Want a reason to look forward to Thanksgiving football? I can give you one (Bet I just got some of my colleagues to spit up a drumstick) ...

OK, this is more than just a hunch: I'm betting that the Patriots will be the Lions' 2010 guest on Turkey Day. And I've got a few things to back it up.

The Lions and Cowboys alternate each year, so the games can be held on separate networks, between AFC and NFC opponents. This year, the Lions got an NFC opponent and a game on FOX, meaning next year, they'll play an AFC team, because CBS will have that game.

Now, in 2010, the AFC East and NFC North will be matched with one another. The Lions' two home opponents in inter-conference play will be the Patriots and Jets, and both would be attractive to the network.

So is it 50-50? Nope. I don't think so, at least. The Jets traveled to Dallas to play on Thanksgiving 2007, meaning they'd likely be given a reprieve here, leaving the Patriots to go to the Motor City. New England did go in 2000 and '02 (Tom Brady actually got his first NFL action in one these of these games), but it seems as if the league would rather have the Patriots there again.

And I'm probably the only reporter happy about this. Half my family lives there. So it's not all bad ... Not for me, at least.

Consider this your "virtual" injury report (Speaking of virtual things, here's about the strangest thing I've ever seen) ...

OK, since the Patriots were off today, but play Monday, they had to file a "if we were practicing today, then ..." injury report. Weird. Not as weird as Sal9000, but weird.

Here it is:

PATRIOTS

Did not participate
RB Fred Taylor (ankle)
Limited
LB Eric Alexander (groin)
TE Chris Baker (shoulder)
LB Tully Banta-Cain (groin)
NT Ron Brace (ankle)
S Pat Chung (head)
WR Julian Edelman (forearm)
DE Jarvis Green (knee)
C Dan Koppen (knee)
OT Matt Light (knee)
RB Sammy Morris (knee)
G Stephen Neal (head)
LB Rob Ninkovich (knee)
OT Sebastian Vollmer (head)
DE Ty Warren (ankle)
OLB Pierre Woods (groin)
Full participation
QB Tom Brady (shoulder)
CB Shawn Springs (knee)
TE Benjamin Watson (knee)

SAINTS

Limited participation
RB Reggie Bush (knee)
CB Randall Gay (hamstring)
C Jonathan Goodwin (ankle)
CB Jabari Greer (groin)
DE Bobby McCray (knee/back)
WR Lance Moore (ankle)
LB Jonathan Vilma (knee)

The Patriots are off for today, but the team announced what the practice report would have looked like if the Pats practiced today. Straight from the official release:

Taylor, Fred RB Ankle Did Not Participate

Aiken, Sam WR Hip Limited Participation
Alexander, Eric LB Groin Limited Participation
Baker, Chris TE Shoulder Limited Participation
Banta-Cain, Tully LB Groin Limited Participation
Brace, Ron NT Ankle Limited Participation
Chung, Pat S Head Limited Participation
Edelman, Julian WR Forearm Limited Participation
Green, Jarvis DE Knee Limited Participation
Koppen, Dan C Knee Limited Participation
Light, Matt T Knee Limited Participation
Morris, Sammy RB Knee Limited Participation
Neal, Stephen G Head Limited Participation
Ninkovich, Rob LB Knee Limited Participation
Vollmer, Sebastian T Head Limited Participation
Warren, Ty DE Ankle Limited Participation
Woods, Pierre OLB Groin Limited Participation

Brady, Tom QB Right Shoulder Full Participation
Springs, Shawn CB Knee Full Participation
Watson, Benjamin TE Knee Full Participation

First off, I'd like to thank everyone for coming here since I landed at the Globe about a month ago. The audience we have here was a major part of my career decision-making, and I hope that you all I know I appreciate you browsing by.

Adam covered Bill Belichick giving thanks to the Krafts yesterday for the opportunity to run the football side of the Patriots franchise almost a decade ago. I wouldn't think it would be a leap to say Robert and Jonathan and everyone else in that family are thankful to Bill too.

And since this came up, the time seemed right to take one more look at the trade that got Belichick out of Jets green and back up to Foxboro. Here it is ...

Jets receive ...
2000 First-round pick (DL Shaun Ellis)
2001 Fourth-round pick (CB Jamie Richardson)
2001 Seventh-round pick (NT James Reed)

Patriots receive ...
Jets head coach Bill Belichick
2001 Fifth-round pick (TE Arthur Love, K Owen Pochman)*
2002 Seventh-round pick**

* -- pick traded to Detroit for sixth- (Love) and seventh-round (Pochman) picks.
** -- used as part of a package to trade up and draft Daniel Graham in Round 1. Pick used by Washington on DE Greg Scott.

Ellis has been a very good player for the Jets, making a Pro Bowl, starting for a decade and being a steady veteran for the club. Reed bounced around for a while. The other four players mentioned above (Scott, Love, Pochman, Richardson) played in a total of 52 games.

Pretty amazing, then, this wasn't exactly a popular trade when it was made?

Happy Thanksgiving from Extra Points. We're thankful for our readers and their insightful comments, and for having the opportunity to keep everyone informed about something they are so clearly passionate about. We truly appreciate it.

With that in mind, we'll again pass along Bill Belichick's words from yesterday, when he opened his press conference:

"First of all, I want to pass along Thanksgiving wishes to all of you, the fans, the players’ families and everybody that has to put up with us through the year. It’s a great time for all of us to be thankful, especially those of us with the Patriots. We have a great situation here. It’s a great opportunity. I appreciate the Kraft family giving me an opportunity to be the coach here. We certainly have outstanding facilities, and support and everything to work with. Robert [Kraft] talked to the team this morning, I thought he put the day in a good perspective — or tomorrow, as it would be. It’s a good time to reflect and be appreciative and take at least one day out of the year to do that, we probably should take every day."

Enjoy your family, your food, and your football today.

* * *

In wholly unrelated, non-Thanksgiving news, there's this: The Patriots are not obligated to fill the practice squad spot vacated when the Buccaneers signed Terrence Nunn to their 53-man roster, but they worked out five players for the position. This week, according to a league source, they brought in wide receivers Michael Ray Garvin (Florida State), Shaheer McBride (Delaware State), and Logan Payne (Minnesota) and defensive backs Dahna Deleston (Connecticut) and Marcus McCauley (Fresno State).

METAIRIE, La. -- Saints quarterback Drew Brees crossed paths with Wes Welker in 2004. Brees was with the San Diego Chargers and Welker was an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech.

"Wes was awesome," Brees said. "... He was one of these work-hard guys, thousand miles an hour all the time. I remember throwing a touchdown pass to him in the preseason in 04 and he ended up making our team as our kickoff returner."

A few injuries forced the Chargers to release Welker in order to toy with the roster, but the plan was to bring him back, Brees said.

"The minute we released him he got picked up on waivers by Miami and the rest is history because I think a couple of weeks later he was their best slot wide receiver as well as their kicker got hurt and he was kicking off and kicking field goals for them against the Patriots of all people."

In 2007, the Patriots traded for Welker sending a second-round and seventh round pick in the 2007 draft to the Dolphins. Welker leads the league in receptions with 79 and has 854 yards and four touchdowns.

"I have a lot of respect for him," Brees said. "I think he was always one of those guys, I love the way he worked. I love the way he approached the game. He was competitive. He was tough, and he was one of those guys you looked at and just said, 'if any guy deserves to be successful, it's this guy.'''

METAIRIE, La. -- Former Patriots fullback Heath Evans wishes he was playing Monday night. Evans is in his first season with the Saints, but his year has been cut short due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in a 46-34 win against Miami on Oct. 25.

Evans had three touchdowns in six games before his injury, which landed him on injured reserve. Evans played four seasons in New England before signing a two-year contract as a free agent with the Saints this past spring. Despite the move, Evans said he has fond memories of his time in New England.

So is this game any tougher to sit out?

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, and not for the bitter reasons," Evans said. "I love those coaches. I love Mr. and Mrs. Kraft, I love that organization. Anytime you get to play against your buddies, it's no different than going in the backyard and wanting to play football. You want to beat your buddies, and those guys are all my buddies, so this one will be tough to swallow, but I'll be here so no broken TVs at my house this week, no crutches going through the TV screen or anything like that. This is one I would have loved to have played in. Any competitor would have."

Evans, tight end David Thomas and cornerback Randall Gay are among the former Patriots now playing for the Saints.

When Sean Payton and his staff arrived in New Orleans prior to the 2006 season, he set out to change the franchise in every facet, from the play on the field to the culture in the locker room. He searched for a blueprint, and he found the Patriots. Ever since he became a head coach, he has tried to shape the franchise in the same fashion Bill Belichick used in New England.

“You look to duplicate, or try to duplicate," Payton said. "You spend more time talking about doing all the right things and trying to pay close attention to what New England has done as an organization. Certainly, they have been at the forefront of our league. If you were in business, it would be silly not to pay attention to how they’ve been successful, their formula and their recipe.

"When we came in in ’06, we tried to begin to change a culture. We’ve got all the film at our disposal. We spent a lot of time looking at the top teams, not just offensively, but on defense and the kicking game. They’re an organization that has done a lot of things well over a long time, and we pay close attention to each year.”

Sean Payton and Bill Belichick may never have coached together, but they do share a tie in their respective upbringings.

Belichick spent 12 years working under the Tuna in New York, rising from special teams coach to linebackers coach to defensive coordinator. Payton, meanwhile, jumped on board with Parcells in Dallas, spending three years there with him before getting the Saints job.

He'd already been an offensive coordinator for three years before going to the Cowboys, making his experience a bit different than Belichick's, but he said that you can probably find similarities in any program with Parcells roots.

"There’s gonna be structure, and there’s gonna be a certain way you want to play the game," Payton said. "There’s been coaches that have been with him longer than others. When you really date back and look at the history of Parcells and Belichick and the success they had with the Giants, and forward, it’s very impressive, and something that all of us hope to someday to enjoy and understand how hard it is week-in and week-out to win in our league."

Belichick and Payton did get a chance to spend time together as coaches of the respective runners-up in 2006, getting each a man a trip to Hawaii to coach in the Pro Bowl.

"We spent a lot of time together," Belichick said of the week. "I think he’s a really sincere guy that comes from the heart. There’s not a lot of fluff and B.S. on top of it. He’s really down to earth, humble, sincere and a man that I really respect. I respected what they did in that season. I respect what they do now.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick has used this week as a compliment offensive toward the New Orleans Saints. He has, at various points, suggested he would not be surprised if the Saints broke the 2007 Patriots offensive record; compared Reggie Bush to Marshall Faulk; said they’re a more balanced team than Colts; pointed out the Saints typically run the clock out in the third quarter; mentioned that Drew Brees rescues sick children from mine shafts in his spare time and sometimes between quarters on Sundays*; and claimed he could not imagine a more difficult scenario to lead a team into.

*Everything else is true.

The latest bouquets were thrown today, both at his press conference here with local media and on a conference call with New Orleans media. Starting out here in the media workroom, Belichick was asked if the Saints were unique in that a coach cannot choose just one weapon to single out.

“I can’t even point to one weapon at one position,” Belichick said. “Look at their running backs. [Reggie] Bush, [Mike] Bell, Pierre [Thomas]. Those guys have all been productive. They’re different styles. They compliment each other. Same thing with the receivers. They all make plays. Tight ends. Defensively, they’ve got good pass rushers. It’s a good linebacking group. They can make plays in the secondary. They’re solid across the board – returning punts, returning kickoffs. They spread it around. Look, they’ve got 18 different guys that have scored touchdowns. You’re going to stop one and let the other 17 go? I know a lot of those are defensive touchdowns. But still. That’s a lot of different guys.”

If you already saw me make the point on this via Twitter, cool. If not, read on. (Sorry if you're sick of Jets talk. This will be it. Promise. Or at least, until the next time someone shoots their mouth off. Good? Good.)

Anyway, the bone of contention that Rex Ryan had stemming from Sunday's game regarded a third-down shot Tom Brady took, tossing a moonshot downfield to Randy Moss on a fade. Stat padding? It would seem to be, particularly after Darrelle Revis had spent much of the afternoon making Moss about as relevant on most plays as some dude in section 331.

"We need to stop them anyway," Ryan said Monday, "so it's no biggie, but I was surprised, and I did feel a little bit disrespected."

OK, so here's the thing: If you're going to complain about the other team trying draw more blood in garbage time, you'd better not have the red stuff all over your hands. On the play in question, a third-and-6 from the Patriots 45 with 30 seconds left, the Jets sent seven rushers at Brady -- a zero blitz. It was just the third time the Jets had sent that much pressure at the quarterback all afternoon.

If we're talking decorum here, normally, taking a shot downfield like that as late in the game as the Patriots did may be considered bad form. But coming after another team's quarterback like that in this kind of situation is probably worse. So it's hard to see -- even for a guy who can appreciate Ryan's heart-on-the-sleeve style -- how this isn't a case of throwing stones from a glass house.

No, the TV Azteca girl has nothing to do with me posting that picture!!!!

It's actually Benjamin Watson that's the subject here. And Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma is our speaker.

From Vilma's PlayMaker Mobile page, a full assessment of the Patriots (with high praise for Big Ben) ...

A guy like Brady gets the ball out quick. Take a guy like Brees, he never really checks down. Maybe once and then he knows exactly what to do, where to throw the ball and he does it with great accuracy. A guy like Peyton will check down all the time, and it's there that he excels. He knows how to manage a game no matter what. Now Brady, Brady is great because he gets the ball out quickly, and he has great weapons at his disposal. He doesn't waste time and he doesn't hold the ball too long. You know, the top three QBs in the league are all great for different reasons, they all have different styles.

Brady gets the ball out quickly, knows in three seconds he can throw it and Moss will jump up and win the jump ball. In two seconds he can dump it off to Wes Welker. He's got weapons. And nobody talks about their tight ends but they have two great tight ends. Ben Watson and Chris Baker. You can't sleep on New England's tight ends. Ben Watson is one of the most underrated guys in the league, but of course he doesn't get the spotlight playing behind Moss and Welker. Those guys of course are huge names, and we'll have to play fast and well on defense to keep 'em in check. We are ready for the New England Patriots and we know we're going to have to EARN the right to go 11-0.

You might not want to read too much into this list, because it's the day before Thanksgiving and the Patriots don't play until Monday night. But here's the list of players who were not present at the media portion of practice:

Julian Edelman
Fred Taylor
Patrick Chung
Rob Ninkovich
Pierre Woods
Vince Wilfork
Sebastian Vollmer
Nick Kaczur
Randy Moss
Ron Brace

It's encouraging that Steve Neal, Matt Light, and Sammy Morris were all there.

FOXBOROUGH -- The way Tom Brady looks at it records are meant to be broken.

Monday's opponent, the New Orleans Saints, is on pace to clip some of the records Brady and the Patriots set in 2007, when they became the first team to post a 16-0 regular season. The 10-0 Saints could break the Patriots' marks for points in a season (589) and touchdowns (75).

"I've seen a lot of great offenses since I've been in the league," said Brady, "like the Rams and the Colts. We were one of them, and the Saints are obviously one of them this year. But there is always going to be another great offense. ...They're always going to be broken; there are not too many records other than Cal Ripken's [consecutive games streak] that won't be broken, every other one you can pretty much assume."

Brady said protecting the Patriots' legacy is not added motivation for Monday night's matchup with the Saints.

"Not as much," Brady said. "I think from their standpoint they obviously have a lot of confidence in what they're doing. I remember the kind of confidence we had taking the field as an undefeated team and knowing that if we played a good game it was going to be almost impossible for teams to beat us. If you don't play well you do get beat as evidenced by what happened in the Super Bowl that year.

"We go down there with our own feelings as well, even though we're 7-3 we have a pretty confident team too. We've played a lot of good football this year at times. It hasn't been all perfect, but aside from a few couple of bad halves of football it's been pretty solid. We just have to keep building on the consistency of team. ...They're confident. We're confident. They're one of the best teams in the league. We see ourselves as a team that can beat anybody that we play. Then again we got to go out and do it. It's much easier said than done against this team."

When the Patriots gathered today in their locker room, they had an unexpected speaker waiting. Owner Robert Kraft stood before the players and delivered a message. He urged the players to be thankful for what they have and to think about the less fortunate with Thanksgiving arriving tomorrow.

"He just told us how thankful he is for us and what we do," cornerback Jonathan Wilhite said.

After Kraft addressed the team, coach Bill Belichick opened his press conference with a similar message.

“I just want to pass along Thanksgiving wishes to all the fans and players’ families, everybody who has to put up with us through the year,” Belichick said. “I’m thankful for Kraft family giving me the opportunity to be the coach here. He put the day in good perspective. It’s a good time to reflect and be appreciative, at least one day in the year. It probably should be every day.

“It’s a great time for all of us to be thankful, especially those of us with the Patriots. We have a great situation here. It’s a great opportunity.”

Patriots tackle Mark LeVoir responded to Jets cornerback Donald Strickland's talk about LeVoir's violent block Sunday being a "cheap shot" by not really responding at all.

"I'm not going into that. I play hard, and whatever happens, happens," Levoir said. "My focus is on the Saints this week. I'm getting ready to go and have a good practice."

Later, LeVoir said he hadn't even seen exactly what Strickland had said. If you need a refresher, here's what Strickland told The Star-Ledger on Monday:

‘‘I think it was a real cheap shot. He really didn’t have to go at my head like that, especially with the NFL’s precaution about helmet-to-helmet contact.

‘‘It happened. It was a block and he took advantage of it. But I guarantee you the next time we play them it’s going to be a different story. I’m making a point of emphasis to retaliate. That’s the way I feel.’’

Several injured Patriots walked through the locker room today, including Jarvis Green, Matt Light, Sammy Morris, and Steve Neal. Here's a quick rundown:

-Morris said that Sunday he was "for the most part" a game-time decision. He said his knee, which has kept him sidelined since he left the Titans game in Week 6, should be feeling better than it did last week.

“It’s only been a couple days,” Morris said. “But I think so. It’s about the same. Just take it as it comes, and I’ll know as the week goes.”

The buildup surrounding Monday night, Morris said, would not serve as any extra motivation to come back.

"It's any game," Morris said. "I think all the side stuff is from the outside. It's just as important as any week."

-Neal said he's "day-to-day." He left the Colts game with a head injury.

-Green has missed three games since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee during the Patriots bye week. He was questionable for the Jets game last Sunday and is optimistic about his return. He said he's been most busy sorting through ticket requests. Green, who is from Donaldsville, La. and played at LSU, has never played in New Orleans as a pro.

"I would think it's special for everybody to go back home and play," Green said.

-Light offered no update as he walked into the trainer's room, aside from wishing one reporter a Happy Thanksgiving.

-Also, safety Patrick Chung, who left the game Sunday with a head injury before returning, said he plans on playing Monday night. “It’s not a question,” Chung said.

Back when Reggie Bush was a USC freshman, I remember watching the Rose Bowl and thinking to myself, immediately, "Marshall Faulk". Two national titles and a Heisman later, my feeling on that was cemented.

But now it's changed. When I first saw the comments Bill Belichick made on Tuesday, it made it seem like he was flat-out saying Bush was Faulk 2.0. Then, I read closer.

"Look, they are two players that are playing in two completely different systems, so you’re not comparing apples to apples," the coach said. "They are both great players and they both add an element to their teams that’s very productive, very unique and it’s hard to defend."

Here's what I got from it: Because Bush catches the ball like a receiver, the Saints are able to move him all over the formation, and get the matchups they want with linebackers and safeties. That's what the Rams used to do with Faulk.

But let's not go overboard here. The fact that the Saints have two players (Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell) who have more than 500 yards rushing that wear numbers other than "25" should tell you something. When Sean Payton went to revitalize the running game in the offseason (mission accomplished -- It now ranks fifth, where it was 28th last year), part of it was conceding that Bush was never going to Walter Payton. So they upped Thomas workload, got Bell out of mothballs and freed Bush to do what he does best -- which is a little bit of everything.

Was Faulk like that? Yeah, he was. But he was also an underrated inside runner who posted four consecutive seasons of 1,300 yards rushing in the heart of his career, averaging more than 15 carries per game in each of those years, more than 5.3 yards per carry in three of them. Bush is averaging 5.5 carries per game, and has 50 fewer carries than Thomas and 73 fewer than Bell through 10 games.

Bottom line: Let's tap the breaks on that comparison. Hey, I'd love to have been right on drawing that one from years ago. Fact is, at least as it stands now, I really wasn't.

Last night on the radio, Damon Amendolara (host of 98.5 The Sports Hub's D.A. Show) and I discussed how to get the most out of Laurence Maroney.

And since I blogged yesterday about how he's improved -- in picking his spots with his approach -- D.A. raised the question of whether or not he needs to be a full-time back to be most effective. Most people look at what he did at Minnesota, sharing carries with Marion Barber and Gary Russell, and say the answer has to be "no". But I'd argue that the Gophers ran the ball so much, that there could be more than one guy carrying a full load, and the 22 carries per game that Maroney averaged over his final two years at Minnesota bear that out.

Anyway, D.A. and I agreed to mark a "full load" at 18 carries, and I said I'd look at how much better (or worse) he's been when given that kind of work. Here's what the numbers say ...

10/8/06 (vs. Miami): 18 carries, 38 yards, 0 TDs
11/19/06 (at Green Bay): 19 carries, 82 yards, 0 TDs
1/7/07 (vs. Jets): 18 carries, 69 yards, 0 TD*
9/9/07 (at Jets): 20 carries, 72 yards, 0 TD
9/23/07 (vs. Buffalo): 19 carries, 103 yards, 0 TDs
12/16/07 (vs. Jets): 26 carries, 104 yards, 0 TDs
12/29/07 (at Giants): 19 carries, 46 yards, 0 TDs
1/12/08 (vs. Jaguars): 22 carries, 122 yards, TD*
1/20/08 (vs. Chargers): 25 carries, 122 yards, TD*
11/8/09 (vs. Dolphins): 20 carries, 82 yards, TD
11/22/09 (vs. Jets): 22 carries, 77 yards, 2 TDs

* -- playoffs

Totals: 228 carries, 917 yards (4.02 yards/attempt), 5 TDs
Other games: 368 carries, 1,578 yards (4.29 yards/attempt), 15 TDs

So ... Statistically, there really hasn't been that much of a difference, although it's worth mentioning that his three biggest games in the regular season have come in the 14-16 carry range. For whatever reason, it's seemed to me that he's more effective when he's in there more, but maybe that's just my eyes lying to me.

Either way, with Sammy Morris on the mend, we may not get much more evidence on this. Take it for what it's worth.

Patriots cornerback Leigh Bodden was named the AFC's Defensive Player of the Week following his three-interception game against the New York Jets on Sunday.

Bodden returned his first pickoff 53 yards for the Patriots' first points in a 31-14 victory. It is the first time Bodden has received the award.

The three interceptions were a career high for Bodden, who tied a Patriots record held by several players for interceptions in a game. The most recent was Asante Samuel in November of 2006.

Bodden and the Patriots' defense held the Jets to 122 yards passing on Sunday. Brandon Meriweather also intercepted a Mark Sanchez pass.