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Belichick press conference

Bill Belichick just wrapped up draft weekend with his second-day press conference, which of course focused almost exclusively on the acquisition of Randy Moss.

Belichick confirmed that things talked really got rolling last night -- he said 90 percent of the work on the deal was done between midnight and the time the fourth round got underway this morning.

"Mr. Davis (Raiders' owner Al) gave us permission to speak with the player and his representative, and (Moss) came in this morning. We're happy to add him to the roster -- he's a quality, versatile player who can do a lot of different things on the football field."

Though he had been gathering information here and there on Moss for "years," early this morning was the first time Belichick spoke to Moss, and the discussions continued today in between the times when New England was picking players.

Belichick said he has spoken to Moss' former coaches and teammates about him and all expressed respect for the receiver. While his stay here was short and his departure sudden, Doug Gabriel's time with the Patriots wasn't without value, as Belichick said he learned more about Moss from Gabriel (Gabriel said Moss was like a brother to him) than anyone else.

He also learned about Moss from the man himself.

"Randy, in my conversations with him, has been very enthusiastic of becoming a member of the New England Patriots and we're excited to have him become a member of the New England Patriots," Belichick said. "He's showed positive feedback and energy toward us."

And Moss was apparently serious about taking a pay cut to come to New England: reportedly, he will make $3 million this season under his new deal with the Patriots -- he was slated to make $9.75 million under the contract he had with Oakland.

Belichick said Moss' arrival will not impact whether or not Troy Brown returns to New England: "I spoke on that a couple of weeks ago; they have different roles on the team."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:31 PM | Permalink | Comments 5

The Pats' final pick: Mike Elgin

With the 247th pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots selected Mike Elgin, a center from Iowa. He's 6-foot-4, 277 pounds and was a first-team academic All-American.

That is New England's last pick this year.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Lua claimed

With the 211th pick, the first of the seventh round, New England claimed USC linebacker Oscar Lua, the first "true" linebacker the Patriots have drafted. Measuring in at 6-foot-1, 240 pounds, he led the Trojans in tackles in 2005.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Hairston, Hilliard drafted

Scott Pioli drafted a player from his alma mater, Central Conn. State, with the 208th pick. Running back Justise Hairston is 6-foot-1, 210 pounds. He began his career at Rutgers but transfered when Ray Rice arrived on campus.

The 209th pick was Oklahoma State offensive lineman Corey Hilliard, a 6-foot-5, 318 pound tackle.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Deon Anderson drafted

With the Randy Moss conference call scuttlebutt, we didn't see that Providence native Deon Anderson had been drafted, 195th overall by Dallas.

Anderson, a fullback, played at Hope and Avon Old Farms before a career at UConn. Though he had personal and academic problems that caused him to leave the school for the 2005 season, Anderson returned to the Huskies in 2006 and was the team's MVP.

A 5-foot-10, 236 pounder, scouts have tabbed Anderson as a good short-area blocker who could have a good career as a special teams ace.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

With the 202nd pick...

The Patriots chose Notre Dame's Mike Richardson, a 5-foot-11, 188 pound cornerback. A fifth-year senior, Richardson earned his degree in marketing last year and has been taking graduate courses at the school.

He moved onto most scouts' radars when he held Georgia Tech's Calvin Richardson -- the second overall pick in this draft -- to 16 second-half yards in the first game of last season.

Not invited to the Combine, Richardson went to a training facility in New Jersey. Owner Joe DeFranco has trained athletes for 10 years, and at one time worked with one Deion Branch.

An online story had DeFranco saying this about Richardson:

“He’s got that explosive burst in him that you just can’t teach,” DeFranco said. “I’ve worked with [Seattle Seahawks wide receiver] Deion Branch when I was at another facility, and even though Deion is a wide receiver, both he and Mike show similar kinds of speed bursts and the ability to come out of a cut. He’s just got some God-given skills that neither I nor anyone else can take credit for."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Randy Moss conference call

We just wrapped up a conference call with newest Patriot Randy Moss, and before taking a question, Moss thanked the media for taking the time and waiting to talk to him, and then said, "I don't think you understand how excited I am to be part of this organization."

"I'm happy to get back to doing what I love to do."

Moss said he was "overwhelmed and shocked to be part of the New England Patriots." During the course of the conversation, he said that the media has created the bad reputation that he has, said that money was not a big factor ("Over my career I've made a lot of money and I still have money in the bank") and that he was afraid that the losing in Oakland would set in for him.

He spoke reverentially about fellow Marshall product Troy Brown, saying, "I consider myself the second-best receiver to come out of Marshall. Being able to play with Troy, to see what he's done in the past... He started the trend of guys going into the league from Marshall."

Asked about reports that he ran a 4.29 40-yard dash last week, Moss said, "Put it this way: the Randy Moss of old is back and we'll leave it at that."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats take Rogers at 180

Justin Rogers, a defensive end out of Southern Methodist, was New England's pick at 180, which they received from Arizona for offensive lineman Brandon Gorin last year.

According to the SMU website, Rogers is 6-foot-4, 250 pounds from Greenville, Texas who "has killed and skinned coyotes."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats pick Oldenburg at 171

New England added an offensive lineman with the 171st pick, taking Colorado State tackle Clint Oldenburg.

Oldenburg isn't even listed on nfl.com's extensive list of prospect profiles, but he's 6-foot-5, 297 pounds and a former tight end. According to scout.com, he's a prospect who needs to improve his mechanics.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Looking at Moss trade

Now that it's official (we have the release from the Patriots, so we know it's true ;) that Randy Moss is a Patriot, we can sit back and look at what this means for New England.

First off, it means that Tom Brady, who may or may not have been unhappy with the receiving corps he had last year, doesn't have much to complain about any more. Moss is the biggest addition to a group that has already been bolstered by the acquisitions of Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker and Kelley Washington.

Moss is already fifth on the NFL's list of all-time touchdown receptions, with 101, and he reportedly ran a 4.29-second 40-yard dash just last week -- at 30 years old.

The trade means New England now has 10 wideouts on the roster: Moss, Stallworth, Washington, Welker, Chad Jackson, Reche Caldwell, Jabar Gaffney, Bam Childress, Kelvin Kight, and Jonathan Smith.

And left off that list is Troy Brown, whom Bill Belichick has said he'll welcome back but hasn't yet signed a contract.

The question is, who will be on the roster come Sept. 2? Moss, Stallworth and Welker will, as will Jackson and likely Gaffney. Caldwell should be nervous, and Kight and Smith probably won't be kept. Childress, however, blossomed into a standout special-teams player last season, which holds value with the Patriots.

Our theory? Stallworth's contract is supposed to pay him BIG money next year, in the form of $8 million in bonuses -- $6 million on Feb. 25, 2008 and $2 million more on March 1 -- not long after the season ends.

So "rent" Stallworth for this season (albeit it at a $3.6 million rental fee), give Jackson the whole season to heal his torn ACL and really learn the offense, then let Stallworth loose and hope Jackson is ready to go for 2008 and add him to Moss, Welker and whomever else is on the team.

There's been no word yet on just how dramatically Moss will restructure his deal -- he was due $9.75 million this year and $11.25 million next year -- or if more years will be added to it.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Pats draft Kareem Brown at 127

The Patriots have selected another Miami defensive player, taking Hurricane defensive tackle Kareem Brown with their remaining fourth-round pick, 127 overall.

Brown is a 6-foot-4, 290 pound Miami native, and was the Hurricanes' defensive lineman of the year last fall. Part of the defensive tackle rotation his first three seasons, Brown started nine of 13 games last year at both left and right tackle.

His 20 1/2 career sacks are second-best in Miami history for a tackle.

Scouts say Brown is an unfinished product, and he was hurt by a disappointing performance his Miami's pro day. He is good at pushing the pocket and can take on multiple blockers, but he needs to develop better moves as a pass rusher.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

DeOssie goes to Giants

Former Brown star and Massachusetts native Zak DeOssie was selected by one of his father's former teams, the New York Giants, with the 116th overall pick.

The 6-foot-5, 250 pound linebacker was thought to be a good fit for New England, especially since he seemingly has the smarts to play inside linebacker in the Pats' system, which is one of the most difficult jobs to master on the roster.

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

Trade for Moss official

The trade between New England and Oakland that is bringing Randy Moss to the Patriots is official. The Raiders will receive the Pats' first fourth-round pick, 110th overall. Moss is here at Gillette and took a physical this morning, sealing the deal.

Adam Schefter reported that the talks between the Pats and Raiders started Friday night, and that New England initially offered a sixth-round pick, which Al Davis rejected. Talks picked up again last night.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Report: Patriots acquire Moss

Hey all --

Good morning and welcome to day two of the 2007 NFL Draft, where we are back in our customary spot in the Gillette Stadium pressbox.

The big news of the day is a report from the NFL Network's Adam Schefter that the Patriots have indeed acquired wide receiver Randy Moss from the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a fourth-round pick today.

Moss has agreed to dramatically restructure his contract -- he's currently scheduled to make $9.75 million this season -- and will likely be kept on a short leash. Though Moss' only legal trouble since coming to the NFL was an incident in Minneapolis where he "bumped" a meter maid with his SUV, he has admitted to taking plays off, not holding his blocks on run plays, and infamously mooned the Lambeau Field crowd during a playoff game two years ago.

Now 30 years old, Moss has never been to the Super Bowl and sees New England as his best chance to get there before his career ends. He is coming off a career-worst season with Oakland, having amassed just 553 receiving yards with three touchdowns last year.

It's believed that the Raiders are getting the Pats' first pick in the fourth, which is the 110th.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments 0