<
        >

          New England Patriots

          Welcome to Gillette Stadium

          Unlike last week, weather shouldn't be a factor for the Patriots today in Foxborough. Mike Reiss/ESPN
          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterOct 13, 2013, 01:00 PM ET
            Close
              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
            Follow on X

          FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Welcome to Gillette Stadium, where the New England Patriots host the New Orleans Saints (Fox, 4:25 p.m. ET):

          Weather conditions: It is a cool autumn day, with temperatures currently at 60 degrees. It is expected to remain close to that temperature by kickoff, with no precipitation and light wind around the moderate 10-mile-per-hour range, according to Weather.com.

          Five more inactive players to be announced: The Patriots have already ruled out starting defensive tackle Tommy Kelly (right knee) and running back Leon Washington (ankle), meaning they have five more players to declare inactive. ESPN and media reports, citing sources, indicate that tight end Rob Gronkowski will also be declared inactive. Those decisions will be made official 90 minutes before kickoff.

          Ridley on GameDay cover: Running back Stevan Ridley is on the cover of the GameDay magazine being sold at Gillette Stadium today. The GameDay magazine has a pink theme in connection with the NFL’s Breast Cancer Awareness campaign.

          Stat of the day: This marks the fourth time that teams led by quarterbacks Tom Brady and Drew Brees will square off against other career. Brady’s teams are 0-3 in those games.

          Corrente gets the call: Tony Corrente has been assigned to referee today’s game. On a related note, the Patriots are coming off a game in which they weren’t called for an accepted penalty.

          National anthem: Performed by Dua Boakye, the lead singer of the Bad Rabbits. The Bad Rabbits are from Boston and were founded in September of 2007.

          Color guard: Cranston Police Department Honor Guard, based out of Cranston, RI.