Pats release Iwuoma & Barthelmes
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October 2006 ArchivesOctober 31
New England waived special teamer/corner Chidi Iwuoma and rookie offensive lineman Brian Barthelmes today. Iwuoma, cut by the Steelers early in the season and signed by the Pats on Oct. 4, played in three games and made two special teams tackles. Barthelmes, signed as an undrafted rookie free agent and then cut during training camp, was re-signed to New England's practice squad last Wednesday. The move puts the Patriots at 52 players on the 53-man roster, and one under the scout team limit of eight. shalise 
Tully Banta-Cain Jr. was born sometime Monday, while his dad was nearly 1,400 miles away in Minneapolis. The Patriots linebacker was seen leaving the Metrodome after the game last night with team owner Robert Kraft and president Jonathan Kraft, presumably to fly back to New England with them and be with his new son and girlfriend Bridget Hernandez as quickly as possible. Hernandez, a Rhode Island native, had a due date of late last week. shalise
October 30
NFL.com reported tonight that Bill Belichick's older son, Stephen, had been arrested and charged with marijuana possession. Stephen Belichick, who is a prep student at Northfield-Mt. Hermon and is committed to play lacrosse at Rutgers next year, was given six months probation, after which time the charges will be dismissed if he stays out of trouble.
We received the inactives list and Richard Seymour is not on it, meaning he will more than likely play. Surprisingly, neither third-year Marquise Hill nor rookie LeKevin Smith was activeated as a just-in-case measure. The rest of the inactives: NEW ENGLAND With both Neal and his usual backup, Hochstein, out, Billy Yates got his first career start, at right guard. Artrell Hawkins started in Wilson's place, and Dave Thomas started in place of Graham. MINNESOTA shalise
Hey again -- When we arrived here we learned that the Vikings are honoring Warren Moon tonight, inducting the Pro Hall of Famer into their own Hall of Fame. Moon was enshrined in Canton earlier this year. On the field, the usual warmups are taking place. As mentioned, Richard Seymour is warming up. Tom Brady is throwing some passes, offensive linemen Ryan O'Callaghan, Matt Light and Logan Mankins are chatting in the middle of the field, Lonie Paxton, Josh Miller and Stephen Gostkowski are doing some practice kicks (and Miller just punted a ball through the uprights), Mike Vrabel, Doug Gabriel, Chad Jackson and Laurence Maroney are catching passes in the corner of the end zone. Ben Watson is chatting with former teammate Bethel Johnson, who is now with the Vikes. The ESPN Monday Night Football crew has its set in one corner of the field; they must be getting ready for something because Tom "Belichick's players hate him" Jackson, Michael "I might be the worst athlete-turned-"reporter" ever" Irvin, Steve Young and Chris Berman are all on set. shalise
Hey all -- Injured defensive lineman Richard Seymour is on the field warming up for New England, his black brace on is left elbow outside of his long-sleeved shirt. It may all be a ruse, a clever charade to mislead the Vikings, but time will tell. It was indicated to me by someone within the team last week that Seymour would play. Coming into the Metrodome through the revolving door into the stadium brought me back to my days at Syracuse and going through the revolving doors into the Carrier Dome for football and basketball games. Back then, with Donovan McNabb and Marvin Harrison and Donovin Darius, we were actually pretty good. shalise
October 29
Hey all -- Reporting from beautiful Bloomington, Minn., a stone's throw from the Mall of America. The Pats' crack PR guy, Stacey James, called me -- actually, my voicemail -- while I was in the air here to inform that four players were left home in advance of tomorrow's game: TE Daniel Graham (ankle) We'll be back as game time approaches. shalise
Kevin Faulk (ankle) has been upgraded to probable for Monday's game with the Vikings.
October 26
Hey all -- Richard Seymour was at pracitce once again for the media access portion (stretching); though he was wearing long sleeves, you could see bumpiness and bulkiness under his left sleeve, so he was still wearing his elbow brace. The only players not spotted were CB Antwain Spann and G/C Russ Hochstein. Bill Belichick, who is normally on the field for stretching, walked onto the field just as the team broke into individual groups. As media were walking off the field, loud music began playing to simulate the atmosphere in the Metrodome. shalise
Richard Seymour spoke to the media, and said he hopes to play Sunday. He said he didn't like to look at the play that led to his injured left elbow on video because it was "gruesome." After undergoing x-rays at the stadium in Buffalo on Sunday, Seymour had an MRI on Monday but was not specfic about what exactly was wrong with his elbow. Echoing his coach, he said he's taking it day by day. "I haven't gone full-speed yet to test it yet," he said. "I'm still feeling my way through it."
Hey all -- Bill Belichick's morning press conference began with the coach saying his team was working on third down, two-minute, situational and second-and-long situations today. He said again that he was glad to have an extra day to prepare for the Vikings, and "if we weren't playing them, they'd be fun to watch." He spoke about the two-minute drill, which the Patriots haven't had to use too often this season, and Belichick hopes they don't have to revert to at the end of the Minnesota game. Belichick also touched on the challenges of facing head coaches in the first year with their team, the size of the Minnesota offensive line, and the significance of Troy Brown passing Stanley Morgan ("We're not big into individual records, but that being said, it's still pretty impressive. It's a pretty substantial accomplishment."). He also said Patrick Pass is "getting closer" to being back on the field, but that the decision of whether to take the back off the PUP list will take into consideration what's best for Pass and the team. Richard Seymour's reaction to practice yesterday with a sleeve on his left elbow was "good. He's day to day." Eugene Wilson and his sore hamstring were also termed the same -- day to day. shalise
Hey all -- When we arrived at Gillette Stadium this morning, there were four big flat-bed trucks in front of the stadium and a sizeable mound of soil. The sod has arrived. Which should make Bill Polian happy. New England is replacing the "grass" between the hash marks before its Sunday night showdown with Indianapolis. Polian, the Colts' general manager, reportedly complained to the league about the state of the field in Foxboro, and the Pats shot back by requesting that the NFL protect its personnel during the game, referencing Polian's shove of a Jets team official a few weeks ago. In his morning press conference, Bill Belichick said he was "all for it" when asked about the new grass. "I hope it improves the field... whatever they think will help," he said. shalise
October 25
The Patriots filled the practice squad spot left open by Billy Yates' elevation to the 53-man roster, signing undrafted rookie center Brian Barthelmes. The 23-year old Bathelmes was signed by New England as an undrafted free agent last May; he was cut on August 29 after playing in the first three preseason games. He is 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds and played collegiately at Virginia, which is coached by former Bill Belichick assistant Al Groh. The practice squad is now back to its limit of eight players.
The injury report was just released. The following players are listed as questionable: Don Davis (lower leg), Kevin Faulk (ankle), Daniel Graham (ankle), Ellis Hobbs (wrist), Russ Hochstein (knee), Nick Kaczur (shoulder), Richard Seymour (elbow), Stephen Neal (shoulder), Ty Warren (shoulder) and Eugene Wilson (hamstring).
Richard Seymour participated in practice today. He injured his left elbow late in the first half against the Bills and missed the remainder of the game on Sunday. After the game he said he was hoping to be ready for Minnesota on Monday. “He’s day-to-day, just like everybody else,” said Bill Belichick this morning. “Just like Brady, he’s day-to-day. Just like me, I’m day-to-day.”
October 24
Patriots rookie Laurence Maroney was named AFC Special Teams player of the week for week 7. Maroney's dazzling 74-yard kickoff return in the first quarter against Buffalo was the longest kickoff return in the week in the AFC and the longest non-touchdown scoring return in the NFL this season. Maroney leads all rookie kickoff returners, with an average of 27.9 yards; that mark is third in the league. This is the second time this season the former Minnesota standout has been honored -- after the Cincinnati game, when he gained 125 yards rushing and had two TDs, Maroney was named Diet Pepsi rookie of the week.
October 23
Hey all -- Just in from the locker room, where you would have thought the Pats lost yesterday. There were hardly any players in there, though we found out that most of them were in a "life skills" seminar. Tedy Bruschi spoke on a lot of topics, from New England's red zone defense -- an interesting subject given that teams have only ventured there seven times in six games -- to the difficulties in preparing for a team like Minnesota that the Pats are so unfamiliar with, to the play of defensive back Chad Scott. Jarvis Green touched on his growth as a player, and how comfortable he feels now. If Richard Seymour can't play next Monday, Green would be the one to get the start. But while Green came into the league as a defensive end, he said he prefers playing at tackle now, and it's a measure of pride for him that his sacks this season have come while playing inside rather than on the outside of the line. Tebucky Jones spoke for a couple of minutes; he was in Foxboro for one of his rehab sessions, but is commuting from his home in Connecticut. Jones was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Sept. 2 with an injury to his right leg. During Bill Belichick's press conference, he said again that yesterday was a good win on the road for the Patriots. Looking forward to next Monday's game in Minnesota, he noted that the team will need a great deal of preparation -- not only are the Vikings a good team, they are also an unfamiliar team for New England. Belichick said there are some similarities -- "they're in the same family, cousins, maybe" -- between the defensive schemes New England saw against Buffalo yesterday and those they'll see in their upcoming games with the Vikings and Colts. He spoke of the improvement of Junior Seau, saying the veteran has gotten better every week. As for Richard Seymour's left elbow, which he injured yesterday, Belichick wasn't talking, and wouldn't even confirm whether the Pro Bowler had further tests done on it today, as Seymour himself had indicated yesterday after the game. Belichick was asked about a situation at the end of the Eagles/Falcons game yesterday, and he related a story about a game over 20 years ago when the Giants played the Lions on Thanksgiving Day. Lawrence Taylor had gotten an interception and started racing downfield. Though there was no Detroit player around him for at least 50 yards, Taylor looked over his shoulder and saw a shadow and believed it belonged to a Lions player. But "he was running from his own shadow," Belichick said with a smile. shalise
October 22
For New England: Antwain Spann, Garrett Mills, Pierre Woods, Russ Hochstein, Nick Kaczur, Daniel Graham, Le Kevin Smith and Marquise Hill. Heath Evans will start at fullback in place of Graham. The Pats have also added Billy Yates to their active roster. For Buffalo: Ashton Youboty, Shaud Williams, Matt Bowen, Brad Butler, Tutan Reyes, Eric Powell, Jason Jefferson and Craig Nall. Aaron Merz will start at left guard in place of Reyes.
October 20
The Patriots are packing their bags and on their way to Buffalo. The locker room was a very energetic place today with many of the players goofing around. Not having a game in 12 days will make a room a little jittery. Turns out rookie kicker Stephen Gostkowski is a big hockey fan and he attended the Bruins game on Thursday night. Ironically, with the Pats playing the Bills on Sunday, he said the Sabres have always been his favorite hockey team. He said he had a good time at the B's game and sat only a few rows off the ice.
Hey all -- Just in from the fieldhouse; due to the light rain practice was held indoors today. There were no changes from yesterday's practice -- G/C Russ Hochstein was the only player not spotted. Media were present for stretching and some kickoff return work; the players were in shells and pants/shorts. shalise
Sunday's game can't come fast enough. Like I said, can't wait for Sunday's game.
October 19
Hey all -- It looks like the Boston Rebels will face the N.Y. Dukes in "the Championship." Filming inside the stadium today for "The Game Plan" is centered around "the Championship," the 33rd of whatever league it will be called, and is supposed to be in Arizona, though today in Foxboro the weather is nothing like typical Arizona weather -- it's very overcast, breezy and cool. We saw crowd extras filing into the stadium, half of them in Rebels' red and half in Dukes blue. shalise
Practice today was much the same as it was yesterday -- G/C Russ Hochstein was the only player not present for the media portion. DL Ty Warren did not have on the red no-contact jersey as he did on Wednesday. shalise
Hey all -- We are just in from the locker room, which was preceded by Bill Belichick's daily discussion. The discussion today was brief, but this time it was because there weren't a whole lot of questions to be asked -- there was no game last week to talk about and nearly every angle with Buffalo has been exhausted -- sparing Pats PR guy Stacey James the need to make his "last question" call. Belichick talked about Buffalo's third-down package, which often involves four wide receivers, and he also talked about Lee Evans, who has emerged as the Bills' top wideout. Evans was held to just two catches for 25 yards in the season opener against New England, when Ellis Hobbs shadowed him for much of the day. But Evans has averaged 8 catches for 93.7 yards over Buffalo's last four games. In the locker room, Junior Seau drew a large media crowd, and Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney talked about veteran Troy Brown's influence on them since arriving in Foxboro. We're off to practice. shalise
October 18
Hey all -- The first injury report of the week is out. PATRIOTS Questionable: TE Daniel Graham (ankle), CB Ellis Hobbs (wrist), T Nick Kaczur (shoulder), S Eugene Wilson (hamstring), G Russ Hochstein (knee) Probable: CB Willie Andrews (thigh), QB Tom Brady, CB Antwain Spann (shoulder) All together now: All but Brady were reported to have missed at least a portion of practice. There are several changes to this list from the last time New England played: for the first time this year, Chad Jackson is not on the list. Artrell Hawkins and Ryan O'Callaghan were also removed. Hochstein injured his knee in practice last Tuesday and has not been spotted on the field since. BUFFALO Questionable: S Matt Bowen (shin), C Melvin Fowler (thigh), WR Roscoe Parrish (hamstring), G Tutan Reyes (shoulder). All but Bowen reportedly missed at least a portion of practice. shalise
Hey all -- Wednesdays are always busy here at Gillette, with Bill Belichick's press conference, Tom Brady's weekly press conference, the conference calls with Buffalo coach Dick Jauron and receiver Lee Evans, as well as open locker room. Belichick reiterated that Buffalo is a dangerous team despite its 2-4 record and that New England clearly had its troubles with the Bills in the season opener. He said the team's open roster spot probably wouldn't be filled today and that the team has a couple of options it is looking into before it makes that move. The coach was asked if anyone in the organization had discussions with Oakland yesterday about trading for either Randy Moss or Jerry Porter; Belichick said he doesn't know what everyone else was doing because he was watching film to prepare for the Bills. He was asked further if he'd have input on a decision like that, and Belichick said, "well, I didn't say that." And he wouldn't comment on whether he even wanted Moss or Porter because it would constitute tampering. With two offensive coordinators getting the pink slip yesterday -- Baltimore's Jim Fassel and Arizona's Keith Rowen -- Belichick was asked what it would take for him to fire a coordinator in mid-season and if a head coach can lose a locker room if he fires a respected coordinator. Belichick said he didn't know what it would take for him to make such a decision mid-season, and "I hope to never be in that situation." He added that head coaches makes decisions every day and not every one is the right one. As for Brady, he talked about the first Buffalo game, particularly the first play of the game, when he was strip-sacked by Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher-Baker scooped up the ball and scored a touchdown. "I waked off the field saying that's a hell of a way to start the sweason," Brady said. "I've watched that play 30 times over last six weeks, and even again today. It was a poor decision on my part and have to be more away of our protection." Brady laughed when he was told that in a recent Sports Illustrated poll of NFL players, he received one vote as the "diritest player in the league." He was the only quarterback to garner a vote. "I don't know who I (ticked) off. Dirty? I don't even get to touch anyone out there. I don't know what they're talking about. It must be a Jet or a Dolphin or something like that that hates me," he said. For the record, Rodney Harrison won by a landslide, getting 23 percent of the votes. Pittsburgh's Joey Porter and Philly's Jon Runyan were second, with 6 percent. The poll of 361 players was taken in the preseason. In the locker room, Harrison, Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, Rosevelt Colvin and Ellis Hobbs all drew substantial media crowds, as they all generally do; Dan Koppen and Matt Light also were popular with the microphone-and-camera types. shalise
Hey all -- Practice today was a well-attended affair... tackle Nick Kaczur was back on the field for the first time in a couple of weeks, with guard/center Russ Hochstein was the lone absentee. Defensive lineman Ty Warren was in a red no-contact jersey, and practice squad O-lineman Billy Yates was in the black jersey, signifying that he was the practice player of the week for the week leading up to the Miami game. The players were in full pads, and media was on the field for stretching and a couple of drills. Stretching was entertaining because there was music on the field for the first time in some weeks. The soundtrack included some older R&B and Corey Dillon, Rosevelt Colvin and a couple other players were all spotted dancing. We'll be back with more in a minute. shalise
October 16
The Patriots' Dan Koppen, 27, who signed a five-year contract extension last Thursday spoke moments ago about the deal. "It's was a pretty good bye week," he said with a huge smile. "I went down to Charlotte and had a pretty good time with a buddy, nothing other than that happened so I don't know why you guys are here." On a serious note: Most of his teammates congratulated him on his deal reportedly worth between $19 and $20 million. Koppen would have been a free agent at the end of this season. "When talks started happening again, it's in the back of your mind," he said. "It doesn't effect you on the field, but when you get home you start thinking about it. I'm glad it's over, and I'm glad everything worked out. We can move on from here and worry about the season." He was instructed by his fellow offensive linemen that he owes them dinner.
Hey all -- Just in from practice, and despite the players having a few days off to rest and recuperate, there were two men missing -- offensive linemen Russ Hochstein and Nick Kaczur. Kaczur has struggled all season with a shoulder injury, but Hochstein is a recent addition. He missed practice last Wednesday for the first time this season. On a different note, it looks like the Boston Rebels will play *all* of their games at Gillette. The Rebels are the fictional team depicted in the movie "The Game Plan" which has been filming at the stadium for the past week. Coming into the stadium today, we noticed that the ring of pads at field level have been painted blue and yellow with some red remaining and the team name in the end zone is being changed as well, though we can't tell what it is yet. shalise
According to NESN, the Patriots will install a new synthetic field at Gillette Stadium. The natural-grass surface here as taken a beaten over the last seven weeks with football, soccer and concert events. Coach Bill Belichick was asked about the sub-par condition of the field last week and here's what he had to say: Q: Your opponents expressed some displeasure over the condition of the field, even some of your own players. BB: It’s terrible. Yes, it's terrible. Q: Is there anything that can be done about that between now and your next home game? BB: I don't know. The field is in terrible condition. I don't think anybody in this organization is happy about it or thinks it’s in good condition. We’ll see what we can do about it. I can’t tell you exactly what that is. That’s the best I can do. Q: Would playing on FieldTurf ever be a consideration? BB: I don't know. We'll see what the options are and see what we can do. I don’t know. It’s October. It’s not like it’s peak growing season here in New England. There’s no question about it. All that being said, Jon Bengston, who does our field, I think does a tremendous job. He works hard. Our practice fields, we go out there and practice on those fields twice a day in training camp. He’s done a tremendous job with them and they’ve held up great. We’ll see what we can do. After yesterday's practice, New England punter Josh Miller was asked what he thought if the natural grass was replaced by the fake stuff. "If they do," he said, "kickers have no excuses." What do most guys prefer?
Today is interesting without a game to discuss. The NFL trade deadline is upon us and Belichick wasn't forthcoming when asked about any possible transactions (Why would he be?). He did say anytime a deadline approaches, teams are always in communication. His standard line, and he said it again this morning, is "anytime we have a chance to improve our team, we'll look at it." He was asked if he anticipates any moves today and said "I have no idea." So, don't be surprised if the Pats pull something off. After narrowly beating the Bills in the season-opener, 19-17, New England feels it has made improvements in every area and Belichick said today the squad is more focused. Late last week the Pats signed wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, and heading into a bye week was the perfect time for his arrival on campus. Belichick called it good timing, especially with the weekend off, allowing the newcomer to get acclimated with the team's systems. Starting today Gaffney, along with the rest of the team, will be able to prepare for the Bills like it normally would.
October 11
Hey all -- That's what it was like in the locker room today. The guys that were getting ready to board planes, mostly the younger ones, couldn't get out of Gillette fast enough. For the older and injured players, they stick around because this is where their home is now, the kids go to school, and for injured guys, where they have to get treatment. Rodney Harrison, Heath Evans, Richard Seymour and Jabar Gaffney all drew big media crowds, though lots of other players were doing interviews as well. Evans has become the flavor of the week with the media in general because of his first career touchdown against Miami, but he's really just a great guy to talk to. Actually, Evans is this week's Who I Am feature, which will be running on Sunday. We'll have a feature on what it's like to be in a goal-line situation from both offensive and defensive players for tomorrow's ProJo and then we -- like the Pats -- are taking a couple of days off. As always, we'll keep you posted if there's news to share. shalise
Just had it brought to my attention that I said Belichick explained why they signed the new punter and then didn't elaborate on what he said. Belichick was asked if the signing -- former Arizona punter Danny Baugher -- was to take some of the pracitce workload off Josh Miller's leg since Miller is now 36 years old. But Belichick said it's not like Miller has a heavy workload during the regular season since the team practices 2 1/2 times a week. "I don't think the practice load is that demanding, but you always want to look at players at different positions and we went into training camp with only one punter, and a little bit of our thinking in training camp was after we saw some of these young kids during the exhibition season and see how they did then I think we'll take a look at one on practice squad and we looked at a number of them and felt like this was a good time, guys come in see how they punt this time of year. Just kind of keeping the depth we can for our team look at players we think might have an opportunity at some point to give us depth." shalise
Hey all -- Just in from the practice field. Things were understandably upbeat, with now just hours until the players get their first time off of consequence since training camp began. Nick Kaczur and Russ Hochstein were not spotted on the field during media access, which today lasted more than 20 minutes. Hochstein, best as I can recall, has not missed any practice since the season began; Kaczur has struggled to come back from a shoulder injury. shalise
Hey all -- It's an interesting day here at Gillette. Filming for "The Game Plan" has begun on the field, and one of the "visiting" players in a white and blue uniform just wandered into the media workroom to use the bathroom. Bill Belichick was back in his grey hoodie when he came to the podium, though he once again he addressed his admiration for Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa. With a few days until we see him again, Belichick didn't have an opening statement and just opened the floor to whatever questions there might be. They ranged from the evolution of the fullback to Heath Evans, who is himself a bit of a hybrid, to what it's like for Troy Brown in the meeting rooms and practice field on a week-to-week basis, to why New England signed a punter to the practice squad. shalise
October 10
Former Pats wideout Bethel Johnson today signed with the Minnesota Vikings. Johnson was cut by New Orleans before the start of the regular season after being traded to the Saints in the deal that brought freshly-waived defensive lineman Johnathan Sullivan to New England. shalise
Hey all -- With just one more day until they get their long weekend, the locker room atmosphere was pretty upbeat today. New receiver Jabar Gaffney was welcomed by the media. He said his wife was more excited than he was about being signed by New England because Tom Brady is her favorite quarterback. Wait until she finds out that Gaffney's locker is right next to Brady's... Gaffney said the Patriots were the first team that he worked out for since getting cut by the Eagles five weeks ago. Asked to classify what type of receiver he is, he said he's just a "hard worker, willing to do whatever to win." Richard Seymour, who was not on the field for the media access portion of practice, walked through the locker room with his pads and cleats on. Tedy Bruschi, Rosevelt Colvin and Rodney Harrison all drew large crowds. Colvin talked about the work he'll be doing around his house during the time off, which includes converting his home office to a walk-in closet for wife Tiffany. Rookie Chad Jackson also spoke and said that his hamstring feels pretty good. What would be Jackson's advice to a new receiver coming to New England? "Don't get hurt." shalise
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