GLENDALE, Ariz. — In a cramped interview tent just outside of University of Phoenix Stadium late Sunday night, Randy Moss paused slightly for a moment while he pondered the question: Would he be back next year as a member of the Patriots?

“If I am in a New England Patriots uniform next year, I would love to be in one,” he said. “If I am not, you know, the show must go on.”

Moss was talking about himself, but he could have been speaking for almost one-fifth of New England’s 53-man roster. The Patriots face a number of personnel questions heading into the offseason — many of the players who were on the field Sunday night against the Giants may have been playing their final game in a New England uniform.

On offense, Moss is the biggest question, and the Patriots figure to try and move heaven and earth to get him to sign a cap friendly deal for next season and beyond. The wide receiver took a sizable pay cut to join New England last spring, and was a key part of a record-setting offense. It is known that a handful of players have been approached to re-do their deals, presumably in hopes of bringing players like Moss back. But late Sunday night, Moss wouldn’t tip his hand as to what he planned to do going forward, saying only he was just looking forward to the chance to spend some time with his family.

“I am not approaching the offseason. I have a family. I got kids to love and raise,” Moss said when quizzed again about his future. “I’m going to be with my kids probably until May or June. I am not thinking of anything football right now, so I can just relax my mind, my body, and love my kids.”

In all, the wide receiver position could ultimately see the same sort of turnover as last season when the Patriots completed an extreme makeover, bringing in new faces Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker. Stallworth is due an option bonus that is reportedly between $6 million and $8 million the team is not likely to pick up. (Stallworth declined interview requests after Sunday’s game.) In addition, Jabar Gaffney is an unrestricted free agent, while 36-year-old veteran wide receiver Troy Brown, who played in just one game this year, is a possible candidate for retirement. Wide receiver/special teams ace Kelley Washington is also due a sizable roster bonus, reportedly $4 million, while two others special teams stars, long snapper Lonie Paxton and special teams captain Larry Izzo, are unrestricted free agents.

On defense, cornerback Asante Samuel faces an uncertain future. Samuel was slapped with the franchise tag last season, which meant a one-year tender of $7.79 million. He was displeased with the offer and held out, eventually returning to camp two weeks before the start of the season. After another strong season — he now has 16 interceptions the last two seasons — he’ll become an unrestricted free agent in March, and it’s believed he’ll be seeking a lucrative deal somewhere in the neighborhood of the eight-year, $80 million deal that San Francisco’s Nate Clements signed, a deal he’s not likely to get with the Patriots.

Like Moss, Samuel would not elaborate on his future after the game.

“Everyone is down and heartbroken,” Samuel said when asked about the scene in the locker room after the game. “[Head Coach Bill Belichick] just told us that he appreciated everything we were able to do this season, like working hard and giving it our all. We weren’t able to do what it takes, and everybody is heartbroken.”

Fellow defensive backs Randall Gay and Eugene Wilson are also question marks as unrestricted free agents. Gay’s future may be tied to Samuel — if Samuel leaves, the Patriots would likely make more of an attempt to re-sign Gay in hopes of maintaining more continuity and depth in the secondary. As for Wilson, he has been bypassed on the depth chart at safety by James Sanders, and by the end of the season, was fighting rookie Brandon Meriweather for playing time.

The linebacker position is also unclear. Rosevelt Colvin, who ended the season on injured reserve, has a cap number that’ll increase to approximately $7 million next spring. Tedy Bruschi, 34, talked about the possibility of retirement in the days leading up to the game. Retirement could also claim linebacker Junior Seau — however, the 39-year-old would not commit one way or another after the game. “I haven’t thought about the future,” Seau said shortly after the loss. “I am having too much fun.” Asked if the loss will effect his decision to retire or not, Seau said, “No, this will not effect my decision.”

Christopher Price is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the Patriots since 2001 for Boston Metro. He’s served a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald. He’s written “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower,” and can be reached at chris@patriotsdaily.com.

Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin are two examples of why people shouldn’t always make a snap judgment on the abilities of a first-time head coach, especially if they came of age as an assistant under Bill Parcells.

Both Belichick and Coughlin have taken similar routes to Super Bowl XLII: in their initial experience as a head coach in the NFL, the two former Parcells’ assistants both had a dogmatic approach that yielded minimal return, not unlike Parcells himself. In their second go-round as NFL head coaches, they’ve slightly softened their hard-line approach, and that new style has yielded considerable results.

In Jacksonville, Coughlin made his bones as an uber-disciplinarian. The early returns were favorable, as the Jags became the most successful expansion team in NFL history, making two trips to the AFC Championship Game in his first four years in Jacksonville. But the good times soon faded, and Coughlin’s approach soon wore thin.

He was soon hired by the Giants, but the baggage followed him to New York — Giants defensive end Michael Strahan thought to himself “this man is crazy” soon after his first meeting with Coughlin, and described his personality as “robotic.” And in his first three seasons in New York, there was just one season where they finished better than .500, and zero playoff wins.

But somewhere along the way, Coughlin loosened up. During training camp this year, he called off practice and took the whole team bowling. He let the players vote on captains instead of choosing them himself. And he held weekly meetings with an 11-player council to stay abreast of what the players were thinking.

“Instead of just telling these guys, ‘This is how it is,’ you have to say, ‘How’s that working for you?’ “ Giants running back coach Jerald Ingram told reporters. “He hasn’t changed totally. But he’s been able to see that you can do things differently and still be yourself.”

In the end, the new style paid off with Coughlin’s first trip to the Super Bowl as a head coach.

“There are times that I go, ‘Are you going back on us?’” Strahan said with a smile yesterday. “He has really changed. He is smiling, he uses the word ‘fun’ and ‘enjoyment’ and it blows my mind every time he uses it.

“He has come around,” Strahan added. “I think he’s definitely changed – it’s for real and it’s for the better.”

The situation was the same for Belichick, who was frosty with players, fans and media in his time in Cleveland. Tales of his overbearing approach were the stuff of legend, and his micromanaging spread him way to thin, distracting him from the things he needed to focus on as a head coach.

Now, like Coughlin, his approach has paid off. He’s more attuned to the needs of his players. He meets regularly with his captains. He places his full faith in his assistants. He’s still not the warm and fuzzy type, but, like Coughlin, a softer approach with players and staff has paid dividends.

“He’s still consistent about as far as being strict about things and wanting guys to do things right,” Anthony Pleasant, who played for Belichick at multiple stops, said a few years ago when asked about his former head coach. “But he’s not as dogmatic as he was in Cleveland. He’s more willing to give now than he was back then.”

“You learn something every game you coach, every practice, every year,” Belichick said. “Certainly the five years in Cleveland taught me a lot about managing a team.

“I took those experiences and tried to build off of them and improve them through the years — both how to handle the team and probably delegate more responsibility than I did in Cleveland to my assistants and other people in the organization that are involved in the operational and support ends of the game.”

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR 

1. How the Giants try and defend Randy Moss. The Jaguars and Chargers were able to take away the outside deep threat that Moss brings to the game by jamming him right off the line, playing physical with him and forcing him inside. Expect the Giants to at least try and do the same thing. If they do, expect the Patriots to try and be creative in their use of Moss — maybe some more reverse plays, or putting him in motion.

2. Ellis Hobbs. The diminutive cornerback had some issues against Plaxico Burress when the Patriots faced the Giants in December — including a 52-yard pass play from Eli Manning to Burress on the Giants’ second play from scrimmage — and New York will likely stay far away from cornerback Asante Samuel. Because the Patriots usually don’t match their cornerbacks man for man, but to either left or right side of the field, it’ll be interesting to see if the Giants make it a priority for Burress to find Hobbs. (Of course, that all goes out the window if Belichick shakes things up. As we know, the Patriots’ head coach has a knack for making some surprising decisions in big games, like the debut of the 2-5 defense in Super Bowl XXIX.)

3. Kevin Faulk. The veteran defensive back has become an invaluable part of the New England offense in this year’s playoffs, particularly in the passing game. We’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: this postseason, Brady has thrown 13 passes in his direction, and he’s caught all 13, the best ratio on the team among the regulars. With an aggressive New York front four, he should be called upon to run the screen pass on a few occasions Sunday.

4. The Patriots offensive line against the Giants defensive line. This is where the real battle of Super Bowl XLII will be fought. New York was able to get pressure on Brady in their first meeting, but only finished with one sack on the night. The Giants did hold New England to just 44 rushing yards, and New England had nine plays in the running game where they posted either no gain or negative yardage. However, this time will likely be different. The Patriots have their entire offensive line — plus No. 1 blocking tight end Kyle Brady — healthy. In December, the Patriots were without Brady, as well as Stephen Neal (their best run blocker) and Nick Kaczur.

5. Tom Petty. What’ll he play at halftime? My guess is that he and the Heartbreakers play these three songs, in no particular order: Runnin’ Down A Dream, Free Fallin’ and American Girl.

STAT OF THE WEEK

17,000. As of Wednesday night, the number of results you get if you Google the phrase “How to beat the Patriots.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
 
“There’s a couple guys who can’t grow hair. Their [bleeps] still haven’t dropped, I guessed.” — Patriots right tackle Nick Kaczur, speaking with the Washington Post about New England’s bearded offensive line.

Christopher Price is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the Patriots since 2001 for Boston Metro. He’s served a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald. He’s written “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower,” and can be reached at chris@patriotsdaily.com.

The last time the Patriots faced the Giants — in that famous Week 17 clash at the Meadowlands — the right side of the New England offensive line consisted of second-year Ryan O’Callaghan at right tackle and all-purpose utilityman Russ Hochstein at right guard. New England rushed for just 44 yards and barely came away with a 38-35 win.

This time around, starting right guard Stephen Neal and starting right tackle Nick Kaczur are expected to be healthy enough to play. If their recent performance is any indication, the Giants’ defense — particularly their run stoppers — could be in for a long night a week from Sunday in Super Bowl XLII.

“Russ and Ryan came in and stepped in there when they needed to; they’ve done a great job for us,” said center Dan Koppen. “But Steve and Nick, they’re our guys,”

Back in that December matchup, O’Callaghan and Hochstein did a great job of helping blunt the Giants’ vaunted pass rush, as the Patriots’ offensive line held the likes of Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck to just one sack on the night. But with its starting offensive line in place for both playoff games, New England has averaged 147 rushing yards in the postseason, grinding out 145 against Jacksonville and 149 against San Diego.

This postseason, the Patriots have been able to dominate on the ground for several reasons. Bad weather has placed a renewed emphasis on the running game. In addition, favorable matchups have allowed the backs to flourish — the Jags were playing nickel and dime coverage much of the night in the divisional playoffs, concentrating on stopping the New England passing game as opposed to the running backs. There was also the move from three- and four-wides to a two- and three-tight end set against the Chargers that paid dividends down the stretch in the form of big yards on the ground.

But a large part of it can also be found in the fact that New England has had its starting offensive line — Kaczur, Neal, Koppen, left guard Logan Mankins and left tackle Matt Light — together for back-to-back games for the first time since early December.

“We expect that from them — they consistently do it,” said fullback Heath Evans after Sunday’s win over the Chargers. “Those guys have played together for a long time.” 

It’s not just lately — the last six times the Patriots had their starting offensive line on the field as a group, they rushed for less than 90 yards only once when they had 48 yards in a Nov. 18 win over the Bills in Buffalo.

According to Koppen, it’s not an accident that continuity has bred a successful offensive line. When you play alongside someone for an extended period of time, you develop a level of trust that isn’t there if you’re constantly shuffling guys in and out of the lineup.

“It’s important,” he said recently. “We’ve got guys that have been around here for a number of years, and we know what’s expected of each of those guys, and we know what they’re going to do and what their role on our offense is.

“When you’re rolling the same five guys out there — or six, or seven, for that matter, which we’ve had over the course of this year — it’s important to know what they do. It’s important to have trust in them, and really just build on that each week and try to get better.”

STAT OF THE WEEK

13. The number of passes that have been thrown in the direction of Patriots’ running back Kevin Faulk since the start of the postseason. He’s caught all 13.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Just give an old man a chance.” —Patriots linebacker Junior Seau, 39, answering a question about his mindset when he decided to come to New England before the start of last season.

Christopher Price is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the Patriots since 2001 for Boston Metro. He’s served a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald. He’s written “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower,” and can be reached at chris@patriotsdaily.com.

Both wear No. 55. Both went to USC, and call the West Coast home. Both took up residence in the same corner locker at Gillette Stadium. And during their time as Patriots, both quickly became important pieces in Bill Belichick’s defensive scheme.

But Willie McGinest and Junior Seau have both taken far different routes to become leaders in the New England locker room.

In his 12 years in New England, McGinest worked the Patriots’ locker room like a beat cop. He kept a lid on trouble, letting rookies or other newcomers know when they went a little too far, especially with the media. He was an intimidating presence. “I was scared of Willie,” said quarterback Tom Brady. “Every time I looked at Willie, I was like, ‘Man, I never want to mess with Willie.’” Everyone knew who was in charge of the locker room, right up until McGinest left for Cleveland after the 2005 season.

Seau works differently. Since his arrival in August 2006, the inside linebacker been an exuberant leader, a high-energy guy given to pep talks and the power of positive thinking. (Earlier this year, Seau was strolling through the locker room singing, “Thank You For Being A Friend.”) As a result, he was voted a defensive captain just a year after being signed as a free agent.

“He’s here early, stays late,” said Head Coach Bill Belichick of Seau, who will relax by strumming a guitar in the locker room. “Every time we go in the huddle he has an energy and a presence about him that’s pretty much non-stop. I think he’s obviously one of the most respected players in the league, certainly on this team. He has a good message and people listen to him, as they should. He has a lot of experience, and comes from the heart.”

On the field, he’s gone from a situational player to an every down linebacker, and that’s translated into 76 tackles this season, fifth on the team. In addition, he had 3.5 sacks and 3 interceptions (the latter being a career-high). Off the field, Belichick and the Patriots have managed to bottle that enthusiasm — they had Seau address the team before Saturday’s divisional playoff game against the Jaguars.

“He’s a fiery guy, passionate about playing the game, and he always has a few passionate words before the game,” said tight end Kyle Brady, who said the linebacker has talked to the team before games at other times this year. “He talked a little bit about opportunity, and how this is a great opportunity for all of us.”

Seau, who will turn 39 on Saturday, is a game away from the Super Bowl, a once unthinkable premise for a veteran linebacker who briefly decided to call it a career before the start of last season, only to be talked out of retirement by the Patriots.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet. It really hasn’t,” he said after Saturday night’s 31-20 playoff win over Jacksonville. “Being part of this journey is definitely something special, but we’ll go back to work and keep plugging away. Hopefully at the end of the rainbow we can look at something that we’re proud of.

“You never can dream this. This is beyond all that. There’s a lot of hard work, a lot of perseverance and a lot of prayers that come into play.”

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. The Chargers to open their mouths. Most every team has decided to pop off before playing the Patriots this season, and you shouldn’t expect San Diego to be the exception this week. Between Shawne Merriman and Philip Rivers, expect someone from San Diego to say something that’ll end up on the New England bulletin board before the end of the week.

2. Laurence Maroney. If the Chargers try and defend the Patriots in the same manner the Jaguars did (that is, look pass first with mostly nickel and dime coverage packages) look for another big night for New England’s No. 1 running back. He’ll likely spend much of his time running behind Stephen Neal — in his first game back in the starting lineup since Dec. 3, the right guard was the lead blocker for more than one-third of the Patriots’ running plays Saturday against Jacksonville.

3. How San Diego defends Randy Moss. Look for speedy Antonio Cromartie — a cornerback who wasn’t even starting when the two teams met for the first time back in September — to get the bulk of the work opposite Moss. Cromartie, who was used mostly in nickel coverage early in the season, ended up leading the league in picks with 10.

4. The Chargers injury report. As of this writing, Tomlinson will likely be ready to play Sunday — he told the media Monday afternoon he had suffered “just a hyperextension” of his left knee — but Rivers is still a colossal question mark, as is tight end Antonio Gates.

5. Spider monkeys. After the Week 2 contest between the Chargers and Patriots — when New England shot to a 24-0 halftime lead on the way to a 38-14 win — San Diego fullback Lorenzo Neal told the media, “They just jumped on us like a spider monkey.” Another fast start for New England this Sunday afternoon would go a long way toward putting the game away early.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Zero. By our count, the number of defensive snaps missed by outside linebackers Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas Saturday night against Jacksonville — both were on the field for all 56 of the Jaguars’ plays from scrimmage. (As for the rest of the linebackers, Junior Seau played 55 snaps, while Tedy Bruschi 39 snaps and Eric Alexander was on the field for one defensive snap.)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I’m all Zen. I’m all Zen. I hope I’m Zen-like for another week. That would be a great feeling.” — Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, answering a question about his “Zen-like” focus after Saturday’s playoff victory over the Jaguars.

Christopher Price is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the Patriots since 2001 for Boston Metro. He’s served a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald. He’s written “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower,” and can be reached at chris@patriotsdaily.com.

Yesterday at Gillette Stadium, Rodney Harrison was poking fun at rookie defensive back Brandon Meriweather, calling him “my favorite young safety … other than Jacksonville’s Reggie Nelson.” Heath Evans was laughing about his first playoff experience with the Seahawks in chilly Green Bay in 2003. “It was cold.”

And Tom Brady was smiling and joking during his weekly press conference as he gently needled the diminutive Wes Welker.

This is the intense world of postseason football?

For a team that many outsiders believe carries the weight of the collective football world on its shoulders this postseason, they seemed pretty laid-back yesterday as preparations began in earnest for Saturday’s divisional playoff game against the Jaguars.

“You have to enjoy these opportunities and enjoy these moments, because they don’t come by very often,” said defensive lineman Richard Seymour when asked about the postseason. “Just take care of your responsibility, and hopefully, the guy beside you will take care of his, and have fun while you’re doing it.

“It’s the playoffs. This is what it’s all about, and hopefully, everybody can do their job and give our team an opportunity to win.”

At least publicly, the 2007 Patriots have become adept at walking the fine line between acknowledging the pressure that comes with the playoffs but not becoming consumed by it. That starts at the top, according to Evans, who said that to be successful in the postseason, a team must learn how to “relax.”

“Some coaches do a better job than others of preparing their teams to be able to relax and to be able to handle the intensity of these games,” Evans shrugged.

Part of that relaxation also stems from the fact that the Patriots have been here before — on New England’s 53-man roster, 14 players have been involved at least 10 postseason games. (Wide receiver Troy Brown has been in 20 playoff games.) And even players who have yet to suit up in the postseason have felt the glare of the spotlight — New England has had to deal with the pressure of an undefeated season, not to mention six prime-time games.

“We’ve been tested on the road, we’ve been tested at home, we’ve been tested in poor weather [and] we’ve had to overcome deficits late in the games,” Brady said. “We’ve needed to put together critical drives in those games so hopefully we’ve learned from those, hopefully we can deal with some of the pressure.

“There’s pressure on us every week, but it’s different in the playoffs, because you realize you’re getting dressed — you’re going to bed Saturday night realizing that Sunday night, that could be it. You could be, you know, planning your vacations. That’s not a very good feeling,” he added. “We’ve experienced that the last few years and those are games you remember, that sit with you for a long time. Hopefully, we’re ready to persevere.”

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. The right side of the Patriots’ offensive line. Right guard Stephen Neal (shoulder) and right tackle Nick Kaczur (foot) – as well as blocking tight end Kyle Brady (foot) — didn’t play in the season finale against the Giants because of injury. The Jaguars don’t generate the same sort of pass rush at the Giants do, but the return of the starters — plus Brady — would go a long way toward keeping Brady upright. All three were in the locker room Monday, and we’ll get a chance to check their status when the first injury report is made available later this week.

2. Rodney Harrison. In a wholesale attempt to stop Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew from establishing any sort of consistent ground attack, expect the veteran safety to be spending most of his night in run support as the Patriots try and take away the Jags No. 1 offensive option.

3. The Patriots’ red-zone defense. After taking giant leaps forward over the final month, New England’s defense inside the 20 took a big step back last Saturday against the Giants, as New York scored touchdowns on all four of its possessions inside the red zone. Behind Jones-Drew and Taylor, the Jags are better than average at cashing in once they get down near the goal line — during the regular season, they were ninth in the NFL in scoring TDs in the red zone at 57 percent.

4. The Patriots at home in the playoffs. New England is as sure a thing at home in the postseason as death, taxes and a regularly-scheduled Britney meltdown — under Bill Beichick, the Patriots are 6-0 at home in the playoffs, and their average margin of victory is 14 points. As a franchise, New England is 9-1 at home in the postseason, with the last playoff loss coming in Foxboro on Dec. 31 1978 to Wade Phillips’ Daddy Bum and his Houston Oilers.

5. If there’s any sort of spillover from last season’s game, as well as “SpyGate” fallout. In last year’s Christmas Eve game in Jacksonville, the Jags and Patriots played a tough, physical contest punctuated by linebacker Clint Ingram’s hit — some say spear — on Brady. In addition, Jacksonville’s Paul Spicer didn’t back off his “SpyGate” related comments on the Patriots yesterday on ESPN2 (see below). The combination of the two could make things especially nasty come Saturday.

STAT OF THE WEEK

6. The number of times the word “physical” or “physically” was used in Tom Brady’s Monday press conference in reference to the Jacksonville defense.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“If they got to bring up something said so long ago, let that be their motivational tool.” — Jacksonville defensive lineman Paul Spicer, speaking with ESPN2’s “First Take” Monday morning about his comments on the Patriots in the wake of “SpyGate.”

Christopher Price is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the Patriots since 2001 for Boston Metro. He’s served a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald. He’s written “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower,” and can be reached at chris@patriotsdaily.com.

Editor’s Note: Join Chris and Michael Parente of the Woonsocket Call on patriots.com radio this afternoon from 2:00-4:00 p.m. While you’re waiting, check out our friend Kerry Byrne of Cold Hard Football Facts as he tracks down the one guy that didn’t vote for MVP Tom Brady.

It got them home-field advantage and a spot in the record books. But beginning Thursday, 16-0 means next to nothing for the Patriots.

When they return to work that morning to begin preparation for their AFC Divisional Playoff opponent — whether it’s Pittsburgh, Jacksonville or Tennessee — expect the giddiness and excitement from Saturday night’s record-setting win to be squarely in the rearview mirror.

“There are plenty of things in the game that we can improve on and we can do better,” Head Coach Bill Belichick said a day after the 38-35 win over the Giants that allowed New England to become the only team in NFL history to finish the regular season with a 16-0 record.

“When you give up 35 points on defense and special teams, that’s not where you want to be. That’s not going to win every game for you in this league, that’s for sure.”

While they don’t know who’ll they’ll play until the end of this weekend, there’s enough general points of emphasis to keep them busy between now and then, including red zone defense. After making some headway over the previous three weeks — where they held the Steelers, Jets and Dolphins 0-for-9 in touchdown chances inside their 20 — the Patriots appeared to regress Saturday against the Giants. New York converted on all four times with touchdowns when they got into the New England red zone.

“We’ll make those corrections and identify them and try to improve them,” Belichick said. “The only difference is we have a couple of extra days this week before we actually come back to practice and go to work, and that’s a little bit longer than we normally do. But, it’s really still the same process.”

Those couple of extra days could make all the difference. With Wild Card Weekend off, the Patriots have time on their side, and historically, that edge has proven to be invaluable: Under Belichick, New England is 10-2 overall when they have two weeks to prepare, including 5-0 in the postseason.

And, the bye week will allow several players the chance to heal up, especially starting offensive linemen Stephen Neal (right guard) and Nick Kaczur (right tackle), and tight end Kyle Brady. The absence of all three was felt dramatically Saturday night — even though the Patriots allowed just one sack, the Giants pass rush was able to get sustained pressure on quarterback Tom Brady.

In addition, they’ll be home — the Patriots have never lost a home playoff game with Belichick at the helm, and the franchise has lost just one postseason home game in its history.

“We know what the situation is in the playoffs,” Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick said Sunday morning. “We’ve been there before. Lose and go home, win and keep playing.”

Christopher Price is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the Patriots since 2001 for Boston Metro. He’s served a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald. He’s written “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower,” and can be reached at chris@patriotsdaily.com.

The New England running backs are charged with much more than simply running the football. They are often the last line of defense between Tom Brady and an onrushing lineman or linebacker.

Through 15 games, the Patriots have allowed just 20 sacks on the season, the fifth-lowest total in the league. And while much of the success can be attributed to New England’s offensive line — three-fifths of which is headed to the Pro Bowl — a good chunk of it is also thanks to the backfield. In an offense that’s attempted more than 100 more passes than rushes, Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, Heath Evans, Kyle Eckel and Sammy Morris have all done their part to keep No. 12 out of harm’s way this season.

But when it comes to blocking, the backs might face their toughest test of the year Saturday night when the Patriots try and finish off a perfect regular season in the Meadowlands. Few teams are able to deliver the sort of consistent pressure on the quarterback than New York can: Led by Osi Umenyiora (13 sacks), Justin Tuck (10 sacks) and Michael Strahan (9 sacks), the Giants lead the league in sacks with 52.

And according to Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick, those sacks don’t necessarily come as the result of blitzes.

“They can rush. Those guys — Tuck and Osi and Strahan — they don’t need any help,” Belichick said. “And no, they don’t need to blitz to get there at all. Definitely not. They have plenty of sacks and plenty of pressure on three and four-man rushes, if that’s what they want to do.”

One of the things that makes the New York pass rush unique is its occasional use of four defensive ends along the line, which can make things difficult for offensive linemen. To try and help, expect a lot of support from the running backs. Fullback Heath Evans has a ton of respect for the New York defense, no matter who the Giants decide roll out there Saturday night.

“They get up field,” Evans said of the Giants’ defense, which sacked Philly quarterback Donovan McNabb 12 times back in Week 4. “They have a great defensive line, they have great linebackers — they get a paycheck too. They’re going to create errors, and so I have to be ready to adjust and do my part when I’m called upon to get this running game going.”

For a running back, pass blocking can be a difficult skill to learn, but Faulk is one of the best. The veteran has mastered the art of blocking — and blitz pickup in particular — with a simple philosophy, one he says he’ll lean on Saturday night against New York.

“By being ready for anything,” said Faulk. “You have to be able to do it no matter what the situation is, no matter who the guy facing you is, no matter who you are. It’s you’re job. If you can’t do it, you won’t play.”

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK

1. Who plays and for how long? With both teams locked into postseason position, it figures the starters will not go wire-to-wire in this one. Who blinks first and yanks their No. 1 offense or defense? And how quickly does the other team follow suit? If the game is in hand late, odds are that Jared Lorenzen and/or Matt Gutierrez are calling signals by the two-minute warning.

2. Records. This may be the one of the most compelling reason to watch on Saturday night — if the Patriots take care of the record books early, it could mean the starters would be pulled sooner rather later. New England is within striking distance of several major records, including passing touchdowns, receiving touchdowns and total points scored in a season. Our favorite may be total point differential – currently, they’re plus-312. Unless disaster strikes, they’ll finish the season comfortably ahead of the old mark of plus-292, set by the 1942 Chicago Bears

3. Speaking of records, who gets No. 22? The Patriots have had 21 different players score touchdowns for them this season, tying an NFL record. If we’re taking bets on who could be the 22nd, I’ll go with Troy Brown as your best option, with Kelley Washington or a random offensive lineman (Ryan O’Callaghan?) also a distinct possibility as a tight end in a goal-line set.

4. The New England running game. Laurence Maroney and the Patriots were able to bite off big chunks of rushing yards against the Dolphins (196 yards) and Jets (131 yards) the last two weeks, two of the five worst teams in the league at stopping the run. The Giants enter the game in the middle of the pack when it comes to run defense — they allow an average of 101 rushing yards per game, 11th-best on the league. Was the performance of the Patriots’ running game the last two weeks indicative of an upward trend, or were they just feasting against two porous run defenses?

5. New England’s red zone defense. The Patriots’ red zone defense has steadily improved over the last month (see below). After spending most of the season at or near the bottom of the NFL in red zone defense, they are now 22nd in the league. The Giants are in the middle of the pack when it comes to finishing off drives inside the 20, so it should provide New England with a good sense of where it is in that area as the postseason looms.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Zero. In the last three games, the number of trips to the red zone that have resulted in touchdowns for New England’s opponents. (The Dolphins were 0-for-2, the Jets were 0-for-4 and the Steelers were 0-for-3.)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Well, you know, being associated with Santa Claus — there’s a lot worse associations to have. I’ll take it. When you’re a kid, sometimes you dream about being on the cover of Sports Illustrated. That’s not actually the one I pictured, but it’s pretty funny. Whatever sells.” – Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick on his appearance on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated, which has him photoshopped into a Santa suit.

Christopher Price is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the Patriots since 2001 for Boston Metro. He’s served a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald. He’s written “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower,” and can be reached at chris@patriotsdaily.com.

Randy Moss wasn’t shocked when he heard the news. Neither was Laurence Maroney, who mock-confessed to reporters he didn’t know it happened. And Tedy Bruschi and Bill Belichick seemed positively blasé about the whole thing.

After all, when you’ve got a perfect regular-season in your sights, the prospect of clinching home-field advantage and the No. 1 seed throughout the playoffs can sometimes pale by comparison.

“I guess it’s just something they do around here,” Moss shrugged. “I guess it’s expected.”

With Sunday’s win over the Jets, New England clinched home-field advantage for the duration of the AFC playoffs. Home-field for the Patriots is not the annual event Moss may believe — in truth, it marks the first time New England has landed the No. 1 seed since 2003. But come January, it means the Patriots will be home. And history tells us that when it comes to January football, it’s much better to be at home than on the road: Since 1997, almost 70 percent of the NFL playoff games have gone in favor of the home team — they have a winning percentage of 69-31 in that span.

Under Belichick, few teams are a better bet than New England when it comes to a postseason game at home. Since Belichick arrived, the Patriots are 6-0 in Foxborough in the playoffs. (In fact, New England at home in the postseason is a pretty good bet. Overall, they’re 9-1 at home in the playoffs, with the only loss coming in the first-ever postseason game in Foxborough, a 31-14 setback on Dec. 31, 1978 to the Houston Oilers. The nine-game home playoff win streak is tied for second-best all-time.)

The Patriots aren’t looking to minimize the fact they’ve clinched the No. 1 seed, and don’t want to appear ungrateful they have the opportunity spend the entire month of January at home — as long as they keep winning. Just ask the running backs, who will likely play a heavier role in the offense in the traditionally foul January weather.

“That is nice,” said fullback Heath Evans. “It’s nice being in your own bed. It’s nice practicing on your own field, knowing the circumstances and conditions.”

“It’s always better to play in front of your home crowd, to make the visitors play with the noise,” said running back Laurence Maroney. “You can just play relaxed and you don’t have to deal with the crowd noise. You know what the elements are going to be up here, and you can make teams come and play in our elements — the ones that we practice in every day.”

But there will be a time and place to celebrate their accomplishment. Right now, it’s all about Miami.

“It’s nice to have, and we’ll start to think about that and focus on that a little bit more when it comes into play,” Bruschi said of the No. 1 seed. “But it doesn’t come into play just yet.”

“It’s good. It’s good to have that, but right now that’s not really anything we’re going to dwell on,” Belichick said. “We’re just going to get ready for Miami and get ready to play the Dolphins. That’s what we’re going to do this week.”

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK

1. The Patriots’ running game. With 104 rushing yards and a touchdown, second-year running back Laurence Maroney had his best game of the season Sunday against the Jets. With more winter weather looming on the horizon, can he be the kind of back that could be a consistent No. 1 running option for the Patriots in the bad weather? A reliable Maroney would certainly go a long way toward stabilizing the running game, and also force opposing teams to respect New England’s play-action ability even more.

2. The Patriots’ red-zone defense. After struggling with red-zone defense through the first 11 weeks of the season, New England opponents are 3 for their last 11 (and zero for their last 7) when it comes to scoring touchdowns inside the 20. Can they continue that Sunday against the Dolphins? For what it’s worth, Miami is perfectly pedestrian in its red zone offense — through 14 games, it has scored touchdowns on 18 of 35 trips inside the 20, good for 51 perfect (16th best in the league).

3. If Richard Seymour continues his upward trend. The five-time Pro Bowler, hampered by offseason knee surgery thus far, has started to round into form lately. The defensive lineman had his finest game of the season Sunday against the Jets — his first-quarter hit on New York quarterback Kellen Clemens was a crusher that really set the tone for the day. It’s been a long way back for Seymour, who is still getting into football shape. “It’s a gradual process. Richard’s worked hard,” Head Coach Bill Belichick said Monday. “Practice is good, but it’s not the same as games. I think all of those reps, practice and games cumulatively have helped him, and that’s probably really the way it should be.”

4. Defending Jason Taylor. Taylor has always managed to give New England fits, and will likely be the lone point of emphasis on the defensive side of the football for the Patriots. After Sunday’s win over the Ravens, Taylor left the stadium in a walking boot, saying he aggravated a left foot injury. But it says here he’ll be ready to play Sunday afternoon — in addition to a getting a rare start on national TV, it would also give him the outright record for the longest consecutive games played streak in franchise history. (He’s presently tied with former Dolphins center Jim Langer with 128.)

5. Talk of the dangerous Dolphins. When it comes to describing even the most anemic of opponents, the Patriots have always been able to seize upon a theme and make it work in their favor. In the run-up to this week’s game, expect plenty of talk about the December 2004 game the Patriots played in Miami against a woeful Dolphins team, one that ended with a shocking 29-28 loss for New England. (They’ll also likely haul out last year’s loss in South Florida for good measure, a 21-0 cautionary tale for some who would dare to look past the 1-13 Dolphins.)

STAT OF THE WEEK

101:31: The time — in minutes and seconds — that has elapsed since the Patriots last allowed an offensive touchdown. The last offensive touchdown came with 11:31 left in the second quarter of the 34-13 win over Pittsburgh, a 32-yard pop fly of a touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Najeh Davenport. It’s a stretch that has lasted six-plus quarters.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“As long as that zero stays in that [loss] column, I’m cool with it.” — Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss, talking about any satisfaction he might derive from being part of just the second team in NFL history to start 14-0.

Christopher Price is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the Patriots since 2001 for Boston Metro. He’s served a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald. He’s written “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower,” and can be reached at chris@patriotsdaily.com.

New head coach. New players. Same old over-aggressive Steelers.

When it came to beating Pittsburgh Sunday, the Patriots appeared to take a page out of their old offensive philosophy that worked for them in the 2004 AFC Championship Game, a 41-27 win over the Steelers. Want to beat Pittsburgh? Use its hyper-aggressive defensive tendencies to your advantage.

On Sunday, both big plays — a 56-yarder and a 63-yarder — came after some chicanery, with one coming on a play-action fake and another coming after a pair of laterals. Both plays had the Pittsburgh secondary headed in the wrong direction, and New England took advantage both times, scoring a pair of touchdowns.

“Those are plays that are part of our offense, so we run them,” Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick shrugged Monday when asked about the two plays that combined for 119 of Tom Brady’s 399 total passing yards. “We’ve run them in the past.”

The Patriots certainly aren’t the only team to use play-action and misdirection to their advantage, and the Steelers aren’t the first team to fall for an occasional fake. But when the New England and Pittsburgh meet on the big stage, the Patriots have a way of making the Steelers look foolish. That was certainly the case in the 2004 AFC Championship, when New England set the tone on the first play from scrimmage — a keyed-up Pittsburgh defense was thrown into reverse when Brady faked a handoff to Corey Dillon and slipped the ball to Deion Branch, who carried it 14 yards on an end around to set up an early score. Later in the game, it was another play-action fake that had Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu fooled, giving Branch just enough separation to score on a 60-yard pass play.

On Sunday, the Patriots used the same approach, diffusing the Pittsburgh attacking defense with misdirection and getting big yards as a result. With 14:16 left in the second quarter and facing a 1st and 10 on its own 37, New England manufactured a sweet play-action fake where Brady and Randy Moss connected on a 63-yard touchdown. On that play, both safety Anthony Smith and cornerback Ike Taylor bit hard on Brady’s excellent fake, despite the fact that New England clearly wasn’t interested in running the football — they had just nine rushes plays on the night. Moss was left running cleanly down the middle of the field, with no defender within 10 yards of him as he crossed the goal line.

Play-action forces defensive backs into making a split-second decision. And, as they did in 2004, the Pittsburgh defenders — who are always trained to attack, attack, attack — chose wrong.

“I think that’s the decision that the defensive backs have to make — whether they want to try to come up and help in the running game, or whether they want to stay back, create more space in the running game and defend the deeper part of the field,” Belichick said. “But I think that the offensive line and the ball handling and all, it was good action. It sold the play pretty well.”

The Patriots used misdirection to their advantage again in the third. With 10:17 remaining in the quarter, New England was leading 17-13, and in another 1st and 10 situation, this time on its own 44. Brady made a quick lateral to Moss, who, after a quick drop, returned it to Brady via another lateral. (As Brady tossed the ball to Moss, receiver Jabar Gaffney abruptly stopped his downfield running in an attempt to sell the fake even further.) The back-and-forth again froze the Pittsburgh secondary. As a result, Smith was a step behind wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, and the ball dropped softly into Gaffney’s hands for a 56-yard touchdown.

“It was well-executed,” Belichick said of the play, called the “Ravens special,” according to Gaffney. “It’s a play that we’ve practiced a few times, and it came in handy.

“It was a nice job by [Jabar] Gaffney, really selling it, and Moss by dropping the ball, I think that really gave it a little more draw. I wish I could take credit for that, but that wasn’t part of the play.”

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK

1. Record breakers. There are only about a half-million different offensive records Tom Brady, Randy Moss and the rest of the Patriots could break on Sunday. Our favorite is the fact that with three games left on their schedule, New England is now just 53 points away from tying the all-time single season scoring record for a team. (The 1998 Vikings hold the all-time mark with 556.)

2. Carryover on the field from Week 1. We know about the relationship between the coaches, but there doesn’t seem to be a healthy amount of enmity between the players. In the wake of “SpyGate,” none of the Jets’ players have uttered a discouraging word about the Patriots, and no one has been able to provide much bulletin-board material. We’ll see if that changes this week.

3. Fast starts. It would appear that the best shot New York has in this game lies in them getting a fast start. If they are able to score on their first possession and hold the Patriots without a touchdown on their opening drive — a tall order, yes, but not unreasonable — then, the Jets might have a shot to make it interesting. But if New York goes three-and-out and New England puts a quick seven on the board, it’s going to be a long afternoon for Gang Green.

4. The inevitable appearance of Mercury Morris on whatever pregame show will have him. As a member of the media, I take no pleasure in writing this. But with the Patriots standing at 13-0 and only the Jets, Dolphins and Giants in the way, expect Morris to show up on every channel except The Food Network over the next few weeks proclaiming the ’72 Dolphins are still better than this New England team. Morris’s 15 minutes of fame have long passed, but the former Miami running back is milking this undefeated thing for all it’s worth, going down with the ship like no other member of that team save Don Shula.

5. The betting line. On Monday, it vacillated between 24 and 27. By the end of the day, it appeared to rest at 26, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Jets Head Coach Eric Mangini said the line wouldn’t have an effect on the game. “The point spread and things like that really aren’t going to affect the outcome, how we do or how they do,” Mangini said at his news conference. “It’s really going to be a function of how well we prepare and get ready for the game.”

STAT OF THE WEEK

80. The Steelers are nothing if not committed to the run. Despite trailing by 18 points in the second half on the road, Pittsburgh stuck with its decision to dominate on the ground. As a result, of its 181 total rushing yards on the afternoon, a whopping 80 of them came after it had fallen behind 31-13 late in the third quarter.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“We’ll just come out and try to play hard. Hopefully, we can do something and not get beat bad.” — Jets defensive back Kerry Rhodes, speaking with reporters about this week’s game.

Christopher Price is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the Patriots since 2001 for Boston Metro. He’s served a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald. He’s written “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower,” and can be reached at chris@patriotsdaily.com.

Tom Brady doesn’t list his lucky number in the Patriots’ media guide, but it’s a safe bet the New England quarterback is partial to 83.

When Wes Welker arrived in a deal for a pair of draft picks on March 5, he was given No. 83. It was the same number (and locker) as Deion Branch, who had been dealt away at the start of the 2006 season. Branch and Brady were real tight, and when Branch — his favorite receiver — was traded to Seattle in September 2006, the loss hit the New England quarterback hard. Brady and Branch had the sort of relationship quarterbacks and wide receivers dream of — the two were able to communicate in shorthand, exchanging signals with nothing more than a series of quick glances. It paid off when Branch was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX, finishing with 11 catches for 133 yards in New England’s win over Philadelphia.

But in his short career in New England, Brady and Welker are establishing a relationship that will lead to Welker likely surpassing anything that Branch did in his four years in a Patriots uniform: In 11 games this season, Welker has a team-high 81 catches to go along with 878 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. In his best season with the Patriots — 2005 — Branch finished with 78 catches for 998 yards and five touchdowns.

There’s a new No. 83 in town, and his name is Wes Welker.

“I think that he’s a really good player,” wide receiver Donte Stallworth said of Welker. “He knows how to play, and having a guy like that on the team is fun. He’s always going to do his job, and you can rely on him.”

Welker and Branch are very similar: Both were relatively unheralded coming out of college — Branch was the 11th wide receiver taken in the 2002 draft out of Louisville, while Welker was signed as a rookie free agent by the Chargers out of Texas Tech before being released and picked up by the Dolphins. The two are undersized overachievers (both are 5-foot-9). And both of them would run through a wall for Brady.

“Tom doesn’t lose any sort of poise or anything,” Welker said after Sunday’s game. “The dude is on top of it.”

Welker’s receiving numbers are impressive, but his biggest impact has been when it’s come time to move the chains. Forty-eight of his 81 catches this year have gone for first downs, tying him for eighth in the AFC entering last night’s action. That puts him in a neighborhood with traditional go-to guys like LaDainian Tomlinson, Chad Johnson, Randy Moss and Reggie Wayne.

Much of Welker’s overall impact on the New England offense can be traced to the presence of Randy Moss. Throughout much of his career in New England, Branch was asked to be the No. 1 receiver, while Welker is usually the third option in the passing game behind Moss and Stallworth. But at the same time, with so many opposing defenses now geared toward stopping Moss, it has been Welker who has stepped up and made the plays when called upon.

“I think you have to be ready for it every time you step on the field,” Welker said of the opportunities. “I think that’s what all of us try to do on the offensive side of the ball.”

He was at his best Sunday night. On an evening where the Eagles were able to mostly neutralize Moss but the Patriots still wanted to pass first, Welker was a reliable presence underneath. He ended up with 13 catches and 149 yards, both career highs for the Oklahoma native.

His star turn came midway through the third quarter when he gathered in a quick screen from Brady and took it 42 yards down the near sideline to the Philadelphia four. Picking up a convoy of blocks along the way, he maneuvered neatly downfield, allowing offensive linemen get out ahead of him to create a path.

Learning how to successful execute a screen pass is a tricky thing for a receiver or running back — you have to have the requisite amount of patience to make it work.

“Those are tough. You just have to trust the offensive linemen getting out there,” Welker said. “They do a great job on screens and things. You just have to have that patience to stay behind them and, in some situations, you have to go. But I felt like that situation, I could get behind them and get a solid block.”

Despite the big numbers, there were some missteps for Welker, including a dropped pass in the second half that will haunt him … until he steps on the field Monday against the Ravens.

“There are still a few plays that I feel like I left out there — and I won’t be able to sleep tonight because of those,” he said late Sunday. “But, there are things I can get better on and do a better job on next time.”

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK

1. Troy Brown. At his daily press conference Monday, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick promised some news on the veteran wide receiver sometime Tuesday. New England must make a decision on what to do with him this week — either activate him, release him or place him on season-ending injured reserve. If they activate him, the short list of potential candidates who might be asked to wave farewell, at least temporarily includes wide receiver Chad Jackson (who would be placed on season-ending IR) or fullback Kyle Eckel (who would likely join tight end Marcellus Rivers on the unofficial shadow roster).

2. If the Patriots shuffle some of their movable parts along the offensive line. The o-line has been a strength through much of the season for New England, but right tackle Nick Kaczur has struggled lately, allowing four sacks over the last three games. He allowed a pair of sacks to Indy’s Robert Mathis back on Nov. 4, as well as one to lineman Juqua Thomas and another to linebacker Chris Jocong against Philly on Sunday night. The Ravens are not the pass-rushing terrors of old (they have just 22 sacks this season, with linebacker Terrell Suggs leading the team with four), but are still capable of bringing enough heat for the Patriots to consider going to backup right tackle Ryan O’Callaghan.

3. If the beef between Ray Lewis and Adalius Thomas is truly over. The two were involved in a memorable war of words earlier this season over Thomas’ comments about how much things are different with the Patriots as opposed to the Ravens. It appears things are now cool between them — Thomas told the NFL Network recently that “its water under the bridge” — but it still bears watching.

4. The Ravens’ offense. “Anemic” would be a kind way to describe this year’s Baltimore offense. They’ve managed just 182 points through 11 games — to provide some sort of context, offensively-challenged teams like Miami, Tampa Bay and Oakland have all posted more points this year. During their current five-game losing streak, they’ve been outscored 143-72. In a 32-14 defeat at San Diego on Sunday, Baltimore managed only 210 yards and committed two turnovers. Ravens quarterbacks have lost 10 fumbles, and the team has a minus-11 turnover differential. Don’t look for it to get any better this week — Head Coach Brian Billick told reporters yesterday that he intends to stick with Kyle Boller at quarterback.

5. Talk of Brian Billick’s job security. The one-time boy genius who led the 1998 Minnesota Vikings’ offense into the record books as a coordinator is now a man fighting for his job. Billick and owner Steve Bisciotti have engaged in some public disagreements over the last few seasons — including one two years ago where Bisciotti demanded Billick transform his management style and become less confrontational with the media. The 4-7 Ravens are in the midst of a five-game losing skid — if Baltimore doesn’t finish strong, he could be out the door.

STAT OF THE WEEK

3. According to Metro Boston’s Jeff Howe, only three active offensive skill position players have failed to score touchdowns for the Patriots this year — wide receivers Chad Jackson and Kelley Washington and No. 3 quarterback Matt Gutierrez.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Usually, when I get hit — I’m very bony, so if they hit me on my bones it hurts. If they don’t hit me on my bones I’m usually fine. I’m like Gumby, I just dead-leg everything. That’s why I just fall down when people hit me.” — Quarterback Tom Brady, discussing his process for absorbing a hit.

Christopher Price is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the Patriots since 2001 for Boston Metro. He’s served a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald. He’s written “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower,” and can be reached at chris@patriotsdaily.com.