The Patriots are back at work today as they get set to head out to San Diego to take on the Chargers on Sunday. The good news is they will have the services of safety Brandon Meriweather, who was fined $50,000 by the NFL yesterday but was not suspended.
That will change going forward, as the LA Times has an article this morning that talks about the fact the league will now suspend players for these types of hits from now on.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft has no problem with that, and says that those hits are something the game can live without.
Former linebacker Tedy Bruschi says that it shouldn't be hard for guys to resist that instinct, and feels that the players shouldn't have trouble avoiding making those hits going forward.
Jason Cole writes that the NFL can't change the fact that it's a tough physical game, no matter how they try and protect guys from getting hurt.
Ron Borges of the Boston Herald writes that the NFL needs a "heads up", and the rules are already in place - the league just needs to do a better job of enforcing them.
Mike Reiss takes a look at Tracy White, who Reiss points out has been a major contributor on special teams and his teammates have taken notice.
Jeff Howe of NESN looks at the play of Deion Branch on Sunday and feels he's doing things that Moss couldn't, and has some other thoughts as well.
Rich Garven wonders if the Patriots can really win the Super Bowl with BenJarvus Green-Ellis at runningback, while answering questions in his weekly mailbag on a variety of topics.
Christopher Price wonders what's next for Patriots guard Logan Mankins, who a few weeks from now may be back in Foxboro to finish out the final seven weeks of the season.
Defacto Offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien told the Boston Globe that despite the reports of a disagreement with former receiver Randy Moss, it's not unusual for that to happen and dismissed it as a non-issue.
Meanwhile former Patriots linebacker Junior Seau was released from the hospital, just days after being arrested for domestic violence and then driving his SUV over a cliff shortly after. Seau says he wasn't trying to commit suicide and simply fell asleep at the wheel.
And finally Jerod Mayo and Andre Tippett took kicked off the new Kids Cafe Scan Campaign at Shaw's in Mansfield yesterday, which is a joint fund-raising effort between The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, The Greater Boston Food Bank and Shaw's Supermarkets to support children's feeding programs.
That's it for this morning. Hope everyone has a good day and we'll have more later on.
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