FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady is practicing with the New England Patriots after being limited in Thursday’s session by an injury to his non-throwing shoulder.

Two days after sitting out practice, Brady stretched with his teammates during the brief period open to reporters Friday.

Asked what Brady was able to do Thursday, coach Bill Belichick said Friday: “Play quarterback, the usual thing.” When asked if Wednesday was a planned day off for Brady, Belichick said he thought that had been covered.

The Patriots have said Wednesday’s absence was not injury-related.

When asked whether Brady would be able to play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, Belichick said that, too, has been covered.

Comcast SportsNet has reported that Brady had X-rays to check for a separated left shoulder and was told he was “all set.”

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady practiced Friday with the New England Patriots after being limited in Thursday’s session by an injury to his non-throwing shoulder.

Two days after sitting out practice, Brady stretched with his teammates during the brief period open to reporters.

Asked what Brady was able to do Thursday, coach Bill Belichick said Friday: “Play quarterback, the usual thing.” When asked if Wednesday was a planned day off for Brady, Belichick said he thought that had been covered.

The Patriots have said Wednesday’s absence was not injury-related.

When asked whether Brady would be able to play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, Belichick said that, too, has been covered.

Comcast SportsNet has reported that Brady had X-rays to check for a separated left shoulder and was told he was “all set.”

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)—Tom Brady is practicing with the New England
Patriots after being limited in Thursday’s session by an injury to his
non-throwing shoulder.

Two days after sitting out practice, Brady stretched with his teammates
during the brief period open to reporters Friday.

Asked what Brady was able to do Thursday, coach Bill Belichick said Friday:
“Play quarterback, the usual thing.” When asked if Wednesday was a planned day
off for Brady, Belichick said he thought that had been covered.

The Patriots have said Wednesday’s absence was not injury-related.

When asked whether Brady would be able to play Sunday against the Buffalo
Bills, Belichick said that, too, has been covered.

Comcast SportsNet has reported that Brady had X-rays to check for a
separated left shoulder and was told he was “all set.”

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The collective tenure of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady has completely overhauled much of New England Patriots history.

But there’s one long-standing aspect of the franchise’s past that Belichick and Brady have done little to change.

Like those that have come before them, they haven’t been able to consistently beat the Denver Broncos.

In his 12th year at the helm of the Patriots, Belichick is just 3-6 against Denver — his worst winning percentage against an AFC squad. Brady, meanwhile, is an unseemly 1-6 facing the Broncos, including the postseason. Brady against everyone else, by the way? 134-34.

In this regard, they’re far from unique in Patriots history. Bill Parcells? Two losses to Denver by an average of 30 points. Raymond Berry? Winless in five tries. Drew Bledsoe? Two wins in six games.

In fact, New England is 4-17 in its last 21 meetings with the Broncos, dating to Nov. 4, 1984.

On one level, it would seem to make sense. Despite some down years of late, the Broncos have been one of the best franchises in the conference since, well, John Elway arrived in 1982. Denver was really New England’s dynastic forerunner in the AFC, having back-to-back championships in the late 1990s behind Elway and Terrell Davis, ending the NFC’s decades-long dominance of the Lombardi Trophy.

But at the same time, this past decade hasn’t been Denver’s best, and it’s stunning that any team — let alone one that has dabbled in mediocrity of late — can boast this kind of sustained success against this Patriots administration. After all, it isn’t like the Broncos have been piling up 12-win seasons and Super Bowl appearances, like the Colts and Steelers, respectively, in the AFC. Yet New England handles those two teams much better than Denver.

Denver has made the playoffs four times while Belichick has been the head coach in New England, but the last trip was in 2005. One more victory this season would give the Broncos their first winning campaign since 2006, or back when Vince Young was the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

So what gives?

“We just haven’t played very well. We’ve had some very close games against them; we just haven’t pulled it out,” said Brady last week. They’re a good team. They’ve had a good team for a long time — when [Mike] Shanahan was there, and I think we’ve played a bunch of very tight games with them. Hopefully we can start working our way to getting even.”

It’s tempting to pin much of the blame on the difficulty of playing in Denver, what with the trip out west and the thinner air. The Patriots did fly out on Friday, a day earlier than usual, to have an extra day to acclimate to the weather.

“Maybe it’s the mile-high air. Maybe there’s something to that,” said Brady.

But that excuse doesn’t hold much water, not when the Dolphins, Bills and Jets have all won a mile-high since 2009. And not when the Broncos haven’t had a winning season at home since 2007.

“Both teams will be breathing the same air,” Belichick said. “Best thing we can do is play well. We’ve gone out there and played well and won. We’ve gone out there and not played well and haven’t won.”

Denver is the site of Brady’s first playoff loss ever, and Belichick’s first with the Patriots — a game sealed by perhaps the most memorable interception of Brady’s career, when Champ Bailey picked him off in the end zone and returned it to the New England one.

Of course, that was six years ago, and the Patriots don’t suffer the past like a Faulkner character. Asked about his 1-5 regular-season record against the Broncos, Brady didn’t put too much stock in it.

“1-5? Man, that’s pretty bad. Hopefully we get to 2-5 this week,” the quarterback said. “Losing [stinks]; you hate losing, but there’s nothing I can do about those games in the past now. So I’ll just try to win this one. That will make me feel pretty good.”

One of the stranger aspects of Denver’s dominion over the Patriots is its consistency despite the turnover of personnel for the Broncos. Their success against Belichick and Brady has come with different coaches and different quarterbacks. Denver has beaten New England under Mike Shanahan and Josh McDaniels — both eventually fired — and with Brian Griese, Jake Plummer and Kyle Orton under center — all eventually traded or released.

This is a decidedly different Broncos regime, with John Fox in his first season as head coach and Tim Tebow making his first career start against New England. Both bring strong track records — Fox’s just in a larger sample than Tebow’s so far.

“I think it’s been obviously always a tough week to prepare for John’s teams,” said Belichick, who is 3-1 against Fox in his career, including a win in Super Bowl XXXVIII. “They do a good job with their different schemes, give you some different looks, really keep you honest, and we’ve certainly seen that in all three phases this week. There’s a lot to get ready for.”

But the Patriots hope that the changes in personnel for the Broncos lead to a change in their head-to-head history.

“It doesn’t really matter about what happened in other years,” said Belichick. “This is a new team and it’s a new coach out there. They do things differently than they’ve done them in the past, so it doesn’t really matter. They’re good right now. They’re playing well.

“Damn right, they’re a tough team to face. I don’t really think the ’87 team has anything to do with this game, in all honesty. I think it has no bearing on it whatsoever.” PATRIOTS AT BRONCOS TIME : 4:15 p.m. Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. ON TV : CBS (Channel 12 in Providence, Channel 4 in Boston). Jim Nantz play-by-play, Phil Simms color. ON RADIO : WBZ-FM (98.5), WPRO (630 AM), WEAN (99.7 FM), WSAR (1480 AM), WBSM (1420 AM). WEATHER : Sunny, 49 degrees. ALL-TIME SERIES : Denver leads, 27-16, including postseason. The Patriots are 8-18 in Denver. NOTEWORTHY : Tim Tebow is the 11th different quarterback to start for the Broncos since John Elway retired in 1999. Elway was 10-0 against New England in his career; the Broncos are 5-4 against the Pats since Elway retired.

tbritton@providencejournal.com

The New England Patriots travel to Denver to face off with the Broncos on Sunday. The Patriots will attempt to extend their current five-game winning streak; with a high powered offense that has had to offset their defensive deficiencies thus far. New England head coach Bill Belichick will look to improve on his 3-6 record against the Broncos; as Denver looks to add yet another victory in their march for an improbable AFC West title.

Not only will Bill Belichick have to game plan for the traditional high altitude in Denver, but also the heightened optimism of Broncos’s fans; as “Tebow fever” has a stranglehold on the region. Thoughts of a division title were foreign in Denver back in October; with the Broncos possessing a 1-4 record heading into the team’s bye week. At that moment, head coach John Fox made a decision that would change the team’s fortunes the rest of the way; inserting second-year quarterback Tim Tebow for struggling incumbent starter Kyle Orton.

Since the quarterback change, the Broncos have won seven of eight games; including six dramatic come-from-behind wins led by the spirited efforts of Tebow. The former Florida Gator and Heisman Award winning quarterback has transformed the city of Denver and the league into believers; in spite of an unorthodox throwing motion and less traditional physical running style that has not hampered his, nor the team’s success.

The passing statistics do not begin to demonstrate Tim Tebow’s contributions on the field. While Tebow has completed only 48.5 percent of his passes and 117.3 yards per game, his athleticism and physical running ability has more than compensated for the passing deficiency. With an option offense in Denver tailored to Tebow’s strengths, the lefty as he has amassed 517 rushing years this season; supplementing the NFL’s top-rated rushing offense. Broncos running back Willis McGahee is on pace for his first 1,000 yard season since 2007 with the Baltimore Ravens.

Encountering Denver’s option offense will be a first for the Patriots under Bill Belichick; which presents challenges in itself. The Patriots have struggled in the past when encountering new and unconventional offensive schemes for the first time. Back in 2008, the Miami Dolphins exploited the new “wildcat” offense to shock New England 38-13 in their first meeting. several weeks later, Belichick was able to adjust and respond to the latest offensive fad by routing Miami 48-28. Belichick will not have the luxury of prior experience against an option quarterback that has had success at the professional level.

Tebow’s pedestrian 83.9 quarterback rating is also deceptive; as his performance in the fourth quarter in overtime more than makes up for his early game struggles. Tebow’s possesses a fourth quarter passer rating of 107.9 as compared to a 65.1 rating through the first three quarters of his games this season.

The Patriots’ defensive secondary has been porous for most of the season and has contributed to opposing quarterbacks having season-best performances. Chad Henne, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jason Campbell, Ben Roethlisberger, Vince Young and Dan Orlovsky comprise a lengthy list of quarterbacks who all passed for more yards against the Patriots than any other opponent this year.

The defensively challenged Patriots secondary continues to struggle with injuries as well. Patrick Chung has missed the past five games due to a foot injury; while Devin McCourty and James Ihedigbo struggled through injuries in last Sunday’s narrow victory against the Washington Redskins.

The recent string of success in Denver cannot be solely attributed to the offense, as the defense has become stout and keps games close enough for the late game comebacks to happen. Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil have combined to register 20 sacks for the Broncos this year; while also holding opponents to an average of 16.7 points in their last seven victories. The front seven of the Denver defense will look to apply pressure on Brady in hopes of forcing turnovers.

How the Patriots’ defense can control and corral the league’s latest phenomenon will go a long way in determining the outcome of Sunday’s contest. Getting out to an early lead is no guarantee that the Patriots will win easily; as Tebow continues to demonstrate with his late game heroics. The general belief in Denver is that the team is now a team of destiny. Whether destiny is realized will all be resolved in the thin air of the mile high city.

Scott Duhaime is a fan and follower of the New England Patriots for over 30 years, witnessing the team’s ascent from league irrelevance to among the league’s elite franchises. His professional career includes a solid foundation of analytics that contributes to a better appreciation of player and team contributions.

Sources:

Yahoo! Sports New England Patriots roster, boxscores, and player statistics

Yahoo! Sports Denver Broncos roster, boxscores, and player statistics

Yahoo! Sports New England Patriots team report

Yahoo! Sports Denver Broncos team report

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