Brady talks about how he feels and how long he'll play the game.

I feel like, I guess I’m 31 now – no, 32 – I feel the best I’ve ever felt. At quarterback, typically, like I said, guys retire due to injury at the quarterback position. A lot of other positions retire because they can’t run anymore. That’s what the game comes down to for 90 percent of the other players. For the quarterback, running is not the issue. I was slow to start, and I’m slower now, and I’ll be slower 10 years from now, but so is Favre, and so is Peyton Manning. With all these guys, no one can run. No quarterbacks can run. Marino couldn’t run. Elway couldn’t run when he got older. Steve Young become more of an in-the-pocket passer as he got older. Montana.

Assuming my arm feels great, there aren’t a lot of other things that are going to keep me from wanting to be out there and wanting to play. Five or six years ago, my arm would hurt every day throwing the football. I always used to think, man, how can I play and always have my arm hurting? Now my arm never hurts. So, like I said, I really understand my arm. It’s something every quarterback should learn. I know how many throws I can make. I know how to get it in shape for the season. And I know how to maintain it during the season. Even when a guy like Haynesworth falls on my shoulder. That could have been pretty significant. But because I think my arm is very flexible, it’s very loose in a good way, it’s able to withstand those sorts of things. If that’s always the case, then I’ll just keep playing until I have my social security if we have that left here in 30 years.

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More photos » by Hans Deryk - AP

about 1 month ago: Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards (5) is sacked by Miami Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor during an NFL football game in Miami, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk)

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You may ask, "MPF, why dost thou adorn this Patriots blog with an image of Sir Jason Taylor?"  Many reasons.  a) He NARROWLY became a Patriot, b) he gives Tom Brady and Matt Light fits, c) he's a class act, and d) he's quite the dancer.  Seriously, I wrote during the off-season that I thought Jason Taylor belonged in Miami.  That's where his family is from, he's an active member of his community, and he deserves to retire where he spent most of his career.  This is what  Taylor recently had to say:

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- You all saw Jason Taylor racing down the field for a 48-yard touchdown off a fumble recovery today, a pivotal play in an important AFC East game.

Now imagine Taylor doing that in Patriot colors. It almost happened after Taylor was cut by the Redskins during the offseason.

"We talked with them, with the organization, and with Bill (Belichick)," Taylor told the Globe. "My heart was in Miami, my family was in Miami, so it was important for me to try to stay there. But if it didn’t work out in Miami, then I probably would’ve been there."

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Bill Belichick answers questions for the media before the weekend break.

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Tom Brady reveals one of the motivational tools used by Bill Belichick.

Q:  "Bill Bashing" - I've got to talk about that. Junior Seau said you're not a part of the team until you'd been "Bill-Bashed". He said it even happens to Tom Brady, but he said to ask you about it. Have you been "Bill-Bashed" before?

TB: Yeah. Randy calls it "You Tubed." We have practice on a Wednesday or a Thursday, and there you are the next morning on the big screen. You get in there pretty excited on a Wednesday morning or a Thursday morning, and then there're 30 plays of myself and Randy [Moss] and Wes [Welker], and he's going ‘What do you guys think you're doing here? This is you know what...' and using a lot of words I can't use here. He's tough on us, and I think it's for a reason. He always has a purpose in what he does and he's a very smart man and he's a great coach. He's just trying to motivate us to be the best we can be.

Bill Belichick talks about making good use of the Bye week.

Q: Is that basically what you do - self scout and throw out what's not working and get some guys up to speed, especially some of your young guys and guys coming of P.U.P.?

BB: That's right. We have some young players that have gotten a little bit of playing time, but we will continue to give them more reps in the bye week. And [it] also gives us a little more time to prepare for Miami. They've played seven games, so we'll get a pretty look at them and that will take some work there for what they do and the problems they present. It always comes at a good time, but I think it's a good feeling to come back from London. I'm glad we weren't facing a regular week this week after the trip back across the ocean.

No question.  Yes, we'll have to work on [the Wildcat.] That's one of the unique things that they do and we'll be able to get a little bit of a head start on that.

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From the SI Vault, a young 22 year-old Bill Belichick. Click on the link to see Ernie Adams, BB's partner in crime, standing beside him. The pants [and hair] are hysterical.

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Bill Belichick addresses the media before the Bye break.

We're just working on a lot of things this week in all phases of the game - offense, defense, special teams. Obviously, we've gotten started on Miami, but also a combination of things we need to work on generically, regardless of who we're playing and that's just kind of across the board. We need to work on everything, stay sharp and improve in every area.

It's a long season, a lot of practices, a lot of different situations. You get a new opponent every week. Things are always changing, so you try to just keep moving in the right direction and just keep improving and that encompasses a lot of things. I don't think right now is the time to be happy or sad; I think it's a time to analyze where you're at and try to make it better.

Ian Rapoport listened to Wes Welker explain his secrets to leading the league in YAC.

An essential facet, the 5-foot-9, 185-pounder from Texas Tech said, is understanding coverages.

"Knowing where defenders are, knowing which way to turn, when I need to get up field, and when I have a little more room to do something else with it," Welker said. "The main thing is securing the ball, getting it up the field, and trying to make something happen."

Welker has gained most of his 484 receiving yards after contact. He said film work has enabled him to find holes in a defense he didn’t really realize were there as a rookie or second-year player.

"I didn’t learn about coverages and understand them," he said. "I knew what they were on film, but I never understood what they were doing on the field."

"Obviously, [Tom Brady] is going to put it where I need to turn," Welker said. "He can see what’s behind me. He’s a really good quarterback. We understand what each other is thinking against different coverages, how he wants me to run the routes, and where he’s going to be putting the ball. It all goes hand in hand."

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