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That was brave

So earlier today Joey posted a link we came across out of Denver with former Patriots and current Broncos running back Cedric Cobbs intimating that the New England players are "scared" of coach Bill Belichick.

And Cobbs -- who muffed a kickoff last Sunday and whose two-plus year career is 22 carries for 50 yards in 2004 for the Pats -- is currently listed as "out" on the Broncos' injury list this week.

A little shady, no? There may be some players in the New England locker room that agree with Cobbs, but there are certainly some that would support the coach -- in the form of a knock-you-into-Christmas hit -- for making such a statement in the press about Belichick.

Makes you wonder if he would have said those things had he been healthy and able to play this weekend...

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

First injury report of the week

Hey all --

There is one addition to the Pats' injury report: tackle Matt Light, whom we reported earlier was the only player not at practice today. He is listed as probable with a knee injury.

Here's the complete New England report:

QUESTIONABLE
safety Artrell Hawkins (thigh), receiver Chad Jackson (hamstring), tackle Nick Kaczur (shoulder).
PROBABLE
quarterback Tom Brady (right shoulder), receiver Doug Gabriel (hamstring), tackle Matt Light (knee)

All but Brady were down as missing at least a part of practice today.

For the Broncos:
OUT
running back Cedric Cobbs (ankle)
DOUBTFUL
defensive end Courtney Brown (knee)
PROBABLE
running back Mike Bell (finger), receiver Rod Smith (head)

The Broncos were slated to be done with practice around 5:30 EST.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Football for Dummies

I've got to tell you, it's my third week covering the Patriots and it's been pretty interesting stuff.

After covering the Bruins and Red Sox for the last five years, football is totally different. Hearing Bill Belichick talk about 3-4 defensive schemes is a little different than knowing how to kill a penalty, score a power-play goal or even execute the hit-and-run to perfection.

The Patriots players, for the most part, have been pretty receptive to the new guy. The two days that I did attend Bruins traning camp last week some of the players wanted to know why I was covering the Pats instead of them. Ah, pro atheltes attempting to figure out the newspaper business. That's like me having a million bucks in my checking account.

Anyway, enough of the cute stuff.

The biggest difference between the NHL and NFL _ baseball doesn't count because there are games almost every day _ is the availability of the players. Hockey guys are readily available in the locker room before and after practices and games. They will answer questions as long as someone is asking them. And, the pucksters are not afraid to speak their minds.

Football guys keep it to a minimum and don't give you all that much. Sure, I'm the new guy around here and I'm not expecting Tom Brady to slip me a scoop. Hey, maybe in four more years he will.

This was the sort of trivial brainfreeze stuff I was thinking about on my way up to Gillette this morning. Just a few early observations from my time covering the Pats.

Before the puck drops every Sunday, Shalise and I will continue to cover the three-time Super Bowl champions to the best of our ability _ and then some.

Stayed tuned for more obversations throughout the season. . .

Joey Mac

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Practice

Shalise just called in from the practice field to inform us that Matt Light is not on the field, and David Thomas and James Sanders are wearing red no-contact jerseys.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

More from Belichick

On the Broncos: "They are strong across the board. They have a good running game and have good receivers. They blitz well."

On coach Shanahan: "You all know how I feel about Shanahan. (Broncos) are very well coached and they are a very good football team. They've done a pretty good job against us, beat us twice last year. We're going to have to play better and coach better. They were one game away from the championship last year. We know what kind of football team they have and what they are capable of. We're going to have to play to that level, and if we don't, we know what that looks like, too."

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Rolling Stones

If you're heading to the concert at Gillette tonight, you're going to be impressed with the stage setup. The thing is HUGE!

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Smack out of Denver

Shalise and I are sitting here eating pizza and she came across this story from the Gazette out of Colorado Springs.

By Frank Schwab

ENGLEWOOD - Denver Broncos running back Cedric Cobbs spent one season playing for New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, and that was enough.

Cobbs said Belichick’s reputation as a heavy-handed coach is well deserved. Cobbs, who was with New England in 2004, described the Patriots’ players as being scared of Belichick.

“There’s definitely a lot of fear out there,” Cobbs said.

The Broncos play Belichick’s Patriots at New England this Sunday. Belichick is known for his three Super Bowl championships, his lack of personality in the media and his authoritarian reputation.

Cobbs has been in the Patriots’ locker room and said the latter statement is true.

“Not only do I sense it, I’ve also experienced it,” said Cobbs, who was cut by New England at the end of preseason in 2005. “I’ve seen a lot of good players drafted in the first round, or play for the organization for a long time and get cut.”

The Patriots have dumped or not aggressively pursued Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law, Deion Branch, Willie McGinest and Adam Vinatieri over the past few years.

“They handle football like a business,” Cobbs said. “Everybody is on their toes up there.”

In Sunday’s game, Cobbs muffed the first kickoff of overtime. He scrambled and recovered the ball before the Chiefs got it. Cobbs cringed when he thought about what would have happened had he muffed a kickoff in New England.

“Muffing the ball . . . ooh,” said Cobbs, who sprained his ankle on that play and might miss this week’s game. “I’m sure I would have been even more afraid if I would have done that playing in New England.”

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan doesn’t have much patience for mistakes, especially turnovers. Cobbs said Belichick has less.

“I don’t think New England knows a player may need another chance, another opportunity,” Cobbs said. “It’s pretty cutthroat. Out here I think there’s a little more leeway. They understand players make mistakes. You just can’t make many out here.”

Belichick’s reputed cold personality was on display this week.

After a game against the Jets, who are coached by former Patriots assistant Eric Mangini, Belichick gave a half-hearted handshake to Mangini. According to Newsday, Belichick didn’t refer to his old assistant in his postgame press conference by his first or last name, just “him” or “he.”

“I’m trying to do the best with my team,” Belichick told Newsday. “He’s trying to do the best with his team.”

That’s a contrast from Shanahan, who publicly endorsed offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak for Houston’s head coaching job at the end of last season. Before a preseason game against Houston last month, Shanahan talked about how lucky the Texans were to have Kubiak and how he respected Kubiak as a person and a coach.

Cobbs has noticed similarities between Shanahan and Belichick. He said both are bent on winning, are clear on what they expect from their players and that when players make mistakes, they offer specific solutions.

“They both have their priorities straight,” Cobbs said.

Shanahan has matched wits with Belichick a few times, as opposing coordinators and head coaches.

The last meeting was a 27-13 playoff win for the Broncos in January; the Broncos also won the regular-season meeting.

Shanahan respects Belichick and said he’s looking forward to coaching against him again this week.

“You know his team is going to be well prepared,” Shanahan said. “If you beat him, you’ve really accomplished something.”

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady said . . .

Tom Brady just concluded his brief Wednesday presser and here's what he had to say:

The Pats are 2-0 but Brady admitted the squad will have to play much better against the 1-1 Broncos if it wants to have success this Sunday.

"They are a very good team. If you don't play well, you're going to lose. We need to play better."

On his new receiving corp: "They need to trust me and I need to trust them. . . We're working on it.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

More from Bruschi

Bruschi said this morning his injured right wrist feels good, and it felt good just to play football again last Sunday.

On Denver: "It's feels like the Broncos are a member of our division. We are familiar with them, and they are familiar with us."

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Guess what? Denver is a fast team

Bill Belichick just completed his morning press conference at Gillette Stadium, and he must have called the Denver Broncos a "fast team" at least six times.

The Broncos, this week's opponent, ended the Pats' season in the playoffs last January. New England hasn't forgotten about its postseason exile, and when Richard Seymour was asked earlier in the week about the Broncos he said no pep rallies will be needed to get them fired up for Sunday's game.

Tedy Bruschi said this morning the main emphasis will be to stop Denver's running game.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments 0