Fred Taylor News

What a difference a week makes. The New England Patriots went from being crushed to sitting in the catbird seat in just one week.

Laurence Maroney [ stats ] likes to watch cartoons, especially the classics. The Patriots [ team stats ] running back is into "Voltron," a series from the '80s that features five lions who come together to form the massive title character.

Patriots running backs coming together like Voltron and links! Laurence Maroney was holding court yesterday at his locker, a regular Friday event that never fails to be entertaining.

The life of a running back in the NFL can be unpredictable. Consider, for example, the questions being asked of Laurence Maroney , Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk on Friday.

Inconsistency on offense and defense inside the 20-yard line is an area upon which New England is working to improve.

The Patriots were missing quite a few players at practice today. According to colleague Ian Rapoport , who was on hand to watch the media viewing portion, they were missing Linebackers Tully Banta-Cain and Rob Ninkovich , offensive lineman Stephen Neal and special teams captain Sam Aiken , all who left the Colts game, were missing.

Bill Belichick certainly played a major role in New Englanda s stunning 35-34 loss to Indianapolis Sunday, but the fourth-down gamble is not the mistake he made.

Patriots defensive lineman Ty Warren and cornerback Shawn Springs head the list of inactives for tonight's game.

Starting center Dan Koppen is one of 10 New England Patriots listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts .

New England Patriots [ team stats ] running back Laurence Maroney [ stats ] kidding around with contest winner Tyler Hutchinson and the rest of the gang at the Duxbury Middle School while Celtics [ team stats ] cutie Rajon Rondo [ stats ] hung out with a Nika the flying squirrel and a gang of kids from the Franklin Park Tenants Association at a ...

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham The New England Patriots don't sound overly interested in adding former Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson to their roster.

The Patriots are practicing inside Gillette Stadium currently, and the players are in shells and sweatpants/shorts. The same six are missing today that have been missing all week: Julian Edelman, Fred Taylor, Jonathan Wilhite, Sammy Morris, Matt Light and Jarvis Green.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ROUNDUP Auburn 41, Tantasqua 0: Marcus Backlin was 5-of-7 passing for 137 yards and two touchdowns as the third-ranked Rockets defeated the host Warriors in Division 2A.

Passed along from Globe colleague Adam Kilgore, who's at the Patriots practice field, are these absences ... WR Julian Edelman RB Fred Taylor RB Sammy Morris OT Matt Light DL Jarvis Green CB Jonathan Wilhite Those six were missing yesterday, and the injuries are as they were listed on yesterday's practice report.

The return of Tom Brady this season made it tempting to envision a re-creation of the Patriots' 2007 offense, a barrage of passes whipping around the field, records toppling, points skyrocketing like the score on a pinball machine.

After an enjoyable and successful trip across the pond to beat the Bucs, New England returns home off a two-game blowout streak to enjoy a bye week.

It's bye week 2009 for the New England Patriots, and this season is gearing up to be one of of the most epic seasons to be a fan of the New England Patriots.

The Patriots waved goodbye to London yesterday and, with equal enthusiasm, said hello to their bye week.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 9-3 and tied for first place in the NFC South last December.

The Patriots remain hopeful that both RB Fred Taylor and WR Julian Edelman will return to the team this season.