A quarterback peek

Brady appears at charity event

FOXBOROUGH - Tom Brady made a surprise appearance yesterday at the Morgan Memorial Goodwill Thanksgiving Dinner on Harrison Avenue and served meals and signed autographs at the charity function, which he attended with his girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen.

It was one of the few times the Patriots quarterback has surfaced in public in Boston since returning from Los Angeles, where he underwent surgery for the season-ending knee injury he suffered in the Sept. 7 opener vs. Kansas City.

"I'm doing well," Brady told Channel 5 when asked about his knee. "It's good to be out here today and serve all these wonderful people and sign some autographs."

Brady appeared to walk without a limp as he moved through the crowd.

"I'm thankful to be here in Boston," he said. "It's my favorite holiday."

While Brady's knee seems to have responded well, so, too, has his backup, Matt Cassel, who was named AFC Player of the Week yesterday after he completed 30 of 43 passes for 415 yards and tied a career high with three touchdowns in last Sunday's 48-28 victory at Miami. It was the second time this season Cassel has earned the conference's weekly honor, doing it also in Week 7.

Cassel became the fifth player in league history to pass for 400 yards in back-to-back games; he threw for 400 in a 34-31 overtime loss to the Jets Nov. 13.

The last to accomplish the feat? Try Billy Volek, who did so with the Titans in 2004, throwing for 426 yards and 492 in consecutive games.

"It's a lot of fun as a quarterback to get out there and throw the ball around and throw the ball 94 times the last two weeks," Cassel said. "To be able to go down there [to Miami] and get a win in a division game was big for us, too. That is always fun."

They tighten up

The Patriots' defense ranks eighth in the NFL in points allowed (20.8 per game) and 12th in total defense (316 yards per game). But the unit has surrendered a combined 62 points and allowed an average of 383.5 yards per game the last two weeks.

Nose tackle Vince Wilfork practically promised the defense would tighten things up.

"Trust me, we will improve," he said. "If we don't improve, we'll be looking at a long offseason, point blank. We will get improved. I promise you that. If it has to take extra time in the film room, extra time on the field, meeting times, walkthroughs, whatever it may take, we have to put the time in, and I think everybody understands that. I know we can get better, and I know we will get better. Hopefully, it will start this week. You'll see a different ball club if it does."

Reassurance

After he failed in guaranteeing a Steelers' win in last year's matchup, it appears backup safety Anthony Smith is at it again, which came as a bit of news to QB Ben Roethlisberger and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

"Did one of us do it again?" Roethlisberger asked.

Told it was the same player, Roethlisberger said, "Same guy did it again? I don't know [what to think], to tell you the truth. You won't hear me do it."

A year ago, Smith provided the Patriots with all the bulletin-board fodder they needed when he boldly proclaimed, "Yeah, I can guarantee a win, as long as we come out and do what we got to do."

Smith and the Steelers found themselves on the wrong end of a 34-13 score. Smith was targeted on a trick play, in which Brady lateraled to Randy Moss and Moss threw it back to Brady, who connected with Jabar Gaffney on a 56-yard TD pass that torched Smith.

This week, Smith told the Indiana (Pa.) Gazette, "If they ask me again, I'll say the same thing. We're the No. 1 defense [in the NFL]. If we play like we've been playing, and our offense comes around and has a good game, and we're clicking on all cylinders, we're going to win the game."

Tomlin tried to defuse the matter, saying, "That's old news. Let's talk about what's going on this week."

Apprised that it had happened again this week, Tomlin shot back, "Not to my knowledge."

Told it had been reported the same player had said the same thing, Tomlin replied, "I hadn't heard that."

They're limitedLinebacker Tedy Bruschi (knee), defensive tackle Ty Warren (groin), cornerback Ellis Hobbs (shoulder), and running back LaMont Jordan (calf) engaged in limited participation, according to the Patriots' practice report. Center Dan Koppen (elbow), cornerback Mike Richardson (concussion), and defensive tackle Le Kevin Smith (shoulder) fully participated while defensive end Richard Seymour (knee), wide receiver Kelley Washington (thigh), and linebacker Adalius Thomas (forearm) did not participate. Three players did not participate in the Steelers' practice: running back Willie Parker (knee), defensive end Brett Keisel (knee), and offensive tackle Marvel Smith (back) . . . The Patriots signed punter Tom Malone to the practice squad. Malone, 24, had a weeklong stint on the practice squad from Sept. 10-15, and was with the team for the 2007 training camp . . . The jersey Cassel wore in his back-to-back 400-yard passing games will be on display at The Hall at Patriot Place along with the gloves Randy Moss wore in hauling in his three touchdowns against the Dolphins, which gave him 132 for his career and moved him ahead of Cris Carter (130) for third place on the league's all-time list.

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