Shots Heard 'Round The Web - Patriots Links 5/29/09

by Marima on May 29, 2009 8:47 AM EDT in New England Patriots News

TOP SHOTS

Andy Hart offers his reactions from Thursday's OTA action.

At the conclusion of the main practice, many of the young players on both sides of the ball kept working out while the more veteran players did a series of sprints on the other practice field. Notable in all sprints and pre-practice running is that rookie safety Patrick Chung seems to always lead the pack, bursting out well ahead of the rest of his teammates.

Bob Ryan gets to the heart of who Tom Brady is.

There were things to like about the past eight months. Time to do this. Time to do that. Bond with his son. Get married. Fly here. Fly there. But we all know he was not supremely happy because he was not part of the team, and he was not competing. More than anything, he lives to compete.

He lives a complicated life, but there is no doubt which part of it excites him the most. If Gisele is smart, she'll never ask.

Sports Illustrated: Manning or Brady? Which QB is better set up for success in 2009?

Tom Brady is coming off a season-ending knee injury and returning to a Patriots squad that failed to make the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. Peyton Manning is fully recovered from last off-season's knee surgery and will lead a Colts team that's made the playoffs seven years running but that lost its long-time head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive-line coach. SI.com NFL writers Don Banks, Jim Trotter, John Mullin and Ross Tucker discuss which quarterback is better set up for success in 2009.

More Shots after the jump...

Links to Brady's return and more Thursday OTA news and analysis.

TEAM SHOTS

Paul Perillo New WRs impress.
Andy Hart RealScouts ranks the Patriots.
John Cockrell's Friday Out-Takes: Sports night and Napoleon.

LOCAL SHOTS

Mike Reiss offers some quick-hit thoughts on the team's draft picks after watching Thursday's organized team activity.
Ron Borges sums up what we really learned from Tom Brady yesterday: Nothing much.
Mike Reiss lists the players absent from yesterday's OTA.
Karen Guregian notes Wilfork's absence from Gillette, Bruschi missed due to the illness and death of his mother, and more news and bits.
Mike Reiss notes Wilfork was a no-show yesterday, Maroney may replace Hobbs fielding kickoff returns, Nick Caserio was an active presence on the field, and more Pats news.
Tony Massarotti wonders about Wilfork.
Dan Duggan catches up with Joey Galloway who is feeling great and excited for the season.

LONG SHOTS

Adam Schein (Fox Sports) Ranking the NFL: Insider grading on every franchise. Patriots number 1 all around.
Albert Breer (Sporting News) Rehabbed but rusty Brady knows repeat of 589 points unlikely.
Kerry J. Byrne (Cold Hard Football Facts) The Great Lost Season.
Rufus Dawes (kcchiefs.com) disputes the widely written assumption that Bill Belichick dislikes the media, because there is simply no evidence of it.
Andrew Brandt (Nat'l Football Post) Wednesday Whys: Tom Brady, Anquon Boldin, and more.
Charles Robinson (Yahoo! Sports) Records will fall with longer campaign.
Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Good and nasty: Dahl tops list of NFL's meanest players. Vince Wilfork gets runner-up.
Jack Bechta (Nat'l Football Post) The standoff begins! Who's responsible for rookie holdouts?
Andrew Brandt (Nat'l Football Post) 2009's most overrated and underrated stories.
Greg Rosenthal (NBC Sports) Who went where? Tracking 20 key NFL players.
Michael Lombardi (Nat'l Football Post) The amazing story of Maurice Clarett, who announced he wants to play again.
Kathleen Kingsbury (Time) The NFL's behemoth linemen: Healthier than you think.

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Comments

Brady vs. Manning

Silly, stupid argument.

It was bound to be regurgitated eventually, but I thought it would be closer to the Indy-NE matchup in November instead of now – in MAY. Anyway, Stampede Blue’s Cassieper has his own take on it with Manning solidly beating out Brady, of course, and MaPatsFan offering his rebuttal.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on May 29, 2009 1:38 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks for the plug :-)

Even though both article titles (mine and SI) have the phrase “Manning v. Brady” in it, I saw it more as a comparison between the two teams, with a focus on the respective offenses in whole. You’ll notice that much of the print focuses on the Pats’ free agents and the Colts’ coaching dilemna. I never really saw it as a question of who’s a better quarterback. That question leads down a very slippery slope…

Now a proud annoyance on Stampede Blue, 18to88, Indy Football Report, and Phil B's blog.

Man, I need a life...

Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: I graduate from high school Saturday at 3:00 (at the Pepsi Coliseum no less). I accept all gifts :-)

by Cassieper on May 29, 2009 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Time's piece on lineman health

accompanied by a photo captioned “Miami lineman stand on the sideline,” showing a picture of linebackers, a db, and one defensive end.

Study commissioned by the NFL.

Taken together, these are the real story behind this story.

As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team... I don't know what he's talking about. --Shaun of the Dead

by JohnHannahRules on May 31, 2009 2:12 PM EDT reply actions