Pats News & The Latest NFL Rumors and Dirt

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Scott Cordischi, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

It’s week 17 in the National Football League and locally, the picture is very clear. The New England Patriots will be going to the postseason for the 8th time in the last 10 years under Bill Belichick. They will be the #1 overall seed in the AFC.

So while Sunday’s game against Miami in Foxboro has no bearing on their immediate future, here are a few notes as we approach the game:

-Tom Brady said Friday that he is going to play against the Dolphins. “I’m the starting quarterback of the team. I’m going to play,” he said. There has been much debate in these parts as to how much, if at all, Brady and some of the key members of the team will play against Miami. It could be as little as one series or as much as an entire game.

Bill Belichick is certainly aware of the risk of injury to his players in such a meaningless game. Last year’s regular season finale in Houston had no bearing on the Pats postseason position and the starters played for quite a while in that game. It proved costly as WR Wes Welker blew out his knee and was unavailable for their playoff game the following week in Baltimore.

Belichick, however, is also aware that his Patriots will not play a game for another two weeks after the Miami game so there is a need to get the starters at least some work on Sunday. How many snaps they receive is anyone’s guess.

-Word out of Miami is that head coach Tony Sporano may be safe for 2011. Apparently Bill Parcells has done his best to convince owner Stephen Ross to keep Sporano around for another year.

However, don’t expect offensive coordinator Dan Henning to be there next season and there’s also some debate about whether or not Chad Henne is the right quarterback to help turn the offense around.

One of the names rumored to be in consideration to replace Henning as offensive coordinator is Josh McDaniels. That would be an interesting hire by Miami given that McDaniels rid the Broncos of WR Brandon Marshall after the two had problems coexisting in Denver. Marshall is now Miami’s top receiver.

-The Pats has a 4 turnover cushion to set the NFL single season record for fewest turnovers by a team in a single 16-game regular season. New England has turned it over a league-low 9 times this year. The NFL record is 13 turnovers in one season held by both the 2008 Miami Dolphins and NY Giants.

-What will the Bears do Sunday against Green Bay? Chicago has locked up the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs and a first round bye heading into the final week of the regular season. The division rival Packers need a win to get into the playoffs.

Will the Bears put their best foot forward and try to beat Green Bay opening the door for a team like the NY Giants to get into the playoffs or will Lovie Smith rest his starters and not worry about the outcome of Sunday’s game?

-John Fox will coach his final game for Carolina Sunday when the Panthers visit Atlanta. I know that Bill Cowher’s name has been linked to the Giants, Dolphins and Texans recently. I say that Carolina may be where he ends up. After all, he and his family built a new house down in the Charlotte area a few years ago. Stay tuned.

-Jets coach Rex Ryan is sticking to his guns when it comes to news about his alleged foot fetish. New photos of a woman who looks like Ryan’s wife surfaced on the website mediatakeout.com this week showing her having her feet fondled by a man other than Ryan.

The Jets coach said “it’s a personal matter and I’m not going to discuss it,” when asked about these lates photos this week.