Karen Guregian catches up with DE Eric Moore, picked up from the UFL in December, and wonders whether the help with the Patriots pass rush has been on the roster all along.
[Moore] started three games, notched two sacks, forced two fumbles and had 14 tackles before a hamstring injury kept him out of the postseason.
"You have to understand, coach Belichick is a mastermind at football and putting guys in the right positions (to succeed)," said Moore, when reached yesterday in Atlanta. "Trust me, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and he’ll find it. He’ll find a way of making players better. So I have to give it up to him. Hopefully, I’m one of those guys he looks forward to working with in the future."
"I think [Moore's] career speaks for itself. He’s been a productive player. He was a productive player at Carolina. He came in here at the end of the season and was able to contribute," Belichick said. "I don’t think that’s the easiest thing to do. A player has got to have some things going for him to be able to do that. But again, it would be nice to work with him through an entire season, whether it’s minicamp, training camp, whatever it happens to be to really give him an opportunity — or Danny Woodhead or players like that who weren’t with us an entire season — and see if that is helpful to their performance and their production."
"I was looking forward to coming back, and starting off on the right foot, and have them look at me through the OTAs, and all that," Moore said. "But I’m still going to give them what I got, the best that I have. I’m going to go out and do what I need to do, so I can set myself up and play for coach Belichick to the best of my ability."
Karen Guregian reports Marcus Cannon says he's "feeling great" after undergoing more cancer treatment.
"I just had a treatment in the last two days. I’m up moving around and having fun," he said. "We don’t really have a set time, how many treatments I do, but it’s looking better and better every time I go in. The actual lump that was seen in the combine has totally disappeared, so going through a couple more treatments, we’ll see what the doctor says, hopefully it comes out to the best."
Karen Guregian reports Jarrad Page was offered a RFA tender with a second-round compensation level by the Patriots, but it's uncertain what will happen under the new rules.
"Well, I mean, as a player, it always feels good to be wanted. You get to a place and your whole goal is to work hard first and whatever you can do to contribute, if you get the opportunity, take advantage of that. So when a team shows they want you, that’s really good. But as far as that point, even at this point now, we have no clue what’s going to happen. So, it’s hard to really think too far ahead, as this might happen or that might happen because we have no clue. We don’t even know what the rules will be for next season. We don’t know when next season will be . . .
"But like I said, I enjoyed my time there, really enjoyed playing for Bill (Belichick), and I really enjoyed my teammates and just the atmosphere. Guys coming to work and going about their business on the field and being a good group of guys where we were friends in the locker room and everything, everything was good. It was good to have a team want me back and we’ll just see how things work out."
TEAM TALK
- Emily Newell notes former Patriots LB Rosevelt Colvin is passing along the game he loves to the next generation by establishing flag football leagues in Indiana and Massachusetts.
- Patriots Today - Belichick's lacrosse connection. (4.08 min. video)
- PFW in Progress - 5/19/11: The PFW crew discusses a wide variety of offseason topics. (2 hour program)
LOCAL LINKS
- Christopher Price highlights Ryan Mallett talking about the Patriots, Tom Brady and how he's dealing with the lockout.
- Mike Reiss wonders if DL Ron Brace will make the hoped-for big jump in Year 3.
- Christopher Price posts a video of Marcus Cannon in an interview with ESPN's "First Take" program Thursday. BC LB Mark Herzlich also appears. (5.49 min. video)
- Mike Reiss dissects the Patriots cornerback position.
- Tom E. Curran assesses the interior offensive line position and looks at the free agents out there who might be a good fit on the Patriots.
- Mike Reiss reports Darius Butler had a message for graduates at a Florida university.
- Karen Guregian notes former Patriot Joe Andruzzi is hosting his third annual golf tournament this Monday to benefit the Joe Andruzzi Foundation. Many current and former Patriots are expected to participate.
- Mike Reiss posts Willie McGinest's top 10 QB list, with Tom Brady at the top spot.
- Mike Reiss posts the transcript of his weekly online chat.
- Shalise Manza Young answers readers' questions about the Patriots.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Gregg Rosenthal (ProFootballTalk) Team checklist: New England Patriots.
- NFL.com Report: Who is the team of the 2000s? Patriots vs. Steelers.
- Ashley B. Craig (Charleston Daily Mail) Randy Moss appeals to young offenders. Nice video clip too (8 min.)
- Len Pasquarelli (CBS Sports) Several second-year D-linemen expected to progress in 2011.
- Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Bart Scott thinks the NFL is "on the verge of insanity".
LABOR LUNACY
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) De Smith faces "we want football!" chant, too.
- Jason Whitlock (Fox Sports) Don't get sucked in to lockout hysteria.
- Clark Judge (CBS Sports) NFL: No harm, no foul.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) League finds no improper lockout contact.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) League launches effort to get players to focus on dollars, not percentages.
- Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Lance Briggs: Every player knew lockout was coming, should have prepared.
- John Mara, Giants President (Giants.com) Time to get back to football.