FOXBORO -- So what if he doesn't talk when people want him to? When Corey Dillon does talk, the Patriots running back is usually worth the wait.

Dillon, miffed for weeks because of speculation the Pats' low rushing numbers were tied to his date of birth, spoke yesterday as the Patriots begin preparations for the Bills.

Asked how he spent his 31st birthday on Monday, Dillon said: "I took a stroll in my walker. The family walked me out in the park. We fed the pigeons. After 10 minutes they thought it was enough for me and we went back inside. It was kind of cold. After 10 minutes they had to carry me back in. That was my birthday."

Dillon has a meager 329 yards rushing in five games this season (he missed the game at Denver because of an injured ankle). His linemen -- right tackle Tom Ashworth and center Dan Koppen among them -- have absolved Dillon of blame. Still, he perceived talk about the Patriots' ground struggles to be an indictment of him and he dummied up. Even after he topped 10,000 career yards, a feat only 17 other backs have accomplished, he refused to talk.

Yesterday, he gave his feelings on it.

"For an old guy whose birthday is the same as King Tut's, that's pretty good," said Dillon. "As I look at it, it means, 'Hey son, over the course of the years you've played in the NFL you've been doing some pretty good things." When I first came into the league people probably thought I wasn't going to make it to my ninth season. When you hit (10,000 yards), it's just like getting your 3,000th hit as a baseball player. It's a good mark. It's something special, but it doesn't stop there. We're preparing. We've got to get ready for the game this week against Buffalo and play well."

Some of the struggles in the Patriots' ground game are tied to the strength of the defenses they've faced. Some of it is tied to the fact that the left side of the line is going through an adjustment period with two rookies in the lineup.

"We're getting better," said Dillon. "Everybody is doing their job, everybody is working hard. That's the only assessment I can go with. And I'm going to continue to work hard and try to get better. There's a lot of players in this locker room older than me and they go out and get the job done, so I don't think there's an age policy in this locker room."

Bruschi's status unclear

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was predictably ambiguous when discussing plans for returning linebacker Tedy Bruschi this week. Bruschi took part in full-contact, full-pad practices Monday and yesterday.

"We'll take it day-to-day and see where it goes," said Belichick. "I don't know (if he'll play or how much). Any player who hasn't played football for a while and comes back and tries to catch up to guys (will be) behind. But he's an experienced player. It's not like we're starting from scratch. He has a lot to build on."

Bruschi was leaving it all up to the coaches to decide whether he'll be ready Sunday night.

"I've been training pretty hard before I got to this point," he said. "Physically, I'm confident in my conditioning and strength. . . . I've always trusted my coaches' judgment. Whatever my coach decides to do, I trust that."

Squib kicks

The Bills have just nine plays of more than 20 yards this season -- five rushes and four completions. They have only three plays that have gained more than 30 yards. By comparison, opponents have 29 plays of 20 or more yards on the Bills' defense (12 runs, 17 passes) and eight plays of 30 or more yards. . . . Every team in the AFC East is being outscored by its competition and the Patriots have allowed more points (164) and scored more points (138) than anyone else in the East.