Wednesday's New England Patriots Links 8/31
After a quick trip around the internet this morning, here are today's top stories:
One of the big topics of Tuesday afternoon was Chad Ochocinco, who spoke with the media yesterday at Gillette Stadium. Needless to say there are quite a few stories out there on him, so we'll get to those first.
Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe writes that Ochocinco is confident that he'll catch on quickly and doesn't care what's written about him in the meantime.
“I’m just nowhere near where I want to be. I’m my biggest critic anyway,’’ he said yesterday. “Regardless of what you write, what you guys see - I’m the first to judge myself. I’m always aiming for perfection and one of those things about being here, about being in an organization like this, that prides itself on perfection and excellence, you know, I’m sort of putting the pressure on myself to be right and be perfect now. Not later.
“I’m trying to squeeze everything within a short time frame. And it’s somewhat impossible but if I can aim to be as perfect as possible, I think I’ll get up to speed.’’
Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com has a similar entry, and Ochocinco admits he's heard the "rumblings" but he's still enjoying himself. There's also video at the top of the piece (hit pause or shut your speakers off since it starts automatically) with footage of the interview.
Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald has some good insight on Ochocinco's struggles, which includes some good words of wisdom from former Patriots receiver Troy Brown.
Patriots captain Jerod Mayo was honored as the 2011 Ron Burton Community Service Award winner last night, which the team announced during the Patriots Charitable Foundation’s Kickoff Gala. Mayo's been a big contributor to the community, and this article from Ian Rapoport details a lot of what he's done.
Guregian also has some words of optimism for this season for his football team from owner Robert Kraft, who spoke during last night's event.
Chris Forsberg writes that Myra Kraft was also on everyone's minds during last night's events, with Matt Light talking about her in a video at the top of the piece.
Dan Duggan of the Boston Herald has an article this morning on Logan Mankins, who didn't care about the fact he was labeled “a dirty bastard” by Lions defensive end Lawrence Jackson in Tuesday’s edition of the Detroit Free Press.
Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com has an entry this morning "Cleaning out the Patriots Notebbok", and has some thoughts including the fact that Chad Ochocinco has called off his plans to live with a fan here in New England.
Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald has an article this morning on Sergio Brown, who used to share a locker right next to the recently released James Sanders. According to Rapoport Sanders used to spend a lot of time helping Brown out, and he's disappointed that Sanders is no longer around.
“He was a great teammate, locker-mate,” Brown said. “He used to give me a lot of advice. Being an older player and me being as young as I am, I appreciate everything he did. He used to tell me to just go out there and just be as loud as I can and be confident in your calls.”
ESPN reports that Sanders agreed to a 1-year deal yesterday with the Falcons.
Jennifer Toland of the Worcester Telegram has a piece on Patrick Chung, who will need to take on a bigger role now that Sanders is gone.
Christopher Price has more on Chung, who received some high praise from head coach Bill Belichick after the coach told the media yesterday that "you really can't outwork" the third year safety.
Chis Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com has an article on the fact that Kevin Faulk expects to open the season on the PUP list.
Monique Walker of the Boston Globe has an article this morning on Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who told reporters yesterday he hopes to be ready for the team's week one match-up against the Dolphins down in Miami.
Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald has an article on the fact that after Saturday night's loss to the Lions, Tom Brady and the Patriots receivers still have a lot of work to do.
Jim Donaldson of the Providence Journal writes that all eyes will be on the Patriots Thursday night, especially after how badly they played out in Detroit last week.
KBZK out of Montana has a mention on the fact that linebacker Dane Fletcher is back at practice. They're obviously interested because he's a former Bozeman High School and Montana State star.
The Boston Herald has an article this morning on the new upgrade luxury box for Putnam Investments which includes a heavy focus on Social Media.
Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe also has more on the tour of the new facility, which includes better sightlines and bigger video screens.
Belichick spent some time during yesterday's press conference talking about the importance of the long-snapper position, and Paul Kenyon of the Providence Journal writes that the Pats coach praised former New York Giant Steve DeOssie, and writes that DeOssie singlehandedly changed the punting game in the NFL and in college.
There's plenty of rage right now in the town of Foxboro, with the residents upset about the fact they still don't have power, yet the lights are on at Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place. According to the article this is primarily because the stadium sources power from two locations in the event of an outage. The first is Foxboro, and the second is Wrenthem – which currently has power – and that’s the reason why power is currently on at the stadium.
The Attleboro Sun Chronicle has more on the topic, with residents angry at power was restored to that facility before it was restored at senior housing.
The Foxboro reporter has more on the fact that the organization is taking steps to try and help out the community following this massive outage.
The Boston Herald has an article on the fact that tomorrow night's home game against New York may be tricky, because as of now the street lights aren't even functioning on Route 1 - which could be a safety problem for motorists.
And finally, the gossip queens over at the Herald have an article this morning on the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers' Ron Artest has some positive things to say about Ochocinco, and feels he'll do well in New England. Artest is set to be on "Dancing with the Stars" this season, while Ochocinco competed on the show last year and even made it to the semifinals.
That's it for this morning. We'll have more throughout the day, so be sure and check back for updates.
