Wednesday Afternoon Patriots Notes - Umenyiora Off the Market, Warming Up to Haynesworth, and More

For Patriots fans who were hoping to see Osi Umenyiora in a Patriots uniform, if it sounded a bit like a longshot before, it's looking even less likely now.

It appears that Osi Umenyiora may be off the trade market. (FILE:Icon/SMI)

Mike Garafalo of the Star-Ledger reports that the Giants have rescinded permission for the disgruntled player to seek a trade, which likely means he's not going anywhere. According to Garafalo he feels that the team initially gave Umenyiora a chance for him to realize he's not worth a first round pick, and are now pulling him back to try and eliminate any further distractions by ending potential trade deals.

The Patriots had been rumoured to have been interested after the Baltimore Sun reported that their asking price may have been lowered to include a 2nd round pick instead of a 1st, but that appears to be off the table for now. Other reports had called New England's interest as minimal, calling it the team simply doing their "due diligence".

Umenyiora will reportedly earn a combined base salary of $7.1 million over the next two years, which he feels is undervalued and he's trying to force the Giants to give him a new deal.

There was quite scary scene this morning in Philadelphia, which saw the Eagles Mike Patterson collapse and suffer an apparent siezure before being taken away to the hospital by ambulance. According to Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com Patterson was attended to immediately after it happened, with players being instructed to circle around him to create shade. He's reportedly scheduled to undergo a CT scan, but reports are now are that he's OK. That's obviously a relief considering what happened to Minnesota's Korey Stringer just over 10-years ago. It's not known whether the heat was the only factor, as the forecast for Philadelphia had temperatures reportedly in the 80's. Although that's a little better than what's going in Denver, where it's over 115 according to this shot from Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post.

Super Bowl odds are out, with BoDog.com putting the Patriots as 13/2 favorites to win it all. Not that we condone gambling of course, but if you're wondering how the gambling world is looking at the team, that's obviously a good indication.

Former Patriot Matt Cassel was on the NFL Network Wednesday morning, and said during his interview that he's looking forward to the Chiefs Monday Night match-up scheduled for Week 11 (November 21st) in Foxboro at Gillette Stadium.

"They're a team obviously that has been unbelievable here for the last decade," Cassel said, "and as a team we'd like to get to that point competing for championships year in and year out. Obviously I have some personal relationships that I'll be excited about, seeing some old friends and playing against my old coach."

An interesting take by CSNNE's Tom Curran this afternoon, who after getting to talk with newly acquired Albert Haynesworth yesterday is happy about the deal, and think's it's ridiculous that some don't want to give him the chance to redeem himself here in New England.

You know, self-righteous crap that never gets a centimeter below the surface of a situation because indignation and the moral high ground are the Jordan and Pippen of media conversation these days.
So nobody wonders if the Patriots' track record of taking raging jerks and turning them into productive employees might help wayward Albert find himself and live blissfully ever after. Nobody considers the liberal idea that this is a nice chance for him to rehab his self-worth a bit. Nobody bothers to point out that it's a football team he's joined, not the state legislature.

You can read Haynesworth's entire interview transcript here via Patriots.com

Fran Charles of The NFL Network has an interesting spin on Randy Moss' retirement, and feels that there are many similarities between both he and the NBA's Allen Iverson.

You'll be happy to know that former Patriots coach Eric Mangini is headed to ESPN as a studio analyst. For now he'll leave behind a checkered legacy as a coach and a career record of 33-47. You may remember that Mangini's name came up frequently during the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations, with some of the stipulations known as the "Mangini Rules" due to former players feeling they were overworked during his tenure.

For any fans playing "Where's Ocho?" today, it appears that Chad Ochocinco was searching Foxboro for a Starbucks but initially came up empty. Tough to find one of those everywhere here in New England, where instead it seems like there's a Dunkin Donuts on every corner. He eventually found one, so it appears that he's averted disaster.

That's it for now. After all the fluff from today we'll hopefully get some football reports tonight, where the Patriots will hold a private practice at Gillette Stadium for season ticket holders. We'll try to add an entry later tonight to recap the reports of what went on.