New England Patriots Links 10/06/09 - Sammy Morris Greater Than His Stats Suggest

Bill Belichick talks about the players inactive for Sunday's game, including Joey Galloway:

Well, you just can’t take everybody to the game. We took three tight ends, we took four backs. It is probably what the norm is. Seven offensive linemen, you can’t cut there and the rest it is on the defensive side of the ball and the kicking game. Sam Aiken, he is definitely going to be there, he is one of our best special teams players. And Moss is going to go and Welker is going to go and you know, Welker has not played a lot in the last couple weeks so a guy in the slot along with Wes in Julian [Edelman]. Julian is another guy. If we could have brought another guy, well. Certainly we would like to take all the guys that we have that are healthy. We would have like to have BenJarvus [Green-Ellis], we would have liked to have Ron Brace, we would have liked Joey. All those guys were inactive but you just have to pick the guys to go.

Tom Brady comments on the roughing the passer penalties called Sunday:

It’s a tough call. I never think those guys are being malicious out there. They’re trying to make the play and it’s tough for a defensive player to pull off the quarterback, they’re trying to get to the quarterback, it’s their job, it’s what the team needs you to do. It’s a tough call for the refs. They can’t judge intent so they judge it on what happens. It really goes both ways, we’ve had some roughing-the-passer calls go against our team and we get some sometimes. I think it pretty much all evens out. Sometime you’re on the right side of it, some days you’re on the wrong side of it.

I think there are rules that are in place, not only for quarterbacks, but defenseless receivers, punters, kickers or defenders who aren’t looking. There are rules in place for everyone’s benefit. I know the quarterbacks are singled out, but you’re in a defenseless position in the pocket with a lot of guys around you. It goes for the receivers as well. They’re defenseless at times when they’re looking at the ball someone can come in and clean their clock. They’re trying to eliminate some of that stuff. Was it a bad hit, no way, he barely even touched me. The refs were calling it pretty tight that day. Coach Belichick told us the [referee] crew called the most penalties in 2008 and 2007 and they were on pace for second place this season.

TEAM TALK

• WEEI Patriots Monday: Tom Brady (29.10min.) plus transcript, Ty Warren (11.55 min.), Vince Wilfork (9.40 min.), Sammy Morris (8.45 min.) Chris Baker (7.25 min.), Rodney Harrison (8.20 min.), Bill Belichick (40.13min.) plus transcript.
• Bill Belichick Monday Presser (20.30 min. video) plus Transcript.
• Patriots Today: Win over Ravens (11.40 min. video)
• Erik Scalavino Defense getting it done; Monday notes from Gillette.  OLB Tully Banta-Cain received the Dirty Show Champions belt following team and positional meetings today. That means this past week, of all the practice players of the week, he did the most on the scout team to help the team prepare for the Ravens.

LOCAL LINKS

• Shalise Manza Young notes Sammy Morris's dependability to get yards when needed has players calling him "the bull" with good reason.
  
• Christopher Price reports Belichick and McDaniels are getting ready for a reunion in Denver.
• Mike Reiss lists and analyzes the snaps played by offensive skill-position players, noting Aiken was the primary option as the No. 3 receiver.
• Mike Reiss looks at the offensive positional groupings utilized by the Patriots in their 27-21 win over the Ravens. Lots of TEs and RBs.
• Mike Reiss looks at and analyzes the snaps played by Patriots defenders Sunday, observing that Gary Guyton and Brandon Meriweather played in all 70.
• Mike Reiss offers a snapshot of the players on the Patriots' 45-man game-day roster who were part of core special teams units Sunday.
• Ron Borges writes that if the Ravens were a measuring stick, the Patriots defense stood tall.
• Mike Reiss reports the Ravens lead league with 4 Roughing the Passer penalties; Patriots flagged for 3.
• Michael Vega reports Ravens' head coach John Harbaugh is submitting the tape from the game to the league, suggesting Patriots QB Tom Brady got preferential treatment from the officiating crew over his own QB, Joe Flacco.
• Mike Reiss offers some sights and sounds from Monday at Gillette, with Morris joking about running the Wildcat against Denver.
• Michael Vega notes the fact that the Patriots will be facing a team led by former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, will add a different dimension to the game planning.
• Ian Rapoport focuses on the mutual respect and admiration between Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels.
• Steve DeOssie Patriots Report Card: Linemen jump to the head of the class.
• Ron Borges grades the Patriots performance with his weekly report card. 
• Mike Reiss notes LB Prescott Burgess will be rejoining the Ravens. Baltimore wanted to sign him this week, but the league prohibits teams from signing players on the practice squad of the club they are facing that week.
• Jeff Howe reports Wes Welker said there were no setbacks [with his knee] during the game against the Ravens, and he'll continue with his treatment to keep himself ready to play against the Denver Broncos next Sunday.
• Karen Guregian says bringing back Junior Seau makes sense, to give young LBs a veteran presence.
• Mark Farinella asks, why Junior Seau?  Why now?
• Ian Rapoport notes the Patriots defense had the energy to make two 4th down stops Sunday because the offense is third in the NFL in time of possession.
  

NATIONAL NEWS

• NFL Network NFL Replay: Patriots-Ravens tonight at 9:30pm.  For a sneak peek at Week 5's opponent, tune in at 8pm for the Denver-Dallas replay.
• Albert Breer (Sporting News) Tom Brady responds to upset Ravens.
• John Czarnecki (Fox Sports) Patriots will be just fine, thanks.
• Matt Sohn (Pro Football Weekly) Altered mindset has lifted Patriots offense.
• Michael Lombardi (Nat'l Football Post) Diner morning news: Patriots passing game looks like it's swinging back into form.
• John Clayton (ESPN) says the Ravens lost because they abandon the run, and the Patriots can't completely shut down a running attack because they've lost too many star players to do that.
• Tim Graham (ESPN) Another week, another unbeaten foe for Patriots. For the fifth straight week, New England will try to hand an opponent its first loss.
• Andrew Perloff (SI) Against the Grain: Why the Broncos shouldn't be too giddy about 4-0 start.
• Tim Graham (ESPN) Adam Schefter expects the Ravens will be fined for Ray Lewis' comments on the officiating in loss to Patriots.  Schefter reminds us that the last time Baltimore and NE played in 2007, 3 Ravens were fined $15k each for criticizing the officials and Bart Scott was fined $25k for throwing the yellow flag into the stands.
  
• Mike Lombardi (Nat'l Football Post) Tavern Talk: Here's to McDaniels and Denver.
• Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Rodgers didn't stand a chance on Favre's night.  Favre was good but he wasn't the best QB on the field.  (Finally!  The lone voice of reason in the media wilderness that hasn't fallen under Lord Favre's spell.)

VIEW FROM BALTIMORE

• Jamison Hensley (Baltimore Sun) Ravens frequently flagged for roughing the passer.  Officials seem quick to penalize team for aggressive play.  A closer look at the Ravens' four roughing penalties this year.
• Mike Preston (Baltimore Sun) Ravens grade out even better after tough Patriots test.
• John Eisenberg (BaltimoreRavens.com) Defeat not too discouraging.  The Ravens' mistakes and the Patriots' lack of blunders were the difference Sunday.
• John Harbaugh Monday Press Conference:  Harbaugh talks about ensuring the credibility of the game.  (15.09 min. video.)  Talks about the expectation of fair and consistent officiating at the 4 min. mark, and asserts that since Flacco got hit 5 times hard but only got 1 call, the officiating was questionable.