Projo Pats Blog

He played offense, he played defense, he played special teams. He never got himself into trouble, never mouthed off about the demands that were placed upon him. He was drafted by the Patriots in 1993, when they were coming off a 2-14 season. He was cut by the team before the 1994 season before eventually coming back on board, and caught all of two passes in his first two seasons in the NFL. It took him until 2000 (Bill Belichick's first season as head coach), when he was already 29 years old, to become a starting wide receiver.

All of this is why guys who played with Troy Brown are calling him the ideal teammate, and many of us in the media are calling him the ideal Patriot. (projo and Boston Herald) The career of Brown, who was part of the team that Bill Parcells rebuilt into respectability, hung around in the Pete Carroll years and came to thrive under Belichick -- in many ways mirrors the rise of the franchise. Patriots fans can only hope that his exit from the scene doesn't happen to reflect the exit of their team from the mountaintop of the NFL.

WHERE THEIR TROUBLES LIE: Yesterday we reviewed the stats on special teams, which look favorable to the Patriots. Of course, there are troubles in other areas of the field. Here's where the Pats don't rank so well among the NFL's 32 teams: they're 31st -- second to last -- in third-down defense, 29th in red-zone defense, 27th in red-zone offense and 26th in points scored. (Boston.com)

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN: Next week's Patriots game will be linebacker Adalius Thomas' first in San Francisco since he turned down a more generous free-agent offer from the 49ers to sign with New England. (boston.com)

SPECIAL DAY FOR THE 49ERS: The Patriots' visit to San Francisco comes on the day that the 49ers plan to retire the number of one of their greatest players: quarterback Steve Young. (NFL.com) Young will be the 11th player in the franchise's proud history to have his number retired, and the third quarterback, after John Brodie and Joe Montana.

BURRESS TALKS: The NFL and the players union are reportedly working out a settlement in the case of Plaxico Burress' two-week suspension. (NFL.com) The union is considering a grievance in the case, which resulted from Burress' skipping practice earlier in the week and then failing to respond to the team's phone calls about the matter. But Giants beat writer Mike Doughty says that no grievance has been filed, and he sees little hope that Burress' suspension will be overturned. (LoHud Giants Blog)

JUST A COINCIDENCE: Plax's widely reported domestic disturbance incidents had nothing to do with his suspension, reports Yahoo! Sports' Jason Cole.

THE MIAMI MODEL: At the same time that Ronnie Brown was torching the Patriots by taking direct snaps out of the shotgun, Atlanta was experimenting with a similar approach using running back Jerious Norwood. Like the Dolphins, the Falcons plan to continue the trickery. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

CLEARED OF AN UGLY CHARGE: The NFL found no evidence that Romeo Crennel's Cleveland Browns intentionally gauged at the eyes of Baltimore running back Willis McGahee during the Ravens' win on Sunday. (projo.com) McGahee has been bothered all week by a cut on his eyelid that resulted from a tackle by the Browns' Andra Davis. Baltimore coach Jim Harbaugh sent the league a tape of the game asking for a review of two separate instances in the game. While Harbaugh declined to publicly name the Browns whom he was accusing of taking cheap shots, the Davis tackle did not seem to fall in that category. If nothing else, this adds some fuel to the fire of a division rivalry between the old Browns franchise (which moved to Baltimore) and the new Cleveland team.

JUSTICE IS GOOD: The NFL also decided not to fine Buffalo safety Donte Whitner for hitting the Raiders' Johnnie Lee Higgins after Higgins had already crossed the goal line on an 84-yard touchdown. (NFL.com) Whitner was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on the play, but perhaps the league took into account the fact that Higgins was showboating on his way in for the touchdown.

AS THE RAIDERS TURN: Lane Kiffin told reporters yesterday that Darren McFadden's toe injury is proving more bothersome than anyone with the team thought, leaving his status for the Sunday game against the Chargers in real doubt. (Contra Costa Times) But at least Kiffin must have been happy to be talking about someone other than himself not participating in the next game.

THE BENGALS STRIKE AGAIN: Cincinnati may have lost its touch when it comes to scoring points, but those Bengals players can still get themselves into trouble with the best of them. A bench warrant has been issued for defensive lineman Jason Shirley, who failed to show up for the start of his second trial on a drunken-driving charge. (KMPH in Fresno, Calif.) In October, when Shirley was playing at Fresno State, he crashed his car into an apartment building and allegedly fled the scene. His first trial resulted in deadlocked jury.

SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE: The Bengals play the Browns this weekend, so the trend won't continue, but it is striking to note that teams from Ohio and Missouri are a combined 0-12 so far this season.

CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES: Another player charged with an offense involving intoxication -- former Bears running back Cedric Benson -- has been cleared by a Texas grand jury of drunken boating and resisting arrest charges. (Chicago Sun-Times) Benson lost his job with Chicago after his arrest in June and has yet to catch on with another team.

ONE PLAYER CHARGES ANOTHER: Panthers offensive lineman Ma'ake Kemoeatu has accused the wife of former Chargers lineman Toniu Fonoti of cheating him out of $55,000. (WCNC in Charlotte) Kemoeatu told the police he wired the money to U'ilani Fonoti, whose husband was signed by the Panthers in the offseason but then cut, as part of a supposed business venture, but she simply pocketed the money.

TROUBLE, BUT IT AIN'T PARADISE: Rams running back Steven Jackson blasted Scott Linehan's decision to bench quarterback Mark Bulger in favor of Trent Green, and Bulger reportedly no longer wants to play for Linehan. (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

DOWN ON SAPP: According to that excellent fountain of sports knowledge, TMZ.com, Warren Sapp is quickly wearing out his welcome on "Dancing With The Stars": "We're told Sapp talks down to everybody [especially the guy dancers and production assistants], yells at people and consistently walks out of rehearsals with partner Kym Johnson."

A CLOSED BOOK: ESPN.com's Elizabeth Merrill asked many people who know Vince Young well about Young's mental state, and her reporting proves that just about the only person who won't speak about Vince Young these days is Vince Young.

CAN'T KEEP HIM DOWN: When you've managed to start 256 consecutive NFL games, you must have the ability to heal quickly. Brett Favre is proving that once again, as the twisted ankle that he suffered Monday night in San Diego appears unlikely to affect him much against the Cardinals on Sunday. (projo.com)

REMEMBER THE TITANS: With the NFL's longest regular-season winning streak (a modest six) and its best defense so far in 2008, plus an undefeated record to boot, the Tennessee Titans might be the most underappreciated team in football, says Don Banks of SI.com.

ACHING EAGLES: Philadelphia must hope that some of its players have the same talent for rehabilitation as Favre, because four Pro Bowl-caliber offensive players missed practice for a second consecutive day on Thursday: Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, L.J. Smith and Shawn Andrews. (NFL.com)

GETTING ALL FIXED AT ONCE: Colts safety Bob Sanders, already out with a high ankle sprain, had arthroscopic surgery on one of his knees. (Indy Star) The procedure was done now so that Sanders, who still hopes to return this season, could rehabilitate both his knee and his ankle over the same period of time.

THIS WEEK'S PICKS: Last week I went 10-6, which is none too impressive, but certainly an improvement over Week 2. So with the stipulation that these predictions should come with some sort of advisory or warning, here's who I like this week (home teams in caps):

PANTHERS over Falcons: Two teams that are both coming along faster than I thought they would, but Carolina is farther along.

BENGALS over Browns: Someone's gotta win in this battle of winless Ohio teams. The Brady Quinn era starts next week.

JAGUARS over Titans: The Jags carry momentum from their improbable win last week at Indianapolis.

Broncos over CHIEFS: Denver's been lucky the last two weeks, but they won't need luck in this turkey of a game.

SAINTS over 49ers: San Francisco has been one of the real surprises of the first half of the season -- especially on offense -- while New Orleans has suffered from bad luck. They need a win here, and count on them to get it.

Cardinals over JETS: Strange that this is only the second meeting of Kurt Warner and Brett Favre. Arizona is looking like a solid team, and I can't take the Jets seriously until they force me to do so.

Packers over BUCCANEERS: Green Bay bounces back from its flop against Dallas.

TITANS over Vikings: This should be a low-scoring affair with the running lanes all bottled up; I think Kerry Collins is more likely to make a big play in the passing game than Gus Frerotte.

Chargers over RAIDERS: San Diego looked like the real deal again on Monday night, while Oakland just has too many distractions.

Bills over RAMS: Putting Trent Green in at quarterback won't help St. Louis, because the Rams' real problem is a horrendous defense.

COWBOYS over Redskins: Washington is looking like it is destined to be the NFL's best last-place team.

Eagles over BEARS: Donovan McNabb has played well in his hometown of Chicago, and although Philly has a lot of injuries on offense, they should be able to outscore the Bears.

STEELERS over Ravens: Pittsburgh's last two games have been slugfests, and this one should be no different. I like Pittsburgh's veteran leadership at quarterback to carry the day.

 Tags  Football Today

---