Patriots:
Comings and Goings
Jon Scott, Patriots Insider
COMINGS AND
GOINGS
--Safety Guss Scott was placed on injured reserve today, ending
his season. Scott was injured in 2004 at the end of preseason missing all of his
rookie season. His loss, combined with the loss of Rodney Harrison, means that
the Patriots will need to rely on rookie draft pick James Sanders and free agent
Arturo Freeman.
--LB and special teams contributor Wesly Mallard was released
to make room on the roster to add one of the teams two additions.
--DB Hank
Poteat returned to the team. Poteat, a former street free agent, was with the
team during their playoff run last season. He remained on the roster with New
England during the offseason, but was part of the roster cut down to the group
of 65 on August 30, 2005. Poteat was in town last week for a workout.
"Hank
was with us last year, and in training camp, and has been a productive player for us," Belichick said. "Where we are with the
cornerback situation now, we felt like we could use a little more depth there."
Belichick
complimented Poteat, and explained that the team would have kept him if the roster
limit allowed. "Hanks a smart player, he works hard, he's very diligent he's
a tough kid. He puts a lot into the game. I have a lot of respect for him."
--WR
Andre Davis returns to the team. Reported here in last
week's Rumor mill, Davis who drew interest from other teams in the league
including the Green Bay Packers, was resigned by the team today. Davis has the
size and the speed the Patriots desire. They made a trade with the Cleveland Browns
before the season in order to obtain another weapon for Tom Brady, but Davis'
foot made put his roster spot in jeopardy.
The Patriots continued to follow
Davis during his recovery period, eventually adding him to the roster once enough
spots were available.
NEXT UP
The Patriots head into the bye
week tied for the AFC East lead with the Buffalo Bills at 3-3. They could find
themselves in unfamiliar territory when they return should the Bills win next
Sunday, having to play a division opponent with a better record in week eight.
The
Patriots have had their struggles in the 2005 season, which has been well documented.
Injuries, personnel changes, and a brutal schedule have all been factors. Their
division opponents have had their fair share of struggles as well. The Jets have
lost their number one and number two quarterbacks, along with their starting center
for the season. The Bills have made a quarterback change to adjust for poor play
by their quarterback of the future. The Dolphins have had their own struggles
at the quarterback position. The AFC is a wide-open division, which has the Patriots
thankful for their week seven bye.
Their 3-3 record has history on the Patriots
side.
In 2001 the team started 3-3 before dropping their next game to fall
to 3-4. They turned around the season to land their second trip to the Superbowl
and win an improbable victory over the St. Louis Rams.
In 2002 they began
3-3 before heading into a week seven bye. After the bye the lost to Denver dropping
to 3-4 for the second year in a row. At that point they won six of their last
nine games to finish at 9-7. They lost out on a wildcard spot when the Jets won
their final game placing them in a tiebreaker, which landed Cleveland in the playoffs
ahead of both the Dolphins and the Patriots who all ended with a 9-7 record.
If
the Patriots are to return to the playoffs for a chance to defend their Super
Bowl title, they will have to improve on their 9-7 record. The Buffalo Bills have
new life with backup quarterback, ironically who joined the Bills from Cleveland
where he spent time backing up former first round QB Tim Couch. Holcomb contributes
some of his success from learning under fire with the Browns, and as time he spent
backing up Peyton Manning in Indianapolis.
Buffalo's defense, in addition
to Holcomb's play, has the Bills on track to take the lead in the AFC East during
the Patriots bye week. The Bills face an Oakland Raiders team devoid of their
playmaker Randy Moss. Oakland's offense appears to be in a freefall, which could
lead to an ugly outing against an aggressive Buffalo defense. A Buffalo win means
the Patriots will have an uphill climb to try to claim the Division title in 2005.
More new and notes about Holcomb, the Jets and the Dolphins can be found
in this week's AFC East report.
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