Projo Pats Blog

Home sweet home.

After ten days on the road, with long stayovers in Seattle and Oakland, the Patriots finally touched down at Logan airport at 4 a.m. this morning.

With consecutive road games against the Seahawks and Raiders the past two weeks, Coach Bill Belichick opted to keep the team on the road through the week, and train in California, rather than returning to Massachusetts after the Seattle game. It's the second time this year the team has stayed on the west coast over a two-week road trip, after flying cross-country to play the San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers earlier in the season.

The strategy appears successful The Patriots are 3-1 against the west coast this year, though that may have more to do with the woeful caliber of the Seahawks, Raiders, and 49ers than it does with the travel arrangements.

Safety Brandon Meriwether thought the tactic kept the team fresh.
"I think it kept a lot more energy that we didn't make the flight back and forth," Meriwether said. "Flying back and forth back and forth [would have] taken a lot more out of us."

Running back Sammy Morris, a veteran of many coast-to-coast flights over his nine years in the league, found himself missing home over the long stretch away, and he felt like he had to make it up to his kids. In the airport, his teammates ribbed him for the large bag of toys he was dragging around -- souvenirs for his three children and wife.

"I had this bag of kid's stuff, some stuff I bought while I was in California. And some stuff for my wife," he said. "It's tough to be away for that long. As you can tell from my voice, I'm still a wreck. My throat's killing me, my body hurts."

His priorities for today?
"I'm just lounging around the house," an exhausted Morris said.

For the second time this season, the Patriots are doing what they can to cut down on coast-to-coast travel by staying out on the West Coast between games. The first stretch was against San Diego and San Francisco, and now the Patriots will stay through their two games with Seattle and Oakland.

The strategy is new this year, but so far the reviews are good. The Patriots split their first stayover road trip, beating the 49ers and losing to the Chargers, but Belichick felt the travel strategy was a success, and didn't impact the result of the game.

"I wish we played a little better and had a better outcome in San Diego, but I don't think that was a result of the week," he said.

"I think everybody felt that it went well the week out there, that we had a productive week, players got a lot more rest and were better physically and fresher then if we crisscrossed the country two more times. We got everything done that we needed to get done," Belichick said.

The distance from home helps in subtle ways, functioning like an executive retreat or a destination conference in how it brings co-workers -- the players -- together.

"You miss sleeping in your own bed but from a team standpoint it gave us a little more time together both on and off the field. I think that was good for team bonding and spending time together as well as our preparation for the game," Belichick said.

The football coaching fraternity can be a tight one, and with college coaches often jumping to the NFL and vice-versa, friendships across various levels are common. Two of Bill Belichick's closest friends in the college coaching world will face each other tomorrow in the SEC title game, when Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide face Urban Meyer's Florida Gators.

This leaves Belichick with a bit of a dilemma: who to root for?

"My relationship goes back further with Nick and I could never root against him, but I don't want to root against Urban either. May the best team win," Belichick said.

Saban and Belichick worked together on the Browns in the early 1990s.
"He is a hell of a football coach, a great friend and a great recruiter. He is just a great guy to be around. He is a lot of fun. He is witty. He is smart. But, he is very determined and is as good a football coach as I have ever had the privilege of coaching with," Belichick said.

Belichick knew Meyer when he was in Cleveland and Meyer played and coached at Ohio State, but the two have solidified the relationship during Meyer's recent tenure in Florida. Belichick has visited Florida each year that Meyer has been there to scout players, and the Patriots coach has come away impressed.

"[I have seen] not only the talent but their schemes, the way they coach their players and some of the drills they do. I am sure it will be a great game. They are two very well coached teams with a lot of good players. That will be a fun game to watch," Belichick said.

Linebackers Vince Redd and Pierre Thomas, defensive end Ty Warren, and receiver Kelley Washington all missed practice Friday, held on the upper practice field behind Gilette Stadium.

Thomas is dealing with a broken jaw, Redd an ankle injury, and Washington a thigh injury.

Warren, who is struggling with a groin injury, said yesterday that it's possible he could play Sunday against Seattle despite missing practice.

Linebacker Adalius Thomas was placed on injured reserve today.

The Patriots should have Pro-Bowl defensive end Richard Seymour and his seven sacks on the field on Sunday, a huge boon for a defense that may load up against the run and force quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to beat them.

Seymour had missed practice all week with a knee injury, and had been hampered last week by a toe injury. But he practiced yesterday and said he expects to play on Sunday.
"Absolutely. Hopefully that's the game plan. This time of year, everybody's banged up and not feeling 100 percent, but you try to go out and give it your best shot," Seymour said.

If that knee and toe aren't healthy, Seymour is in for a long day. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is mobile, and at 6'5", 246 lbs, is hard to bring down. He often uses his size and mobility to break tackles, and leaves defensive linemen chasing him around the field - which could be tough for the banged-up Seymour.

"Roethlisberger does a good job of ad-libbing, making plays with his legs. He's a strong, tough guy, tough to bring down in the pocket. He can take a broken play and turn it into a touchdown," Seymour said.

By the end of the game, the advantage can go to a big, quick quarterback, with the defense winded from chasing him around all day.

"I just think that, a lot of quarterbacks, early in the game you can get to them and sack them; he's a guy that weighs on you at the end of the game, where sometimes you see defensive linemen not able to bring him down -- he's able to shrug those guys off," Seymour said.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft's $350 shopping gamble, the open-air Patriot Place mall, experienced its first "Black Friday" shopping event yesterday, and it's a safe bet to say that the giant complex hasn't supplanted area malls just yet.
Perhaps it was due to the poor weather, the newness of Patriot Place, or the sluggish economy, but Patriot Place, while busy, was certainly not mobbed yesterday ¬- despite events featuring Patriots cheerleaders, live music, a coat drive by the Patriots' wives, and kiosks by the Army National Guard,
Jean MacDonald of Blackstone, Mass. liked what she saw at Patriot Place, which she and her friend Lynn Robbins of Norfolk, Mass. visited to try to avoid the mall crowds, and was happy to avoid the lines.
"It's beautiful, they have great stores here," MacDonald said.
Robbins said she had tried to come once before, on a Saturday when the weather was nice, and it was so packed she couldn't get into the parking lot. Yesterday, she was surprised to see the complex so empty.
"I'm shocked. I tried to come once before, and I couldn't even get in," Robbins said.
Patriot Place opened its first stores last year, but opened the majority of its shops this fall. It features a movie theater, a dozen restaurants, a medical office building, and roughly 70 shops adjacent to Gillette Stadium.

After a week of jawing at the Patriots in the media, Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter, he of the 13.5 sacks and the well-known mouth, was surprisingly quiet on Sunday, recording only one tackle -- his 14.5th sack -- in the Dolphins 48-28 loss.

The Patriots offense got all the credit for shutting down Porter, but the real hero may actually be unheralded rookie linebacker Vince Redd. Redd, who was promoted from the practice squad to the team's roster last week, played the role of Joey Porter in practice leading up to the Dolphins game, and did it so well that coach Bill Belichick awarded him with the black jersey representing the best defensive scout team player last week.

"Oh yeah - that means I gave them a good look all week," Redd said of his special jersey status.

Redd played his part like a Broadway actor - even talking a little trash to get the offense riled up, and get under the skin of his teammates.

"I probably didn't talk as much as he does. I guess in some ways they don't like me just like they don't like him - but that's just the way it goes, you've got to work hard in practice," Redd said.

Belichick loved it.

"He kicked some dirt, yeah," Belichick laughed. "He did a real good job in it... I think we were well prepare to play him."

The Patriots practiced on the upper field in a light drizzle today, and welcomed defensive lineman Richard Seymour back to practice for the first time this week. Seymour had been slowed by a knee injury, and before that had been struggling with a toe problem.
Seymour and his seven sacks would be sorely missed against the Pittsburgh offense this Sunday.
Receiver Kelley Washington and linebacker Adalius Thomas both missed practice, Washington with a thigh injury and Thomas with a broken forearm.
The team practiced in shells and sweatpants, under a large, ominous raincloud that seemed ready to dump water on the players at any moment. The rain worsened briefly, before giving way to sun.

FOXBORO -- With only 11 games played, Patriots kicker Stephen Gostowski has already set his career high for touchbacks, his 16th of the season coming in the second quarter against Miami.

Gostowski said it isn't the result of some massive workout program for his legs, or coverage changes -- just some good weather, some good kicks, some good luck, and strong Patriots kick coverage making returners reconsider trying to run that gauntlet.
"During the beginning of the year, I'd kick a good kick, and they'd bring it out, and we'd stop them inside the 20. So now maybe they think twice before bringing it out," Gostowski said.

Gostowski's 16 touchbacks place him third in the league, a bragging point for a kicker who has been known for his accuracy, not his leg strength. But Gostowski said that he really doesn't think he's kicking harder than last year -- although he acknowledged that he has had a shorter memory about poor kicks.

"I know I'm kicking the ball higher, but I don't know about farther," Gostowski said. "A lot of times, it's about attitude, and how you attack the ball. I'm definitely trying to attack it with the attitude that I want to kick it far. Sometimes you go up there afraid to mishit one, and that's not the attitude you want to have. I had a couple balls that I hit out of bounds last year, and that may have altered the way I approached it, but you don't want to do that."

Gostowski is also having an accurate year kicking field goals, adding two Sunday to give him 26 made in 28 attempts on the season.

FOXBORO -- Around the country, families will sit down for Turkey dinner Thursday for the annual Thanksgiving ritual. Football players don't know anything about that. Thanks to the NFL scheduling, most haven't had a Thanksgiving since college, or a Christmas, either.

"It's my ninth year. I haven't had a Thanksgiving or a Christmas, so I don't really think about it," said defensive back Lewis Sanders.

"I'll probably eat Chinese food on thanksgiving. I don't have nowhere to go," Sanders said, clearly opening himself up to an invite from legions of crazed fans.

Six teams will play games on Thanksgiving, and some of the rest will at least have the day off from practice. Sanders said that it takes some adjustment for the younger players, but on a veteran team like the Patriots, the short week shouldn't effect game preparation at all.

"Maybe the young guys are like, 'oh my god, we have to work on Thanksgiving?' But I've been around, and this team has been around, so we're just going to prepare and go forward," Sanders said.

FOXBORO -- Sunday's fight between Patriots tackle Matt Light and Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder is going to be reviewed by the league office to determine if disciplinary action is necessary, but Patriots kicker Stephen Gostowski won't be worth interviewing. Even though he was right next to the fight, he was only concerned about one thing: making sure neither man crushed his kicking leg.

"Light landed on my leg, and I had no idea what was going on, I was just worried about someone falling on my leg," Gostowski said.

The fight began after a field goal late in the Patriots win over the Dolphins. Crowder appeared to shove Light, and then the Patriots tackle punched Crowder repeatedly.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the incident would be reviewed by NFL director of football operations Gene Washington this week, but that no decision would be made Monday, according to the Associated Press. He said reviews are standard for such on-field incidents.
Gostowski, meanwhile, never thought about getting involved.

"That's their fight, let them do what they want to do. Those guys are twice my size -- I only pick fights that I know I can win," the kicker laughed.

Reminded that sometimes in hockey, the two goalies square off during larger fights, Gostowski -- clearly joking -- mulled the idea of facing off with the other team's kicker.

"Yeah, I should have gone after their kicker -- just ran over there and started punching him, yeah!" Gostowski laughed.

BY DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- The Indianapolis Colts are in unfamiliar territory. At this time of year, the strong-starting team is normally locking up their hold on the division, and the starters are looking forward to getting some rest in the final weeks. This year, with a 3-4 record, they may have already conceded that the AFC South division title is out of reach and are grinding forward with hopes of grabbing one of the two wild card spots.

Before this Monday Night's game against the division rival Tennessee Titans, Colts coach Tony Dungy said that if his team couldn't win, they would be playing for the Wild Card the rest of the way.

"The season won't be over if we don't get a win. Obviously, wild-card teams have won the Super Bowl two of the last three years, so it's certainly not a season-ending game. But in terms of winning the division... that's the reality of it."

Dungy backtracked slightly from that statement yesterday, saying that anything was possible.
"If we can get a streak like we have gotten in the past and roll off six or seven [wins] in a row, it still might not be enough to win the division, but that's OK. If we can get ourselves playing well and get hot and be in that wild card race, we'll be in good shape."

Colts tight end Dallas Clark looked at his team's record and saw only the harsh reality of chasing the 7-0 Titans.

"That's very difficult, but that's the hole we put ourselves in. We have no one to blame but ourselves for that, and that's tough. But we do know that there's a lot of season left to be played," Clark said.

The Colts, he said, would not quit on the season, no matter which brass ring -- wildcard or division -- they are chasing. "There's still a chance for us, and we're not checking out yet, no matter what some people might be saying, or whatever you hear," Clark said.

Prevailing wisdom has held that the Colts have not been the same team this year. Quarterback Peyton Manning missed the entire preseason following offseason knee surgery, and his 79.0 quarterback rating is the lowest since his rookie season. Safety Bob Sanders has missed time, as have key players like running back Joseph Addai and center Jeff Saturday.

Dungy said yesterday that he expects Addai and Sanders to play this Sunday night when the Patriots meet the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday night.

The Colts have won 50 of their last 64 games, and they are the league's most successful team in the regular season since 1999, with one more win than the Patriots. But the two teams have met 13 times since Manning arrived in 1998, and the Patriots have won nine of those contests.
Like the Colts, the Patriots have also been winners of their division, the AFC East, for the past five years. And like the Colts, these Patriots have struggled to replace key players, particularly after season-ending leg injuries to quarterback Tom Brady and safety Rodney Harrison.

Ever cautious, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is not about to look past his longtime rival, no matter what their record. Belichick sees quarters of football where the Colts have been as dominant as ever -- and dreads them putting four such quarters up against the undermanned Patriots this weekend.

"When I look at them I see a very explosive football team. Look at the last six minutes of the Houston game, look at the first quarter of the Baltimore game - you see plenty of good football from them and plenty of explosive football. That's what worries us and that's what we have to prepare for," Belichick said.

Terrence Wheatley stood at his locker and thought back on his first seven weeks in the NFL.

High points, yes, like seeing the field in the first week, but low points too. Week Five against the Chargers brings back bad memories every time he sees it on tape. Burned on two Philip Rivers passes, the 23-year-old cornerback was held out of the next week's game against the Denver Broncos.

"It was hard watching the film out there, because no one wants to go out there and think, 'I was horrible on this play.' But in this business, you've got to be able to analyze every little thing that you do wrong, and I analyzed it, now I know what I did wrong, and that's it," Wheatley said.

He worked his way back into the lineup, and last week against the Rams he was thrown into the game to fill in for injured starters. He performed solidly.

What's been particularly jarring, especially for an accomplished athlete, is entering a world where his physical ability doesn't make him stand out. To compensate, the 5'9", 183 pound rookie from Colorado is beginning to pick up the importance of technique and of deception, he said.

"You've just got to be able to change up your technique, Guys at this level are fast, they're big, they're smart, they know what they're doing. Coming in as a rookie, you've got to be able to show them different things. For our offense, Tom [Brady] and Randy [Moss], I can't show them the same thing every time -- they'll eat me alive. You've got to change it up," said the Plano, TX native.

"In college, you didn't really have to do that. You could just line up and your physical ability would just take over. But at this level, against a team like the Colts, you just can't do that," he said.

Now he figures to see some playing time defending against Peyton Manning and the Colts' famously prolific offense. In college, he said, he never considered that he might be someday covering famous receivers like Marvin Harrison or Reggie Wayne, but the pair are suddenly in his mind a great deal.

"Never thought about that - but I'm definitely thinking about it now," Wheatley said.

By DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Staff Writer

FOXBORO -- Some games are won with long drives or spectacular pass plays, and afterwards the toasts go to the quarterback or the running back who broke the big gain.

Then there are field position wins like Sunday's 23-16 Patriots victory over the Rams, where the outcome came down to the Patriots' performance in a few key situations that were more about strategy and psychology than they were about big bodies slamming into one another.

"I was proud of the way the players hung in there and played good situational football; a lot of real specific, one situation type plays. Our red-area defense, our two-minute operation, offensively getting the ball in down there on a double move in there to Kevin [Faulk]" for the winning touchdown, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

Belichick found himself weighing tactics to close the first half, and to end the game, with positive results both times.

As the first half came to a close, the Rams were leading 13-10, and punting away to the Patriots. Only 42 seconds were left, but going into halftime tied versus trailing would shift the momentum. So rather than run the clock out and go to halftime, Belichick chose to call a timeout and prepare for a shot at a field goal.

The first kick from Rams punter Donnie Jones sailed 61 yards, and returner Wes Welker brought it back to the New England 45, well out of field goal range.

But a penalty on the Rams gave the Patriots another shot -- if Belichick chose to accept the penalty and force a re-kick.

That was a difficult question, however. Time was running out, and getting the ball back without enough time would make for a worthless possession. Belichick weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

"We knew it would take a little more time to repunt it, but we felt we could gain some yards on that," Belichick said.

He considered that forcing a team to run a play twice can wear them down, mentally and physically, he said.

"A lot of times, psychologically, the protection is thinking, 'I've got to stay in longer, we don't have as much room to punt, it's not our normal depth from the center to the punter'," Belichick said. "Also when you make a team re-kick it, guys aren't as fresh. You don't get the same energy on the punt the second time around."

The Patriots asked for the re-kick, now with 29 seconds remaining in the half. Jones' second punt only traveled 52 yards, and Welker brought it back to the Rams 46. A ten-yard net gain.

Now working with a short field, the Patriots completed two quick passes and snuck the offense close enough for a Stephen Gostowski 27 yard field goal.

Afterwards Belichick weighed the risk and reward of the re-kick.

"It would have been the equivalent of completing a pass for 10 yards, in however many seconds that was that we lost -- 13. So I don't know if that was the right tradeoff or not."

Beyond the tactics, the Patriots were able to dominate the red zone, holding the Rams to field goals inside the 20 yard line, and piled up twice as many special teams yards as St. Louis.

Rams coach Jim Haslett saw the Patriots' strength in the field position battle as the reason for their win.

"The game really boiled down to second half field position. They had great field position on offense all day. Our offense had short field position all day," Haslett said.

Patriots special-teamer Kelley Washington was a big part of that effort. He made a strong special teams tackle early, and nearly tipped a punt from going into the end zone late in the game. The team is well aware, he said, of the difference a few return yards can make.

"We know that a lot of these games are going to come down to field position, fourth quarter, last few minutes of the game [situations]. As good as we do on special teams, that's going to help us control the game. A couple of times we pinned them [inside the 20]; those were big plays," Washington said,

At the end of the game, Belichick again tried to work the clock in order to deny the Rams a chance at a comeback. Deltha O'Neal had just made what would be the clinching interception with 1:08 left, but as Belichick and his coaches checked their watches, they knew the Rams would likely have enough time to mount a comeback unless the Patriots could take more time off the clock.

"We thought that when we took possession, and we looked at their two time outs, we thought we would probably punt them the ball with about 25 seconds to go. So they would probably be getting the ball with 20 seconds... We knew we couldn't kneel on it and run the clock out completely, but we wanted to try to stay up on the kneel until Matt was actually going to get tackled, and bleed a few more seconds off the clock," Belichick said.

The kneeling led to some vintage Belichick television, as he jawed heatedly with officials over how much time should be taken off the clock.

"After the first one, they called time out, and I talked to the referee, Scott [Green] about it, and we just talked about the timing of that play, how it was being officiated. We didn't quite see it the same way," Belichick deadpanned.

The Rams offense finally got on the field with 5 seconds left, and soon the Patriots were walking back to their locker room at 5 -2.

Patriots Coach Bill Belichick is known as a bit of perfectionist. And certainly not as someone who shies away from giving his players a lesson -- occasionally, quite forcefully.

But there wasn't much he could say after his team failed to recover an onside kick by St. Louis yesterday.

"As much as I'd like to be upset about how we handled that, sometimes you've got to say that they really did a good job on that play," Belichick said.

Halftime had just ended, and Rams kicker Josh Brown immediately booted an onside kick to start the 2nd half, which was recovered by Travis Minor in front of Patriots tight end David Thomas. The unorthodox move paid off for the Rams, but Belichick said it hadn't taken his team by surprise.

"It was a very well executed play on their part -- but not a big surprise.... It was a perfect kick. It was perfect," Belichick said.

Perhaps his anger was tempered by the fact that his defense held, and denied St. Louis any points from the recovery.

"We definitely could have played it better, but it was a great play by St. Louis," Belichick said.

BY DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- The Patriots will visit their old foes the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday, but Peyton Manning and crew have relocated to some new digs since the last time the Patriots came to town. The Colts left the RCA Dome and moved into Lucas Oil Stadium at the start of this season, and now call the new $720 million, retractable roof facility home.

Still, Patriots coach Bill Belichick does not expect to see a slower style of play now that the Colts are only occasionally a dome-home team.

"I know it's a new stadium and all that, but I'm sure it'll be a lot of the same elements we've seen before in that dome. That'll be a big challenge for us," Belichick said.

In the past, the Patriots have struggled to contain Manning's high-octane offense, and the RCA Dome was the site of several Manning-Tom Brady duels, including last year's memorable 24-20 Patriots victory, capped by two late Brady touchdown drives and a game-clinching Manning interception.

While the Patriots do not have Brady this weekend, Manning is also hobbled from a knee injury, and his 2008 statistics look pedestrian compared to his normal numbers. Not that Belichick is preparing for a weakened Manning.

"We're on to Indy, and we know what kind of a battle that'll be up there," Belichick said, adding later, "We've got a lot to get ready for."

BY DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- Rams backup running back Antonio Pittman came to work today unsure if he'd see the field. Soon, he was told that he would be starting in place of injured starter Steven Jackson, who would miss the game with a quad injury.

But instead of abandon the running game in Jackson's absence, the Rams leaned heavily on Pittman, handing him the ball 19 times. He paid them back with 83 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.

"You've got to expect the unexpected. You know, when my number is called I've got to be ready. I've got to be ready every day. So, if I am the guy, it won't be a surprise," Pittman said.

Rams coach Jim Haslett was pleased with what he saw from his backup.

"He got a lot of work and I thought he played well. He ran hard and held on to the ball. I thought he did a nice job. He'll be tired tomorrow," Haslett joked.

Pittman agreed about tomorrow - but during the game, he said, he was happy to find that he never ran out of steam.

"There were times when I had to catch my breath, but I was always ready. That's a sign of not being out of shape," he said.

BY DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- Rookie wide receiver Donnie Avery came into Gillette Stadium yesterday as the little-known second option behind veteran wideout Torry Holt. He left with every Patriots fan well aware of exactly who he was -- and where he stood on the field at all times.

Avery grabbed six balls for 163 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown pass. The day's haul nearly matched his total yardage for the year to this point.

"We're going to have to find ways to get him the ball more -- him and Torry and Keenan [Burton] because they do have playmaking ability," said Rams coach Jim Haslett.

Avery was modest about his big game.

"The numbers don't count if you can't get the win. We need to go out next week and get it done," he said.

Avery, a second-round pick out of Houston, was the first receiver selected in the 2008 draft. He showed off his speed at his Pro Day workout, where he ran a 4.34 40-yard dash.

Rams quarterback Marc Bulger is just starting to get in sync with Avery, and that could make the two more dangerous down the road, Bulger said.

"He's starting to learn me, and I'm starting to learn what he does good, and the things that suit him," Bulger said. "He had however many yards today, and a touchdown -- he could be really, really good."

BY DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- Cornerback Ellis Hobbs came out of the game in the fourth quarter after landing on his left shoulder, and never came back. But he vows he'll be back in action next week at Indianapolis.

"I just hit the ground kind of funny. Too funny, actually. Where I didn't feel right," Hobbs said. "I'll be fine, I'll be alright."

The durable Hobbs has only missed one game in his pro career due to injury, against Cincinnati in 2006 following surgery on his wrist. But a torn labrum in his left shoulder gave him trouble all of last year, and he had offseason surgery to repair the injury.

He said he was worried enough about his shoulder that he didn't watch the end of the Rams game, but was still certain that he would be starting at cornerback next week. When pressed for details on his injury, he was tightlipped.

"I'm fine, that's all I'm going to say is, I'm fine," he said.