ASK NICK
Passing thoughts
By Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff | August 15, 2003
Our mailbag will be shorter this week while our fine team at Boston.com works hard to re-design the website to make it more pleasing to our 2.4 million per day readership. Next week we'll be cranking out our usual plethora of responses to the many questions you have about the New England Patriots.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|  |
For now, here are a few random thoughts about the Patriots and just about anything:
The running-back-by-committee heads into Week 2 of the pre-season. The Patriots appeared as though they used Antowain Smith more with the first team in practice than Kevin Faulk. Let's see if that's representative of Saturday night's game. The one thing I'd like to add to the running back topic is this: Don't forget J.R. Redmond. I know, I know. He's been injured through much of his career, and he's never stepped up as a bona fide candidate except for the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. Call it a hunch, a gut feeling or something, I just believe with the running back situation in its current state, it's ripe for a Redmond to all of a sudden rise from his hibernation and make a play for the job. Again, maybe I've watched too many training camps the past eight years. I think he's faster than Smith or Faulk, and I think he's got this confidence inside of him that he can be a star running back if given the opportunity. My good friend Alan Greenberg of the Hartford Courant thinks I've lost my mind. OK, I'll shut up.
Applause for Ian Logue, the head man behind the PatsFans.com website. Ian has done a tremendous job of putting together a first-class fan site that has raised the bar significantly. You can tell Ian is a trained journalist; his ethics show up all over the site. He stays away from the misrepresentation of facts while his writers are not only even-handed, certainly want the Patriots to win and be successful, but knowledgeable on the game of football to where they can be critical. If you haven't seen it, check it out. You'll be very impressed.
I found it unusual, but refreshing that Tom Brady made a plea for more playing time in the pre-season. Brady wanted to play at least a half in the Washington game Saturday night, so he can get a better feel for the offense. Most veteran quarterbacks can't wait for the pre-season to end to insure they've come out of it unscathed. But I certainly understand some of Brady's concerns. In a 26-6 win over the Giants, the defense gave the offense great field position right off the bat and Brady took advantage and hit Troy brown with a 16-yard TD pass. But what Brady wants to do is be able to take the team and drive them down the field. The one down note for the Patriots in the first game is they had to settle for four field goals. That might be getting a little too picky, but you can bet the players heard about it from Charlie Weis and Bill Belichick during the week, because missed opportunities will haunt you in the end. Continued...
