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Inside Gillette

September 4, 2007 By 3 Comments

Inside GilletteBy Christopher Price
[email protected]

Mike Bartrum. Kendall Gammon. Dave Binn. Not exactly household names for football fans. But for a young Lonie Paxton, these were his heroes — and not just because Binn once dated Pamela Anderson.

Among special teams players in the NFL, Bartrum, Gammon and Binn are legends as long snappers, men who rose above the relatively obscure world of offensive linemen to redefine the art of special teams. If there’s a Mount Rushmore for long snappers, Paxton believes these faces should be the first three carved in stone.

According to Paxton, what made them great as long snappers was their consistency — they were all able to unfailingly execute a perfect snap, no matter the conditions.

“Those guys were just always consistent, always fast, with a tight spiral,” the 29-year-old Paxton said of the trio, which includes Bartrum, a former Patriots tight end. “They could snap in any type of weather.”

Long snappers have always been an overlooked part of the special teams unit — you only hear about them if they’ve screwed up, failed to successfully execute a snap, missed a block or committed some other sort of football faux pas. But they can often hold the outcome of the game in their hands — according to a recent story in Sports Illustrated, over the last decade, 24 percent of all NFL games were decided by three points or less.

And since he was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Sacramento State in April 2000, no long snapper has had surer hands than the tattooed Paxton. He’s been the long snapper for two of the most memorable field goals in NFL history, and has provided a sense of stability for a special teams unit that has seen plenty of turnover. Since 2000, he’s handled five different starting punters, two different starting kickers and innumerable holders, all without a hiccup.

In the transitory nature of today’s NFL, Paxton, like his heroes, is a monument to consistency.

“With the changes lately, it is a little different,” he said, referring to the recent departure of punter/holder Josh Miller. “But being able to throw a consistent ball, you should be able to put anyone back there and have them catch it in the same spot. That’s something I work on – putting it in the same spot every time.”

Paxton wanted to be a long snapper since the Southern Califonia native started going to Los Angeles Rams games with his father in the 1980s. Their season tickets were near where the long snappers warmed up, and his father pointed something out to him.

“He was always saying to me that the long snapper was just someone who found something he could do better than anyone else, and there’s a position for him on the football team,” Paxton said. “It was one of those things – I just kind of watched him and felt like I could try to help the team.

“It was just something I could do – and no one else on the team could. And I wanted to help the team.”

And a long snapper was born. Paxton served as the long snapper at Centennial High School (in Corona, Calif.) and Sacramento State, but didn’t really expect to play professional football until he got a call from Bill Belichick in April 2000.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t think I was going to play professional football,” said Paxton, who has now played in 109 professional games heading into Sunday’s season opener against the Jets. “It just worked out to where I took the first phone call, and it happened to be the Patriots, so everything happens for a reason.”

Along with former Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri, Paxton has helped cleanly execute 10 game-winning snaps over the course of his career. With the game on the line, Paxton has always done his job successfully. He has been at the center of some of the most memorable events in franchise history, including wins in the epic divisional playoff against the Raiders in the 2001 playoffs, and the win over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.

All the while, he’s always remembered a simple maxim: consistency is everything.

“You have to be consistently accurate — not consistently bad,” he said. “Consistently fast. A slower snap creates a faster punt, so you want to have a faster snap so the punter can take his time.

“You have to be able to block consistently — if you can snap it straight but can’t block, it does nothing for the rush. You have to be a consistent factor on coverage,” he added. “And you have to be able to just stay in the game, because a lot of times you aren’t playing as much and you have to be up on the situation.”

Paxton is currently fifth in seniority in the New England locker room, trailing only Troy Brown, Tedy Bruschi, Kevin Faulk and Tom Brady when it comes to years of service in Foxborough. He’s hoping he’ll be around for a while longer.

“I appreciate and enjoy every second of it,” he said of his run with the Patriots. “There’s been a lot of changes in my little group recently, so that’s a work in progress, trying to get everyone on the same, consistent level to where we don’t have to be a factor in a game and we can continue to do great things.”

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK

1. How the Patriots defend Jerricho Cotchery. The Jets’ No. 2 wide receiver had 16 catches for 291 receiving yards and three touchdowns in three games against New England last season.

2. The Jets’ pass rush. According to the Pro Football Prospectus, New York blitzed more than any team in the league last season — the Jets sacked Tom Brady six times in three games last year.

3. Laurence Maroney. The Patriots running back should enjoy a big day against the Jets, one of the worst teams in the league at stopping the run last season.

4. Jarvis Green and James Sanders. How the likely backups for Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison do Sunday will go a long way in determining how the Patriots start their season.

5. The Patriots’ wide receiving corps. Will Randy Moss play? And will the new faces be on the same page with the quarterback?

STAT OF THE WEEK

4. Including Sunday’s game, the number of times the Patriots have faced the Jets over the last 12 months. In that time, no team has faced New England more.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I will not be satisfied until I’m out there with the boys. That’s what I do. I don’t cut checks. I don’t shine shoes. I don’t tape ankles. I play football. That’s what I came here to do. By me not being able to do what I came here to do, of course it’s going to be frustrating.” —Randy Moss, speaking with reporters Monday about his frustration he’s developed from not playing.

Christopher Price is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the Patriots since 2001 for Boston Metro. He’s served a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Miami Herald. His book “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower” will be released in October by Thomas Dunne Books. He can be reached at [email protected].

Filed Under: Columns Tagged With:

Caldwell Released; Moss Practices

September 3, 2007 By 15 Comments

by Scott Benson
[email protected]

The Patriots today continued to shape their 2007 roster when – in a mild surprise – they released veteran receiver Reche Caldwell after one season with the team.

Mike Reiss first reported the move on his outstanding Reiss’s Pieces, which is all over Gillette Stadium today as the team prepares for its opening game next Sunday in the Meadowlands.

John Tomase, on the Herald’s winning The Point After, countered by breaking the news that Randy Moss took the practice field this afternoon after an absence of more than a month.

It was Moss’s appearance that likely precipitated the release of Caldwell, who in 2006 set career highs in receptions, yardage and touchdowns in his first season with New England. The Patriots may have hestiated to add Caldwell to the list of cuts on Saturday without knowing whether Moss would be ready to go this week, and when the controversial All-Pro returned to the fold this afternoon, it was the end for Reche.

Caldwell, naturally, is the poor soul who signed with New England following the loss of free agent David Givens, and the holdout and subsequent bustout by Deion Branch. As a starter, Caldwell had the best season of his up and down career, and he even formed a degree of chemistry with Tom Brady, who often looked to Caldwell as he tried to re-build the Pats passing game. After an off-season player shuffle that featured at least three name receivers, and the emergence of fellow free agent Jabar Gaffney, he slid to the bottom of the depth chart, and then off it.

The move leaves the Patriots with a free roster spot.  New England still has only three outside linebackers listed, though Adalius Thomas, one of six inside linebackers on the team, is certainly a possibility there.

Moss will presumably be in uniform next Sunday to face the Jets, though it’s awful early in the week. Asante Samuel looks to be on track as well, a presumed opening day starter as he begins his second week back with the team. In other news, Eugene Wilson, Kyle Brady and David Thomas all practiced, according to both of the aforementioned bloggers.

In an odd twist today, the Pats placed fullback Kyle Eckel on their eight-man practice squad. Eckel, as you’ll recall, was the undrafted free agent who became a fan favorite after an impressive camp in 2005. The Pats had no room for him in the end, and he signed with Miami before the Pats could slide him to their practice squad. Cut by Miami this weekend after two seasons in limbo (no games played), Eckel comes full circle. Moral of the story: hang on to those Garrett Mills jerseys, folks. 

The Pats also signed TE Jason Rader to the practice squad. I have absolutely no idea who he is.

Share your thoughts in the Reche Caldwell Memories Book.

Filed Under: News

Labor-ing On

September 3, 2007 By 12 Comments

news.jpgby Scott Benson
[email protected]

The Patriots continued working on their roster yesterday in the wake of two major losses that have left their much anticipated season to begin under unexpected storm clouds.

DE Richard Seymour, the five-time Pro Bowler considered one of the NFL’s best defensive players, was placed on the Reserve/PUP list Saturday as he continues to rehab from off-season knee surgery.

Just a day before the announcement that Seymour will miss the team’s first six games, SS Rodney Harrison became the latest major American sports figure to discredit themselves and their game through the use of performance enhancing drugs. He was suspended by Commissioner Roger Goodell Friday night, and will be lost to the Patriots until early October.

The Patriots yesterday used the roster exemption for Harrison, and another for cornerback Asante Samuel, to re-sign tight end Marcellus Rivers and grab inside linebacker David Herron on waivers from the Minnesota Vikings. The moves bring New England’s roster to 53 players.

According to John Tomase of the Herald, coach Bill Belichick tried to use Herron as a bargaining chip to convince the Vikings to pass on Pats castoff Garrett Mills, but to no avail. Belichick reportedly offered to pass on Herron if the Vikings did the same with Mills, who the Pats wanted to move to their practice squad after cutting him Saturday. Tomase quotes Childress as telling a Minneapolis radio station:

“I said, ‘Well, I’m really interested in your guy, so we’ll have to let our guy slide,’ ” Childress said. “He didn’t really care for that. He was trying to leverage. You always find out who is honest and straightforward.”

What’s not honest and straighforward about a simple business proposition? You do this, and in exchange, I’ll do that? Apparently, in Minnesota that constitutes a crime of some sort, and Boy Scout Childress took to the airwaves to let Twin Cities citizens that he was on the beat.

Childress really should have learned by now not to tangle with Belichick: recent returns (Super Bowl 39, last season’s shellacking in the Metrodome) indicate that he’s overmatched. Maybe he ought to first see if he can master when and how to pull off a two-minute drill before he takes public victory laps around a five-time Super Bowl winner.

Even though they lost out on Mills, a former fourth-round pick, the Patriots went on to stock their practice squad as they prepared to travel to the Meadowlands for next Sunday’s season opener with the New York Jets.

According to Mike Reiss of the Globe, the Pats reached agreements yesterday with offensive lineman Clint Oldenburg, receivers Bam Childress and CJ Jones, linebacker Corey Mays, and defensive lineman Santonio Thomas, leaving just three spots to fill on the eight-man squad.

In our Feature of the Day, Reiss looks at the dependable Jarvis Green, who will play a major role in determining the Patriots early fortunes as he steps in for Seymour.

For other news, as always, check patriotslinks.com.

Happy Labor Day everyone.

Filed Under: News

The Sunday Links – September 2, 2007

September 2, 2007 By 18 Comments

sunday_links.jpgby Scott Benson
[email protected]

So at some point(s) over the last two years, Patriots safety Rodney Harrison obtained and took the banned substance HGH as he tried to come back from a debilitating series of injuries that threatened to end his NFL career.

As prevelant as this issue is in our present day society, you could not have seen this coming.

Harrison, a man who has been all but mythologized by New England fans, broke the rules of the game he hoped to one day officiate. He cheated, and in the end, it doesn’t really matter why. Because either way, he let himself down, and his team, and the game he so clearly lives to play. And now everything he’s accomplished in his 13 seasons will be called into question. An exemplary football life is now stained, and the judgment – in a world that demands it in an instant – will be harsh.

Particularly for Harrison, who came to the Patriots in 2003 as an established NFL star but soon become something somehow bigger. With his fierce playing style and heart-on-his-casted-sleeve emotion, he became simply ‘Rodney’ to many New England fans. The first name alone came to have it’s own meaning: don’t eff with us. Patriots fans have come to see Harrison as a sort of big brother that protects you from getting rolled for your lunch money. There is not a single bully anywhere in the NFL that Patriots fans don’t think will turn tail and run the minute ‘Rodney’ shows on the playground.

And now he’s going to pay for it.

The Insta-pundits will make damn sure of that. They’ll be the first to write off Harrison as a degenerate criminal worthy of our everlasting contempt. They’ll be the first to label his entire career – and everything it touched, even two Lombardi Trophies – a sham.

They’ll be the first to howl about an ineffectual league and filthy teams and players. They’ll be the first to assume everyone is guilty of something, like a gaggle of pathetic, clucking gadflies at a local selectmen’s meeting. They’ll be the first to feign ‘concern’ about ‘integrity’ and ‘accountability’ when all they really want is their daily pound of flesh.

They’ll be the first to mock Harrison’s public apology as ‘weak’ while never admitting that no mea culpa will ever be good enough for them, the New Knights of the Keyboard. They’ll be the first to decry the ‘hypocracy’ of Patriots fans who don’t immediately join them in their modern Coliseum, with thumbs turned decidedly downward.

This postulating will not be limited to just the print and broadcast media. In fact, the harshest and most immediate judgments on Harrison came within minutes of the announcement on Friday night, not from the media, but from fans themselves, on the message boards on which they gather. The ESPN crawl had not completed even one cycle of the news before electronic judges and juries began to hand down their verdicts.

Can reasonable people be disappointed in and discouraged by Harrison, and in fact, the league itself? Certainly. Is it reasonable to wonder if what we’ve seen of the player and his team and the league they play in is real, or simply some shady combination of mad science and elastic ethics? Why wouldn’t it be? This – the unknown – is the most profound consequence of Harrison’s lapse.

So is it reasonable that these issues be discussed, not dismissed? Held up to the light, not obscured by shadows? Without question.

But it’s also reasonable that the story that Harrison told on Friday could be at its core, the truth. That it was only the prospect of his football extinction that led him to embrace desperation and deceit. That perhaps his entire career hasn’t been a steroid-fueled fraud. That perhaps he legitimately earned what he has, as have the vast majority of his teammates and their contemporaries throughout the league.

I think those things ought to be at least considered before being summarily dismissed in an instant. I think Rodney Harrison has earned at least that much, especially here in New England. Earned enough to be spared knee-jerk labels like punk and criminal. Even with his sins, even as he brings upon himself and his team a fate worse than the injuries he sought to overcome, he’s entitled to better than the Microwave Justice of the Insta-pundits.

For more on the Harrison suspension and the Patriots final roster, scan patriotslinks.com. For your turn having the floor, join us in the comments section.

Filed Under: Media

Pats Cut Twenty-One; Seymour Will Miss First Six Weeks

September 1, 2007 By 4 Comments

by Scott Benson
[email protected]

I was going to call this ‘Saturday Night Massacre’ but I thought that might be too much.

The New England Patriots tonight cut twenty-one players, including veterans Vinny Testaverde, Chad Brown, Marcellus Rivers and Dante Wesley, as they got down to the 53-man roster limit before today’s 4:00 PM deadline.

In other manueverings, the Patriots announced that Richard Seymour is on the reserve/PUP list and lost for the first six weeks of the season. Another PUP candidate, tight end David Thomas, was suprisingly moved to the regular roster despite missing the entire pre-season.

The Patriots also released former draft picks Garrett Mills (2006), Clint Oldenburg, Justin Rogers, Corey Hilliard and Mike Elgin (all 2007), along with veteran lineman Gene Mruczkowski. Santonio Thomas and Bam Childress were among the others cut.

Randy Moss was not.

New England’s actual roster count is now 51, with neither Asante Samuel (exemption) or Rodney Harrison (suspension) presently counting against the final roster. It remains to be seen what the Patriots will do with that freedom.

On offense, the Patriots kept six receivers, eight linemen, three tight ends, four running backs and three quarterbacks,

Matt Gutierrez is by far the biggest surprise, as the Patriots clearly decided they would lose him if they kept Testaverde. Gutierrez competed for and won a job in the National Football League in his first training camp, despite not being drafted. A feel good story on a day that sorely needed one.

On defense, the Pats kept six linemen, eight linebackers (just three outside), four cornerbacks (not including Samuel, but including the written-off Tory James) and five safeties. The team naturally kept three specialists, including veteran long snapper Lonie Paxton.

The loss of Seymour was not entirely expected and when combined with last night’s shocking suspension of safety Harrison, the Patriots will open the season without two of its most dominant defensive players. Been a hell of a Labor Day Weekend so far.

Among the cuts, Rivers is a small surprise, not as big as Thomas being ready for action after missing all of August. Mills has never seemed to do enough to make the team. Three draft picks along the offensive line but none that were keepers, as the Pats went with eight, not nine, linemen. Childress, Kelvin Kight and CJ Jones seemed to be coming along but were stuck behind six veteran receivers. Rogers was thought to have a real shot, but in the end the Pats loaded up in other areas (like safety, with both Rashad Baker and Mel Mitchell) leaving just Mike Vrabel, Rosevelt Colvin and second-year player Pierre Woods as outside backers on the final roster. 

The Patriots can create an eight-man practice squad over the next day or two and its believed that players like Mills, Rogers and others will return to fill those spots. But for now, and for as long as they remain practice squaders, they can be signed away by any other team.

For a full run-down of the day’s events, the best place to check is Reiss’s Pieces and The Point After.

Filed Under: News

Busy First Saturday

September 1, 2007 By 8 Comments

logo91by Greg Doyle
[email protected]

Some good games on the first full Saturday of college football. I’m excited to watch a few and get the season rolling. Here we go:

Saturday, September 1st

East Carolina at Virginia Tech (12:00 Noon ESPN): This surely will be an emotional game given the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech. Hopefully the new school year can bring much better times for the troubled university. The game today features many top prospects, especially for the highly rated Hokies. Let’s take a look at some of the main players to watch.

Virginia Tech WR Eddie Royal (#4): Royal is a pure triangle numbers guy at 5’10″ 181 and able to bench press 390 lbs while also reportedly running a 4.22/40. He led Virginia Tech with 497 receiving yards last season and averaged 16.0 yards per catch. He definitely has an NFL future and the Patriots always like to have stretch the field receivers on the roster. Watch him closely.

Virginia Tech WR’s Josh Morgan (#2) and Justin Harper (#81): I lump these two together because they are bigger receivers who split time. Morgan is 6’1″ 219 and has 76 career receptions. Harper is 6’4″ 204 and reportedly runs a 4.36/40. He has 42 career receptions. Virginia Tech is a run-based team, but they like to spread it around when they do pass. It’ll be interesting to watch Morgan and Harper, as well as Royal, to see if there is developmental potential in a NFL offense. They all have obvious talent and skills.

Virginia Tech LT Duane Brown (#76): Former tight end has athleticism to protect blind side and be an NFL left tackle. Second team All-ACC last year. Switching to the left side from right this season.

Virginia Tech MLB Vince Hall (#9): Hall is only 6’0 tall, but plays inside and was a tackling machine with 128 tackles racked up. Has decent size and was first team All-ACC and a team leader. Seems to be a Patriots-type guy and has been extremely productive as a college player.

Virginia Tech LB Xavier Adibi (#11): Productive play maker who also can get out in space and cover backs and tight ends. Has decent quickness and picked off 3 passes last year.

East Carolina RB Chris Johnson (#5): Has over 1,500 career yards and can return kicks too. Not great size at 200 lbs. Can possibly get himself into the draft with a strong senior year in which he displays continued pass catching ability (88 career catches) and kick return ability.

East Carolina C Matt Butler (#68): Good size and has started at both guard and center. Given the Patriots love of versatility, including in their lineman, that gives him a chance. Slotted to play center this year.

East Carolina G Josh Coffman (#76): Another former tight end who was 3rd Team Conference USA last year. Given that the Patriots like athletic guards who can get out in space, Coffman could warrant a look.

East Carolina LB Fred Wilson (#51): Good size at 6’2″ 250 to play the middle. Only played one year of major college football as he is a JUCO transfer. Solid first season, but will need to show athleticism and dominance to have a chance to play on Sundays.

East Carolina CB Travis Williams (#8): Honorable mention Conference USA last season and can return kicks as well. Will need a big senior year.

Georgia Tech at Notre Dame (3:30 PM NBC): A game between two teams that are uncharacteristically out of the Top 25, but they’re not without talent. In Notre Dame’s case, a lot of the talent is young so it won’t be in next year’s draft. But there are some players worth noting and this should be a good game to watch against two teams who have the potential to surprise.

Georgia Tech RB Tashard Choice (#22): A smallish and not particularly flashy running back who somehow produces big numbers. He originally went to Oklahoma before transferring to Georgia Tech rather than sitting behind Adrian Peterson. He isn’t a bruiser, but he is a solid college player. Hasn’t displayed much pass catching ability. Will have to improve his power, catching and blocking to be looked at as a top NFL prospect. But the production in a good conference is hard to ignore (over 1,400 yards rushing last year).

Georgia Tech DE Adamm Oliver (#42): A tall and lanky defensive end who hasn’t shown any coverage ability. Probably would fit as a 4-3 end in the NFL, so not a Patriots prospect. He hasn’t shown overwhelming pass rush ability with only 3.5 sacks last year. Will need a big senior year.

Georgia Tech LB Philip Wheeler (#41): A good college linebacker who is also a good blitzer (9 sacks last year). Only 230 lbs, he’d have to play outside for the Patriots, so will need to display speed and coverage ability, something he hasn’t done yet. But he is a good, smart player and solid tackler, as well as Georgia Tech’s defensive leader.

Georgia Tech CB Avery Roberson (#34): Excellent size (6’2″ 200) and solid tackler. Will have to do better in coverage and only recorded one pass broken up and zero interceptions last year, astoundingly low numbers for a starting cornerback. Still, he does have talent.

Georgia Tech S Jamal Lewis (#4): Probably the best overall player on Georgia Tech’s defense. He was a 1st team All-ACC safety last year and given the Patriots have the aging (and now suspended) Rodney Harrison there, as well as potential free agent and injury-prone Eugene Wilson, Lewis is someone they and we’ll want to keep a close eye on in this game. A very solid prospect.

Georgia Tech K Travis Bell (#87) and P Durant Brooks (#38): Georgia Tech has both All-ACC kickers and both are NFL prospects. Bell is 38-56 for his career in field goals, though disappointingly his best season was his freshman year. Brooks had a 45.5 average as a punter last year and an NCAA best 40.7 net per punt. Will be one of the best punters in the draft.

Notre Dame TE John Carlson (#89): Carlson is really an excellent all-around tight end and given the Patriots traditional interest in tight ends and ties to Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis, he could be a target for them. He is big and tall, but can get down the field and catch passes. Has 60 career catches, including 47 last year when he became a starter. Solid blocker as well. Definitely worth watching.

Notre Dame C John Sullivan (#78): John Sullivan? Sounds like a perfect fit for the Boston area. But seriously, this guy is one of the best centers in the draft. Been a starter for three years and an anchor for some very good offenses. Could get a bit bigger, but he should be a first day prospect. Can also long snap, which is a plus.

Notre Dame LB Joe Brockington (#52): Brockington has been a good player on an under-performing unit the last few years. He is solid, but not much of a play-maker (only 1 sack and tackle for loss). Has talent and smarts, but doesn’t show up much. Needs to have a big senior year and show leadership and play-making ability to be a top prospect. Still, could be the type that the Patriots may look into: a competent special teamer with talent to grow into a full-time position. Surely Weis’ opinion will weigh heavily, so they’ll definitely check him out thoroughly. So should we.

Notre Dame CB Ambrose Wooden (#22): A starter in 2005, he moved to nickel back last year. Projected to start again this year. Looks the part, but like a lot of Notre Dame defenders, just hasn’t made many plays. Hasn’t had an interception in two years.

Notre Dame S Tom Zbikowski (#9): Probably the best player on defense here, he almost entered the draft last year. A professional boxer, Zbikowski is a leader and tough guy who is an excellent tackler, but somewhat suspect in coverage. Has safety size at 6’0″ 210. Came to Notre Dame as a quarterback and he is intelligent. A big senior year will land him in the first round.

Tennessee at California (8PM ABC): One of the top games of the weekend with Tennessee ranked 15th and California 12th in the polls. California will be looking to avenge last year’s 35-18 wipeout at the hands of the Vols. Here are some of the players to watch:

Tennessee QB Erik Ainge (#10): Danny’s nephew completed 67% of his passes last year and had a 19-9 TD-INT ratio. Has great size at 6’6″ 220 and with a big senior year will be one of the most highly touted quarterbacks in the draft.

Tennessee DE’s Xavier Mitchell (#93) and Antonio Reynolds (#89): Two defensive ends who have been somewhat disappointing in their play. Probably don’t fit into the Patriots system. Mitchell has been more productive so far and had 4 sacks and 11 quarterback hurries last year, but some think Reynolds is a smarter, more solid player.

Tennessee S Jonathan Hefney (#33): Active player who makes a lot of tackles and plays very hard. Was a cornerback his freshman year and then moved to safety as a sophomore. That versatility will interest the Patriots, but given his extremely small size (5’9″ 185) it’s hard to see him ever being more than an NFL nickel or dime back.

California WR Lavelle Hawkins (#7): Not as highly touted as California’s junior All-American candidate receiver DeSean Jackson, but a good prospect nonetheless. More of a possession receiver than Jackson, he still averaged over 15 yards per catch. Has good height and good hands. Definitely a prospect and could fit with the Patriots as an outside receiver.

California T Mike Gibson (#53): Replaced Patriots T Ryan O’Callaghan as the Golden Bears starting right tackle last year and earned second team All-Pac 10 honors. A bit small at 290, but can put more weight on a big frame. Was a JUCO player as well, has definite potential and the Patriots had luck finding a player from this program already in O’Callaghan.

Monday September 3rd

Florida State at Clemson (8:00 PM ABC): A rare conference opener for these two ACC teams as they face off in the annual “Bowden Bowl”. Son Tommy, Coach of Clemson, has defeated his father Bobby’s Florida State squad three of the past four years. There are, as always, many good players to watch in this game.

Florida State T Shanon Boatman (#73): This massive right tackle would have to show great athleticism to fit with the Patriots. He hasn’t done so yet and it’s doubtful he will. Probably not what the Pats would be looking for, but some team that wants a powerful, road-grader type at right tackle will be interested. The former JUCO checks in at 6’7″ 324.
 
Florida State WR De’Cody Fagg (#81): Very, very talented, big and strong receiver. Production has just been so-so, but at 6’3″ 218 he really can be a big possession guy, especially in the red zone. Yet he only had 1 TD last year. Needs to show more. Merely being good is disappointing given his talent.

Florida State DE Alex Boston (#98): Had a disappointing career and totaled only 8 tackles last year despite starting 7 games. Awful production, but has talent and size combination you look for. A good senior year could send his stock soaring.

Florida State DT Andre Fluellen (#96): A very good college defensive tackle. I’d see him, at 285 lbs, as more of a 3-4 end candidate with the Patriots. This will be his third year as a starter and has had a good career. Could be a first rounder if he shows continued improvement. Not much of a pass rusher though.

Florida State S Roger Williams (#8): Very prodctive and good-sized safety. Had 67 tackles and 4 INTs last year as a junior. Must become a force and leader this year as a senior if he wants to become one of the top safeties in the draft. Was not highly touted coming out of high school, so he has worked to improve, making himself a starter on roster that already has a lot of talent.

Clemson T Barry Richardson (#79): A huge left tackle who was first team All-ACC, he is an All-American candidate this year. Three year starter who has been very durable. Much more athletic than Boatman, he has a chance to be a very good NFL tackle and high draft pick. The Patriots could be interested, despite their depth on the line.

Clemson LB Nick Watkins (#32): Clemson’s leading tackler last year with 116 tackles. SHowever, he’s smallish and doesn’t make many plays in the backfield or in coverage. Probably doesn’t fit in the Patriots system.

Others to watch: Boston College has an excellent NFL prospect at Quarterback in Matt Ryan (#12). He’ll be on at 3:30 PM Saturday on ABC playing Wake Forest. Georgia running back Kregg Lumpkin (#3) will be looking for a big senior year to send his draft status soaring. The highly touted back out of high school has yet to run for 1,000 yards as a collegian, but this could be his year. He weighs in at 222 lbs with good speed. Catch him at 6:45 PM Saturday against Oklahoma State on ESPN2. For you late-night mavens, watch USC quarterback John David Booty (#10), a Heisman candidate and potential #1 pick, tear apart Idaho on Fox Sports Network at 10:15 PM Saturday night. USC’s Keith Rivers, wearing the fabled #55 for the Trojans, is a linebacker the Patriots could look at as an answer to their outside needs in the 3-4, with Mike Vrabel getting along in years and talking about retirement in recent articles.

Tout your prospects, here.
 

Filed Under: The Draft
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