Bill Belichick

Gametime: Patriots at 49ers

The Teams: New England Patriots (2-1) At San Francisco 49ers (2-2)
The Terms: Regular Season Week 5
The Place: Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
The Time: 4:15pm
The Channel: CBS
3 Burning Questions:

How will the Patriots respond? It’s put up or shut up time for the Pats as they enter the most difficult part of their schedule. The loss [...]

Patriots in Cali; Al Davis Crazy

This week’s 2-point conversion column will focus on the Patriots California dreaming and the Al Davis claim of Randy Moss tampering by Bill Belichick.
Point 1: Patriots Chillin’ in Cali:
A long bye week for the 2-1 Patriots leaves the team plenty of time to stew over the embarrassing loss to the Dolphins. As bad as things [...]

Troy Brown to Retire

Update 9/25: Troy Brown has in fact announced his retirement after 15 seasons with the New England Patriots.
Brown retires as the all-time leading receiver for the Patriots with 557 career catches. Known for making smart decisions on the football field, Brown is most recently known for his heads-up play against the Chargers in the 2006 [...]

Patriots Offense in Transition

Here’s this week’s Patriots Two-Point Conversion column:
The loss of Tom Brady to this offense in the first drive of the first week of the season puts the Patriots in some rare company. Only once before has a team lost a reigning NFL MVP for the entire season, that was back in 1991 when Joe Montana [...]

Gametime: Patriots At Jets

The Teams: New England Patriots (1-0) vs. New York Jets (1-0)
The Terms: Regular Season Week 2
The Place: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
The Time: 4:15pm
The Channel: CBS
3 Burning Questions:

How will the Patriots respond? Losing an MVP quarterback in the first week of the season to a year long injury is something no team has ever had [...]

Did Tom Brady Need the Preseason?

Tom Brady’s ACL tear was a freak accident (yes, I think the hit was clean), but I wonder if he was affected by not having played a preseason game.  There was the pre-existing foot injury that kept him out of action in the preseason.  Were the injuries more serious than the Patriot organization led us to believe? 
We [...]

Gametime: Chiefs at Patriots

The Teams: Kansas City Chiefs (0-0) vs. New England Patriots (0-0)
The Terms: Regular Season Week 1
The Place: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
The Time: 1 p.m.
The Channel: CBS
3 Burning Questions:

How will Brady play? Having missed all four preseason games, all eyes are on Tom Brady to see how the two-time Super Bowl MVP will perform. Is his [...]

Tom Brady Not on Injury Report

Patriots QB Tom Brady is all of a sudden not on the team’s injury report. Yesterday, he was listed as “Full Participation in Practice” despite suffering from sore foot, and shoulder injures. Today, he’s not listed on the report at all, according to the Globe’s Mike Reiss.
Bill Belichick has said he expects Brady to play, [...]

Patriots Release Marcus Pollard

The Patriots have released veteran tight end Marcus Pollard, possibly signaling the team may keep just two tight ends on the roster.
Pollard is best known for his time with the Colts, but has failed to impress in training camp and two preseason games for the Pats.
The move leaves Ben Watson and David Thomas as the [...]

2008 Training Camp Preview: Special Teams and Coaching

Here’s the schedule for the training camp previews:
Wednesday: Special Teams and Coaching
Special Teams
Key Departures: None
Key Arrivals: Matthew Slater, Terrence Wheatley
Breakdown
The Patriots are loaded at special teams, so first we’ll look at the crowded areas which are punt and kick returns. The Pats have a plethora of options to return kicks this season, with Ellis [...]

2008 Training Camp Preview: Linebackers

Here’s the schedule for the training camp previews:
Friday: Linebackers
Saturday: D-Line
Sunday: O-Line
Monday: Tight Ends and Wide Receivers
Tuesday: Quarterbacks and Runningbacks
Wednesday: Special Teams and Coaching
Linebackers
Key Departures: Roosevelt Colvin, Junior Seau(?)
Key Arrivals: Jerod Mayo, Victor Hobson
Breakdown
Probably the most intriguing position heading into training camp is linebacker, considering the evolution of the corps taking place. Many felt 2007 [...]

Spygate and BALCO Case Are Similar

I know this commentary on the topic is much behind the time, but it’s still important to note the similarities in how sportscasters and the general populace have reacted. Spygate, BALCO and the Tim Donaghy betting scandal all have a lot of similarities with a league having loose regulations to the point that people took [...]

Walsh Sends NFL 8 Tapes, No Rams Walkthrough

Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh sent the NFL eight videotapes that show New England violated league rules by recording opposing coaches’ playcalling signals. The tapes were of five opponents and six games between 2000 and 2002.
The New York Times confirmed a list of the teams that were taped: San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo [...]

Matt Walsh Claims to Have Tapes, Wants Full Immunity

Former Patriot video employee Matt Walsh now claims he has videotapes of footage the Patriots asked him to film and will gladly hand it over if the NFL will offer full legal protection. Roger Goodell had said he would give Walsh legal protection but apparently it wasn’t full protection. Walsh says he wants full immunity [...]

Goodell Stands Behind Spygate Actions

Speaking in Washington with Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday that he stands behind destroying the Patriots spying tapes after viewing and punishing the three time Super Bowl Champions.
Specter says Goodell told him that the Patriots admitted to taping opposing coaches signals since Bill Belichick took over in 2000. Specter said [...]