Sunday Patriots Headlines

It's finally game day, and after taking a spin around the internet, here are today's headlines.

Monique Walker writes that how the Patriots play on the road today against a tough Chargers team could be a strong indication of where this team is headed going into the rest of the season.

The Boston Globe has an article this morning on linebacker Jermaine Cunningham, who is starting to come into his own after having a solid performance last weekend against the Ravens. He even caught the attention of head coach Bill Belichick, who had some good things to say about him.

"I thought Jermaine played very aggressively,'' said coach Bill Belichick. "He certainly had some good plays, some big plays. He made a good pass rush there, got a holding penalty on [Michael] Oher, made some good plays in the running game.

"He's still got a long way to go, but he's working hard, and I thought he did play very aggressively, which is what we need at that position.''

Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe writes that he's "charged up" for this week's game, and gives fans a few reasons why they should be as well.

Jim McBride has a scouting report for today's game, looking at different aspects on each side of the football.

Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald has five questions this morning, one of which includes whether or not the secondary for the Patriots can stop the Chargers from going deep today.

On the other side Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune has five things to watch for today, and feel the Chargers have to do to Tom Brady what the Rams did to Philip Rivers a week ago - when they sacked him seven times. There's also quite a close up photo of Brady used in the article.

Karen Guregian of the Herald writes that the Patriots key to beating the Chargers could come from their special teams, which has been a weakness for San Diego this season.

Steve Buckley has a column this morning talking about the "business" involved that ended up bringing Deion Branch back to New England.

Rapoport also talked to Stephen Gostkowski, who he writes did a great job of keeping his cool before kicking the game-winner in overtime last weekend against the Ravens.

Guregian also caught up with Ty Warren, who continues to recover from his hip surgery and has been pleased with what he's seen from the young guys on defense.

Michael Hurley of NESN has an interesting entry this morning, and wonders if the team will cut ties and move on from safety Brandon Meriweather after this season.

Mike Reiss has his "Quick Hit Thoughts" for this morning, which includes the fact he's curious to see how much playing time Meriweather gets this week after his hit on Heap saw Belichick yank him last week. Meriweather later returned, but only after Jarrad Page went down with an injury.

The Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins did make a phone inquiry about a possible deal for Logan Mankins prior to the trade deadline, although the deal likely didn't happen due to the compensation New England was probably seeking - especially if it involved sending Mankins to a division rival.

Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe has another "Getting to know..." piece this morning as she does every week, although this one is likely going to get a fair amount of attention because she had a chance to talk to Tom Brady for this week's edition. There are some interesting tidbits about the Patriots signal caller, so be sure and check it out.

That's it for this morning. We'll have pregame notes later on.