Colvin likes getting in on action
FOXBOROUGH -- It all feels different to Rosevelt Colvin.
A 10-1 season feels different than the 13-3 season he experienced with the Chicago Bears under Dick Jauron in 2000.
"It's so different because with all due respect to Dick Jauron and what we were doing in Chicago that year, I've never seen a coaching staff prepare a team better than this one has prepared ours so far this year for every game," he said. "It's really amazing to me to watch it day in and day out and week in and week out. We seem to be ready for a lot of what we see on the field on Sunday."
Colvin isn't getting anywhere near the playing time he did in Chicago, but he is beginning to show up more on the field, slowly but surely coming back from his major hip injury of last season.
In yesterday's 24-3 win over the Ravens, Colvin had three tackles and sacked Kyle Boller for a 12-yard loss. He has four sacks -- 2 1/2 behind team leader Willie McGinest.
"Whatever the playing time is, I've got to perform my best," he said. "If it's less, than I'm not going to complain about it. I've never been a part of a team like this before. I'm going to enjoy it no matter what my role is."
Colvin thought the Patriots did a great job navigating the rainy, windy elements yesterday. Colvin said many of the players on the team are used to practicing and playing in adverse weather, which is a huge advantage for the Patriots.
"The Ravens don't play on this stuff so it's something they have to get used to," Colvin said.
Recovery mode
While Matt Light was favoring his left ankle late in the game, he was seen walking out of the locker room without a limp. Rodney Harrison suffered a leg injury, but returned . . . The Patriots activated Omare Lowe from the practice squad to fortify their depleted secondary. Safety Eugene Wilson played corner opposite Randall Gay, while Rodney Harrison was joined by rookie Dexter Reid at safety. Earthwind Moreland saw duty as a nickel back. It was Wilson's first start at corner . . . Asante Samuel's shoulder was too painful for him to be activated. He sat along with injured Ty Law (foot), Tyrone Poole (knee), and Roman Phifer (calf). Jim Miller, Cedric Cobbs, Marquise Hill, and Ethan Kelley were coach's decisions. The Ravens were missing cornernack Deion Sanders (foot), running backs Jamal Lewis (ankle) and Musa Smith (leg), tight end Todd Heap, punter Dave Zastudil (shoulder), linebacker Cornell Brown (infection), and right tackle Orlando Brown (knee) . . . It's rare that an offensive player would get called for an illegal low block, but that's what happened to Ravens fullback Dan Wilcox during Gay's return of a pass interception in the first quarter . . . Richard Seymour's first duty in his part-time job -- fullback -- produced a first down on a third and 1 at the Patriots 40 in the first quarter when Corey Dillon ran behind him to move the sticks. In the fourth quarter, he helped lead the way on Dillon's 1-yard TD run . . . When Adam Vinatieri booted a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter, it marked the 16th straight game the Patriots hit paydirt first, an NFL record. On the flip side, when they didn't score in the first quarter it ended a streak of 16 consecutive quarters in which they had scored and also broke a string of 15 straight games in which they'd scored in the opening quarter.
Passing mode
Tom Brady passed Babe Parilli for third place on the team completions list after a 22-yard pass to Daniel Graham in the first quarter, giving him 1,141 completions . . . David Patten came up limping after he was crunched on a failed third-down pass in the second quarter, but he shook it off and returned the next series . . . When Brady completed a 37-yard pass to Patten in the first drive of the game it was the ninth pass he's completed of more than 35 yards this season. Brady had 11 completions of more than 35 yards all of last season.
