Trusting Moss

Randy Moss, probably for the first time in his career, has the trust of his teammates on and off the field.  The Patriots wide receiver has always been a favorite target of any quarterback he’s played with.  Just ask Tom Brady how confident he feels when he heaves up a deep ball with Moss streaking down the sideline, or when he throws a jump ball into the corner of the end zone in Moss’ direction.  Moss has always been relied upon on the field, but he’s had his share of off-the-field issues.  The Marshall product has been a model citizen since joining the Patriots last offseason.  Moss’ first year with the team was a record-setting one as his 23 touchdown receptions broke Jerry Rice’s single-season record.  Moss also caught another 75 balls and totaled 1493 yards through the air.

It’s only been one year, but you haven’t heard a peep out of Randy Moss since he’s joined the Patriots.  He’s been in integral part of the offense and quickly became Brady’s favorite target.  Winning will make anyone happy enough to behave, but one has to wonder if Moss would be sulking right now if he were on a bad team.  Regardless, he’s on the best team in football now and is making the most of it.

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Bruschi Weighs In on Favre

Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi recently expressed his opinion on the Brett Favre situation, saying he believes that when a player says he’s retiring that said player should stay retired.  Bruschi elaborated on his stance in a Boston Herald column.  “I would take that responsibility as a player,” Bruschi said. “As a player, the decisions you make, you have to realize the ramifications of them.  When you say you’re going to hang it up, that’s got to be your (final) decision.  If anything, I’m learning from this.  Certainly, when my time comes, I’m going to take my time.”

As much as people may think that the situation in Green Bay is not any of Bruschi’s business, the man has a point.  If Favre had not announced his retirement, how much easier would his life and the lives of everyone affiliated with the Green Bay Packers be?  Favre has hurt the club the past few offseasons by remaining indecisive about his future with the team, no more than with his fickleness this year.  Favre should feel lucky if he gets to play another down of NFL football.  No one can question that he is one of the best quarterbacks of all time, but Bruschi’s assessment of Favre’s decision-making is dead-on.

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Pats’ Camp Theme

The theme of Patriots training camp can be found on a gray, team-issued t-shirt that reads “Humble Pie Established 2007” and “2008 Training Camp: Commitment, Pride, Endurance.”  The slogan seems very fitting.  The Patriots were served a large helping of humble pie by the New York Giants in the Super Bowl after going undefeated for the season up to that point.  The team will need commitment from every one of its players if they are going to return to the Super Bowl again this year, which many people expect them to do.  The franchise needs to uphold its sense of pride now more than ever in the wake of a Spygate scandal that has tarnished the team’s reputation among some NFL fans.  Endurance comes into play in that the Patriots need to endure the long season and perform at the highest level until the season is over.

It’s no surprise that the Patriots are coming into this season with a sense of purpose.  The club came so close to having what was likely to be considered the best season by any team in the history of the NFL.  With their hopes derailed by the Giants in the final minutes of the Super Bowl, the Patriots are hungrier than ever.

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Maroney Eyeing Big Season

Patriots running back Laurence Maroney is looking to have a big season in 2008.  Maroney rushed for 835 yards on 185 carries last season, a solid 4.5 average.  He also added six touchdowns.  Maroney was the clear-cut starter, but was forced to miss three regular season games with injury and didn’t receive many carries in the Pats’ pass-happy offense.  Maroney was handed the ball 20-plus times just twice in their first 16 games.  Despite a lackluster regular season, Maroney shined in the playoffs.  The Patriots changed their approach, giving Maroney 22 and 25 carries, respectively, in the first two playoff games.  The running back shined, rushing for 122 yards and a score in both contests, helping propel the team to the Super Bowl.

Maroney has a ton of talent.  He’s got great speed and surprising power.  He’s had several highlights in his short NFL career where he’s run over defensive players on his way to a big gain.  One would think Maroney would see increased touches this season as long as he stays healthy, especially after the team saw what he could do with a full workload in the playoffs.  The club’s passing game has a ton of talent, but running the football is how teams win championships and can set up the passing game as an even more dangerous weapon.

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Brady’s New Approach

Tom Brady changed his approach to life in the offseason.  For the past eight years, Brady has been a fixture at the Patriots’ training facility in the offseason, but this year he spent most of his time away from the training room.  Yesterday, the first day of Patriots camp, reports said that Brady looked relaxed and focused.  The quarterback set the record for touchdown passes last season with 50, breaking Peyton Manning’s record of 49.

While some are bound to speculate that Brady has lost his focus on the game because he’d rather spend time with his supermodel girlfriend in the offseason than sweating with his teammates, I wouldn’t worry about Brady for a second.  Brady has an infant son with his ex-girlfriend and his personal life is changing.  People should ignore what he does off the field as long as it doesn’t require any attention.  Somehow he’s become a part of the ridiculous world of celebrity gossip.  Any fans who are doubting Brady’s commitment to the team will be silenced quickly, most likely early into the club’s first game of the season.  Brady is destined to go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game and there’s no way he’s finished leaving his legacy.

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Patriots Camp Underway, Mayo Signed

The Patriots open camp today and the team signed their first round draft pick, Jerod Mayo, in the nick of time.  Mayo, a linebacker out of Tennessee, is expected to challenge for playing time at one of the two inside linebacker positions in Bill Belichick’s 3-4 defensive scheme.  Mayo (10th overall) was drafted in an effort to inject some youth into an aging linebacking core.  It is uncertain if Mayo will see the practice field today.  Mayo had expressed the desire to report to camp on time.  The club is running two-a-days.

It’s good they got Mayo signed when they did.  Even if he misses the first day of practices, in this age of rookie holdouts it still seems early.  Mayo will probably see some substantial playing time this season in an effort to rest some of the Pats’ aging players at the position.  He’ll be able to learn from veterans like Tedy Bruschi about playing the game and acting properly off the field.  Mayo shows a lot of promise and warranted a high draft pick.  The Patriots received the pick from the San Francisco 49ers.  Their own first round pick was forfeited due to the Spygate scandal.

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Brady Named Most Indispensable

ESPN.com has named Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as the most indispensable player in the National Football League.  Brady seems to be the most logical choice.  It’s hard to even imagine the Patriots franchise without him.  When the Patriot’s franchise quarterback went down early in the 2001-2002 season, all thought the season was lost.  Enter this scrawny, wet behind the ears kid who played at Michigan and couldn’t even win the starting job from the likes of Drew Henson.  But Brady was good, not spectacular but good.  He was good enough to keep the starting gig even after Bledsoe was cleared to play again.  What a move that turned out to be.

The Pats made their magical run to the Super Bowl where they defeated a heavily-favored Rams club that had won the Super Bowl just a couple of years earlier.  Since, the Patriots have appeared in three more Super Bowls, winning two of them, and Brady has earned himself an MVP award and two Super Bowl MVPs.  Without Tom Brady, it’s hard to imagine that the team would have won any of those titles, let alone be the perennial powerhouse they are year in and year out.  As for his importance to this season’s club, picture Matt Cassel or Kevin O’Connell under center for the team.  Any way you look at it, Tom Brady truly is the most indispensable player in the NFL.

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Pats Sign Rookie QB O’Connell

The Patriots have signed quarterback Kevin O’Connell after selecting him with the 94th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.  At 6-5, 225 pounds, O’Connell has the ideal size for an NFL signal caller and should challenge for the backup role.  The former San Diego State Aztec was a hot name going into April’s draft, despite playing for a program that isn’t exactly known for churning out pros, save Marshall Faulk.

Current backup Matt Cassel should be a little nervous.  He’s been number two on the depth chart behind Tom Brady for a couple of years, but there’s no reason to think he’s done anything to automatically warrant staying there.  Cassel has had an interesting collegiate career.  He was a backup all four years at USC, but was still drafted.  He backed up Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart though.  Cassel showed some promise early in his pro career, but hasn’t produced much when he’s been on an NFL field.  Though he’s pretty much limited to garbage time playing behind Brady, Cassel has had a few opportunities to play.  Patriots fans might remember a game last season in which Bill Belichick pulled Brady after securing a cozy lead and inserted Cassel, who immediately threw an interception.  Belichick wasted no time in pulling Cassel and reinserting Brady on the next possession.  This position battle should be an interesting storyline in training camp.

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Pats ESPN.com’s #1 Going into Training Camp

The Patriots were given the top spot on ESPN.com’s final pre-training camp power rankings.  The Pats edged out fellow AFC powers Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers, who came in at number two and three respectively.  The Cowboys were the top NFC team in the rankings, coming in at number four.  The Jacksonville Jaguars rounded out the top five.

The Patriots deserve this spot on the list.  Most of the team that went undefeated until the Super Bowl remains intact and there’s no reason to think that the Patriots won’t win 13 games this season.  Tom Brady is still Tom Brady and Bill Belichick is still Bill Belichick.  These guys just win games.  The AFC is definitely the more competitive conference, at least towards the top, which is exemplified by conference affiliation of four of the top five teams.  The Patriots have to be the favorite in the AFC, at least until they lose a regular season game.  The Colts, Charger and Jaguars all look to be squads capable of competing with New England.  The Patriots’ division rivals did not receive the most formative rankings.  The Buffalo Bills came in at 19, the New York Jets at 23 and the Miami Dolphins at 31.

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Pats Ink Wilhite

The Patriots have signed their fourth round pick, cornerback Jonathan Wilhite.  The 5-9, 185 pounder out of Auburn was the 129th overall selection in the 2008 draft.  He’s got good speed (ran a 4.38 at the combine), plays with passion and is a good tackler for his position.  He has had some trouble staying healthy though, which was the primary concern teams had about him coming out of college.

It’s good that the Patriots got this kid signed now, because they need all the help they can get at the cornerback position.   With the departure of all-world cornerback Asante Samuel this offseason, the Pats are a little soft at corner.  Samuel is an elite player at the position and someone is going to have to step up their game.  The club spent their second round pick on cornerback Terrence Wheatley out of Colorado.  Ellis Hobbs and Jason Webster will probably be the starting tandem at corner, but the only other known commodity at the position is veteran Fernando Bryant.  One of the rookies is going to have to step in and play the dime, or potentially the nickel.  Bill Belichick will figure something out.  Heck, he turned Troy Brown into a serviceable corner.

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