While Tom Brady didn’t play tonight for the Patriots, the Giants actually put Eli Manning on the field for the first drive of the game before removing him for Jared Lorenzen.

Manning did well in his 8 minutes of work going 5 for 8 for 58 yards and leading the Giants on a 16 play 80 yard drive that was capped by a Brandon Jacobs 1 yard scoring run.

The scoring drive a mix of 8 runs and 8 passes ate up 8:13 on the clock and mostly showcased Jacobs, the replacement for Tiki Barber, who ran the ball all 8 times for 22 yards.

Patriots back up quarterback Matt Cassel, got the start in place of Brady and he was able to get the Patriots on the board with :38 seconds left in the quarter when they got a 37 yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski to cut the Giants lead to 7-3.

Starting at their own 49 Cassel had two big completions. One went 24 yards to Bam Childress the other a five-yard out on 3^rd and 7 to Garrett Mills got Gostkowski closer for the attempt.

The first time the Patriots got the ball in the second quarter, they marched 83 yards in 13 plays that was topped off with Heath Evans going in from one yard out and a 10-7 New England lead.

It was a lead the Pats would take to the half.

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This Week

The Patriots host the New York Giants in the preseason finale for both teams at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets

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

Note: As of this posting there are some tickets still available.

Getting To The Game

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

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

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

The Patriots Preseason Television Network will broadcast the game.

It can be seen in Boston on WCVB Channel 5. The game will also be televised live in the following markets: Providence, R.I. on WNAC -TV Ch. 64, Manchester, N.H. on WMUR-TV Ch. 9, Portland, Maine on WMTW-TV Ch. 8 and Springfield, MA. on WWLP-TV Ch. 22.

Veteran CBS broadcaster Don Criqui has the game call, former NFL Pro-Bowler Randy Cross will handle the analysis and Mike Lynch will be the sideline reporter.

Radio

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

It all starts with Gary Tanguay, Scott Zolak and Andy Gresch and the pregame show at 4 p.m. along the network.

For the low down on the Patriots Rock Radio Network and stations in your area.

Last Week

The Patriots won on the road defeating the Carolina Panthers rather handily 24-7, improving to 1-2 in the preseason. The Giants lost to their Meadowlands brethren, the Jets, 20-12 .

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New England Patriots defensive back Asante Samuel reported to camp Monday in Foxboro. Samuel had been holding out since the Patriots tagged him as their franchise player earlier this year. He is the last of the league’s seven franchise players to either agree to a long-term contract or sign the franchise tender.

Samuel will make $7.79 million for the 2007 NFL season; it is still unknown if the Patriots have given the cornerback any assurances on not tagging him as the franchise player next season.

At this point Samuel is only allowed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement to sign the franchise tender. He can not sign a multi-year dear until after the season but in the past teams have negotiated multi-year deals with franchise players that were signed months later.

Samuel’s return most likely means that first round draft pick Brandon Meriweather will most likely move around through the secondary playing a variety of positions.

Belichick declined to comment on whether Samuel would play in the Patriots’ preseason finale Thursday against the visiting New York Giants.

In Friday’s game against Carolina the first nine plays were runs, 7 of them by Laurence Maroney. Maroney finished with 58 yards on 15 carries.

Defensive back Rodney Harrison continues to get into game form. It’s great to see as he is one the guys who brings the swagger to this team.

Place kicker Stephen Gostkowski continues to struggle missing two long field goals this week of 54 and 46 yards wide left. He is just 3 of 6 this preseason also having missed last week against Tennessee from 33 yards in the rain. His preseason long is from 32 yards.

The following players didn’t play on Friday night: Randy Moss, Jabar Gaffney, Kyle Brady, Ty Warren, Mike Wright, Rashad Baker, Larry Anam, Russ Hochstein, Junior Seau and Kevin Faulk. This doesn’t take into account the guys on the PUP list.

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According to several media reports the New England Patriots franchise player, safety Asante Samuel, is close to ending his holdout and reporting to the team. Sources say it could be as soon as next week.

Samuel is expected to sign the $7.79 million franchise tender this week and rejoin his teammates on the Foxboro practice field when it returns to work after playing Carolina tonight.

Samuel is the last of the leagues franchise players to be unsigned as Chicago’s Lance Briggs signed the tender with the Bears last week in exchange for a $1 million signing bonus and a guarantee he won’t be franchised next season.

It appears that the Patriots have given none of those concessions to Samuel.

Samuel intercepted a league high 10 passes last season plus had interception returns for touchdowns against the Jets and Colts in the playoffs while shutting down New York’s Laveranues Coles and Indianapolis’s Marvin Harrison.

Samuel previously stated his intention to sit out until week 10 but apparently leaving nearly $8 million on the table is too much for him to take.

Neither Samuel’s agent nor the Patriots would confirm his impending return.

The Patriots face the Carolina Panthers Friday at 8 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TELEVISION: The game will be televised to a national audience on CBS in High Definition. Greg Gumbel will handle the play-by-play and Dan Dierdorf will provide analysis.

RADIO: The Patriots Rock Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBCN-FM 104.1 in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play and former Patriot Gino Capelleti does the color. I am unclear on if the network will produce the usual pre-game and post game shows for the preseason.

For the low down on the Patriots Rock Radio Network and stations in your area.

Last Week

The Patriots lost their preseason home opener to Tennessee, 27-24 to drop to 0-2. The Panthers lost on the road to the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10.

History

This is the sixth preseason meeting between the two clubs and first since 2004. The teams have played three times in the regular season and once in Super Bowl XXXVIII which the Patriots won, 32-29 on Adam Vinatierri’s field goal with four seconds left. The last time the teams met in 2005 regular season the Panthers won 27-27 at Bank of America Stadium.

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According to reviews from Friday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans Kevin Faulk was Kevin Faulk. Gino Cappelletti and Gil Santos on the Patriots Rock Radio Network raved about him and he was very effective on screens and draws.

Rodney Harrison seems to be playing like the old Harrison and that is nothing but good news for the Patriots. He was all over the place reeking havoc with the Titans offense and had a huge hit on Vince Young.

Tom Brady and his receiving corps still look a little out of sorts but knowing the perfectionist Brady is, that will all be worked out before Week 1. Right now I’d love to see him and Matt Cassel cut down on the picks as each was intercepted twice. There were also some protection issues and the QBs were steadily rushed, hurried, hit and sacked.

If you’ve never really experienced Bill Belichick here is the transcript of his post game press conference after the Tennessee game. He is a master at saying nothing or admitting nothing. We know his dad spent time as a coach at Navy but from the way he interacts with the media you’d have thought that Bill was trained to be a prisoner of war.

Titans head coach Jeff Fischer said the rain and the constant on-going rush made things difficult for Young on Friday night. The Patriots sacked the second year quarterback four times and he went six attempts in-a-row without a completion at one point. Young was also stopped twice at the Patriots 1 yard line when he attempted to run.

“I think it was the weather, the surface, people in his face. The approach the Patriots took defensively, which was a unique approach,” Fisher said Saturday.

“They brought people almost every down from different places. They dropped different people out in coverage. We went in this game with a very basic game plan and did not put ourselves in position to try to take advantage of those things.”

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Patriots defensive lineman Ty Warren was rewarded by the club with a 5-year contract worth a maximum of $35 million of which $18 million is guaranteed.

The Patriots say the new deal replaces the last two seasons of Warren’s rookie contract and extends him through 2011. Warren was scheduled to earn $1.075 million this season and $1.45 million for 2008 under the old contract which was a six-year $20 million contract and included a $3 million signing bonus and $3.25 million option bonus.

Warren, from Texas A&M, was the 13^th player taken in 2003 draft and has played 63 games, starting 51 of them in 4 seasons. In that time he has recorded 291 tackles, 13 ½ sacks, 6 pass deflections, 3 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.

The Patriots now have their front three all signed long-term. Richard Seymour and Vince Wilfork are both signed through 2009.

The Patriots will be on the field tonight when they play the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Kick off is at 8 p.m.

The Patriots host their preseason home opener this Friday night against Vince Young and Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro at 8 p.m. Young is expected to start after missing last weeks game for breaking team rules.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TELEVISION: This week’s game will be broadcast by the Patriots Preseason Television Network.

The game be televised live in the following markets: Boston, MA (WCVB-TV Ch. 5), Providence, R.I. (WNAC-TV Ch. 64), Manchester, N.H. (WMUR-TV Ch. 9), Portland, Maine (WMTW-TV Ch. 8) and Springfield, MA (WWLP-TV Ch. 22)

Veteran broadcaster Don Criqui provides play-by-play, former NFL Pro Bowler Randy Cross handles the analyst duties, while Mike Lynch offers on-field reports from the sideline.

RADIO: The Patriots Rock Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBCN-FM 104.1 in Boston.

Gil Santos handles the play-by-play and former Patriot Gino Capelleti does the color. I am unclear on if the network will produce the usual pre-game and post game shows for the preseason.

For the low down on the Patriots Rock Radio Network and stations in your area make sure you click the link.

Last Week

The Patriots dropped the preseason opener on the road 13-10 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a game winning field goal as time expired. While the Titans lost at home to Washington 14-6.

History

These two clubs last played in Week 16 last season in Tennessee with the Patriots winning 40-23 on New Year’s Eve. The games was marred by chippiness amongst the teams and a season ending knee injury to Patriots emotional leader Rodney Harrison when he was blocked low on what many of the Pats players thought was a dirty hit.

This is the sixth time these franchises have met in the preseason but first since 1988 when the Titans were the Houston Oilers. These two original AFL franchises have played each other 38 times in the regular and post season since 1960. The Patriots hold a 21-16-1 edge over the Titans. They have met 18 times since the AFL-NFL merger and the Pats come out on top with an 11-7 record.

Patriots WR Troy Brown is the only current player to have played against the Houston Oilers.

The Houston Oilers are the only team to ever beat the Patriots in a home playoff game when they beat the Pats 31-14 in an AFC Divisional game in 1978 at Schaeffer Stadium.

Connections

Patriots TE David Thomas and Titans QB Vince Young were four year teammates at the University of Texas. They won the 2006 National Championship by beating USC in the Rose Bowl.

Patriots offensive lineman Russ Hochstein and Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch were four-year teammates at the University of Nebraska from 1997-2000.

Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel spent four years (2001-04) at the University of Southern California while Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow served in the same role with the Trojans.

Titans WR David Givens makes his return to Gillette Stadium where he played with the Patriots for four years (2002-05).

Homeland Defense

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Patriots have been one of the NFL’s best teams at home. New England’s 36-9 (.800) home record in the four-plus years since their state-of-the-art facility opened is tied with the Indianapolis Colts for the best home record over that span, and the Patriots defense has allowed an NFL-low 15.76 points per game at home since 2002.

Notes

The Titans and head coach Jeff Fischer are reportedly close to a contract extension. Fischer is currently the longest tenured head coach in the NFL at 13 years. He started in 1994 when he replaced Jack Pardee as head coach of the then-Houston Oilers. He, along with along with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, are two of the 35 coaches in NFL history with 100+ wins.

There is still no word on Belichick’s contract status. Everyone assumes this is the final year of his current contract based on comments he has made, but the team and the coach both refuse to confirm it. Therefore, even if and when he signs an extension we will most likely never know. If he doesn’t, one day he just won’t be there any longer and we will know an extension was never reached. The CIA could learn things from the Patriots front office.

The Patriots are looking forward to the return of safety Rodney Harrison this season after he suffered yet another season ending injury last year.

Acquired in 2003, Harrison has helped the Patriots to their last two super Bowl Titles and has not only become the go-to guy in the secondary but a respected team leader in the locker room as well.

Harrison has come a very long way since he torn his ACL, MCL and PCL in a game against Pittsburgh in Week 3 of the 2005 season. This is Harrison’s second season back from that devastating injury.

Last year Harrison broke his shoulder in Week 8 against Indianapolis and returned in Week 16 but missed the playoffs with a knee injury he received on a low block during that game against Tennessee.

Since Harrison’s huge pick of Donovan McNabb in Super Bowl XXXIX, he has missed 19 of the Patriots 32 games. He is hoping that this season he returns as the disruptive defender he is known to be.

If he is healthy he gives the Patriots the ability to do many things defensively because in addition to being able to play multiple positions he can blitz, stop the run and cover passes.

The only people unhappy about Harrison’s return are opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators.

At the end of last week the Patriots picked up another veteran defensive back when they acquired Dante Wesley from the Bears for an undisclosed draft pick. The pick is believed to be a late round pick. The Pats decided to grab Wesley after losing Chad Scott for the season with a knee injury and Asante Samuel still holding out.

Wesley, a five-year vet, can play both cornerback, safety and special teams he figures to be a good fit.

Adalius Thomas, who the Patriots signed as a free agent, is busy learning the new system and a new position. Having played in Baltimore, mostly at defensive end and outside linebacker, Thomas is learning to play the inside in New England. With the 6 foot 2 inch Thomas inside, Mike Vrabel as been able to return to the outside, which is more natural for him.

Thomas, who had 28 sacks in the last 3 seasons to lead all of the NFL’s linebackers, is adapting well to life inside he had 3 tackles against Tampa Bay in last weeks pre-season opener.

When most football players take a vacation they go to places like Europe or the Caribbean but you’d most likely find Patriots TE Kyle Brady at a Civil War battlefield. His dad, John a former member of the famed 82^ndAirborne, instilled in Kyle a love of history.

The 6 foot 6 inch 280 pound Brady, is soft spoken and introspective. But he is like a little kid when you ask him about the Civil War.

“It really is a fascinating period of history,” Brady said. “There were so many events – political, social, the military. It’s a really fascinating thing. It can be a little bit of an escape from our daily grind.”

Since his father got him hooked, Kyle has visited most of the major battlefield’s in the eastern theatre and hopes to go to more in Tennessee and near his home in Jacksonville FL.

“These are places of terrible carnage, and what actually happened there when you think about it is amazing,” Brady said. “But at the same time many have been restored, with statues and monuments and the old equipment. When you’re there you can sense what happened. You can just feel the history.”

The Patriots travel to Tampa Bay on Friday night to take on the Buccaneers in their first pre-season game of the year. The team opened camp on July 27^th and now the staff will get to see if the work is starting to pay off. Game time is at 7:30 p.m.

The Patriots have won 5 of seven preseason openers under Bill Belichick and has finished 2-2 in the each of the last two pre-seasons.

This will be the seventh pre-season game between the two teams. The Bucs lead the preseason series 5-1. The last time the teams played in a pre-season game was in 2001 when the Bucs won, 20-3 in Tampa. The teams have also met six times in the regular season and the Pats hold a 4-2 advantage when it counts. The last time was a 28-0 Patriots win in 2005 at Foxboro that clinched the AFC East title.

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