--Whether it was a byproduct of how the game unfolded, or something more telling, it's worth nothing that RB Laurence Maroney got zero carries for the second consecutive preseason game last Thursday.

The Patriots only had the ball for 16 minutes, but they still ran 11 plays on the ground with BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Sammy Morris doing most of the work.

Coach Bill Belichick has said from the start that his running backs are working within a rotation. Maroney has only carried eight times during the preseason, so it remains to be seen where he'll end up at the start of the year.

--One of the biggest positives from this preseason is the Patriots appear to have a number of weapons in the return game.

Rookie WR Brandon Tate returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown in the loss to the Rams, which was the team's third return of more than 50 yards this summer. Rookie CB Devin McCourty had logged returns of 50 and 52 yards in the preseason opener against the Saints.

--QB Tom Brady put up solid numbers against the Rams (18-of-22, 273 yards, three touchdowns primarily against the Rams' second-string defense), but walked off the field generally dissatisfied with the team's performance on offense.

"We just have to execute better," Brady said. "I think that's what it comes down to. In the first half, like I said, it's about making plays on third down. The first drive we didn't. The second drive we got sacked and I was holding the ball; I shouldn't have been holding the ball. The third drive we didn't do anything.

"The fourth drive we didn't (do anything). It gets pretty old pretty quick when you keep going to the bench after three or four plays."

--PK Stephen Gostkowski has agreed to a four-year deal worth around $14 million, according to The Boston Herald. Gostkowski signed his one-year, $1.759 million restricted free agent tender in April. His new deal runs through 2014.

--LG Logan Mankins, holding out in a contract dispute, is financially prepared to sit out the entire season, according to the Boston Herald.

Mankins was tendered at $3.268 million with first- and third-round compensation, but that was dropped to $1.54 million after he declined to sign it by the June 15 deadline.

"All we want is fair market value, and that's like comparing an apple to a watermelon," Mankins' agent, Frank Bauer, told the Herald earlier this month. "We're not asking for $8.5 or $9 million."

--CB Asante Samuel hasn't played in New England for more than two seasons, but he apparently still has plenty to say about his former team. The current Eagles playmaker had some pretty pointed words about his former head coach, Bill Belichick, in some recent comments.

"I ain't never said it, but Belichick, I just felt like he had a thing for me," Samuel told The New Journal of Delaware. "He had something against me. I have no idea why. He was going to start Troy Brown, a receiver, at nickel (corner) and I'm over here sitting healthy and he don't want to even play me."

QUOTE TO NOTE
"No news." -- Tom Brady, with a smile last week on the practice field in Atlanta, when asked for an update on his ongoing contract negotiations.

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