Patriots fall to Jets after critical penalty

"EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — As rookie teammate Chris Jones found himself pressed into his locker by a throng of media members asking about the critical penalty called on him in overtime, Patriots captain Matthew Slater was at his own stall just a few feet away.

“It’s not on him,” Slater said of Jones. “There were 20, 30 plays throughout the game that could have gone differently. You guys are asking Chris a lot of questions, but it’s not his fault. We lost this game as a team.”

The Patriots fell to their AFC East rivals, the Jets, Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, 30-27, in OT. It was the second loss of the season for New England, and snapped a five-game win streak against New York.

The play in question, the one that led to Jones getting so many questions, came during Jets kicker Nick Folk’s game-winning 56-yard field-goal attempt.

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Patriots fall to Jets, 30-27

• Summary: Jets 30, Patriots 27
• A look at the NFL rule that led to penalty

Lined up behind Will Svitek, Jones can be seen on replay pushing Svitek forward at the snap and into the Jets’ Damon Harrison. A flag immediately went up into the air, and even though Folk’s long attempt was wide left, the infraction meant he’d get a second chance."

Marvin Lewis

"Marvin Ronald Lewis (born September 23, 1958) is the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League, a position he has held since January 14, 2003, making him the 2nd longest tenured head coach in the NFL behind New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Previously, he was notable as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, whose record-setting defense helped them win Super Bowl XXXV 34-7 over the New York Giants."

Rajon Rondo: Why would I want out?

"Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo said that he is embracing the challenge of a rebuild and hopes to aid the team in that process.

Rondo, speaking to reporters Tuesday night at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston after formally announcing he has joined the ANTA shoe brand, dispelled the notion that Boston's roster overhaul this past summer, which included trading away Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, might leave him yearning to join a contender rather than endure another rebuilding process.

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"I love it here. The fans are great here," Rondo said, according to Comcast SportsNet. "And [president of basketball operations] Danny [Ainge] has been straightforward with me. This is my team. Why would I want to leave? Why would I want out?"

Rob Gronkowski: Still 'day-to-day'

:FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Amid reports that the New England Patriots are optimistic that Rob Gronkowski will make his season debut Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, the tight end reinforced on Thursday that his status remains day-to-day.

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After all he's endured, Pats tight end Rob Gronkowski has the right to be cautious about his return, writes Ashley Fox. Analysis

"It's basically nothing new," he told reporters. "I mean, I'm just working hard every week, working hard out at practice, and nothing's changed, we're day by day, like we've been from the very beginning."

Asked what he and doctors need to see in order to know he is ready to return to the field, Gronkowski replied, "[I'm] really just taking it each day at a time and just trying to improve each day at a time. And that's all."

On Wednesday, quarterback Tom Brady said that he's not riding the emotional roller coaster attached to speculating on Gronkowski's return date.

"We've kind of talked about it a lot the last five weeks," Brady said. "If he's there, he's there. If he's not, he's not. We're going to try to go win anyway," he said.

Brady's comments came on the heels of remarks by coach Bill Belichick, who reiterated that Gronkowski's status is day-to-day but did not elaborate."

Obama, GOP escalate the rhetoric on shutdown

WASHINGTON — President Obama and House speaker John A. Boehner amped up their rhetoric Tuesday as the standoff over the shutdown and a potential default on the nation’s debt reached a new level of discord and uncertainty.

Even a temporary route to break the logjam — the possibility of raising the nation’s borrowing authority for a few weeks to stave off economic calamity and allow time for substantial negotiations — did not win any agreement, despite offering an opportunity for both sides to save face.

Obama and Boehner had a brief phone conversation Tuesday morning, then followed that up with dueling press conferences that revealed how deeply the two sides remain divided.

“If reasonable Republicans want to talk about these things again, I’m ready to head up to the Hill and try,” Obama said during a press conference. “I’ll even spring for dinner again.”

But, he added, “I’m not going to do it until the more extreme parts of the Republican Party stop forcing John Boehner to issue threats about our economy. We can’t make extortion routine as part of our democracy.”

The economic warning came Tuesday as stocks fell sharply and consumer confidence, as measured by Gallup, has fallen by more than it has in any week since the Lehman Brothers collapse of 2008, the beginning of the global economic crisis.

The Obama administration has warned that the nation faces default on its credit beginning Oct. 17. Republicans have pounded Obama for days for refusing to negotiate terms for an end to the dispute. Obama, in a press conference lasting more than hour, went to extraordinary lengths to explain to ordinary Americans why he believes “paying ransom’’ in exchange for raising the debt ceiling is “nonnegotiable.’’

Cantor calls White House meeting useful

"WASHINGTON — Urgent efforts to prevent an economy-tanking U.S. default rose and then retreated with astonishing speed Thursday, as House Republicans floated a compromise and the White House appeared amenable, only for Senate Democrats to declare it unacceptable.

‘‘Not going to happen,’’ declared Majority Leader Harry Reid, standing outside the White House after he and fellow Democrats met with President Barack Obama. The Republican plan would leave the 10-day-old partial government shutdown in place while raising the nation’s $16.7 trillion debt limit and setting up negotiations between the GOP and Obama over spending cuts and other issues.

Heartened by any hint of progress, Wall Street chose to accentuate the positive. After days of decline, the Dow Jones industrial average soared 323 points on hopes that the divided government was taking steps to avoid a default. Reid’s dismissive comments at the White House came at the end of the trading day."

Tom Brady, rookie WRs get results

"FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady was at it again on Sunday, hollering at his rookie receivers on the sideline, unleashing pure, unfiltered, raw emotion.

Only this time, he was screaming his approval.

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Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY SportsTom Brady blowing another gasket? Actually he's fired up about a TD by Kenbrell Thompkins.

After their underwhelming performance last week, New England Patriots rookiesKenbrell Thompkins and Aaron Dobsonundoubtedly could have used a hug, but instead their quarterback delivered a swift kick to their collective posteriors. The message was clear: We don't have time for this. Get up to speed. Learn your assignments.

Now.

"I didn't mind it,'' Dobson said of the scolding Sunday, after he caught seven passes for 52 yards against the (still) winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "You've got to learn from it. We know mistakes are going to happen. Our job is to take something positive from it.''"