Sunday links

Mike, I always look forward to reading your Sunday column. I noticed that it is missing this week. Are you taking a break or is there very little news in the nfl ?

Hi Mick. It is on the site, a piece leading off with Irving Fryar.
--Mike

Thank you Mike. Sorry my bad. I looked the date on the main page (05/16/09) and I thought it was yesterday' article.

You estimated that the Pats' cap space was about $4.5 million. Have the new cap numbers changed this?

I'd take Alexander in a second here in NE.

I appreciate Maroney's willingness to play through pain, and yes, a broken shoulder bone is no joke and would certainly limit what you can do out there.

BUT anyone who develops a track record of getting injured regularly--as Maroney has--is still a liability. His toughness is not the issue; it is his proness to injury that is the problem. You can call it just flukes or bad luck or whatever, but any guy who spends more time on IR than on the field is a team liability. If he gets hurt again this year, I say we release him outright and move on...

And all of those three are playing very well.

May we have the next "meaningless" coment from Mike Sando?

Ron, those figures did not account for the new $1m. So it would now be an estimated $5.7m of cap space.
--Mike

Last year I told y'all that Maroney was plaing hurt, not "soft".

Of course he needs to avoid contact if he is playing with a broken bone.

You don't change from a tough runner (last 5 games of 2007) to a wuss overnight.

Long term durability is a concern for him, but not his toughness.

Too bad the Patriots KGB would not allow this information last year to help with the public perception of his image. Oh Well. Them's the breaks, pardon the pun.

Mike, I remeber listening to you on WBCN the day that Maroney was placed on IR. A couple of blowhards on the show (I won't mention names, but I anyone who listens to WBCN's gameday show can easily figure it out) were hacking Maroney to shreds questioning his toughness and desire to play football, despite the nature of the injury not being known. You stuck to your guns in maintaining that you were uncomfortable with the conversation since it was based purely on speculation. This was a prime example of why you maintain a level of credibility that many others lack. Keep up the good work.

Maybe if the Patriots had disclosed the nature of Maroney's injury in an honest manner, fans and 'radio blowhards' wouldn't have had reason to question his toughness.

It goes both ways. Although the lack of injury disclosure is practically zero regarding the Pats, and this leaves the players open to speculation and criticism, we also don't hear about all the injuries they play through, the ones that never make it to the reports. It's pretty safe to say by November everyone is playing injured on one level or another. I suppose fans will always question a player's tolerance to playing injured, but playing with a broken shoulder bone at the RB position should calm the doubters. It's unfair to question anyone's toughness in the NFL, the fact that they strap on a helmet every Sunday makes them tough.

I too recall BCN really getting down on LM. I remember LM's rookie year, our #1 draft pick is taking kickoff/punt returns. At the time I was thinking, this kid has some heart and guts. Never thought he went from tough kid to weenie.

Here's hoping he's healthy and running over people in 09.

Mike - at what point was it no longer necessary to keep the World in the dark about this injury?
Seems like once he was done for the year, it would've been nice to learn what the situation was - rather than having fans, media, etc. speculating & giving the guy a bad stance...when apparently, he should've probably been receiving some pats on the back
I know it's BB's method to share as little info as possible, but at some point it seems enough is enough?