Defensive headset utilized

Patriots coach Bill Belichick just held his regular day-after-game conference call with reporters (4 p.m.). The first question he was asked, by Boston Herald reporter Karen Guregian, was about the team using the communication device on defense against the Eagles.

"We used the headset with Tedy [Bruschi] and Mike Vrabel, both of them in the first half, a little bit in the third quarter," Belichick explained.

"We used it a little bit last week against Tampa in pre-game, not actually during the game -- it was on the road and all that. It's a learning experience for everyone and we know more about it now, and we have at least a game under our belts to try to figure out what is the best way to utilize it, and how to make it advantageous, and how to keep it from being a problem or another log on the fire that we really don't need. So we'll talk about that this week and try to figure out the best plan. If we can utilize it productively, we will. If we can't, we won't. We'll just have to see how that goes and figure out the most efficient way to do it."

Later in the call, Belichick was asked if there was an update on the physical condition of Wes Welker, who left Friday's game with a rib injury. Belichick said he did not have an update.