Patriots To Look At Booker?

The New England Patriots are setting their sights on another former Miami Dolphin, as receiver Marty Booker is scheduled to meet with team officials at Gillette Stadium Tuesday the Boston Globe reported. Much like the Patriots' decision to pursue Wes Welker last year, Booker's success against New England might be a significant factor in the level of interest he's received from Vice President of Player Personnel Scott Pioli and head coach Bill Belichick. In eight games against the Patriots over the last four seasons, the 6-foot-, 210-pound Booker had three 100-yard receiving games. He played a major role in the Dolphins' last two wins against New England - catching eight passes for 103 yards and a touchdown in a 21-0 win Dec. 10, 2006, and seven receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown in a 28-26 victory Jan. 1, 2006. The 31-year-old Booker enters his 10th NFL season in 2008, after playing for the Bears (1999-2003) and Dolphins (2004-2007). He was released by the Dolphins on Feb. 11. Source: Boston Globe

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Belichick Has Been Taping Since 2000

Bill Belichick has been illegally taping opponents' defensive signals since he became the New England Patriots' coach in 2000, according to Sen. Arlen Specter, who said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told him that during a meeting Wednesday. "There was confirmation that there has been taping since 2000, when Coach Belichick took over," Specter said. Specter said Goodell gave him that information during the 1-hour, 40-minute meeting, which was requested by Specter so the commissioner could explain his reasons for destroying the Spygate tapes and notes. "There were a great many questions answered by Commissioner Goodell," Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters after the meeting. "I found a lot of questions unanswerable because of the tapes and notes had been destroyed." Goodell said Belichick told him he believed the taping was legal; Goodell said he did not concur. "He said that's always been his interpretation since he's been the head coach," the commissioner said. "We are going to agree to disagree on the facts." Specter, from Pennsylvania, wants to talk to other league officials about what exactly was taped and which games may have been compromised.

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Samuel Wants BlockBuster Deal

Asante Samuel said "it's gonna take a lot" to keep him a New England Patriot the Boston Globe reported. But the 27-year-old unrestricted free agent cornerback, who has spent his five-year career in New England, added that on a scale of 1 to 10, he'd probably rate his chances of coming back a 10. Samuel had six interceptions during the regular season and has 22 in his career. He's returned three for touchdowns. Samuel made $7.79 million this season after being designated the team's franchise player. "It's gonna take a lot to make me happy and my family happy," said the first-time Pro Bowler after an AFC practice session at Kapolei High Wednesday. "It's no secret I'm looking for a big, huge, blockbuster deal." Source: Boston Globe

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Moss To Be Franchise Taged?

The Patriots have 13 players scheduled for unrestricted free agency, a group headlined by Moss and cornerback Asante Samuel. The Patriots cannot use the tag to retain Samuel, per an agreement between the sides last year. So that leaves Moss as the next likely possibility. The franchise-tag figure for receivers is $7.84 million for one year, which represents the average salary cap charge of the highest-paid five receivers in 2007. If the Patriots place the non-exclusive franchise tag on Moss, it would strongly increase the likelihood of his return to New England in 2008. Other teams could still sign Moss to an offer sheet, but would have to forfeit two first-round draft choices if the offer isn't matched by the Patriots. Because of that steep price, it is unlikely another team would submit an offer sheet to any franchise player. Source: Boston Globe , yahoo sports

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Patriots May Have Taped 2002 Rams Practice

The New England Patriots Saturday denied filming the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI. "The suggestion that the New England Patriots [team stats] recorded the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 is absolutely false," the club said in a statement. "Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue." NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league investigated the claim and found no evidence of wrongdoing. The Boston Herald cited a source Saturday who said a member of the Patriots' video department filmed the Rams' walkthrough the day before the game. It was not known if the coaching staff viewed the tape or if the cameraman was instructed to record it. New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica noted in his Sunday Super Bowl column that Mike Martz told ESPN Saturday that in Super Bowl XXXVI, the St. Louis Rams finally started drawing up red zone plays on the sideline because the New England Patriots kept acting like they knew what was coming. And while they have denied it, the Patriots may have taped a Rams walkthrough before that Super Bowl game.
There is a reason why the Giants moved their training site around this week, and it wasn't because they wanted to see more sites in the desert.

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Patriots Go For The Perfect Season

Despite a shaky Tom Brady, the Patriots were still too much for the banged-up San Diego Chargers, pulling out a 21-12 victory Sunday that sent them back to the NFL title game for the fourth time in seven seasons. "There was history on the line,'' Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "We recognize it, we acknowledge it.'' Brady made several stunningly poor throws that fluttered in the wind, Randy Moss was a non-factor for the second straight game and the highest-scoring team in NFL history sputtered all afternoon. Instead, the Patriots (18-0) relied on Laurence Maroney's spins, cuts and helmet-rattling runs. With injured Chargers star LaDainian Tomlinson reduced to mostly watching in a parka, the Patriots moved on to a Feb. 3 matchup in Glendale, Ariz., against the New York Giants. The Giants beat Green Bay 23-20 in overtime for the NFC championship. New England closed out its regular season by beating the Giants in a 38-35 thriller. Yet for all the Brady Bunch has accomplished -- they're the only team in NFL history to start out with 18 straight victories -- the Patriots are well aware they must win that final game to avoid being relegated to a footnote. "We'll try to elevate our game for one last performance,'' said Brady, MVP in two of the three Super Bowls he's won. AP

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Pats Headed To AFC Championship

Tom Brady set another record and thinks he deserves one more award. The dimple-chinned quarterback with the winning smile took the snap -- after faking as if the ball had gone directly to running back Kevin Faulk -- and threw the go-ahead touchdown pass in the New England Patriots' 31-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night. It was just one of his 26 completions in 28 attempts, an NFL record 92.9 percent for regular-season and playoff games. Tom Brady started the game 16-for-16, a single game postseason record, and finished 26-for-28 to break Phil Simms' record for completion percentage in a playoff game. "I'm looking for my Academy Award on that play," said Brady, already named the MVP and offensive player of the year. "They bit on the run pretty good." Brady caught the snap, jumped with his empty right hand raised high, then shifted the ball from his left hand and threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Wes Welker that gave the Patriots a 21-14 lead six minutes into the third quarter. By the time it was over, they had advanced to the AFC championship game for the second straight year and remained perfect at 17-0, matching the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team to go unbeaten from the first game of the season through the Super Bowl. The old NFL accuracy record was 91.3 percent (21-of-23) set by Vinny Testaverde with Cleveland in 1993. The old playoff record was 88 percent set by Phil Simms in the Super Bowl after the 1986 season. Simms watched Brady best his mark from the broadcast booth. AP

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