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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.

Tom

Posted by   at 8:03 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

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.

A few links and notes...

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

Tom

Posted by   at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

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."

He added, "At least that's the assurance I've always gotten."

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."

Posted by   at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments 0