Projo Pats Blog

November 2005 Archives

FOXBORO -- Breezy, gray and moist. Those are the conditions here in Kansas City this morning.

Inactive today are Corey Dillon, Kevin Faulk, Matt Light, Billy Yates, Bethel Johnson, David Givens and Dan Klecko.

If you thought the Gillette Stadium field was in bad shape, wait until you get a load of the turf (or lack thereof) at Arrowhead.

FOXBORO - The Patriots were outside for their afternoon practice yesterday. Among the missing from the early portion of the session were right tackle Tom Ashworth, wide receiver David Givens, outside linebacker Willie McGinest and running back Corey Dillon. Patrick Pass wasn't observed either.

Corner Asante Samuel, who suffered a thigh bruise Sunday against the Saints was at practice. So too were Monty Beisel, Logan Mankins and James Sanders.

This was the team's second practice of the week. They worked yesterday (Tuesday) which is their normal day off, likely because Thanksgiving throws a monkey wrench into the week's preparation.

FOXBORO - The Patriots have confirmed that Bill Belichick's father, Steve, died last night.

Steve Belichick, one of the most highly respected football minds of his generation, coached most notably at the Naval Academy. That's where Bill Belichick, an only child, spent his formative years and his father included Bill greatly in his work.

Steve Belichick was 86. He was seen at Patriots training camp in August. It's worth noting that, when trying to leave a large bleacher area, Steve Belichick noticed there were no stairs at that spot so he climbed over the rail and let himself down to the ground.

FOXBORO - Patriots inactives for today are:

Corey Dillon, Kevin Faulk, Monty Beisel, Tom Ashworth, Matt Light, Bethel Johnson and David Givens.

For the Saints, Lance Moore, Anthony Thomas, Joey Thomas, Courtney Watson, Ben Archibald, Rodney Leisle and Ernie Conwell will all be down.

The Patriots will be putting both center Dan Koppen and cornerback Randall Gay on injured reserve ending the seasons of two more key starters in last year's Super Bowl.

Koppen, who injured his shoulder in the second half of Sunday's game in Miami, will be replaced by Russ Hochstein at center. Koppen had made 40 consecutive starts before this bad break -- second highest on the team behind quarterback Tom Brady.

Gay has been battling to return from an ankle injury suffered against the Panthers. The second-year corner has played sparingly while trying to make a go of it in New England's battered secondary.

The team now has two open roster spots and will likely fill them in short order.

Yesterday's New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins game will be the subject of this week's NFL Network Game of the Week airing this Wednesday, at 9 p.m. ET.

More than just a three-minute recap, the series will take fans inside the Patriots/Dolphins game highlighting the outstanding performances and crucial plays. NFL Network Game of the Week focuses on telling the story of the game, not just the statistics.

NFL Network Game of the Week uses NFL Films signature slow-motion cinematography and sideline sound give fans a unique and in-depth perspective of how the game was won.

MIAMI - It was just announced that Corey Dillon has a leg injury and his return is "probable."

Bethel Johnson just left the field under his own power after covering Josh Miller's 59-yard punt.

MIAMI - Defensive lineman Richard Seymour will dress today. How much he'll be used is still unknown.

Tight end Daniel Graham, however, will be out with a shoulder injury.

He's one of three starters out this week along with wide receiver David Givens and right tackle Tom Ashworth.

Also inactive for the Patriots are Marquise Hill, Patrick Pass, Matt Light and Kevin Faulk.

MIAMI - David Givens, Patrick Pass and Tom Ashworth were all left back in New England today and won't play against the Dolphins on Sunday.

Givens and Ashworth are mild surprises. Ashworth will likely be replaced by Brandon Gorin at right tackle. Andre Davis seems a likely candidate to replace Givens in the starting lineup at wide receiver.

Defensive lineman Richard Seymour made the trip, an encouraging sign for him after missing four games.

The Pats raised Billy Yates up from the practice squad for offensive line depth.

The Patriots' depleted defensive secondary got even thinner this morning.

Duane Starks -- whose play has been uneven at best this year, leading to his second-half benching on Monday night against the Colts -- was placed on the injured-reserve list, meaning he's out for the rest of the season. The Pats did not immediately replace him on the roster, but they will add a player before Sunday's game at Miami.

The Patriots said Starks has a shoulder injury.

He is the fifth New England defensive back to be placed on injured reserve. The others are Rodney Harrison, Tyrone Poole, Chad Scott and Guss Scott.

FOXBORO -- The following players are out for Sunday's game at Miami: Kevin Faulk (RB), foot; Matt Light (OT) ankle.

These players are questionable: Tom Ashworth (OT) knee; Troy Brown (wr) knee; Corey Dillon (RB) ankle; Tim Dwight (WR) rib; Randall Gay (CB) ankle; David Givens (WR) knee; Daniel Graham (TE) shoulder; Jarvis Green (DE) shoulder; Marquise Hill (DE) ankle; Ellis Hobbs (CB) thigh; Patrick Pass (FB) hamstring; James Sanders (S) ankle; Richard Seymour (DE) knee; Duane Starks (CB) shoulder/thigh; Ty Warren (DE) hip. Tom Brady is probable with a sore right shoulder.

FOXBORO - Duane Starks was not at the early portion of Patriots practice today.

The embattled corner was benched for the second half of Monday night's loss to the Colts.

Also missing from the early portion of practice were Kevin Faulk, Patrick Pass, Tom Ashworth, Matt Light, Dan Graham, David Givens, Richard Seymour, Ty Warren and Randall Gay.

Safety James Sanders was on the field.

Injured Patriots safety Rodney Harrison today called suspended Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens a ''selfish jerk'', and said he wouldn't have him on his team under any circumstances.

''Oh, no way,'' Harrison responded when asked on WEEI Radio's Dale and Holly Show if Owens would fit in on the Patriots. ''He's a selfish guy, all about himself . . . He certainly should have been out of the league last year when he was such a distraction.''

Owens' me-first mentality has been evident since his earliest days with the 49ers, but he's taken it to another level this season. After a series of incidents that stemmed from Owens' anger that the Eagles wouldn't renegotiate the seven-year, $49 million contract he signed last year, the team suspended him for last Sunday's game and then announced it would suspend him for the next three games. After that, the team said it wouldn't activate him for the last four games.

''If I was a [general manager] and he wanted to play for the league minimum, I wouldn't let him,'' he said. ''He's a selfish jerk. All he thinks about is money and himself.

''I don't respect that,'' Harrison continued. ''He's such a distraction. Even when he played last year, he didn't win the Super Bowl for them. What is he crying about?

''He has a total disrespect, lack of respect for the players, coaches and fans.''

FOXBORO - Mike Cloud will wear No. 34 tonight and have a role, it would seem.

The Pats are dressing just Corey Dillon and Cloud along with newly acquired fullback Heath Evans.

FOXBORO -- Richard Seymour will sit tonight but running back Corey Dillon, who turned in a terrific performance last week against the Bills will be in the lineup for New England.

Also inactive for the Pats along with Seymour are wide receiver ANdre Davis, fullback Patrick Pass, safety James Sanders and defensive lineman Dan Klecko.

Chad Brown, who was inactive last week, will have a role tonight. Watch for him.

Linebacker Don Davis is working with the defensive backs tonight in warmups.

FOXBORO -- Look for Randall Gay to play tonight and don't be surprised if the team plugs him at safety. The second-year corner has been plagued by an ankle injury since the second game of the year.

He played briefly against the Broncos but was out last week. Tonight, with the flammable Colts in town, the team will want to get as many competent cover guys on the field as it can and the idea of using Gay at safety where he can backbone coverages along with Eugene Wilson makes sense.

FOXBORO - One player is on the field at the moment. Long-snapper Monie Paxton is examining a very, very barren looking middle of the field as the countdown to game-time between the Colts and Patriots wanes.

****

The middle of the field looks just awful tonight. Outside the numbers, the grass is green and good looking. Down the middle of the field, the grass looks like mid-August brown and it appears close to the bone.

There was a soccer game here last night but the preciseness of the worn grass and the fact that it stops at the end zones leads one to believe there was some tweaking done.

Would that be beyond the pale? Please. The Pats have a history of monkeying with the field to get its conditions favorable for their guys. Call it the Gillette Stadium home field edge. Charlie Weis brought the tradition with him to Notre Dame. When the Irish hosted USC last month, the grass looked like U.S. Open rough to slow down the rapid Trojans.

Portsmouth's Mike Cloud is back with the Patriots.

The Pats -- woefully thin at running back, what with Corey Dillon playing at less than full strength and Patrick Pass hobbled by a hamstring pull -- signed Cloud on Friday. To make room on the roster, they released, at least temporarily, safety Arturo Freeman.

Cloud played for the Pats in 2003 and gained 118 yards on 27 carries, an average of 4.4 yards per rush. He missed the first four games of the season because of an NFL suspension for steroid use, then made a spectacular debut in Game Five against the Titans: Seven carries, 73 yards, two touchdowns. That would prove to be the highlight of his New England career. He gained only 45 more yards on 20 carries spread over four games, and was inactive for 7 of the last 10 regular-season games and all three playoff games.

He made it to the last cut in 2004, but was released after the final exhibition game. He hooked on with the Giants and rushed for 91 yards on 20 carries over 10 games.

FOXBORO - Chad Brown addressed the fact he was deactivated for Sunday night's game with the Bills.

"I wasn’t informed until right before the game but I knew we had some injuries and guys were on the bubble whether they’d play or not so it comes down to a numbers thing. I don’t think anybody’s happy about being deactivated but as I said many times I come here with no ego. If that’s the role I need to take, that’s the role I need to take."

Patrick Pass on fumbling the ball against the Bills after his hamstring gave out: "(For anyone who wants to criticize him for dropping the ball) tell them to carry something in their hand and have someone hit them in the back of the leg real, real hard. That (expletive) hurts."

Corey Dillon on his 18-carry, 72-yard performance against the Bills: "In situations like that, you're unsure how you'll perform but once I got out there, believe me ... I've been doing this I was six years old. This is nothing. This is what I do, what I get paid to do. In that situation I just had to tough it out, block out the pain and do the best I could. Playing with pain is nothing new. I've played with worse injuries than I have now."

Matt Light was in the locker room without a cast on his broken right leg.

FOXBORO - With Peyton Manning and Tom Brady both on the cover of SI this week (see entry from earlier today, we followed up with a question on who's been on the cover more times.

They are tied at six. Brady's been on the front on April 15, 2002; February 9, 2004; September 6, 2004; October 18, 2004; February 7, 2005 and this week.

Manning was first on the cover while at Tennessee, August 26, 1996. After that, he was on September 22, 1997; November 22, 1999; December 22, 2003; December 20, 2004 and this week.

FOXBORO - Richard Seymour was one of six Patriots absent from the early portion of practice yesterday.

Also missing from the start of the 12:45 p.m. workout were running back Corey Dillon, running back Patrick Pass, safety James Sanders and defensive end Ty Warren.

Corner Randall Gay, receiver Troy Brown and defensive end Willie McGinest were all at practice.

Newly acquired fullback Heath Evans was the only running back at the early portion of practice.

Check out the e-mail I got this morning from an online sportsbook about them supposedly wooing Theo Epstein to be an on-staff advisor.

Never mind that Epstein will probably never even know his name was used in connection with something that could get him banned from the game, the slimy (but crafty) way the PR people who crafted this statement make it sound like negotiations are ongoing.

Troubling.

Here's the e-mail "press release".

(HEADLINE)
THEO EPSTEIN OFFERED INTERNET GAMING GIG
(sunhed)
Ex-Red Sox GM Being Courted by Online Sportsbook Nine.com; Package Could Include Housing, Transportation and Salary Comparable to Billy Beane’s

November 2, 2005 New York – When Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein walks out the door at Fenway park later this week, he could be beating a path for south of the border to lush Costa Rica. Internet gaming company Nine.com (www.Nine.com) extended an offer to Epstein following revelations that he was leaving the venerable sports club after a breakdown in salary negotiations.

Costa Rican-based Nine.com – an online sportsbook, casino and poker site with a considerable North American based clientele – extended a preliminary offer to Epstein to lead their baseball betting and analysis division. Betting on baseball games is one of the largest summer revenue streams for Nine.com and warrants a person such as Mr. Epstein who can provide invaluable match up insight to Nine.com players. He will be available to Nine.com players via email and live chat to offer his expert advice at no charge.

Nine.com is one of the world’s largest online entertainment and gaming sites, providing a full range of gaming options from gambling to music downloads, sports information and lifestyle articles.

“We believe Mr Epstein's insights into the sport, as well as his statistical analysis expertise, and risk taking management style is a good fit for nine.com,” said Nine.com president Robert Evans. “Also, working for Nine.com in beautiful Costa Rica is an excellent way to decide his next career move.”

Although Epstein stated his intention to take a year off from working, executives at Nine.com encouraged him to spend that year at their base of operations in Costa Rica.. Nine.com offered housing, transportation as well as a salary package comparable to what the Red Sox offered Billy Bean in 2002 – a sore spot for Epstein in his present salary negotiations with Red Sox president, Larry Lucchino.

This week's SI is a sort-of keepsake. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will be on the cover with the billing: “The Duel…Best Two Quarterbacks in the Game…Who Will Win?”

The story is written by Mike Silver. For once, this Silver story doesn't begin in a bar or restaurant with the protagonist picking at his pesto pasta while ruminating on what it's like to be...blah, blah, blah....

Here's a few excerpts from the Monday press conference of Colts coach Tony Dungy as his team preps for the Patriots on Monday night.

"I saw (the Patriots) play on Sunday and they demonstrated a lot of what makes them champions-the ability to come back and win down the stretch when things didn't really appear they were going their way. But that's what they do and they do it really well."

(ON THE COLTS' TRADITIONAL STRUGGLES AGAINST N.E.)

"I guess you can't ignore it because it is history, but it's not going to have an affect on what happens in this game. We'll look at the games and obviously study them and learn from them and see the things that they did to attack us and vice versa, but it really won't have an impact. A lot of the people aren't even playing. People that were here in the game that we lost here (in 2003), there's probably only about 15 guys that are still here on our team."

(ON THE COLTS WANTING TO "PERFORM")
"You have to channel it the right way. People that win big games are people that can function in a pressurized environment and do the same things that they do in a training camp practice, and that's what we have not done against New England in the past. We've gone up there and false-started on the first play of the game when we haven't had a penalty in four or five weeks. We've done those kind of things, which you can't do, because it's hard enough to beat a good team when you do everything right. A lot of it is understanding the moment and playing in big games and playing with a relaxed attitude knowing that you have to play well, but you still have to play relaxed."

(ON WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN)

"It would probably do more from an outside standpoint. I think it helped us when we beat Tennessee a few years ago. That helped our guys with some confidence, but I don't think we're at a point where we need a confidence builder right now. We've played a lot of big games and we've played against good teams, and it's one game in the middle of the season. Last year when we went up there, it was opening day and we pretty much knew that if we didn't win the game, we were going to have a tough time getting home-field advantage from those guys. That may or may not be true this time around, so it's a big game from a standings standpoint. For us, it will let us stay three games ahead in our division at the halfway point if we win it. It will do a lot from a standings standpoint, and I think that's more important to us right now than any symbolism that's going to come out of it."

(ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GAME)
"Who knows how this is going to play out? This is Week 8 and we have to feel like we'll see them again somewhere down the line. Really for us, it's a big game in that it's going to be on Monday night, it's against the defending Super Bowl champions, but it's still Week 8 and it's still one game. If we win the game, we certainly don't want to feel like all of a sudden we've arrived or we beat the New England Patriots so our season's over, we can just wait for the playoffs. That will get us in trouble."

(ON TOM BRADY)

"It's the same. He's playing very well. He's actually having to carry the team a little bit more. They've been in situations where they've been behind a little bit more than the last couple of years. Their running backs have been out, so he's actually thrown more. He's doing an excellent job as usual."

(ON HYPE)

"It's going to be big hype because of what's happened in the playoff games that last couple of years and the fact that we're undefeated and Monday Night, there are a lot of story lines, and Tedy Bruschi coming back, all of which I think is good for the game. But what we have to do is focus in on what's really important, that's just preparing for the Patriots like we would anyone else and getting ready for this game and treating it like a big game, but not a monumental, winner-take-all, do-or-die game. I think we've been pretty good at that so far this year, and hopefully that will continue."