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August 31, 2006

Pre-game notes

Hey all --

This may be my only entry tonight -- despite the fact that *three* professional teams (Giants, Jets, RedBulls) call this stadium home, they don't have high-speed wireless here... it's dialup only (!)

We're about 40 minutes from game time, and both teams are on the field for warm-ups.

Tom Brady is not in uniform; neither is Laurence Maroney, though Corey Dillon is. Dillon was spotted on the stationary bike behind the New England bench before most of the rest of his teammates came out for warmups.

Rodney Harrison and Dan Koppen are on the field.

Here is the list of inactives:
Brady
Chad Jackson
Guss Scott
Tebucky Jones
Patrick Pass
Willie Andrews
Maroney
Tedy Bruschi
Nick Kaczur
Deion Branch
David Thomas
Reche Caldwell
Dan Klecko
Ty Warren
Chad Brown

On the other side of the field, however, just about every Giant is in uniform -- Eli Manning, Tiki Barber, Michael Strahan and Amani Toomer are all warming up. New York coach Tom Coughlin said this week that his regular starters would go about a dozen plays.

The New York inactives:
RB Derrick Ward
C/G Shaun O'Hara
G Rich Seubert
T Luke Pettigout
WR Sinorice Moss

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

August 29, 2006

This helmet hurts, not helps

Running back Corey Dillon divulged tonight that it was his helmet, not some lineman's big 'ol finger, that caused his eye injury against Washington last Saturday.

At the team's Kickoff Gala tonight, Dillon said his helmet was too big, and moved when he hit the turf during a first-quarter run, swelling his eye. Though he did not return to the game, Dillon has been on the practice field this week.

Also at the Gala, emceed by Brown alum and ESPN legend Chris Berman, Jarvis Green received the Patriots' Ron Burton Community Service Award; Pats owner Robert Kraft said he "trusts" Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli in regards to the Deion Branch situation, and Tedy Bruschi was on hand (no pun intended), with a soft cast on his surgically-repaired right wrist.

The Gala is an annual event for season-ticket holders that raises money for the Patriots Foundation; it also gives attendees the chance to meet all of the players. Tom Brady had the longest line for autographs; rookie back Laurence Maroney, wearing a three-piece suit that would make Michael Irvin jealous, seemed to be enjoying himself, cracking jokes and laughing quite a bit.

have a good night
shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pracitce notes

So I'm going to go out on a limb and say we'll be seeing a whole lot of Matt Cassel and maybe even some Corey Bramlet under center come Thursday night. Brady wasn't on the field during the media access period for the second straight day, leading me to that thought. (I know, I'm brilliant ;)

Also not on the field today: RB Laurence Maroney, S Tebucky Jones, WR Reche Caldwell, DL Dan Klecko, LB Chad Brown; they are in addition to the usual absentees, WR Chad Jackson, S Guss Scott, LB Tedy Bruschi and WR Deion Branch.

DL Marquise Hill practiced for the second straight day, and T Nick Kaczur was back on the field after missing yesterday.

All-purpose Willie Andrews, LB Corey Mays and TE David Thomas were all sporting the red no-contact jerseys.

Practice was again in pads and shorts/pants; because of the rain, the session was inside the bubble. Before we media types got kicked out, the Pats were doing work on special teams.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Tuesday press conference & locker room notes

Afternoon all --

The Pats announced their roster cuts before Bill Belichick began his press conference and there were no major surprises: CB Hank Poteat, LB Freddie Roach, WRs Rich Musinski and Keron Henry, C Brian Barthelmes and G Nick Seitz.

Poteat was the only true veteran of the group; he was signed in Jan. 2005, to help the depleted secondary the week before New England's playoff game with Indianapolis, playing in that game, and seeing more significant time in the AFC title game against Pittsburgh. In 15 games (5 postseason) with the Pats, he made 29 tackles(24 unassisted), had a sack and two passes defensed.

Belichick praised Poteat's professionalism and the way in which he handled a stressful situation, coming onto the defending Super Bowl champions at the beginning of another championship run.

"He's a great kid, a good player to coach. He played in some big games; I have no issues at all with Hank. It was tough this morning," Belichick said.

The Patriots announced that DL Jarvis Green will receive the fourth annual Ron Burton Community Service Award at the team's Kickoff Gala this evening. Green is one of five New Enlgland players from Louisiana and has done a great deal to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina in his home state. He also participates in numerous fundraising and charity events in Massachusetts.

Belichick was asked if the team will be carrying just two quarterbacks to start the season, since the third QB on the roster, rookie Corey Bramlet, has yet to step on the field in the preseason. Belichick said that he and his staff will do what's best for the team, but added that it's also more important to get #2 -- in this case, Matt Cassel -- reps in game situations than it is to get #3 some time.

We'll have more after we come back from practice.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

August 28, 2006

"Practice... we're talkin' `bout practice"

Thanks in advance for letting me indulge in a little Allen Iverson.

Anyway, there were some interesting players on the field -- and not on the field -- for New England during the open media period.

Not seen:
QB Tom Brady (likely just a day of rest)
RB Laurence Maroney (ditto)
T Matt Light
T Nick Kaczur
DL Ty Warren
S Tebucky Jones
WR Chad Jackson
S Guss Scott
LB Chad Brown
DL Dan Klecko
S Raymond Ventrone
LB Freddie Roach
LB Tedy Bruschi (wrist surgery)
FB Patrick Pass (PUP list)
WR Deion Branch (still no sign of him)

Taking part in practice for the first time in quite a while was DL Marquise Hill; RB Corey Dillon was also out there after apparently getting poked in the eye durihg Saturday's game, though he wasn't talking much during the locker room access period. DL Jarvis Green was back out there after missing much of last week.

Rookies David Thomas and Willie Andrews were both wearing red no-contact jerseys. Thomas missed practice last Thursday and did not take part in the game against Washington; Andrews did play Saturday.

The players were in pads and shorts.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Monday morning notes

Hey all --

Just back from the locker room access period, which followed coach Belichick's press conference. As Belichick noted, with the Patriots playing their final preseason game on Thursday against the Giants, the team is trying to fit seven days of work into five.

Belichick said he had no roster moves to report, though the team has to cut 10 players by 4 p.m. tomorrow. He also said -- through pursed lips -- that there was no update on the Deion Branch situation.

About the team's red zone play (New England was seven-for-seven Saturday):
"Well, it's been erratic. We've been down there 18 times [during the preseason], scored nine, whatever it is, it's not a lot. We'd like to have a few more touchdowns, a few less field goals."

Getting to as many situations as possible during preseason:
"Well, there's a lot of situations you'd like to have in preseason; you're probably not going to get all of them. The ones you get, you take, the ones you don't, you keep working on because they'll come up eventually. There's 20 situations I'd like to see us have -- you don't want to see us on third-and-20, but it's good to be in third-and-20 because it's going to happen sooner or later. I'd like to see them in third-and-20."

Belichick said Tebucky Jones, who seemed to suffer a leg injury Saturday, and Corey Dillon, who was poked in the eye, are "day to day," as is rookie receiver Chad Jackson, who has not practiced in several weeks.

More when I get back from practice.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

August 27, 2006

Pats to play in China?

The Tacoma News Tribune is reporting that the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will play a preseason game in China next year, which would be the first-ever NFL game in the world's most populated country.

According to the News Tribune report, NFL officials are discussing a plan whereby the Patriots would spend a week in Seattle, with the teams possibly playing an exhibiton game at Qwest Field. The Pats and Seahawks would then travel to China for practices, public appearances and another game in Beijing.

Outgoing NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who is schuled to hand the reins to Roger Goodell on Friday, said earlier this year that the league was targeting China. A game next year could serve as the beginning of the one-year countdown to the 2008 Summer Olympics, which will be centered in Beijing.

Interestingly, the Patriots were the first NFL team to have a Chinese-language team website.

The NFL has not yet made an official announcement. The league has held preseason games in other countries since 1986, though there were none this year. Last October, the first regular-season game was played outside the US, with Arizona and San Francisco playing in Mexico City.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 9:22 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Belichick conference call

Patriots' coach Bill Belichick had a day-after conference call this afternoon; here are some excerpts from the chat. As always, he stressed that the team did some things well but still has things to work on as it looks toward its regular season opener against Buffalo on Sept. 10.

Q: Were there certain things that really encouraged you when you were looking at the tape (of the Redskins game)?

BB: There were some things that I thought we practiced and met on and talked about that we executed fairly well and got done. There were other things that weren’t as crisp. Sometimes it was the same play that looked better one time than it did another. So we’re still working for consistency. We played quite a few people in the game, so that adds to a little bit of the overall timing execution as well. There were some things that were good. There were some other things that we need to improve on. There were some new looks from Washington that we can learn from. I think this will be a really good film to teach off of and I look forward to showing the players because I think that they will see things and understand things a little bit better after we’ve had a chance to show it to them on tape.

Q: What did you see from (Junior Seau) overall last night?

BB: He was in on a few plays and is starting to get the communication and playing with guys, the fits in the running game. Playing some drop-back pass responsibilities and stuff like that, built in from the practice reps. That's a start.

Q: How does Johnathan Sullivan look? Is he improving?

BB: Yes, he sure is. He definitely is. I think every game he has played better and he’s practiced better.

Q: Will you be making any roster moves before the cut down date?

BB: We’re probably going to talk about that a little bit later this evening. In any case, it has to be done by Tuesday at four. We’ll just have to see how it goes. I couldn’t commit to anything right now one way or the other.

Q: What do you say to fans that think from watching the game last night that the offense is a juggernaut?

BB: Well, as I’ve been saying, this game was a step in our preparations, it was part of the process. Some things were okay and hopefully we can continue to build on those. Other things were a little less than okay and they need to be corrected and improved and that’s what the process is, so that’s what we’re going to do.

We'll have more tomorrow after Belichick's morning press conference and the locker room access period.

have a nice night,
shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 7:11 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats postgame

New England coach Bill Belichick addressed the media after the team's 41-0 whitewash of Washington, as he always does after games.

Excerpts from his opening statement:

"It was good to see some players back out there that hadn't played in a while [safety Rodney Harrison and center Dan Koppen].

We took a step forward, we executed better than last week, but we still have a long way to go. But there are some positives and hopefully we'll continue to build on those."

Belichick finished the statement by saying he'd answer any questions about the game and players that played in the game -- in other words, don't ask about Deion Branch and the statement the team made on Friday that it would allow Branch and his agent, Jason Chayut, to seek a trade or new deal for Deion until Friday.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

August 26, 2006

Game inactives

The game scratches have just been announced.

For the Pats, the following players are not expected to play:
WR Chad Jackson
S Guss Scott
FB Patrick Pass
S Raymond Ventrone
LB Freddie Roach
LB Tedy Bruschi
DL LeKevin Smith
T Nick Kaczur
WR Deion Branch
TE David Thomas
DL Dan Klecko
DE Marquise Hill
DL Jarvis Green
LB Chad Brown

Junior Seau was just announced as a starter, as was Rodney Harrison.

For the Redskins:
CB Shawn Springs
RB Clinton Portis
LB Kevin Simon
LB Robert McCune
OL Jim Molinaro
TE Robert Johnson
DL Phillip Daniels
DT Cornelius Griffin

The game forecast: cloudy and cool with a game-time temperature of 67 degrees; humidity is 64 percent and winds are coming from the southeast at 5 MPH.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 8:06 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Meeting of the moneymen

Evening all --

As the players continue to prepare on the field, Patriots owner Bob Kraft walked across the field, nearly to the Redskins sideline, to greet Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. The men initally shook hands and then embraced and continued to chat for several minutes before once again hugging and parting ways.

Kraft also shook hands with a couple of the game officials as he headed back toward the New England sideline.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Harrison ready to go

FOXBORO - Rodney Harrison is on the field and IN UNIFORM for the Patriots. As they stretch, the captains out front are Larry Izzo, Harrison, Troy Brown and Tom Brady.

Posted by at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Read with a trained eye...

Expect speculation.

With Deion Branch given the green light to negotiate with other teams over the next six days there will be musing about which teams would be interested in getting him.

This was in this morning's Minneapolis Star-Tribune..."With receiver Koren Robinson possibly facing a yearlong suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy, the Vikings could be among the teams that inquire about disgruntled New England receiver Deion Branch"

Note the use of the word "could" instead of "are" or "will". There's nobody from the Vikes saying they're going to make an offer. So far, it's merely writers on the Star-Tribune staff doing their jobs by finding a situation that may impact their team and bringing it to their readers. Nothing wrong with that, we do it all the time ourselves.

Of course sometimes these things grow legs off a report and the readership reads "could" as "will". Then there's momentum to the story.

We'll keep monitoring the situation on our end. You keep reading carefully on yours.

Tom

Posted by at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

August 25, 2006

Question No. 1: Why?

What's behind the Patriots' decision to let Deion Branch and his agent Jason Chayut seek a trade to another club and negotiate a new deal? After months reporting on this and looking at it from both sides, here's my take on why it's been done.

1) Enough's enough. Nothing's getting any better. Nothing's getting any worse. Nothing's happening at all. The Patriots want Branch to play for them. This kicks the snowball over the edge of the hill. When it stops rolling, he'll either be in uniform for the team or the team can move on knowing it made its effort.

2) The Pats are calling a bluff. Chayut and Branch believe other teams would pay the holdout wide receiver "Reggie Wayne money" if they could just get to him to make an offer. Wayne signed a six-year, $40 million deal with the Colts in March that included a $13.5 million signing bonus. But Branch has a year left on his rookie deal; Wayne was a free agent.

As a result, the Patriots don't believe anyone's going to dangle huge dough. Allowing Chayut to take offers will, the Patriots believe, help the Branch camp see that the three and five-year deals they extended him which average $6 million a season are good deals. When nobody antes up to that level, Branch is in a sticky spot.

The aim is to make Chayut -- who seems to have convinced Branch there's gold in them thar hills -- look like a boob.

3) Take it to the streets. The fact the Pats are PUBLICLY granting this puts the onus on Branch and Chayut. "You think there's something better out there, go find it. You have one week." The statement also means teams won't have to call the Pats seeking permission to talk to Chayut since there's blanket approval.

4) Low-risk maneuver. There's little risk to the Patriots. Anybody comes to the Pats wanting to make a deal, they squash it. Unless someone's going to send them Jerry Rice in his prime, they won't bite.

We're obviously going to be chasing this story for tomorrow. We'll update if anything comes to us.

Tom

Posted by at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments 5

Pats give Branch permission to seek trade

In an unusual move, the New England Patriots have posted on their Web site a two-sentence statement saying that they are giving wide receiver Deion Branch permission to seek a trade and negotiate a contract with another team. The statement says that the permission is granted to Branch through Sept. 1.

Branch, the Patriots' top wide receiver, is under contract but has been holding out for a richer deal.

Posted by Mike McDermott at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments 4

August 24, 2006

Don't do it!

Just in case you were planning on drafting WR Erik Davis for your fantasy team, don't -- the undrafted rookie free agent from Vanderbilt is a man without a team. The Pats cut him today.

Davis, 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, played in both preseason games and had one reception for 15 yards.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

quick practice notes

Hey all --

Just in from practice -- aka watching the players stretch -- and there were few surprises on who was and wasn't there.

The newest player to miss practice was rookie tight end David Thomas. Also not seen on the field: WR Chad Jackson, LBs Tedy Bruschi, Chad Brown and Freddie Roach, DLs LeKevin Smith, Dan Klecko, Marquise Hill and Jarvis Green. FB Patrick Pass remains on the PUP and Deion Branch still has not come to his senses.

More later...

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

August 23, 2006

Gramatica cut; Rookie will be the team's kicker

The New England Patriots released veteran kicker Martin Gramatica, who was signed four months ago as a possible replacement for Adam Vinatieri.
Gramatica's release leaves rookie Stephen Gostkowski as the only kicker on the Patriots' roster.
Gramatica, 30, made both of his field goal attempts during the team's first preseason game. Gostkowski, 22, made his only attempt in the opener and was 3-of-3 on field goal tries in last week's exhibition win against Arizona.
Gostkowski joined the Patriots as a rookie out of the University of Memphis, where he kicked three field goals of more than 50 yards during his senior season.

--- Bloomberg News

Posted by Peter Phipps at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Kicker Situation cleared up

It's official: Stephen Gostkowski will replace Adam Vinatieri as the Patriots kicker.
The Patriots released veteran Martin Gramatica this afternoon. The move was made with an eye on freeing Gramatica up to chase another kicker's job in the final few weeks of the NFL pre-season.
Here is the official release.

Martin Gramatica, 30, was signed by the Patriots as a veteran free agent on April 6, 2006. The 5-foot-8-inch, 170-pound kicker is in his seventh NFL season after spending his first six years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1999-2004) and Indianapolis Colts (2004). He was selected to the Pro Bowl following the 2000 season. Gramatica has converted 137-of-179 career field goals (76.5 percent) and 181-of-183 career extra points (98.9 percent). In seven career playoff games, he has converted 11-of-12 field goals (91.7 percent) and all 15 extra point attempts. The Kansas State product was originally drafted by Tampa Bay in the third round (80th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft. He holds Tampa Bay’s all-time career records for scoring (591 points), field goals made (137) and field goals attempted (179).
Gramatica participated in one game for the Patriots this preseason, converting both of his field goal attempts and his only extra point try against Atlanta on Aug. 11, 2006

KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Kevin at 5:19 PM | Permalink

Caldwell gets open

FOXBORO -- Wide receiver Reche Caldwell has been the silent wideout since training camp began. With Deion Branch holding out and rookie Chad Jackson injured, Caldwell has been the team's most talented and experienced receiver. But he hasn't talked. Today, for the first time since the start of camp, Caldwell weighed in on his role so far.

"I’ m just trying to learn (the offense) as best I could," said the free agent signee from San Diego. "I just want to do everything I can do so I can help the team.""

Caldwell dismissed the notion he was feeling pressure as the team's No. 1. "No…I just go out there do my best and do what I can do. I don’t feel no pressure. I don’t feel it or worry about it all. I enjoy playing football. I go out there and play and I block out all distractions."

Caldwell had two catches last week against the Cardinals, but a drop is what lingers from his preseason performance to date. On a slant from the Atlanta 7 two weeks ago, Caldwell had a pass by Tom Brady glance off his elbow.

"I definitely should have caught that," said Caldwell. "Every ball that comes my way, I try to catch it no matter what."

Caldwell's gotten plenty of praise from quarterback Tom Brady during camp. And the Patriots are confident he's going to be fine.

As for his month-long media silence, Caldwell said no harm was intended.

"I'm trying to learn as much as I can and that usuall means I am studying, watching film or on the field," he explained. "It was never me not wanting to talk. I’m just trying to learn and this (offense) is more difficult than what I came from."

ALSO NOTED...

OLB Mike Vrabel with a Minnesota Gophers hat in his locker .strong safety Rodney Harrison giving himself a pseudo-massage by lying on a baseball and rolling back and forth to knead his muscles....Rookie wideout Chad Jackson peeking out of the trainer's room at 11:54 to make sure the media had departed. ... Corey Dillon power-walking (seriously) through the locker room while balancing his lunch on his forearm. ... Ultimately, he reached up into his locker, grabbed a Playstation console and disappeared through the curtains into the team's private rooms and training areas.

Posted by at 2:18 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice

Hey all --

Just in from practice and there wasn't too much to see -- especially since most of the media access time was watching the players stretch. Anyway, kicker Martin Gramatica was one of the players not on the field, along with receiver Chad Jackson, linebackers Chad Brown and Freddie Roach, defensive linemen Jarvis Green, Marquise Hill and LeKevin Smith, and of course Tedy Bruschi (wrist surgery), Patrick Pass (PUP list) and Deion Branch (foolish holdout).

On the field for the first time in two weeks was receiver John Stone; tackle Nick Kaczur, off the PUP list yesterday, safety Rodney Harrison and linebacker Monty Beisel also were on the field.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

August 22, 2006

Branch speaks to CBS-4

Holdout wide receiver Deion Branch gave an interview to CBS-4 in Boston tonight, telling the channel's Steve Burton, "I'm pretty sure everything's gonna work out. Everything's gonna work out."

Branch was at the And1 hoop tour as it stopped in Boston.

Asked if he missed playing, Branch said, "I'm human. I have my days and ups and downs. I realize it's business and what they're doing is business."

Asked if he considered the $14,000 per day he's being fined, Branch joked, "I haven't really thought about it." Turning more serious, he said, "No, you have to (think about it). It is what it is. Hopefully we can do something about it and we can figure out what's what."

Branch said he'd watched the team's first two preseason games and that he believed the offense was running well. It will run better, he added, "When and if I get back."

He then seemed to reassure Burton by saying, "Everything's gonna work out."

Posted by at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

A busy morning

Where to begin.... while between-games media sessions can often be tedious, today has been anything but, with several items coming out of Bill Belichick's press conference and the locker room access period.

* With last night's trade of offensive lineman Brandon Gorin to Arizona for an undisclosed draft pick, Belichick was asked if that meant second-year tackle Nick Kaczur, who has been on the PUP list since training camp began, is ready to get back on the field, and if that, coupled with rookie Ryan O'Callaghan 's development made Gorin expendable.

"I would expect Nick to be on the field today," Belichick said, later adding that the Ontario native had been put through some tests yesterday and responded well enough for him to begin practicing today.

Kaczur somewhat reluctantly spoke with the media about his return from a shoulder injury and said he's happy with his progress "so far." This was the first injury of the 6-foot-4, 315 pounder's career.

As for O'Callaghan, though Belichick did not say so, it appeared that the fifth-round pick out of California had supplanted Gorin on the depth chart and started Saturday's game against Arizona. Gorin played with the second unit and was whistled for a false start in the fourth quarter on a second-and-goal play from the Cardinals' one-yard line.

* Junior Seau met face-to-face with the media for the first time since signing with New England last week. The 37-year old had spent the first few months of his "graduation" -- he refused to call it a retirement at his press conference just eight days ago -- learning how to surf and said that sport is more difficult than football.

"Without a doubt. It's a different wave every time; you can't watch film," he said.

Seau is wearing number 55, Willie McGinest's number with the Pats, and is in McGinest's old locker. McGinest has been quoted as saying he "reluctantly" agreed to let Seau wear the number when Seau and the Patriots called him.

But McGinest came to wear number 55 because Seau was the player to wear the number before him at USC... so it's all part of the circle.

* Patrick Pass was also seen in the locker room, generally a sign in these parts that a player is going to practice, though Belichick said the fullback is "day-to-day." With Kaczur coming off the PUP, Pass is the only player still on the list.

* Belichick is making his acting debut tonight on the FX series "Rescue Me." He makes a cameo with former Bruins great Phil Esposito. Belichick is a mourner at a funeral who tries to strike up a conversation with Esposito, who is playing a fire chief. Belichick said the opportunity came about because he is friends with show co-star Lenny Clarke and a fan of the show; Clarke told Belichick to visit the set, and when he did, he ended up in a scene.

Was it the first time Belichick has worn makeup? "Unfortunately, no," he said with a smile. "They glopped it on at the Super Bowl this year [where Belichick was a TV analyst]. That's the hardest job in football -- making me look good."

Clarke and show star Dennis Leary are both Massachusetts natives.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

August 21, 2006

Pats trade Gorin

The Patriots have traded offensive lineman Brandon Gorin to the Arizona Cardinals for an undisclosed draft pick.

Gorin, 28, started the final eight games of the regular season and both playoff games for New England last year at right tackle and played in 14 games overall. He was not a starter in Saturday's preseason game against the Cardinals and was flagged for one false start.

Arizona will be Gorin's third NFL team; he was originally drafted by San Diego in the seventh round in 2001 (Gorin played collegiately at Purdue) but was released after training camp in `02 and signed to the Patriots' practice squad. He was signed off the practice squad in Jan. 2003 and had been a regular contributor since.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

More from Belichick, Players on Cardinals win

Bill Belichick gave his players the day off today before the team jumps into preparations for its third preseason game, Saturday at Gillette Stadium against the Washington Redskins.

As a result, there was also no media availability today, but here is some more of what Belichick had to say in yesterday’s media conference call:

Q: Was there a line of thinking in having Junior Seau dress last night even though he wasn’t going to play? [The veteran linebacker, who played 14 seasons with the Chargers and 3 with the Dolphins, came out of retirement and signed with the Patriots late last week.]

Journal files/Bob Breidenbach
Jason Seau

BB: He was healthy enough to dress, so he dressed and warmed up and went through the process on the sideline. Going through adjustments and things like that, that’s all part of the whole process.

Q: Was a big part of it just maybe giving him a feel for the team and how it works from that vantage point?

BB: Yeah, well what we do in a game…right, that’s what he did. He experienced kind of the way we manage the game on the sideline. He got some exposure to that and I'm sure that there were some things that he saw that he can relate to whenever he starts playing in terms of how we do the signals and substitutions and sideline adjustments and all of those types of things.

Q: How much of the team’s success on third down last night might you attribute to Kevin Faulk and his various skills?
Kevin Faulk.JPG
Journal files/Glenn Osmundson
Kevin Faulk

BB: I think last night’s third down numbers were attributable to a couple of things. One was that the distance wasn’t too long. For the most part we had very manageable third down situations where we didn’t need a lot of yardage and therefore pretty much every skill player on the field was a possible option to get that yardage. On third-and-three, you could run it or you could throw it to any of the five eligible receivers and they could pick it up. On third-and-16, realistically, you’re probably only going to be able to get two guys, maybe three at the most, that would even be able to get far enough down the field to even get the first down. It just gives you a lot more options and then of course it always comes back down to execution. I thought that the execution on the third down runs by the offensive line - Dante [Scarnecchia] and those guys have worked really hard on that - there were some positives there. In the passing game, we had receivers and you try to spread the field and make it hard for the defense to match up on all of them, so you have one or two, either, good matchup situations or situations where the defenders just get out-leveraged by the route. Good routes, good throws by the quarterback and catches and you know you have a chance to convert some of those short-yardage situations. Keeping it short and staying out of negative plays and third-and-longs, that is a big key to giving yourself and your team more options.

BB: I think Tom is a pretty fundamentally sound player, but we’re in training camp. We’re halfway through the preseason schedule, so I think that everybody has a lot of room for improvement and I'm sure that he’ll be better with another week or two of practice than he is now, just like he’s better now than he was a couple of weeks ago when he hadn’t spent as much time on them. It’s just refining your skill and your technique and everybody on the field is doing that.

Journal files/Bob Breidenbach
Tom Brady

Click here to read more about what the players had to say about Saturday's win.

Tully Banta-Cain, Linebacker
(On playing with the first team defense)
“It felt good playing with the first stringers. I tried to take advantage of the opportunity.”

(On how he felt he played compared to last week)
“I think I made a little improvement from last week, just overall playing the run and playing the pass. There are still some things that I need to work on, but overall I think I did okay. I missed a sack on [Matt] Leinart one play, so that is something that is definitely keeping me honest. Next time I get that opportunity, I have to take full advantage of it.”

(On whether he heard the praise Coach Belichick gave him last week about his camp thus far)
“My fiancée told me a little something about it. I look at that as credit to me being focused this year and really trying to take full advantage of the chances I have been getting. It is working out so far.”

(On whether he feels he as improved)
“Yes, definitely. I don’t think I’m where I need to be, but I think I have made big strides and every week I’m just trying to get better.”

(On whether he thinks he can be a starter in the NFL)
“Definitely, no question. I have always had confidence in my abilities and being able to showcase them this year is what I have been all about going into this year. Hopefully I will get that chance.”

(On the defense compared to last week)
“I have to go back and watch the film and see everything, but we did hold them to three points and I think that is a credit to the way we played. I think there are definitely some plays that we are going to have to go back and see how they beat us because they did make some plays in the pass game and a couple of the runs they got. We are going to look at the film and see what we have to do.”

(On the defense’s playmaking ability tonight)
“We wanted to improve on last week. Guys are trying to make this team and make an impression on the coaches. There were guys out there making plays and that is going to help their status on the team.”

Logan Mankins, Guard
(On the matchup against the Cardinals and the success of the run game)
“Every week is a tough test. We just tried to put a hat on a hat and get a little bit of a push. We have really good running backs here and they find the holes. They will make people miss and run through arm tackles.”

Kevin Faulk, Running Back
(On the play of the offense)
“We improved from Week 1 and that was our main goal. Each week we are just trying to improve as a team.”

(On the versatility of the running backs)
“We have always had three or four running backs that have versatility and have different running styles. Laurence [Maroney] has come in and improved each and every week. That is what we are trying to do as an offense.”

Eric Alexander, Linebacker
(On his forced fumble on the kickoff return)
“That is what they like around here and that is what we try to do every time. We try to have a dominating, physical presence on special teams. It looked like it was a sideline left and I just read my way over there and happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

(On whether this is a big year for him)
“Definitely. My first two years I have spent on the practice squad, so this is definitely a defining year for me. There are no more years on the practice squad. I have to make the team here or try to make it somewhere else.”

(On what motivates him)
“This is the only way I can really be evaluated, besides practice. They want to see how you perform on game day. You definitely want to give a good performance and show them that you can play.”

Rohan Redux

FOXBORO - Tom Brady and former Patriots backup Rohan Davey had a brief exchange during warmups. Brady traipsed over the Cardinals side of the 50 to head butt Davey as he warmed up. Davey and Brady embraced and then talked for about three minutes before going their separate ways.

Davey is currently the fourth quarterback on the Cardinals depth chart behind Kurt Warner, John Navarre and Matt Leinart who's been in camp for about 15 minutes.

Pats Pregame

There are currently more Cardinals on the field than Patriots. Among the Cards is rookie quarterback Matt Leinart who signed earlier in the week. He's throwing to tight end Leonard Pope and fullback John Bronson. ... Patriots safety Rodney Harrison is in a t-shirt and shorts. Most of the other Pats on the field are in t-shirts and their game pants as they work out. That's an indication Harrison -- who's still working back from a severe knee injury -- will not play tonight. ... Leinart just left the field. As he was leaving, he encountered Cardinals offensive line coach Steve Loney who was smirking at the TV cameras filming Leinart's departure from the field (they were trying to get the coveted "ground-up" angle on Leinart). Leinart smiled and seemed to try to embrace Loney who was opting for a simple pregame handshake. Fellas, either hug or don't hug but get on the same page. ....

Seau dressed

FOXBORO - Junior Seau, acquired yesterday, is in uniform tonight. So is defensive end Richard Seymour.

More Seau

ON HIS ROLE
"Only time can tell. I can hypothetically give answers but I believe it will be win-win. I will play in the preseason.

I don’t have those answers. What we have is a playbook. And I have a learning curve to figure out.

ON THE SHOCK TO CHARGERS FANS
"We’re all shocked. We can soothe it. The call (from the Patriots) was made Tuesday morning after the (retirement press conference) on a great day. Interest was expressed by the Patriots and we discussed it for two days. (Monday) was my graduation party. I'm going after my Master's now."

Seau speaks

Seau, who signed with the Pats today after retiring from the game in a ceremony in San Diego on Monday (he called it a "graduation"), spoke with reporters on a conference call just minutes ago.

(ON WEARING WILLIE McGINEST'S No. 55 WHICH SEAU'S WORN HIS ENTIRE CAREER AND BEFORE McGINEST AT USC)

"I’ll defintely respect Willie and the franchise's wishes here but I will lob a call to him and ask if we can wear that number. That's something needs to be done and something that will be done."

"My role is a player on the field at a linebacker position and they do a lot of things. There are two positions I can play and I play them (meaning inside or outside linebacker)."

CAN HIS BODY STAND UP TO THE RIGORS OF PLAYING INSIDE AT 37
"We’ll just have to see. Only time can tell. I won’t promote something that is an unknown."

DID FORMER SAN DIEGO TEAMMATE AND CURRENT PAT RODNEY HARRISON CONTACT HIM
"Rodney put in a couple of calls. He’ll probably get a finder’s fee."

WHY DID HE COME OUT OF "GRADUATION"
"Being the franchise (the Patriots) are forced him to reconsider. Their focus is to win championships and its something we need to seize the opportunity on. It was definitely a thought process in which I talked to family members and (the Patriots) to see where they thought I fit and how they were going to utilize me. When a championship team calls you have to answer it."

"There are a lot of things that come to play when I decide to come into the NFL after two days of retirement. One is that this is a championship team and that they have a role I can contribute in."

Limited TV viewing for Pats' game tomorrow

FOXBORO, Mass. -- The New England Patriots' exhibiition game tomorrow night will not be shown on local TV. Instead, the game against the Arizona Cardinals will be carried nationally on the NFL Network.

The 8 p.m. home game will be carried by Boston's Channel 5 in Massachusetts, which the NFL considers the extent of the team's home market.

"This is an NFL decision. We don't like it. But they are pretty much going to do what they are going to do.'' said Jay Howell, president and general manager of WPRI-TV and Fox Providence, Channel 64.

Viewers in Rhode Island may be able to get Channel 5 with an antenna. NFL Network is available on at least one of the satellite services and on Cox Digital Cable, channel 137.

"The Patriots tried to get us this game,'' said Howell, adding that the team's last two exhibition games will be carried on Channel 64.

Seau in town

Veteran linebacker Junior Seau, who retired from the Dolphins last week, is in Foxboro today working out for and meeting with the Pats.

Seau's services are needed because of training camp injuries to Tedy Bruschi and Chad Brown. The current Pats linebacker rotation in the 3-4 is Mike Vrabel and Rosey Colvin at OLB with Tully Banta-Cain as the first man in off the bench and Barry Gardner, Monty Beisel and Don Davis fighting for the ILB jobs with minimal effectiveness so far.

Seau can play anywhere in the linebacker corps but he's mostly played outside linebacker during his career.

The 36-year-old played seven games for Miami last season and eight for the Dolphins the year before.

Final throws

Quarterback Tom Brady gets in a few passes today at Gillette Stadium during the Patriot's final day of training camp.

Seau to the Pats?

FOXBORO - Junior Seau is coming out of retirement to join the Patriots according to ESPN News which credits Jim Trotter of the San Diego Union Tribune.

IT ENDS QUIETLY

Other than the interest in Tom Brady's association with Greg Anderson, the final Patriots' practice open to the public went quietly.

The crowd was one of the larger ones. Overall, those who have been here for the four years since trainining camp moved here from Bryant University, felt crowds were about the same as they have been in the past.

In the final open practice, the Pats did most of their work in the kicking and passing games. There were no new additions to the absentee list as Tedy Bruschi, Chad Jackson, Monty Beisel and Chad Brown remained among the missing.

Most of the veterans were not worked too hard, with one major exception. Troy Brown was all over the place, as he seems to be so often.

Brown continues to amaze as he goes on and on. With the Pats' lack of proven depth at wideout, Brown and Reche Caldwell have been far and away the biggest targets when the team has gone to wide receivers. The tight ends, most notably Ben Watson who has looked outstanding through camp, also look poised to be abigger factor than ever in the team's offense.

Perhaps the most interesting development over the past two days has involved rookie Willie Andrews. The seventh round draft pick out of Baylor is a defensive back. At least he has been until the last two days. He spent the day in a white jersey, signifying an offensive player, again yesterday and made at least one catch for a long gain.

Brady addresses Balco questions

Tom Brady long since has become accustomed to drawing crowds, but even by his standards yesterday was big. And this was not one of his most pleasant sessions.

As soon as the Patriots finished practice this afternoon, television camera people set up in a circle in the interview area to get position for Brady. The Pats' quarterback knew what was coming, knew what everyone wanted to ask about. He greeted the crowd with, ``Nice day today, nice of you to come out. All right, so who wants to start?' ''

As expected, the focus immediately was on Brady's name coming up on a list people who have had contact with Greg Anderson, the trainer at the center of the Balco investigation in San Francisco.

``Any time, as an athlete, you're even mentioned in something like this, it's disappointing,'' Brady said. ``But it was long time ago. I was back in the Bay area. I wanted to work out for a day. I knew he had a gym. I called, he wasn't around. That was about it. That was the first of it and the last of it. Five years later, I guess it's a big deal. That's kind of the entire extent.''

Brady said he was not aware his name had come up in the investigation until this morning.

``It's just one of those things. I don't make anything of it,'' he said. ``Something like that is not what I stand for. I represent a lot of things. Certainly fair play and me trying to be a role model is what I'm all about.''

-- Paul Kenyon, Journal sports writer

Be prepared for changes

It's an hour to the start of the scheduled practice, and the Patriots are out, in t-shirts and shorts, on the Gillette Stadium field doing walk throughs in preparation for Saturday night's game against Arizona.

Inside, Stacey James, the team's executive director of media relations, has asked us to let everyone know about changes in the parking situation for this season. In preparation for more construction adjoining the stadium, parking lot P-9, one of the main parking areas, will be closed.

To replace the needed spaces, lot P-10, on the other side of Route One across from the stadium, has been expanded and will be able to pick up the slack. Simply because there are changes, Pats officials expect some confusion Saturday.

Ticket holders have been notified and maps will be e-mailed to let everyone know of the new plan, James said. Parking lots will be open four hours before game time (4 p.m.) and stadium gates opened two hours before kickoff (6 p.m.)

Jobs are open

More on Belichick's press conference today. . . this one about jobs.
The coach was unusually candid in response to a question about whether he has his mind made up on his 53-man roster for this season. On the last day of training camp, he said he is not nearly ready to make final decisions yet.
``I think we've probably got 40 guys we're pretty sure of, not only who they are but what their roles will be,'' he said. ``Then, after that, you've got a lot of options.''
One of the big questions, one coaches on every team have to grapple with, is whether to keep an older player who is better able to help right now, or go with a younger player who shows potential, but still has a lot to learn.
``He has a chance to move ahead of the other guy,'' Belichick noted as he spoke of young players, ``but then he might not get there.'' For now, everyone with the team has a shot, according to the coach.
``If there was a player who was in over his head, at this point we wouldn't keep those guys,'' he said.
The bottom line often is not how good a player is, but what position he plays.
``You have to determine what roles you need,'' the coach said. ``You can't fill them all. You can't have depth everywhere. You only can keep 53 players.''

_Paul Kenyon

The proof is the seeing

In football, perhaps more than any other sport, it is difficult for a fan to recognize progress for an individual player.
In baseball, basketball and virtually ever other sport, players are in the open, their work easily visible to the fan, much of the time. With 22 bodies hitting each other, it's a lot harder to recognize what'is going on in a football game. Coaches, on the other hand, can do that by breaking down tape. They know.
While he often is reluctant to discuss where his team stands, Coach Belichick made it clear today that he can see his team progressing. He all but proclaimed training camp a success.
``We don't really have a specific goal,'' he responded when asked whether he was satisifed with training camp. ``It's a day by day process.''
That sounds like typcial Belichick. But then he added, ``I think we've definitely improved. . . We've established a good base. . . It's coming. We've got a long way to go, but it's coming.''
``It's not a vibe,'' he added. ``It's what we can see on tape. I do think you can see it. At least I saw it.''

The finale

Coach Belichick asked for a Mulligan today. Considering his track record, we'll give him one.
The coach was late for his final press conference of training camp, nearly a half hour late.
``Do I get a Mulligan on this,'' he asked. ``We're kind of scrambling today.''
His session revolved more around his view of training camp, which concludes with a 2:30 practice today, more than worry about Saturday night's game against Arizona. His central theme, if there was one, was that he was generally satisfied with the way camp has gone.
Reflecting the many new faces on the team, Belichick spoke about how he and his staff spent more time on individual instruction this year.
``There's been a little less team or group work in order to accomodate the individual teaching,'' he said. ``If you concentrate 24 minutes a day to individual drills rather than 16 minutes, cumulatively that's a lot more time on fundamentals.''
We'll have more as the day goes along.

Hanging out with the cool kids

This won't make the Patriots notebook for tomorrow's paper, but it's a funny anecdote from the one and only Ellis Hobbs.

Ellis Hobbs is all about making room at the table for the uncomfortable newcomers.

The charismatic cornerback, himself at just his second training camp, said he’s been trying to help the rookies.

“Most definitely I can help the rookies because I’m fresh off being a rookie. It’s fresh in my mind. I know how they feel, I know what they’re going through mentally and physically; man, it’s an uphill battle. It’s like you’re a nerd trying to get in with the cool kids. We’ve all been here, we’ve been here for a year-plus, and those guys are just coming in, so you have to earn your stripes.”

Evening update

The evening practice ended on a high note for the players. Defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, standing in the end zone with a football already cradled in his left arm, caught a punt from Josh Miller in his right hand. Wilfork had to step backwards and to his right to make the catch, which set off a frenzy among his teammates. The grab meant they had the rest of the night off -- no running, and no more meetings for the day.

Tom Brady did take part in the session, connecting with Reche Caldwell for a couple of open-field throws but also overthrowing both Caldwell and Troy Brown. The Pats did goal-line situations in the final minutes, and in the first scenario -- first and goal at the 2, one minute to go, no timeouts left -- Brady connected with tight end Walter Rasby on fourth down for the TD. In the second -- third and goal at the five, seven seconds left, no timeouts -- the most of the line pulled left and the defense followed, leaving Brown open for the touchdown on the left side.

I made a mistake earlier, calling Rosey Colvin an inside linebacker. He's on the outside. I apologize :)

fun with Rosey

Pats middle linebacker Rosevelt Colvin is one of the more entertaining players to talk to, and yesterday was no different. He used the word "matriculate" when he was talking about the progress of the linebackers and defense. Though he used it improperly, it didn't deter him; Colvin joked he'd have a "word of the day" from now on.

Asked about Cardinals running back Edgerrin James, Colvin talked more about the Miami native's hoops skills than field ability.

"`Edge' is a very good running back. I had an opportunity to play basketball with him about a month ago; he's a decent basketball player. He’s got a decent three-point shot, that makes him a decent baskeball player. Am I better than him? It's a different style of game. Just like if I played running back, I’d probably be more of a downhill runner, he's more of an edge, cut back kind of guy. If he played outside linebacker, I don’t know what he would be. But as far as his basketball game, I think he’s an outside, perimeter guy. I’m more of a Charles Barkley, Grandmama type of guy."

Grandmama, of course, is former Charlotte and New York forward Larry Johnson. Colvin played basketball in high school and averaged 14.4 points and 15 rebounds a game his senior year.

Morning practice

Tom Brady did not practice this morning. Asked in his daily press conference if today was a scheduled rest day for Brady -- he missed two consecutive days earlier in camp, saying that it was a precautionary move because the season is so long -- coach Bill Belichick said that we'd be seeing him "fairly soon," meaning the quarterback would be on the field for the afternoon session, which begins at 5:30. With Brady out, Matt Cassel took the reps with the first team.

Also not on the field for the morning session were: safeties Rodney Harrison and Raymond Ventrone, linebackers Monty Beisel, Tedy Bruschi and Freddie Roach, defensive linemen Richard Seymour, Marquise Hill and LeKevin Smith, receivers Troy Brown, Chad Jackson and John Stone, tight end Ben Watson, fullback Patrick Pass , punter Josh Miller and kicker Martin Gramatica.

Willie Andrews -- the rookie defensive back New England drafted in the seventh round who looked like he might get a spot as a kick returner -- opened some eyes as a receiver this morning. Lined up as a receiver on the scout team, Andrews made a couple of nice catches in coverage.

Defensive lineman Johnathan Sullivan continues to struggle. The former first-round pick, who started camp on the PUP list because he couldn't pass the physical, clearly still isn't in top shape. He was told to run a lap at one point, and loafed his way around the field, cutting corners all the way. As soon as he finished, he took a knee.

Hartigan cut

There are reports today that former Brown All-American Nick Hartigan has been cut by the New York Jets. The 6-foot-2, 220 pound running back was signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent but did not see the field in New York's 16-3 preseason opening loss to Tampa Bay last Friday, a game in which the Jets gained just 44 rushing yards.

Last week, New York coach Eric Mangini told the Journal-News of New York that Hartigan was doing a "tremendous job" in camp. With Curtis Martin on the PUP list and the Jets voiding their trade with Cleveland after RB Lee Suggs failed his physical, Derrick Blaylock and Cedric Houston are the team's top backs.

Hartigan gained a school-record 1,727 yards last year as the Bears won the Ivy League title. If Hartigan can't catch on with an NFL team, he has already been accepted to Harvard Law School.

Tomorrow's ProJo

One of my favorite people, Paul Kenyon, was here at Gillette today and will have the feature story and Patriots' notebook in tomorrow's Journal.

Paul will profile Bam Childress, the wide receiver who spent most of last season on the practice squad, playing his first career game in the season finale against Miami, when he lined up at receiver and corner -- ala Troy Brown -- and had three receptions for 32 yards and five tackles.

His notes will highlight the Patriots tight ends unit. Bill Belichick has an affinity for the position, and despite having Ben Watson and Daniel Graham already on the roster, drafted Texas standout David Thomas this year. Thomas has been seeing work all over the field in training camp.

Post-practice Quotes

Rookie FB Garrett Mills, who had a team-high 5 catches for 75 yards against Atlanta last Friday night, is looking at every chance as a learning experience: "The good thing about games is it's a different opponent. The next day you analyze the tape and the coaches say what you did well and especially what you didn't do well."

First-round draft pick Laurence Maroney, who sports dreadlocks down to his shoulders, said he wasn't worried about losing his locks when the veterans came around the rookies with clippers before the first preseason game. Maroney just lost his eyebrows, which he said was enough.

WR Kelvin Kight, who started Friday's game in his native Atlanta but did not make a catch, is thankful that he is getting a chance to display his talent.

"It was great to be able to play in my hometown, to get the opportunity to play football and have fun. This is the first place I've been that I've been given a real chance. It's a blessing right now."

Undrafted out of Florida in 2004, Kight has seen practice field time with St. Louis and Green Bay and last year was on Minnesota's practice squad. He has lived the tough life of being an undrafted free agent.

"The places I was, there were great receivers in front of me. In St. Louis, I was behind Torry Holt and Issac Bruce. In Green Bay, I was behind Donald Driver. Being an undrafted free agent, you don't get many opportunities. You might get one or two opprtunities the whole practice. Right now, I feel like it's a blessing. I'm real relaxed so when the opportunity comes, I'm ready."

Tomorrow and Thursday are the final days of training camp and thus the final days of public practices. Tomorrow there are two sessions, from 8:45 to 10:45 a.m. and then from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. On Thursday, practice is scheduled for 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. As always, check www.patriots.com for changes.

post-practice

The Patriots took to the field for their only practice of the day today in pads and shorts. There was quite a bit of special teams work, especially with the punt team.

There were no surprises when it came to the absentee list: WRs Chad Jackson and John Stone, FB Patrick Pass, S Raymond Ventrone, LBs BrMonty Beisel, Chad Brown and Freddie Roach, DE Marquise Hill, T Nick Kaczur. Tedy Bruschi is still out after wrist surgery, and Deion Branch continues his holdout, which has now reached Day 20.

The play of the day was a 40-plus yard bomb from Tom Brady to Reche Caldwell down the middle of the field. Caldwell was being covered by rookie free agent Gemara Williams.

The grass is greener...

The Pats' preseason home opener against Arizona isn't until Saturday night, but the south end zone at Gillette Stadium isn't looking too ready for the game.

Belichick fave Bon Jovi had a concert at Gillette the night before training camp opened, but there are still dozens of square-shaped dead grass spots in that south end zone from the supports for the massive stage.

After a fresh cut this afternoon, the rest of the field looks to be in great shape. The yard markers are there, but the Patriots' logo has not yet been painted.

Today's practice starts in less than a half hour; it looks like the team will be outside.

Belichick's morning chat

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said this morning that his team has started looking toward's Saturday's game with Arizona, but used the extra day of work yesterday to focus on team-specific fundamentals.

There were a couple of interesting topics brought up, including rookie tight end David Thomas, who has been pretty impressive since camp began. New England's sixth-round draft pick out of Texas, Thomas is 6-foot-3, 248 pounds and ended his career with the Longhorns as the school's career leader in receptions (98), receiving yards (1,367) and receiving TDs (15) for a tight end. He has been garnering attention for his versatility.

Belichick: "He’s got a lot of things that he’s doing. He's involved in all the phases of the kicking game, he’s playing a couple different positions offensively – pass protection, run blocking, pass receiving, some plays out of the backfield, some plays on the line of scrimmage. He’s a pretty versatile guy, we’ll see how that unfolds, but he can do a number of different things and that certainly adds to his value. Anytime a player’s got a lot of responsibilities, a lot of jobs like that, there’s a lot of technique, a lot of things to work on and that’s the case for him. There are things that as he gets more experience with, hopefully he’ll do better but he’s a smart kid, he works hard, he learns well, he doesn’t make very many mistakes out there, it’s just he doesn’t have a lot of experience doing some of the things that we’re doing out there and that’s part of his growth."

With the NFL, as with all pro sports, the season is longer than it was in college, and most rookies hit a wall about two-thirds of the way through their first season. But is there a training camp wall too? Belichick said yes.

"Oh yeah, sure. It’s maybe a lower wall but it’s a wall nevertheless. They just get overloaded with everything – schemes, techniques, the grind of training camp, the level of competition. Most rookies were probably one of the top players on their team and now they’re probably not that and in most cases they were probably physically better than most players they competed against and now they’re probably not that, so not being able to push guys around or run past them or just be a better athlete than other players that they competed against last year in college, those days are… probably not here right now for most of `em. They’re looking at a different type of competition where they’re maybe not as fast or not as big or not as strong or certainly not as experienced as what the competition was last year so it’s a big jump and it hink all that’s adding up. Plus the pressure of being at camp, it’s a job, that whole feeling that rookies have that they need to have of is if I’m not playing football and I don’t make this team, what am I going to be doing in 2, 3 weeks and that’s probably not something they were thinking about last year when they were on the gravy train in college."

Practice has been pushed back to 4:30 this afternoon; Belichick alluded to the fact that today could be the team's first day inside the practice bubble, but it has not rained here for a few hours. We'll keep you posted.

Ty Warren, Mr. Steady

Tom Curran, the Journal's Patriots Beat writer, will have a feature on veteran defensive lineman Ty Warren on Tuesday's paper. He'll also flesh out Matt Cassel's performance last Friday night in Atlanta.
Bill Belichick rarely chooses to speak with much enthusiasm on his players but will do so with certain veterans. He clearly admires Warren, who's set to begin his fourth season with the Pats.
``Ty's one of the guys who's steadily improved with us,'' Belichick said. ``He works and gets better. He's better this year than he was last year. You tell him he needs to do better and then he goes out and he does it.''
More on Warren from Mister Curran tomorrow.....

The Big Boys

There are few professional athletes bigger - and wider- than football offensive linemen. The biggest of the big on this Patriot team is rookie Ryan O'Callaghan who stands 6-foot-7 and tips the scales at 330 pounds. The 23-year old rookie from the University of California was a fifth round draft pick last spring. He's getting a chance to show his game this summer due in part to an injury to Nick Kaczur.
Bill Belichick said several of his linemen came to pro football physically ready to play and he now includes O'Callaghan in that grouping.
``We have a few guys here like Mankins and Kaczur and Stephen Neal who when they came into the league had the strength to be competitive,'' he said. ``We've had some other guys, like Tom Ashworth, for example, who needed some time to get up to the strength level needed.''
After listening to one too many questions about O'Callaghan, in that classic Belichick style the coach slowed the talk on the big rookie by saying, ``it's a little early for his enshrinement here.''

No Deion Branch

Today's Bill Belichick press briefing went off without much fanfare.
He opened with a comment about celebrity practice visititor Jon Bon Jovi, a friend of the coach's since his days with the New York Giants. Asked what his favorite Bon Jovi song was, Belichick answered, ``you're putting me on the spot there. I'd have to say Living On A Prayer.''
``We talk football. He likes football, I like music so we have a couple things in common,'' the coach said.
Once the questions became serious, the coach reverted to his usual self. Asked later if there was any news on the Deion Branch contract situation, Belichick answered, ``Any questions about the players in camp? That's what we're here to talk about. We have quite a few of them.''

Player Snippets

Here are a few notes and quotes from the post-practice bump with several players..

TEBUCKY JONES began his career in 1998 as a 1st round draftee by New England out of Syracuse. He went on to play 5 seasons with the Pats and played a key role on the 2001 Super Bowl team. Jones was traded by the Pats after the 2002 season to New Orleans for three draft picks, one of which was turned around and sent to the Bengals in exchange for Corey Dillon.
Jones moved from the Sainst to Miami where he played in 6 games for the Dolphins last season. The Pats signed him as a free agent last April and he has a chance to catch on with the team, even though several other safeties are in the roster mix.
Asked if he missed the Patriots, Jones said ``when they were in the playoffs, you get that `damn' feeling. No doubt.''
Jones played for both Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick during his New England tenure. Asked about the difference between the two, he said ``Pete Carroll was easy. I loved those practices.''

MATT CASSEL played the majority of the game in Atlanta and certainly will see plenty of time again this Saturday when the Patriots host Arizona. Cassel was 13-for-26 with a TD and no interceptions against the Falcons but was shaky with several mis-fires and overthrows.
``It was the first pre-season game and you want to get the kinks out,'' he said. ``It's all about playing better right now. It's really been a year since I've played (a lot). There were 3 or 4 throws I could've made.''

It's hard not to watch the Patriots and wonder who Tom Brady will throw the ball to. While his running backs (Dillon, Maroney, Kevin Faulk) and tight ends (Ben Watson, Daniel Graham, David Thomas) are all good targets, the wide receiver corps is certainly slim. After ageless Troy Brown, there are only question marks. The starters against Atlanta included free agent signee Reche Caldwell and Kelvin Kight.
Kight has tried to catch on with several teams in the last year but found no takers. He's a wide out from the University of Florida who played with second round pick Chad Jackson for two years. Jackson has been a no-show (PUP) since th estart of camp.
``He's a competitor. I know this is getting to him,'' said Kight. ``Being hurt right now is killing him.''

Slice & Dice

With training camp well into the dog days, the players try many things to keep things light and interesting. The many rookies on the team wore a well-shaven look today after the veterans decided to slap some generous hair cuts on the youngsters.
David Thomas, the impressive tight end from Texas, was reduced to the cue ball look last Friday. ``They got me right before the road trip (to Atlanta). It's not bad,'' he said.
The rookie with the most notable hair is clearly running back Laurence Maroney. He wears the flowing, dread-lock look that is so long he needs to keep it tied up under his helmet. Perhaps because of his 1st round pedigree, Maroney was spared by the veteran's scissors. Almost.
``They got his eyebrows,'' Thomas said. ``It's kind of freaky. He's been growing his hair so long that they gave him a break.''

Practice Sked Update

This is your last week to get a glimpse of a Patriots practice. Fans can see the Pats work out Tuesday from 4:30-6:30; Wednesday from 9-10:30 and 2:30-4:30 and Thursday from 8:45-10:45.
Today's weather was absolutely perfect for sitting back, getting some sun and charting the progress of your favorite Patriots. There actually is nothing more boring than a football practice but if you like pigskin, there are three days left and counting

Pats Workout Updates

The Patriots just completed a brisk, if not sloppy, hour and a half practice. It is the team's only public workout of the day. They'll hold a closed practice later in the day.
Running back Kevin Faulk wore a red jersey, indicating no one was allowed to hit him. Faulk said he's just a bit sore after Saturday night's game against Atlanta.

Some of the key players not present included receiver Chad Jackson; safety Rodney Harrison, DT Richard Seymour, running back Patrick Pass; center Dan Koppen; OT Nick Kaczur; outside linebacker Chad Brown.

The highlight of the practice actually came with the arrival of rocker Jon Bon Jovi at around 10 o'clock. Bon Jovi is a big football fan and a longtime friend of Bill Belichick. The head coach instantly left a drill to welcome Bon Jovi and stayed with him for about 5 minutes while the practice continued. Owner Bob Kraft also came by to chat Bon Jovi up.
Kraft and Bon Jovi had one thing in common. They were the only men on the field in long pants. Kraft wore white slacks while JBJ sweated in blue jeans.

Pats Back to Work

After a well-deserved day off, the Patriots are set to return to the training camp grind this morning outside Gillette Stadium. The team will practice for two hours this morning and then work through two practices tomorrow. We'll have a few practice snippets, some interviews and the always revealing (Ha!) info from Bill Belichick's press briefing.
I am in the main stadium press box looking at two workers standing on a movable platform that's a good 75 feet in the air. The (brave) men are adjusting giant TV sets that hang outside the press box windows. One just spotted me eying his precarious position and even he laughed, shook his head and shot me a `What Am I Doing' look.
Hope he's safe.
Later.

From Atlanta

ATLANTA - We're just a few moments from kickoff. Inactive for the Pats tonight are fullback Patrick Pass and offensive tackle Nick Kaczur who both remain on the PUP list. Also sitting were wide receivers John Stone and Chad Jackson, corner Randall Gay, safety Rodney Harrison, linebacker Tedy Bruschi, center Dan Koppen, tight end Daniel Graham, defensive end Marquise Hill, defensive end Richard Seymour, defensive end Jarvis Green and outside linebacker Chad Brown. …James Sanders and Artrell Hawkins start at safety. At inside linebacker there's Barry Gardner and Don Davis (checking on Monty Beisel later). Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs are the corners and Mike Wright is in for Seymour up front. ...Steve Gostkowski kicked off to open the game and sent it 1-yard deep.

Atlanta

ATLANTA - For all I know, airports around the country may right now look like a Who concert (I love this linky thing I learned this week) but my commute from Logan Airport to Atlanta was smooth.

I left my house in Lakeville, Mass (smack dab between Boston and Providence) at just after 7 a.m. for a 10:21 flight on Delta. I have tardiness issues so this was a big victory for me. Anyway, I parked in Central Parking, was out of my car by 8 a.m., made my way to Terminal A and then I saw...no lines. Barely any people.

I don't know if I was expecting to see people frantically riffling through their luggage throwing bottles of contact lens solution, Dry Idea and toothpaste over their shoulders as they trudged to the gates, but I know I wasn't expecting tumbleweeds and crickets.

And when I got to the gate and got ready to board the plane, they didn't check every bag. They were randomly searching folks. The flight got to Georgia on time and everything was splendid. So there's one account of what's going on with air travel in these United States today.

We've got a minor flurry of activity around a couple of former USC guys -- wide receiver Johnnie Morton and linebacker Chris Claiborne in addition to former Browns linebacker Orlando Ruff. We're trying to ferret out further information on the team's interest....There's no interest being shown in former Bills linebacker Jeff Posey, probably because he's a little one-dimensional as a pass-rushing specialist. ...

Today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution says that Falcons rookie corner Jimmy Williams will start tonight in place of veteran Jason Webster...Meanwhile, look for familiar face Lawyer Milloy working in the Falcons secondary. It will soon be three years since Milloy was a part of the Pats. Strange. In some ways it seems like he was just released, yet in other ways it seems like he's been gone forever. Obviously, he was a terrific player but should he be honored by the Pats some day? If the team was to have a Ring of Honor, retired numbers and Hall of Fame, would Milloy be a HOFer? I'd think so. ...John Abraham's also a Falcon in case you been forgetting that fact...

Good news, bad news out of Indy...It should come as no surprise that there's some early-season priapism for AV...(Ring of Honor, retired number, HOF?)....

I'll post more whatnot when I get to the stadium...it's now time for my p.m. pregame nappy-time

Pats in a flight of nasty

ATLANTA - The Patriots got to their Atlanta hotel around midnight, about five hours after they were supposed to arrive in the Dirty South.

It was not a pleasant trip. Thunderstorms over Atlanta diverted the team plane to Knoxville, Tennessee where it refueled and sat for nearly two hours. When the plane took off, it went up in the thunderstorms that had plagued Atlanta hours earlier.

Pats vice president of media relations Stacey James said that, according to a flight attendant, the plane was struck by lightning.

"The flight was so bumpy and shifting around while we were elevating that (being struck) wouldn't surprise me at all. The flashes were all around on both sides."

James explained that planes are jolted by lightning but don't feel the same impact as a groundstrike because "there's no grounding element and the electricity just moves around you."

When it was mentioned that having the plane go down would have been a bad break for the team, James answered dryly, "And it would have been hard from our perspective to spin that positively."

Bruschi under the knife

FOXBORO - Tedy Bruschi had wrist surgery earlier today and will miss the preseason. His availability for the start of the regular season isn't yet known. Other inside linebackers on the depth chart behind Bruschi include Barry Gardner, Don Davis, Larry Izzo, Freddie Roach and Chad Brown (who's also been down for the past few practices).

P.M. Practice

FOXBORO - The Patriots are taking it fairly easy during their final practice before Friday's preseason opener with the Falcons.

During the first portion of practice, the second-team offense ran a few plays against a defense comprised of the Pats starting offense which just jog-walked through the motions. Still, it was kind of funny to see Tom Brady lined up at inside linebacker and Kevin Faulk at corner. The funniest part was when safety Corey Dillon got beat over the top on a long pass to wide receiver Rich Musinski and Dillon, instead of giving chase, waved both hands disgustedly at Musinski and stalked away.

Dillon also dropped a lofted pass during warmups and immediately grabbed the ball on a hop and punished it for not cooperating it by booting it out of the end zone.

Josh Miller threw passes to long snappers John Condo and Lonie Paxton and kicking hopefuls Martin Gramatica and Steve Gostkowski. Gramatica seemed a little suprised when Paxton jammed him off the line.

Wednesday AM continued...

Interesting plays: Asante Samuel picked off a short slant pass thrown by Matt Cassel and returned it about 10 yards for a score. Nice play by Samuel; sketchy read by Cassel. ... Recently acquired wide receiver Kelvin Kight ran with the 1's yesterday which underscores how shorthanded the club is at wide receiver at the moment. ... Former Titan and another new acquisition wide receiver Eddie Berlin was on the field running mostly with the 2s. ...Dan Koppen, just back from the PUP is not running with the 1's yet. ... The struggles for third-string quarterbacks Todd Mortensen and Cody Bramlett continue. They just aren't accurate enough to keep around, it seems, which may send the Pats looking very soon for QB assistance.

Some Belichick:
(On subs this Friday)
"We ask that on the sideline during the game: 'When will you change groups?' It just depends on how the game goes. It could be the middle of the first quarter, it could be the middle of the second, it could be at halftime. It depends on opportunities and what they do with them."

(On the news in today's Globe that Tedy Bruschi has a broken wrist and will be out for the preseason and why it was divulged when it was)

"I had new information. I was asked a question so I answered it. Truthfilly. As I did a week before (when the original injury occurred)."

Wednesday Morning Notes

FOXBORO -- The Pats just finished the first of two practice they'll hold today. The team went in shorts and shoulder pads and went for nearly two hours doing a lot of preparatory work for Friday's preseason opener in Atlanta.

For player updates: Daniel Graham was out of his red "no-contact" jersey and in his regular No. 82. ...wide receivers John Stone and Chad Jackson remain on the shelf as do running back Patrick Pass, safety Ray Ventrone, linebacker Tedy Bruschi, tackle Nick Kaczur, wide receiver Deion Branch, defensive end Marquise Hill and linebacker Chad Brown.

Play of the day

The Patriots wrapped up today's afternoon session by running two-minute drills with the first- and second-team offenses and defenses. Loud music subbed for crowd noise.

The first-team offense was efficient, and Tom Brady connected on the play of the day when he threw about 30 yards downfield to Benjamin Watson, who made a terrific catch in double coverage. Brady followed by hitting Reche Caldwell on a fade route at the sidelines. Operating in the red zone, Brady showed some of his trademark fire, barking at linebacker Don Davis for, in Brady's view, holding Kevin Faulk on an underneath pass that fell incomplete.

Matt Cassel had less success. He struggled to move the second team (although his receivers didn't help) until throwing an interception to Willie Andrews on a deflected pass.

The Pats will return to the practice field at Foxboro tomorrow, for sessions starting at 8:45 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Joe McDonald will be here to blog, so check back often. Shalise Manza Young will have coverage in tomorrow's Providence Journal. That's all for today.

Pump up the volume

The Patriots just went through pass drills, offense vs. defense, as the sounds of Bon Jovi, Guns n' Roses and the Rolling Stones blasted from the sound system. Tom Brady was pretty sharp, though Troy Brown dropped two straight passes (one was thrown a little bit behind him). Brown faced some tough coverage from Eugene Wilson.

Matt Cassel didn't look very good, almost getting picked a couple of times by Ellis Hobbs. We've seen a lot of Bam Childress this afternoon and a lot less of Kelvin Kight.

Not on the field this afternoon after having practiced this morning are defensive backs Randall Gay and Rodney Harrison.

Afternoon practice under way

The Patriots took the field for their second practice session of the day around 2:30 this afternoon. The players are wearing shoulder pads, helmets and shorts for the light-contact session.

Punter Josh Miller got some reps, launching punts to Troy Brown and Kevin Faulk. Then the offense and the defense split up, and the first-team offense did some unimpeded pass and run routes. With young fans chanting his name, quarterback Tom Brady threw passes to Brown, both over the middle and down the field, along the sideline to Reche Caldwell and underneath to tight end Benjamin Watson. Corey Dillon continued working with the first-team offense.

Patriots sign veteran wide receiver

The New England Patriots just announced the signing of Eddie Berlin, a 28-year-old wide receiver with five years of experience in the NFL.

Berlin played four seasons with the Tennessee Titans before joining the Chicago Bears last year. He saw very limited action at wide receiver in each of those seasons except 2004, when he had 20 receptions for 278 yards with Tennessee. Berlin also has experience as a kick and punt returner with the Titans.

One more back

The Patriots welcomed one more player to his first day of camp today: rookie tight end/fullback Garrett Mills, who many believe could be an impact player in the Patriots' offense. Mills was the team's fourth-round draft choice out of Tulsa.

The players held out of the morning practice included Chad Jackson, Benjamin Watson, Marquise Hill, Jarvis Green, Chad Brown and, of course, Tedy Bruschi.

A long way from prime time

Signs that the real season is still a ways away: While the Pats' workouts are on break at the practice fields, soccer practice is taking place on the main field at Gillette Stadium. A huge chunk of the seating is covered up, and the field looks in terrible condition from the summer concert season.

Large numbers / Photo

There are 92 players on the Patriots roster at this point, and 22 of them are listed at 300 pounds or more. One of the big guys is second-year, 310-pound offensive lineman Logan Mankins, who gained the reputation of being an intimidator last season, but is actually quite soft-spoken. Mankins said today that he feels stronger and more confident coming into this season than he did last year.

The biggest guy on the team is rookie offensive tackle Ryan O'Callaghan, the Pats' fifth-round draft choice out of the University of California. The massive O'Callaghan is 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 330 pounds.

The smallest guy on the roster is actually not place kicker Martin Gramatica, whom you might have suspected, but Vernell Brown, a 5-8, 165-pound undrafted rookie cornerback from the University of Florida. Brown is one of 16 guys on the roster who are listed under 200 pounds.

More on Randall Gay

A little bit earlier we talked about the return of Randall Gay. Here's what Bill Belichick had to say this morning about Gay's ankle injury-shortened 2005 season:

"It was a frustrating situation because it seemed like something that was going to resolve fairly quickly and it kind of didn't. It kind of dragged on and on. So it's good to see him back out there and get some reps. He needs to get his confidence back, get his timing back and get used to the different techniques that defensive backs play."

Belichick said Gay was a smart player and a hard worker whose return should help the team.

Kight flying

There are quite a lot of unfamiliar faces catching passes for the Patriots during this camp, but few are as unfamiliar as Kelvin Kight. The 24-year-old wide receiver was signed by the team in late July. He was not drafted out of the University of Florida, has played in exactly one NFL game -- with the Green Bay Packers in 2004 -- and he has exactly zero pro receptions on his resume. Kight has also been the property of the St. Louis Rams, the Minnesota Vikings and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Kight distinguished himself on special-teams drills after arriving in Foxboro, and today he was a favorite target during passing drills, running crisp routes and making catches on a few pass plays that drew cheers from the crowd.

Bill Belichick was guardedly upbeat about Kight's play so far, but added that he didn't want to "get all wound up over a few catches."

Belichick's press conference

Bill Belichick spoke to the media for about a half-hour today, taking a lot of questions about the return of Rodney Harrison. While the reporters seemed agog about Harrison's ability to return so early in camp, Belichick -- dressed in blue shorts with one of his trademark gray sweatshirts, sleeves hacked off just below the elbow -- was characteristically nonchalant. Asked if he was suprised that Harrison came back, he shrugged and said "we don't really have a deadline" for the return of players from injuries, that when they're ready to progress, they're ready to progress.

Belichick said he hopes to use today's session to evaluate whether the players who returned to the team yesterday -- Harrison, Dan Koppen, Richard Seymour, Johnathan Sullivan and Randall Gay, all of whom are in pads today -- are ready to see any action Friday night in Atlanta.

The coach was complimentary toward place kicker Martin Gramatica, who had a little bit of trouble with his boots today. Belichick said Gramatica looks to have the same ability as he did before sitting out last season, and he said Gramatica handles the wind well, adding that the breeze seems to have been more of a factor this camp than in seasons past. He rejected suggestions that he might coach differently without Adam Vinatieri around to make the big kick at the end of the game, saying that if you don't have confidence in your players to make the play for you, then those guys shouldn't be on your team.

Near the end of the session, someone asked Belichick if he makes any free-agent signings of marginal players just so that they can be "fodder" for training camp. The coach said he doesn't look at it that way, and said coaches who quickly cut players without trying to let them contribute take the risk of regretting that decision later.

"There are a lot of players that came into this league and in all honesty weren't very good in their ability to contribute in the short term, who turned out to be pretty good players," Belichick said. "If you want to cut them the first day of camp ... then you can do that, but there's a lot of those guys who you're going to be playing down the road, probably a lot of them could come back and beat you as a matter of fact. You know, they need some time."

Questions about the secondary

The Patriot defense is beginning to look like itself, with the recent returns of Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison. Another guy they're happy to have back in pads is third-year cornerback Randall Gay, who missed much of last year with an ankle injury; he had surgery in the offseason.

Gay was surrounded by media at the end of the morning practice session, answering good-naturedly a barrage of questions about the nature of his injury. He tried to play hurt until being put on injured reserve, ending his season, in mid-November. Gay, who started in the Super Bowl two winters ago, was left to watch the Patriots' playoff loss to Denver from his home in Louisiana.

Asked if any teammates had questioned his toughness, Gay said not that he knew of. He also said that he would have appeared in camp earlier if it were up to him, but he was advised to take a little more time off before starting his drills.

Both Gay and Eugene Wilson told reporters that they would do what they needed to shore up New England's suspect secondary this year, even if it meant rotating between safety and corner.

A beautiful day to work

The New England Patriots have begun their second-to-last day of practice before the team's first exhibition test, on Friday night against the Atlanta Falcons. There are a couple of hundred people here in Foxboro on a perfect summer day, with bright sunshine and temperatures comfortably in the 80s.

After 15 minutes or so of stretching, the Pats offense took the field, as soft adult contemporary music played from the sound system (a far cry from the hard rock and rap that you hear before the start of a real game). Tom Brady handed the ball to Corey Dillon, who ran off left tackle to get the offensive drills started.

In addition to the local media contingent, ESPN reporters Sal Paolantonio and Duke Castiglione are here today. Best fan apparel so far: there's a guy in front of the media tent wearing a 1960s-vintage Joe Namath University of Alabama jersey.

Today's schedule calls for two practice sessions, the first one ending around 10:30 and the second beginning at 2:30. Bill Belichick is scheduled to address the media at 11:20. We'll keep you up to date on any and all developments.

Harrison back on the field

Rodney Harrison, who hasn't played since last September because of a severe knee injury suffered in the third game of the season, at Pittsburgh, was removed from the Patriots' PUP list today (Physically Unable to Perform, for those unaware with NFL jargon) and is back on the practice field this afternoon.

Harrison was one of five players taken off the PUP list today. The others were defensive linemen Richard Seymour and Johnathan Sullivan, defensive back Randall Gay and center Dan Koppen.

The Pats also announced today that veteran safety Mel Mitchell (arm) and rookie wide receiver Matt Shelton (knee/groin) have been placed on the reserve/injured list and as a result will miss the remainder of the 2006 season.

Big Mac Attack

No practice Saturday

Change your plans. The team announced late this afternoon that tomorrow's scheduled session has been canceled. The team thus will have the weekend off, and won't return to the practice field until Monday.

Friday Pats Camp

FOXBORO - So far today, we had a Bill Belichick press conference that followed a team walk-through on the Gillette Stadium field.

NFL officials will be sporting a new look this fall. Apparently, the refs will also have their position noted on the back of the uniform. Bad deal for the back judge.

Pats safety Tebucky Jones won't be getting "Mom" tattooed on his arm anytime soon ...

This morning's practice has been rescheduled

FOXBORO – If you’ve planned to attend the New England Patriots training camp session today, we hope your day is flexible.

Given this morning’s rainy weather, the early practice that was scheduled has been postponed until this afternoon, and the evening practice has been canceled. One practice will now be held today from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

For more information about upcoming practices and how the team is preparing for the season, check out our Patriots page or call the training camp hotline at (508) 549-0001.

Seymour sitting because of quad

FOXBORO - Richard Seymour said this morning that he is sitting because of a strained quad. He was on the field for a walk-through this morning. We'll have an update on the rest of his media session in a little while.

Seymour chatter; Chad Jackson absent

I've been watching a lot of film, doing a lot of studying, having a lot of meetings and I just haven't been able to be out here on the football field but I have gotten the mental reps I need.

No. I signed my contract a while ago. It was just some tightness in my quad. At this point, training camp is tough and grueling, and I didn't want to come out and further re-injure it so I just decided to work with the strength coaches and continue to get better and hopefully I'll be back out soon.

I think the doctor would have to give me some prescriptions and I'd be out there with the guys.

Johnathan Sullivan just finished his waffles

FOXBORO - Nose tackle Johnathan Sullivan, who reported to camp in woeful shape and flopped in the conditioning run, is on the field formationing with the defense. He's not wearing his helmet.

Morning additions

FOXBORO - Nick Kaczur and Patrick Pass, two other PUP guys are also on the field in workout clothes taking practice in. And Monty Beisel is now on the field as well, again, just watching. The only guy we haven't spotted is Rodney Harrison. .. Bill Belichick's oldest son was helping with the defensive looks by formationing against the defense.

Morning practice update

FOXBORO -- The team is working out in the stadium this morning. The Pats have officials at the practice today. ...Martin Gramatica hit an absolute bomb of a kickoff to the back line of the end zone. ... Rehabbing center Dan Koppen was on the sidelines in shorts and a workout shirt chatting with Brady and Light ... Richard Seymour is on the field without his helmet ...Asante Samuel is on the field after missing some time but Monty Beisel and Tedy Bruschi aren't...more to come

Brady wants Branch back

While Patriots coach Bill Belichick is adamant about discussing only ``the players that are here,’’ quarterback Tom Brady found himself deluged with questions about Deion Branch and an article published on SI.com Tuesday that stated Brady is ``mad as hell about the contract-related absence of’’ the wide receiver.

Saying that the situation ``has maybe gotten overblown a little bit,’’ Brady yesterday clarified some of the comments that were made in the piece written by Michael Silver.

``When you build a relationship with someone for a long time _ and as coach said, the quarterback-receiver relationship is a little different _ he’s one of my favorite guys,’’ Brady said following the afternoon practice session at Gillette Stadium. ``Sometimes when I speak I do get a little emotional about things, but I love Deion. I love him as a person and as a player. The thing about it is I don’t make any decisions here, and I don’t lobby for things. I don’t go into Coach Belichick’s office and mention anything to him. He makes his own decisions and he and [Vice President of Player Personnel] Scott (Pioli), they do probably the best job of anybody in the league.’’

In speaking with the local media last Friday regarding Branch’s absence on the first day of camp, Brady similarly identified Branch as being one of his favorite players and spoke about the importance of the team establishing a sense of continuity as quickly as possible, pointing out that the Pats weren’t able to do that last preseason because of injuries.

But that’s where he stopped on the issue, saying ``I’ve learned that you just need to deal with it. You'd love to have everyone there every week, but that's just not the reality.’’

Brady was more outspoken in the SI article, written following Silver’s interview with him on Saturday. He was quoted as saying: ``Deion is the most important player on our offense. When I look at the elite receivers in the game, he is second to nobody. He doesn't get a lot of the credit, because we do spread the ball around here, and he doesn't feel a need to promote himself like so many guys at that position. But he is that good."

Brady, who has remained in constant contact with Branch, said he felt the need to come to his teammate’s defense when Silver implied that Branch wasn’t as good as some other receivers in the league and insisted he was not trying to use the SI story to help Branch’s situation by giving it some national visibility.

``I don’t come here with motives or plans or anything like that,’’ he said. ``You guys know me. I just speak my mind. This one I think just got a little overblown.’’

Branch, entering the final year of his five-year rookie deal, was reportedly offered a 3-year extension worth nearly $19 million by the Patriots, which he rejected. The team can fine him up to $14,000 for each day he misses camp.

Asked which side he was most upset with _ Branch for holding out or the Patriots for not being more proactive _ Brady said it’s really neither.

``Honestly, I don’t think I’m upset at anybody,’’ he said. ``I know that was probably characterized in the article and I didn’t ever say I was angry or anything like that. But no, I’m not angry. It’s totally out of my control. It’s in the control of the people that I want it to be in the control of _ my coach and the general manager of my team _ and like I said, they make great decisions, so I don’t have to worry about those. I just have to come out and try to play, and when Deion gets here, my job is going to be to get him going and get him up to speed and get our continuity back. And I’m excited when he does, and actually I’m very confident he will. I know Deion very well and he wants to be here as bad as anybody.’’

Brady spoke more about his connection with Branch: ``He’s a special player. In the biggest games, in the Super Bowls, he’s been my target. He’s been the guy I’ve been throwing to. I can’t say enough good things about him. He knows how I feel about him, and like I said, when it’s your quarterback and your receiver . . . (during the season) I see him more than I see my friends, my parents and my girlfriend combined.''

It's raining, it's pouring . . . and thundering, oh my!

A downright scary thunder and lightning storm is passing over Gillette Stadium as we speak.

In a scene eerily reminiscent of War of Worlds, barrels are strewn throughout the parking lot, portable toilets are knocked over, all of the goal posts on the practice field are now slanting to the left and one tent next to the field is completely demolished.

One bolt of lightning momentarily knocked out power, causing the scoreboard to light up like a Christmas tree when power was restored.

The rain was coming down so hard at one point, we couldn't see the football field which is right outside the press window.

We can hear all kinds of sirens, and there appear to be some lightning-strike fires off in the distance.

We're fully expecting to see Belichick bring the players back out on the field for more practice - you know, just in case such a storm ever breaks out on game day.

Purely precautionary

Back at practice today, quarterback Tom Brady shrugged off any suggestions that he has not participated in a few of this week’s practices or was wearing a brace on his left knee today because there is something seriously wrong.

``Yeah, knee’s fine. I just don’t want to hurt it,’’ he said. Missing the practices, ``I think it’s just preventative. Same as like the knee brace, you just try to avoid injury before _ what do they call it, pre-therapy or whatever the trainers call it. Just trying to be a little bit more proactive and try to take care of yourself. You see all of these quarterbacks, whose left knees get hurt _ [Cincinnati Bengals QB] Carson Palmer and [Chicago Bears QB] Brian Griese _ and the last thing you want to do is hurt your knee, so I figured I’m slow enough as it is. This thing (brace) can’t slow me down much more.’’

More to come on Brady's reaction to SI article and his comments re: Deion Branch. . . . .

I must be in the front roooooow

If you could somehow stand this heat - which according to my car's temperature gauge coming down Route 1 read 100 degrees - this would be a great day to be at training camp.

At least you'd have your pick of just about any seat in the house. Fifteen minutes into practice, the stands are still very sparsely filled.

Patriots ``grinding through camp''

Belichick's opening remarks
``We’re grinding through camp. Two yesterday. Hit one today. We’re back to two-a-days the next couple days after that. We’re starting to get into some more situational things as each day goes by, and hopefully by the end of the week, we’ll have the majority of our basic systems involved, installed, but also we’ll have covered a lot of the situational things that come up in a game, so that we’ll be kind of ready to start preparing for the next preseason game next week.''

(The Patriots first preseason game is Aug. 11 at 8 p.m. against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome.)

Belichick was asked if the extreme heat would affect how he conducted practice this afternoon.
BB: You know the games that are scheduled we’ve got to play. So I don’t know what those conditions will be. Some will be hot. Some will be cold. Some will be windy. Some won’t be. We’ve got to play through it. So I don’t think we might do anything that will take any undue risk, but our players are well-conditioned athletes and they’ve trained and we’re going to practice.

Are you expecting Richard Seymour - who opened training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list - back today?
BB: He’s day-to-day
Is the fact he hasn’t been out at practice, is that at all linked to his contract status?
BB: That doesn’t have anything to do with it. Nothing.

And with Tedy Bruschi, can you confirm that he might have had an injury to his wrist?
BB: He’s day-to-day. . . . His wrist is probably sore. I’m sure he’s got a lot of other sore body parts. Day-to-day.

Confidence breeds confidence

During Bill Belichick's press conference with the media this morning, he was asked if he thought corner Ellis Hobbs was an overconfident player and if his position calls for a particulary self-assured player?

Belichick's response:
I’d say he’s confident. I’d definitely say he’s confident.
I think it certainly helps at corner, but I think it helps at every position. Confidence leads to more aggressiveness and confidence leads to a certain level of confidence to your teammates. So if you walk out there and the guy beside you is confident at what he does . . . assuming he can go out there and perform . . . that gives you a confidence.
Even if a guy’s a skilled player and he goes out there and you know that in his mind he’s not very confident, he doesn’t think he can do it . . . even though you know he’s a talented player, you’re walking out there saying, `I don’t know about this one.’
I don’t think there’s any position where (confidence) is really a negative. The only way it really hurts a player is if he’s just so confident that he doesn’t work hard and prepare and do the things that he needs to be a good player. He just kind of relies on his ability and says, `Well, I’ll get it done.’ But ultimately there’s a lot of other good players in the league that are going to catch up to that player and pass him.

Pats practice time pushed back

The New England Patriots have announced that today's practice session will start at 3 p.m., not 2:30 as originally scheduled. The practice will still conclude at 4:30.

Snippets from the Beli-Conference

I would say that we are doing things that are specifically geared towards a certain type of defense or certain type of offense and we know we are going to see somewhere along the line, like a four-man line. We basically are in a three-man line most of training camp so far. Our offense needs to see our protections. They need to see some of our runs against the four-man looks. The rules are little bit different. There's a little bit different techniques. At some point we need to start running that. Whether Buffalo or the Jets or whoever plays a three or four-man line, it doesn't matter, we're going to see you soon or later. So as part of the installation and as part of learning our rules and learning our adjustments, running plays against a front like that, we need to do that.

It's the same thing defensively. There are a lot of teams that play a lot more with a true fullback than we do, that have two backs in the backfield, those reads are different for our linebackers, especially in the running game. We know we're going to face that. We need to see that at some point and we need to see it fairly soon, not wait until the week before we play a team. There are certain things like that that you do need to get into your system just so your team can become familiar with them, because you know you're going to see them at some point during the course of the year. It might be week one, it might be week four, but you know you're going to get it.

Q: Tom said in an interview that Deion Branch was the most important player in this team's offense and how important is it to get him into camp. Is that uncomfortable for you guys, when the quarterback is making a public appeal to get a contract situation resolved?

BB: Look, I understand that there is a relationship between players. Who are the players that you would think would be important to a quarterback? The safeties? Every player is important to me on this team. Every player. Whichever the final 53 are, they will be the ones that we feel collectively and I feel can do the most to help us win this season. They're all important every single one of them, so I'm not saying that some won't play more than others and all of that, but I think everyone of them is important. Every decision is important and each role that each player has is important. That's the way I'll try to coach the team. I'm sure not everyone will agree with that. I'm sure you'll be one of the first to write it. I don't have a problem that either. But that's how I look at it and that's how we'll try to do it. I'm sure not everybody will see it the way I see it. I'm not worried about that.

Q: I'm guessing that from the position of Deion that there is a point at which you guys have to say, 'Okay, get Deion to camp?'

BB: I'm not saying anything about any player who is not here. I'm just coaching the ones who are here and we're going to continue to work with them and hope that they will improve. I hope all of our players are here and I hope all of them can practice everyday, but unfortunately that's not the case. We're not 100 percent in those areas but we will work hard to improve the guys who are here and that's all we can do.

BB: I'm just trying to concentrate on the guys that are here. Those are the guys that I'm coaching. Those are the guys that I'm working with. I don't know about anybody who's not here.

BB: He looked like he didn't do much. I hope that he will do more in succeeding practices. I think you have to start somewhere and that's where he started. This is really his first practice and he is 'x' number of practice behind everybody else. We'll take it day by day and hopefully he'll do more this afternoon than he did this morning and more tomorrow than he did this afternoon and so forth. He has a long road ahead of him. I think he has some talent and some ability, but we have a long way to go and today was the first step and I would say a small first step.

Q: How do you evaluate [Rosevelt] Colvin's progress coming back the last few years from his hip injury a few years ago? We tend to look at it like last year was proof that he was back. Do you look at it as more of a stepping stone?

BB: I think last year, even by the end of the '04 season, that Colvin was pretty close to the top of his game. He's like a lot of players in his particular situation. He's right at the prime of his career, age wise, experience wise and all of that. These are probably going to be his best years, like they are for most players. Five, six, seven, eight, nine, somewhere in that range. That's where he falls. He's a good player. He's been a good player and hopefully he'll be able to sustain that level a few more years going forward. He works hard. He's smart. He's in good condition. He's tough. He has a lot of thing going for him.

BB: Believe me, if you go down to that locker room, I'm sure there are a lot of guys that are sore. I don't mean that disrespectfully. I'm just saying that this is professional football. These guys put a lot of physical effort into what they do and they do it against other very physically talented people as well and there's going to be some soreness. There's going to be some bumps and bruises and I'm sure some guys have them in certain spots on a regular basis, one area is a little bit more vulnerable or tender or whatever the word is. I'm sure that some guys are going to be a little bit more sore here or there than other guys. That's football. But he's out there everyday. I couldn't even tell you the last time he missed a practice.

Nighttime in the Stadium

FOXBORO - The Pats practice has been going about 45 minutes here in Gillette Stadium. It's a season-ticket holder only event for the fans and there's probably just about seven thousand fannies in the seats (or about twice as many as the Revs draw).

The south end zone still bears the bruising of the Bon Jovi concert from the other night where the stage was.

Tom Brady just finished running the first team for about 15 plays with mixed success. He hit Troy Brown and Matt Shelton for decent gains but threw behind Chad Jackson and had a ball glance off Reche Caldwell's fingertips.

At the other end of the field, linemen, tight ends and Todd Mortenson worked out on short drops and matching up on blocking assignments.

Poor Chad Scott

FOXBORO - In an 11-on-11 drill, Brady just threw a BB to Reche Caldwell down the seam with cornerback Chad Scott in coverage. Caldwell made an outstanding grab, about a 30-yard gain and then whipped the ball across the turf, an exclamation point.

There was silence in the press box as everyone considered A) A nice throw by Brady, B) a nice catch by Caldwell C) why Scott is always on the scene when someone makes a catch.

Moments after that, Brady led John Stone who made a terrific catch down the field but came up limping with what appeared to be cramps in his leg.

Morning practice notes

FOXBORO - The highlight of this morning's full-pad practice was an absolute jaw-rattling whack by Freddie Roach out of Al-a-bama on Laurence Maroney during a goal-line drill. Maroney, needless to say didn't get in.

Throughout the full-speed, full contact drill, the defense squished the offense. The first team offense ran three plays with Corey Dillon getting stacked up once, a scramble being whistled dead after Tom Brady was flushed and then Dillon just getting the ball over the line.

The second team offense with Maroney at running back got stacked up on three straight plays with Roach -- an undrafted rookie -- making the big hit in the middle.

Missing from the a.m. practice today were Matt Light, Troy Brown and Jarvis Green....There are new onsides kick rules in place this year. No overloading one side or the other, coverage teams have to balance the number of guys on both sides of the ball. The Pats spent about 15 minutes working on that. ...Both Eugene Wilson and James Sanders were on kickoff coverage...Mike Wright worked out at defensive end a little bit. ... Corey Dillon is having an outstanding camp. He's been at every practice and has run extremely hard. Yesterday was no exception. ...Steve Gostkowski made eight straight field goals to end the practice.

Bam and CJ in da home

FOXBORO - The New England Patriots removed wide receivers Bam Childress and Chad Jackson from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list today. Both players participated in the Patriots' 8:45 a.m. training camp practice at Gillette Stadium this morning.
Childress, 24, was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent on July 24, 2005 and spent the first 16 weeks of the 2005 season on the Patriots practice squad before he was signed to the active roster for the regular-season finale against Miami on Jan. 1, 2006. The 5-foot-10-inch, 185-pound wide receiver played on both offense and defense in his only NFL game (1/1/06), and led the Patriots with three receptions for 32 yards and also collected five tackles (2 solo) on defense. The Ohio State product was listed among the day-of-game inactives for both of New England's playoff
games last season.
Jackson, 21, was selected by the Patriots in the second round (36th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-1-inch, 215-pound rookie wide receiver attended the University of Florida, where he started 14 of 36 games over three seasons from 2003-05. In his collegiate career, Jackson caught 120 passes for 1,586 yards and 16 touchdowns, recorded 16 rushes for 88 yards and two touchdowns, returned 10 kickoffs for 188 yards and returned nine punts for 35 yards. As a junior in 2005, he tied the Gators' single-season record with 88 receptions, a mark that led the Southeastern
Conference and ranked sixth in the nation.

Belichick in the a.m.

FOXBORO - Bill Belichick addressed the Tom Brady comments to Sports Illustrated by saying, "I understand there's a relationship between players. Who are the players you would think would be important to a quarterback? Safeties. Every player's important. Every player."

Brady squarely on Branch's side

FOXBORO - Tom Brady flaps his gums to Sports Illustrated about the import of Deion Branch getting signed.

"I hope he's here another 5-7 years," Brady said, "but that's not up to me. The player-club dynamic has changed so much over the years. I know that Deion's the best guy in the world to have around; I also know that Coach Belichick and [vice president of player personnel] Scott Pioli are very disciplined, and the decisions they make are very black-and-white.

"I have a lot of confidence that this is going to get worked out, I really do. But I'm glad we're not playing a game this week."