Don’t count on Matt Light (knee), listed on Friday as Doubtful.

And, we’re not sure about linebacker Eric Alexander (groin), tight end Chris Baker (shoulder), linebacker Tully Banta-Cain (groin), nose tackle Ron Brace (ankle), wideout Julian Edelman (forearm), center Dan Koppen (knee), safety Brandon Meriweather (foot), running back Sammy Morris (knee), safety James Sanders (groin) and defensive end Ty Warren (ankle). All were limited in practice — for Morris, of late, that’s an upgrade — and are listed on the latest injury report as Questionable.

Tom Brady (right shoulder), Shawn Springs (knee), Ben Watson (back) all parcipitated fully and are probable. Randy Moss, who did not practice Wednesday for non football reasons, is off the practice participation/injury report  list.

– TOM KING

No, his kickoffs kept the ball, for the most part, out of the dangerous hands of Dolphin return man Ted Ginn, Jr. Twice the ball sailed into the end zone for a touchback.

“That was huge, just a couple of plays that we didn’t have to go out there and cover,” Gostkowski said. “We saw on the first kick that he was pretty dangerous, running around everybody. It’s just a good day for special teams when you can contain a guy like that, especially him coming off a week like (last week, when he had two kickoff returns for touchdowns). Just to get the win, it feels pretty good.”

Gostkowski booted one ball out of the end zone but thanks to a penalty had to try it again — and he repeated the feat.

“I was pretty upset that that one got called back,” he said. “But then everyone was like, ‘Just do it again’, and I said, ‘Alright, I’ll try.

“We’ve got guys who appreciate good special teams. The kickoffs, the punt coverages can’t be very good if we don’t kick good. Bill (head coach Belichick) makes a big point about special teams being a big part of the game and he says that in front of everybody. And everyone realizes how big it can be and they were pretty excited about it.”

“First, we got good kicking,” Belichick said. “The ball hung up there pretty well on both punts and kickoffs.”

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The Patriots had to dip into their offensive line depth, with Dan Connolly taking over for Dan Koppen at center after Koppen suffered a knee injury.

“Connolly’s really done a good job for us,” Belichick said. “He’s played a lot of different positions since he’s been back: center, guard, tight end, fullback, short-yardage and goal-line stuff. He missed those first couple of games early in the eyar, but he’s really been a solid guy that’s taken a big jump this year…He’s probably one of our most improved players. It seems like every time he’s gotten a chance to play, he does a good job, he shows up.”

And Koppen? Now the Patriots could have two of their regular offensive linemen out for next week’s Indianapolis game, with Matt Light still out nursing a knee injury, replaced capably thus far by Sebastian Vollmer. “We’ll see how things are with (Koppen) and all that,” Belichick said. “But we have a lot of confidence in Dan and also Sebastian…Our depth on the offensive line, we’ve needed it and they’ve come through for us.”

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There were no surprises with the Patriots inactives that included wideout Julian Edelman, running backs Fred Taylor and Sammy Morriss, cornerback Jonathan Wilhite, linebacker Eric Alexander, Light, defensive lineman Jarvis Green, and offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger. Taylor, Morris, Green and Light are all nursing injuries or recovering from surgery….

Pats quarterback Tom Brady achieved his 27th career 300-yard passing game (332 yards), a franchise record…

Randy Moss tied Buffalo’s Terrell Owens for second place on the NFL’s all-time list with 140 career touchdown catches. Wes Welker, meanwhile, had nine catches for 84 yards and is on pace for a team record 128 receptions if he can keep up his current pace (55 in six games). He’s missed two games due to injury…

Next up: At Indianapolis next Sunday night, and the Patriots were already besieged about it in the locker room after Sunday’s win. “You can’t go out there and play your B game, because you won’t beat those guys,” Brady said. “This year on the road, you know, we’ve had a couple good first halves and not so good of second halves, so we’re going to need to play a four-quarter game.”

— TOM KING 

“We’ll

“I found out when you found out,” he said to the media, who are normally handed the inactive list in the press box an hour before the game. “It was a shock. It is what it is. You know, you can’t explain it.”

Is he expecting to play on Sunday?

“Ask Bill,” Thomas said. “I’ll be ready.”

Then he was asked if he was happy in New England. He paused and then said, “I’m fine.”

Thomas said it was strange not playing, watching the game. Reportedly, he was not at Gillette during the game.

“It was different,” he said. “We’re moving on to Tampa…Last Sunday’s done. Let’s move on to Tampa. These guys had a great game, let’s not overshadow it with what happened to one person. I don’t want to make this seem about me because it’s not about me. Bill makes the decisions. I’m going to live with it. Whether you like it or not, that’s what it is. I’m a professional. I come here, do my job, then I go home.”

As for the communication, Thomas said, “This locker room is open to you like it is everybody else. Like I said, if somebody has an issue with me, they’ll come talk to me.”

– TOM KING

First, is it possible Adalius Thomas was a healthy scratch? He wasn’t on the week’s final injury report and when asked about his absence from the 45-man game roster, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick predictably had this to say:

“No, we just went with the players we thought would have the bigger role in the game.”

Ouch….

Second, one wonders what was going through the mind of rookie Darius Butler on Sunday. Butler played with late University of Connecticut cornerback Jasper Howard, who died as the result of an apparent stabbing late Saturday. “I was definitely focused on the game,” Butler said, “but obviously something that serious was in the back of my mind. I know how much (Howard) loved the game, so it didn’t affect my game negatively.”

Butler was thought of as a mentor to Howard when he was at UConn. His Patriot teammates acknowledged his heavy heart with a big reception after his first career interception on Sunday.

“It means a lot,” he said. “It means that they support me. It was my first interception, so it was a big one. and obviously it meant a little more to me because of the news that happened last night. It was huge.”

Third, Laurence Maroney, the main down running back job may be yours. Fan and coaching staff favorite Sammy Morris went down with a knee injury, and Maroney responded with 123 yards and a 45-yard touchdown run on 16 carries.

“One thing I never did was lose confidence in myself,” Maroney said. “I knew with the right opportunites, we can go out there and I can do my thing. I never lost confidence, but wafter a game like this it does make me feel good…It really wasn’t about me. As a team we played a great game.”

Belichick was asked if Maroney was doing anything different on Sunday.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think Laurence has run hard. He got a little crease and we all know once he gets out there he can run and he did. He turned it on. He had a couple of nice runs and he runs hard. He had a little bit of space and once he got some momentum he’s a hard guy to bring down. We’ve all seen that before.”

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Tom Brady set an NFL record for touchdown passes in a quarter, five, in the second quarter (two to Wes Welker, two to Randy Moss, one to Kevin Faulk)….

The Patriots win ties the largest shutout victory by an NFL team since the AFL-NFL merger. The Rams matched the score with a win over the Falcons in 1976…

The Patriots improved to 11-0 all-time in games in Foxborough when the snow has fallen during the game…

New England’s 45-0 halftime lead was the largest halftime lead in NFL history.

– TOM KING

Also inactive: wideout Joey Galloway, running back Fred Taylor, defensive backs James Sanders and Terrence Wheatley, offensive lineman rich Ohrnberger, offensive tackle Matt Light, and defensive lineman Ron Brace. Light is no surprise, being out all week after injuring his knee last week at Denver.

The Titans, of course, have cornerbacks Nick Harper, Cortland Finnegan and safety Vincent Fuller out, all three inactive today, one of the reasons they signed veteran Ron Hood on Friday.

Also inactive for Tennessee: OL Leroy Harris, wideout Lavelle Hawkins, tight end Craig Stevens, defensive linemen Sen’Derrick Marks and Jevon Kearse.

– Tom King

BELICHICK WARY: Besides the signing of Junior Seau, the words of needing to be consistent — and throw the deep ball better — by Tom Brady, the other interesting note was head coach Bill Belichick’s insistance his team is wary of the 0-5 Titans.
“They lost by a field goal against Pittsburgh,” he said. “[Titans] got one [blocked] there. They lost by a field goal against the Texans. It’s 14-9 against Indianapolis with a minute to go at half. They’re playing without some of their best players. They lost a tight game against the Jets, fumbled a couple punts. A couple plays here and there like we’ve all seen. Everybody’s been down that road before, but they’re tough, they do a lot of things well. They’re going to win their share of games, don’t worry.”

– TOM KING

http://www.versus.com/

First, the win gave Patriots head coach Bill Belichick the third best winning percentage all-time among NFL coaches with at least 150 career wins. Belichick is now 156-91-0 (.6316) as he moved past Curly Lambeau (.6309). He now trails George Halas (.682) and Don Shula (.666). Incidentally, his 119 wins with the Patriots are more than any other NFL head coach in his first 10 years with a team.

“It was a hard-hitting game, a tough physical game,” Belichick said. “We’re fortunate we made a few more plays then they did today. That’s about all there is to it….

Patriots QB Tom Brady on the return of Wes Welker: “He’s a great player,” Brady said. “I’ve thrown him a lot of passes over the years and he’s fighting his way back and made some great plays (six catches for 48 yards) today for us. It was a great boost for the offense.”

For the record, Brady has had Welker as a target for one full season and two games this year, since he missed all of a few minutes of last season with a knee injury….

Randy Moss’s first touchdown catch of the season moved him out of a tie with marshall Faulk into sole possession of sixth place on the NFL’s all-time career TD lis, giving him a total of 137 (one was on a punt return). His 136 receiving TDs has thim third as well, behind Terrell Owens (140) and, of course, Jerry Rice (197)….

Ravens left tackle Jared Gaither was taken off the field in the first half on a stretcher, suffering what was announced as injuries to his shoulder and neck. However, the report from Massachusetts General Hospital was that he had full range of motion. “I hope it’s nothing too serious,” Ravens QB Joe Flacco said, “so we can get him back pretty soon.”…

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was not happy with a personal foul call on Terrell Suggs for going at Brady’s knee. “Without totally going off the wall here, it is embarrassing to the game,” Lewis said. “Brady is good enough to make his own plays, let him make the play. When you have two great teams that are going at it, let them go at it. Both of their touchdown drives had personal fouls on them that kept the drives alive. Did that win or lose the game? No, but it got them 14 points.”

Brady’s response? Remember, he pointed to his knee just before the official threw the flag.

“They can’t go low,” he said. “We learned that lesson a few years go. They threw the flag. They threw a couple of flags on our defense too, so it goes both ways out there.”

NEXT WEEK: At Denver,which is now 4-0 after a thrilling 17-10 win over Dallas. Josh McDaniels vs. Bill Belichick. Can’t wait.

– TOM KING