New England Patriots Links 12/08/11 - Andre Carter Playing Better Than Ever as he Returns to Washington

Tom Brady responds to a question about one of his past favorite 'open receiver' guys, Jabar Gaffney.

Jab could do everything well. I think that's his versatility, he's got good size, he's got long arms, he's got good speed, he's got good quickness, he plays every position, he's smart. He's just one of those guys that, from the day we got him here, he was just so reliable and dependable because he knew what to do and he did it well. You gain a lot of trust from the quarterback when all those things matchup. I was bummed when he went to Denver and I was bummed when he went to Washington and here we are playing them.

Andre Carter is asked if he's playing better than ever.

"I hope so. I'm just my own worst critic. Every game I analyze and look at what I can do to get better, what techniques and fundamentals can I do to improve my game. That's just how I look at it. I take it one game at a time and just play hard. If things flow with you, great. If not, you just go back to the drawing board."

Bill Belichick talks about how unusual it is for a rookie like Nate Solder to be asked to handle multiple responsibilities.

Yeah, kickoff return, field goal team. Nate has done a lot for us this year. He's been thrown into a lot of different situations. I think to a degree, that's been challenging but again, Nate is a smart kid. He works very hard, he has a good understanding, he has a good football background, he understands concepts well; it's not just memorizing what he does, but he understands what the people around him are doing. We've asked him to do a lot. Like I said, we've thrown him in on the kickoff return here the last few games. He's done a great job with that in terms of understanding it, making adjustments, doing something that he really hasn't done before. Same thing on the field goal team. He's worked hard to do the things we've asked him to do and he has a lot of flexibility as an athlete and as a person.

TEAM TALK

• Patriots-Redskins Wednesday Injury Report.
• Erik Scalavino offers his notes from Wednesday at Gillette, including a 'thankful' Andre Carter enjoying New England.
• Howard Ulman (AP) McDonald overcomes hurdles to start for Patriots.
• The New England Patriots announced today that WR Dorin Dickerson has been signed to the practice squad.
• Press Conferences: Bill Belichick (18.30 min. video) and Tom Brady (10.30 min. video).
• Player Interviews: Nate Jones (3.13 min.), Rob Gronkowski (2.16 min.), Brian Waters (4.23 min.) and Andre Carter (7.15 min.)
• Conference Calls Transcript: Andre Carter (transcript), Mike Shanahan (10.59 min.) and Jabar Gaffney (5.09 min.)
  
• Patriots Today - Wednesday's practice report. (1.39 min. video)
• Patriots Today - Brady, Pats seek 60-minute effort. (2.18 min. video)
• Patriots Today - Carter facing former team. (2.53 min. video)
• Patriots Today - Belichick Breakdown. (6.23 min. video)
• Locker Room Uncut - Waters, Gronk chat in locker room. (3.22 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike Reiss serves up some quick hits from the media-access period in the Patriots' locker room.
• Mike Petraglia discovers Andre Carter has been seeing a lot more double-team coverage from opposing offensive lines.
• Ian Rapoport notes signing Andre Carter has been huge for the Patriots. Carter was afraid he was done.
• Chris Forsberg hears former Patriot Jabar Gaffney talk about the challenges of being the No. 3 wide receiver.
• Karen Guregian points out ex-Patriot WR Jabar Gaffney still hasn't been replaced.
• Ron Borges hears from Ronnie Lippett, who analyzed Devin McCourty's play on Sunday and can see his main problem is in his head.
• Tom E. Curran notes Washington's promising start lasted just two games.
• Mary Paoletti reports the Redskins still have a defense -- lead by bookend partners Orakpo and Kerrigan -- that will try to give Tom Brady fits.
• Michael Vega notes the Redskins had two players suspended this week for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
• Mike Reiss notes Tiquan Underwood was recognized as one of the practice players of the week.
• Mike Reiss fills us in on the football journey of Tiquan Underwood.
• Christopher Price introduces us to new guy No. 80, Dorin Dickerson, a player who has lined up at WR, TE, LB and KR.
• Mike Reiss highlights Bill Belichick's breakdown of a few key plays from the Colts game last Sunday.
• Ian Rapoport picks a few soundbites from Tom Brady and Bill Belichick mic'd up for the Colts game.
• Jermaine Wiggins and Greg A. Bedard analyze Rob Gronkowski's third touchdown vs. the Colts. (2.36 min. video)
• Mike Reiss gives us the story behind the fascinating flex decision.
• Mike Reiss updates the penalty watch and notes for the third straight game, the Pats were called for just three accepted penalties.
• Mike Reiss points out that with a 10th win, the Patriots would join the 49ers and Colts as the only teams in NFL history to win double-digit games in nine or more consecutive seasons.
• Shalise Manza Young Patriots Notebook: The NFL announced Pats-Broncos will not be flexed; Peter King insists Robert Kraft "did not strong-arm" this game to stay off Sunday night; Patriots practiced in full pads for the first time in three weeks; Sources say Dane Fletcher has undergone more than one surgery and is still wearing a hard cast on his hand; A dozen players were limited at practice.
• Ian Rapoport Patriots Notebook: No flex for Pats-Broncos; Tom Brady has been interception-free in their four-game win streak; CB Nate Jones was thrown into the fire, playing nearly every snap at safety after only being signed the Wednesday before the game - and safety isn't even his usual position; Stevan Ridley missed practice for personal reasons, not injury.

NATIONAL NEWS

• James Walker (ESPN) Tom Brady -- not Aaron Rodgers -- is MVP.
• Sound FX (NFL.com) Bill Belichick and Tom Brady were wired for sound in the Patriots' Week 13 game against the Colts. (4.03 min. video)
• John Parolin (ESPN Stats & Information) Three-point stance: Redskins.
• Kevin Fishbain (Pro Football Weekly) Patriots-Redskins matchup of the day: RB Roy Helu vs. Patriots defense.
• James Walker (ESPN) AFC East coach rankings.
• Mike Sando (ESPN) MVP Watch: Three Patriots make his list.
• Chris Chase (Yahoo! Sports) How the NFL failed America and kept Tim Tebow off primetime.
• Stephen J. Dubner (NFL.com) Freakonomics: Puzzle behind the randomness of injuries.
• Alex Marvez (Fox Sports) Breaking down the terrible 10: How did the NFLs bottom-feeders sink so low?
• Jack Bechta (Nat'l Football Post) Inside the player-agent interviews.

VIEW FROM WASHINGTON D.C.

• Rich Campbell and Nick Eilerson (Washington Times) Sustained drives key for Redskins vs. Patriots.
• Mike Jones (Washington Post) Redskins areas to monitor in Week 14.
• Mike Jones (Washington Post) Mike Shanahan set to face friend, rival Bill Belichick.
• Christopher Mudd (Redskins.com) Locklear, Smith to compete at left tackle.
• Mike Jones (Washington Post) Mike Sellers ready to assume a larger role in offense.
• Rich Campbell (Washington Times) Apologies from Fred Davis, Trent WIlliams are sincere, but 'our whole team feels let down.'
• Mike Jones (Washington Post) Mike Shanahan addresses Trent Williams, Fred Davis suspensions.
• Christopher Mudd (Redskins.com) Carter finds comfort level in New England.
• Mike Jones (Washington Post) Andre Carter happy in new surroundings.