Belichick, LBs share special bond
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. If you want to understand Bill Belichick, talk to his linebackers.
There's Mike Vrabel, who snarls at questions and is mockingly irascible. To get to know Vrabel is to joust with him. He acts as if he'd rather play every Sunday with no one around.
There's Adalius Thomas, naturally inquisitive with a touch of caution, a guy who answers questions with questions. "What's the angle of this story?" or "What are you trying to get at?" are typical responses to queries.
There's Tedy Bruschi, an overachiever who has crafted a great career mostly on heart (even a damaged one) and brains.
And finally, there's Junior Seau, in his 18th season and practicing like he's 23, who was probably the game's greatest linebacker over a 12-year period.
Check out the sideline on most games and you're practically guaranteed to see Belichick, whose Patriots play host to the San Diego Chargers in the AFC title game Sunday, talking to the group about adjustments and strategy.
"He has the same passion for the game as all of us, and I think he has a really special appreciation for the position," Bruschi said. "Whenever he starts talking about the old days and guys like L.T. (Lawrence Taylor) and Pepper (Johnson) and Harry (Carson), you see a gleam in his eye. He gets excited talking about the position because that's where he started off coaching so many great players."
Said Thomas: "He talks to us all the time because we're like him. We've seen a lot of football, and when he talks to our group, we get it right away. We're going back-and-forth with ideas."
While Belichick said the time he spends with the linebackers is "circumstantial," it's no secret that the coach and his linebackers have a special relationship. He chides that group more than others, and they give it back.
Belichick often pops in videotapes of the great New York Giants group he had as defensive coordinator in the 1980s.
"More than they would like," Belichick said, hiding a grin.
The linebackers roll their eyes at the video sessions.
"With all those Hall of Famers, what coaching did anybody have to do?" Seau said with a wry smile.
There's a little more to the bond than simply kindred spirits, guys who share Belichick's no-frills approach to football. Much of what the Patriots do on defense revolves around the thinking and execution of the linebackers.
While the Patriots have spent significant resources on defensive linemen (Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour and Ty Warren are all former first-round picks), their job is more about brawn. Wilfork has become the best nose tackle in the league because he can hold up traffic and let others around him create havoc. Seymour and Warren are both physically imposing.
That's less the case with the linebackers, although Thomas has a stunning combination of size and speed. The linebackers have the ability to change style at a moment's notice, be it in the week-to-week game plans or in the midst of a contest.
"It's amazing how quickly we can adjust to something on the field, just look at each other and know, maybe say just a few words and be able to do something that's pretty complex," Seau said. "I've never been around a group of guys who know the game like these guys do."
Of course, when that group is disrupted in some significant way, the impact on the team is substantial.
Last season, the Patriots set a franchise record for the fewest points allowed. But by the playoffs, the linebacking corps was a mess. Seau was out with a broken arm, Bruschi and Rosevelt Colvin were playing hurt and Thomas wasn't on the team yet. Undrafted rookie Eric Alexander was playing extensively. Add an injury to safety Rodney Harrison and the result was the Indianapolis Colts being able to throw to its tight ends at will during a 38-34 come-from-behind victory in the AFC title game.
Dallas Clark finished with six catches for 137 yards. Bryan Fletcher had a critical 32-yard reception in the second half against Alexander. Throw in Ben Utecht and the group combined for eight catches for 174 yards, almost exactly half of Peyton Manning's 349 yards passing.
Not surprisingly, the Patriots gave Thomas a reported five-year, $35 million contract, including $20 million in guarantees, last offseason. It's the richest contract the Patriots had given to a player who came from another team, a move similar to what they did in 2003 when they signed Colvin.
The bottom line for Belichick is simple: You have to have linebackers, especially good ones.
Copyright 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Winning 3 in a year isn't easy against one opponent
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Jim Fassel knows the predicament Wade Phillips is going through as the Dallas Cowboys prepare for their NFC semifinal against the New York Giants.
Beating a team three times in a season is a nightmare for a coach.
Fassel's stomach still churns discussing his most pressure-packed game in seven seasons as Giants coach.
It wasn't the Super Bowl against the Ravens in 2001, nor the NFC title game against Minnesota just before that. It came in the NFC semifinal that year against Philadelphia. The Giants had beaten the Eagles twice that season in winning the NFC East and gaining home-field advantage for the playoffs.
"If you get that, you have to take advantage," Fassel said. "We were playing a team we had beaten regularly, had already beaten twice that season, and if we lose at home, that's devastating. You feel like you've wasted a season. We couldn't let it get away."
Seven years later, the Giants (11-5) are in the reverse situation. They are going to Dallas (13-3) trying to avoid the three-game sweep by Phillips and his team.
"I talked to Wade yesterday and I can guarantee you by the tone of his voice he is not taking this thing lightly," said Fassel, now an analyst for CBS Radio Sports/Westwood One.
Former Giants and Cowboys players who have faced the same team three times in a season said the one thing you can rely on is there will be change in that third game.
Offensive linemen Brad Benson and Karl Nelson recall Bill Parcells got very conservative in facing the Washington Redskins a third time for the 1986 NFC championship. That game is best remembered for being played in a vicious wind. New York won 17-0 and went on to capture its first Super Bowl.
Cowboys linebacker Greg Ellis' memories of the 1998 NFC wild-card game against Arizona aren't that great. Dallas beat Arizona twice in the regular season and took the Cardinals lightly.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin thinks of mistakes in his Jaguars' loss to Tennessee in the AFC title game in January 2000, Jacksonville's third straight loss to the Titans that season -- and the Jags' only losses.
Fassel ended up winning his big game 20-10, but it didn't go as planned.
"From a coaching perspective, the first thing you worry about is your team thinking we have their number, and they can't beat us," Fassel said. "You don't have to go overboard, but you have to talk your way through it. Then you worry about the other team and you know they are going to come in (angry)."
Philadelphia also came in with a different defensive game plan. The Giants had taken advantage of their blitzes to make big plays. The Eagles didn't blitz much in the playoffs.
The Giants' offense didn't score, winning on Ron Dixon's kickoff return at the start of the game, Jason Sehorn's interception return and two field goals.
The Cowboys weren't as fortunate the third time around against the Cardinals in 1998. After 38-10 and 35-28 wins with a team that included Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders, Dallas was beaten 20-7.
A first-round draft pick that year, Ellis recalled the Cowboys, who had won Super Bowls in 1992, '93 and '95, didn't think much of the Cardinals.
"I remember after the game Deion said, `Man, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves,"' Ellis said. "He was right. We lost against a team we were better than and we should've won. But they came out and were the better team that day and made less mistakes and won that game. We don't want another repeat of that, obviously."
Benson said playing the Redskins a third time in '86 sent chills up and down his spine; it had nothing to do with the wind and frigid conditions.
"Bill always likes to be analytical about everything and superstitious about everything," Benson said. "That game drove him absolutely nuts. I know it did. Anybody who is superstitious or gambles looks at the odds. In the NFL, unless you have New England playing Miami this year, how many times can you say one team is going to beat another with certainty three times."
Nelson added the chances of repeated success are tougher when the teams are relatively even. That's why Nelson thinks the Giants have a shot on Sunday.
"There are definitely some positives the Giants can take into the game," Nelson said. "The offense is playing well lately and the defense has improved, but I would rather be the team that won two than lost two, still."
Coughlin, who won his first playoff game with the Giants this past weekend, knows a couple of plays can decide a game.
After losing to the Titans 20-19 early in the season and 41-14 in December, Jacksonville had a 14-7 lead over Tennessee late in the first half of the AFC title game in January 2000.
However, a fumble by Reggie Barlow on a punt return led to a Tennessee field goal with 20 seconds left in the half. The second half was all Titans.
"It is just a matter of making the plays when they are there," Coughlin said.
Benson remembers playing against Dexter Manley all season and not allowing a sack.
Just before halftime, the outspoken Manley vowed to sack Phil Simms. Benson bet him $1,000 he wouldn't. Manley lowered the wager to $500.
The Giants threw the ball about twice in the second half and Manley didn't get his sack.
"You didn't throw the ball, that's not fair," Manley said when asked to pay up.
After winning the Super Bowl, Benson and his wife went to Hawaii. The first person they saw getting off the plane was Manley.
"Where's my check," Benson recalled.
"Will you settle for a beer?" Manley responded. "So we went to the bar and had a beer."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Haynesworth, Mawae among 8 Titans sitting out practice
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and center Kevin Mawae sat out a short practice Wednesday with six other Titans.
"I expect everyone to have a chance to practice at some time during the week and play," coach Jeff Fisher said. "The only person who will be close is Gilbert Gardner."
Haynesworth has played the past four games despite a right hamstring that kept him out of three straight games. But he has not practiced since Nov. 30. Mawae sat out Sunday's 10-6 win over the New York Jets because of a sore left calf, the first game he has missed since signing with the Titans.
The Titans signed cornerback Chidi Iwuoma to replace Eric King, who had surgery on his left forearm Monday. Team officials worked him out a few weeks ago and brought him in as a key backup and special teams player.
"We felt like he would be a nice fit as Eric's replacement," Fisher said.
Other Titans who sat out practice included right guard Benji Olson (team decision), running back LenDale White (knee), linebacker David Thornton (right knee), defensive end Antwan Odom (ankle) and Gardner, who hurt his calf in practice two weeks ago.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
White 40 yards from first 1,000-yard season, credits linemen
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee running back LenDale White is entitled to an "I told you so" right about now.
The running back bypassed in 2006 by every team in the NFL once -- even the Titans -- is 40 yards from his first 1,000-yard rushing season. But he isn't taking the opportunity to jab back at his critics or those teams that chose not to draft Reggie Bush's partner at Southern California.
"Not at all," White said. "You know the team that drafted me is the team I'm supposed to play at and where I'm supposed to be at. The other guys that passed up on me, they got to deal with it."
White, who fell all the way to the 45th pick in the second round, has started every game this season for the Titans (8-6). He ranks ninth in the AFC with 960 yards rushing on 265 carries, sharing the work with veteran Chris Brown and rookie Chris Henry.
If he gets to 1,000 yards for the season, it will be the 10th time in 12 seasons the Titans have had a 1,000-yard rusher. Travis Henry, now in Denver, had 1,211 yards for Tennessee last season.
"It's always good when you can get a 1,000-yard rusher, and the fact we rotate running backs means that much more to have at least one guy be that consistent and get a lot of yards," left tackle Michael Roos said.
White, who has had four 100-yard games this season, could get to that mark Sunday against the New York Jets (3-11). Thomas Jones of the Jets has 963 yards rushing himself and is looking for his third straight 1,000-yard season, which would make him the fifth Jets back at that mark.
"LenDale has done a nice job," Jets coach Eric Mangini said. "He's got very good balance, very good strength, excellent vision. And he's tough to deal with because he can cut back, he can bounce out, he can hit it up inside. So it's challenging to defend for the whole defense."
White said reaching 1,000 yards would be a good mark for the offensive line.
"They worked their butts off. They do a good job freeing me up and getting me to the second level. Kevin (Mawae) and those guys should be rewarded for all they do," White said.
White put up big numbers in college, rushing for more than 1,000 yards in each of his last two seasons. He also set a school record with 62 touchdowns rushing in three seasons.
His commitment to football was questioned when he came out after his junior season. He was slowed by a hamstring injury and added some weight. He wound up backing up Travis Henry before facing new questions this offseason about weight and whether he could last a full season.
White said he thinks he's answered those questions, especially from a couple of NFL Network analysts who doubted he could last even nine games, let alone play a whole season.
"I've been healthy. I've played in every game when they've called on me. I've been there when they needed me to do something. I'm there 30 carries a game, two carries a game, whatever it's been. I've been able to be healthy and be out there when the team needed me," White said.
"That's all that matters."
Mawae said 1,000-yard seasons are seen as easy in the NFL with the 16-game schedule.
"Not the way we do it. It hasn't been 20- and 40-yarders down the road. It's been chipping away, 5s and 10s and 3s, and we've worked hard for our yards. Hopefully, LenDale can cross that threshold this weekend, and I think he will," Mawae said.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Shanahan and Kubiak meet in first regular season game when Texans host Broncos
HOUSTON (AP) -- Mike Shanahan likes to see the Houston Texans win.
He wants his protege, coach Gary Kubiak, and his son Kyle Shanahan, a Houston assistant, to succeed.
Of course, those good feelings don't extend to Thursday night, when the Denver Broncos meet the Texans for the first time in a regular season game since Kubiak and Shanahan were hired in Houston.
The Texans and Broncos played a preseason game last season.
"I'm always rooting for Houston because of my relationship with Gary, when we're not playing them," he said. "Obviously, you want to see your son do well."
This week, though, his message to his son will be less supportive than usual.
"I'll probably talk to him the night before the game, wish him some bad luck, and go on," he said.
He might not get that chance because Kyle Shanahan said he won't speak with his father this week out of fear of accidentally spilling Texans secrets.
"I'm not going to talk to him because anything could happen," Kyle Shanahan said. "We talk a lot and when we do we can't help but to talk about football. We both enjoy it and if we just sat and had a conversation where we say we're not going to talk about football, we know it eventually will come up."
Kubiak spent 11 seasons as Mike Shanahan's offensive coordinator before he was hired in by the Texans in 2006. He hired the younger Shanahan as receivers coach and Kyle became the quarterbacks coach this season.
"It's special," Kubiak said. "Across the field from me is going to be my NFL life. That's all I've ever been with and we're trying to do the same thing here. My respect for Mike Shanahan, their organization, (owner) Pat Bowlen, those coaches, those players that I was with for so many years, that will always be there."
Kubiak, who also played for the Broncos, said Mike Shanahan's work ethic is the thing he most admires about the coach, and that he continues to influence him.
"I learned a great deal from him," Kubiak said. "Our program is very much like we ran it in Denver and it will probably be that way as long as I'm able to stick around."
Mike Shanahan has been impressed with Kubiak's work in Houston, and was particularly wowed with the injury-riddled team's 28-14 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday. The Buccaneers lead the NFC South.
"(It) just kind of shows you what type of staff and what type of leadership they have right now because a lot of guys would pack it in after losing as many guys as they have lost," Shanahan said. "You know there's a lot of character on the team. You know Gary is a great leader and has gotten the guys to buy in to what he's doing."
The Texans lead the league with 17 players on injured reserve. Quarterback Matt Schaub, who will miss his second straight game Thursday, hopes to recover from a dislocated shoulder in time to play in one of Houston's final two games.
Backup Sage Rosenfels will fill in for Schaub and work behind a makeshift offensive line that includes Mike Brisiel, who was on the practice squad less than two weeks ago. The Texans could also be without running back Ron Dayne (sore ankle).
If Dayne isn't able to play, the Texans will have to go with undrafted rookie Darius Walker, who made his NFL debut on Sunday. Kubiak isn't sold on Walker's ability to carry the running game and is hopeful Dayne will play.
"I feel better that he got some plays under his belt this week," Kubiak said of Walker. "We'll see. He'll have to make a big improvement this week for us to have a chance to beat this football team."
The Broncos have to be looking forward to facing such an inexperienced offense after forcing 13 turnovers in their last five games.
"That's the No. 1 thing they've done is they started getting a bunch of turnovers," Kubiak said. "They really kind of simplified what they had been doing throughout the year. They've got to be feeling good about what they're doing."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved
Bills place RB Thomas on IR
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK (TICKER) -- The Buffalo Bills on Thursday placed running back Anthony Thomas on injured reserve, ending his season.
The seven-year veteran had been sidelined since suffering a torn calf muscle in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 25.
Thomas rushed for 86 yards on 36 carries and caught 15 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown this season. He had seen an increased workload in recent weeks with starting running back Marshawn Lynch out with a left ankle injury.
The Bills (6-6) hope to have Lynch back in the lineup for Sunday's game against the winless Miami Dolphins (0-12). Fred Jackson, who carried 16 times for 82 yards in Sunday's win at Washington, will make his second straight start if Lynch can't go.
In a corresponding move, the Bills signed linebacker Leon Joe on Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Copyright 2007 PA SportsTicker. All Rights Reserved
'You really shouldn't say, 'This is the next Brett Favre'
It's nice to have heroes. Everyone should.
Growing up in Wisconsin, Tony Romo settled on Brett Favre. Sort of.
All week leading up to Thursday night's NFC matchup, that storyline dominated all the talk about Packers vs. Cowboys. Romo did his level best not to sound in awe of the guy he followed as a kid. Turns out he could have saved himself plenty of worry.
Instead it was Favre who came out throwing like he had something to prove, only to throw two interceptions before getting injured in the second quarter of the Cowboys 37-27 win.
"Personally, I hate that I didn't play all four quarters," Favre said. "We made our fair share of mistakes. They're the best team in the NFC and they proved that today. I don't know that we proved a thing."
Neither did the abbreviated shootout between the two quarterbacks. The best exchange turned out to be a short chat during warmups some 90 minutes before kickoff.
"Exchanging recipes and stuff," Romo recalled afterward. "Guy talk, I dunno. We just talked about hunting or something. I told him the NFL Network was going to have a heart attack if I didn't come over and say, 'Hi.' They were running out of film waiting for it."
As snapshots go, though, this one was worth waiting for. The two men were separated by 11 years, but the resemblance was hard to miss. Favre's unmistakable gunslinger's smile peeked out between gray whiskers; Romo's peered out beneath a backwards-turned baseball cap.
If Favre were choosing a successor, he'd be hard-pressed to find a better one. He said several times he saw a lot of himself in Romo. "He has the same mentality I did. There's never a bad play."
Their learning curves, at least as far as Romo's extends, also bear an uncanny resemblance. So do their stats, and perhaps most important, their ability to inspire confidence in the players around them in tough situations.
Yet for a guy who claimed he was born with a gift to read those tough situations very, very quickly -- "I could see it, and react very fast," is how Romo put it -- he insisted he couldn't see what the fuss was all about.
"You really shouldn't say, 'This is the next Brett Favre,' or anything like that because he's done so much for that team and this league," Romo said earlier in the week.
"He's just on another level. You just go out and play the game as good as you can. If you're trying to be Brett Favre, you're fighting an uphill battle your entire career, believe me."
Funny thing about that, though. Not all of Romo's teammates believed him.
Tight end Jason Witten, whose fourth-quarter performance put the finishing touches on Romo's grand night (four TDs, 300-plus yards passing), turned out to be star witness. He said as impressive as his quarterback's imitation of Favre is on the field, he does an even better impersonation in the locker room. And no one, Witten noted, could get Favre's world-weary shrug, pigeon-toed shuffle and soft drawl letter-perfect without studying the man closely for some time.
"The truth is that he loved him growing up," Witten told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "He's done a good job of understating it and relaxing. He's downplaying it, but that's his hero."
Downplaying it? Romo grew up in football-mad Burlington, Wis., but when the subject came up this week, he insisted he paid more attention to basketball and Michael Jordan's exploits than football and Favre. And even then, Romo claimed he ranked John Elway and Joe Montana ahead of the hometown hero. He recalled watching Green Bay play Denver in the Super Bowl and "rooting for the Broncos. I guess I was something of an outcast in my neighborhood."
He didn't expect that to change after the way he led the beatdown of the Packers.
"I don't think more than four people rooted for me in my hometown," he said. "I don't know, maybe they'll forgive me."
If not, well, there's always Romo's adopted hometown. People in Dallas who wondered whether the kid's head would get too big, too fast can take a deep breath. They worried about Romo's ability to focus while dating starlets, negotiating his contract talks and having to face Favre. He's answered the bell every time.
"I don't know if he's the next 'American Idol,"' Cowboys coach Wade Phillips, "but he played really well."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.
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