The Patriots face the Carolina Panthers Friday at 8 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION: The game will be televised to a national audience on CBS in High Definition. Greg Gumbel will handle the play-by-play and Dan Dierdorf will provide analysis.
RADIO: The Patriots Rock Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBCN-FM 104.1 in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play and former Patriot Gino Capelleti does the color. I am unclear on if the network will produce the usual pre-game and post game shows for the preseason.
For the low down on the Patriots Rock Radio Network and stations in your area.
Last Week
The Patriots lost their preseason home opener to Tennessee, 27-24 to drop to 0-2. The Panthers lost on the road to the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10.
History
This is the sixth preseason meeting between the two clubs and first since 2004. The teams have played three times in the regular season and once in Super Bowl XXXVIII which the Patriots won, 32-29 on Adam Vinatierri’s field goal with four seconds left. The last time the teams met in 2005 regular season the Panthers won 27-27 at Bank of America Stadium.
Connections
Panthers TE Dan Murray is a Gloucester MA native and a UConn grad.
Panthers TE Chad Upshaw is from Southport CT.
Patriots WR Jabar Gaffney and Panthers WR Kevin Youngblood both attended Raines High in Jacksonville FL and won a state championship.
Panthers Offensive Coordinator Jeff Davidson was on the Patriots staff for 8 years and won three Super Bowls with the team.
Patriots OG Logan Mankins protected Panthers QB David Carr at Fresno State in 2001.
Other News
Tom Brady says he wants to be there when ex-girlfriend, Bridget Moynihan gives birth to his child shortly. But he also admits it’s up to head coach Bill Belichick if he is there. Brady wouldn’t say when the baby is due.
Belichick meanwhile was his usual cryptic self.
“I think there are situations between a player and a coach and the team and the personal situations, these are dealt with on an individual basis,” Belichick said when asked specifically about giving Brady a few days off for the birth of his child. “It doesn’t matter who the player is. There are plenty that have come up through the course of the year. I’ll deal with them like I do all of them.”
There are also rumors that Brady and his current girlfriend Gisele Bundchen plan to marry this winter.
The Patriots have cleared second year running back Lawrence Maroney for contact. He is expected to play this week against Carolina and he’s looking forward to it.
“Just to get back into the groove of things and just to go out there and catch the speed of the game,” Maroney said. “I need the game reps. You can’t get game speed out there in practice, no matter how fast you go.”
Linebacker Eric Alexander has also been cleared for contact. While defensive end Richard Seymour and wide receiver Troy Brown remain on the PUP list. It also looks like wide receiver Randy Moss will sit out his 3rd preseason game this week.
