The David who was a Goliath

The Ed Westfall of the New England Patriots retired today.

Wide receiver David Patten reduced the logjam at the position just a bit by deciding he had played his last game. That's good for a young WR like Matthew Slater. But it's a bit of a bummer for a fan. Patten has always been a clutch player. Hopefully Tory Holt will be 2010's David Patten. He's going to have to make some memorable plays to qualify. Patten was the quiet guy who always had a smile on his face and always made the big play. Like Easy Eddie Westfall, you could count on Patten to be there when it mattered.

Most fans will remember Patten's almost identical touchdown catches in both the AFC title game against the Steelers and the Super Bowl against the Rams in 2001. I'm not sure there is a bigger catch in Patriot history than either of those. The images of Patten leaving his feet and coming down with the ball in the corner of the end zone -- twice -- in the biggest games in team history are everlasting. But Patten had many other great moments.

He was everywhere in the Snow Bowl game against the Raiders, catching eight passes for just over 100 yards in conditions that made simply running difficult. I don't know what his yards-after-catch were, but it was probably more than 20 and that's amazing in that weather. Earlier that season he had a game like few other players in the history of the NFL.

The 2-3 Patriots went into Indy in October and put a 38-17 beating on them. It was the game that gave Brady and the team a look at just how good they could be. They lost only two games the rest of the season. In the rout of the Colts, Patten ran the ball in for a 29-yard touchdown, then caught a 91-yard touchdown pass from Brady, and then completed the trifecta by throwing -- throwing -- a 60-yard pass to Troy Brown on the option pass. He ran for a TD, caught a TD, and threw a TD. Few Patriots have had a greater single game.

The accomplishment Patten has that no other player in the history of the league has? Catching a ball while technically being unconscious. The 8-5 and suddenly playoff hopeful Patriots went into Buffalo in December needing to beat the woeful Bills. Instead the Pats found themselves in overtime tied 9-9. It was an ugly game. But David Patten probably doesn't remember it. Late in overtime, the Pats desperate for a score, Brady threw a deep sideline pass to Patten. He caught the ball just as he was hammered by a Bills defender. An unconscious Patten fell to the ground, the ball rolling off his body and onto the field where a Bills player recovered it. It looked like the Pats were going to get stuck with a tie at best. Maybe a loss. But the refs ruled that while the ball was still touching Patten, his unconscious head touched out of bounds, thus making it a dead ball (how appropriate). The Patriots kept the ball, kicked the winning field goal a few plays later, and went on to win the division and move into the playoffs where they won it all. It was one of those moments in that year where you realized the breaks that went against the Patriots for so long were starting to go their way.

Patten is one of the players that made the Patriots such an easy team to root for, such a fun team to root for. He was a true underdog. After a great college career he kicked around doing odds jobs before playing in the Arena Football League. He made enough plays in the AFL to attract attention from the NY Giants. He joined the Patriots in 2001 and made play after play in that improbable season, which was fitting because his was an improbable career. One that he always played with a smile on his face.

Opening act

Terrell Owens signed with the Bengals a few days ago. I didn't give it much thought. T.O. is more show than anything these days. He won't make or break the Bengals. Well, he might indeed break them. The guy is a walking distraction. Just ask every QB he has ever played with. I preferred when he was with Dallas because it added to my dislike for the 'Boys. I have friends who are Cincy fans. I wouldn't wish that on them.

But then I remembered something. The Pats open the season at home against Cincy. The NFL just keeps giving and giving. The T.O. and Ocho show will add another level of entertainment to the week leading up to the opener.

That's what makes the NFL so fun. Ask me who plays outfield for the Seattle Mariners and I would probably give you names of players that haven't been a Mariner in years. Jay Buhner? No clue. But ask me who will be the running back for the Seattle Seahawks and I can tell you it will be Justin Forsett. Each game brings opponents with players you either admire (Drew Brees, Brian Dawkins) or despise (T.O., Shawn Merriman). It makes for great theater.

With Owens and his "Get your popcorn ready" nonsense, the home opener just became a little more interesting. Oh, and Pacman Jones is trying to make a comeback with Cincy. Does that franchise never learn?

Summer camp

The Patriots opened their 2010 training camp in the rain today. Let's hope that's not an omen.

There were plenty of topics on the first day: Shawn Crable's release. Logan Mankins's contract. Bill Belichick's posters. Derrick Burgess's absence. Wes Welker's knee. Tom Brady's hair. Mankins's contract is the biggest issue but the posters and the hair -- not surprisingly -- got their fair share of the time on the air waves. Ah, sports talk radio.

The coach took down pictures from the team's Super Bowl titles that adorned the walls of the halls outside the meeting rooms at Gillette. No more pictures of Tedy or Rodney or Corey. A little message from Belichick to the younger players to do some things to get their pictures up there. I'm keeping my SI Super Bowl covers up on my den wall. Hope the coach doesn't mind.

The other non-issue issue was Brady's mop top. Enough said.

Mankins was reportedly offered a five-year deal back in June that would have made him among the highest paid players at the guard position. Since then he has blasted Robert Kraft and the team for being dishonest, disrespectful, and despicable. Today he didn't show up for camp. It's not officially a holdout. Yet. Mankins is one of the two or three best guards in the NFL. He wants more than the Pats offered him in years and cash. No problem with that. But enough of being disrespected by a $35 million offer. He's a key part of the line. My guess is the Pats sweeten the deal enough to get him in camp before the final preseason game. But maybe the lumberjack just wants out.

Linebacker Shawn Crable most surely did not want out. Me and Mark had high hopes for the 2008 third-round pick. He had all the tools to be to the outside linebacking job what '08 draft mate Mayo is to inside linebacking. Crable had the potential to be a key part of the transition from the Hall of Fame linebacking corp to the next generation. He just couldn't get on the field. He was always injured. This season was clearly his last shot at making it. That shot ended before it ever started.

Derrick Burgess did not show up for camp as expected for a guy that just signed a new one-year contract. Reports are that the 31-year-old linebacker, who joined the team in a trade from Oakland last year and played pretty well, is considering retiring. I guess playing for the Raiders really took a lot out of him.

Wes Welker did show up for camp but did not participate in practice -- mostly due to the wet conditions I'm guessing -- but he was working out. It seems that he has a very good chance of being ready for the start of the season. That would be amazing considering how badly he ripped up his knee in the fall. I'll be getting my Welker jersey soon. He's now the favorite Patriot of many. How can you not root for the guy? The team just has to be very careful he doesn't push himself too hard and reinjure himself.

That is really the most important issue in training camp. Health. Sure, there will be lots of stories about what rookies make the team, who will carry the ball, who will play linebacker -- and of course Brady's contract. But here's hoping there are no headlines like those that are coming out of the Ravens camp. Baltimore CB Dominique Foxworth tore an ACL. He will be out for the season. Rookie defensive tackle Sergio Kindle, who I was hoping the Pats would draft, suffered a fractured skull and will miss at least the rest of camp.

As the Pats continue with two-a-days (I hope to get to Gillette for at least one day of camp), those are the kinds of stories you don't want to read.

J-E-T-S

The NFL Network has been ranking the 32 teams in the league heading into training camp in less than two weeks. The Pats came in at #9. I think that's a fair spot for them. It's the first time in quite a few years that they aren't ranked in the Top 5. They were a 10-6 team that got stomped at home in the playoffs and they still haven't completely addressed their big weakness -- all together now -- the lack of a pass rush. So #9 fits.

A team that did make the Top 5? The New York Jets. They are the hot pick to make the Super Bowl out of the AFC. They came in at #4. (Top 3 haven't been named yet). The Jets the fourth ranked team in the league? With that defense, yes. Just ask Rex Ryan.

The Jets coach talks loudly and carries an even bigger stick. It's an approach that doesn't often work in the world of the NFL. I can't really think of a cocky coach who has had success. John Gruden certainly was cocky and he won a title. But he did it mostly with Tony Dungy's team. Maybe Brian Billick is the closest in attitude to Ryan but even he didn't go around predicting Super Bowl titles in preseason. That's Ryan's style. It's fun to watch. We'll see if it works.

The Jets did make it to the AFC title game last year and that's where much of the expectations for this year were built. But the Jets were a 9-7 team. If it wasn't for the Colts gift wrapping a game for them at the end of the season the Jets wouldn't have made the playoffs. Ask any Jets fan who was paying attention and they will tell you the team lost several games last year that they could have, and should have, won. They had a great running game but often chose to let rookie QB Mark Sanchez pass. They have one the best defenses in the league but often didn't play nearly as aggressively as they talked. The jury on Ryan as head coach is still very much out.

The Jets went 1-3 against the Dolphins and Patriots last year. 1-3. And both teams are at least as good as they were. So the Jets have added some interesting pieces to the roster for their run at the AFC East and ultimate greatness. Veterans LaDainian Tomlinson and Jason Taylor joined the team in a quest for a title before their time runs out. Taylor is a good addition to an already stacked defense. He should create serious problems for the opposing quarterbacks. LT should create serious problems for his own team. Tomlinson is one of the most talented running backs of the past 10 years, but he is always on the verge of a meltdown and when the Jets hit a rough patch -- and they will -- he is the kind of player who makes things worse by sulking and whining. Certainly he could be what Corey Dillon was to the Pats in 2004 and have a great season. But he could just as likely get hurt and be found sitting with his jacket over his head alone at the end of the bench. He can single-handedly drag the morale of a team down. Just ask Phillip Rivers.

If the team plays poorly -- and remember Sanchez threw 12 TDs and 20 picks last year even though I thought he showed he will be a solid starter for years to come -- the pressure will build unreasonably for a 9-7 squad. If the Jets improved on their nine wins and made the playoffs that should be seen as a success and a continued step in the right direction. But Ryan has set the expectations so high that anything less than a Super Bowl will be a failure.

That's the danger of being a loud mouth. You run the risk of someone knocking you around and making you look foolish. Belichick and the Pats have to be looking forward to their chance to do just that. I think the Pats will finish somewhere in the top 10 teams this year. Probably higher than 9th. I expect the Jets to be right behind them.