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New England Patriots Links 12/15/09 - Patriots Have Randy's Back; Adalius Thomas Ratted Out The Story

By Marima
<em>Don't worry man, we've got your back.</em>
Don't worry man, we've got your back.

Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Defends Randy Moss' character.

So, yes, the Panthers did take Moss out of the game. And, yes, he did look lethargic on a certain number of plays. But to say that he quit on his teammates? No, I’m not buying that.

Did he play poorly? Sure he did, and just like the other members of that team, he will be corrected when they turn on the film today in their meeting rooms—but that is all that I see in play after this story has come out. And, I am going to listen to Brady and Belichick when it comes to judging his character as a teammate because, like you, I am not in those meetings, on the practice field or in the locker room with a player that still demands respect from a defensive standpoint—and causes opposing players to mouth off to the media even after a loss. Because we can’t pretend to know what is being called in that huddle, just as we can’t pretend to know what route is supposed to be run as told on the chalkboard in the Patriots meeting rooms.

Ty Warren was asked by WEEI's Michael Holley how the news about the discipline got out, and Warren replied that Adalius put it out there himself (at the 6.35 min. mark).  Warren also mentioned that fellow-late-comer Gary Guyton returned to Gillette Stadium that night to watch film.

Bill Belichick talked about what happens when a guy like Sam Aiken is out of the lineup.

If you lose a core player in the kicking game, like Sam was inactive yesterday - he’s really a starter on four teams. It isn’t always the same person that replaces him on each team, it can be a combination of different things and that was the case yesterday. That’s always a challenge on special teams; if you take one guy out, you’ve lost him on at least four teams. Sometimes if he’s involved in the field goal and field goal rush situations, it could be more than that.

It’s a lot different than on offense or defense where it’s just that position on offense or that position on defense. It rolls into multiple positions in the kicking game and then you usually don’t have the same person where you just can’t do it, you don’t have enough people. It’s just like offense: you can’t have a backup right tackle, a backup right guard, a backup center. You’ve got to have one guy that backs up multiple positions and that’s true in the kicking game, too. One guy is out, that means 'you’re in on this team’, 'he’s in on that team’, 'you’re in on another team’ and it really challenges your depth.

That’s one of the real challenging parts of being the special teams coach and even as a head coach - trying to put the roster together when you have a player like that who has a role on offense and is a core player in the kicking game. That’s a lot of jobs.

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