I noticed this yesterday on KFFL. Apparently it is from a piece Tomase did on TSN March 4th. Of course Tomase is attending Sox ST these days...but I linked the TSN page with the piece at the bottom.
Patriots | Jackson on the mend
Thu, 8 Mar 2007 06:28:27 -0800
John Tomase, of the Boston Herald, reporting for the Sporting News, reports in the best-case scenario, New England Patriots WR Chad Jackson (knee) could be back sometime just before opening day 2007, but could be well behind in his preparation.
I do think that if he misses most if not all of TC 2007 could be a similar season to 2006. Just missing the off season and mini camps will set him back in the pecking order as Brady builds on the rapore with his returning receivers and gets on track with Welker. It's not just learning the playbook in theory, it's mastering it's execution through reps. I remember comments last season when Brady occasionally acknowledged he needed to start looking for Johnson more, only to then have him disappear again. Once the season starts it's tough to get those extra reps that build rapore when the team is moving on from one game plan to the next each week.
It will be enlightening to see whether he is physically ready before camp breaks, and if not if they PUP him and look to add him in after week 7 or if he's still being asked to make his bones on ST and by blocking and they push him to do something to earn a roster spot right out of camp.
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/teams/patriots/index.html