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Brady named Sporting News Sportsman of the Year

The Sporting News has selected Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as its Sportsman of the Year, calling him the "perfect pick" for their annual award.

From the press release:

“Tom Brady has given us one of the greatest seasons in NFL history,” said Sporting News Sr. Vice President/Editorial Director, John Rawlings. “You can’t help but admire what he has accomplished – even if much of the NFL world has suddenly turned anti-Patriots.”

The Patriots wouldn’t be the Patriots – and the NFL wouldn’t be the NFL – without Tom Brady.

The Sportsman of the Year issue hits newsstands on Dec. 24.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:27 PM to Tom Brady | Permalink | Comments 2

Eight Pats named to AFC Pro Bowl roster

Eight members of the undefeated New England Patriots were named to the AFC Pro Bowl roster today, the most for the team since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

Quarterback Tom Brady, center Dan Koppen, left tackle Matt Light, left guard Logan Mankins, receiver Randy Moss, cornerback Asante Samuel, linebacker Mike Vrabel and nose tackle Vince Wilfork are the honorees.

Conspicuously absent from the list is defensive end Ty Warren.

The Pats also had eight Pro Bowlers in 1985. Last year, only Light and Richard Seymour represented New England in Hawaii.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza Young

Shalise Manza Young and Mike McDermott discuss the Patriots' win over the Jets and look ahead to potential playoff foes. Click the play button below to listen and watch.

Here are some excerpts from Shalise's comments:

On the defensive line: "Having Seymour back at 100 percent means that Jarvis Green and he can keep switching back and forth, and they can stay fresh and theoretically they can be more effective that way. The only problem right now is, without Mike Wright, you're kind of thin at backup for Vince Wilfork at nose tackle. LeKevin Smith is technically the backup right now, but he's a little bit untested in that role, so we'll see what happens with that -- if they might have to switch to a 4-3 a little bit more often than they have in the past."

On Laurence Maroney: "If you look at his numbers, for the 25 or 26 carries that he had on Sunday, there wasn't a single negative run. And I think that's the most important thing, because if you look back at his other games this year, he's had several runs for losses, whether it was one yard or two yards. And that's just not what the Patriots want. They want him to gain four yards, help keep the defense honest on the other side of the ball, so that they're not keying in on that receiving group all the time."

On Kelley Washington: "I've talked to him about it [and] he's said it took him a little while to get adjusted to the idea that he wasn't going to be on the field with his offense. And I think if you look at his snaps, it's been maybe a dozen snaps all season that he really has been on the field with the offense. He was signed as a free agent in March, and they didn't bring Randy Moss in until the end of April, and that really changed things for [Washington], because without Randy he may have played a bigger role in the offense, and who knows what the result might have been. ... He's definitely made a contribution [on special teams], and like he told me, the fact that he's on the field is better than not being on the field at all, so he'll take the role that he has, and he obviously he's excelled at it.

Toughest potential first-round playoff foe? "Jacksonville's a really tough team. I think they proved that Sunday, winning in Pittsburgh. ... I think if Jacksonville comes up here it will be a really big game. I don't really expect it to be a high-scoring game, and the Patriots really need to clamp down their run defense, and probably make David Garrard beat them with his arm, and see if you can get him to do that."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's Sports cover

Read how Patriots' defensive lineman Richard Seymour is returning to top form as the team closes in on an undefeated season with another Super Bowl win as the ultimate goal. Also, URI might be leaning towards one of its own as the school's new football coach; and Bill Reynolds weighs in on the Major League Baseball substance abuse problem.
Download file

Posted by Rich Lee  at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments 0