Tom Brady talks a bit about why the Patriots offense only runs the no-huddle offense sporadically when it seems to give them success.
I would say our overall level of execution. I think the times that we've done it well, we've strung together a bunch of plays which has really allowed us to get the ball into the scoring area. It's hard to overcome penalties in those situations and we have opportunities to complete passes and we don't hit them. There are definitely things that are good about it and there are things that haven't been so good. We're trying to do the things that we've done well and try to do those more often.
Well we tried to run it in Dallas and didn't score a lot of points and we tried to run it in Pittsburgh and didn't score a lot of points. To me, it's more about the execution and the tempo of the game. I think if we execute well, whether we huddle or whether we don't huddle, we're going to be able to score points. Sometimes when you go out there and you try no-huddle and it doesn't work, you go ‘We're not doing that anymore, let's go back to huddling.' Then you guys say, ‘You guys didn't do much no-huddle this game.' And [we're] saying, ‘Well there's a reason, because it wasn't working. If it works, you stay with it. If it doesn't work, you move on.
Ian Rapoport talks with Jerod Mayo about how he handles players with whom he has zero experience.
"I can help by just talking to those guys, trying to calm them down and just communicate, make sure everyone’s on the same page. It’s a little different, but at the same time, we have that next-man-up mentality and I think those guys are stepping up."
"They’ve been here since training camp," Mayo said. "But we know those guys and we have confidence in those guys to get the job done and that’s what they did."
"You turn around and you talk to a position, pretty much. But we’re all family, we all work together and we all work together and put a lot of work in to get the job done."
"Now, it’s all about stringing them together," Mayo said. "We always talk about playing well in November and that’s what we’re trying to do."
TEAM TALK
- Erik Scalavino notices a trend with the Patriots offense: When they go no-huddle, they tend to score – a lot; when they don’t, they don’t.
- Erik Scalavino shares his practice and locker room notebook from Wednesday at Gillette.
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The New England Patriots announced today that defensive lineman Andre Carter has been named AFC Defensive Player of the Week by the NFL.
- Ask PFW: Slump busters!
- Wednesday Press Conferences: Bill Belichick (19.48 min. video) and Tom Brady (8.26 min. video)
- Player Interviews: Kyle Arrington (4.21 min.), Marcus Cannon (1.49 min.), Rob Ninkovich (5.30 min.), Vince Wilfork (4.39 min.), Rob Gronkowski (3.54 min.) and Jerod Mayo (4.08 min.)
- Chiefs Conference Calls: Todd Haley (6.26 min. plus audio) and Tyler Palko (10.53 min. audio)
- Patriots Today - Brady talks no-huddle offense. (2.26 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Pats head inside for workout. (2.11 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Ninkovich, Pats moving on. (2.22 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Belichick Breakdown (5.56 min. video)
- Locker Room Uncut - Hear from Wilfork, Cannon. (3.49 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Karen Guregian examines why the Patriots have only used the no-huddle sporadically, when it's usually given them good results.
- Tom E. Curran focuses on the huddle-up vs. hurry-up offense.
- Ian Rapoport reports Tom Brady and other former teammates are disappointed that Matt Cassel won't be playing Monday night.
- Tom E. Curran says it's back to the future for Pats, with Tom Brady vs. Romeo Crennel.
- Mary Paoletti reports Patriots coach Bill Belichick was very complimentary of the struggling Kansas City Chiefs.
- Mike Petraglia helps us get to know the personable Tyler Palko: Philosopher, comedian, new Chiefs starting QB.
- Karen Guregian looks at which free agent signings by chief decision maker Bill Belichick haven't been failures.
- Julian Benbow says the two interceptions against the Jets show Rob Ninkovich comes up big when it counts - no matter how many balls he drops in practice.
- Jeff Howe reports Rob Ninkovich has pushed himself and done well despite being the cliched underdog throughout his football life.
- Chris Forsberg notes Sebastian Vollmer appears to be returning to the form that made him a second-team All-Pro last season.
- Mike Reiss serves up some quick-hits from the media-access period in the Patriots locker room yesterday morning.
- Mike Reiss looks at where the Patriots rank in key statistical categories, with the Chiefs' key stats included for comparison.
- Mike Reiss tells us which players earned the Patriots practice players of the week award. This week a season-high seven players earned the honor.
- Ian Rapoport Patriots Notebook: Marcus Cannon is done being sick and is all business working with the O-Line; CB Antwaun Molden is ready to go if Devin McCourty can't; The NFL took away Andre Carter's half sack (Bums!) and awarded it to Mark Anderson; Chiefs coach Todd Haley said he's always kept an eye on the Patriots to "see what's hot and working in the NFL"; Pats begin a stretch of games that could see them face a slew of woeful QBs; Jerod Mayo says "it's all about stringing [wins] together."
- Boston Globe Patriots Notebook: Patriots have a research project to do on second-year QB Tyler Palko; Brady is prepared for whatever Romeo Crennel will throw at him; Marcus Cannon is ready, no matter which OL position he's asked to play; Andre Carter was named AFC Defensive player of the week; So far, Brady leads Pro Bowl voting in the AFC.
- Kirk Minihane answers his weekly reader mailbag, touching on topics such as the Patriots, Paterno and Papelbon.
- ESPNBoston posts an ABC News feature video with an 8-year-old who tore his ACL meeting his idol Tom Brady plus Wes Welker and Deion Branch.
- ESPN Photos of Aaron Hernandez going through the ESPN "Car Wash" Tuesday, appearing on multiple shows.
- Nick Koop reports Mercury Morris calls the Packers a 'credit to the sport' while calling the 2007 Patriots 'too much in your face.' What a joke.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Kevin Fishbain (Pro Football Weekly) With Ellis falling short, Deaderick steps up.
- Kevin Fishbain (Pro Football Weekly) Patriots-Chiefs matchup of the day: Patriots pass rush vs. Chiefs O-Line.
- James Walker (ESPN) QBR: 2007 Brady better than 2011 Rodgers.
- Ian Rapoport (Sporting News) Numbers don't tell story of Vince Wilfork's importance.
- James Walker (ESPN) AFC East 411: Patriots' D turned the corner?
- Stephen J. Dubner (NFL.com) Football Freakonomics: Mystery behind Momentum.
- Mike Pereira (Fox Sports) Transcript of Week 10 online chat.
- Chris Burke (SI) NFL playoff picture, Week 11.
- Experts (CBS Sports) Week 11 picks. Five out of five pick New England over Kansas City.
- Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News) Week 11 picks. Patriots 45, Chiefs 10.
VIEW FROM KANSAS CITY
- Adam Teicher (Kansas City Star) Chief's Stanzi a step closer to taking the field as a rookie QB.
- Kent Babb (Kansas City Star) Chiefs notes: Cassel's surgery goes well.
- Josh Looney (KCChiefs.com) Matt Cassel undergoes successful surgery, Chiefs D has it's plate full and the left-handed QB history of the Chiefs.