Game Preview: Preseason 4: Pats vs. New York Giants

You actually want some kind of analysis on this game? Really? I mean, you have to be kidding.

OK, here's what you need to know: NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN. NOTHING.

I don't know what else you want to hear.

Most of the starters won't play. Many of those may not even dress. If you bought tickets for this game, I'd like to know what you were thinking when you shelled out your hard-earned money.

I have nothing else to say. Besides, I have to get ready for predictions.

NFL Cuts: Price Worth the Cost for Someone

I wasn't particularly surprised when I heard that Atlanta cut wide receiver Peerless Price. After all, they don't have anyone that can throw to him, they don't really need him, they can spend their money better on another blocking tight end.

But someone is going to end up with the steal of the preseason. Well, as long as that "someone" has a quarterback. I'll agree, Price is not a number one receiver, but he's still as good as just about any number two in the league. His 51st ranking among receivers last year is deceiving if you don't consider the situation he was in.

Look at his yards-per-catch since Buffalo drafted him: 12.7, 14.7, 16.3, 13.3, 13.1 and 12.8. The 16.3 was not during his "breakout" year, which was the following season (2002) when he caught 94 passes for 1,252 yards. Of course, that was the one year he had Drew Bledsoe throwing to him. The following season, his first with Atlanta, his YPC dropped a whole two-tenths of a yard, and then another three-tenths in 2004.

His yards-after-catch are 3.4, 2.9, 4.0, 4.9, 2.8 and 2.3. Again, that 4.9 is from 2002 when he had Bledsoe as quarterback. Price's YPC and YAC tell me that he's actually been catching balls slightly deeper, but probably in tighter coverage than the previous two years.

Price had 3 fumbles in 2000, 1 in 2001 and 2 in 2003. He had none, zero, ziltch, the last two years in Atlanta.

I was unable to find year-by-year drop stats for receivers, so it hard to say whether he's been consistent, or where he ranks league-wide.

So is the dropoff because he's not that good, or at least not as good as he used to be? Or is it because his most recent team's offensive philosophy is skewed from traditional and he had a running back for a quarterback? You can't blame the guy for his total yards if the quarterback doesn't throw him the ball. And you can't expect a receiver to be stay open while his quarterback holds the ball for 10 seconds per play while he runs around in the backfield.

I'm not entirely a stats guy, as other arguments will bear out. But I've seen Price play, and the last two seasons, I saw frustration. Find this man the right situation, and every fantasy football nut in the country will be picking him up around week 7.

Other Cuts

Chicago, Chad Hutchinson: Here's another misguided team headed in the wrong direction. Maybe Hutchinson isn't the Bears' solution, but I don't think he was entirely the problem. Really, where do you even begin? Defensive genius Lovie Smith needs to take a step back and reanalyze his situation there. There are bigger reasons why their 231 points was the lowest in the league last year.

Denver, Maurice Clarett: The Broncos took a shot. It didn't work. Move on. The Clarett Experiment never had the potential Willis MaGahee had in Buffalo. All that smoke and mirrors suing the league and pumping up his own hype just proved what everyone knew already. He's not an NFL back.

Cincinnati, Peter Warrick: Warrick was bad news in Florida, he was bad news when Cincinnati drafted him, he's bad news now. He makes demands without retribution. You give him what he wants and he still complains. When it looked like he was starting to come around in 2003, he wrecked his knee, and he went back to the kind of guy that blames everyone else for his misfortunes. Good luck to him.

No Surprises in First Round of Pats Cuts

When running back Cedric Cobbs was released Tuesday, I told you that with the depth New England had at the position, another running back would be soon to follow. No surprise it was Chad Morton, also a return man, who never actually practiced with the team, spending his time since the team signed him recovering from knee surgery mostly on the physically unable to perform list. With Corey Dillon, Kevin Faulk and Kory Chapman at running back and a growing number of qualified return men, there's just no room for Morton.

The only other notable yesterday's list was cornerback Hank Poteat, although if you remember him, it's probably from when he was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform a few years ago. The Patriots signed him just before the playoffs last year, a couple days after the team announced Ty Las was out for the playoffs and placed him on injured reserve, and just before Indianapolis came to town. His stats comprise a 5-yard defensive holding penalty against Indy, 2 tackles and a pass defensed against Pittsburgh and a tackle in Super Bowl XXXIX against Philadelphia.

Four of the remaining five were rookies and the last (Ifo Pili) was an NFL sophomore.

Morton, Poteat among Seven Cut Tuesday

From Patriots.com:

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots released seven players this afternoon. The transactions were made in compliance with the NFL’s 65-man roster limit (not including roster exemptions), which took effect at 4:00 p.m. EDT. On Sunday, September 4, all roster exemptions will expire and the 53-man regular-season roster limit will go into effect.

Below is a list of the transactions made by the Patriots today.

NAME	POS	HT	WT	BORN	YR	COLLEGE	HOMETOWN
Anderson, Jason	WR	6-3	195	06/25/82	R	Wake Forest	Charlotte, N.C.
Gould, Robbie	K	6-1	181	12/06/82	R	Penn State	Lock Haven, Pa.
Krug, Ryan	G	6-4	304	06/07/82	R	Connecticut	Pine Beach, N.J.
Morton, Chad	RB	5-8	203	04/04/77	6	Southern California	South Torrance, Calif.
Pili, Ifo	DL	6-3	340	12/07/79	1	Brigham Young	Orem, Utah
Poteat, Hank	CB	5-10	192	08/30/77	4	Pittsburgh	Harrisburg, Pa.
Thomas, Santonio	DL	6-4	308	07/02/81	R	Miami (Fla.)	Belle Glade, Fla.

Comment on these coming soon.

Pre-emptive Cuts?

Yesterday, the Pats cut Rohan Davey, safety Dexter Reid and running back Cedric Cobbs. Davey was no surprise by any means. What's been obvious to most of us has simply come to fruition. The bottom line is that Davey's past performance didn't match up to Matt Cassel's potential, and Belichick will almost always take potential over a mediocre past. He wants guys who can learn, and Davey hasn't shown enough of that in four years.

Cobbs is a disappointing cut, but with five running backs and two fullbacks, someone had to go, and there's probably more to come from that group. Dexter Reid, same thing. Too many safeties. You just hope you don't run into the injury problems you had last year.

There's a good chance these guys went first to give them an extra edge on landing with another team. Twenty-four hours can some times be the difference between latching onto a life raft with another team and drifting endlessly in the ocean and obscurity.

Welcome Back

Linebacker Mike Vrabel and left tackle Matt Light returned to practice yesterday. Vrabel injured his lower left leg blocking on a kick return in the Patriots first preseason game at Cincinnati. The injury had been described as "not worse than a sprain."

Light had an undisclosed foot injury prior to New England's trip to Green Bay last Friday.

Dale Arnold's Band of Dummies

Yea, how I long for the days when sportswriters were sportswriters, when sports columnists were sports columnists, and sports broadcasters were sports broadcasters. Now you have this mismash of legitimate journalists, a few qualified ex-athletes, and a slew of knuckleheads. A few of the journalists, about half of the athletes and a large majority of the knuckleheads feel that it's their obligation to infuse their otherwise objective comments with witty and stinging commentary, thinking that if they say something louder and more clever than the other guy that it proves their point.

Now the airwaves, both radio and television (and rapidly growing on the Internet), are filled with guys just trying to talk louder than the other guys, trying to make their cute and clever comments to substitute for their intelligence. Some guys (I have to call them guys, because they can't be called "journalists" or "broadcasters" and "commentator" seems to allow them too much credit), like Shannon Sharpe and Deion Sanders, you can hardly even understand. Guys like Stuart Scott aren't even using English words. And yet everyone plays along because somehow that's what people want to see.

And then you have Dale Arnold, the lead of WEEI's Dale and Holley show broadcast from 10 am to 2 pm. Arnold, who formerly was paired with the old king of the sports talk airwaves Eddie Andelman, a man who was clown prince and now mostly just clown. After a bitter breakup between Andelman and WEEI, the station held a highly publicized contest to find the next co-host, and while many, many hopefuls gave it their best shot, the result was only what I expected from the beginning: A guy got the job because of who he knows, not necessarily because who he is. Don't get me wrong, I liked Bob Neumeier if only from his objective broadcasting days on Channel 4. As soon as he started opining, it was clear that his forte was horse-racing, and that's pretty much where it ended. Ultimately, he was flighty at best. At least he was articulate. Another contract dispute later, Arnold has his third co-host. Finally, a guy that actually seems to deserve the job because, well, he just might be the best guy for the job. Michael Holley's done far better than (I) expected so far.

Arnold took a mild beating today during his show. After early in the show calling a caller a "dummy" (later recapped by other callers, Arnold allegedly said "I don't have time for dummies like you") several callers called out Arnold, said he was rude, unprofessional, pompous.

It's about time someone said it. This isn't exactly breaking news. Arnold has been that way since he became the lead.

Usually, like most people apparently, I listened to Dale and Whomever because that's what WEEI broadcast between Dennis and Callahan ending at 10 am, and the Big Show starting at 2 pm. There are people loyal enough to WEEI who would listen to static from 10 to 2 if that's all there was to hear. But Arnold is on, and they listen to him pretty much by default. The people I know who listen to him do so to hear what he has to say now, and to hear him take the exact opposite position a week or two later. Heck, he changes sides during the same show sometimes, just because a caller who agrees with him will call to agree, and Arnold will jump down the guy's throat just to disagree with him. I guess the station managers call that "good radio."

So today Arnold calls a guy a dummy and doesn't see anything wrong with it. He says, "I get paid to give my opinion." What he really gets paid to do is give his opinion on sports, sporting events, sports figures, etc. He gets paid to give his opinion on caller's opinions. He does not get paid to give his opinion of callers or their intelligence. (Really, he gets paid because he's the Bruins play-by-play broadcaster, and they put him on a show to justify his paycheck. But that's another story.)

When the handful of callers called to critique Arnold, and they all did it very politely, Arnold at first got defensive, then shrugged one off, and finally became patronizing to the last couple I heard. Not sure I heard all the calls. I don't get to listen all day. I have a job and a business to run. But I bet Arnold would have a good name to call me because of that.

Arnold is the kind of guy that would call Einstein an idiot because Einstein questioned whether it was proper for the manager to call for a right-hander to bunt with a man on first and one out in the bottom of the ninth trailing by a run against a lefty. He's the kind of guy who would call Neil Armstrong a moron for saying the Patriots should take a knee at the end of regulation of Super Bowl XXXVI. A nuclear physicist and a rocket scientist are nincompoops to Arnold because they're not experts in sports even though they're super-geniuses in their respective fields. No, that's not right. They're dummies because they don't agree with the Great and Powerful Dale.

I can only think of one word to describe a guy who can't tell the difference between passing judgment on a person's opinion and passing judgment on a person: Dummy.

And that's being nice.

Post-Game Preseason 3: Patriots 27 @ Green Bay 3

New England 27, Green Bay 3

I hate games like these: Patriot blowouts, but only in the preseason. They just don't fit into the plan. They're the kinds of games that "serve notice" that the Patriots are ready. They make it look easy. They're absolutely detrimental to this team's persona.

That's why I loved Bill Belichick's pre-third quarter answer to WCVB's Mike Lynch's question: "20-3, you must be pretty pleased so far." Belichick: "Well, we made about 15 penalties in the first half, and that's not good."

Then Lynch said something nonsensical like, "Were you surprised when Flutie went in the game?" To which Belichick replied. "What?"

Anyway, what I want to see in the preseason is losing games to season non-opponents by 3 to 10 points, and losses to season opponents by at least 17. The only good that can come out of Friday's game was that it was to a non-opponent on the regular season schedule. It would be a shame should the Elvisheads and Cheeseheads meet in Super Bowl XXIX and guys like Lynch bring up how easy it was to beat Green Bay at Lambeau Field during preseason week three.

Fortunately, so far, of their three preseason games, the Pats only loss is to New Orleans, who New England will face in Gillette Stadium on Nov. 20. The Saints might be playing a lot of games on the road depending how Hurricane Katrina turns out in the next 12 hours.

Back to Friday's game. I actually missed the first 10 minutes after watching The Simpsons on Fox 25 and having the Pittsburgh-Washington game start immediately. I had been thinking the Pats were on the following night. Then I see the score crawl at the bottom of the screen. New England 10, Green Bay 0.

AAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGH!

Evidently, all I missed was Corey Dillon running roughshod over the Packers, to the left, to the right, up the middle.

What I saw was encouraging: Ahman Green, Tony Fisher and Najeh Davenport combining on 22 carries for 60 yards (2.73 yards per carry) and Green Bay totaling 96 yards on the ground. Far cry from the last two performances by the D Line and linebackers. Of course, the Patriots had the guys that are going to play together that they're going to depend on out on the field, unlike the first two performances.

I really hate to read any good into it. I'd rather take a Belichick-ish "Well, we let each one of them reel off a 7- or 8-yarder on us, so that isn't too good" view.

But it's really hard when you outscore a team 27-3, keep them under 200 yards (199), commit a modest 6 penalties for 40 yards (not exactly sure where Belichick got the "15 in the first half" stat), allow only 38 percent success on third down, to really find a lot to complain about.

OK, I'll give you one: Time of Possession. New England 29:32 , Green Bay, 30:28.

Devastating.

OK, I'll give you another one: When Tyrone Poole "allowed" a punt to bounce off his back and Green Bay recovered the ball inside the Patriot 10. I guarantee that won't happen the rest of the season -- certainly not to Poole.

Other notes: I think Doug Flutie is currently your No. 2 quarterback. I think you've seen the last of Rohan Davey (1 completion, 3 passes, 2 yards, 42.4 passer rating) in a Patriots uniform. While I've heard several people comment that wide receiver David Terrell is on the bubble, I propose that Troy Brown may be as well, much as I'd hate to see it. Tim Dwight has been looking good -- just needs to stay healthy. Rodney Harrison's hit on Antonio Chatman was scary. I know Harrison doesn't mean to hurt players as much as he simply wants to punish them, but I felt bad for both guys on that one. Chad Brown finally had a good game. Logan Mankins. I don't even have to make a point here. He IS the point. Just have to say his name and shake your head and smile. Logan Mankins. Logan Mankins. They're going to end up naming an airport or something after that guy.

Quick Hits: Not That Easy

Ha. I bet some of you thought I'd given up already.

Fat chance.

Which really means something if you've met me.

Unfortunately, I had one of those weeks when I was lucky to have a couple minutes of "quality reading time," much less any time to write.

But you can't get rid of me that easily.

Re-commencing tonight, more of what you came here for: Patriots, football, Patriots, Boston sports, Patriots, sports in general, and more Patriots.

Thanks for your patience. Now make sure your helmet's strapped on tight. Rodney Harrison's coming straight at you!

Game Preview: Preseason 1: Pats vs. New Orleans

Tonight should be slightly more exciting than last week. The real excitement will be simply seeing the field and hearing the crowd at Gillette Stadium in a little more than an hour from now. Incidentally, the regular season starts 3 weeks from tonight.

For anyone who hasn't figured this out yet, the reason Doug Flutie didn't play last week was because the Patriots were in Cincinnati. You might not believe this, but I'm telling you, Bill Belichick wants Flutie to take the field for the first time back in a Patriots uniform to be in New England. I bet you don't think Belichick doesn't care about stuff like that, but you should know better by now. It's the absolute little things just like this at which he is so skillful. Psychological edge. Anyway, expect Flutie to take the field and expect the rumble at Gillette Stadium to register 5.5 on the Richter Scale.

What else to look for? With the "real" starters in, this is the beginning of the "real" test for the coaches. It's all about communication. If a play comes in late to the offense, someone is going to hear about it tomorrow. With a little luck, someone in the broadcast booth will be conscious enough to at least recognize this. I wouldn't hold my breath.

Take a look and see who the starting receivers are, who the return men are, who the linebackers are. Who they are and how they perform is going to go a long way to determining who takes the field first against the Raiders in 21 nights.

How much will we see Troy Brown? Does Rohan Davey get enough time and perform well enough to save his spot on this team? Who's going to make the big special teams hit that solidifies his position in the minds of the coaches? Which linebacker steps up to show he's the leader to step into Tedy Bruschi's shoes? Will Logan Mankins flatten someone? Will Matt Light practice his matador mastery? (If you know a good verb form of "matador," post a comment.)

It's less than an hour until kickoff, and this is one of the lamest items I've ever written, so I'll quit while I'm treading water.

Postgame: Preseason 1: Pats @ Cincinnati

Not surprisingly, there were very few surprises in this game. In the end, New England accomplished their goals and came away with a 23-13 preseason victory over Cincinnati. The Patriots got good looks at players in several competitive positions, the coaches worked on communication, and the team apparently suffered only one minor injury.

It's very easy to over-analyze a game like this. It's preseason and the game is absolutely meaningless. Bill Belichick will tell you that one moment, and the next try to convince you that this team isn't going to win many games if they continue to play like that. The good news is they probably won't continue to play like that.

The first surprise was that Tom Brady didn't play at all. The second surprise was that neither did Doug Flutie. The only conclusion I can draw from those facts (other than the team didn't want to risk injuries) is that Rohan Davey and Matt Cassel were auditioning the for the last quarterback spot on the team. (Yes, I know Davey is listed second on the depth chart and the competition is allegedly between Flutie and Cassel for the No. 3 spot, but that's not what this game told me.) With so much else to worry about, the coaches probably want to settle this issue ASAP and making one of the necessary cuts.

That said, with four years in the NFL and one in NFL Europe, Davey did not impress, while Cassel, with 33 passing attempts (20 completions, 192 yards, 1 interception) in college, looked like a poised, wily veteran with rookie skittishness. Cassel finished 13 of 20 for 135 yards and a touchdown. He ran the no-huddle with a controlled chaos, scrambled three times for good gains, and generally made good passes and good decisions. Davey was 4 of 7 for 42 yards, an interception and a couple other poorly thrown balls.

I can't say anything else really surprised me. One thing that certainly hasn't changed is the reliability of Adam Vinatieri. He strolled into the game in the second quarter and knocked through a 48-yard field goal like it was midseason. Vinatieri was 3-for-3 with kicks of 29, 42 and 48, plus two extra points.

The defensive secondary looked a little soft on short routes, solid on deep routes, and excellent in the red zone (barring the garbage-time TD). I didn't see much (if any) bumping at the line of scrimmage, and Bengal receivers took advantage running a bucketful of slants. You'd see less of that with Ty Law; someone better jump in there and get these guys fired up. The linebackers didn't help much there, either, though their pursuit was good all over the field on most plays. There were also a few holes up front on running plays. Nothing to get all worked up about.

Speaking of linebackers, Mike Vrabel is the lone injury. He tweaked his left ankle when a Bengal played rolled over it on a special teams play. He was walking with a slight limp to the tunnel at the start of the second quarter and should be fine.

I'm going to make something of a brash statement. Some of you will think I'm insane, but that's pretty much par for the course. OK, you read it here first: Logan Mankins is the second coming of John Hannah. History will bear that out.

Without the benefit of game film or even highlights (I still have a business to run, and I was unable to watch any postgame activity), I can't say too much about anything else.

Except this: Channel 5's coverage was horrendous. I can understand rustiness, but how long have they had to prepare for this? And the first graphic introducing players has "Logan Manking" starting at left guard for New England. I guess it could have been worse. They could have had "Log and Man King" or "Lion King".

Besides that, the camera work was awful. The halftime Flutie interview was barely audible over Mike Lynch's sideline microphone that was left open. Don Criqui made several glaring mistakes early in the game, mis-spotting the ball, reporting the incorrect down, missing officials' calls -- stuff that was plainly obvious to the viewer who doesn't even have a good look at the field or the action, like he didn't have any spotters and he was trying to report on the game by listening to the radio feed (which I'm sure was much better). Randy Cross is a clown, and he spent more time trying to come up with a clever line than analyzing the action -- which is what he's supposed to do, you know, as "an analyst."

I hate ripping on the media, but most of these guys have been getting progressively worse since John Madden joined Monday Night Football and somehow nearly every two-man team has turned into third rate copies of Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon -- with apologies to both Carson and McMahon.

Final note, a question: Anyone have any idea what Patrick Pass said or did that made the offensive coaches call his number a grueling six or seven times straight? It's almost like he was being punished for saying "How come I'm not getting the ball?"

Game Preview: Preseason 1: Pats @ Cincinnati

I just love football so much. Tonight, the New England Patriots open their preseason schedule with a trip to Cincinnati. This morning I was foaming at the mouth thinking about it. I was brushing my teeth at the time.

Anyway, it shouldn't be much of a night of surprises. Unlike last year following the Corey Dillon trade, New England and Cincy do not meet during the regular season, so there's no reason for Bill Belichick to hide the game plan and take a beating from the Bengals only to deliver a more severe beating later in the year, much as I predicted in both cases, not that there's any record of it. But there's no real reason to show anyone anything either.

The game isn't totally meaningless, though, for those of us who seek deeper meaning in such things. This will be an opportunity for players to make impressions on coaches, for some to settle themselves, for others to prove if only to themselves that they BELONG here.

For the coaches, this is an opportunity to look at newcomers, tune the veterans; but, far more important this year, get used to the first major changes on the sideline in four years. Two coordinators gone doesn't mean a new system, but it means CHANGE. New coaches need to adjust to new roles, and Belichick needs to get used to different faces that same-old used to occupy.

The good news is that no one is totally brand new; and, like Pats teams of the last few years, they're not reinventing, they're reloading.

Ok, so what is there to watch for tonight?

The big "controversy" this season is who will be the number two quarterback? Ah, to have such worries! Doug Flutie is wise and weathered, a hardened veteran who has beat far greater odds since there were 7 seconds left in a college game at Miami on Thanksgiving Day more than 20 years ago. Rohan Davey is the underachiever named NFL Europe Offensive Player of the Year for 2004, and he really has to prove himself -- NOW. This is his fourth year in the NFL, and if he doesn't make an immediate impression, look for him to fall to third on the depth chart behind Flutie, and possibly fourth behind draftee Matt Cassel.

Of greater significance, keep an eye on No. 70 Logan Mankins. While officially second at left guard on the depth chart behind Russ Hochstein, Mankins is the future and the guy who will be (a) protecting Tom Brady and (b) clearing swaths for Dillon. This guy is a monster. He looks like Reggie White playing offensive line. But this isn't college, so we'll see how he plays when he picks on guys his own size.

Another place to be watchful is at linebacker. Certainly, there's enough depth, but who is going to be on the field with who, and of ultimate importance, in the absence of Tedy Bruschi, who is going to take charge and assume leadership of that unit, and thus the defensive front?

Finally, this is the official dawn of the Rodney Harrison era. No real surprises, since this unit has been together for more than half a season, but watch for how they gel without Ty Law.

As far as game-planning, don't expect much, especially from the starters. One series, and get out with no injuries. That's the plan.

As far as winning? It's of less consequence than Madonna claiming to be British.

ABC affiliate WCVB Ch. 5 in Boston carries the game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Brown vs. Law: Team vs. I

I hate starting with a question (which I just avoided).

What's the difference between Troy Brown and Ty Law?

Well, to start, only one of them contributed on the field to the final 13 games (including playoffs and the Super Bowl) last season. Another difference is that one of them is and has been committed to do whatever the team needs/needed to be successful, which partly led to that player contributing to the final 13 games, etc., etc. A third difference is that, while both tested the free agency waters, one of them took a paycut from last year and returned to Foxboro even when there were greener (like money-green) pastures elsewhere. I'm not sure how one finds pastures while testing waters, but they're pros and they have agents, so maybe they know something I don't.

Anyway, I'm sure you didn't have too difficult a time figuring who is who there. Brown, right up there with Tedy Bruschi as The Ultimate Team Player, turned down a richer offer from New Orleans and returned to New England, realizing that the grass isn't always greener. Money isn't always greener anymore either -- has all those weird colors in there now. Digression is killing me today.

Right. Troy Brown. TUTP. Drafted in the eighth round 12 years ago, Brown has been through every bit of the marginal Major Leaguer flirting with obscurity in the Minors. Cut in his second training camp (by the Tuna, no less), Brown persevered. Bill Parcells' intellectual heir (and superior) has sent signals that Brown is more or less expendable, and if he chooses to go elsewhere, so be it. But Brown ultimately is a Bill Belichick kind of guy. If the team doesn't need him as a receiver, he can be a kick returner, and if they need a defensive back, he'll play that too -- and surprisingly well.

Brown has 475 catches, 60 behind Patriots career leader Stanley Morgan (Morgan will be very difficult to catch with the limited playing time Brown is expecting.). He led the team in interceptions last year. He's been part of numerous special teams scores and several momentous plays during New England's three-of-four Super Bowl dominance. You'd think he's indispensable.

But this year, the Patriots have Deion Branch, Bethel Johnson, David Given and David Terrell at receiver, and they have Chad Morton, Tim Dwight and Kevin Faulk as return men. With several additions in the defensive backfield, it's unlikely Brown will be needed to shore up that unit. That doesn't leave much room for a 34-year-old utility player.

Despite all his contributions and success, it seems the team is ready to part ways with him at the drop of a helmet. And that's why Troy Brown is different.

He's here because he chooses to be here. He's here because he's a Belichick kind of guy. He's here because he's a New England Patriot -- maybe The New England Patriot -- and he'll likely retire as a lifelong Patriot.

That why the fans love him.

That's why Foxboro will always be Massachusetts' City of Troy.

Quiz Time: Who Was That Masked Man?

Q. What's the difference between training with weights and smoking ganja?

A. About 20 pounds and 100-plus yards per game.

Seriously, who was that guy wearing number 34 for the Dolphins on Monday Night? Was that Bob Marley or Ricky Williams?

Reports were that Williams switched to a vegetarian diet after retiring. Someone forgot to tell Ricky that he's supposed to EAT the vegetation, not SMOKE it.

Aw, stop picking on poor Ricky. Best let this story just ... burn out.

Pats Fought The Law And The Law Went To New York

Looks like Ty Law's family won't starve, but they might not eat as well.

Law signed a seven-year, incentive-laden contract with the New York Jets that "could" pay him up to $28 million over three years, and as much as $50 million over the full seven. That's IF he meets all the incentives, one of which reportedly depends on the Jets playing in the Super Bowl.

Law was at the Jets practice facility in Hempstead, NY, yesterday, and made a few comments to the media.

"I think this team is on the verge of doing something very special," Law said of the Jets, "and that's why I wanted to join them."

This can be translated into: "My agent Carl Poston screwed me and led me to believe that I could get a lot more money outside of New England. This was the best offer I got."

"It's a dream come true," Law said.

Translation: "This is a nightmare."

I'll admit, the Jets are probably going to be a better team with Law than they'd be without him; but let's look at a few facts.

First, Law's injury season-ending injury, which occurred during the Pats first meeting with the Jets last year, prevented Law from playing in the last 10 games of the regular season. New England was 8-2 in those games, with the winning streak-ending game loss to Pittsburgh the week following the Jets game (a game in which Corey Dillon and others didn't play, and a game which in hindsight looked like a "planned loss" to a team New England was sure to meet in the playoffs and decided not to "show anything") and the flukey wake-up call loss to Miami down the stretch.

Following the Steelers game, the Patriots beat the Rams, the Bills and the Chiefs -- all teams with high-flying offenses that New England's rag-tag band-aid defense shut down.

Then came playoff wins against the sure-bet, Peyton Manning-led Colts; the unbeatable, Ben Roethlisberger-led Steelers; and the team-of-destiny, Donovan McNabb-led Eagles. Three games, three allegedly unstoppable quarterbacks, three wins by Law-less Patriots.

Now, the Patriots offered Law a four-year deal with $26 million. Law called that a "slap in the face." One line of his defense what that he was told he wouldn't get a long-term deal at his age, yet Drew Bledsoe had gotten a 10-year deal at about the same age. Law obviously didn't remember how that turned out.

As far as I can tell, there are three major reasons anyone would play pro football: Love of the game, earn a good paycheck, win championships. It would appear that Law had all three in New England. So he turns down $26 million over four years with a team that has won three of the last four Super Bowls to take MAYBE $28 million over four years with a team that is, at best right now, a "playoff contender", and which has to make the Super Bowl for Law to earn his incentives.

"I had 10 great years and three championships there, so the proof is in the books," Law said.

Translation: "I had a little more than nine great years there, and my TEAM won three championships, including one that they carried me for 13 games. But my agent tells me that the team needs me more than I need the team."

Law has certainly been a great player over his 10 years. Before his injury, I told my brother he was a shoe-in Hall of Famer. Had he stayed with the Patriots, I'm sure his legacy would have been sealed.

Now he's taking a huge (and, I say, unnecessary) chance playing on a foot that may be good as new or that may betray him, and going to an unproven team where he may be counted on more than he would have been in Foxboro . A couple sub-stellar years could keep him out of Canton.

Mark down Monday Night, day after Christmas. If the Pats and Jets are both in contention, that game in the Meadowlands could be . It could be the game that makes or breaks Ty Law's legend, not to mention one last great "hurrah" for Monday Night Football. (Incidentally, New England beat the Jets on Dec. 26 last year in the Meadowlands, 23-7.)

I really liked Law. He was a big part of the Patriot Super Bowl seasons, and New Englanders will always be grateful for that. We wish him the best except for the two or three games he plays against the Pats every season.

Unfortunately, he appears to have forgotten the Patriot Mantra: No man is above the team.

It's a law I thought Ty had learned long ago.

Quick Hits: R U Ready 4 Some Pigskin?

Yes! August 8. I've been waiting for this day for six months!

Yeah, Miami and Chicago played on Monday Night Football in the Hall of Fame game, which I consider the more important of the two games this weekend (I could care less about any games played in Japan). So, yes, this was the start of the NFL preseason.

More importantly, it means there is ONE MONTH until the Patriots open the regular season on "Thursday Night Football" against the Los Angeles Raiders of Anaheim or whoever they are. That's right, a mere 31 days until we see what the Law-less Patriots can do against the Kerry Collins to Randy Moss connection.

You'll have to wait on predictions for that one for now, because Exciting Day No. 2 is later this week when New England travels to Cincinnati for a Friday night spectacular (7:30 p.m. on Channel 5). As Kent "Flounder" Dorfman said in "Animal House": "Boy, this is gonna be great!"

OK, it's meaningless (as long as there are no injuries), but I'm going to watch anyway. And you're going to come back and read what I write about it.

Neat how that works, huh?

Quick Hit: Sporting News Names Boston Best Sports City

So I get home and I see the cover of the Aug. 12 Sporting News staring up at me.

"BOSTON BEST SPORTS CITY"

I think, "Well, no duh! That's like wicked obvious!"

Ah, but the thing is: Boston is the first city to repeat as best sports city since TSN expanded its rankings in 1997, when their new formula was supposed to keep the same cities from topping the list year after year. And now, much like the New England Patriots, the City of Boston is on top three out of four years -- not coincidentally following the Patriots' three Super Bowl wins.

Among Boston's highlights are, of course, the Pats third Bowl win and the Red Sox first World Series Championship in 86 years. TSN also points out that the Celtics made the playoffs, Boston College played in a BSC bowl and the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments. Then there are the annual events like the Beanpot hockey tournament, the Boston Marathon and the Head of Charles Regatta, etc., etc., etc.

I don't know. There are 388 cities in the TSN rankings. I saw Manchester, New Hampshire, in there (No. 265) and Lowell, Massachusetts (No. 284). I didn't see Foxboro, but it was on another page listing the Best of Boston under "Best sports suburb." I guess since Foxboro doesn't have any nearby colleges to speak of or any of the other criteria, it can't really be a city. Besides, all they have are the Patriots, right?

Can you believe it? Seven pages of Boston (and Foxboro) this-and-that and not ONE mention of the New England Revolution? Correct me if I'm wrong (you'll find that to be fairly rare), the Revs have made the MLS playoffs the last three years and were in the championship game in 2002. And with the NHL locked out for an entire season, how could you possibly overlook them? Jon Meterparel will not be pleased.

This year we're looking for the Sox to repeat, which I'm sure will leave Boston as the only city to have back-to-back World Series and Super Bowl winners, and then the Pats will play about 20 one-game-at-a-times. The rest is all just drawn butta drippin off ah lobsta.

It's really not news to us anyway. I mean, three years out of four? This is the Hub of the Universe. When has Boston NOT been the best sports city?

Quick Hit: Seymour Back In Uniform

There was a breeze across New England today as Pats fans breathed a collective sigh of relief seeing defensive lineman Richard Seymour actually in a Patriots uniform and on the practice field.

As everyone knows, Seymour held out for a better contract, one that he deserved, but the whole thing just flew in the face of the organizations "team-first" persona. This was a special case, however. Seymour wasn't a former free agent who has had a couple good years and is on the decline. No, this was his rookie contract, and Seymour has had a few outstanding years, and he has yet to reach his prime. Seymour knew it; the Pats front office knew it; everyone knew it. That's why this time the team conceded to negotiation and actually gave ground.

The Pats may even have been backed into a corner, an extremely rare occurrence. With the losses of linebackers Tedy Bruschi (physically unable to perform list) and Ted Johnson (retirement) and of cornerback Ty Law (free agency), the Patriots fewest-points-allowed defense was becoming thin on leadership. Bruschi was the real defensive general out there, and Law commanded the backfield. Suffice to say that Seymour, who led the defensive line in tackles last year, was the captain of the line.

Fortunately, New England has safety Rodney Harrison, a born leader if there ever was one, to rally the defensive backfield, so what the Pats still need is that linebacker to direct the front seven. Of the couple handfuls of LBs available, my bet is that the reins will be handed to Rosevelt Colvin. Colvin is entering his seventh year in the league, though we all remember that his fifth was abbreviated by a horrible hip injury. A healthy Colvin could be the surprise key to the season, IF he can be the player he had been in Chicago.

Of course, there are also outside linebackers Willie McGinnest and Mike Vrabel who both certainly have the qualifications. Unfortunately, Colvin, McGinnest and Vrabel are all outside linebackers, and Bruschi was inside, which would probably generally give him a better view of the field and the opposing offensive set, and a better position to disseminate information to the other 'backers and linemen.

Back to Seymour. He ended up with a $1.2 million dollar raise for this season and a promise to talk extensions (probably after this season). Seymour has gone on the record that his goal is to be elected to the Football Hall of Fame, and he would like to do it as a career-long member of the Patriots. So while some people still have bitter tastes in their mouths and consider Seymour's holdout as an act of selfishness, it really caused minimal disruption, does NOT set a precedent for other players to renegotiate mid-contract, and actually shows that Seymour is a "Belichick kind of guy," a team player and a real Patriot.

Introduction: Welcome My Flock

Gather 'round ye indoctrinated and ye infidel, ye holy and ye heathen, ye homer and ye hater.

Hark as I analyze, evangelize and proselytize.

Welcome to the Gridiron Church of Foxboro. I am Brother Tom. This is the Word of the New England Patriots.

I know what you're thinking. "Oh, God. Not another sports blog."

Hear me, my skeptical little lamb: Another sports blog, yes. "Just" another sports blog, no.

New England Patriots Pulpit will be my soapbox. You will be my congregation. Together we will explore the mysteries of the oblong pigskin. In Bill we trust.

Bear witness, however: I tell it like it is. Indeed, while our beloved Patriots stroll atop Mount Olympus these days, they are not utterly infallible. I will call judgment upon those who I deem deserveth so.

I am neither omniscient nor omnipotent, but I know my stuff, and I don't have near the access many others do. I used to be "one of those guys," but I was small time. I covered everything from Little League Baseball to NASCAR Winston Cup, and I wrote columns.

My endeavor into journalism began almost on a whim while at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Believe you me, a North-of-Bostonian transplanted to Long Island, Land of the Jets, Mets, Nets, Rangers, Yankees, Knicks, Islanders, Giants and Devils (New Yorkers claim as many teams as possible -- they figure they have better chances of winning) -- it was pretty gruesome.

Anyway, I actually began covering features ("It was very windy.") because that's what The Stony Brook Statesman needed, and no one asked me what I wanted to write about. It wasn't long before I switched to sports, became sports editor, became known as "Da Mass" and started writing the column named "Scarlet and Gray," eventually becoming editor in chief under a very bizarre set of circumstances. But that's Long Island for you.

While at Stony Brook, I cut my teeth on the Stony Brook Patriots metamorphosis to the Stony Brook Seawolves, their further transition from Division III to Division I, and I watched a lanky shortstop and occasional pitcher named Joe Nathan (see the Minnesota Twins) transform himself into what he dreamed of as a kid.

Unfortunately, when I graduated, I didn't know the right people, so I didn't get the right jobs. In fact, everyone I knew in journalism was in New York, and upon returning to New England, I found myself at the absolute bottom of the ladder, and not even in sports. I started as a newshound at the Caledonian-Record in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, "just down the road a piece," from Canada. My, weren't those glorious, heady days?

A whole four months later, I took an editing job at The Citizen in Laconia, New Hampshire. At least it was 2 hours closer to Boston. After about a year, I took a half-step down to assistant sports editor, but at least I was writing sports. My column then was "In My Court." Two years later, I took a step up as assistant Sunday sports editor at Foster's Sunday Citizen, a combined effort of The Citizen and parent paper Foster's Daily Democrat in Dover, New Hampshire. I think my column then was nameless -- just a byline.

Now and again I'll dust off my archives (The Good Book) and quote you some scripture of old, and then you will indeed believe, this is not just another sports blog.

Regrettably, I never got the chance I was looking for, and as I was tired of toiling for dolts, when I absolutely couldn't take it anymore, I sought refuge in my other haven of heart and mind: computers.

In my real life (the one outside of this blog), I am an entrepreneur, a computer technician, a network guru. I am "The Techie Guy." I own a small LAN gaming center in Dracut, Massachusetts, (my primary gaming name is "The Analog Kid") and I am a general computer consultant.

My gaming center consists of 16 computers and several consoles (I have XBox and PlayStation 2), so there will be much Madden 2006 to discuss. We'’ll ponder other such contenders as there may be, should any company be so bold to take on the King of the Console Gridiron.

On occasion, I'll meander into meadows of other sports of the realm -- when I have something to say about them, or when I have nothing to say about the Patriots. That's me, the Meandering Man.

But enough about me. Really.

Besides, the end of summer means the onset of my favorite season of the year: Football seasaon.

So come to the altar, my faithful flock, and give thanks that you are a member of Patriot Nation. And if you are not a member, welcome, be at peace -- even if you're a lowly Jets or uncouth Raiders fan. Receive the Word.

Feel free to ask (Want to learn more about the options in a five-wide set?), to suggest ("Please write about your take on the draft."), to opine (Have something to say about the play calling at in the last two minutes of Sunday's game?) , to rip (Call me a dimwit and give your reasons.). Fire away. There's one rule: Keep it clean. Just remember, if you post something I deem inappropriate, I AM GOD here, and I'll do away with your heretic harangue.

And now, I give you New England Patriots Pulpit.