Bill Belichick doesn’t live or die by injury report

Ditto when Steelers safety Anthony Smith guaranteed a victory against the Patriots in the 2007 regular season. Last week, [Tony] Romo was out, so we didn’t have to prepare for Romo, but it was [Brandon] Weeden, it was [Matt] Cassel, [Kellen] Moore – we don’t know what they’re going to do. New England’s offense was moving the ball so well and Peyton Manning was so feared that Bill Belichick chose to go for it rather than kick a field goal or punt.

Bill Belichick was all business Wednesday talking Colts. We all love it when Brady throws interceptions so him throwing four that day, including the interception that sealed the game for Indianapolis, made it a good day. “Understanding all of those things, that it was technically sound football, that’s what got us over the edge”. “So, I’m sure they’ll have whatever they think is best against us, I’m sure that’s what they’ll do against us”.

OK, let’s return this press conference to those matters deemed important by the media, such as the residue of Deflategate. It’s one play away from happening. But they’re humans – some get better, some stay the same, some don’t get better.

The undefeated Patriots will play the Colts (3-2) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. on NBC.

SERIES HISTORY: 75th regular season meeting. Even with the Patriots already having had their bye week, his 375 total receiving yards lead all tight ends and he also ranks 2nd in touchdown receptions at the position. Although no longer the division rivals they were in the AFC East before the 2002 realignment, the teams still meet with great regularity given their success as regular division winners and postseason contenders. It’s just a big learning curve like it is for every rookie coming into the National Football League, playing against players that are more comparable athletically than what there was in college and seeing the different schemes and dealing with experienced players that when you’re an inexperienced player, that’s an adjustment. Quarterback Andrew Luck has lost four straight to the Patriots and he’s expected to start after missing the past two games with a shoulder injury. The now-departed Jonas Gray and LeGarrette Blount each had huge days in those games. You have to get acquainted with guys, how guys come out of the break, how guys beat this block, all of those things take time. It was Indianapolis who tried to alert the NFL before the AFC championship game that the Patriots’ game balls might be deflated (the NFL didn’t act then, because the NFL didn’t care about the issue until it realized it could use it to pander to fans and fellow non-Patriots owners). The same year New England finished the regular season 16-0. New England is making everyone and everything (that is, any word with a “gate” on the back end) fade into bolivian right now, and it’s becoming more and more hard to keep the Patriots from the top perch in these here rankings.

Look for Colts shutdown cornerback Vontae Davis to spend a few time on Gronkowski when he lines out wide Sunday night. When asked again about the matchup between the Patriots and the Colts, Belichick did not hype it up at all. Sunday was to be his first game back, against the very team that leaked out more whiny-ass hot air than Tom Brady ever did with any football. Riveted. Even the haters will tune in to see if the Patriots can make the Colts tap out. He is averaging 4.7 yards per carry this season. Still, the two Stanford youngsters are likely to be tested by the Patriots running game that’s dominated Indy so often in the recent past.