Brady still having a say in things
Tom Brady sat in on the Patriots' quarterback meeting last Saturday, serving in a mentor-like role to Matt Cassel as Cassel prepared to make his first NFL start.
Coach Bill Belichick said yesterday that Brady, one of the team's eight captains, could continue to serve in an advisory capacity, but indicated there are no set plans.
"Right now, the priority for Tom is to rehab and do everything he can to get back to 100 percent, and that's a long process. That will be the priority for him," Belichick said. "When that's taken care of, and depending on how the schedules fall and so forth, Tom's always been great about helping other players and being part of the team, or being part of whatever we're doing."
Teammates seemed to be buoyed by Brady's presence at Gillette Stadium last week. After Sunday's 19-10 victory over the Jets, Cassel noted that he had communicated frequently with Brady throughout the week and that his advice was to "manage the game and be smart with the football; we have good enough players on this team that we should win if we did that."
Cassel finished an efficient 16 of 23 for 165 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
As for assistance Brady might provide in upcoming weeks, Belichick indicated it will be contingent on multiple factors.
"It [depends] on how his rehab schedule goes and what we're doing at the times when he is available," said Belichick. "It's not a real structured thing.
"I'm sure that Tom will continue to be involved like he always has. To what degree, what the time frame is and the structure of it and all that, that's not in place and it will change during the course of the year, too. We'll just have to take it as it comes."
Seymour standing tall
The Patriots' red zone defense has been an early bright spot, with the game-ending stop to preserve the opening win over the Chiefs, and Sunday's second-quarter stop against the Jets keeping the momentum with the Patriots.One common thread in the performance has been defensive end Richard Seymour.
On Sunday, Seymour plowed through left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson to reroute and ultimately stop Thomas Jones for a 2-yard loss on third and goal from the 1. In the season opener, he stopped Larry Johnson for no gain on second and goal from the 5 with 50 seconds to play.
"To have him back healthy and just excited to play football means a lot to us because he is one of the leaders of this team," safety Rodney Harrison said. "He's definitely a big-time playmaker."
Added Belichick, "Richard has gotten off to a good start this year and had a good camp. I think athletically he looks good. [He] has played with good power, explosiveness, and has been productive."
Ventrone looks special
Unheralded safety Ray Ventrone, who excelled throughout training camp and carved out a roster spot as a core special teams player, is tied for the team lead with two special teams tackles. One of those came Sunday after the Patriots made it 19-10 in the fourth quarter, with Ventrone making a nice open-field stop on kick returner Leon Washington at the Jets' 20.Belichick continues to rave about Ventrone, who also is an option at safety and receiver.
"No one has worked harder than Ray," said Belichick. "He's continued to improve the last couple years. He has good playing strength, good speed, and he's a tough, fearless guy. He's kind of a unique player in his role, his niche, and his versatility.
"You usually don't see a player have the kind of exceptional toughness and the kind of physical play that he does. That's kind of a rare combination of forces coming together in his skill set."
Fame ceremonies
The Patriots are holding their Hall of Fame induction Saturday at Patriot Place, with the festivities to welcome the 13th member of the team's Hall of Fame, tight end Ben Coates. The team is also reintroducing each of its previous 12 Hall of Famers. The event starts at 3 p.m. and is open to the public . . . Based on coaches' tabulations, Harrison leads the team in tackles through two games with 22 (13 solo). Rookie inside linebacker Jerod Mayo is second with 16 (12 solo) . . . Cassel has directed five scoring drives of 10 plays or longer, which ties for the NFL lead with Giants quarterback Eli Manning . . . Sunday's game against the Dolphins will be the 100th career regular-season game for both left tackle Matt Light and running back LaMont Jordan . . . Sunday's victory moved Belichick past Joe Gibbs and into third place on the all-time list for winning percentage (includes postseason) among coaches with 140 career wins. Belichick is now 144-85 as a head coach (.628), which trails only George Halas (324-151-31, .671) and Don Shula (347-173-6, .665).Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com. 