Projo Pats Blog

-Ellis Hobbs will not be the starting cornerback for the Eagles in tomorrow night's game. Philadelphia defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said that his team will go with Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown, and that Hobbs is still "absorbing the defense."

Hobbs may not be starting, but on the practice field he's been back to his totally uninhibited self. He explained: "On the field, I let loose. I think that was one thing in New England that I didn't get to express as much at the end of my career for different reasons or whatever. You go back to my rookie year and it was just letting loose and having fun."

-Philadelphia has had a miserable preseason, and just this morning the Eagles announced that starting right guard Todd Herremans has a "stress reaction" in his right foot and is likely to miss the entire preseason. The Eagles have a revamped offensive line and had hoped to get the unit into sync during the preseason; that doesn't look like it is now going to happen.

-Patriots owner Robert Kraft strongly hinted yesterday that he expects to see Tom Brady starting at quarterback in tomorrow's exhibition opener against the Philadelphia Eagles -- saying that he would hand out 1,000 lottery tickets with the team logo if Brady does not start. (Boston Globe) Kraft was helping the Massachusetts Lottery introduce its new $5, Patriots-themed instant ticket.

-Kraft also said yesterday that the league's labor uncertainties have made it a challenge to lock up the Patriots' veteran players to long-term contracts. (Boston Herald)

-Jake Ingram and Nathan Hodel, the two players vying to replace the departed Lonie Paxton as Patriots long-snapper, hope to stand out tomorrow by not doing anything that anyone remembers. (Boston Globe)

-With backup quarterback Kevin Kolb unable to go for Philadelphia tomorrow night because of a knee injury, the Eagles gave a playing contract to coaching intern Matt Nagy, who once played in the Arena League. But the league has rejected the contract, meaning that Nagy's Cinderella story has come to an abrupt end. (Philadelphia Inquirer) The Eagles have re-signed someone named Adam DiMichele to take Nagy's place.

-Philly's backup quarterback issues have led to persistent rumors that the team might be looking at Michael Vick, even though Andy Reid has repeatedly said he's not interested. Either way, the Vick watch is officially at fever pitch, now that personal adviser Tony Dungy has hinted that Vick's destination will be known this week. (ESPN)

-The Eagles were interested in getting Derrick Burgess in a trade, but Burgess ended up in New England, and now Philadelphia has questions to answer tomorrow about its defensive line. Trent Cole won't play because of a knee injury and the Patriots game will be a chance for some defensive end hopefuls to show what they have.

-One Philly defensive end, Juqua Parker, was in court yesterday and waived a preliminary hearing on a marijuana possession charge. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

-Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips has been convicted of assault and other felony charges and faces up to 25 years in prison. He stood accused of attacking and choking his girlfriend on two occasions in 2005, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The newspaper reported that two of Phillips' other former girlfriends testified that he had choked them to unconsciousness on separate occasions. In October, Phillips was sentenced to 10 years in prison for driving onto a field near the Los Angeles Coliseum in August 2005 and striking three boys and a 19-year-old man with his girlfriend's car.

-Defensive tackle B.J. Raji, the Packers' number-one pick in the spring draft, has left Wisconsin and believed to be en route to Boston as his contract dispute worsens, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Raji is a Boston College product who was the number-nine overall pick in the draft.

-The Pennsylvania State Police are in the midst of controversy surrounding photos from 2006 of Pittsburgh Steelers players using a state police shooting range for a firearms party. The Philadelphia Daily News quotes unnamed sources as saying that the players were allowed to use state police ammunition and illegal assault weapons from the evidence room; a state police spokeswoman denied it.

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