Patriots Defeat Giants

The New England Patriots defeated the New York Giants in their final preseason game Thursday.  ESPN.com is running the AP write-up. The Patriots beat the Giants 27-20 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.  None of New England’s starters saw any action on the field, but those in attendance at the arena were able to see Eli Manning warm up for one series on the field - a 16-play touchdown drive before heading to the bench with the rest of the Giants’ starters.  The fourth and last exhibition game of the season rarely sees any action from the starters, as it’s considered bad juju to tempt the football fates.

The Patriots, for their part, played just a bit more than half of their roster, with Bill Bellichick holding more than 30 players out of the game completely.  Both the Patriots and Giants will now begin gearing up for their regular season openers versus the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys, respectively.  Eli Manning made it through the entire preseason without one single interception.  Tom Brady made it through the entire preseason with only one of his ex-girlfriends giving birth to an illegitimate child.  All in all, a solid preseason.

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Preseason Power Rankings

ESPN.com has released its final preseason power rankings.  In many ways, not much has changed since the last time these rankings were released.  However, for some teams, the change has been drastic.  No change has been more dramatic or surreal than the complete free fall of the Atlanta Falcons, who plummeted from 19 to 31 after losing Michael Vick.  Other notable changes were the Bears (from 5 to 4), the Ravens, (4 to 5), and the Redskins, who somehow jumped from number 28 to 19 despite the fact that I couldn’t name you one offseason Redskins acquisition.

The Patriots, for their part, remain firmly entrenched in the number one position.  They are the sexy pick to win the Super Bowl this year, with all their high-profile offseason acquisitions and signings.  They even managed to get Asante Samuel to finally come back at the one year tender.  With every weapon they have on the field, coupled with Bill Bellichick’s unparalleled football genius on the sidelines, the Pats are poised to win yet another Lombardi Trophy.  Only time will tell if they can live up to all the hype.

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LenP Likes Maroney

Len Pasquarelli has written a piece on Laurence Maroney, the Patriots new go-to running back.  Maroney, entering his second year in the NFL, split time with longtime Patriots running back Corey Dillon last year.  However, with the departure of Dillon in the offseason, Maroney will now be the featured back for the New England Patriots.  Pasquarelli seems convinced that Maroney has what it takes to be the workhorse for the New England Patriots as they work their way toward the Super Bowl.  He was especially impressed with Maroney’s performance in the Patriots third preseason game versus the Carolina Panthers.

With Maroney coming off shoulder surgery during the offseason, the Patriots have been reluctant to push him too hard during training camp.  However, Maroney finally showed that he is ready to play football again with his 15 carries for more than 50 yards against the Panthers first-string defense.  Though Maroney has not yet been a featured runner in the NFL, he seems ready to embrace the challenge and responsibility.  And that is very good news for Patriots fans.

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Samuel Finally Signs

According to ESPN.com, Asante Samuel has finally signed his contract, making him the last Franchise Player to sign with his respective team this year.  Samuel will be reportedly paid 7.79 million dollars for his services in the 2007 season, far more than the money he’s been making in the first few years of his career.  However, it is still not known whether or not the Patriots consented to keeping the Franchise tag off of Samuel next year, which would put his deal much in line with that of Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs.  Briggs finally signed his one year deal when the Bears agreed to allow him to test the open market after the 2007 season.

Samuel’s agent is remaining very tight-lipped about the exact agreement the two sides reached, but it would stand to reason that if they’re not already coming out and saying that Samuel was cut a similar deal, then he either was not given such an offer of he was sworn to secrecy is such an offer was handed down.  Bill Bellichick is nothing if not a team-first guy who loves keeping secrets.  This deal seems right in his wheelhouse.

Samuel took a physical but has yet to practice with the team.  True to form, Bellichick won’t even tell anyone when he expect Samuel to start practicing, much less suit up for a game.

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Samuel Ends Holdout

ESPN.com is reporting that final franchise-tagged holdout Asante Samuel of the Patriots has ended his holdout and will sign a one-year 7.79 million dollar contract with the New England Patriots sometime today.  Samuel, who has missed the entirety of training camp and the first three games of the preseason during a much-publicized contract holdout, will finally report to the team sometime this week, at which point he will have to pass Bill Bellichick’s conditioning test before he can practice with the team.  No word has yet been released on whether or not Samuel will play in the final preseason game for the Patriots, or if he will be available for the Patriots regular season opener versus the New York Jets.

No details of Samuel’s contract have yet been released.  It will be interesting to see if Samuel was able to broker a deal like the one Lance Briggs got from Chicago, in which it was stipulated that Briggs would sign the one year tender this season on the condition that the Bears do not tag him as their franchise player next year.  If Samuel got a similar contract stipulation, then the holdout was worth it.  If not, one has to wonder whether Samuel really gained anything from his holdout.

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Samuel May be Back Soon

According to a report out of ESPN.com, Patriots cornerback holdout Asante Samuel may be close to reaching a deal with the Patriots that would put him in camp in time to play in New England’s final preseason game.  Samuels has been involved in a long and storied holdout this off-season with the Patriots after being tagged their Franchise Player.  Samuels is the last of the Franchise Players left unsigned.  His deal, when finally agreed upon, will pay him somewhere in the ballpark of 8 million dollars for the next season of play.

Samuels is most likely looking for an agreement under which he would be given the guarantee that he will not be franchised next year, much like the Lance Briggs contract in Chicago.  However, the Patriots are reluctant to agree to such a deal, as it would put one of their most talented defensive players on the free market.  Factually speaking, it’s about time for New England to stop bullying one of their most valuable players.  If they’re not wiling to pay him and give him a long term contract, they should most certainly allow him to find someone who is.

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Tom Brady a Father

According to reports, this one out of ESPN.com, Tom Brady is now a father.  Ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan gave birth to a baby boy, making Tom Brady a daddy for the first time.  According to Moynahan’s publicist, both she and the baby are doing well.  There has been no word yet on whether Brady was present for the birth of his first child or even if he will now be allowed to miss New England’s preseason game Friday versus the Carolina Panthers.  Brady did leave the team to see his baby.

Can you honestly imagine if he suited up tomorrow?  It would be the ultimate sacrifice for a team leader to make.  But I do believe that it should be Brady’s decision to make.  You don’t tell your three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback that he absolutely has to play in a meaningless preseason game in lieu of hanging out with his new baby.  That’s just not right.  If Brady chooses to play Friday, more power to him.  But if not, that should be his call.

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Maroney Ready to Run

A report out of the Boston Herald is claiming that Patriots running back Laurence Maroney is ready to return to action, after offseason shoulder surgery had him sidelined for the duration of the preseason up to this point.  Maroney will get as many handoffs as Bill Bellichick deems necessary to get him ready for the regular season during the Patriots final too exhibition games.  Maroney, for his part, is antsy and excited to get back on the field and begin contributing, which should come as great news to the Patriots and their fans, who will be looking for Maroney to be a workhorse on the ground this year.

Maroney spent much of his offseason working on studying the game’s mental aspects, since his shoulder injury limited any physical practicing he could do.  This no doubt has endeared him to coach Bill Bellichick, who is for all intents and purposes a football genius with a rather extreme work ethic, to put it mildly.  Maroney sought the tutelage of some previous Patriots running backs, who helped him build his understanding of the professional game and what it takes intellectually to be a successful back in the NFL.  Patriots fans will get a chance to see just how much he’s learned very soon.

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Brady Wants to be at Birth

According to this article out of the Boston Herald, Patriots QB Tom Brady would like time off to attend the birth of his first child, but coach Bill Bellichick has yet to grant his request.  Re-read that.  Go ahead.  That’s not a typo.  Tom Brady wants to take a few days off of the preseason - not the regular season, but the preseason - to be around for the birth of his first child.  However, his Coach has yet to grant him the time off.  The most clutch, unflappable, valuable, Super-Bowl-Winningest quarterback around the NFL right now, and he can’t get a personal day.

How hilarious is that?  Seriously?  Can Bellichick really be that much of a hard-nose by the letter guy?  Will he really prevent his star quarterback from seeing the birth of his first child because he wants to play him in a preseason game that means nothing?  I mean, do you think Peyton Manning is missing the births of his children for a preseason game?  I’m not even sure if Rex Grossman would miss the birth of one of his kids for a preseason game.  This is such an awesome non-football story.  I’ll be sad when Bellichick finally relents and let’s his Three Time Super Bowl Champion quarterback actually go attend the birth of his firstborn.

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Patriots Lose to Titans

The New England Patriots lost their preseason game versus the Titans.  Tom Brady took a few nasty hits on his way to throwing two interceptions before being pulled late in the first half.  Titans quarterback Vince Young took a few hard hits himself while attempting to run the ball down the field.  Though neither QB had a great day out on the field, the Patriots went into halftime with a 17-7 lead over the Titans.

In the second half, the Titans second-string beat up on the Pats’ lower-tier players.  The Patriots have not yet won a preseason game, though no one should be too concerned.  Last year, the team with the best record in the regular season - the San Diego Chargers - were 0-4 in the preseason.  The Patriots are playing right now withou wide receiver Randy Moss and running back Lawrence Maroney, both of whom figure to factor into the Patriots’ offensive schemes quite prolifically.  The Patriots may be keeping a lot in the tank during the preseason and saving their best efforts for when the games truly matter.

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