FOXBOROUGH -- Patriots coach Bill Belichick held his morning press conference (10:50 a.m.), quarterback Matt Cassel held his weekly press conference (11:10 a.m.) and media members had access to the locker room (11:10-11:55 a.m.) at Gillette Stadium. Here were a few sights and sounds:
1) Practice outside again. It's raining in Foxborough, but the Patriots still held their practice outside. Coach Bill Belichick has had the players working outside in recent weeks -- which on some days meant being in the rain and snow -- and they know the elements could be unpredictable in Buffalo on Sunday. "Whatever the elements are, we'll try to be ready for them," Belichick said. "We'll keep working outside this week in preparation for that."
2) Bills kicking game in focus. In the opening remarks of his press conference, Patriots coach Bill Belichick detailed his thoughts on the Bills. "I think it starts, as usual with Buffalo, in the kicking game," he said. "They are as good as anyone we play on special teams." The Bills are especially tough on punt returns, as they are the NFL's top-ranked unit.
3) Matt Cassel & the future. The unpredictable rise of Matt Cassel, and the players' confidence in him, was a topic of discussion today. In a reflection of how this story has unfolded -- from doubters questioning his ability to fill-in for Tom Brady, to his value skyrocketing after a remarkable season -- one of the questions fielded by Cassel was if this could be his last game as a Patriot. "Nobody knows the future. If anybody knew the future, I probably wouldn't be here right now with a lot of people predicting that I wouldn't be here after the preseason," Cassel said. "The fact is, nobody knows where I'm going to be next year and I could definitely be back here, but it's something that we're going to have to wait and see.''
4) Tedy Bruschi sighting. Linebacker Tedy Bruschi emerged from the training room and proceeded to the weight room for a workout. Bruschi, who had a brace over his injured left knee, was not interviewed by reporters. Initial reports after Bruschi injured the knee Dec. 5 indicated that Bruschi was likely to be placed on injured reserve. But Bruschi remains on the 53-man roster, and thus there is still a chance that he could return this year.
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