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| A Word from The Writer: The Monday Analysis - 4 July 2005 Happy Birthday, America! And welcome back to the Monday Analysis FULL-TIME! Before we preview this week's division, here's the league activity from the Spring. O-T-I-S Retires a Patriot Defensive Back hero Otis Smith signed a one-day contract with the Patriots and promptly retired immediately following. Smith play cornerback twice for the Patriots, first in the early 1990s during the Bill Parcells era and helping the team get to Super Bowl XXXI and then during the Belichick era helping the team get to and win Super Bowl XXXVI. Smith was released after the 2002 season after offseason shoulder surgery, where he then played for Detroit. The Patriots brought Smith back during the 2004 offseason where he was released during training camp. Smith, 39, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent, and exits after 13 seasons with 29 career interceptions, seven touchdowns, and 525 tackles in 180 games. In a statement released through the Patriots, Smith stated, "I wanted to retire as a Patriot because the greatest success of my career came in a Patriots uniform. The thing that I really liked about playing in New England is that the fans always appreciated my talents and what I brought to the table, win or lose. They appreciated the effort more than the actual winning itself." "When I think about Otis Smith, a few things come to mind immediately: his incredible work ethic, the respect he earned as a result of the leadership he brought to the team and his production in some of our biggest games," coach Bill Belichick said in a statement. "Otis helped the Patriots win a championship and he will always be respected and appreciated for that as well as for his professional approach to the job." First Down Troy Brown, Back with Patriots Wide receiver, kick off returner, cornerback Troy Brown is a Patriot - again. After being released for cap reasons two months ago, the Patriots third all-time leading receiver re-signed with the team for a one-year deal. Brown made eye brows raise last season when he started spending half his playing time on defensive as a cornerback during the November 7 game, one week after the Patriots lost Ty Law for the season. Brown counted for three interceptions on defensive, and drew a pass interference call. But Brown insists his family was in on the decision. His 6-year old son helped ease Brown's decision to return to the Patriots “He just said, ‘No daddy, I don’t want you to go anywhere. I want you to play for the Patriots,’” Brown said. Head coach Bill Belichick said in a team statement, “In this era, it is very unusual for a player to remain with one team for as long as Troy’s career as a Patriot. Troy Brown is a special player and person and we are glad to have him back.” Terms for the one-year deal were not disclosed. Seymour Absent from Mini Camps The Patriots opened June mandatory mini camp without Pro Bowl Defensive End Richard Seymour. Seymour's absence is "Unexcused" according to head coach Bill Belichick. Seymour was vocal in the off season about wanting a contract extension with two years left on his contract. If there are negotiations going on, they do not seem to be going well. The Patriots policy dealing with contracts in the past is that there are no extensions with contracts where there is more that a year left on the contract. The policy is obviously not set in stone. Tom Brady had two years left on his contract before receiving an extension in April. Seymour apparently believes he is underpaid from his rookie 6-year deal. Patriots Ring in Another Camp Season The Patriots once again gathered at the home of Patriots owner Robert Kraft
and collected their Nearly everyone from the 2004 team was in attendance, including mini-camp absentee Richard Seymour and hero Tedy Bruschi, both who spoke to the media on their respective situations. "I love everybody. I love my teammates. I love the organization," Seymour said. "Ultimately, like I said, hopefully we can get another ring. That’s my ultimate goal. I want to be the best at what I do and I know the organization wants to be the best at what they do. That’s where we are at this point."
The Ring is the largest Super Bowl ring, blowing away last year's Ring by 40%. It includes 124 diamonds (20 more than last year’s) for a total of 4.94 carats, and weighs 4.06 ounces making it the heaviest Super Bowl ring ever and a quarter ounce heavier than last year’s mammoth piece of jewelry. The ring is said to be worth nearly $24,000. “I thought the first ring was impressive and to do what he did with the second one was quite nice,” linebacker Ted Johnson before receiving his third. “The symbolism in the ring is what I enjoy the most.” The ring is of course filled with symbolism and memories of the 2004
season, includings 21 diamonds The final piece of the 2004 Super Bowl XXXIX championship season comes on Thursday September 9th when the championship banner is raised on prime time television while the Patriots open the season at home against Oakland. Patriots Cuts The Patriots cut QB Chris Redmond (thank God) and OT Lance Nimmo, plus another safety...The Patriots sign safety Antuan Edwards...Defensive Back Ike Charlton was released...OT Victor Leyva was signed to the roster...Rookie Guard Michael Rogers was released...Veteran nose tackle Keith Traylor was released... League Notes The Giants released QB Jim Miller...The Dolphins signed a one-year deal for WR David Boston...The State of Kellon Wilson of Cleveland (Browns await the results of an MRI). Wilslow is out for the 2005 season, and will require ACL surgery. Rehab from such surgery requires 10-12 months. Winslow, the Browns' first overall pick int he 2004 draft has yet to play an NFL down. Winslow injured his knee in a motorcycle accident on May 1....Bill Romanowski has retired (has he???). Certainly it looks like retirement with his upcoming tell-all book detailing performance enhancing supplement intakes and fledging action movie career...The Dolphins resigned Junior Seau. Seau enters his 16th NFL season, his second in Miami...The Bears released defensive back R.W. McQuarters...The Bears signed former Jets kicker Doug Brien and released kicker Paul Edinger...The Bears released defensive back RW McQuarters, who later signed a one-year deal with Detroit. Training Camp Division Talk: The NFC West NFC West 2004 Division Champion: Seattle, Arguably the worst division in the league, with Seattle squeezing into the division title on a misfit 9-7 record and St. Louis challenging as the Wild Card with an 8-8 record in 2004. Ironically, St. Louis played Seattle Wild Card weekend and beat the Seahawks for the third time in 2004, moving on to Philly for the divisional playoffs. Arizona and San Francisco both tripped and fell on their faces during the season, occupying the 25 and 32 spots in the league, respectively. The 49ers, a once storied franchise having won five Super Bowls after being the laughing stock of the NFL, fired head coach Dennis "I have no business coaching in this league" Erickson, and replaced him with Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. Nolan, whose father Dick Nolan coached the 49ers from 1968-1975, is charged with bringing greatest back to the Bay area, now without the Bill Walsh "consulting" distraction. Nolan has the up hill battle of restoring something better than a last place finish. And the Forty-Niners just plain stink. San Francisco is officially rebuilding, for the first time in over 25 years. They started by drafting Alex Smith, a quarterback out of USC as the first overall pick. Smith challenges Tom Rattay for the starting position, and is expected to take the majority of snaps in 2005. Arizona endured several events during 2004. It was the first year with head coach Dennis Green, a new coaching staff, the last season of Emmitt Smith, and it also carried a heavy heart with the death of safety turned Army Ranger Pat Tillman, who was killed in Afghanistan just days before the NFL Draft last April. But this is a new season, and seemingly a new Denny Green, who isn't afraid to get rid of someone - player or coach - if the job is not being done. And to get his offense going he pulled in Kurt Warner out of the free agency market. Arguably, Warner was not much of a sought after commodity for the starting role, but in Arizona, that position is his to lose. Chances are he will start the season behind center, but end the season on the sidelines. Mike Holmgren is entering his final year of the seven year contract in Seattle, and it could be his final year. Holmgren gets a lot of credit for restoring Green Bay to a heavyweight in the 1990's, get them to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances with one trophy, but his time in Seattle has been the opposite. Seattle still does not have a storied quarterback. Matt Hasselbeck is slated to start, but Hasselbeck is a sub-rate quarterback, certainly not in the same league as a Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, or Tom Brady. Seattle has flunked in the draft and free agency, failing to bring in high impact players, and Holmgren has not been able to get the Seahawks deep into the playoffs. Save a short appearance from Jerry Rice in 2004, except for running back Shaun Alexander. Seattle has never had a superstar, not even a minor star, a playmaker who sets the league on fire. But Alexander cannot carry the load himself. He tried in 2004, and it still wasn't enough. That's not to say there are poor players in Seattle, but maybe the execution is all wrong. Certainly Mike Holmgren has yet to produce a squad that scares anyone. It is a similar situation in Arizona, however, Denny Green is only into his second season, but isn't afraid to install his way. The majority of the Arizona roster were players acquired or drafted in 2004 and 2005. Very few of the old Cardinal leftovers wear crimson. The entire coaching staff is Green's choosing. Green is rebuilding the Cardinals in his own image, a recipe that gave him eight winning seasons in Minnesota. But many doubt (including myself) that Kurt Warner can and will have MVP-like performances such as he did years ago in St. Louis. Furthermore, the match up between Warner and his old team twice a year is intriguing. St. Louis is offense heavy, and the defense is weak and pathetic. St Louis brought in heavy veteran defensive studs like Linebackers Chris Claiborne Dexter Coaxley, and defensive end Jay Williams. It remains to be seen whether the overhaul will help get the Rams back to the dominance from the Super Bowl years. But it is a new rivalry, albeit could only last a game or two, and if (or more, when) Warner falters, not at all. The bigger rivalry matchup looks to be Seattle and St. Louis in the NFC West, nothing like the Redskins and the Cowboys, but intriguing football just the same. All four head coaches need to produce this season, and I doubt anyone is safe, save Nolan who might get a pass this year, and possibly Green, as long as the Cardinals seem like contenders for something other than league push over. In Seattle, Mike Holmgren is already on a short leash, having relinquished his general manager duties the year before, and finally getting the Seahawks to a playoff spot. Of course losing at home to the division rival wild card Rams doesn't help, which brings us to the ever crazy and possibly psychotic Mike Martz. Martz has done the decline act since losing Super Bowl XXXVI. He had to toss out Kurt Warner and go with Marc Bulger who continues to struggle. There were injuries in 2004, that no one wants to hear about, not after the 2003 New England Patriots went to and won Super Bowl XXXVIII after going through 48 different starters during the season. With all told, and the need to win now fixed in everyone's mind, the NFC West could prove to be a competitive division, particularly between the teams themselves. One thing the top three NFC West teams have (this excludes the Niners) is some mojo at home. Seattle and Arizona were 5-3, and St. Louis was 6-2. Seattle was best on the road with 4-4. The other three scored records not worth mentioning. The key in the NFC West is not only beating one another, but getting a few more road wins. If one of them can do that, the NFC West might appear stronger in January. Next Week: AFC West Top Ten List of the Week 1. Happy Birthday, America! 2. Now that the Tour de France is, GO LANCE, GO!! 3. One question for Bob Geldoff - Did ya advertise Live8 at in the US? Cause it was barely on TV, and hardly on the radio. 4. I did catch Pink Floyd's performance in London Saturday for Live 8, and for four guys in their sixties, that was stunning. Please tour again! 5. Note to Richard Seymour: By skipping mini camp, you just screwed yourself out of a bigger guaranteed bonus check next year. Nice job. 6. Anyone still surprised to see that Ty Law doesn't have a new home yet? 7. I love the new rings. The best part is that only the Patriots got them. No one else -- ha ha ha. 8. Referring to the NFC West, Seattle has the best chance at the division, while Arizona could be the league's best spoiler. 9. Great for Otis Smith to retire a Patriot. He'll forever be hailed in Patriots Nation. 10. Just a few weeks until training camp! ejh4 July 2005 |
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The Writer
hardware. 
Bruschi
was also asked about his future with the Patriots. "I’m just taking my time
and making sure things are right and just living one day at a time."
surrounding the Patriots logo for the team’s 21 straight victories from 2004
into 2005. 20 diamonds around the upper perimeter of the football-shaped top
represent the active 20-game Gillette Stadium winning streak.