Projo Pats Blog

A lot of folks (well, a lot of media folks, anyway) complain about the lockdown on information at Gillette Stadium in the Bill Belichick era. Is a player injured? Don't expect the coach to tell you in his conference call.

Some of Belichick's former assistants are proving even more stingy with information lately than the old master. Last month in Denver, Josh McDaniels said that guard Chris Kuper had suffered an injury to a "lower extremity" after Kuper had hobbled off during an exhibition game, unable to put any weight on an injured foot. Meanwhile, Eddie Royal, a punter who left the same game holding his left arm, had suffered an injury to an "upper body extremity," and quarterback Kyle Orton, who suffered a cut finger, was said to have an injury to his "upper arm extremity."

Now in Cleveland, Eric Mangini has decided who his opening day starting quarterback will be -- but he's not planning on telling anyone outside the team payroll. In fact, as of yesterday, Mangini had apparently not even told either of the two contenders, Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson.

The goal, of course, is not simply to frustrate the media, but to keep the opponent guessing. The Browns open at home on Sunday, against the Minnesota Vikings.

 Tags  Eric Mangini Josh McDaniels

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