Projo Pats Blog

KNEE-JERK REACTION: The Patriots strongly took issue yesterday with any suggestion that there was a rift between the team and Tom Brady over Brady's choice of surgeons, after The Boston Herald reported yesterday that Brady had undergone three procedures since his original ACL reconstruction. But ESPN, which reported yesterday that there was a disagreement between the team and the Brady family, says that the Patriots did in fact wish they could have selected a physician in Boston to do the surgery. At this point the only thing that matters from the Patriots perspective is that Brady's infection issues are contained, otherwise the team is going to have some serious questions to deal with this offseason. Shalise Manza Young discussed some of the possible scenarios should Brady's return be delayed in today's installment of projo PatsTalk.

SCARY THOUGHT: WEEI's Mike Petraglia spoke to orthopedic specialist Dr. Tim Kremchek, who speculated that Brady's 2009 season is in serious jeopardy.

A POSITIVE ASSESSMENT: Renowned sports orthopedist Dr. James Andrews spoke to Brady's surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and told the Los Angeles Times that New England's favorite quarterback is doing better. He added: "Optimistically, once you get this under control and you can save that graft and win the infection battle -- which apparently from what I gather he is winning -- once the healing process catches back up, it really doesn't set him behind to any degree relative to the overall healing process. The main thing is to save the graft."

HOW IT HAPPENED: The Herald reported today that the infection originated from an unexpected procedure performed by ElAttrache when he found that Brady's knee had not sufficiently healed for surgery to take place.

FIGHTING A DIFFERENT FIGHT: The Brady story has a certain resonance to former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Reggie Williams, who has had nine surgeries since April to fight infections in his left knee that resulted from a previous surgery. Asked about the possibility that part of the leg might have to be amputated, the 54-year-old Dartmouth graduate, who played 14 seasons in the NFL, says simply, "I am fighting a different fight right now." (NFL.com)

MY MISTAKE: Matt Cassel yesterday acknowledged his own partial responsibility for the team's high sacks allowed total. New England has allowed 26 sacks on the season, which is tied for second-most in the league (Boston Globe). Cassel said "I need to do a better job of throwing the ball away when I need to. There are times when I'm trying to let the play develop downfield. If I'm standing in there too long, I just need to learn when that time clock goes off and just throw it away. That's an area that I can help the offensive line out with." Whatever adjustments Cassel makes, it hopefully will not impact his low interception total on the season. The Patriots have thrown only four picks this season -- only seven teams in the NFL have thrown fewer. Accuracy has also not been a problem for Cassel, at least on short pass plays -- his 66.3 completion percentage is eighth in the league.

STEROID TROUBLE? A report on MyFoxColorado states that there has been a rash of positive drug tests as a result of players taking water pills to loose weight. The source? Anonymous, of course.

STAPH INFECTIONS CAUSING ALARM: Richard Berthelsen, executive director of the NFL players union, confirmed yesterday that the union is trying to get answers about the fact that six Cleveland Browns players are known to have contracted staph infections in recent years, the most recent being tight end Kellen Winslow. (NFL.com)

I'VE HAD ENOUGH: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, in London to take in this weekend's Chargers-Saints game, said this morning on the Mike & Mike radio show that he is tired of answering questions about Adam "Pacman" Jones. (ESPN.com)

THIS WEEK'S PICKS: We came out of last week a respectable 9-5. Now for the week ahead. Home teams are listed in caps:

PATRIOTS over Rams: Lots of credit to Jim Haslett for turning the team's fortunes around. Lots of credit also to Steven Jackson, and with his status in question for the game, picking the Rams to win is hard to do. St. Louis' weak defense should help New England continue building confidence.

Bills over DOLPHINS: Miami has fallen back to earth, and the Bills are one of the best teams in football, straight up. Trent Edwards has earned some comparisons to a young Tom Brady.

Redskins over LIONS: Clinton Portis should have a big day against Detroit's 31st-ranked run defense. Who is the Lions' quarterback again?

Chargers over Saints (in London): Two big-time underachievers, but also an excellent quarterbacking matchup between Philip Rivers and Drew Brees. I like Rivers' chances to leave with a victory because San Diego just seems like the better all-around team. Whichever team loses falls to 3-5 and is in big trouble, I'd say.

Bucs over COWBOYS: Dallas doesn't need this matchup with Tampa Bay and its stingy defense. If the Cowboys did manage a win it would build confidence that they could compete without Tony Romo, but don't count on that happening.

RAVENS over Raiders: The Ravens aren't all that good, but they kind of are what the Raiders aspire to be -- a tough, trash-talking team that is not viewed as a complete joke. Oakland had a nice win last week, but don't expect them to make it two in a row.

JETS over Chiefs: The season is getting downright ugly for Kansas City, which might be just as bad as Detroit when you take Larry Johnson out of the equation. The Jets can't mess this one up.

Cardinals over PANTHERS: This is the best of the 1 o'clock games. The league's second-best passing offense (Arizona) meets its second-best passing defense (Carolina). Both of these teams are surprise entrants in the Super Bowl hunt. I'll take well-rested Arizona (coming off the bye week) to welcome Anquan Boldin back by edging out Carolina.

EAGLES over Falcons: Another interesting game. Philadelphia welcomes back Brian Westbrook, which should provide some forward power to the Eagles' listing offense. Matt Ryan has done a fine job leading Atlanta's offense, but I look for Jim Johnson's defense to force the rookie into one or two fatal mistakes.

Bengals over TEXANS: Everybody loses in a game like this. Seriously, I don't think the Bengals are going to go 0-16, and this game against a Houston team that almost gave one away to Detroit last week seems like the opportunity they've been waiting for.

JAGUARS over Browns: Two of the NFL's most sluggish offenses lock up in this yawner of a matchup. I'll go with Jacksonville -- a squad that is still a playoff threat down the road -- to trump a Cleveland team that seems completely lost.

Giants over STEELERS: Game of the week right here, as two high-profile 5-1 teams meet at Heinz Field. Both these teams sack the quarterback a lot -- in fact they are 1 and 2 in the league in that category -- but it is New York that is capable of preventing sacks on offense, while the Pittsburgh line has been exposed time and again this season. It could be a decisive advantage for the Super Bowl champs.

49ERS over Seahawks: Why am I picking San Francisco? Well, I have to pick somebody. I think that's all I'm going to say.

TITANS over Colts: This pick should be great news for Colts fans, as they seem to do exactly the opposite of whatever I predict them to do. Still, the stars are aligned for Tennessee -- a chance on Monday night to show the country what they are really made of, and a team that must be experiencing all sorts of self-doubt right now. Ride on, Titans.

 Tags  Football Today

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