With depth concerns on the defense, coach Bill Belichick and the coaching staff have been trying lots of different things. Mike Reiss of The Boston Globe reports that in the 3-4 alignment, Tully Banta-Cain was inserted at outside linebacker. That moved Mike Vrabel from outside linebacker to inside linebacker, where he replaced Don Davis. The team also worked in a 4-3 set at various times, taking Banta-Cain off the field and adding defensive lineman Jarvis Green. Could these trials mean good things for Banta-Cain and Green?
Mike Reiss of The Boston Globe and Michael Felger of the *Boston Herald *both offer stories on safety Tebucky Jones' removal from the Falcons game. Jones, whose thumb "was basically at a 90-degree angle" after a special teams play in the game, was at yesterday's practice.
Felger also offers a piece on backup quarterback Matt Cassel's performance in Friday's game. "There were three or four throws I could have made and that I'll definitely make in the future," said Cassel yesterday.
The Providence Journal's Tom Curran offers a feature on Patriots defensive end Ty Warren, whom Belichick spoke fondly of yesterday. "Ty is one of the players in my coaching career that has just steadily improved since the day he got here and he continues to improve," said Belichick.
Curran also reports that Belichick and Cassel aren't overly concerned with Cassel's performance in the preseason opener. The first preseason game "is just part of the process," said Belichick.
Chris Kennedy of The Republican explains that rookie Willie Andrews is vying for a roster spot as a return specialist. "It was a big emphasis for me at college, being a returner. Our coach back at Baylor thought special teams was one of the main facets of the game, I just brought (that belief) up to the NFL," said Andrews yesterday.
Globe writer Mike Reiss offers his daily blog.
