From Mike R.
Uche credits "some open, transparent dialogue with Bill" for helping him work through hearing his name involved in trade buzz.
www.espn.com
6. Coaches grind: Patriots coaches didn't get much of a bye week. After Wednesday's practice, and some cleanup work into Thursday, they essentially had Friday and Saturday off before they were due back in the office Sunday.
7. Mood check: How would Uche assess the outlook of the Patriots' locker room on the bye week? "We're 2-8, but if you take a closer look, it is a lot of close games, one-score games. The record doesn't always tell the full story about who we are as a team. We have a lot of great football players on this team," Uche said. "We just have to keep working hard to overcome and have those close games swing in our favor. It doesn't get better by just giving up."
8. Pats-Chiefs on MNF: The deadline for the NFL to decide on flexing the Dec. 18 Chiefs-at-Patriots game out of "Monday Night Football" is no later than Dec. 6. Regardless of how poorly the Patriots are playing, my opinion is that the prime-time appeal of
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs -- along with the possibility of a Taylor Swift appearance at a venue she referred to as "Foxy Foxborough" on her recent tour -- will keep the game in its slot. Meanwhile, since Thursday night games require a 28-day advance window to flex, the Patriots-at-Steelers game on Dec. 7 is past the deadline.
9. Did you know? -- Part I: The Patriots' 10-6 loss to the Colts last Sunday was the lowest scoring game in the NFL this season.
10. Did you know? -- Part II: Last week marked the first time the Patriots lost a game when allowing 10 or fewer points since Sept. 23, 2001, against the Jets, breaking a streak of 89 such games. That 10-3 loss was the game when
Tom Brady took over for an injured
Drew Bledsoe.
