Eagles CB Samuel suggested Patriots DT Wilfork to leave NE

The Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel thought it was time for the New England Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork to leave the Eagles and make some choice that is good for himself and his family.


"I don’t think they care about you, in my opinion," Samuel told the Boston Globe after a Pro Bowl practice. "They didn’t care about me. So do what’s best for you and your family."

Samuel said so because of his own unhappy experience with the Patriots, who tagged him as their franchise player in 2007. But the next year he signed with the Eagles. Being tagged by the Patriots would mean that Wilfork would receive a one-year, $7.003 million deal instead of becoming a free agent after playing six seasons of games in Patriots jersey.

Saying that he would like to stay in New England, Wilfork, however, said that it is better if he could playing in Florida for the Miami Dolphins or Tampa Bay Buccaneers as that would be "a dream come true."

Patriots will have rookie Edelman replace injured Welker

With wide receiver Wes Welker being hurt on the their first possession of Sunday’s 34-27 loss to the Houston Texans, the New England Patriots are very likely to have rookie receiver Julian Edelman play in this Sunday’s playoff against the Baltimore Ravens.


Edelman formerly played quarterback in college and put on Patriots jersey as the 23rd draft pick in the 7th round. He was considered to be similar to Welker, both in height (listed at 6 feet but closer to Welker’s 5-foot-9) and style (catching a short pass then making sharp cuts to avoid defenders), and thus became the No. 1 choice to fill the slot receiver spot left vacant by Welker’s knee injury.

But Edelman lacks experience of playing wide receiver and playoff games. While Welker led the NFL with a team-record 123 catches this season despite missing two games and almost the entire regular-season finale, Edelman totally had 37 catches for 359 yards. However, Coach Bill Belichick believes that playoff experience is irrelevant to the rookie.

Tom Brady returned with injury but did not help Patriots win

When the New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady went off field without taking off his No. 12 Patriots jersey, he meant to return as soon as possible to contribute as much as he could to help the team. However, he failed to save the team and the Patriots still lost Sunday’s game to the Miami Dolphins at 22-21.


The narrow win caused me to guess the Patriots should have won the game only if Brady did not get injury on arm and was able to stay on field for all the time. And it is just hard for any Patriot to accept that the 7-4 team could lose the game to previously 5-6 Dolphins just one week after they were beaten by unbeaten New Orleans Saints.

Brady already had injuries on right shoulder and finger before the game. Those injuries together with the arm injury suffered during game were supposed to be the main reason to explain why Brady threw two interceptions in the last ten minutes, although the quarterback himself did not acknowledge that.

LB Williams found job in Patriots’ practice squad

Thomas Williams, a linebacker picked by the Jacksonville Jaguars in last year’ fifth-round draft out of USC, is not one of the eight players on the roster of the New England Patriots’ practice squad.


The Patriots announce Tuesday that they signed Williams to the practice squad to fill in the spot left by cornerback Kyle Arrington, who was promoted to the 53-man roster over the weekend.

Staying in a team’s practice squad may not be so exciting, but at least it offers chance. Chance is what Williams needs. The 6-foot-1, 237 pounds linebacker did not play much since being picked by the Jaguars, appearing in six games in Jaguars jersey as a rookie and spending much time on the practice squads of Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans after being waived by Jacksonville before the season began.

Patriots LB Thomas may be benched for the second game

The New England Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas is facing the possibility of being benched by Coach Bill Belichick for the second straight game after being surprised by not having chance to play Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.


That is definitely not what he expected when he signed the biggest contract the Patriots ever gave to an unrestricted free agent. Actually, he was poised to play a bigger role in Patriots jersey this year after having two solid seasons with the Ravens while the Patriots lost two veteran linebackers—Mike Vrabel in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tedy Bruschi to retirement.

But Coach Belichick seems not satisfied with the two-time Pro Bowl linebacker’s performance at all. As for this Sunday’s game in London, Belichick has said that he will activate the players that the team feels give the best chance to win, while Thomas had just 12 tackles in the first five games he started this year and only one sack, which came in the season opener.

Patriots signed LB Burgess from Ravens for conditional draft pick

Linebacker Prescott Burgess was traded by the Baltimore Ravens to the New England Patriots for a conditional seventh-round draft pick on Tuesday. I guess it is a good chance for Burgess after he spent last year on the Ravens’ injured reserve with a shoulder injury.


Burgess was picked in the sixth round of the 2007 draft and played eight games as a rookie with the in ravens jersey. However, he injured his shoulder last season and had to stay on injured reserve for the whole season. And before the trade, he had been used by the Ravens on special teams after he returned to team.

The Raven may not lament losing Burgess much for they got a vacant roster spot after the trade and was able to sign tight end Tony Curtis, a three-year veteran who was released by the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this month. At 6-oot-5, 251-pound, Curtis was signed as a rookie free agent by the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 and has played in 36 career games, making 11 catches for 50 yards and three touchdowns since.