We're one day away from game three of the regular season, as the Patriots will be looking to rebound from last week's loss to the Jets when they take the field against the Buffalo Bills tomorrow at Gillette Stadium.
Tom Curran of NECN previews tomorrow's game against Buffalo, and while the Patriots have the chance to have a good game tomorrow, he writes it that it definitely won't come easy.
Patriots offensive lineman told Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald that he's disappointed that Aaron Schobel has retired and is no longer with the Bills. Light told him that it was always a "fun matchup" and he's disappointed that he's not there any more.
"It's kind of a bummer he's not there anymore," Light said yesterday. "It was always a fun matchup."
"He and I had some good battles over the years," Light said. "Shoot, we saw each other at least - I'm not good with math - 18 times, right? Some good battles. He's a good player."
Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com has a piece on newly acquired safety Jarrad Page, who is adjusting to life in New England. There are some great bits of information if you'd like to know more about him, so be sure and check it out.
Jennifer Toland of the Worcester Telegram has a good article on Ron Brace, who has his head in the playbook and is working hard on trying to get better. Toland also points out that Brace has taken on an expanded role, as he was in for 46 snaps against the Jets, which is just four fewer than he had for his entire rookie season. Brace told her that the coaching staff seems to have more confidence in him since he is out there playing.
"I feel that since I'm out there, yeah," Brace said. "But I just basically have to keep my nose in that (play)book so I don't mess up on anything because little mistakes can kill you in a big way in a game. So I just have to cover those bases right now."
Mark Farinella of the Attleboro Sun Chronicle has another great in-depth piece on Brace, who is familiar with Bills runningback C.J. Spiller (who played at Clemson) from Brace's days at Boston College.
Patriots linebacker Shawn Crable appears to be making strides toward getting onto the field, after the Boston Globe reported that he'll be placed on the active roster for tomorrow's game. Crable has spent the better part of the last two years on injured reserve before being released prior to the start of this year's training camp. He later rejoined the team on the practice squad.
Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe reports that the message that Belichick tried to get accross for this week is the fact that the team needs to play 60-minutes, which is something that they've yet to do this season. Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork points out that finishing games is something they really need to work on doing better.
"We have to know how to finish games,'' nose tackle Vince Wilfork said. "We haven't been doing a good job of that. That's one thing we want to get turned around — quick. The faster we get it turned around, the better we'll be as a team.
"That's a goal of ours: put 60 minutes together, finish a football game, and play good football.''
ESPNBoston.com has a roundtable discussion of their thoughts for this week's game, which includes some funny commentary by Bill Simmons. It's a good read, so be sure and check it out.
Albert Breer of the Boston Globe reports that two more teams voted over the last two days to authorize NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith to decertify the union to prepare for what appears to be an inevitable lockout. According to Breer the Jets made eight on Thursday, while the Ravens made nine yesterday. He points out that it appears that the Patriots will make 10 early next week. Matt Light, New England's player rep, confirmed it to him yesterday in the locker room. This is a bad sign, as it appears that the possibility of no football in 2011 is becoming more of a real possibility.
And finally Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald has a piece this morning with comments from Robert Kraft about Brady's statement last week about the fact that Patriots fans aren't loud enough and that they leave early. The owner feels that the team's won-loss record is also a reflection of the fan base.
"Since we've been at Gillette (Stadium), we have the best home record in the NFL. And I believe the fans have been a big part of that."
That's it for this morning. Hope everyone enjoys their Saturday, and we'll have updates should anything become available. There are a couple of other pieces that are already completed that will be released later today, so be sure and check the front page of PatsFans.com for updates.
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