FOXBORO -- Every Friday Tom E. Curran, Mike Giardi and Phil Perry will take your Patriots questions on Twitter and answer them as a joint mailbag -- or a Friday Bag, as they call it.
Got questions? Tweet the guys using the hashtag #FridayBag. But for now, give the latest edition of the Bag a read.
MG: Appleton, Tom Curran and I talked about this yesterday on SportsNet Central. Brady’s history says if you don’t earn his trust early, and put your ass in the right spot at the right time, the quarterback makes a mental note and you get put on probation. A second time and you could find yourself on the outside looking in that quickly. To Bennett’s benefit, he spent a ton of time with Brady during training camp, often doing individual sessions, so he’s got a leg up on the competition in that regard, but certainly it bears watching Sunday.
MG: Keith, there’s no question that the Krafts have a transition plan in place. Jonathan is quite involved on the business side on the daily, and has been for years. As for Randy Moss and the Pats Hall of Fame, that one season of ridiculousness in 2007-08 is enough to make me say yes. However, I think he’s got a lot of players ahead of him, from the old-timers like Clayborn and Gray, to more Super Bowlers like Vrabel, Seymour and Light.
MG: I knew you were a chronic #FridayBag-aholic, Giles. I say he gets 21 snaps and his presence allows the Pats to scale back the amount of PT Chris Long and, in particular, Sheard have been asked to shoulder.
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MG: ECF…neither looks like they’ll be major factors, but if I had to guess, I’d say Mingo just based on his ability to contribute on special teams.
MG: Jose, been a little while since I fielded a contract question about these guys. Here’s my take: three of the four will be here next year, with Butler and Collins locks. As for the 3rd, your guess is as good as mine. Both have had injury concerns yet both will command a to of money on the open market. You only get so many kicks at the can…
MG: Joe, that’s the million dollar question this week. Phil and I watched the tape and Gronk seems like he’s running just fine, but for whatever reason, they just didn’t utilize him much in the passing game. I’d say that changes Sunday. Maybe not to the tune of 8 for 106 and 2 TDs, but how about 5 for 75 and a score? Would that suffice?
MG: Cefali…I’d prefer to run them both over with my car, then put them on a stake in my front year as a message to all other squirrels and chipmunks to stay the bleep away. And as an aside, mustard on tuna fish really is good. Max will figure that one day.
PP: Nothing real firm on his timetable just yet, RJS. Even when he does return, I think the Patriots (and their fans) will have to exhibit some patience. He was special until tearing his ACL in Week 9 of last season. Will we see that same player as soon as he's back? Hard to say because we don't know when he will be back. But given the amount of time he's missed, and given the procedures he's endured, it may be asking a lot for him to replicate anything approaching his peak any time soon. For now, the passing-back role is firmly in James White's grasp.
PP: Spoke to Cooper on Thursday, Matt, and he seems ready to handle whatever the Patriots throw at him. He's been ruled inactive each of the first four weeks of the season, however, and we know he missed most of training camp. He may still be in catch-up mode to a certain extent. The team also has the benefit of all of its starters being relatively healthy at the moment. If we're to go by offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia's word from earlier this season -- that the team wanted to find a starting five and stick with it -- then there may not be much in the way of room for Cooper to chip in this weekend against the Browns. He may be the first guy in should anything happen to any of the interior offensive line starters, though. The team likes him, and he was handled as a starter back in the spring and early in camp. As far as Rowe is concerned, he has some ground to make up as well. He acknowledged when he first got here that it would take him some time to pick up the defense and the team's terminology. His injury hasn't inhibited his abiltiy to make strides in that area, but by being limited on the field, his growth in the system has been stunted somewhat. I could see both players serving a reserve role if the team decides to activate them on game day.
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PP: I'd say the pass-rush could stand to show a little more in the way of consistency. I believe the game plan last week prevented players from pinning their ears back and turning up the field in obvious passing situations since they didn't want to let Tyrod Taylor loose so I may be suffering from some recency bias, but that's one area I'll be keeping a close eye on. If Ninkovich is back on the field this weekend, he should obviously help them in that area.
PP: I think so, Mr. Q. Cody Kessler's not quite the same threat to run as Taylor. I'd expect the Patriots to play their share of man and shade their coverage to the side of Terrelle Pryor to make sure he doesn't beat them over the top. If they're able to neutralize him, the Browns don't have much in the way of explosive pass options at the moment.