It’s a two-for-Thursday over at Patriots Daily, where Dan Snapp is getting that old familiar feeling about this Patriots team. Scott Benson goes over Five Questions that seem pertinent this week.
In the Metro, I’m hoping for steady improvement from this Patriots team as the season wears on.
Michael Felger has this week’s Patriots mailbag, there is also this week’s edition of the Ask Reiss mailbag.
Adam Kilgore has Vince Wilfork avoiding a suspension from the league. Rich Garven has Wilfork talking about his aggressive approach to the game. Karen Guregian has Wilfork escaping his meeting with Roger Goodell with just a fine. Steve Buckley has Wilfork saying that he needs to learn to play until the whistle and not after.
Dan Shaughnessy wonders if Bill Belichick is secretly enjoying the challenge of coaching without Tom Brady. Bill Reynolds says Belichick is doing one of his best coaching jobs. Bob Halloran wonders if Brady is thinking about retirement.
Mark Farinella has Terrence Wheatley getting better with experience. Rich Garven has Wheatley facing a big challenge this week. David Brown says that the entire secondary is going to have their hands full on Sunday. Ben Swasey looks at how impressive the Patriots have been on special teams this season. Christopher Price has Stephen Gostkowski in the midst of a great season. Guregian has the young defensive backs feeling a bit more prepared for Manning after seeing Tom Brady every day during training camp.
Andy Vogt says that the stakes are different in this week’s Colts/Patriots matchup. Hector Longo feels sorry for Peyton Manning. Daniel Barbarisi says that the Patriots won’t take the struggling Colts for granted. Shalise Manza Young says that Matt Cassel’s first seven games are remarkably similar to Tom Brady’s first seven.
Kilgore’s notebook says that just because the hype isn’t as loud doesn’t mean this isn’t an important game between the Colts and Patriots on Sunday night. Garven’s notebook has a look at Ellis Hobbs’ big year on kick returns. Glen Farley’s notebook has Wilfork avoiding a suspension. Guregian’s notebook says that with Rodney Harrison out, the Patriots will need to find a new way to cover Dallas Clark. The Projo notebook has Wheatley saying that he’s learned from his mistakes.
Celtics/Bruins
Mark Murphy has Paul Pierce driven to be even better this season. Mike Fine says that there were plenty of questions answered on Tuesday night. Marc J. Spears has Rajon Rondo hungry for more.
Stephen Harris says that it has been worth staying up late to see these Bruins. Kevin Paul Dupont looks at the contributions of the NYT line for the Bruins.