With the fan voting for the Patriots Hall of Fame wrapping up yesterday, and Drew Bledsoe almost assured to become a first-ballot inductee, it got me thinking about which players from the Patriots' Super Bowl teams would one day be enshrined.  Those teams were composed of a multitude of worthy players and will certainly lead to some great debates as the time for their eligibility for the hall draws near.  Given that the Hall only inducts one recent player per year and that a lot of the dynasty-era players will retire around the same time, there is bound to be some healthy competition for the spot each season.  What's a voter to do when faced with the choice of Troy Brown vs. Willie McGinest vs. Rodney Harrison vs. Matt Light vs. Ty Law vs. Mike Vrabel vs. Kevin Faulk?  Chances are, by the time Tom Brady does retire, there will still be some of his early-day counterparts still waiting to receive their spot in the Hall. 

However, out of that long list of legendary Patriots, there's one player that I have no doubt will be a first-ballot inductee.  That player, is Tedy Bruschi. What's amazing about Tedy is that he probably wasn't as good of a player as many of the guys I just listed above.  He didn't have the stats, or big flashy plays, or iconic Super Bowl moments that many of those other did.  However, Tedy Bruschi had something much more meaningful and enduring - a connection with the fans of Foxboro. 

 

 

Around the NFL is a weekly feature on Foxboro Blog offering an irreverent (and sometimes humorous) look at some of the top news stories from the NFL. Read at your own risk.

• If it weren’t for Twitter, this column might not exist. Thankfully, social media has opened up a whole new medium for athletes to trumpet their stupidity. This week’s winner is Reggie Bush, who tweeted that he’s enjoying the rest and relaxation brought on by the lockout. This comes after he skipped team workouts that were organized and financed by Drew Brees and tweeted his goodbyes to New Orleans after they drafted Mark Ingram. I’m not sure which organization will sign him after he’s cut by the Saints, but I’m sure that team will appreciate the fact that he’s saving them oodles of money by appearing lazy, self-centered and entitled.
• More lockout news: the players are seeking $707 million in damages due to owners’ sweetheart TV deal. Trying to keep up with all of the legal developments from the lockout has been exhausting. Does anybody really care which side wins anymore? I just want to see this settled as soon as possible. Preferably in the manner of all important sports stories– in a pandering, contrived, hour-long special on ESPN.
• The Packers recently announced that they will retire Brett Favre’s number as soon as they’re sure he has actually retired. If I set the over/under on that halftime ceremony taking place in four years, how many people would honestly take the under?
• After the whole pro soccer thing didn’t work out, Chad Ochocinco said he may take up bull riding. Yes, bull riding. I suppose if that doesn’t pan out, he has yet to tap the vast potential of rhythmic gymnastics. Admit it, if you knew Chad Ochocinco was going to be doing a floor exercise with the little ribbon thingy on ESPN2 at the same time as American Idol … OK, you’d probably just watch re-runs of Pawn Stars. I can’t blame you for that.
• A former Colts cheerleader is suing the team after she was fired for posing nude for Playboy. After many, many hours of exhaustive internet research on this subject (mostly on Google image search), I would rule in favor of the nude cheerleader. Case closed.
• Panthers WR Steve Smith announced that he has not demanded a trade. He simply met with ownership to express his desire to play for a competitive team. In other words, he demanded a trade.
• And finally, we’ll wrap up with a bit of warm and fuzzy Patriots news. Ty Warren will be taking part in graduation ceremonies at Texas A&M this weekend after earning his college degree. Here’s hoping he can return to form next year and school some opposing quarterbacks.

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We're back with another AFC East Q&A session.  Today we're heading down to South Beach to check in with Cody Strahm of Phins Phocus.

1. What were your thoughts when Miami took Mike Pouncey with the 15th pick? Will he make an impact on this team in his rookie season?

I was a little disappointed the Dolphins went the conservative route and drafted Pouncey. As you know, I was a big fan of Ryan Mallett throughout the entire pre-draft process, and was hoping they would take him 15th overall if they weren’t able to trade down. First and foremost, I was hoping they would trade down to later in the first round and acquire a second-round pick. If they weren’t able to trade down, I was hoping they would just snag Mallett there at 15. But obviously the Dolphins weren’t as high on Mallett as I was, because they traded up into the second-round, had him staring right at them, but drafted Daniel Thomas. Jeff Ireland wasn’t able to find a trade partner to move back in the first either, as he admitted the phones weren’t ringing when the Dolphins were on the clock. If I would have known ahead of time that the Dolphins weren’t high on Mallett and that they would be unable to trade down, I would have said Pouncey makes the most sense. It was a bit of a reach, but taking a running back that high, unless he’s an elite talent, doesn’t give you great value, and there weren’t really any other prospects on the board that would have filled a need and had a mid-first round grade. Pouncey will undoubtedly start along the Dolphins’ interior O-line right from the get go. They have been adamant so far that they will start him off at center, but I’ve maintained that I hope they eventually move him to left guard so Richie Incognito can take over at center where he actually has the potential to be more than average. But either way, I expect Pouncey to be a valuable addition to the Dolphins’ O-line as a well-rounded lineman who has the athleticism to pull, something this line struggled with heavily in 2010.

 

Just some NFL lockout tidbits in the middle of an "exciting" week of covering the Patriots...

ESPN Boston reports that Patriots players are organizing team workouts.  With Mark Sanchez and the Jets' West Coast workouts receiving some coverage, it's nice to know the Patriots are busy staying in game-shape themselves.  In typical Patriots fashion, however, the players have just chosen to stay tight-lipped about it. To be honest, I wasn't really surprised to hear that there are organized player workouts taking place, as the Patriots are known to be some of the hardest working players in the league. 

In some major news for Bloguin and bloggers in general, Nate Dunleavy of 18to88.com, our network's Indianapolis Colts blog, received a call this week from commissioner, Roger Goodell.  Dunleavy had reported that Goodell's recent conference call with Colts' season ticket holders was a "waste of time", because he felt the majority of the questions were fluff and not really hard-hitting inquiries regarding the state of the NFL and the lockout.  In response, Goodell reached out to Nate, who lives in Argentina, to personally answer his questions. 

Here's some links to Nate's posts regarding the Goodell phone call, as well as a second call he had with George Atallah of the now decertified NFLPA.

A Conversation with Roger Goodell

Coverage of the Goodell Call

What I Learned From My Conversation with Roger Goodell

Interview with George Atallah of NFLPA

Despite his obvious poor choice in team, Nate Dunleavy is probably the best football blogger that I know.  I've been very fortunate to be able to work with him over the past two years or so since he joined Bloguin.  Goodell certainly picked a good blogger and season ticket holder to reach out to, as evidence by the pretty fair and humble coverage that Nate has given to the conversations.  Definitely check those links out.  You'll find out some info that you won't get from ESPN and the main stream media. 

Viva Bloguin.

State of the Position is a new weekly Foxboro Blog feature that will examine the post-draft status of each position and take a look at what needs still need to be filled before the season opens up.

Today we will examine the offensive line.

Heading into the draft, nearly every draftnik, fan and even our own Foxboro Blog writers had the Patriots targeting an outside linebacker/defensive end with their first-round pick.

However, Bill Belichick went to the other side of the ball and selected Nate Solder, a 6-foot-8 left tackle from Colorado with the 17^th pick.

While he’s still raw, Solder has the ability to be a Pro Bowl-caliber blindside protector for Tom Brady and beyond.

The selection of Solder would seem to signal the end of the Matt Light era who is expected to demand a multi-year deal for starter money.

In the fifth round, the Pats made a great value pick and chose Marcus Cannon, a mammoth tackle/guard who slipped from the second round because of his recent diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Even if he is unable to contribute this season, Cannon should be a starter in 2012 at either guard spot and would add a physical presence to an otherwise small interior line.

That being said, the biggest question on the offensive line lies at the left guard spot.

All-Pro Logan Mankins was franchised for the second-straight year, and it is uncertain whether he will play or hold out again.

If Light is allowed to walk, I think the Pats should and will give consideration to trying to work out a longterm deal with Mankins.

If he is re-signed, the Patriots could have a potentially dominant line with Solder and Mankins on the left and Cannon and Vollmer on the right.

With that potential lineup, the team still has good depth with Dan Connolly, Rich Ohrnberger and Ryan Wendell along the interior. Connolly performed well as a starter last year and can play either guard spot. Ohrnberger and Wendell have spent several years in the system and should compete for a backup spot.

The one position that could be addressed in the offseason would be center.

Longtime starter Dan Koppen is entering the last year of his contract and I would consider him the weak spot in the line. He should finish out his contract, but I wouldn’t expect him to be brought back.

Overall, I think the Pats did a great job solidifying their line for the future and turned a potential weakness into a strength.

State of the Position Grade: B+

 

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Heading into the draft, the focus for Patriots fans was pass-rush, pass-rush, pass-rush.  However, that seemingly huge area of weakness for the Patriots went largely unaddressed during the 2011 draft.  Instead, it seemed that Bill Belichick's focus was directed in an entirely different direction, that is, smash-mouth, smash-mouth, smash-mouth. 

Belichick spent a total of five picks on two monstrous offensive linemen, two running backs, and one blocking tight end.  To me, that signals a major philosophy shift by Belichick and that they team may be moving away from the finesse, high-powered passing offense we've seen for the past four seasons.  I, for one, think it's a step in the right direction.  The Patriots have had plenty of success with Brady airing it out, but not they type that matters most.  Despite putting up some record-breaking offensive marks during that run, New England has nothing to show for it in terms of championships and is a paltry 2-3 in post-season contests. 

Here are some key factors that I believe play into Belichick preparing for a more ground and pound approach on offense...

#1 - When the Patriots passing game was rendered largely ineffective against the Jets, the team wasn't able to establish a running game.  By beefing up the O-line and adding some new blood to what was a largely veteran running corps, the Jets won't be able to terrorize Brady any longer.  Not only will Brady be better protected, but by establishing the ground game, Rex Ryan will be forced to tweak down his pass defense and respect the run.

#2 - The NFL is becoming more and more of a passing league.  Teams are adjusting to that strategy on defense and are catering their rosters towards pass-protection.  Belichick knows the advantage of being ahead of the curve and succeeding by doing the opposite of what everyone else is.  As teams focus on preventing Brady's air attack, it opens the door for the ground game.

#3 - Again, it's all about protecting Brady.  A line featuring Solder, Mankins, Cannon, and Vollmer is about as big as they come and should afford Brady plenty of time in the pocket and keep his sacks to a minimum.  The 2010 league MVP had a season for the ages last year, but it's expecting a lot for him to carry the team yet again as we head into next season.  Having a more balanced passing/rushing ratio takes that pressure off of Brady and should improve the offense as a whole, even if the numbers aren't as impressive. 

Around the NFL is a new weekly Foxboro Blog feature to help keep Patriot fans up-to-date on the latest news from the other 31 teams in the league. The views expressed herein are solely the author’s and do not necessarily represent the Foxboro Blog editorial staff. That’s the polite way of Derek saying “I will not be held responsible for the stupid shit Jason says, so if there is a libel suit to be filed, he’s on his own.” Read at your own risk. And please don’t sue me.

• By now, most folks have read Rashard Mendenhall’s controversial tweets regarding Osama bin Laden’s death. This story has been shot from every angle (no pun intended), so for the most part, I’ll leave it alone this week. It is interesting to note that at some point next season, the Steelers could see a twice-accused rapist quarterback handing off to a terrorist sympathizer after they get the ball back following a turnover caused by a guy who beat up the mother of his child. Although to be fair, that’s still less drama than a typical offseason for Brandon Marshall. He may have had three incidents with law enforcement since I started typing this paragraph.
• In a story that sounds like it came from the manatees on South Park that come up with random Family Guy jokes, Tedy Bruschi and Jeff Fischer are planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro later this month. They’ll be doing the climb for charity to help raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior project. Bruschi is a novice climber, but it’s hard to bet against a guy who was back playing in the NFL a few months after suffering a stroke a few years ago. It's a safe bet that he not only reaches the summit, but also enters the record books as the first NFL player to ever sack a Yeti.
• Matt Millen and Joe Theismann will be replaced next season as the broadcast crew for NFL Network’s Thursday night games. I’ll be especially glad to see Millen go. He ruined those broadcasts worse than he ruined the Lions, and that’s no easy task.
• BREAKING NEWS: Rashard Mendenhall just tweeted that he plans to steal a sample of the DNA collected by Navy Seals Team Six so he can have bin Laden’s babies. Man, put down the smartphone.
• Dancing with the Stars participant Hines Ward was held at gunpoint by police earlier this week in a mix-up concerning a stolen car that wasn’t really stolen. My conspiracy theory sense tells me that there was no mix-up. The cop was probably just upset that Kenrda got voted off. It's OK man, I will miss Kendra too.
• And finally, we haven’t had a chance to talk about Rex Ryan’s book yet. I’m a bit ashamed that it’s taken us this long. In his book, Ryan admitted that he struggled with dyslexia. That’s a brave thing to admit, and it also helps explain why he doesn’t understand that you should actually win at least one championship before you start acting like you’ve won three. I guess if you’re coaching a team full of miscreants, it pays to be a little bit backwards. I can’t wait for the sequel (assuming someone gets him a new box of Crayolas). By that point, he’ll probably believe that his Jets could beat the Yankees. At baseball. Blindfolded.

We all know the story that broke a few nights ago about the death of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. It has made people like myself, a college student, think about where I was on the day of September 11^th, 2001. I was a fourth grader sitting in my classroom and very randomly kids were leaving left and right and nobody in the class knew why. I left that afternoon and had my mother tell me about the bombing of the Twin Towers. I am fortunate enough not to know a relative who died that infamous day, but it’s a tough subject for everybody to talk about.

But, sports is one of the things that brings fans of any team together whether you root for the Patriots, the Jets, or even the Colts as we saw Sunday night during the Mets-Phillies game. As I was reminiscing the events of 9/11 as a New Yorker, I thought about the ten year anniversary of the 2001 New England Patriots.

Even though most people despise the Patriots today, ten years ago, they were considered America’s team. Drew Bledsoe gets hurt on the first game since the attacks against New York, but then Tom Brady takes over and the rest is history.

Let’s take a look back at that Super Bowl for a second. The halftime performance in New Orleans was U2 with a 200 foot sign of all the victims on that dreadful day. But, the nation got to unite behind a 14 point underdog who defeated the Greatest Show on Turf on a last second field goal by Adam Vinatieri 20-17.

On that day and to this day forward, we are all proud to be Patriots of this great country! This is why football has to be played on September 11^th this year. Even though New England would not play till the 12^th, we would have to remember the terrible events that took place ten years ago.

I am proud to be a New England Patriots’ fan, but more importantly, I’m proud to be a Patriot of this great nation!

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By far, the largest criticism of the Patriots draft this weekend was the fact that Bill Belichick did seemingly little to address New England's pass-rush woes.  However, it's quite possible, (and actually quite probable) that Belichick has a much different view of his defense than all the pundits out there.  Here's a look at what "The Genius" may have been thinking when he decided to pass on prospects like Cameron Jordan, Jabaal Sheard, and Brooks Read. 

1. Improve from within - By and large, the Patriots don't have much in the way of "starter" experience at the OLB position.  Jermaine Cunningham, perhaps the team's most promising prospect, just completed his rookie season.  Rob Ninkovich, who arguably had the best season in 2010 out of the crew, started for the first time last year despite being a six-year vet.  Both of those players have been pegged as the likley starters for next seasons, and it's reasonable to expect (especially in the case of Cunningham), that we should see some continued improvement at the position.

2. You can't pass if there's no one to pass to - This could be the thinking with the 2nd round seleciton of Ras-I Dowling.  The Jets have had create success with their duo of Revis/Cromartie.  It could very well be that the Pats are trying to replicate that blackhole of a secondary by pairing McCourty with another 1st round talent.  The return of Leigh Bodden should also bolster the cornerback position.  If the Patriots are able to shut-down passing attack with good coverage, the pass-rush becomes less important, as their opponents won't have anyone to pass to.

3. Returning players - I've already touched on the return of Leigh Bodden, who should challenge McCourty for the title of the team's #1 DB.  It's also worth noting the Pro Bowler, Ty Warren, is scheduled to return from IR and bolster the defensive line.  Wilfork and Warren create a formidable 2/3rd's of the Pats' D-line, and given the huge crop of linemen on the roster, it's not unreasonable to expect one of them to be able to step up and fill that final starting spot. 

4. Experience necessary - The Patriots run one of the most complex defensive schemes for an OLB.  If the NFL does end up with a shortened off-season, which it likely will, then any rookie OLB is going to have a very difficult time getting up to speed.  This likely played a key role in Belichick's decision to pass on some of the top OLB prospects as their contribution would have been minimal in 2011.  A lot of people have keyed in on the pass-rush as a key for the Patriots to "win now" while Brady is still in his prime.  Perhaps by going for a corner with the #33 over a pass-rusher, Belichick actually was focusing on picking up a player who can help the team "win now".

Our very own Stephen Sheehan did some solid analysis of the Patriots draft yesterday.  Scroll down a bit if you missed it, as it's a tremendous read.  Today, we're going to look at what the so-called "experts" think of Belichick's draft.  Mind you, these are the same experts that whiffed on predicting nearly every pick Thursday night, so take from it what you will.  Personally, I'll side with Belichick on the draft day decisions.

SI.com's Peter King:

A couple of disclaimers: No one works the draft and manages the draft like Bill Belichick. And a year ago, I was screaming for the Patriots to make a big deal and trade for Anquan Boldin. They scored 32 points a game without Boldin; so much for my sense of urgency at receiver.

But with their treasure trove of draft choices -- three in the top 33 when no other team had more than one, and five in the top 75 -- they had to upgrade a deficient pass-rush, and didn't do it. (Great stat from John Clayton of ESPN: When New England sent five rushers or more last season, opposing quarterbacks had a rating of 103.2. That was third-worst in the league. I'm amazed any team was worse than that, really. That's just awful. And New England allowed a 47-percent third-down conversion rate, which is not a winning defensive number. Not close.) The Patriots got cute. They set themselves up for the future, when they'll control the 2012 draft again with two first-round picks and two second-rounders. This is a draft New England needed to add pass-rush pieces, not just one. And they got none.

They passed on two good rush prospects -- Pitt's Jabaal Sheard and Arizona's Brooks Reed, who went 37 and 42 to Cleveland and Houston, respectively. New England got a good tackle at 17, Nate Solder, and you can't knock them for dealing the 28th pick to New Orleans for the Saints' first-rounder next year plus the 56th pick in this draft, which they used on Cal running back Shane Vereen. But at 33, with Sheard and Reed in play, Belichick took cornerback Ras-I Dowling of Virginia, continuing a borderline myopic trend with corners.

New England's leading outside pass-rusher last year, Tully Banta-Cain, had five sacks last year. Not good enough.