FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Houston Texans cornerback Kevin Johnson remembers playing against Jacoby Brissett when both played in the Atlantic Coast Conference.I remember him being a good player, an athletic mobile quarterback, Johnson, who played at Wake Forest, said as his Texans prepared for Thursday nights game at the New England Patriots -- and against the rookie quarterback making his first NFL start.Hes a guy who can make the throws, a great player we have to respect and prepare for.Brissett, the former Florida and North Carolina State quarterback and No. 3 quarterback on the New England roster, moved up to No. 2 with the four-game Deflategate suspension of Tom Brady. Jimmy Garoppolo started the first two games but a shoulder injury to Garoppolo in the Week 2 win over the Dolphins shook up the depth chart again.While coach Bill Belichick is unlikely to declare it fact, Brissett is almost certainly the starter when these two 2-0 teams get together at Gillette Stadium.He has really good poise, very smart guy, says Texans coach Bill OBrien. Hes got good size. Hes like 235 pounds. Hes a good football player. When we evaluated him in the draft, we felt the same way then, too. Hes a bright guy and hes coached very well there.OBrien was Belichicks offensive coordinator before OBrien left to become head coach at Penn State. His defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel had the same job in New England. Linebackers coach Mike Vrabel played for the Patriots, as did nose tackle Vince Wilfork.In short, the Texans know the Patriots.But the familiarity with Brissett, who has played 34 minutes and attempted nine passes in the NFL, is another story.Tuesday, Belichick didnt officially declare Garoppolo, who suffered a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder, out for the game. He was listed as a limited participant on the official practice report.Belichick also wouldnt say if the Patriots were bringing in another quarterback. Wide receiver Julian Edelman, a quarterback in college at Kent State, would be available for emergencies.Jacobys done a good job for us, Belichick said. Hes improved every day. Hes a hard-working kid. Hes in here early, stays late, studies the game. Hes got good physical talent. Hes improved steadily since hes been here -- after the draft and all way through.Brissett was 6 of 9 and led his team to what turned out to be the winning touchdown drive early in the second half on Sunday. What was supposed to be a blowout turned close when the Miami Dolphins scored on three straight possessions and had a chance to tie.The Texans have not allowed a touchdown in six quarters and Houston notched wins over the Bears and Chiefs to come to Foxborough as a rare road favorite.The Texans are very good on defense ... they take the ball away, they create long-yardage situations, theyre one of the best third-down teams in the league again this year, which theyve been in the past, said Belichick, whose offense has been missing tight end Rob Gronkowski (hamstring) for the first two games and may not have him again. They dont give up many points. The biggest challenge is always scoring points -- thats the name of the game, thats what we play for. They havent given up many. Im sure it wont be easy to score -- well have to do a good job, execute well.Belichick was asked by the Houston media via conference call if star defensive end J.J. Watt reminds him at all of Lawrence Taylor, the Hall of Fame linebacker he coached as an assistant with the Giants. The pair are the only two players ever to win NFL defensive player of the year honors three times.They both play pretty hard, yeah, Belichick said. I think J.J. is a relentless, a relentless player. Very instinctive and Id say a lot like Taylor, when at the most critical times in the most important plays, thats where those guys showed the most and thats what great players do.The New England defense, which is missing key pass-rushing linebacker Rob Ninkovich (suspension), shut Ryan Tannehill out in the first quarter Sunday, but then saw the Dolphins quarterback throw for 389 yards in the last three quarters.Brock Osweiler, the quarterback who played such an important part in the Denver Broncos run to the title last year, is 41 of 68 for 499 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in his first two games running the Houston offense.New Englands LeGarrette Blount and Houstons Lamar Miller, the running backs for the two teams, have run for 193 and 189 yards, respectively, in the first two games. Vikings Jerseys Online . 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Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. Cheap Vikings Store . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera says quarterback Cam Newton is a victim of his size when it comes to not getting calls on vicious hits as happened in Thursday nights NFL opener at Denver.Replays showed Newton -- who is 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds -- received at least four helmet-to-helmet hits in the 21-20 loss to the?Broncos. A penalty was called only on the last hit as the NFL MVP tried to stage a winning drive.That one was negated by an intentional grounding penalty on Newton.Rivera said at least one or two more of the hits should have been penalized, and he plans to send those to the league office to review.Theres a little bit of prejudice to that, Rivera said Friday. Its kind of like what happened to [former NBA star] Shaquille ONeal. Heres a big, physical basketball player and he goes to set a pick, a guy falls down and they call a foul on him. He goes to shoot a little layup and gets hacked and hammered and they dont call it.Rivera, who played linebacker for nine seasons with the Chicago Bears, said he experienced some of that prejudice playing high school basketball.He said there sometimes appears to be a different set of rules for hitting Newton compared to smaller quarterbacks.The frustrating part of that is sometimes the acceptance of that happens, Rivera said. I remember when I was growing up and playing guys in high school. Id set a pick and knock guys down all the time, and Id get the foul.I can appreciate his situation. Hes a little different. Hes an imposing figure, and sometimes those big hits dont look as bad on a big guy.Only 22 times has a team been whistled for roughing the passer when facing Newton since he came into the league in 2011. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the last one was in Week 11 of the 2014 season against Atlanta.While Rivera questioned the non-calls, he didnt question the officials or doctors for not placing Newton in the concussion protocol after the final helmet-to-helmet hit that left the quarterback face down on the turf and obviously shaken.Im not going to question the doctors. OK? Rivera said. There is a protoccol.dddddddddddd There is a set of rules that these doctors, these trained professionals have to follow. The understanding is when everything first happened, they followed the protocol.According to Rivera, the team doctor and UNC (unaffiliated neuro-consultant) agreed that Newton did not show symptoms of a concussion to the point they felt he needed to leave the game. Neither did the officials on the field or the replay booth.So from that standpoint, the protocol was followed.Team officials said Newton was asked questions four times following the game -- locker room, bus ride to the airport, on the plane and back in Charlotte -- to make sure there were no side effects from the hits to the head.All of them hes passed, Rivera said.This isnt the first time Rivera has faced questions about the way Newton was handled after taking a hard hit to the head. He became defensive last year after his quarterback stayed in for three plays and completed a touchdown drive before being tested for a concussion in the locker room early in the third quarter of a 41-38 win against New Orleans.We follow the rules here, Rivera said at the time. Dont question my integrity when it comes to those things, OK? I take it very seriously. It is not up to me to make those decisions and those calls. Its up to the doctors, just so you understand that.Rivera hopes Thursdays situation, because it happened on a nationally-televised stage to the league MVP, will spark the league to be more proactive on helmet-to-helmet hits.Hed like to see it eventually lead to officials having the power to review such hits via replay to determine if there was a penalty. He said ultimately it may take suspension to deal with the issue.Again, if thats what were trying to do, is eliminate that and continue to make the game safer, then thats to me the only thing you can do, Rivera said. Thats the next step.As far as that other stuff is concerned, because hes a big guy sometimes they think, Oh, he can take it. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '