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Bruschi, Washington and Paxton re-signed

New England has announced that linebacker Tedy Bruschi, receiver Kelley Washington and long snapper Lonie Paxton have been re-signed.

This is from the team's release:

Tedy Bruschi, 34, will enter his 13th season with the Patriots since being drafted by the team in the third round (86th overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft out of Arizona. The 6-foot-1-inch, 247-pound linebacker has been a Patriots team captain in each of the last six seasons dating back to 2002. Bruschi has led the Patriots in tackles in each of the last two seasons, totaling a team-best 99 stops in 2007 after pacing the club with 124 tackles in 2006. Over his 12-year career, Bruschi has played in 176 games with 127 starts and has recorded 1,063 tackles (679 solo), 30.5 sacks, 12 interceptions for 187 yards and four touchdowns, 61 passes defensed, 18 forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries, including one returned for a touchdown. Bruschi’s 176 games as a Patriot rank eighth on the team’s all-time list and in 2008 he will become the 10th player in team history to spend 13 or more seasons with the club.

Last season, Bruschi co-captained a Patriots defense that allowed just 288.3 yards per game – the fewest for the franchise in 28 years, dating back to when it allowed an average of 270.2 yards per game in 1979. In 2006, he was the leading tackler on a Patriots defensive unit that set a franchise record by allowing 14.8 points per game. Bruschi was the NFL’s Co-Comeback Player of the Year in 2005, returning to action six games into the season after suffering a stroke in February of that year and helping to solidify a defense that allowed a total of just 10 points over a three-game span that December. He was named to the Pro Bowl following a 2004 campaign in which he earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors three times and the Patriots won their third Super Bowl in four years. In 2003, Bruschi ranked second on the team with 137 tackles as the Patriots won the Super Bowl and led the NFL in allowing just 14.9 points per game. Bruschi was elected as a captain for the first time entering the 2002 season and that year became the first linebacker in team history to return two interceptions for touchdowns in the same season. In 2001, he finished third on the team with 73 tackles as the Patriots won the Super Bowl for the first time in team history. He started all 16 games in 2000 for the first time in his career, one season after recording a career-high 138 tackles in 1999. He became a regular starter for the first time in 1998. As a rookie in 1996, Bruschi was part of the Patriots’ AFC champion squad and totaled two sacks in his first Super Bowl.

Bruschi is the Patriots’ all-time leader in playoff games played, participating in 22 career postseason contests, including five Super Bowls. He is one of just 14 players in NFL history to play in five or more Super Bowls, and his 22 playoff game appearances are tied with Brett Favre and Adam Vinatieri for the lead among all active NFL players.

Lonie Paxton, 29, will enter his ninth season in New England since being signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Sacramento State on April 19, 2000. The 6-foot-2-inch, 260-pound long snapper has played in 125 career games and has provided snaps for every Patriots punt, extra point and field goal attempt in all but three regular-season games over his eight seasons.

Paxton’s consistency has played a role in the increased success of New England’s field goal units since he joined the team. In the eight years since Paxton assumed long snapping duties in 2000, New England’s field goal kickers have converted 83.0 percent of their kicks (195-for-235), a mark that ranks fifth in the league. The rate of success is in contrast to the team’s 75.0 percent field goal conversion rate (189-for-252, 23rd in the NFL) over the eight seasons that preceded Paxton’s tenure (1992-99).

Paxton has snapped on 10 career game-winning field goals and has made 13 career special teams tackles. He has snapped for every kick in the career of Stephen Gostkowski, who is the Patriots’ all-time leader in field goal percentage, converting 84.5 percent of his kicks (49-of-58).

Kelley Washington, 28, is a veteran of five NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals (2003-06) and New England Patriots (2007). He was signed by the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent on March 13, 2007. The 6-foot-3-inch, 216-pound wide receiver has played in 58 career NFL games with six starts and has caught 72 passes for 893 yards (12.4 avg.) and nine touchdowns. In 2007, his first season in New England, Washington played in 14 games and finished second on the Patriots with a career-high 18 special teams tackles, including a team-best nine solo special teams stops. He recorded the first blocked punt by a Patriots player in eight years when he blocked a New York Jets punt on Dec. 16, setting up a Patriots touchdown.

Washington was drafted by the Bengals with the first selection of the third round (65th overall) in the 2003 NFL Draft. The University of Tennessee product played in all 16 games with three starts as a rookie in 2003 and caught 22 passes for 299 yards (13.6 avg.) and a career-high four touchdowns. That season, he caught a career-long 51-yard touchdown pass in a game against Pittsburgh. In 2004, Washington set career highs in receptions (31) and receiving yards (378) while scoring three touchdowns. His total receptions and total receiving yards both ranked third on the team that season behind only Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Washington played in seven games in 2005, catching 10 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. In 2006 with the Bengals, Washington played in five games with one start and caught nine passes for 115 yards (12.8 avg.) and a touchdown.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:28 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

K. Brady released

In a bit of a surprising move, the Patriots have announced that tight end Kyle Brady has been released.

Brady, who struggled with plantar fasciitis -- an inflammation of the tissue that connects the toes to the heel -- for much of the season, receiving cortisone shots to minimize the pain. Brought in as a blocking back after New England lost Daniel Graham to free agency last season, Brady played in 14 games with nine catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns.

The 13-year veteran signed a two-year contract with the Pats last year.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:13 PM to Kyle Brady | Permalink | Comments 2

Report: Faulk passed drug test

We saw this late last night, and in the busy-ness of today forgot to post it: according to this story, Kevin Faulk, who was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession at a concert last Friday in his home state of Louisiana, passed a drug test and will not have to enter the NFL's substance abuse program.

In the article, Faulk states that the blunts found in the jacket he had on him during a security search and the jacket itself were not his. He said he was upfront with coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots about what had happened and took the drug test on Monday.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:06 PM to Kevin Faulk | Permalink | Comments 0

Eagles land Samuel

Asante Samuel is now a Philadelphia Eagle. The cornerback has signed a six-year deal with the NFC East team, for a reported $57 million. The first three years -- the years that really matter in an NFL contract -- are $32 million, an impressive sum for the former fourth-round draft pick, who has 22 interceptions over the last three seasons.

The deal was done quickly, as Samuel arrived in Philadelphia late this morning and was part of an introductory press conference before 5 p.m. It seems unlikely that it all got done after 12:01 a.m. today -- the official time free agency began -- but that kind of tampering is something that apparently most NFL teams accept.

But once Samuel got to the City of Brotherly Love, the Eagles weren't going to let him leave without a deal being done.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Multimedia: Shalise looks at the Pats' free agent choices

Click the play button below to listen and watch.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel visiting Eagles

If the Philadelphia Eagles website is any indication, the team is excited to welcome free-agent Asante Samuel to the city today.

We'll let you know if we hear anything more -- or if Samuel will be making the City of Brotherly Love his new home.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Seau underwent shoulder surgery after Super Bowl

Junior Seau told the Associated Press today that he had arthroscopic surgery on his left rotator cuff just days after the Patriots lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl.

Seau said he was hurt in the fourth game of the season, in Cincinnati, but played the season in pain. He never appeared on the Patriots' injury report this season.

"There's no grace time there," he said. "I was caught in a wrong position. I just fell on it awkwardly. I felt it and it didn't recover. So I had to deal with it. Every player has an injury during the course of the year. In order to get through it, you have to persevere. No 1, you have to make sure you're not a liability. Obviously that was not the case."

The 39-year old Seau becomes a free agent at midnight, and is still deciding whether he will return for a 19th NFL season.

"I have a choice of playing or a choice of surfing. Those are great choices to have," Seau said.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Wright: Second-round tender

The deadline to for teams to tender restricted free agents passed at 4 p.m., and New England tendered defensive lineman Mike Wright at the second-round level, meaning he has a one-year, $1.41 million deal with the team (unless the sides work out an extension) -- or, if another team offers Wright a contract that the Patriots decide not to match, that team must surrender its second-round pick to the Pats.

Wright joined New England as an undrafted rookie, making it difficult to tender him at the "low" level. Players given that designation receive $927,000, but if another team signs the player, his original team receives a draft pick equal to the round the player was originally selected in. Since Wright was undrafted out of Cincinnati, the Patriots would receive nothing in return.

The 25-year old Cincinnati native finished last season on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury against Pittsburgh.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:30 PM to Mike Wright | Permalink | Comments 0

Live video of congressional hearing on drugs in sports

Through AP Video, we will have live coverage of today's hearings in the House of Representatives on drug use in sports. The hearings will begin at 9:30; go to this link to watch.

Expected to testify: Former Sen. George Mitchell; MLB Commissioner Bud Selig; NBA Commissioner David Stem; MLB Players Association Executive Director Donald Fehr; NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell; NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman; NFLPA Executive Director Gene Upshaw; NHLPA Executive Director Paul Kelly; USOC Executive Director Jim Scheer; U.S. Anti Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart; NCAA President Myles Brand; Robert Kanaby, Executive Director, National Federation of State High School Associations; Alexander Waldrop, CEO, National Throughbred Racing Association.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Faulk charged with marijuana possession

According to Louisiana station KATC, Patriots running back Kevin Faulk was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession on Friday night.

(This is a correction of an earlier posting which said Faulk was arrested.)

Faulk, a team captain last season, was at the Cajundome for a concert featuring rapper Lil Wayne and a random security check turned up four joints.

He is the second Patriots player this month to be cited for marijuana -- just days after the team's Super Bowl loss, special teams standout Willie Andrews was arrested in Lowell, Mass.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:03 PM to Kevin Faulk | Permalink | Comments 2

Pats release Colvin and Lua

New England has announced that veteran linebacker Rosevelt Colvin as well as Oscar Lua have both been cut by the team.

Colvin's release, first reported by the Boston Globe earlier today, is something of a surprise. Though he was set to earn $7.6 million this season, the final year of the six-year free agent deal he signed in 2003, New England's linebacking situation is very much in flux: Tedy Bruschi and/or Junior Seau could decide to retire, and while Adalius Thomas and Mike Vrabel both are experienced at middle linebacker, backups Pierre Woods (an OLB) and Eric Alexander (MLB) are both inexperienced at this point.

However, Colvin suffered season-ending injuries in both 2003 -- a hip injury that initially was believed to be career-threatening -- and this season, when a foot injury in November 25 put him on the shelf. Without Colvin, the Pats' pass rush seemed to suffer.

The move saves New England $5.5 million (Colvin's base salary for the season) against the salary cap by releasing him.

Lua was drafted in the seventh round out of USC last year and was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury before the regular season began. It was believed he would be part of the future at middle linebacker.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Silva checks in

East Providence native Jamie Silva just made his media debut here at the Combine, his shoulder-length dirty-blonde hair held back with a thin elastic headband, and wearing the week's uniform -- a dark gray sweatshirt with his critical information on it: DB40 on the front and "Silva 40" on the back. The numbers are assigned alphabetically, so Silva comes 40th on the list of 57 defensive backs at the Combine.

Silva came into the media room just before 12:30 p.m., and his day was already nearly eight hours old -- he woke up at 4:45 a.m. to begin his testing, which started with a urine test, and then included dozens of medical tests and then his measurements. Teams measure every conceivable thing, from height to body fat and weight to hands, thighs and arms.

Still left today are meetings with teams, a dinner with the other members of Group 11, the final testing group of the Combine. Silva and the other members of Group 11, including Kansas star Aqib Talib and I-AA standout Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (cousin of San Diego Pro Bowler Antonio Cromartie), won't go through their on-field testing until Tuesday, but we'll be checking in with him for the next few days to give you a better idea of what it's like to go through this four-day job interview through Silva's eyes.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Rosenhaus on Stallworth, Gaffney & Izzo

Say this for Drew Rosenhaus: the man knows how work a crowd.

He held court just outside the media workroom here, and while his chat was mostly centered on Zach Thomas, he fielded questions about players he has around the league and showed that he a) knows his clients and b) gets little sleep.

As far as his three Patriots clients, Rosenhaus said he's been talking with the Patriots about both Donte Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney, but "more likely Donte will become a free agent."

He said talks in regard to Gaffney are "ongoing" and that he and Izzo have a verbal agreement with the team on a one-year deal.

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

Z. Thomas to Dallas

Agent Drew Rosenhaus just announced that linebacker Zach Thomas has signed with the Dallas Cowboys, uniting him with his hometown team.

Rosenhaus said the financials were very close with the three teams Thomas talked with -- Dallas, New England and New Orleans -- but what swayed it for Thomas was the chance to return to Texas, where he grew up, where his family still lives, and where he starred at Texas Tech.

Dallas is giving Thomas $1 million in base salary, a $1 million signing bonus and $1 million is what he called easily reachable incentives. It is a one-year deal, though Rosenhaus said that could change.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Z. Thomas signs with Dallas

More in a few minutes.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

More on Capers

Before he was hired by Bill Belichick and the Patriots, Dom Capers had an offer from the Cowboys to serve as a "defensive consultant." But he turned it down after asking defensive coordinator Brian Stewart -- whom Capers hired as a coaching assistant in Houston, Stewart's first NFL job -- if he would be uncomfortable with his taking the gig.

Stewart said he would be uncomfortable, and Capers pulled out of the opportunity.

"It shows what kind of class he has," Stewart said here at the Convention Center. "Like most leaders, he has a way of not just looking at the moment, but looking ahead. I appreciate that."

Capers knew his presence might cause problems for Stewart -- if Dallas' defense improved, Capers might get credit, and if it slipped, then the questions would begin about why Capers wasn't in charge of the defense instead of Stewart.

There's a bit more about the situation here.

As a coach, Stewart -- who gets bonus points here for having spent time as a Syracuse assistant -- said Capers is "very attention-detailed. Very, very. He's very organized, very smart, a very diligent coach. He's going to get the guys to do what he wants."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Transcript: Dom Capers' conference call

Dom, welcome to New England.
Thank you.

I guess the best place to start is that your title is going to be special assistant. What are those duties going to entail?
Well, anything that I can contribute to the staff, I’m sure that’ll be ongoing. The first thing is getting in and familiarizing myself with obviously the rest of the staff and the structure of that. My primary goal will be coaching the secondary and anything else that I can contribute.

You say your primary role there will be coaching the secondary?
I’ll be working with the secondary. Like I said, we’ll kind of see how things go and whatever other things I can contribute, I’ll certainly be ready. The biggest thing when you go into a new situation is you try to figure out what your role is going to be. Then you jump in and do the best job in that role that you can. One of the advantages of being a head coach for a number of years is you always knew what you were looking for in assistants and hopefully I can be that guy.

Can you talk about your past relationship with Bill Belichick and how this arrangement came to be?
Well, I’ve always had a lot of respect for Bill. It goes way back when he was the defensive coordinator with the Giants in the 80s. I was down with the New Orleans Saints from ’86 to ’91 and when Bill Cowher took the Pittsburgh job, I went to Pittsburgh with Bill [Cowher] as his defensive coordinator. And of course Bill [Belichick] was at Cleveland at that time and you know there’s a big rivalry between the Steelers and the Browns, so I followed Bill [Belichick] there and of course had great admiration for what he’s been able to do there in New England since he’s been there. It’s unmatched, really.

When someone has as extensive a background on the defensive side of the ball as you do, how much are you looking forward to working with Dean Pees?
Very much so. I’ve had a chance over the last few days to spend some time with Dean and [I’ve] been very impressed by Dean. He’s a guy that’s done a really good job every place that he’s been. We’ve got a lot of common friends in the business and I think they all hold him in very high regard.

You were in discussions with the Dallas Cowboys at one point about possibly joining their staff. Can you talk about why it didn’t work out there and why it was able to come together with the Patriots?
You never know how these things are going to go and I learned a long time ago that it’s important the staffs fit together. It’s like putting a team together. You have to have a feel for what everybody’s roles are going to be and what they can contribute. That’s what makes a good football team and I think it’s what makes a good staff. I just felt going up to New England was a good fit and like I said, I’ve had so much respect for Bill. They’re a multiple-style defense. They can play a lot of different styles. I think that’s what you have to do in this era.

You mentioned that you know Dean Pees. Did you actually check with Dean before you took the job to make sure it was something he was OK with, you coming onboard?
Dean and I went out to dinner the night that I was there and I had a great visit with him. Like I said, we have so many common acquaintances. I felt it would be really a good working relationship or I wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing it, but that wasn’t the case. I felt very good about it.

As someone who has watched Zach Thomas up close the last couple of years, his representative has expressed an interest in New England. Do you think a guy like that, given his style, how much would he have fit in with New England’s 3-4?
Well, you know I haven’t had a real chance to really study the personnel, but I can say this about Zach Thomas: I’ve been in the NFL for 22 years now - this will be 23 years. He’s one of the best preparers that I’ve been around. He’s one of he top guys. I mean, the guy is obsessive in his preparation. He’s very much a professional. He’s the one who spends probably as much time as the coaches do to get ready for the game, and I think that’s why he’s been able to have the kind of production and the success he has over his career, because when he came in, he came in as a fifth- or sixth-round draft pick. He was a later draft pick and just through a lot of hard work and determination and commitment, I think he’s really made himself into a real fine player.

Sticking with linebackers here, I know you said you’ll be coaching the secondary primarily, but can you talk about how the linebacker position has evolved? It seems like these guys are more versatile, they’re bigger, they’re stronger than maybe some of the one- or two-down players of a generation ago.
Everything goes in cycles and I think you probably see a few more 3-4 now and it’s been in the league for a while. You’ve seen it go to where there was hardly any to where there’s more. I think sometimes it’s the type of guys coming out of college dictate that. The flexibility that a good linebacker can give you, one that has the ability to not only rush the passer but drop into coverage and I think that is one of the advantages to have with four ‘backers on the field, as opposed to three. The good thing about Bill’s system is he has the ability to utilize either a 3-4 or a 4-3 and that gives you great flexibility.

I know that Nick Saban and Bill are close and obviously you were on Nick’s staff at Miami. Did you have any discussions with Nick about joining Bill’s staff or just trying to get a feel for Bill and what to expect?
Well, Nick and I go way back. I mean, we were graduate assistants together back in the early '70s at Kent State. Of course Nick was Bill’s defensive coordinator at Cleveland the whole time I was Bill Cowher’s defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh. Two years ago I came down here with Nick, the year before he left to go to Alabama. During that time, obviously we’d have a lot of discussions about Bill and that’s where you feel like you’re familiar with Bill. [I] never worked for him, having worked with Nick. Nick worked for Bill for quite a while.

A lot of times you hear different players say in signing with New England, you get a chance to get the ring and that’s what they play the game for. You as a coach -- was that a factor at all in your decision to come aboard?
We’ve played against them here the last two years and of course I’ve coached against them for a number of years. I’ll just say this, that I’m the only coach in the history of the league to start two expansion teams from scratch, so I know what the feeling is like to have to go out on that field and know that your talent’s not quite up to the competition. I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for what Bill and his staff have done there in terms of talent acquisition and how hard they are to line up and defend. I mean we certainly saw that this year. So, sure, I’m excited about joining the team that’s had the success that they’ve had, because that’s not always the way that it is. Certainly during the nine years that I was a head coach and when you [work with] expansion teams, you’re always fighting that uphill battle in terms of trying to get the kind of talent you need to go out and have success.

About eight years ago when the Patriots were wondering if they could get Bill from the Jets, your name was mentioned as a possible head coach here. Do you remember that, and how close did things actually get?
I don’t know how close they got. I did come up and visit with them and was real impressed with Mr. Kraft. I knew at that time he was very upfront with me, in terms of their familiarity with Bill, having him before. I visited with them and had a feeling that if Bill would be available, that would be the way to go. They certainly made the right decision, OK? All you have to do is look at what the franchise has done since that point in time. But I was familiar with the organization and familiar with Mr. Kraft and his vision and what he wanted to accomplish there.

With the possibility of losing Asante Samuel to free agency, how much is that going to increase the challenge you may face of having to face the secondary?
All I know about Asante is from playing against him, and he’s obviously a very fine player. That’s the challenge. That’s the challenge in this league now, from one year to the next, you’re team can change tremendously. If you do end up losing a good player you have to try to find somebody to take their place and that’s an on-going challenge in this league now in terms of being able to adjust, not only your talent, but what you do based on the talent that you have.

Just kind of going back to where we started here, you’ve been a head coach for going back to ’95 - I mean, head coach or a coordinator. Your primary responsibility is going to be the secondary and that would seem like for a guy that had a lot of responsibility in other areas a step back, so to speak. Again, did you and Bill sit down and talk about anything specific with regard to the special assistant tag and what you might offer beyond coaching the secondary?
Well, you know, again, I mentioned anything else that I can contribute I’ll be more than happy to do. I’ve always enjoyed the X and O part of the game, the coaching part of the game and the relationship with the players. You certainly do have a different relationship with the players as an assistant than you do as a head coach. I enjoy the teaching aspect of it, so I’m hoping with the experience that I had in the league that I’ll be able to contribute in any way that might be helpful to helping the team win, really.

How much do you think it motivated Bill to hire you to think that you were the last defensive coordinator to shut these guys out, that 21-0 win you guys had in Miami in the ’06 season? Do you think that that helped at all, in terms of Bill wanting to bring you in?
Well, I don’t know on that. I think we all know that things can change quickly. That was a good day for us and the Patriots certainly turned around. When they came down here this year it was a totally different story. Sometimes you can look pretty smart one day and not very smart the next day. There’s so many variable to go into things. I think over the years we’ve competed against each other and both being defensive coaches going back into the 80s, Bill’s Giants defenses. I used to spend a lot of time watching those and we had some pretty good defenses at New Orleans at that time. There were a lot of similarities and I think like you encourage your players to watch the top players. As coaches, you spend a lot of time watching the top defenses to see if there’s anything you might be able to pick up and use within your system.

Posted by Art Martone  at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Two degress of separation

Michigan wide receiver Mario Manningham just met with the media and it turns out he has something of a connection to the Patriots -- he played high school football for Thom McDaniels in Ohio.

Thom is the father of New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Manningham said he's never met Josh, but if playing for the son is anything like playing for the elder McDaniels, "it should be a piece of cake," Manningham said with a smile.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Childress to Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles have signed Bam Childress to a two-year contract, the team announced today.

Childress was originally brought to New England as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State in 2005, and spent the majority of his time with the team on practice squad, including all of last season. Against Jacksonville on Christmas Eve 2006, Childress had two receptions; in his rookie season, he played in one game at both receiver and corner.

Though he was never promoted to the 53-man roster last season, New England paid Childress nearly twice what most practice squad players make to entice him to remain with the organization in case they did need him. Opposing teams can sign a player off a practice squad if they place him on the 53-man roster and thus compensate him as such.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Capers chats

New Patriots special assistant/secondary Dom Capers just wrapped up a conference call and indicated that his "special assistant" title is not something that's defined as of yet.

"Anything that I can contribute to the staff," Capers said. "The first thing is to familiarize myself with things; my primary role is coaching the secondary and anything else I can contribute.
We'll see how things go and whatever I can contribute I’ll be ready. When you get into new situation, you find out what your new role will be and jump right in."

Capers has spent years teaching and refining a 3-4 defensive system, though his job title includes him being in charge of New England's secondary. That unit may suffer a big loss with the potential departure of All-Pro cornerback Asante Samuel. Capers doesn't know much about Samuel as a player, but he knows how to deal with losing a key player.

"All I know about Asante is from playing against him," he said. "But that's the challenge of playing in this league now is from one year to the next your team could change tremendously. That's an ongoing challenge in terms of being able to adjust to your talent, but also what you do with the talent you have."

Though Capers has never worked directly with Bill Belichick, he feels as though he knows Belichick through Nick Saban -- Saban and Capers were graduate assistants together at Kent State in the 1970s, and Saban went on to become Belichick's defensive coordinator in Cleveland. Saban hired Capers as his defensive coordinator in Miami two years ago. And over the years, Belichick and Capers' teams have faced one another numerous times.

While some have seen the hiring of Capers as a sign that current Pats defensive coordinator Dean Pees might be in trouble, Capers said the two had dinner together earlier this week so Capers could make sure Pees was fine with the move.

"We have a lot of common friends in the business and they all hold him in high regard," Capers said of Pees, whose last job before New England was as head coach at Kent State. "Dean and I went out to dinner the first night that I was there (in Foxboro), so I had a great visit with him. We have so many common acquaintances, and I felt it would be a good working relationship."

Capers recently turned down the chance to serve as a consultant to the Cowboys' defensive coaches after Dallas defensive coordinator Brian Stewart expressed discomfort with it; Capers gave Stewart his first-ever NFL job when Capers was head coach in Houston.

When asked about Dallas, Capers didn't mention the situation with Stewart, but acknowledged that putting together a coaching staff is much like putting together a team; all the pieces should fit together well, and everyone should know their role.

With the Dolphins, Capers coached linebacker Zach Thomas, who visited with and received an offer from New England this week. Capers was asked how Thomas might fit in to the Pats' defense.

"I haven’t had a real chance to really study the personnel that much but can say this about Zach Thomas – I've been in the NFL for 22 years now, and he’s one of the best preparers I've been around. He's obsessive in his preparation; he's probably going to spend as much time as the coaches do. That's probably why he’s had success in his career -- he came in as a fifth, sixth round draft pick and through hard work and commitment made himself into a (great) player."

Capers also discussed his last dalliance with New England -- eight years ago, he interviewed with team owner Bob Kraft for the head coaching position that ultimately went to Belichick.

"I don’t know how close they ever got (to hiring him), I did come up and visit, I was impressed with Mr. Kraft, he was upfront with me in terms of his familiarity with Bill, and I had a feeling if Bill would be available that’s the way they would go," he said. "They certainly made the right decision."

Capers holds the distinction of being the only coach in league history to get two expansion teams off the ground -- he was the first head coach of both Carolina and Houston -- and that also means he's lost a lot of games. Getting the chance to join a highly successful organization is another plus.

"I know what the feeling is like when you have to go on the field and know that your talent is not up to that of the competition," he said. "So I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Bill and his staff have done. Sure I'm excited about joining a team that has had the success that they've had. During my nine years as a head coach, I was always fighting that uphill battle to get the talent you need to have success."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel update

We just spoke with Alonzo Shavers, one of the agents for Asante Samuel, and he said Samuel is excited to hit free agency on one week from today, but that no team has so far been ruled out of the mix.

Though Scott Pioli is here in Indianapolis as well, Shavers would not say if the two have met up to discuss numbers -- New England is the only team that can negotiate with Samuel right now, though of course at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 29, Shavers and Jay Bianco can start fielding calls from all 32 teams.

"There's always communication going on with our situation," Shavers said. "We don't eliminate anyone until we've signed a new deal and move to a new city."

Shavers called New England Samuel's "birthplace," and Samuel has said he'd like to remain with the Patriots. But he is also anticipating the chance to hit the open market; it is expected that Samuel's deal will exceed the $28.5 million over the first three years Nate Clements got from San Francisco last year. Clements' deal was announced as eight years, $80 million, but the final year of the deal was already voided, making it a seven-year, $64 million pact.

The agent also acknowledged that with Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha and Seattle's Marcus Trufant -- the other top-flight corners that would have been available -- being taken off the market with their teams slapping the franchise tags on them "gives us more leeway."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:09 PM to Asante Samuel | Permalink | Comments 0

Combine, Day 2

Hey all --

Welcome to Day 2 of the NFL Combine, which is the day receivers, running backs and quarterbacks are taken through their paces as far as measurements, physicals and the like are concerned.

More team officials will also be at the podium here at the RCA Dome/Convention Center, including Giants' coach Tom Coughlin, Colts' coach Tony Dungy, and Cleveland coach -- and former Pats defensive coordinator -- Romeo Crennel.

We'll update you as much as possible throughout the day.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Patriots announce coaching changes, hire Capers

New England has announced changes to its coaching staff: longtime coach Dom Capers has been brought on as a special assistant/secondary, Bill O'Brien was promoted to receivers coach from offensive assistant, and former receivers coach Nick Caserio has moved back into the front office as director of player personnel.

Left unsaid in the release is that former secondary coach Joel Collier has been let go.

Capers, who has spent 22 years in the NFL, was most recently the defensive coordinator in Miami for the last two seasons.

Speaking about Capers, who has served as head coach of the Panthers and Texans, Bill Belichick said, “I have known Dom for a long time and respect him tremendously as a coach, particularly defensively. To add a coach of his caliber is an outstanding opportunity for us. I look forward to getting to work with Dom and (defensive coordinator) Dean [Pees] immediately.”

Caserio spent last season as receivers coach, but must have decided that he prefers the front office; from 2004-06, he served as New England's director of pro personnel, and the year before that, he was an area scout. In his first season with the team, 2002, Caserio was an offensive coaching assistant.

He is a former college teammate of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels at John Carroll University.

O'Brien, a Brown alum, left Duke before last season to join Belichick's staff as an offensive assistant. He will take Caserio's role as receivers coach.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

No tag for Moss

In news first reported by ESPN's John Clayton, the Patriots have not used the franchise tag on receiver Randy Moss; the deadline for teams to designate a franchise player was 4 p.m.

The feeling is that Moss and the Patriots are close to signing a long-term deal with the receiver and he likely will not hit the free agent market.

When New England acquired Moss in a draft-day deal last April, he signed a one-year contract with incentives that marked a significant pay cut for he veteran wideout compared to what he was due to make with his previous club, Oakland.

Moss came to the Patriots and returned to his previous impressive form, with 98 catches for 1,493 yards and a league-record 23 touchdowns. He also was praised as a great teammate, and did not cause any ripples save for the restraining order a Florida woman filed against him during the playoffs.

Tom Brady has made no secret of his fondness for Moss as a teammate, and said at the Super Bowl earlier this month that he figures he has at least 10 more seasons left in him and would like to have Moss with him for as many of those as possible. Brady was not happy when the Pats traded Deion Branch to Seattle, and expressed as much publicly; clearly, it is in New England's best interests to keep the best quarterback in the game happy.

Had New England franchised Moss, he would have gotten a one-year contract for a guaranteed $7.85 million. When teams designate a franchise player, they have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal with him. Otherwise the player signs the tender and the sides can't meet again until after the season concludes.

Eleven teams used the franchise tag this season.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

One more off the Christmas list

This isn't the first time we've realized that Bill Belichick and Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher aren't exactly buddy-buddy, but Fisher made some comments today that seem like a shot at Belichick.

The longtime Titans coach addressed the media with other members of the NFL's Competition Committee today, and was asked if their needs to be a clarification of the rule Belichick was found to have broken by having a team employee videotape from the sidelines.

"No. those rules are very, very clear. There is no need to be more specific or clarify
any rules whatsoever as far as the bylaws are concerned," he said.

Belichick has maintained that it was his mis-interpretation of a gray area in the rule that led to New England's videotaping.

Fisher was also asked how he'd react if he learned that his opponent had recorded his walkthrough, as New England has been accused of doing to St. Louis before Super Bowl XXXVI.

I'm not going to answer that question because we're dealing with a hypothetical situation
related to an ongoing investigation right now," he said. "I think you could speculate what my
answer would be. But I'm not going to go into any detail."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Lovie Smith on Spygate

Bears head coach and former Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith was among the coaches and team officials to address the media today at the Combine, and was of course asked about Spygate. Smith was with St. Louis when the it lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Asked if he felt like New England had some inside information during the game, Smith replied, "No, not at all. Again, I'm having a hard time remembering last year's (Super Bowl). To think back to St. Louis, that's definitely harder for me. But what I recall is that we were beaten by a good football team that year. It was an excellent football game. And that's about all I remember from it."

Smith said his team takes precautions to try and prevent opponents from stealing defensive signals, but it isn't a major focus.

"We take all type of precautions. You have wristband calls and things like that. I don't spend a whole lot of time ... most of our effort goes into trying to find a way to be successful on the football field doing it the right way. We spend most of our time on that. We have precautions in place to guard against that on game day, and that's how we've always done it," he said.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

More from Milloy

In talking with former Patriots safety Lawyer Milloy yesterday, he relayed a funny story about Tom Brady that didn't make it into our story this morning. Milloy and Brady became close when the former was with the Pats, and has seen the quarterback's rise from fourth-string to star.

It was two years after Milloy had signed with Buffalo, and Milloy hadn't hung out with his friend since he had joined the Bills. So the two, along with some other friends and Milloy's former teammates, including Mike Vrabel, decided to meet at the Kentucky Derby.

"We show up at the Derby in a Suburban, and he steps out of the truck. I go to step out and a big hand stops me. It's his security. I was like, what the hell?," Milloy recalled, smiling. "He had two security guys around him, answering questions from the paparazzi, and we had to walk behind him. That's the difference between a good player and superstar status."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Goodell: League "making progress" with Walsh

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell just stopped to answer a few questions with the small amount of media here at the Westin Hotel in Indianapolis and said the league is "making progress" in its talks with former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh.

Walsh, who allegedly videotaped the Rams' final walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI, has requested indemnification against the Patriots if he tells his side of the story. But Walsh and his attorneys have apparently asked for blanket immunity; the league will only protect Walsh against truthful statements.

"We very much want to talk to him," Goodell said. "We've made progress on the conditions, and what he'll be asked to do and what we will do in return.

"I very much want to meet with him, and I expect that will happen shortly."

Walsh's attorney, Michael Levy, told the Boston Herald this week that Walsh has videotapes. Whether that includes St. Louis' walkthrough the day before New England's win in Super Bowl XXXVI is unclear. On Sunday, the Boston Globe published comments from Bill Belichick in which he denied recording any walkthrough or watching tape of any walkthrough in his time as a head coach, and Scott Pioli said Walsh was fired when it was discovered that the assistant had recorded conversations between himself and Walsh.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Five Pats returning to school

New England players Kyle Brady, Troy Brown, Dan Koppen, Matt Light and Richard Seymour are among 114 players from around the league who will participate in the NFL's Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program this offseason.

The program, now in its fourth year, is part of an initiative between the NFL and NFL Players Association aimed at helping players prepare for their post-football careers.

Player enrollment criteria include level of education, professional business experience, interest in starting, owning or managing a busines, and leadership and community involvement.

Seymour will take part in the workshop offered by Harvard Business School; Koppen and Light will enroll at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern; and Brady and Brown will enroll in the workshop at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

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

Hoffman: Suit against Patriots only reaffirms the obvious

By Rich Hoffman
The Philadelphia Daily News

Watching in amazement as Sen. Arlen Specter and some attorneys from the Cincinnati area attempt to turn Bill Belichick and his video camera into a federal case, literally, the following is offered for perspective:

"We know that (stealing signs) became an area of concentration for a lot of teams," the coach said. "I think that crossed the line of ethics; to have teams videotaping me on the sideline, then learning our plays."

The coach in question was Sam Wyche, then of the Tampa Bay Bucs. The quote comes from a St. Petersburg Times story published in 1994.

Then, this:

"We don't do it," another coach said. "There are other clubs that do and are really good at it. There are even two or three teams that videotape the other team's signals and study them ... I don't know if it's legal, but I'm pretty sure it's not kosher."

That coach was Jimmy Johnson, then of the Miami Dolphins. The quote comes from a Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel story published in 1997.

It has been against the rules forever, according to an NFL spokesman contacted the other day, but it seems that at least several teams were undeterred about sideline taping over the years - and, amazingly enough, both the sport and the republic survived. Yet here we all are, in a desperate race to get somebody named Matt Walsh in front of a legal stenographer so that he can tell us what he says he knows about the Patriots and whether they taped the St. Louis Rams at their pre-Super Bowl walkthrough in 2002.

Belichick is on record now, in a Boston Globe story published Monday. He denies everything, up, down and sideways. He says he didn't order videotaping of the walkthrough; he didn't see any tape; he has never seen a tape of any opponent's practice; and he "couldn't pick Matt Walsh out of a lineup."

It was all pretty emphatic - Clemensesque, in fact.

Hugh K. Campbell Jr., one of the attorneys who filed the class-action lawsuit against the Pats and Belichick, said that, like the rest of us, he read the coach's extensive denials Monday morning.

"We're curious to find out what Matt Walsh has to say," he said.

The $100 million lawsuit - which claims to represent the interests of Rams players and ticketholders defrauded by the dastardly Belichick - totals 25 pages. It is a colossal bore, as are most lawsuits. Having subjected it to a thorough and professional review - that is, as thorough and professional a review as can be performed by a layman who is semi-sprawled on a couch and flipping through it during commercials - this seems to be the entire basis of the suit:

"An unidentified source, but one the Boston Herald relied upon enough to publicize the allegation, told the Boston Herald a member of the Patriots video staff taped the St. Louis Rams last 'walk-through' before they played in the 2002 Super Bowl."

That's it. Really.

No?

"I don't think it's only based on a newspaper report," said Campbell, on the phone Monday from his office in Cincinnati.

"Bill Belichick has been fined $500,000 by the league," he said. "Obviously, I think they had proof that he did illegal taping since at least 2000, and I think Sen. Specter would agree with that. The filming didn't just start in 2006."

But videotaping sideline signals is completely different from videotaping a team's walkthrough on the day before the Super Bowl. The former is illegal, but more in the realm of digital gamesmanship, and it has been going on with other NFL teams, or at least alleged, for years; no, decades. The latter is much worse, a whole 'nother kettle of pixels and would almost certainly result in Belichick's being kicked out of the league (for lying to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, if nothing else).

Anyway, the race now is to get Walsh, the former Pats video/lackey guy, under oath. The problem is that Walsh is seeking immunity from a lawsuit regarding anything he says or anything he swiped from the Pats after he was fired.

Campbell said he and one of his co-counsels, Eric C. Deters, were working Monday on finding a way to craft an immunity deal. Campbell said that he was contacting Specter and trying to coordinate their efforts somehow - "It seems to make sense, in that we're all trying to get the same information," he said - and that Deters was contacting Walsh's attorney and working that angle.

"It's up to the court to allow discovery," Campbell said, meaning he can't get Walsh in front of the stenographer until the court says so. "It would be nice if Matt Walsh would come forward."

He will at some point, with some kind of immunity - that seems certain now. At which point, this great governmental intrusion into the unsportsmanlike conduct that has existed in the NFL forever will begin in earnest. Walsh will allege, Belichick will deny, and a grand national search will begin for an NFL version of Andy Pettitte. Hilarity will ensue.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments 2

Travel here, and imagine the Patriots really won

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) - The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl and ended the season with a perfect 19-0 record - at least it looks that way in Nicaragua.

The NFL donated 290 Patriots hats and an equal number of team jerseys trumpeting the slogans "Super Bowl Champions, 19-0" to impoverished children from two small communities in southern Nicaragua.

Thursday's gifts could not change history - the Patriots lost the Feb. 3 game to the New York Giants 17-14 - but they made a lot of youngsters in the communities of San Gregorio and Buena Vista very happy, said Miriam Diaz, spokeswoman for the humanitarian organization World Vision, which arranged the donation with the NFL.

"They (Patriots) lost, but the children won," Diaz said.

The only "football" most of the children know is soccer, but they were very enthusiastic about the U.S. version of the game once the rules were explained to them, she said.

"They were very happy to receive the hats and jerseys," Diaz said. "They said they did not expect such a surprise."

Neither did the Patriots.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brown to be honored in W. Va.

The City Council of Huntington, W. Va. voted on Monday to name a street in honor of longtime resident and beloved Patriot Troy Brown.

A section of 16th Street Road will be renamed Troy Brown way.

Though Brown was raised in South Carolina, he became a star at Marshall and has remained in West Virginia. He is active in several Huntington community organizations and will once again hold his football camp at Marshall in April.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:58 PM to Troy Brown | Permalink | Comments 3

Belichick SB XLII headset up for auction

The NFL today opened a 10-day auction for the headset Pats' coach Bill Belichick wore on the sidelines last season, including for Super Bowl XLII. New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin's headset is also available.

Though they are the headsets both coaches wore throughout the season, the Motorola "batwing" logo was replaced on one side by the SB XLII logo for the game nearly two weeks ago.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit NFL Charities. Other items available on the nflauction.nfl.com site include the Pro Bowl number 21 jerseys worn by Washington Redskins Chris Cooley, Chris Samuels and Ethan Albright in last weekend's game.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Patriots announce ticket prices for 2008 season

Press release from the Patriots.

FOXBORO – The New England Patriots have announced ticket prices for the 2008 season. The new ticket prices reflect the team’s first ticket price increase since the end of the 2004 season.

Patriots season ticket holders will be sent renewal invoices starting next week. All season ticket renewal invoices must be returned by March 31.

Once renewals are processed, any available season tickets will be made available to those on the season ticket waiting list. Additionally, a limited number of tickets have been reserved for a general, individual-game sale this spring.

For more information on season ticket renewals, waiting list applications or general information on the team, please visit patriots.com.

2008 PATRIOTS TICKET PRICES
Seat Location Price
Lower Level Sideline $169
Lower Level Corner/End Zone $117
Mezzanine Level Corner/End Zone $117
Upper Level Sideline $89
Upper Level Corner (Rows 1-7) $89
Upper Level Corner (Rows 8-26) $65
Standing Room $49

The Patriots’ eight regular-season home opponents have been determined. New England will host each of its three AFC East division rivals (Buffalo, Miami and the New York Jets) in addition to a pair of teams from the AFC West (Denver and Kansas City), two teams from the NFC West (Arizona and St. Louis) and the 2007 AFC North Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Posted by Rob Lee  at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments 4

NFL's Goodell, Senate's Specter to meet on Spygate case

NEW YORK -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will meet tomorrow with U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter to discuss the Spygate case involving the New England Patriots.

NFL officials say the afternoon meeting will take place in Specter's office. The Pennsylvania Republican has asked Goodell to explain his decision to destroy the tapes and notes from the case.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team was fined $250,000. The Patriots also forfeited a first-round draft pick.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 7:15 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady, Moss among top-selling jerseys

The Patriots' popularity -- or lack thereof, if you saw the Pro Bowl -- goes beyond ticket sales. The NFL released its list of the 20 best-selling player jerseys on nflshop.com for the 2007 season (April 1-Feb 8), and both Tom Brady and Randy Moss are in the top 10.

1. Tony Romo, Dallas
2. Tom Brady, New England
3. Brett Favre, Green Bay
4. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis
5. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego
6. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
7. Eli Manning, Giants
8. Randy Moss, New England
9. Brian Urlacher, Chicago
10. Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh

Tomlinson's jersey was the top seller for last year.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats sign LB Slaughter

The Patriots have announced the signing of free agent LB T.J. Slaughter.

A 6-foot-1, 233 pound, seven-year veteran, Slaughter spent last year out of football. But he has played in 78 career games (32 starts) since Jacksonville drafted him out of Southern Mississippi in the third round in 2000. He has played with the Jaguars, Packers, Ravens, Saints and 49ers.

Slaughter was a college teammate of Adalius Thomas.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

What would have been: The Reebok commercial if the Pats had won

By now, you've probably seen the Reebok commercial of the 1972 Dolphins in Perfectville (population: 1) receiving a gift from the New York Giants, via Giants Courier.

But you know they didn't up and film that commericial immediately after the Super Bowl. They filmed two endings.

Here, courtesy of youtube and larrybrownsports.com. is the version you would have seen had the Pats won: Pat's Moving Company delivering a new resident into Perfectville.

Posted by Art Martone  at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's Sports cover

The Patriots are already looking ahead to next season, and that might be a season without Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth. Also, as PC's struggles without Sharaud Curry, URI gears up to take on UMass tonight.
Download file

Posted by Rich Lee  at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

AP: What Belichick can learn from Bobby Knight

By Jim Litke
AP Sports Columnist

One is going and the other isn't going anywhere, yet there's plenty Bill Belichick can learn from Bob Knight's departure.

Knight completed the last perfect season in college basketball more than three decades ago, when his 1976 Indiana team went 32-0 and beat Michigan in the championship game. It came a year after an even better Hoosiers squad went into the tournament undefeated and lost a regional final to Kentucky.

If nothing else, that example should provide some encouragement to Belichick as he goes back to work in the wake of the Giants' giant upset of the previously unbeaten Patriots in Super Bowl. But the lessons better not stop there.

"It takes a lot to get to this point," Belichick said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon, "but now it's starting over, into the '08 season. It's already time to move on.
"We're into the offseason and that's just the way it is," he added. "We'll start moving ahead toward next year."

There won't be a next year for Knight, of course. He walked away from his job at Texas Tech in the middle of the season, ostensibly so his son and chosen successor, Pat, could get a running start on the next one.

"I'm not saying I've always been right, but I've been right more than I've been wrong over the years," Knight said in an interview aired later the same day on ESPN. "And this just felt like the right thing to do at the right moment."

If that sounds familiar, it should. When Knight won his 880th game to overtake North Carolina's Dean Smith and become the winningest coach in Division I, he arranged to have Frank Sinatra's "My Way" playing over the public address system in the arena. It was a fitting tribute, but not just in the way the 67-year-old Knight envisioned it.

As the testimonials to his career over the last two days reminded us, all those stellar accomplishments were undermined to some degree by his methods. He ran exemplary programs at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech and essentially changed the way the game was played. He graduated nearly every kid he didn't scare off and took an abiding interest in how every one of them turned out. He raised a hellacious amount of money at every stop, too, often reaching deep into his own pocket for donations.

But the three championships and 42 largely successful seasons were pockmarked by one episode of bullying after another against a rotating cast of victims. He picked on kids who played for him, reporters who wrote about him, sometimes the very same administrators who covered his back, even the secretary who sat outside his office for years.

When Knight said later in the same interview, "I was kind of tired," he wasn't talking about his passion for teaching the game, but for just about everything else that happened outside the lines of the court. Even if Knight left when he wanted to - "A lot of coaches quit on somebody else's thinking. and I think it's fortunate when you can quit on your own," Knight said - the sad truth is how few people noticed and that ever fewer seemed to care.

The end came at a basketball backwater far away and long removed from the place where Knight had achieved and mattered so much. He fell off the map even before he walked off under his own power, and if that's his version of "My Way," it's a strange, muted way for one of the greatest coaches ever to leave the stage.

Belichick, who is a dozen years younger, isn't worn out and he isn't dragging a strong of embarrassing incidents behind him. But the sideline spying scandal that erupted after the season opener against the Jets may have legs and his caustic personality has earned him way more foes than friends the farther you venture away from New England.

His decision to duck out of the Super Bowl with one second left on the clock Sunday night only added to that number. Belichick had already congratulated Giants coach Tom Coughlin, a friend dating back to their days on Bill Parcells' staff in New York, and the final play was nothing more than a formality. But so was Belichick's explanation for his early exit.

"There really wasn't much left at that point," he said.

Not for him, anyway. But the day will come when Belichick will be forced to realize, the way Knight was, that the game no longer revolves around him. And that, ultimately, the way he piled up all those trophies and all those wins will be just as important a part of his legacy as the fact that he got them at all.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Transcript: Bill Belichick's conference call on Tuesday

As I said after the game, it’s a disappointing end to a lot of good things that happened this season. The players did a great job all year long. We played a lot of good football, but we’re certainly disappointed about the way it ended. We came so close, but it just didn’t work out. It takes a lot to get to this point, but we’re starting all over into the ’08 season. It’s already time to move on. We’re into the offseason and that’s just the way it is, so we’ll start moving ahead toward next year.

As good a regular season as you had, into the playoffs and the Super Bowl, is it still tough to accentuate the positives and all the good things that you accomplished?
It’s pretty much over, time to move on. I’m not going to sit here and dwell on anything good or bad that happened in the past. It’s over, it is what it is and we played our last game of the ’07 season.

What’s the first mode of business? I know you never stop.
First thing is to go back and look at what happened during the season, evaluate our team and our scheme and our players. Then we start moving into the team building aspect, free agency, the draft, personnel decisions, playbook and all the things that we do prepare for the offseason program, the spring camps and ultimately the ’08 season

Did you watch with your coaching staff already the film of the Super Bowl?
Actually I haven’t had a chance to see it yet.

Is that something that is just going to be part of an overall evaluation when you go back and look at it and is it going to be a high priority without another game to prepare for or is it just more for your edification when you watch it?
We’ll definitely watch it. It’s certainly part of the overall season evaluation. I just personally haven’t had time to look at it. I know some of our coaches have, but we didn’t get in until late Monday night and I’ve just been dealing with a lot of other things here today and working on some other stuff. I just haven’t had a chance to watch it, but I’ll certainly watch it. It’ll be part of our overall body of work from the ’07 season, which will be part of our analysis on how we can improve and where we need to go heading into next year.

There’s a large amount of conversation about the relative appropriateness of you going across with a second left and shaking hands with Tom [Coughlin]. Is there any further explanation on why you did that that you would like to give?
Basically, on that last play I wasn’t really sure of the time. Everybody started on to the field and then I got over there, I wanted to congratulate Tom - I wanted to get over there and congratulate him and tell him that - congratulate him on the championship. They deserved it. There really wasn’t’ much left at that point.

I know it’s all water under the bridge but I couldn’t help but wonder as I saw Pierre Woods on top of the ball, is down by contact on a fumble a reviewable play?
The whole thing is about possession. Ultimately on the play the officials ruled that there wasn’t any clear-cut possession and Mike Carey was standing right there in front of it. I can’t imagine that he would’ve ruled it any differently than the way he did. He was standing right on top of the play, so I really didn’t give it much thought. The ruling that they gave on the field, I didn’t really think about anything more than the next play at that point to be honest with you.

Coach, I know fans are reliving a lot of plays especially on that final drive, do you relive any of those? Do you second-guess any decisions? Or do you just move right on?
Anytime you coach a game you always look at things and feel like there are things you could have done better. I certainly could have - like I feel about every game, there’s always room to improve and coach better. I’m sure all the players that participated in the game feel the same way. That there’s a way they could have played better, plays they could have done better. When you play a close game like that, I’m sure that’s every player and coach’s feeling, assistant coach, head coach, players, everybody. That’s the way you feel after a game like that. It’s really close, it’s disappointing and you look at what you did and say well if I had done this or I had done that maybe it would have made a difference. I think that’s a normal feeling in a game like that. I certainly feel it and I’m sure everybody else that participated in the game feels that about the entire game. As I said I haven’t gone through each specific play yet, so I can’t comment on anything [in] a lot of detail, but sure. We all feel that way.

Will you take any time off? Take a week or two off and get away from things for a little while?
I don’t know exactly what my schedule’s going to be in the next few days. We traveled all day yesterday and [I’m] just getting back in the office here and get a few things organized and take care of some things that are coming up here at the end of the season and just go from there.

When are the exit physicals and is every player required to show up for that?
Every player is required to have a physical at the end of the season, yes.

Were those today?
There are different schedules on those. Everybody needs to have one. It could be done at different times depending what the player’s individual situation is and how that’s set up with the medical people.

Coach there has been speculation that some of the older players, Rodney [Harrison], Junior [Seau] and maybe Tedy [Bruschi] may want to retire. Do you expect all three of those be back next year?
At the end of each season, I’ve said this in previous years and I would say it really every year, I don’t think the day after the season is a great time to make decisions about anything. I think we all need to give the end of the season a little bit of time. Whatever decisions need to be made, sometimes they’re timely decisions and you can’t wait forever on them, but I don’t think the day after the season is a great time to be making a lot of important decisions on anything. How those players feel now and how they might feel a week from now, or two weeks from now, or a month from now could be entirely different. Certainly, I’ve seen that in my career as a coach and I’ve had feelings after a game, that after a period of time have shifted a little bit too for various reasons. I personally wouldn’t put too much into anything that happens soon after the end of any season, good or bad. Immediately after a particular game a lot of times those are emotional decisions and not really good fundamental ones.

Is that the same line of thinking applied to a coaching staff too and whether you expect it remain intact?
I think that applies to everything. Again, some decisions have to be made in a timely manner. Whether you want to make them or not they need to be made is some kind of timely fashion.

Are you confident that you’ll have the same coaching staff intact for next year?
You asked me a question about the timing of those decisions and I just said I don’t think the day after the season is the time to make those. I think some decisions come in a timely way and then you have to make them when that time comes, but I would not be in a rush to make a decision the day after the season ended on anything.

Posted by Art Martone  at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments 4

Brady's personal passing coach thinks QB was hampered by ankle injury

Tom Martinez, the personal passing guru of Tom Brady, told the New York Daily News Monday in a phone interview from Menlo Park, Calif., that he thinks his pupil's ankle hampered him in Super Bowl XLII.

"He had chances and he had guys open, but in an atypical way, the ball wasn't getting there," said Martinez. "(The coaches) didn't move the pocket much to get him outside the pocket. They didn't do some things they've done in the past. That led me to believe there was some kind of problem with the ankle."

According to the Fox TV announcers, Brady said in a production meeting last week that he was concerned about his ankle, especially on how it would affect his deep throws.

"I saw a different approach from [the Patriots]," he said. "They're so smart, and yet it was kind of shocking they didn't have a few more answers. I felt like -- and I have to be careful with what I say -- that they stayed too long with what they were doing.

"They weren't really aggressive the way they went about it. In the second and third period, it's like they were trying to hang on, 7-3. That led me to believe that something internal was going on. It wasn't typical. Those coaches always have answers to the people who give them problems.

"I don't know what it was, but the Patriots didn't look like the Patriots."

Posted by Art Martone  at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Patriots release statement on Andrews

Patriots defensive back Willie Andrews was arrested Tuesday in Lowell, Mass. on charges of possession of marijuana and driving an unregistered motor vehicle.

Coach Bill Belichick just held a media conference call and would not comment on the matter, but spokesperson Stacey James released this statement on behalf of the team: "The conduct of our players is very important to the New England Patriots. We are aware of the report regarding Willie Andrews, but will not comment publicly on pending legal matters. As is our policy, team discipline will be handled internally."

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Belichick: Too early to make decisions for 2008

Bill Belichick wants his players who may be considering retirement to hold off for a while.

He said Tuesday that two days after the end of the season is too soon to make important decisions.

Among those who may retire are linebackers Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau and safety Rodney Harrison. All are 34 or older and haven’t said what they will do after New England lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants on Sunday 17-14.

Belichick also says he hasn’t had a chance to review that game but intends to do it as part of an overall evaluation of the season with an eye toward improving the team next season.

As for the controversy surrounding his leaving the field before time had expired Sunday night, Belichick said he didn't know how much time was left on the clock and, because people were streaming on the field, thought the game was over. He went out to shake hands with Giants coach Tom Coughlin and then left the field.

Posted by Art Martone  at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Patriots' Willie Andrews charged with marijuana possession

LOWELL, Mass. (AP) - New England Patriots defensive back Willie Andrews was arrested during a traffic stop Tuesday on charges of possession of marijuana and driving an unregistered motor vehicle.

The morning arrest came one day after the team returned from Arizona, where the New York Giants upset New England 17-14 in the Super Bowl to end the Patriots' perfect season.

Andrews was to be arraigned Tuesday in Lowell District Court, said Corey Welford, a spokesman for the Middlesex district attorney. Welford did not have further details, and a call to the Patriots was not immediately returned.

Andrews completed his second year with the Patriots, spending time on special teams return and coverage units. He scored his first NFL touchdown in October on a 77-yard kickoff return against the Miami Dolphins.

The 24-year-old player from Longview, Texas, was drafted in the seventh round out of Baylor in 2006.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:13 PM to Willie Andrews | Permalink | Comments 0

Giants parade photos

AP photos

Coach Tom Coughlin

Wide receiver Amani Toomer

Sen. Charles Schumer and Gov. Eliot Spitzer

Michael Strahan, general manager Jerry Reese, and Eli Manning

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's Sports cover

It was the Giants' last chance, and Eli Manning took full advantage of it in stunning the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Also, PC men's basketball coach, Tim Welsh, is on the hot seat, but does he deserve it?
Download file

Posted by Rich Lee  at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Just the die hards cheer the Patriots; Giants get a parade

A sparse-but-loyal group of 200 fans stood in the cold weather near the team’s pro shop Monday night to welcome home the NFL’s runner-up team.

The Pats remain champions in the hearts and minds of the fans. It was quite different from the 15,000 fans who were at Gillette two weeks ago for the Super Bowl sendoff.

And it will be quite a different scene in New York where the Giants will get a ticker-tape parade this morning at 11. Watch the parade live.

Fans began to gather around 5 o’clock in anticipation of the team’s arrival home. Around 8 o’clock a security guard screamed out, “Five minutes,” and the fans began to cheer. In the distance, a lone football was being tossed back and forth between a father and son. Finally, at 8:16, the blue lights from the police escort could be seen coming into the parking lot with five buses of players, personnel, friends and family.

“We’re here to support our guys,” said Sue LaFauci of Smithfield. “We still love them and we will love them. We’re disappointed like everyone else, naturally, but we won 18 and we tried.”

The buses moved slowly past the fans. One Patriots employee later described the flight home from Arizona as “somber.”

Al and Claudia Inglese of North Attleboro have had Patriots season tickets for 30 years, so they’ve experienced a lot of the ups and downs that come with being a football fan in New England. Their seats at Gillette Stadium are six rows behind the Patriots’ bench.

Posted by Peter Phipps  at 7:18 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Votes are in: This was the most watched Super Bowl

The Giants’ win over the Patriots was the most-watched Super Bowl ever, with 97.5 million viewers, Nielsen Media Research said Monday.

The game eclipsed the previous Super Bowl record of 94.08 million, set when Dallas defeated Pittsburgh in 1996. More people watched Sunday’s game than all but one American television broadcast ever, the “M-A-S-H” finale in 1983, which was seen by 106 million viewers.

The game had almost all the ingredients Fox could have hoped for: a tight contest with an exciting finish involving a team that was attempting to make history as the NFL’s first unbeaten team since 1972.

But the Giants ended New England’s bid for perfection, 17-14. Throughout the game, the teams were never separated by more than a touchdown.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Peter Phipps  at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Photo: One-word headline says it all

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
This is the newspaper cover Pats' fans really didn't want to see -- but did.

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments 2

Download today's sports cover

It's not pretty, if you're a Patriots fan, but here it is.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:58 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Burress backs up words

New York receiver Plaxico Burress drew national attention -- and the ire of his head coach -- when he predicted a 23-17 Giants victory.

But though he had just two catches for 27 yards, Burress caught the game-winning touchdown with 35 seconds to play.

Playing with a torn ligament in his right ankle for much of the season and with swelling in his left knee this week as well, Burress did not participate in the team's Arizona practice sessions.

"It bothered him and I could see it in his face," Tom Coughlin said of his star wideout. "But fortunately game day came along and he set himself again and decided what he was going to go out and do and he did it. The catch at the end there, he and Eli (Manning) have done that many times by now."

"I was so happy for him," fellow receiver Amani Toomer said. "He called his shot. I am just so happy for him and happy for our team. We had the better receivers today."

When Burress was asked about his injuries after the game, he said, "I'm not feeling anything."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:55 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Best Ever

The Giants now have won seven league championships. They also have lost a league-high 11 times in the title game.

"I'll tell you what," team owner John K. Mara said last night, "this is the greatest victory in the history of the franchise, without question.

"I just want to say to all you Giants fans who have supported us for more than 30 years at Giants Stadium, for all those years in Yankee Stadium, and some of you even back to the Polo Grounds -- this is for you."

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

New job coming for Spagnuolo?

The Giants' defensive performance in Super Bowl XLII certainly reflects positively on D-coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who will reportedly interview with the Redskins for their head coaching vacancy in the morning.

Spagnuolo, who has worked with Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Johnson in the past -- and the Eagles were one of the teams to put up a strong defensive plan against the Pats this season -- said he never imagined his unit would hold the most prolific offense in NFL history to just 14 points.

"In all honesty, no. I believed in the guys and what they were and what they did and what they could do," he said. "But I just had so much respect for New England, that I thought if our offense could control the ball and we could score a few points, then maybe we could outscore them."

Spagnuolo's game plan called for his team to get away from edge blitzes and blitz from the interior, and New York ended up with five sacks and nine hits on Tom Brady.

"We threw one (edge blitz) at them which they picked up. I don't know if we got to call all the blitzes in our game plan," he said. "I do know this: there was a time there when I thought Tom Brady was finding out where we were bringing it, and he was changing the protection. We had to get out of some of those things."

Spagnuolo guessed that New York blitzed on 30 to 35 percent of New England's snaps.

"I have to give credit to the four guys up front," he said. "We hung our hat on those guys all year long and we did it again and it paid off."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:43 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Trench Warfare

"We won the game in the trenches," Giants running back Brandon Jacobs said. "We got physical with them. They couldn't match up with our linemen, who were getting them off the ball."

It was New York's defensive line that was most dominant, harrassing Patriots quarterback Tom Brady throughout the game.

"We knew we could beat them," Jacobs said. "They have a lot of talent, but, deep down, I think we are a better football team. We're a blue-collar team, and we work hard. We knew what we had to do, and went out and did it."

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 12:43 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Moss's first Super Bowl ends in a loss

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Randy Moss’s first visit to the Super Bowl as a player ended in a loss.

The 10-year NFL veteran and Future Hall of Famer was looking forward to having a big game on the biggest stage – Super Bowl XLII – but Moss was limited to five catches for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Those are solid numbers, but they weren’t enough to beat the Giants last night.

Moss said that the Giants were more focused than the Patriots and that’s why they won.

“The Giants just had a better game plan,” Moss said. “They played heads up football. They came ready to play for four quarters, 60 minutes. My hats off to the Giants.
“I think their intensity from the beginning snap to the end of the game was really higher than ours. We just couldn’t meet that intensity.

Moss said that he was surprised by the Patriots lack of intensity because of all the hard work they put in over the last two weeks to prepare for the game.

“When things like that happen, the only thing you can do is lick your wounds and try to come back at it next year.”

Moss caught a six yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady with 2:45 remaining in the game to put the Patriots up, 14-10, but the Giants came storming back to steal the victory.

“It was just a simple fade,” Moss said. “It was a crucial situation in the game. It was late in the game and I really thought that play really gave us the momentum to take us up. But on their side of the ball, offense and defense, they had the intensity for four quarters, so that is really what hurt.”

Moss said that he isn’t surprised that most people across the country wanted the Patriots to lose in the Super Bowl.

“There was a lot of hype and I think that a lot of people got tired of talking about us and I could really sense that,” Moss said. “I am not taking anything from the New York Giants and coach Tom Coughlin. Like I said, they had a great game plan, they executed it, I think that they wanted to get after Tommy (Brady) and they did do that.”

Moss said that he is going to spend the offseason with his family.

“I have a family, I got kids to love and raise,” Moss said. “I am going to be with my kids probably till May or June. I am not thinking of anything football right now so I can just relax my mind, my body and love my kids.”

Posted by Rob Lee  at 12:43 AM to Randy Moss | Permalink | Comments 0

Tuck's Two Sacks

"It just feels great," Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck, who had two of New York's five sacks, said of the pressure he and his teammates put on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady throughout Super Bowl XLII.

"It was a complete effort," he said. "Everybody was getting after it. It was just a great collective win. We knew the focus for us to win was to get a lot of heat on him early and often. I feel we succeeded in that."

"We felt like we could do that," said Michael Strahan, who also had a sack of Brady. "We done that all year. We led the league in sacks (with 53) and, supposedly, when we get against the Patriots, we're not supposed to be able to pass rush?

"That's what we do," Strahan said. "We spot the run, as well. We felt like we could do it from the beginning, and did not listen to anyone who said we couldn't."

They certainly did, holding the Patriots -- who averaged 38 points a game during the regular season while scoring a league-record, 589 points -- to a season-low 14 points.

"That offense," Tuck said, "is made to stay in rhythm, and some things we showed him up front and in the secondary, you could tell it kind of threw him off rhythm. He made some errant throw and held the ball a little longer than he normally does. That's the result of a combination of pressure in his face, and the secondary doing a great job locking down all of the receivers."

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Seau not thinking about graduation

The New England Patriots, and in particular Rodney Harrison, wanted to win Super Bowl XLII for the glory, but also to give 18-year veteran Junior Seau the one thing that is missing from his Hall of Fame resume: a championship.

But despite coming close again -- Seau also played in the Super Bowl with the Chargers in 1993 -- he said he was not thinking about the future after the game.

"I'm having too much fun," he said when asked if he's going to retire again, adding that the loss will not affect his decision to return for another season.

"It was a great journey, and the bond that we have will always be there. We came up short, we understand that. The game of football comes down to executing and making plays, and when the opportunities came we didn't make them and New York did."

After Peyton Manning's game-winning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left in the game, Seau lay face-down on the grass at University of Phoenix Stadium.

"I was full of disappointment," he said. "We know we did a great job and to see that happen to us at a crucial time, it just wasn't something I wanted to feel."

Seau was credited with two tackles in the game; he turned 39 last month.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:36 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Road Warriors

Amazingly, the Super Bowl champion New York Giants lost five of their eight home games this season. But they were 11-1 on the road, including four straight playoff victories over Tampa Bay, NFC East champion Dallas, NFC North champion Green Bay, and the AFC champion Patriots.

"That was a record in the National Football League, to win 11 straight road games," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "The road signified for us the coming together of team. The only people who cared about us were the guys standing on our sideline. So we rode that emotion."

Giants owner Steve Tisch joked last night about his club's success away from Giants Stadium.

"This just in from the commissioner's office," he said, laughing. "All games should be played on the road next year."

"We are the road warriors," Giants running back Brandon Jacobs said. "They call us that for a reason. We made history. There's nobody undefeated now except the 72 Dolphins."

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 12:34 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Eli On Game-Winning TD

"It was a fade route," Eli Manning said of the game-winning, 13-yard TD pass he threw to a wide-open Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left to play in Super Bowl XLII.

"They had been playing zone coverage. They came with an all-out blitz and the corner (Ellis Hobbs) sat, because he thought we might run something short. (Burress) ran right by him and made a great catch to win the game."

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 12:31 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Post-game notes

These are courtesy of the Super Bowl XLII media staff and Elias Sports Bureau:

* The 33 minute, 52 second scoreless streak from the opening seconds of the second quarter to 3:55 remaining in the fourth is the longest in Super Bowl history;

* Tom Brady has an even 100 completions over four career Super Bowls, a record;

* Brady's 48 pass attempts in the game without an interception is a record;

* The 42 combined rushing attempts (16 for New England and 26 for New York) are the lowest in Super Bowl history, and the 136 combined rushing yards (45 for New England, 91 for New York) are also an all-time low;

* Giants punter Jeff Feagles, at 41 years, 333 days, is the oldest player to take part in the NFL championship;

* The Giants are the first team in 14 years to win the Super Bowl after trailing at halftime. In Super Bowl XXVIII, Dallas trailed Buffalo, 13-6, but shut the Bills out in the second half for a 30-13 win. Twelve teams had led at halftime since then, and all had won.

* New York is only the second team to win after trailing in the final minute of the fourth quarter, as the game-winning touchdown came with 35 seconds to play. In Super Bowl XXIII, San Francisco's John Taylor caught the game-winning touchdown with 34 seconds to play against Cincinnati.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:26 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Eli's Scramble, Tyree's Catch

It was, without question, the play of the game.

With time running out, and the Giants in a 3rd-and-5 situation at their own 44, Eli Manning slipped out of the grasp of several Patriots pass rushers and lofted a long pass down the middle of the field to wide receiver David Tyree, who outjumped Patriots safety Rodney Harrison for the ball, managing to hold it against the top of his helmet as he fell to the ground.

"That might be one of the great plays of all time in the Super Bowl," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "You had two people, ripping for the ball, and (Tyree) brings it down."

"Eli played super. He did the things in the fourth quarter you have to do to win the Super Bowl. He brought us down the field, he got the ball in the end zone twice. He played very cool, very calm."

"It felt," Manning said of the play, "like I was being grabbed a little bit. Got out of it. Saw Tyree in the middle of the field. The ball just floated. He made an unbelievable catch, jumping up, hold on to that ball with guys hanging all over."

"That's really what it comes down to -- making the play," said Tyree. "Eli did an unbelievable job. I honestly don't know how he got out of it. When the ball is in the air, you have to go get it. That's the job."

"

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 12:22 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Ahead of themselves?

One of the hallmarks of this Patriots team this decade has been their ability not to respond when others are talking, whether it be about them or to them. When players make guarantees or claims, New England replies that their game will do the talking for them.

But they may not have kept their lips zipped this week. After New York's upset, Giants receiver Amani Toomer implied that Pats players may have already had victory bashes in the works.

"They were inviting us to their parties after the game. They showed us no respect," Toomer said.

If true, it would be highly uncharacteristic of New England.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats dejected after Super Bowl loss

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Patriots were hoping to join elite company and become the first team in NFL history to complete a perfect 19-0 season, but the Giants turned that dream into a nightmare by beating the Patriots, 17-14, in Super Bowl XLII.

“We were certainly disappointed,” Patriots defensive back Rodney Harrison said. “We worked hard to stay focused and tried to win one game at a time, 18 times. We have been through so much. I give all of our guys in that locker room a lot of credit, they have a lot of heart. We just came up short."

“There are no words to mend what we feel at this point,” Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour said. “That’s true. There isn’t too much someone can say. You could say it’s just a game or whatever. At the end of the day, we had an opportunity to be special and we couldn’t do it. It’s tough that it ended this way.”

The Patriots broke a lot of records this season, but it ended in disappointment.

“Anytime you lose, it is a long offseason,” Harrison said. “Our goal was to come in and win the ballgame. They just made more plays than us…It’s extremely disappointing.”

“It was a great journey, and the bond that we have will always be there,” Patriots linebacker Junior Seau said. “We came up short, we understand that. The game of football comes down to executing and making plays and when opportunities came we didn’t make them and New York did.”

Posted by Rob Lee  at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Delighted Dolphins

The 1972 Miami Dolphins are happy to remain the only undefeated champions in NFL history.

"It goes to show you how tough it is to go undefeated through an entire season," offensive lineman Larry Little said last night. "Over the years, people have been putting us down, calling us grumpy old men. We never wanted to see the Patriots, or any other team, lose. We are just happy about our accomplishments. We're a very proud football team."

"I don't take joy," tight end Jim Mandich said, "in the fact the Patriots lost. But I do relish and savor the fact that there has only been one unbeaten team in the history of the NFL, and it is the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Of that, I am extremely proud."

"We were never against the New England Patriots," said running Jim Kiick. "We're not comparing ourselves to anyone else from other gneerations. We're happy with our own accomplishments."

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 12:06 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Fourth-quarter, postgame photos

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
David Tyree celebrates a New York score.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Randy Moss with the go-ahead touchdown.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Eli Manning eludes the blitz.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Steve Smith takes the hit from Brandon Meriweather but holds on.

AP Photo / The Arizona Republic, David Kadlubowski
Plaxico Burress comes down with the game-winning touchdown catch, beating Ellis Hobbs.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Tom Brady can only watch after failing to move the team in the final half-minute.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Ellis Hobbs leaves the field.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Junior Seau leaves the field, without the Super Bowl championship he has coveted for so long.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Adalius Thomas leaves the field.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Tom Brady leaves the field.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Terry Bradshaw interviews Michael Strahan.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Spike Lee celebrates a Giants victory.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Third-quarter photos

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Bill Belichick returns to the sidelines after halftime

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Osi Umenyiora hits Brady as he releases the ball.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Tom Brady barks out signals.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Plaxico Burress is defended by three Patriots on this incomplete pass.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Rodney Harrison confers with Belichick.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Wes Welker fights forward with a catch.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora celebrate a sack.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Tom Brady after taking a sack

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Aaron Ross, center, and Corey Webster combine to bring down Wes Welker.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

No 19-0, Giants pull off upset

The New York Giants have pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, preventing the New England Patriots from completing their undefeated season with a 17-14 come-from-behind win.

Eli Manning led the Giants on the game-winning, 12-play drive which was completed with less than a minute to play in the game.

We'll have more to come.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments 3

Moss gets SB moment

Randy Moss, a non-factor for much of the first half, got his Super Bowl moment.

On third-and-goal from the six, Moss was lined up wide right with single coverage provided by Corey Webster. Webster backpedaled a few steps, turned and slipped, falling on his belly. Moss was all alone to catch the go-ahead touchdown.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Welker ties record

That last catch by Wes Welker, a 10-yard gain on second-and-6, was his 11th reception of the game, tying him with three others players for the most ever in a Super Bowl game.

Cincinnati's Dan Ross (SB XVI), San Francisco's Jerry Rice (SB XXIII) and New England's Deion Branch (SB XXXIX) are the other players with 11 receptions.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Faulk returns

Kevin Faulk returned to the field on New England's last drive.

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

Halftime photos

Journal photos / Bob Breidenbach
Tom Petty performs for the Super Bowl halftime show.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Low scoring

The 10 total points scored through three quarters is the second-lowest total score through three quarters in SB history. In Super Bowl IX, Pittsburgh led Minnesota, 9-0, though three and won 16-6.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Faulk hurt

Kevin Faulk limped off the field after New England's previous drive. His injury has been announced as a leg and his return questionable, though Faulk was clearly grabbing his hamstring as he hopped off the field.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:49 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady sets SB record

Tom Brady's 13th completion tonight was his 84th in the Super Bowl, breaking the record of 83 completions set by Joe Montana. Montana played in four Super Bowls and was 83-for-122 without an interception.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

What About Gostkowski?

GLENDALE -- What is Bill Belichick saying about kicker Stephen Gostkowski when, rather than allowing him to attempt a 48-yard field goal -- indoors, yet -- the Patriots go for the first down on 4th-and-13 at the NY 31?

Especially considering how much pressure the Giants have been getting on Tom Brady?

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Belichick wins challenge

Ernie Adams strikes again.

Adams, one of Belichick's most trusted advisers and the one who tells him whether or not he should challenge plays, advised him well as New England got new life when Belichick challenged whether or not Chase Blackburn got off the field before Lonie Paxton's snap. Referee Mike Carey sided with New England, and the team got 5 yards and a drive-reviving first down.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

First-half photos

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Laurence Maroney and Matt Light celebrate Maroney's touchdown, the only TD by either team in the half.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Maroney picks up yardage in the first quarter.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Eli Manning sets up the Giants offense in the first quarter.

Tom Brady's pass for Benjamin Watson falls incomplete in the end zone, but the Giants' Antonio Pierce was called for pass interference on the play.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Adalius Thomas brings down Brandon Jacobs

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Wes Welker is brought down after a catch.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Tom Brady throws with plenty of time, something that was unusual in the first half.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Kevin Faulk runs with the ball.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

History on Pats side

Teams leading at halftime in Super Bowls are 32-7 so history is on the Pats side to go 19-0.

Posted by Rob Lee  at 7:55 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Defense Wins Championships

GLENDALE -- There is, of course, still another half of football to be played, but Super Bowl XLII, so far, has been yet another example of why "Defense Wins Championships" has become a tried-and-true adage.

Although the Patriots are ahead on the scoreboard, 7-3, they have to be concerned about their inability to protect Tom Brady. The Giants pass rush -- Justin Tuck, in particular -- has pressured Brady constantly, making it extremely difficult for him to throw the ball deep. He has been sacked three times, twice by Tuck.

Perhaps, in the second half, the Patriots should try to connect on shorter, quicker routes, to move the chains and negate New York's powerful pass rush.

Fortunately for the Pats, their defense has shut down the New York offense, limiting the Giants to a field goal on the game's opening possession. The problem, however, is that the Giants have done an excellent job of controlling the clock, racking up a whopping edge in time of possession, 19:27 to 10:33.

That's frighteningly similar (if you're a New England fan) to what Bill Parcells' Giants did in Super Bowl XXV against the favored Buffalo Bills and their prolific offense. The Bill had the ball for only 19:27 in a 20-19 loss to New York.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Halftime thoughts

Clearly, first and foremost for New England is better protection for Tom Brady. In the team's last meeting on Jan. 29, Russ Hochstein and Ryan O'Callaghan filled in at right guard and tackle, respectively, due to injuries to Stephen Neal and Nick Kaczur. Though Brady was pressured quite a bit in that game, he was sacked only once. He has been sacked three times so far today.

Part of the problem for New England is they are getting into long-yardage situations, and New York bring Justin Tuck onto the field on obvious passing downs. It is Tuck who has done most of the damage, strip-sacking Brady at the end of the half.

Brady didn't look to Randy Moss until late in the second quarter, and Moss has one catch on three pass attempts his way.

Though it wound up not mattering because of Ellis Hobbs' interception a few plays later, Amani Toomer's 38-yard reception in the second quarter should have been waved off, as he pushed off of Hobbs, shoving him under the chin, as the ball came in.

One miscue for New England defensively was when Pierre Woods lost the fumble he had clearly recovered. Woods immediately fell on a fumble by Ahmad Bradshaw, but in the scrum was rolled over and stripped of the ball. Had he held on, the Pats would have had the ball around the New York 33.

New York is playing conservatively on offense, and clearly has the game plan to play keep-away from Tom Brady by eating time off the clock.

Bill Belichick is renowned for his ability to adjust, and his team will need to make several changes, particularly on offense, in the second half.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Hochstein replaces Neal

Patriots offensive lineman Russ Hochstein replaced right guard Stephen Neal after he injured his knee in the second quarter.

The Giants continue to pressure and sack Brady with the Patriots offensive linemen banged up.

Posted by Rob Lee  at 7:49 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

First throw to Moss

On first down of New England's current drive, Tom Brady threw downfield for Randy Moss; it was the first time this game that Brady had looked for his Pro Bowl receiver.

Brady was hit by safety Gibril Wilson as he let go of the ball and neither Moss nor his defenders were in position to make a play on the ball.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Game attendance

Today's attendance at sold out University of Phoenix Stadium is 71,101.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Neal questionable

Stephen Neal was injured on the second sack Tom Brady absorbed on New England's last possession and limped off the field.

His injury has been announced as a knee; his return is questionable.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Hobbs turning it on

AP photo / Chris O'Meara
Ellis Hobbs runs back his second-quarter interception as Junior Seau looks to block.

Perhaps stung by comments that he's a weak spot on the Pats' defense, Ellis Hobbs has turned it on a bit of late -- his heads-up interception of Eli Manning on a pass attempt batted up by Steve Smith, was his third pick in the last four games.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:19 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

First Playoff Pick for Manning

GLENDALE -- The interception thrown by Eli Manning that went off the hands of rookie wide receiver Steve Smith into the hands of Ellis Hobbs at the New England 10-yard line was the first pick of the postseason for the NY QB.

Coming into the Super Bowl, Manning had completed 53 of 85 passes in the playoffs, for 599 yards and 4 TDs.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 7:13 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Gisele in the house

Since we know you were so concerned, FOX cameras just confirmed that Tom Brady's girlfriend, model Gisele Bundchen, is here at the game.

Pamela Anderson, Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy are among the other celebrities on hand.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Giants: longest drive

It has just been announced that New York's opening drive, which took 9 minutes, 59 seconds, is the longest drive, time-wise, in Super Bowl history.

The two total possessions for the first quarter, one for each team, is also a game record.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats respond

AP photo / Matt Slocum
Laurence Maroney puts the Patriots on top with a one-yard touchdown run.

GLENDALE -- While the Patriots' first possession didn't last as long as New York's, the end result was better.

While the Giants had to settle for a field goal, the Pats pounded it in from the 1-yard line, Laurence Maroney going in over the right side, giving New England a 7-3 lead three seconds into the second quarter.

The Patriots covered 56 yards in 12 plays, using 5:04.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Super Bowl history in first quarter

The two possessions (one by each team) is the fewest in the history of the Super Bowl.

Posted by Rob Lee  at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Giants Off To Good Start

AP photo / Ross D. Franklin
Lawrence Tynes gets the Giants on the board with a 32-yard field goal.

GLENDALE -- The important thing for the Giants is not hat they scored three points on their opening possession, but that they ate up 9:59 on the clock.

When the Giants upset the high-scoring Bills in Super Bowl XXV, the key to the game was that New York had a huge edge in time of possession, controlling the clock for 40:33, much to the frustration of Buffalo's Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, and Andre Reed.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 6:44 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Gay, Harrison injured

Rodney Harrison and Randall Gay were injured on the same third-down play.

Harrison returned after sitting out one play; it appeared that he had the wind knocked out of him.

However, Gay left the field holding his right arm close to his body; his return is questionable.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:41 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Lose Toss, Win Game

GLENDALE -- It's a great omen for the Patriots that they lost the coin toss. In all three of their Super Bowl victories, the Pats lost the coin toss.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 6:28 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pregame photos, part two: On-the-field hoopla

AP photos
Singer Alicia Keys performs the Super Bowl pregame show.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft and referee Mike Carey.

Kate Hudson and Kurt Russell

Tom Brady and Randy Moss, on the field.

Bill Belichick and the officiating crew

Plaxico Burress

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 6:14 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Game Faces On

GLENDALE -- Happened to be standing in the back of the press box when the Patriots assistants came off the elevator, accompanied by Scott Pioli, the club's brilliant director of player personnel.

They were, not surprisingly, all business -- walking purposefully, and unsmilingly -- to the coaches' booth.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 6:08 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

No Troy; no joy

GLENDALE -- It's probably the right move -- heck, with the Patriots at 18-0, if Belichick made it, it's undoubtedly the right move -- but, sentimentally, it would have been wonderful to see Troy Brown active for tonight's game.

He has played in only one game this season -- against Miami in the final, regular-season home game. He returned six punts for a total of 55 yards, with a long of 28. But he also fumbled a punt, which the Patriots lost, although it didn't wind up costing them any points.

Brown has played in three Super Bowls during his 15 years in New England. He missed Super Bowl XXXI against the Packers. Some people felt that, if he had been in his usual spot on special teams, Desmond Howard might not have broken free on his game-breaking, 99-yard kickoff return in the third quarter.

In Super Bowl XXXVI against the Rams, Brown had 6 receptions for 89 yards. He caught 8 passes for 76 yards in Super Bowl XXVIII against Carolina, and had two catches, for 17 yards, in Super Bowl XXXIX against the Eagles.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pregame photos, part one: Players and fans arrive

Journal photos / Gretchen Ertl
Tom Brady

Junior Seau

Dwight Churchill from Bedford, N.H.

Ron Rogers from Providence with Super Giant Keith Arbeeny from Brooklyn.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady's ankle appears fine

Tom Brady just ran out onto the field and jumped up and down a few times.

He was not running with a limp.

His high-ankle sprain doesn't look like it will be a problem.

Posted by Rob Lee  at 5:26 PM to Tom Brady | Permalink | Comments 0

Giants' corner change

The Giants have announced that third-year corner Cory Webster will start at right cornerback in place of Sam Madison. Madison suffered an injury against the Patriots in Week 17 and he did not play in New York's first two playoff games.

He did play in the NFC title game against Green Bay.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:18 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pre-game show

GLENDALE -- The pre-game show is underway. Alicia Keys performed on a stage at midfield, singing her current hit "No One" and several other numbers. The stands are between a quarter and a third full.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Game inactives - no Troy

For the Patriots
QB Matt Gutierrez - 3QB
WR Chad Jackson
CB Antwain Spann
T Wesley Britt
G Billy Yates
WR Troy Brown
TE Stephen Spach
DL Santonio Thomas

For the Giants
QB Jared Lorenzen - 3QB
RB Danny Ware
DB Geoffrey Pope
T Adam Koets
DT Manny Wright
WR Sinorice Moss
TE Jerome Collins
DT Russell Davis

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Super Bowl stats

Some miscellaneous numbers about the Super Bowl:

Super shares
Each member of the winning team today will get $78,000; each member of the losing club gets $40,000. Those are the same amounts as last year; for Super Bowls I-XI, winning players received $15,000 each, losing players $7,500 each.

Trophy details
The Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the legendary Green Bay coach before Super Bowl V, is a sterling silver trophy crafted by Tiffany & Co. (does it come in the robin's egg blue box??). The football on top is regulation-sized. The trophy stands 20.75 inches tall, weighs 107.3 ounces (roughly 6.7 pounds) and is valued at around $25,000.

Super standings
Only one team, the San Francisco 49ers, has appeared in the Super Bowl more than once without losing; the 49ers are 5-0 in the big game. Buffalo and Minnesota have each played four title games and lost each one; Cincinnati and Philadelphia are each 0-2.

Super Bowl MVPs
The MVP trophy has been awarded overwhelmingly to the game's winning quarterback: in 41 previous Super Bowls, a quarterback has been chosen as the most valuable player 21 times, including for each of the first four: Green Bay's Bart Starr won twice, followed by the Jets' Joe Namath and Kansas City's Len Dawson.

The award has gone to a defensive player eight times, but for seven games: for Super Bowl XII, Dallas defensive linemen Randy White and Harvey Martin shared the award. That is the only time the award has been shared.

Most appearances
Defensive tackle Mike Lodish holds the record, playing in six Super Bowls -- four with the Bills, all of which he of course lost, and two with the Broncos (XXXII and XXXIII), both of which he won.

Tedy Bruschi will become the 14th player to appear in five Super Bowls, joining Marv Fleming (Green Bay, Miami), Larry Cole (Dallas), Cliff Harris (Dallas), Charles Haley (San Francisco, Dallas), D.D. Lewis (Dallas), Preston Pearson (Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Dallas), Charlie Waters (Dallas), Rayfield Wright (Dallas), Cornelius Bennett (Buffalo, Atlanta), John Elway (Denver), Glenn Parker (Buffalo, Giants), Bill Romanowski (San Francisco, Denver, Oakland), Adam Vinatieri (New England, Indianapolis).

Quarterback numbers
Playing in his fourth Super Bowl, Tom Brady has a chance to move into the record books today. Currently, Brady is 71-for-108 (65.7 percent) in his three title game appearances; his boyhood idol, Joe Montana, holds the record with 83 completions in four games. Buffalo's Jim Kelly had 81 completions in four games, and Denver's John Elway had 76 in five.

Brady already holds the record for completions in one Super Bowl, when he had 32 against Carolina in 2003.

Coin toss curse?
The team that won the coin toss in the last four Super Bowls -- the Bears, Seahawks, Eagles and Panthers -- all went on to lose the game. Overall, the team that wins the coin toss is 19-22.

Band of brothers
With Eli Manning's Giants advancing to the Super Bowl one year after big brother Peyton won the title with the Colts, they are the 18th set of brothers to play in the championship game.

Who's old?
Believe it or not, Patriots linebacker Junior Seau, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Jan. 19, is not the oldest player to play in the Super Bowl. He's not even in the top five. Rams punter Mike Horan, Oakland kicker George Blanda and Jerry Rice, then with Oakland, were all over the age of 40 during a Super Bowl appearance. Horan was two days shy of his 41st birthday when St. Louis edged Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Perfect Game

GLENDALE -- It intrigues me that it seems so much of America seems to be rooting against the Patriots.

If you're watching in, say, Des Moines, and aren't a Giants fan, wouldn't you be rooting to see NFL history made, to see the Patriots complete a perfect, undefeated season?

If you went to a baseball game, and the opposing pitcher had a perfect game going with two outs in the ninth, would you root for him to walk the next batter? Most people would pull for the pitcher in that situation, which makes me wonder why there aren't more "neutral" fans pulling for the Pats.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Silver Anniversary Super Bowl

GLENDALE -- This is Super Bowl XXV for me.

I did the math while sitting here in the press box at University of Phoenix Stadium, awaiting the start of Super Bowl XLII in about 2-1/2 hours. I counted 'em up, and this is the 25th Super Bowl I've covered for the Journal, going back to Super Bowl XIV, in the Rose Bowl, when the Steelers won their fourth championship in six years by coming from behind in the second half to beat the Los Angeles Rams, 31-19.

That was one of my all-time favorite Super Bowls, only in part because it was my first. It was an unforgettable day for me, sitting in the huge, open-air press box atop the Rose Bowl, on a brilliantly sunny day, watching the legendary Steelers, with such all-time greats as Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, Franco Harris, "Mean Joe" Greene, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Mike Webster, Mel Blount, Donnie Shell, John Stallworth, L.C. Greenwood, Dwight White, Rocky Bleier.

I honestly don't think of that game as being all that long ago, until I stop and realize that this is Super Bowl XLII, that was Super Bowl XIV, and many of the Patriots playing today weren't born when I covered my first Super Bowl.

I've often said, and written, that, for writers, the ideal Super Bowl week would be to spend Monday through Friday before the game in New Orleans, enjoying the food and festivities in the French Quarter, then fly to L.A. on Saturday to play the game in Pasadena on Super Sunday.

I've covered five Super Bowls in New Orleans, three of them involving the Patriots. I was in the Superdome for Super Bowl XX, when the Pats were overpowered by the defensively dominant Chicago Bears, 46-10.

The Bears' "46" defense that season, designed by Buddy Ryan, was the best I've ever seen in 32 years of covering the NFL (dating back to the '76 season, when I covered George Allen's Washington Redskins for the late, lamented Richmond, Va., News Leader.) With Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, former Patriots lineman Steve McMichael, and William "Refrigerator" Perry up front, Mike Singletary, Wilber Marshall, and Otis Wilson at linebacker, and Doug Plank and Gary Fencik in the defensive backfield, the Bears were fearsome.

Dent was quoted somewhere this week as saying that this New England defense couldn't compare with Chicago's. He's right about that. But it's also true that the offense of the '85 Bears, despite having Walter Payton at running back, doesn't compare with the firepower of the 2007 Patriots.

Super Bowl XXXI was spoiled by the furor surrounding Bill Parcells' impending departure, as well as Desmond Howard's game-breaking, 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, after the Patriots had closed to 27-21 in the third quarter.

Super Bowl XXXVI, however, was truly memorable, with young Tom Brady leading the Patriots to a stunning, 20-17, upset of the St. Louis Rams, aka "The Greatest Show on Turf." The moment when Adam Vinatieri sent his game-winning, 48-yard field goal through the uprights as time expired is one Patriots fans never will forget.

A topic for debate tonight at Super Bowl parties throughout New England is whether a win over the Giants, completing an undefeated, 19-0 season, is "bigger" than the Patriots' first championship victory.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Patriots have arrived

The Patriots have arrived here at University of Phoenix Stadium; FOX just showed a clip of Bill Belichick walking in.

Even though New England is technically the home team for this game, Belichick was wearing a suit, and he and the players do for all of their road games.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Tip of the cap to "Tipp"

GLENDALE -- Good news to hear that Andre Tippett, who starred at linebacker for the Patriots from 1982 through 1993, was elected Saturday to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It was as a pass rusher that "Tipp" truly excelled. Big linemen could block him -- if they could get their hands on him. And that was a very big "if." He would line up wide of the tackle and blow past them with his tremendous speed off the line. Even if a tackle could move into position to block him, Tippett's skills as a black belt in karate enabled him to fend off a would-be blocker's efforts to get his hands on him. Pity the poor running back who found himself trying to stop Tippett from getting to the quarterback. A running back was simply no match for Tippett's combination of speed and power. The only way to control him was to double-team him at the line of scrimmage with a tight end and tackle, then keep a running back in reserve, in hopes that, by the time three players had taken a shot at him, the quarterback would have gotten rid of the ball.

A second-round draft choice out of the University of Iowa, Tippett was a five-time Pro Bowler, from 1984 through '88. The team's career sack leader, with 100, he set a club record with 18.5 in 1984, racked up 16.5 in '85, and had 12.5 in '87.

He joins John Hannah, one of the two or three greatest offensive linemen in NFL history, Mike Haynes, and Nick Buoniconti as former Patriots to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Only Hannah and Tippett spent their entire careers in New England.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Kraft statement on Tippett

Didn't get a chance to post this last night, as it was released quite late, but the Patriots did release a statement from owner and chairman Robert Kraft on Andre Tippett's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

"I couldn't be happier for Andre and his family. He was a dominant defender who wreaked havoc on opposing offenses throughout his Patriots career. I was a huge fan of his during his playing career for his work on the field and have become an even bigger fan of his since his retirement for his work off of it. I think all of New England was rooting for Andre when we left Boston earlier this week, knowing that it could be a very special week for a very special person. Today's selection for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame validates what New England Patriots fans have known for a long time -- that Andre Tippett was quite simply one of the greatest players in NFL history."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

PHOTO: Field is Ready

The field at The University of Phoenix Stadium is ready for Superbowl XLII
Providence Journal/Gretchen Ertl

Posted by Gretchen Ertl  at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

What Am I Missing?

GLENDALE -- I wrote a column on Spygate/Spectergate in Saturday's paper, so I don't want to go over old ground, but the subject continues to be a hot topic of conversation.

Here's what I don't get:

The Patriots broke the rules. They were caught. They were fined. Heavily. The organization was embarrassed. Presumably, Bill Belichick was embarrassed. Certainly, his reputation took a hit.

There is no doubt that the Patriots filmed the signals of opposing teams a number of times.

There is little question that other teams did similar things. Which, I emphasize, does not make it right.

Similar things happen in other sports. Stealing signals has long been part of baseball. Much has been made in the past year of the fact that Bobby Thomsen knew what pitch Ralph Branca was going to throw him when he hit the "Shot Heard 'Round The World" to win the third and decisive playoff game for the National League pennant in 1951.

Todd Pletcher, a multiple Eclipse Award winning trainer of thoroughbreds, was suspended last year when his barn was found guilty of medication violations. He "served his time" on the sidelines, and returned to business -- highly-successful business -- as usual.

The point is, no one is arguing the Patriots were wrong, and deserved to be punished. So why the ongoing concern over past wrongs?

Are the Giants going to have to forfeit the '51 pennant to the Dodgers? Should Pletcher forfeit his Eclipse awards?

The Patriots weren't doing any illegal taping once the Jets blew the whistle on them, and they're 18-0.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Welcome to the Super Bowl

Hey all --

The Day is here, which for different reasons I'm sure we are both so grateful for. It's been a long week of work here in Phoenix, which began with the drama of The Ankle and ended with the Rebirth of Spygate, though there was a bright spot in Andre Tippett's selection to the Hall of Fame yesterday.

For all of you, it's probably been even longer, as the last two weeks have probably seemed never-ending.

At any rate, we are here on the scene at the University of Phoenix Stadium, where the roof is closed, the field is so colorful it looks like it's been redone using Technicolor, and the final pre-game on-field preparations are being made.

Apparently, the grass here -- grown in Alabama -- is the fastest track in the league, which is good news for Randy Moss. Of course, if Moss is faster that means the Giants' defenders are as well.

As we noted earlier in the week, Mike Carey will be the referee today, the first time he's been in charge at a Super Bowl. Carey was also the referee for the Pats-Giants Week 17, and each team was flagged five times in that game.

We will of course be keeping you updated on everything and everything as we get closer to game time.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Curran: Pats by 31

Old friend Tom Curran, now the national football writer at NBCSports.com, is out with his prediction for the game:

Patriots 48, Giants 17.

Posted by Art Martone  at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Specter to continue investigation into Spygate

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., didn't let the fact that today is Super Bowl Sunday stop his crusade against the Patriots and the National Football League.

In fact, he stepped it up.

Specter announced on ESPN's Outside The Lines that he will summon NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to his Congressional office Tuesday morning, and that Senate hearings could result from his investigation.

"It could go to hearings," Specter said. "This is a matter to be considered by the [Senate Judiciary] Committee. I don't want to make any broad assertions or elevate it beyond what I have a factual basis for doing. We're going to follow the facts and if warranted, there could be hearings."

Goodell said on ESPN Radio's Mike And Mike In The Morning he would be happy to meet with Specter, though he again denied the league was involved in a coverup of the Patriots' activities.

"People are implying that this is some type of cover up," Goodell said. "... I think it's exactly the opposite. We were the ones who brought these facts out to light. We were the ones who took the unprecedented discipline to send a very strong message to people [to] don't violate the rules. And I think that's what we want. We want every team playing on a level playing field and I think that's what we have."

In related news . . .

-- Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul blasted Specter's actions, calling it a case of ''big government . . . once again [inserting] itself into the lives and private business of American citizens.'' Paul said if he were president, the government would not run ''investigations into how a private company resolved a private matter.''

-- Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was among those noting that the Comcast cable system -- the second-largest contributor to Specter's last election campaign -- is in battle with the NFL over getting the NFL Network placed on Comcast's basic cable system. Specter, Collier noted, has intervened politically on Comcast's behalf in this fight before. More than one blogger (including this one, who calls Specter ''a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast'') is commenting on the Specter-Comcast connection as an explanation not only for Specter's actions, but his timing.

-- ESPN.com's investigative reporter Mike Fish, who earlier talked to ex-Patriots assistant and Rhode Island native Matt Walsh, has another long piece about Spygate in which Drew Bledsoe is quoted liberally. Bledsoe says he knew nothing about any taping the Pats may have done before Super Bowl XXXVI, when he was still with the team, but adds:

"Listen, that kind of stuff has been going on for as long as there have been video cameras. I know people are trying to make this out like this is some huge scandal, but it is at every level. You talk about college, you talk about high school -- people are taping stuff, and that is what they do. And they try and gain an advantage that way."

Posted by Art Martone  at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Photos: Fans in Arizona have fun on Super Bowl's eve

Journal photos / Gretchen Ertl
Mike Lorti, right, calls the play-by-play of a Patriots Super Bowl victory in a mock broadcast as his brother Aaron Lorti, left, looks on at the NFL Experience, an interactive theme park outside the University of Phoenix Stadium. The brothers are originally from Somerset and are now living in Glendale.

Stephen Edelson came from his home in New York City without tickets but with a sign.

Travis Laprairie, left, and Jeff Farr, both of Calgary, Canada, take a photo of The University of Phoenix Stadium.

Brandy Bobolas, originally of Portsmouth, N.H., now living in Tucson, Ariz., showed her allegiance while walking around the NFL Experience.

A football fan hugs the Vince Lombardi trophy, crafted by Tiffany, on display at the NFL Experience.

Matt Kouba, of Chicago, poses for a friend in front of a series of panels depicting the New York Giants.

Several thousand people waited on line to buy tickets for the NFL Experience.

A young football fan plays catch while waiting to get into 17th annual NFL Experience.

"Go Patriots" is written in the sky.

Syd Davy, a Vikings fan from Winnipeg, Canada, shows off one of his many tattoos.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Patriots' Saturday pool report

This was submitted by Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Sun-Times:

The atmosphere was more family picnic than Super Bowl preparation for New England on Saturday as the Patriots enjoyed a brief stop at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The team did not have a walk-through, as promised, instead spending a fun hour with family, interrupted only by a brief team photograph session.

``This is what we usually do,’’ said coach Bill Belichick, who patiently posed for photographs with players and their families dressed in his signature grey sweatshirt with cut down sleeves along with a white visor. ``The first year was a little different because of the short week. It was just a one-week Super Bowl. The last three, it’s been good. It gives the families a fun day.’’

Belichick said every player was present and accounted for on Saturday. He was asked for a final thought on the game.

``We’re playing a good team,’’ he said. ``We’re as ready as we’re going to be. It’s time to go play.’’

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Coventry native emerges as figure in Spygate

A Coventry native has emerged as another figure in the scandal that won’t go away.

One day after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spent a good portion of his annual State of The Game press conference defending the league’s actions regarding Spygate — the controversy that resulted in both the Patriots organization and coach Bill Belichick being fined, and the team being stripped of a first-round draft choice, for illegally videotaping New York Jets defensive coaches as they signaled to players — ESPN.com yesterday quoted Matt Walsh, a Rhode Islander from Coventry who now works as a golf pro in Hawaii, as hinting he has more information about the Pats’ taping practices.

ESPN.com reported that Walsh worked for the organization from 1996 until January, 2003, when he was fired.

“If I had a reason to want to go public, or tell a story, I could have done it before it even broke,’’ Walsh, who started as a public-relations intern and also worked as a video assistant prior to becoming a team scout, told ESPN.com. “I could have said everything rather than having [Jets coach Eric] Mangini be the one to bring it out.

“If they’re doing a thorough investigation — they didn’t contact me. So draw your own conclusions. Maybe they felt they didn’t need to. Maybe the league feels they got satisfactory answers from everything the Patriots sent them.’’

Earlier in the week, Walsh, citing confidentiality agreements with the Patriots, told The New York Times he could not tell or show anything related to the Patriots unless his lawyer crafted an agreement. Asked Friday by the Times if he possessed a tape incriminating the Patriots, he said, “I’ve never given a comment to anyone saying I had a tape or I’d give a tape to anyone.”

Walsh declined to make any material available to ESPN and wanted the news organization to pay his legal fees related to his involvement in the story, as well as to an indemnity that would cover any damages found against him in court. ESPN refused.

ESPN.com’s report came on the heels of a Boston Herald story yesterday, citing a source close to the team, that said the Patriots videotaped the St. Louis Rams’ last walkthrough before they played in the 2002 Super Bowl. The Herald story was denied by both the team and the NFL.

“The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis Rams’ walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI is absolutely false,’’ said Stacey James, the Patriots’ vice-president of media relations. “Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue.”

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said: “We were aware of the rumor months ago and looked into it. There was no evidence of it on the tapes or in the notes produced by the Patriots, and the Patriots told us it was not true.”

Rams spokesman Rick Smith, reading a statement from team president John Shaw, said, “At this point, we have no comment.”

New England did not have a walkthrough yesterday; the Pats also had decided against having a Saturday walkthrough prior to Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville. The Giants held one at the Arizona Cardinals’ practice facility. A walkthrough is done without pads or helmets, giving teams a chance to practice their formations.

All of which followed Goodell’s grilling by the media about Spygate on Friday, which in itself was prompted by remarks from Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who wanted the NFL to explain why it destroyed evidence of the scandal. Goodell defended his decision, saying “there was no purpose for them [not to be disposed of].” He said one of the tapes was leaked to FOX and making sure there were no more leaks “was one of my concerns.’’

Goodell also said he didn’t think the Patriots used such tapes to win previous titles.

“There was no indication that it benefited them in any of the Super Bowl victories,” he said.

Specter, contacted after the press conference, said Goodell’s response “didn’t make any sense at all’’ and added the matter could put the league’s antitrust exemption — a limited exemption involving the league’s right to pool its television revenue and distribute it equally to all teams — at risk.

“Their antitrust exemption has been on my mind for a long time,” he said.

When asked about mounting criticism, from both the media and the general public, that Congress has far more important matters to concern itself with, Specter responded: “I do believe that it is a matter of importance. It’s not going to displace the stimulus package or the Iraq war, but I think the integrity of football is very important, and I think the National Football League has a special duty to the American people — and further the Congress — because they have an antitrust exemption.”

Walsh, 31, is now an assistant golf pro on Maui. He is married to Colleen Kennedy, who grew up in Johnston and West Greenwich, and they have an 8-month-old son. ESPN.com’s story said Walsh fears that his family still in the area “could be in harm’s way if he damages the Patriots with any information he might disclose.’’

He told ESPN.com he still owns Patriots season tickets.

Posted by Art Martone  at 7:31 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Pats statement: Taping allegations "absolutely false"

The New England Patriots have released a statement denying today's report that the team video taped the St. Louis Rams' final walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI:

"The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 is absolutely false. Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue."

The idea that the Patriots had taped St. Louis' walkthrough had been floated before; allegedly, then-team employee Matt Walsh stayed behind at the Superdome after the Patriots took their team photo on Feb. 2, 2002, and filmed the Rams walkthrough. He then boarded the media shuttle with other news reporters. Walsh is now an assistant golf pro in Hawaii.

New England pulled one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history with its 20-17 win over the Rams.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:52 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Santonio Thomas signed to active roster

The Patriots have signed practice squad defensive lineman Santonio Thomas to the 53-man roster for tomorrow's Super Bowl against the Giants.

New England had an open spot on the active roster after placing special teamer Mel Mitchell on injured reserve Jan. 24.

Thomas played four regular-season games with New England this year before being released and re-signed to the practice squad on Oct. 29. He is a 6-foot-4, 305-pound Miami product the team signed as an undrafted free agent in 2005.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Andre Tippett named to Pro Football Hall of Fame (updated)

It was announced moments ago that former Patriots linebacker Andre Tippett has been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Tippett is the fourth player with Patriots ties to make the Hall of Fame. The others are guard John Hannah (he and Tippett are the only Hall of Famers to play their entire careers in New England), cornerback Mike Haynes and linebacker Nick Buoniconti.

Also voted in were two former Redskins, wide receiver Art Monk and cornerback Darrell Green; Chargers and 49ers defensive end Fred Dean; Vikings and Broncos tackle Gary Zimmerman and Chiefs cornerback Emmitt Thomas. Thomas was a senior committee choice.

Green made it in his first year of eligibility. The other first-year nominee, receiver Cris Carter, was not elected.

Inductions will be at the Pro Football Hall of Game in Canton, Ohio on Aug. 2.

“I looked forward to the day we are going to Canton,” Green said, breaking up with emotion.

Perhaps the most surprising outcome was Paul Tagliabue not getting enough support for the second straight year. In his 17 years as commissioner, the NFL experienced no labor stoppages, while its revenues from TV contracts skyrocketed. There also were expansions to Jacksonville, Charlotte, Cleveland and Houston under his watch, and several teams moved into new stadiums, many of them built with public funds.

Also failiing to get in were Redskins guard Russ Grimm, Bills receiver Andre Reed, Raiders punter Ray Guy, Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar, Bears defensive end Richard Dent, Dolphins guard Bob Kuechenberg, Vikings guard Randall McDaniel, and Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas.

Senior committee nominee Marshall Goldberg was not elected, either.

More to come . . .

-- STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Posted by Art Martone  at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Tippett Hall bound

It has just been announced that Andre Tippett has been voted as a member the 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction class.

We'll have more shortly.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Print out the official NFL Super Bowl flipcard

What's a flipcard, you ask?

It's the one-sheet piece of cardboard that lists the depth charts of the two teams, with numerical rosters, on one side, and a more detailed roster (also listed numerically) on the other. It's distributed weekly in every NFL pressbox, and this is the one media members will receive tomorrow in Glendale, Ariz.

Unfortunately, we can't deliver it to you in one sheet; you'll have to print out two pages. But click here and print out a .PDF version of the card. Don't forget to set the viewer at 100 percent to see it correctly.

Posted by Art Martone  at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Friday injury report

For the Patriots:

Probable
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder

**Jabar Gaffney (shoulder) has been removed from the report.

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

Patriots' Friday pool report

From the pool reporter Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune:

The Patriots concluded their preparations for Super Bowl XLII with a crisp workout in shorts and shells at Sun Devil Stadium that lasted an hour and 20 minutes Friday.

"We're ready to roll," coach Bill Belichick said. "We're ready as we're going to be."

Belichick said the team will not have a walk-through at University of Phoenix Stadium Saturday. The Patriots will go to the stadium to take a team photo.

Wide receiver Jabar Gaffney's shoulder injury has improved, and Gaffney was able to participate fully in practice. Quarterback Tom Brady's ankle continued to be a non-issue. So the Patriots look to be completely healthy.

Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown spoke to the team before practice at Belichick's request.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:06 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Celebrities pick the Pats

The Patriots will remain perfect, according to the majority of celebrities polled by Scripps Howard News Service in its annual Celebrity Super Bowl Poll.

Those supporting the 18-0 Patriots include Jack Nicklaus, Martina McBride, LeBron James, Dana Delaney, Chuck Yeager, Michael Phelps and Haley Joel Osment -- who apparently not only "sees dead people" -- but has correctly picked the last eight Super Bowl winners.

Posted by Pam Cotter  at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Goodell on Spygate

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell held his annual state of the league press conference today, and as can be expected, he was peppered with questions about the Patriots' Spygate scandal, especially in the wake of today's news in the New York Times that Sen. Arlen Specter wants Goodell to explain to the Senate Judiciary Committee why he destroyed tapes and notes on other teams that New England submitted to the league.

He didn't offer much, offering that there were six tapes submitted, and that those tapes were from the 2007 preseason and 2006 regular season. He reiterated that New England's "spying" tactics did not influence the result of games, particularly their wins in Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX.

Goodell didn't not say so, but he was clearly upset that one of the tapes confiscated -- the tape of the Jets' game when New England was caught filming -- was leaked to the public, and gave that as the reason he destroyed the materials rather than just lock them away.

"It was the best way to make sure the Patriots had followed my instructions," Goodell explained. "They certified to me in writing that they gave me all the tapes and notes."

Specter represents Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Eagles lost to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX; Goodell was asked if he will assure Specter that the Pats won the game fair and square.

"This incident is five or six months old; we've been forthright, and I don't believe it affected the outcome of any game," he said.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Bill & Bill

The relationship between Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells was strained in the wake of Belichick's resignation as head coach of the Jets in 2000; Parcells, who was moving to the front office for the first time, had named Belichick as his successor. But Belichick famously decided against taking the job, scrawling a one-line note saying "I resign as HC of the NYJ."

But Belichick and Parcells have smoothed things over the in years since. The relationship, which Belichick once termed "difficult," has improved, Belichick said this morning.

"That was the way it was characterized then and I’ve spent time with Bill since then. Bill and I shared a lot of success together and I think we’ll always treasure those victories and those good times. He’s tremendous coach, he’s done a great job, he’s had a tremendous career, a Hall of Fame career and I’m sure he’ll be there at some point. Unfortunately he’s back in our division as a competitor and I totally respect him and his football ability both as a coach and an administrator and a talent evaluator. Now we’ll be competing against each other again and I’m sure it will be very challenging."

Parcells has taken over the front office in Miami; he became the head coach of the Giants in 1983, when Belichick was the linebackers coach in New York.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

25 of 30 ESPN experts pick Pats

This was sent by the ESPN PR bunch:

SUPER BOWL XLII PREDICTIONS FROM ESPN

ESPN on-air personalities offer their predictions for Super Bowl XLII. Of the 30 ESPN picks, 25 chose the New England Patriots, while just five selected the New York Giants as the anticipated winner of this year’s Super Bowl game in Arizona:

PICKING NEW ENGLAND

Raul Allegre, ESPN Deportes NFL analyst and former New York Giants kicker
Patriots 31-21. I just don't see the Giants defense being able to stop the Patriots offense. Nobody is better at controlling time of possession than the Patriots and their arsenal is just too tough.

Russell Baxter, NFL research coordinator
Patriots 38-19. Thirty eight has been the Patriots’ magic number all year and 19 would be fitting since this would give them an undefeated 19-0 record.

Skip Bayless, First Take and 1st and 10 commentator
Patriots 38-17. Plaxico Burress lost this game for the Giants before it was played by saying the Giants receivers may be better than New England’s and by predicting the Giants would win by scoring 23 points and holding Tom Brady’s offense to a mere 17. Big mistake.

Ray Buchanan, 1st and 10 analyst
Patriots 28-24. Eli being hot will keep this game close and I don’t think the Patriots defense will be able to slow down the Giants offense.

Colin Cowherd, host of ESPN Radio’s The Herd
Patriots 31-17. It'll be close early but then the Patriots will do something in the 3rd quarter to pull away -- whether it's creating a turnover or converting on a big third down play. Tom Brady will be named the game MVP.

Jay Crawford, First Take and 1st and 10 co-host
Patriots 38-21. Not going to stop the Patriots offense. The difference in the game is that New England has been there, done that, while the Giants are taking video of everything like it’s a trip to Disney.

Hank Goldberg, Correspondent
Patriots 30-27. They always win by three points. Just look at their last three Super Bowls.

Mike Golic, NFL Live analyst and co-host of ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning
Patriots 31-24. Their versatility will be the key. They always find a way to get it done and they will again this time.

Jemele Hill, ESPN.com Page 2 writer and 1st and 10 commentator
Patriots 38-31. Tom Brady goes to quarterback immortal.

Gary Horton, ESPN Scouts Inc. Insider
Patriots 31-20. With two weeks to prepare for Bill Belichick - and with field conditions being perfect - as much as I respect the Giants, they can't keep up with the Patriots. Tom Brady will find 4-5 match-ups that he will exploit.

Tom Jackson, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown analyst
Patriots 31-21. Hard to imagine the most prolific offense in NFL history coming all this way and not winning. There is also something to be said for the Patriots’ experience, being in this position before and winning three times.

Ron Jaworski, Monday Night Football and NFL Matchup analyst
Patriots 41-21. The key will be the Patriots three down linemen -- Seymour, Wilfork and Warren -- who will be able to collapse on Eli, forcing him backward which is not his strength.

Keyshawn Johnson, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown analyst
Patriots 35-17. New England has had two weeks to prepare for this game, and the lights might be too bright for Eli.

Erik Kuselias, ESPN Radio host
Patriots 34-20. This game was over when Brady took off the boot and squeezed into a cleat…too much offense.

Steve Levy, SportsCenter anchor
Patriots 34-21. The Giants won their Super Bowl in Green Bay.

Chris Mortensen, NFL Insider
Patriots 41-31. Perfect climate, perfect game, perfect season for Tom Brady.

Sal Paolantonio, Correspondent
Patriots 31-24. Giants defense still won't have an answer for Tom Brady.

Sean Salisbury, ESPN NFL Live analyst
Patriots 34-17. The weather is not a factor and on a fast track and with all those weapons, I don’t think the Patriots can be beat.

Mark Schlereth, ESPN NFL Live and NFL PrimeTime analyst and three-time Super Bowl champion
Patriots 31-27. The Patriots do the best job in the NFL adjusting. They are chameleon-like in who they are and what they do. They can totally reinvent themselves during the course of a ballgame on the offense and defensive sides of the ball.

Stuart Scott, SportsCenter anchor
Patriots 34-20. The Giants will play them tough for a half, but the Patriots passing game is built for a dry, fast field.

Emmitt Smith, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown analyst and three-time Super Bowl champion
Patriots 35-24. The bye week hurt the Giants by taking away their momentum. Belichick is a genius at breaking down tape and he had a second week to prepare.

Mike Tirico, Monday Night Football play by play commentator
Patriots 32-23. Too much offense, too much experience, too much to deny the perfect ending.

Marcellus Wiley, NFL Live analyst
Patriots 38-23. They have had a perfect season. Why bet against them now?

Trey Wingo, NFL Live and NFL PrimeTime host
Patriots 41-27. No weather problems, perfect fast track. They are going to unleash the full arsenal. I can’t see the Giants stopping the Patriots, If the Giants don’t score 30, they will get blown out.

Steve Young, Monday Night Countdown analyst and three-time Super Bowl champion
Patriots 42-10. Eli Manning is not a Hall of Fame quarterback yet. Brady will get the upper hand.

PICKING NEW YORK

Lomas Brown, 1st and 10 analyst
Giants 27-24. Giants win the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.

Mike Ditka, Sunday NFL Countdown analyst
Giants 31-28. I haven't picked the Patriots all year, so why should I start now?

Mike Greenberg, co-host of ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning and SportsCenter anchor
Giants 24-23. Just a little magic the Giants have working now. Call it a funny feeling.

Merril Hoge, NFL Live and NFL PrimeTime analyst
Giants 31-30. The Giants’ defensive scheme matches well with Brady and the Patriots because they attack the quarterback and challenge the wide receivers.

Shaun King, NFL Live analyst
Giants 34-26. Confidence.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Super Bowl XLII is Belichick's biggest game of his career

PHOENIX -- New England coach Bill Belichick is the only coach in the history of the NFL to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span (2001, 2003, 2004).

He has a 15-3 (.833 winning percentage) winning percentage as the Patriots head coach in the playoffs which includes three Super Bowl victories.

He has a 100-28 record (.781 winning percentage) as the Patriots head coach since 2001. He’s coached in a lot of big games, but he said earlier today that Sunday’s Super Bowl will be the biggest game of his coaching career.

“I think it is the biggest game of all for our football team because it’s the next game,” said Belichick, who is hoping to become the first coach in NFL history to lead a team to a 19-0 record.

“It’s the next game and it is the Super Bowl. It is for the championship so I can’t think of a bigger game than that. We are here and that is what we are here for. We have worked all year for this game. We are happy to be a participant in it and it is a privilege to be in it. Of course it is a big game – it’s a huge game.”

Posted by Rob Lee  at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Belichick not concerned about Brady's ankle

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl

PHOENIX -- Bill Belichick is not concerned about star quarterback Tom Brady’s high-ankle sprain.

When asked if he was worried about Brady’s ankle at his morning press conference, Belichick said, “No. Tom Brady is one of the most consistent, well prepared, dependable and steady players I have ever coached.”

According to the Chicago Tribune’s Dan Pompei, the designated pool reporter, Brady wasn’t limping noticeably and his ankle wasn’t taped during practice at Arizona State in nearby Tempe on Wednesday and Thursday. On Monday, Brady was limping and his ankle was taped.

Brady said yesterday that his ankle is fine.

“I don’t think it’s a problem going into the game,” Brady said. “I don’t think the ankle is truly a problem.”

Posted by Rob Lee  at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Belichick rooting against old team

PHOENIX -- Bill Belichick coached for the New York Giants for 12 years and he and he won two Super Bowls with them as their defensive coordinator (1986 and 1990).

As much respect as he has for the Giants organization, Belichick said that there is no way he is going to rout for them on Sunday.

“When I was with the Giants, the fans were very supportive and they still are; they are great fans,” Belichick said. “I have all the respect in the world for the Giants fans, the Giants organization and their football team. I am on the other side of the field this week so there is no way I am pulling for them.

“Those 12 years were great there and I appreciate everything that happened during those 12 years with the Giants; from the organization to the players, team, fans and community. But, that being said, I have moved on and I know they still love their team and they should. I love our fans and the support we have received in New England and I am proud to be a New England Patriot. We are going to go out and do our best against the Giants on Sunday.”

Posted by Rob Lee  at 1:23 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Perfectville

PHOENIX -- Among the many reasons to root for the Patriots to win Super Bowl XLII is that, if they win, you'll never again have to hear from Mercury Morris and the '72 Miami Dolphins, who currently are the only NFL team in the Super Bowl era to finish a season undefeated.

The mouthy Morris was one four members of the '72 Dolphins -- the others were Jim Kiick, Larry Little, and Garo Ypremian -- to hold a press conference here Friday morning in a room at the Convention Center that featured a large, green-and-white sign declaring: "Welcome to Perfectville, Pop. 1, Founded 1972."

Just a hunch, but the population of Perfectville could double by Sunday night.

Morris, trying to get in what we can only hope is the last word, announced his candidacy for mayor of Perfectville.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Belichick does what's best for the team

PHOENIX -- Everyone has a role to play on Bill Belichick's team, he says.

That role sometimes changes week-to-week depending on matchups.

"I will put it this way: I think you try to do what is best for your football team, and best for each individual player," Belichick said. "That is not necessarily the same each week and it is not the same for each player and it is not the same in different situations. It aries and you have to kind of take it how it comes, and in the end do what you think is best for all the parties involved.

"The team is always number one. Whatever that is, that is what I will do. Whatever I feel is best for our football team, that is the decision I will make. Whether it is a game day decision, a personnel decision, a personal meeting with a player, a strategic move, a play to call or whatever. My priority is always to do what is best for this football team. That drives everything I do for the New England Patriots and whatever style it comes in -- that could be part of it too."

Posted by Rob Lee  at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

More Important Things

PHOENIX -- Considering that the economy is on the brink of recession, the subprime mortgage market is a mess, and American soldiers are dying every day in Iraq and Afghanistan, it would seem that Arlen Specter, the Republican senator from Pennsylvania who's chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, would have much more important things to worry about than why NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell destroyed the videotapes the Patriots sent to the league office as part of the "Spygate" investigation.

It's no coincidence that Specter is raising the question this week. It's obvious that he's seeking publicity, as much as he's seeking to find out the not-exactly-pressing question of what happened to the tapes.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Few Close Games

PHOENIX -- Of the first XXXV Super Bowls, only two were decided by three or less points -- Super Bowl V, when the Colts' Jim O'Brien kicked a 32-yard field goal in the final seconds to beat the Cowboys, 16-13, and Super Bowl XXV, when Buffalo's Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal with four seconds to go as the BIlls lost to the Giants, 20-19.

Of the last VI Super Bowls, however, three of them have been decided by the margin of a field goal, and all of them involved the Patriots, who beat the Rams, 20-17, in Super Bowl XXXVI; the Panthers, 32-29, in Super Bowl XXXVII; and the Eagles, 24-21, in Super Bowl XXXIX.

The last two Super Bowls have been decided by 11 and 12 points, respectively, with Pittsburgh beating Seattle, 21-10, two years ago, and the Colts defeating the Bears, 29-17, last year.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

New York City plans parade on Tuesday

NEW YORK (AP) - Would that be Super Super Tuesday?

The police commissioner says New York City is planning for a post Super Bowl parade on Tuesday - also known as Election Day, or Super Tuesday.

The plans, of course, are contingent on a New York Giants win over the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Commissioner Raymond Kelly says the parade would start at 11 a.m. Tuesday near Battery Park, followed by a City Hall Plaza ceremony at 1 p.m.

Asked Friday about the parade plans, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said:

"I have refused to talk about it - I am not going to jinx the Giants' chance."

Added hizzoner: "Go Big Blue!"

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Friday in Phoenix

Hey all --

Good morning from Phoenix, where we've begun our last day of media access before Super Bowl XLII. Patriots coach Bill Belichick has already held his final press conference, and Tom Coughlin will take the podium upstairs at the Media Center in about 10 minutes.

Probably the most interesting presser of the day, however, will be when Commissioner Roger Goodell talks in a little over two hours. The New York Times today has an article saying that U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter wants to call Goodell before Congress to have him explain why the league destroyed evidence in the now-infamous Spygate scandal. Goodell has been in office for about 18 months, and surely this is not how he envisioned things going.

We'll be back shortly with quotes from Belichick, who was asked about a variety of topics during his time at the podium.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Multimedia: Final predictions from Jim and Shalise

Jim Donaldson and Shalise Manza Young take a look at the keys to victory for the Giants and the Patriots in this multimedia show, and reveal their final-score predictions. Click the play button below to listen and watch. Shalise will file multimedia reports tomorrow as well.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Patriots Super Stories Part 6: Super Bowl XXXIX

This is the final edition in Jim Donaldson's six-part series. Jim, who has covered each of the Patriots' five Super Bowl appearances to date for The Journal (he'll make it six next weekend) looks back in these audio slideshows at each of the games, and his thoughts are accompanied by pictures from Bob Breidenbach, who has photographed each of the games. Today's presentation focuses on Super Bowl XXXIX when the Patriots cemented their status as team of the decade by beating the Philadelphia Eagles.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:07 AM to Patriots Super Stories | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Jim Donaldson profiles Stephen Gostkowski, the Patriots' kicker who carries the heavy burden of history (and particularly, the three Super Bowl-winning kicks by predecessor Adam Vinatieri) onto the league's biggest stage on Sunday. Robert Lee writes about Tom Brady's work ethic, and Kevin McNamara reports on the Friars' tough, tough loss at South Bend.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Times: Senator Specter wants answers on Spygate

According to an article in today's New York Times, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wants NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to explain why he ordered evidence destroyed in the taping scandal involving the New England Patriots.

Specter told the Times that the Judiciary Committee would eventually call Goodell to explain the league's antitrust exemption in relation to its television contract, and the destruction of the Patriots' tapes.

Click here to read the story.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments 1