Over the past five weeks, the Patriots have taken care of business — regardless of the circumstances.
Three games in 11 days? Check.
A Monday Night Football game against a division rival? Check.
An away game in snow with wind gusts of up to 30 mph? Check.
Wacky situations aside, the Pats haven’t yet failed to move easily from one game to the next.
Like coach, like players.
“Coach [Belichick] always puts it best to us,” quarterback Tom Brady said yesterday. “He says, ‘Everything that’s happened this year has just provided us with an opportunity.’ There’s nothing set in stone.”
Veterans like Matt Light have seen opportunities go by the wayside before. They know not to get caught up in things.
“For the guys that have been around and been involved with things, you go 11-5, don’t make the playoffs, or make it into the playoffs and obviously, like last year, don’t make it past the first round,” Light said. “I really don’t think that the regular season means a whole lot when it comes to all the talk about the postseason.”
That playoff talk is only going to get louder, so credit Belichick for putting his players in the right state of mind.
“After a while, the players kind of take the personality of the coach,” cornerback Kyle Arrington said. “We knew ourselves that there were a lot of things left out on the field in Chicago. So he didn’t really need to say much.”
Rodgers misses practice
How about this for a change around these parts: An NFL coach who’s up front about
injuries.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said that quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t practice yesterday, but could still play Sunday.
“He’s going through the normal protocol that you go through with the concussions, procedures,”?McCarthy said. “I don’t anticipate him practicing [today]. I think it’d be a slim chance for him to practice on Friday.
“We’ll probably make a decision Saturday if he is cleared by the medical staff.”
