Projo Pats Blog

January 27, 2008 - February 2, 2008 Archives

Journal photos / Gretchen Ertl
Mike Lorti, right, calls the play-by-play of a Patriots Super Bowl victory in a mock broadcast as his brother Aaron Lorti, left, looks on at the NFL Experience, an interactive theme park outside the University of Phoenix Stadium. The brothers are originally from Somerset and are now living in Glendale.

Stephen Edelson came from his home in New York City without tickets but with a sign.

Travis Laprairie, left, and Jeff Farr, both of Calgary, Canada, take a photo of The University of Phoenix Stadium.

Brandy Bobolas, originally of Portsmouth, N.H., now living in Tucson, Ariz., showed her allegiance while walking around the NFL Experience.

A football fan hugs the Vince Lombardi trophy, crafted by Tiffany, on display at the NFL Experience.

Matt Kouba, of Chicago, poses for a friend in front of a series of panels depicting the New York Giants.

Several thousand people waited on line to buy tickets for the NFL Experience.

A young football fan plays catch while waiting to get into 17th annual NFL Experience.

"Go Patriots" is written in the sky.

Syd Davy, a Vikings fan from Winnipeg, Canada, shows off one of his many tattoos.

This was submitted by Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Sun-Times:

The atmosphere was more family picnic than Super Bowl preparation for New England on Saturday as the Patriots enjoyed a brief stop at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The team did not have a walk-through, as promised, instead spending a fun hour with family, interrupted only by a brief team photograph session.

``This is what we usually do,’’ said coach Bill Belichick, who patiently posed for photographs with players and their families dressed in his signature grey sweatshirt with cut down sleeves along with a white visor. ``The first year was a little different because of the short week. It was just a one-week Super Bowl. The last three, it’s been good. It gives the families a fun day.’’

Belichick said every player was present and accounted for on Saturday. He was asked for a final thought on the game.

``We’re playing a good team,’’ he said. ``We’re as ready as we’re going to be. It’s time to go play.’’

A Coventry native has emerged as another figure in the scandal that won’t go away.

One day after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spent a good portion of his annual State of The Game press conference defending the league’s actions regarding Spygate — the controversy that resulted in both the Patriots organization and coach Bill Belichick being fined, and the team being stripped of a first-round draft choice, for illegally videotaping New York Jets defensive coaches as they signaled to players — ESPN.com yesterday quoted Matt Walsh, a Rhode Islander from Coventry who now works as a golf pro in Hawaii, as hinting he has more information about the Pats’ taping practices.

ESPN.com reported that Walsh worked for the organization from 1996 until January, 2003, when he was fired.

“If I had a reason to want to go public, or tell a story, I could have done it before it even broke,’’ Walsh, who started as a public-relations intern and also worked as a video assistant prior to becoming a team scout, told ESPN.com. “I could have said everything rather than having [Jets coach Eric] Mangini be the one to bring it out.

“If they’re doing a thorough investigation — they didn’t contact me. So draw your own conclusions. Maybe they felt they didn’t need to. Maybe the league feels they got satisfactory answers from everything the Patriots sent them.’’

Earlier in the week, Walsh, citing confidentiality agreements with the Patriots, told The New York Times he could not tell or show anything related to the Patriots unless his lawyer crafted an agreement. Asked Friday by the Times if he possessed a tape incriminating the Patriots, he said, “I’ve never given a comment to anyone saying I had a tape or I’d give a tape to anyone.”

Walsh declined to make any material available to ESPN and wanted the news organization to pay his legal fees related to his involvement in the story, as well as to an indemnity that would cover any damages found against him in court. ESPN refused.

ESPN.com’s report came on the heels of a Boston Herald story yesterday, citing a source close to the team, that said the Patriots videotaped the St. Louis Rams’ last walkthrough before they played in the 2002 Super Bowl. The Herald story was denied by both the team and the NFL.

“The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis Rams’ walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI is absolutely false,’’ said Stacey James, the Patriots’ vice-president of media relations. “Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue.”

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said: “We were aware of the rumor months ago and looked into it. There was no evidence of it on the tapes or in the notes produced by the Patriots, and the Patriots told us it was not true.”

Rams spokesman Rick Smith, reading a statement from team president John Shaw, said, “At this point, we have no comment.”

New England did not have a walkthrough yesterday; the Pats also had decided against having a Saturday walkthrough prior to Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville. The Giants held one at the Arizona Cardinals’ practice facility. A walkthrough is done without pads or helmets, giving teams a chance to practice their formations.

All of which followed Goodell’s grilling by the media about Spygate on Friday, which in itself was prompted by remarks from Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who wanted the NFL to explain why it destroyed evidence of the scandal. Goodell defended his decision, saying “there was no purpose for them [not to be disposed of].” He said one of the tapes was leaked to FOX and making sure there were no more leaks “was one of my concerns.’’

Goodell also said he didn’t think the Patriots used such tapes to win previous titles.

“There was no indication that it benefited them in any of the Super Bowl victories,” he said.

Specter, contacted after the press conference, said Goodell’s response “didn’t make any sense at all’’ and added the matter could put the league’s antitrust exemption — a limited exemption involving the league’s right to pool its television revenue and distribute it equally to all teams — at risk.

“Their antitrust exemption has been on my mind for a long time,” he said.

When asked about mounting criticism, from both the media and the general public, that Congress has far more important matters to concern itself with, Specter responded: “I do believe that it is a matter of importance. It’s not going to displace the stimulus package or the Iraq war, but I think the integrity of football is very important, and I think the National Football League has a special duty to the American people — and further the Congress — because they have an antitrust exemption.”

Walsh, 31, is now an assistant golf pro on Maui. He is married to Colleen Kennedy, who grew up in Johnston and West Greenwich, and they have an 8-month-old son. ESPN.com’s story said Walsh fears that his family still in the area “could be in harm’s way if he damages the Patriots with any information he might disclose.’’

He told ESPN.com he still owns Patriots season tickets.

The New England Patriots have released a statement denying today's report that the team video taped the St. Louis Rams' final walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI:

"The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 is absolutely false. Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue."

The idea that the Patriots had taped St. Louis' walkthrough had been floated before; allegedly, then-team employee Matt Walsh stayed behind at the Superdome after the Patriots took their team photo on Feb. 2, 2002, and filmed the Rams walkthrough. He then boarded the media shuttle with other news reporters. Walsh is now an assistant golf pro in Hawaii.

New England pulled one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history with its 20-17 win over the Rams.

The Patriots have signed practice squad defensive lineman Santonio Thomas to the 53-man roster for tomorrow's Super Bowl against the Giants.

New England had an open spot on the active roster after placing special teamer Mel Mitchell on injured reserve Jan. 24.

Thomas played four regular-season games with New England this year before being released and re-signed to the practice squad on Oct. 29. He is a 6-foot-4, 305-pound Miami product the team signed as an undrafted free agent in 2005.

It was announced moments ago that former Patriots linebacker Andre Tippett has been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Tippett is the fourth player with Patriots ties to make the Hall of Fame. The others are guard John Hannah (he and Tippett are the only Hall of Famers to play their entire careers in New England), cornerback Mike Haynes and linebacker Nick Buoniconti.

Also voted in were two former Redskins, wide receiver Art Monk and cornerback Darrell Green; Chargers and 49ers defensive end Fred Dean; Vikings and Broncos tackle Gary Zimmerman and Chiefs cornerback Emmitt Thomas. Thomas was a senior committee choice.

Green made it in his first year of eligibility. The other first-year nominee, receiver Cris Carter, was not elected.

Inductions will be at the Pro Football Hall of Game in Canton, Ohio on Aug. 2.

“I looked forward to the day we are going to Canton,” Green said, breaking up with emotion.

Perhaps the most surprising outcome was Paul Tagliabue not getting enough support for the second straight year. In his 17 years as commissioner, the NFL experienced no labor stoppages, while its revenues from TV contracts skyrocketed. There also were expansions to Jacksonville, Charlotte, Cleveland and Houston under his watch, and several teams moved into new stadiums, many of them built with public funds.

Also failiing to get in were Redskins guard Russ Grimm, Bills receiver Andre Reed, Raiders punter Ray Guy, Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar, Bears defensive end Richard Dent, Dolphins guard Bob Kuechenberg, Vikings guard Randall McDaniel, and Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas.

Senior committee nominee Marshall Goldberg was not elected, either.

More to come . . .

-- STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

It has just been announced that Andre Tippett has been voted as a member the 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction class.

We'll have more shortly.

What's a flipcard, you ask?

It's the one-sheet piece of cardboard that lists the depth charts of the two teams, with numerical rosters, on one side, and a more detailed roster (also listed numerically) on the other. It's distributed weekly in every NFL pressbox, and this is the one media members will receive tomorrow in Glendale, Ariz.

Unfortunately, we can't deliver it to you in one sheet; you'll have to print out two pages. But click here and print out a .PDF version of the card. Don't forget to set the viewer at 100 percent to see it correctly.

For the Patriots:

Probable
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder

**Jabar Gaffney (shoulder) has been removed from the report.

From the pool reporter Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune:

The Patriots concluded their preparations for Super Bowl XLII with a crisp workout in shorts and shells at Sun Devil Stadium that lasted an hour and 20 minutes Friday.

"We're ready to roll," coach Bill Belichick said. "We're ready as we're going to be."

Belichick said the team will not have a walk-through at University of Phoenix Stadium Saturday. The Patriots will go to the stadium to take a team photo.

Wide receiver Jabar Gaffney's shoulder injury has improved, and Gaffney was able to participate fully in practice. Quarterback Tom Brady's ankle continued to be a non-issue. So the Patriots look to be completely healthy.

Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown spoke to the team before practice at Belichick's request.

The Patriots will remain perfect, according to the majority of celebrities polled by Scripps Howard News Service in its annual Celebrity Super Bowl Poll.

Those supporting the 18-0 Patriots include Jack Nicklaus, Martina McBride, LeBron James, Dana Delaney, Chuck Yeager, Michael Phelps and Haley Joel Osment -- who apparently not only "sees dead people" -- but has correctly picked the last eight Super Bowl winners.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell held his annual state of the league press conference today, and as can be expected, he was peppered with questions about the Patriots' Spygate scandal, especially in the wake of today's news in the New York Times that Sen. Arlen Specter wants Goodell to explain to the Senate Judiciary Committee why he destroyed tapes and notes on other teams that New England submitted to the league.

He didn't offer much, offering that there were six tapes submitted, and that those tapes were from the 2007 preseason and 2006 regular season. He reiterated that New England's "spying" tactics did not influence the result of games, particularly their wins in Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX.

Goodell didn't not say so, but he was clearly upset that one of the tapes confiscated -- the tape of the Jets' game when New England was caught filming -- was leaked to the public, and gave that as the reason he destroyed the materials rather than just lock them away.

"It was the best way to make sure the Patriots had followed my instructions," Goodell explained. "They certified to me in writing that they gave me all the tapes and notes."

Specter represents Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Eagles lost to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX; Goodell was asked if he will assure Specter that the Pats won the game fair and square.

"This incident is five or six months old; we've been forthright, and I don't believe it affected the outcome of any game," he said.

The relationship between Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells was strained in the wake of Belichick's resignation as head coach of the Jets in 2000; Parcells, who was moving to the front office for the first time, had named Belichick as his successor. But Belichick famously decided against taking the job, scrawling a one-line note saying "I resign as HC of the NYJ."

But Belichick and Parcells have smoothed things over the in years since. The relationship, which Belichick once termed "difficult," has improved, Belichick said this morning.

"That was the way it was characterized then and I’ve spent time with Bill since then. Bill and I shared a lot of success together and I think we’ll always treasure those victories and those good times. He’s tremendous coach, he’s done a great job, he’s had a tremendous career, a Hall of Fame career and I’m sure he’ll be there at some point. Unfortunately he’s back in our division as a competitor and I totally respect him and his football ability both as a coach and an administrator and a talent evaluator. Now we’ll be competing against each other again and I’m sure it will be very challenging."

Parcells has taken over the front office in Miami; he became the head coach of the Giants in 1983, when Belichick was the linebackers coach in New York.

This was sent by the ESPN PR bunch:

SUPER BOWL XLII PREDICTIONS FROM ESPN

ESPN on-air personalities offer their predictions for Super Bowl XLII. Of the 30 ESPN picks, 25 chose the New England Patriots, while just five selected the New York Giants as the anticipated winner of this year’s Super Bowl game in Arizona:

PICKING NEW ENGLAND

Raul Allegre, ESPN Deportes NFL analyst and former New York Giants kicker
Patriots 31-21. I just don't see the Giants defense being able to stop the Patriots offense. Nobody is better at controlling time of possession than the Patriots and their arsenal is just too tough.

Russell Baxter, NFL research coordinator
Patriots 38-19. Thirty eight has been the Patriots’ magic number all year and 19 would be fitting since this would give them an undefeated 19-0 record.

Skip Bayless, First Take and 1st and 10 commentator
Patriots 38-17. Plaxico Burress lost this game for the Giants before it was played by saying the Giants receivers may be better than New England’s and by predicting the Giants would win by scoring 23 points and holding Tom Brady’s offense to a mere 17. Big mistake.

Ray Buchanan, 1st and 10 analyst
Patriots 28-24. Eli being hot will keep this game close and I don’t think the Patriots defense will be able to slow down the Giants offense.

Colin Cowherd, host of ESPN Radio’s The Herd
Patriots 31-17. It'll be close early but then the Patriots will do something in the 3rd quarter to pull away -- whether it's creating a turnover or converting on a big third down play. Tom Brady will be named the game MVP.

Jay Crawford, First Take and 1st and 10 co-host
Patriots 38-21. Not going to stop the Patriots offense. The difference in the game is that New England has been there, done that, while the Giants are taking video of everything like it’s a trip to Disney.

Hank Goldberg, Correspondent
Patriots 30-27. They always win by three points. Just look at their last three Super Bowls.

Mike Golic, NFL Live analyst and co-host of ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning
Patriots 31-24. Their versatility will be the key. They always find a way to get it done and they will again this time.

Jemele Hill, ESPN.com Page 2 writer and 1st and 10 commentator
Patriots 38-31. Tom Brady goes to quarterback immortal.

Gary Horton, ESPN Scouts Inc. Insider
Patriots 31-20. With two weeks to prepare for Bill Belichick - and with field conditions being perfect - as much as I respect the Giants, they can't keep up with the Patriots. Tom Brady will find 4-5 match-ups that he will exploit.

Tom Jackson, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown analyst
Patriots 31-21. Hard to imagine the most prolific offense in NFL history coming all this way and not winning. There is also something to be said for the Patriots’ experience, being in this position before and winning three times.

Ron Jaworski, Monday Night Football and NFL Matchup analyst
Patriots 41-21. The key will be the Patriots three down linemen -- Seymour, Wilfork and Warren -- who will be able to collapse on Eli, forcing him backward which is not his strength.

Keyshawn Johnson, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown analyst
Patriots 35-17. New England has had two weeks to prepare for this game, and the lights might be too bright for Eli.

Erik Kuselias, ESPN Radio host
Patriots 34-20. This game was over when Brady took off the boot and squeezed into a cleat…too much offense.

Steve Levy, SportsCenter anchor
Patriots 34-21. The Giants won their Super Bowl in Green Bay.

Chris Mortensen, NFL Insider
Patriots 41-31. Perfect climate, perfect game, perfect season for Tom Brady.

Sal Paolantonio, Correspondent
Patriots 31-24. Giants defense still won't have an answer for Tom Brady.

Sean Salisbury, ESPN NFL Live analyst
Patriots 34-17. The weather is not a factor and on a fast track and with all those weapons, I don’t think the Patriots can be beat.

Mark Schlereth, ESPN NFL Live and NFL PrimeTime analyst and three-time Super Bowl champion
Patriots 31-27. The Patriots do the best job in the NFL adjusting. They are chameleon-like in who they are and what they do. They can totally reinvent themselves during the course of a ballgame on the offense and defensive sides of the ball.

Stuart Scott, SportsCenter anchor
Patriots 34-20. The Giants will play them tough for a half, but the Patriots passing game is built for a dry, fast field.

Emmitt Smith, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown analyst and three-time Super Bowl champion
Patriots 35-24. The bye week hurt the Giants by taking away their momentum. Belichick is a genius at breaking down tape and he had a second week to prepare.

Mike Tirico, Monday Night Football play by play commentator
Patriots 32-23. Too much offense, too much experience, too much to deny the perfect ending.

Marcellus Wiley, NFL Live analyst
Patriots 38-23. They have had a perfect season. Why bet against them now?

Trey Wingo, NFL Live and NFL PrimeTime host
Patriots 41-27. No weather problems, perfect fast track. They are going to unleash the full arsenal. I can’t see the Giants stopping the Patriots, If the Giants don’t score 30, they will get blown out.

Steve Young, Monday Night Countdown analyst and three-time Super Bowl champion
Patriots 42-10. Eli Manning is not a Hall of Fame quarterback yet. Brady will get the upper hand.

PICKING NEW YORK

Lomas Brown, 1st and 10 analyst
Giants 27-24. Giants win the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.

Mike Ditka, Sunday NFL Countdown analyst
Giants 31-28. I haven't picked the Patriots all year, so why should I start now?

Mike Greenberg, co-host of ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning and SportsCenter anchor
Giants 24-23. Just a little magic the Giants have working now. Call it a funny feeling.

Merril Hoge, NFL Live and NFL PrimeTime analyst
Giants 31-30. The Giants’ defensive scheme matches well with Brady and the Patriots because they attack the quarterback and challenge the wide receivers.

Shaun King, NFL Live analyst
Giants 34-26. Confidence.

PHOENIX -- New England coach Bill Belichick is the only coach in the history of the NFL to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span (2001, 2003, 2004).

He has a 15-3 (.833 winning percentage) winning percentage as the Patriots head coach in the playoffs which includes three Super Bowl victories.

He has a 100-28 record (.781 winning percentage) as the Patriots head coach since 2001. He’s coached in a lot of big games, but he said earlier today that Sunday’s Super Bowl will be the biggest game of his coaching career.

“I think it is the biggest game of all for our football team because it’s the next game,” said Belichick, who is hoping to become the first coach in NFL history to lead a team to a 19-0 record.

“It’s the next game and it is the Super Bowl. It is for the championship so I can’t think of a bigger game than that. We are here and that is what we are here for. We have worked all year for this game. We are happy to be a participant in it and it is a privilege to be in it. Of course it is a big game – it’s a huge game.”

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl

PHOENIX -- Bill Belichick is not concerned about star quarterback Tom Brady’s high-ankle sprain.

When asked if he was worried about Brady’s ankle at his morning press conference, Belichick said, “No. Tom Brady is one of the most consistent, well prepared, dependable and steady players I have ever coached.”

According to the Chicago Tribune’s Dan Pompei, the designated pool reporter, Brady wasn’t limping noticeably and his ankle wasn’t taped during practice at Arizona State in nearby Tempe on Wednesday and Thursday. On Monday, Brady was limping and his ankle was taped.

Brady said yesterday that his ankle is fine.

“I don’t think it’s a problem going into the game,” Brady said. “I don’t think the ankle is truly a problem.”

PHOENIX -- Bill Belichick coached for the New York Giants for 12 years and he and he won two Super Bowls with them as their defensive coordinator (1986 and 1990).

As much respect as he has for the Giants organization, Belichick said that there is no way he is going to rout for them on Sunday.

“When I was with the Giants, the fans were very supportive and they still are; they are great fans,” Belichick said. “I have all the respect in the world for the Giants fans, the Giants organization and their football team. I am on the other side of the field this week so there is no way I am pulling for them.

“Those 12 years were great there and I appreciate everything that happened during those 12 years with the Giants; from the organization to the players, team, fans and community. But, that being said, I have moved on and I know they still love their team and they should. I love our fans and the support we have received in New England and I am proud to be a New England Patriot. We are going to go out and do our best against the Giants on Sunday.”

PHOENIX -- Among the many reasons to root for the Patriots to win Super Bowl XLII is that, if they win, you'll never again have to hear from Mercury Morris and the '72 Miami Dolphins, who currently are the only NFL team in the Super Bowl era to finish a season undefeated.

The mouthy Morris was one four members of the '72 Dolphins -- the others were Jim Kiick, Larry Little, and Garo Ypremian -- to hold a press conference here Friday morning in a room at the Convention Center that featured a large, green-and-white sign declaring: "Welcome to Perfectville, Pop. 1, Founded 1972."

Just a hunch, but the population of Perfectville could double by Sunday night.

Morris, trying to get in what we can only hope is the last word, announced his candidacy for mayor of Perfectville.

PHOENIX -- Everyone has a role to play on Bill Belichick's team, he says.

That role sometimes changes week-to-week depending on matchups.

"I will put it this way: I think you try to do what is best for your football team, and best for each individual player," Belichick said. "That is not necessarily the same each week and it is not the same for each player and it is not the same in different situations. It aries and you have to kind of take it how it comes, and in the end do what you think is best for all the parties involved.

"The team is always number one. Whatever that is, that is what I will do. Whatever I feel is best for our football team, that is the decision I will make. Whether it is a game day decision, a personnel decision, a personal meeting with a player, a strategic move, a play to call or whatever. My priority is always to do what is best for this football team. That drives everything I do for the New England Patriots and whatever style it comes in -- that could be part of it too."

PHOENIX -- Considering that the economy is on the brink of recession, the subprime mortgage market is a mess, and American soldiers are dying every day in Iraq and Afghanistan, it would seem that Arlen Specter, the Republican senator from Pennsylvania who's chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, would have much more important things to worry about than why NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell destroyed the videotapes the Patriots sent to the league office as part of the "Spygate" investigation.

It's no coincidence that Specter is raising the question this week. It's obvious that he's seeking publicity, as much as he's seeking to find out the not-exactly-pressing question of what happened to the tapes.

PHOENIX -- Of the first XXXV Super Bowls, only two were decided by three or less points -- Super Bowl V, when the Colts' Jim O'Brien kicked a 32-yard field goal in the final seconds to beat the Cowboys, 16-13, and Super Bowl XXV, when Buffalo's Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal with four seconds to go as the BIlls lost to the Giants, 20-19.

Of the last VI Super Bowls, however, three of them have been decided by the margin of a field goal, and all of them involved the Patriots, who beat the Rams, 20-17, in Super Bowl XXXVI; the Panthers, 32-29, in Super Bowl XXXVII; and the Eagles, 24-21, in Super Bowl XXXIX.

The last two Super Bowls have been decided by 11 and 12 points, respectively, with Pittsburgh beating Seattle, 21-10, two years ago, and the Colts defeating the Bears, 29-17, last year.

NEW YORK (AP) - Would that be Super Super Tuesday?

The police commissioner says New York City is planning for a post Super Bowl parade on Tuesday - also known as Election Day, or Super Tuesday.

The plans, of course, are contingent on a New York Giants win over the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Commissioner Raymond Kelly says the parade would start at 11 a.m. Tuesday near Battery Park, followed by a City Hall Plaza ceremony at 1 p.m.

Asked Friday about the parade plans, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said:

"I have refused to talk about it - I am not going to jinx the Giants' chance."

Added hizzoner: "Go Big Blue!"

Hey all --

Good morning from Phoenix, where we've begun our last day of media access before Super Bowl XLII. Patriots coach Bill Belichick has already held his final press conference, and Tom Coughlin will take the podium upstairs at the Media Center in about 10 minutes.

Probably the most interesting presser of the day, however, will be when Commissioner Roger Goodell talks in a little over two hours. The New York Times today has an article saying that U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter wants to call Goodell before Congress to have him explain why the league destroyed evidence in the now-infamous Spygate scandal. Goodell has been in office for about 18 months, and surely this is not how he envisioned things going.

We'll be back shortly with quotes from Belichick, who was asked about a variety of topics during his time at the podium.

shalise

Jim Donaldson and Shalise Manza Young take a look at the keys to victory for the Giants and the Patriots in this multimedia show, and reveal their final-score predictions. Click the play button below to listen and watch. Shalise will file multimedia reports tomorrow as well.

This is the final edition in Jim Donaldson's six-part series. Jim, who has covered each of the Patriots' five Super Bowl appearances to date for The Journal (he'll make it six next weekend) looks back in these audio slideshows at each of the games, and his thoughts are accompanied by pictures from Bob Breidenbach, who has photographed each of the games. Today's presentation focuses on Super Bowl XXXIX when the Patriots cemented their status as team of the decade by beating the Philadelphia Eagles.

On today's sports cover, Jim Donaldson profiles Stephen Gostkowski, the Patriots' kicker who carries the heavy burden of history (and particularly, the three Super Bowl-winning kicks by predecessor Adam Vinatieri) onto the league's biggest stage on Sunday. Robert Lee writes about Tom Brady's work ethic, and Kevin McNamara reports on the Friars' tough, tough loss at South Bend.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

According to an article in today's New York Times, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wants NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to explain why he ordered evidence destroyed in the taping scandal involving the New England Patriots.

Specter told the Times that the Judiciary Committee would eventually call Goodell to explain the league's antitrust exemption in relation to its television contract, and the destruction of the Patriots' tapes.

Click here to read the story.

It remains the same as yesterday: Jabar Gaffney (shoulder) was limited; Tom Brady (right shoulder) had full participation.

The following is the pool report filed by Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune:

Quarterback Tom Brady's ankle injury continued to look like a non-factor in practice Thursday. Brady moved well, threw well and did not appear to limp. His ankle was not taped over his shoe.

Receiver Jabar Gaffney's participation in practice was limited because of a shoulder injury.

After an inconsistent showing Wednesday, the Patriots had a crisp practice on a sunny day at Sun Devil Stadium Thursday. The Patriots don't always wear pads on Thursdays, but they did in preparation of Super Bowl XLII.

Coach Bill Belichick said his team practiced better. "Another day always helps," he said. "These guys care. They want to practice well. When we make mistakes we've got to correct them. They want to get it right the next time."

Asked where the team was in terms of overall preparation, Belichick said, "We're pretty close. We'll review some stuff tomorrow. There won't be hardly anything new. Just reviewing situations., We're as ready as we're going to be. We could spend four weeks preparing for the Giants. But we'll be ready to go."

Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli were both asked yesterday about New England's draft class this year, which initially saw just three players make the active roster: Brandon Meriweather, Kareem Brown and undrafted quarterback Matt Gutierrez. Oscar Lua and Mike Richardson were placed on injured reserve.

Belichick fairly bristled at the notion that the Pats had a bad draft.

"Our second round pick was Wes Welker and our fourth round pick was Randy Moss, so even though they weren’t draft choices, they’ve been significant players on our team," he said in a gross understatement.

When Pioli was asked about only one draftee being on the current roster (Brown was cut and picked up by the Jets), he answered in much the same way as Belichick.

"The way I look at it, our second-round draft pick was Wes Welker and our fourth-round draft picj was Randy Moss," he said.

New England traded its second round and a seventh-round pick to Miami for the rights to Welker, who went on to set a franchise record with 112 receptions, and the team sent a fourth-round choice to Oakland for Moss, who set a new league record with 23 touchdown receptions this season.

AP pool photo / Stephan Savoia
Brady set to throw this afternoon at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

Many of the Patriots' assistant coaches have gotten attention this week, partly because they're never heard from, and some (Josh McDaniels) because the world is trying to figure out if they'd be a good coach for their franchise.

Pepper Johnson's appeal lies in the fact that he played for the Giants during their glory days in the late 1980s and into the '90s and now works under his former coach, Bill Belichick. The first player to be a two-time captain at Ohio State and a member of the Buckeyes' All-Century team and Hall of Fame, the Detroit native played in 193 games over 13 seasons with the Giants, not missing a practice or game for the first 11 plus years of his career. Playing at inside linebacker, he accumulated over 1,200 tackles and 25.5 sacks with New York.

Two years after his retirement, in 2000, Johnson joined Belichick's staff through the NFL's summer coaching fellowship; he spent the season with the team as a defensive coaching assistant. The next year, he became the team's inside linebackers coach; in '04, he took over the defensive line, arguably one of the best D-lines in the NFL.

"I think Pepper had great leadership skills... and we saw that at the Giants, even early in his career," Belichick recalled this morning. "I remember there were certainly times when I was the defensive coordinator at the Giants and we would be sitting there on the sidelines, and of course we liked to play a lot of Cover 2 back in those days, with the safeties back there deep. There was one game in particular where they were running the ball against us and I called the team over and I said, 'OK, look, we’re going to play a little more Cover 3 and bring the safety down into the front to help us in the running game.' Pepper said, 'No, no. You don’t do that. You keep those safeties back there. We’re going to take care of the run. We don’t need any help. You guys stay back there and play the pass – We’re going to handle the running game. We don’t need any help.' That’s a great attitude to play the game."

As a coach, Belichick said, Johnson brings the same type of confidence he had as a player to his current job. And on Fridays, it has become tradition that Johnson lead the kickoff drills, his booming voice counting off players and then shouting, "We gets down!" when it's time for Stephen Gostkowski to kickoff.

Johnson also runs the Show Team, what New England calls the defensive scout team.

"Those players take a lot of pride in it, as Pepper does. They do an awesome job of getting our defense ready to play on a weekly basis. I’m sure that [Tom] Brady and all of the other offensive players would tell you how good of a job our defensive show team players do of getting us ready to play the game, and Pepper has great enthusiasm. He does a tremendous job on that.

"I can’t say enough about Pepper. He’s been a great player for me, a great coach for me and a great friend through the years. I have great respect for everything that he’s done in the National Football League and in football."

In case you're wondering, Johnson's given name is Thomas; an aunt gave him the nickname Pepper because the young man sprinkled pepper on his breakfast cereal.

From the Some Folks Just Don't Listen Dept.:

During the Patriots' media-access period, Mike Vrabel was one of six players at risers ringing the tent outside the hotel. At one point, a television reporter asked what was the dumbest question Vrabel's been asked or that he's heard.

Vrabel replied that he heard a few of the players got marriage proposals (the infamous TV Azteca wedding dress "reporter"), but to him, it "demeans the sport when you ask stupid questions" actually gave those of us in the New England media corps props for working so hard at what we do.

Then, without missing a beat, the same reporter asks, "Who's the funniest guy on the team?"

Not the dumbest question in the world, but not wondering how the Pats will shut down Bradon Jacobs, either.

Photos by Providence Journal staff photographer Bob Breidenbach
Logan Mankins

Jarvis Green

Jarvis Green, left, and LeKevin Smith

Nick Kaczur, left, and Stephen Neal

Laurence Maroney

Mike Vrabel

Rodney Harrison

Pepper Johnson

It was good to be back out on the practice field yesterday. We got a lot of things done and certainly need to have another good day today and try to build things up, cover all of the situations and be ready to go on Sunday. Really, that’s pretty much about it. We’re trying to have kind of a normal week of practice here, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday leading up to a Sunday game, and we’ll try to stay on that schedule today.

On what the thought process was in drafting Logan Mankins and the advancements he’s made since coming out of Fresno State)

When we took Logan, we of course had seen his outstanding career and Fresno and his ability to play left tackle. Fortunately, our left tackle situations have been pretty stable here, and Matt’s [Light] done a good job there. I think that Logan has a lot of position versatility for us, but given our situation when he came in -- and it really hasn’t changed much in the last three years – he’s done a great job for us there at left guard. A player at that position goes up against a lot of different types of athletes and he’s up against inside linebackers, some of the big, 350 pound defensive linemen and some of the real quick pass rushers, like a guy like [Justin] Tuck that we’ll face this week. Logan has a good versatile combination of skills where he can play with power, he’s athletic enough to play in space and pass protect and I think that he could have good position flexibility across the board, if we needed it. That hasn’t been the case, but for right now he’s done a great job for us at right guard.

On if anything has changed in the team’s approach to this game and where they are in their preparation)

It certainly hasn’t changed this week. I don’t think you’re ever where you want to be. There’s always more to do, there’s always things that you’ve done that you wish you could have done a little better or an adjustment you’ve made that it would have been a little bit smoother if you’d gotten it right in the first place. That’s always a process of getting ready for the game. You put the things in, you work on them, you modify and adjust them. You don’t have time to go back over everything because you have to move ahead to other situations – third down, red area, two-minute, short yardage, goal line – all of those things, so you can’t just keep going back and back and back over things. You have to move ahead. I’m sure that we’ll be ready to go by game time – as ready as we’re going to be. As I said earlier in the week, playing against a team like the Giants, as many different things as they do and as wide an attack that they have, you could probably take a month to get ready for this game and still not hit everything. We have enough time to be ready. We’ll be ready on Sunday. It probably won’t be perfect, but it will be as good as it can be.

On the evolution of Stephen Neal as an offensive lineman and why he thought a college wrestler would be good at that position)

Steve’s a real interesting story. Over the summer of 2001, we worked Steve out, just as an athlete, really, just as you said, as a former wrestler with no football background since the eighth grade. We worked him out and were impressed with his athletic ability and his size, and his overall body balance. I felt that even though he didn’t have much experience playing football that athletically he would certainly be able to compete with players on the line of scrimmage, because of his leverage and his ability to run. In my brilliance, I decided to put him on defense and he was over there for about two or three weeks, and really was totally lost. It was really hard for him to react to all of the different things that the offense was doing – their different blocking schemes, reading run and pass, getting in the proper gaps and so forth and so on. After a period of time we moved him over to offense, but he was so far behind at that point that he really didn’t have much of a chance to compete there. He just ran plays off the scout team. Then when we signed him at the end of the season off of Philadelphia’s practice squad, he was much further along as an offensive football player, and he made great strides in the ’02 season. Then even in the ’03 season when he was injured [he improved]. Then by ’04, he really had taken all of the classroom work and the individual instruction drills and things like that and was really able to transfer them to the field and play very well – remarkably, really, considering his lack of overall football experience. When Steve started, he really didn’t even know where to go in the huddle. I mean, it was really starting from square one, but Steve’s a smart kid, he works hard, he’s very diligent, he’s tough, very athletic for his possession and has been able to absorb a lot of information and process it and play to a high level. He’s come a long way, but he’s worked hard. He certainly deserves everything that he’s gotten, but I’ve never coached a player that’s traveled the distance from where he started to what he’s become as a football player, and he’s great for our football team. Nobody works harder or is tougher or gives more of himself to our team than Steve Neal.

On this year’s draft class and why most of their contributions have come from Brandon Meriweather)

Our second round pick was Wes Welker and our fourth round pick was Randy Moss, so even though they weren’t draft choices, they’ve been significant players on our team. We’ve had a couple other players that are on injured reserve, so their seasons were cut a little bit short. Brandon is the only true rookie we drafted, and then of course Matt [Gutierrez], our third quarterback, had a good preseason and made our roster. That’s where we’re at. We made our decisions based on what we [felt] was best for our football team back in September, when we cut out roster to 53. As I said, a couple of those players on [the] injured reserve list, so we’ll see how their careers develop as we go