Hey all --

The atmosphere at Gillette today is fairly relaxed, as New England puts its finishing touches on its preparations for Buffalo.

Bill Belichick was asked for his reaction to the NFL deciding to take no further action against the Patriots after the team handed over videos and notes on opposing teams dating back to 2000; the league destroyed the items.

Not surprisingly, Belichick said his only reaction had to do with how his team was doing to get ready for Buffalo.

But the coach did give some praise to Bills' rookie linebacker Paul Posluszny, Patriots safety James Sanders and backup defensive lineman Santonio Thomas, who is seeing his first game action as a professional after spending most of the last two years on the practice squad.

"Like Vince (Wilfork) and Kareem (Brown), all the defensive linemen from Miami, its a different system than what we do here," Belichick said. "(But) he never stops working and trying to get better."

Belichick was at his best when he was asked about the fullback position, and how it has changed over the years in the NFL. He said that the I-formation is really the reason that the fullback has become a blocker, whereas years ago, Jim Brown was listed as a fullback.

In the locker room, Wilfork's old Miami jersey was hanging in Ty Warren's locker, as Wilfork's Hurricanes upset Warren's Texas A&M Aggies last night. There was also more tape-basketball, with Wes Welker draining at least five in a row at one point, and Laurence Maroney howling when he noticed that the trash can "hoop" had been pushed back a few feet.

We'll post the injury/participation report as soon as we can, and then unless there's breaking news, we'll be back on Sunday morning.

shalise