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August 14, 2006

Player Snippets

Here are a few notes and quotes from the post-practice bump with several players..

TEBUCKY JONES began his career in 1998 as a 1st round draftee by New England out of Syracuse. He went on to play 5 seasons with the Pats and played a key role on the 2001 Super Bowl team. Jones was traded by the Pats after the 2002 season to New Orleans for three draft picks, one of which was turned around and sent to the Bengals in exchange for Corey Dillon.
Jones moved from the Sainst to Miami where he played in 6 games for the Dolphins last season. The Pats signed him as a free agent last April and he has a chance to catch on with the team, even though several other safeties are in the roster mix.
Asked if he missed the Patriots, Jones said ``when they were in the playoffs, you get that `damn' feeling. No doubt.''
Jones played for both Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick during his New England tenure. Asked about the difference between the two, he said ``Pete Carroll was easy. I loved those practices.''

MATT CASSEL played the majority of the game in Atlanta and certainly will see plenty of time again this Saturday when the Patriots host Arizona. Cassel was 13-for-26 with a TD and no interceptions against the Falcons but was shaky with several mis-fires and overthrows.
``It was the first pre-season game and you want to get the kinks out,'' he said. ``It's all about playing better right now. It's really been a year since I've played (a lot). There were 3 or 4 throws I could've made.''

It's hard not to watch the Patriots and wonder who Tom Brady will throw the ball to. While his running backs (Dillon, Maroney, Kevin Faulk) and tight ends (Ben Watson, Daniel Graham, David Thomas) are all good targets, the wide receiver corps is certainly slim. After ageless Troy Brown, there are only question marks. The starters against Atlanta included free agent signee Reche Caldwell and Kelvin Kight.
Kight has tried to catch on with several teams in the last year but found no takers. He's a wide out from the University of Florida who played with second round pick Chad Jackson for two years. Jackson has been a no-show (PUP) since th estart of camp.
``He's a competitor. I know this is getting to him,'' said Kight. ``Being hurt right now is killing him.''

KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Kevin  at 11:52 AM | Permalink