Daily Recap: New England Patriots News and Notes 8/30
My colleague Ian Logue helps start you off each day with his daily links entry, so in an effort to help fellow Patriots fans get caught up at the end of each day on what’s gone on with this football team, I’ll be offering a daily entry at the end of each day to help keep up with any news you may have missed. You can also follow me on Twitter to learn when it’s available.
Coming through with a bit of an assist today while Derek celebrates an anniversary, so here's a look back at today's news:
A Little Long Snapper Talk: Anyone who listens to press conferences from head coach Bill Belichick with any regularity knows that if you listen real closely, every once in a while he'll share some insight with you if he's passionate about something. Tuesday's featured a look at the long-snapper position, which Mike Reiss of ESPN writes Belichick praised former Giant Steve DeOssie as being a guy who changed the position. It's actually pretty interesting, so be sure and check it out.
Wes Welker's OK: Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald has an entry with the Sporting News this afternoon on Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who appears to be fine after reportedly suffering a neck injury during Saturday night's debacle against Detroit. Rapoport writes that the team needs more help production-wise at the receiver position, which has seen Chad Ochocinco struggle to get acclimated, and Deion Branch struggle to get open.
An Endorsement for Patrick Chung: One day after the release of James Sanders, Belichick had some kind words for Patrick Chung during his press conference. Belichick told the media that you can't outwork him, which is high-praise for the Patriots safety. "Patrick’s one of our young players that’s really worked hard. He’s very diligent. He’s a hard worker,” Belichick said. “I mean, you really can’t outwork Chung — he’s here early, he stays late. He’s in top condition. He can play all the plays that he needs to play. He’s been very productive for us in the kicking game [and] defensively. I think there’s still room to grow with him, but he works hard at it. He’s had a good camp and he’s had two solid years behind him.”
Foxboro Residents Not Impressed: Gillette Stadium apparently had its power restored before the residents of Foxboro, and according to a Channel 7 report they're not impressed. According to the article this is primarily because the stadium sources power from two locations in the event of an outage. The first is Foxboro, and the second is Wrenthem - which currently has power - and that's the reason why power is currently on at the stadium.
Ochocinco's 'Self Contained', Haynesworth is a 'Likeable Fellow': Two interesting descriptions of Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco, and Albert Haynesworth were made by owner Robert Kraft. "(Ochocinco) is very self-contained and works very hard, and wants to do well," Kraft told the Boston Herald Tuesday evening. "He and Brady seem to have a great rapport. And Albert Haynesworth is a gentleman. If you’ve heard him speak, he’s not the image of the NFLNetwork with that mean face, I mean I hope he’s mean during the games . . . but everything I’ve seen, he’s a very likable fellow. I hope both of them make great contributions.”
Ochocinco doesn't care what you think: The Patriots receiver has apparently heard the rumblings about the fact he's still working to settle into the offense, but he told reporters on Tuesday that he's not worried about the criticism. "I’m just nowhere near where I want to be," he told the Boston Globe on Tuesday. "I’m my biggest critic anyway. Regardless of what you write, what you guys see – I’m the first to judge myself. I’m always aiming for perfection and one of those things about being here, about being in an organization like this, that prides itself on perfection and excellence, you know, I’m sort of putting the pressure on myself to be right and be perfect now. Not later. I’m trying to squeeze everything within a short time frame. And it’s somewhat impossible but if I can aim to be as perfect as possible, I think I’ll get up to speed."
Jerod Mayo is now an SI Cover Boy: Mayo is apparently gracing the next cover of Sports Illustrated in the upcoming NFL Preview issue that's about to come out. Ian Rapoport of the Herald has a photo that you can view via this link.
And Finally, Fletcher, Wright, and Spikes back at practice: Christopher Price of WEEI writes that the Patriots saw Brandon Spikes, Dane Fletcher, and Mike Wright all return to practice on Tuesday. It's good news because Spikes has been sidelined since the beginning of the month, while Wright has been battling an ailment that Belichick said recently was unrelated to the concussion he suffered last season.
That's it for now. Hope you're all caught up on today's events, and Derek will be back tomorrow night.
- Ian
