ESPN

Each week on ESPNBoston.com, Tedy Bruschi dissects each Patriots game in his "Bruschi on Tap" piece. This week's piece is posted and includes the following topics:

1. Rob Gronkowski's growth easy to see

2. Can't have the M.O.B.Ps (missed opportunities for big plays) against Patriots.

3. Devin McCourty putting together a Pro-Bowl caliber season. His rib injury is one to watch.

4. Momentum, a bye week, and the Packers.

5. Weather affects Bears' defense.

6. Why the Patriots are so good in the snow.

In the video above, ESPN analyst -- and former Randy Moss teammate -- shared his thoughts on the Vikings plans to waive Randy Moss, as coach Brad Childress told players that Moss was no longer with the team. Here is Tedy’s take:

“I’m baffled. I don’t understand why. You heard Adam [Schefter] talk about how they were disappointed maybe by how he was playing and also his postgame press conference [after the loss to the Patriots on Sunday]. He gave a lot of love to New England in that press conference and let me tell you why.

“He spent three-plus years with coach Belichick and then he spent three-plus weeks with Brad Childress. He sees the difference. He saw the difference between Belichick and the Patriot way of doing things and then he saw the Vikings and Childress’ way off doing things. That’s what he did not like.

“The way that it’s being done right now is what I’m upset abut. You don’t do this to Randy Moss. This is one of the best receivers ever to play football. You don’t just release him on a whim like this, after some postgame press conference and one bad performance. Look at the way New England released him. They traded him, got a third-round pick. Bill Belichick called an unscheduled press conference, which is something he never does, to praise Randy Moss, called him a Hall of Fame player and thank him for all of the service that he gave.

“If Brad Childress is using this as a statement to make to his team about the right way of doing things, he lost his opportunity. That opportunity was last week when Brett Favre made the whole week about himself. He should have benched Brett Favre and played Tarvaris Jackson. That was his chance. If he’s trying to send a message, this is the wrong way to do it.”

In this NFL Live video above, ESPN analysts Tedy Bruschi and Mark Schlereth talk about what kind of reception Randy Moss should receive when he returns to New England with the Vikings on Sunday afternoon.

“I don’t think there should be any question on how the New England fans react to the return of Randy Moss,” Bruschi said. “I think you get up out of your seats and give him a standing ovation because when he was here he performed admirably for this organization. He caught a lot of touchdown passes, almost delivered a world championship.

“He was nothing but a good teammate while he was there. It doesn’t matter how he left and all of the speculation. When he was there, he did his work and he performed well for this team. So you get up and give him a little bit of love, New England.”

What kind of reception do you think Moss will get Sunday? Seventy-eight percent of respondents to an ESPNBoston.com poll say they'd cheer Moss on Sunday.

In this week’s Patriots podcast, ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi offered some advice for Patriots defensive backs trying to cover Randy Moss on Sunday at Gillette Stadium (listen here, at about the 23-minute mark).

“Not only is a high-powered offense coming in here, you’ve got a player coming back that’s going to want to play well and that’s Randy Moss. He’s gonna want to catch a touchdown, he’s gonna want Brett [Favre] to throw up the ball.

“If I had one piece of advice for this entire defense, or more particularly the defensive backs and safeties, two words: Get back. We put it a little bit more sternly in defensive team meetings. When you see him come off the ball and it looks like he’s starting to build, run. Get back, because he’s going deep. And when he does, that ball is going to be up there.

“With Randy, you can tell when the ball is snapped what kind of play it’s going to be. If it’s run, he’s going to jog off the line of scrimmage and try to position his block. If it’s a shallow crossing route, he’ll run shallow, but when it’s deep he builds. His strides lengthen, his arms start pumping, he has that body lean. You read that, you get back because the deep ball is coming.”

This quote from ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi stood out to us as a great summation of the Patriots’ victory over the Ravens on Sunday: Defense made big stops to give them a chance, and the offense converted its opportunities late.

“The Baltimore game woke me up a little bit in terms of, they had that sort of look,” Bruschi said in an interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI. “What I felt watching the game and how they fought toward the end, that’s the way games are won and the way they’re going to be won down the stretch. You have a defense that keeps it close and although they struggled at the beginning of the game, toward the end they made the plays to keep it close and give the offense an opportunity to win the game. And when you have Tom Brady back there with an opportunity to win, your chances are great.

“I like the way they are developing offensively. Randy [Moss] was a great player. I loved Randy as a teammate but I think [the Patriots are] more exciting without him.”

ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi said Tuesday he thought the only way NFL players will get the message that head-to-head and other dangerous hits will not be tolerated is if an example is made out an offending player.

“Until one is suspended, the players aren’t going to believe it,” Bruschi said on SportsCenter.

“I think something has to be done because the rule is good,” Bruschi explained. “When they talk about enforcing the rule, proper enforcement of the rule, you need to plant the seed in players’ heads. Right now, players don’t take this rule seriously. You saw it last Sunday. They’re still launching, they’re still leading with their heads, the rule isn’t enforced properly so they’re taking the chance.”

In his eyes, the player that could be made an example of is Brandon Meriweather, who has been under serious scrutiny for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Todd Heap on Sunday that was described by one NFL executive as “egregious” and “flagrant”. Moving forward, the NFL has said it will suspend players for making similar hits.

“If there’s anyone this week that has the possibility of [being made an example out of by being suspended], it’s probably Brandon,” Bruschi said in an interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI. “I hate to say that, but in [Sunday’s] game also, there was an instance where Heap caught a touchdown pass and Brandon also launched himself at Heap at that point and he missed. That showed intent and what his mentality was that game and then later of course he had the big hit on Heap. ... In my mind both of those instances were hits that could have been prevented and Brandon could have made better decisions.

“Unfortunately for the Patriots and their defense he may be the player they make an example of that plants the seed that I’m talking about into all of these other players.”

In a radio interview Monday, Meriweather said he did not intentionally hit Heap in the head with his helmet, that it was a split-second decision.

Bruschi isn’t buying explanations like that.

“Players are saying ‘Well I couldn’t control myself, that’s my instincts just to get that big hit.’ Don’t believe them,” Bruschi said. “Don’t believe them because they’re skilled enough to have enough athletic ability to say, ‘Listen, this is where I am, I need to make a decision now. I want to be there for my team [and not be suspended]. I’m turning and leading with the shoulder.’”

Bruschi, a former Patriots linebacker, admitted that he faced the reality of the consequences of making such a jarring hit during his playing days. In his interview with WEEI, he described launching himself into Todd Collins and breaking the Bills quarterback’s collarbone.

“That was my instance where I had a decision to make where, do I try to make the big hit or do I just try to tackle a guy?,” Bruschi explained. “At that point in my career I decided to launch myself toward his upper body and his head because at that point, you knew about not hitting quarterbacks helmet to helmet or anything like that but, once again, the seed wasn’t really planted in my head that there were serious ramifications for this.”

In the video below, ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi demonstrates how players will need to adjust their tackling styles and target points in order to avoid head-to-head hits:

In the video above, ESPN analyst and former Patriots linebacker identifies two things the Patriots had to work on coming out of the bye week to prepare for the Ravens:

* Getting used to life without Randy Moss.

* On defense, setting the edge in the running game.

Check out the clip for Tedy’s full analysis.

ESPN analyst and former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi shared his thoughts on the contract beef between offensive lineman Logan Mankins and the Patriots, saying he thinks things could get ugly between the player and the team.

“Logan doesn’t say much, so when he speaks, he means it,” Bruschi said in the clip above. “And when he talks about keeping your word and how you treat people, these are strong words from a strong-minded man. I don’t anticipate seeing Logan Mankins in a Patriots uniform anytime soon.”

One of the biggest criticisms of the Patriots toward the end of the season and in the aftermath of their first-round playoff ouster has been a lack of leadership. It’s a topic quarterback Tom Brady touched on earlier this week, and something ESPN analyst and former Patriot Tedy Bruschi shared his thoughts on as well in the video above.

Bruschi acknowledged the team has adequate leadership on the offensive side of the ball with Brady and veteran running back Kevin Faulk, and said the following about the defense:

“Defensively, you lost a lot of leaders this year. Myself, Rodney Harrison, Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel. But remember, your defense is young, Jerod Mayo is only in his second year, Gary Guyton is in his second year, Brandon Meriweather is still developing to be a leader. Yes, you can add another veteran presence that can be a good leading force in the middle there, but these leaders will develop with time. There was a time when I didn’t know how to lead, either."

ESPN analyst and former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi talked about what the injury to Wes Welker means for the Patriots and what the team will be missing with Julian Edelman in his place.

“This is a huge loss for the Patriots offense,” Bruschi said. “This offense is better with Wes Welker and Tom Brady is a better quarterback with Wes Welker. It’s his uncanny ability to run option routes, to read zone coverage, to read man coverage.”

And Bruschi on Edelman, the rookie receiver who figures to fill in for Welker:

“In comes Julian Edelman, a rookie receiver that used to play quarterback at Kent State,” Bruschi said. “People like this guy but he’s no Wes Welker. Let’s make no mistake, he isn’t as quick as Wes. He isn’t as smart as Wes. And the countless hours that Tom Brady and Wes Welker have spent on the practice field to develop that continuity that you see on game day, that’s what Edelman and Brady don’t have.

“It will be interesting to see how [offensive signal caller] Bill O’Brien ... adjusts and targets other receivers.”

Former Patriot and current ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi had some strong words for the Colts, who chose to rest starters in the second half of last week’s game instead of going for a perfect season.

“When you compare the ‘09 Colts to the ’07 Patriots,” Bruschi said, “I am going to say something that a lot of people are thinking but aren’t saying: At least the ’07 Patriots had the guts to go for it. That’s what they did, that’s what the Indianapolis Colts didn’t do, and that’s their problem.”

There’s pressure when you have a chance to go unbeaten, Bruschi said, but that makes the accomplishment that much sweeter.

“I know what it’s like to play when it feels like there’s a gorilla on your back of pressure, when you’re 15-0,” Bruschi said. “But it’s the most satisfying thing when you achieve that 16-0 mark.”

Bruschi played for the 2007 Patriots team that went 16-0 in the regular season but lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl.

“It is historic to go 16-0, because that means you have a chance to go 19-0. You only can go 19-0 if you go 16-0 first and 19-0 trumps every single team record ever.”

Check out Bruschi’s full commentary in the video above.

In the Patriots-Jaguars video clip below, ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth discusses the Patriots’ formula for success in the last couple weeks, which has been going back to “old-school football” with a focus on the running game. ESPN’s Tedy Bruschi worries about the Patriots’ interior defense against running back Maurice Jones-Drew if Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork are out or not 100 percent.

Former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi chatted today on ESPNBoston.com, and the discussion can be reviewed here.

Topics included the Patriots' search for a third receiver, the desire for more offensive creativity, how tough it is to tackle Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, and what it was like to be 14-0 and going for an undefeated season.

At the end of the chat, Bruschi was asked if the Patriots will be able to stop Jones-Drew.

"I think they will," he says. "Because if they clinch the division with a win this week, it's very possible that they will approach Week 17 as a bye week and rest up the starters that are hurt. Players play hard for a week's rest."

One of the things I appreciate about reading Tedy Bruschi's commentary and analysis is that I always seem to learn something new. Bruschi files his weekly piece today for ESPNBoston.com in which he shares five observations from the Patriots' 17-10 win over the Bills.

The part that stood out was at the end, on defensive line techniques.

Bruschi was writing on the opening drive of the game and how the Bills' success showed how much the Patriots missed Vince Wilfork, who was out with a foot injury.

"The Patriots' coaching staff countered by moving players and their alignments. Mike Wright, who was effective all day, saw some snaps at nose and they reduced the ends down to "3" technique positions over the guards at times. This subtle adjustment allowed the defensive line to work on the edge of a blocker rather than down the middle of them. For younger players, this technique can counter their inexperience with a two-gapping style."