More on Brady’s Return

We reported Wednesday on Tom Brady’s return to the football field for the New England Patriots’ current OTAs, and today there’s a new part to the Brady saga, as New England’s star quarterback stepped out into the public yesterday and spoke with the media for one of the first times since his injury. The last several months for Brady have included marrying supermodel Gisele Bundchen, spending time with his 21-month-old son Jack and, of course, rehabbing his knee after suffering an ACL injury last fall.

Football fans across the country are anxious to see if this QB is still the Tom Brady of the past, and while it’s still too early to tell, Brady was seen throwing some great passes yesterday in practice, signaling he’ll be ready for action come September. Thinking he’s been a bit shaky this week, Brady made a statement to the media yesterday saying, “This is a hard game. You always think it’s going to get easier as you get older, and you’re going to complete more balls. That’s not the way it works. I feel as good as I could possibly feel…. There is obviously a lot of rust by all of us, being off for four months. Thank God the season is a few months away, but we need the work, and I need the work.”

To get New England Patriots tickets, go to StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 29, 2009 - Post a comment

Patriots Sign LB Lenon

Continuing to fill in the holes at linebacker now that third-round draft pick Tyrone McKenzie is injured, the New England Patriots signed former Detroit Lions LB Paris Lenon in an undisclosed deal yesterday. Lenon will compete with Jerod Mayo and Tedy Bruschi at inside linebacker in New England’s 3-4 scheme, adding to the much-needed depth for the team.

Lenon, a 31-year-old linebacker, made his debut with the NFL in 2000 when he signed with the Carolina Panthers as a rookie free agent. He was cut from the Panthers before training camp and then played with the Seattle Seahawks for a brief time in 2001, next playing with the Green Bay Packers for the next four seasons. In 2006, Paris Lenon signed with the Detroit Lions as a free agent, and now the seasoned veteran will join the ranks of Bill Belichick and Co. for the 2009 season, switching from middle linebacker in a 4-3 scheme with the Lions to the Patriots’ 3-4 as inside linebacker.

Despite the Lions’ 0-16 record last year, Lenon still managed to have a respected year, posting 121 tackles last season, the most on the team.

To get New England Patriots tickets, go to StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 28, 2009 - Post a comment

Brady Back in Business

AFC, beware: New England’s No. 12 is officially back on the football field, and this means big things for the Patriots. Tom Brady made his debut onto the practice field on Tuesday for the first time since enduring a season-ending injury in the opening game of last season, and his return to the game gives the Patriots and fans hope for the upcoming season. Brady is set to participate in four days of organized team activities this week, preparing for more offseason training before the 2009 NFL season commences.

In this week’s issue of Sports Illustrated, Tom Brady made it seem like everything is going just as planned for his rehabilitation and training, telling the magazine that he is “as confident as anyone could be that I’ll be ready to play, back to playing normally, when the season starts. I’ve done everything I could to push myself, sometimes too hard. Right now, I’m doing everything. Literally everything. There’s nothing I can’t do.”

We’ll take his word for it, hoping that No. 12 is back in full force for the upcoming football season. In the meantime, stay tuned to upcoming reports as this week’s OTAs continue.

To get New England Patriots tickets, go to StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 27, 2009 - Post a comment

Patriots Announce Lottery Plans

The NFL recently voted on and approved tie-ins with lotteries for teams around the league, and the New England Patriots were one of the very first teams to plan a collaboration, announcing over the weekend their plan to sell Patriots scratch-off tickets in the upcoming football season. In a statement given yesterday by Robert Kraft, chief executive of Kraft Group (which owns the Patriots), Kraft said, “This is going to be a hugely successful collaboration. We are looking forward to helping the lottery generate much needed revenue for the cities and towns of Massachusetts.”

The league’s approval of lottery tie-ins comes after years of a betting/gambling ban, as the NFL has been weary of gambling affiliations over the years. The state’s Patriot-influenced lottery tickets will be strictly scratch and chance games in partnership with the Massachusetts State Lottery and will likely help generate revenue for both the football team and the city involved with the lottery. The Patriots ticket is set to be released before the start of the ‘09 season, becoming yet another Massachusetts sports team to have a lottery affiliation, as both the Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics have released promotional tickets.

To get New England Patriots tickets, go to StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 26, 2009 - Post a comment

Vick to New England?

Michael Vick is home free after spending almost two years in jail for organizing and bankrolling dogfights, but will he be allowed back into the NFL for this upcoming season? That’s the main question floating around the football realm right now, and the New England Patriots have been tossed into the mix as a possibility for a team that will take the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback under its wing.

While it’s very true that Vick’s return to the NFL will rake in game sales (even if only for the sheer controversy of the situation,) the criminally-charged player will surely see protests from all kinds of dog-lovers and animal rights activists, so Vick will need to be placed with a secure and stable team such as the Patriots should he return to the football field. He’s also a top player for the Wildcat offense, which the Patriots want to be prepared for, but when it all comes down to it, the Pats already have a steady quarterback in Tom Brady and are ready to give backup Kevin O’Connell a chance. The team’s salary cap is also a problem in adding Michael Vick to the lineup, so we say don’t look to Bill Belichick to be Vick’s saving grace.

To get New England Patriots tickets, go to StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 22, 2009 - Post a comment

Kevin O’Connell to Be No. 2

The New England Patriots skipped over the herds of experienced quarterbacks in this year’s free agency, signaling the team’s confidence in Kevin O’Connell, last year’s No. 3 backup QB who will take over Matt Cassel’s position as the No. 2 quarterback behind Tom Brady this season. O’Connell’s role with the team was in jeopardy once Cassel was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this offseason, but now that the Patriots have held off signing any more experienced quarterbacks to the team, it looks like O’Connell is all set to be No. 2.

Kevin O’Connell was spotted earlier this week practicing in a voluntary three-day minicamp at New England’s practice facility in Foxborough, gearing up to take his new position as Tom Brady’s backup. When it comes to how last year panned out for the Patriots’ throwing, O’Connell recently told the media, “Last year was an unfortunate situation, but I was able to get a lot of repetitions that I wouldn’t have gotten as a third quarterback. No matter how far back I am on the depth chart, I just have to be ready. Matt was a good example of that.” Will Kevin O’Connell see more playing time this season? Hopefully so, for his sake - but we hope not in the same manner as Matt Cassel got to see fame last year!

To get New England Patriots tickets, go to StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 21, 2009 - Post a comment

Are the Pats in for Another Randy Moss-Like Trade?

The Oakland Raiders sure hope not. Over the past several weeks, the Patriots have tossed around several names of players that could replace the gaping hole Mike Vrabel left when he was traded to the Chiefs in the free agency. First it was Julius Peppers, then it was Jason Taylor, but as more and more of these players elude the ranks of Bill Belichick, a new name has slowly arisen as perhaps the next great linebacker for the New England Patriots: Derrick Burgess.

Burgess is in the last year of a five-year deal with the Oakland Raiders, where he jumped aboard after leaving the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005. The 30-year-old LB could be considered a fine piece of real estate for New England, as Belichick tends to take older players and revive their careers. This supposed Burgess deal could bring a second-round pick to the Raiders in next year’s draft, but Oakland has to be slightly suspicious of this deal, seeing as how their 2007 deal of swapping Randy Moss for a fourth-round pick (John Bowie) with the Patriots turned out - Moss turned into an unstoppable force for the Patriots and Bowie ended up on the sidelines. We’ll find out soon if Derrick Burgess will become a Patriot, so stick around!

To get New England Patriots tickets, go to StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 20, 2009 - Post a comment

A Wild Ride with Randy Moss Motorsports

New England Patriots star receiver Randy Moss is a sports nut, and we’re not just talking about football. Moss’ endeavor with NASCAR began in 2008 when he teamed up with David Dollar to form Randy Moss Motorsports, and in 2009 the team is sponsoring two drivers in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series - both no. 5 Mike Skinner and No. 81 Tayler Malsam. Both Skinner and Malsam have had incredible seasons so far, with Skinner winning the Kansas race on April 27 and Malsam snagging a Top 10 finish last weekend at Charlotte.

Moss, still in the offseason while preparing for his run with the Patriots in the ‘09/’10 season, has been following NASCAR avidly this year, and the team owner recently made a statement that “everything has been positive. Positive feedback - you have a lot of guys that think their boy can change tires or drive. Everybody wants their friend in, but at the same time just them knowing me personally and them following NASCAR they think it’s a wonderful fit for me to be an owner and the success that we’re having.” How will Randy Moss Motorsports fare next weekend at Dover? Stay tuned to find out!

To get New England Patriots tickets, go to StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 19, 2009 - Post a comment

Pats Rank High in Preseason Poll

There are still plenty of acquisitions, injuries and drama bound to take place before the 2009 NFL season commences this fall, but in the meantime there’s one question still floating around the football ream: who’s number one? We all watched the Pittsburgh Steelers rip a Super Bowl championship out of the hands of the Arizona Cardinals last winter, but how do the Steelers stack up to several other newly-improved teams around the league? NFL.com’s Pat Kirwan ranked all 32 teams based on last year’s performances and this year’s players, and it’s no surprise that the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots are back at the top of the rankings, coming in at number two in the rankings.

According to the NFL.com standings, the defending Super Bowl champs the Steelers are once again dominating the scene, standing at number one on the rankings charts. The Patriots, of course, are in the number two slot, while the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts round out the top five. Following these top five teams are the Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans, making the top 10 teams in the NFL one tough battle to the top.

To get New England Patriots tickets, go to StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 18, 2009 - Post a comment

Patriots Look Strong with Return of Injured Players

Looking back on the New England Patriots’ season last year, it’s hard to believe the Bill Belichick-led team had such a great season. The Patriots watched in horror as their all-star quarterback Tom Brady fell in the opening game of the 2008 football season, and by December several more players were out with injuries, including linebackers Adalius Thomas, Tedy Bruschi and Pierre Woods and defensive ends Richard Seymour and Ty Warren. The Pats were forced to bring in Rosie Colvin and Junior Seau as last-minute replacements, and the bruised and battered New England team still managed to win 11 games and come close to the playoffs with backup Matt Cassel leading the way.

This year, most of the team’s injured list and especially Tom Brady will be back on the field. The Patriots were sure enough about Brady’s successful rehabilitation to cast off Cassel, also taking a chance with backups Matt Gutierrez, Kevin O’Connell and rookie Brian Hoyer. What does this mean for the team? A boost of confidence if nothing else, but also the hunger to avenge last year’s missed run with the playoffs. Will Tom Brady take his team to the top in 2009? All that and more is coming up with the start of the 2009 NFL season, and it’s never too early to start anticipating the preseason.

To get New England Patriots tickets, go to StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 15, 2009 - Post a comment


 Page 1 of 2  1  2 »