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January 31, 2008
Patriots Thursday participation report/pool reportIt remains the same as yesterday: Jabar Gaffney (shoulder) was limited; Tom Brady (right shoulder) had full participation. The following is the pool report filed by Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune: Quarterback Tom Brady's ankle injury continued to look like a non-factor in practice Thursday. Brady moved well, threw well and did not appear to limp. His ankle was not taped over his shoe. Receiver Jabar Gaffney's participation in practice was limited because of a shoulder injury. After an inconsistent showing Wednesday, the Patriots had a crisp practice on a sunny day at Sun Devil Stadium Thursday. The Patriots don't always wear pads on Thursdays, but they did in preparation of Super Bowl XLII. Coach Bill Belichick said his team practiced better. "Another day always helps," he said. "These guys care. They want to practice well. When we make mistakes we've got to correct them. They want to get it right the next time." Asked where the team was in terms of overall preparation, Belichick said, "We're pretty close. We'll review some stuff tomorrow. There won't be hardly anything new. Just reviewing situations., We're as ready as we're going to be. We could spend four weeks preparing for the Giants. But we'll be ready to go."
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Bad draft?Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli were both asked yesterday about New England's draft class this year, which initially saw just three players make the active roster: Brandon Meriweather, Kareem Brown and undrafted quarterback Matt Gutierrez. Oscar Lua and Mike Richardson were placed on injured reserve. Belichick fairly bristled at the notion that the Pats had a bad draft. "Our second round pick was Wes Welker and our fourth round pick was Randy Moss, so even though they weren’t draft choices, they’ve been significant players on our team," he said in a gross understatement. When Pioli was asked about only one draftee being on the current roster (Brown was cut and picked up by the Jets), he answered in much the same way as Belichick. "The way I look at it, our second-round draft pick was Wes Welker and our fourth-round draft picj was Randy Moss," he said. New England traded its second round and a seventh-round pick to Miami for the rights to Welker, who went on to set a franchise record with 112 receptions, and the team sent a fourth-round choice to Oakland for Moss, who set a new league record with 23 touchdown receptions this season.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Photo: Brady on the practice field
Posted by Mike McDermott Belichick talks PepperMany of the Patriots' assistant coaches have gotten attention this week, partly because they're never heard from, and some (Josh McDaniels) because the world is trying to figure out if they'd be a good coach for their franchise. Pepper Johnson's appeal lies in the fact that he played for the Giants during their glory days in the late 1980s and into the '90s and now works under his former coach, Bill Belichick. The first player to be a two-time captain at Ohio State and a member of the Buckeyes' All-Century team and Hall of Fame, the Detroit native played in 193 games over 13 seasons with the Giants, not missing a practice or game for the first 11 plus years of his career. Playing at inside linebacker, he accumulated over 1,200 tackles and 25.5 sacks with New York. Two years after his retirement, in 2000, Johnson joined Belichick's staff through the NFL's summer coaching fellowship; he spent the season with the team as a defensive coaching assistant. The next year, he became the team's inside linebackers coach; in '04, he took over the defensive line, arguably one of the best D-lines in the NFL. "I think Pepper had great leadership skills... and we saw that at the Giants, even early in his career," Belichick recalled this morning. "I remember there were certainly times when I was the defensive coordinator at the Giants and we would be sitting there on the sidelines, and of course we liked to play a lot of Cover 2 back in those days, with the safeties back there deep. There was one game in particular where they were running the ball against us and I called the team over and I said, 'OK, look, we’re going to play a little more Cover 3 and bring the safety down into the front to help us in the running game.' Pepper said, 'No, no. You don’t do that. You keep those safeties back there. We’re going to take care of the run. We don’t need any help. You guys stay back there and play the pass – We’re going to handle the running game. We don’t need any help.' That’s a great attitude to play the game." As a coach, Belichick said, Johnson brings the same type of confidence he had as a player to his current job. And on Fridays, it has become tradition that Johnson lead the kickoff drills, his booming voice counting off players and then shouting, "We gets down!" when it's time for Stephen Gostkowski to kickoff. Johnson also runs the Show Team, what New England calls the defensive scout team. "Those players take a lot of pride in it, as Pepper does. They do an awesome job of getting our defense ready to play on a weekly basis. I’m sure that [Tom] Brady and all of the other offensive players would tell you how good of a job our defensive show team players do of getting us ready to play the game, and Pepper has great enthusiasm. He does a tremendous job on that. "I can’t say enough about Pepper. He’s been a great player for me, a great coach for me and a great friend through the years. I have great respect for everything that he’s done in the National Football League and in football." In case you're wondering, Johnson's given name is Thomas; an aunt gave him the nickname Pepper because the young man sprinkled pepper on his breakfast cereal.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Don't ask dumb questionsFrom the Some Folks Just Don't Listen Dept.: During the Patriots' media-access period, Mike Vrabel was one of six players at risers ringing the tent outside the hotel. At one point, a television reporter asked what was the dumbest question Vrabel's been asked or that he's heard. Vrabel replied that he heard a few of the players got marriage proposals (the infamous TV Azteca wedding dress "reporter"), but to him, it "demeans the sport when you ask stupid questions" actually gave those of us in the New England media corps props for working so hard at what we do. Then, without missing a beat, the same reporter asks, "Who's the funniest guy on the team?" Not the dumbest question in the world, but not wondering how the Pats will shut down Bradon Jacobs, either.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young More Thursday media session photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Transcript: Bill Belichick's Thursday press conferenceIt was good to be back out on the practice field yesterday. We got a lot of things done and certainly need to have another good day today and try to build things up, cover all of the situations and be ready to go on Sunday. Really, that’s pretty much about it. We’re trying to have kind of a normal week of practice here, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday leading up to a Sunday game, and we’ll try to stay on that schedule today. On what the thought process was in drafting Logan Mankins and the advancements he’s made since coming out of Fresno State) When we took Logan, we of course had seen his outstanding career and Fresno and his ability to play left tackle. Fortunately, our left tackle situations have been pretty stable here, and Matt’s [Light] done a good job there. I think that Logan has a lot of position versatility for us, but given our situation when he came in -- and it really hasn’t changed much in the last three years – he’s done a great job for us there at left guard. A player at that position goes up against a lot of different types of athletes and he’s up against inside linebackers, some of the big, 350 pound defensive linemen and some of the real quick pass rushers, like a guy like [Justin] Tuck that we’ll face this week. Logan has a good versatile combination of skills where he can play with power, he’s athletic enough to play in space and pass protect and I think that he could have good position flexibility across the board, if we needed it. That hasn’t been the case, but for right now he’s done a great job for us at right guard. On if anything has changed in the team’s approach to this game and where they are in their preparation) It certainly hasn’t changed this week. I don’t think you’re ever where you want to be. There’s always more to do, there’s always things that you’ve done that you wish you could have done a little better or an adjustment you’ve made that it would have been a little bit smoother if you’d gotten it right in the first place. That’s always a process of getting ready for the game. You put the things in, you work on them, you modify and adjust them. You don’t have time to go back over everything because you have to move ahead to other situations – third down, red area, two-minute, short yardage, goal line – all of those things, so you can’t just keep going back and back and back over things. You have to move ahead. I’m sure that we’ll be ready to go by game time – as ready as we’re going to be. As I said earlier in the week, playing against a team like the Giants, as many different things as they do and as wide an attack that they have, you could probably take a month to get ready for this game and still not hit everything. We have enough time to be ready. We’ll be ready on Sunday. It probably won’t be perfect, but it will be as good as it can be. On the evolution of Stephen Neal as an offensive lineman and why he thought a college wrestler would be good at that position) Steve’s a real interesting story. Over the summer of 2001, we worked Steve out, just as an athlete, really, just as you said, as a former wrestler with no football background since the eighth grade. We worked him out and were impressed with his athletic ability and his size, and his overall body balance. I felt that even though he didn’t have much experience playing football that athletically he would certainly be able to compete with players on the line of scrimmage, because of his leverage and his ability to run. In my brilliance, I decided to put him on defense and he was over there for about two or three weeks, and really was totally lost. It was really hard for him to react to all of the different things that the offense was doing – their different blocking schemes, reading run and pass, getting in the proper gaps and so forth and so on. After a period of time we moved him over to offense, but he was so far behind at that point that he really didn’t have much of a chance to compete there. He just ran plays off the scout team. Then when we signed him at the end of the season off of Philadelphia’s practice squad, he was much further along as an offensive football player, and he made great strides in the ’02 season. Then even in the ’03 season when he was injured [he improved]. Then by ’04, he really had taken all of the classroom work and the individual instruction drills and things like that and was really able to transfer them to the field and play very well – remarkably, really, considering his lack of overall football experience. When Steve started, he really didn’t even know where to go in the huddle. I mean, it was really starting from square one, but Steve’s a smart kid, he works hard, he’s very diligent, he’s tough, very athletic for his possession and has been able to absorb a lot of information and process it and play to a high level. He’s come a long way, but he’s worked hard. He certainly deserves everything that he’s gotten, but I’ve never coached a player that’s traveled the distance from where he started to what he’s become as a football player, and he’s great for our football team. Nobody works harder or is tougher or gives more of himself to our team than Steve Neal. On this year’s draft class and why most of their contributions have come from Brandon Meriweather) Our second round pick was Wes Welker and our fourth round pick was Randy Moss, so even though they weren’t draft choices, they’ve been significant players on our team. We’ve had a couple other players that are on injured reserve, so their seasons were cut a little bit short. Brandon is the only true rookie we drafted, and then of course Matt [Gutierrez], our third quarterback, had a good preseason and made our roster. That’s where we’re at. We made our decisions based on what we [felt] was best for our football team back in September, when we cut out roster to 53. As I said, a couple of those players on [the] injured reserve list, so we’ll see how their careers develop as we go forward. On who the best quarterback he ever saw was) Oh, boy. That’s a tough one. That’s a tough one. I was pretty young – Johnny Unitas was very impressive, and I loved watching him. Of course, I grew up in Annapolis and watched Baltimore play for years. They were kind of my team, so watching Unitis and Berry and Lenny Moore and all of the great players that the Colts had there, that was pretty special. He was pretty good. He was pretty good, and he was a great leader. So, I think there are probably a lot of other people that are more qualified to answer that than I am, but I’ve had the fortunate experience to work with some outstanding quarterbacks, certainly Phil Simms in New York was a tremendous quarterback for our football team. Tom Brady has been the same here. Vinny’s done a great job for us in Cleveland and at the Jets, and even in his role here at the Patriots. Burt Jones. As a pure passer, I don’t think I could put anybody ahead of Burt Jones. I know he had a short career and had a shoulder injury and all of that, but when I was there and when he was just starting his career, the success that he had, his ability to throw the ball, just as a pure passer and an athlete, it would be hard to put anybody ahead of Burt Jones at that point in time. On what he thinks of when he hears the name Tedy Bruschi) [A] football player. On Bruschi’s comeback following suffering a stroke) I think it’s tremendous. Tedy’s meant so much to this organization, to this team, and really to the entire community. I know his impact is felt nationwide, as you said, just on what he’s gone through. But, again, if I were to open the dictionary to “football player” and see Tedy Bruschi’s picture there, that would be fitting. He’s all about football. He knows how to play. He knows how to play from a team standpoint. He’s very instinctive. It doesn’t really matter what you ask Tedy to do, whether it’s the running game, passing game, special teams. He just always seems to do the right thing. [He] shows up on the ball at the right time. Sometimes you’d think he would go over a block and he ends up going under it, and he makes the right the choice. The next time it’s just the opposite. Sometimes it seems like he’s a little deep, but that’s really where he should be. The next time it seems like he’s a little short, but that’s really where it should be. He just has a great knack for finding the ball, knowing where to be in the right place at the right time, and how to feed off his teammates without it slowing down his aggressive style of play. He’s a great leader, he’s a great worker, he’s very unselfish. There isn’t a player on our time, I don’t think, that doesn’t look up to Tedy Bruschi’s attitude, toughness and consistency as a football player. We’re really lucky to have Tedy on our team, and the comeback he’s made since the beginning of the calendar ’05 year after the ’04 season has truly been remarkable. He’s a special guy. On accusations that Richard Seymour and Matt Light are dirty players and if he finds that offensive or uses it as motivation) Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. I’ve looked at our team play and we’ve moved on from all of those situations. I think our players work hard, they play hard and I support the way they play the game. Not that we don’t make mistakes along the way. Sometimes we do, and we’ve been penalized for them. That’s part of football. I think all of those – I think our players play hard, they play clean and I support the way they play the game. On Eli Manning’s performance in the regular season finale and how he’s improved since then) I think Eli’s had a good year, and I think that’s reflected by the team’s record. Eli, mechanically, I think is a very good quarterback. His fundamentals are good, his footwork, his ball-handling, release, accuracy and so forth. I think he has good pocket presence. I think he’s athletic enough to have [a] good presence in the pocket and hit receivers accurately, down the field and in the short and intermediate range. I think he manages his team well and he’s a good football player. He has good players around him and he’s able to get the ball to them and let them be productive and make plays. I think that’s really what the quarterback’s job is, is to get the ball to players on your offensive team that can get the ball in situations where they can be productive and they can utilize their skills, and Eli’s done a great job of that. I think he’s done it all year and he’s certainly done it the last few weeks. He did it against us – no question about that. He killed us. On how Pepper Johnson has come along as a coach and if there was something he saw in him as a player that made him think he would make a good coach) I think Pepper had great leadership skills, and that was evidenced in part by his election as a two-time captain at Ohio State, which I believe at that time was the first player that had ever received that recognition. That gives you some sense of the type of leadership that Pepper has, and we saw that at the Giants, even early in his career, his rookie year. I remember there were certainly times when I was the defensive coordinator at the Giants and we would be sitting there on the sidelines, and of course we liked to play a lot of Cover 2 back in those days, with the safeties back there deep. There was one game in particular where they were running the ball against us and I called the team over and I said, “OK, look, we’re going to play a little more Cover 3 and bring the safety down into the front to help us in the running game.” Pepper said, “No, no. You don’t do that. You keep those safeties back there. We’re going to take care of the run. We don’t need any help. You guys stay back there and play the pass – We’re going to handle the running game. We don’t need any help.” That’s a great attitude to play the game. Pepper plays with a lot of confidence, and that confidence carries over to his teammates and the rest of the team. And as a coach, he’s done that, whether it be coaching the linebackers, the defensive line or – One of Pepper’s – The thing that he probably does that everybody on our team will talk to you about, is the way he runs the defensive scout team, what we call the Show Team. Those players take a lot of pride in it and Pepper does. They do an awesome job of getting our defense ready to play on a weekly basis. I’m sure that [Tom] Brady and all of the other offensive players would tell you how good of a job our defensive show team players do of getting us ready to play the game, and Pepper has great enthusiasm. He does a tremendous job on that. I can’t say enough about Pepper. He’s been a great player for me, a great coach for me and a great friend through the years. [I] have great respect for everything that he’s done in the National Football League and in football. On how much trepidation he had replacing Adam Vinatieri and what made him think Stephen Gostkowski could handle that role) We all know in free agency players change teams, and that happens every year. Stephen had an outstanding career. We scouted him and thought that he would be able to kick in this league. He’s come in and done a good job for us. [He] did an excellent job last year and this year, both in his kickoffs and his field goals. We have a lot of confidence in him. He’s kicked in all different kinds of conditions this year. I think that’s something that has been a little more challenging for him this year than it was last year, but he’s made some big kicks for us in the last couple seasons. He’s given us a good degree of consistency throughout his game, both on kickoffs and field goals. He’s a young player, he works hard, there’s still room for improvement and nobody works harder at his job than Stephen does. He has a good temperament for the game. He has a good degree of confidence, but certainly not overbearing. Athletically, he works out with the other players. He doesn’t really isolate himself as a kicker. He fits into the team chemistry very well. On how much he still enjoys the teaching aspect of coaching) I love coaching, and coaching comes in a lot of different forms for me. In the spring, when we draft the rookie players out of college and bring in the rookie free agents and all of that, we usually have about 20 guys or so, somewhere in that vicinity, and we start with them on the most basic fundamentals – our basic formations, our basic running plays, our base defense, our base coverage – and just really start from square one. You’re talking about stance and footwork and the simplest reads that we can have in our system. I really enjoy the fundamental aspect of that, going back and talking about the – just the real little specific plays to run a play right. And then as you build and build through the course of the season, you get to working with some of the real special players in this league – guys like Rodney Harrison and Junior Seau and Tom Brady and Randy Moss and Wes Welker. You can just go right down the line – that have exceptional skill and that are very intelligent, that can handle multiple, multiple variations of a play of a situation or a route or a coverage. Sometimes I don’t even know if they could articulate exactly what they see or how they’re seeing it. They just know it and they just can do it. When you can say to a player, “Look, in this situation, can you see this? Can you do that?” and he says, “Oh, yeah, sure. That’s not a problem,” it’s awesome as a coach to be able to work with those types of talented players. So the whole spectrum, from the stance to recognizing a play that you’re maybe only going to see once in the game – maybe you’re going to see the play two or three times a year – that a player can recognize and you can say, “OK, let’s play it this way when you see it,” and he can do it. It’s a tremendous experience as a coach. Or to take a situation and say, “OK, when there’s this much time on the clock, here’s the situation. We have to gain 20 yards. We don’t have a time out. We have to go up and clock the ball. Here’s the play. Here’s how we’re going to run it,” to have the team be able to go out and execute and do it is a very high level of coaching. It’s thrilling to be a part of that and to be able to coach that way, just as much as it is to teach a linebacker how to deal with a cut-block. I enjoy all of that and it’s fun to coach all of the different players at all of those different levels.
Posted by Art Martone Crunch timeSCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- All three of New England’s Super Bowl victories this decade have been decided by a field goal. “We practice a lot of situational football,” Harrison said. “Bill wants smart, tough guys that can play well under pressure, and that’s what I think we have. We have a bunch of veteran guys. They say we’re old. They say we can’t play defense but we’re fourth overall in scoring defense. We’re 18-0 but none of that matters. It’s all about what we do and how we execute on Sunday and that’s what it comes down too.” Harrison said that it’s good to have fast players on defense like the Giants do, but being fast doesn’t always make a player a better defender. “The common theme is speed, speed, speed, but if you don’t know where you’re going, you’re going to get there a lot faster but you’re going to be in the wrong spot,” Harrison said. “I think our guys are veteran players that are smart. That play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. We’re well prepared and we play extremely hard.”
Posted by Rob Lee Thursday media session photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Moss dreamt of a Pats Super Bowl victorySCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Patriots Pro Bowl wide receiver Randy Moss has dreamt several times that not only do the Patriots win the Super Bowl on Sunday, but that he also has a big game. “I’m daydreaming every day, all day,” Moss said. “I’ve already [dreamed that I] played three games in the Super Bowl and all three of them have victories with me having a big game…That’s just me daydreaming and that’s just common.”
Posted by Rob Lee Download today's sports coverOn today's sports cover, Jim Donaldson profiles the ultimate NFL survivor: Patriots assistant coach Dante Scarnecchia, who has been with the team since 1982. Shalise Manza Young writes about the memory of Marquise Hill, and Paul Kenyon reports on the URI Rams' victory over Richmond.
Posted by Mike McDermott Rodney Harrison's guaranteeSCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- With Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress saying earlier this week that the Giants were going to beat the Patriots, 23-17, in the Super Bowl on Sunday, Patriots safety Rodney Harrison went on record today with a little guarantee of his own. "I guarantee you we are not going to play as poorly as last time...," Harrison said of the Patriots defense, which allowed Giants quarteback Eli Manning to throw for four touchdowns. The Giants scored 35 points in that game. “We played our worst defensive game of the year,” Harrison said. “We gave up 35 points. We’re fourth in the league in points given up and we gave up 35 points which is very uncharacteristic of our defense and we played terrible…I guarantee you we are not going to play as poorly as last time but we walked away with a win and everyone is chomping at [us giving up 35 points]. A win is a win and we're not concerned about what happened in the last game of the season."
Posted by Rob Lee Moss dislikes being in the spotlight off of the fieldSCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- There is a lot of public interest in Randy Moss and for good reason. As much as Moss enjoys being in the spotlight on the field, he said that he hates being in the public eye off of the field. “It’s hard knowing that my kids don’t really understand when people come up nagging me for autographs, bustle me and talk trash to me because I won’t sign an autograph because I’m trying to be daddy that day,” Moss said. “It’s kind of hard because there’s a certain image that you have to portray and as you all know over my 10 year career, that’s not me. “I live for the moment and I live for my family so as far as being in the spotlight and being a celebrity and stuff like that, I still don’t see myself like that. Other people do but I try not to let them see me that way. I hate it.” Moss said that when he does go out in public, often times he wears a sweatshirt with a hood and he pulls the hood up over his head so people don’t know that it’s him. He said that he stays secluded mostly at home, but once and awhile he does venture out with his family. “I like spending time with my family. I like going out. I like going to amusement parks and I like going to movies and Chuckie Cheese and stuff like that,” Moss said.
Posted by Rob Lee Multimedia: Projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza YoungBefore beginning her day on Thursday, Patriots writer Shalise Manza Young spoke to Mike McDermott for this multimedia show. The topics: Tom Brady, Plaxico Burress, stopping New York's running game, and honoring Marquise Hill. Click the play button below to listen and watch. Shalise will file multimedia reports tomorrow as well.
Posted by Mike McDermott January 30, 2008
Multimedia: Patriots Super Stories Part 5: Super Bowl XXXVIIIThis is the fifth edition in a six-part series by sports columnist Jim Donaldson. Jim, who has covered each of the Patriots' five Super Bowl appearances to date for The Journal (he'll make it six next weekend) looks back in these audio slideshows at each of the games, and his thoughts are accompanied by pictures from Bob Breidenbach, who has photographed each of the games. Today's presentation focuses on Super Bowl XXXVI, when the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers in a thriller.
Posted by Mike McDermott Wednesday participation reportNEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS NEW YORK GIANTS
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Practice report: Brady moving wellDan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune, the Patriots' pool reporter for this week, has filed the following practice report for New England: Quarterback Tom Brady's injured ankle was not much of an issue during the Patriots practice Wednesday. Brady participated in all phases of practice and moved better than he did Monday. He did not have his ankle taped outside of his shoe and he was not limping noticeably. The Patriots did not list Brady's ankle on the injury report. Asked about how Brady moved, coach Bill Belichick said, "Everybody practiced. They're fine." Wide receiver Jabar Gaffney's participation in practice was limited because of a shoulder injury, however. Though Brady did not appear affected by his ankle, the passing game was a little uneven. Asked about the practice, Belichick said, "I've seen better. There's always things to work on. We have plenty of them." In a two-hour practice at Sun Devil Stadium under sunny skies, the Patriots wore pads for the first time this week. "We tried to get the tempo up a little bit and we did that," Belichick said.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Sanders knew his chance was comingHe is quite possibly the quietest member of the Patriots' defense in the locker room, but James Sanders has announced himself to NFL opponents. The third-year safety out of Fresno State started 15 games this season, first in place of Rodney Harrison, who was suspended for the first four games of the year, and then for Eugene Wilson, who was first hurt and then surpassed by Sanders. A hard worker who had responsibility thrust on him at a young age when he helped his mother care for his five brothers and sisters, Sanders had a career-high 73 tackles during the regular season along with two interceptions, five passes defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He has learned at the knee of Harrison, one of the hardest hitters and most versatile safeties of his era. "Each and every year, I come in and I work extremely hard. I learn from Rodney. I try to come in each year like I'm a rookie," Sanders said. "I constantly learn, ask questions, and always try to get better and more consistent on the field." Bill Belichick lauded Sanders' work ethic recently, and clearly his friend and former assistant Pat Hill, the coach at Fresno State, was right when he undoubtedly recommended Sanders to Belichick before the 2005 draft. He was thrust into a starting role last year, when Harrison suffered different injuries in the latter half of the season. He recorded 17 tackles in three postseason games, including a key third-down sack against San Diego in the divisional round. But Sanders said he really felt comfortable midway through this season. "In the Indianapolis game, I went out there and was just playing my game off emotion and playing physical. The coaches had my back; they didn't tell me too much, just let me play the game," he said. "I didn't have to look over my shoulder and worry about doing something wrong. I went out there and played my game. I think that might have been the game when I turned the corner." It was the result of more than two years of hard work: "I kept grinding and I kept working hard. I just knew when that opportunity presented itself, I would be ready," he said.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Super Bowl XLII officials namedThe NFL today released the full roster of officials for Sunday's game. The referee will be Mike Carey, the first African-American to referee a Super Bowl. Carey, in his 18th season as an NFL official, was also the referee when the Patriots and Giants played on Dec. 29. This will be his 14th playoff game as an official. The umpire will be Tony Michalek (six years NFL experience, two prior playoff games); Gary Slaughter is the head linesman (12, 7); Carl Johnson is line judge (7, 4); Boris Cheek is field judge (12, 6); Larry Rose is side judge (11, 7) and Scott Helverson is back judge (5, 3). Under the NFL's officiating program evaluation system, the highest-rated officials at each position with the appropriate experience earn the right to work the Super Bowl. Super Bowl officials must have five years of NFL experience and previous playoff assignments.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Scarlet tiesBill Belichick took to the podium for his press conference today in yet another different style of shirt: a red Rutgers lacrosse windbreaker with a number 23 on the arm. “It’s my son’s. He used to wear my stuff, so now I’m getting into his closet," Belichick explained. Stephen, the middle of Belichick's three sons, is a freshman defenseman for the Scarlet Knights. His daughter, Amanda, plays at Wesleyan, and youngest Brian does as well. Belichick was a midfielder at Wesleyan.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Giants Veteran Punter Started Out As A PatriotSCOTTSDALE -- It's taken him 20 years, but Jeff Feagles finally has made it to a Super Bowl. And talk about coming full circle. Feagles, who's been the Giants punter since 2003, began his NFL career with the Patriots, who signed him as a rookie free agent in 1988 out of the University of Miami, where he was a member of the Hurricanes' national championship team as a senior in 1987. Although Feagles won all-rookie honors with New England, he played only two seasons for the Pats, who waived him in the spring of 1990. He was picked up by the Eagles and spent four years in Philadelphia before signing with the Cardinals as a free agent in 1994. A free agent again in 1998, Feagles signed with Seattle, spending five years with the Seahawks before going to the Giants as a free agent in 2003. He averaged 40.4 yards on 71 punts this season, with a net average of 36.0, and had one blocked, by the 49ers. He has been even better in the postseason, averaging 40.7 yards on 15 punts, with a net of 38.5. "This is spectacular," Feagles said. "I tell the younger guys how long I've waited to get here, and how special it is. I want them to understand how difficult it is to get here." This is a homecoming for Feagles, who played high school football at Gerard High in Phoenix and spent a year as a Fighting Artichoke at Scottsdale Community College before going to Miami. "It's been a long journey," he said, "and it's been quite a story as to how I've gotten here, with a lot of hard work, a little luck, and a lot of organizations that believed in my talents over the years. Coming back to Arizona is so surreal right now. I'm just taking it all in." Although he'll be 42 in March, Feagles says he has no intention of retiring from football. "I'm enjoying the game still at my age, and I want to keep going as long as there is a team that wants me to play for them."
Posted by Jim Donaldson Giants GM Impressed by PatsSCOTTSDALE -- New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese thinks his counterpart in New England, Scott Pioli, has done a marvelous job. "You kind of sit back," he said, "and marvel at what they have done, because I don't think this league is built for teams to be this dominant six or seven years in a row. (The Patriots) continue to put a tremendous product on the field and my hat is off to them."
Posted by Jim Donaldson Moss Disses PackersSCOTTSDALE -- Randy Moss says he thinks he would have enjoyed playing with Packers quarterback Brett Favre, but knows he would not have liked playing in Green Bay. "I think Brett Favre wanted to talk to me," said Moss, who wanted to get out of Oakland after a couple of dismal seasons with the Raiders. "Green Bay was in the picture. But things were told to me about manuevering money around and making it a good fit. The Packers were really talking about the wrong things, and not the right things. When they started talking more about the wrong things, I just hung up the phone and didn't want to talk to them any more. "I didn't think that was right because, my whole career, I have been taken out of context sometimes, but, at the end of the day, all I wanated to do was win games. I didn't really feel they wanted me. I felt that Brett Favre wanted me, but I didn't really feel the Packers wanted me."
Posted by Jim Donaldson Burress stands by his statementsGiants receiver Plaxico Burress predicted earlier this week that the Giants would beat the Patriots, 23-17, in the Super Bowl. Earlier today he said that he stood by those comments. "What I said is what I said," Burress said. "I believe in my guys just as much as they believe in me. It is very evident. They stand by me and what I say, and we believe in each other. I really don't consider us to be teammates or a team. It's more like a brotherhood. That is how close we are as a team. We have so much respect for each other, and guys go up and beyond to do things to get the job done. We play hard for each other. I think that has shown in some of the games we've won and the way that we've won them. There is no quit in this football team. We don't know what that word means." No team has held the Patriots to 17 points this season. The Patriots averaged an NFL-best 411.2 yards per game and 36.8 points per game during the regular season. "I'm not taking anything away from what they've done in the conference or what they've done in the NFL records," Burress said. "Tom Brady is a great quarterback and is the NFL MVP and a three-time Super Bowl winner. Randy [Moss] set a record, and they have two guys with over 100 receptions. I'm not taking taking anything from those guys. The numbers don't lie of what they've done. It's going to be tough matchup for us. I know we can't stop them, but for us to win the game we have to control the ball, be effective on third down, and keep them off of the field." Burress, who said that the score 23-17 was the first score that popped into his head, said that none of his teammates are upset by his prediction. "I don't think anyone is upset," Burress said. "They don't have to say anything to me. They know I'm going to go out and performa at a high level, and I think we expect that of each other. We all expect for us to play hard. There is nothing else to be said. The rest of the talking is going to be done on the football field."
Posted by Rob Lee Protecting Brady SCOTTSDALE -- Offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia cited two reasons it is all-important that his players protect quarterback Tom Brady.
Posted by Jim Donaldson As high ankle sprains go, Brady's apparently is the least seriousBY MIKE SZOSTAK The Patriots are extremely fortunate that Tom Brady suffered what was apparently the mildest possible high ankle sprain. Had the injury been more serious, he might not be available to play in the Super Bowl Sunday. A high ankle sprain is damage to the ligaments that connect the lower portions of the tibia and fibula, the two bones that extend from knee to foot. It is more serious that its cousin, the simple ankle sprain, because it involves weight bearing structures and can take twice as long to heal. Athletes with high ankle sprains can be sidelined as long as 12 weeks. Kim Bissonnette, head athletic trainer at the University of Rhode Island and the lead trainer for the URI football team, agreed that the Patriots took the proper approach with Brady by having him avoid any undue stress on his right leg last week. The All-Pro quarterback caused quite a stir when he was photographed wearing a protective boot while walking in Manhattan. “Take the initial window of three days and extend it to four or five days and let him rest,” Bissonnette said. “Then tape it up and see what happens.” Brady practiced Monday and completed the entire workout, even running a couple lengths of the field with the rest of the squad. A pool reporter noted that was limping slightly. If Brady did, indeed, suffer a low-grade high ankle sprain, the limp could have been the result of putting weight on that right ankle. The Patriots never disclosed the specific injury. A simple ankle sprain, usually the result of the foot twisting inward (or rolling so the arch faces up), involves stretching or tearing of the ligaments that connect the small bones in the ankle joint. Treatment involves rest, ice, compression and elevation to reduce swelling and provide support. Depending on the severity, recovery can take a few weeks. A high ankle sprain, or syndesmosis injury, named for the rough edges of the two leg bones held together by the ligament, is usually the result of the foot being twisted out (so the arch faces down) or by the toe being forced up. There can be pain in the middle of the ankle joint and tenderness in front of the ankle but less swelling than in a simple ankle sprain. Athletic trainers and doctors will suspect a high ankle sprain when squeezing the calf or rotating the ankle out causes pain. An x-ray made when the ankle is stressed will show abnormal motion of the lower ends of the leg bones in a high ankle sprain victim. “The higher the soreness, the longer the person will be out. You can have pain going all the way up the leg,” Bissonnette said. - Mike Szostak, projo.com Sources: clevelandclinic.org, orthogate.org, about.com and thedisabledlist.com Patience is a necessary virtue in healing a high ankle sprain. Patients must let the ligaments heal so they can maintain the proper distance between the ends of the tibia and fibular. The proper functioning of other bones in the ankle joint depends on correct spacing. Bissonnette said that athletes who come back too early run the risk of further injury that could require surgery to correct. Serious high ankle sprains can necessitate the insertion of screws through the fibula and into the tibia to stabilize the joint. High ankle sprains account for about 10 percent of ankle sprains, although they seem to be occurring with increasing frequency. “We have seen a lot more of them,” Bissonnette said. He is not sure if medical personnel are more knowledgeable than they were a generation or two ago or if the forces to which athletes are subject are greater because athletes are bigger, faster and stronger than a generation or two ago.
Posted by Art Martone Moss's first impression of McDanielsRandy Moss was shocked to find out that Josh McDaniels, who is 32-years-old, was the Patriots offensive coordinator when he first met him. "When I first got to Massachusetts, I flew in to take my physical and Josh picked me up at the airport. He told me he was the offensive coordinator and that he calls the plays, and he told me his age. I was kind of overwhelmed because we are in the same age bracket, and I really didn't know what to think to be honest with you. "Being with the New England Patriots, I figured he must know something. After being here during mini camp and training camp and seeing how the offense was made and designed, I thought he was probably if not the best, one of the best offensive coordinators in the League when it comes to scheming, calling plays and making adjustments. "Once I heard he might be up for a head coaching job I went to him and said, `Dude, you didn't tell me what's going on.' I have a lot of respect for Josh and I don't think age plays a factor at all with coaches in the NFL. The good thing about it is he's young and his upside is very high. The bad side of it is that I don't know how long he'll be a Patriots coach."
Posted by Rob Lee Multimedia: Projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza YoungBefore beginning her day on Wednesday, Patriots writer Shalise Manza Young spoke to Mike McDermott for this multimedia show. Click the play button below to listen and watch. Shalise will file multimedia reports tomorrow and Friday as well.
Posted by Mike McDermott Multimedia: Patriots Super Stories Part 5: Super Bowl XXXVIIIThis is the fifth edition in a six-part series by sports columnist Jim Donaldson. Jim, who has covered each of the Patriots' five Super Bowl appearances to date for The Journal (he'll make it six next weekend) looks back in these audio slideshows at each of the games, and his thoughts are accompanied by pictures from Bob Breidenbach, who has photographed each of the games. Today's presentation focuses on Super Bowl XXXVI, when the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers in a thriller.
Posted by Mike McDermott Wednesday Super Bowl photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Long LocksPHOENIX -- Offensive tackle Matt Light's hair has gotten so long that he sometimes ties it into a pony tail in back, prompting center Dan Koppen to nickname him "Fabio," after the similarly-maned male model who has been frequently featured on the covers of romance novels. "I appreciate Dan's support," said Light, "but the truth is that I've been too lazy to go to the barbershop. My barber, Chuckie, is about 74 years old and has a shop in Franklin, Mass. He's a third-generation barber. I know it looks grotesque, but it's going to stay this way 'til I can get there."
Posted by Jim Donaldson Bill's BrilliancePHOENIX -- He was talking about the qualities he looks for when he hires coaches, but Bill Belichick's wise words were applicable to a much wider array of life situations: "The most important thing," he said, "is to identify what you are looking for. Once you have a good job description, then you can look at people and try to figure out if that is what you want. If you know what you want, you have a better chance of finding it, rather than just taking a list of names and picking one out."
Posted by Jim Donaldson Stud Fees PHOENIX -- Great line about the Super Bowl from friend Bob Reinacher, a longtime trainer of thoroughbreds I first met several summers ago at Saratoga, and who currently is at the winter meet at Gulfstream Park, in Hallandale, Fla.
Posted by Jim Donaldson Hobbs respects Burress's Super Bowl upset predictionPatriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs respects guys like Pittsburgh safety Anthony Smith who guaranteed a victory over the Patriots, and Giants receiver Plaxico Burress who predicted that the Giants would beat the Patriots, 23-17, in the Super Bowl on Sunday. “I always give my hats off to a guy like Anthony Smith or Plaxico for the confidence that they have in saying that because it speaks volumes. It speaks volumes in the confidence that you have coming into a game of this magnitude.”
Posted by Rob Lee Maroney doesn't need to change his running styleThere has been a lot of talk about Laurence Maroney’s running style and he doesn't like it. He runs upright instead of getting low to the ground like most NFL running backs, but Maroney believes that just because he runs with a different style, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. After all, he’s been running that way his whole life and has been very successful at it. He was selected the St. Louis Player of the Year while attending Normandy High School where he was a four-time All-Conference selection and rushed for 4,808 yards in his career with 56 touchdowns. At the University of Minnesota, Maroney became one of only three players in Big 10 history to rush for over 1,000 yards in each of their first three seasons (Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, and Sedrick Irvin, Michigan State). He finished his three-year college career ranking second on Minnesota’s all-time career list with 3,933 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. And he’s rushed for 550 yards and six touchdowns over his last five games. Those numbers are outstanding so Maroney doesn’t plan on adjusting his running style. “Well you know, a lot of people always talk about adjusting your style, but you know, I continue to do what I do,” Maroney said. “That’s what got me here. I really don’t try to change too much of nothing, you know, I just go out there and have fun. I really don’t know what my style is. Maroney said that showing off his talent in the Patriots two playoff games in front of a national audience meant a lot to him. Maroney had 122 rushing yards and a touchdown in both of the Patriots playoff games. “To be able to go out there and run the clock out on them having the confidence in me to run the clock out means a lot,” Maroney said. “…You know, one of the things I wanted to do was go out there and take advantage of the opportunities they give me and make them believe that we can run the ball when we need to.” Not only can Maroney move the chains running the ball, but he also doesn’t turn the ball over either. In fact, none of the Patriot running backs or wide receivers have fumbled the ball resulting in a turnover. “It is a good bit of us, but a lot more of Bill [Belichick],” Maroney said for the reason why the Patriots don’t fumble. “Every day he tells us, `protect the ball. Protect the ball.’ We don’t give teams turnovers…We work hard on ball protection every day.” So how does Maroney plan on attacking the Giants on Sunday? “Downhill,” Maroney said. “You know, when you have a physical defense like they do, you go down hill and hopefully they get tired of tackling.” Maroney said that he will attack the Giants both inside and outside. “It doesn’t matter; wherever the hole is at,” Maroney said. “I can go inside or outside. It really doesn’t matter.” Maroney said that he is looking forward to Sunday.
Posted by Rob Lee Wednesday morning in PhoenixHey all -- It's only 10:30 a.m. here, but it's already been a full day for those of us following the Patriots during Super Bowl week. New England began its media access for the day at 8 a.m. with Bill Belichick's press conference, and then the players and assistant coaches were brought in for their chat sessions. Today was the first day we were at New England's team hotel, the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, a gorgeous facility with its own golf course about 20 miles from the Media Center in downtown Phoenix. There was a large tent/temporary structure set up for the media time, which overlooked the course and had beautiful mountain vistas just beyond. The rest of the week, media-wise, won't be as wacky as yesterday's circus, and the team clearly is getting down to the business at hand, which is putting in its final preparations for New York. Not being the morning person -- that's colleague Rob Lee -- it was a struggle to get up at 5:20 a.m. to be on the bus out there at 6:45 a.m., but as my husband reminded me, I'm in Arizona for the Super Bowl, so it can't be all bad. And he's right. New England will practice later today, and when the pool report is filed, we'll let you know about Tom Brady and The Ankle. shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Download today's Sports coverDownload file
Posted by Rich Lee Another prediction! Giants co-owner says his team will winJan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Co-owner Steve Tisch predicts his New York Giants, after winning three playoff games as underdogs, will beat the undefeated and favored New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. "I'm going to put out there, 21-17 New York Giants when that clock ticks down to zero," Tisch, who co-owns the team with John Mara, said in a Jan. 25 interview airing this weekend on Bloomberg Radio's "On the Ball" program. The Giants, with a 13-6 record, are 12-point underdogs against the 18-0 Patriots and their record-setting offense for the National Football League championship game on Feb. 3 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona. Tisch said the Giants, led by fourth-year quarterback Eli Manning and 15-year defensive end Michael Strahan, have bonded as a team since losing their final regular-season game to the Patriots 38-35 on Dec. 29. Tisch, 58, said it was a turning point in the season. "People were referring to the game as insignificant," Tisch said. "I think it became one of the most significant games this club has played in the last 20 years. We played the Patriots head-to-head, play-for-play and we almost won that game. Ironically, we're facing them in the Super Bowl and we're going to beat them in the Super Bowl." Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress had a similar prediction, forecasting a 23-17 win for New York. "We didn't come here just to play, we came here to win the game," Burress told reporters yesterday. "It's okay to want to win and predict and dream."
Posted by Mike McDermott January 29, 2008
Multimedia: Patriots Super Stories Part 4: Super Bowl XXXVIThis is the fourth edition in a six-part series by sports columnist Jim Donaldson. Jim, who has covered each of the Patriots' five Super Bowl appearances to date for The Journal (he'll make it six next weekend) looks back in these audio slideshows at each of the games, and his thoughts are accompanied by pictures from Bob Breidenbach, who has photographed each of the games. Today's presentation focuses on Super Bowl XXXVI, when the Patriots became world champions for the first time, thanks to a stunning upset of the St. Louis Rams.
Posted by Mike McDermott What's a woobie?Mike Vrabel was asked about Bill Belichick's now-iconic grey hooded sweatshirt today, and offered... "That is his little 'woobie.' That's his little security blanket. He has got that pouch and he keeps all his stuff in it. You would like to see what's inside that pouch, I bet." We googled 'woobie' and found a website dedicated to Golden Retrievers that defines it as: "a beloved object, often carried in the mouth for extended periods of time; constant companion, sometimes revered and sometimes abused." Given that Belichick is so frequently sporting the grey hoodie, its sleeves cut to his elbows, the definition seems to fit. For the record, the coach was wearing a blue pullover Pats' shirt, jeans and sandals today.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Line of the DayWe've come to assume that Wes Welker is a pretty vanilla guy, not saying much during interviews, but with the bright lights of Super Bowl week tuned on him, he's dropping some pretty good lines. Yesterday, after at least the fifth time he'd been asked about how Tom Brady looked at practice, Welker quipped, "He looks the same. Same dimples." But today, Welker had the line of the day. Asked what's the difference between his former home, Miami, and his current home in New England, the receiver said: "Weather. Women. Wins." Love it.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young More Media Day photos
Posted by Mike McDermott How quickly they forget...Tedy Bruschi, while not an Arizona native, is a legend in the state thanks to his exploits while playing for the Wildcats' football team. The All-American tied the NCAA record for sacks, with 52, and was a two-time finalist for the Lombardi Award, given to the nation's best collegiate lineman. But when he sat down at his podium today at Media Day, in his return to the state where he enjoyed so much success, Bruschi was greeted by a nameplate which said: 1 Tedy Brushci So much for coming back home...
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Burress talks bigApparently, Plaxico Burress likes to talk. A lot. A few days ago, the Giants' wideout stirred the pot when he said New York's wide receiver contingent was better than that of the Patriots'. But now he's stepped into Anthony Smith territory by predicting that New York will beat New England by a score of 23-17 in Super Bowl XLII on Sunday. Today he said he came up with that score because his high school basketball number was 23; he wears 17 currently with the Giants. He also stood by his word. "Are predictions guarantees?," he said. "We want to win this game. As far as professional sports and playing in this game, it's OK to want to win, think big and dream. We're going to take this thing back to New York City." Burress, who did not practice for much of the season due to an ankle injury, also said he'd like to see the G-Men be even bigger underdogs than they already are: "why not make it 21 or 28?," he wondered. (New York is currently 12-point underdogs.) "We are a confident bunch. Why not be? We were a 10-6 regular-season team and now we're in the Super Bowl. We got here the hard way," he said. "We had three road (playoff) games. We played against the No. 1 defense in Tampa Bay. We played against the Dallas Cowboys, who had their whole offense and defense make the Pro Bowl. Then we played the Green Bay Packers. Look at us." Burress' teammate Osi Umenyiora, who has had a few things to say about the Pats himself in recent weeks, basically supported his claim. "He's a confident guy. If that's what he says, hopefully we will go out there and prove him right, but I'm not going to make any predictions or guarantees." For their part, the Patriots weren't really biting on Burress' words. "I didn't hear that. Good for him," Asante Samuel said. "I always feel like talk is cheap," Richard Seymour said. "Someone can get out here and talk about it all day. But Sunday, I think the team that plays the best is going to be the champion. You can't talk about winning the game, you have to go out and execute and get it done when it's time to get it done. "Talk is cheap. You need to put some actions behind that."
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Stallworth interrupts Moss's Media DayDonte Stallworth was so upset when he heard that Randy Moss said that Moss, not Stallworth, was the fastest wide receiver that the Patriots have, that he interrupted Moss’s Media Day session to see if Moss would say it again. “Who is the fastest receiver on the team,” Stallworth yelled out. “I say the quickest receiver on the Patriots team is Randy Moss,” Moss said. “Whose the strongest receiver,” Stallworth asked. “The strongest receiver on our team is Bam Childress or Randy Moss,” Moss said. “Next question. Get out of here Stallworth.” Stallworth then left Moss alone.
Posted by Rob Lee Patriots respect Eli ManningThroughout his entire career, Giants quarterback Eli Manning has been perceived by many NFL experts as a bust. He grew up in the long shadows of his father Archie and his older brother Peyton and he hasn’t lived up to many of the expectations that were put on him after he refused to play for San Diego, who drafted him with the first pick in the 2004 Draft, and was then traded to New York for Philip Rivers (the fourth pick), a 2004 third-round pick, and a 2005 first and fifth round selection. Manning was winless in the playoffs prior to this season. But he has been nearly flawless this postseason. After throwing 20 interceptions in the regular season, Manning has yet to throw a pick in the postseason and he has completed 62.4 percent of his passes along with four TDs and 599 yards for a 99.1 quarterback rating. The Patriots certainly respect his turnaround. “He is playing great,” Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel said. “…This is a young guy that still has a lot to prove. He has been playing under the shadows of his brother for a lot of years, and now it is his time and we are going to have to play well.” “I think he’s a guy that doesn’t get rattled easily,” Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour said. “He’s an elite player. He’s shown that he can lead his football team…From a mental standpoint, I think he’s on the right page. I think he has the right mentality to play in the league, especially at that position. When the Patriots played the Giants in the final game of the regular season, Manning torched New England’s secondary for 251 yards and four touchdowns. He only threw 10 incompletions (22-for-32, 68.8 percent) in that game. "Eli Manning is a guy that if given the opportunity, he can put points on the board," Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said.
Posted by Rob Lee Talkative RandyGLENDALE, Ariz. -- Randy Moss, who drew a large crowd around his podium at Media Day, had a good explanation as to why he was more talkative than usual this season. "You want to know why I'm talking more this year," he said, repeating a question he was asked. "It's because the league told me that, if I didn't, they were gonna fine me."
Posted by Jim Donaldson Patriots excited to play in Super BowlMaybe it’s the perfect season. Maybe it’s for future Hall of Famers like Randy Moss and Junior Seau who have never won a Super Bowl. Whatever the case, the Patriots are going for their fourth Super Bowl title in the last seven years and many of them are just as excited to play in this one as they were in all of the other ones. “It doesn’t get old,” Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft said. “Every time we come it is almost like our post-game party; we plan it like we might not be here ever again. It is very special. Actually each trip is sort of like a different child. Those of us who are blessed to have more than one child know that each child is special and unique. This trip is pretty special coming here 18-0 and doing something that we wouldn’t have believed would be possible in today’s modern age. It is pretty special.” “It’s fun to be back,” Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel said. “It’s fun to enjoy this and the excitement around this and we can’t lose the sight of football on Sunday.” “You cherish the moments and enjoy the festivities because this is one of the biggest events in the world,” Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel said. “I just think that there’s a lot of excitement around this game,” Vrabel said. “They wouldn’t call it `Super’ if it wasn’t the best.”
Posted by Rob Lee Better than the alternativeMedia Day brings all manner of characters and questions, and the players and coaches know to expect the unexpected. It might get crazy, but for some of the Pats' players, it beats the alternative. "It's definitely more to like," Richard Seymour said. "I'd rather be here than to be sitting at home like the other teams in the NFL, so I'm definitely enjoying it." Adalius Thomas echoed Seymour's thoughts. "It's better than not working. It's better than not working at all," he said. "You guys (the media) have a job to do; you're the link between us and the fans. It's all fun." Tom Brady, who heard a marriage proposal from a TV Azteca "reporter," among other things, said he prefers questions about on-field topics. "You just deal with whatever question is asked, and try to handle it the best you can. I'm obviously more comfortable answering the football questions. Those are much easier for me."
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Stephen Neal's moustacheGLENDALE -- Stephen Neal, the Patriots' starting right guard, was sporting a flowing moustache that extended down to his chin at Media Day. "I'm trying to do something to take attention away from my belly," he joked. Neal, who did not play college football -- he was a standout wrestler at Cal State-Bakersfield -- is 6-foot-4 and weighs 305 pounds. Bothered by a shoulder injury, he started just eight regular season games, but has returned to the lineup in the postseason, helping to clear the way for Laurence Maroney to rush for 122 yards against both the Jaguars and Chargers.
Posted by Jim Donaldson Brady: "My ankle feels great"Not surprisingly, the first question Tom Brady heard at today's Media Day was about his sprained right ankle, which he practiced on yesterday. "My ankle feels good. My ankle feels great," he said. "I practiced a full day yesterday. I think we had one incompletion in practice. It feels great." The NFL MVP said the bye week definitely helped. "I'm glad we had the week off and I had the chance to rest a little bit. I really feel that by the game it's going to feel great, and there will be no issues. Not that I can run anyway, but hopefully I'll be able to skirt around some of those guys who are trying to tear my head off." Randy Moss said he isn't worried about having his quarterback out there come Sunday afternoon. "Me, personally, no," Moss said. "Tom is a warrior. I don't think that a high ankle sprain can keep him out of the game. Hopefully he's ready and I look forward to seeing him out there on Sunday."
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Gerardi cartoon: Under wraps
Posted by Mike McDermott Praising Arizona GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Former Patriots tight end Don Hasselbeck says his son, Tim, is surprised more free agents don't sign with the Arizona Cardinals. The younger brother of Seattle Seahawks starting QB Matt Hasselbeck, Tim has bounced around the NFL as a backup since graduating from Boston College. He started five games for the Redskins in 2003, coming off the bench after Patrick Ramsey was injured. He had the best game of his undistinguished career in a 20-7 victory over the Giants, when he completed 13 of 19 passes for two touchdowns, without an interception. The following week, however, he had a quarterback rating of 0.0 in a 27-0 loss to the Cowboys in which he completed just 6 of 26 passes, for only 57 yards, and threw four interceptions. He hasn't thrown a pass in a regular-season game since that season. Tim spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Giants, as the backup to Eli Manning. Released by the Giants prior to the start of this season, he signed with the Cardinals in October after Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner were injured. He is married to the former Elisabeth Filarski of Cranston. They met at Boston College. After appearing as a contestant on Survivor, she has become a television star, and now is co-host of The View. Tim's mother, Betsy, also may be seen on TV, appearing in a commercial for Campbell's Soup. She's doing some promotional work for Campbell's this week in Phoenix. Matt Hasselbeck played in the Super Bowl two years ago, when the Seahawks lost to the Steelers. Don, who was a tight end for the Patriots from 1977-83, has long been an executive with Reebok.
Posted by Jim Donaldson Bruschi: Lord of the RingsBY JIM DONALDSON GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Tedy Bruschi has three Super Bowl Championship rings, plus an AFC championship ring from his rookie year in 1996, when the Patriots lost to the Packers in Super Bowl XXXI. He says he wears them a lot more in the offseason than he does during the season. ''That's when I make more personal appearances,'' he said. ''When I go to things like that, people always ask me: 'Where's the ring?' ''I like to show them. Sometimes, I'll let a little kid hold it.
Posted by Jim Donaldson As Pats look forward to the game, Pioli looks forward to next yearBY JIM DONALDSON GLENDALE, Ariz. -- While Bill Belichick, his coaching staff, and the Patriots players are totally focused on winning Super Bowl XLII, Scott Pioli and his people are planning on how best to position the Pats for Super Bowl XLIII. ''The reason I was late coming down here,'' Pioli said Tuesday morning while seated in the stands at the University of Phoenix Stadium during the Patriots' portion of Media Day, ''is that I spent Sunday with the college scouts, preparing for the draft, and then spent Monday with the pro scouts, preparing for free agency.'' As New England's V.P. for Player Personnel, Pioli combines with Belichick to give the Patriots a 1-2 front office punch that's second to none. ''This is wonderful,'' said Pioli, looking at the wild and wacky scene along the sidelines at the site of Sunday's game. ''But we're six weeks behind now. On the flight home, I guarantee you we're going to spend some time talking about our plans for the draft and free agency.''
Posted by Jim Donaldson Media Day photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Media day madnessHey all - We're here at the amazing University of Phoenix Stadium and have just wrapped the Patriots' portion of the circus known as Super Bowl media day. Any kind of character you can imagine is here, and most of them were in front of Tom Brady's booth. A woman in some sort of R-rated wedding getup asked Brady to marry her; former American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler was doing interviews for The Tonight Show; one guy had a hand puppet to talk to players and there was some dude in a gold turban. With media from all over the world and every type of outlet, every player gets a microphone stuck under his nose at some point, even though some would rather not say much. The Giants' session starts at noon local time (2pm EST).
Posted by Shalise Manza Young January 28, 2008
Multimedia: Patriots Super Stories, Part 3: Super Bowl XXXIThis is the third edition in a six-part series by sports columnist Jim Donaldson. Jim, who has covered each of the Patriots' five Super Bowl appearances to date for The Journal (he'll make it six next weekend) looks back in these audio slideshows at each of the games, and his thoughts are accompanied by pictures from Bob Breidenbach, who has photographed each of the games. Today's presentation focuses on Super Bowl XXXI, when Bill Parcells' team met Brett Favre, Reggie White and the Green Bay Packers.
Posted by Mike McDermott No ExcusesPHOENIX -- Matt Light was asked yesterday what made Bill Belichick different from other NFL coaches. "One of the biggest things he does is, he doesn't accept any excuses. He tells it to you like it is. You have to have thick skin at times. The one thing I can tell you for sure is that he's going to demand everything out of you. In turn, he's going to give you everything that he's got.There's nobody that spends more time in that building than him."
Posted by Jim Donaldson New England receivers don't fumbleOne remarkable stat that has gone overlooked this season is the fact that none of the Patriot receivers have lost a fumble this season. Patriots receiver Wes Welker said that the Patriots focus on the importance of ball security every day in practice because one turnover can mean the difference between a win and a loss. “I think it’s basically being conscience of it and making sure that we do take care of the football and that’s goal number one,” said Welker, who fumbled twice against Dallas but both times the Patriots recovered the ball. “We can’t turn the ball over. We just have to make sure that we do that on a weekly basis. It’s something that we focus on and concentrate on.” No team in the league had fewer turnovers than the Patriots in the regular season – 15 (nine interceptions and six fumbles). Their 15 turnovers were the fifth fewest in franchise history.
Posted by Rob Lee Patriots receivers take pride in blockingNew England coach Bill Belichick said that one of the reasons why the Patriots have been so successful running the ball lately is because of the exceptional downfield blocking by the Patriots’ wide receivers. “I think that our receivers have done a good job all year of blocking, probably the best that I’ve had since I’ve been with the Patriots,” Belichick said. “…I think these guys have blocked well all year. They’ve been an important part of the running game. You can’t have good runs unless the secondary people get blocked or screened off by the receivers…It’s been an important part of our running game. It’s been an important part of some of our big runs along with Laurence [Maroney], and Sammy [Morris] and Kevin [Faulk’s] running.” Maroney has rushed for 122 yards in both of the Patriots postseason games, and he has amassed 550 yards six rushing touchdowns in his last five games. “I think all of our receivers have done an excellent job of getting into the secondary or getting on some of the guys that are tight to the line of scrimmage,” Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light said. “[They have thrown] some key blocks to free the running backs to get to the second level. As a lineman, when you have a guy like Wes [Welker], who is not the biggest receiver we’ve had around here, flies around and throws his body in front of people. That’s a lot of fun. Our crew has done a great job all season.” Welker said that the receivers take a lot of pride in blocking.
Posted by Rob Lee Record number of media at Super Bowl XLIIAccording to a release from the NFL, this year's Super Bowl has its largest media contingent ever. A record 4,786 credentials have been issued, topping the 4,516 credentials issued for last year's game between the Colts and Bears. The number includes U.S. and international print, television, radio and online media members.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Mr. Sunshine PHOENIX -- Just call him Mr. Sunshine.
Posted by Jim Donaldson Patriots' practice report: Brady and the tape / Photo
"It's good to be out in the warm sunshine in Arizona. It was good to get out on the field and review some of the things we worked on in Foxboro last week and also ingest a couple new things in situations," Belichick said. As mentioned earlier, Tom Brady was at practice. At the Super Bowl, only one pool reporter attends practice, and Dan Pompei filed this report on New England's session: "Tom Brady's injured right ankle did not prevent him from practicing at Sun Devil Stadium Monday afternoon. Brady had his ankle taped but he participated in all phases of practice, including jogging the length of the field twice at the end of drills. Brady appeared to have a slight limp. Patriots coach Bill Belichick did not want to talk about Brady other than to say, "Everybody practiced. The injury report will be out Wednesday." The Patriots had ideal conditions to work in -- bright sunshine and a pleasant breeze. The footing on the stadium's grass was firm despite recent rain. "Practice was fine," Belichick said of the session, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes. "There are always things to work on and clean up." After having the Patriots practice in full pads last week, Belichick called for shorts and shells Monday. "We just wanted to get a good crisp practice and work on our timing. We had a lot of contact last week," he said."
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Belichick: Brady was at practiceBill Belichick is conducting his press conference for the day, and when asked about Tom Brady, he indicated that the quarterback and his tender ankle were at practice. "He was out there like everybody else," Belichick said. Asked how he looked, Belichick said again, "he was out there like everybody else." When he spoke yesterday after the team's arrival in Phoenix, Brady said he'll be ready to go on Sunday.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Are the Patriots invincible?
“Even ourselves – within this team – we don’t consider ourselves invincible,” Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. “The minute you consider yourself invincible, you are letting your guard down. If you think you can’t be beat, that’s the wrong thought to have. “I think you have to respect your opponent, first and foremost, and if you don’t then you will be beat. The way you do win football games is by doing the things that help you win. It’s preparing during the week and playing good football. If you don’t recognize that and if you don’t do that, it’s possible that we can be beat.” “We are taking it one game at a time,” defensive end Richard Seymour said. “We understand what the Giants present and we are trying to win this one game and we’ll let you guys decide our place in history.”
Posted by Rob Lee Practice sitesPHOENIX -- The Patriots will be practicing this week at Arizona State University in Tempe. There are no former Sun Devils on the New England roster. Linebacker Tedy Bruschi played at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, where he tied an NCAA record for career sacks, with 52. The Giants will practice at the Arizona Cardinals facility, which also is in Tempe. Practices are closed to the media and the public, except for pool reporters provided by the Professional Football Writers of America.
Posted by Jim Donaldson Sides agree to extend Moss restraining orderBOSTON (AP) - Lawyers for Randy Moss and the woman who accused him of battery agreed to extend a temporary restraining order she obtained against the New England Patriots wide receiver, his agent said Monday. A court hearing was scheduled Monday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Rachelle Washington's request for a permanent restraining order. The temporary order required Moss to stay at least 500 feet from Washington. No criminal charge has been brought, and they described each other as longtime friends. David McGill, Washington's attorney, did not return calls. Moss is in Arizona for the Super Bowl on Sunday against the New York Giants. He has denied the accusation by Washington that he committed "battery causing serious injury" to her at her Florida home Jan. 6. "The restraining order will be continued by agreement of the attorneys," Tim DiPiero, Moss' agent, told The Associated Press in a statement. "The parties won't be there." Moss' attorney, Richard Sharpstein, said he would appear at the hearing on his client's behalf and agree to the extension of the restraining order until both parties can appear in court or the matter is resolved. "We have no contest over the restraining order given the current situation. He will stay completely away from her and has no desire to have contact with her," Sharpstein said. "He's in Phoenix busy preparing to win the Super Bowl and on a day like today his mind is elsewhere." The restraining order created a stir and potential distraction for Moss, who gave an emotional defense in the Patriots' locker room for about 10 minutes on Jan. 16. Four days later, New England beat San Diego 21-12 in the AFC championship game at Foxborough. For the second straight game, he caught just one pass against the Chargers. The issue quickly faded from the spotlight, replaced last week by the swirl of attention around quarterback Tom Brady being spotted wearing a protective boot on his right foot in New York. He didn't comment on it until arriving in Phoenix on Sunday night. "It's feeling good. I'll be ready to go," Brady said. Moss said the woman who obtained the order has been a friend for 11 years and that she asked for "six figures" for what he said was an accident in which she was hurt. "They're false allegations, something I've been battling for like the last couple of days of threats going public if I didn't pay X amount of dollars," Moss said. "This young lady by no means is hurt. I didn't hurt her." On draft day last April, the Patriots sent a 2007 fourth-round draft choice to Oakland for Moss. He set an NFL single-season record of 23 touchdown catches, breaking Jerry Rice's mark by one. He finished tied for eighth in the league with 98 catches and second with 1,493 yards receiving.
Posted by Mike McDermott Tom Brady will continue to look to MossPatriots Pro Bowl wide receiver Randy Moss only had a combined two catches for 32 yards in the Patriots two playoff games, but that doesn’t mean quarterback Tom Brady hasn’t been looking for him. “He is always a part of the plan and a lot of our offense is based around what the defense is giving us,” Brady said. “If they dictate that they are going to try to take one person out of the game, they’ll do that. I thought San Diego played extremely well. I think Jacksonville did a good job. I am sure he was a big point of emphasis. I am sure the Giants will be a big point of emphasis, Randy will be a big point of emphasis for the Giants as well. “I never lose track of him. I know that he works extremely hard to get open and I know that he is in the right place and he wants the ball. We have to find ways to get him the ball because he is an important part of this offense. If they choose to, as teams have done throughout the season, to put double coverage on him, then you have to find other places to throw and you have to hand the ball off. “If they come out of the game and they feel like they stopped one player but the team won, I hope that, if that happens, great. But the goal is to win the game and they’re doing what they think is best to win and so are we. It is just a fine line. You don’t want to just throw it to somebody if he is covered with two or three guys. You have to find other guys to throw the ball to and we certainly have that luxury.”
Posted by Rob Lee Transcript: The '72 Dolphins talk I was hoping to ask this of anyone who is on the conference call, given the parity in the NFL with the salary cap and how maybe the team is a little more equal than when you guys played, just talk about what the Patriots have done up to now and how impressed you guys are. Does that speak to the parity or does that speak to how good Indianapolis and New England are? Do you think in the salary cap era that that adds something to what they have accomplished? Dick, from a passing game standpoint, Brady and that receiving corps, how would you rate that passing game compared to the passing games that you faced as a secondary guy? Was going undefeated a week to week talk among you guys and among the media back then or did you just kind of, okay, let's win the next one? If I could ask one of you, where do you think this places the Patriots in history if they do finish this out and go 19 0? Obviously they have passed your team's record for an undefeated streak, but where do you think this places them historically? Usually when you have a season like you guys did, and certainly a great season, it always comes from adversity, and I want to talk you back to that Super Bowl against Dallas, January 15, 1972. How much of what you did came from that game, and I guess to Bob, as well, how sick are you of seeing that highlight of you being chased around the field in New Orleans by Bob Lilly on that play? The second part of the question was, how tired are you of looking at that highlight of Bob Lilly chasing you all over that field in New Orleans for the 26 yard loss? Rightly or wrongly, you guys have been portrayed as a bunch of players 35 years in the making desperately trying to hold on to this undefeated record. If the Patriots do go 19 0, would you be upset, maybe don't care if they join you as the only undefeated team in really the modern era? I'm curious, the Patriots are the favorite; do you guys remember, were you even favorites against the Redskins? Did you guys think at the time you were getting the respect you were deserved? The Patriots seem to be getting respect right and left as the greatest this, and greatest that. I've been looking into and comparing Super Bowl weeks from what you guys went through to what it's like today, and there was a couple of themes from back then and if anybody wants to jump in on this is more than welcome to. One of them back then, there was a lot of talk about spying on the part of George Allen and how you guys changed practice fields to prevent that. Another theme was Shula trying to win the big one after losing a couple of times, and I also came across a couple references early in the week to when you guys had no curfew, you took full advantage of that. Anyone want to jump in on any of those? I've got a totally different perspective, so many people I know are really in support, they feel that there was something magical about the '72 Dolphins team and they don't want to see anybody else do it. There's another perspective here, there's not just the Dolphins, players and Dolphins fans; there's a lot of people outside of Miami who would like to see somebody do it. Would any of you like to pick up on that? Did other people realize there was something special about the legacy besides some of the players? Some people have made a lot of the Patriots stealing signals, and somebody thinks even an asterisk should go next to this. How do you guys look at that and do you think it besmirches their season at all? Does it take on even added significance when most of your record was achieved with Earl Morrall as your quarterback? Is there any resentment when among you guys, the '72 Dolphins were portrayed as grumpy old men that no other teams could be as great as them; that you have a bottle of champagne waiting when teams lose; is all of that stuff overblown and are you a little tired of hearing that stuff? Looking ahead to next Sunday's game, the Giants and Patriots met four weeks ago, how difficult is it going to be for the Patriots to beat the Giants a second time? The Redskins, you had lost in the preseason to them; what was the main concern going into that Super Bowl game against the Redskins, and were you bummed out that it wasn't the Cowboys who had beaten you in that Super Bowl the year before? Bob, you had an injury; did you ever have photographers chasing you down to see if you had a boot on your foot or anything like that? You guys have seen a lot of teams come close and fall short of this perfect season so to speak. In this modern era where parity ceases to be kind of the normal with free agency and all that, did you think that a team eventually would do it? What are your specific plans for Super Bowl Sunday? I'm sure you'll all watch the game, but will you be in parts of the country where you won't be able to watch it together? Many of your teammates, many of you guys outside of football had great careers, and I'm just curious, since there's a correlation between what you guys did on the field and what came after, can some of you talk about what you've done after football, because here we are talking about something that happened decades ago. I just want to know off the subject a little bit, if Larry thinks the gladiators he hosted are better than the ones on TV now? Did you ever think you would see the day when a team was one win from doing what your Dolphins did in '72? Do you think it's more difficult these days with the salary cap and free agency to do that? Who on your '72 team would you compare to Wes Welker on this year's Patriots? Can you put into words just how incredibly difficult it is to make it through an entire NFL season without losing a game? Do you think that this is a dynasty, the Patriots? Given the liberal passing rules, more teams pass, you can't bump and run the receivers down the field and that today's players are bigger and faster, etc., etc., can you really compare the two eras? When you were in the booth for the Patriots game in Baltimore, were you rooting for the Ravens? Was too much made about your comment of an asterisk and do you stand behind that? What do you think about the Super Bowl. Is it going to be close? Did you guys ever talk about going undefeated or a perfect season during the ’72 season? How much pressure was there to win that last game going into Los Angeles when you were 16 0 standing on the precipice? That field goal would have made it 17-0, 17-0 season, did you want to ring his neck? He didn't even try to make a tackle. If you were coaching, how would you go about trying to beat the Patriots? Were you drained at the end of your undefeated season? Were you glad you didn't have another game at the end, or did you feel like you wanted to play more? A lot of the guys on the ’72 team have gone on to bigger and better things; in that sense, do you think the perfect season helped them along the way with their confidence? I think I heard you say on NFL Films, that the [Dolphins] team that beat the Vikings the next year in the Super Bowl was even better than [the '72 Dolphins team]. Has there ever been champagne consumed from the last undefeated team the following season? Griese said no; Anderson said yes. Clear that up for us. Has champagne ever been consumed in the name of the last undefeated team falling? Do you feel like the '72 team has gotten the respect overall it deserves? And also, last year, when NFL Films did the America's game countdown, that group ranked your team No. 1. Do you think that finally gave your team the respect it deserved? You mentioned going into the Super Bowl being underdogs; how do you think it's different for the Patriots being the favorites with the weight of history kind of looming around them? What similarities do you see between your '72 Dolphins and this season's Patriots? Were there any games during the regular season, close games, where you felt fortunate to get out of there with a win? You've coached against some of the great quarterbacks and coached some of the greatest quarterbacks; how good is Brady in terms of history of the game? You mentioned the fact that earlier, you said that one of the motivations to the season was the Dallas game and the Super Bowl. How much did you put that loss into the next season. How much was it, not browbeating to death, but how much was that a motivation? I know in '73 you guys were under pressure to win the big game, and there was talk how upbeat you were during the whole week, even though you were sick. How were you able to pull that off, and how was it able to set the tone for the players seeing the coach acting so upbeat when you were under so much pressure? What do you miss most about coaching? How elated will you be if you're sitting in your living room Super Bowl Sunday and the Giants do pull the upset and the Patriots don't draw even with you. How has the game changed coaching wise, the philosophy itself. How much of what you do is an element of luck, too, in that particular season? How much if you put a percentage on it was luck? I'm trying to get a handle on just how special a group of people when did you start recognizing that you had a dynamic group of people around you to do anything you wanted?
Posted by Art Martone Bill Belichick considers this Super Bowl his most important gameWith a perfect season and Super Bowl XLII on the line, New England coach Bill Belichick said that Sunday's game against the Giants will be the most important one of his career. "Of course it is an important game," Belichick said. "It’s the world championship. It’s the Super Bowl. I’ve coached in other ones. Those were important, too. At that time they seemed like the most important. I think whichever one you are in is the most important. "Maybe at some time there will be a time to reflect and look back on it, but right now there is no game more important than this game against the New York Giants and I’m going to put everything I have in it and try to do the best I can to do my job and help prepare the team. I am sure the players will do the same thing. At this point in time, which is where we are, it’s number one on the hit parade.”
Posted by Rob Lee Super Bowl experience might not be an advantage for the Patriots
"It’s the trip you want to be on, I’ll say that," Belichick said. "I don’t think it’s easier because you know you are going up against a great football team. The New York Giants are playing their best football of the year right now and we had a tremendous game with them a month ago. We know how hard it’s going to be and how good they are, how well prepared they are, and how hard they work and how talented they are. "That’s not easy at all. At the same time, you spend all season working to get to this point -- the mini-camps, the offseason programs, all the two-a-days in training camp, the preseason games, the grueling 16-game regular season schedule in the National Football League, the playoff games, the AFC championship -- it’s all done to be at this game and to be here this week. "We are proud to be here. We are excited to be here, but at the same time, we know there is a lot of work left to do. We know we are playing a great football team in the New York Giants and we know how hard that will be and how well we will have to play in order to be competitive on Sunday. That’s the balance, but we are glad we are here and glad we have an opportunity to meet that challenge.” The Patriots beat the Giants, 38-35, in the Week 17 to preserve their undefeated regular season. The Giants have won 10 consecutive road games.
Posted by Rob Lee Giants Arrive PHOENIX -- The Giants are scheduled to arrive at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport this afternoon at 2:45. Coach Tom Coughlin and selected players are scheduled to meet with the media around 5 at the team's hotel -- the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass. The Patriots are staying this week at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, where they checked in Sunday night.
Posted by Jim Donaldson Belichick enjoys talking to the media
When asked Saturday if he doesn’t like talking to the media, Belichick said, “Not at all. I think you have a job to do and you are our connection between our football team, our fans, and the people who have an interest in the game. I respect the job that you do and hope that you respect the job I do. “I understand that sometimes I can’t give you everything that you are looking for, but I do know that this is the conduit of information from the team to the fans and the fans are what drive the game. I’m all for it. Nobody is more in favor of this game than I am.”
Posted by Rob Lee Monday Morning in PhoenixPHOENIX -- It was raining here Sunday night when my direct (but still late) Southwest Airlines flight finally landed. The Patriots arrived earlier, with QB Tom Brady, not surprisingly, the focus of media attention. In what was even less of a surprise, he said he'd play Sunday. Gee, what a shock. What did surprise Brady was the weather. "I guess we must have brought that crappy weather with us from Foxboro," he said. "Oh, well, light snow there, some rain here." No rain today, though. The sun is shining and the temperatures are Spring-like, rather than desert-like, expected to be in the low 60s. The plane from Providence had several media members aboard. In addition to Journal colleague Robert Lee, former ProJo football writer Tom Curran, who now covers the NFL for NBC Sports' website, was aboard, along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who now does a radio show for 790 The Score. You know the Super Bowl is in town when you arrive at your hotel (in my case, the Hyatt Regency in downtown Phoenix, across the street from the convention center, which is media headquarters for Super Bowl XLII) and the entrance is flanked by pictures of Brady and Giants defensive end Michael Strahan that are several stories high. Then you get to your room, turn on the TV, and the NFL Network is showing Super Bowl XXXVIII, in which the Patriots edged Carolina, 32-29. That game featured a fabulous fourth quarter, which began with New England holding a 21-10 lead and then turned a wild shootout, with both teams moving up and down the field The Panthers closed to 21-16 on a 33-yard TD run by DeShaun Foster with 12:39 remaining. Carolina tried for a two-point conversion that failed. The Patriots came right back with a drive that reached the Carolina 9, where Brady threw an interception in the end zone. That pick proved even more costly when, on 3rd down from the Panthers' 15, Jake Delhomme connected with Muhsin Muhammad on a Super Bowl-record, 85-yard TD pass that gave Carolina (which again failed to convert a 2-point conversion attempt) a 22-21 lead with 6:53 to go. The Patriots responded with a 68-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by Brady's 18-yard completion to David Givens on 3rd-and-9, which set up a 1-yard scoring toss to linebacker-turned-tight end Mike Vrabel. The Pats then added a two-point conversion when Kevin Faulk took a direct snap from center and darted into the end zone for a 29-21 lead with 2:51 to go. The fireworks had only just begun. With Delhomme completing passes of 19 yards to Muhammad and 31 to Ricky Proehl, the Panthers moved quickly into scoring position, tying the game on a 12-yard pass to Proehl with 1:08 to play. But, when Carolina kicker John Kasey's kickoff went out of bounds, the Patriots didn't have far to go to get into field-goal range. A 17-yard pass from Brady to Deion Branch (his 10th catch of the game, for a total of 143 yards) set up a game-winning kick by Adam Vinatieri from 41 yards out with four seconds remaining. The kick was reminiscent of Vinatieri's field goal two years earlier, against the Rams, in Super Bowl XXXVI, when he nailed a 48-yarder as time expired.
Posted by Jim Donaldson Download today's Sports coverJim Donaldson continues his six-part series on the Patriots, this time highlighting the Pats' brain trust -- the front office. Also, Syracuse continues to hobble through the Big East season with a 71-64 win over Providence College.
Posted by Rich Lee January 27, 2008
Multimedia: Patriots Super Stories, Pt 2: Super Bowl XXThis is the second edition in a six-part series by sports columnist Jim Donaldson. Jim, who has covered each of the Patriots' five Super Bowl appearances to date for The Journal (he'll make it six next weekend) looks back in these audio slideshows at each of the games, and his thoughts are accompanied by pictures from Bob Breidenbach, who has photographed each of the games. Today's presentation focuses on Super Bowl XX, the Patriots' first-ever trip to the big game, when they faced the Chicago Bears.
Posted by Mike McDermott Former Pats coach Holovak dies at 88The New England Patriots are saddened to learn that former head coach Mike Holovak passed away today at the age of 88. Holovak spent nearly eight seasons as the head coach of the Boston Patriots (1961-68) and led the franchise to its first championship game appearance following the 1963. season.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young January 25, 2008
Multimedia: Patriots Super Stories Part 1, Brady's Super Bowl legacyThis is the first edition in a six-part series by sports columnist Jim Donaldson. Jim, who has covered each of the Patriots' five Super Bowl appearances to date for The Journal (he'll make it six next weekend) looks back in these audio slideshows at each of the games, and his thoughts are accompanied by pictures from Bob Breidenbach, who has photographed each of the games. We'll get to the Super Bowl games themselves on Monday, but to start, here's Jim's presentation on Tom Brady, the Patriots' greatest Super Bowl hero. Click the play button below to see and hear the show.
Posted by Mike McDermott Stallworth & Welker: We can handle itIn his brief time here in New England, it has become apparent that receiver Donte Stallworth is quite a character. He's admitted to having an on-field alter ego, whom he calls Nikko, is a student of psychology, and likes to tell a joke. So today, when coach Bill Belichick was offering noting about the status of Tom Brady's ankle, Stallworth said it's not to worry: he'll be under center for Super Bowl XLII. "Well, Bill actually brought me in his office earlier this morning and asked me if I wanted to move to quarterback, and we’re going to put in a whole new offense," Stallworth said. "He wants me to run the option. We brought in the coach from Nebraska, Tom Osborne, so I’ve met with him and we have the option going. Tom’s going to go ahead and let me take the reins for this game." Not so fast, however. After Stallworth laid claim to the role, Wes Welker said it's actually his job to fill in for Brady: "Well, actually, coach pulled me into the office and told me I was going to be the quarterback, so I don’t know where he’s hearing that from. I think he kind of overheard our conversation, and that’s actually going to be my role," Welker said. So now there’s a quarterback controversy?, he was asked. "A little bit." Brady was not on field for the media-access portion of practice again today, but it completely within the realm of possibility that he is resting his right ankle as a precaution and will be raring to go once New England gets to Arizona.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Reporter's query: Are you living in a house divided?Are you living in a house divided, a die-hard Patriots fan living with a family member who is rooting for the Giants? If so, can you laugh about it, or will you be watching the Super Bowl on separate TVs — maybe even in separate places?. Send your stories — please be sure to include your name, address and daytime phone number — to sendus@projo.com. We’ll publish the best of the bunch the the day before the Big Game.
Posted by Karen Bordeleau Transcript: Larry Izzo's Friday press conferenceOn what makes Wes Welker unique On what’s it been like having Welker on the team On whether this Giants team compares to the 2001 Patriots team On advice that he’s given to players that haven’t been to a Super Bowl On the biggest challenge presented by going to the Super Bowl for the first time On whether having a bye week before the game is better On the Giants’ kicking game On how Super Bowl experience helps On talk of that they are the best team ever On his favorite memory for his Super Bowl trips
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Adalius Thomas' Friday press conference
On making adjustments
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Tedy Bruschi's Friday press conferenceOn advice he’s given out to younger players about the Super Bowl On what the best piece of advice is On how happy he was not to have to play against Wes Welker this year On what makes Welker so difficult to defend On completing an undefeated regular season On what it’s like going back to Arizona where he played in college
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Kelly Washington's Friday press conferenceOn all of the hype of being in the Super Bowl On whether he’s excited for his first Super Bowl On dealing with so many off the field distractions On treating the Super Bowl as just another game On whether there’s a moment to realize the magnitude of the Super Bowl On the importance of special teams On which veterans he’s talked to this week On the best piece of advice he’s received
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Junior Seau's Friday press conferenceOn what he expects in this game On playing against Wes Welker when he was in Miami On the New York and Boston Rivalry On the photos newspapers have been running On his concern about the status of Tom Brady On the biggest difference between the last time he was in the Super Bowl On if that is what makes this team special On his mentality coming back two years ago as opposed to this year On if he will play for a few more years On the perfect way to end his career On Kelley Washington’s acceptance of his role this year On what that does for players On getting excited for this game On his 1994 trip to the Super Bow On using that experience in this Super Bowl On what 16-0 meant to the team On Adalius Thomas On if they talk about winning a championship On coming to New England and seeing the lack of selfishness On whether it only takes a couple of guys to buy into it
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Rodney Harrison's Friday press conferenceOn Randy Moss’ play the last few weeks On the pressure to win the Super Bowl On if anyone on the team can be 100 percent healthy at this point in the year On if he came to New England to win a Super Bowl On being part of the kickoff team in the Super Bowl On if he will close his eyes to avoid the flashes On if the New York and Boston rivalry has intensified On Mike Vrabel On Eli Manning On advice he gives to less experience teammates
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Donte Stallworth's Friday press conferenceSix years in the league. I assume this is what you came here for? Yeah, this is it. This is the biggest game of the best sport in the world and this is what you fantasize about growing up as a little kid, playing in your backyard and things like that. This is it. [We’ll] try to get a good week of preparation this week and go down to Arizona with a plan and be all about business once we get down there. Thinking back to your rookie year, you mentioned your team was on the verge of making the playoffs and then lost five of the last six. We started off the year 7-2 or 6-2 and we had to win one of our last four, and those lost four games were against - record-wise-against the worst teams, all the worst teams in the NFL, and we lost every game. I’ve always understood after that year taking it [the] one game at a time approach that Coach [Bill] Belichick preaches here so much, as it’s paid off for us up to now. Following up on that, yesterday and today is just scratching the surface of what Super Bowl week is about. What’s your anticipation of going through that for the first time? I’ve always been a big football fan, NFL fan, since I’ve been a little kid, so I’ve seen the whole circus that goes on. It’s all fun and good, but we all understand what’s really at stake here and what’s most important. Guys have family issues, as far as tickets and getting your family down there and hotel rooms and all of that stuff. We’ve tried to get all of that stuff taken care of before we even leave to go to Arizona. The most important thing is just focusing on the game, especially, like I said, this week during the game preparation of this week, and then once we get down there it’s definitely all about business. I’m focused. I already left a voicemail on my phone, in the locker room after the game, after we won the game here Sunday, saying, “Hey, I don’t have any tickets. Don’t call here asking me.” And I haven’t gotten any calls, so that’s good. I guess they got the point. When other teams scheme to take away Randy Moss, how do you and the other receivers react to that? You just have to step up. You know that Tom’s [Brady] going to find the open guy every time, so you just have to know that whatever situation it may be, if it’s first down, first series, or it could be late in the game on third down, Tom’s going to find the open guy. Every play, you just have to do your job and try to get open. Seeing as how you studied psychology, can you define what pressure is or what psychologists would say pressure is? You know what? Bill made a great point about this about five, maybe six weeks ago. I’m trying to remember exactly how he described it. He said, “Put a 2x4 on the floor and walk across it. Do you feel any pressure? No, you don’t. You put it 300 feet up in the air [and] walk across the same 2x4, do you feel any pressure then? You shouldn’t, it’s the same 2x4, but your mind is letting you know, hey, if I slip or I fall, any miscalculation of a step, that’s it for you. You stay focused on walking across that 2x4 and then there’s no pressure.” Why do you suppose it is - and some people in the locker room have said this - as the season goes on and you perform well and have accomplished more, that pressure actually increases. Why does the pressure go up when you perform well? It starts with the media. I think with us winning every game this year, which hasn’t been done before, people were talking about it midseason, as far as us being able to go undefeated and all this other stuff, but I’ve always felt like pressure is what you allow it to be. It’s pretty good - a really great description, I would say, what Bill gave us a couple of months ago about that 2x4. Pressure is only what you allow it to be, and these guys here have played in… I think it’s 109 Super Bowls now. So I don’t think they’ll be worried about any pressure. They’ve done a good job here of just keeping distractions away. We had a couple days off after the game to get all of that stuff out of the way and most of the guys were able to do that. Like I said, right now we’re focusing on the game, focusing on our preparation. Yesterday Plaxico Burress had a press conference in New Jersey and he said they felt their wide receiving corps was just as good, if not better than yours. Do you have any take on that? No. Plaxico is a really good receiver. I know him personally. He’s a competitor. He’s a great player, and he’s out there to make plays for his team, just like we’re trying to do for our team. We’re not playing against those guys. I’m not going to be covering Plaxico or anything like that any time soon, so comparisons don’t mean anything right now. Is this the best receiving corps you’ve played on, though? Yeah. Obviously when you have a guy like Randy [Moss], and Wes [Welker] is being able to work the slot really well, and Jabar [Gaffney], it’s not only the receivers. It’s the whole team. We wouldn’t be able to do what we’re doing if the guys up front weren’t giving Tom a whole lot of time, and obviously Tom getting us the ball, so it’s not only receivers. But talent-wise, we’re pretty deep in talent. Was there ever a time when you had to reconcile the expectations you had when you came in as a free agent and then the role you had with Wes Welker and Randy Moss? No. No, I think that whatever role it was that I was going to have to play here, I was fine with that. I knew that the main objective was I was tired of being home for New Year’s and being home for the holidays. I’ve been playing pretty much up to this point, as far as through the holidays and things. Now I’m in the big show, so everything that’s gone on, I’ve had a good time. I think now is the ultimate payoff, so [you] just continue to work hard and try to study your opponent as well as you can and try to leave Arizona with a good feeling. Are you guys the least bit concerned about Tom Brady and his ankle? Well, Bill actually brought me in his office earlier this morning and asked me if I wanted to move to quarterback, and we’re going to put in a whole new offense. He wants me to run the option. We brought in the coach from Nebraska, Tom Osborne, so I’ve met with him and we have the option going. Tom’s going to go ahead and let me take the reigns for this game. On Sunday you said you weren’t sure if you wanted to bring Nikko with you to the Super Bowl. Have you made a decision on him yet? Yeah, I’m going to leave him here for awhile. He’s the one that goes out and plays in the game. I’m not really an overly aggressive person, but he is, so I’ll let him handle the game. I’ll take care of the preparation and let him play in the game.
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Wes Welker's Friday press conferenceAfter the AFC Championship game a lot of guys said if you don’t complete a perfect season, it was all for nothing. Do you feel that way? When you were on the Dolphins and looked at this organization from afar, was coming here what you expected? Do you ever reflect and think of what the record was there and what it is here? What has it meant to you personally, the way you’ve emerged as a player with a new team here? Was a season like this something you though you were capable of earlier in your career? People point to you as not the biggest or strongest guy in the word, but given a chance… Do you mind that at all? Does that shortchange you at all? When teams try to take away Randy Moss, do the other receivers enjoy that at all? In some respects, you stand here as a rookie - a Super Bowl rookie. What are your thoughts and anticipations going into this experience? With all of the experience in that locker room of people who have been through this before, are you picking anyone’s brain? I remember talking to you before about what you expected for the playoffs and you said you’d never been in a playoff game. Now that you’ve played in a few, was it what you expected? Donte’ Stallworth said he’s taking over at quarterback and you guys are going to run the option. What are your thoughts about having him play quarterback? So now there’s a quarterback controversy?
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Bill Belichick's Friday press conference, he still won't talk about Brady
How is it going this morning? Good, huh? OK, well, we’re plugging along. The Giants are a tough team to get ready for. They do a lot [and] they do a lot of things well. This is probably one of those games [where] if we had a month to get ready for them, we’d still be working on them, but we have to schedule, kind of pace our way through it. We’re going to try to do the best we can, but they do a good job in a lot of areas - really, all areas - so it’s a lot to get ready for, but we’re underway. It was good to be out on the field yesterday and we have a couple more days here before we take off on Sunday. Is their defensive line comparable to any you’ve faced already? Can you say whether Tom Brady will practice today? Is your experience going through Super Bowl games more important to the actual game itself or handling the hype and pacing yourself? Can you talk about what makes Kevin Faulk such a unique player? Did Rodney Harrison practice yesterday and are there any players you think won’t practice today? Why not answer now? Everyone’s here. What’s your best guess? As durable as Tom Brady has been at his position, how durable is your center? I know he had the one injury. I know all of those guys up front are pretty much the unsung heroes, but is he the unsung hero of that group? When you look at Eli Manning, are there similarities to Peyton or are they completely different? Osi Umeniyora said yesterday on HBO that Matt Light might have done a few things he shouldn’t have, some dirty plays after the whistle. Does that go both ways, though, usually in the trenches? If one side is doing it, the other side does? But is it motivating to have these types of remarks? How do Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs compliment each other and what kind of challenges do they present? Obviously the magnitude of this game makes the preparation different than if you were playing the third game of the regular season, but can you think of anything in the last three Super Bowls you’ve been to where you said, “That wouldn’t have happened if we’d had our normal time to prepare.”? But the event aspect of it doesn’t really have that much of an effect? How does this compare to the last three Super Bowls you’ve been in? How is it different?
Posted by Art Martone Practice peek: Still no BradyWe are inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse, where the Patriots are stretching before their practice session begins in earnest. Tom Brady and Ryan O'Callaghan are the players we didn't spot on the field. Rodney Harrison, who missed yesterday's session, is back on the field.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Friday at Gillette: All ankle, all the timeHey all -- Bill Belichick was asked about Tom Brady and his ankle about four different ways today, and none of the questions got any kind of answer that gave any indication about Brady's health. After declining to say how much Brady will practice today, if at all, if Rodney Harrison practiced yesterday and if he anticipates that others might miss time today, and if he'd share how much -- or little -- Brady did participate in practice yesterday, Belichick grew exasperated. After that last query, he looked to PR maven Stacey James and sighed, "Stacey, is that the last question?" In between questions about the World's Most Discussed Ankle, Belichick talked about Kevin Faulk, Dan Koppen and the rest of the offensive line, comparisons between Eli and Peyton Manning, and the Giants' running back tandem of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. The locker room was quiet at first, but in time, Junior Seau, Tedy Bruschi, Larry Izzo, Rodney Harrison and Adalius Thomas drew crowds to discuss all things New York and Super Bowl. New England will hold another full-pads practice inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse this afternoon; we'll let you know whether or not Number 12 and his ankle are there. shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young January 24, 2008
Transcript: Mike Vrabel's Thursday interview Richard Seymour picked the Giants to get here in a pool with his friends. How about you? Is that how you judge your team, after Thanksgiving? Their toughness was demonstrated in that game. They didn’t need to beat you to make the playoffs. What advice do you have for the guys that haven’t been to the Super Bowl? Anything about the week itself? Can you talk about how your relationship with Bill Belichick has evolved since you first came here? You’ve been able to joke with him - you have a good relationship. Has it been like that from the beginning? You’ve been around long enough to understand the way fans think. Talk about the fact that it’s Boston/New York for the Super Bowl. All three Patriots Super Bowls were won by three points and the red zone becomes much more important in the Super Bowl. With three big red zone stops last week, is that something you hope to carry over to the Super Bowl? You talked about when you first came here and Bill Belichick calling you. Do you ever think about how close that was? Adalius Thomas shifted from inside to outside. Can you talk about how he’s handled the role? How fine a line is it between tough, hardnosed football and the dirty play that some fans or some people think they’re seeing?
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Adalius Thomas' Thursday interview Can I ask you to reflect on your hometown of Equality, Ala. and how well you know Justin Tuck? Richard Seymour talked about making picks with his buddies and he chose the Giants straight through, based on the fact that when he played them he thought they were a solid team. Do you think that? When you talked to Justin Tuck, can you give us a little bit of the flavor of it? You came in here and got basically immersed playing inside and then all of a sudden got shifted outside. Was there any impact? Knowing that now, having played both, is it easier to shift outside or would it have been harder to go inside? The Patriots’ Super Bowl wins were all by three points and the red zone becomes very important in the Super Bowl. Last week you had three red zone stops. Do you think that puts you right on schedule? When you were thinking about signing someplace when you were a free agent, was this in your mind why you signed here, the opportunity to be here and talk about the Patriots in the Super Bowl? Their two running backs are different styles. What kind of challenge does that present? Were you surprised at all the coverage Tom Brady and his walking boot got the last few days? Do you feel pretty confident you’ll have him at 100 percent? Is this a non-issue for your team? Could you address the development of Eli Manning and what you’ve seen in him in the last month? Some people grow up in certain areas and wish they were from somewhere else. Are you grateful for where you came from? You were injured for a short time this season -- The ankle injury that showed up on the injury report. You guys are pretty heavily favored in this game. Has this season been more of a learning experience than you anticipated? But here where the system is so complicated to play?
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Richard Seymour's Thursday interview Ready for the madness? What kind of advice do you give the guys who have never been to the Super Bowl before? Seeing Tom Brady walk around New York in a walking boot, are you at all concerned? You know it’s the heat of the moment in games, but are you distressed at some of the words that have been aimed at you in terms of being a dirty player? From your experience, these couple of days here, are they the most important days in terms of preparation before you get to the Super Bowl site? What did you personally take from that last game? In what way are you better since that Giants game? The New York/Boston rivalry is well documented, obviously, from a baseball standpoint. How much do you recognize it now from a football standpoint? Can you add to Nick Hardwick’s thing yesterday that you head butted -- The head butt thing? OK, but this one specific thing. He claimed you head butted a coach, although the tape -- When you look at Eli Manning, in the game against you he threw four touchdown passes. Do you think he’s used that as a platform? On your picks with your buddies, you picked the Giants. Based on your game with them, did you have inside information? What kind of challenge do you face with the running backs? Did it surprise you the intensity that they brought to that last game of the regular season? For standings, they were locked into their playoff position, so why would they go about it that way? With Adalius Thomas coming in over your shoulder, is it that unspoken thing you had with Rosevelt Colvin, where you instinctively know what’s going on behind you? You’ve often been cited for being a size/speed combo that’s rare, and so has Adalius. Beyond that, what strikes you about him?
Posted by Art Martone Mitchell to IRThe Patriots have placed safety/special teamer Mel Mitchell on injured reserve with a biceps injury. Things have not gone exactly as Mitchell likely planned since he signed with New England before last season -- last year, he missed the entire season with an arm injury, and he this year he battled a groin injury before the biceps injury happened. In all, he played in 11 games this season and totaled 11 special-teams tackles. New England now has 52 players on the active roster, though it would be surprising if the player chosen to fill Mitchell's spot is named before next week.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Photo: 2 quarterbacks at practice, and neither is Brady
Q. Can you comment on Tom Brady’s foot and any concerns you may have? Q. Is he going to practice today, regular practice?
Posted by Andrea Panciera Transcript: Bill Belichick's Thursday press conferenceWe’ve spent the past three days looking at the Giants. Even though we just played them a month ago, I think that they’ve certainly improved dramatically as a football team. The number one area I would say is in the kicking game. They’ve really done a good job there. I think they’ve pretty much had the edge in that phase of the game in all three of their playoff games, and not turning the ball over, offensively. That’s been very impressive, especially against the defenses they’ve gone up against. Tampa, Dallas and Green Bay are all outstanding defenses and they protected the ball perfectly, really, in those games and of course came up with the turnovers on defense. [They’re a] real good football team. We had a great game with them a month ago, roughly, so we have a lot of get ready for and I think it’s a team that’s playing its best football at this time of year. Tom’s [Coughlin] done a great job with the team and he’s an outstanding coach. They have a great organization. They’re physical, they do everything pretty well and this will be a big challenge for us. Hopefully we can have a real good week up here in terms of our preparation and getting a lot of things done - not everything, of course, but getting a lot of things done so that when we do head down there on Sunday we’ll be familiar with a good chunk of the game plan, what we want to do, and then be able to just polish it up a little bit in Arizona. That’s kind of the plan for this week and we’re excited to get started. I think the players really had a good attitude this morning about coming in and getting on to business. We know we have a lot of work to do and we’re anxious to get started on the preparations. The familiarity of having played them a month ago - The coaches obviously have an advantage, but what about the players? Can you comment on Tom Brady’s foot and any concerns you may have? Is he going to practice today, regular practice? Can you comment on the historic nature of the game coming up, the Super Bowl? It’s been one game at a time for you and now this is it. You kind of make it sound like it’s just another game, like any old game. Does it make it more special for you given your personal history with the Giants, to be playing them? Because of the undefeated season, if you win the Super Bowl, will this one be more special than the others? Can you talk about Tom Brady’s toughness? Even at different points in his career, when he’s been banged up, he’s had the ability to play through it. What has been the difference with Eli Manning? You mentioned the Giants’ kicking game. How significant is that in your mind? The fact that Tom Brady has been able to start 126 consecutive games, does that speak to his toughness, or is that just luck that he’s been healthy? Ahmad Bradshaw seems to give them a significant spark in limited touches. What does he bring? After the last regular season game, could you see how dangerous the Giants could be in the postseason? What’s the common denominator on a team like that, that gets better as it goes along - confidence? Your 2001 team had that. Does having as many players as you’ve had play in Super Bowls and big games - Can you measure that at all? If you were in our position, would you be portraying Brady’s injury as a non-issue? How do you depend on your veterans to guide guys who haven’t been to the Super Bowl before, and will your team have a curfew? How important is it to stay away from some of the stupid penalties? How personally pleased were you to see a guy like Tom Coughlin reach a Super Bowl as a head coach? Did you try to reach out to him after the NFC Championship game?
Posted by Art Martone Practice peek: No BradyHey all - We are here inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse, and Tom Brady is not stretching with the rest of his teammates. Rodney Harrison and Mel Mitchell are also currently not at the full-pads workout. Matt Gutierrez, Ray Ventrone, Matt Cassel, Willie Andrews and Wesley Britt are all in black jerseys as practice players of the week.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Thursday at GilletteHey all -- We are back here at Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots have reconvened after a couple of days off to start their preparations for Super Bowl XLII. Not surprisingly, Bill Belichick wasn't saying anything when it comes to The World's Most Talked About Sprained Ankle, replying that he had "no comment" when asked about Tom Brady and that he didn't know if Brady would be at practice. "We'll have an injury report next Wednesday, and I can't wait to give it to all of you," Belichick joked, drawing laughs. The coach was in a good mood for much of the press conference, wearing a smile as he approached the dais and took in the vast media crowd sitting before him. Of the Giants, Belichick said they've "improved dramatically" over the month or so since New England played them last, particularly in the kicking game. He had praise for his friend and former colleague, Tom Coughlin, whom he worked with in New York when Belichick was defensive backs coach and Coughlin receivers coach under Bill Parcells. However, "I wish him well in every game but this one," Belichick said of Coughlin. The Patriots are practicing inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse in full pads today; we'll have a report on who is -- or is not -- there shortly. shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Tabloid war?
The Boston Herald is outraged -- outraged -- at the New York tabloids' targeting of Tom Brady this week (the Post famously referred to Brady as "girlie man" on the day after the foot-cast image surfaced). So today, the Herald declared war on its front page, using a picture of a missile burning a hole through the New York Post and the Daily News to make its point. The Herald today asks readers, "What is the best reason for Patriots fans to hate the Giants?" The Post has for now backed off Brady so that it can devote its attention to the Heath Ledger story, while the Daily News is invoking the memory of Joe Namath in reminding fans that, yes, upsets can happen.
Posted by Mike McDermott Video: Seymour accused of head-butting Chargers coachSan Diego Chargers center Nick Hardwick, who had already accused Patriots defensive lineman of dirty play during the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, took his allegations a step further on yesterday in an interview on XX Sports Radio, claiming that the helmeted Seymour head-butted a member of the Chargers coaching staff while he was getting into it with Chargers players before Sunday's game. This video is now making the rounds: You have to wade through it for a while, but about two minutes and 48 seconds into the tape, you can see Seymour arguing with Chargers player Marcus McNeill, then at the very least getting into the face of a Charger assistant.
Posted by Mike McDermott January 23, 2008
Umenyiora on LightGiants defensive end Osi Umenyiora appears on HBO's Inside the NFL tonight and discusses Pats left tackle Matt Light and the battles the two had in the Dec. 29 meeting between New England and New York. These quotes were provided by HBO: Umenyiora: “It was a good match up the last time. I mean, I think I got him a couple of times, he also got me a couple of times. It was a war out there and to be honest with you, I not quite sure that he thought that he was going to see me again because of some of the things he did and said during that game. But, you know, unfortunately he does have to see me again.”
Posted by Shalise Manza Young OK, call off the game ...Dr. John F. Murray, a sport performance psychologist whose insight has been sought out by such sports experts as Neal Cavuto, says the Patriots are a shoo-in to destroy the Giants in the Super Bowl. Murray, whose contributions to the sports lexicon include the "Mental Performance Index," says the Pats will win by more than two touchdowns because they are much better than New York in pressure situations. "Simply put, the Patriots performed better under pressure than the Giants," says Murray. "The Giants have hope only if they perform much better under pressure and the Patriots perform worse. Since the Super Bowl stage presents the most pressure of the year, this is unlikely," says Murray."
Posted by Mike McDermott Photo: Welker does a milk commercial
Posted by Mike McDermott January 22, 2008
Multimedia: Projo PatsTalk on the road to the Super BowlShalise Manza Young and Mike McDermott look back on the AFC Championship victory and begin to talk about the Giants in this words-and-pictures presentation. Click on the play button below to see and hear the show.
Posted by Mike McDermott Download today's Sports coverThe heat is on the Patriots to finish undefeated, and Arizona might just be the perfect place to do so for QB Tom Brady and receiver Randy Moss.
Posted by Rich Lee January 21, 2008
Paparazzi catch Tom at Gisele's door
As expected, the paparazzi were waiting for Tom Brady when he returned to New York City with girlfriend Gisele Bundchen, and they may have revealed a little secret: a Brady injury. This photo shows Brady with a walking boot on his right foot. The quarterback did finish Sunday's game against the Chargers. During his weekly appearance on WEEI, Brady said, "I'll be ready for the Super Bowl."
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Download today's Sports coverThe Patriots stop the Chargers in the AFC Championship game, and will face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl in the Pats' fourth appearance in seven years.
Posted by Rich Lee January 20, 2008
Hobbs happy to be on winning sideNow in his third season, this is Ellis Hobbs' first Super Bowl appearance. He was so emotional after the Pats' loss in Denver two years ago that he had to take time to compose himself before he went into the locker room; last year was more postseason sadness. With the sting of last January's loss to the Colts still on their minds, Hobbs said tonight that the players stressed "not this year." "Not this year. Especially for me, my college years weren’t the best. I’ve been a loser for a long time, on a lot of losing teams, man," he said, referring to his years at Iowa State. "With all the things that have gone on this season, on the field, off the field, whatever, this is the culmination of all of them. This feels great."
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Tedy & TroyPerhaps one of the few bittersweet things about today's game was that Mr. Everything Troy Brown was among New England's inactives and thus wasn't in uniform to help his Patriots teammates get back to the Super Bowl. But Brown was on the field, and he and Tedy Bruschi shared a moment together once the victory was secure. As the senior member of the New England roster, Brown had already been with the Pats for three years when Bruschi was drafted in 1996. Later that year, New England advanced to Super Bowl XXXI, so next week's trip to Arizona will be the fifth time Brown and Bruschi have been at the Big Game together. "We're the only ones left from '96 and we're going back again," Bruschi said. "To see Troy is special because he's been here since my first day. We have a special bond." Brown, who was in the locker room after the game with his two sons, said of his being inactive that he understood that it comes down to numbers; after suffering a knee injury in last year's AFC title game, he fought his way back onto the field but has only been active for two games. He has still enjoyed being with his teammates on the practice field and in meetings, and on the sidelines last night. "It's been a lot of fun for me to be on the sidelines, exciting to be a part of it," Brown said. "I'm going to enjoy every moment."
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Giants upset Packers to reach Super BowlThe New York Giants have defeated the Green Bay Packers, 23-20, on Lawrence Tynes' game-winning 47-yard field goal in overtime. The Giants will face the Patriots in two weeks -- for the second time in about a month -- to decide the championship of football.
Posted by Mike McDermott Seau gets back to the Big OneMake no mistake: the New England Patriots want to win the Super Bowl because that's been their goal since the season began in July. But winning it for Junior Seau is part of their motivation as well. An 18-year veteran, traded to Miami by his hometown Chargers for just a fifth-round before the 2003 season, Seau has made just one prior Super Bowl appearance in his career. In 1994, San Diego got clobbered by San Francisco, 49-26. In a career that's included over 1,800 tackles, 12 consecutive Pro Bowl appearances from 1991-2002, All-Pro honors and the league's Man of the Year Award in 1994, a championship ring is the only thing missing from Seau's unparalleled resume. "I feel great for Junior," Tedy Bruschi said. "It’s been a long time since he’s been there and I know he wants to finish it more than anybody." Seau was emotional after the game as he reflected on his circuitous route to another Super Bowl appearance. "To talk about this history of myself and the San Diego Chargers, I am always a Charger. That's my home. I took the scenic route to get here," he said. "I took the scenic route." "The excitement and energy he brings to this team...you have to be happy for guys like that, that play so hard and put everything into it throughout their career," Mike Vrabel said. "I'll be happy to go on a Super Bowl trip with him and hopefully win the game with him."
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Red Zone Stops FOXBORO -- Three times, the San Diego Chargers moved the ball inside the Patriots' 10-yard line.
Posted by Jim Donaldson Asante Samuel intercepts fifth career playoff passBy ROBERT LEE FOXBORO -- San Diego coach Norv Turner said that New England "franchise" defensive back Asante Samuel's interception of a Philip Rivers pass intended for Chris Chambers in the second quarter was the difference in yesterday's 21-12 New England AFC Championship victory. Samuel returned the pick 10 yards to the Chargers 24 yard line and Tom Brady threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney two plays later to put the Pats ahead, 14-6. It was Samuel's fifth interception in the postseason of his career and his fifth interception in his last seven postseason games dating back to the 2005 season. "I think it was one of the big plays of the game," Samuel said. "The offense was struggling a little bit so to get the ball for them to get it in foreign territory and to get the touchdown was good. It was a momentum-changer and we won. "It was a team effort and we played good as a defense and we won. We're happy about it. One more game man. One more game."
Posted by Rob Lee Pats excited to play in Super Bowl XLIIBy ROBERT LEE FOXBORO – The New England Patriots will be going for their fourth Super Bowl title since 2001 in Arizona at Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3. What does that mean to the Patriots? “It’s exciting,” quarterback Tom Brady said. “You know, there’s been so much energy expended each week with the expectations and the pressure our coach puts on us. [I’m] glad we have the week off here, regroup a little bit and try to elevate our game for one last performance…Every time I’ve played in the Super Bowl, I’ve cherished that and it never gets old and standing up there and accepting the Lamar Hunt Trophy for the team for the fourth time is pretty outstanding.” “I’m excited to be going,” said rookie cornerback Brandon Meriweather, who has never lost a meaningful game in the NFL (18-0). “You know, to get a chance to live out a dream. Everybody who plays football dreams of making it to the Super Bowl.” This will be the Patriots sixth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, joining three other teams (Dallas, Denver, and Pittsburgh) with at least six Super Bowl appearances. The Patriots six super Bowl appearances, tied with Denver and Pittsburgh, trail only Dallas’s eight berths for most all-time. The Patriots are 3-2 in their previous five Super Bowls. The Patriots lost in the AFC Championship game last season to Indianapolis. “All we kept stressing to one another is not this year,” Patriots defensive back Ellis Hobbs said. “Not this year. Especially for me, my college years weren’t the best. I’ve been a loser for a long time on a lot of losing teams. Just to be a part of this, and a significant part, and with all the things that have gone on this season, on the field, off the field, whatever. This is just a culmination of all of it and it just feels great.”
Posted by Rob Lee Turner on LTOne of the lingering questions from this game, especially from Chargers fans, will be the mysterious disappearance of All-Pro running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson hyper-extended his left knee early in San Diego's win over the Colts, and did not return to the game. But after the game, he declared that he'd be ready to go for the AFC title game in New England. The running back did not practice on Wednesday, but participated fully on Thursday and Friday, and when the Chargers released their injury report on Friday evening, Tomlinson was not listed. Not as doubtful, as quarterback Philip Rivers was, or questionable, or even probable. He started the game and was given the ball on San Diego's first two snaps, gaining five yards. Tomlinson caught a one-yard pass on the Chargers' next possession and jawed a bit with Rodney Harrison after the ensuing play but wasn't seen on the field again. Instead, he sat on the San Diego bench, his dark visor covering his eyes. It was announced in the press box that he could return to the game; on television, it was deemed a coach's decision. "LT tried to go and he just couldn't go," San Diego coach Norv Turner said. "The pain in the knee, what he felt, he couldn't push off and he couldn't go." Asked what was different that Tomlinson practiced but then couldn't play in the biggest game of his career, Turner said it was playing a live defense. "He ran and cut and every day got better and felt he could go, but there's a lot of difference when you lower your shoulder and run into a 300 pound guy as compared to running and cutting and splitting against air," he said. Turner got defensive when asked what other Chargers players might think about Tomlinson given that Rivers and tight end Antonio Gates, dealing with a dislocated big toe, played the game but he did not, calling it the "stupidest thing to ask." When asked to confirm that Tomlinson was indeed not on the team's Friday report, Turned evaded the question. "LT did not practice Wednesday. He had limited practice on Thursday [he was listed as full participation on the official report]. He practiced on Friday, OK? He wasn't able to go. He tried to go." After the game, Tomlinson said he hopes to be fine with rest.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Moss held to one catch but still going to first Super BowlBy ROBERT LEE His teammates said yesterday that Jacksonville and San Diego both limited Moss's production by double and triple teaming him and that his sub-par two catches for 32 yards this postseason has nothing to do with his off-the-field distraction – Ft. Lauderdale resident and longtime friend Rachelle Washington accusing him of battery and demanding from him a “six-figure” settlement. San Diego’s overwhelming coverage on Moss forced Tom Brady to go elsewhere with the football for most of the game. Teammate Rodney Harrison said that the Chargers needed to double and triple-team Moss because if they didn’t then Moss would have burned them. “At any point in time Randy Moss can go down there and beat you,” Harrison said. “You have to put two guys on him. If you stick him with one guy, I don’t think there is a corner in the league [that can stop him one-on-one]. You’re proud of a guy like that because he’s 30-years-old and he works extremely hard.” In addition to his catch, Moss had a 14 yard run on a reverse. “Seeing him run that got everybody else motivated,” fellow receiver Jabar Gaffney said. Moss has never been to a Super Bowl. His teammates couldn’t be happier to help him reach the Super Bowl this year. “I’m real happy for him,” Gaffney said. “He got in this terrible situation and we all have his back. We know what kind of [person he is]. There are always two sides to the story so for him to shake that off and he came out here and got ‘W,’ it’s real good…He’s been focused. He’s been himself all week. He just shut that off.” “When I walked into this locker room I looked at Randy and just told him how happy and how proud I was for him because he’s worked his butt off,” Harrison said. “He’s gone through a lot of criticism. He’s gone through a lot of scrutiny since he’s gotten here, in a lot of public opinion good, bad, and different, and for him to stand tall week after week to stay focused on what Bill [Belichick] has been preaching, it just shows his maturity as a person, as a player and I’m happy for him.” “He’s a good person and he’s been a great football player for us,” Harrison added.
Posted by Rob Lee A Tough Rivers
But the often outspoken QB did win his teammates' respect for playing the entire game despite limping noticeably, reportedly from a strained medial collateral ligament and a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Rivers completed 19 of 37 passes for 211 yards. He threw two interceptions and was unable to get the Chargers into the end zone in three red-zone opportunities. Still, his efforts were appreciated. "I can't say enough about Philip Rivers and what he did," said San Diego coach Norv Turner. "You know, you watch a guy -- and he's done this a couple of timesd this year -- but you watch a guy get in at 5:30 in the morning and start his treatment and rehab and he's in there at 6:30 at night. "He did everything he could do to give himself a chance to play. You can't ask for more than he gave. I couldn't have gotten him off (the field) if I wanted to," said Turner. Receiver Chris Chambers, who hauled in seven passes for 90 yards, was impressed with Rivers, who already had left knee problems before suffering injuries to his right knee during last week's playoff victory over the Colts. "I didn't think he'd make the whole game," said Chambers. "He has shown tremendous toughness the whole year. Hats off to him. I can't wait to play a full season when he is healthy and see what he can really do." "There are a lot of guys who have been playing nicked up all year," added wide receiver Vincent Jackson. "But everyone knows Philip's knees are in pretty bad shape. He gave a really gutsy performance. They just out-executed us today."
Posted by Steven Krasner No Surprises, Just RespectThe teams have a recent and spirited history with each other. And New England has been able to get the better of San Diego Chargers, last year in the postseason and again early in the regular season this year. So the Patriots weren't surprised with the tough challenge posed by the Chargers in Sunday's AFC title game, won by New England, 21-12. "We knew what they were going to do and they knew what we were going to do," said New England fullback Heath Evans. "It was just a tough game and we were able to make a few more plays than they did." "We had a lot of respect for them before the game, and we have a lot of respect for them after the game," said Patriots defensive back Rodney Harrison, a former member of the Chargers. "They were probably the toughest team we played all year." -- STEVEN KRASNER
Posted by Steven Krasner Better EndingA year ago, the Patriots were overtaken in the AFC Championship Game by the Indianapolis Colts. This year, though, New England was victorious in the AFC title game, earning a berth in the Super Bowl. The postgame emotions were polar opposites, said veteran New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi. (Special teams captain) Larry (Izzo) and I were talking about the feelings we had today and how different it was (than last year). We were on the field (at Gillette Sunday night), seeing all the (celebratory) confetti and the championship trophy," said Bruschi. "Last year we were walking off the field (in Indianapolis) through the tunnel and people were screaming at us," he said. "It's a night and day feeling."
Posted by Steven Krasner Second-half and postgame photos
Posted by Mike McDermott On to ArizonaThe New England Patriots have just clinched their fourth AFC Championship since 2001 and the sixth in franchise history with a 21-12 win over the San Diego Chargers. The story of the game was the play of the defense, which kept the Chargers out of the end zone on three red zone chances in the game. After a near-perfect game last week against Jacksonville, Tom Brady was uncharacteristically inefficient and was helped out by his receivers, namely Kevin Faulk who had two huge catches in the second half. Laurence Maroney continued his recent impressive streak and posted another 122-yard game, as he did against the Jaguars. New England is now 18-0 on the season and has won 11 straight postseason home games. They will face the winner of the NFC title game which kicks off shortly between the Giants and Packers in freezing-cold Green Bay.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Brady: 3 INTsAntonio Cromartie's end zone interception of Tom Brady is the third pick Brady has thrown this game and the first time this season that Brady has been picked off three times in a game. The last time? When New England played San Diego in the playoffs last January.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Halftime notesThese are courtesy of the Patriots' PR department: COLDEST PATRIOTS GAME SINCE 2004 AFC CHAMPIONSHIP SAMUEL INTERCEPTION SETS UP TOUCHDOWN GAFFNEY SCORES THIRD PLAYOFF TOUCHDOWN IN FIVE CAREER PLAYOFF GAMES MARONEY SCORES TOUCHDOWN FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT GAME SEAU RECORDS SECOND CAREER PLAYOFF SACK, FIRST SINCE SUPER BOWL XXIX HOBBS RECORDS FIRST CAREER PLAYOFF INTERCEPTION QUICK HITS · Tedy Bruschi is playing in his 21st career playoff game today. He has passed Troy Brown (20 playoff games) for the most playoff games played in Patriots history. Jerry Rice holds the NFL record with 29 career playoff games played. · Randy Moss recorded a 14-yard rush in the first quarter. It was Moss’s first rushing attempt since 2003 and was the first rushing attempt of his 10-game playoff career. · Tedy Bruschi broke up a pass intended for Antonio Gates at the goal line with San Diego facing a second-and-goal in the second quarter, helping to force a field goal two plays later. · Kelley Washington leapt into the air and saved a Chris Hanson punt from going into the end zone for a touchback in the second quarter, allowing Kyle Eckel to down the ball at the Chargers’ 4-yard line. · The Patriots entered today’s game with an all-time record of 15-1 when leading at halftime in the playoffs. BRADY RANKS SECOND ALL-TIME IN LOWEST PLAYOFF INTERCEPTION PERCENTAGE
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Second-quarter photos
Posted by Mike McDermott First-quarter photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Where's LT?It's quite interesting that LaDainian Tomlinson declared throughout the week that he'd be ready to play this week against the Patriots, and according to the Chargers' participation reports, participated fully in practice on both Thursday and Friday and was not listed on the final report at all. But here it is the end of San Diego's fourth possession and Tomlinson has just two carries, on the opening two snaps of the game for the Chargers. Michael Turner has six carries. Tomlinson apparently suffered a bruised knee against the Colts, while Philip Rivers reportedly suffered a partial ACL tear and missed two days of practice, yet he is still on the field.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Coldest AFC championship game ever at FoxboroFOXBORO, Mass. (AP) - The Patriots and Chargers began their game Sunday in windy conditions with a temperature of 23 degrees, the lowest of the three AFC championship games played in Foxboro. The previous low there for a title game was 27 degrees on Jan. 12, 1997 when New England beat Jacksonville 20-6 to advance to the Super Bowl where it lost to Green Bay 35-21 in New Orleans. The lowest temperature for any Patriots game at Foxboro was 4 degrees in a 17-14 win over Tennessee on Jan. 10, 2004 in the first round of the playoffs. The wind at game time Sunday was blowing at 17 mph from the northwest. The wind chill was 9. San Diego won the opening coin toss and had the wind at its back in the first quarter.
Posted by Mike McDermott Unbeaten Patriots FOXBORO -- Pats fans perhaps mildly concerned at their high-scoring team's slow start offensively can take consolation from the fact that New England never has lost a playoff game at Gillette Stadium.
Posted by Jim Donaldson Championship game dominance FOXBORO -- While it certainly is impressive that the Patriots are appearing in the conference championship game for the fifth time in seven years, other teams have had even more dominant stretches.
Posted by Jim Donaldson Pre-game pompThere was a moment of silence here for Georgia Frontiere, the St. Louis Rams owner who passed away on Friday. Frontiere, 80, had battled breast cancer for several years. Also, R&B star Ne-Yo sang the National Anthem (if you have no idea, ask your kids/nieces/nephews/grandkids), and four planes from the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont did a flyover, which got a huge ovation.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young What you're thinkingWe asked readers on Thursday afternoon to begin voting on the outcome of today's game. Not surprisingly, we found Patriots fans to be supremely confident. Only 10 out of 218 people who voted thought the Chargers would prevail. Nearly 58 percent of you thought the Patriots would win and cover the two-touchdown point spread. We also asked if you were concerned about Randy Moss' off-field issues becoming a distraction for the team. Out of 228 votes, close to 86 percent said no, the Patriots would not be distracted. Finally, we asked you to name the Chargers player that scares you the most coming into the game, and we gave you a list of seven San Diego stars. There were 102 votes, with LaDainian Tomlinson leading the way (32 votes), followed by Shawne Merriman (22). The least scary of the seven? Banged-up quarterback Philip Rivers, who got just three votes.
Posted by Mike McDermott Pregame photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Chargers inactivesQB Charlie Whitehurst - 3QB
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Patriots inactivesQB Matt Gutierrez - 3QB
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Welcome to GilletteHey all -- The sun is shining but it is bitter cold and windy here at Gillette. Given the magnitude of this game, everything has been ramped up: there's a greater police presence, bomb-sniffing dogs checking everyone's bags, and hundreds of media on hand. In a bit of comical irony, a looping video of a raging fireplace is being shown on the big screens here. Last week for Jacksonville, the Patriots distributed over 700 passes (including day-of-game operations employees), and we're guessing today's total exceeds that. Because of the crush, the team installed two additional T-1 lines for internet access because the one they had previous couldn't handle all of the traffic last week. T-1 lines are fiber-optic lines that can typically handle a few hundred users, as long as they're not downloading/uploading video and MP3 files, which of course radio folks must do. We'll have more as the game draws closer. shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young January 18, 2008
Chargers Friday injury reportDoubtful Questionable Probable * LaDainian Tomlinson (knee) has been removed from the list.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Transcript: Tom Brady's Friday press conference After the fake direct snap last week one of the commentators said that you deserved an Academy Award. Are you -- Are you preparing for a life in Hollywood? And afterwards? Tedy talked about how this team has endured a year of distractions, whether it was Spygate or the latest with Randy Moss or the constant scrutiny of going undefeated. What is it about this team that's allowed it to bond or come together to deal with the distractions this season? I think as a player it makes it pretty simple. If you're a quarterback, you show up and do what's expected of you and if you're the offensive tackle you do the exact same. You don't have to come in here and worry about what the guy next to you is doing or what he's going through. Although as friends and I think the camaraderie we have as teammates here, it's been a special thing to be a part of. But at the same time, you rally around each other, and it's almost like this is a safe haven for everybody, as well. We don't have to come in here and be -- we just have to be each other, and you have to be teammates and you don't have to be anybody else to anybody who may be making demands on you. So it's probably a nice place for a lot of people to come? You've grown pretty close to Randy Moss obviously this season; how have you helped him get through this past week? Mind-set big playoff games, there always seems to be a guy that kind of comes out of nowhere and makes a big game-turning play; are you expecting that from your team this week? I don't know, you tell me. The running game I think has been a big part of it down the stretch and the consistency we've had up front has been critical to the success of our team. I wish I had somebody that they probably weren't paying attention to, but unfortunately I think most of the guys that are taking the field for us they are going to be pretty honed in on. How tough is it two days before the game now to deal with the anticipation leading up to the game and when the game does get here, honestly how tough is it for you to keep the adrenaline in check? We've dealt with a lot of things on the line and at stake and you try to take the same approach that you take and just be prepared to play and know that you don't want to waste a whole lot of energy that are not related to the football game. So make sure all of the guys are in bed early tomorrow night and be ready to play on Sunday. Everyone is going to be excited. I'm probably the one that needs help on that the most with just the excitement of the game and the excitement of the season on the line, because you realize there might not be an opportunity for you to get back together as a team and play again. So you try to put everything you can into it and whether it be adrenaline or I don't think anyone is going to not be motivated for this game. I think everyone is going to be -- hopefully play our best game. How much of being a good decision-making quarterback comes from time on the job and how much comes from God-given talent? And at quarterback, you've got to make them in two seconds and you've got to make a lot of decisions very quickly. But the more you do it, the more comfortable you understand what needs to be done and in our offense I think that's what's been great for me over the years is to be in the same offense for eight seasons and the carry over and the coaching with Josh being here for another, really, in his third season as coordinator; and with Coach Belichick, understanding the system, so that you can just become comfortable with every situation that you face whether it be in practice or in situations in games. I know we've been a pretty good situational football team in games over the years, and I know that's because we've practiced diligently at whatever it might be, a fourth down situation or a field goal at the end of either half. So there's a lot of situations that come up that need quick decision-making and the more you practice them obviously the better you'll be at them. Everyone I've ever spoken to about Junior, whether a coach or player, has always had something to say about what they have learned or how intense says; what have you been able to learn from him? Does he give you guys a lot of motivational speeches? Which is more fun, putting up 42 points in a first half or winning on the final possession? Wondering way back to your first Super Bowl against the Rams, it was reported that you had taken a nap in the locker room prior and now you're talking about the adrenaline and keeping it in check; what's changed over the years? I think we all look back on that Super Bowl, any time it's your first time in those experiences and everything felt like it was so out of control, you can look back and realize how much fun it was. Now you kind of know what to avoid so you lose a little bit of that naivete as Mr. Kraft would say and you just focus on whatever you need to focus on. The adrenaline, it comes and it goes. I think for me the more prepared, the more comfortable I feel with what we're doing, I think the more relaxed I'll be. I think adrenaline is a little bit different because you get very excited when you run out in front of 75,000 people, and especially in a game like this, and those emotions just play out. Can you talk about how pressure affects you; good, or bad? Position and then some of the biggest games. I think you can look back on that drive with confidence when you get there, if it happens to come up on Sunday, you say, you know what, we just did this three days ago. It's not like you have to prove it to yourself over and over again. So even though those situations have a lot of pressure to them, because you have the confidence that you can deal with it, I think that allows you to go out and play with anticipation and awareness and instinctiveness rather than dropping back and going, I wonder if I can figure this out and I don't know who is going to be open and I wonder what coverages are going to be play and are they going to blitz me. I think as long as you go through and practice it, you can play with the speed that you want. We always talk about playing fast, and I think a big part of that is the preparation that allows you to understand what you're seeing so that you can go out and execute at a very high speed, because that's what it takes. And having the different number of weapons this year that you do -- You said that the locker room is a safe haven for you and that you don't see the end of your career, you're only 30 years old; can you explain how your life has changed? So you're right. It has continued to get smaller and I think the people that I trust becomes less and less, and I think that's why when I come into this locker room and I come around this environment, whether it be coaches that I've been with for eight seasons for teammates like Kevin Faulk and Tedy who have been through a bunch of experiences with me, both on the field and off the field, I can rely on those guys for anything I may need. Do those two things pull in different directions on you to some degree knowing that at the end you'll have peace and quiet but you'll never have the competition again? So we've got, as athletes, I always feel what better job would you ever want. I remember sitting up ten rows from the top of Candlestick Park watching down with binoculars looking down at Joe Montana and Steve Young and I was this kid with a dream and now all of a sudden I'm the one on the field. To look back on those days and how it's progressed to the point where it's at is extremely fulfilling and I think the competitive nature of this business is what continues to drive you as an athlete. I look back on those things always with great memories and I think I always try to focus on the positive because life's too short for all of us and just got to enjoy every day, and especially in whatever anyone does, you've just got to be -- just try to truly enjoy what you're doing and there's no doubt that do I that. Thank you, guys. Enjoy the game.
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Tedy Bruschi's Friday press conference What are the benefits of having been here before, and what do you have to protect yourself against since it's so familiar? You've seen Tom Brady operate under pressure in Super Bowls, but what are guys saying to each other when they see him on film during the week or just see him in practice and see him in the Jaguars game and saying to each other, what is going on here with this guy? I don't want to say you get used to it towards the end, but every time you see it you get excited and it really pumps some life into the defense. Has Rosevelt Colvin’s absence hurt the performance of the defense? You look back at the last couple of games and you didn't play up to par especially in the long drives last week. How much is that he being out and you guys having to play a little bit more? One thing you miss [is] his production out on the field and his presence in the locker room because he's one of the favorite guys we love to joke around with and makes the backerhood a lot of fun. How physically fresh do you feel and how fresh do you feel the defense is, because it seems like at the end of the season, you started to get things going defensively and in the first half, the offense seemed to be doing work forcing the other teams to catch up; how do you feel this time? But physically, I think we are feeling well. This week was a good week of preparation, and we had full pads one day of very physical practice, and yesterday and today were also good preparation days. So physically, come Friday, Saturday, you start to feel good again and get ready to do it on Sunday. In other years were you more worn out? As a leader on this team, what lengths have you gone to press upon younger players to let them know the season will be a waste if you don't win Sunday? If you're thinking about what's going on in the past, all right, you think about the regular season, we're 17-0 and yes and all that, and oh, man, if we lose this game. We don't think that way. We are right in the middle of this right now so all we think is how we prepare the next practice or day or meeting to help us win this game. You don't want to have that type of finality attitude right now in terms of preparation. You just want to look at the AFC Championship as a football game against the Chargers. Are you feeling any extra pressure as you get closer and closer? You mentioned it gets tougher the number of years that have passed, but looking at the games you've played in at this level, does it also become more precious? I've had great examples in my career, Willie McGinest and Junior played 18 and they have taught me a lot of things on how to take care of yourself and really have longevity in this league. One thing you learn as you get older and experience season after season after season is that the bigger the games get, the better feeling when you win them because you don't know if you'll be back. I was in the Super Bowl in 1996 losing to the Green Bay Packers and you come away from that game feeling like, “we're a great organization, I'm part of a great team, we're going to go far.” All of a sudden we're looking for a new head coach and we go down on a downward spiral until we turn it around again. If Tomlinson is limited on Sunday you'll obviously see more of [Michael] Turner and [Darren] Sproles. Do you see that as an advantage or disadvantage? Sproles is his own little individual player. He's a guy that sort of can scatter around and you never know where he's going to be on screen passes, kickoff returns, punt returns. He's a guy that poses a totally different threat. So each one of those running backs brings a formidable threat that we have to stop. During the last two playoff runs, Rodney Harrison has not been available for you guys. What does it mean to you guys to have him in the lineup and available this year? He'll be the first to tell you that sometimes he's a little too aggressive. For us to have him is a big plus. He can do so much. He can be a linebacker, he can be a safety, a defensive back and cover one of the best tight ends in the league. I think he can do everything that this coaching staff has ever asked and that's a big plus for us to have him. What's made this team so good at coping with distractions?
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Kevin Faulk's Friday press conference Kevin, you've been through three of these rodeos; can you just give us your thoughts entering the game? Are you excited at the preparation, does it help being here before? You've been in this game a long time and you've seen some retired guys who probably are not walking so well; do you talk a lot in the off-season, not during the season of course, about how long to keep going, and how much is it worth, even though you're at the pinnacle right now of where you're going into Sunday, but what do you guys talk about when it comes to long-term health? You were named captain this year and you have obviously taken that responsibility seriously. What has that meant to you to be a captain, especially in a season that's gone as well as this one has to this point? Now that you're on the doorstep of history, you’re undefeated, how much bigger is the fear of failure among your teammates and yourself? How do you not think about it? Can you talk just about L.T.'s ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, that's one of your strengths; what do you admire about him in the passing game? Tedy was saying this has been a year of distractions. As a team captain, how proud are you of the way the team has dealt with distractions all year and lot let them distract you?
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Mike Vrabel's Friday press conference Nervous? Is this really an announcement that you're into the final four now? How helpful has it been in the past, to bring in hungry veteran guys who have had individual success in other places, but haven't achieved team success, guys like Rodney Harrison and now Junior Seau and Randy Moss; how much does that help you keep the fire burning? I think that they bring a lot to this team. I think all the way back in 2001, when I think Bill [Belichick] and Scott [Pioli] kind of started to transform this team into what they wanted it to be, and then it's been a tough team to make ever since then. They always bring in talented guys and positions are deep at training camp and every position has eight or 10 guys and it's a tough team to make. The beginning of the week Bill Belichick said the team would look at week two but focus on what the Chargers have done in the last few weeks; what have they done so well down in the stretch? The last two games, what is has been the difficulty in getting to the quarterback? If somebody was standing back there and we are not getting to him or guys are not getting in his face, then I think it's an issue. Certainly, I will say that the Giants game, I don't think that the front four, we didn't rush how we needed to rush. I'll say [in] the Giants game, we probably could have done better. But you know, last week I think that the pressure was there. I don't think that the sack numbers were there. What is the overall feeling now on defense, after you mentioned the Giants game and last week, Garrard had quite a few long drives; is that a concern still and have you done special things to correct those? For us it comes down to third down, it comes down to living in the times that they are able to go out there and convert. Certainly if they have the ball for 12 or 14 plays, two things are happening. One, Tom Brady doesn't have the ball and two, they have a chance to score. If Philip Rivers doesn't play or if he's more hobbled than he is normally, how much of an advantage is that for your pass rush and for your defense? Can you talk about the play of their offensive line so far this season? You know, [Marcus] McNeill is obviously a great athlete out there at left tackle. And then [Jeromey] Clary, he played on my side. You know, they work well together and then Brandon [Manumaleuna], the big fella, I'm not going to try to pronounce his name, he's Brandon to us, he kinds of provides -- he's kind of that searchlight back there for them and an added blocker. So they do, they play well together. That's really been the key the last, I think, half of the season for them is keeping Philip clean, keeping him upright and his numbers have shown because of it. There seems to be a consensus among media and maybe even the general population that the outcome of this game depends on the Patriots, if they play a typical Patriot football game, this game is well in hand; do the players have that same feeling? I think that's the attitude we take every week is that if we play well and we do what we're supposed to do that we are going to win. If you don't have that attitude, I think guys are on the wrong team. Your defense throws something different that they just didn't expect, what is it like walking into your defensive meetings every week and seeing a new wrinkle; what is it like, does it jazz you up when you know there's something completely different? You know, you have to study and you have to be on top of things and you have to be able to adjust on the fly. There were things that we changed last week and the week before. You know, we don't wait till halftime. We try to come over on the sidelines and say, this is working and this isn't working. You know, you've got to be truthful. You've got to be honest with the coaches. If you're getting handled, you've got to say, "I got blocked" or “this is what they did.” Bill is like, “I don't need everybody coming over here telling me they got double-teamed. They can't double-team everybody.” How difficult is it to be talking about the anticipation of the game on the Friday, and two, why is this team so good at staying within itself, staying on an even keel, looking at that proverbial one game at a time? It makes the weeks go by so much faster when you're not looking down the road when you just stay inside yourself and stay focused. Since the Eagles game, the games have had a different tone. They have been closer for the most part. Would you just assess the two different -- What have you observed about the sheer effort teams are bringing in and the schemes -- Each of the last two playoff runs you have not had Rodney Harrison available; what difference does it make this year to have him? You know, in the Super Bowl, with the pick, a touchdown against [Ben] Roethlisberger and I'm sure I'll forget some sacks, but the best players, they have got to play great in the big games, so I don't expect anything less from Rodney. Certainly he's done that in the past and shown that he can do it when he's out there. Can you talk about the role of James Sanders? How much has the linebacker core in particular and the defense in general missed Roosevelt Colvin, and how do you feel the adjustments have been since he went on injured reserve? So with that in mind, you understand that there's going to be some changes. You're going to go through the season and you're going to lose guys to injury or to whatever. We've missed Rosie, not only on the field but off the field, his attitude in the locker room, and just the way that he carried himself and kind of kept everybody light. So we see him, and we certainly miss him on the field but we also miss him in the locker room as well. You've had situations where you played against quarterbacks in the same game with varied abilities. Is there a great difference between what Philip Rivers and Billy Volek does? As far as advantages go, I think that we're going to have to be prepared for the starter and then if the backup comes in, we'll also have to be prepared for that, as well. I would say you're not looking at, you know, Tom Brady and Vince Young different, but I would say more similar than dissimilar. On a personal level, how important was remaining at the same position to your own individual success this season? But I don't have any interceptions so I'm not dropping as much. [For the] interceptions, I was inside. It's just kind of -- what you do is what you're expected. You know, those are the plays you're expected to make. Just recently a young girl was booed at the Indianapolis game at the RCA Dome building up the whole "Evil Empire" that's starting to come up, calling us the "Evil Empire" in New England; do you notice that deeper into the playoffs that players are making that comment?
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Bill Belichick's Friday press conferenceAs far as the team goes, we're privileged to be in this AFC Championship Game. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the San Diego Chargers and their season, particularly what they have done since Thanksgiving. They are a great football team. Our team has worked hard this week to do the best we can to try to be prepared for Sunday. The Chargers are the type of team, if we have three weeks to get ready for them, we could still use more time. They are tough to do that for, but we'll be ready to go and we'll put our best effort out there Sunday afternoon. I know the players are excited for the game, [there has] certainly been a lot of energy in practice and through the weekly preparation. We know we have our hands full. The Chargers are a great team and they have proved it in every phase of the game, pretty much every opportunity they have had the last couple of months, offense, defense, special teams, running game, passing game, big plays and critical plays in the game. Hopefully we can go out there and play the best game of the year because that's what it's going to take to win. How crucial is it for your offense, to have a guy like Tom Brady who seems so unselfish spreading the ball around and making sure that not just he is getting the accolades, but all of the other guys are the stars of the offense? Tom Brady--that he's unselfish--how key is that to the way your offense runs? The Chargers obviously force a lot of turnovers. I know you stress it every week but any more importance on it this week? Have you done more work? Could you describe the relationship right now between the Chargers and the Patriots considering the way the playoff game ended a year ago? Some of the talk that happened after week one between Tomlinson and some of the players; is this a budding rivalry between the two clubs? How much fun and enjoyment have you yourself gotten out of the season? When you initially acquired Junior, how much was that based on the leadership he could bring to the locker room in addition to what he could do on the field? He's been a great leader for us but the most important thing for Junior and our football team is for him to play well and for him to do his job and do it well. That's the most important thing for all of us. He's got a lot of energy, he's brought a lot of leadership and energy and experience to our team, and that's been good, but the most important thing he's done [is] played his position well. When you look around the practice field now in the post-season, do you see a change in attitude at all in your team, whether it be better or worse, do you notice an improvement or change at this part of the season? You keep emphasizing you have to play your best game but you can't look back; is there one game where you felt both the offense and defense had their best game? What we need to do is play and coach and execute well against the Chargers. So that's all that really matters. Do the Charger injuries--specifically not knowing the status of Rivers--does that change your preparation? Our focus this week is how we can play our best against San Diego. Again, nothing else really matters.
Posted by Art Martone Patriots Friday injury reportOut Probable * Harrison did not practice today; Matt Light (flu) was back on the field. Also, G Stephen Neal (shoulder) is off the list for the first time in weeks.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Photo: A Light moment on the practice field
Posted by Andrea Panciera Projo PatsTalk: Shalise and Jim preview Pats-ChargersShalise Manza Young and Jim Donaldson talked Patriots-Chargers this morning with projo sports producer Mike McDermott. Click on the play button below to see and hear the show.
Posted by Mike McDermott January 17, 2008
More Moss: Moss' agent respondsRandy Moss' agent, Tim DiPiero, sent an email to Boston Globe reporter Mike Reiss tonight, responding to what he called an inaccurate statement by Rachelle Washington's attorney, David McGill, made earlier today. The text of the email can be found here. Multiple messages left for DiPiero yesterday by us were not returned.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Chargers participation reportDid Not Participate Limited Participation Full Participation
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Update: More on Moss and the TROSome of the details of the Randy Moss issue are coming to light, and it now appears that this is stemming from an intimate encounter gone wrong. In police documents requesting a temporary restraining order against Moss, 35-year-old Rachelle Washington alleges that she and Moss have had an intimate relationship since 1997 -- and Moss said yesterday that he's known the woman for 11 years, so that matches up. Attorney Joe Friedberg, who has represented Moss in the past for the infamous Meter Maid issue when he was with the Vikings, appeared on a Minnesota radio station last night and said Washington's lawyer demanded the Moss pay "not a penny less" than $500,000 to Washington for the incident. Friedberg contends it was "consensual horseplay" and that Washington got a finger injured in the process. He further says that she had an X-ray taken on the finger at the behest of her attorney, which came back negative. Washington has not accused Moss of hitting her, and according to Friedberg, there will be no criminal charges. Further, Friedberg said he and Moss have retained a lawyer in Florida and that Moss does not have to be present for the Jan. 28 hearing in Broward County. Friedberg said they will agree not to have further contact with Washington because Moss no longer wants to have contact with her and that they may ask for a restraining order against Washington so she cannot contact Moss. UPDATE: Old friend (former Journal sportswriter on the Pats beat) Tom Curran has a statement from Washington's attorney on NBCSports.com.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Patriots participation reportDid Not Practice Limited Participation Ryan O'Callaghan (flu), who did not practice yesterday, practiced today and was removed from the list; Mitchell's injury was changed from arm to biceps.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Transcript: Bill Belichick's Thursday press conference
Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
When you’re looking for players to play defensive line in this system, what are the characteristics a player would have to have? You’ve been a part of a lot of teams that have created a lot of turnovers. San Diego has an inordinate amount of turnovers this season. What have you seen from them? How well do you know Teddy Cottrell and what’s your respect-level there? What are some of the common threads? Eric Weddle was sort of a Jack-of-all-trades in college. How have they used him? When they use Florence, do they always have him in the slot as the sixth defensive back? You’ve been through so many big games here. Do you view this as just another game? The elements are the same for both teams, but from your experience what element can affect the game the most? Is that Giants game vs. Washington the windiest game you’ve ever played in? What factor is extreme cold? Can you touch on Wes Welker’s season for you, what he’s done? This season saw an explosion of offensive league-wide. Is that because of the spread offense or is it something defenses are doing? Are you concerned about the allegations that have come up with Randy Moss and how it might affect him this week? We’ve talked about weather and statistics. One thing the Chargers do have is a pretty catchy theme song. What do you think of the Super Chargers song? Have you ever talked to Jon Bon Jovi about writing one for you guys? In your time here, what impact have Rodney Harrison and Junior Seau made to this organization? Do you think players like those two who maybe haven’t had much success in their prior stops are more driven when they get here? If an opposing player had a reputation of being emotional, volatile, whatever, would you ever coach your players to take advantage of that? Earlier this week you were asked about Laurence Maroney. Have you seen him run with a greater sense of authority from the beginning of the year to now? Can you talk a little about Michael Turner and what he brings that’s different than LaDainian Tomlinson?
Posted by Art Martone Bill Belichick's favorite song
Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach Coach Bill Belichick talks about how he hates the San Diego "Superchargers" song when asked during the press conference.
One of the funniest moments we've had with Bill Belichick in recent memory was when he was asked this morning about the San Diego "Super Chargers" disco song that's played at the stadium there. Before the reporter even finished her question, Belichick was giving his answer. "I hate that song," he said, drawing big laughs.
"The first time I heard that song was when I was with the Giants and we played out there, and they had Chandler, they had Muncie, they had Winslow, Jefferson, Fouts, and it was a track meet. They didn't get through playing that song before they had scored again. And they started playing it again," Belichick said. "That San Diego 'Super Chargers,' that's still ringing in my head. Yeah, I don't like to hear that song, and I don't like to hear 'Hail to the Redskins' either. When those songs play, it means things aren't going good for us. I've never been with those teams, so those songs have never been music to my ears."
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Practice peek
Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Today's missing players were LT Matt Light and S Mel Mitchell.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Journal columnist Bakst shares his game plan for preventing hypothermia SundayWell, I’ve been there before, and so has my heavy moth-eaten blanket, purchased years ago at an Army-Navy store. In fact, I’m thinking of some day donating it to the new Patriots hall of fame/museum that is taking shape at Gillette Stadium. I used this blanket at the final game in the old stadium — you know, the legendary Snow Bowl playoff. So, the blanket is definitely coming with me. Speaking of coming, or going, I see that the MBTA train to the stadium will leave Providence at 1:10 p.m., which means there won’t be a lot of time to kill before settling into my Section 238 (no alcohol) seat before game time, which, given the temperature forecast (a high of 22 degrees dropping to 4 Sunday night), is probably a lucky break, no? Now, for my ensemble: -- A pair of thin socks, plus toe warmers or foot warmers or both – this will be, as the coaches say, a gametime decision - and heavy socks and whatever shoes best accommodate same. -- Long underwear, heavy 100 percent wool slacks, and, on the outside, a pair of nylon rain pants. (I’m also considering putting some pajama bottoms or sweat pants in there somewhere.) -- The top to the long underwear, a T-shirt, a collared shirt, then a regular sweatshirt and/or windbreaker pullover, then a heavy hooded sweatshirt and zip up windbreaker, then a hooded winter parka. -- Mittens and hand warmers, probably two pairs. -- Several snacks including All-Bran oatmeal raisin bar and Fiber One oats and peanut butter bar. Definitely intend to get a hot chocolate – probably two – at the concession stands. Maybe also chicken breast sandwich, turkey leg, or chicken/rice/beans/salsa burrito (light on the cheese and hold the sour cream.) If Patriots are winning, may celebrate and splurge on a kosher hot dog. Come to think of it, if they’re losing, I’ll be so distraught I may have to get one to ease my pain. Frankly, any time is a good time for a kosher hot dog, and, on a health kick, I’ve been depriving myself for too long. You may be thinking, “Good luck to you, fella. You go right ahead and go to Foxboro and freeze. I’ll watch on TV.’’ And you may be smart. What can I say? I do this because it’s what I do, it’s who I am, and I love it. -- By M. Charles Bakst, Journal political columnist and diehard Pats fan
Posted by Jack Perry Download today's Sports coverIt's good times and bad times for the Patriots. Running back Laurence Maroney has found his stride with patience and a new look at his job, while teammate Randy Moss battles an allegation of striking a woman.
Posted by Rich Lee January 16, 2008
Chargers' Wednesday participation reportDid Not Participate Limited Participation Full Participation
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Wednesday participation reportFor the Patriots: Did Not Participate Limited Participation
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Practice squad movesThe Patriots have re-signed DB Gemara Williams and LB Kyle Bissinger to the practice squad. The pair were on the field at practice today.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Practice peekThe Patriots are on the field inside Gillette Stadium, holding their first practice of the week as they prepare for Sunday's AFC Championship game against San Diego. The players are in full pads, and the only two missing for the media-access portion were offensive lineman Ryan O'Callaghan and special teamer Mel Mitchell. Richard Seymour did not stretch with the team but came out from the locker room just before media were kicked off the field. Rookie quarterback Matt Gutierrez and practice squad offensive lineman Dan Connolly were in black jerseys as practice players of the week.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Moss responds to battery allegations
By ROBERT LEE FOXBORO -- It was reported this morning that Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss had a "temporary injuction for protection against dating violence" filed against him in Florida. Moss today denied any wrongdoing. He called the allegations "false" and accused the accuser of trying to get more than $100,000 from him. "For someone to make a false claim about me, I’m kind of furious,” Moss said. “It kind of hurts me deep inside for someone to do something like that because you know I’ve always said time and time again , `I’m going to stand up for what’s right.’ If I’m right, I’m right. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong, and that’s why you have your attorneys and your friends. When you’re wrong, somebody can tell you you’re wrong. “My situation is where I felt that I did nothing wrong. It was an accident. Whatever happened, it was an accident. I wish I could sit here and tell ya’ll really what happened but there is a lawsuit or whatever coming against me. I can’t really explain or tell ya’ll what’s going on. All I want to say is, I’m going to continue to play football. I think that, last Friday this man wanted to come out with it just to try to distract the team and distract me.” The report states that no criminal charges have been filed against him, and that a hearing is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 28. Moss said that the accuser threatened him. “You better do this or else! You better do this or else,” Moss said the accuser said. “Well, I thought it was bad because now you’re threatening me so I brought it to coach [Belichick] and said, `look coach I’m being threatened to do something that I have no idea of what I need to be doing.’ Well, I was advised to just focus on playing football, and then I’ll handle this once the season is over, so whenever the season is over, I plan on sitting down on really getting to the bottom of this. Right now I have a job to do.” Moss said that he could not get into further detail about the complaint. “I don’t want to get in trouble for anything I might say that I’m not supposed to say when it comes to an attorney and a client,” Moss said. “There are a lot of things that I want to sit here and tell you guys to prove my innocence but for the fact that there is an investigation going on, [I can’t.]” Here's the link to the Broward County Clerk of Courts web site, and no further date is given for this case. WDBO, which first reported the story, has posted a copy of the order. -- shalise manza young
Posted by Rob Lee Report: Moss faces temporary restraining orderA Florida radio station has reposted a report, which had been pulled off its Web site earlier in the day, saying that Randy Moss has been hit with a temporary restraining order following allegations of dating violence. The radio station has updated its report with a copy of the order. Click here to read the story. Questions were raised about the accuracy of the story after it was pulled from the Web site, but the reporter, Rozzie Franco, was on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show this morning to insist on its truth. Franco reports that a hearing on the case is scheduled Jan. 28. Moss addressed reporters at Gillette Stadium today and said that the allegations were false, denying that he had hurt his accuser and implying that he was being harassed for money.
Posted by Mike McDermott Download today's Sports coverFind out what keeps the San Diego Chargers charging despite injuries to key players. Also, will Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz' conditioning program help him go the distance this season?
Posted by Rich Lee January 15, 2008
Tippett once again Hall FinalistNew England Patriots linebacker Andre Tippett, who made it to the final 10 last year but fell short in the final vote, is once again among the finalists for this year's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction class. Tippett, who recorded a franchise-record 100 sacks in his 151-game career, is one of 17 finalists. One of the dominating linebackers of his era, Tippett was a member of the NFL Team of the Decade for the 1980s; the strongside 'backer had a career-high 118 tackles and still-standing franchise record 18.5 sacks in 1984. The next year, when the Patriots surprisingly advanced to Super Bowl XX, Tippett had 16.5 sacks. The Hall of Fame selection committee will meet in Arizona during on Feb. 2, the day before the Super Bowl, to pick this year's class. Nominees need to receive at least 80 percent of the vote to gain induction; there are 44 members on the voting committee, including one from each of the NFL's 32 franchise cities, one from the Pro Football Writers of America, and 11 at-large members. Hall rules stipulate that a minimum of four and maximum of seven inductees are chosen each year. The full list of finalists, listed alphabetically: Cris Carter – Wide Receiver – 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins Fred Dean – Defensive End – 1975-1981 San Diego Chargers, 1981-85 San Francisco 49ers Richard Dent – Defensive End – 1983-1993, 1995 Chicago Bears, 1994 San Francisco 49ers, 1996 Indianapolis Colts, 1997 Philadelphia Eagles Marshall Goldberg – Back – 1939-1943, 1946-48 Chicago Cardinals Randy Gradishar – Linebacker – 1974-1983 Denver Broncos Darrell Green – Cornerback – 1983-2002 Washington Redskins Russ Grimm – Guard – 1981-1991 Washington Redskins Ray Guy – Punter – 1973-1986 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders Bob Kuechenberg – Guard – 1970-1984 Miami Dolphins Randall McDaniel – Guard – 1988-1999 Minnesota Vikings, 2000-2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Art Monk – Wide Receiver – 1980-1993 Washington Redskins, 1994 New York Jets, 1995 Philadelphia Eagles Andre Reed – Wide Receiver – 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins Paul Tagliabue – Commissioner – 1989-2006 National Football League Derrick Thomas – Linebacker – 1989-1999 Kansas City Chiefs Emmitt Thomas – Cornerback – 1966-1978 Kansas City Chiefs Andre Tippett – Linebacker – 1982-1993 New England Patriots Gary Zimmerman – Tackle – 1986-1992 Minnesota Vikings, 1993-97 Denver Broncos **Carter and Green are in their first year of eligibility.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Photo: Don't forget your seat warmer for Sunday's game
Posted by Andrea Panciera Post a photo of yourself doing the Lights-Out DanceDuring last season's Divisional Playoff Game, some Patriots players were observed mimicking the "Lights-Out Dance" of super Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, leading Merriman's teammate LaDainian Tomlinson to complain that the Patriots had no class at all. We're hoping that a few brave readers will take the opportunity to post pictures of themselves doing the dance. Click here to post your image, and we won't accuse you of being classless.
Posted by Mike McDermott Belichick talks Bolts / Photo
Hey all -- Bill Belichick has wrapped up his press conference for the morning, and there was of course a great deal of talk about the San Diego Chargers. When he was asked how the Chargers are different since New England's 38-14 victory over them on Sept. 16, Belichick said little has changed schematically, but that San Diego is simply executing better. He reiterated, however, that that game will have little bearing on Sunday's. He praised San Diego's secondary, which includes Pro Bowler Antonio Cromartie, Quentin Jammer, Drayton Florence, Eric Weddle and Marlon McCree. "They had 30 interceptions, 18 fumbles...they're a great turnover team. They're second only to the Ravens (in number of turnovers forced) over the last (few years). Cromartie has done a lot of that, and he gets big yardage when he gets his hand on the ball," Belichick said. Belichick also spoke briefly about running back Laurence Maroney, who has seemingly been an improved player over the last month. But Belichick said the team has been happy with the running back's performance all season, and that they measure yards per opportunity, based on blocking and what kind of yards are there for Maroney to gain rather than raw yards per carry. There is no on-field work for New England today, just meetings and the usual weight work and physical rehab/upkeep. The locker room will open shortly, and Wes Welker, Kevin Faulk and Richard Seymour will also speak from the podium here in the media workroom. shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Download today's Sports coverBill Reynolds says the numbers add up to make Patriots quarterback Tom Brady No. 1, and read Kevin McNamara's story on the unusual PC-UConn hoops "tradition."
Posted by Rich Lee January 14, 2008
Bolts' Rivers has MCL damage; questionable for SundayChargers quarterback Philip Rivers is currently questionable for Sunday's AFC Championship game against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Rivers, who was already wearing a brace on his left knee from an injury suffered last month, sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee Sunday when he landed awkwardly after completing a screen pass to Darren Sproles against the Colts. "Right now, it's probably questionable in terms of playing in the game, but he's got a chance," Turner said Monday. "That will be a day-to-day thing and we'll monitor it as the week goes on." Running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who also injured a knee in Indianapolis, has expressed confidence that he'll be able to face the Pats. Backup Billy Volek finished the game for the Chargers after Rivers' injury, and led the team to its game-winning touchdown. Turner said he's "concerned...real concerned" about the injuries, particularly to Rivers.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Pats on NFL Network this weekAs one would expect, the Patriots will play a starring role in NFL Network's programming this week: * Tomorrow night at 8 p.m., the Pats' 31-20 win over Jacksonville on Saturday will be condensed to 90 minutes for NFL Replay; * On Thursday at 8:30 p.m., New England's 24-21 upset of San Diego in last January's AFC Divisional playoff game will be re-aired in its entirety as part of NFL Classics; * On Friday, the press conferences of all four head coaches who have teams in this weekend's Conference championships will be aired; * At 9 p.m. on Friday, NFL Films' "NFL Legends" will look at how Tom Brady and Brett Favre, among others, became stars; * And on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., the network will re-air New England's 38-14 Week 2 win over San Diego in its entirety. Enjoy...
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Tickets available for Sunday's AFC title gameThe Patriots have announced that a limited number of tickets are available for Sunday's AFC Championship game at Gillette Stadium, and will go on sale through Ticketmaster on Wednesday morning. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. Tomorrow morning, individuals on the team's season ticket wait list -- over 55,000 people -- will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to the game in a private sale. Ducats remaining will be made available to the general public for Wednesday's sale; there will be a two-ticket limit per person. Tickets will be available through ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster's phone lines -- 508-931-2222 or 617-931-2222. All purchases must be made using Visa cards. Ticket prices are set by the NFL and are available in the following price categories; $179, $140, $125 and $100.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young January 13, 2008
Not expected rematch for AFC title gameAs most of you know by now, the San Diego Chargers -- behind backup quarterback Billy Volek -- upset the Indianapolis Colts, 28-24, in their AFC Divisional round playoff game, the final game at the RCA Dome. The win sends the Chargers to Foxboro for the second time this season, and means they and the Patriots will meet in the postseason for the second straight year. Many fans, and privately, likely members of the Patriots, were hoping Indianapolis would be the opponent, so New England could reverse the result from last year's AFCCG, when shaky second-half play led to 38-34 loss. In Week 2, fresh off the sting of Spygate, San Diego was walloped by an emotional New England squad, 38-14, with one of the signature moments of that game being Adalius Thomas' 65-yard interception return in the first half. Last January, the Pats went to California for the Divisional Round. The Chargers had earned the bye after their 14-2 regular season, but made critical mistakes. Troy Brown extended New England's season when he stripped Marlon McCree of an interception; Reche Caldwell recovered the ball, and the Patriots scored four plays later, tying the game with a two-point play by Kevin Faulk. Bill Belichick held a conference call with local media shortly after San Diego's win, and called it a privilege to play for the AFC Championship. He said he'll look at the tape of that September win over the Chargers, but more of he and his staff's focus will be on San Diego's last eight games, all wins. "We’ve seen them make a lot of big plays in all three areas of the game," Belichick said. "They’re physical. Going out on the road and winning in Indianapolis today I think shows what kind of mental toughness they have. We know we’re going to have to play our best game of the year, so we’re on that, but on the same note we’re excited to play and we’re excited to be in the game." The players have Monday off; the team will reconvene Tuesday at Gillette Stadium.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Chargers coming to New England What a win for San Diego, beating the Colts in Indianapolis with both LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers on the sidelines!
Posted by Jim Donaldson Photo: Trump on the sideline
Posted by Mike McDermott Seau provides pre-game sparkIt is not surprising that Bill Belichick says a few words to his team before each game. What may be a bit surprising is that after Belichick speaks, Junior Seau usually adds a few words as well. But given the regard Belichick so clearly has for the future Hall of Famer, maybe there’s no one better to help fire up the troops. Before New England took to the field against Jacksonville, the emotional Seau, an 18-year veteran looking for his first Super Bowl ring, reminded his teammates how precious the opportunity was that they had before them, and how much it meant to him. “He’s a fiery guy,” Kyle Brady said. “He has a passion about playing the game and he always has a few passionate words before the game and he did it again today. He talked about opportunity, and what a great opportunity this is for all of us.” Seau has appeared in one Super Bowl, in 1994, when his Chargers team was demolished by the 49ers. He hadn’t yet grasped how close he is to returning in the locker room after the game. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. It really hasn’t. Being part of this journey is definitely something special,” he said. “Hopefully at the end of this rainbow we can look at something that we’re proud of. You never can dream this. It’s beyond all of that. There’s a lot of hard work, a lot of perseverance and a lot of prayers that come into play.” Seau did all he could to help New England last night, with a team-high 10 tackles.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Dinner and...a fedora?Kyle Brady won the chance to move on to the AFC title game with the New England Patriots last night, but he also won dinner on friend and former teammate David Garrard. Brady said he and Garrard, the Jaguars’ quarterback, had a friendly wager on the game: the first dinner of the offseason would be on the loser. So Garrard and wife Mary will be picking up the tab when the Bradys migrate south for the offseason; after spending eight years in Jacksonville, Brady and wife Kristi still maintain their home in the area. The tight end might be getting something else as well, as he joked with the quarterback that Garrard should throw in one of his trademark fedoras as well. Garrard usually wears a sharp suit and chapeau for post-game press conferences.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Game story: Brady brilliant, defense clamps down as Pats move onBY SHALISE MANZA YOUNG FOXBORO – The New England Patriots’ three Super Bowl wins came by a combined nine points, so if there is one thing they know, it is this: come playoff time, it doesn’t matter how you win. All that matters is that you do win. So in the immediate aftermath of New England’s 31-20 AFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium last night, there was some talk about the defense, some talk about how the team’s coverage in the passing game wasn’t up to snuff in the first half, some talk of the Jags’ success in keeping Randy Moss in check. But bottom line, as they settle into their couches today to watch the Indianapolis Colts host the San Diego Chargers in the other AFC Divisional game, the Pats players know they’ll be hosting the AFC Championship game next weekend. “Right now, it doesn’t matter. It’s about winning football games any way you can,” said Tedy Bruschi. New England’s defense, maligned for its weakness against the run, clamped down on the best one-two running back combination in the league, Jacksonville’s Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, holding the duo to 66 yards on 19 carries. The Jaguars suspected that the Patriots, led by their defensive front three of Richard Seymour, Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork, as well as top reserve Jarvis Green, would try to take away their strength, like Delilah chopping Samson’s hair – and thus his might. So they came out passing, trying to suck the Pats in with play-action. “I had an inkling they’d try some play-action, so it didn’t surprise me,” Rodney Harrison said. “On one play it did, but most of the time it didn’t.” The play that caught Harrison off-guard was in the first drive of the game. Jacksonville was facing fourth-and-one at the New England 43-yard line, and rather than have David Garrard – and his thick-as-tree-trunk legs – run a quarterback sneak, Garrard ran that play-action and threw a deep pass to tight end Marcedes Lewis for a 34-yard gain. Three plays later, Jacksonville became the first Pats’ playoff opponent since 1998 to score on its opening drive, with Garrard hooking up with Matt Jones for an eight-yard touchdown. The Jaguars were that last team in 1998 as well, scoring a 35-yard field goal in the team’s Wild Card matchup. But New England answered back, as only New England can, on its first possession. Brady and Co. had a fourth down of their own, but theirs was fourth-and-5. And they went for it. And they converted: a 14-yard pass over the middle to Moss. Amazingly, it was the only reception of the night for Moss, who became the Patriots’ single-season receiving yardage leader this season and caught a league-record 23 touchdowns. As he noted, however, Jacksonville may have “done a great job controlling me, but they did a bad job controlling the (rest of the) team.” Wes Welker, Kevin Faulk, Donte Stallworth, Jabar Gaffney and Laurence Maroney combined for 22 catches for 224 yards, and tight end Benjamin Watson, who has been relatively quiet as he’s struggled to regain form after an ankle injury suffered in Dallas in October, had just two catches for 12 yards, but both were touchdowns. “It was just my chance to make some plays,” said Watson, who tied Stanley Morgan’s franchise record for touchdown catches in a playoff game. “I’m just glad Tom found me in the end zone. That’s what you work all these weeks for, just the chance to come out here and play.” The game was tied 14-14 at halftime, but after watching David Garrard’s highly efficient first half, when he was 12-for-14 for 149 yards, New England’s defense adjusted and responded. Garrard was 10-for-19 for 129 yards in the second half. The play that ended up being the game-winner for the Pats involved a little trickery: on their opening drive of the second half, a big gain by Laurence Maroney helped New England to first-and-goal from the six. On that play, they ran a variation of the Statue of Liberty, with it appearing as though the ball was snapped directly to Faulk. But Brady had the ball, and by the time the defense caught on, the league MVP zipped a pass to Welker in the back of the end zone. “We worked on it the other day for the first time,” Brady said. “I think they bit on the run pretty good, and Wes did a great job. He’s hard to find; he’s 5-foot-7.” Brady was as coolly efficient as he’s ever been against the Jaguars, setting a record by completing nearly 93 percent of his passes (26-for-28). When he wasn’t finding receivers, Brady was handing off to Maroney, who continues to blossom in the closing weeks of the season. The second-year back averaged 122 yards on 22 carries (5.5 yards per), and scored a short first-half touchdown. Harrison, who had two 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalties in the fourth quarter, found some redemption when he sealed the game by intercepting Garrard with just under four minutes to play in the game. Harrison said he hadn’t heard much from Belichick – “yet” – on his two penalties, but that it felt pretty good to come down with that pick. “You’ve got to do whatever you can to win. And have more points than they do at the end of the game and the clock strikes ‘zero,’” Bruschi said. “That’s all this tournament is about.”
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Welker Rises To First Playoff ChallengeBy ROBERT LEE FOXBORO – Wes Welker made his first playoff appearance a memorable one. His touchdown catch came on a trick play. On a first-and-goal from the Jacksonville six, Tom Brady jumped and raised his empty right arm in the air, making it appear as if Faulk had taken a direct snap. Brady was hiding the ball in his left hand. Then, he switched to his right and found Welker in the back of the end zone which gave the Patriots the lead for good, 21-14, at 8:49 of the third quarter. Welker said that the atmosphere of his first playoff game was intense. “There was more intensity out there and focus and it took a couple of series to settle down,” said Welker, who did not get his first catch until the second quarter. “In the end we were able to put our execution together and were able to come up with some plays.”
Posted by Rob Lee Del Rio Knows The DifferenceFOXBORO, Mass. _ Jack Del Rio knows the difference between his Jacksonville Jaguars and the New England Patriots. He knows why the Pats are going to the AFC championship game, following a 31-20 victory over the Jags, and his team is going home. "Unfortunately," Del Rio said, "Tom (Brady) didn't slip on the way to work today." What was even more unfortunate, from the standpoint of Del Rio and the Jaguars, was that Brady didn't slip up at all on the field, completing 26 of 28 passes for three touchdowns. "He played lights out," Del Rio said. "He was very, very good today. I mean, he's been grat all year, but he was patient today. "(The Patriots) are executing very well, and they have a quarterback who knows exactly what he wants to do, where his problems are, and what his answers are." In the end, the Jags had no answer for Brady, who set an NFL record this season by throwing 50 touchdown passes. "Tom's doing such a nice job, understanding where you're trying to come," Del Rio said, "that the ball comes out and it's hard to get there. They're operating at a high level."
Posted by Jim Donaldson Balanced Attack
But the Patriots were by no means pass-happy in downing the Jaguars. New England also rushed for 145 yards, with Lawrence Maroney racking up 122 of those yards. "We took what they gave us," said offensive tackle Matt Light. "I thought we were effective in both our run and pass games. We were pretty balanced." -- STEVEN KRASNER
Posted by Steven Krasner Laurence Maroney Has A Career DayBy ROBERT LEE FOXBORO – After having the biggest postseason game of his career – 22 carries, 122 yards, and a touchdown – Laurence Maroney tried to sneak out of the Patriots locker room before a mob of media members, like bees on honey, swarmed to him just before he reached the exit. “I really don’t feel like talking,” Maroney said with a sigh. Maroney didn’t want to talk about his huge game because he didn’t want to be in the spotlight. Not with Tom Brady completing 26 of 28 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns for a 141.4 quarterback rating. Not with the Patriots advancing to the AFC Championship game. Not with so many other of his teammates contributing in the 31-20 victory over the Jaguars. “It’s about the Patriots winning, not about me,” Maroney said. But he understood why there was a lot of interest in what he had just done. His performance ranks third on the Patriots all-time rushing list for postseason games. Only Curtis Martin (166 yards, Jan. 5, 1997 versus Pittsburgh) and Corey Dillon (144 yards, Jan. 16, 2005, versus Indianapolis) have bigger postseason rushing games than Maroney. He gave most of the credit to his offensive linemen. “I felt very comfortable today and the offensive line and receivers did a good job blocking once again downfield,” Maroney said. “I just tried to get into a rhythm and run hard.” Because the Patriots were setting all kinds of scoring records by passing the ball while using the running game sparingly for most of the regular season, Maroney’s season was viewed by some as a disappointment. But when the weather got colder and the winds picked up, the Patriots called Maroney’s number and he has been productive. “Sooner or later the running game had to kick in and when we did turn to it, I knew we had to be prepared,” Maroney said of the Pats running game. “We have been here and worked hard and knew we would finally get a chance to show the world that we do have some type of running game.” Maroney closed out the regular season with 59 rushes for 306 yards and four touchdowns in his final three games of the season, averaging 102 yards per game. “In our locker room, we know what he’s capable of,” running back Heath Evans said of Maroney. “The way Laurence ran, the way the offensive line blocked, it just gave [us] confidence to go on and continue on running the ball,” fellow running back Kevin Faulk said. “I thought Laurence ran well and our line blocked well,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. “We had some good holds.” Maroney’s touchdown, a one-yard run that gave New England a 14-7 lead three seconds into the second quarter, was the first of his postseason career. “Laurence has been great – he’s been playing good all season,” Brady said. “I don’t think he probably had all of the opportunities he would have hoped, but his role has been whatever he’s got and he’s been extremely productive. And the way we’ve thrown the ball with multiple receivers on the field, it puts a lot of stress on the defense. “Any time you have Randy and Wes out there and Donte and Jabar all making plays; really, Laurence, thank God, lost it there for a little bit, but he was extremely productive tonight. He had some huge runs.” Maroney elevated his game in the Patriots passing attack last night too. After only catching four passes for 116 yards in the regular season, Maroney caught two passes for 40 yards last night. “Kevin is the one that’s known for catching screen passes so I was hoping to catch them sleeping,” Maroney said. Mission accomplished. “I think Laurence does a good job for us in the passing game, yeah,” Belichick said. “I think he’s done a good job for us and he’s certainly improved there in the two careers since he’s been here and he’s worked hard in all phases, blitz running, route running, spacing, catching, those kinds of things. And he’s worked hard and he’s done a good job and he’s improved dramatically in two years, no question.” “It’s always great to have a strong running game,” Evans said. “For half the year Tom Brady was doing it all by himself with the receivers and during the most important time of the year Maroney is just happy that the Patriots advanced to the AFC Championship game. “This is something that we practice all year for – to go to the big show,” Maroney said.
Posted by Rob Lee Harrison Ties RecordIt should have come sooner. But when Rodney Harrison picked off a David Garrard pass with 3:46 remaining, the veteran safety tied former Rams and Cardinals defensive back Aeneas Williams for consecutive postseason games (four) with at least one interception. Harrison missed out on an interception earlier in the fourth quarter, dropping one in the Patriots' end zone with about 10 minutes to go and New England ahead, 28-17. The Jaguars didn't take full advantage of Harrison's drop in the back of the middle of the end zone, but Josh Scobee drilled a field goal one play later, bringing Jacksonville to within a touchdown and a two-point conversion of the Pats at 28-20. Harrison, though, wasn't interested in the fact he had tied a record. "I'm just trying to do my job," he said. "I missed one and I was fortunate it (an interception) came back to me." -- STEVEN KRASNER
Posted by Steven Krasner Tale of Two HalvesIn the first half, the Patriots' defense was pushed around by the jaguars. In the second half, New England's defense didn't exactly resemble Pittsburgh's old Steel Curtaion, but it got the job done when it had to. "We didn't play particularly well in the first half," said veteran safety Rodney Harrison, who sealed the win with a fourth-quarter interception. "We left too many plays on the field. We executed better in the second half. At the end of the game we made more plays. We'll learn from the mistakes we made and get better." Veteran linebacker Junior Seau offered a similar critique. "In the first half we were chasing them," said Seau of the opening 30 minutes, which ended with the teams tied at 14-14. "In the second half we calmed down and allowed our schemes to take over. We're proud of that, but we need to correct all the mistakes we made in the first half," he said. -- STEVEN KRASNER
Posted by Steven Krasner No Frustration for Randy MossFOXBORO, Mass. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars took away Randy Moss, but still didn't come away with a victory. Despite limiting Moss -- who set an NFL record this season with 23 touchdown receptions, while catching 98 passes for 1,493 yards -- to just one catch, for 14 yards, the Jags were shredded through the air by Tom Brady, who completed 26 of 28, including 16 in a row, for an NFL-record completion percentage of 92.9 and three touchdowns, without an interception. "They did a great job of controlling me," Moss said, "but a bad job of controlling the team." And just how did the Jags put the wraps on Moss? "Well," he said, "I think they got back to the old way to cover me. That's putting two and three guys on me for the whole game. And they were beating me up a little bit in the first half." Moss' only catch came on the Patriots' first possession, and it was an important one, coming, as it did, on 4th-and-5 at the Jacksonville 40. After Brady hit him for a gain of 14, the Pats went on score a touchdown that tied the score, 7-7. "It didn't frustrate me, whatsoever," Moss said of the Jaguars' blanket coverage. "We got a victory, and I'm proud of that." He's also proud of what he and Brady have accomplished so far in this record-setting, perfect-to-date season. "I've always been a fan of Tom's," Moss said. "I'm happy to be on the guy's team. He doesn't surprise me, because we expect greatness out of our leader." And what does he expect in the way of coverage in next Sunday's AFC championship game? "It's playoff time," he said. "No telling what what you're going to see."
Posted by Jim Donaldson Big Gain, Big Embarrassment
It was a 53-yard catch-and-run play that set up the Pats' final points, a field goal. The catching part was just fine. It was the running part that tripped him up, literally, when he seemingly had nothing but an open field and the end zone ahead of him for what would have been a 76-yard scoring strike. But Stallworth took a peek at the Jumbotron, and the next thing he knew, he was on the turf at Gillette Stadium, victim of a shoe-string tackle by the Jaguars' Rashean Mathis. It was an embarrassing moment for Stallworth, and his teammates didn't give him a pass. Nor did friends and family from his home area of Sacramento, Calif. "I've got 15 text (messages) from home," said Stallworth ruefully. "The guys in the locker room are all over me. It hurts, but we won. The play was a conceived bit of improvisation. "I was running a hitch route, but the (defender) jumped it and when I looked back I saw (QB) Tom (Brady) moving in the pocket a bit so I took off up the field. Tom made a good play," said Stallworth, whose change in routes put him behind Mathis. Stallworth admitted taking a peek at the Jumbotron, which he said cost him the TD. "I just wanted to see where he (Mathis) was," said Stallworth. "I was too worried about him instead of just running. I didn't press my turbo button. The end result wasn't what I wanted, but we won the game." -- STEVEN KRASNER
Posted by Steven Krasner Watson, I Presume
He caught five touchdown passes in the first five games, but only one over the team's final 11 games. It wasn't as if he didn't want to taste the end zone. "I'm always hungry to catch another touchdown pass," said Watson. His appetite was satisfied last night in the Pats' 31-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium. Watson snagged a pair of touchdown throws from Tom Brady, helping New England earn its berth in next Sunday's AFC title game. The 6-foot-3, 255-pounder found his way to the back of the end zone with 5:01 remaining in the first quarter, and he and Brady teamed up for a nine-yard scoring strike with 49 seconds remaining in the third quarter. "It was just my chance to make some plays," said Watson, who caught 36 passes for 389 yards this season. "I'm just glad Tom found me in the end zone. That's what you work all these weeks for, just for the chance to come out here and play." Not that Watson was the primary receiver on either TD. On the first one, Brady surveyed the field and fired a high sizzler that Watson somehow was able to hang onto. "I ran a flag route, and I didn't think Tom would come to me," said Watson, whose only two catches of the game found him in paydirt. "I looked back and everybody was covered. Tom kind of gave me a nod to go to the back (of the end zone) and (I was) uncovered and he put it right there." Watson wasn't the primary receiver on touchdown number two, either. In fact, he was the third option. "I think the DB fell down or something," he said. "It was a play designed to get somebody else open but you never know who's going to open up. That's why you play every play like it's your last one. You try to get open on every play. Tom does a great job of getting the ball to the open receiver." -- STEVEN KRASNER
Posted by Steven Krasner An Oscar for Tom Brady FOXBORO, Mass. -- Perhaps an Oscar ought to be added to Tom Brady's lengthy list of postseason awards. And a convincing case could be made that he also should get one for Best Actor in a Starring Role for his outstanding performance in the Patriots' 31-20, AFC semifinal playoff victory over Jacksonville at Gillette Stadium. With the score tied, 14-14, six minutes into the second half, and the Pats facing a first-and-goal at the 6-yard line, Brady threw his arms into the air as the ball was snapped, making it seem as if running back Kevin Faulk had gotten the ball directly from center Dan Koppen and was headed into the line. "We call (the play) 'double-pop,' " Brady said. "We just put it in Friday, and I thought we had a shot on it. I think (the Jaguars) bit on the run pretty good, and Wes did a great job. I just had to drop it over the linebacker." Brady did a phenomenal job against a Jacksonville defense determined to take away the Patriots' big-play wide receiver, Randy Moss. Moss set an NFL record this season with 23 touchdown catches among his 98 receptions, for 1,493 yards. The Jaguars limited him to just one catch, for 14 yards. Which fazed Brady not at all. "The thing with trying to take away Randy, or any player," he said, "is that you're vulnerable in a lot of other places." All of which Brady found in riddling the Jacksonville defense for 26 completions in 28 attempts, for 262 yards and three touchdowns, without an interception That's a 92.9 completion percentage -- an NFL playoff record. "When guys are open, it's my job to hit them. They were open every time. It's easy when you have receivers that are open all the time, and an offensive line that never lets anyone touch you. It makes it fun to play." And fun to watch. Although, as tight end Kyle Brady pointed out: "I think we get spoiled sometimes."
Posted by Jim Donaldson Tom TerrificHe completed the first 16 passes he threw, and overall he was an amazingly accurate 26 for 28, good for 262 yards, including three touchdown passes. Tom Brady's only incompletions were a pair of drops, by tight end Benjamin Watson and by wide receiver Wes Welker. For most quarterbacks, such a scintillating performance in a high-pressure playoff game would have had teammates reaching for as many superlatives as they could conjure up. But for the Patriots after their QB had led them past Jacksonville, 31-20, and into the AFC Championship Game next Sunday? Well, to paraphrase a Red Sox slogan, it was just a case of Tom Brady being Tom Brady. Ho, hum. So what's new? Okay, so maybe that's a bit of a simplification. "That's what we've come to expect," said Watson, who was on the receiving end of two of Brady's TD tosses. "It's not like we haven't seen him play great in the playoffs before." "That number 12, he's pretty good," chimed in veteran offensive tackle Matt Light. Not that they take Brady for granted. And they have a great deal of respect for him. "When you have a group of receivers that we have and him as the QB, this (type of efficiency) is not unexpected," said Light. "Tom and the (receivers, including the running backs) have worked hard all year. And Tom does a good job of avoiding the rush and making plays, which is something the guys on the offensive line really appreciate." But 26 for 28, missing out on a perfect night only because of a couple of drops? "That's why he's the MVP of the league," said Donte Stallworth, who hooked up with Brady for a key 53-yard pass and run play in the fourth quarter, leading to the final points of the game, a 35-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski. -- STEVEN KRASNER
Posted by Steven Krasner January 12, 2008
Patriots 31, Jaguars 20The New England Patriots won their 17th game of the season and moved to within one game of the Super Bowl with a 31-20 defeat of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tom Brady threw just two incompletions in 28 attempts, tallying 262 yards and three touchdowns. Only one of his completions was to Randy Moss, but eight receivers caught passes in total, led by Wes Welker's nine receptions. Laurence Maroney rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. The Patriots' defense held Jacksonville's vaunted rushing game mostly in check, but David Garrard was effective passing the ball, particularly in the first half. Garrard's only interception came in the fourth quarter, and the pick by Rodney Harrison spelt doom for Jacksonville's season. We'll have much more later tonight on this blog.
Posted by Mike McDermott Third quarter photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Conspiracy theorists, uniteMembers of the Jaguars' staff are seated behind us here in the press box, and when it looked like Jacksonville was having trouble with its coach-to-quarterback radio system late in its last drive, one team official said: "They knocked it out on us again." The official, believed to be senior vice president of football operations Paul Vance, made the comment. He was referring to Jacksonville's last playoff game here in New England, when the team had trouble with the coach-to-QB system. During the height of Spygate, Jags coach Jack Del Rio groused that the radio "mysteriously malfunctioned" during the Pats' 28-3 win.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young More first-half photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Halftime notesThese are courtesy of the Patriots' PR staff: BENJAMIN WATSON SCORES SECOND CAREER PLAYOFF TD BRADY THROWS TOUCHDOWN IN 13th STRAIGHT PLAYOFF GAME WARREN STRIP-SACK SETS UP TOUCHDOWN MARONEY SCORES FIRST CAREER PLAYOFF TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS ALLOW OPENING-DRIVE POINTS IN PLAYOFFS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1998 QUICK HITS § When Jacksonville scored first in tonight’s game, it broke a string of five straight playoff games in which New England had scored first. The Patriots have now scored first in 10 of their last 12 postseason games.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young We're backThe press box here at Gillette Stadium is having massive internet problems -- in that there isn't any access right now, and hasn't been for much of the first half, hence our absence. But thanks to Rob Lee's air-card, we're online. So, interesting first half, no? After New England's second touchdown, it looked like they were headed for an easy win, but Jacksonville put together a game-tying 11-play, 95-yard drive and we're headed to the third quarter with things essentially 0-0. Jacksonville's problems against the Steelers last week came in the second half, as David Garrard threw two interceptions and the defense looked porous.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young First half photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Brady to Watson touchdown photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Touchdown or not?
Posted by Mike McDermott Respect for the oppositionNow that the game is about to start, we've taken down our survey: "Are the Jaguars capable of upsetting the Patriots?" There were 417 votes this week, with 58 percent saying that yes, an upset could happen.
Posted by Mike McDermott More pregame photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Pregame photos
Posted by Mike McDermott Jags inactivesWR Charles Sharon
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Pats inactivesQB Matt Gutierrez - 3QB
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Pats' Dimitroff to AtlantaI can hear you asking, who is Thomas Dimitroff? And I can't say that I blame you for not knowing. The 40-year old Dimitroff is New England's director of college scouting, and to two sources, one being the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Steve Wyche, he's headed to Atlanta to become the Falcons' general manager. Dimitroff will hire the Falcons' new head coach; Bobby Petrino tucked his tail between his legs and left Atlanta after just 13 games for Arkansas. The son of Tom Dimitroff, one of the original Boston Patriots, Thomas beat out Philadelphia general manager Tom Heckert and Jacksonville's director of college scouting Gene Smith for the job. Apparently, Heckert and Smith both interviewed in person for the job early this week, but Dimitroff interviewed via satellite last weekend. According to the Patriots' media guide, Dimitroff has been with New England for six years and in player personnel for 18. He was named director of college scouting on June 11, 2003, and oversees a staff of area scouts responsible for evaluating all of the nation's eligible college prospects. Dimitroff worked for a year as a part-time scout with the Chiefs in 1993, before earning a full-time gig with the Lions, where he was until 1997. From 1998-2001, he was with the Browns. Like several other members of the New England staff, including defensive coordinator Dean Pees and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Dimitroff is an Ohio native. He played at Canada's University of Guelph.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young January 11, 2008
Six Pats named to Pro Football Weekly All-NFL teamFrom the press release: The authority on pro football, Pro Football Weekly, along with the Professional Football Writers of America, are proud to announce their annual All-NFL team. Leading the way is QB Tom Brady, who also was voted as Most Valuable Player. Below, you will find the entire team, which was voted on by PFWA members and Pro Football Weekly editors. The All-NFL team and all individual awards plus All-Conference teams and All-Rookie teams can be found in the next edition of Pro Football Weekly (Vol. XXII, No. 28, issue date Jan. 20, 2008), which will be available on newsstands everywhere next week: Pro Football Weekly/Professional Football Writers of America All-NFL team Offense Defense Specialists Most Valuable Player — Patriots QB Tom Brady
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Friday injury/participation reportFor the Patriots Probable For the Jaguars Probable
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Projo PatsTalk: Patriots-Jaguars previewShalise Manza Young and Mike McDermott discuss the Patriots' upcoming playoff game. Click on the play button below to see and hear the show.
Posted by Mike McDermott Multimedia: Projo photographers look back on the perfect Pats season
Photographers Bob Breidenbach, Glenn Osmundson and Mary Murphy took some time this month to discuss their memories of the Patriots perfect regular season. Click the photo above to see their multimedia presentation -- with their favorite photos, how they got them, and what they will remember most about 2007.
Posted by Mike McDermott Weather looks ideal for the passing gameThe National Weather Service in Taunton is forecasting light winds and relatively mild temperatures for Saturday night's playoff game against Jacksonville. The temperature will fall from a high of near 49 to a low overnight of 24, the service says. But most important for the Patriots and their record-setting passing game the wind will range between 5 mph and 7 mph.
Posted by Peter Phipps January 10, 2008
Photo: Showing Patriot-ism
Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Posted by Donna McGarry Thursday participation/injury reportFor the Patriots Limited Participation Full Participation For the Jaguars Did Not Participate Full Participation
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Transcript: Bill Belichick's Thursday press conferenceHow are we doing today? [We’re] winding down on our preparations here, try[ing] to get all the situations covered and be ready to go on Saturday night. Can you talk regarding the safeties a little bit for Jacksonville? Sammy Knight. If you were preparing for an opponent and you only had two tapes to choose from, one tape when they won and one tape when they lost, which tape would you choose? What’s the hardest thing about playing left tackle and in particular, what strengths does Matt Light have that let him succeed there? Is there anything in particular that Light has been able to do there? You talked about Maurice Jones-Drew and his blocking. Have you told your linemen to make it a point not to underestimate him, shown them the block he made on Julius Peppers? Can you comment on the five players who made All-Pro this year? You talked about working on situations. Is there any particular situation you like to teach that’s kind of a favorite? How close is Nick Kaczur to being ready, in regard to his foot? How tough is it mentally to blow a big lead on the road in a hostile environment like Jacksonville did and have to bounce back pretty quickly? With the left tackle again, is the nature of the position such that if you make a mistake it’s going to get a lot more attention than a success would get praise? When a quarterback like Tom Brady is able to play as consistently as he has, is it any more a result of the left tackle than of the other guys on the offensive line? What’s the biggest strength of the Patriots offensive line? You mentioned 60 minutes a lot. Is that a hard message to get across to your players, that one small play in the first quarter is as important as later in the game?
Posted by Art Martone Transcript: Josh McDaniels' Thursday press conference Can you start by reflecting on the last week when you declined to interview for those jobs and what your thinking was? How much did you weigh just going through the experience, even if you knew it wasn’t the right time, thinking that that experience might help you in the future? Do you think you’re ready to be a head coach in the NFL? This is not a Tom Brady question per say, but during the summer if you were sitting around with your buddies and somebody said a quarterback would have the kind of numbers he’s had, would you have believed that would be possible? As far as safeties go, what do you see in Jacksonville’s safeties? Thinking back a few months, would you have been surprised at all at what Randy Moss has been able to accomplish? What was your focus offensively during the bye week? What did that help you do? When teams have gone three-wide or four-wide against Jacksonville, how have they generally defended it? Do they play much six defensive backs, or it is pretty standard with just the one, Terry Cousin, coming on? How much does it help you as an offensive coordinator to have the depth on the offensive line that you do? Nick Kaczur goes out and Ryan O’Callaghan can come in and it doesn’t seem like you lose very much. What’s the biggest challenge for that offensive group facing the size of Jacksonville’s defensive line? Can you talk about the impact of the spread offense at the college level and how much of an influence it may have in the NFL, positive or negative? What kind of impact are you seeing at this level? How do you deal with the quarterbacks? Focus has been a buzzword this year for you guys. In terms of turning down those job interviews, did you think in any way that by going and interviewing you would set a bad example for the team? Did that enter your thought process at all? It was really that simple to turn down someone who asked if you wanted to be a head coach of an NFL team? James Carroll has produced a lot of very good coaches. How much did your experience there contribute to your success? Did you meet Don Shula when you were in college?
Posted by Art Martone Barber brothers talk AsanteTiki and Ronde Barber have a weekly show on Sirius NFL Radio called "The Barber Shop," and the twins talked Pats-Jags on Tuesday night. Ronde, one of the best corners of this generation and the only current defensive back besides Rodney Harrison with more than 20 sacks and 30 interceptions in his career, said he can't think of many corners who have been better than Asante Samuel over the past couple years. These quotes are courtesy of Sirius: Tiki Barber: "The X-factor in beating [the Patriots] is you have to keep scoring because if you don’t, if you go two or three times without scoring, you can’t win.” Ronde Barber: “You find yourself at the end of the game feverishly trying to catch up and you can’t do it. That’s when their defense gets opportunistic. That’s when Asante Samuel comes out of nowhere and is dancing in the end zone. He’s made a living doing exactly that, wait for teams to panickingly try to get back in the football game and say, ‘Thank you. I’m the best corner in football.’” Tiki Barber: “Is he?” Ronde Barber: “I don’t know. You know what? You look at his numbers and his production over the past two years it’s hard to disagree with him. I don’t think that he’s being boisterous in saying so. Man, I can rack my brain over guys. I can’t think of many that are as productive as him. Obviously there are good players out there. Charles Woodson is having a hell of a couple of years [but] nobody seems to care.”
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Practice peek: perfect attendaceIn a positive sign for New England, all hands were on deck at practice, which is being held inside Gillette Stadium, including tight end Stephen Spach and defensive back Antwain Spann, both of whom did not participate yesterday. The players are in shells and pants/shorts, though defensive line coach Pepper Johnson was in shorts and a short-sleeve polo despite the back-to-normal chilly temps.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Thursday at GilletteHey all -- With a Saturday game, today is the last day of practice this week for the Patriots -- and consequently, the last day of access we in the media have to the team -- though they will hold a walkthrough tomorrow. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and head coach Bill Belichick were at the podium this morning, with McDaniels explaining why he declined the chance to interview with Atlanta and Baltimore for their head coaching openings. "I always said if the opportunity presented itself, I would take all the information available and make the best decision for myself personally and professionally, keeping my family in mind first and foremost," he said. McDaniels reiterated that he wanted to focus on the playoffs, and later said he loves his job here with New England. In the locker room, defensive lineman Mike Wright was spotted for the first time since he was placed on injured reserve on Dec. 13 with a foot injury. Wright was still using crutches, and a black sleeve was on his lower left leg. Running back Kyle Eckel, who participated in practice yesterday, was wearing a padded girdle-type thing under his jersey. He has been listed on the injury report with a stomach injury. The players seemed to be in a light mood, typical of a Friday (or Thursday in this case), as they know that after practice they can head home. They are also usually in a good mood when the week's preparations have gone well, as it is with Belichick. shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young January 9, 2008
Wednesday practice reportFor the Patriots: Limited Participation Full Participation For the Jaguars: Did Not Participate
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Five Pats named to AP All-Pro teamAnother day, more honors for members of the Patriots, as today five players were named to the Associated Press All-Pro first team, and four more were named to the second team. Randy Moss was a unanimous choice at receiver, and Tom Brady was named on all 50 ballots as well -- however, one member split their vote between Brady and Brett Favre (what are the chances it's not Frank Cooney?). LT Matt Light, LB Mike Vrabel and CB Asante Samuel were also on the first team. WR Wes Welker, LG Logan Mankins, C Dan Koppen and DT Vince Wilfork were all second team honorees. The full rosters: Defense Second Team Defense
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Brady, 4 other Patriots voted to AP NFL All-Pro teamLaDainian Tomlinson and Randy Moss were unanimous selections to The Associated Press 2007 NFL All-Pro team on Wednesday. So was Tom Brady - sort of. The league's Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year was chosen on each of the ballots from 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. One voter, however, split the vote at quarterback between Brady and Green Bay's Brett Favre. Still, Brady was a runaway choice at the position, and was joined by four other unbeaten Patriots on the squad: Moss, tackle Matt Light, cornerback Asante Samuel and outside linebacker Mike Vrabel. All but Moss made the All-Pro team for the first time; Moss was chosen as a Minnesota Viking in 1998, 2000 and 2003. "Every week, we come in here on Monday and you win and everybody's excited, the plane flights home are great," Brady said, referring to what has been a historic season so far for the 16-0 Patriots. "It's been a lot of fun. To see what we've accomplished thus far is great. At the same time we realize that, as coach put it, there's another mountain to climb." Easily scaling the All-Pro mountain were Tomlinson for the third time, and Moss. Joining Tomlinson, the league's leading rusher, were fellow Chargers Lorenzo Neal, who clears many of L.T.'s paths from his fullback spot, and cornerback Antonio Cromartie. Cromartie's breakthrough season saw him lead the NFL with 10 interceptions. "I should have had 13," he said. "This year, I think I proved a lot of people wrong, with everybody saying how my knee injury was going to affect me. I mean, I'm two years off of it. My biggest thing was proving everybody wrong." Also with three players on the team were Dallas and Seattle. The Cowboys had linebacker DeMarcus Ware, tight end Jason Witten and wide receiver Terrell Owens; Ware and Witten were first-timers, Owens also was selected in 2000, '01 and '02 with San Francisco, and 2004 with Philadelphia. "Any time you can be the best in the entire league, that's always a special moment," said Witten, who had 96 receptions and seven touchdowns this season. "There's a lot of great tight ends out there, so to be on the top of that list is nice." The Seahawks had tackle Walter Jones, defensive end Patrick Kerney and linebacker Lofa Tatupu. Jones previously made All-Pro in 2001, '04 and '05; the others Seahawks were first-timers. Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren called Tatupu's three-interception day in a win at Philadelphia on Dec. 2 "one of the great games I've ever seen a linebacker have." "Everybody has been instrumental in everything that I've been able to do," Tatupu said. "The D-line has been enabling me to get sacks, DBs staying on their guys so we can get back there and get sacks, or getting interceptions." Joining Brady, Tomlinson and Neal in the backfield was Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook, who led the league in total yards from scrimmage with 2,104. The rest of the offense had Minnesota guard Steve Hutchinson, Pittsburgh guard Alan Faneca, and Indianapolis center Jeff Saturday. The other All-Pros on defense were Kansas City end Jared Allen, the league sacks leader with 15 1/2; Minnesota tackle Kevin Williams and Tennessee tackle Albert Haynesworth; San Francisco inside linebacker Patrick Willis, the only rookie on the squad; Indianapolis safety Bob Sanders, the Defensive Player of the Year; and Baltimore safety Ed Reed, making it for the third time. The special teams players were Titans kicker Rob Bironas and 49ers punter Andy Lee, both newcomers to the squad, and record-setting kick returner Devin Hester of Chicago, who also made it as a rookie in 2006. "It's been an incredible journey," said Bironas, who also played in the Arena Football League and arenafootball2 before making good with the Titans. "I didn't have any doubt in myself when I got started on this journey in high school. That was my dream to play in the pros, and I just kept pursuing it. I wanted to be one of the better kickers in the NFL, and this year I was able to do that." In all, 15 AFC players and 12 from the NFC were chosen as All-Pros. By the Associated Press
Posted by Pam Cotter Practice peekFOXBORO -- Once again, the Patriots are holding their practice inside the Dana-Farber Field House. They are in their shorts and shells. Defensive back Antwain Spann and tight end Stephen Spach were not present for the media-access portion of the practice, which included stretching and warmup drills. Running back Kyle Eckel (stomach), who was not present for the media-access portion of Tuesday's practice, is back on the field today.
Posted by Rob Lee Transcript: Bill Belichick's Wednesday press conference[There’s] not too much new at this end. We’re plugging along at situation stuff, getting ready for a team that does a lot of things well. Fire away. The four wide receivers in the rotation were acquired at different times and have different talents, but is there something in common with the four of them that made you want to have them on this team? Did you have to work to refocus your players at all after the 16-0 regular season or does that seem like a distant memory? How do Randy Moss and Wes Welker stack up as blockers compared to some of the others? What kind of challenge does their running game present to you? Is it rare to have all of their backfield be big, physical people? You mentioned the size of their receivers. Does that present any kind of a bigger challenge in covering them? How has the linebacker position evolved from when you were coaching in New York to what you ask of those guys now? How often do you bring the tapes out? Did you feel your club was making strides against the run as the regular season progressed? It seemed like you put a lot of emphasis this year on playing 60 minutes even when you were way ahead. Do you think the Indianapolis game last year had an impact on that? When you play a big, physical team with a powerful running game, is it a matter of meeting force with force to stop that? For what you ask him to do, is Chris Hanson performing up to what you expect of him? When you talk about Junior Seau’s enthusiasm for the game, can you give a specific example? A second ago you were saying that you view every game as a single entity and clearly everyone here has been very successful at doing that. Did that develop in you? Did you have to learn that? You mentioned that Jacksonville has built their team according to the philosophy that they draft for size. How important is it to stay with a philosophy through all of your drafting and acquisitions? When you watched Nick Saban coach, he used to spend a lot of time with the defensive backs. No, but even when he was the head coach at Miami. With you, do you spend a lot more time with the linebackers, and if so, why? I know every team is different, but Pittsburgh plays a 3-4. Was it good to see Jacksonville match up with Pittsburgh instead of another team?
Posted by Art Martone Wednesday at GilletteHey all -- Thankfully -- mercifully -- we're only three days from New England's Divisional round game with Jacksonville. Some Patriots players have said there's a sharpened focus and longer meetings as the team goes over its preparations for the Jaguars. Bill Belichick had the line of the day today when he was asked at his morning press conference if the team's emphasis on playing 60 minutes is a product of the result in last season's AFC title game. "Do you honestly think we'd tell the guys, 'just 50 minutes this week'? 'Just 45 minutes and we'll take a quarter off'?," Belichick said, adding that it may not always look like it, but the players are always told to play 60 minutes -- or more, if that's necessary. Belichick also touched on Junior Seau's unending enthusiasm, the performance of punter Chris Hanson ("He's done what we've asked him to do") and the overall over-sized Jags' roster, which features big players at nearly every position. Ty Warren, Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison all were at the podium in the media workroom, and in the locker room, Mike Vrabel and Kyle Brady all drew large crowds. New England will practice inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse today; Rob Lee will update you on who is and isn't out there. shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young January 8, 2008
UPDATE: The answer: Frank CooneyThe question: Who was the one that didn't vote for Tom Brady for MVP? The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has identified Cooney, the founder of SportsXchange, an information provider for news organizations, as the one voter out of 50 who didn't select Brady as the league's most valuable player. Cooney chose Green Bay's Brett Favre. UPDATE: Cooney appeared on WEEI this morning to defend his choice of Favre and insisted that statistics played no role in his decision. Here's a partial transcript of his defense: "Our website isn’t a public website, provide information and analysis for professionals. So the concept that I was trying to produce some 15 minutes of fame or publicity for my website is moot." "Last year at this time, the Green Bay Packers organization was a woebegotten group that had no concept, none whatsoever, of what was in its future in the year 2007, it was disheveled, the youngest team in the NFL. Merely by [Favre] announcing he was going to come back for another season, it gave them hope, it gave them spirit. This is just one guy. This was not Belichick, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, the offensive line and Tom Brady. One man. Understand that this is a distinctly individual honor... I take that to mean what single person was most valuable in determining the outcome of his team’s fortune in that given year." What if the award was Most Outstanding Player and not Most Valuable, Cooney was asked. "Your own fans have thrown a monkey wrench into that question. Among the 300 or so e-mails I received from New England fans, half of them said perhaps I should have voted for Randy Moss. There is no such dichotomy with the Green Bay Packers." For the record, Cooney also voted for Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy for Coach of the Year, which Bill Belichick won.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Brady wins AP Offensive POY -- over MossTom Brady won his second Associated Press postseason award today, claiming the league's Offensive Player of the Year. Brady got 35 1/2 (out of 50) votes, while teammate Randy Moss received 12 1/2. Wes Welker even drew one vote, as did Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre. In case you hadn't heard, Brady threw 50 touchdown passes this season, setting a new NFL record, and his 4,806 passing yards were third most all-time. Moss was on the receiving end of 23 of those TD passes (a league record), and Welker caught a franchise-record 112 of Brady's 398 completions.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Practice peekThe Patriots are holding their first practice session of the week today inside Gillette Stadium, and the players are in full pads. The only player missing was Kyle Eckel, who was spotted briefly in the locker room today. That means Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, Kyle Brady, Nick Kaczur and Ty Warren, all of whom missed one or both days of practice last week, were on the field.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Vote for Brady, Vrabel & BelichickThree members of the Patriots are up for fan-selected year end awards on nfl.com. Tom Brady is one of three nominees for FedEx Air Player of the Year; Mike Vrabel is one five choices for GMC Defensive Player of the Year, and Bill Belichick is one of five nominees for Motorola Coach of the Year. There's information on all of the nominees on nfl.com.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Download today's Sports coverCan the Patriots' defense weather Jacksonville's tandem threat of running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew? Read Robert Lee's story to find out. On the baseball front, will Jim Rice finally get into the Hall of Fame? Also, get the latest on the Roger Clemens' saga. And find out how to watch the Top 25 basketball showdown between URI and Dayton tomorrow.
Posted by Rich Lee January 7, 2008
Transcript: Tom Brady's Monday press conferenceQ: Are you glad it’s Jacksonville? TB: Am I glad it’s Jacksonville? They’re a very good team. I said earlier today the teams that are in this position are the best teams in the league. There’s no doubt about it. There is a reason why Jacksonville’s playing this week and I think they do a lot of things very well, offensively, defensively and special teams. They play well. They match up well against everybody because they’re big and physical, but they have speed. They play their scheme very well and they’re very smart. It’s going to be a great match-up. I think everybody’s excited to play -- I know I am. [I’m] glad we’re playing at home and hopefully it’s Foxboro-type weather. We’re preparing hard. I think we got off to a really good start today and I hope we’re able to put our best out there. Q: In your younger days as an NFL quarterback did you ever envision yourself being an MVP - coming within one vote of being a unanimous MVP? TB: We set out a bunch of goals early in the season and I think I said the best part about playing quarterback here is I just have to do my job, show up every day and work hard just like everybody else. I think my job description is just a bit different than everybody else’s, but there’s a lot of satisfaction [in] knowing that I can just come out there and worry about myself and expect that everybody else is going to do their job. We’ve really - It’s been a fun season. There’s no doubt about it. Every week we come in here on Monday and you win and everybody’s excited, the plane flights home are great. It’s been a lot of fun. To see what we’ve accomplished thus far is great. At the same time we realize that, as coach put it, there’s another mountain to climb. We’ve climbed the mountain thus far, but we’re right back at the bottom with everybody else. We’re in the same position as Jacksonville, which is in the same position as Indy, which is in the same position as San Diego. We’ve got our biggest test ahead of us and it’s going to be very challenging, but I know this team is ready for it. Q: What are your thoughts on winning the MVP? TB: Like I said, we have a bunch of goals every year and I think myself, as a player, I’m just hoping to be the best quarterback that I can be for this team. I’m glad that’s led up to 16 wins. Individual awards haven’t been as important to me as the team goals and I’ve said that for a long time. While I’m very flattered to be honored in that way, I understand that my greatest satisfaction comes from winning games and being the leader of this football team. I take that job very seriously and I hope that translates into a win this week. Q: You said hopefully it’s Foxboro-type weather. Does that mean you don’t worry about how the wind and the cold might affect the passing game that you guys have? TB: Quarterbacks always worry about the wind and the rain. If you didn’t you wouldn’t be playing quarterback. The kicker and I joke, it’s like we’re the only two people that care, and offensive coordinators, because weather does play a factor and it’s played a factor in a bunch of playoff games so hopefully we’ll be prepared for whatever the weather might be. We’ve been outside in some windy days, some wet days, some snowy days and I think we’re conditioned for it. I’m sure it’ll be cold -- It’s a Saturday night in January. Q: How much do you respect what Jacksonville has been able to do going into Pittsburgh twice, winning in bad weather? Just how much do you mind their toughness? TB: That’s the strength of their team. They’re very tough, physically, mentally [and] they’re coached extremely well. Their scheme is a very disciplined scheme and I think they have players that fit that scheme. [They have a] big physical defensive line, with powerful linebackers with cornerbacks and safeties that all make plays and can all hit. It’s really centered around the fact that they are a physical team. They play in a very physical division, very similar to the Steelers. Those games came down to the end, the ones they played against the Steelers, and they found a way to win. [You] can understand that they play well under pressure as well. Q: You got 49 out of 50 first place votes for MVP. What do you think you need to do to get that last guy to vote for you? TB: Oh man. Like I said it’s - I’ve always just tried to go out there and do the best that I can do. I hope that’s good enough this week. They said that on the radio this morning too. The MVP and all that, it’s wonderful and I’m sure one day I’ll look back on that and be very proud of the fact that’s something you accomplished, but it doesn’t mean anything this week. Q: What kind of carry over is there, if any, from the last two times you’ve played them? TB: Well I know how good they are. I know the kind of team they are and like said they’re disciplined, they’re powerful and they hit hard. I remember last year I got knocked out the game for a play. [Matt] Cassel and I were joking about it this morning and on the film it’s funny, I run and I dive and I get hit. Next thing you see it Matt’s right on the sideline and he’s buckling his chinstrap up. He knew right way that he was coming in. I think the play got - I think there was a penalty on the play so he did get credited for a play but I’m hoping to not get knocked out of the game this weekend. Knock on wood. Q: How important are the games that you’ve had to come back and persevere, how important do you think those are going forward? TB: Those are always important. We’ve been tested on the road, we’ve been tested at home we’ve been tested in poor weather [and] we’ve had to overcome deficits late in the games. We’ve needed to put together critical drives in those games so hopefully we’ve learned from those, hopefully we can deal with some of the pressure. We know there’s going to be quite a bit of pressure this weekend. There’s pressure on us every week but it’s different in the playoffs because you realize you’re getting dressed - you’re going to bed Saturday night realizing that Sunday night, that could be it. You could be, you know, planning your vacations. That’s not a very good feeling, we’ve experienced that the last few years and those are games you remember, that sit with you for a long time. Hopefully we’re ready to persevere. Q: Dating back to 2001 and Kurt Warner, I think, none of the guys that won the MVP award have gone on to win a Super Bowl and you played a role in kind of derailing a couple of those. Do you see a Tom Brady out there who could knock you off in this circumstance? TB: I see - I think the thing and I said earlier today, there is anxiety before every game. You’re nervous, you’re anxious and you’re playing against the best opponents in the league and you just don’t know what the outcome is going to be, you really don’t. Part of what has made this season so fun and so successful is that we’ve gone into each week and there is never a guarantee. You see great teams all over the league losing and we [say], how did that happen? Fortunately that didn’t happen for us this year during the regular season. I sure as [heck] hope it doesn’t happen the next month. Anytime a team has done what we’ve done in the regular season I think that’s definitely a motivating factor for other teams to come in here and say ‘let’s be the team to beat them.’ We’ve played undefeated teams this year and that’s been a thrill for us. Whether it [is] Dallas or whether [it’s] Indy, when we played those teams, or the Jets to start the season -- I guess it’s always fun beating the Jets. It’s a thrill for us and for those teams and I know we’re excited for the challenge too. To see what we’ve learned throughout the course of the season and hopefully we can go out there and, like I said, use what we’ve learned and, like I’ve said, use that to our advantage [and] try to play better than we have at points in the last eight weeks. Q: Do you do anything different to prepare for a physical team than more of a finesse team? TB: You just have to understand - you have to understand the strengths of their team and you try not to play into them. There’s things they do particularly well and you try not to just line up and do those things, because you realize, God a lot of other teams have tried it but haven’t been very successful at it. I feel, as a team, we’ve always done a pretty good job of trying to figure out what those things are and we’re kind of chameleon-like in that we find ways to do things that we’re good at while disguising it as well. I hope that’s what we do this week. We’ll put together a game plan and I’m sure we’ll have a lot of confidence in the game plan, they’ll do the same thing and they’ll change things up quite a bit, understanding what they do well. We’ll try to feel it out throughout the first half and I’m sure there’ll be adjustments that are made but they’re a very good team. They do a lot of things very well so it’s not like you can go out and try to avoid everything. You just have to go out and try to execute very well. Q: Have you been able to watch their offense and what has impressed you about [David] Garrard? TB: I haven’t had a chance to watch much of there offense. I know the kind of year he’s had and he’s done a great job in his first year as a starter. It’s very impressive. It seems like he’s a great leader and the players really rally around him. That’s the mark of any good player and I know they can really run the ball they’ve got Maurice Jones-Drew, who’s a California kid, and Fred Taylor, who’s a great player too. They do a lot of things well, like I said. Offensively they can really control the ball, run the ball and make plays when they need it and that was evidence by what you saw against Pittsburgh Saturday night. Q: Can you explain Jabar Gaffney’s increase in stats over the second half of the season? TB: He’s had a great role on this team since he got here in the bye week last season. He was a starter by the end of the year, played really well in the playoffs. [He] came here earlier in the season [and] fought for a job. He can really do a lot of things. His position versatility is extremely important to us. He can play in the slot, he can play outside, he can do a lot of things very well. He can - He’s quick, he’s fast, he’s got good hands, he’s big enough to go against small defensive backs and he’s quick enough to go against big defensive backs. He’s a very smart player and I think he provides a lot of flexibility within our scheme to put him in positions where we find we can get mismatches. Q: Why has Wes Welker been so important to this offense? TB: He’s like 5’6” so I guess it’s easy to miss him out there. He can hide in the grass out there. He’s been a great player since he got into the league. I remember watching him on film last year for Miami [and] realizing what a talent he was and when I heard we were getting him I knew he’d be a perfect fit. It doesn’t surprise me at all that he’s tied for the league lead in receptions as basically a slot receiver. 112 is an impressive total and he does a lot of things well. He’s very quick, he catches the ball well and like you see he turns these really short passes into medium type gains. There’s four- or five-yard completions that turn into 12 or 15 yards -- Those are really hidden stats. It’s not like you need to throw a 15-yard in-route to gain 15 yards to Wes. You can get him the ball underneath and he can make guys miss. He’s been doing that all season. He’s fun to have out there, brings a lot of energy and he’ll be a critical factor in the game, I’m sure.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Transcript: Bill Belichick's Monday press conferenceWe've kind of been spending, I would say of the three possible opponents, most of our time on Jacksonville over the weekend, given the fact that we played Pittsburgh a month ago and then we played Tennessee earlier in the [pre]season. But Jacksonville’s one of the best teams in the league, and they have been over the last third to half of the season. They lead the league in scoring and yards per game and defensive yards per game, third down offense, time of possession, pass defense - You name it. They’re very good at everything. Special teams - The long kickoff return against Pittsburgh the other night, that was obviously a big play. But they can run it, they can throw it, they don’t turn it over, they can stop the run, they can rush the passer, they play good pass defense. They’re a sound team, they’re big, they’re physical, they’re well-coached and we had a tough game with them down there last year without Fred Taylor. I think Fred Taylor is one of the best backs in the league. He’s a tremendous football player, he’s got big speed that, like [Maurice] Jones-Drew, that can take it the distance as well as pound out the tough yardage. [They have] big receivers, big, physical team. We’ve got a lot to get ready for. They’re an outstanding football team and [they’re] coming off a big win in Pittsburgh. That’s twice they’ve gone up there. That’s something nobody else has done. We have all the respect in the world for Jacksonville and we know we’re going to have to give our best, so that’s what we’re going to try to do. It will be a big challenge for us. These guys are really good and we have a lot of respect for them. David Garrard has had a good year, with only three interceptions. Last night he threw two. Did you see anything specifically that Pittsburgh was able to do to force him into those? No. It looked like one was overthrown. We’ll take a little closer look at that game tonight and tomorrow, but overall he’s had an outstanding year. They’re the only team to beat San Diego in the last couple of months. They’ve played great in the second half of the year. He can kind of throw out that Houston game, but they lost by a field goal to Indy, or whatever it was. They’re playing very well. They play well every week. I thought that was obviously a hard-fought game with Pittsburgh, two teams that had played each other just a little while ago. Both teams played hard and played well, but in the end when Jacksonville had to have it, they produced it. They stopped them and they got the ball back and took it down there and put themselves in position to go down and win it. They made the plays you had to make in that close game and that’s why they won. You’ve faced a lot of quarterbacks with different styles this year, obviously. Is there anyone in particular that Garrard best resembles, someone who’s big, who can run, who can throw on the run and kind of does everything? He looks pretty good to me. All of those things you just described: he’s a hard guy to get down in the pocket, throws the ball accurately down the field, intermediate throws. Again, their production on third down, that says a lot right there. Throwing it when you have to throw it, and he can run it when he needs to. The running game, the passing game - That’s why they’ve scored so many points. They’ve set franchise records in a whole bunch of different categories, or are right there at them in terms of production. People that think of Jacksonville as a conservative, run the ball, tough defense kind of team, they’re way past that - way past. What do you think Jacksonville will try to do defensively to try and contain your offense? I think, as I said, they’re playing the best defense in the league. They’ve been first in total defense, rushing defense, they have a whole bunch of interceptions, they have great players in the secondary, they’re fast. I’m sure that they’ll play what they play and they’ve been doing so well over the last third of the season, last half of the season that I’m sure they have a lot of confidence in whatever they’re doing. I imagine they’ll keep doing it. Did you see anything that Pittsburgh did to Taylor last night to keep him in check? As you mentioned, he’s a very good back. I really haven’t gotten a very good chance to break that game down yet. It just came in a little while ago, so that’s something we’ll do. Pittsburgh is an outstanding defense, too, we know that, but again, Jacksonville did whatever they needed to do. They scored whatever it was, 29 points, 31, whatever it was. There’s not a lot of people that get that many points on Pittsburgh. They moved the ball, they got it in the end zone [and] they put points on the board - and that’s a good defensive football team, we know that. Do you think they’re a lot different team than the one that came up here two years ago? Yeah, I think they’re a different team than we played down there last year, staring with Fred Taylor. We didn’t see him last year. That’s not to take anything away from Jones-Drew - we had plenty of trouble with him, too -- but you have those two guys, quarterback, receivers, offensive line, defensive. They’re a solid team. I think their record speaks for itself. [They’re] one of the least-penalized teams in the league. They don’t make a lot of mistakes; they make you beat them. They do a good job. You’ve spoken about how 16-0 is over and done with and now it’s a new season. Right. Can you take anything from the 16-0 and apply it to your second season now? No. I think right now - Look, we’re starting from scratch with Jacksonville and it doesn’t make any difference what our record was. It’s irrelevant. It comes down to a one-game season now and we just have to do our best to have a great week of preparation, be as well-prepared as we can possibly be going into this game and play and coach as well as we possibly can. As I said, they’re one of the best teams in the league, so I don’t think any other game really has much to do with this one. You said you looked at some film of Jacksonville over the last couple of days. What do you see from Garrard that he has made so few mistakes? [He] just makes good decisions. He doesn’t throw the ball into tight spots. He pulls it down and runs or throws it away, but he has big receivers. Those guys can get open [and] catch the ball. He uses his tight ends and backs well in the passing game. They have a good offensive line - they haven’t been sacked very much at all. They’re one of the least-sacked teams in the league. I know part of that’s the running game, part of it’s protection, part of it’s the quarterback, part of it’s the execution in the passing game, him getting rid of the ball and the receivers getting open and all of that. They do a lot of things well, so they’re well-balanced, they execute well and they score a lot of points. He doesn’t make very many mistakes and people don’t get to him very often. I think it’s - Hey, there’s plenty of credit to go around. There’s a lot of good coaching and execution and playing out there on a consistent basis by Jacksonville. That’s why they’ve scored so many points. You’ve spoken about the physicality of teams in the NFC East. When you look at Jacksonville, do they have that same kind of physicality? Are they as physical? They’re a real physical team. Yes, they’re very physical. Any team that runs the ball as well as they do and stop the run as well as they do, they’re able to do a real good job on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Posted by Art Martone Jags' Ketchman: Asterisk necessaryWe've found goodness on the Jacksonville Jaguars' official site before, and today is no different. On his final regular season power rankings, site reporter Vic Ketchman lists the Patriots at number one -- with the comment "a masterpiece" next to their 16-0 record -- but before the team name is an asterisk. At the bottom of the page, the asterisk is explained: "Cheated in one game." Think Bill Belichick won't point that out to his players?
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Download today's Sports coverGet a breakdown of the Patriot's first-round playoff opponent, the Jacksonville Jaquars. Also, Bill Reynolds weighs in on the latest on Roger Clemens and accusations of banned substance use; and the PC Friars are seeing red flags after two Big East games.
Posted by Rich Lee January 6, 2008
Belichick on JaguarsBill Belichick held a brief conference call with the media tonight to discuss the Patriots' Divisional round opponent, Jacksonville. He opened by saying he and his staff had spent the most time this weekend on the Jags, as they had played Pittsburgh last month and faced Tennessee in the preseason. As you'd expect, he was very complimentary of Jacksonville, which won in Pittsburgh on Saturday night: "Jacksonville is one of best teams in league, and they have been, over the last third to half of the season, leading the league in scoring, yards per game, third down offense, time of possession... They're very good at everything: special teams, they had the long kickoff return last night, they can run it, they can throw it, they're a sound team, big, physical, well-coached. We have a lot to get ready for." New England does not have a practice or walk-through scheduled tomorrow, but Tom Brady will hold his first press conference since his Giants' post-game session, and there will be an open locker room period for media as well. Belichick will chat again on Tuesday.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young January 5, 2008
Brady named NFL MVPTom Brady's record-setting regular season earned him the NFL's most valuable player award. Brady is the first Patriots player to earn NFL MVP honors; Gino Cappeletti and Jim Nance won AFL honors in the 1960s. "As I have learned over the course of my time with the Patriots, the most meaningful accomplishments are always the ones I have celebrated with my teammates,” said Brady after learning of the MVP announcement. “I am certainly proud of the success that we have enjoyed so far this season. I consider myself extremely fortunate to play for an organization like the New England Patriots. The Kraft family, Coach Belichick, and all of my teammates and coaches have created a winning tradition that we all are proud to be a part of. For that I am most thankful." Brady became the first quarterback in league history to throw 50 touchdowns in a season, breaking the record of 49 set by the Colts' Peyton Manning in 2004.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young January 4, 2008
Practice peek: In the bubble before the bye week / Photo
There were five players absent: Kyle Brady, Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, Nick Kaczur and Kyle Eckel. Ty Warren, who was absent yesterday, was on the field today. Kyle Brady was present yesterday but not today. Samuel, Hobbs, Eckel and Kaczur were all missing yesterday as well. shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Friday at GilletteHey all -- We've wrapped up the chatty portion of the day here at Gillette, and are waiting to head out to the team's practice session, which once again will be held inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse. Bill Belichick opened his press conference by acknowledging his AP Coach of the Year honor, saying, "it's something I appreciate -- there's a lot of great coaches in this league. At the same time, the players and the assistant coaches, they deserve a lot more credit than I do." Belichick also mentioned offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels' announcement last night that he will not interview with Baltimore and Atlanta. "He said what he has to say and I don't have much more to add to it, but I think Josh is an outstanding coach, he does a great job. He has a tremendous future in coaching. But as he said, all that aside, we're all focused on the playoffs." In the locker room, Mike Vrabel, Adalius Thomas, Rodney Harrison and Brandon Meriweather all drew media crowds, and defensive coordinator Dean Pees also chatted with a small group of reporters. Pees said the Pats did take a step back as far as red zone defense against the Giants. In one of the touchdowns, he said, there was a communication issue, and on another there was a technique problem. shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young January 3, 2008
McDaniels electing to stay in New EnglandThe Patriots have released a statement from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who reportedly had received interest from Baltimore and Atlanta for their head coaching openings: "I am very grateful for the chance to interview for NFL head coaching positions but I have decided not to pursue those opportunities at this time. I plan to focus all my attention on our postseason preparation."
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Belichick wins NFL Coach of the Year for 2nd time
Journal photo / Mary Murphy
The Patriots were 16-0, making Belichick the first coach to lead his team through the season without a loss since Don Shula did it with Miami in 1972. The perfect record earned the Patriots' coach 29 of the 50 votes from a nationwide media panel in balloting conducted by the Associated Press. The season started with the NFL fining Belichick $500,000 and the Patriots $250,000 plus the loss of a first-round pick in this year's draft after the team was caught videotaping New York Jets coaches on the sidelines Sept. 9. Green Bay's Mike McCarthy was second in the balloting, receiving 15 votes for leading the Packers to a 13-3 record and the National Football Conference North Division title. Dallas' Wade Phillips and Jacksonville's Jack Del Rio each received two votes, while Indianapolis' Tony Dungy and Tampa Bay's Jon Gruden got one apiece. Belichick won the award in 2003 after leading New England to a 14-2 regular-season record, winning its final 12 games before claiming the second of three Super Bowl titles. -- Bloomberg
Posted by Mike McDermott Transcript: Bill Belichick's Wednesday press conferenceHappy New Year, everyone. We’re definitely in one. It’s a privilege, of course, to be involved in the second season here in the NFL, the new one where everybody’s undefeated and we’re all starting at the bottom. We’re going to take these couple days and try to emphasize and work on the team that’s most important, and that’s our team, and do the best we can to try to improve our situation heading into next week. We know that whoever we play is an outstanding team, whoever that will be. They’ll be tough and we’ll have to be at our best, so that’s what we want to try to do, is try to get our game to the highest level we can [and] work on things that we need to work on, regardless of who we play. There’s certainly a lot of generic and fundamental things that we can improve on and that’s where we’ll try to put our emphasis. Once we know who we’re playing, [we’ll] certainly turn it all toward that opponent. That’s kind of where we’re at for this week. I know we’ve covered this before over the years, but when you’re in a situation where you don’t really know the opponent, how much time do you have to spend preparing for all of them at this stage of preparation? How much of a luxury is it to have these two days to work on what you need to work on, and are there one or two things that you’ve seen develop over the last few weeks that you know you need to work on? When you look at the season as a whole, it seems like there’s been a change in the complexion of the games, the way the games have turned out. In the beginning, obviously, there were a lot of blowouts, but at the end there were a lot of tight games. Why do you think that is? Will Josh McDaniels be interviewing with Atlanta and Baltimore on Saturday? Have you granted permission? The first of these two games is being played Saturday at 8:00. Will you come in here to watch that, or how does that work? But you don’t know if you’ll come into the office to watch it? Might go to a sports bar? Is it the kind of thing where you’ll watch with the staff or do you just wait for the film? Will the players have Saturday and Sunday off? How is this week off different, because it’s the first time in a long time you haven’t had to focus on just one team. Does that mean more fundamentals? Could you talk a little bit about Kevin Faulk? It seemed like in the game the other night when Tom Brady needed a big third-down pass, he was there getting the yards he needed. When I spoke to him earlier this week, he said if he wasn’t playing football he’d be coaching it. Do you think he’d make a good coach? Is there anything about him as a player that . . . Can you discuss how far Brandon Meriweather has come from day one to now in terms of his development and how much of a comfort-level you have developed putting him out there? When you drafted him, was his versatility the biggest selling point in your mind? Can you talk about your offensive line? They’ve allowed 21 sacks and you threw the ball almost 600 times this year. That’s a pretty impressive ratio and a lot of times it seemed like Brady had a lot of time to throw. You’ve had some injuries, especially on the right side, and guys have stepped in. Is there a common denominator that allows those guys to step in? Saturday Wesley Britt - this is related to what was asked earlier - Wesley Britt, every time he came in, he had to report as an eligible receiver. Was he specifically in the game to help Ryan O’Callaghan deal with some of the pass rush? Maybe chip away at the guy coming off the edge? So it wasn’t necessarily their pass-rush and the need to give another player some help with that? What’s your evaluation of how O’Callaghan handled himself? Does Stephen Gostkowski hitting those three field goals help boost his confidence at all, not that he necessarily needed it? Have you been surprised by Wes Welker’s ability to block, especially the block he threw to spring Laurence Maroney on the touchdown? It seems like you’ve been more willing to give the ball to Laurence Maroney down at the goal line as the season’s gone on. Is that a random occurrence or a plan?
Posted by Art Martone Practice peekAs we wrote earlier, the Patriots are practicing indoors today with the sub-zero temperatures outside and are in full pads. Five players were missing from media access: Asante Samuel, Ty Warren, Ellis Hobbs, Nick Kaczur and Kyle Eckel. Two players were in black jerseys as practice players of the week - Billy Yates and Santonio Thomas.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Thursday at GilletteHey all -- Bill Belichick and the Patriots are back to work today after the players had four days off to rest and enjoy their accomplishments during the regular season. Belichick called it a privilege to be involved in the second season and that the team will take the time over the next two days to work on the "most important team, and that's us." The Pats' practices over the next couple of days will focus on fundamentals and fine-tuning in all areas of the game. As for reports that both Atlanta and Baltimore have asked for and received permission from the Patriots to speak with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Belichick said he would not comment on another team's situation and didn't confirm that permission had been given to either team. In the locker room, usual suspects Rodney Harrison, Junior Seau and Richard Seymour all faced the even larger than we've become accustomed to media throng, as did Laurence Maroney. Today's practice will be held in full pads, but with a temperature of 8 degrees and a wind chill in the negative numbers, it will be inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse. shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Download today's Sports coverJim Donaldson taps Randy Moss and Wes Welker as the perfect combination in the Patriots' sensational receiving corps, and Shalise Manza Young adds more on the Patriots' 16-0 regular season. Also, URI routs Fairleigh Dickinson University last night, while PC looks to Weyinmi Efejuku to jumpstart the Friars tonight at Marquette. Download file
Posted by Rich Lee January 2, 2008
Brady named AFC offensive player of the weekTom Brady was today named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week, the fifth time this season he has gotten the honor. It was also the 10th time a Patriots player won an AFC weekly honor during the course of the regular season (Randy Moss won twice, and Ellis Hobbs, Mike Vrabel and Asante Samuel each won once). Brady completed 76.2 percent of his passes for 356 yards in Saturday night's regular-season finale against the Giants, throwing his 49th and 50th touchdown passes, the first quarterback in NFL history to have a 50-TD season.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza YoungShalise Manza Young and Mike McDermott discuss the Patriots' win over the Giants and look ahead to possible playoff foes. Click on the play button below to see and hear the show.
Posted by Mike McDermott Download today's Sports coverShalise Manza Young writes on the "Pats' trip to perfection." Also, get Paul Kenyon's take on why the URI men's basketball team has improved so dramatically, as well as Bill Reynold's view of this year's PC hoops season.
Posted by Rich Lee January 1, 2008
Limited number of tickets available for Jan. 12 playoff gameThe Patriots have announced that a limited number of tickets are still available for the team's AFC Divisional round playoff game on Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. The tickets will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m., but there are some provisos: they will only be sold via Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.com or 508.931.2222), there is a four ticket per person limit, and purchases can only be made with a Visa card (they're a league and team sponsor). Prices, set by the NFL, are as follows: $164, $130, $115 and $95.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young R.I. native A.J. Smith signs 5-year, $11 million contract extension with ChargersBY JIM DONALDSON It's certainly a Happy New Year for R.I. native A.J. Smith, the general manager of the San Diego Chargers. Smith, a Cranston native who played high school football at Bishop Hendricken, and began his NFL career as an unpaid film-grader for the New England Patriots, has been given a 5-year, $11 million contract extension by Chargers president Dean Spanos. That means Smith, who'll be 59 next month, now is signed through the 2014 season. The timing is significant, with the Chargers facing a playoff game this weekend against the Titans in San Diego. It was almost a year ago that Smith, in the wake of San Diego's disappointing, home-field, AFC semifinal playoff loss to New England, fired coach Marty Schottenheimer, even though the Chargers had gone 14-2 in the regular season. It was the sixth straight postseason defeat for a Schottenheimer-coached team. He also lost with San Diego in 2004, and had dropped four in a row when he was coaching in Kansas City in 1993, .94, '95, and '97. Convinced that Schottenheimer was not the man to take the Chargers to a championship, Smith replaced him with Norv Turner. That was a controversial hiring, because Turner had a record of only 58-82 in seven years as coach of the Redskins (1994-2000) and two with Oakland (2004-05.) He had just one playoff team -- the '99 Redskins, who won an opening-round game before losing in the NFC semifinals. After losing three of the first four games this season, Turner's Chargers have come on strong and won the AFC West with a record of 11-5 and are favored over Tennessee this weekend. Clearly, Spanos has confidence in Smith. And why shouldn't he, considering that, in the four years Smith has been at the helm, the Chargers have won three division titles?
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