New England Patriots Inside Slant

Tom Brady's comments following last week's loss to Miami regarding his teammates' perceived inability to fight hard when the chips are down raised a few eyebrows.

Three days later, the latest rumblings from Foxboro now have fans wondering if the Patriots are becoming less and less tolerant of insubordination and overall malaise.

Head coach Bill Belichick sent four players (Adalius Thomas, Randy Moss, Derrick Burgess and Gary Guyton) home Wednesday after they arrived late for an 8 a.m. meeting citing problems with the wintry weather conditions.

Other Patriots suggest this is just part of Belichick's normal routine -- break the rules and pay the price -- but the timing is curious. Coming off back-to-back losses for just the second time in nearly five years, perhaps the Patriots need a swift kick in the behind as they prepare to host the Carolina Panthers.

"I think (the law) would've been laid down at any time of the year, regardless of whether we lost. That's not acceptable here," linebacker Tully Banta-Cain told the Boston Globe. "That's Bill's deal, and I think in general, everyone's sense of urgency is a little higher now. We're in that part of the season where it's a four-game season.

"The antennas are way up. I think if anything it just brings the sense of urgency up even higher."

The most insulting part of Wednesday's development is the fact Brady managed to show up on time despite not getting much sleep after his wife, Giselle Bunchden, gave birth to Brady's second son the night before.

"I've got to do my job," Brady said. "I've got plenty of things to do. Like I said, I've got to show up every day and bring whatever I have -- the energy and the leadership that I have -- to this team, because that's what all those guys (do). That's what our job is."

The Patriots need all the help they can get following back-to-back losses, most recently in Miami where they scored just seven points in the second half of a 22-21 loss. The passing game is off and the defense has been unable to make key stops down the stretch. No wonder Brady made it a priority to show up on time Wednesday.

"It's really a normal week for me in that sense," he said. "Had a lot of good work done Monday and we came in as a team and did a bunch of work. I had stuff to do yesterday here, so it's part of what we do."

The rest of the team might need to follow Brady's lead in order to avoid Belichick's wrath.

"I think every team in the league -- every year -- goes through adversity in different forms," Belichick said. "That's part of competition. Not every play is a touchdown. Not every play is a sack. Not every play is an interception. There're going to be plays that people get against us. Within the game, within the season, when you start playing football in August and play through December, January, whatever it is, not everything is going to go perfect. Every team has to deal with that. Certainly we're one of those."

SERIES HISTORY: 4th regular-season meeting. Panthers lead series 2-1. That record does not include New England's 32-29 victory in Super Bowl XXXVIII. The Patriots lost the only meeting in Foxboro in 1995, but avenged the loss in Carolina in 2002. The last meeting between the Panthers and Patriots was in 2005 when Carolina coasted to a 27-17 win.