The Patriots have made a roster move on the eve of Super Bowl XLVI. Earlier this evening, the team announced that wide receiver Tiquan Underwood has been released, with the team promoting defensive end Alex Silvestro from the practice squad.

The move is a bit surprising on the eve of the Super Bowl, and makes you wonder if the Patriots will be without a defensive lineman for the Super Bowl, since there would be no point in promoting Silvestro if he wasn't active. The Patriots also could be promoting Silvestro in preparation of playing more 4-man fronts, as Silvestro is seen as more of a "traditional" 4-3 defensive end.

As for Underwood, I imagine it has to be heartbreaking to be released on the eve of the Super Bowl. But that's the NFL for you: it's a business, even during Super Bowl week.

Of course, Underwood's release likely indicates that receiver Chad Ochocinco, inactive after the passing of his father last week, will be active for Super Bowl XLVI. How much he plays, of course, is still up in the air.

The Patriots have another Pro Football Hall of Fame player. This evening, former Patriots running back Curtis Martin was elected to the Hall of Fame in just his second year of eligibility.

Martin, who played his college ball at Pittsburgh, was drafted by the Patriots in the third round (74th overall) in the 1995 NFL Draft. Martin played three years for the Patriots, helping lead the team to its second ever Super Bowl appearance in 1996. Some other honors Martin received during his time with the Patriots included the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, two Pro Bowl appearances (1995, 1996) and two All-Pro appearances (1995, 1996). His 1,487 rushing yards in 1995 were a Patriots rookie record.

Martin's 14,101 career rushing yards have him ranked 4th all-time. While his career in New England came to a premature end, and he will mostly be remembered for his time with the Jets, I will always have fond memories of Martin.

In fact, growing up, Martin was my favorite player (Drew Bledsoe was a close second). He remains a class act and a really good person. In fact, a chance encounter with Martin at the Patriots' team hotel during the 1996 season was one of the primary reasons I ever became so passionate about pursuing a career in football and sports journalism (I was six at the time, and Martin was more than happy to spend a few minutes at me, late at night on the eve of a game). To this day, I still have the youth size small jersey that Martin signed for me.

What are your thoughts on Martin's excellent, albeit brief, career with the Patriots?

When your favorite team is in the Super Bowl, you know you're bound to hear the same story over and over again. For the past two weeks, Patriots fans have heard nothing but "Super Bowl XLII," "Rob Gronkowski's ankle" and "Eli Manning vs. Tom Brady." So with Super Bowl XLVI, which features the New England Patriots and New York Giants, set to kick-off at 6:29 PM ET tomorrow, here is the most generic Super Bowl preview you will ever see... bullet-style:

• This is a Super Bowl XLII re-match from the 2007 season, when the Giants beat the then undefeated Patriots 17-14. Both teams have the same head coach and same quarterback, and the Giants sacked Tom Brady a lot. And that David Tyree guy made some catch. And there's a few other dudes left from that game.
• Will Rob Gronkowski play? Bernard Pollard injured his ankle in the AFC Championship. Now, although every report strongly indicates he will play, we're left to wonder whether or not this guy will play.
• Can the Patriots stop the Giants pass rush? That's how the Giants beat the Patriots in 2007, and Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck are still there, so you know... can they stop them? That sounds important.
• The New York Giants are one of the hottest teams in football right now. They've played well recently. It's been pretty cool to watch if you're a Giants fan.
• The Patriots have a good offense and suspect defense. Tom Brady can put up points at will, but the Patriots defense might not be able to stop the Giants offense.
• Wait... did you hear the Patriots defense was ranked 31st in the NFL? That's like the 2nd worst possible spot to be. Wait! Can they stop the Giants passing game? That could be a problem!
• I hear Eli Manning is good in the clutch. Is he better than Tom Brady in the clutch? That's something to watch, I guess.
• These are two evenly matched teams.
• The Giants won in week nine, but both these teams are better since then. But seriously, the Giants won in week nine. Does that game have any impact on tomorrow's Super Bowl match-up?
• Can the Giants stop the Patriots tight ends? I hear that Hernandez guy is pretty good as well.

Did I miss anything? Feel free to leave your own "generic preview" storylines below.

INDIANAPOLIS -- One of the constant themes that we've heard in the two weeks leading up to Super Bowl XLVI is that both teams are "better." From a Patriots perspective, it's not hard to see why. The team has won ten straight games and is peaking at the right time, especially on the defensive side of the ball. And while we keep hearing about these improvements, no one has really gone into detail about what they are on the defensive side of the ball. Today, I will tackle that question by providing five "reasons" that the Patriots defense is different than the defense that fell apart against the Giants in the final minutes nearly three months ago:

5. Brandon Spikes is Back

When Patriots middle linebacker Brandon Spikes went down in the third quarter against the New York Giants, it changed the entire game. Spikes was an intimidating force, blowing up run plays and even making a big impact in the Giants passing game. And up until that point, the Giants had exactly zero points. Zero. Of course, after Spikes went down, the Giants put up 24 points in the second half. And while Spikes' absence wasn't the sole reason for the Patriots poor fourth quarter defense, it certainly had an impact. When Spikes is healthy, the Patriots defense is at its best. And right now, Brandon Spikes is healthy.

4. Devin McCourty Playing Better

Against the Giants in week nine, Devin McCourty was still in his sophomore "slump." But Devin McCourty is not the same player that Eli Manning victimized at times in that Giants game. In fact, since week 15 against Denver, McCourty has been playing excellent football (getting solid snaps at CB while playing some S as well). In the last five games, McCourty has been targeted 24 times. Just 8 of those targets have resulted in completions, and none of them have resulted in touchdowns. McCourty has also intercepted two passes in that time frame.

3. New Role Players Stepping Up, Personnel Has Changed

Since that week nine game, the Patriots have had new role players step up on the defensive side of the ball. Gerard Warren is making a real impact along the defensive line, Sterling Moore has become a capable cover cornerback, and Shaun Ellis is finally developing a role on the team. In addition, linebackers such as Gary Guyton and Tracy White, who struggled against the Giants, are no longer in the rotation - they have been replaced by the likes of Dane Fletcher, who is finally healthy after undergoing several thumb surgeries.

Final two reasons after the jump!

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Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has been making quite a name for himself this season. Between the historic receiving numbers and all of the "fiestas," Robo Gronk has taken his place as the best tight end in the league. His playful attitude on the field and his endearing interviews have all New England fans traveling to Gronk Nation. Everyone from the top of the organization to the newest fans of the team have fallen in love with Gronkowski.

In addition to all of his success on the field, his teammates have noted that he is trilingual- he is fluent in "English, Spanish, and Neanderthal." With that in mind, I decided to write a story about Gronkowski in terms that he should be able to understand- and it's a much better read if you perform it in your favorite Gronkowski voice (my girlfriend prefers a Schwarzenegger-esque inflection).

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Shortly before training camp in July, I had the opportunity to speak with Patriots safety Sergio Brown about the upcoming 2011 season. Thursday morning at the Patriots' team hotel in downtown Indianapolis, Sergio and I had the chance to talk again and catch up and talk about his increased role, thoughts on the defense, and how the secondary has coped with so much change throughout the season.

While Sergio probably won't too many snaps on defense tomorrow against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, his role on special teams certainly can't be discounted, as he has become one of the team's best at covering kicks.

On turning training camp opportunity into bigger role:
I stepped up into a bigger role after those guys [Meriweather, Sanders, McGowan] left at the beginning of the season and played a little bit more and now I'm just contributing to the team [any] way I can. It's a blessing because I'm better than last year and I just keep taking steps forward.

On how he has improved as a player:

Experience; I've gotten older and I've been able to focus on the important things while trying to weed out the things that don't matter. I'm just really focused on getting better and everything we need to do as a football team.

Thoughts on his emergence as a special teams player despite up-and-down playing time on defense:

Special teams is a big part of the game - there is a lot of hidden yardage in special teams and whatever value we can get we need to have. So every chance I get out there to do anything I just want to give it 100% and try to contribute to the team.

On transition in defensive backfield and how the secondary has coped with it and improved:

We just want to play our best football after Thanksgiving - play our best football going into the playoffs. And once the playoffs hit, we wanted to really narrow down and really, really play our best football because it's like another chance, or another season. In the whole scheme of things, once you get to the playoffs, that's the only thing that matters. It doesn't really matter what happened before or anything so we just [have been] trying to come together as a group and play our best, best football in the playoffs - the postseason.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Thursday morning, I had the chance to talk to Patriots defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick. The second year defensive lineman started the year on the PUP list, missing the first six games before quickly jumping into the action.

Deaderick, a seventh round draft choice out of Alabama, admitted that it was "hard sitting out those first six weeks watching everybody else go out there and play while I'm sitting there and working hard every day." However, according to Deaderick, "it paid off."

Of course, we all know the impact Deaderick has had for the Patriots. He ended up playing in the team's final ten regular season games, picking up five starts. In those games, he came up with 17 tackles in two sacks (and came close on several more).

Deaderick closed out the year as the team's starting right end in the 4-3 base defense, and now that the team has switched to the 3-4 for the playoffs, he's starting in that base as well. When I asked Deaderick what defense he felt was his best fit in terms of technique, he simply pointed out the one-gap vs. two-gap differences, and remarked that "as far as what I fit into better, it doesn't really matter to me, I play them both." Sounds like a man who has accepted his unlikely role as a versatile player.

Brandon Deaderick is in just his second year in the NFL. He was a seventh round pick just over a year ago. He's proven he can be a starter in either the 3-4 or 4-3. Regardless of what base defense the Patriots run against the Giants on Sunday, it's evident that Deaderick will have some type of role.

On a side note, Deaderick is just two years removed from winning the BCS National Championship and is already playing for a Super Bowl title. I asked him what that meant to him, and Deaderick stated that "it means a lot. I guess I really don't see it how a lot of older veterans see it - they've been playing for so long, some haven't ever been in a playoff game and all that. Still, it means a lot, I'm not taking it for granted."