The NBCSports.com crew had dinner last night, getting our plan ready for Media Day which I'm about to leave for. Will be tough to blog there for a while, but we will get some good footage and hopefully quotes. Before leaving, I wanted to share some final thoughts from yesterday's action that didn't fit elsewhere.
Ty Warren, who was very relaxed and intelligent, said that James Sanders is the unsung hero of the defense and continues to improve. When I try to think of how the Patriots secondary has held it together this year, I don't think of Sanders fast enough. He's been a huge stabilizing force - the player Eugene Wilson was suppposed to be.
A couple players were asked what sets Bill Belichick apart. They said paying attention to details. Rodney Harrison had a simple, but true reason. Belichick is heavily involved in special teams, offense, and defense. He can teach them all well. Too many coaches are just concerned with one side of the ball.
Many Patriots talked about how much impact Marquise Hill's passing had on bringing them together as a team. Usually this is the type of story the media loves, yet Hill's loss has mostly been ignored. That's probably for two reasons: Hill's death came in the offseason and he wasn't a well-known player. But he was a player clearly loved in the locker room.
Michael Strahan thought Osi Umenyiora's comments about Matt Light being dirty were silly. He said there was no such thing or that everyone was dirty. He said everyone plays to survie, and while everything isn't always legal, it's not malicious.
I give the players a lot of credit for staying composed as 30-50 media members all huddle around them, shouting questions at the same time, while sticking recorders in their face. I've seen it 1,000 times on television, but I didn't realize how unnatural it all was until seeing it live.
Harrison was carrying around Rich Eisen's book, an apparent door prize from being on NFL Network.
Be back after Media Day wraps
Comments
Gregg,
It's the 29th today.
Rich
Posted by: Rich Eisen | January 29, 2008 11:06 AM
Thanks Rich. It's just that Gregg likes to predict the future, like Amazon.com and the Boston Globe...
http://www.amazon.com/19-0-Historic-Championship-Englands-Unbeatable/dp/1600781500/
Posted by: Stephen | January 29, 2008 01:41 PM
Still too long and dull. Also, wtf is NBCsports.com?? Is that like ESPN.com, except without the readership?
Posted by: kolpa | January 29, 2008 02:47 PM
uh oh. i think we got a funny guy.
Posted by: evan | January 29, 2008 05:52 PM