The New England Patriots started the day off with a couple of roster moves.  They signed UDFA OL Zach Roth out of TCU.  They also released OL Chris Morris and DL Steve Williams.

The newly signed Roth didn’t last long at his first practice as he was actually carted off the field.  There of course was no word from the team on what the injury was.

Some other notes from the full pads practice, recently signed T Matt Light was on the field, mostly as an observer, he is no longer on the PUP list.  The offensive line was little thin today with Roth’s injury, Light not being involved yet and having Dan Connolly and Ryan Wendell out of practice.

That gave rookie OL Nate Solder plenty of practice time and he looks really impressive with his blocking techniques he just needs to get stronger to be able to fend off the larger defensive linemen in the NFL.

Some of the others missing practice included WR Taylor Price who appeared to ding up his ankle in the game on Thursday.  RB Danny Woodhead was also among the missing as his wife just gave birth to a baby girl.

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Quarterback wise Tom Brady and Ryan Mallett took most if not all of the reps as Brian Hoyer seemed to just watch.  They may be letting his shoulder calm down after the game on Thursday.  It may also be that Mallett will start in Tampa Bay and they want him to feel more comfortable in the offense.  Brady looked exceptionally sharp, as there were far less drops and bad throws.

It also appears they have no one who can cover WR Wes Welker who appears 100% back from his ACL injury.  He looks as quick as ever and it looks like he was never even hurt.  This doesn’t bode well for opposing defenses.

The team worked on a lot of situational plays today especially the goal line and the 2-minute drill.

Rookie OL Marcus Cannon is progressing well and may get to practice soon.  He probably will not see any game time this season as he recovers from cancer.  He appears ticketed for the practice squad, which isn’t a bad thing.

The Patriots have a new Director of Player Development, Kevin Anderson.  In his new position Anderson will help players prepare for their football afterlife.  It’s important that with the short shelf life of the average NFL player that they decide what they want to do after they’re done playing.  Maybe Patriots Hall of Fame member Drew Bledsoe has some openings in his successful winery and coffee roasting businesses.

Patriots S Brandon Meriweather is not a suspect in the March shooting at an Apopka FL party he was hosting that saw two of his former high school teammates shot in the face.  The two former teammates both originally said Meriweather was the shooter but the police can not find any evidence to indicate that he was involved in any way.  Meriweather has refused to be interviewed by police as a witness, due to the fact that he fears for the safety of his legal guardians if he were to cooperate.  Police have said that without Meriweather’s help the case will most likely be removed from the active investigation list unless someone else were to come forward with information.

The Patriots also worked out a pair of players on Friday, K Rhys Lloyd and long snapper James Derth.  Apparently Matt Katula needs to be looking over his shoulder after that horrible snap on a PAT attempt Thursday against Jacksonville.

The Patriots will practice on Sunday from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and the Patriots Experience will be open from noon to 5 p.m.

For all the latest training camp information including updated practice times go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.

Well it’s that time of year to take a look at the New England Patriots 2011 schedule and make my annual predictions on how the team will fare in the season. 

This year the schedule features games with Pittsburgh and Indianapolis as well as the division games and games against the NFC East and AFC West.

Week 1 September 12 @Miami 7p MNF ESPN

Football is officially back; Patriots squish the Fish 35-6.

Week 2 September 18 SAN DIEGO 4:15p CBS

Chargers always have a tough time in Foxboro; Pats win 31-21.

Week 3 September 25 @Buffalo 1p CBS

The streak continues; Patriots rout Bills 38-10.

Week 4 October 2 @Oakland 4:15p CBS

Go West get into a battle; lose to Raiders 28-24.

Week 5 October 9 NY JETS 4:15p CBS

Rebound nicely to beat Jets at home 24-21.

Week 6 October 16 DALLAS 4:15p FOX

Cowboys do not look good on the road; Patriots win 31-17.

Week 7 October 23 BYE WEEK

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Week 8 October 30 @Pittsburgh 4:15p CBS

Patriots after bye week are very good, 27-21.

Week 9 November 6 NY GIANTS 4:15p FOX

Brady and Co. rebound against the G-Men with a 32-27 win.

Week 10 November 13 @NY Jets 8:20p SNF NBC

Jets get a division game back win 20-14 in the swamp.

Week 11 November 21 KANSAS CITY 8:30p MNF ESPN

Patriots manhandle the Chiefs on MNF; 36-14.

Week 12 November 27 @Philadelphia 4:15p CBS

Tough road loss as Eagles edge Pats, 31-28 in OT.

Week 13 December 4 INDIANAPOLIS 8:20p SNF NBC

Manning gets over on Belichick, Patriots in last minute 31-24.

Week 14 December 11 @Washington 1p CBS

Haynesworth, Carter Return; Patriots grab win 41-24.

Week 15 December 18 @Denver 4:15p CBS

John Fox teams always play Pats tough; NE wins on road 28-27.

Week 16 December 24 MIAMI 1p CBS

Miami still no match for Pats, 35-21.

Week 17 January 1 BUFFALO 1p CBS

Patriots close out season with home win, 42-27.

Overall predicted record 12-4

Record at home: 7-1

Wins: Mia; NYJ; Buf; KC; NYG; Dal; SD.
Loss: Indy.

Record on road: 5-3

Wins: @Den; @Was; @Pitt; @Buf; @Mia.
Losses: @Oak; @NYJ; @ Phi.

Record vs. AFC East: 5-1

Record vs. AFC: 9-3

Record vs. NFC: 3-1

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Local police were called to the Granger, IN home of former Patriots safety and defensive backs coach Corwin Brown around 1 p.m. CT for a domestic dispute.  With their arrival Brown allowed his wife and kids to leave the family house.

It was then that shots were fired inside the home.

The SWAT team and local police had surrounded Brown’s home and were engaged with him in a standoff that led to them shutting off the power to the house hoping he would give up.

After several hours with no movement, an unidentified male who is close to Brown, was able to talk him out of the house by telling him to be a “Michigan man and do what is expected of you.”

It was shortly after this plea that a wounded Brown surrendered to authorities.  He was taken by ambulance to South Bend Memorial Hospital where he is being treated for self-inflicted wounds.  It is unknown how serious those injuries are.

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Police also said that Brown’s wife had suffered a head injury prior to being released from the house with the couple’s three children.

Brown, was a 4^th round pick of the New England Patriots in 1993 out of the University of Michigan.  He played safety for the Patriots until 1996 when he was a member of the Super Bowl XXXI squad that lost to Green Bay.  He also played for the New York Jets and the Detroit Lions prior to retiring in 2000.

Brown then went into coaching where he held positions at the University of Virginia, with the New York Jets, the University of Notre Dame and last season with the New England Patriots.  He was not retained for 2011; it is believed that at some point last season he went missing in action for several days which eventually led to his dismissal from the staff at year’s end.

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Early Friday afternoon sometime around 1 p.m. CT, police in Granger, IN were called to the home of former New England Patriots safety and coach Corwin Brown for a domestic dispute.  According to media reports other family members present in the house left safely sometime around their arrival.

After repeated attempts to get Brown to respond, there was a report of shots fired from within the house.  It was at that time the police called for the specialized SWAT team.

Local media is reporting that SWAT has surrounded Brown’s home and is calling out “Corwin” to him over a bullhorn.  There has been no response from inside the home.

Brown, a 1993 4^th round pick of the New England Patriots out of the University of Michigan, played safety for the Patriots from 1993 to 1996 before moving on to the New York Jets to join his former coach Bill Parcells.  He played in New York through 1998 when he signed as a free agent with the Detroit Lions where he spent two seasons finishing out his playing career.

In his career he had 177 tackles, 3 INT’s and 3 forced fumbles.

Brown then went into coaching joining one of his former coaches Al Groh as a special teams coach at the University of Virginia from 2001-2003.  In 2004 he joined the Jets coaching staff as the defensive backs coach before moving to Notre Dame with Charlie Weis as the defensive coordinator from 2007-2009.  In 2010 he was a defensive backs coach for the Patriots but at some point in the season he went missing in action for several days which eventually led to his dismissal from the staff at years end.

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This report was culled from information from the Detroit Free Press, WSBT-TV, the South Bend Tribune and irishenvy.com

Photo credit: Getty Images

The best thing that happened to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium was that they won the coin toss.

Then they had their first two drives stall and had to settle for field goals and a 6-0 early lead against the New England Patriots. After that it wasn’t very pretty as the Patriots pasted the Jaguars, 47-12 Thursday night in Foxboro.

Then it was all Patriots.  Rookie running back Stevan Ridley, a third round pick out of LSU, had 3 TD’s scoring on a pair of one yard runs and corralling a 16 yard pass from fellow rookie QB Ryan Mallett.

Second string quarterback Brian Hoyer started in place of NFL MVP Tom Brady and showed that that they are in good hands as he played a solid steady first half.  He took the team on three scoring drives, which included him tossing an 11-yard TD pass to Taylor Price in the 2^nd quarter.

Kicker Stephen Gostkowski added a pair of field goals from 46 and 53 yards as he recovers from a torn quad muscle last season. At the half it was still close as the Patriots lead 19-9.

Mallett, the draft pick from Arkansas, took over in the third quarter and he was on autopilot.  He lead the Patriots on four scoring drives as Ridley added his second and third TD’s of the game and rookie free agent RB Richard Medlin had a pair of 2 yard runs for scores.

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Offensively the Patriots, minus a lot of stars looked impressive, as they scored a team record 47 points in a preseason game eclipsing the old mark of 45 set in 1977 against Washington.

They were 11 for 19 on 3^rd down and 4 for 4 on 4^th down.  Hoyer and Mallett combined were 27 for 40 for 335 yards, 2 TD’s and 0 INT’s.  There were no sacks of either Patriots signal caller.

The only real offensive negative was fumbles; they had three, losing one by Aaron Hernandez on their first offensive play.

Ridley (16) and Medlin (14) had the most carries as they had 64 and 54 yards respectively and each had two rushing TD’s.

Receiving wise the big guns were Hernandez with 6 catches for 68 yards, Price 5 catches for 105 yards and a TD and Ridley had 7 grabs for an additional 47 yards and a TD.

Defensively the team had some nice stops holding Jacksonville to four field goals 3 by Josh Scobee of 41, 31 and 29 yards and a 40 yarder by Sam Swank.

They held the Jags to only 3 of 13 on 3^rd downs and allowed only 193 total yards while getting one INT and 4 sacks.

Buddy Farnham had the INT, while Darius Butler, Dane Fletcher and Brandon Meriweather led the squad with 5 tackles each.  Darryl Richard had two sacks, and Jermaine Cunningham and Landon Cohen each had one.

Overall it was a good effort for a short camp and a game that saw the teams big stars such as Brady, Chad Ochocinco, Vince Wilfork, Albert Haynesworth, Jerod Mayo, Wes Welker and many others sit out.

NEXT WEEK

The Patriots visit the Tampa Buccaneers on Thursday August 18^th at Raymond James Stadium at 7:30 p.m.  You can catch all the action on the Patriots Preseason Television Network and along the Patriots Radio Network.

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Photo credit: Getty Images

In the last week the New England Patriots have had a flurry of signings.  Among them were Logan Mankins, Matt Light, Albert Haynesworth and Andre Carter.

Over time the numbers that the team doesn’t release end up being made public by either the league or the union.

As we told you yesterday Haynesworth’s deal was restructured.  Scheduled to make $5.4 million this season it is now a $1.5 million base.  Originally we had information that there was no bonus but that isn’t the case.   Haynesworth has play percentage bonuses written in for this season for every snap he is on the field it helps him get more money.  If he plays between 20% and 65% of the defensive snaps for the year he can earn as much as $5.8 million with his base and the bonus.  He will earn roughly $400,000 for each 5% increment of the seasons play percentage.  He is scheduled to make $6.7million in 2012 with an additional $400,000 roster bonus.

Andre Carter’s new deal is one-year for a $4.175 million base with a $500,000 signing bonus and an additional $500,000 in incentives.  Fellow free agent signee Shaun Ellis is also on the books for one year.  His base is $1.5 million with a $750,000 signing bonus and $1.75 million roster bonus.

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Mark Anderson, yet another free agent defensive lineman has a one-year contract for $1 million and a $375,000 signing bonus.  Tackle Matt Light has a one-year deal worth $1 million.  He will also receive a $6 million signing bonus.

All Pro guard Logan Mankins just got a new 6-year contract that will no doubt take to the end of what is a Hall of Fame career in the making.  His contract is for $51 million with $30 of it guaranteed which includes a $20 million signing bonus. 

In addition Mankins will get an additional $250,000 workout bonus for each of the six seasons.   His base salaries including the workout bonuses for the six years are $1.5 million in 2011, $3 million in 2012, $6 million in 2013, $6.5 million in 2014, $7 million is 2015 and $7 million in 2016. 

He is the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL and according to Vince Wilfork’s wife, on her Twitter account worth every penny. She says, “Congrats to Logan whatever $$ he got he sure as hell deserves it great guy, great player!!”

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Patriots owner Robert Kraft met with the media today and spoke on a number of topics including his late wife Myra, Colts center Jeff Saturday and the CBA and new Patriots Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth.

He wore a “MHK” lapel pin as he spoke about his late wife, reflecting on his loss of his partner for 50 years.  Choking back tears he thanked the media for the respect they have shown him and his family in the last few weeks.

“It’s been a different kind of time.  And…our fans have been great.  We have gotten letters and people supporting us from all over the world.  I am committed to read every tweet, email and letter.”

“The reach of my sweetheart is unbelievable.  And I am happy to say as of this moment, the Myra Kraft giving back fund has raised over $3 million, the bulk of which has come from people we don’t know who’ve given $10 and $20 gifts.”

Tomorrow night will be his first Patriots game without his wife.

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On Saturday he was asked what it was like to receive such high praise from a rival.  Kraft revealed he had gotten a personal letter from Colts president Bill Polian thanking him for his work in the labor agreement.  He then waxed poetic on Saturday:

“The NFL and the NFL players and owners are lucky there was a guy like Jeff Saturday in the league.  Players are passing through, but he took the role of a principal and he made every negotiating session.  The reason we don’t have double practices, he put so much time and effort…without Jeff Saturday, there wouldn’t have been a deal.”

Kraft added, “It’s hard to like to center for Peyton Manning, but I really like the guy.”

On Ochocinco: “Well, first of all, gotta love him.  I have people emailing me who would like to host him. I’m not sure I want the responsibility, except someone prominent here in Foxboro has offered to be his host.”

Kraft wouldn’t identify who that might be.

On Haynesworth: “I met with him and I like the guy.  He didn’t come here for the money.  He came here to be part of a team and win, and I think in some ways improve his reputation.  I found him to be genuine and sincere.  Now I hope he gets on the field and does his thing.”

Sounds like the feeling is mutual.

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The New England Patriots signed All-Pro G Logan Mankins to a new six-year contract today terms were undisclosed.

Mankins, who just a week or so ago signed his franchise tender for $10.1 million for 2011, now has a long-term deal in place that will keep him for his career.  He is now the highest paid interior lineman in the NFL.

Mankins a 2005 first round draft pick is a three-time Pro Bowl player and a three-time NFL All-Pro.  He is a huge key in the protection of NFL MVP Tom Brady.

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The New England Patriots announced that recently acquired WR Chad Ochocinco and DT Albert Haynesworth both restructured their contracts.

Ochocinco was scheduled to make $6 million this season and he will now make $1 million in 2011, and $3 million in both 2012 and 2013.  In addition in all three seasons he is to get a prorated $1.5 million roster bonus.

Haynesworth was scheduled to make $5.4 million this season but he restructured it down to a $1.5 million base with no bonus.  He is scheduled to make $6.7million 2012 with a $400,000 roster bonus.  It appears with his potential hit to the cap Haynesworth may only be a one-year project but that remains to be seen.

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