The Patriots announced their final cuts on Saturday to get down to the required 53-man roster. The final cut included a few suprises such as defensive lineman Rodney Bailey and wide receivers David Terrell and P.K. Sam. 17 players in all were cut. One of the biggest suprises came as undrafted free agent defensive lineman Mike Wright made the Patriots squad. Wright had a solid preseason with 16 tackles and led the club with 3.5 sacks. "He's a young guy who has a long way to go and has a lot to learn, but we just put them all out there and let them compete. We thought he competed well and was productive and the fact that he was durable and stayed out there every day gave him a chance to get better and improve on a day-to-day basis, and he did that," said Belichick of Wright. Jerome Solomon of the Boston Globe, Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald, Tom Curran of the Providence Journal, Alan Greenberg of the Hartford Courant and Mark Farinella of the Sun Chronicle all offer stories on defensive lineman Mike Wright.

Of the 17 patriots cut in the final move to the 53-man roster, the Patriots brought back six of the those players and added rookie linebacker Jared Newberry to the practice squad. The practice squad now includes Eric Alexander, Kory Chapman, Bam Childress, Ryan Krug, Jared Newberry, Raymond Ventrone and Billy Yates. Jerome Solomon of the Boston Globe and Albert Breer of the MetroWest Daily News report the on practice squad moves.

The Patriots get ready to take on the Oakland Raiders Thursday night at Gillette Stadium as they kick off the 2005 season. The Patriots face an early test with the dangerous wide receiver threat of Randy Moss, Jerry Porter, Ronald Curry and Alvis Whitted. "I think Moss helps everybody. I think No. 1, he helps the running game, more than anything. Sure, he helps Curry. He helps Porter, (Courtney) Anderson. Any time you have a player like that (he) is going to draw some coverage, going to draw some attention, that you have to at least account for in your game plan. You have to know where he is. That helps everybody else," said Belichick. Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald and Tom Curran of the Providence Journal offer a preview of the upcoming season opener.

Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald reports that former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis picked up his first win in a 42-21 Notre Dame stomping of Pittsburgh. "I was very happy for Charlie,'' Brady said. "I know he was excited to play. The opening game, he really wanted to go out and play well, and it was good to see him win."

Tom Curran of the Providence Journal offers his daily sports blog with Patriots notes and commentary.

Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe offers his daily sports blog with Patriots notes.