Snuck away for a late afternoon lunch break from work, and thought I'd chime in on a few observations through day one of New England's joint practices with Atlanta.
1) No offense to the New Orleans media, but they definitely have better football coverage in Atlanta than the Saints had in their market. We've become spoiled by the tenacity of our own media, and there are definitely some markets that don't have that. Atlanta seems to be one that does, and the afternoon coverage has been great so far.
Just to share a good article with you, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a great piece this afternoon that really gives you a terrific look at today's events, along with giving you a great outside perspective of how the Patriots are viewed by that market. It's an enjoyable read, and I definitely recommend it.
2) You kind of forget how much a guy like Alge Crumpler meant to the Falcons organization. We're seeing him now toward the latter part of his career, but in his prime he was a guy who you could somewhat equate to what Ben Coates was with this football team back in the day - a very good reliable target. I won't get into comparing the two - because that isn't the point. But the general feel you get from the Falcons media is that even though he's two seasons removed from the team, it's still tough for them to see him playing for the Patriots.
3) It was interesting to have the opportunity to read the Tweets that went on during practice this morning, with Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald providing plenty of fodder with his Tweets. It definitely makes you wish that Tweeting was allowed by the Patriots up here in New England. In this day and age where speed of information is so important, it was definitely nice not having to wait until after practice for a full report just to get some details. Although his background on his Twitter Page has to go - it's just too tough on the eyes.
4) I liked Tom Brady's response about his work ethic earlier this afternoon. When asked this morning about why he works so hard, Brady basically said it's up to him to set the tone.
"If the quarterback won't do it, then who will do it? I think that's how I always think about it. If it's like, 'hey guys, that's all right. It was a [bad] play, but we'll get the next one.' That's not the way it works. The first rep of a drill is always the most important because you never get it back. It always sets the tempo and the timing. You don't go out and throw interceptions. You don't walk around. You don't jog through unless it's a jog through period. We're coming out here and competing. We came a long way for these practices. May as well come out and play our best."
5) The screens here where I am have ESPN on and I can't get over the fiasco that is the Brett Favre saga. The sound is down, but you can see the play by play of the fact he was on a plane to Minnesota, and now there are helicopters overhead filming his every move since he's stepped off the plane. This insanity has to stop, and chaulk me up as someone who hopes to see a 10 touchdown, 20+ interception type of season from him this year just so maybe he'll finally decide to call it a career.
That's it for now. Lunch is over and it's back to work - but we'll have more later on.
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