Game 2

Look for Tom Brady to play a couple of series tonight against the Bengals and then get pulled so that Andrew Walter and Kevin O'Connell can battle for the backup position. Brian Hoyer's best possibility is to make the practice squad. The backup slot is still up in the air.

TE Ben Watson is not expected to play. Time is starting to work against him for a roster spot. Alex Smith needs to show more of his ability, if given the opportunity.

WR Julian Edelman continues to capture attention on special teams and with his newly found pass catching skills. He is knocking on the door and fighting with Sam Aiken for the 5th receiver spot.

Punter Chris Hanson has missed the last several practices. With no other punter on the roster, the role goes to Steven Gotskowski.

The team continues to play a 4/3 defense. Rookies Myron Price and Ron Brace drew praise from Coach Belichick for their efforts against the Eagles. Price played almost the entire defensive series against the Eagles. Both should both see a significant amount of playing time.

Roster Moves

CB Mike Richardson was released by the club. The 2007 6th round pick from Notre Dame was facing an uphill battle for a roster spot. His early release allows him the opportunity to sign with another team. Brandon Merriweather is now the only pick left from the 2007 draft.

Richardson's release cleared a roster spot for the team to sign RB Chris Taylor. He visited the team last week, but here was no spot for him. Coach Belichick has stated that he wanted six RB's in camp. Sammy Moriss has missed practice since the Eagles game. It became a necessity to sign him in order to have at least five healthy backs. Taylor was released by the Houston Texans last October and had been out of football. He has seen limited action after signing as a free agent in 2006.

The team traded DE LeKevin Smith to Denver for a 5th round draft pick. Smith was in a precarious position to make the team due to recent signings and the 2009 draft choices. The trade allows the team to pick up a fifth round pick which will be flipped to Oakland as part of the Derrick Burgess trade. The Raiders also received the Pats 3rd round pick in next year's draft.
Smith was drafted in the 6th round by the Pats in 2006. He saw action as a reserve last season and 2007. He was only active for three games in 2006.

The team also placed WR Shun White from Navy on the Military Reserve list. He is the third Navy player signed as a free agent, along with RB Eric Kettani and WR Tyree Barnes, to have their rights retained by the team for a three year period.

Roster Talk - Tight Ends

Ben Watson did not play against the Eagles. He is considered to be on the "bubble" as there are five tight ends in camp. It's unlikely the team will keep all of them. Watson is in the last year of his contract. Some feel that he has not live up to his first round hype. He is injury prone and has missed parts of camp.

David Thomas was praised by Coach Belichick for his effective blocking for Laurence Maroney against the Eagles. He lined up as a blocking fullback for several plays. Since the Pats have no true fullback on their roster, look for them to employ a tight end for this assignment.

Chris Baker solidified his roster spot with two TD receptions. Alex Smith and Tyson Devree also had significant playing time.

If all stay healthy, there will be some difficult decisions to make in the final roster cut.

Tedy Bruschi on the Bubble?

Tedy Bruschi practiced yesterday for the first time. The 14 year veteran is staring down Father Time as he attempts to gain a roster spot at the age of 36. Age and a younger group of players have refined his role with the team.

Potentially, six linebackers are ahead of him for playing time: Adelius Thomas, Pierre Woods, Jerod Mayo, Derrick Burgess, Gary Guyton and Shawn Crable.

Every roster spot counts. Coach Belichick might keep seven, but dress only six on Sundays. It's important that Bruschi stays healthy and able to fight for playing time. The final roster will be critical for the season opener. Some experts say that Bruschi is on the "bubble."

Coach Belichick has been questioned about the "bubble" in the past and denied its existence. He felt it was a creation of the media.

Time is chasing down number 54. ......To paraphrase Coach Rick Pitino: "Tedy Bruschi from "Desert Swarm is not gonna come walking through that door."

I expect him to make the roster, but he might be the odd guy out at times.

Post Game Thoughts

A few thoughts from the Pats 27-25 win over the Eagles.

Brady looked real sharp completeing 10/15 passes for 100 yards, 2 TD's and one interception.

Both of his TD passes, thrown from the shotgun in the first half, were to TE Chris Baker. Brady's first completion was to rookie WR Julien Edelman. Brady played until the final minutes of the first half before being relieved by Andrew Walter.

Edleman had a stellar game, leading receivers with 5 catches for 37 yards. He also ran back a punt for 75 yards after great coverage by rookie CB Darius Butler. Edeleman also made the game's opening tackle on special teams. He had a considerable amount of playing time as the coaching staff is trying to see why he should not be on the team.

It was interesting to note that the Pats played primarily a 4/3 defensive scheme. Coach Belichich has been using this in practice and seems willing to use it during the season, depending upon the personnel situation of the game.

Game Night

Tonight marks the start of the 2009 pre-season schedule. Tom Brady and the first unit should see a couple of series tonight before going to the bench.

The games are a necessary evil in the NFL. Inevitably, players get hurt and sometimes lost for the season. The Pats have a 1989 game to keep in mind as they lost three defensive starters to Injured Reserve in a meaningless game. The loss of Andre Tippett, Garin Veris and Ronnie Lippett contributed to an eventual 5-11 record.

Coach Belichick believes the games are the only was to prepare for the season and to give players experience. The NFL is looking to expand the season to 17 or 18 games. Most feel there is a need for these games no matter the length of the regular season.

I believe there is a need for them. However, season ticket holders and fans must buy these tickets at regular prices. I have no solution to this problem as the owners know that the games produce valuable revenue for their teams.

By game four, very few starters end up playing. It's a good opportunity to see everyone play as long as you don't have to pay the premium prices at Gillette Stadium.

Another Trip to Camp

I attended the afternoon practice session this past Monday. The temperature hovered close to 9o. I noticed that many of the players wore long sleeve Under Armour t-shirts under their practice jersey in spite of the heat.

The team practiced a lot on the kicking game. Various players are still being tried at the return position ,with Julian Edelman getting considerable time. He also took many snaps with the first string offense as a receiver.

The offense worked on third down situations. In one drill, Tom Brady completed a pass at the goal line which resulted in the entire defense running a lap around the practice field.

In two consecutive plays, Russ Hochstein was called for offside and was forced to run a lap. The same was for Adelius Thomas and Derrick Burgess on separate plays.

Punter Chris Hanson was free-kicking the ball 60-70 yards in the air. It's a lot easier without a rush coming in to block.

Coach Belichick continued his practice of resting players. Randy Moss and Wes Welker were not present, as well as Tedy Bruschi and Richard Seymour.

Safety Ray Ventrone and WR Matthew Slater continue to work on the opposite side of the ball. Ventrone with his number 41 looks like a running back lining up as receiver.

Earlier this season in rookie camp, 3rd round draft pick Tyrone McKenzie was lost for the season with an ACL tear due to getting tangled up in a drill. It's easy to see how this happens. Although the players don't always make direct contact, there were numerous times when they fell and banged into each other.

Practice lasted an extra 10 minutes as the team worked on goal line situations.

Pass Rush Improved

Coach Bill Belichick recently said that you can never put enough pressure on the quarterback or have enough of a pass rush. There were questions about this going into the 2009 season.

The team addressed this concern with the recent acquisition of Derrick Burgess from the Oakland Raiders. Although the details have not been finalized, the team is expected give Oakland a 3rd and 5th round pick in next year's draft.

Coach Belichick has prior experience coaching Burgess during the Pro Bowl following the 2006 season. He recruited Adelius Thomas at the same time. In four seasons with the Raiders, Burgess totaled 38.5 sacks, including a league-leading 16 during the 2005 season.

The role of Burgess will be determined according to Belichick. He could play outside linebacker in the 3/4 or defensive end in the 4/3. There has been concern about the pass rush with the absence of Richard Seymour and Ty Warren from practice since the start of training camp.

Burgess is signed through the 2009 season. He was unhappy with his Raiders contract and had requested a trade.

Roster Talk - Part 1

With the first pre-season game coming up next week against Philadelphia, there appears to be some interesting roster situations.

The Pats have five running backs on the roster: Fred Taylor, Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk and Bennjarvis Green-Ellis. They have no full-back with the departure of Heath Evans. Coach Belichick will probably rotate tight ends or players such as Russ Hochstein into the fullback slot unless one is signed. This season appears to be a make or break for Maroney who is the last year of this contract and has the label of being injury prone.

The team is carrying five tights ends: Ben Watson, David Thomas and Tyson Devree from last year as well as Chris Baker who was signed away from the Jets and Alex Smith who was acquired from Tampa Bay through a trade.

I can't see the team carrying more than three tight ends. Watson is in the last year of his contact and Thomas is still recovering from his costly penalty in last season's loss against the Colts.

It doesn't appear that the team can keep all of the players on the 53 man roster or the 45 game day one without impacting another position.

Stories From Training Camp - Part 2

Every NFL team has ball boys who perform a variety of functions. They are usually high school players that have some type of connection with someone on the team. They often catch tosses from the 3rd and 4th QB's. They wear gloves on their hands. It's easy to see why. The ball is fired at up to 60 mph. You can hear the impact it makes on their gloves. It's a good way to dislocate a finger.

After I left practice on Saturday, the team released rookie punter Tom Malone. He was on the practice squad last season. It appears that the team will go with veteran Chris Hanson. Since only 80 players can be on the roster, it allows the team to bring in additional players at key positions. Unless Malone signs with another team, he will be waiting for a call from the Pats in case Hanson gets injured.

It's amazing to watch Randy Moss accelerate from the line of scrimmage. He makes his cuts so gracefully. He can change his speed as needed. I think that's why some think that he doesn't play every down at full speed.

Change in QB's

The Pats announced the release of QB Matt Guttierrez and the signing of Andrew Walter who was released from the Oakland Raiders.

Walter has some game experience having started 8 of 12 games in 2006. During that season, he completed 147/276 passes for 1,676 yds. and 3 TD's. He attended Arizona State and was drafted in the 3rd round in 2005. His career stats show 174/333 for 1,919 yds. and 3 TD'S.

Guttierrez of Idaho State was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He appeared in 5 games in 2007, mostly in the final minutes. Last year, he slipped to 3rd on the depth chart behind Matt Cassell and Kevin O'Connell.

This is an indication that Coach Belichick is looking to improve the depth behind Tom Brady. The competition is on-going with Walter, O'Connell and undrafted free agent Brian Hoyer.

Stories From Training Camp - Part 1

Yesterday, I attended the 3:45 pm practice. There is so much to observe and things going on. It was a hot day with over 4,000 fans in attendance. The Patriots provide food and drink concessions at game day prices. I bought a water for $3.75 and a small grilled chicken sandwich for $7.50.

Tom Brady was the last player to walk on the field. He got a huge ovation. He was carrying his shoulder pads with his red practice jersey draped over them. In one quick motion, he pulled everything over his head and was now ready to practice. He got another ovation

It was quite interesting watching the return game. Although it was 11 on 11, the kicker pulled away at the last minute. Instead, Special Teams coach Scott O'Brien used the "Juggs" machine which sends the ball down the field like a rocket. It allows the return team time to set themselves up.

Many of the "experts" seem to think WR Matthew Slater and DB Ray Ventrone are fighting for their roster spot. Coach Belichick played Slater with the defense and Ventrone with the offense. In the past, he has spoken of their versatility, especially Ventrone.

OL Sebastian Vollmer ( 2nd round pick ) is listed at 6'8" 315 lbs. and looks every part of it. He actually appears rather lean. He will have a roster spot.

The offense of this team is centered around Tom Brady and Randy Moss. Everything is built around them. There are a lot of weapons for Brady to use this year, but it's all about getting the ball to Moss in key situations.

To see Randy Moss up close was really impressive. He is listed at 6'4" and 210. He is so lean! He has a gigantic stride and can turn it on in varying speeds. In the past, he has been accused of "taking plays off". When you watch him run, you realize that he is a very special athlete and one of the best to ever play that position. Watching Brady, Moss and Belichick is like watching another Big 3 for the Hall of Fame.

The offense practiced on the field closest to the fans. It's harder to watch the defense. Tedy Bruschi was not in uniform. Coach Belichick spend the first hour with them.

He came over to the offensive field, along with the defense. As he walked to
mid-field, Special Teams was still doing its "Juggs" practice. Julien Edelam, a 7th round pick from Kansas State was one of the players fielding the balls. He had caught a bunch of them during the drill. This time the ball fired off the front of his helmet. I wonder what Belichick was thinking.

I expect Edeleman to make the team as either a roster spot, practice squad, or stashed away on injured reserve. He put up some huge numbers playing QB at Kent State in both passing and running the ball. The Pats drafted him with the idea of converting him to WR or a kick returner.

You could hear Brady calling the signals and Belichick's comments. At one point he said to the players: "If you aren't in this play, go over to the sideline".

Belichick was in game shorts and pull-over windbreaker. He was very tanned. Sometimes he has looked very tired during the season. He looked like he enjoyed his off-season.