Big Vince on giving back
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April 13, 2008 - April 19, 2008 ArchivesApril 16
Vince Wilfork also came to chat this morning, mostly to talk about his annual Draft Party, which raises funds for the Diabetes Research Institute. Wilfork's father died from the effects of the disease, so it is a cause that is close to his heart. There are still tickets available for the event, which will be held at Pinz Bowling alley in Milford, Mass. from 1-6 p.m. on April 26, the first day of the draft. There will also be a memorabilia auction. Wilfork said it gives fans the chance to see that he's just a normal guy, and more importantly helps raise awareness of diabetes. "I saw my father suffer for 12 years," he said. "He lost his eyesight, lost limbs; it was basically seeing my father die slowly." To that end, Wilfork has continued to monitor his diet. He knows that it is easy for him to stay in shape and maintain his weight as long as he's playing football, but he has already started looking toward the days when he will no longer be in the NFL. Given his family history of diabetes and high blood pressure, he knows it is important to be diligent about his diet and weight. As for the Patriots, Wilfork said he hasn't re-watched any of Super Bowl XLII and has no plans to. He gave credit to Giants' quarterback Eli Manning and receiver David Tyree for pulling off the improbable play that led to New York's win, but what's past is past and New England is looking ahead to this year "Every year you go into camp wanting to get better. We lost the Super Bowl; that was a goal of ours, that is the goal of every team in this league. We have to do whatever it takes to get back there and win. We have to start now getting everything in order," he said. 
April 15
The Patriots may have the easiest schedule in the league in 2008 when it comes to the numbers -- their opponents were a combined 99-157 last year, a .387 win percentage -- but it won't be that easy. With four West Coast road trips, New England could potentially log 13,000 miles in the air this year; it is the first time since 1986 (L.A. Raiders, L.A. Rams, 49ers, Seahawks) that the team will play four games out west. Last year, the longest trip for the Pats was Dallas, which came in Week 5. Here's our humble observations: * The bye week is in the earliest possible week, Week 4, and comes with only one road game -- the shortest, at the Jets -- crossed off. * The West Coast trips are in pairs, which may mean the team will stay out in the Pacific time zone on the in-between week to cut down on travel and fatigue. New England is at San Francisco and at San Diego in Weeks 5 and 6, and at Seattle and Oakland in Weeks 14 and 15. * New England closes out the season with road games in three of their last four weeks. * The Pats play back-to-back prime-time games in Weeks 6 and 7 -- they'll face the Chargers in the first and host the Broncos in the second. * New England will have a short week of preparation in Week 11 -- it hosts the Jets for a Thursday night game, the first Thursday night tilt at Gillette Stadium. * In all, New England is currently slated to play five prime-time games: in San Diego, home against Denver, in Indianapolis, home against the Jets and in Seattle. The Seahawks game could be flexed. The maximum per team is six night games in a season; last year, New England was in six. * However, the team is scheduled to have five home games kickoff at 1 p.m.; last year, there were three. * This is the ninth time in the last six years (including playoffs) that the Pats and Colts will play; the teams stopped being division rivals in 2001, when Indy was realigned into the AFC South. It is the second straight year the teams will meet in Week 9; last year, both teams were undefeated when they met at the RCA Dome. This year, the Colts open Lucas Oil Stadium, which has a retractable roof. New England will be looking to continue its 19-game regular-season winning streak, and also its 10-game regular season road win streak. The Patriots are 275-272-8 all-time against their 13 opponents.
Here's the raw data; we'll be back with analysis after we take a better look: Sunday, Sept. 7 -- Kansas City Chiefs, 1:00 p.m. (CBS) * - Games are subject to change under the NFL's flex scheduling
April 14
USC linebacker Keith Rivers (whom we mentioned in our list of prospective Pats' picks on Sunday -- plug! plug!) visited with the Patriots last week and blogged about the experience on the website yardbarker.com, which boasts numerous athlete-written blogs. Rivers said he spent five hours with New England coaches, including defensive coordinator Dean Pees and linebackers coach Matt Patricia, watching video and learning about the team's 3-4 defense. He also met a few current Pats, at Gillette Stadium for offseason workouts. Overall, Rivers seemed impressed. "You could feel the winning environment right when you walk in. They pay attention to every detail. It was awesome because you see how much they prepare and what goes into having an amazing season as they did. They have pictures of all the great plays covering the walls from the whole season. They only put up pictures after they win so as you could imagine they had a lot of pictures on the wall," he wrote.
The Patriots have nailed down the dates and times of their four preseason games: Thu., Aug. 7 Baltimore Ravens 7:30 p.m. WCVB/Patriots Preseason Network
Various media outlets are reporting that the NFL will release the 2008 regular-season schedule tomorrow at 2 p.m. Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was apparently first with the news. As we know, New England's opponents have already been decided -- they'll host their AFC East rivals the Jets, Bills, and Dolphins as well as the Rams and Cardinals from the NFC West, the Chiefs and Broncos from the AFC West and last year's AFC North winner, the Steelers. The Patriots will visit New York, Buffalo and Miami in addition to Oakland and San Diego in the AFC West, Seattle and San Francisco in the NFC West and last year's AFC South winner, Indianapolis. Four of those teams were in the playoffs last year. Now we'll find out when these games will be played; with four West Coast trips on the schedule, the spacing of those will be a major factor. If, for example, the league scheduled the Oakland-San Francisco games on consecutive weeks, would Bill Belichick elect to spend the in-between week in Northern California to cut down on travel and fatigue?
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