Practice practice practice

Tim Tebow takes a snap in practice... and Belichick didn't swallow his whistle. So far, so good.

Game time

It's only preseason ... but football is back! Four days till the Pats take the field.

Jacket and tie

Tedy Bruschi was a big fan of the "hat and T-shirt" moments. Those were the games where a championship was on the line. Be it the division, the conference, or the Super Bowl. You win and it's hats and T-shirts for everyone. Those were the games when Bruschi was at his best.

This weekend it was a "jacket and tie" moment as Bruschi (and longtime announcer Gil Santos) was inducted into the Pats' Hall of Fame.

Once again, Bruschi was at his best. Here's the link to the highlights of the ceremony on Patriots.com.

Full tilt

Tom Brady. Rodney Harrison. Willie McGinest. Corey Dillon. Ty Law. Kevin Faulk. Troy Brown. Mike Vrabel. Matt Light. Antoine Smith. Deion Branch. Richard Seymour. They are the names that make up the Patriots' three-titles-in-four-years dynasty.

There's another name that goes on that list. In the minds of many people, it's the name that goes right at the top.

Tedy Bruschi. Or, as it was pronounced on game day at Foxborough and Gillette stadiums, Tedy Bruuuuuuuuuschi! Brady has been the face -- and the hair -- of the franchise for more than a decade now, but Bruschi was the team's heart and soul when it was winning titles.

Bruschi is getting his red jacket today as he enters the Pats' Hall of Fame. The plaza outside the Hall was jammed last year when Brown became the first ring holder to be inducted. It should be overflowing with fans today for the man who may be the most popular Patriot of all time.

He came to the Pats in the '96 draft with Lawyer Milloy and Terry Glenn as part of Bill Parcells's rebuilding project. Along with Drew Bledsoe, Ted Johnson, and Ty Law they formed the young nucleus that helped turn the franchise around. Bruschi was a defensive lineman for Arizona State, tying the NCAA record for sacks with 52. But he was considered too small to play the line in the NFL. So where to play him? That was a problem Parcells had for a while. Bruschi was moved to linebacker but saw little playing time at first because the Pats had Johnson, McGinest, Todd Collins, and veteran Chris Slade. A pretty solid foursome. When he did get into the game he made an impression. Mostly on special teams. I would yell down from Section 311 to "Get Bruschi in there" but I don't think Parcells heard me. But it was clear Parcells was trying to do just that.

In 1997 Bruschi became a starter and quickly developed into a clutch playmaker. He's the kind of player the Pats are in need of the most these days. A guy on defense who can change a game with one play. There are so many Bruschi highlights that it is difficult to pick out just a few, but here are my top 5 Tedy moments in no particular order:

• "They ain't got it!" Second of the great Pats-Colts playoff games. Pats hold a mere 6-0 lead against the high-octane Colt offense in the cold and snow. Manning and the Colts are driving. He hits running back Dominic Rhodes with a pass over the middle and Bruschi arrives a second after the ball does. And he came away with the ball, wrestling it from Rhodes with sheer will. It is the Bruschi moment. He simply out-hustled the other guy. He came to the sideline and raised the ball in the air barking "They're looking for this! They ain't got it! They ain't got it!" The Pats went on to a 20-3 victory, the most dominant performance of the dynasty.
• Let it snow. The other snow game. The one against Miami in the regular season of 2004. It was snowing so hard that as I sat in my car on Route 1 not moving, the guy on the radio announced "If you aren't at the stadium yet you should turn around and go home." Turn around and go home? I've been in traffic for three hours. I'm a mile away. Screw that. I'm glad I didn't take the advice. Bruschi makes the big play of the game, picking off a pass inside the 10 and returning it for a touchdown, sliding on his knees in the snow as he crossed the goal line. That was followed by those who did make it to the game tossing the snow into the air in celebration. Bruschi started tossing snow, too. It looked like winter fireworks.
• Down goes Drew! The sack of Drew Bledsoe in Week 3 of that same season put away a close game as the Pats were driving for their record unbeaten streak. Bruschi sacked old-friend Bledsoe, forcing a fumble, and after nailing Drew to the field, got up and threw the block that let Richard Seymour take the fumble in for a TD and the 31-17 victory. One of my all-time favorite Pats' highlights.
• The comeback. After suffering a stroke just a few days after winning his third Super Bowl, Bruschi comes back to play in a home game in Week 7 against the Bills. Nine months after nearly dying. I always felt that he would play again if he recovered fully. He was in the prime of his career and from my seat in the stands you could see just how much he loved playing the game at the highest level. I can still remember the ovation when he was introduced. It was just one of those great moments that sports can give you. He was on he field for more than 70 plays that game and made 10 tackles. And of course the Pats won.
• Faulk you. The first Super Bowl title. 2002. The underdog Pats pull the upset over the high-powered Rams by playing football the way it was meant to be played. Nasty. Not loud-mouth Ray Lewis style of nasty, but workman-like Tedy Bruschi hit 'em till it hurts style. Early in the game the Rams superstar RB Marshall Faulk (speaking of loud-mouths) takes the ball and heads right toward a gaping hole. Bruschi steps up from his linebacker spot to take on Faulk -- one-on-one. Faulk goes to deke his way to a big play and Bruschi hits him square in the midsection and takes him down. Hard. He gets up and lets out a roar. That set the tone for the rest of the game.

Bruschi is the Terry O'Reilly of the Patriots. Not the fastest. Not the biggest. Not the most skilled. But the hardest worker and the smartest at how the game is played. O'Reilly was the spiritual leader of those great Bruins teams of the late '70s and early '80s. He was and is my favorite Bruin. You could see how much he loved the game and he set a work ethic that everyone else on the team felt driven to match. Bruschi was that guy for the Pats. When Bill Belichick called Bruschi "the perfect player" upon his retirement a few years ago, he could have been talking about O'Reilly. The word is heart. Looking back now, it's no surprise that he was drafted by Parcells. He finished his career as a Belichick guy, but he was a Parcells guy long before anyone knew there would be such a thing as a Belichick guy.

I can understand how football fans across the country hate the Pats. I've got no problem with it. It's how I felt about the Cowboys on the '80s and the Steelers in the '70s. After a while you get sick of seeing the same team at the top. But anyone who doesn't love to watch the way Tedy Bruschi played the game isn't really a football fan. You may have tired of his "Patriot Way" talk (as I have) but he meant it. To him the Patriot Way was all about hustle, effort, and dedication.

We sat in Section 311 in the old stadium, not too far from the top but still with a great view of the game. Our four seats at Gillette are in Section 109 on the 45-yard line behind the Pats bench. About 15 rows back. I wouldn't think there are too many seats with a better view of the game -- and of the bench. One of the best parts of sitting so close has been studying the interaction of the players and their head coach.

It's been fascinating to watch as the defensive players huddled with Belichick on the sideline while Brady and the offense are on the field. Belichick would gather the veteran defensive guys around him, sometimes with a dry-erase board in hand, and start going over what the other team is doing and how to stop it. And the players would soak in every word. Bruschi chief among them. He was like having another coach on the sideline. From the moment he joined the team, Bruschi was a player you just loved to root for.

Like Terry O'Reilly, guys like Tedy Bruschi don't come around all that often.

Return policy

Hundreds of people endured blistering heat to return their Aaron Hernandez jerseys at the Pats' Pro Shop. The Pats gave fans a chance to trade in the jersey of their fallen hero for one of a player that hasn't been charged with a crime -- yet. To be on the safe side I'd have to go with Brady or Vince.

I have just one question... Can I return my Asante Samuel jersey? He killed a Super Bowl title and a perfect season.

There's a catch

Another NFL Draft has come and gone. Another 254 guys a step closer to a pro football career. Of those 254, only a dozen or so are a solid bet to make an impact in the league. The rest? Nobody really knows. Not even the geniuses of Sports Blab Radio.

The Pats had just five picks entering the draft but Belichick turned the team's first rounder into four more picks. Surprisingly -- or not, it is Belichick -- the Pats then used seven of those picks. Go figure.

The needs coming into the draft ... wide receiver, linebacker depth, defensive linemen, defensive backs. The Pats took two wide receivers, two linebackers, a defensive end, a safety, and a corner. Since the Patriots have one of the strongest rosters in the league it won't be easy for any of them to make an impact. But if any of them do, hopefully it will be the wide receivers.

Belichick took Aaron Dobson of Marshall in the second round and then added Josh Boyce of TCU in the fourth. Dobson is 6-3. Boyce is 6-0. Here's what NFL.com had to say about them. Dobson: "I like his size at 210 pounds. His production was good but not elite. I'll tell you what he is: He's raw, but he's got upside. He put on a show at his pro day." Boyce: "Would have gone higher if it wasn't for a foot injury this year. All of a sudden, New England's gotten bigger and physical on the edge. It's more toys for Tom Brady to play with."

Bigger and physical on the edge. That's exactly what the team needs. If Dobson or Boyce can play the Anquan Boldin role that would be a nice offensive toy indeed. And it's offensive toys that the Patriots really need. The perception is that it's the mediocre defense that has been standing in the way of the fourth Lombardi. That's only half true. The much-heralded offense has been just as responsible. Greg Bedard -- formerly of the Globe -- wrote an excellent column before the draft offering that wide receiver is what the team needs most. Bedard is one of the best football writers around and that's why he's headed to SI. No other writer breaks down the game like him. He watches so much film I've often wondered if he has a life. Bedard put the Pats' offensive need simply:

The constant theme in season-ending losses of late has been an inability to put enough points on the board. Dating to the Super Bowl loss to the Giants after the 2007 season, the Patriots have scored 14, 14, 14 (if you take out the garbage-time Deion Branch touchdown late vs. Jets), 17, and 13 points in playoff games that ended their seasons. Complain all you want about the defense, but 14.4 points per game is not good enough in today’s NFL. 

The Patriots have won just two playoff games when scoring fewer than 20 points: 17 vs. the Titans in ’03 and 16 vs. the Raiders in ’01, and the game has changed much since then. The Patriots averaged 20.0, 24.3, and 28.3 points in the three postseasons that ended in Super Bowl victories. The last six Super Bowl champions have averaged 31.0 (Ravens), 25.5 (Giants), 30.3 (Packers), 35.7 (Saints), 28.3 (Steelers), and 21.3 points (Giants). 

The Patriots need to become more dangerous on offense to win the biggest games. Will they roll up countless yards and points in the regular season? Of course, unless their health becomes a huge problem. Belichick, Josh McDaniels, and Tom Brady can pick apart a great majority of defenses. But in the biggest games and against the toughest defenses, they have been shut down. Repeatedly.

A look at the numbers in the Pats' playoff losses says it all. 14 ('07 vs. Giants), 14 ('09 vs. Ravens), 21 ('10 vs. Jets), 17 ('11 vs. Giants), 13 ('12 vs. Ravens). Going into those games it was hard to imagine the Pats' offense being held in check. But each time they were. Injuries to Welker in '09 and Gronk the last two years sure didn't help. Same with too many turnovers, drops, and missed wide open receivers wearing #83. But the biggest problem -- as Bedard says -- is that the offense that is like a fireworks display in the regular season turns into a mere sparkler in the playoffs. That has to change.

And to that end Belichick has -- once again -- remade the weapons around Brady. Out are Welker, Woody, Lloyd, Branch (again), and Stallworth (again). In are the two rookies, Danny Amendola, veterans Donald Jones, Michael Jenkins, and Leon Washington, along with running back LeGarrett Blount who the team picked up in a draft-day trade with Tampa.

Add those guys to the key to the whole thing -- tight ends Gronk, Hernandez, and Ballard -- and hopefully you have an offense that will have as much grit as flash.

That's what you need come playoff time.

More is better

I got in my car and turned on the radio just as the Pats were on the clock with the 29th pick in the first round of the draft last night. The guy on Sports Blab radio didn't sound happy. "The tweets are coming in fast and furious," he said. "People are not happy."

Then the phone calls started. "This is why the Pats don't win Super Bowls anymore," moaned one caller. "Belichick just doesn't know how to use the draft," offered another.

What had Belichick done, I wondered. Not another tight end? Please not another tight end.

Then the Sports Blab voice composed himself enough to recap what had happened. It turned out that Belichick had traded the priceless 29th pick to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the Vikings' second-round pick. And the Vikings' third-round pick. And their fourth-round pick. And their seventh-round pick.

Wait. What? The Patriots -- who the experts constantly reminded us were limited because they had only five picks in this draft -- had traded a late first rounder for four picks? So now the team had eight picks, with two in the second and two in the third. And the Twits were unhappy with that?

Sure, there were some good players available at 29. Safety Matt Elam was a guy I wanted. He went to the Ravens at 32. I would have been excited about wide receiver Justin Hunter who stands 6-4. But it's the NFL draft. Who knows what those guys will do? Nobody. Not even Mel Kiper.

The Patriots are not one player away from winning the Super Bowl. They already have the players they need to win it all. They've shown that the last two years. What they need more than anything is for those players to stay healthy and not make mistakes when it counts. A rookie safety won't change that.

But what the Patriots -- and every team -- needs is a handful of young potential. If you can turn one potential young talent into four potential young talents you have to do that. It's a no-brainer. I'm not even sure how Belichick got the Vikes to agree to it. More Jedi mind tricks from the hooded one. The Pats have the third youngest D in the league. Now Belichick can add to that. The players he gets in the next two days may not make in impact this year but they might in two, three, or five years. That's why the Pats are still one of the top teams in the league year after year. Belichick keeps one eye on the present and one eye on the future. It's what the best teams do.

Belichick obviously felt he wanted to have more picks ... thus getting more shots at the draft pinata. Like many things in life, when it comes to the NFL draft more is better.