Sunday Patriots Headlines: September 5th

It was a busy day yesterday, with the team making a variety of moves as they worked to get down to the 53-man roster limit. There are plenty of articles this morning as everyone tries to analyze exactly why each one was done, so let's get on to today's headlines.

Among the 20 players sent on their way yesterday was linebacker Derrick Burgess, who Shalise Manza Young writes that to say his performance since returning was disappoining would be an understatement.

Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald has his take on yesterday's transactions, as the team cut 20, and also placed safety Brandon McGowan on injured reserve.

Mark Farinella of the Attleboro Sun Chronicle takes an in-depth look at yesterday's transactions, and has come comments on how the roster turned out.

Christopher Price takes a look at the fact that to get to the 53-man limit, the team finally parted ways with some old faces in order to get there.

Jeff Howe of NESN.com also discusses all of yesterday's transactions, and breaks down how the team has shaped up at each position after yesterday's deadline.

Tom Curran of NECN writes that after yesterday's transactions, some of the moves certainly raise some eyebrows.

Albert Breer of the Boston Globe also tries to make sense of what happened yesterday, and gives five thoughts on the team's transactions.

Farinella also offers up the things we know heading into next Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Karen Guregian takes a look at the Patriots secondary, and offers up some theories as to what New England may do in order to cover up for the loss of Leigh Bodden on defense.

Rapoport has an article on rookie linebacker Jermaine Cunningham, who after missing the entire preseason may finally see action in the season opener against the Bengals next weekend.

Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com takes a look at the fact that the Patriots have been "buyers instead of sellers" as they tried to shape their 53-man roster, and wonders if this year's team has the talent to be good enough to get them where they need to be heading into this season.

Here's a nice little note this morning about Stephen Neal, who recently helped an elderly gentleman at the post office. You'll laugh when you hear the question he asked Neal at the end of the article, and kudos to Neal for helping him out.

In another nice little national story, Howard Ulman has a good story for the Associated Press which talks about quarterback Tom Brady's balance between football and fatherhood.

Albert Breer has a 'good Sunday Football Notes' column, which takes a look at the fact Robert Kraft is working hard with the other league owners to try and reach an agreement with the Players Union.

Hector Longo of the Eagle Tribune has "10 Steps For the Pats to Reach the Super Bowl".

Monique Walker of the Boston Globe has a feature this morning on Jerod Mayo, whose family has a history of a great work ethic and were just as frustrated as he was when he hobbled off the field during the first game of the year last season. They also talk about the fact he's a natural leader, which for now is the case as he is the team's lone captain.

The Advertiser out of New Orleans has an article this morning on the fact Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is confident that Saints coach Sean Payton won't suffer a Super Bowl hangover.

Tom Pedulla of USA Today has an article this morning featuring the list of athletes who are on the "comeback trail" for this year, with Wes Welker making the list.

OTHER NFL HEADLINES:

CBS Sportsline has a national view of all the transactions that took place, and mentions the Patriots in their "Winners & Losers" column on the site. It also gives you a look at some of the other players around the league who were let go yesterday, and there were certainly some interesting names who made the list.

The Indianapolis Star has an interesting article this morning on the fact that as the Colts come off of their loss in the Super Bowl to New Orleans, they face a new challenge - a "curse". Most teams coming off of a Super Bowl loss generally haven't had success the following season, and this article wonders if Indy will suffer the same fate this year.

The San Jose Mercury news takes a look at the prospect of a longer NFL season, and thinks it's a bad idea - and talks about the use of the word "enhanced" to describe the NFL's plan for an 18 game season.

That's it for this morning. Hope everyone has a good Sunday, and we'll have more a bit later on this morning.