The New England Patriots will work out free agent WR Mark Clayton in Foxboro on Friday.
Clayton, a 2005 first round pick by the Baltimore Ravens out of Oklahoma, played 76 games over 5 seasons with Baltimore and in 2010 he played 5 games for St. Louis. The 29 year old has 16 career TD’S.
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Photo credit: Reuters Pictures
The Patriots had a pregame walkthrough for the game on Thursday at Tampa Bay against the Buccaneers. It saw the first team offense get a bunch of reps meaning the Tom Brady, Chad Ochocinco, Wes Welker and the other starters will probably see some playing time this week.
The defense used a lot of 4-man fronts in practice with Vince Wilfork and Kyle Love playing the defensive tackle spots.
Meanwhile the jobs at safety appear anything but safe. They recently brought free agents Dashon Goldson and Darren Sharper to Foxboro for workouts. They reportedly offered Goldson a contract but he decided to resign with San Francisco.
The Patriots worked out the other safeties because according to league sources they are not happy with Brandon Meriweather, despite the fact he made his second Pro Bowl last season, they felt his play was suspect.
The general depth at safety is also kind of thin right now with James Sanders only having participated in four practices, so with the injuries and how they feel about Meriweather, former Notre Dame defensive back Sergio Brown is seeing a lot of reps with starter Patrick Chung.
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The team announced this afternoon that they have released veteran OT Mark LeVoir today. LeVoir, who signed with Chicago in 2006 as an undrafted free agent and was later claimed by New England off waivers from St. Louis has been with the team since 2008. Last season he played in 6 of the 16 regular season games, he was inactive (did not dress) 10 times.
The New York Jets have reportedly signed DE/OLB Aaron Maybin the former Buffalo Bills first round draft pick. It appears to be a low risk, high reward deal for the Jets.
The Patriots announced that the team Hall of Fame ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. at the Hall at Patriots Place on September 17th. Former Pats players Jon Morris and Drew Bledsoe will be the 17th and 18th members of the Patriots Hall of Fame. The only non-player is former owner, Billy Sullivan.
Rubin Carter, the father of Patriots DL Andre Carter, played 12 seasons in the NFL with the Denver Broncos. He is now a coach with the University of New Mexico and talked a little bit about his son.
Andre “has always been committed to whatever he decided to do, that’s where it starts. Then just having a great work ethic, he always worked hard to develop his skills.” The elder Carter should know, he took was an undersized defensive line player who made good with a long pro career and now his son is following successfully in his footsteps.
The NFL fined Jacksonville Jaguars DB Mike Lockley $20,000 for his hit on Patriots WR Taylor Price in the game last Thursday. Since then Lockley has been cut and because he is no longer in the NFL the league can not collect the fine.
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New England Patriots DT Vince Wilfork has had no comment on the “U” situation involving former Hurricane’s booster Nevin Shapiro since it broke yesterday. That’s been mostly due to the fact that there was no media access to the Patriots players today before or after the walkthrough.
When asked for an interview on Tuesday, Wilfork declined to talk. He spent most of the Wednesday walkthrough talking to fellow Miami alum Brandon Meriweather.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Shapiro allegedly spent millions of dollars on 72 current or former Miami players over eight years on cash gifts, dinners, rides on his yacht, in game bounties and hookers among other things.
He allegedly paid Wilfork $50,000 in his junior season to ensure that Wilfork would sign with Access Sports, Shapiro’s sports agency who ended up negotiating Wilfork’s first pro contract.
Wilfork is also alleged to have accepted thousands of dollars in gifts, $1250 in bounty money, a washer and dryer set as well as VIP access at several clubs in South Beach.
Update: Wilfork released this statement via his Twitter account in three separate tweets earlier.
“I am aware of the report that has claims that involve me while at the U. While the NCAA and the U conduct their investigations @Mrs75 and I believe that it is not appropriate for us to comment. Thanks for your continued support and confidence in me.”
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The defense attorney for New England Patriots DT Albert Haynesworth, A. Scott Bolden, has filed a motion seeking to force the prosecution to turnover statements and/or evidence that will help the defense. They reportedly are seeking a copy of a written statement and affidavit from prosecution witness, W Hotel security guard Ramon Davis.
In an affidavit, Davis said that Haynesworth asked the waitress if he could place the credit card in her shirt or bra because her hands were full. She reportedly said yes initially actually appearing “playful” before telling him to “stop, for real.”
He added that he never saw Haynesworth fondle the woman’s breast.
Davis says in the affidavit that he was approached in April by the waitress and a man in a suit claiming to be her attorney, he then offered Davis $50,000 to help her with his testimony against Haynesworth.
The guard said he “was shocked and ignored the man’s offer”. He says he never asked him for a card or contact information and he has not seen him or heard from him since the initial offer.
Haynesworth’s misdemeanor sexual assault trial is scheduled to start in Washington D.C. next Tuesday.
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Photo credit: AP Photo
This Week
The New England Patriots visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
The Patriots are 1-0 in the preseason. The Buccaneers are 1-0 in the preseason.
Here are the rosters for the Patriots and the Buccaneers.
The Line/Prediction
As of Thursday the line on the game from Yahoo! Sports is Patriots plus 2. The over under is 37.
My Prediction is Buccaneers 28, Patriots, 17. Give the points (Buccaneers) and take the over.
To continue reading the New England Patriots @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason game two preview, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television
The Patriots Preseason Television Network is televising the game through out New England and parts of Canada.
Longtime national play by play announcer Don Criqui and former NFL Pro Bowl offensive lineman Randy Cross will call the game with help from WBZ sports anchor Steve Burton on the sidelines.
Stations in the Patriots Preseason TV Network include:
NFL broadcast regulations require that games be sold out 72 hours in advance of kickoff for the game to appear on local television. Because the game is not sold out it will be blacked out in the Tampa Bay television market and it will be seen later in tape delay.
Chris Myers does play by play with John Lynch providing the analysis on the Buccaneers Broadcast. You can see the game on:
Check your local listings for your station. In the Tampa market the game will be shown two other times per the contract between WTSP and the Buccaneers.
There is NO DirecTV designation.
Radio
The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston MA. Gil Santos handles the play by play while former Patriot Gino Cappelletti does the color commentary.
All NFL Games are also available on Sirius Satellite Radio. The Patriots Radio Network call is available on Sirius Channel 94. The Buccaneers Radio Network has Gene Deckerhoff calling play by play and Dave Moore provides the color via their flagship station WDAE-FM. Their call is available on Sirius Channel 93. XM Satellite Radio also carries all the NFL games under a special additional package. The Buccaneers feed is available on XM Channel 225; the Patriots feed is on XM Channel 227.
Last Week
The Patriots beat the Jaguars, 47-12 at the Razor, while the Buccaneers beat the Chiefs, 25-0 at Arrowhead Stadium.
Next Week
The Patriots visit the Detroit Lions on Saturday. Kick off is at 8 p.m. on CBS.
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The Patriots held practice session #19 of the preseason in shorts and shells in front of the general public at Foxboro earlier today.
Among the players missing the session were LB/DE Jermaine Cunningham, DT Albert Haynesworth, LB Brandon Spikes, DE Mike Wright and WR Taylor Price. Several other players watched practice but did not participate as they are rehabbing various injuries among those players were RB Kevin Faulk, CB Ras-I Dowling, DE Shaun Ellis and S James Sanders.
Rookie RB Stevan Ridley returned to practice today after suffering a leg injury on Monday. T Matt Light continues to be held out of the 11-on-11 team drills making it unlikely that he will play Thursday night against Tampa Bay.
The offense continues to go through a rough patch as QB Brian Hoyer got picked a couple times, once each by CB Leigh Bodden and S Brandon Meriweather. S Patrick Chung also grabbed himself a pair of INT’s in the drills on QB Tom Brady. Rookie QB Ryan Mallett continues to show off his powerful arm in camp as he connected on long passes to WR Matthew Slater and another to rookie WR Jeremy Ross, both came on coverage by CB Devin McCourty.
Rookie TE Will Yeatman, an undrafted free agent, took the third team tight end reps today over rookie draft pick TE Lee Smith who seems to be falling back a bit. It looks like Smith now may have some competition for the third tight end spot, should there be a roster opening for it come September.
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Meriweather did get a bunch of 1st team reps today but when it came to working on prep work for Tampa Bay it was actually Sergio Brown who was paired with Chung at the safeties.
LB Jerod Mayo says he is comfortable playing anywhere and today at practice he played both inside and outside. Since he has been in New England he has been an inside linebacker but at Tennessee Mayo played outside and he’s pretty good going sideline to sideline.
At the end of the session WR’s Wes Welker and Chad Ochocinco both attempted 34-yard field goals and both missed drawing groans and moans from their teammates. Both, by the way, have appeared as a kicker in a NFL game in their careers.
Ochocinco once again wore his yellow shoes in practice, while P Zoltan Mesko wore an orange shoe on his kicking foot.
Head Coach Bill Belichick thinks the team has improved and that they have a good attitude. “We’ve pushed them pretty hard in the practices and drills…we’ve had a lot of guys fighting through bumps and bruises staying out there on the field.”
Former Patriots DL Ty Warren who recently signed with the Denver Broncos tore a triceps muscle yesterday in practice. The Broncos have not decided whether to place Warren on the IR.
The Patriots worked out WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh and S Darren Sharper yesterday. Apparently according to a report, S Renaldo Hill was not worked out. There has been no contract offer made to either player.
The NFL Supplemental Draft is on Wednesday and there are five players eligible for the draft and as of right now former Ohio State QB Terrell Prior is not one of them. He is meeting with the NFL today in an effort to be eligible for the Wednesday draft.
Any team that selects a player in the Supplemental Draft losses that corresponding pick in the NFL Draft next April. So for an example, Oakland selects a player in the 4th round they would then forfeit their 2012 4th round pick in the regular draft.
The Patriots are $9.2 million under the salary cap and that is not including the $3 million veteran exception that they have to ask for. They are currently 16th in being under the cap in the league. Clubs must spend 89% of the $120.375 million cap for the 2011 season or money goes back to the NFLPA at the end of the season.
The Patriots announced their practice schedule
Wednesday
Walkthrough will be held from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.
The Patriots Experience will be open from Noon to 3 p.m.
For all the latest training camp information including updated practice times go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.
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Former New England Patriots defensive back and position coach Corwin Brown who held the Granger IN police and SWAT team in a 7-hour standoff last week will be arrested upon his release from the hospital according to the Chicago Tribune.
Brown, who was hospitalized after suffering what police said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the torso during the incident, has been charged with Class B felony confinement, Class C felony confinement and Class D felony domestic battery, according to a statement from the St. Joseph County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.
Brown is undergoing treatment for a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his torso.
To see the statement released from the Brown family, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
Brown’s family released the following statement alluding to it that they feel he is suffering the after effects of head injuries from NFL play much like those of the late Dave Duerson.
First, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for the many prayers and offers for help and assistance from family, friends, former teammates and coaches during this very difficult time for our family.
We truly are sorry for the events which unfolded Friday, August 12, 2011. The pain and suffering experienced by our family has been overwhelming the last few days, but we are relived and thankful that the outcome didn’t come to a tragic ending. We thank God and ask for his forgiveness.
We would also like to thank the members of St. Joseph County Police, J.T. and Sonny for their professionalism in handling the situation and helping to save Corwin’s life. He was not meant to leave us Friday, August 12.
Corwin inflicted the most serious harm to himself and his family with a gunshot wound, but thankfully, the bullet missed all vital organs. He finally cried for help, surrendered and prayed for forgiveness.
But there is a tragedy in this story which has unfolded over the last several years. Many are asking, what would cause a young man who has been blessed beyond all measure, with a life so promising that he would put himself and his family in harm’s way? We believe Corwin is suffering from symptoms similar to those experienced by the late Dave Duerson and were caused by the many notable collisions during Corwin’s career in the NFL. For those reasons, Corwin chose to not disclose his symptoms, as he did not want to bring shame to any coach, team, organization, or the NFL.
We can no longer remain silent and we believe it is important that his former teams, teammates, coaches and the NFL to understand the severity of this situation. As a result, we have reached out to neurologist Dr. Robert Cantu in Boston to request a consultation with Corwin and our family. We are hopeful that we can connect soon and he will agree to help Corwin and our family. Certainly, we realize there will be a significant financial cost to bear, and we offer our plea for help.
Corwin loved his profession and was one of the best at his position.
He enjoyed playing for some of the greatest coaches of all times, Dr. J.W. Smith of Julian High School in Chicago; Bo Schembechler who coached Corwin at University of Michigan; and Bill Parcells while he was at the New England Patriots and New York Jets. Corwin’s dream was to one day become a head coach, so he could give back to a game that gave him so much.
It was Bill Parcell who stated in a 1999 New York Daily News article that Corwin had a bright future in coaching, “He’s been in the foxhole with me for a long time,” said Parcells. “He’s a real special guy.”
The Corwin we know and love is gifted intellectually and athletically and loves his family. We remember him going to the University of Michigan motivated to be a “Michigan Man,” energetic and full of laughter, then returning from the NFL not trusting, suspicious, distant, gloomy, exhausted and depressed.
Corwin helped so many people over the years, and now we pray for help in his time of need. We pray for his healing and recovery. We pray for those who may have answers to please come forth and help our family. We pray that his former teams and the league that he adored hear our cries and provide assistance. Most of all we pray for studies to better understand and prevent this from happening to another player, as well as current families dealing with the same situation.
Finally, we ask for the media to respect our privacy as we seek support for Corwin and our family with coaching and counseling. We plan to make no other statement on this issue, until we better understand the nature of Corwin’s symptoms.
God kept Corwin Brown here for a reason and we pray we find that reason. Please keep Corwin, Melissa, Corwin Jr., Tayla and Jaedan in your prayers.
Sincerely,
The Brown Family
Brown, a Michigan graduate, played professionally for the Patriots, New York Jets and Detroit Lions. He later was a coach for the Patriots and Jets in the NFL and the University of Virginia and the University of Notre Dame in the NCAA.
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The 18th session of training camp was a full pads session held inside the practice bubble due to the rainy conditions outside. That meant the open public practice session was cancelled, as was the Patriots Experience. You can hopefully try again tomorrow or on Wednesday.
WR Wes Welker met with the media and he says he feels really good more than a year removed from his ACL injury. “This is the best I’ve felt in my career. I think just (in) the knowledge of the game and being able to be (100%) healthy.”
Asked if he really meant it’s the best he’s felt in his entire career, he again answered yes.
Director of Player Development Nick Caserio also spoke about Welker and he is just amazed at how well Wes has come back from the injury.
Caserio also touched on the workout players and the amount of players they’ve had into to camp for a look. He said that going back into his notes from last year they have seen the same amount of players. It just seems like a lot more due to the compressed time period of training camp due to the lockout. He said the team is just doing its due diligence, doing their homework and staying prepared as they gather information on players. You never know when an injury will pop up and one of these workouts will help the team make a decision on whether or not to sign a player.
To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
Among the players missing the bubble session were DT Albert Haynesworth, LB/DE Jermaine Cunningham, LB Brandon Spikes, WR Julian Edelman, WR Brandon Tate, WR Taylor Price and DE Mike Wright. Several others missed the session but watched from sidelines and worked on their rehab.
T Matt Light was more involved today as he works toward starting in Miami Week 1 on Monday Night football. OL Zach Roth also returned after being hurt a couple days ago.
Some notes on players from the session include DL Mark Anderson who looks really good. The former Bear has been playing well and was singled out post game last week by Bill Belichick.
RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis looked exceptionally quick on the turf. Probably safe to say “The Lawfirm” is raring to go.
Rookie QB Ryan Mallett continued to get a lot of reps today after starter Tom Brady was done with his. QB Brian Hoyer also saw a bunch of reps as well. Rumors are Mallett takes on Tampa Bay and Hoyer gets Detroit. I don’t know if they’ll split the games in half or if they are going to play the entire game. So where does that leave Brady? Waiting to blow the doors off the Dolphins defense on September 12.
Brady and WR Chad Ochocinco were seen talking to each other between plays and reps as they seem to be working on the nuances of the Patriots passing game. WR Deion Branch and TE Aaron Hernandez both made a nice catch during drills.
The opinion of observers on free agent signee DL Andre Carter is that he is a hard core, go all the time practice player. He’s a lot for the offensive line to handle and he plays the run as well as the pass. In football parlance…he’s a beast. Looks like the Mad Genius of Foxboro has found another potential gem in a scrap heap.
Defensively, S Sergio Brown has been gaining more snaps in practice over Brandon Meriweather. It’s been looking like Meriweather might get bumped down the depth chart or possibly released as the team looks to get stronger at safety. Today they brought in Darren Sharper and Renaldo Hill for workouts.
The defensive backs as a whole had a lot of pass deflections today, and while the corners are on lockdown mode the middle of the field has been susceptible to being open and Welker has been picking it apart.
S Patrick Chung had the hit of the day when he absolutely plastered Hernandez after a catch. As Hernandez got out into the flat Chung was waiting for him and promptly introduced the Connecticut-born tight end to the turf.
On every play during team drills, Belichick would call out down and distance and then the offensive unit would have to run a play for it. Just more situational football.
The teams practice schedule for the next few days is as follows:
Tuesday
Practice will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Patriots Experience will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesday
Walkthrough will be held from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.
The Patriots Experience will be open from Noon to 3 p.m.
For all the latest training camp information including updated practice times go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.
Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem
The New England Patriots held a full pads practice session on Sunday outside Gillette Stadium. After the session newly signed Logan Mankins met with the media. He said that the big contract “is yet to sink in” and he thanked the Kraft family for giving him the opportunity to stay with the team.
Prior to practice defensive line coach Pepper Johnson met with the media in place of Bill Belichick. Johnson spent a lot of time talking about Albert Haynesworth saying, “I think Albert is a great person. He’s been trying to work his way onto the field. He’s been tremendous in the classroom to date. I’m expecting a lot from him.”
He also had high praise for Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo as two players who will always help out regardless.
Some of the players who missed practice today were Matt Light, Albert Haynesworth, Taylor Price, Julian Edelman, Jeff Tarpinian, Zach Roth, Brandon Spikes and Mike Wright.
Dan Connolly did return to practice today, as did new father Danny Woodhead whose wife Stacia gave birth to daughter Gia early Saturday morning.
To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
Several others worked on their rehab including Kevin Faulk, Shaun Ellis, Brandon Tate, Ron Brace, Ras-I Dowling and James Sanders.
Rookie QB Ryan Mallett got a lot of reps again in practice leading credence to the fact he may start on Thursday in Tampa Bay. NFL MVP Tom Brady was very accurate all day long in his reps connecting with Chad Ochocinco on a pair of long completions although on one Brady may have taken a sack if it was a game situation.
Defensively the team worked more in the 3-4 today, more than they have recently. But they still used four man sets mostly in the session.
The Patriots also announced they signed free agent LB Niko Koutouvides, a former 4th round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2004 out of Purdue. Koutouvides has played for Seattle, Denver and Tampa Bay and it’s hoped he will add some more depth to the linebacking corps.
The Patriots announced their practice sessions for the next few days:
Monday
Practice will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The Patriots Experience will be open from noon to 5 p.m.
Tuesday
Practice will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Patriots Experience will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesday
Walkthrough will be held from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.
The Patriots Experience will be open from Noon to 3 p.m.
For all the latest training camp information including updated practice times go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.
Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem
According to Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald, the New England Patriots have invited free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh in for a workout on Monday at the team facility in Foxboro.
Houshmandzadeh has played with current Patriots wide receivers Chad Ochocinco in Cincinnati and Deion Branch in Seattle. He has also played for the Baltimore Ravens.
A 4th round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2001 NFL Draft out of Oregon State, where he first teamed with Ochocinco has made on Pro Bowl, was a 2007 All-Pro and in that season tied Patriots WR Wes Welker for the most catches that season. In 10 NFL seasons Houshmandzadeh has 616 catches for 7091 yards and 43 TD’s.
Houshmandzadeh was seen as a complainer and having had a poor season was not re-signed by Baltimore after last season. He said recently, “If I go to the right team I’ll shock a lot of people.”
It remains to be seen if New England is the right team.
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Also on the Monday workout list are safeties Darren Sharper and Renaldo Hill.
Sharper, a 2nd round pick by the Green Bay Packers in 1997 out of William & Mary, is a 14-year NFL veteran having played 8 seasons in Green Bay, 4 with Minnesota and the last two in New Orleans. He has won a Super Bowl with New Orleans in 2009.
He is a 6 time All-Pro and a 5 time Pro Bowl selection as well as a member of the NFL’s 2000’s All-Decade team. He has 635 tackles, 7.5 sacks 63 INT’s 11 of which have been returned for TD’s in his career.
Hill, a 7th round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2001 out of Michigan State, is a 10-year NFL veteran having played for Arizona for 4 seasons, Oakland for 1 year, Miami for 3 seasons and the last two years he was with Denver.
He has 474 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 15 INT’s in his career. He is the younger brother of former NFL player Ray Hill who was a defensive back for the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. He earned a Super Bowl ring in 2001 even though he spent the entire season on the IR.
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