Tom E. Curran notes Troy Brown is going into the Patriots Hall of Fame this weekend. For many, he represents more than any other player the "new era" Patriots.
"Great career," said Belichick. "I can’t think of anybody more deserving to go in than him. Special player – came in very unheralded, worked his way up on the roster offensively. Returned kicks, ended up playing for us defensively, championships, played at a very high level and played his best football in big games. Troy was a great leader. Worked as hard as anybody, unselfishly, always did what we asked him to do from a team standpoint whether it was block, catch passes, return kicks, cover kicks, cover receivers. He truly was a good player in all three phases of the game, an outstanding player offensively and in the kicking game. Always did it for the good of the team and he was a big reason why we won a lot of games while I was coaching while he was here. You can never really replace a guy like that; he’s just special. Very deserving."
Mark Daniels reports Troy Brown worked his way into the Hall of Fame.
Brown spent his entire 14-year career with the Patriots and he did it all — caught passes, returned kicks and punts and even played defense. He finished his career with 557 receptions, 6,366 receiving yards and 31 touchdowns. When he retired, he was the Patriots’ all-time leader in receptions, but even more importantly he won three Super Bowl rings and was an integral part of the foundation of the team’s winning tradition.
In the 2001 AFC Championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brown returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown that proved to be crucial in getting the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXVI against the St. Louis Rams. It’s a play he calls, "probably one of my all-time favorites."
Then against the Rams, Brown caught a 23-yard pass from Tom Brady [stats] to set up Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning 48-yard field goal. When he looks back on it all, Brown credits the work ethic he learned while growing up in Blackville, S.C.
"I enjoy working hard. I enjoy grinding it out. I enjoy sweating," said Brown. "I enjoy doing all the things of labor and going through the pains and agonys of hard labor. That’s the way I was brought up and the way I was raised. I’ve been working like manual labor since I was 9 or 10 years old. That’s just me."
TEAM TALK
- Patriots-Cardinals Thursday Injury Report.
- Kerry J. Byrne determines that the O-Line aced their Week 1 test, but questions still linger for pass defense.
- Erik Scalavino believes the Cardinals present a difficult challenge to the men in the trenches.
- Erik Scalavino tells us what happened Thursday at Gillette. Pats held their second full-pads practice of the season.
- Press Conference: Patriots Hall of Fame Inductee Troy Brown.
- Matt Light and Doug Flutie will be taking photos with fans this Sunday at Patriot Place.
- Patriots Today - Fitzgerald a force for the Cards. (3.37 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Match-up of the week. (2.58 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Perfect attendance at practice. (1.03 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Perfect fit for Brown. (2.44 min. video)
- Locker Room Uncut - Thoughts from the locker room. (3.18 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Field Yates notes the focus was on the interior of the O-line in the locker room today.
- Mark Daniels notes the O-line will have to step up again if Brady is to deliver against a tougher defense than the Titans'.
- Matt Chatham can't pin down Josh McDaniels' tendencies so far. "Amazingly, there wasn’t a single repeat combination of personnel group, formation and play-call until the 25th play of the game."
- Christopher Price gets one scout's breakdown of Patriots-Cardinals, and some of the points of emphasis heading into Sunday's matchup.
- Tedy Bruschi believes the Cardinals will be a threat: Between Larry Fitzgerald and 'Steelers West' defense, Arizona is no pushover.
- Shalise Manza Young analyzes the Week 2 matchup between the Patriots and the Arizona Cardinals. (4.35 min. video)
- Jeff Howe catches up with former Patriots safety James Sanders, who will be making his first return to Gillette since he was released.
- Mike Reiss points out some of the ties between the Patriots and the Cardinals, even though they haven't faced each other since 2008.
- Phil Perry reports Troy Brown tried on his red Patriots Hall of Fame jacket Thursday. He'll be inducted on Saturday.
- Michael Whitmer notes how tough it was to bring Stevan Ridley down in Week 1, with a healthy chunk of yards coming after the first defensive hit.
- Mike Reiss shares some picked-up pieces from interviews yesterday at Gillette.
- Mike Reiss posts the transcript of his weekly online chat.
- Mike Reiss highlights two plays Bill Belichick picks out that he felt were a big part of the team's performance in Week 1.
- Jeff Howe Patriots Notebook: The punt coverage unit must stop Patrick Peterson and Matthew Slater knows it's going to be a challenge; Rookie DL Justin Francis knows only one speed - full on sprint; Francis was awarded the 'Dirty Show' championship belt for being the hardest working practice player this week; Every member of the Patriots practiced yesterday for the first time in 29 sessions this season; Injury update.
- Jim Lazar says it's getting kind of boring around here. Another week, another Patriots win coming up - and makes his Week 2 picks. Pats win 39-10.
NATIONAL NEWS
- James Walker (ESPN) Updating AFC East injuries.
- James Walker (ESPN) Schefter: QB Kolb to start against Patriots.
- Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) Running back power rankings. Stevan Ridley lumped in with the "End of the line" group.
- Jason Cole (Yahoo! Sports) Bill Belichick vs. Tony Dungy among top 10 non-player feuds in NFL history.
- Steve Rushin (SI) The promise to get better is required no matter win or lose.
- Peter King (SI) Weekend Pickoff: Week 2. Patriots 23, Cardinals 9.
- Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News) Week 2 NFL picks. Lock of the week: Pats over Cards 45-14.
- Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Prisco Picks: Week 2. Pats over Cards 31-21.
- Albert Breer (NFL.com) Week 2 predictions. Pats win 24-9.
VIEW FROM ARIZONA
- Josh Weinfuss (AZCardinals.com) Cards pressing for pressure: Facing Patriots and Brady, defense needs to create some chaos.
- Darren Urban (AZCardinals.com) Notebook: Coaches trust WR Andre Roberts; Contingency long-snapping; Injury update.
- Kent Somers (Arizona Republic) Arizona Cardinals updates: Notes, thoughts and links.
- Paola Boivin (Arizona Republic) Passion for game fueling Arizona Cardinals' Darnell Dockett,
- Cardinals Daily Report - Stopping Brady and the Patriots. (1.50 min. video)
- Cardinals Daily Report - Offense stresses execution. (2.07 min. video)