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Thoughts on Harrison

Hey all --

When I first got wind of the news surrounding Rodney Harrison's suspension, my first thought was "anyone but Rodney."

Rodney has become one of my favorite players in the Patriots' locker room. He is frank, sincere, a devoted family man and takes an interest in many of the reporters he sees on a near-daily basis.

Last season, I was having some personal issues -- which have since been positively resolved -- and somehow I got to telling Rodney about them one particularly bad day. He immediately reached into his bag, pulled out his Bible, and read me a passage: "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me (Philippians 4:13)."

It meant a great deal to me, and it is something I will remember for a long time.

Rodney could have denied the espn.com report, he could been like other players who lie or hide. Instead, he faced the media head-on like so many receivers he's taken down over the years. He apologized -- specific apologies, not some generic, sorry-to-whomever-I-might-have-offended junk -- and he made sure to address the young players who may look to him, the former fifth-round pick from a I-AA school who made a name for himself in an unforgiving league.

All of that said however, there are several issues to be discussed. I am not naive to the intense physical demands required by NFL players, and neither should any football fan. It is by far the hardest professional sport on the players' bodies, yet it is the only league where contracts are not guaranteed. To play requires that the damage you may be doing to yourself be ignored, that any aches and pains be dealt with as quickly as possible ("rub some dirt on it").

To that end, it is almost understandable to see why Harrison would take HGH (the substance he reportedly admitted to taking). He was nearly 33 years old when his left knee was shredded almost two years ago in Pittsburgh; he was 34 when Bobby Wade's questionable block partially tore his MCL on New Year's Eve. Those injuries can take time to heal -- time that an NFL player just doesn't have. There's always someone younger, and likely cheaper, waiting to take your job.

When Marty Schottenheimer cut Rodney loose in 2003, he felt the two-time Pro Bowler's best days were behind him -- and that's when Rodney was 30.

Junior Seau, Rodney's longtime teammate in San Diego and New England, is a 38-year old physical linebacker who has been in the league for 18 years. He knows how crazy it is to play football for as long as he has, saying a few weeks ago, "This game is not made for human beings to be running around smashing each other in the head for a long period of time."

In his recent book, Tedy Bruschi called Rodney the most intense teammate he's ever had. A Sports Illustrated poll of NFL players last year led to Rodney being named the "dirtiest" player in the league -- the truth is, he's probably one of those players that you hate to play but love to have as a teammate. He has played 13 seasons, won two Super Bowls, and set a new standard for safeties (he's the only defensive back in NFL history with more than 30 interceptions and 25 sacks). That's hard to walk away from.

But the simple fact is Rodney admitted to doing something that's illegal in the NFL. For that, he is being suspended and will have to live with the repercussions of what he did, inside his locker room and around the NFL. Despite his assertion that he took a substance to help him recover quicker, he may face questions now about whether anything he's done in his career was legitimate.

Rodney's situation will undoubtedly be a distraction in New England, and that's something the team tries to avoid like the plague.

And while we're all trying not to be naive, we shouldn't be naive to the notion that he's the only player to use HGH (I don't know of any other players; this is an opinion); it is great for recovery, both from workouts and from injuries. Side effects include joint pain and possible increased risk of diabetes, but given some of its positives, those could seem minimal.

Hey, we all make dumb decisions sometimes, from small to serious. Eating a second brownie when one was enough. Looking over a classmate's shoulder during a big test. Getting behind the wheel when you've probably had one drink too many... There are consequences to those decisions, and what you do afterwards is what makes a man or a woman.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments 10

Harrison possibly facing suspension

Hey all --

An ESPN report published within the last hour claims that New England safety Rodney Harrison will be suspended by the NFL for four games because he has been linked to HGH, human growth hormone.

Bear in mind that Harrison has not tested positive for HGH; it can only be detected via blood test and the league does not conduct blood testing, only urine.

Harrison will conduct a conference call at 9:30 p.m. tonight. We of course will have more details as soon as we know anything.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:10 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Bill Belichick's Friday conference call

I'm just kind of following up from last night. I was impressed with the way the team played. We didn’t really play very many players, but we got a good long look at them. A number of those guys played on a lot of special teams plays as well as their offensive and defensive units. There were certainly some positive things to see from a lot of players almost throughout the entire duration of the game. Certainly there are a lot of things that we need to work on and things that were far from perfect, but overall I thought it was a positive effort. Right now we're just going to have to go through a lot of personnel decisions here in the next day and a half and figure out exactly what we want to try to do. There are a number of factors involved, not only just roster decisions, but practice squad spots, some of the physical condition of our players and so forth. That will be part of it and then, of course, we want to get started on the game preparation for the Jets. That's kind of where we are here for the short term. We'll let you know when we've made any of those personnel moves. There are a lot of moving parts.

It seems like the quarterbacks might make things a little bit more challenging for you in making those decisions. All three guys really played well last night. Can you give us your thoughts if you would be willing to keep four quarterbacks when you make the final roster?
Well, we've done it before. We've kept four. We've kept two and we've kept three. We'll do whatever we think is the best decision for the football team. We'll try to take everything into consideration when we make that decision, not just that decision, but the other roster spots that may be influenced or affected by that as well. I like what the three guys did last night. I thought they all, at various points, handled themselves well and did some good things.

Can you talk a little about Bam Childress? He seems like he would be a tough guy to cut if you had to because of his versatility.
I think you said it best. Bam showed a lot of versatility. We’ve also used him on defense. Last year, he played both the running back and receiver spots in the Jacksonville game. I think that's one of his biggest strengths, is his versatility, his intelligence and the fact that he has value in more than one spot.

Has he learned a lot from being around some of these good receivers that you've had here over the last few years?
Bam is a smart guy and he’s very attentive and works hard. I'm sure he's learned from everybody that he's been around - the quarterbacks, the coaches, the other players, the receivers, guys on defense. He is a student of the game and he works hard at it.

Do you put any stock in the seven sacks of [Jared] Lorenzen, eight overall? I know the second and third stringers were doing a lot of that. Is that a pleasing sign that leaves an impression?
Of course it's always good to hit the quarterback. Again, we try to look at the plays maybe a little bit more on an individual basis when you're evaluating players. Sometimes you have guys that make a good pass rush move and the coverage isn’t tight enough and they throw the ball because there’s a receiver open, and so it doesn't show up in the stats. Then, another time, the coverage is good and the quarterback has to hold the ball and it really isn't a very good pass rush but the result of the play is that you hit the quarterback because maybe more because of coverage than pass rush. From a team standpoint, it's all interrelated and we’ve talked about that a lot, but from an individual evaluation standpoint, sometimes the overall performance of the group skews the production a little bit from what I would say it actually is on an individual basis, in either direction. Again, we just try to look at that and do the best we can evaluating all of the players and what they did and who they did it against and how often it happened and how consistent they are and so forth.

Do we have any idea of the severity of Oscar Lua’s injury?
Not right now, just looking at him, and all of the players really, from after the game.

How do injuries play into tomorrow’s decisions? Are there pretty clear rules governing releasing injured players and that type of thing?
Well, not really. The rules are if you release a player that is injured, then you work out some kind of monetary settlement with that player one way or another and he doesn’t count on your roster. It's just like you release any other player, depending on how long the player is going to be out for, that's governed by the collective bargaining agreement and that's worked out between the club and the player or eventually it could be arbitrated by a third party if the two sides couldn't agree, but that's pretty clear cut. Part of the decision making that the clubs have to deal with is if you carry a player who is injured or unable to play for a while, then essentially you're at 52, or 51, however many of those players you have, who can’t play until they're healthy and depending on the injury, it could be different lengths of time. So that could factor into the decision too, how long you’d want to carry a player that’s not going to be able to play, how long can you afford to do that? That’s how it plays a part. If you release him, you release him, then you just settle with him. If you don't release him, how long are you carrying a player that won't be able to participate?

Is that monetary hit that you guys take for releasing an injured player count against the cap?
Yes, it’s part of the player’s salary.

How has Dante Wesley done? What have you thought of him since you acquitted him in the trade from Chicago?
I think he has improved. Our system is a little bit different than the one they ran up there and so he's had to adjust to some different techniques and different emphasis points in the scheme, but he is a hard-working kid. He's been out there every day. He’s shown up in the kicking game, made some plays on defense. I think he's certainly put himself in a competitive position, relative to playing for this team.

With Brandon [Meriweather] playing safety all game, he played a lot at corner and now he’s played a full game at safety. When you saw him coming into the summer and his position flexibility, and now that you’ve seen it over the course of training camp, are you happy that he’s proficient at both of spots in your system?
Yes, it worked out that way that we were able to give him an opportunity to play, really, all three positions – corner, nickel back and safety. The way that things fell last night with the players, we had more corners available than safeties, so it was good to be able to get him some playing time at safety. Going forward, we’ll just have to decide what the best thing for him and the team is in terms of the positions that he plays. I do feel like he gives us some depth at all of those spots. We'll just have to prioritize how it's going to go and it may change from game to game too. It may not stay the same every week. We'll just have to take it as it comes. We thought he would have flexibility coming into our system and he’s shown that he does have some and he also has a lot of things to work on and the more positions you give him, then the more things there are for him to learn and get proficient at. He has a lot of work to do, but he’s shown some versatility and some playmaking ability on the defensive side of the ball, and showed up a little bit in the kicking game last night too, so that was good.

Can you talk briefly about Heath Evans, one of the potential first string guys who was out there a lot last night playing with a bunch of kids? He’s been a workhorse through camp and maybe doesn’t get a lot of publicity. What does he bring to the table?
Well, again, last week against Carolina, Heath got a few carries, but we wanted to give him an opportunity to get his hands on the ball a little bit more in this game and make sure that he was ready for the season, as well as some plays in the kicking game. He got an opportunity to do that and that was good. I thought he did a pretty good job with it for the most part. Heath is another guy that gives us some position flexibility offensively. He’s carried the ball. He’s picked up the blitz. He’s played some fullback, not the running back position in our offense, and he’s also participated in some kicking situations. His versatility, his intelligence, his toughness, he’s been durable and dependable and we’ve all seen him run with power and make some tough yards. I think he has a lot of things going for him and we wanted to give him an opportunity last night to be able to get some experience in those roles in preseason a little more so than he did in the first couple of games, so I think we did that and that was good.

You don’t see too many quarterbacks on special teams. Matt Gutierrez was out there last night. Was that just him trying to make himself more valuable to you?
Sure. Matt runs fairly well. Again, we didn't have that many players participating in the game so we could use all of the bodies we could get there. Matt runs well enough to be able to participate in some of the special teams plays. There’ve been other guys in that situation and we've all seen that before, so we just wanted to take a look at it and evaluate it and see whether that is worth investing time in or whether it's a waste of time.

Has there been enough time for Richard Seymour and David Thomas who’ve been on the PUP list to get off of it and be able to practice enough to where they would have a legitimate chance of playing against the Jets?
I think they’re in the day-to-day category. Certainly some of that will play into our decisions here over the next day and a half. I think with those kinds of things, you give the situation as much time as you can and sometimes another day or two can give you a little bit more information to work with. That’s probably what we’ll do, take as much time as we have and get as much information as we can and then try to make the best decision for the team that we can.

Are you generally encouraged with the overall health of the team at this point moving forward?
I don’t think it really makes any difference whether I am or not. We have to take our situation and try to make the most of it and that’s really all we’re trying to do. I’m not trying to grade it, whether it’s better or worse, good, bad or that type of thing. We'll just take what is and try to understand it the best that we can and look at all of our options and do what we feel like is the best thing for the team. That's really all we can do.

How much leeway do you have in constructing your game day roster?
It goes without saying that if you're going to be heavy in one area, you're going to be light somewhere else. I know we've had as many as 11 linebackers active for a game. My guess is we've probably had as many as 11 defensive backs active as well. I think seven offensive linemen has pretty much been the norm for us, either five or six defensive linemen and a couple of quarterbacks and four or five receivers. There's a certain number of people that I'd say it's relatively fixed. After that, there are other variables. If it's 11 linebackers, it’s going to be not as many defensive backs or tight ends or running backs. If it’s more balanced, then you’re going to have more of a balanced roster. I think my first year here, if I'm not mistaken, we carried six backs into a lot of games. I don't remember doing that in recent years, very often if at all. I don't think we've done it in a while. I'm sure we carried six back in 2000. It just depends on the makeup of your roster. Sometimes the game day activations are sometimes more special teams related than they are position related. So, for example, if you have a fullback, or a running back, who plays on all of your special teams and you have another running back who plays on all of your special teams and another year you have a couple of linebackers that play on all your special teams, but those players really don't play very many offensive or defensive plays, then to be honest with you, I'm not sure if it makes any difference. What difference does it make if you carry six backs or four backs? Those extra backs are your core special teams players. Defensively, if you carry 10 linebackers instead of eight, but the extra two linebackers are your core special teams players, it doesn't really matter whether they're linebackers, backs, tight ends or defensive backs. If that's what you need them for and they're the best you have at it, then it doesn't really matter what position they play, that's going to be their primary role. You know as well as I do that we've had a number of players that would fall into that category that were almost exclusively special teams players, whether it be Chris Floyd at fullback back in 2000 or Je’Rod Cherry as a safety, Larry Izzo as a linebacker. Those guys didn't get a whole lot of defensive or offensive playing time, they were core special teams players and sometimes the positions that they come from fluctuate a little bit, but you’re looking to get your best team out there. That's kind of the way we view it.

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

The other QBs get their chance

BY PAUL KENYON
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- The numbers were strong, even if the conditions under which they were obtained were not exactly typical.

How about 17 completions in 25 attempts for 198 yards with one interception, and an offense that produced 22 first downs and 27 points?

That’s what the Patriots received from their quarterbacks in their 27-20 victory over the Giants Thursday night, even though Tom Brady never got off the bench. On a night when it was difficult to get excited about anything, with the regulars all watching from the sidelines, the work by the backup quarterbacks had to be encouraging, at the least, for Patriots’ fans.

There are some questions the Pats hope they never have to answer this season, one of the biggest being what would happen if Brady was injured. But the two guys who will be the guys called upon if something does happen to Brady -- Matt Cassel and Vinny Testaverde -- both looked solid.

''We went out there and executed and did a good job tonight as a good lead-in to the regular season,'' Cassel said. ''Everybody gave 110 percent effort. That’s all you can ask.''

Cassel started and played nearly a half. He was 10-for-14 for 99 yards and guided the team on a 13-play, 87-yard march as well as another drive that resulted in a field goal.

''As an offense, we moved the ball pretty well. We were moving up and down the field,'' Cassel said in a fair assessment. ''Overall, I’d say our execution was pretty good. There are a lot of things we still need to work on , but getting out there and getting another start under my belt, even if it is preseason, is a great experience for me. I tried to do the best with it.

''I feel confident,'' he added. ''I’ve been here for three years. I feel confident in the system. I feel confident in the guys around me. God forbid, if something was to happen . . . ''

When Cassel went out, Testaverde, the 21-year veteran who rejoined the team after the completion of two-a-days, took over. He kept the offense moving as he went 7-for-11 for 99 yards and showed a nice touch on several of his passes. He appreciated the chance to see his first action of the season.

''It’s always important for players to get as much work as possible, whatever the circumstances may be,'' he said.

''Overall, I was satisfied. I think there are some things there to be worked on, but going out there seeing coverages, the speed of the game was where I would like it to be. It slowed down for me. Everything wasn’t running real fast in my mind. If you’re seeing things good you can work through the other mistakes you make.''

Rookie Matt Gutierrez, who seems ticketed for the practice squad, took over late and completed 7 of 9 passes, all of them short ones, for a total of 48 yards.

Posted by Paul Kenyon  at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Bill Belichick post-game press conference

Courtesy of the New England media relations department:

BB: We got a look at a lot of our young players tonight. They got a lot of extensive playing time. I really respect the way they played. I thought they competed well. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was certainly competitive. I thought we had a lot of guys play well. I think it will be interesting to look at the film here tomorrow morning to see how some things came together. The Giants have a good football team. We saw some competition against some of their better players. It will be interesting to see how all of that looks tomorrow. I respect the job that they did tonight. I thought overall we played a fairly solid game.

Can we take the way you played your personnel to mean that you are pretty happy with where your starters are?
I wouldn’t say that. I said last week, those guys that played a lot in the Carolina game, or that have played a lot through the course of the preseason, were going to play less tonight. The guys who didn’t play as much in that game played more tonight. That’s really the way we broke it up.

With [Brandon] Meriweather at safety, are you at the point where you can add to his plate and take advantage of his versatility?
He’s worked there some all of camp. He’s worked at safety. He’s worked at the nickel back. He’s worked at corner. He’s gotten good exposure on our secondary and also in the kicking game. He’s gotten a lot of reps at different spots through the course of camp.

Do you envision him doing more work at safety than he has to this point?
We’ll have to see. We’ll have to see.

Were you encouraged with what you saw out there tonight from him?
We’ll take a look at the tape. I thought there were some good things. There were a couple of plays that looked like he might have been a little out of position on, but I think that’s true of everybody. I thought he did some good things. He made a nice play on that in-cut on the second series, or whenever it was. We’ll take a look at the whole body of work rather than just try to go on one or two plays.

Any impressions of [Chris] Hanson’s effort tonight?
I thought it was okay. I thought it was okay. I’ve seen a lot worse, put it that way.

What went into that decision to bring him in?
To try to improve our team. That’s what goes into every decision.

What was it about him you thought was an upgrade?
I thought he had a chance to compete with the performance that we’ve had through the first three games.

Was it tough to see a kid who has worked as hard as Oscar Lua has go down like that?
Sure. We’ll see what the story is on that. I don’t know exactly what the extent of it is. But, yes, you hate to see anybody get injured.

Does that complicate roster moves when somebody gets injured tonight and you only have two days to evaluate the severity?
Yes, that never makes it any easier. You’d like to have as much information [as you can]. You’d like for it to be as clean as possible and when there is a degree of uncertainty and you have to make a guesstimate and just go on partial information, then that’s what you have to do. That’s certainly not the ideal situation. You’d like for it to be more complete.

Were you happy to see some of the kids that you had in there to begin with go up against the Giants’ starters for a series?
Yes. I thought it was good because we really played the same group of people the entire game and it was against different players with the Giants. That will be part of the evaluation too, to see how they played against some of those guys in the first quarter. They had some good players in there. They have a good team.

Vinny [Testaverde] looked like he had a nice touch.
I thought all three quarterbacks did a pretty solid job of running the operation. The Giants came with a decent amount of pressure. They changed some looks up. I thought all three guys did a decent job. We got the ball down the field a little bit. Some plays were better than others, but I thought we handled ourselves okay at the quarterback position.

Was there a certain thing that goes into dressing players but not playing them? Is there something that you want them to get out of the whole thing?
The only players who didn’t dress were the ones that had an injury situation.

But if you’re not going to play a guy, is there a reason why you dress them?
Yes, to go through the regular process. Part of our preparation in the preseason is to get ready for the regular season and that’s mentally going through situations. Nobody has played a full game. Whenever the players aren’t in there, they should be attentive to the situation and be into the game just like they’re going to in a regular season game. Nobody has played in every play in preseason. That goes for everybody.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

CJ Jones shines in Pats victory

BY ROBERT LEE
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO – C.J. Jones is one of several players on the bubble to make the Patriots' roster. But after Thursday night’s performance against the New York Giants, he might have played well enough to earn a spot.

Not only did Jones catch three passes for 59 yards in New England’s 27-20 victory over the Giants, he returned four kickoffs for 117 yards, averaging 29.3 yards per kickoff return, and returned two punts for 33 yards, averaging 16.5 yards per punt return.

To put that in perspective, Justin Miller of the New York Jets led the NFL in kickoff returns with an average of 28.3 yards a kickoff return last year, and Pacman Jones, of the Tennessee Titans, led the NFL in punt returns last season, averaging 12.9 yards per punt return.

''It was great to get an opportunity out there,'' said Jones, who only had one catch for nine yards prior to last night’s game. ''Coach [Bill] Belichick gave me a chance and I just tried to make the most of it. I was just trying to help the team in any way I could. I tried to get positive yards all the time and just tried to catch everything I could get.''

Jones said that it was all or nothing for him.

''This game was very important. [Belichick] gave us a chance to come out here and make plays and when you get that chance you just have to go ahead and make the most of it and make the decision hard for them at the end of the day,'' Jones said.

Vinny Testaverde hooked up with Jones on two separate occasions during the Patriots ' second-half opening six play, 70-yard touchdown drive that gave them a 17-7 lead.

The first was a 23-yard pass on first-and-10 from the New England 48. That gave the Pats a first down on the Giants' 29-yard line.

''I just put it all out there,'' Jones said. ''I had nothing to hide or save. I just did what they told me to do.''

On first and goal from the 9-yard line later in the drive, Testaverde hit Jones on a short screen pass toward the right sideline. Jones put two moves on New York defensive back Aaron Ross and sprinted toward the end zone. He was brought down eight yards later at the 1. Quinton Smith punched in the touchdown on a run up the middle.

''Vinny was doing a good job finding me in the holes,'' Jones said. ''I just had to be there when he called upon me. I’m just thankful for him . . . It was cool being out there with him.''

Jones is averaging 31 yards per kickoff return (8-for-248) this preseason, which is important because Belichick has said that excelling on special teams is a good way to make the Patriots roster.

''You can look at our roster in the last few years, or even since I’ve been here, and find plenty of players on the 53-man roster who had a significant amount of playing time in the kicking game and had very little offensively or defensively,'' Belichick said. ''There’s no question that there is a place for those players on our roster and they’re important players to us. Some players give us offensive and defensive depth and fewer plays in the kicking game. Other players give us a lot of plays in the kicking game and fewer plays as depth on offense and defense. Some guys are more balanced. When you put your roster together, you have to find a way to get all of those bases covered. There’s no question that special teams is a big factor in the makeup of your team and in some roster decisions. No doubt about it.''

Jones, who's never played in a regular-season NFL game, was signed by the Patriots as a free agent on June 7. He said he's not worried about getting cut because he's been through this process before.

He was originally signed by the Cleveland Browns as a rookie free agent on May 2, 2003, and played on the Browns practiced squad before being allocated by the Browns to NFL Europe in the spring of 2005. He was released Cleveland on Sept. 3, 2005, after spending the entire 2004 season on the team’s practice squad.

After catching 10 passes for 118 yards for the Cologne Centurions in NFL Europe during the 2005 season, Jones was signed by the Seattle Seahawks on Jan. 5, 2006. He was allocated by the Seahawks to NFL Europe in the spring of 2006 and caught 7 passes for 82 yards for the Berlin Thunder.

''I’ve been through it a couple of times so I just take my mind off it, pray about it, and just hope that I got enough film for other teams if this team is not the one,'' Jones said. '' . . . That’s my main objective. I was playing for all of the other teams if this team is not the one for me. I think I did enough to show my skills for other teams to see.''

Posted by Rob Lee  at 11:26 PM | Permalink

UPDATE: Lua will not return

Rookie linebacker Oscar Lua is laying on the sidelines getting his right leg worked on. The USC product was calling plays with the defense -- New England apparently had all its players in uniform for show, as players like LeKevin Smith, Willie Andrews and Dante Wesley started the game -- and was hurt a few plays into this opening drive.

UPDATE: It has just been announced that Lua will not return to the game. Not a good sign for the sentimental favorite.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:10 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

A little late to the party, but the gang's (almost) all here...

For a while, it looked like the Patriots would be sending just the kicking team onto the field tonight. Up until about five minutes ago, only Lonie Paxton, Stephen Gostkowski, Chris Hanson and Matt Cassel (the holder) were the only New England players warming up, while numerous Giants players were.

But now, pretty much the entire Pats roster -- including number 12 -- are out in uniform going through warm-up drills. If they play, we sure feel foolish...

Asante Samuel is not on the field.

Tight end Kyle Brady, who returned to practice this week, is not out there; we don't see Rodney Harrison either; Harrison wasn't at practice on Tuesday. Eugene Wilson has not been spotted.

However, Junior Seau, Kevin Faulk and Ty Warren are on the field. Seau and Faulk missed last week's game, and Warren hasn't been in uniform since getting injured on the first series of the exhibition opener in Tampa.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Welcome to Gillette

Hey all --

It is a beautiful evening here at Gillette Stadium, where (surprise!) very few players are out getting warmed up.

For the Patriots, long snapper Lonie Paxton was the first player on the field, and as of right now, none of his teammates are out there with him.

The starters, as usual, are not expected to see much, if any, play time.

Freshly-signed punter Chris Hanson is expected to be in uniform tonight.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Baugher out, C. Hanson in

The New England Patriots have made the surprise move of cutting punter Danny Baugher, signing veteran Chris Hanson.

Hanson, 30, is a seven-year veteran who has spent the bulk of his career with Jacksonville, though he was in camp in New Orleans this year. Last season, 20 of his 58 punts -- average distance 40.6 yards -- were downed inside the 20-yard line.

Baugher seemingly had beaten out two other punters, veteran Josh Miller and untested Tom Malone, to win the job in New England before the move.

The move was first reported in today's New Bedford Standard-Times print edition.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Today's transactions

The Patriots have just announced several moves, which get them down to the NFL-mandatory roster limit of 75:

WR Troy Brown, WR Chad Jackson and CB Eddie Jackson have all been placed on the reserve/PUP list, meaning that the three players, who have been on the physically-unable-to-perform list since training camp began, will remain on the PUP list through at least the first six weeks of the regular season or week nine at the latest; during that time, they can elect to open a 21-day window, allowing the player to practice. At the end of the three weeks, the player must be moved to the 53-man active roster or placed on season-ending injured reserve.

Rookie DB Mike Richardson has been placed on injured reserve, as a hand injury is ending his season. Richardson, who played nickelback with the first-team defense last Friday night against the Panthers, was seen in the locker room afterwards with his left arm in a sling.

Also, the team officially announced the signing of Asante Samuel and the release of rookie offensive lineman Chris Patrick, who was claimed off waivers last week. They have received a roster exemption for Samuel, allowing them to currently carry 76 players.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Bridget Moynahan reveals name of baby son

BOSTON (AP) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's newborn son is a JET.

A publicist for actress Bridget Moynahan on Tuesday announced the name of the son she had with her ex-boyfriend - John Edward Thomas Moynahan - and revealed Brady did make it in time to Los Angeles to be with her for the child's arrival.

"Bridget is very thankful for a happy baby, excited about being a mother, and very pleased that the father, Tom Brady, was able to be there for the birth," publicist Gary Mantoosh said.

Mantoosh refused to release any other details, including the size of the baby or whether the Thomas in his name was in honor of his father.

"Both mother and baby are at home, happy and healthy," he said.

Brady flew to California last Wednesday for the birth and returned to his team a couple days later for a preseason game.

Moynahan and Brady split up late last year after a three-year relationship. Brady has been dating supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

Moynahan, 36, is a former model who has starred in such films as "Coyote Ugly," "I, Robot" and "The Sum of All Fears." Her television credits include "Sex and the City" and the ABC series "Six Degrees." She grew up in Longmeadow, Mass.

Brady, 30, has led the Patriots to three NFL titles and is a two-time Super Bowl MVP. New England opens its regular season against the rival New York Jets on Sept. 8.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Photo: Asante smiles for the camera

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Asante Samuel, who formally signed with the Pats today, is circled by members of the media this morning in the locker room at Gillette Stadium.

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Practice peek

Hey all --

We are just in from the lower practice field, where New England is holding its daily session, and there was no number 22 to be spotted. When Bill Belichick was asked this morning whether Asante Samuel had taken his mandatory conditioning run yet, Belichick simply said that the corner is going through the same series of events every player goes through when he starts training camp.

Other players not spotted today on the field:

Rodney Harrison
Eugene Wilson
Mike Richardson
Randy Moss
Mike Wright
Rashad Baker
Kareem Brown
Russ Hochstein

Tom Brady received a rubdown of his right forearm while stretching; in the locker room, our eagle-eyed photographer, Bob Breidenbach, spotted Brady with a blue compression sleeve-type thing on the same arm.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Morning wrap: Asante chats

Hey all --

Asante Samuel was in good spirits today as he addressed a massive media throng in front of his locker.

Though on the surface it appears that Samuel got no more and no less than what he had coming to him -- the one-year guaranteed franchise tender, and no promise that he won't be franchised again next year -- he claimed that both sides are happy with how things went down.

"I'm good. I'm ready to play football," he said, adding that he actually missed two-a-days. "I really did miss it. I missed joking with the guys on the field, things like that."

Samuel realizes that he'll likely have to earn back his spot as a starter, and knows that he has work to do given that his teammates have been on the field for a month getting ready for the season.

He also wondered who "ratted" him out about his arrival to the area on Sunday night, and yours truly 'fessed up to that afterwards, but he wasn't mad about it.

Elsewhere in the locker room, Kyle Brady was his entertaining, thoughtful self, and spoke about teammate Randy Moss, who he said is pretty funny.

"He has a great sense of humor; he calls guys out in the locker room, he has a great locker room personality. He likes to clown around. He's a good guy to have around," he said.

We had an interesting chat with longshot receiver Chris Dunlap, who we noticed was swarmed by autograph seekers last night at the Kickoff Gala. The reason? Much as we suspected, most of the fans thought Dunlap was Laurence Maroney. When Dunlap had a picture of Maroney thrust into his hands and had to admit that he wasn't Maroney, some fans didn't believe him. While they do look similar, it's a lesson: know your players before you get signatures.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel official; Patrick cut

Stacey James has just announced that Asante Samuel did sign his franchise tender and is officially back with the Patriots.

Also, offensive lineman Chris Patrick has been cut. Patrick was signed last week.

Five more cuts must be made by 4 pm today.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel signs tender

Hey all --

It's been confirmed that Asante Samuel has signed his one-year franchise tender, though it is not believed that the Patriots agreed not to franchise the cornerback in 2008, which was the reason Samuel didn't sign the deal yesterday when he arrived at Gillette Stadium.

Samuel's representatives made one last effort to get the team not to franchise Samuel again -- something the Bears agreed to with linebacker Lance Briggs, as long as Briggs plays in more than 75 percent of Chicago's defensive snaps this year -- but it seemed unlikely from the beginning that New England would surrender one of the weapons it has at its disposal.

Bill Belichick is set to have his press conference at 10:45 a.m. and then the open locker room session is after that.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel not yet signed

Hey all -

Wanted to post an update on the Asante Samuel situation. We have had it confirmed that he has not yet signed his one-year franchise tender. He has reported to Gillette Stadium.

The NFL Network has reported that Samuel's agents are trying one last time to get New England not to franchise the 26-year old again in 2008.

We'll post more as we know more.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Warren wins Burton Community Service Award

Hey all --

We're just leaving the Patriots annual Kickoff Gala, where Stanley Morgan was inducted into the Patriots' Hall of Fame and Ty Warren won the fifth annual Ron Burton Community Service Award.

Morgan, who won an online fan vote over Burton and Ben Coates, said he was very excited for the honor -- though he felt it was a little overdue -- but thanked all of the fans who voted for him.

New England's career leader in receiving yards, Morgan believes the 2007 Patriots are the team to beat this year, and said that had last year's team had the wideouts that this team does, the team would have won the Super Bowl last year.

Warren and his wife, Kesha, founded the First and Goal Foundation last year, dedicated to helping children from Boys & Girls Clubs, an organization near to the couple's hearts. Last year, a group of children from the Yawkey Boys & Girls Club in Roxbury, Mass. were brought to the Bob's Store in Framingham, Mass. and given $300 to spend however they wanted -- after they bought themselves suitable cold-weather gear. Warren also attends many of the Patriots' charity events.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:39 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel not on field

Hey all -

We have just been kicked off the practice field, and Asante Samuel was not on the field. It could be has hasn't yet done his conditioning run, but we will try to get an answer for you.

There were several players on the field we had not seen in a while, including Ty Warren, Kyle Brady, Jabar Gaffney, and Larry Anam.

Those among the missing were Eugene Wilson, Randy Moss, Sammy Morris, Mike Richardson, Mike Wright and Russ Hochstein.

Wilson apparently was injured on Carolina's 48-yard touchdown pass on Friday night; Richardson was spotted in the locker room after the game with his left arm in a sling.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Morning wrap: Coach says Samuel 'going through the process'

Hey all --

Bill Belichick acknowledged that Asante Samuel has arrived at Gillette Stadium in his opening statement this morning, but he didn't give much beyond that when it came to the cornerback.

"Asante came in this morning, I spoke with him. He's going through the process any player would go through at the beginning of camp -- taking his physical, conditioning run, all of that," Belichick said.

He was then peppered with several questions about Samuel, including whether it might not take him as long to re-integrate into the team since he's been with the Patriots for four years; if he is the type to let bygones be bygones; and if Samuel's return means Brandon Meriweather might see more time at safety.

The answers to those questions: "I don't know, we'll take it day to day like everything else"; "All I do as coach is coach the team. That's my job, that's what it's been, that's what it's going to be"; and "Asante hasn't been on the practice field yet."

Along other lines, Belichick praised rookie linebacker Oscar Lua (we know he's a fan favorite; we're partial too having spoken with him a couple of times), saying "he gets better out there every day."

The coach said he does not yet know who will make the 53-man roster come Saturday, and affirmed that Thursday night's preseason finale against the Giants is an opportunity for every player to increase his standing, whether it be making a case to get more playing time or simply to make the roster.

In the locker room, today was slightly better than the day last year that Deion Branch was traded. There weren't a whole lot of players around to talk to, though the ever-accommodating Ellis Hobbs and Mike Vrabel did talk. Neither would address the situation with Samuel.

Practice access begins at 1:10 p.m.; we'll let you know who is and isn't out there shortly thereafter.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel is in the building

Hey all -

Asante Samuel is indeed here at Gillette Stadium and has re-joined his Patriots teammates.

Bill Belichick is scheduled to address the media at 11:15 am and we'll post more afterwards.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel will report Monday morning

Hey all --

Asante Samuel will report to Gillette Stadium tomorrow morning, ending his de-facto holdout, a source close to the cornerback confirmed tonight.

When Samuel arrives, expected to be prior to the team's 8 a.m. meeting, he will sign the one-year, $7.79 million franchise tender and prepare for his fifth NFL season.

The 26-year old left his Florida home earlier tonight to fly to the area. He has missed 31 days of training camp, though he has not amassed any fines because he was not under contract.

New England designated Samuel as its franchise player in February, after the corner had a career-high and league-best 10 interceptions last year. He added two more picks in the playoffs, both of which he returned for touchdowns. Samuel has three career postseason interception returns for touchdowns, tying an NFL record.

Samuel's representatives and Patriots' brass tried to work out a long-term deal for several months, but an agreement could not be reached before the July deadline. The two sides cannot resume talks until after the conclusion of the regular season; the option also exists for the Patriots to franchise Samuel again for the 2008 season. If that happens, he will receive an estimated $9.5 million - the average of the top five salaries at his position plus 20 percent.

It will be interesting to see when Samuel gets on the field. Though he has been working out in Florida throughout the offseason, he is probably not game-ready.

Without him during training camp, third-year corner Ellis Hobbs has slid into the number one role. After veteran Chad Scott suffered a season-ending injury on the first day of camp, Randall Gay has performed well opposite Hobbs.

While Samuel's return likely means Gay will be coming off the bench, it also gives New England good depth at the position.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

The new & improved game story

BY SHALISE MANZA YOUNG
Journal Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The New England Patriots’ offense took a step forward Friday night against the Carolina Panthers, even as their quarterback was handling a major event in his Hollywood-worthy life and gossip writers were swarming around the team like flies in the humid North Carolina night.

With key pieces missing at different times thus far this preseason, Tom Brady and his teammates on the offensive side of the ball seemed to be having difficulty finding a rhythm.

But on Friday New England may have made significant progress as it aims to script the perfect ending more than five months from now – in Arizona, not Hollywood -- turning in a solid performance in a 24-7 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Brady, who arrived in Charlotte from California, where he welcomed his first son on Wednesday, had Laurence Maroney in the backfield for the first time this preseason, the offensive line protecting him better than it had last week against the Titans, and was his usual efficient self in the passing game, completing 17 passes to eight different receivers.

Lest anyone get too excited, however, everyone from Bill Belichick on down was quick to point out after the game that New England remains a work in progress.

''There are a lot of things we could do better out there. It’s far from a perfect game,'' Belichick said. ''There are a lot of things we could do better in all three phases of the game. I’m glad we didn’t turn the ball over offensively, but we had some penalties down in the red area, we missed some plays in the kicking game (and) gave up a long touchdown pass.''

''We’re still not (happy),'' fullback Heath Evans said. ''When I first got here, one of the first things I realized was there’s an attitude of perfection. You know you’ll never achieve it, but you strive for it.''

''We’ll look at the film and see,'' if things improved from last week, guard Stephen Neal said. ''There’s always room to improve.''

Maroney, who shed the red non-contact jersey he’d been wearing after offseason shoulder surgery this week, giving him clearance to hit and be hit, didn’t have to wait long to see how he’d hold up. Brady handed him the ball on the Patriots’ first seven offensive snaps over two possessions. The St. Louis native saw his night end after 15 carries for 58 yards (3.9 yards per carry).

''I’m not going to lie, the first series I felt kind of rusty,'' Maroney said. ''I wanted to know how the first hit felt on my shoulder (and) after I got into the swing of things, I got rolling. The whole first series I felt uncomfortable; I wasn’t sure if I was making the right reads.''

But once he ''got the jitterbugs out of the way,'' Maroney said everything started coming back to him.

As Maroney was getting his sea legs under him again, Brady was all business. He didn’t complete his first pass attempt, for Benjamin Watson, but then converted 12 of his next 13 and finished the night 17-for-22 for 167 yards and two scores.

No sacks, no interceptions.

The ever-genial Evans became the star of the show with a 43-yard carry in the third quarter that set up the Patriots’ third touchdown. He bowled over a defender near the line of scrimmage, then fended off a second before he was knocked out of bounds.

''I stiff-armed the same guy six times because I’m so slow,'' Evans joked.

Defensively, things were more like Groundhog Day (not a great movie by any means, but you understand the premise we’re going for) – another good performance, but not without its shaky moments.

Carolina had just seven points on New England’s first-team defense, with the touchdown coming on a 48-yard catch-and-run by Keary Colbert at the end of the first half. Jake Delhomme’s pass to Colbert was over the short middle, but Colbert, lined up opposite defensive back Mike Richardson, got past the rookie quickly and then outran the rest of the defense, getting a nice block from Steve Smith near the goal line.

Richardson saw a number of snaps at the nickel spot, which is where rookie Brandon Meriweather had been lining up to this point.

Panthers’ running back DeAngelo Williams had nine carries and was held to just 29 yards; Delhomme went 11-for-18 for 162 yards.

Seventh-round draft pick Oscar Lua proved that sometimes the story doesn’t change, picking off Carolina quarterback David Carr – last seen struggling in Houston -- in the second half and returning the interception 13 yards.

And Vince Wilfork, already growing into one of the best interior linemen in the NFL and beloved for his fumble recovery rumble in the playoffs against the Jets, added to his legend, getting his paws on two John Kasay field-goal attempts.

''We got a good surge up the middle,'' on the blocks, Belichick said. ''It was a team effort; it’s not just one guy. It’s hard to tell exactly what happened, but I know we got a good push. The linebackers were pushing those guys inside, and Vince got off on the ball.''

Admittedly, the Patriots are reworking the script, and even some of the actors involved, but the dailies are looking good. Is it still too early to predict they might be receiving the NFL’s Oscar – the Lombardi?

POST-GAME NOTES
There were at least two gossip reporters floating around the locker room, one from People magazine, trying to get news on Brady’s baby. … Richardson was spotted with his left arm in a sling in the locker room. … Lua held on to the ball he intercepted, his first pick in the NFL.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Belichick press conference

Here are Bill Belichick's post-game comments, provided by the Patriots media relations staff:

Opening statement
I thought we played a little more competitively this week. I thought we did a decent job of running the ball and a decent job defending the run. We still left some plays out there on the field that we’d like to have made. But I thought overall the team had a good week of practice, probably our best week of practice. That was probably our best game played that we’ve played so far this year. Hopefully we can correlate that going forward. Carolina showed their big play ability, they got right back in the game there before the half and fortunately we were able to kind of regroup a little bit there at halftime. We went to a two-minute drive there to start the third quarter just to get our guys some work on that because we didn’t have one at the end of the half. So that was a nice, successful drive. Donté [Stallworth] made a nice play to get the ball down the field. So that was a good series for us. Right now it’s back to work. We have the Giants coming up. We took one step tonight and we need to take another one this week against the Giants and get ready for the regular season.

With all that’s been on [Tom] Brady’s plate, were you surprised at how cool he was?
I thought Tom did a nice job. I thought he handled some adjustments well. Carolina blitzed him a little bit. I think he did a good job of handling that and he threw the ball fairly well.

What was the thinking on going for it on that fourth down play?
Just to try to put our team in a pressure situation, see how we could do running the ball. We knew we were going to run it in that situation. There was a lot of field position at stake, but I think that was kind of indicative of the night. We blocked well, we made it by a couple of yards. Laurence [Maroney] made a good run and we had good blocking. We’re trying to set a little bit of a tempo and a tone for ourselves in terms of the running game.

Can you talk about the two blocked field goals?
We got a really good surge up the middle. It looked like Vince [Wilfork] got both of them, but it’s a team effort. It’s not just one guy. It’s two or three guys pushing and it’s hard to see. There’s a big wad of bodies there. It’s hard to tell exactly what happened, but I know we got a good push. The linebackers are pushing those guys inside. Vince got off on the ball. It was two big plays.

How did you think Laurence looked his first game back?
I think he did some things all right. It was his first game. He has a long way to go. I thought there were some things that were okay. There were other things that could have been better.

You opened with nine straight running plays. Was that scripted?
Absolutely.

A couple more misses by Stephen Gostkowski. Are you concerned at all?
There’s a lot of things that we could do better out there. Like I said, it was far from a perfect game. There’s a lot of things we need to do better in all three phases of the game - offense, defense and special teams. I’m glad we didn’t turn the ball over offensively, but we had penalties down in the red area, we missed some plays in the kicking game, we gave up a long touchdown pass. We still have a lot of stuff to work on.

You gave Mike Richardson some run earlier than he has been accustomed to in games. Is he coming on a little bit as of late in camp? Did you just want to get a better look at him?
Mike has been playing outside. We worked him inside a little bit this week, so we just wanted to just take a look at that in the game and see how that looked. Some things were okay. Other things could have been better.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:32 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Post-game notes

There were compiled by the Patriots' media relations department:

BRADY’S LINE

Tom Brady completed 17-of-21 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns, good for a 131.5 passer rating. He came out of the game with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter. Brady spread his 17 completions out to eight different receivers, hitting Benjamin Watson four times, Donte’ Stallworth and Wes Weker three times each, Sammy Morris and Heath Evans twice, and Reche Caldwell, Marcellus Rivers and Kelley Washington once each.

SWAT TEAM

The Patriots blocked two field goals against the Panthers, with Vince Wilfork and Jarvis Green each swatting down a John Kasay field goal bid. The last time the Patriots blocked two field goals in a regular-season game was on Oct. 21, 2001 against Indianapolis, when Brandon Mitchell and Tebucky Jones each batted down a Mike Vanderjagt attempt. Against Carolina, Wilfork blocked a 49-yard try in the second quarter and Green blocked a 43-yard attempt in the third quarter. The Patriots scored touchdowns on the drives immediately following each field goal block. Following Wilfork’s block, the Patriots took over at Carolina’s 45-yard line and put together a 10-play drive that ended in a 6-yard touchdown reception by Marcellus Rivers and a 10-0 Patriots lead. Following Green’s block, the Patriots took over at their own 31-yard line and drove 74 yards on eight plays to take a 24-7 lead on a 2-yard run by Heath Evans.

EVANS IN THE ZONE

Heath Evans scored two touchdowns against the Panthers – one on the ground and one in the air. He hauled in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to give the Patriots a 17-7 lead in the third quarter and later plunged in from two yards out to give the Patriots a 24-7 third-quarter advantage. He helped set up his scoring run with a 43-yard rush earlier on that drive. Evans also scored on a 2-yard run last week against Tennessee and his three touchdowns this preseason lead the team. Evans has scored one career touchdown in the regular season, on a 1-yard reception from Brady against Miami on Oct. 8, 2006. Evans scored three rushing touchdowns for the Patriots in the 2006 preseason.

ROOKIE PICK

Rookie linebacker Oscar Lua intercepted a David Carr pass in the fourth quarter to thwart a Panthers scoring bid. The Panthers had driven to the Patriots’ 15-yard line after moving 68 yards on 11 plays, but Lua picked off the ball at the 10-yard line and returned it 13 yards to the Patriots’ 23-yard line. Lua was selected by the Patriots in the seventh round (211th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft out of Southern Cal.

RIVERS SCORES

Tom Brady found an open Marcellus Rivers for a 6-yard touchdown strike in the second quarter to give the Patriots a 10-0 lead. Rivers, who was signed by the Patriots as a veteran free agent on Aug. 8, has played in 75 career games with 13 starts for the New York Giants (2001-04) and Houston Texans (2005). Rivers also spent time with the Oakland Raiders in the 2006 preseason and was on the New Orleans’ Saints roster for one game during the 2006 regular season, but was inactive for that contest. Rivers has recorded 51 career receptions for 395 yards (7.7 avg.) and four touchdowns.

LONG DRIVE

The Patriots put together an 18-play, 90-yard drive in the first quarter that ended in a 23-yard field goal and a 3-0 Patriots lead. After gaining possession at their own 5-yard line, the Patriots marched to their own 24-yard line and faced a fourth-and-one. Instead of punting, New England elected to go for it and gained the first down on a 5-yard run by Sammy Morris. Laurence Maroney ran eight times for 38 yards on the drive, while Morris and Wes Welker each caught a pair of passes.

QUICK HITS

* Rookie defensive back Mike Richardson reached in a batted away a Jake Delhomme pass intended for Steve Smith on third-and-five in the second quarter, forcing a Carolina punt on the next play.

* Adalius Thomas and Rosevelt Colvin stuffed Carolina’s DaShaun Foster for a loss of four yards in the first quarter.

* Mike Vrabel sacked Carolina’s David Carr for a 7-yard loss in the third quarter.

* Rookie Justin Rogers sacked Carolina’s Brett Basanez for a 14-yard loss in the fourth quarter.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Taking attendance

Here's who we have not spotted, as the players are now in uniform doing warmups:

WR Jabar Gaffney
S Rashad Baker
RB Kevin Faulk
DB Larry Anam
LB Junior Seau
OL Russ Hochstein
WR Randy Moss
TE Kyle Brady
DL Ty Warren
DL Mike Wright

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:25 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady is in uniform

Hey all --

The quarterbacks just trotted onto the field in uniform and familiar number 12 was leading the pack.

So he has arrived and looks ready to play, throwing warmup passes to a stationary Wes Welker.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:10 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Spotted in the stands...

...a banner behind the Patriots' bench which reads:

Brady Baby
Wicked Sweet!!!
GO PATS!!!

Obviously, they're excited about the arrival of the Golden Child ...

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:28 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Welcome to Charlotte

Hey all --

We have settled in at Bank of America Stadium, where they somehow manage to keep the place intimate despite a capacity of over 73,000.

Not surprisingly, the first player out on the field was rookie quarterback Matt Gutierrez, who is playing catch with receiver Chris Dunlap.

That pair were closely followed by long snapper Lonie Paxton, who is snapping the ball over 25 yards right now.

In what can be seen as nothing but a good sign -- especially since he's been about invisible since camp started -- tight end David Thomas is doing some agility drills on the field, slide steps and stretches and running.

Laurence Maroney is in cleats and chatting up Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams, who like Maroney is a second-year back.

Eric Alexander, who like Maroney shed his red non-contact jersey just this week, is in uniform pants and jogging, so he's clearly getting ready to go

Reserve defensive lineman Santonio Thomas is basically chilling, sitting and listening to his headphones on one of the Pats' benches.

We'll have more shortly.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel agent: "No agreement in place"

One of the agents for New England Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel said late tonight “no date has been set” for Samuel to sign his franchise tender and return to the team.

“I couldn’t confirm that at this time. No agreement is in place,” said Jay Bianco, who represents Samuel with Alonzo Shavers.

Bianco’s comments came in light of an NFL Network report that said the corner would be back with the team by the middle of next week.

Since he is not currently under contract with New England, Samuel is under no obligation to be with the team, and is not incurring fines for missing the first 28 days of camp.

Once he signs the one-year, $7.79 million guaranteed contract, Samuel will re-join the Patriots, seemingly set to prove that his 12-interception performance (including playoffs) of last season was not a fluke. He has been working out in his home state of Florida since the Pats’ season ended in January.

The deadline for Samuel’s agents and the Patriots to come to a long-term agreement passed several weeks ago, and the sides cannot try to work out a multi-year deal until after the coming season concludes.

New England also has the option of designating Samuel as its franchise player again for the 2008 season, which would cost the team an estimated $9.5 million. Players franchised for a second time receive a one-year tender equal to an average of the top five highest salaries at their position plus 20 percent.

Franchised Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs returned to the defending NFC Champions after reaching a deal in which Briggs was given $1 million of his $7.2 million contract upfront and the Bears agreed not to franchise him again in 2008 if he plays more than 75 percent of the team’s defensive snaps this year.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady "expected" for tomorrow's game

Hey all -

Pats spokesman Stacey James tells us his expectation is that new daddy Tom Brady will be in Charlotte for the all-important third preseason game against the Panthers tomorrow night.

He cautions, however, that there are variables which could delay Brady, who will be flying in from California.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Fatherhood calls Brady away from practice

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s a boy for Bridget Moynahan and New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady.The actress gave birth to the baby in Los Angeles today, Moynahan’s publicist Christina Papadapoulos said in a statement.

“Both mother and baby are doing well,” she said. Other details were not immediately released. Moynahan and Brady split up late last year after a three-year relationship.

Brady, who has been dating supermodel Gisele Bundchen, wasn’t on the field or sidelines for the first 15 minutes of Patriots practice today.

The quarterback had said he wanted a few days off to attend the birth of his first child. It was unknown if he arrived before the baby was born.

Moynahan, a former model, has starred in such films as “Coyote Ugly,” “I, Robot” and “The Sum of All Fears.” Her television credits include “Sex and the City” and the ABC series “Six Degrees.”

Posted by Donna McGarry  at 7:28 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Baugher is undisputed champ

Any argument about whether Danny Baugher truly has won the starting punting job with last week's release of Josh Miller has been answered affirmatively, as the Patriots have announced that Tom Malone has also been released. Malone was also on the practice squad last year with Baugher.

Baugher is now the only punter on the roster.

The team also cut defensive lineman Kenny Smith. The 29-year old Smith was signed as a free agent on June 8.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Gostkowski is confident

BY ROBERT LEE
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO, Mass. -- After going just 6-for-9 on field goals at practice one day last week -- and then missing a 33-yard field goal against Tennessee last Friday when he also booted a kickoff out of bounds, drawing a penalty -- many Patriots fans started to lose confidence in Stephen Gostkowski, despite him going 20-for-26 on field goals last year and making 21 of his last 23 attempts.

Gostkowski has a message for those fans doubting him.

''You have nothing to worry about.”

He said today that he rushed both kicks Friday night and tried to boot them too hard. He has learned from his mistakes.

''When I was out there, I felt like I hit it good,'' Gostkowski said of the field goal. ''I hit it good in warmups this past week [but] in the game, I was kind of rushing myself. I was trying to kick too hard. I got to believe more in my leg strength, especially on a short field goal like that and just do the same thing every time.

''We watched it and tried to correct it. I got a whole week of practice to fine tune everything and I still got two games to get more comfortable. When those things happen you can take a positive away from it and I shrugged it off and made the next field goal.

''I was upset about it. We lost by three . . . Points are crucial. I’m going to work harder this week and try not to miss any.''

With punter Josh Miller gone, quaterback Matt Cassel will now be the holder for Gostkowski.

''It’s just a matter of getting enough reps in with they guy that you are going to have and being comfortable,'' Gostkowski said of switching holders. ''It’s all about rhythm. If you go out there and you expect the ball to be there and it’s not, your timing is going to be thrown off. We get plenty of reps and playing time in practice. I’ve been kicking too long to let one miss affect me.''

Posted by Rob Lee  at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice attendance

Practice is underway here behind Gillette, where it is unseasonably cool and breezy.

The only "news" is that the quarterbacks are back in white jerseys like the rest of the offense, which is how they closed out the season last year.

Today's list of absentees is the same as yesterday:

WR Jabar Gaffney
S Rashad Baker
DB Larry Anam
OL Russ Hochstein
WR Randy Moss
TE Kyle Brady
DE Ty Warren

As well as the PUP guys and Asante Samuel.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice attendance

Practice is underway here behind Gillette, where it is unseasonably cool and breezy.

Defensive lineman Mike Wright has returned to practice for the first time in a week. The versatile third-year player did not play in the team's second preseason game last Friday.

The only other "news" is that the quarterbacks are back in white jerseys like the rest of the offense, which is how they closed out the season last year.

Today's list of absentees is the same as yesterday:

WR Jabar Gaffney
S Rashad Baker
DB Larry Anam
OL Russ Hochstein
WR Randy Moss
TE Kyle Brady
DE Ty Warren

As well as the PUP guys and Asante Samuel.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Locker room look

Hey all --

Today's locker room session has been wrapped up, and we're headed to practice in a bit.

A few players were making use of the game table, as Randy Moss, Chad Jackson, Laurence Maroney, Reche Caldwell and Wes Welker were all playing dominoes.

Brandon Meriweather's eyebrows are growing back in quite nicely (he had to sacrifice them on Wednesday as part of a team ritual), and guys like Oscar Lua and Corey Hilliard who had large, irregular chunks of hair taken have shaved off what was left.

Maroney (reluctantly) and Junior Seau drew large media crowds by their stalls.

We'll be back with practice attendance.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Patriots journal by Robert Lee: Testaverde is back

BY ROBERT LEE
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- Vinny Testaverde spoke today for the first time inside the Patriots locker room about re-signing with New England.

He said that he was very excited that coach Bill Belichick wanted him back this season, his 21st in the NFL.

''He expressed interested in wanting me back and it was just a matter of me getting through the offseason and feeling mentally and physically like I wanted to come back,'' Testaverde said. ''Until I felt like I did, I didn’t want to tell him yes and then for some reason change my mind later. I didn’t want to leave him in a bad situation. Things seemed to work out and I’m excited to be back.''

The 43-year-old quarterback played in three regular-season games with the Patriots last season, including the finale in which he extended his streak to 20 seasons with at least one touchdown pass.

''I feel good in the fact that I’m playing for [Belichick],'' Testaverde said. " ...This organization, [owner Robert Kraft] is first class all the way and I want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of a team that is trying to win games and win championships. There is no better place to be then right here in New England.''

Testaverde provides an experienced backup to Tom Brady. The Patriots’ other quarterback, Matt Cassel, has thrown just 32 passes in two seasons with the team after playing sparingly as a backup at Southern California.

Brady is thrilled to have Testaverde back.

''He adds depth and he adds quality and experience and leadership and attitude and all those things you look for in a New England Patriot. He’s a perfect fit,'' Brady said.

Testaverde was out of the NFL last season when Belichick, who had only two quarterbacks on the roster, asked if he wanted to be an insurance policy.

''Vinny can still play that position at a good level,'' Belichick said. ''He brings us depth and experience at that spot … Based on last year, he’s still able to do the things that a quarterback needs to do to be productive in this league.''

Both Belichick and Testaverde said that they don’t know how much playing time Testaverde will get on Friday at Carolina.

''I’m just trying to learn the new plays that we got in right now,'' Testaverde said. ''I haven’t talked to anyone about playing. Whatever it’s going to be, it’ll be, and I’ll try and be as prepared as I can be.''

''He’ll play some,'' Belichick said. ''We haven’t really set playing time this week but I think he’ll definitely play some. We haven’t even talked about it, really.''

Testaverde, the top overall pick in the 1987 draft by Tampa Bay after winning the Heisman Trophy at Miami, also has played for Cleveland, Baltimore, the New York Jets and Dallas. Testaverde has started 208 of his 226 NFL games and is in the top 10 on the career lists for yards passing, attempts, completions and touchdown passes.

He said he never thought of retiring after last season.

''You just hear of a lot of guys who retire and a year later his body is starting to feel better and they say, 'Boy, I wish I could come back,' '' Testaverde said. ''They want to come back and it’s too late because they have been out of the game a year. It’s hard to get back in once you do that so I just kind of put my time in and hit the weight room and did the conditioning. If I do that and get through the offseason and I don’t want to play, then I’ll call it quits. I still have that hunger, that taste that I still want to go out and get a little bit more and thats why I do it.''

Maroney, Alexander in contact
Laurence Maroney and Eric Alexander shed their red, non-contact practice jerseys and were in full pads.

Maroney has stated all preseason long that he has been willing and ready for full contact since day one, but Belichick and the rest of the coaching staff held him back to keep him from getting injured and to save his legs from excessive wear and tear.

''He’s made steady progress,'' Belichick said.

Belichick said he expects Maroney to play in his first preseason game Friday night.

Practice participants
Offensive lineman Billy Yates returned to the field for the first time in more than a week today. However, wide receivers Jabar Gaffney and Randy Moss , safety Rashad Baker , defensive back Larry Anam , outside linebacker Russ Hochstein , tight end Kyle Brady , defensive end Ty Warren and linebacker Mike Wright did not practice. Nor did the usual PUPers, or holdout Asante Samuel.

Posted by Art Martone  at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Brady Talks on Fatherhood; Passing Game

Tom Brady spoke in the Patriot's locker room a few minutes ago and addressed everything from the big hits he took in Friday's night's game against Tennessee, practicing without Randy Moss and the pending birth of his first child.

Brady wouldn't let on when his former girlfriend, Bridget Moynahan, is due but she is resting in California and the date is clearly soon. Asked if he knew when the baby is due, Brady answered shyly, ''I wish I did. That’s God’s decision. I think everybody’s anxious, put it that way.''

Pressed on if the baby is due before the regular season begins, he said, ''I haven't really spoken about that. That’s stuff that’s very private to me. You all know it won’t be hard to figure out when it happens.''

Brady said he'd like to be with Moynahan when the baby is born and perhaps take a few days away from the team but he admitted that the team's schedule will play a part in his planning. ''We’ll see when it happens. It’s up to Bill (Belichick). Bill has a lot to say so we’ll deal with it when it happens.''

Standing a few feet away from Brady was veteran QB Vinny Testaverde, a 21-year NFL pro who is helping ease Brady's throwing strain both in camp and during the season. Brady is thrilled that Vinny is back once again.

''He adds depth and he adds quality and experience and leadership and attitude and all those things you look for in a New England Patriot. He’s a perfect fit,'' he said.

As for the Pats, Brady said the next two weeks will go a long way toward finding the improvement the team clearly needs heading into the opener against the Jets.

''I’m always excited about our potential but the potential and the reality is something that’s very different. I’ve heard over the last six months the expectations for this team that we can just go out there and throw the ball wherever we want and run it and gain 450 yards a game. But it takes a lot. It takes guys coming together and finding a role and playing with toughness and effort. We haven’t played any games yet. We have two very valuable weeks coming up in order to get ready for our opener. The potential of the team, that’s one thing. But it’s really going out and accomplishing things in Week One that’s important.''

More on Brady, Testaverde and the Pats in Tuesday's Journal.

-- KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Kevin  at 1:02 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Locker room look

Hey all --

The locker room has been cleared of us riff-raff for the day, and Tom Brady did address the media in front of his locker (Kevin McNamara will have the details of that chat for you shortly), and Vinny Testaverde was welcomed back by the recorder-and-camera set as well.

It was quite sad to walk around the room and notice Marquise Hill's locker. Though we were in the locker room Friday night, there wasn't time to wander around. Today, we stood in front of the number 91 stall, which has Hill's practice jersey hanging on the rod, his pants on a hook, and his helmet on a hook on the opposite side. The yellow-and-purple shoulder pads of LSU, which he continued to wear, were on the top shelf, and a post-card sized photo of him was tacked up as well. We noticed the same photo in Kevin Faulk's locker.

Adalius Thomas is in Don Davis' old locker on Linebacker Row, and with final cutdowns still a few days away, the portable lockers the rookies use clog up the middle of the room.

We had a nice chat with Le Kevin Smith, whose lips look much better than they did on Friday. He bit through both lips after his mouthpiece came out on one play, and needed stitches for both lips. We also talked about his unique skill -- being able to do multiple backflips -- and its origins. Smith said it was something the kids in his neighborhood did growing up, and he was the champ despite being the biggest kid around.

We're planning on getting a story out about him sometime this week.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice attendance

Hey all -

The good news first: Laurence Maroney and.Eric Alexander have shed their red no-touchy jerseys and were in full pads like the rest of their teammates.

Offensive lineman Billy Yates returned to the field for the first time in more than a week.

But here are the missing:

WR Jabar Gaffney
S Rashad Baker
DB Larry Anam
OL Russ Hochstein
WR Randy Moss
TE Kyle Brady
DE Ty Warren
DL Mike Wright

As well as the PUPers and Asante Samuel.

Bill Belichick takes the podium shortly and we'll post again after that.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats sign Testaverde; release Hawkins, two others

New England has revealed its worst-kept secret, announcing that it has re-signed quarterback Vinny Testaverde. Testaverde's profile was already in the team's media guide for this year, and the 21-year veteran had told one media outlet that he'd be joining the team when two-a-days ended, which they did last Wednesday.

The team also cut veteran safety Artrell Hawkins, corner Gemara Williams and rookie linebacker Kyle Bissinger. All three missed practice time last week and did not play in last night's game.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Cassel in the game

Antwan Odom couldn't end Tom Brady's night, but Brady has taken a seat on the bench and been replaced by Matt Cassel with just under three minutes left in the second quarter.

Brady went 10-for-19 for 145 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a score by the Titans' Cortland Finnegan.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:38 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady doing fine...

After the hit that Tom Brady absorbed on New England's last possession -- he was drilled to the turf by defensive lineman Antwan Odom, who landed on Brady's left shoulder -- we figured it was the end of the night for the Golden One.

But Brady is on the field for this drive, and seems OK.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

UPDATE: Monsoon?

The skies have opened -- and we mean it's absolutely pouring -- here at Gillette. The rain came quite quickly, and doesn't look like it will be going anywhere anytime soon.

UPDATE: Now there's lightning in the sky, which could put tonight's start time in jeopardy. Football can be played in most anything, but we're guessing lightning is on the very short list of what it can't be played in.

The fans have gone running for cover, while the Pats and Titans are continuing their warm-ups -- it takes quite a bit for FieldTurf to accumulate water.

But hey, at least this means a lot of plastic-bag rain ponchos will be sold tonight. Ching-ching....

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady sighting

Well, Tom Brady either never left Massachusetts or he beat a hasty return back here.

Number 12 in currently on the field, in uniform, with his quarterbacking brethren, Matt Cassel and Matt Gutierrez.

When he wasn't on the field for Wednesday evening's practice session, there was speculation that he had been called out to California for the birth of his child with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan. We heard conflicting reports -- one story was that he had been driven to the airport on Wednesday, while another said he never left -- and well, it would appear that the latter was true...

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:15 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

At Gillette: 2 hours and counting

Hey all --

As it generally does with about 2 hours until game time, Gillette Stadium is showing signs of life.

On the field, several players from both the Patriots and the Titans are warming up, mostly in shorts and t-shirts. Earlier, we saw Troy Brown running length-of-the-field sprints, and he was looking good, with no noticeable hitch because of his knee injury.

The field looks mostly "normal," with the Patriots' Flying Elvis logo at midfield and the Gillette lighthouse logo on either side of it. However, the end zones have not been painted.

We arrived here about 80 minutes ago and didn't have any traffic issues, but beloved colleague Paul Kenyon tells us things were a bit slower than usual coming up Route 1 north.

We'll be back with another check-in soon.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

J. Miller cut

Hey all --

We realize this isn't so much news now, but we had issues in posting earlier (not operator error, if you can believe that) and were not able to get on the blog for a couple of hours.

Josh Miller has been released by New England, leading the way for Danny Baugher to claim the starting role as punter.

Miller, a 37-year old veteran of 13 NFL seasons (plus a couple in the CFL before that) was placed on injured reserve last year with a shoulder injury and things haven't looked good for him since -- the Patriots tried to keep Todd Sauerbrun, who spent the final five games of the season with the team, and also had Baugher and Tom Malone on the practice squad. In training camp, Matt Cassel has been holding on field goals, which was once Miller's job, and in the preseason opener, Miller never got on the field after warm-ups.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments 0