He's going full force

In a busy offseason, Morris has been dutifully patriotic

SAMMY MORRISVisited troops overseas

Coach Bill Belichick said if there was a silver lining to the Patriots' failure to qualify for the playoffs, it was that it provided players extra time to rest and recover from another grueling season.

For running back Sammy Morris, the benefits have been a bit different.

The Patriots' leading rusher, who totaled a career-high 727 yards last season, visited troops in Iraq and Kuwait last month and watched the Super Bowl with them. He briefly returned to Massachusetts before traveling to London to help promote the Patriots' game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Oct. 25 at Wembley Stadium.

Starting Sunday, Morris is enrolled in the annual four-day NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program at Harvard.

"Let's just say my time clock is way off," he cracked.

Morris believes the rest can wait. Like many NFL players at this stage of his career - he turns 32 next month, is entering his 10th professional season, and has two years remaining on his contract - he's giving more thought to his post-career plans.

Morris knows he'll be going full force when the Patriots start their offseason program next month, so he figures this is the time to shift into a higher gear on his outside interests, which include a clothing line he started with his wife, Leslie.

"I think that's why this time period ended up being so busy for me," he said. "I'm still going to do some things later on in the offseason, but right now, where I'm not really working out as much, I'm kind of focusing on my life away from football, getting things in order. It's kind of my chance to be able to travel and do other things."

The NFL sponsors a USO Tour to military bases each offseason - Patriots tight end Benjamin Watson was part of it in 2008 - and Morris had interest because "the armed forces have a close place to my heart and my family."

Morris's father, Samuel II, was a staff sergeant in the Air Force and his brother, Brien, is currently a staff sergeant in the Air Force.

Still, Morris was initially hesitant when presented the opportunity by his agent, Mark Slough.

"If it was just a couple of days and watching the Super Bowl, that would have maybe made it easier, but nine days away from your family and being in a high-combat zone, it made it a little more difficult," said Morris, who took the trip only after Leslie signed off on it.

"It ended up being an exciting and memorable experience, and that was a different experience than the soldiers. They're at war. So it was kind of like a balance of emotions and making sure I was aware of what I was saying. It was definitely an eye-opening experience."

As part of the trip, Morris, who has an interest in journalism and photography, filed a blog on NFL.com and took photos. In doing so, he learned firsthand about some of the unexpected hurdles journalists can encounter. Because his Internet connection wasn't working, he filed his first two reports from his BlackBerry.

Morris turned his trip to London into part business venture, part family vacation. Tuesday, he was a featured guest at a "Chalk Talk" session with fans and sponsors that was designed to increase awareness of the NFL.

At one point, he designed his favorite running play utilized by the Patriots, which is called "38 Club," what Morris describes as a "combination of a zone stretch" run. "Then we talked a little bit about the anticipation of the game here in October," he said.

Morris will return just in time to enroll in the workshop at Harvard, which has been popular among active and retired players. Morris is one of 26 active and former players in the Harvard segment of the program, a group that includes 49ers linebacker Takeo Spikes, Patriots teammate Mark LeVoir, and Needham's Steven Hauschka, who just completed his rookie season as a kickoff specialist with the Ravens.

As for his Patriots-specific thoughts, Morris knows things will be different once he returns to Gillette Stadium on a more regular basis. He's taken many of the team's coaching changes in stride.

"We know about the high turnover rate for the players, and sometimes it's easy to overlook that it's the same for coaches as well," he said. "It's part of the game."