Projo Pats Blog

It could be the perfect storm -- an explosive Denver Broncos offense coming to Gillette Stadium to take on a reeling Patriots defense. But the Broncos and the Patriots are not two teams that have followed a script lately, so what actually happens in front of the national TV audience remains anyone's guess.

The Broncos are second in the league, behind only the Saints, in yards per game passing, with a 279.3 average. They're fourth in total yards per game, at 399.7, behind the Giants, the Saints and the Cowboys. The question is, will the team we see in Foxboro on Monday be the really good Broncos, or the team that has put in its worst passing performances of the season the last two weeks? They got just 192 yards through the air in their loss Sunday to Jacksonville, after picking up 227 the week before in narrowly beating Tampa Bay.

If the Broncos are to get back to their high-flying ways on Monday night, it will help them to be at full strength. That remains to be seen, as the Broncos were without wide receiver Brandon Stokley (concussion) in practice on Wednesday. Read about Stokley in the Rocky Mountain News and you will probably think of what Wes Welker means to the Patriots offense. Here's what quarterback Jay Cutler says about Stokley: "You know he's going to be there every time. When he's in there, I know I can go to him."

In addition to Stokley, who believes that this concussion might be the 10th of his career, the Broncos got limited participation from tight end Tony Scheffler (groin), while wide receiver Eddie Royal had full participation, but is still listed as suffering from an ankle injury after missing the Jacksonville game. Also on the Broncos injury report: running backs Selvin Young and Ryan Torain, and former Patriots tight end Daniel Graham. That's pretty much all of the significant skill players on offense -- except for Cutler's single most dangerous threat, Brandon Marshall.

At 6 feet 4 inches tall and 230 pounds, Marshall provides matchup problems for any team, and particularly the 5-9 Ellis Hobbs and 5-11 Deltha O'Neal. Former Bronco O'Neal, who did not speak to reporters after giving up 48- and 49-yard pass completions against San Diego on Sunday night, yesterday said that he was in short-term memory mode, and that he was ready for Denver to test him deep. (Boston Globe) Hopefully for the Patriots' sake he is correct, and he won't carry any scars from the Chargers game, because they'll need O'Neal to be better Monday than he has been this season so far.

Denver also comes into this game dead last in total defense, giving up 393 yards per game and 6.2 yards per play, which as the web site ColdHardFootballFacts.com notes is equal to what the 2007 Patriots averaged on offense. But as we all know, this is not the 2007 Patriots offense.

CHANGES ON THE LINE: Patriots observers weren't surprised to see right tackle Nick Kaczur, who hurt his ankle in the Chargers game, miss practice yesterday. But the absence of left tackle Matt Light, who played the entire game in San Diego, because of a knee injury did raise some eyebrows. Help could be on the way in the person of veteran tackle Oliver Ross, a former Steeler and Cardinal who missed all of last season with a triceps injury, then hurt his collarbone while falling off the steps of his camper during the offseason. (Boston Globe) The Patriots have a 21-day practice window to place Ross and guard Stephen Neal -- who also returned to practice yesterday -- on the 53-man roster.

LAST-PLACE PATRIOTS? ESPN's Tim Graham takes a look at the division and sees this as a possibility, although it's not necessarily his prediction. Graham notes that the Patriots have the scored the fewest total points (89) of any team in the division. Former Buffalo guard Ruben Brown tells Graham that "I think New England is going to take some more lumps. It's just time. They've been on top for so long." And former Miami Dolphins linebacker Kim Bokamper predicts trouble coming from a frustrated Randy Moss: "The Randy Moss tantrum hasn't really set in yet. It's going to happen at some point. When that blooms anything can happen there."

BLAME TO SPREAD AROUND: While Cassel and O'Neal were the two main scapegoats for the Patriots' poor showing on Sunday night, ESPN's Gregg Easterbrook sees plenty of blame to go around: to the wide receivers, the coaches, to pretty much everybody.

JARVIS GREEN'S DOWN-HOME COOKING: The Patriots defensive lineman, an LSU product, apparently makes a mean chicken gumbo. Here's the recipe. (ESPN The Magazine)

SNUBBED? Keith Kidd of Scouts Inc. takes a look at the top 10 kickers in the NFL, and doesn't put Stephen Gostkowski on his list.

PAC-ING IT IN: Cowboys coach Wade Phillips says he is not counting on Adam "Pacman" Jones playing another game for his team, even though Jones has a chance of being reinstated by the NFL in time for next month's rematch with the Redskins. (Dallas Morning News) "He's gone," Phillips said. "That's what it looks like to me." Meanwhile, an unnamed source told the Morning News that Jones has entered an alcohol-abuse treatment program, as required by the league because of his scuffle with a bodyguard. He has reportedly enlisted the help of former Cowboys star Deion Sanders in his campaign to be re-reinstated by the NFL.

ROMO BACK ON THE JOB? Tony Romo says that he wants to try to play against St. Louis this week despite his broken pinkie, which we all thought would keep him out four weeks. Not too surprising -- I'd like to try to play against St. Louis myself. Seriously though, head coach Wade Phillips still says he is working under the assumption that Brad Johnson will be his man on Sunday. Romo reportedly had a conversation with ironman Brett Favre in which Favre encouraged Romo to suck it up and play if at all possible.

CHANGING HIS TUNE: Raiders receiving great Tim Brown, who has recently been quoted as ripping the way his old team is run by owner Al Davis, lobbied for a job with the Silver and Black during a radio appearance in Sacramento. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Brown said that "This is a place that can be turned around very easily."

DON'T BE A HERO: Bengals wide receivers Chad Ocho What's His Name and T.J. Houshmandzadeh say that Carson Palmer -- who wants to play against Pittsburgh this weekend -- should shut down his injured elbow for the rest of the season. (Dayton Daily News) "It would be the smart thing to do," Houshmandzadeh said. "Whether that will happen, I'm not sure." Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, in true NFL coaching fashion, has not revealed what exactly Palmer's injury is.

GOING DOWN FIGHTING: A day after the Detroit Lions placed him on injured reserve, quarterback Jon Kitna told Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press that the team was just using his back injury as a convenient excuse to shelve him in favor of young unknowns Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton.

AN UNEXPECTED OUTCOME: When the Green Bay Packers chose Aaron Rodgers over Brett Favre, Favre went to the Jets and displaced Chad Pennington went to Miami, few expected the Dolphins to come out the best in the end. But that is exactly what has happened, say the folks at ColdHardFootballFacts.com, as Miami has moved from 31st in the league to 6th in yards per pass attempt with Pennington in charge.

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