Nance back in the running

Daughter thrilled by chance for honor

Rachel Nance has the 1966 American Football League Most Valuable Player trophy on a pedestal in her New York apartment. There is also an old Boston Patriots helmet nearby.

They are her connection to the father she lost at age 12, and they help her keep his memory alive with pride.

She never saw her father burst through the line of scrimmage for the Patriots, his powerful legs churning, but she felt his impact in other ways - like when the family would be eating at a restaurant near their Milton home, only to be interrupted by a patron looking for Jim Nance's autograph.

No one was turned down, because her dad, a Patriots star from 1965-71, always seemed to have time for everyone.

"I have so much pride for who he is and what he did," she says. "I never got to see him play, but I lived vicariously through those types of moments."

Yet as time passed, and a new generation of Patriots stars emerged, playing with a new logo on their helmet, the scope of Nance's accomplishments seemed to dim.

Rachel, now 28 and working for a publishing company in New York, couldn't help but wonder whether things would be different if her dad were alive. She wondered if anything could be done to ensure that his achievements wouldn't be forgotten. The family had essentially lost contact with the Patriots organization, and couldn't figure out the best way to reestablish connections.

"Once you get detached, it's hard to reconnect," she says. "Him not being around, it's harder to stay in touch."

So one can imagine the emotion that swept over her last Thursday when she opened her e-mail and a friend had relayed word that her father had been voted one of three 2008 finalists for induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame.

There were chills, then tears. Never a day goes by when she doesn't think about her dad, but to know that others had not forgotten him, it was almost too much to handle.

"Very, very emotional," she says. "For it to just kind of come, I'm just so happy for him. I only wish he was here to experience it."

After his standout career as a football player and wrestler at Syracuse, Nance played in 94 games over seven seasons for the Patriots, and his 45 rushing touchdowns remain a franchise record. He churned out 5,323 rushing yards, which ranks second in team history, and authored one of the great individual accomplishments of the AFL era when he totaled 1,458 rushing yards in 1966, earning him MVP honors. No AFL back ever surpassed the mark.

"That season might be the single greatest season of any Patriots running back I've ever seen," said longtime radio play-by-play man Gil Santos, who was a color commentator in 1966 alongside Bob Starr. "He was just unstoppable, a powerhouse fullback who would blast through the line of scrimmage - just so explosive, and at the same time, the nicest guy."

Nance was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles after the 1971 season, but sat out the 1972 season before joining the New York Jets, with whom he had limited production in seven games. He then played two seasons in the World Football League.

Off the field, Nance's life took an unexpected turn when he suffered a stroke and heart attack in 1983. He had overcome paralysis in his left leg and arm, but a more devastating blow came in the early 1990s, when his daughter Nicole, from his first marriage, died following an auto accident. Friends say Nance, who spent as much time with Nicole as possible, never recovered. He died six months later, on June 17, 1992.

Nance joins tight end Ben Coates and center Jon Morris as the finalists for induction into the revitalized Patriots Hall of Fame, which is scheduled to open this fall. For inductions, a panel of sportswriters, former players, and team employees narrows a list of candidates to three, with the final vote going to the fans. Voting, which is held on Patriots.com, began last Thursday and continues through July 4.

Just having her father under consideration has made for an uplifting few days for Rachel Nance. Regardless of whether he earns induction - and the voting figures to be close among three worthy candidates - she plans to donate some of her memorabilia to the team's Hall.

"He is a big part of my life, and football was a huge part of his life, but it was something I felt detached from because I never saw him play," she says. "So I love to hear those stories, to relive them."

Pick 'em: Assessing draft winners and losers

Four teams whose moves we liked in last week's NFL draft, and four clubs whose moves we did not:

Thumbs-up
Cardinals - They were one of the few teams to simply stick in their spot and take the players who fell to them. Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (No. 16) and second-round defensive end Calais Campbell were solid, no-frills picks. One AFC team had Rodgers-Cromartie as the top corner available.

Dolphins - Signing No. 1 pick Jake Long early, landing defensive end Phillip Merling at the top of the second round, and picking up quarterback insurance later in the second (Michigan's Chad Henne) was a solid 1-2-3 combination. Trading a fourth-round pick to Dallas for linebacker Akin Ayodele and tight end Anthony Fasano was a steal.

Giants - Picking at the bottom of each round, second-year general manager Jerry Reese appears to have found keepers for his secondary in safety Kenny Phillips and cornerback/safety Terrell Thomas. Michigan receiver Mario Manningham was worth the risk near the end of Round 3.

Panthers - They mortgaged a 2009 first-round pick to select massive offensive tackle Jeff Otah at No. 19, which could come back to haunt them, but they helped both sides of the ball with Otah, running back Jonathan Stewart (No. 13) in the first round, and defensive back Charles Godfrey and linebacker Dan Connor in the third.

Thumbs-down
Bears - With the chance to address their quarterback situation in the second round - with either Henne or Brian Brohm - they passed in favor of running back Matt Forte. That leaves the underwhelming tandem of Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton atop the quarterback depth chart.

Eagles - Trading out of the No. 19 spot with Carolina, they got quite the haul - a 2009 first-round pick and second- and fourth-rounders in 2008 - but this team needed help now. It's the second straight year the Eagles have traded out of the first round.

Rams - Choosing defensive end Chris Long over Glenn Dorsey at No. 2 is debatable but understandable based on their needs, but they didn't seem to make the most of their other picks at the top of each round - receiver Donnie Avery (Houston), offensive lineman John Greco (Toledo), and cornerback Justin King (Penn State).

Titans - They felt there was too much risk in selecting a receiver in the first round, despite their need to provide Vince Young with some weapons. So they reached for speedy running back Chris Johnson of East Carolina.

Belichick gets passing grade for lecture on leadership at Salem State

Bill Belichick stepped out of the football arena last Wednesday to speak in front of 3,500 guests at Salem State College. His hourlong presentation, called "Success Through Preparation, Teamwork and Leadership," drew cheers throughout the evening inside the Richard H. Rockett Arena.

Wearing a suit and tie, Belichick opened by addressing the students in attendance.

"I think the best advice I can give you based on my experience and all the people I've worked with is follow your heart - do what you love, take a shot at it, and give it a chance to work out," he said.

As an example, Belichick said he never entered coaching because of the money. He also spoke about the importance, as a coach and leader, of being clear about the demands and role of each individual within the team structure. Soon after, he touched on the balance between a team and the individuals within that team.

"I know many have heard the term, 'There is no I in team,' and that is certainly true," he said. "But as it relates to a job, or a team, there is an 'I' in win - and what that stands for is 'individual performance.'

"As much as the team is important - and nobody talks about the team more than the New England Patriots - I think the thing that goes with it that you have to understand is individual performance. If you want to win, everyone has to do their job, and go out there, outperform the competition on the other side of the field."

Belichick urged members of the audience to put their name on a "consistent, dependable performance."

He spoke about leadership and how it comes in different forms. Receiver Troy Brown, for example, is one of the best leaders he's coached despite not being the type of player who will give a pregame speech.

In a twist, Belichick showed the audience footage from practice, illustrating the time that was put into certain areas (e.g. forming a picket fence on punts near the goal line), and then showing how those areas helped win actual games. He also showed a team-building exercise in which offensive linemen and defensive linemen caught punts, earning the entire team a day off from training camp, and thus bringing the players together.

At the end of the session, Belichick took written questions from students, one being, "Who is the most talented athlete you've ever coached in your 34-year NFL career and why?"

"I would have to say Lawrence Taylor," Belichick responded. "I would just say that I probably coached a number of players, a dozen players, with as much talent as Lawrence Taylor that you've probably never heard of, but they just didn't have the desire or the ability to take that talent and transfer it onto the football field.

"They were good individual athletes, but they weren't necessarily good football players, relative to players like Tom Brady or Troy Brown, or players like that who few would say, 'This is the greatest athlete I've ever coached.'

"But Tom Brady is probably the greatest football player I've ever coached."

Etc.

Jaguars in a rush to get better
If the Jacksonville Jaguars are to build on last season's trip to the divisional playoff round, they figure the first key is to slow down AFC South power Indianapolis. So what have the Jaguars done? After signing free agent cornerback Drayton Florence, they traded up 18 spots in the first round of the draft to select pass rusher Derrick Harvey, then doubled up by grabbing another pass rusher, Quentin Groves, in the second round. Coach Jack Del Rio has dismissed the notion that the Jaguars are taking a similar attack-the-quarterback approach as the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, but the actions speak louder than words. The Jaguars know they must get more heat on Peyton Manning (and Tom Brady), so they're loading up. The Jaguars are 1-8 against the Colts and Patriots the last three seasons.

Cost of moving down goes up
Those wondering how the rising salaries for top-10 selections affected trades during last weekend's draft, consider the deals that New England and Baltimore agreed upon based on the old chart that assigns a value to each pick. The Patriots traded the seventh and 164th picks for the 10th and 78th choices. Based on the chart, the seventh pick alone should have equaled the 10th and 78th picks. So the Patriots basically had to throw in a fifth-rounder to sweeten the deal and move down. Meanwhile, the Ravens' trade down didn't come close to netting equal value under the old chart. They traded the eighth pick for the 26th, 71st, 89th, and 125th picks. Based on the old chart, the Ravens gave up 1,400 points and only received 1,127. The moral of the story: Based on the economics of those top picks, teams are willing to take less to trade down.

Deal-makers - and breakers
A few leftover nuggets from the Patriots' draft room, as seen in television footage on Patriots All-Access: 1. The Chiefs called to shop the No. 5 pick, apparently trying to play the Patriots (No. 7) against the Jets (No. 6), but New England didn't take the bait; 2. Coach Bill Belichick felt that if the Patriots did not make the first-round trade with New Orleans - moving down from No. 7 to No. 10 - the Saints would have made a similar deal with the Ravens, who were picking eighth; 3. The Saints called back in an attempt to reacquire the 10th overall pick, offering a 2009 first-round pick and a 2008 second-round pick (40th overall). Director of football research Ernie Adams then stated that the only way the trade would work for New England was if the Saints' 2009 pick was 12th or higher, so the team declined the offer.

For Parcells, Bledsoe is still tops
After making Michigan lineman Jake Long the No. 1 overall draft choice last week, Dolphins executive vice president Bill Parcells reflected on a previous time his team had the top choice, the Patriots in 1993, and set the record straight. "We were deciding between Rick Mirer and Drew Bledsoe and there has since been some publicity over the years that I wanted Rick Mirer," Parcells said. "That is incorrect. One of the main considerations was that Drew was three years younger to start with. We were projecting where he would be at 23 years old, as opposed to Mirer at 26. I think history shows we made the right choice."

Did you know?
The Buccaneers have seven quarterbacks on their active roster: Jeff Garcia, Bruce Gradkowski, Brian Griese, Josh Johnson, Sam Keller, Luke McCown, and Chris Simms. And that doesn't include Jake Plummer, who is still technically property of Tampa Bay.

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.