Patriots secondary may face tough task
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FOXBOROUGH -- Ty Law examined the film, saw the stats, and decided there would be only one way to stop the Colts receivers. And it wouldn't be through finesse.
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The wheels are in motion within the Patriots' linebacker corps. After losing Junior Seau for the season because of a broken right arm, the team practiced for the first time yesterday and had the following look in its 3-4 defense: Mike Vrabel taking Seau's spot on the inside next to Tedy Bruschi, and Tully Banta-Cain lining up with ...
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When Patriots players return to Gillette Stadium today after having two days off, they will likely begin addressing two areas that could use improvement from Sunday's win over the Dolphins: pass protection and run defense.
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CINCINNATI -- When the outside world looked at yesterday's matchup at Paul Brown Stadium, it saw a battered defense that was missing half its secondary facing an elite quarterback and the fourth-highest-scoring offense in pro football. The world looked at this and saw a disaster about to happen. The Patriots looked at it and saw opportunity.
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One wondered if the events of last week had penetrated the normally iron-clad concentration of the New England Patriots.
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Chad Pennington could feel the pressure of trying to make franchise history weighing down his teammates.
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Although they still can earn a bye in the first round of the playoffs with a win today over the Jets, the New England Patriots have problems.
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FOXBOROUGH -- If you're going to measure the performance of the Patriots running backs by just their running yesterday you're going to be disappointed.
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To most NFL observers, one of the more surprising stories of the regular season was the Patriots' ability to win 14 games without their usual starting cornerbacks. With Ty Law placed on injured reserve yesterday, the Patriots could surprise the NFL world again if their makeshift secondary can beat the likes of Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger on their way ...
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FOXBOROUGH -- The hit of the day belonged to Asante Samuel, one of those New England cornerbacks who spent most of the week on the NFL's Most Unappreciated list. How could that Patriots secondary ever cope with all the might of the Colts and Peyton Manning?
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With Ty Law joining fellow starting cornerback Tyrone Poole on injured reserve, the Patriots are left with eight defensive backs (plus practice squader Omare Lowe), including two playing out of position. Here's a look at each player's role at the start of the season and now.
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FOXBOROUGH - The list of receivers at Tom Brady's disposal is like a never-ending buffet. But that doesn't mean one more guy can't be added to the plate.
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It's all about the game this week. As the Patriots prepare for Saturday night's playoff test against the visiting Jaguars, it would be difficult to find anyone within the franchise who hasn't adopted that singular focus.
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FOXBORO, Mass. - With a little more than two minutes to play and the New York Jets driving for a go-ahead score, the New England Patriotsâ defense huddled on the sideline.
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FOXBOROUGH -- We can resist the urge, however strong, to ask the obvious: Why can't the Patriots get players like Javon Walker? (You think they could use him right about now?)
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ST. LOUIS -- It was bad enough that Bill Belichick had to design a defensive game plan with Asante Samuel and Randall Gay at cornerback. But four minutes into the game, the Patriots coach watched in dismay as Samuel went off with a shoulder injury that sent him to the locker room.
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FOXBOROUGH -- Nobody knows what lurks in coach Bill Belichick's mind, but it seems safe to say Dan Klecko is going to make the Patriots and get appreciative playing time. Question is, will the former collegiate defensive lineman make a push to be an eventual starter at his new primary position, linebacker?