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Pats wrap

Email|Link|Comments (1) Posted by Mike Reiss, Globe Staff January 24, 2008 08:48 PM

Wrapping up today's Patriots coverage with four final nuggets:

1) The Alabama connection. Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas attended the same high school in Alabama as Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck. "I know Justin very well," Thomas said. "[We] grew up together. He went to church down the street from where I went to school. I talked to him this week. They’re calling it the Coosa County Bowl instead of the Super Bowl where we’re from. It’s so funny, though - two guys from the same area, which is a very rural part of Alabama to play in the Super Bowl, so one family will be happy and one family will be kind of sad."

2) Season finale was mini-Super Bowl. Cornerback Ellis Hobbs reflected on the regular-season finale between the Patriots and Giants and drew a parallel to the next 10 days. "Just the whole hype behind the media and the stations televising it -- it just had a lot going into it. It was like a mini-Super Bowl," he said.

3) Vrabel & Belichick. Outside linebacker Mike Vrabel talked about the role that Patriots coach Bill Belichick has played in his career. "He gave me an opportunity to come here," Vrabel said. "He said I won’t ever promise anybody a spot, but there’ll be an opening for you to compete and be an every-down player. And then from 2001 on, my role on the football team has kind of evolved, where the first year I just played first and second down and then the next year I played on third down and did a lot of other things. He’s not really caught up in the guys that are supposed to be good player or allegedly good players. He wants guys that are going to go out there and work, be smart and are dependable and consistent. Those are the kind of guys we have on this football team."

4) Seymour puts trash talk behind him. Defensive lineman Richard Seymour decided he wasn't going to get into a war of words with Chargers center Nick Hardwick, who accused him of headbutting a San Diego coach before the AFC Championship. "I think the people that know me best know that’s something that’s totally bogus," he said, noting that his focus was moving forward to the Giants.