FOXBORO -- Injured linebacker Rosevelt Colvin was in the Patriots' locker room yesterday, seen walking for the first time without a crutch since he broke his hip Sept. 14 in Philadelphia.
"I can walk," Colvin told reporters. "I'm trying to do the basic functions of just getting up in the morning. I'm walking upstairs, walking downstairs, moving around without any assistance."
Colvin was an explosive player and influential player for the Patriots in training camp and throughout the preseason. He had one sack in each of the Patriots' first two games before fracturing the hip while merely bending to pick up a fumble.
The biggest concern in his recovery was the threat of avascular necrosis which can be caused when blood flow to the area is insufficient and the bone dies. His agent, Kennard McGuire, said soon after the injury occurred there was no threat of that.
There is no timetable for his return.
A season to forget for Buffalo
After earning a Pro Bowl spot in 2002, Bills' quarterback Drew Bledsoe has backslid badly this season. After that season-opening 31-0 win over the Patriots, it seemed almost a foregone conclusion that -- by January -- Bledsoe would be starting his first NFL playoff game since the Patriots lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC Divisional Playoffs back in 1997.
"It's been almost surreal to me to look at where we started [this season]," he told the Buffalo media yesterday. "It seems like forever ago. We were playing well. I think if you saw only one game this season and you're talking about the last week of the season, one team playing for home-field advantage and the other team out of the playoffs, you probably would have though the opposite team would have been in those respective situations. It's been surreal for me to see where we started and where we are now. It's been very hard."
This is Bledsoe's second return trip to Foxboro and he makes no bones that it does mean something special to him.
"I basically grew up out there," he said. "I was there as a 21-year-old kid and when I left I was 29 and had three kids. It's still a place that holds a special place in my heart and the hearts of our family."
Bledsoe, coming off a disappointing game against Miami, acknowledged the Patriots are going to be after him Sunday.
"It's going to be a great challenge," he said. "They are playing to try to get themselves home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. They've done a tremendous job as a team and as a coaching staff of still winning in spite of all the pieces that were missing at different times."
Bledsoe on Brady
Bledsoe on Tom Brady's season: "Did Tom have a Pro Bowl caliber year? I think he probably did but who are you going to take out? Tom had a tremendous year and I'm happy to see him continue to have success because he is a guy that really earned it. . . . Either the Patriots or Chiefs will play their first playoff game Saturday, Jan. 10, at 8 p.m. in the AFC Divisional Playoffs on CBS. The Pats may have the inside track to that prime-time slot because they play in a bigger media market and arguably have more national appeal than the Chiefs. The other AFC time slot for that weekend is Sunday at 1 p.m. Yesterday's column devoted to listing the mistakes made by Bills' president and general manager Tom Donahoe contained a couple of mistakes. First, defensive lineman Sam Adams didn't sign a $32-million deal in the offseason, it was $11.7M (linebacker Takeo Spikes signed for $32M). Also, the Bills called to clarify that it wasn't Donahoe that hired offensive coordinator Gilbride. They pointed out that it was actually head coach Williams.
