01:17 PM EDT on Wednesday, September 7, 2005

Frank the moderator: Hey everyone. Tom Curran will be by TODAY @ NOON to field your questions and comments about the Patriots as they begin the season Thursday night against Oakland. Submit something now and come back at noon. See you then.

talk: Tom -- give a prediction on how the Pats finish (14-2, 13-3)? And will the Steelers be as good as they were last year?
Tom Curran: What's up, folks....Thanks so much for taking some time during lunch to get on here before what should be a very interesting opner. Now, are you only allowing me those two options for a final record? Kidding. I think they'll be in the 11-5 range this year. It'll take a few weeks for them to get full traction. No. The Steelers may not make the playoffs.

Frank the moderator: The Santa Claus Four? Tom, you think the Raiders front end relishes that nickname?
Tom Curran: I wouldn't think so. I also considered the Ted Kennedy Four (didn't want to seem partisan) and the Marlon Brando Four (he's dead). The Santa Claus Four, for anyone out there that didn't read my story this a.m. is the name I carefully selected for the Raiders D-line. They have much oldness and fatness.

talk: I read today (in your notebook) that Troy Brown will be a team captain. Will this be Brown's last year.
Tom Curran: I don't know if we can make that guess yet. Say he has a 70-catch season...or even a 45-catch season where he plays a big role...maybe he hangs on...On the other hand, there comes a time when a team wants to move older players along to develop new ones so it will get harder for him to make it every season.

provfan: With the big Raiders D-line, do you think the Pats will go with more tight ends to help block, run outside more, or do more screens, draws or traps?
Tom Curran: O go empty and fast-break them...they like doing that in openers. I would imagine that Graham, Watson and Fauria will be vital in this game, though with either help blocks inside on Tommy Kelly and Bobby Hamilton on outside runs or going downfield to get after Oakland's two giant OLBs, Brayton and Irons

tom: I'm very concerned about the Pats' defense this year. How will Oakland put the defense to the test? What will you be looking for as indicators of the strength of the new defense?
Tom Curran: That's an excellent question, especialy what the indicators are. Talking to Norv Turner this week, it sounded like he thought he could make hay in the running game (reading between the lines on his comments). Here's at least a Game 1 Indicator. The more you see No. 37 in your picture before the snap, the more concerned the Patriots are with the Oakland running game and their ability to stop it. Third-down is another indicator. They've been horrible on third-down defensively in training camp.

Frank the moderator: Moss factor. How will Belichick take Randy Moss out of the game.
Tom Curran: I don't know if he can. That will be interesting to me...you know Oakland will want to get him the ball in space a few times early. But do they try to do it right off or do they go to Lamont Jordan first and wait on Moss. My guess is Moss will get the ball immediately. And the Pats will treat him as they did TO in the Super Bowl. Play off, give him a cushion and gang tackle. Don't let an 8-yard hitch turn into a 56-yard touchdown.

talk: SO who's calling plays for the Pats?
Tom Curran: Seems to me that the play is going from Josh McDaniels to Tom Brady. Brady then calls it in the huddle. How the play that comes out of McDaniel's mouth is arrived upon, I don't quite know. For instance, a portion of the plays are scripted (first short-yardage play is X, first 2-and-7 play is Y). Then I'm sure McDaniels has the latitude to make his own calls and other times Belichick is involved. It will be interesting to see how often tomorrow night Belichick has the headphones on, though. My guess is a lot.

Frank the moderator: Has the national media descended on Foxboro yet? Have you bumped into John Madden and the ABC crew?
Tom Curran : Not as of yesterday. Today's the day they do most of their pregame sitdowns with the players and coaches. From my understanding, those are really terrific conversations normally because the players tend to open up well in those 1-on-2 or 3 settings with people they know. But I'm sure we'll have a lot of people here by 4 p.m. tomorrow.

Frank the moderator: From an email: Do you think the Pats' new linebackers will be tested early tomorrow? If so, how?
Tom Curran : Absolutely they will. They'll be tested with Jordan running up the middle so Turner can find if they are any better than they were against the Saints (kind of a low point of the preseason for the ILBs).

pats1_4eva: hey tom love your work on the score and on fox ,,question do you think we'll see bruschi before the end of the year?
Tom Curran: hey, thanks for the compliment...no, i would be absolutely stunned if bruschi played football this year. stunned. i do wonder if he'll be on the sidelines tomorrow though. he hasn't been visible for any of the preseason games and only showed up in the locker room for the first time during media access last week.

Frank the moderator: What's the biggest obstacle the Patriots face in their run to another Super Bowl appearance?
Tom Curran : Frank, Luck. If they get enough of the bad kind, they're going down. Otherwise, there is no concrete proof anywhere in the AFC that argues any of the "powers" have gotten better this year. Not the Jets. Definitely not the Steelers. The Colts add Simon but remember they lost 20-3 in the playoffs to NE. Defense - at least when it comes to playing the Pats - is not their problem. I like the Pats chances because they are tested, poised and their coaching staff is worth a 4-6 point swing every week. I believe that to be the truth.

Frank the moderator: From someone in the office (a BC grad): Do you see Flutie getting any playing time?
Tom Curran: Ya know, I'm curious about something. Against the Packers, Flutie came in mid-drive, took a couple snaps, then gave way to Brady again. I (to my discredit) didn't follow it up but I wonder if it's a ploy to put in the back of team's minds as they prepare for New England or if they'd ever bother to shake it up to see what happens say on a second-and-7. Then again, why do you want to do that when you have the BQIF (best quarterback in football) on your team.

Frank the moderator: Thanks for stopping by. Look for Tom Curran's game reports this week and through the season and check on his PatsBlog for other updates.