The Patriots have lost offensive tackle Barry Stokes for the remainder of the season due to a back injury.  This won’t hurt the Patriots too much as they just signed Stokes for depth reasons.  Stokes will be essentially replaced on the active roster by John Lynch.

The Patriots have signed 36-year old safety John Lynch to a 1-year contract.  He will essentially replace Tank Williams who is out for the season as a enforcer on running downs as a box safety.  Lynch played in 13 games for the Broncos last season and he made 59 tackles, defensed 3 passes and he had 1 sack.  Look for Lynch to fit right in with the older veterans dotting the Patriots roster as he can still deliver a big hit.  Lynch has now played in 224 games in his NFL career and he has made 1,075 tackles, defensed 93 passes, has 13 sacks, has forced 16 fumbles and he has picked off 26 passes.  This was a good low risk/high reward signing for the Patriots.

Bill Belichick took all of his lumps with the Browns early in his career and he has learned well from his mistakes.  He really assembles great rosters and he is a master tactian in gameday battle.  He often sleeps in his office working 18 hour days so enough with the whole “cheating” argument.  Belichick has now coached 8 years in New England and he has compiled a 91-37 record (71%) during the regular season and he is 14-3 (82.4%) in the post season in his career with the Patriots.  He has led the Patriots to three Super Bowl Championships (2001, 2003 and 2004) and he came really close to winning a 4th last season before Eli Manning pulled a rabbit out of his hat.  Look for the Patriots to be back with a vengeance in 2008.  Belichick now has a 127-81 (61.1%) career record in the regular season in his NFL career and he is 15-4 (78.9%) in his post season career.  He is quite simply…..the best coach in the NFL right now without a doubt.

The Patriots have placed safety Tank Williams on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a knee injury.  The 28-year old Williams played in 13 games (2 starts) with the Vikings last season and he made 18 tackles and defensed a pass.  The Patriots were going to use Williams as a in the box safety and at outside linebacker in some defensive formations so they will miss him.

The Patriots pulled the usual not playing many key players in the preseason as they don’t seem to care if they win or lose.  Not that it’s a bad way to go because you can’t get hurt if you don’t play.  Matt Cassel started the game last night and he was truly awful completing only 1 of 4 passes for 11 yards with an interception.  Matt Gutierrez followed him in the game and he was 10 of 16 for 76 yards with 0 TDs and 1 interception.  Rookie Kevin O’Connell looked like the best QB that the Patriots played last night.  He completed 6 of 13 passes for 57 yards with 0 TDs and 1 interception.  He also carried the football 2 times for 22 yards (11.0 ypc) last night.  The Patriots wanted to see what they have in LaMont Jordan so they kept feeding him the rock last night.  Jordan carried the football 19 times for 76 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The Patriots didn’t get a lot of yards despite holding onto the football for 34:39.  They rushed for 133 yards on 34 carries (3.9 ypc) last night.  They also completed 17 of 33 passes for 133 yards against the Ravens.

Rookie linebacker Shawn Crable was all over the place for the Patriots’ defense last night.  He had 4 tackles, 1/2 a sack and he also intercepted a pass.  The Patriots were especially stout against the run holding the Ravens to 35 yards rushing on 21 carries (1.7 ypc).  The Ravens also completed 16 of 30 passes for 169 yards last night.  The defense looked great for the Patriots last night although the Ravens aren’t exactly an offensive powerhouse.