New England Patriots Links 3/11/10 - Kevin Faulk: A Patriot For Life

Ian Rapoport spoke with Kevin Faulk, who sounded relieved that the contract business was over and he could get on with the off-season.

"I had faith that in the end, it would work out," said Faulk, who agreed to a one-year deal that could earn him as much as $3 million.  "Like I said after the season, I was 85 percent sure I was going to be here.  There was just that 15 percent doubt.  If it came into play, it would have to be a strong 15 percent."

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Faulk heard from new Kansas City offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, as well as Denver coach Josh McDaniels during the free agent process.

"They all made phone calls," Faulk said of Weis and McDaniels, "but at the same time, they all knew where my heart was.  And all of those guys said, if it doesn't work out there, you have a place to come."

Only, it never came to that. When asked if he was trying to follow in Troy Brown’s footsteps and be a Patriot for life, Faulk responded: "I don’t think that’s a bad idea. What do you think?"

Tim Graham (ESPN) Adalius Thomas was the league's worst tackler in 2009.  Maybe that stat will finally get through to AD why Belichick benched him.

Adalius Thomas missed more than the start of a meeting last year. The New England Patriots outside linebacker was the NFL's worst tackler, according to ProFootballFocus.com research.

This week, I've been sharing tackle data compiled by ProFootballFocus.com analyst Sam Monson. He constructed a stat called "tackle inefficiency rating," which takes a player's number of missed tackles and solo tackles to come up with an evaluation.

We've already taken a look at how the cornerbacks and safeties fared. Now we'll wrap up the series by breaking down linebacker and defensive lineman grades.

Thomas failed miserably. Of the 436 defenders on the list, he finished dead last. ProFootballFocus.com tallied 18 solo tackles and eight misses for Thomas, giving him a 30.77 TIR.

TEAM TALK

• Patriots Football Weekly Uncapped, but not Unlimited - Part I: A detailed primer on the rules and regulations that will govern the league during this period.
• Patriots Today - Robert Kraft on the Radio. Apparently he was on camera too. (2.28 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

• Karen Guregian reports Kevin Faulk is confident with the organization and how they set up a team, adding that it's up to the players to play as a team and perform well.
• Mike Reiss explains why it took until the sixth day of free agency for RB Kevin Faulk to agree to a one-year contract with the Patriots.
• Mike Reiss notes Kevin Faulk told his agent he didn't him to bluff or play games by taking free agent visits unless the Patriots deal didn't work out.
• Mike Reiss offers his analysis of the Kevin Faulk deal.
• Ian Rapoport notes Vince Wilfork doesn’t care if he steps on some toes, he's going to loudly direct the team's future, fill the leadership void and battle the Pats back to elite status.
• Albert Breer picks out some thoughts from Big Vince as he held court with the media, where he took on a leadership role, and emphasizes that the team took care of him.
• Albert Breer talks about having Wilfork's retirement plan now in motion, his dream home in Florida that he'll build eventually, his sick new truck, and how he's getting some crunchy publicity to go with his big contract. 
• Tom E. Curran feels that whether Wilfork's words fall on deaf ears or not will take months to determine, but he takes it as a good sign that they're being said.
• Christopher Price notes Vince Wilfork won't stand for anything less than 100 percent from his teammates. Point blank.
• Ian Rapoport notes Bianca Wilfork, aka @Mrs75, gets plenty of credit from Big Vince.
• WEEI provides the transcript of Vince Wilfork's Wednesday conference call with the media.
• Ian Rapoport notes Nick Caserio attended Rutgers' Pro Day Wednesday, possibly checking out CB Devin McCourty, LT Anthony Davis or OL Kevin Haslam.
• Jeff Howe has a really cool piece on Patriots 'Mr. Irrelevant' success story LB Marty Moore, the first Mr. Irrelevant in the NFL to start as a rookie, play in a Super Bowl and win a ring.
• Jeff Howe offers some additional Marty Moore anecdotes that couldn't fit into the original story. Worth a read, especially for the Parcells stories.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Tim Graham (ESPN) Draft Watch: AFC East.
• Tim Graham (ESPN) Dueling draft analysts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have released their latest head-to-head mock draft.  Both have the Pats picking OLB Brandon Graham.
• Tim Graham (ESPN) ProFootballFocus.com broke down every play on film and counted the missed tackles and solo tackles. Today he looks at safeties.
• Ross Tucker (SI) Free agency all about familiarity, but that's not always a good thing.
• NFL Video Ultimate Audio: Week 4 Ravens vs. Patriots. A game-day thrill for the long off-season. Definitely use headphones for the full surround-sound experience.  Chills.
• Gil Brandt (NFL.com) Pro Day workout schedules and analysis.
• Joe Fortenbaugh (Nat'l Football Post) Thursday's pro day workouts.
• Joe Fortenbaugh (Nat'l Football Post) Alabama pro day results.
• NFL Video Path to the Draft has full coverage of Alabama's pro day and Rolando McClain's workout.  (6.07 min. video)  Great, now I have to wipe the drool off my keyboard.
• Don Kausler, Jr. (Birmingham News) Rolando McClain discloses that he has Crohn's disease; cuts pro day workout short.  Tough diagnosis there dude.
• Mike Tanier (Football Outsiders) Click at your own risk: NFL prospects have no privacy, and neither may you.
• Fox Sports NFL Mock Draft Central: Whos No. 1?
• Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Why the Bengals passed on T.O.
• Sporting News Report: Roethlisberger admits sexual contact with woman accusing him of sexual assault. He said he did not force himself on her but she did fall and hit her head in the bathroom.