FOXBORO — Adalius Thomas was not at the media portion of Patriots practice on Friday morning at Gillette Stadium. It was the second straight day the linebacker missed practice. He was not present on Thursday, although the team said the absence was not injury-related. Fred Taylor also missed practice on Friday, one day after reportedly having ankle surgery. Taylor reportedly suffered the injury late in Sunday's win over Baltimore. For more, visit the football blog, It Is What It Is. 

ESPN's Adam Schefter returned to the WEEI airwaves Friday morning on the Dennis & Callahan show and talked about a number of NFL-related issues. Schefter indicated that things might soon get even worse for Eric Mangini, who is in his first year as coach of the winless Browns. Schefter said he expects Mangini will survive the season but might not return for Year 2 of his four-year contract.

"Their season is going to be so abysmal, and they're going to hit so many bumps in the road, and so many things are going to come out," Schefter said, implying that more Mangini mayhem might soon be divulged. "That heat and pressure is only going to intensify to the point where it may be difficult for Eric Mangini to go into next year [as Browns coach]."

Schefter also talked about another former Patriots assistant, Josh McDaniels, whose Broncos await the Patriots on Sunday.

"I don'...