ESPN

Patriots cornerback Darius Butler, appearing on "ESPN First Take" Tuesday morning, said the night before his first NFL start (Oct. 18 against Tennessee) he joked with former University of Connecticut teammate Jasper Howard about who would be the first to get an interception.

"The last conversation we had was the night before that game," Butler said. "He hadn’t recorded an interception yet this year and I was teasing him about that, and he was teasing me about not having one also. We were going back and forth about who was going to have the first one."

Hours after that conversation, Howard was stabbed to death in an early-morning fight on the UConn campus. Butler, who learned of Howard’s death the following morning via various text messages, played against the Titans that afternoon and got that first interception, picking off Kerry Collins in the second quarter of New England’s 59-0 rout.

"It was a great moment," Butler said. "That was pretty much for him."

Here's the Butler interview, including more on Howard and his take on the Patriots' upcoming game with the Saints.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick held his weekly Tuesday conference call with reporters, and here are two items of note:

1. Reggie Bush & Marshall Faulk: Belichick said that the Saints' offense looks, in some ways, like that of the 2001 St. Louis Rams. That Rams offense was known as "The Greatest Show on Turf." In making that link, Belichick said Saints running back Reggie Bush is similar to former Ram Marshall Faulk -- "a guy who could come out of the backfield and split out and be a receiver, but line up in the backfield and be a running back. Players like that are just rare, very hard to match up with, that give an offense a dimension that you just don't see during the course of the year."

2. Saints threatening Patriots' 2007 records: "We're really not thinking too much about that at all," Belichick said. "I'll tell you one thing, it wouldn't surprise me if the Saints set whatever records there are because I can't think of too many teams, I can't think of any really, that are any more explosive than this team is. I've talked about the Rams, I've talked about the Chargers in the early '80s, but these guys can run with anybody." Belichick added that the Saints are "as good a team as there is in the National Football League this year, so it will be a great test for us to kind of see where we're at."

EXTRA POINT: Jets cornerback Donald Strickland said the crunching hit delivered by Patriots offensive lineman Mark LeVoir was a cheap shot, and he told Dave Hutchinson of the Newark Star Ledger that he plans to retaliate against LeVoir in the future.

Every Tuesday on ESPNBoston.com, e-mails from Patriots fans are answered as part of a Patriots mailbag. This week's mailbag has been posted and includes some of the following topics:

1. Forecasting how the Patriots might defend the Saints.

2. Assessing how important a win over the Saints would be to the Patriots.

3. Considering two different offensive approaches against the Saints -- slow it down or spread it out and let it rip.

4. Has the situation at No. 3 receiver been underplayed?

5. A closer look at Junior Seau's unique role, as he hasn't played the last three games.

6. Shining the spotlight on the Patriots' lack of production in the second half.

Former Patriots offensive lineman Kendall Simmons, who was released Nov. 9 when the team promoted cornerback Kyle Arrington from the practice squad, signed on Tuesday with the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills placed guard Eric Wood, one of their two first-round draft choices this year, on injured reserve.

Simmons appeared in one game for the Patriots this season. Coach Bill Belichick said the team wasn't planning to release him, but when the Cleveland Browns attempted to sign Arrington to their active roster, the Patriots decided to hold on to Arrington by putting him on their roster and releasing Simmons.

The New England Patriots' game against the Miami Dolphins a week from Sunday has been moved to 1 p.m. and will be shown on CBS.

The game was originally scheduled for 8:20 p.m., but NBC has decided to show the Cardinals-Vikings game instead.

In anticipation of the Patriots' visit to New Orleans on Monday, a look at where the Saints rank in key statistical categories through 11 weeks of the season:

Points scored
1^st (36.9 per game)

Points allowed
Tied for 13^th (20.4 per game)

Third-down offense
3^rd (61 of 130, 46.9 percent)

Third-down defense
7^th (48 of 139, 34.5 percent)

Turnover margin
3^rd (Plus-10, 29 takeaways, 19 giveaways)
29 takeaways are an NFL high

Red zone offense (based on TD percentage)
4^th (32 of 49, 65.3 percent)

Red zone defense (based on TD percentage)
5^th (14 of 33, 42.4 percent)

A look at where the Patriots rank in key statistical categories through 11 weeks of the season, with the big jump coming on third-down defense after holding the Jets to 2 of 10 Sunday:

Points scored
3^rd (29.0 per game)
Last week: 3^rd (28.7 per game)

Points allowed
2^nd (16.4 per game)
Last week: 3^rd (16.6 per game)

Third-down offense
6^th (64 of 140, 45.7 percent)
Last week: 4^th (56 of 123, 45.5 percent)

Third-down defense
15^th (46 of 122, 37.7 percent)
Last week: 21^st (44 of 112, 39.3 percent)

Turnover margin
2^nd (Plus-12, 22 takeaways, 10 giveaways)
Last week: 3^rd (Plus-8, 17 takeaways, 9 giveaways)

Red zone offense (based on TD percentage)
24^th (21 of 44, 47.7 percent)
Last week: 25^th (18 of 40, 45 percent)

Red zone defense (based on TD percentage)
28^th (13 of 20, 65 percent)
Last week: 28^th (13 of 20, 65 percent)

Saints quarterback Drew Brees was interviewed by ESPN’s Chris Berman during halftime of the "Monday Night Football" broadcast. Next Monday’s game against the Patriots was a central part of the discussion.

"It doesn’t get any bigger or better than this," Brees said.

Brees was asked what he learned from watching the Patriots go through their undefeated regular season in 2007.

"The main thing from watching them two years ago and feeling it now is that you get everybody’s best game -- no matter who you’re playing, what their record is. You have somewhat of a bull's-eye on your chest, everybody is gunning for you," he said. "You know each week, it doesn't get any easier. It only gets harder."

Brees was asked what it will take to match the Patriots and come out on top. Brees answered that it will take the Saints' best game.

"We know what type of team they are, what type of team they’ve been for the last decade," he said. "They're a dynasty. Obviously, that's one of the organizations that we try to emulate. That's who we are trying to be, that contender year in and year out. Obviously, these opportunities to play a team like the Patriots, you just have to take advantage of them."

Fans watching the final minute of the Patriots-Jets game might have noticed that Jets coach Rex Ryan seemed upset at something. Turns out he was peeved about Tom Brady's attempted pass to Randy Moss with 30 seconds remaining in the game.

"I was surprised and did feel a little disrespected," Ryan said Monday.

The pass from Brady to Moss, which came on third-and-6 from the Patriots' 45 yard-line, was incomplete. The Patriots punted after the play.

The Jets took over at their 22-yard line, and after a 33-yard pass, Ryan called his final timeout to set up a final Hail Mary play with five seconds remaining. He appeared to be saying an expletive on the sideline as television cameras isolated on him.

Practice squad receiver Terrence Nunn, who developed a strong following among Patriots fans for his performance in the preseason, is set to sign a contract with the Buccaneers to join their 53-man roster. The agreement is pending a physical, and Nunn is traveling to Tampa on Monday.

“It’s a situation where Terrence will always be grateful to the Patriots for giving him his first opportunity," said John Rickert, Nunn's agent. "But in terms of an opportunity, this is too difficult to pass up.”

Nunn, who had a solid career at Nebraska but couldn't hook on in the NFL his first year out of college, had his NFL hopes revived by the Patriots this past preseason. In joining the Buccaneers, he is guaranteed to be on the 53-man roster for at least three weeks.

Assuming Nunn passes the physical, the Patriots will have an open roster spot on their practice squad to fill.

Nunn's agreement with the Buccaneers was first reported by Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald.