LOCAL SHOTS
- Bill Belichick responds to Raiders owner Al Davis's accusations that the Patriots tampered with Randy Moss, before the 2007 trade that brought him to New England.
-
Shalise Manza Young reports that according to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, "No tampering charges have ever been filed with our office with respect to Randy Moss."
- Young updates us on the status of rookie linebacker Shawn Crable who has yet to see any playing time.
- Mike Reiss reports from the Patriots locker room, his Nuggets from Gillette.
- Reiss glues us in on the bonding status of Randy Moss and Matt Cassel.
- Projo.com provides the full transcripts of Bill Belichick's Wednesday press conference, and Randy Moss' Wednesday press conference.
- Rich Thompson says Laurence Maroney and ball control are key for the Patriots.
- From the Patriots team website: "Pro Bowl nose tackle Vince Wilfork has two years remaining on his rookie contract but...he would like to emulate Troy Brown, who retired last week after 15 years – all spent in a Patriots uniform.
- Patriots Daily has a nice piece on Troy Brown: 2001 Was Turning Point For Brown, Patriots.
- The New England Patriots Alumni Club (NEPAC) will host its second-annual "Game With the Greats" event in Gillette Stadium's Fidelity Investments East Clubhouse on Sunday, October 5 when the Patriots travel to San Francisco.
FOCUS ON THE 49ERS
- Mike Reiss compiled for us some links from the San Francisco side.
- Chris Gasper highlights three key areas in Sunday's Patriots-49ers game.
- Shalise Manza Young talks about the 49ers many looks on defense.
- Greg Beachum reports the Niners are willing to trade sacks for scores, and QB J.T. O'Sullivan doesn't mind a bit.
- Belichick discusses talented running back Frank Gore.
- Matt Brown, STATS editor, presents his Pats-Niners preview.
-
The 49ers released their participation report.
POWER RANKINGS
-
What If Sports ranks them (ouch!) 22nd (+3)
-
Fox Sports on MSN ranks them 15th (-2): "This weekend Doctor Evil will emerge from the Patriots' bye week, and after getting embarrassed by Miami in Week 3 he has to have something tricky up his sleeve, right?" Dr. Evil???? Sooooo clever.
- ESPN ranks them 13th (-2): "If they can't beat the 49ers on Sunday, prepare for panic to set in." (Note the disparity in the voting among the 12 ESPN writers.)
-
ProFootball Weekly ranks them 13th (-1): "Have to think Kevin O’Connell will play at some point." How 'bout the end of the 4th quarter?
- NFL.com keeps them ranked below 12th in the "middle of the pack."
- The Sporting News ranks them 10th: "Something tells me the Patriots figured something out during the bye."
- Dr. Z at SI ranks them 7th (-1): "I get a tremendous kick out of the transcripts of Bill Belichick's daily press conferences. Here's an excerpt from Tuesday's, for instance:
Q: How would you assess your turnover differential this week?
A: Always like to get more and give up less."