FOXBORO — The Patriots played the NFL version of the junior varsity in the two weeks leading up to their bye, beating up on the Titans and Buccaneers by a combined score of 94-7 with the offense reminding many of the 2007 glory days.

But now, apparently, there are worries that perhaps they aren’t properly battle tested for the coming month of games, which includes meetings with Miami, the Colts, Jets and Saints.

Tom Brady, not surprisingly, isn’t listening to the doubters.

“What we’ve done all year is that when we execute well, we produce points, we move the ball, (and) we get first downs,” he said Wednesday in front of his locker. “When we don’t execute well, we don’t move the ball, we don’t convert on third down, we don’t get the ball in the red area. In times that we go out and execute well, like we did against Tennessee, what we did against Tampa, we scored points.

“I think it’s just a much more concerted effort in practice and the concentration to get those things done.”

While the final scores of the Tennessee and Tampa Bay games make it easy to believe that the offense is back clicking at full power, the stats tell a slightly different story. In their last two games, the New England offense converted 11 of 23 third-down attempts (47.8 percent), while in the first five games of the season, that mark was 32-for-73 (43.8 percent). In the red zone, the Pats scored touchdowns in 5 of 10 chances over their last two games, and 9 of 20, or 45 percent, in the first five.

However, New England has also had six passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown of over 20 yards in the Titans and Bucs games, scores that came from outside of the red zone.

As the Pats struggled to cross the goal line early in the season — three trips inside the 20 against the Jets netted three field goals, and five trips against Atlanta resulted in one touchdown and four field goals — criticism of the offense began. But with Brady back under center after his injury, many observers were expecting an instant return to 2007, and that was unrealistic.

Brady is on pace to throw for 4,645 yards, 34 touchdowns and complete 65.6 percent of his passes — all numbers that would be the second-best of his career, behind that splendid ’07 campaign.

With his love of football reinvigorated, Brady sees only good for his offense.

“I don’t think I’ve heard a whole lot of criticism. I think I’ve been very lucky over the years to play on a great team and we’ve won a lot of games,” he said. “If that’s criticism, then I welcome that.”

Dolphins wear Parcells imprint

According to Bill Belichick, there is no doubt that the Miami Dolphins as currently constituted are a Bill Parcells team, from the coaching staff to the players, and even to the results: last year, in his first season at the helm, the Dolphins had a 10-win turnaround.

“I think everything that Bill believes in is evident in this team,” Belichick said of the man with whom he coached for 16 years. “All the defensive linemen are strong, all the linebackers are big, all the outside linebackers can rush, all the corners are big. The running backs are big, the tackles are big. They are a big, powerful team. I’m sure that’s the way Tony (Sparano, head coach) wants it. That’s the way Bill wants it.

“I think this (team) has Bill Parcells stamped all over it, there’s no question about it.”

Parcells was named the Dolphins’ vice president of football operations on Dec. 20, 2007, and he brought with him many of the men he has worked with throughout his career — he worked with Sparano and defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni in Dallas, and has known offensive coordinator Dan Henning for over 30 years.

Practice list

Adalius Thomas returned to practice Wednesday after missing Tuesday’s session to tend to a personal matter; New England practiced on the upper fields behind Gillette Stadium.

Though Ty Warren was on the field during the media-access window, which consisted of stretching and a few seconds of positional drills, the team listed him as one of seven players who did not participate. Warren injured his right ankle against Tampa Bay, though he indicated earlier this week that he would be good to go for Miami.

Others not taking part in practice: Julian Edelman (forearm), Jarvis Green (knee), Matt Light (knee), Sammy Morris (knee), Fred Taylor (ankle) and Jonathan Wilhite (illness).

Brady (right shoulder) and Randy Moss (shoulder) were listed as full participation for New England; Benjamin Watson (back) was limited in practice. The Dolphins reported that linebacker Channing Crowder (shoulder) and nose tackle Jason Ferguson (elbow) were both limited in practice.

Lombardi slams Mangini

In a Monday column for the Web site National Football Post on Cleveland’s firing of general manager George Kokinis, former Raiders and Browns personnel executive Michael Lombardi skewered current Cleveland coach Eric Mangini, calling him “The Secret” and saying Kokinis never stood a chance of succeeding with the Browns. Mangini kept him in the dark on nearly every decision, Lombardi said, despite the fact that he had hand-picked his friend (who needs friends like that?) to serve as his GM.

Most revealing for Patriots’ fans, however, is Lombardi’s assertion that Mangini was essentially stripped of his duties as New England’s defensive coordinator midway through the 2005 season because the defense was performing poorly.

Lombardi worked with Belichick in Cleveland, and given the history of acrimony between Belichick and Mangini since the latter’s departure, it isn’t hard to guess where Lombardi got that information.