The goal in red area is black and white

FOXBOROUGH - Like much of the working world, the Patriots observed casual Friday yesterday. They dressed in shells and shorts (and, in some cases, sweat shirts and pants) for practice at Gillette Stadium. But that's not to say the team took a casual approach to working on situational plays in the red area and goal line, as is the custom on Fridays, in preparation for tomorrow's game against the 0-2 Miami Dolphins.

"We have all seen here, in the first two weeks, a lot of the highlight plays that have come up on that," said coach Bill Belichick, pointing out the two losses San Diego suffered on end-of-game plays in the red area against Carolina two weeks ago and last week against Denver.

"So plays like that where the whole 59 minutes and 58 seconds comes down to one play, those are the kinds of things that we will do on Friday."

Yesterday was no different as the Patriots attempted to address their red area and goal-line production, which has yielded just 36 points on five field goals and three touchdowns. Five of those scores came on goal-to-go situations in which the Patriots converted just two touchdowns.

"The red area and third down, a lot of them come down to one-play situations," said offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. "Obviously, all third downs are one-play situations, but in the red area, success or failure in the red zone usually comes down to whether you can make that one play that they give you a chance to make, which last week we had a couple of chances and we didn't convert on them.

"So it really comes down to your execution against whatever they determine to use against you in that situation, and you've got to be at your very best across the board, all 11 guys. If you have a breakdown in the red area or on third down or a miscommunication, it's hard to convert, it's hard to stay on the field, and it's hard to score a touchdown."

As for the Dolphins? "They are good down there on those scoring areas," Belichick said. "That's always a key part of the game any time points are involved."

Watson ready?

After missing the first two games with an injured right knee, tight end Benjamin Watson was at practice looking like he was prepared to play.

"It'll be a coaching decision, of course, on how much or if I'll play," Watson said. "I've been recovering and working hard at practice. It's always difficult whenever you have an injury. Football is such a sport where you try to get into a groove, but injuries happen to everybody. You deal with it and you're out when you're out, and when it's time to come back, you just work hard to come back."

David Thomas, a third-year veteran from Texas, started during Watson's absence, making three receptions for 38 yards, including a long haul of 18 in the opener against Kansas City.

Against the Jets last week, "We needed a big game from him," McDaniels said. "He caught a ball [for 14 yards], but we also used him a lot in blocking and protection aspects of the game."

Asked how he responded to contact after going through two days of full pads, Watson replied, "Definitely working each day to get better and each day is better than the last one. It's still a process, but we'll see how it goes."

Asked if he had any other thoughts, Watson quipped, "No Joey Porter thoughts."

They're carrying on

Although they have combined to rush for only 100 yards on 38 carries, Miami running backs Ricky Williams (21 carries, 52 yards) and Ronnie Brown (17 carries, 48 yards) were regarded by the Patriots' defense as being as formidable a tandem as they'll face this season. "They're a good 1-2 punch," said tackle Richard Seymour. "They want to run the football and they're proven backs who can run." Seymour noted Williams "was a bigger back" in his first year in the NFL, "but now he's lost some weight and has become a shiftier back." As for Brown? "I think Ronnie is more of a wiggle guy," said safety Rodney Harrison. "You really have to break down on Ronnie because he can give you a wiggle and lose you. Similar styles, but a little different." . . . Running back Laurence Maroney (shoulder) and linebacker Eric Alexander (calf) returned to practice in a limited capacity and were listed as questionable. RB LaMont Jordan (foot) and wide receiver Kelley Washington (ankle) did not practice and were listed as doubtful. Nose tackle Vince Wilfork (back) was listed as probable after he returned to full practice participation . . . With Troy Brown spotted this week at Gillette, ostensibly to attend today's induction of Ben Coates into the Patriots Hall of Fame, Belichick was asked if he had an opportunity to chat with Brown, who seemed to leave the door open for a return, and whether Brown was on his emergency list. "Well, I'll say that our emergency list depends on what the emergency is," Belichick said. "I'm not sure who's on that list. It depends on what kind of emergency we're talking about. It's always good to see Troy and have Troy around. He's been a great player for this organization and he's got great leadership and great character. He's done a lot here. It was really an honor for me to coach him. You can go back to '96 when I was first here - he's one of the all-timers."

Mike Reiss of the Globe staff contributed to this report.