The Jets and Patriots have a late, 4:15 p.m. start today, but the gamesmanship may have started early. Outspoken Jets safety Kerry Rhodes posted the following on his Twitter account this morning, about one hour ago:

you know we are playing new england when in the middle of the night when u r sleep somebody pulls a fire alarm to wake u up!! wow!!

Alright, so you guys know how I'll pump my alma mater from time-to-time, and maybe more than that. And on a day like today -- when the greatest rivalry in all of sports is renewed again -- my mind is with my school.

But there's one tie-in here I don't think anyone will mind me mentioning. The wife of a Buckeye great, Stefanie Spielman, lost her battle with breast cancer this week. When the guys took the field in Ann Arbor today, they did so with stickers with the initials "SS" affixed to their helmets, and I think this is a great time for another reminder of all we can do to join in the fight that Stefanie and Chris Spielman devoted their lives to waging.

So here's a link to the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research. I, like I'm sure a lot of you, have had my life affected by this horrible condition, and my hope here is that a least a few of you check out what the Spielman family accomplished in this regard and decide to help where you can.

As I'm sure all of you remember, the NFL allowed players to wear pink in October for Breast Cancer Awareness month, and there are a lot of guys out there in the league who've done a lot to help. I can tell you that if you're looking for a place to do the same, the Spielman Fund's a good one. A guy I used to cover in Dallas, Cowboys linebacker Bradie James, has a nice spot to give if you're looking to chip in, too.

See you tomorrow from Foxborough.

Last Sunday, Jonathan Wilhite got the kind of attention that no corner wants -- but ultimately most will get at points of the year.

He was manned up on the outside with Reggie Wayne, when Wayne scored the game-winning points in Indianapolis' 35-34 win. Wayne and Peyton Manning made an adjustment on the play, switching from a fade to a slant, and Wayne sold the fade before breaking inside and getting the razor-thin bit of separation he need to haul in a perfect throw.

Wilhite said yesterday that, even though he reacted fairly quickly to Wayne's break and was close on the ball, "Almost winning doesn't matter."

"Me, personally, I just lost some battles," he told me in the locker room. "I made some plays, I lost some plays. That’s what it boils down to.

"It comes with the territory of being a corner. I feel like every week you compete against NFL receivers, they’re gonna make some plays and you’re gonna make some plays. The most important thing is to bounce back and realize your mistakes and why you lost the battle and move forward."

Wilhite also was well aware of what he was up against -- a receiver probably among the five best in the game, and an all-time great quarterback. Not all of Wayne's 12 catches came with Wilhite near (the Colts receiver got considerable snaps out of the slot, too), but the most important one did. So he'll take the lessons learned from covering Wayne, and move on.

"He’s a great receiver," Wilhite said. "He’s not just good, he’s great, and he’s been doing it for a while. I take a lot, it was an honor to be on the same field and compete against him, one of the guys that’s gonna go down in history. We’ll see him again. We’ll play them again, hopefully, and we’ll see what happens."

FOXBOROUGH -- There are a few questionables for Sunday's game against the Jets. The only player officially out is running back Fred Taylor (ankle).

Here is the list:
QUESTIONABLE
WR Sam Aiken (hip)
LB Eric Alexander (groin)
TE Chris Baker (shoulder)
LB Tully Banta-Cain (groin) (practiced today for the first time this week: limited.)
NT Ron Brace (ankle)
WR Julian Edelman (forearm)
DE Jarvis Green (knee) (practiced for the first time this week: limited.)
C Dan Koppen (knee)
T Matt Light (knee)
RB Sammy Morris (knee)
G Stephen Neal (head)
LB Rob Ninkovich (knee)
DE Ty Warren (ankle)

PROBABLE
QB Tom Brady (right shoulder)
CB Shawn Springs (knee)
TE Benjamin Watson (knee)

NEW YORK JETS
OUT
LB Vernon Gholston (hamstring)

QUESTIONABLE
S Jim Leonhard (thumb)

PROBABLEDE Shaun Ellis (knee)
WR Brad Smith (quadricep)
LB Bryan Thomas (toe)

Derrick Burgess has a grand total of two sacks this year. And those two could pretty easily be classified as garbage sacks -- one came in a Hail Mary situation at the end of the Buffalo game, another came at the finish of the Tampa blowout in London.

So could he bust loose, and be the player that New England expected him to be when they shipped third- and fifth-round picks to Oakland for him? That's a definite maybe. The positive is he's coming off what he agreed was his most consistently disruptive performance of the season -- With a tackle for a loss and a hit on Peyton Manning registered on Sunday night. And with that, finally, he's got some results from his work.

"I wouldn’t say it’s frustrating, but at times, it wears on you," he told me today. "But we’ve been winning, and my whole goal here is to try to win. We lost a couple, but we’re still on track to try to win more than not. Can’t be frustrated by that."

The biggest problem for Burgess may be in how the role he's played in New England is different than the one he played in Philadelphia or Oakland. For one, his responsibilities have changed. For another, he's now being used more situationally than full-time.

"We’ve had a lot of guys that have been great, but nobody’s done a better job of adapting to what we’ve asked Derrick to do than he has," Bill Belichick explained this afternoon. "We’ve asked him to take on some coverage responsibilities, which I don’t think he’s ever done in his career other than a couple blitz-zones in Philadelphia. Play man-to-man, play zone coverage, do things like that, that he’s never done before. He works hard at it.

When the Patriots and Jets met in Week 2, the Jets had yet to trade for Braylon Edwards and him their No. 1 wide receiver. The Patriots secondary will get their first look at Edwards this weekend, but one defensive back already knows him well.

Leigh Bodden was in his third NFL season with Cleveland when the Browns made Braylon Edwards the third pick in the draft. Bodden and Edwards spent three years playing together for the Browns.

“I watched him develop,” Bodden said. “He had a raw talent his rookie year. And then he got hurt as he started coming into his own. And then he came back the next year, and he was pretty focused. He’s developed and has become a pretty good receiver.”

In training camps and countless practices, Bodden covered Edwards with the Browns. He doesn’t believe the familiarity will make a big difference Sunday.

“A guy doesn’t do all his tricks, doesn’t practice exactly the way he plays,” Bodden said. “You won’t sit up there in practice, it’s not a gameday. You don’t get paid for Wednesday. So you don’t pull everything out in practice. I’ve watched him in the games. He brings a lot of things to the table. He’s strong. He’s physical. He has deceptive speed, because his strides are long. Seeing him in practice, it may help. It may not.”

The Patriots have a chore in containing Edwards. In five games with the Jets, he has 16 catches for 271 yards. He also deepens the Jets receiving corps. In Week 2, Jericho Cotchery was the Jets’ best wide receiver, and he caught four passes for 87 yards. Even with the addition of Edwards, the Patriots can’t forget about the rest of the Jets’ options.

“It’s just not” Edwards, Bodden said.. “Cotchery is a good receiver. He had a pretty good game against us last time. We’ve got prepare for all of them.”

There are Problems for a football team. And then, there are "problems."

Break out the quotation marks for this one -- If Matt Light's ready to play on Sunday, what do the Patriots do along the offensive line?

Rookie Sebastian Vollmer, as has been well-documented, has been off the charts in Light's place at left tackle. So do you send him to the bench? Do you move him to the right side, where he worked a bunch in camp? Or do you move Light to the right side, after he's manned the left for almost nine years?

Flipping Light seems to be a logical move, given how Vollmer has put the brakes on some of the most explosive edge rushers in the game -- something Light struggled to do at times -- and how Nick Kaczur had problems against Indy's Robert Mathis. But would it be that easy for Light to adjust? Well, Bill Belichick remembers playing Light on the right side in 2001, the Purdue product's rookie year, and used that experiment to explain the prospects of such a move.

"He probably would’ve been a lot better off playing at left tackle," Belichick said. "He came in, we put him at right tackle, and then he ended up hurting his ankle in preseason and we ended up moving him back to left tackle and he started most of his rookie year there. He got in the Super Bowl, and all that, but if I had put him at left tackle in the first place, instead of at right tackle, he probably would’ve had a better rookie year.

The Patriots, it seems, are getting healthy this week. Only three players did not practice today, and there were other promising signs, too.

-Tully-Banta Cain, after returning to practice today, said he thinks "there's a good chance" he will play Sunday, but "the game is on Sunday and not today, so we'll see." Banta-Cain took a shot in the ribs when he was blind-sided covering a kick on special teams Sunday night.

-Sammy Morris spoke with reporters at his locker today, a sign his return is probably imminent. "I feel good," Morris said. "Sore, but I feel good. We'll see Sunday. Just taking it day by day."

-Linebacker Rob Ninkovich, who was also hurt Sunday, said he's "feeling good' and hopeful he will play Sunday, even though he did not practice today.

-On the offensive line, things are less rosy. While Neal said Tuesday night he didn't forsee his head injury becoming a significant issue this week, he has not practiced all week. Matt Light did practice, but he's no sure thing, either. Coach Bill Belichick was asked if he knows what the line will look like Sunday. "No," he said. "I don't. We'll see how it all comes out here." If Neal can't go, versatile backup Dan Connolly will take over at right guard.

FOXBOROUGH -- Patriots running back Laurence Maroney has lost one fumble this season, and it came at a critical time for the Patriots.

On Sunday, Maroney fumbled on the Indianapolis 1 yard line with 2:48 to go in the third quarter. Colts linebacker Gary Brackett recovered the fumble in the end zone. It was the second of two turnovers in the end zone for the Patriots in the 35-34 loss.

Today, Maroney said the fumble is something he has to move on from.

"It's life," Maroney said. "Not every story ya'll write is a good story, not everything ya'll do is by the books and correct. We're all human and we make mistakes and it's one of those things that you put it behind you and just go on and try to move on to the next plan and try to get better."

Maroney has scored a touchdown in four consecutive games. He was told that a few of his teammates have shown support for him since the game and Maroney responded, "I hope they do. One fumble? I think that's good just to have one fumble and hopefully, it'll stay at one fumble. It's one of them things that, things happen. You can't cry about it. You can't hold your head down about it, you have to go out there on the next play and make a big play."

Here's how Sports Illustrated football writer Peter King ranks what interests him most about this week's games in his weekly Game Plan column. The top two items both have to do with the Patriots-Jets game.

Ten Things I'll Be Watching For This Weekend

1. Darrelle Revis vs. Randy Moss. Revis said he covered Moss man-to-man in their first meeting in September, when Moss caught four passes for a measly 24 yards and no touchdowns. Moss said Revis had safety help. Then Revis said he did not. Then Moss said he did too. Then Bill Belichick said he had safety help. Then Revis said he did not. Then, thank the Lord, Revis said Wednesday, "That question is dead from now on.'' Play the game already.

2. Sebastian Vollmer. Never heard of him? Second-round Patriots left tackle. Took over when Matt Light went down a month ago with a knee injury. On Sunday night against Dwight Freeney, Vollmer allowed exactly one quarterback pressure and broke Freeney's nine-game streak with at least one sack. The Patriots had to help right tackle Nick Kaczur more on Robert Mathis on Sunday than they had to help Vollmer on Freeney.

German kid. Speaks English with a German-Texas twang after spending four years at the University of Houston. Faces an interesting challenge this week with the Jets' changeup pass-rush. At 6-foot-8 and with arms like a power forward, he's a very, very interesting long-term prospect.

Read the full article here.

With Jarvis Green and Tully Banta-Cain back at practice, the Patriots have nearly a full team practicing inside Gillette Stadium today. Only Fred Taylor, Rob Ninkovich, and Steve Neal are not present during the media portion of practice.

Green and Banta-Cain may still be iffy for Sunday. But at least for now, heading into Sunday, it appears the Patriots are more healthy than they've been in a while.

On Sunday afternoon, before they even took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Patriots had an opportunity to put a hammerlock on the AFC East. The Jets had lost to fall to 4-5. The Dolphins trailed the Bucs with less than a minute remaining, taking them to the verge of dropping to 3-6.

And then Dan Carpenter of the Dolphins kicked a game-winning field goal with 10 seconds left, lifting the 'Phins to 4-5. The Patriots, of course, lost that night. Last night rolled around, Ricky Williams turned back into the Heisman Trophy winner, and the Dolphins surged to 5-5 with a dominant win over the Panthers to put them just 1 1/2 games behind the Patriots.

In three Sundays, the Dolphins will play the Patriots in Miami. Between now and then, the Patriots will host the Jets and play at the undefeated Saints on Monday night. The Dolphins will play at the Bills, who will be into Game 2 of the Perry Fewell Era.

So, say the Patriots go 1-1 against a desperate Jets team and an offensively dominant Saints team. (The Patriots could very well win both -- they just outplayed the Colts for 59 minutes. But it's reasonable to predict 1-1.) And say the Dolphins beat the Bills, which seems like an utterly safe assumption.

If that happens, then on Dec. 6 the Patriots and Dolphins -- who started 0-3 -- will be playing for the AFC East lead. The Patriots would be 7-4 with, at best, a 3-1 division record. The Dolphins would be 6-5 with a 4-1 division record.

So last night's victory by the Dolphins only makes Sunday's game for the Patriots against the Jets that much more important. They can not only send the Jets to the mat, but they will also keep up with the Dolphins. They way Miami is playing, that is becoming more and more necessary.

At this time last year, Tedy Bruschi was a primary leader on the Patriots defense. This week, in an indirect way, he may have passed those duties along to Jerod Mayo, the second-year middle linebacker.

On Monday as an ESPN analyst, Bruschi criticized Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on fourth and 2 from his own 28 because, as a former defensive player, it would have irritated him. Speaking to reporters today, Mayo offered the strongest rebuke yet a Patriots player of the sentiment Bruschi, more than anyone, championed.

"We looked at it as a challenge," Mayo said. "People say that it was a lack of confidence in us but we looked at it as a challenge and we looked at it as coach having enough confidence in us to give us a short field. Unfortunately we were unable to step up to the challenge and get the job done."

When asked directly about Bruschi's comments, Mayo was deferential to his former teammate but did not back down from challenging him.

"I have the ultimate respect for Tedy and everything he's done for this organization, but he's not in this locker room at this point in time so he doesn't know the feeling that this defense or this team has," Mayo said. "We still have our confidence, we still have our swagger and we're gonna go out Sunday and show the media I guess."

With Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, and Rodney Harrison departed, the Patriots defense had a leadership void. Mayo showed today he is willing to speak for his teammates and fill it.

"Anytime you play a divisional game like this, it's huge," Mayo said. "I was unable to play in the last game so this will be my first game back against these guys and hopefully it will be a good one."

And according to Mayo, he'll be leading a motivated defense this week.

"Anytime you give up 35 points in a game you try to come back strong the next game," Mayo said. "And hopefully we do that this week."

Bentley graduate Mackenzy Bernadeau will make his first start at left guard for the Carolina Panthers against the Miami Dolphins tonight, according to a report by the Charlotte Observer.

“I feel I'm ready,” he told the Observer. “I've been here a year and a half now. I've played behind these guys for a while. I've learned from all of them.”

Read the full feature the Observer did on him here.

Bernadeau, a guard and center, is the first athlete from Bentley University to play in any of the four major professional leagues. He made his first appearance in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

You can watch tonight's game between the Panthers and Dolphins at 8 p.m. on the NFL Network.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Pro Football Talk tackled this earlier, and we've hit on it time and again.

Today, we got it from the horse's mouth. Jets coach Rex Ryan said that his defense was in a man-free look -- man coverage with a centerfielder patrolling the deep middle -- when Darrelle Revis picked off a ball intended for Randy Moss. And he said that, for much of the day, that was the extent of the help Revis got on Moss.

For those that don't know, that's showing a lot of confidence in your corner, since the free safety has to cover an enormous amount of ground and may be needed elsewhere on the field.

"I’ll just put it this way: Having Revis allows us to do things that most people don’t do, or have the courage for," Ryan said. "Man coverage. Man-up, and say, ‘Here we are.’ Now, Kerry Rhodes covers a lot of ground. So what may look like cover-2, because of the range Kerry has, might’ve been cover-1. Hey, all I can say is, we’ve got the best corner in the league and I don’t think there’s any dispute about that."

On the interception, Ryan said: "It’s man-to-man, and you’ve got a centerfielder. And Kerry had great range on that play. So if they thought it was cover-2, hopefully they think it’s cover-2 this week too."

Revis addressed this matter again today. And he paid Moss proper respect, agreeing that he's the best vertical receiver in the game, and the best at gaining body position and getting the ball while it's in the air. He added there's very little talk between the two when they match up, and lauded Moss' work ethic and in-game motor.

So why can't Moss pay him the respect he so obviously has for the Patriots receiver?

"I have respect, from my coaches, from other coaches around this league and other players," Revis said. "If he’s one of the guys that doesn’t want to do it, then that’s OK. I still have to be the human being that I am.

FOXBOROUGH -- The Patriots had a few players return to practice today. WR Sam Aiken (hip)and DE Ty Warren (ankle) had limited participation today, after missing yesterday's practice. LB Gary Guyton (illness) and WR Randy Moss (not injury related) both were taken off the list and back at practice today.

Here is the rest of the list:

LB Tully Banta-Cain (groin) DNP
DE Jarvis Green (knee) DNP
G Stephen Neal (head) DNP
LB Rob Ninkovich (knee) DNP
RB Fred Taylor (ankle) DNP
LB Eric Alexander (groin) limited
TE Chris Baker (shoulder) limited
NT Ron Brace (ankle) limited
WR Julian Edelman (forearm) limited
C Dan Koppen (knee) limited
T Matt Light (knee) limited
RB Sammy Morris (knee) limited

New York Jets
LB Vernon Gholston (hamstring) DNP
S Jim Leonhard (thumb) DNP
DE Shaun Ellis (knee) limited
WR Brad Smith (quadricep) limited
LB Bryan Thomas (toe) full
LS James Dearth (not injury related) off list

FOXBOROUGH -- Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman made his NFL debut against the Jets in Week 2, filling in for Wes Welker, who had a knee injury at the time. Edelman caught eight passes for 98 yards in the 16-9 loss.

Edelman has had his share of opportunities in his rookie season but missed two games due to a broken forearm. He returned to the lineup against the Colts on Sunday and said throughout the season he has taken notes watching and playing with Welker.

"It's great to play with Wes Welker just watching him everyday at practice you see him in the game and a lot of guys go to him so it kind of opens you up because he's such a huge part of our offense," Edelman said. "But just watching Wes in practice when we're both healthy, I get to see how he does it which helps me a tremendous amount."

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Because my buddy Chris Gasper did such a good job laying out the Jets' and Patriots' differing approaches, I thought I'd pass along an update on one of his favorite players, Leon Washington (He loves Leon for the same reasons he worshiped guys like Peter Warrick and Andre Wadsworth, even after it was clear how awful they were).

The play-making Washington broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg against the Raiders three weeks ago, a similar injury to the one that sidelined Michael Bush for his entire senior season at Louisville and his rookie year in Oakland. Some have speculated it could end his career.

Washington, of course, was far more optimistic. He said that he's "98-99 percent" sure he's out of the woods in avoiding an infection -- something that commonly follows this injury -- and he's also sidestepped some of the issues that Bush had, one of which was not having a big enough rod inserted into his broken leg.

Because of all this, Washington says he's targeting the start of the Jets' offseason program in March for his return. He hopes that, by then, he'll be able to participate fully with the team, an optimistic timetable, to be sure.

Here's where this relates to New England -- Washington's situations isn't wholly dissimilar to Vince Wilfork's. Both groused about their contract situations in the spring. But after missing some voluntary workouts, each showed up to every mandatory team activity, and both went into the season with their circumstances unresolved.

"One thing with business – and that’s the part I learned – is that there’s risk and reward," Washington said. "I knew that coming into the season. Everyone knew it, I knew it. That’s the risk. With that being said, things happen for a reason, and with my faith and connection with God, life is more about being happy than it’s about money.

During his college career at Colorado, Terrence Wheatley returned 56 kickoffs for 1,350 yards, an average of 24.1 yards. But he did not return kicks his rookie season for the Patriots. They had Ellis Hobbs, one of the best kick returners in the league.

This year, the Patriots are still trying to replace Hobbs, whom they traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for two fifth-round draft choices this offseason. Wheatley became the latest candidate Sunday, lining up deep against the Colts but not catching any kicks, instead blocking for Matt Slater.

“It was pretty exciting,” Wheatley said. “That was something that we had talked about. It’s nice to be back there again. It’s really pretty simple: Make sure you catch the ball, don’t drop it. And then just follow your blocks and run hard.”

Last year, Hobbs -- who is out for the season with a neck injury -- gained 28.5 yards per return, best in the NFL among players with at least 20 attempts. As a team the Patriots averaged 25.2 yards, third best in the NFL, and gained at least 40 yards seven times.

Kick returns are by no means a glaring problem for the Patriots this season, but they fall in the middle of the pack. The Patriots have averaged 23.8 yards on kick returns while taking back only one more than 40 yards, a 52-yarder by running back Laurence Maroney. All but nine teams have returned a kick longer than 52 yards.

Without Hobbs, the Patriots have settled into something of a return-by-committee operation. Part of that is because of injuries. Rookies Brandon Tate and Julian Edelman were both at one point counted on to return kick. Edelman is back but can’t reliably catch kicks because of his broken forearm. Tate is out for the season with a knee injury.

Injuries have had an indirect impact, too. Laurence Maroney has arguably been their best kick returner. But injuries to Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris have thrust him into a greater role in the backfield, rendering him unable to return kicks.

The Patriots needed a kick returner that they activated Wheatley, who has been inactive for six games this season. He got the nod Sunday night over Shawn Springs, which came as a surprise until Wheatley lined up deep -- he was the choice, apparently, because of his value on special teams.

“It’s really not my call,” Wheatley said. “All I can do is really keep doing what I’ve been doing every day. If they feel like they need me, then they need me. Whenever they feel like they need me, I’m ready to go. If they feel like they don’t, they don’t.”

Here is the full breakdown for the Patriots return men, not including squib kicks:

Monique Walker passes along the list of players not present at this afternoon's practice: Fred Taylor, Rob Ninkovich, Steve Neal, Tully Banta-Cain, and Jarvis Green. It is notable that Ty Warren, who was inactive Sunday and did not practice yesterday, is back at practice.

Banta-Cain and Green were spotted today in the Patriots locker room.

The Patriots are practicing in shells.