How now Brown? 'OK'

Coach Bill Belichick said his team's slump in third-down efficiency against the Browns was "a combination of things." (ROBERT E. KLEIN/FOR THE GLOBE)

FOXBOROUGH - Wide receiver Troy Brown, who is on the Patriots' physically unable to perform list, made a brief appearance in the locker room yesterday and said he remains hopeful he'll be healthy enough to be activated this season.

Players on the PUP list are eligible to begin practicing next week.

"I'm always hopeful," he said when asked if he would be healthy enough to be activated. "We'll see what happens."

Asked if he was making progress in his recovery from offseason knee surgery, Brown said: "I'm a day better, and I'll be at work tomorrow. You know how it's been the last four or five years, it's one day at a time for me."

Told that New England fans are interested in his progress, as he has become a fan favorite, Brown said, "Tell them that I'm doing OK."

If Brown, the team's all-time leader in receptions, is healthy enough to return, he still faces a logjam at his position, as Randy Moss, Donte' Stallworth, and Wes Welker have established themselves as the top players on the depth chart in recent weeks. Jabar Gaffney and Kelley Washington are the top backups.

Brown watched Sunday's 34-17 win over the Browns from the bench area. "I enjoy this game, so any chance I have to be around is always good," said the 36-year-old Brown.

Brown is one of four players on the PUP list, along with defensive lineman Richard Seymour, defensive back Eddie Jackson, and receiver Chad Jackson. Like Brown, Seymour is also recovering from offseason knee surgery, and ESPN.com - citing New England sources - recently reported that he is making solid progress and could return in early November.

Players on the PUP list can be activated at any time between the conclusion of Week 6 and Week 9, and then clubs have 21 days from the time of activation to make a decision on whether to place the player on the active roster or the injured reserve list.

Gripe or sour grapes?

Call it the sour grapes of wrath. Browns left guard Eric Steinbach called Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel "classless" yesterday, alleging Vrabel dived at the knees of the Browns' top draft choice, left tackle Joe Thomas, on a spike play that Cleveland ran with 11 seconds left in the game.

Following the game, several Browns had words for Vrabel, a former Ohio State star. Yesterday, Steinbach said Vrabel, who declined to speak with the media yesterday when approached, should be fined.

"I hope so," said Steinbach. "You've got to get fined for that. If he's going to keep going on like that, maybe he doesn't care about a $5,000 fine. But I wouldn't want that reputation."

Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork was fined $12,500 by the NFL Sept. 27 for a late hit that injured the left knee of Bills quarterback J.P. Losman.

An off-balance Wilfork struck Losman on the knee with an extended elbow. He has maintained the blow was not on purpose and appealed his fine.

"That's what kind of got me," Steinbach said. "Everyone is trying to emulate the New England Patriots and everyone looks up to them in the NFL like they're the team that does everything right. Well, how are you going to have a player like [Vrabel] go and do that at the end of the game?

"That just doesn't show professionalism. I don't care if the game was won or lost, you don't do a move like that. I wasn't too happy."

Turnovers poppin'

After forcing four turnovers against the Browns, the Patriots are tied with Indianapolis for the league lead in turnover differential at plus-seven. The Patriots' defense has forced 11 turnovers (eight interceptions and three fumbles) and the offense has turned it over four times (two interceptions, two fumbles).

Cornerback Ellis Hobbs said the Patriots' three pickoffs and Randall Gay's 15-yard fumble return for a TD against Cleveland were the result of practice.

"We're getting them in practice and it's turning into game-time reality," said Hobbs. "We're making our plays in practice, whether it's knocking the ball down, getting the ball out, stripping it, and you're just seeing what we see every day on the practice field."

The third degree

Entering Sunday's game the Patriots' offense was tops in the league in third-down conversion rate, but their percentage dipped from 51.3 percent to 43.1 percent (22 of 51) after they went just 2 for 12 against Cleveland.

"I'd say it was a combination of things," said coach Bill Belichick. "We missed some throws. We dropped some balls. A couple of the plays we had weren't the greatest for what they had on that particular play. In some cases, we didn't really have great options there.

"There were a lot of things that could've been better. I think that was across the board and Cleveland did a good job. We missed some that were makeable. I think it was a combination of things, but the bottom line was our third-down production wasn't really good offensively."

Calm, cool, collected

The Patriots-Cowboys matchup is already drawing Texas-sized hype, but Hobbs took a page out of the book of linebacker Rosevelt Colvin and basically told everybody to calm down. "We think of it as a big game because it's the next game," Hobbs said. "Obviously, from a record standpoint this is the best team that we've faced up to this point, so when we go out there we have to understand the situation. But let's not make it more than what it is. This isn't determining the playoffs. It's not the 'Super Bowl matchup' or whatever. We're going into Week 6 and this is the next game." . . . Hobbs had the college jersey of running back Sammy Morris displayed above his locker. The cornerback has to wear what Morris called a "Morris throwback" No. 5 Texas Tech jersey to meetings this week after Hobbs's alma mater, Iowa State, lost, 42-17, to the Red Raiders Saturday . . . Quarterback Tom Brady, in his weekly radio appearance on WEEI, lamented that he misfired on a deep ball down the right sideline to Randy Moss in the second half. "Finally he got single coverage - I couldn't believe it," said Brady. "That was a bummer."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report