Sam Aiken

FOXBOROUGH - The Patriots’ passing attack, which was lacking in production and efficiency in last week’s loss to the Jets, could be severely hamstrung after Randy Moss surprisingly appeared on yesterday’s injury report. Moss practiced Wednesday and Thursday, but did not participate in drills yesterday. He is listed as questionable (back) for tomorrow’s game against the Falcons at Gillette Stadium. Coach Bill Belichick did not shed any light on Moss’s status; the injury report was released after Belichick’s afternoon news conference.

If history is any indication at all, the AFC Championship almost certainly will go the distance. The New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens have played four times in the last five years, and not a single one produced a relatively easy Patriots victory. That is why a win on Sunday would mean more to the Patriots than any win they have had in four years. Here we are again, Boston sports fans, in that tense purgatory between victory and defeat. Remember what this feels like?

FOXBOROUGH - The Atlanta Falcons are bringing plenty to Gillette Stadium today - a 2-0 record, a standout quarterback, a stable running attack, and a game-changing tight end. Throughout the week, the Patriots were asked if today’s game will be their toughest yet. The answer may be yes, but for different reasons than those listed above. The Patriots’ top two receivers could be on the sidelines. On Friday, the Patriots listed Randy Moss (back) and Wes Welker (knee) as questionable.

With three preseason games in the books and the regular season rapidly approaching, tomorrow is the first day that NFL teams are required to start trimming their 80-man training camp rosters. The first cut requires teams merely to get to 75 players, with the big one coming Saturday, when 53-man rosters are set. So let’s take a look at the players on the Patriots’ roster, and which will remain come Saturday ( — denotes rookie): QUARTERBACK On the roster: Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Zac Robinson Brady, now in his 11th season, is still one of the very best, and this preseason...

FOXBOROUGH - Television cameras captured the moment for all to see. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady displayed his frustration at various points of the first half in the Patriots’ 26-10 win against the Falcons last Sunday. He was yelling toward the sideline, visibly upset. Dropped passes and routes cut short were enough to trip the fuse for Brady, who later attributed the moments to the emotions of the game. The red zone continues to be a troublesome spot for the Patriots, and the last two weeks they have been without receiver Wes Welker, who has been hampered by a knee injury.

LANDOVER, Md. - In the visiting locker room late last night, all that was left at Tom Brady’s stall were a few green towels, a roll of athletic tape on a shelf, and a pair of scissors on the floor. There was no sign of the Patriots quarterback. In the third preseason game, which is often called the dress rehearsal because starters play into the second half, Brady remained backstage during the final 30 minutes of action. By the time reporters entered the locker room following the Patriots’ 27-24 victory over the Redskins, he had exited stage left.

FOXBOROUGH — A young player stuck at the bottom of a depth chart shouldn’t feel hopeless. At least that’s the way the Patriots’ Sam Aiken looks at it. “If you’re not a starter or a backup, special teams is the key,’’ Aiken said. Aiken should know. He has been a special teams standout throughout his career and last season he balanced those duties with time at receiver. The Patriots have plenty of younger players looking for a way to be noticed this season, and their moment could come on special teams.

FOXBOROUGH — As Torry Holt enters his 12th NFL season, the veteran receiver accepts that this year might be different. He is the most-targeted wideout since 2000 and once built a career in St. Louis based on stretching the field. Yet even with his reputation and proven history, Holt is looking for a job with the Patriots that may not be the high-profile role he has had in the past. A player who has made a career of gobbling up receptions and yards, Holt is looking for a place among a host of pass-catchers in New England.

FOXBOROUGH - The NFL trading deadline came and went yesterday without any fanfare at Gillette Stadium, where there was no Shawne Merriman (as if), no (second coming of) Deion Branch, and no other names added to the roster. There was only addition by subtraction as the Patriots released veteran wide receiver Joey Galloway and tight end Michael Matthews, and released and re-signed linebackers Tully Banta-Cain (who was cut Monday) and Eric Alexander (who was cut yesterday morning)

FOXBOROUGH - The Patriots offense has invited countless defensive strategies from opponents in the past three years, but Wes Welker saw something Monday night he had never seen before. The Saints double-teamed both him and Randy Moss, using a safety deep for Moss and bracketing Welker with two defenders. “That,’’ he said “was a new little twist I saw.’’ With Welker and Moss heavily covered, the Patriots turned elsewhere. Sam Aiken, a seventh-year receiver who had never caught more than 11 passes in a season before this year, ended the night...

FOXBOROUGH — A young player stuck at the bottom of a depth chart shouldn’t feel hopeless. At least that’s the way the Patriots’ Sam Aiken looks at it. “If you’re not a starter or a backup, special teams is the key,’’ Aiken said. Aiken should know. He has been a special teams standout throughout his career and last season he balanced those duties with time at receiver. The Patriots have plenty of younger players looking for a way to be noticed this season, and their moment could come on special teams.

FOXBOROUGH — As Torry Holt enters his 12th NFL season, the veteran receiver accepts that this year might be different. He is the most-targeted wideout since 2000 and once built a career in St. Louis based on stretching the field. Yet even with his reputation and proven history, Holt is looking for a job with the Patriots that may not be the high-profile role he has had in the past. A player who has made a career of gobbling up receptions and yards, Holt is looking for a place among a host of pass-catchers in New England.

FOXBOROUGH - Sam Aiken has survived seven years in the NFL because of his outstanding play on special teams, skills that earned him a two-year contract extension from the Patriots in October. But on the roster and in his heart, Aiken is a wide receiver. “You get in the league and you’ll do whatever it takes to stick around,’’ he said. “But I always believed in myself in terms of being able to catch the ball and make plays.’’ The Bills never saw it that way. Aiken played five seasons in Buffalo and caught 19 passes, one over his last two seasons.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - What a week for Bob Kraft. His team got undressed on “Monday Night Football,’’ his $9 million federally funded bridge deal was shelved Friday, and yesterday the Patriots blew a 14-0 lead and dropped a 22-21 decision to the not-very-good Miami Dolphins. Ouch. Sure, the Patriots are probably going to the playoffs, but winning the super-soft AFC East is like finishing ahead of three teams of Baltimore Orioles. It doesn’t give you a lot of confidence going into January.

FOXBOROUGH - When he was voted Patriots special teams captain at the beginning of the season, Sam Aiken took it as a sign of respect from his peers. But Aiken has evolved into something more than special teams maven. He has been thrust into the role of third receiver, a position that had been in a state of flux after veteran Joey Galloway was released Oct. 20. Rookie Julian Edelman was slowed by a forearm injury against Tennessee, and fellow North Carolina alum Brandon Tate, who was activated five days after Galloway’s release, was placed on injured reserve...

FOXBOROUGH - The Patriots offense has invited countless defensive strategies from opponents in the past three years, but Wes Welker saw something Monday night he had never seen before. The Saints double-teamed both him and Randy Moss, using a safety deep for Moss and bracketing Welker with two defenders. “That,’’ he said “was a new little twist I saw.’’ With Welker and Moss heavily covered, the Patriots turned elsewhere. Sam Aiken, a seventh-year receiver who had never caught more than 11 passes in a season before this year, ended the night...

If history is any indication at all, the AFC Championship almost certainly will go the distance. The New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens have played four times in the last five years, and not a single one produced a relatively easy Patriots victory. That is why a win on Sunday would mean more to the Patriots than any win they have had in four years. Here we are again, Boston sports fans, in that tense purgatory between victory and defeat. Remember what this feels like?

FOXBOROUGH - Bill Belichick said yesterday that Rodney Harrison brings a certain presence to the field. Belichick was speaking in the metaphysical sense, but it didn't take the contact-seeking safety, who came off the physically unable to perform list Tuesday, long to make his physical presence felt. During a red zone drill, wide receiver Sam Aiken tried to catch a ball coming across the middle of the end zone. He ended up catching a forearm shiver from Harrison. "Yeah, it took him barely a day, two practices, until you notice that 37 is still going to go out there and hit you across...

FOXBOROUGH - On the day the Dallas Cowboys made final cuts this summer, Isaiah Stanback prepared himself for an uncomfortable prospect. He could wake up as an NFL wide receiver and by night be looking for his next team. “I was definitely aware,’’ Stanback said. After his previous three years, Stanback had grown accustomed to adversity. When the Cowboys told him they had released him, Stanback met the decision with the resolve he forged battling injuries, including the one that almost crushed his NFL career before it began.

FOXBOROUGH - The return of Tom Brady this season made it tempting to envision a re-creation of the Patriots’ 2007 offense, a barrage of passes whipping around the field, records toppling, points skyrocketing like the score on a pinball machine. Even the Patriots themselves could not resist. They threw the ball nearly three-quarters of the time for the first two games, but given the results from two years ago, something odd happened. It didn’t work. They scored 17 points per game, barely won their opener, and lost their second game.