Tom Brady issued a statement through his website Saturday to update fans and friends of his health after surgery. The Patriots quarterback addressed his second surgery and his recovery. Brady released the statement on his website TomBrady.com.
The following is the text from Brady’s statement:
I would like to thank everyone for the well wishes and support you have given me throughout my career. It has been particularly helpful during these past six weeks. It is great to know you are all behind me, not only during the good times, but also during the challenging times. On October 6, I had surgery to repair my knee from the injury that took place four weeks earlier in our season opener.
The surgery went well and my doctor described my knee as “rock solid.” Unfortunately, in the week following the surgery, I developed an infection. The infection is very treatable and, through a course of antibiotics, it will be knocked out of my system. We were proactive with the infection and the doctors went in for a second procedure this past Wednesday to clean and to test the wound. The results of the tests have all been positive and we are very thankful. I am excited to begin rehabbing my knee and will continue preparing for 2009. I’m looking forward to supporting my teammates throughout the rest of this season, as we strive to achieve the goals we set as a team months ago.
One of the perks of working multiple jobs in football is the diversity of information that comes across one desk that you can use while working at the other. That’s the case this week when a friend of mine at Scout gave me a heads up on the Patriots Scouts in the college football ranks.
One game New England was keeping a close eye on was last week’s matchup in the ACC between the Clemson Tigers and Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The game featured a bunch of prospects for next year’s draft including few top tier prospects at Clemson and a three top tier defenders at Wake
Why do you care what goes on between these two college programs? For the same reason you care about what happens at a college like Central Florida, Fresno State, Iowa State, Toledo even Memphis. Those colleges have produced for starters for the Patriots in the past five Drafts with names like Asante Samuel (2003, 4th round), Logan Mankins (2005, 1st round), Ellis Hobbs (2005, 3rd round), Nick Kaczur (2005, 3rd round) and Stephen Gostkowski (2006, 4th round) respectively.
Take a look at the team sites for more information on their players and their season. You can visit the official sites here:
Once you realize that Wake has one of the better college defenses in the country for an unranked program, you’ll appreciate why players like Alphonso Smith and Aaron Curry might be called early next April.
Injuries are affecting the Patriots more than you realize. Sure missing the world’s greatest quarterback can be a fairly tall task, but so is the issue of losing two linemen and two running backs. her is an updated look at the team’s injury situation with what to expect for game day.
Patriots fighting injuries
In what could have been seriously bad news for a deflated Patriots team after getting pummeled by the Chargers last Sunday, the injury bug bit and bit hard this week. Defensive lineman Jarvis Green had to leave the game with an ankle injury as did starting right tackle Nick Kaczur (See Photo - NFLCanada.com). Both players failed to practice this week and are doubtful for Monday night’s game against the Broncos.
On a more positive note, WR Kelley Washington and LB Eric Alexander have been upgraded from doubtful to questionable for Monday night’s game. Neither player has practiced this week due to their ailments and both missed the past few weeks because of their need to rehab. Washington’s ankle could be well enough for him to join the special teams unit, though Sam Aiken has filled in well for him. Alexander’s hamstring has been a longer-term issue, and it might still be a while before we see him at full speed. Gary Guyton has been taking Alexander’s place in the lineup, something that worked out well on special teams, but may be a liability on defense.
Besides being an avid football fan (for over 30 years), a sportswriter (for over a decade) I’m a bit of a TV junkie (since birth?). My favorite show — currently — is NBC’s CHUCK.
My dilemma on Monday night was what to do at 8:30pm.
Monday Night Football was on at 8:30 and Chuck began at 8:00pm causing a scheduling conflict between my two favorite things to watch. What was I supposed to do?
Should I watch football, as one of my "other" favorite teams (the Browns) played the undefeated Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, or watch Chuck? It really was a dilemma.
Though I don’t have TiVo, I do have Internet access to watch Chuck online after the game, and if you’re reading this so do you.
My night of TV viewing began with a simple coincidence, which ultimately concluded with a bit or irony.
On Chuck: Morgan Grimes, a little, average-looking, worker at the store where Chuck works, had to confront former New York Giant Michael Strahan about being too loud while playing Madden ’09 football with his co-workers in the Buy More’s game room.
On MNF: The Browns – considered as good as dead this season after a 1-3 start – were little more than potential victims for the Giants were steamrolling toward the playoffs with a 4-0 record..
A member of the PR firm promoting this charitable event was kind enough to send this along. Hopefully some of you find the cause worth supporting.
Je’Rod Cherry, former New England Patriot, is Raffling off his First Patriot’s Super Bowl Ring.
(Boston, MA) –– Je’Rod Cherry is hosting on online raffle at www.netraffle.org to give one lucky fan a chance to own his Super Bowl Ring. Super Bowl XXXVI was the first Super Bowl victory for both Cherry and the New England Patriots. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit Asia’s Hope, Boston for Africa, Feed My Starving Children, The Italian Home for Children and Celebrities for Charity Foundation.
* Winner will receive Je’Rod Cherry’s Official Super Bowl XXXVI Ring (Ring will be available for viewing at Long’s Jewelers Description: Created by Jostens, The 14-karat white gold Super Bowl ring worn by the Super Bowl XXXVI champions, the New England Patriots, features 142 diamonds. Forty-two diamonds encircle the bezel, which is the edge of the ring’s face, and two larger football-shaped diamonds are on each side of the bezel. The face of the ring displays the Patriots logo made from red garnets and blue sapphires trimmed with diamonds. A figure of the Lombardi trophy is behind the logo and is made of platinum, a large marquis diamond, and two tapered baguette diamonds.)
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, or even an NFL expert to realize the Patriots have issues this year. But 30-10?
The Patriots loss to the San Diego Chargers was not only a setback; it was genuinely unpleasant to sit through. Things went from bad (17-3) at the half to worse 30-3 in the fourth quarter. A late gimme touchdown made the blowout seem less so, but the game was over early.
How did the keys to the game play out in our What To Watch?
Patriots offensive line vs Chargers Front Seven
The blame cannot go to the offensive line, though lack of running room was another obstacle the backs had to overcome. Fortunately for them, the Patriots were in catch-up mode where Matt Cassel had to pass to get back into the game. The offensive line can always use improvement, but at least 2 of Cassel’s 4 sacks on the day were a result of him not getting rid of the ball fast enough. Cassel holds the ball far too long, and his pocket presence lacks the type of early detection system Tom Brady seemed to have.
LaDainian Tomlinson vs Patriots Front Seven
The Patriots front seven seemed to dial in on LaDainian Tomlinson. The former league MVP managed just 74 yards on 20 carries for a respectable (3.7 avg.) But Tomlinson also managed 44 yards on 3 receptions to get his 100 combined yards for the game. Combined between their three backs, the Chargers managed just 98 yards on the ground, and improvement for the Patriots who had yielded close to 120 per game. Unfortunately the real damage against the Patriots defense came through the air, reducing the need to run the ball at all.
When the New England Patriots play the San Diego Chargers on Sunday night, here are some things to keep an eye on. If the Patriots are successful, they may manage to post back-to-back wins on their west coast road trip.
Patriots offensive line vs Chargers Front Seven
If the Chargers are good at one thing on defense, it’s applying pressure to the quarterback; at least they were last year. This season San Diego has 13 sacks on the year tied for 7th best in the league. Unfortunately for San Diego, when they don’t get to the quarterback they’ve been burned badly. The Chargers have given up 14 plays over 20 yards (T-6th worse in the league). If the Patriots can find a way to get Cassel some time, a repeat performance of last week might be in order. The Patriots have allowed 16 sacks T-3rd worse in the league.
LaDainian Tomlinson vs Patriots Front Seven
LT hasn’t had the kind of year he’s used to, struggling to break 100 yards just 1 time this year. Tomlinson’s 331 yards on 89 carries has yielded a 3.7 yard per carry average. The last time Tomlinson rushed for that low an average was 2001 when he managed just 3.6 yards per carry. Tomlinson also managed 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns that year.
New England has been able to hold opponent’s rushers to under 100 yards in 3 of their 4 games. When they didn’t Ronnie Brown chewed up 113 yards on the ground and Rickey Williams added another 98.
Chargers Running back LaDainian Tomlinson and coach Norv Turner answered questions from the New England media this week. Here are their comments, including some thoughts on the AFC Championship game from 2007 where New England defeated the Chargers 21-12 to advance to the Super Bowl.
Q: How important is it for you guys to be home for this game?
LT: It’s important because it’s the next home game and it’s obviously important because we’re more comfortable playing at home when we need a win. We don’t have to travel, which is a good thing and playing it at home is always—from our history—has been good for us.
Q: Obviously you guys have lost an elite player in Shawne Merriman and the Patriots have lost an elite player in Tom Brady. Does that bring you back down to the rest of the pack a little and does it change the dynamic of this game at all?
LD: I think as far as the standpoint that people may look at us talent-wise. It does obviously take you down on the talent pole across the board as far as teams are concerned. But I think it’s a perfect opportunity for guys to step in. Obviously it’s tough to replace somebody like Shawne Merriman and also Tom Brady, but at the same time somebody has to step up and take their place. You won’t replace them, but hopefully you can get some production out of them.
You can ask Bill Belichick why Laurence Maroney missed most of the middle of the game against the San Francisco 49ers, but the reality is he’s not going to tell you that he was benched. While it was obvious to everyone who was watching that Maroney wasn’t having a banner type day, his head coach refused to throw the third year running back under the bus. Belichick defended Maroney after the game, on Monday and again on Tuesday when prodded by reporters.
"I think Laurence has done a good job for us," Belichick said. "He’s a good back. He’s played well and I think he will continue to play well."
The coach described the decision to use more of Sammy Morris, LaMont Jordan and Kevin Faulk as game plan related than performance related.
“With the running backs and our offensive game plans, you know those change and fluctuate week to week and even sometimes within the game,” Belichick explained. “So depending on how we have our personnel grouped for a particular game or the situations that come up, it could be different players doing the same thing or it different players doing different things on a week to week basis. We will just take that as it comes.”
Morris leads all Patriots ball carriers with 143 yards on 43 carries (3.3 avg.), followed by Jordan’s 106 yards on 24 carries (4.4 avg.) and then Maroney with 93 yards on 28 carries (3.3 avg.).
The New England Patriots defeated the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park 30-21 on Sunday. Here is a look back at our What To Watch key points.
Key Review
Cassel to Moss is Inevitable
I said it was going to happen, and sure enough the team made it so on Sunday. Randy Moss has beaten the coverage deep in the past few games, but Matt Cassel either wasn’t looking for Moss or didn’t’ have time to find him. This week the play calling allowed for more opportunities to throw the ball deep and the pair connected on 5 passes for 11 yards and 1 touchdown
Patriots Front Seven vs JT O’Sullivan
The Patriots front seven managed to pressure JT O’Sullivan by mixing up the defensive alignments. Not only did they throw in an occasional 4-3 look, the team used 1, 2, or even just 3 defensive linemen along the line of scrimmage filling in the rest of the front seven with additional linebackers and defensive backs. O’Sullivan was pressured through most of the game having to scramble 6 times with just one sack.
Turnovers
The Patriots won the turnover battle, beginning with Brandon Meriweather’s interception of an O’Sullivan pass down on the Patriots 6. New England added two more interceptions, while Matt Cassel gave up a pair of his own. Cassel’s first pick came when he was hit while throwing. The second was a deep pass intended for Randy Moss. Both teams blew opportunities to score with the turnovers, though New Englnad’s final interception sealed any chance of a 49er comeback.
Cassel To Moss
Matt Cassel hasn’t had many opportunities to throw the ball deep downfield, and when he has he’s connected with Randy Moss. In the Patriots first game against the Chiefs, Moss had over 100 yards. He’s been held to under 50 in the other two. Moss caught 6 passes in week one, and has only connected with Cassel six times since. The 49ers will try to cover Moss with two men, taking away the deep pass, but the Patriots will force San Francisco out of the coverage by picking apart the defense underneath. A healthy running game with Laurence Maroney will also help open up the play-action, something the Pats need to do if Cassel is to get on the same page with the 49ers.
Patriots Front Seven vs JT O’Sullivan
The Patriots have just six sacks on the year, but the 49ers have given up 19 sacks on the year (nearly 5 per game). The Patriots will try to change up their alignments and rather than stay with a base 3-4, look for some 4-3 action as that formation allowed the Saints to maul O’Sullivan last week.
Patriots Ground Game
The Patriots have the 19th ranked rushing attack in the league averaging just over 100 yards per game (103). The 49ers have the 22nd ranked defense overall and 21st against the run yielding 124 yards per game. The Patriots haven’t been the same without Maroney in the lineup running on a regular basis. He missed week three against the Dolphins, and expressed frustration at not being more involved when healthy. Expect the Patriots to run, run, run to control the clock, manage the game and get the pressure off Cassel early.
More fun with the media. Here are quotes from the week by players and coaches from both teams. We translate what they actually said into what they meant to say if they weren’t talking to the media.
“When I was there he was the two, so it was just his level of professionalism. I felt that he was always ready to play. He practiced hard, all of those things, I mean everything you would want out of someone who wasn’t playing, Matt would do it.”
– 49ers quarterback JT O’Sullivan on Patriots QB Matt Cassel.
Translation: So they picked him over me, what am I supposed to say leading up to this game? Figures that the voodoo doll I bought that summer didn’t work. Pox on him, I got a cursed chicken leg in my locker with No. 16 on it… we’ll see how it works this time.
“I think that’s just been typical of what we’ve done in the first three games. We’ve played well at times. We’ve played poor at times. We just have to learn to be more consistent.”
– Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees on the team’s run defense
Translation: We stink. Have you looked at the stats? I’m gonna have to kick some ass to get these geezers moving or Belichick is gonna have his buddy Dom take my job.
As the New England Patriots get ready to go on a 10-day road trip, they’re leaving behind a number of things, including the field that saw them get blown out 38-13 by division rival Miami. Here are some quick hits in Patriots news from this week as the team prepares to face the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday at Candlestick Park.
Al Davis Is Losing His Grip
On Tuesday, the axe finally fell on beleaguered coach Lane Kiffin in Oakland as Al Davis fired his young coach heading into their bye week. The surprise wasn’t in the actual firing of Kiffin, which had been rumored in the works for weeks, but in Davis decision to air all of the dirty laundry in the press conference. Davis was so determined to show that Kiffin failed so that the Raiders wouldn’t have to pay the young coach, that the Oakland owner actually put a letter up on a big screen to detail sentence by sentence Kiffin’s faults and Davis’ own comments.
Perhaps the most bizarre part of the Davis scenario was in the post conference diatribe. In responding to questions about trading Randy Moss to the Patriots, Davis leveled a flurry of accusations at New England, including tampering. Davis said that no one wanted Moss, but the Patriots, who had an insider helping them (Former Oakland Personnel assistant Mike Lombardi). Davis said the Patriots not only wanted Moss they did unapproved research on the receiver.
Transcripts of 49ers quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan and his thoughts leading up to the game against the New England Patriots on Sunday.
San Francisco quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan
Q: (Sunday’s loss to the Saints) was the offense’s worst performance of the year. Was it a combination of everybody?
“I don’t evaluate it like that. I just try to look at my performance. I felt like we moved the ball, just like what I said already. I felt like we moved the ball, but to have a chance to win against a good team, you’ve got to score touchdowns and you can’t turn the ball over. You can never turn the ball over in the red zone.”
Q: Is that your inexperience maybe?
“Bad decisions. I don’t know if…Experience and inexperience had nothing to do with it in my mind. I should make that throw all the time.”
Q: In Coach Martz’s offense…[inaudible]?
“[Inaudible.] If he calls them, I’m going to play them. So it’s not what I think we’re trying to do or not trying to do. I think it’s [inaudible].”
Q: You said after the game that the Saints were jumping some of those slant routes. Is that something that you’ll expect to see from here on out?
Patriots Regroup During Bye Week
Week 4 in the NFL was a week without Patriots football, but not a week without adversity and controversy – at least in the AFC.
The team took time to get away from the facilities to put the ugliness of their week three 38-13 blowout loss to the Dolphins behind them.
“I think everybody had a good break here last week,” Said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on Monday. “We got a chance to get away and come back refreshed. It’s good to move onto San Francisco.”
The 49ers had a trouble with NFC rival New Orleans as the Saints capitalized on turnovers to put build their lead and hold off a San Francisco comeback attempt. Key points came off a pair of deep passes from Drew Brees. New Orleans may have shown how the Patriots can get to the 49ers on Sunday when the teams meet at Candlestick Park.
Around the AFC East
While the Patriots were moving on to the 49ers game, the rest of the league was going through their week 4 schedule. The AFC East continued to take shape as both Buffalo and New York turned in key victories on Sunday.
The Buffalo Bills continued their march toward division dominance as they bounced back from a slow start to put away the St. Louis Rams 31-14. St. Louis had an early lead, but karma was not in Rams coach Scott Linehan’s corner. Buffalo overcame a 14-6 deficit to roar back by putting 25 points on the Rams in the second half, and seal the fate of the woeful Linehan.
