Cassel pockets some praise

Sunday's loss to the Colts marked the first game this season that Matt Cassel wasn't sacked, which reflects his growing comfort in the pocket. That aspect of Cassel's performance stood out to Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

"He really had a good sense of timing as far as the pass rush was concerned," said McDaniels. "That's something that we've been working hard on in terms of trying to feel the right time to either leave the pocket or stay in the pocket.

"He did a nice job waiting for the route to unfold or develop, didn't leave the pocket unnecessarily, and then he made some plays where he did scramble out of the pocket where it was necessary to do so. I think that's improving every week."

Cassel has been sacked 26 times this season, with a high of six against the Broncos Oct. 20. His improved pocket presence and feel for the rush opened up other areas for the passing game Sunday.

"It gives you that added extra second to keep your eyes down the field and see the coverage," McDaniels said. "People that might be coming open a little later in your progression, you have an opportunity to [find them]. Over the last two or three weeks, it's really started to pay some dividends for him."

McDaniels pointed to one example Sunday from the second quarter, with the Patriots facing a third-and-4 from the Colts' 31. With defensive end Robert Mathis closing to his right, Cassel stayed poised, scanned the field, then fired an 11-yard strike to Jabar Gaffney on a comeback route along the left sideline.

"He did a nice job of hanging in there," said McDaniels, noting that Gaffney wasn't the first read on the play. "He just subtly stepped to his left, didn't leave the pocket, didn't pull the ball down to run, kept the play alive, and allowed Jabar to run the route at the right depth.

"I thought it was an important play, one he is now capable of making."

Neal is the one

After rotating right guards Billy Yates and Stephen Neal against the Broncos and Rams (Oct. 26), the Patriots went solely with Neal Sunday night and plan to stick with that approach in the coming weeks.

"I thought it worked out well," Belichick said of the two-game rotation. "Steve played about half of the previous two games. We felt that was a good amount and after last week's game against the Rams that he was ready to go all the way in terms of his conditioning and a couple weeks of contact, daily practices and all that. He didn't have any problems. Steve is in good condition. He is one of our best-conditioned guys for his position."

Belichick also praised Yates for his performance through the season's first seven games.

"I think Billy has done an outstanding job for us this year and I don't think he has had too many problems in any of the games," he said. "We are really fortunate to have a quality player like Billy to be able to step in and play as well as he did."

Guyton a busy guy

Rookie inside linebacker Gary Guyton played a season-high 37 snaps Sunday, partially a result of the Patriots playing more in sub packages. He finished with five tackles (one for a loss) and added a special teams stop.

Belichick pointed to Guyton's versatility - "He can rush a little bit and cover a little bit, play a little bit of inside or outside linebacker" - as one reason for some of his extended playing time of late. He also mentioned that Guyton, who is tied for the team lead with five special teams tackles, has done a good job when called upon while also helping pace veteran Tedy Bruschi (41 tackles).

Reflecting on how Guyton went undrafted in April, Belichick revealed that the Patriots considered selecting him in the sixth round, before committing to Nebraska's Bo Ruud (currently on injured reserve). When the Patriots wooed Guyton as a free agent, he asked why the team didn't draft him.

"That was a good question; he knew more than we did at that point," Belichick said. "We were fortunate enough to sign him as a free agent. He is a smart kid."

Asked why Guyton might have slipped through the draft, Belichick said he could have been caught in the middle in terms of where teams projected him to play. While Belichick lauded Guyton's progress to this point, he added one caveat: "All of those positive things that I said, let's not get him fitted for the [Hall of Fame] jacket yet, OK?"

Snap decision

The Patriots had two plays Sunday in which running back Kevin Faulk lined up in the shotgun as a quarterback. Belichick explained that they were designed to dress up standard plays by providing a different look to the Colts. Faulk rushed for 5 yards on one of them, while a slip screen to Wes Welker was stopped for minus-2 yards. McDaniels said, "There's no telling if we'll use it again or not." . . . Asked about the injury status of rookie cornerback Terrence Wheatley, who left Sunday's game with a left hand/wrist injury, Belichick said, "They're looking at it; they did some stuff yesterday and we'll see how that comes out. I don't have any more to add at this point." . . . On the Colts' 29 passing attempts, the Patriots sent a blitzer just three times, which reflected their conservative, protect-against-the-big-play approach. The Patriots sent the standard four rushers 16 times, and had just three rushers 10 times . . . Players were off yesterday, but return to work today to begin preparations for Sunday's home game against the Bills.

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.