Gillette field to turn over a new leaf

FOXBOROUGH -- Plans to improve the Gillette Stadium playing field, which have been in the works for months, were finalized by the Patriots yesterday.

New sod will be placed in the middle of the field beginning Oct. 25, 11 days before the team's next home game, Nov. 5 against the Colts.

``We continue to look for the best short-term and long-term solutions and at this time, the plan would be to re-sod," spokesman Stacey James said.

The long-term solution might be to install a synthetic grass surface at Gillette, but an NFL spokesman said there is a rule -- although not in the league's official rulebook -- that if a team's home field is grass at the start of the season it must remain that way throughout the season.

The league office has been monitoring Gillette, and NFL director of game operations Tim Daveytold the Associated Press he will oversee the installation of the sod to make sure the surface is up to NFL standards.

The Kraft family, which owns the Patriots, has long preferred natural grass. But maintaining a natural grass field in New England has been a challenge, even with special drainage and heating system s at Gillette designed to extend the life of the grass.

Ironically, installing a synthetic grass field at Gillette probably would have been a cost-saving move when the multi purpose facility opened in 2002. The Patriots are in the process of hearing proposals from various companies that install synthetic grass fields.

Linebacker Don Davis, one of the Patriots' player representatives with the NFL Players Association, previously said he wouldn't be surprised if all fields are switched to synthetic grass in the future. Davis said the NFLPA has a recently created safety and welfare division that includes groundskeepers, as field conditions are a primary concern for players.

Earlier this month, coach Bill Belichick vented his frustration with the field conditions. ``I don't think anybody in this organization is happy about it, or thinks it's in good condition," he said. ``Everybody in this organization would like to see that field in better condition than what it's in. Everybody."

The NFL's flexible scheduling plan goes into effect starting Nov. 12. As part of the plan, NBC will choose one game it would like to broadcast in the Sunday night prime-time slot. The decision will be announced at least 12 days in advance.

CBS and Fox, rights-holders for Sunday afternoon games, can protect five games over the seven-week period.

The New York Times unveiled a wrinkle in the plan yesterday, noting that CBS and Fox already had to choose four games to protect in Weeks 10 to 15.

With those protected choices made two weeks ago, NBC now has a tentative schedule in place for its Sunday night broadcasts. The Times noted that the lone Patriots game tentatively scheduled to be moved to Sunday night is the Dec. 10 matchup at Miami.

That means the Nov. 26 game against the Bears, which looked like a natural to move to NBC, is tentatively remaining at 1 p.m.

Disappointed after recording only one interception in 2004, cornerback Asante Samuel said he tried a unique workout routine to improve before last season. Instead of using a real football during drills, he took his son's miniature inflatable footballs and had them thrown in his direction.

``It makes you focus on the ball more, because it's smaller," Samuel said. ``I had dropped a couple of picks I felt I should have caught."

Samuel had five interceptions in 2005 (including playoffs), so he has stuck with the routine. He's coming off a two-interception game against the Dolphins Oct. 8, and his improvement has caught the eye of safety Rodney Harrison.

``Once the ball touches his hands, it's going to stay there, he won't drop balls," Harrison said. ``Asante has come a long way. He was already a pretty good young corner, but I think he's really finding himself, really maturing. He's playing like he's one of the elite corners right now."

The storm that dumped some 2 feet of snow in Buffalo late last week threw a minor wrench into the Bills' preparations for their game against Detroit. With driving bans in certain parts of the city, team officials were granted special permission from law enforcement officials to pick up some players who lived in the hardest-hit areas.

``The only day that it really affected us as far as a team was Friday," Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold said. ``We still got all the elements of the schedule in -- practice and meetings -- but it was pushed back. Since that time, everything has been on schedule as far as the team. But we have families that were affected by it, and some still affected by it."

Sunday's forecast for the Bills-Patriots game is for temperatures in the 50s, a chance of rain.

Yesterday's trade deadline passed without the Patriots making a deal . . . Opponents have made only six trips inside the Patriots' 20-yard line this season, the lowest figure in the NFL . . . The Patriots are holding opponents to an average of 4.56 yards per first-down play, the fifth-best mark in the league . . . Quarterback Tom Brady is 17 of 41 passing (41.5 percent) on third down, tied for second lowest in the NFL behind only Carolina's Jake Delhomme (19 of 50, 38 percent) . . . Bills running back Willie McGahee (505 yards) is the AFC's leading rusher, and ranks fifth in the NFL . . . The free-agent contract that receiver Jabar Gaffney signed with the Patriots last week is a two-year pact, with base salaries of $585,000 in 2006 and $595,000 in 2007. The deal doesn't include a signing bonus, but includes $125,000 worth of incentives in 2007.