Matthew Slater News

The last NFL team to go unbeaten in the regular season gets its second chance in three weeks to stop an opponent from chasing that same goal.

In today's blitz: Jerod Mayo sounds off, find out about a new potential kick returner, Julian Edelman is back, the team signs two players into the 2010 season, Kevin Faulk comments on pass protection and read a couple stats on the Patriots as they prepare for Sunday's game.

Vince Wilfork had a quick reaction when he first lined up against Miami's strange formation: Huh? "It was shocking," New England's nose tackle said.

The Patriots [ team stats ] have faced an elite pass-rusher nearly every week this season, and it will be no different Sunday against the Dolphins.

With the bye week behind them, the Patriots are focusing on the second half of the year.

Patriots defensive end Jarvis Green confirmed yesterday that he had knee surgery last week.

While the fandom frets about Tom Brady 's performances coming off his knee injury - with many expecting a repeat of his off-the-charts 2007 season - the NFL seems to think QB12 is pretty close to the player he was pre-Bernard Polian.

The Patriots once again held practice inside Gillette Stadium, though today it is without the heavy rainfall that was part of yesterday's session.

In pregame warmups, Matthew Slater -- a safety of late -- is lining up at receiver with Tom Brady's group.

The Patriots took a redeye flight to the U.K. and arrived in London early Friday morning.

The Joey Galloway experiment ended with nothing more than a whimper on the field from the veteran and a grunt from Bill Belichick.

Matthew Slater is someone most people would likely consider an old soul. A month past his 24th birthday, the safety/special teamer is quiet and respectful, and exudes a sense of calm.

Despite 872 catches for 13,532 yards and 136 touchdowns, Randy Moss always has been dogged by a reputation for, well, dogging it during his 12 seasons in the NFL.

The Patriots have signed linebacker Bruce Davis to their practice squad. Davis was in the team's locker room today and has been assigned No.

The season isn't even a month old yet, and already the banged-up Patriots appear to be working their way back to health.

Like great stand-up comedy, sometimes the best things are improvised. Tom Brady revealed after Sunday's win over the Falcons that his 36-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Chris Baker on third-and-six was drawn up by Bill Belichick on the sidelines during a timeout.

John Felty lives in Uncasville and grew up in Gales Ferry. Hea s a graduate of Ledyard High School and Uconn and now teaches in Griswold.

Randy Moss and Wes Welker have formed a potent 1-2 punch for the New England Patriots the past two seasons.

Wide receiver Wes Welker, who did not practice yesterday, was present for the media portion of practice today, which consisted of stretching and the start of team drills.

In today's blitz, a member of the offensive line knows what to expect in the coming weeks and learn which special-teamer could return sooner than expected.