New England Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown made an appearance in the locker room yesterday. According to a piece in the Boston Globe, Brown, who is currently on the physically unable to perform list, is hopefull he'll be activated soon.

Troy Brown and other players on the PUP list such as Richard Seymour, Chad Jackson and Eddie Jackson are eligible to begin practicing next week.

The Boston Herald notes that Cleveland Browns guard Eric Steinbach has demanded that Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel be fined for what he believes was a cheap shot. Steinbach claims that Vrabel intentionally dived at the knees of left tackle Joe Thomas with 11 seconds left in Sunday's game as Browns quarterback Derek Anderson spiked the ball.

The *Boston Globe * offers a piece on Patriots guard/center Russ Hochstein who filled in admireably for an injured Dan Koppen as the starting center in the Patriots 34-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Hochstein was part of an offensive line that held the Browns without a sack and paved the way for a solid rushing output of 147 yards on 32 carries.

The Providence Journal writes that heading into Sunday's game against the Browns, the Patriots had coverted more than 52 percent of their third-down chances. At the end of the game the Patriots had converted only two third-down conversions in 12 chances (17%). According to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick the Browns defense played a big part in limiting their success on third down.

"They did a number of things on both sides of the ball that gave us some problems that we had to adjust to. I thought they did a good job, from a coaching standpoint, of causing us some problems and forcing us to make some adjustments. Some of (the adjustments) maybe we could have made a little quicker or done a little bit better. (But) the players played well and a lot of the things that didn't go well out there for us was a result of what Cleveland did," said Belichick.

Looking ahead to Sunday's matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, the *Boston Herald * writes that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will take center stage. Comparisons of Brady and Romo go beyond the fact they once held the clipboard for Drew Bledsoe. Going into last weekend, New England and Dallas were ranked first and second in the NFL in total offense. The Pats bolstered their standing with 412 yards in Sunday's 34-17 win over the Cleveland Browns while the Cowboys picked up 385 yards of offense in last night's 25-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

Quick Hits

The Boston Herald offers its Patriots report card. Top grades went out to the Patriots offensive line and linebacker corps, both with an A grade.

The Patriots Ledger takes a look at who's hot and who's not on the Patriots squad.