With the injury to TE Aaron Hernandez, the New England Patriots have signed former Pro Bowl TE Kellen Winslow Jr. to a one-year contract.

Winslow, who at one time, was considered one of the best tight ends in the game prior to suffering some injuries, including a knee injury, that derailed a potentially great career.

Originally drafted by the Cleveland Browns out of the University of Miami in the 2004 NFL Draft he was the 6th overall pick that year.  At “The U” Winslow was a Mackey Award winner and an All-American. 

In 2007 he made the Pro Bowl when he had 82 catches for 1,106 yards and 5 TD’s.  In 2009 the Browns traded him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he showed he was still very productive and went on to lead the team in receptions in all three seasons he played there (2009-11).

This past offseason he was dealt by Tampa Bay to Seattle and was released at the end of camp when he refused to reduce his salary for cap reasons.

As part of his deal with the Patriots it is expected that he also signed an injury waiver in regards to his knees.  This is pretty common in the NFL when it comes to pre-existing physical conditions.

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photo credit: getty images

Offensive Line a Work in Progress

One of the biggest takeaways from the New England Patriots 20-18 loss to the Arizona Cardinals was the poor work of the Patriots offensive line compared to the Week 1 win over Tennessee.

In Week 1 Tom Brady was sacked only 1 time, hit 4 times and hurried about 5 or 6 times.  In Sunday’s loss Brady was sacked 4 times, hit 6 times and hurried at least 10-12 times.  As Rodney Harrison said “Tom Brady was running for his life.”

The line needs to get better, granted they were missing Dan Connolly, who suffered a concussion against Tennessee and dressed but did not play.  They also have seen the retirement of T Matt Light, G Brian Waters has decided to sit out at this point and long time C Dan Koppen was released and signed with Denver.

The replacements for these guys need to step up.  UConn grad G Donald Thomas, 2nd year player Marcus Cannon, C Ryan Wendell, and the tackles Sebastian Vollmer and Nate Solder need to solidify their play and get better in pass protection.

The poor line play also hurt the running game.  RB Stevan Ridley went from 125 yards to 71 yards and overall the rushing yards dropped off from 165 yards on 35 carries (4.6 yards per rush) to 90 yards on 28 carries (3.2 yards per rush).

We all saw how effective Ridley was against Tennessee and while he had a decent day 18 carries for 71 yards (3.9 average) it wasn’t the 6-yard average he had the week before.

Arizona got creative with their defense and went with only two down lineman and 5 defensive backs to prevent the big play downfield and fill in some gaps but it was surprisingly effective against the run.  You have to wonder going forward how many other teams who have the right personnel will try to adapt a similar scheme to shut down the Patriots offense.

Special Teams Let Down

One of the area’s head coach Bill Belichick preaches about is special teams and this could also be included when he speaks of situational football.

The usually solid special teams let the Patriots down on Sunday in some key situations.

First was the blocked punt by Arizona’s Quentin Groves in the third quarter.  The Patriots were facing 4th and 9 from their own 11 yard line when Zoltan Mesko suffered the first blocked punt of his career.  Groves blew past the Patriot defender (TE Mike Hoomanawanui) on the left side of the line and went in for the block that gave the Cardinals the ball on the 2-yard line.  The ensuing touchdown put Arizona up 13-9, a lead they would not relinquish despite their best efforts to give the Patriots a win.

The second let down was the usually tried and true field goal kicker Stephen Gostkowski missing a 42-yard field goal for the win.  Prior to the miss with just seconds remaining Gostkowski had made his last 38 field goal attempts in the fourth quarter or overtime.

It’s ironic that the miss was eerily similar to the missed field goal suffered by the Baltimore Ravens last January in the AFC Championship game.  It even occurred at the same end of the field and seemed to be pushed just as far to the left.

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This Defense looks for Real

After holding Tennessee to 284 total yards in Week 1 the New England defense came back and held the Arizona defense to just 245 total yards they also caused two fumbles; one in the games final minute deep in Arizona territory that put them in position to win.

The Cardinals had just 16 first downs (8 rushing, 7 passing, and 1 via penalty) and were a woeful 4 for 14 (29%) on 3rd down efficiency.  They had only 140 yards through the air and got another 105 on the ground, when compared to what the Patriots gave up over the last two seasons is a significant improvement in yards allowed.

RB Beanie Wells was held to just 44 yards on 14 carries and their longest run from scrimmage came from a defensive player inserted into the offense when CB Patrick Peterson ran for 17 yards in the Cardinals first offensive series of the game.

The secondary was able to hold the Cardinals to just 140 passing yards and limited All-Pro WR Larry Fitzgerald to just 1 catch for 4 yards, while Early Doucet had 3 grabs for 21 yards and TE Todd Heap led the team with 62 receiving yards on 5 catches.

For what it’s worth you can’t blame the defense for this loss; even though Arizona was 2 for 2 in the red zone one of the TD’s was a result of the blocked punt.

News and Notes

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick conducted his day after media briefing.

QB Tom Brady had his weekly call in to Patriots Monday with Dennis & Callahan. (WEEI)

WR Wes Welker broke the franchise record for catches on Sunday and he was on Patriots Monday with Mut and Merloni (WEEI)

Special Teams warnings ring true (ESPN Boston)

Offensive snaps by skill players vs. Cardinals (ESPN Boston)

Defensive snaps played vs. Arizona (ESPN Boston)

K Stephen Gostkowski on the game ending miss (ESPN Boston)

Belichick has little to offer on Hernandez and Welker (Boston Globe)

The breakdown on the surprising home loss (Boston Globe)

Five takeaways from the Cardinals game (Boston Globe)

Ron Borges on the Patriots-Cardinals matchup (Boston Herald)

Best and Worst of Cardinals-Patriots (Boston Herald)

Multitude of mistakes leads to Patriots loss (Boston Herald)

The Patriots are 67-14 at home in the regular season since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002.

Against the NFC the Patriots are 18-3 at home since 2002.

New England is 3-2 vs. Cardinals at home, 2-1 since they moved to Arizona and 1-1 at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots have won 15 of their last 18 home openers.

New England is 10-1 in Gillette Stadium home openers.

Arizona leads the overall series between the teams 7-6.

QB Tom Brady has 303 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

He is now 13th all-time in passing yards with 40,531.

Brady has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 34 consecutive games.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 104 consecutive games, 87 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

Welker is now the team’s all-time leader in receptions with 562.

TE Aaron Hernandez suffered a low ankle sprain; the x-rays were negative.  He left Gillette Stadium on crutches and in a walking boot.  Most reports have him missing about 4-6 weeks with the injury.  He was scheduled for a MRI on Monday.

Linebacker Jerod Mayo led the team in tackles on Sunday he had 9 in all (4 solo).  LB Brandon Spikes had 7 tackles (5 solo); while DE Chandler Jones and S Steven Gregory each had 5 tackles apiece.

New England recovered two more fumbles on Sunday; one by rookie safety Tavon Wilson and one by DT Vince Wilfork.  They are tied for the team lead with LB Dont’a Hightower with one each.

DE Rob Ninkovich had a sack on Sunday and he leads the team in sacks with one each with LB Jermaine Cunningham and Jones.

The Patriots had 4 tackles for loss in Sunday’s game, one each by Spikes, Jones, Hightower and DE Ron Brace.

Patrick Chung defensed one pass while Jones had 2 quarterback hits and Spikes and Ninkovich each had one apiece.

The Patriots had 2 special teams tackles, DE Trevor Scott and CB Kyle Arrington had them.

The Patriots sacked Cardinals QB Kevin Kolb 1 time, while allowing Brady to be sacked 4 times.

New England’s turnover differential is PLUS 3. The defense has recovered 3 fumble and has 1 INT.  The offense has given away 0 fumbles and has 1 INT.

The Patriots were 1 for 3 in the red zone.  They had 1 TD and 1 FG and were held scoreless once when they missed a field goal.  Arizona was 2 for 2 (100%) in the red zone scoring 2 TD’s, 0 FG’s and were not held scoreless.

New England was 5 for 15 (33.3%) on third down conversions and 0 for 0 on 4th down attempts.  The Cardinals were 4 for 14 (29%) on 3rd down conversions and 0 for 0 on 4th down attempts.

Next Game

The Patriots visit the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore MD.  Kick off is at 8:20 p.m. on NBC.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Well I do not know what is in the water in Glendale, AZ but the someone better test it because for the second week in a row the Arizona Cardinals pulled out a win from the jaws of defeat.

This Sunday after giving the New England Patriots nearly every opportunity to win this game in the end it was Arizona that came out on top 20-18 Sunday afternoon in Foxboro, MA.

I’m really befuddled because the uniforms were the Patriots uniforms that looked like Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Jerod Mayo and a slew of others. But who ever these guys really were on Sunday they were not the New England Patriots.

That was a pretty poor display from the get go when Brady threw a pick on the teams first possession of the game and it ended when Stephen Gostkowski pulled a field goal wide left.  On Troy Brown Day at Gillette what this team really needed was Carlton Fisk and some of his body language.

I watched a team today that appeared uninspired.  There was no fire, no urgency they just looked flat from that first batted ball.  Actually they looked flat to start on defense allowing the Cardinals to get on the board first with a Jay Feely 38-yard field goal capping a 13 play, 60-yard drive to start the game.

But unlike Week 1 in Tennessee there was no response.

Through the entire game I saw an offense that sputtered badly.  Passes over thrown or dropped.  Missed blocks, bad blocks, bad penalties it just wasn’t very good.

Like most of you I waited for them to awaken in the second half.  Surely Bill Belichick and the staff kicked some ass at halftime and made some adjustments and they would come out and … THUD.

Let’s face it this team didn’t even run the two minute drive correctly giving back the game winning touchdown on a holding penalty after the defense put them in position to win.

As John Szim on my Twitter timeline wrote “watching the Red Sox all year desensitizes you to losing games I guess.”

At least it’s only one loss and hopefully the bad stuff is out of their system and they can move on get ready for the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday night.

Cardinals at Patriots Gamebook. This includes the box score, all the stats, play by play, drive charts and more.

Cardinals at Patriots Game Recap.

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Turning Point of the Game

Patriots K Stephen Gostkowski misses a game-winning field with 6 seconds left.

Offensive Player of the Game

Patriots WR Wes Welker had 5 catches for 95 yards and became the franchise’s all-time leader in receptions with 562.

Defensive Players of the Game

Cardinals DE Calais Campbell had 10 tackles (7 solo), 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 3 quarterback hits.

Game Notes

Starters for the Patriots were:

On Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Mankins
• C: Wendell
• RG: Thomas
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• TE: Hernandez
• WR: Lloyd
• WR: Edelman
• QB: Brady
• RB: Ridley

On Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Love
• DE: Jones
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Spikes
• LB: Hightower
• LCB: D. McCourty
• RCB: Arrington
• S: Chung
• S: Gregory

Inactives for the Game:

Patriots

1. RB Shane Vereen (foot)

2. CB Alfonzo Dennard (hamstring)

3. WR Greg Salas

4. TE Daniel Fells (shin)

5. DE Jake Bequette

6. DE Justin Francis

7. DT Marcus Forston

Cardinals

1. QB John Skelton (ankle)

2. WR LaRon Byrd

3. RB William Powell

4. LB Jamaal Westerman

5. G Senio Kelemete

6. T Pat McQuistan

7. TE Jim Dray

The spread (Patriots minus 14) WAS NOT covered.  The over/under (48) WAS NOT covered.  I GAVE the points and took the UNDER.  I am now 1-1 vs. the spread and 1 for 2 calling the under/over.

New England is 23-10 in September since 2002.

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 148-62.

The Patriots are 67-14 at home in the regular season since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002.

Against the NFC the Patriots are 18-3 at home since 2002.

New England is 3-2 vs. Cardinals at home, 2-1 since they moved to Arizona and 1-1 at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots have won 15 of their last 18 home openers.

New England is 10-1 in Gillette Stadium home openers.

Arizona leads the overall series between the teams 7-6.

The Patriots had won the last 5 meetings.  It was their longest current winning streak against any team before the loss.

New England is 4-4 vs. the Arizona/Phoenix Cardinals and was 2-3 when the team was in St. Louis.

Bill Belichick is 3-1 vs. the Cardinals in his career.  He is 2-1 against them as the head coach in New England.

Belichick’s 193 wins are good for a tie for 8th all-time with Chuck Knox, who coached the Rams, Bills and Seahawks.

Tom Brady is now 1-1 vs. Arizona.

Brady has 303 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has 125 career wins he is now 5th all-time.  Peyton Manning is 4th with 141.

He is now 13th all-time in passing yards with 40,531.

Brady has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 34 consecutive games.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 104 consecutive games, 87 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

Welker is now the team’s all-time leader in receptions with 562.

G Logan Mankins, TE Rob Gronkowski and Welker said it was a poor week of practice and it may have carried over to the game.

TE Aaron Hernandez suffered a high ankle sprain the x-rays were negative.  He left Gillette Stadium on crutches and in a walking boot.

The Patriots sacked Cardinals QB Kevin Kolb 1 time, while allowing Brady to be sacked 4 times.

New England’s turnover differential is PLUS 3. The defense has recovered 3 fumble and has 1 INT.  The offense has given away 0 fumbles and has 1 INT.

The Patriots were 1 for 3 in the red zone.  They had 1 TD and 1 FG and were held scoreless once when they missed a field goal.

New England was 5 for 15 (33.3%) on third down conversions and 0 for 0 on 4th down attempts.

New England’s much improved looking defense allowed only 245 total yards and 16 first downs (8 rushing, 7 passing and 1 on penalties).

This was Arizona’s second time playing at Gillette Stadium; their other Foxboro appearances were at Foxboro Stadium.

Arizona has won 9 of the last 11 games tied for the best mark in the NFL in that span with New England.

Before Sunday Arizona last beat New England on September 29 1991 at Arizona, 24-10.  They had not won a road game in the series since 1984.

Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt is now 1-1 vs. New England in his career.

Whisenhunt is in his 6th season with the team, he is 42-40 since taking over and is 4-2 in the playoffs for an overall record of 46-42.

Arizona Cardinals QB Kevin Kolb is 7-11 in his career with Philadelphia and Arizona in 6 seasons.  He is 1-0 vs. New England.

The Cardinals were 4 for 14 (29%) on 3rd down conversions and 0 for 0 on 4th down attempts.

Arizona was 2 for 2 (100%) in the red zone scoring 2 TD’s, 0 FG’s and were not held scoreless.

David Scott (replacement) was the game referee.  The temp at kickoff was 64 and it was partly cloudy.

Attendance – 68,756 at Gillette Stadium Foxboro MA

Post Game Interviews

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Patriots QB Tom Brady post game press conference transcripts via PatsFans.com

This Week in the AFC East

Pittsburgh spanked the NY Jets, 27-10

Miami destroyed Oakland, 35-13

Buffalo whipped Kansas City, 35-17

AFC East Standings

Jets                        1-0/1-0

Patriots                   1-1/0-0

Dolphins                  1-1/0-0

Bills                        1-1/0-1

Next Game

The Patriots visit the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore MD.  Kick off is at 8:20 p.m. on NBC.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

photo credit: ap photo

This Week

The New England Patriots host the Arizona Cardinals at Gillette Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.  This is the Patriots home opener.

The Cardinals		=—-	The Patriots
Overall	1-0		Overall	1-0
Road record	0-0		Home record	0-0
AFC East	0-0		NFC West	0-0
AFC	0-0		NFC	0-0

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Bovada.net on Yahoo Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 14.  The OVER/UNDER is 48.

My prediction is Patriots 35, Cardinals, 10.  Give the points (Patriots) and take the under.  I am 1-0 against the spread and 0 of 1 on calling the over/under in 2012.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 196th consecutive sell out dating back to the 1994 season opener.  The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster.  You can check the availability here.

After market tickets are available through the Official Patriots Ticket Exchange where season ticket holders can sell their unused seats to fans on the season ticket waiting list.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Foxboro make sure you check out the links.

The Patriots are holding a kids book drive for charity on Sunday.  New books will be collected at the gates as fans enter Gillette Stadium or at the Pro Shop.

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Foxboro MA.

Click for all the game day information including stadium directions, parking information and map and a Gillette Stadium seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com.  There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack.  I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages.  With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks.  You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time.  Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver.  Remember You Drink, You Drive, You Lose.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

FOX is televising the game regionally and Dick Stockton will do play by play while John Lynch will provide the game analysis and Jennifer Hale covers the sidelines.  You can look here for your local affiliate.

See if you’re getting the game courtesy of J.P. Kirby at the506.com.

The DirecTV designation is Channel 706.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules, flex scheduling and commercial breaks

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play and former Patriots QB Scott Zolak will do game analysis. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 10 a.m. along the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots radio network call is available on Sirius Channel 91; XM Channel 228 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Cardinals Radio Network has Dave Pasch calling the game while Ron Wolfley and Paul Calvisi provide the game analysis via their flagship station of KMVP-FM.

Their call is available on Sirius Channel 125 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 800.

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team.  It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Sunday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

To continue reading, the Arizona Cardinals @ New England Patriots preview, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Last Week

The Patriots went on the road and pounded the Titans, 34-13.  The Cardinals opened the season at home and stunned the Seahawks, 20-16.

History

• This is the 13th meeting between the Patriots and the Cardinals and the 8th since the franchise relocated from St. Louis to Arizona for the 1988 season.
• The overall series is tied between the teams at 6-6.
• The Patriots have won the last 5 meetings.  It is their longest current winning streak against any team.
• New England is 4-3 vs. the Arizona/Phoenix Cardinals and was 2-3 when the team was in St. Louis.
• The Patriots won the last meeting between the teams at Gillette Stadium in Week 15 of 2008, 47-7.

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2012 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 415-365-9.  They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances.  Overall they are 23-16 in the post season.

They last appeared in the playoffs in 2011 when they beat Denver home in the AFC Divisional Playoff, 45-10 and defeated Baltimore 23-20 in Foxboro in the AFC Championship Game.  They lost Super Bowl XLVI to the New York Giants 21-17.

The Patriots were 13-3 (2-1 in playoffs) in 2011 and are the defending two-time AFC East Champions as well as the defending AFC Conference Champions.  They have won the division 8 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

New England is 3-1 vs. Cardinals at home, 2-0 since they moved to Arizona and 1-0 at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots have won 15 of their last 17 home openers.

New England is 10-0 in Gillette Stadium home openers.

This is the fifth time the Patriots have opened at home against an NFC opponent.

• 1978 vs. Washington
• 1986 vs. Green Bay
• 1996 vs. Arizona
• 2000 vs. Tampa Bay

This is only the 5th game of the 13 in the series to be played in Foxboro.

The Patriots are 6th in the NFL in points per game with 34.  While they allow 13 points per game good for 3rd in the NFL.

The New England defense has sacked the opponents quarterback 2 times this season, while their quarterbacks have been sacked once.

They have the longest current streak in the NFL for most consecutive games with 2+ sacks with 9.

New England is PLUS 2 in turnover differential. The offense gave up 0 INT and 0 fumble, while the defense had 1 INT and 1 fumble recovery.

The Patriots are 6 for 12 (50%) in 3rd down efficiency and 0 for 0 on fourth down attempts.  Opponents are 5 for 14 (35.7%) in 3rd down efficiency and 1 for 2 (50%) on 4th down attempts.

New England is 2 of 4 (50%) in the red zone while opponents are 0 for 2 (0%) in the red zone in 2012.

In goal to go situations New England is 2 for 3 (67%) and opponents are 0 for 1 (0%).

Saturday the Patriots will have their Hall of Fame ceremony.  Inducted into the Hall at Patriot Place as the Class of 2012 will be WR Troy Brown who is the 19th member of the Hall spoke to the media on Thursday.

New England is 23-9 in September since 2002.

The Patriots are 67-13 at home in the regular season since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002.

Against the NFC the Patriots are 18-2 at home since 2002.

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 148-61.

Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 194.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 213.
• Have the best wining percentage including playoffs, .670.
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 11.
• Have the most playoff wins, 19
• Have played the most playoff games, 29.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 13.
• Have the best playoff win percentage, .671.
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

New England set the following team records in 2011:

• Total yards, 6,848.
• First downs, 399.
• Net passing yards, 5,084.
• 100+ yard receiving games, 18.
• Games with 30+ points, 12 (tied for most in NFL history).

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Cardinals.

Bill Belichick is 3-0 vs. the Cardinals in his career.  He is 2-0 against them as the head coach in New England.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 176-97 in his 18th NFL season.  He is 140-53 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland.  He is 17-7 in the playoffs, 16-6 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season.  When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 193-104.

Belichick’s 193 wins are good for a tie for 8th all-time with Chuck Knox, who coached the Rams, Bills and Seahawks.

Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league.  The others are former Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).

Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three Super Bowls, joining Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (3) and Bill Walsh (3).  Those men are all in the Hall of Fame.

He is the only coach in NFL history to win three championship titles in four seasons.

He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 9 consecutive seasons.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Mankins
• C: Wendell
• RG: Thomas
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• TE: Hernandez
• WR: Lloyd
• WR: Welker
• QB: Brady
• RB: Ridley

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Love
• DE: Jones
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Spikes
• LB: Hightower
• LCB: McCourty
• RCB: Dowling
• S: Chung
• S: Gregory

Patriots Players Notes

This is Tom Brady’s 13^th NFL season he is 1-0 against Arizona in his career.

Overall Brady is 125-35 as a starting QB and is 16-6 in the playoffs for an overall record of 141-41.  Brady is a 7 time Pro Bowl QB; 3 time All-Pro selection; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP.  He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

He was ranked in the preseason by ESPN’s Ron Jaworski as the 3rd best quarterback in the NFL.

Brady has 302 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has 125 career wins he is 5th all-time.  Peyton Manning is 4th with 141.

Brady finished the 2011 season with 5,235 passing yards and joined Drew Brees (5,476 in 2011 and 5,069 in 2008), Dan Marino (5,084 in 1984) and Matthew Stafford (5,038 in 2011) as the only players in NFL history to reach 5,000 passing yards in a single season.

He is just the 14th quarterback to reach the 40,000 passing yard mark for his career, with 40,215.  He needs 25 passing yards to pass Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas for 13th all-time (40,239).

Brady has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 33 consecutive games.

The Patriots are 82-15 when Brady throws at least 2 TD passes in a game.

Brady has 34 game winning drives with team trailing or tied in the fourth quarter or OT.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 103 consecutive games including playoffs, 86 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

Welker is tied with Troy Brown as the team’s all-time leader in receptions.

Welker joined Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison as the only players in NFL history with four 100+ catch seasons.

Welker has two of the Top 4 seasons for most catches in a season with 123 in 2009 and 122 in 2011.

He has led the team in receptions for 5 consecutive seasons.

TE Rob Gronkowski has back-to-back 10+ TD reception seasons.  With another in 2012 he will be the first TE in NFL history to have done it three seasons in a row,

Gronkowski needs one more TD catch to break the tie with Russ Francis for 2nd most TD catches (28) by a tight end in franchise history.  Ben Coates holds the record with 50.

Linebacker Jerod Mayo led the team in tackles in Week 1 he had 13 in all (9 solo).  Devin McCourty had 7 tackles (5 solo); while Dont’a Hightower and Chandler Jones each had 5 tackles apiece.

New England’s interception leader after Week 1 is the rookie safety Tavon Wilson with one.

The team leaders in sacks with one each are Jermaine Cunningham and Jones.

The Patriots had 5 tackles for loss in Sunday’s game, one each by Hightower, Jones, Ras-I Dowling, Cunningham and Vince Wilfork.

Wilson and McCourty lead the team in passes defensed with 2 each while 3 players registered a quarterback hit they were Cunningham, Wilfork and Trevor Scott.

The Patriots had 4 special teams tackles and rookie S Nate Ebner had 2 of them.

There are only two players on the team who played on at least one of the Super Bowl championship teams, Brady (3) and Vince Wilfork (1).

Roster moves this week:

• Signed S Cyhl Quarles to the practice squad
• Released TE Alex Silvestro from the practice squad

On Wednesday the following players were on the injury list.  C/G Dan Connolly (concussion) did not practice.  CB Alfonzo Dennard (hamstring); TE Daniel Fells (shin); C/G Nick McDonald (shoulder); CB Sterling Moore (knee); RB Shane Vereen (foot) and T Sebastian Vollmer (back) had limited participation.  S Patrick Chung (shoulder) had full participation.

On Thursday the following players were on the injury list. C/G Dan Connolly (concussion); CB Alfonzo Dennard (hamstring); TE Daniel Fells (shin); C/G Nick McDonald (shoulder); CB Sterling Moore (knee); RB Shane Vereen (foot) and T Sebastian Vollmer (back) had limited participation.  S Patrick Chung (shoulder) had full participation.

The Patriots captains for 2012 are QB Tom Brady, DT Vince Wilfork, G Logan Mankins, LB Jerod Mayo, CB Devin McCourty and WR Matthew Slater (special teams). They are the same 6 players that were selected last season as well.

The Patriots have four New England natives on the roster they are: TE Aaron Hernandez (Bristol CT); OL Donald Thomas (New Haven CT); DE Ron Brace (Worcester MA) and OL Jamey Richard (Weston CT – IR).  They have 10 players who played for a New England school or a Big East Conference member.  They are CB Will Allen (Syracuse – IR); DE Ron Brace (Boston College); RB James Develin (Brown – Practice Squad); RB Tony Fiametta (Syracuse – Exempt List); DE Justin Francis (Rutgers); S Stephen Gregory (Syracuse); DE Chandler Jones (Syracuse); CB Devin McCourty (Rutgers); OL Donald Thomas (UConn); and NT Vince Wilfork (Miami).

The Patriots have 7 retired numbers: 20 – Gino Cappelletti, 40 – Mike Haynes, 73 – John Hannah, 78 – Bruce Armstrong, 79 – Jim Lee Hunt and 89 – Bob Dee.

Cardinals Team Notes

Here is the Cardinals roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2012 Cardinals Schedule/Results

Arizona’s all-time record is 497-699-39 they are 6-7 in the post season with their last post season appearance coming in 2009 when they beat Green Bay in the NFC Wild Card Game.  They then lost to New Orleans in the NFC Division Game.

They have never won a Super Bowl in one appearance (XLIII) losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Cardinals are one of the NFL’s oldest teams having been founded in 1920 as the Chicago Cardinals.

This is Arizona’s second time playing at Gillette Stadium; their other Foxboro appearances were at Foxboro Stadium.

Cardinals set a single season NFL record with 4 OT wins in 2011.

Arizona has won 8 of the last 10 games they’ve played the second best mark in the NFL in that span behind only New England’s 9-1.

Last week the Cardinals won their 3rd consecutive season opener.

The Cards have defeated a rookie QB making his first NFL start in each of their last three season openers.  Last week it was Seattle’s Russell Wilson, the team’s third round pick (75th overall) in the 2012 NFL Draft. Each of the previous two years, the Cards defeated Heisman Trophy winners who were the top overall pick in the NFL Draft in Cam Newton (2011) and Sam Bradford (2010).

The Cardinals have led the NFL in blocked field goals the last three seasons and had the only blocked FGA in the NFL in Week 1.

Arizona last beat New England on September 29 1991 at Arizona, 24-10.  They have not won a road game in the series since 1984.

The Cardinals are 21st in the NFL in points per game with 20.  While they allow 16 points per game good for 7th in the NFL.

The Cardinals have sacked the quarterback 3 times in 1 game, while their quarterbacks have been sacked once.

The have the 2nd longest current streak in the NFL for most consecutive games with 2+ sacks with 7.

Arizona is EVEN in turnover differential. The offense gave up 1 INT and 1 fumble, while the defense had 1 INT and 1 fumble recovery.

The Cardinals are 3 for 10 (30%) in 3rd down efficiency and 0 for 0 on fourth down attempts. Opponents are 5 for 16 (31.3%) in 3rd down efficiency and 0 for 1 (0%) on fourth down attempts in 2012.

Arizona is 2 of 4 (50%) in the red zone this season while their opponents are 1 for 4 (25%) in the red zone.

Cardinals Staff Notes

Read what Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt had to say to the New England media about the match up.

Whisenhunt is in his 6th season with the team, he is 41-40 since taking over and is 4-2 in the playoffs for an overall record of 45-42.

He is 0-1 vs. New England in his career.

He is the franchise’s career leader in head coaching victories.

He has won two NFC West Division titles and one NFC Conference Championship (2008) as the head coach of the Cardinals.

Special Teams Coach Kevin Spencer attended Springfield College from 1972-75 and played football and lacrosse for the Pride. Spencer served as the head football coach at Wesleyan University from 1987-91.

Cardinals Director, Player Personnel Jason Licht worked for the Patriots from 1999-02 and again from 2009-11. He is the Patriots former director of pro personnel.

Cardinals Football Operations Coordinator Matt Caracciolo spent the past seven years working for the Patriots.  He spent six years as the Patriots director of football operations.

Cardinals Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Batiste
• LG: Colledge
• C: Sendlein
• RG: Snyder
• RT: Massie
• TE: King
• WR: Fitzgerald
• WR: Roberts
• QB: Kolb
• RB: Sherman
• RB: Wells

Defense:

• DE: Campbell
• NT: D. Williams
• DE: Duckett
• LOLB: Westerman
• ILB: Washington
• ILB: Lenon
• ROLB: Acho
• LCB: Peterson
• RCB: Gay
• S: Wilson
• S: Rhodes

Cardinals Players Notes

Arizona Cardinals QB Kevin Kolb is 6-11 in his career with Philadelphia and Arizona in 6 seasons.  He has no playoff starts.

Kolb was a 2nd round draft pick in the 2007 NFL Draft out of the University of Houston by the Philadelphia Eagles.

He has never faced New England in his career.

He was ranked in the preseason by ESPN’s Ron Jaworski as the 25th best quarterback in the NFL.

Kolb lost the starting job in training camp to John Skelton but he got hurt in Week 1 against Seattle and Kolb relieved him.  Kolb will start in his place until Skelton is cleared to return to play.

T Bobbie Massie became the first Cardinals rookie offensive lineman to start on opening day since Levi Brown started in the same spot during the 2007 opener at San Francisco.

When DE Calais Campbell blocked Seattle’s 50-yard FGA in Week 1 it marked Arizona’s first blocked FGA of the season and 13th block dating back to 2008, an NFL-high.

It was Campbell’s sixth blocked FGA of his career. He tied Seattle’s Red Bryant for the NFL lead with three blocked FGAs in 2011.

CB Patrick Peterson tied the NFL single-season record for punt return TDs in 2011 when he scored four times.

Linebacker Daryl Washington led the team in tackles on Sunday he had 10 in all (10 solo).  CB William Gay had 7 tackles (7 solo); while Paris Lenon had 6 tackles (5 solo).

Arizona’s interception leader after Week 1 is safety Adrian Wilson with one.

The team leader in sacks with two is Lenon, while Washington had one.

Michael Adams leads the team in passes defensed with 3 while Darnell Dockett and David Carter each had two QB hits.

The Cardinals had 3 players who each had 2 special teams tackles.

Arizona’s team captains for 2012 are WR Larry Fitzgerald, C Lyle Sendlein, LB Paris Lenon, S Adrian Wilson, LB Reggie Walker (special teams) and RB Anthony Sherman (special teams).

Arizona has two former Patriots players on their roster S James Sanders and C/G Rich Ohrnberger.

Cardinals RB Anthony Sherman is a native of North Attleboro MA.

On Wednesday the following players were on the injury list.  QB John Skelton (ankle) did not practice. CB Jamell Flemming (shoulder); LB O’Brien Schofield (knee) and S Adrian Wilson (ankle) were limited in the participation.  G Adam Snyder (elbow); CB Greg Toler (hip) and RB Beanie Wells (knee) had full participation.

On Thursday the following players were on the injury list. QB John Skelton (ankle) did not particpate. CB Jamell Flemming (shoulder); LB O’Brien Schofield (knee); S Rashad Johnson (thigh); CB Patrick Peterson (groin) and S Adrian Wilson (ankle) were limited in the participation. G Daryn Colledge (elbow); K Jay Feely (back); TE Jeff King (knee); S Kerry Rhodes (foot); C Lyle Sendlein (back); RB Ryan Williams (elbow); G Adam Snyder (elbow); CB Greg Toler (hip) and RB Beanie Wells (knee) had full participation.

There are 7 players on the Arizona roster from Big East Universities and New England based colleges.  They are C Ryan Bartholomew (Syracuse- IR); WR Larry Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh); CB William Gay (Louisville); S Kerry Rhodes (Louisville); RB Anthony Sherman (UConn); RB LaRod Stephens-Howling (Pittsburgh) and LB Jamaal Westerman (Rutgers).

The Cardinals have retired 5 numbers: 8 – Larry Wilson; 40 – Pat Tillman; 77 – Stan Mauldin; 88 – J.V. Cain; 99 – Marshall Goldberg

Next Game

The Patriots visit the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore MD.  Kick off is at 8:20 p.m. on NBC.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Defense Stands Tall

In 2011 the New England Patriots defense was 15th in points allowed and 31st in total yards.  Going into the offseason with free agent signings and the draft it was evident to Patriots media and fans that Bill Belichick’s offseason goal was to remake the defense.

Well if the Week 1 win in Tennessee is any indication of how the defense will play in 2012 pat Belichick on the back for a job well done.

On Sunday against the Titans several key contributions came from new guys, products of the draft.  We saw relentless pass pressure from first rounder Chandler Jones, speed, toughness and tackling ability from first rounder Dont’a Hightower and very good safety play from second rounder Tavon Wilson.

All three had impacts in their first NFL game as Wilson had an interception in the end zone in the first quarter that killed a Tennessee drive.  Jones and Hightower combined on a strip sack that resulted in a New England touchdown, the first defensive points of the season.

But I’d be remiss if I’m giving you the indication that it was just the three rookies who made the impact.  It was the defense as a whole that stood up and played extremely well.

In the last two seasons this club has had a difficulty in tackling.  There have been more shoulder tackles than I care to remember.  While at times this technique is fine it leads to missed tackles and additional yards and points.  On Sunday the entire unit was wrapping up guys, there was very little shoulder tackling and even on plays when defenders got beat the Tennessee player got very few additional yards because they got wrapped up and taken down.

Vince Wilfork and Kyle Love were huge up front in stuffing the run and with help containing on the outside by Rob Ninkovich, Jermaine Cunningham and Jones and backed up by Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes and Hightower the front seven was very formidable against Tennessee.

They held Tennessee RB Chris Johnson to a total of 4 yards rushing on 11 carries and the team as whole only had 20 rushing yards and 1 first down on the ground.  Read that again and think about last year.

The 20 rushing yards allowed was 5th lowest total in franchise history.

And I can’t forget the play of the secondary while Jake Locker and Matt Hasselbeck made plays to their receivers there were very few big plays.  Tennessee was limited to three plays of 20 yards or more and they were all pass plays by Locker two to Nate Washington (29 yards –TD; 24 yards) and the longest went to Jared Cook (35 yards).  In fact of the Titans 10 longest plays in the game, all 10 were passes, 9 by Locker and 1 by Hasselbeck.

I think it’s safe to say that after Week 1 it’s okay to be excited about the Patriots defense.

Ridley Runs Wild

Second year RB Stevan Ridley had his coming out party on Sunday he had 21 carries for 125 yards and 1 TD and gave the Patriots a dimension they have been lacking, a game changing back.  He also appears to be over his rookie nerves and putting the ball on the ground.

Of the Patriots ten longest plays from scrimmage Ridley had six (five rushing, 1 receiving) of them.  His longest gain came on a 1st and 10 in the 4th quarter Tom Brady hit him with a screen pass and Ridley went 20 yards to the Patriots 37-yardline.

But it his was running ability that was really special.  Like a high school senior on prom night he found the hole and hit it.   He had two carries for 15 yards, one for 16 yards and two more for 17 yards for 80 of his 125 rushing yards on five plays.  He also had a one-yard touchdown run.

I for one would like to see more of Ridley who, with his ability to catch, approaches being an old school every down running back.

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News and Notes

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick conducted his day after media briefing.

QB Tom Brady had his weekly call in to Patriots Monday with Dennis & Callahan. (WEEI)

Brady got his nose cleated when he got sacked in the first quarter and needed some patching up on the sideline and was wearing a bandage still during his post game interview.  The nose was not broken though.  WR Wes Welker said, “he’s probably the toughest metrosexual I’ve ever come across”.

Ridley spoke on Patriots Monday with Mut and Merloni. (WEEI)

Want to re-watch the Patriots Week 1 win?  Watch the full version or a 30-minute condensed version.  (NFL Game Rewind)

Former Patriots WR Troy Brown enters the Hall at Patriots Place as the lone member of the 2012 Patriots Hall of Fame class.  The ceremony is Saturday night at 5 p.m. outside the Hall and it is free and open to the public but you can buy VIP tickets.

Brown in the 19th inductee (18th player) to the Hall, he spent his entire 15-year career as a Patriot after being drafted in the 8th round of the 1993 NFL Draft.  He currently shares the franchise record for most receptions with Wes Welker both have 557.

The toughest man on Earth, Logan Mankins spoke on Patriots Monday. (WEEI)

Patriots C/G Dan Connolly suffered a mild concussion and it’s hoped his absence is a short one. (Comcast Sports New England)

Offensive groupings vs. Titans (ESPN Boston)

Offensive snaps by skill players vs. Titans (ESPN Boston)

Defensive snaps played vs. Titans (ESPN Boston)

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and the offensive line were dialed in. (Boston Globe)

Five takeaways from Patriots vs. Titans. (Boston Globe)

Is Welker’s role being reduced? (ESPN AFC East Blog)

Linebacker Jerod Mayo led the team in tackles on Sunday he had 13 in all (9 solo).  Devin McCourty had 7 tackles (5 solo); while Hightower and Jones each had 5 tackles apiece.

New England’s interception leader after Week 1 is the rookie safety Wilson with one.

The team leaders in sacks with one each are Cunningham and Jones.

The Patriots had 5 tackles for loss in Sunday’s game, one each by Hightower, Jones, Ras-I Dowling, Cunningham and Wilfork.

Wilson and McCourty lead the team in passes defensed with 2 each while 3 players registered a quarterback hit; they were Cunningham, Wilfork and Trevor Scott.

The Patriots had 4 special teams tackles and S Nate Ebner had 2 of them.

New England was 6 of 12 (50%) on 3rd down conversions while Tennessee was 5 of 14 (36%).

New England didn’t have any 4th down chances while Tennessee was 1 for 2 (50%) on 4th down.

In the red zone the Patriots had 2 TD’s on 4 chances.  The other two opportunities ended up in Stephen Gostkowski field goals.  Tennessee had no TD’s in two red zone chances they ended up with a pair of Rod Bironas field goals.

In goal to go situations New England was 2 for 3 (67%) and Tennessee was 0 for 1 (0%).

The Patriots recovered 1 fumble and had 1 INT while they gave up no turnovers and have a PLUS 2 differential on the season.

Starting on Sunday the Patriots will offer fans at Gillette Stadium free wifi service. (Patriots)

Next Game

On Sunday the Patriots host the Arizona Cardinals at 1 p.m. in their 2012 home opener at Gillette Stadium.  You can find your “Patriots Game Preview” on a computer near you on Friday morning.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

The New England Patriots came to Nashville to play the Tennessee Titans with the goal of improving the defense over 2011.  The goal of the whole draft was to improve the defense and I think it’s safe to say that with the additions of Chandler Jones, Dont’a Hightower and Tavon Wilson it looks as if they are on the correct track.

Led by the three rookies, an efficient Tom Brady, 2nd year RB Stevan Ridley and good overall defense the Patriots took down the Titans convincingly on Sunday 34-13 at LP Field.

After a season opening drive by Tennessee saw the Titans come away with a 28-yard field goal by Rod Bironas and a 3-0 lead it was the Patriots first chance to score some points in 2012.  And luckily the game turned out better than it started as the Pats went three and out and that included a surefire touchdown pass that was missed between Brady and new WR Brandon Lloyd.  It appeared that the uncovered Lloyd just misplayed the ball and turned the wrong way and had the ball sail over his head.

After Tennessee had a second drive stalled the Patriots got the ball back and marched 67-yards in 5 plays and saw Brady throw a 23-yard TD pass to TE Aaron Hernandez to put New England up 7-3.  It was a lead that the Patriots would never give up.

On the ensuing Tennessee drive, The Titans looked they were going to punch the ball in and take the lead back as the second quarter started.  But a Jake Locker pass into the end zone, on the quarters 2nd play, hit Patriots CB Kyle Arrington in the helmet and bounced up and was intercepted by Wilson, the rookie safety out of Illinois, in the end zone resulting in a touchback.

P Zoltan Mesko was seeing some early action in the first half and had his second punt of the day; this one was for 45 yards and put the Titans on their own 10-yard line.  On 3rd and 7, Locker was hit from behind by Jones, the rookie defensive end out of Syracuse, and the ball rolled out to the 6-yard line.  Hightower, the rookie linebacker out of Alabama, recovered it and returned it for the first defensive touchdown of the season and 14-3 lead.

New England took a 21-3 lead into the locker room at the half after Brady threw another TD pass this one to TE Rob Gronkowski on a nice fade into the corner of the end zone. That capped a 12-play, 67-yard drive with just two minutes left before the break.

The second half saw Locker make a spectacular play to elude a hard charging Jones and find WR Nate Washington along the sideline for a 29-yard TD pass that cut the deficit to 21-10.

After a one yard TD run by Ridley capped a late 3rd quarter drive and gave the Patriots a 28-10 lead Tennessee responded with another Bironas field goal and New England led 28-13 going into the final quarter.

That drive was led by backup QB Matt Hasselbeck who took over mid drive after Locker was hurt making a tackle after Washington had gotten crushed by Jerod Mayo and Patrick Chung at the New England 25-yardline.  Washington coughed up the ball on the hit and Chung recovered it and returned it 49-yards to the Tennessee 26-yard line.  It was there that Locker hurt his shoulder on the play tackling Chung.  That play was flagged for review by Titans coach Mike Munchak saying that Washington never had possession.  The referee upon review concurred with Munchak and Tennessee retained the ball.

Patriots at Titans Gamebook. This includes the box score, all the stats, play by play, drive charts and more.

Patriots at Titans Game Recap via Associated Press.

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Turning Point of the Game

Titans QB Jake Locker gets stripped sacked by Patriots DE Chandler Jones at the Patriots 1-yard line.  The ball is recovered by Patriots LB Dont’a Hightower at the six yard line and returned for a New England touchdown and a 14-3 lead.

Offensive Player of the Game

RB Stevan Ridley had 21 carries for 125 yards and 1 TD.  He also caught 2 passes for 27 yards.

Defensive Players of the Game

DE Chandler Jones had 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 1 tackle for loss.  LB Dont’a Hightower had 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 fumble recovery and scored a TD and S Tavon Wilson had 4 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 INT.

Game Notes

Starters for the Patriots were:

On Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Mankins
• C: Wendell
• RG: Connolly
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• TE: Hernandez
• WR: Lloyd
• WR: Welker
• QB: Brady
• RB: Ridley

On Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Love
• DE: Jones
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Spikes
• LB: Hightower
• LCB: D. McCourty
• RCB: Arrington
• S: Chung
• S: Gregory

Inactives for the Game:

Patriots

1. RB Shane Vereen (foot)

2. CB Alfonzo Dennard (hamstring)

3. C/G Nick McDonald (shoulder)

4. TE Daniel Fells (shin)

5. DE Jake Bequette

6. DE Justin Francis

7. DT Marcus Forston

Titans

1. RB Javon Ringer

2. QB Rusty Smith

3. LB Zac Diles (hamstring)

4. T Mike Otto (finger/knee)

5. T Byron Stingily

6. DE Pannel Egboh

7. DT Sen’Derrick Marks (knee)

The spread (Patriots minus 5 1/2) WAS covered.  The over/under (47) WAS A PUSH.  I GAVE the points and took the UNDER.  I am now 1-0 vs. the spread and 0 for 1 calling the under/over.

The Patriots have won 9 consecutive season openers, their last Week 1 loss was in 2003 at Buffalo when they lost 31-0.  It is the longest current streak in the NFL.

New England is 20-24 all-time in Week 1 games and 10-12 when they open on the road.

The Patriots lead the overall series vs. the Titans 23-16-1.  They are now 7-10 as the road team in the series.

New England is 23-9 in September since 2002.

Since 2000, the Patriots are a NFL best 64-33 on the road.

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 148-61.

Bill Belichick is 9-7 vs. the Titans in his career.  He is 5-1 against them as the head coach in New England and that includes a 1-0 post season record.

Belichick’s 193 wins are good for 8th all-time.  He is tied with Chuck Knox, who coached the Rams, Bills and Seahawks.

Tom Brady is now 5-1 vs. Tennessee

Brady has 302 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has 125 career wins he is now 5th all-time.  Peyton Manning is 4th with 141.

He became the 14th quarterback to reach the 40,000 passing yard mark for his career.

Brady has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 33 consecutive games.

The Patriots are 82-15 when Brady throws at least 2 TD passes in a game.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 103 consecutive games, 86 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

Welker is now tied with Troy Brown as the team’s all-time leader in receptions with 557.

The Patriots sacked Titans QB Jake Locker 2 times, while allowing Brady to be sacked 1 time.  New England did not sack Matt Hasselbeck.

New England’s turnover differential is PLUS 2. The defense has recovered 1 fumble and has 1 INT.  The offense has given away 0 fumbles and has 0 INT’s.

The Patriots were 2 for 4 in the red zone.  They had 2 TD’s and 2 FG’s and were not held scoreless.

New England was 6 for 12 (50%) on third down conversions and 0 for 0 on 4th down attempts.

New England’s much improved looking defense allowed only 284 total yards and 16 first downs (1 rushing, 13 passing and 2 on penalties).

All-time on opening day the Titans franchise is 27-26.

Before today the Titans have won the last two Week 1 games they have played at LP Field.

The Tennessee franchise is 223-170-2 as the home team.

Since 1999 the Titans are 119-90 7th best in the NFL.

They are 65-40 at LP Field since it opened in 1999.

It’s been nearly 10 years since the Titans beat the Patriots.  The last win for Tennessee came on December 16 2002 at Nashville winning 24-7.

Tennessee has lost five consecutive games to New England.

Titans head coach Mike Munchak is now 0-1 vs. New England in his career.

Titans QB Jake Locker made his first NFL start, he is 0-1.  He threw for 229 yards, 1 TD’s and had 1 INT and 1 fumble.

Tennessee had only 20 net yards rushing and RB Chris Johnson was held to 4 yards on 11 carries.

The Titans were 5 for 14 (36%) on 3rd down conversions and 1 for 2 (50%) on 4th down attempts.

Jerry Frump (replacement) was the game referee.  The temp at kickoff was 74 and it was sunny.

Post Game Interviews

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Patriots QB Tom Brady post game press conferences via patriots.com

This Week in the AFC East

NY Jets pounded Buffalo, 48-28

Miami got routed by Houston, 30-10

AFC East Standings

Patriots                   1-0/0-0

Jets                        1-0/1-0

Dolphins                  0-1/0-0

Bills                        0-1/0-1

Next Game

The Patriots host the Arizona Cardinals in their home opener at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA on Sunday.  Kick off is at 1 p.m. on FOX.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

photo credit: getty images

This Week

The New England Patriots visit the Tennessee Titans at LP Field on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Patriots		=—-	The Titans
Overall	0-0		Overall	0-0
Road record	0-0		Home record	0-0
AFC South	0-0		AFC East	0-0
AFC	0-0		AFC	0-0
2011 record	13-3		2011 record	9-7

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Yahoo Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 5 1/2.  The over/under is 47.

My Prediction is Patriots 27, Titans, 14.  Give the points (Patriots) and take the under.  I am 0-0 against the spread and 0 of 0 on calling the over/under in 2012.

Tickets

The Titans are reporting the game as a sell out. They have sold out all 137 games since LP Field opened in 1999.

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster.  You can check the availability here.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Music City make sure you check out the links.

Fans attending the game are encouraged to participate in the “Undie Sunday” charitable drive benefiting the YWCA Weaver Domestic Violence Shelter. The YWCA and the Titans are asking fans to provide much-needed new women’s undergarments for shelter residents, including all sizes of underwear, bras and socks. Volunteers will be stationed at several drop sites around LP Field to collect donations.

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Nashville TN.

Click for all the game day information including stadium directions, parking and stadium information, parking map and an LP Field seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com.  There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack.  I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages.  With that in mind check out  Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks.  You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time.  Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver.  Remember You Drink, You Drive, You Lose.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

CBS in televising the game regionally and Jim Nantz will do play by play while Phil Simms will provide the game analysis. You can look here for your local affiliate.

See if you’re getting the game courtesy of J.P. Kirby at the506.com.

The DirecTV designation is Channel 712.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules, flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play and former Patriots QB Scott Zolak will do the game analysis. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 10 a.m. along the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots radio network call is available on Sirius Channel 132 and on SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

The Titans Radio Network has Mike Keith calling the game while former Titans TE Frank Wycheck provides the game analysis via their flagship station WGFX-FM.

The Titans radio network call is available on Sirius Channel 92, XM Channel 225 and on SiriusXM Internet Channel 830.

All NFL Games are also available on Sirius Satellite Radio as well as XM Satellite Radio under a special additional package.  XM usually only carries the home team feed via satellite while Sirius has both the home and away team feeds.

Sports USA is carrying the game to a national audience of their affiliates with Eli Gold and Ross Tucker calling the action.

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team.  It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Sunday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

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Last Week

The Patriots and the Titans were off.

History

• The teams first met as charter members of the AFL in 1960, when Tennessee was then known as the Houston Oilers (1960-1996).
• This is the 40th meeting between the two franchises.
• The Patriots lead the overall series 22-16-1 including playoffs and are 5-1 vs. the Titans since they relocated to Tennessee in 1997.
• The teams have met twice in the playoffs and are 1-1 with the then Houston Oilers beating the Patriots 31-14 in 1978 postseason.  The Patriots defeated the Titans 17-14 in 2003 playoffs.
• New England is 6-10 as the road team vs. the Titans franchise.
• The Patriots won the last meeting between the teams at Gillette Stadium in 2009, 59-0.

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2012 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 414-365-9.  They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in seven appearances.  Overall they are 23-16 in the post season.

They last appeared in the playoffs in 2011 when they beat Denver at home in the AFC Divisional Playoff, 45-10 and defeated Baltimore 23-20 in Foxboro in the AFC Championship Game.  They lost Super Bowl XLVI to the New York Giants 21-17.

The Patriots were 13-3 (2-1 in playoffs) in 2011 and are the defending two-time AFC East Champions as well as the defending AFC Conference Champions.  They have won the division 8 times and the conference 5 times since 2000.

The Patriots have won 8 consecutive season openers, their last Week 1 loss was in 2003 at Buffalo when they lost 31-0.  It is the longest current streak in the NFL.

The longest season opening streaks in NFL history are:

• Dallas, 17 seasons
• Miami, 11 seasons
• Detroit, 10 seasons
• Chicago, 9 seasons

New England is 28-24 all-time in Week 1 games and 9-12 when they open on the road.

This is the second time in franchise history the Patriots have opened against the Oilers/Titans franchise.  The other time was in 1975 at home losing to the then Oilers, 7-0.

New England is 1-1 vs. the Titans on the road since they moved to Tennessee.

New England last played in Tennessee in the 2006 season winning 40-23.

This is the second consecutive season that the Patriots have opened the season on the road.  Last year they opened on Monday night in Miami winning 38-24.

The Patriots all-time vs. the AFC South teams are 78-47-1

Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 they:

• Have the most Super Bowl wins, 3.
• Have the most regular season wins, 193.
• Have the most wins including playoffs, 212.
• Have the best wining percentage including playoffs, .669
• Have the most conference titles, 6.
• Have the most division titles, 11.
• Have the most playoff wins, 19
• Have played the most playoff games, 29.
• Are tied for the most playoff seasons, 13.
• Have the best playoff win percentage, .655
• Have drafted the most Pro Bowl players, 20.

New England set the following team records in 2011:

• Total yards, 6,848.
• First downs, 399.
• Net passing yards, 5,084.
• 100+ yard receiving games, 18.
• Games with 30+ points, 12 (tied for most in NFL history).

In 2011 New England averaged 32.1 points per game (3rd) and allowed 21.4 (15th).

They sacked the opposing quarterback 40 times, while allowing their quarterbacks to be sacked 32 times.

Their 2011 turnover differential was PLUS 17 good for 3rd best in the NFL. The defense recovered 11 fumbles and had 23 INT’s.  The offense gave away 5 fumbles and had 12 INT’s.

Based on TD percentage the Patriots had the 2nd best red zone offense in 2011 (65.3%).

The Patriots have scored 400 or more points for 5 consecutive seasons.

New England is 22-9 in September since 2002.

Since 2000, the Patriots are a NFL best 63-33 on the road.

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 147-61.

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Titans.

Bill Belichick is 8-7 vs. the Titans in his career.  He is 4-1 against them as the head coach in New England and that includes a 1-0 post season record.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 175-97 in his 18th NFL season.  He is 139-53 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland.  He is 17-7 in the playoffs, 16-6 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season.  When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 192-104.

Belichick’s 192 wins are good for 9th all-time.  Chuck Knox, who coached the Rams, Bills and Seahawks, is 8th all-time with 193.

Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league.  The others are former Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).

Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three Super Bowls, joining Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (3) and Bill Walsh (3).  Those men are all in the Hall of Fame.

He is the only coach in NFL history to win three championship titles in four seasons.

He is the only coach in NFL history to have led his team to 10+ wins in 9 consecutive seasons.

Belichick was born in Nashville TN on April 16, 1952.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Solder
• LG: Mankins
• C: Connolly
• RG: Thomas
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: Gronkowski
• TE: Hernandez
• WR: Lloyd
• WR: Welker
• QB: Brady
• RB: Ridley

Defense:

• DE: Ninkovich
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Love
• DE: Jones
• LB: Mayo
• LB: Spikes
• LB: Hightower
• LCB: D. McCourty
• RCB: Arrington
• S: Chung
• S: Gregory

Patriots Players Notes

This is Tom Brady’s 13^th NFL season he is 4-1 against Tennessee in his career including the playoffs.

Overall Brady is 124-35 as a starting QB and is 16-6 in the playoffs for an overall record of 140-41.  Brady is a 7 time Pro Bowl QB; 3 time All-Pro selection; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP.  He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

He was ranked in the preseason by ESPN’s Ron Jaworski as the 3rd best quarterback in the NFL.

Brady has 300 TD passes in his career he is now tied for 5th all-time with Hall of Famer John Elway.  Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has 124 career wins he is tied with Tarkenton for 5th all-time.  Peyton Manning is 4th with 141.

Brady finished the 2011 season with 5,235 passing yards and joined Drew Brees (5,476 in 2011 and 5,069 in 2008), Dan Marino (5,084 in 1984) and Matthew Stafford (5,038 in 2011) as the only players in NFL history to reach 5,000 passing yards in a single season.

He needs just 21 yards passing to be the 14th quarterback to reach the 40,000 passing yard mark for his career.

Brady has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 32 consecutive games.

The Patriots are 81-15 when Brady throws at least 2 TD passes in a game.

Brady has 34 game winning drives with team trailing or tied in the fourth quarter or OT.

Brady set franchise records in 2011 for:

• Passing yards, 5,235.
• Passing yards per game, 332.8.
• 300 yard passing games, 11.
• Games with 2+ TD passes, 14.
• Games with 1+ TD passes, 16 (ties NFL record).

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 101 consecutive games including playoffs, 84 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

Welker needs just three catches to pass Troy Brown as the team’s all-time leader in receptions.

In 2011 Welker set the franchise record for:

• Receiving yards, 1569.
• Longest reception, 99 yards (tied NFL record).

TE Rob Gronkowski has back-to-back 10+ TD reception seasons.  With another in 2012 he will be the first TE in NFL history to have done it three seasons in a row.

Gronkowski (1327) and Welker (1569) both were over 1,000 receiving yards in 2011; it was the fifth time two Patriots had both gone over 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.  Those totals were the Top 2 receiving yardage totals in the AFC in 2011.

Gronkowski set the following franchise records in 2011:

• Total TD’s by a TE, 18 (NFL record)
• Total TD catches by a TE, 17 (NFL record)
• Receiving yards by a TE, 1327 (NFL record)
• Games with 2+ TD by a TE, 7 (NFL record)

Gronkowski along with fellow TE Aaron Hernandez set an NFL record for most catches by a TE tandem with 169.

Gronk became the second Patriots TE to go over 1,000 receiving yards in a season.  The first was Ben Coates in 1994 with 1,174 yards.

P Zoltan Mesko set the franchise record for punting average with 41.5 net yards per punt in 2011.

LB Jerod Mayo is the first Patriot to record 100 or more tackles in a season in each of his first four seasons in the NFL.

Mayo played his college football at the University of Tennessee.

CB Kyle Arrington had 7 INTs in 2011 he was tied for the NFL lead.

WR/PR Julian Edelman set a franchise record with the longest punt return for a TD in team history when he went 94 yards against Miami in Week 17.

Edelman also owns the franchise record for the highest punt return average in a career with a 12.4 yard average (55 returns for 680 yards).

There are only two players on the team who played on at least one of the Super Bowl championship teams, Brady (3) and Vince Wilfork (1).

K Stephen Gostkowski played his college football at Memphis and holds the university record for most points with 369.

Rookie LB Dont’a Hightower is a native of Lewisburg TN.

Roster moves this week:

• Released C Matt Tennant
• Signed RB Lex Hilliard
• Released RB Eric Kettani from the practice squad
• Added OL Jeremiah Warren to the practice squad
• WR Sam Kirkland was released from practice squad
• TE Visanthe Shiancoe was placed on IR (eligible to return)
• Signed TE Michael Hoomanawanui
• Re-signed WR Kerry Taylor to the practice squad

On Wednesday the following players were on the injury list: S Patrick Chung (shoulder) had full participation. TE Daniel Fells (shin); S Sterling Moore (knee); T Sebastian Vollmer (back) had limited participation.  G/C Nick McDonald (shoulder) and RB Shane Vereen (foot) did not participate.

On Thursday the following players were on the injury list: S Patrick Chung (shoulder) had full participation.  TE Daniel Fells (shin); S Sterling Moore (knee); T Sebastian Vollmer (back) and G/C Nick McDonald (shoulder) had limited participation. RB Shane Vereen (foot) did not participate.

The Patriots captains for 2012 are QB Tom Brady, DT Vince Wilfork, G Logan Mankins, LB Jerod Mayo, CB Devin McCourty and WR Matthew Slater (special teams). They are the same 6 players that were selected last season as well.

The Patriots have four New England natives on the roster they are: TE Aaron Hernandez (Bristol CT); OL Donald Thomas (New Haven CT); DE Ron Brace (Worcester MA) and OL Jamey Richard (Weston CT).  They have 11 players who played for a New England school or a Big East Conference member.  They are CB Will Allen (Syracuse – IR); DE Ron Brace (Boston College); RB James Develin (Brown – Practice Squad); RB Tony Fiametta (Syracuse – Exempt List); DE Justin Francis (Rutgers); S Stephen Gregory (Syracuse); DE Chandler Jones (Syracuse); CB Devin McCourty (Rutgers); TE Alex Silvestro (Rutgers – Practice Squad); OL Donald Thomas (UConn); and NT Vince Wilfork (Miami).

The Patriots have 7 retired numbers: 20 – Gino Cappelletti, 40 – Mike Haynes, 73 – John Hannah, 78 – Bruce Armstrong, 79 – Jim Lee Hunt and 89 – Bob Dee.

Titans Team Notes

Here is the Titans roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2012 Titans Schedule/Results

Tennessee’s all-time record is 386-396-6 they are 14-19 in the post season with their last post season appearance coming in 2008 when they won the AFC South then they lost at home to Baltimore in the AFC Divisional Playoff, 13-10.

They have never won a Super Bowl in 1 appearance (XXXIV) losing to the St. Louis Rams, 23-16.

As the Houston Oilers they won two AFL Championships in 1960 and 1961.

The Titans finished last year 9-7 good for 2nd in the AFC South.

All-time on opening day the Titans franchise is 27-25.

The Tennessee franchise is 223-169-2 as the home team.

Since 1999 the Titans are 119-89 7th best in the NFL.

They are 65-39 at LP Field since it opened in 1999.

In 2011 Tennessee averaged 20.3 points per game (t, 21st) and allowed 19.8 (8th).

They sacked the opposing quarterback 28 times, while allowing their quarterbacks to be sacked 24 times. The 24 allowed sacks were second fewest in the NFL in 2011.

Their 2011 turnover differential was PLUS 1 good for a tie for 13th best in the NFL. The defense recovered 12 fumbles and had 11 INT’s.  The offense gave away 8 fumbles and had 14 INT’s.

Based on TD percentage the Titans had the 5th best red zone offense in 2011 (59.5%).

The Oilers/Titans franchise has had 6 stadiums it has called home.  They have played at Jeppesen Stadium, Rice Stadium and the Astrodome in Houston.  And they have called Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Vanderbilt Stadium and LP Field home in Nashville.

It’s been nearly 10 years since the Titans beat the Patriots.  The last win for Tennessee came on December 16 2002 at Nashville winning 24-7.

Tennessee has lost four consecutive games to New England.

This is a “Code Blue” week for Titans fans with the team encouraging fans to wear Titans light blue during the week and to the game.

Tennessee will honor Pat Summitt, the former University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach, as the 12th Titan before the game.  Summitt coached the Lady Vols for 38 years and won 8 national championships.

The Titans have won the last two Week 1 games they have played at LP Field.

When Titans fans attend home games in 2012, they will experience a new-look LP Field. In August the team completed nearly $27 million worth of improvements to the stadium, which opened in 1999. The projects include most notably:

• New high-definition video screens in the north and south end zones four times the size of the previous screens. They are the NFL’s second-largest video boards, behind only the screens at Cowboys Stadium.
• LED Ribbon boards now accent the east and west sides of the stadium, providing information and graphics throughout games.
• A new distributed sound system employs 800 speakers strategically placed in proximity to each seating area throughout the stadium.
• Two banks of high-speed elevators – each with six cars – serve upper deck ticket holders.
• Fan-friendly dining and entertainment zones are being built on the east and west sides of LP Field.

Titans Staff Notes

Read what Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak had to say to the New England media about the match up.

Tennessee head coach Mike Munchak is in his 2nd season with the team, he is 9-7 since taking over from long time coach Jeff Fisher prior to the 2011 season.

He is the 16th head coach in franchise history.

Munchak has never coached against New England in his career.

Munchack is a franchise legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee, he was a stellar guard back with the Oilers in Houston.

Munchak, a Penn State alum, has nothing but high marks for new PSU head coach Bill O’Brien.

Titans offensive coordinator Chris Palmer has coaching ties to UConn; University of New Haven; Boston University and was the general manager and head coach of the Hartford Colonials of the UFL in 2010.

Palmer was a member of the Patriots staff from 1993-96 where he served three seasons as a wide receivers coach and 1 season as the quarterbacks coach.

Wide receiver coach Dave Ragone also coached in Hartford in 2010.

Franchise legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee Bruce Matthews is the offensive line coach for the Titans.  As a player he made 14 Pro Bowls, was an All-Pro 10 times and holds the NFL record for games played by an offensive lineman (296).

The Titans maybe the only NFL team with two Hall of Fame players on its coaching staff.

There are five new assistant coaches: Brett Maxie (secondary), Steve Brown (assistant secondary), Jonathan Gannon (defensive quality control), Nate Kaczor (assistant offensive line) and Keith Millard (defensive assistant/pass rush specialist).

Ruston Webster is in his first season as general manager. He was named to the post on January 18, the same day former GM Mike Reinfeldt was promoted to chief operating officer.

Titans Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Roos
• LG: Hutchinson
• C: Velasco
• RG: Harris
• RT: Stewart
• TE: Stevens
• TE: Cook
• WR: Washington
• WR: Williams
• QB: Locker
• RB: Johnson

Defense:

• DE: Morgan
• DT: Klug
• DT: Casey
• DE: Wimbley
• LB:  Ayers
• LB: McCarthy
• LB: Witherspoon
• LCB: J. McCourty
• RCB: Verner
• S: Babineaux
• S: Griffin

Titans Players Notes

Titans QB Jake Locker is making his first NFL start.  He is a former first round pick 8th overall out of the University of Washington in 2011.

He was selected twice by the Los Angeles Angels to play baseball.  In 2006 in the 40th round and again in 2009 in the 10th round. He played in the minors in 2010.

Locker beat out the veteran QB Matt Hasselbeck in the preseason for the starting job.

In limited time in 2011 Locker threw 4 TD’s and had 1 INT.

Hasselbeck is a native of Norfolk MA and played at Boston College.  His father Don played for the Patriots as a tight end from 1977-82.  Matt was also a Patriots ball boy.

There is one former Patriot who plays for the Titans: CB Terrance Wheatley.

Tennessee CB Jason McCourty is the twin brother of Patriots CB Devin McCourty.  They are one of two sets of twins active in the NFL.  The others are the Pouncey brothers Maurkice (Steelers) and Mike (Dolphins).

Tennessee WR Kenny Britt has been suspended for one game by the NFL for repeated violations of the league’s personal conduct policy.

RB Chris Johnson needs 355 more rushing yards to reach 6,000 for his career. He would become the third player in franchise his­tory to reach the mark, joining Eddie George (10,009) and Earl Camp­bell (8,574).

Johnson can tie George’s franchise record with his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season to begin his career.

K Rob Bironas can score 100 or more points for the sixth con­secutive season (since 2007), which would tie Al Del Greco’s franchise record (1995-2000).

C Kevin Matthews is coached by his father, Hall of Fame player Bruce Matthews who is the Titans offensive line coach.  Kevin is also the cousin of Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews.

S Michael Griffin is in 17th place in franchise history with 17 career interceptions. Six interceptions more would tie him with Samari Rolle and Willie Alexander for 10th place in team annals (23).

On Wednesday the following players were on the injury list: DT Sen’Derrick Marks (knee); T Mike Otto (finger/knee) and DE Scott Solomon (knee) did not participate.  DT Jurrell Casey (elbow) and LB Zac Diles (hamstring) had full participation.

On Thursday the following players were on the injury list: DT Sen’Derrick Marks (knee); T Mike Otto (finger/knee) and DE Scott Solomon (knee) did not participate. G Steve Hutchinson missed practice for a non-injury reason. DT Jurrell Casey (elbow) and LB Zac Diles (hamstring) had full participation.

Tennessee captains for 2012 are QB Jake Locker; G Steve Hutchinson; CB Jason McCourty; LB Colin McCarthy and LB Tim Shaw (special teams).

There are 6 players on the Titans roster from Big East universities and New England based colleges.  They are: WR Kenny Britt (Rutgers); G Ryan Durand (Syracuse – IR); QB Matt Hasselbeck (Boston College); LB Kevin Malast (Rutgers – IR); CB Jason McCourty (Rutgers) and T Byron Stingily (Louisville)

The Titans franchise has retired the following numbers: 1 – Warren Moon; 34 – Earl Campbell; 43 – Jim Norton; 63 – Mike Munchak; 65 – Elvin Bethea and 74 – Bruce Matthews.

Next Week

The Patriots host the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA.  Kick off is at 1 p.m. on FOX.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

The New England Patriots are not done tweaking their roster before the season opener against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon.

The team released C Matt Tennant, who they just claimed off waivers on Saturday, one day after the league wide roster cut downs.  Tennant, Boston College alum, was a 2010 5th draft pick, had played in 28 games (no starts) for New Orleans over the last two seasons.

Also released from the practice squad was RB Eric Kettani out of the US Naval Academy.  Kettani, an undrafted free agent spent time on the Patriots practice squad in 2011 prior to being ordered back to service by the Navy.

After he finished his tour of duty and was released from active service he re-signed with the Patriots and went through all the off season conditioning, OTA’s, mini camp and training camp.  He was released last Friday and after clearing waivers he was signed to the practice squad.

In the midst of the two releases the team signed running back Lex Hilliard, a 6th round pick in 2008 by the Miami Dolphins out of the University of Montana.  Hilliard played with Miami for four seasons before going to Minnesota this offseason.  He was released this past weekend by the Vikings in final cuts and chose the Patriots over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Update: New England brought back rookie OL Jeremiah Warren by signing him to the practice squad.  Warren, who played his college ball at South Florida, can play either spot on the left side or center.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

photo credit: getty images

Here are the players, that for now, are the 2012 New England Patriots:

53 man roster

Position, Number	Name	School	Hometown
Quarterbacks (2)
12	Tom Brady	Michigan	San Mateo CA
15	Ryan Mallett	Arkansas	Texarkana TX
–
Running Backs (4)
22	Stevan Ridley	LSU	Natchez MS
39	Danny Woodhead	Chadron State	North Platte NE
34	Shane Vereen	California	Valencia CA
38	Brandon Bolden	Mississippi	Baton Rogue LA
–
Tight Ends (4)
87	Rob Gronkowski	Arizona	Williamsville NY
81	Aaron Hernandez	Florida	Bristol CT
80	Visanthe Shiancoe	Morgan State	Silver Spring MD
86	Daniel Fells	UC Davis	Anaheim CA
–
Wide Receivers (5)
85	Brandon Lloyd	Illinois	Kansas City MO
18	Matthew Slater	UCLA	Anaheim CA
83	Wes Welker	Texas Tech	Oklahoma City OK
11	Julian Edelman	Kent State	Woodside CA
17	Greg Salas	Hawaii	Chino CA
–
Offensive Line (9)
76	Sebastian Vollmer	Houston	Neuss Germany
70	Logan Mankins	Fresno State	Mariposa CA
77	Nate Solder	Colorado	Denver CO
64	Donald Thomas	UConn	New Haven CT
63	Dan Connolly	Southeast Missouri State	Chesterfield MO
62	Ryan Wendell	Fresno State	Diamond Bar CA
61	Marcus Cannon	TCU	Odessa TX
65	Nick McDonald	Grand Valley State	Salinas CA
69	Matt Tennant	Boston College	Cincinnati OH
–
Defensive End (4)
95	Chandler Jones	Syracuse	Rochester NY
92	Jake Bequette	Arkansas	Little Rock AR
97	Ron Brace	Boston College	Worcester MA
94	Justin Francis	Rutgers	Miramar FL
–
Defensive Tackle (4)
75	Vince Wilfork	Miami	Boynton Beach FL
74	Kyle Love	Mississippi State	College Park GA
71	Brandon Deaderick	Alabama	Elizabethtown KY
98	Marcus Forston	Miami	Miami FL
–
Linebackers (8)
51	Jerod Mayo	Tennessee	Hampton, VA
55	Brandon Spikes	Florida	Shelby NC
54	Dont’a Hightower	Alabama	Lewisburg TN
50	Rob Ninkovich	Purdue	New Lennox IL
96	Jermaine Cunningham	Florida	Stone Mountain GA
58	Tracy White	Howard	St. Stephen SC
59	Mike Rivera	Kansas	Shawnee KS
99	Trevor Scott	Buffalo	Potsdam NY
–
Cornerbacks (5)
32	Devin McCourty	Rutgers	Montvale NJ
21	Ras-I Dowling	Virginia	Chesapeake VA
24	Kyle Arrington	Hofstra	Brandywine MD
37	Alfonzo Dennard	Nebraska	Rochelle GA
23	Marquice Cole	Northwestern	Hazel Crest IL
–
Safety (5)
25	Patrick Chung	Oregon	Kingston Jamaica
28	Steven Gregory	Syracuse	Staten Island NY
27	Tavon Wilson	Illinois	Washington DC
29	Sterling Moore	SMU	Antioch CA
43	Nate Ebner	Ohio State	Dublin OH
–
Specialists (3)
03	Stephen Gostkowski PK	Memphis	Madison MS
14	Zoltan Mesko P	Michigan	Timisoara Romania
48	Danny Aiken LS	Virginia	Roanoke VA
–
Practice Squad (8)
19	WR Sam Kirkland	Kent State	Chesapeake VA
46	RB James Develin	Brown	Gilbertsville PA
72	G Thomas Austin	Clemson	Camden SC
53	LB Jeff Tarpinian	Iowa	Omaha NE
41	CB Malcolm Williams	TCU	Grand Prairie TX
68	T Matt Kopa	Stanford	Elk Grove CA
36	RB Eric Kettani	Navy	Kirtland OH
49	TE Alex Silvestro	Rutgers	Gibbstown NJ

*Roster as of 9/2/12

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII