Sibling revelry: Ruuds cheer for each other

With brother Barrett a linebacker for the Buccaneers, Patriots rookie Bo Rudd has a sounding board on life in the NFL. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

Some might see the Patriots' preseason tilt with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tonight as a meaningless exhibition game, a superfluous summer sampler to the NFL season. But for rookie linebacker Bo Ruud and his older brother, Tampa Bay linebacker Barrett Ruud, any moment they're together, even if it's on opposite sidelines of a football field, is meaningful.

The story line is obvious: brothers from Lincoln, Neb., 16 months apart, playing against each other in NFL uniforms. It defies the odds as a feel-good story.

"It's one of those things you always kind of hope for but never expect to happen," said Barrett. "You know how tough it is to make it to the NFL, and to have your brother make it, too. It's a pretty cool thing."

The Ruud family has been on the wrong end of unlikely odds, which is what makes tonight so special. When the siblings suit up at Raymond James Stadium, their father, Tom, who played five seasons in the NFL, will be there, but their mother will not.

A little more than two years ago, Jamie Ruud died during a family vacation in Minnesota. She went to bed and never woke up, the victim of a heart attack at age 52. It defied the odds. Jamie was healthy. She looked 10 years younger than her age and she was a nutritionist who had emphasized to her two boys and daughter Kim, now 21, the importance of eating right and exercising.

The loss of Jamie strengthened the bond between Bo, who will turn 24 Sept. 2, and Barrett, 25.

"It was one of those things. It was so sudden and unexpected that you had no choice but to lean on each other," said Barrett, who at the time was preparing for his second NFL training camp with Tampa Bay. "You never think it's going to happen to you until it actually does.

"It was tough. I had to go to training camp a couple of weeks after it happened. I was a mess. We talked all the time. We just kind of talked about everything else but that."

The Ruud brothers remain in constant contact, even as both slog through NFL training camps.

"We talk almost every day," said Bo, who was taken by the Patriots in the sixth round of April's draft. "We talk about life and all that kind of stuff, but if I need some advice from another guy that's been through a lot [in the NFL], he'll help me. He'll just tell me some of his experiences and what to look for. It really does help a lot."

For the folks back home in Nebraska, it's not surprising that Bo would follow in Barrett's footsteps.

They remember the two playing on youth football and basketball teams growing up. They remember when Bo was the skinny 160-pound blocking back for big, bad Barrett as the two helped propel Lincoln Southeast to a Class A state title in 2000. They remember Bo committing to join Barrett at the University of Nebraska in June 2001, 20 months before he had to make a college decision, making him the earliest recruiting commitment in school history. He redshirted his freshman year, 2003.

But this is the first time the brothers can remember facing each other in organized competition.

Naturally, there is a bit of a sibling rivalry. The 6-foot-2-inch, 241-pound Barrett, a second-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2005, has always been slightly ahead of Bo, who is 6-3, 235.

Barrett won three state titles in high school. Bo, who actually sprouted to become the better high school player, won a pair. Barrett finished his Nebraska career as the Cornhuskers' all-time leading tackler with 432 stops. He started 37 of 50 career games and earned first-team All-America honors in 2004. Bo started 33 of 46 career games at Nebraska and finished with 216 tackles, 22d all time - enough to surpass his father, who had 202 from 1972-74.

Entering his fourth season, Barrett has established himself as an NFL starter at middle linebacker. Last year, he led the Buccaneers in tackles with a career-high 169. Bo is a little bit of a long shot to make the Patriots at inside linebacker, stuck behind first-round pick Jerod Mayo.

"It's just kind of how things worked out," said Bo. "He's definitely an established player who is one of the top middle linebackers in the league, and I'm just a guy fighting right now to make a team. The opportunities are different, but we're really both just happy to get our chances and make the most of it."

There really isn't much Barrett can do to help Bo because the Patriots run a 3-4 defense that is, in Barrett's words, "the complete opposite" of the 4-3 scheme the Buccaneers play.

Barrett said his advice to Bo is more about adapting to NFL life off the field. He'll leave the finer points of football to Bill Belichick and veterans like Tedy Bruschi.

"He went to a team that's well-coached and has a lot of veteran guys that he can learn from," said Barrett. "Just like I had Shelton Quarles and Derrick Brooks, he has Bruschi and [Mike] Vrabel and [Rodney] Harrison. He'll learn from them what to do footballwise."

It's not really Barrett's way to pass down a lot of brotherly advice to Bo, anyway. With them being so close in age, they're more like close friends and confidants than big brother and little brother.

Tom Ruud will be sitting in Barrett's seats for tonight's game, but he'll be rooting for both of his sons, and they'll be doing the same for each other. "He'll be rooting for me to do well and me the same," said Barrett.

Football is important to the Ruud family, but nothing is more important than family. Jamie wouldn't have it any other way.