A Very Candid Interview By QB Brady
There are those moments where you may not want to tell people what you really think – especially if there’s a possibility it’s going to end up being printed. An interview by Tom Brady in Details magazine grabbed the attention of several media outlets Tuesday, and if you’ve ever wondered what goes through Brady’s mind when head coach Bill Belichick calls him out during a practice or film session, here’s an interesting quote from that interview that may answer that question.
“You’ll practice on a Wednesday, and you’ll come in Thursday morning and he’ll have the film up there from practice,” Brady said in the publication. “Sometimes, during practice, you throw a bad ball—that’s the way it goes. But the video comes up and he says, ‘Brady, you can’t complete a g–damn hitch.’ And I’ll be sitting there thinking, I’m a f—ing nine-year veteran, I’ve won three g–damn Super Bowls—he can kiss my… That’s what you’re thinking on the inside. But on the outside I’m thinking, You know what? I’m glad he’s saying that. I’m glad that’s what he’s expecting, you know? Because that’s what I should be expecting. That’s what his style is.”
The veteran quarterback talks about being a dad, his sense of style, along with many other interesting subjects throughout the magazine’s cover story. It’s definitely worth reading – and is one of the most candid interviews I’ve read in a while by Brady.
No Extensions Because of the CBA?
An interesting point made by Tom Curran this afternoon over at NBCSports.com is that the Patriots haven’t extended any of their veterans past 2010. After that season the NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement will expire, and that could be a reason why guys like Vince Wilfork and others have yet to receive a contract extension.
Curran reports that Patriots owner Robert Kraft explained the thought process behind it recently.
“We don’t know what the rules are going to be (under the next CBA),” Kraft told the website. “We know our agreement is going to have to change. It’s not sustainable the way it is now for the entire league.”
Asked if teams may be assessed luxury taxes, Kraft said, “We don’t know what it’s going to be.”
“We don’t know what the rules will be and we don’t want to put ourselves in a position where we could be penalized for making poor decisions now when we don’t know what the rules are. No one knows, we don’t know. What could happen is we don’t have any agreement.”
Richard Seymour, Stephen Neal, Nick Kaczur, Ben Watson, Alex Smith, Jarvis Green, David Thomas, Kevin Faulk, Tedy Bruschi, Leigh Bodden, Logan Mankins, Russ Hochstein, Stephen Goskowski are also among other big names who’s deals end at the end of this year. Needless to say this could be the reason why there are so many deals set to expire and why we haven’t seen any of these players extended just yet.
Skin Cancer Screening By Patriots Hits Home
The Patriots issued a release this afternoon that definitely grabbed my attention, and I wanted to take a moment to hopefully alert more of you to it. So for anyone heading to training camp next Monday, I definitely encourage you to take a moment and not only take them up on this, but to also increase your own awareness on this subject.
New England announced on Thursday that they will be teaming up with the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) to try and tackle skin cancer on Aug. 10. AAD dermatologists will volunteer their services to help the Patriots increase awareness of the importance of skin cancer detection and prevention by providing free skin cancer screenings at Patriots Training Camp.
According to the release, the screenings will be available to Patriots fans attending Training Camp and Patriots Experience on Aug. 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the W3 lobby of Gillette Stadium, adjacent to Patriots Experience and the camp parking lots.
Having just had a growth removed from the top of my ear (which I had sunburned badly twice over the last year), I’ve had to be much more aware of my exposure to the sun this summer. I actually have to put sunscreen on it every day, as I was told that I’m now 5 times more likely to have another issue there until all of the skin fully grows back. Even walking to and from my car is long enough to potentially have a problem – so it’s become part of my daily routine.
I lost my grandfather to melanoma, and witnessed a good friend of mine lose his mother to this disease just a couple of months ago. Like my grandfather she had no idea she had it, and died a mere three months after being diagnosed. Needless to say I’m more aware now than ever, and I would encourage everyone else to be a bit more careful this summer and use sunscreen. You may not think it could happen to you, but skin cancer affects one in five Americans, and more than 1 million new cases are diagnosed each year. The worst part is if it goes unnoticed and reaches a point where it can’t be treated effectively (and many growths do tend to go unseen depending on where they’re located on your body), the odds stastically are not good.
It’s a cancer that is completely preventable, provided you take the necessary precautions. So be sure to put sunscreen on your kids and make sure your loved ones don’t “forget” to put it on. It’s just not worth the risk.
A Look at The Burgess Trade
In a move that seemed to be a long time coming, the Patriots acquired defensive lineman Derrick Burgess from the Oakland Raiders Thursday afternoon.
Christopher Price of WEEI.com reports that Burgess cost the team a 3rd round draft pick in 2010, and a 5th round selection in 2011.
The move bolsters a Patriots pass rush that was pretty week last season. They finished 2008 with just 31 sacks (14th in the NFL), almost half of the league leading Dallas Cowboys who had a total of 59 last season.
Despite playing in just 10 games last year, Burgess finished last season with 3.5 sacks, his lowest amount in 4 seasons. As bad as it was for Burgess, it was still ahead of several Patriots, including the likes of Mike Wright (2.5), Brandon Meriweather (2.0), Vince Wilfork (2.0), Jarvis Green (2.0), Ty Warren (2.0), Ellis Hobbs (1.5), and Pierre Woods (1.0). Last season it was Richard Seymour who lead the team with 8 sacks (tied with seven others for 17th in the NFL), while Adalius Thomas finished with 5.0, and former Patriot Mike Vrabel had 4. Vrabel’s trade to Kansas City further impaired their ability to get after the quarterback, and the pickup of Burgess helps address that problem.
The 6 feet 2 inch, 260lb Burgess is in his 9th season, starting his career in 2001 with the Philadelphia Eagles before going to Oakland in 2005 where he had his best season of his career, leading the NFL with 16 sacks. He had 11 in 2006, and eight in ’07 where he missed two games. If he can stay healthy he should be just what New England needed and will help put pressure on opposing QB’s – which even before Vrabel left they’ve been desperately needing.
Patriots Trade For Derrick Burgess
Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe reported this afternoon that the Patriots traded for defensive end Derrick Burgess of the Oakland Raiders. Terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed.
The 30-year-old Burgess is in the final year of a five-year deal, and had been boycotting Raiders training camp to try to force the Raiders to give him a new deal, or to release him or trade him. As a result this deal, which had been discussed quite a bit over the last couple of weeks, should help improve the Patriots pass rush, which had just 31 sacks last season (14th in the NFL) 28 shy of the Dallas Cowboys who had 59 during the regular season 2008.
Chiefs Claim QB Gutierrez
According to published reports, former Patriots QB Matt Gutierrez has been claimed by the Kansas City Chiefs on waivers after being released two days ago by New England.
Gutierrez joins many of his former temmates, most likely thanks to former Pats Vice President of Player Personnel Scott Pioli who is now the GM there. As pointed out by Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe, Matt Cassel, Mike Vrabel, Vince Redd and Monty Beisel, all former Patriots, are now members of the Chiefs.
Former Broncos Coach Shanahan Visits Foxboro
As pointed out earlier today by member jays52 in our forum, former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan was at Patriots training camp this morning, and was seen spending time speaking with Patriots senior football adviser Floyd Reese and owner Robert Kraft at the practice.
According to Mike Reiss (via Twitter) he addressed the Pats briefly after stretching drills. Reiss also spoke to quarterback Brian Hoyer who told him that head coach Bill Belichick told the players Shanahan was here not as a media member or coach but out of mutual respect, and spoke of some great battles against Shanahan over the years.
The Broncos are one of the few teams that Tom Brady has struggled against during his tenure as Patriots QB, including one of his only playoff losses back in 2006 where they lost to the Broncos in Denver 27-13. That was Brady’s first ever playoff loss, and their first playoff loss since Jan. 3, 1999, which was a 25-10 first round exit against Jacksonville.
New QB Walter Will Wear #16
The Patriots signed Andrew Walter Monday night, and this morning the team announced via their Twitter channel that he will wear #16 for the New England. Former Pats quarterback Matt Cassel previously wore that number during his time here with the Patriots, and now wears #7 in Kansas City (chosen because of 1+6).
For those of you keeping score, undrafted Free agent receiver Shun White has worn that number here thus far through camp, but he will now reportedly change to #15.
DL Kevin Carter To Visit Tuesday
Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe reported on Monday night that DL Kevin Carter will be visiting the Patriots in Foxboro on Tuesday.
FoxSports.com had reported earlier on Sunday that New England was interested in the 14-year veteran, but this report confirms that the team will indeed get a close-up look at the free agent defensive lineman. Carter has been exceptionally durable over the course of his career, and has never missed a game. He could provide some depth and experience behind Richard Seymour and Ty Warren.
VIDEO: Ron Brace Report
Western Massachuestts television station WWLP added a good report to YouTube a couple of days ago. Ryan Walsh spotlights Springfield native and New England Patriots Defensive Lineman Ron Brace.
You can watch the video below: