Are injured New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel extraordinaire Gisele Bundchen planning on walking down the aisle soon?

Engagement buzz is again being heard about Giselle Bundchen and her injured QB, Tom Brady, but a close friend of the supermodel tells me, ”I don’t think they will even bother getting engaged — and will just slip off and marry quietly. But I think that’s sooner rather than later.”

This means that little John Edward Thomas Moynahan will have two hot mommas in Bridget and Gisele. Lucky kid!

After one of the most bizarre press conferences ever seen in the history of man (unedited video via KPIX here and here), Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis continued to hold court with reporters in the press room.  According to Tim Kawkami of the San Jose Mercury-News he does this after presser and the comments are actually better afterwards.  In Fact Kawkami says he doesn’t ask any questions during the press conference because he gets better answers from Davis afterwards during his BS sessions with the media.

In Kawkami’s blog he has the transcript of the post-press conference, press conference.  In that gathering Davis continued to take shots at former head coach Lane Kiffin saying he conned him and the media, shots at former head coach Mike Shannon going as far as to call him a cheater and that his two Super Bowls were tainted but gave no explanation as to why they are.  He even went on a rant about how the New England Patriots acquired WR Randy Moss and that they tampered with him.

Q: Why did you trade Moss if you knew he was good?

-DAVIS: They didn’t want him.
-Q: They?

-DAVIS: Not the coaches. They were coming in brand new. That was a big thing on their minds.

Plus, you know how many teams turned him down. That guy in Green Bay thought he couldn’t run any more. Even Denver, where they’ll take anybody, turned him down.

But what’s his name knew he could run, he’s a friend of Belichick’s. Mike Lombardi. Mike sold what’s his name, Belichick, on the idea that he could run. They tampered with him. I remember Bob Kraft saying that he had to look him in the eye and all that. They went down and worked him out, he could run. He’s their team, of course, with the quarterback.

Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe recalls Belichick’s comments after they acquired Moss on Draft Day last year:

“It was a situation last night where we talked to the Raiders after the draft. We felt like if we were going to do a pick that was in today’s round that we would need to get that rolling last night and the wheels started spinning pretty fast. Mr. [Al] Davis gave us permission to speak with the player and his representatives so that happened last night,” Belichick said at the time.

“I talked with Randy and he came in this morning and we got that taken care of. His representatives and Scott [Pioli] worked out the negotiations. So we are happy to add him to our roster. I feel like he is a player that gives us a lot of quality, has a lot of experience, is a versatile player, and can do a lot of different things for us on the football field in the passing game. So that was that.”

It’s really sad to see someone lose their mind in most cases but seeing as it’s Al Davis it’s a beautiful thing.  Raiders fans deserve this guy.  He even brought up the Tuck Rule call again saying “it was the undoing of a lot of things”.  Maybe he was referring to former head coach Jon Gruden leaving for Tampa Bay and them hiring BIll Callahan which led to the franchises downfall.  Who knows.  It’s just funny how nearly 7 years later he and his fans still whine about the tuck call but no one remembers the 1976 AFC Divisional game and how Ben Dreith and his crew screwed the Patriots in Oakland when they flagged Ray Hamilton for roughing Kenny Stabler. As they say “Karma’s a bitch” and right now Karma is sticking it pretty good to Crazy Al and company.

Who else can’t wait for when the Patriots visit Oakland on December 14th?

With the team having had their bye week this past Sunday the players were given the weekend off. Everyone was back at Foxboro yesterday morning ready to get to work in preparing for the San Francisco 49ers. I believe because the game is a west coast game that the team is making Friday their travel day instead of the usual travel day of Saturday. I do know this though they are planning to stay on the west coast all week to avoid two cross country trips as they play in San Diego next Sunday night. Sounds like a great plan but Arizona did that last week and got their ass kicked Sunday.

We start where we always do with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s Patriots Monday chat on WEEI.

The team is struggling trying to score touchdowns in the red zone and currently they are 27^th in the league with a 36.4% TD rate. In 11 trips they only have four touchdowns but they also have six field goals giving them points on 10 of 11 red zone opportunities. But we all know the name of the game is touchdowns not field goals.

Former Patriots and Southern Connecticut State University offensive lineman Joe Andruzzi has started his own foundation in tribute to all cancer patients and everyone that has been touched by cancer. The goal of the foundation is to improve all levels of patient care and their needs.

Belichick coached teams are generally pretty good after a bye week going 6-2 in the coach’s time in Foxboro and winning the last five.

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Sixteen athletes, including 6 former NFL players, have agreed to donate their brains to the new Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, a joint program between the Boston University School of Medicine and Sports Legacy Institute after death so they may study the effects of concussions.

Among the athletes who are donating are former New England Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson, former Tennessee Titans tight end Frank Wycheck and former Baltimore Colts safety Bruce Laird, who played his college ball at AIC in Springfield MA. Other athletes include are former U.S. national soccer team player Cindy Parlow, former U.S. Olympic swimmer Jenny Thompson and hockey player Noah Welch, who played last year for the Florida Panthers.

“I’m not being vindictive. I’m not trying to reach up from the grave and get the NFL,” Johnson, a former New England Patriots linebacker, told the New York Times for a story first published Tuesday night on its Web site. “But any doctor who doesn’t connect concussions with long-term effects should be ashamed of themselves.”

The 35-year-old’s neurologist has pointed to Johnson’s multiple concussions between 2002-05 as a cause of his permanent and degenerative problems with memory and depression, the Times reported.

Later this week the center will announce that former NFL player John Grimsley, who played linebacker for the Houston Oilers, was found to have brain damage commonly associated with boxers.

Grimsley died in February at age 45 after he shot himself in the chest in what police ruled an accident. Subsequent analysis of his brain tissue confirmed the presence of neurofibrillary tangles that had already begun to affect Grimsley’s behavior and memory, said Dr. Ann C. McKee, an associate professor of neurology and pathology at the Boston University School of Medicine and a co-director of the new brain-study center.

Former New England Patriots receiver Troy Brown is expected to officially retire tomorrow during a 10 a.m. news conference at Gillette Stadium that was scheduled for “an important announcement” involving the former receiver.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick are expected to speak.

While the mainstream media was pussy footing with it we had this last week.

According to a source from the NFL the New England Patriots have signed free-agent receiver Maurice Price and have placed him on the the 53- man roster.

Price was waived by the Kansas City Chiefs late last week. He also worked out for Seattle and Baltimore, before coming to Foxboro for a tryout Tuesday.

Price, who went to Charleston Southern, is 6’1″, 200 and will add some more size and speed to a receiving corps. He also has some experience on special teams.

The club also released safety Mark Dillard from the practice squad and re-signed OL Ryan Wendell to the  practice squad.

Well where do we start this week after an absolute ass kicking at the hands of the, uh, Miami Dolphins. As I wrote in the game report the only good aspect from a Patriots standpoint was the special teams. The same unit that looked so awful in the preseason has been fantastic in the three games. While Matt Cassel was far from effective this loss can’t be pinned on him as he wasn’t on the field missing tackles of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams and he wasn’t leaving Miami receivers open downfield. The offensive line was pretty pathetic too. So maybe it’s best they have a week off so this can stew a while longer.

Here are the AFC East Standings as of today:

• Buffalo 3-0
• New England 2-1
• NY Jets 1-2
• Miami 1-2

The Bills are 3-0 for the first time since 1992 and the Patriots are not in first place for the first time since Week 6 of the 2003 season.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made his weekly Patriots Monday appearance on WEEI Monday afternoon.

On Monday the team released RB Kyle Eckel. He was inactive for the game against Miami after signing with the team a week earlier. He was signed for what seemed like insurance with Laurence Maroney suffering a shoulder injury and LaMont Jordan having foot issues. Now the team has a slot open on the 53-man roster.

The Patriots need to bury this game much like they did in 2001.

The outcome of the game was surely shocking to a lot of people.

In the blow out rookie QB Kevin O’Connell made his NFL debut playing 8 plays at the end of the game when the result was all but in the books.

Matt Cassel’s play dropped off yesterday in the loss. But some guy named Brady also lost his second NFL pretty handily to the Miami Dolphins as well. After that things turned out okay I guess.

The New England defense was completely fooled and seemed as if they failed to make adjustments or didn’t make the correct one’s.

A look at who is up and who is down after the shellacking by Miami.

Ellis Hobbs set a team record for most return yardage in a game on Sunday. That’s a record that’s probably not a good one because it means you got scored on a lot.

According to the CHB we now live in an alternative universe.

Do you think Matt Cassel would look good in purple? Charlie Walters on the St. Paul Pioneer Press thinks Cassel could be the Vikings QB in 2009.

On this date in Patriots history the team broke ground on Foxboro Stadium in 1970. The stadium opened less than a year later on September 19, 1971 when the New England Patriots beat the Oakland Raiders, 20-6.

Lots of speculation this week on Troy Brown.  Brown has said he will only play for the Patriots.  With that being said there is no spot for Troy Brown, has been no spot for Troy Brown and there will not be a spot for Troy Brown.

So why is all the local media playing the will he or won’t he game when it comes to his retirement?  He has in effect retired, he is inactive and refused at least one offseason contract offer.  You heard it here first Brown is done playing.  And if he doesn’t go into the media he will assuredly end up with some position with in the organization like Andre Tippett did.

Former TE Ben Coates was inducted in the team Hall of Fame Saturday.  He is the thirteenth former Patriot to end up in the Hall at Patriot Place.  In fact all 12 previous inductee’s were re-inducted to celebrate the opening of the new Hall.

In case you missed it the team re-signed TE Tyson DeVree to the practice squad.  He fills the opening created when QB Matt Gutierrez was placed on the 53-man roster.  It seems like almost every year there is one player who constantly is on the signed to the practice squad/get cut cycle for most of the season.  This year DeVree, along with TE Stephen Spach,  may be the guy.  This is DeVree’s 4th time with the club since May and third time since August 19th.

The Dolphins are one of the few teams that have a fight song.  This one is a direct rip off of the old Houston Oilers fight song.  I know the Chargers have one that sounds like the theme to a bad disco movie but I can’t think of or don’t know of any others.  If you know of team with a fight song leave a link to it in the comments or tell me who has one and if you know the name.

Before he became anonymous Matt Cassel was actually famous as one of the “earthquake boys”.

Since 2000, New England is 5-3 in games before the bye week.  In the years they won they went at least as far as the AFC Championship game.  The years they lost they missed the playoffs or lost in the first round.

For the first time in two weeks the Patriots have no one listed as out the day before the game.  That doesn’t mean that can’t change as RB LaMont Jordan (foot) and WR Kelly Washington (ankle) were listed as doubtful. Listed as questionable are RB Laurence Maroney (shoulder) and LB Eric Alexander (calf).  DL Vince Wilfork (back) is listed as probable.  Miami had no one listed on its injury report.

As of 10:30 a.m. Sunday the Patriots are saying Maroney is a game time decision.

as of 11a.m. Mike Reiss says Jordan is unlikely to play.

And to close I give you my tailgating food item of the week, Patriots Steak Tips.

This Week

The New England Patriots host the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA on Sunday at 1 p .m.

The Patriots are 1-0 at the Razor, 1-0 in the division and 2-0 against the AFC. The Dolphins are 0-1 on the road, 0-1 in the division and 0-1 against the AFC.

Here are the rosters for the Dolphins and the Patriots.

Here are the projected starting lineups for the game.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Yahoo! Sports is Patriots -12.5. The over/under is 35.5.

My prediction is Patriots 24, Dolphins, 10.  Give the points and take the under.  I am 0-2 against the spread and 1-1 on calling the over/under in 2008.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 153rd consecutive sellout dating back to the 1994 season opener. The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Tickets to the game, if available, may be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here. Many times tickets are released in the last 48 hours prior to the game.

Getting To The Game

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

Here is the up to date weather forecast for the game from The Weather Channel.

Click for stadium directions, parking information, parking map, specific MBTA train times for this game and a Gillette Stadium seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgaiting America. 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 for good measure here is one of my own.

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 by theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or someone’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 is televising the game regionally and Ian Eagle will do the play-by-play while Solomon Wilcots will handle the game analysis. You can see if you are getting the game and look for your local CBS Station.

Direct TV NFL Sunday Ticket has the game on Channel 707.

For those of you overseas here is some general information on NFL Broadcasts for the 2008 season.

Patriots All-Access airs tonight at 7 p.m. on WCVB TV 5 in Boston. It will also be simulcast on the team website at the same time.  Make sure you check out the Patriots Football Network for information on when you can see Patriots All-Access in your market.

Radio

The Patriots Rock Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBCN-FM 104.1 in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play and former Patriot Gino Cappelletti does the color.

It all starts with Gary Tanguay, Scott Zolak and Andy Gresh and the pregame show at 10 a.m. along the network.

The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours.

If you are outside of the broadcast area of the stations on the Patriots Rock Radio Network you can purchase NFL Field Pass which allows you to listen to any NFL game live. You can also pick which teams broadcasters you want to listen to.

All NFL games are also available on Sirius Satellite Radio. The Patriots Rock Radio Network call is available on Channel 107, the Dolphins Radio Network has a trio of former Dolphins calling the game including former WR Jimmy Cefalo doing play-by-play and fomer Dolphin TE’s Jim Mandich and Joe Rose with analysis.  Their call is available on Channel 127.

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Despite some other published reports today WEEI’s Mike Felger said on the air that New England Patriots great Troy Brown will shortly announce his official retirement from football.  Felger said he recently spoke to Brown and he told him he was done.  He said he had a chance to play this season with the New York Jets and turned down their invitation. 

Brown is a lifetime Patriot.  One of the reasons he possibly wouldn’t sign with New York was out of his loyalty to Bill Belichick and to not cross sides in the Belichick-Eric Mangini fued.  Brown has been in Foxboro longer than anyone currently in place.  He was drafted before Bill Parcells took over, he was drafted before the Patriots adopted the flying Elvi logo.  When you think of the Patriots one of the players you think of is Brown.

Drafted out of Marshall in the 1993 NFL Draft, Brown went on to earn the loyalty and trust of not only Parcells, but Pete Carrol and Belichick in finding his way through 15 NFL seasons. 

Brown holds the team record for most career catches with 557, he is second in yardage with 6,366.  He also has more post season catches and yardage than any other Patriot and played in 20 post season games.  Until last season he owned the single season record most catches with 101 he set in 2001.  He is now second to Wes Welker who caught 112 passes last season.  He also has the third highest single season catch total with 97 catches in 2002 and Brown’s 13 100 yard games rank second on the franchise list second to Stanley Morgan who had 39. 

Now it’s being rumored that he will go to work for Comcast Sports Net New England.  With Brown being so outgoing it’s a natural fit and I’m sure like in football he will follow a path that leads him to success in his new endeavor.

In my mind Troy Brown will be remembered for three things: 

1. Stripping the ball in the 2006 playoff game in San Diego after an interception.
2. Running back a punt against Pittsburgh in the 2001 AFC Championship game.
3. His play on the final drive in Super Bowl XXXVI that led to the Adam Vinatieri field goal.

Brown is a three time Super Bowl champion and an all around team player.  The sad fact of the matter is there was once a day when professional athletics were loaded with guys like Troy Brown.  Now players like him are few and far between. 

Troy Brown will forever be a Patriot.