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Jets practice participation & injury report 11/20 11.20.09 at 4:23 pm ET
By Mike Petraglia   |  No Comments

Jets Injury Report
Did Not Participate

LB Vernon Gholston (hamstring) OUT

Limited Participation
S Jim Leonhard (thumb) Questionable

Full Participation
WR Brad Smith (quadricep) Probable
DE Shaun Ellis (knee) Probable
LB Bryan Thomas (toe) Probable

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Patriots practice participation & injury report 11/20 11.20.09 at 4:11 pm ET
By Mike Petraglia   |  No Comments

Patriots Injury Report
Did Not Participate

RB Fred Taylor (ankle) OUT
G Stephen Neal (head) Questionable
LB Rob Ninkovich (knee) Questionable

Limited Participation
LB Tully Banta-Cain (groin) Questionable
DE Jarvis Green (knee) Questionable
WR Sam Aiken (hip) Questionable
LB Eric Alexander (groin) Questionable
TE Chris Baker (shoulder) Questionable
NT Ron Brace (ankle) Questionable
WR Julian Edelman (forearm) Questionable
C Dan Koppen (knee) Questionable
T Matt Might (knee) Questionable
RB Sammy Morris (knee) Questionable
DE Ty Warren (ankle) Questionable

Full Participation
QB Tom Brady (right shoulder) Probable
CB Shawn Springs (knee) Probable
TE Benjamin Watson (back) Probable

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Laurence Maroney and Voltron 11.20.09 at 3:36 pm ET
By Mike Petraglia   |  1 Comment

FOXBORO  –  Sometimes the subject can be the teacher and interviewer all in one.

The Patriots corps of running backs otherwise known as Voltron.

The Patriots corps of running backs, otherwise known as Voltron.

Laurence Maroney proved that on Friday in front of his locker at Gillette Stadium when he used a cartoon analogy to describe the unity among the four running backs, one of which is still injured.

“We’re just missing Fred,” Maroney said of Fred Taylor, who is still out with a bad ankle. “It’s not going to feel complete until Fred gets back with us. But slowly but surely, we’re reconnecting like Voltron, as I call it.”

For those of you not familiar, Voltron is a superhero [pictured here] that is made up of several smaller heroes known as tigers.

But when Maroney tried to draw the comparison on Friday of Voltron to the Patriots running back group of himself, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor, he was met with blank stares.

“You watch Voltron? Anybody watch Voltron? Don’t tell me none of you have never seen Voltron. Nobody’s never seen the cartoon Voltron, the tigers, they connect.”

On Sunday, the Patriots may get another connection back as Morris hopes to be ready to go against the Jets.

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Light not in right spot 11.20.09 at 3:18 pm ET
By Mike Petraglia   |  No Comments

FOXBORO  –  Don’t expect to see Matt Light make the transition to right tackle anytime soon just because rookie Sebastian Vollmer is doing so well in his place.

“I’m not saying he can’t do it, I think he’s just better on the left side,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said on Friday.

Vollmer has played left tackle while Nick Kaczur has held down the fort on the right side.

“Nick, on the other hand, was a left tackle in college all the way, and the first thing we do was put him at right tackle and he’s done well there. And then, like last year, we got into a bind, and in previous years when we got into a bind, we’ve moved Nick back to left tackle. He truly has played both. Until sometimes that happens, you don’t really know. Could Matt play right tackle, I’m sure he could but he’s done a lot better at left tackle.”

Light has missed the last four games with a injured knee but has been practicing with the team the last two weeks and could be active on Sunday against the Jets.

Belichick recalled that Light came out of Purdue in 2000 and he played very little right tackle in his rookie year because of a ankle injury. When he returned, he was moved to left tackle, a spot he’s held ever since.

“Had I put him at right tackle in the first place, he’d probably have been a lot better off playing left tackle,” Belichick said. “He came in, we put him at right tackle, and he hurt his ankle in preseason and he ended up moving back to left tackle and he basically started most of his rookie year at left tackle. He got hurt in the Super Bowl.

“Had I put him at left tackle in the first place instead of right tackle, he probably would have had a better rookie year. Did we think he could play right tackle? Yeah, but I think he’s a better left tackle than right tackle.”

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Peter King on Dale & Holley 11.20.09 at 2:29 pm ET
By WEEI   |  No Comments

SI.com’s Peter King joined the Dale & Holley Show for his weekly appearance, Friday. The following is a transcript of their conversation. (To listen the interview click here.)

Good afternoon Peter.

Hey guys. I don’t mean to start on a downer because I know we will discuss fourth-and-2 for 25 minutes but I did want to start by sending out condolences, and I know that everybody listening to this will also send it out. Chris Spielman’s wife died last night. She was undergoing treatment for her fourth reoccurrence of breast cancer in the last 11 years. Four children, just an incredibly, incredibly sad situation. Chris Spielman is one of the great guys that I have ever covered in 30 years as a sports writer. I don’t know, I am just totally blown away. I went and wrote a story about them 11 years ago about when they first started dealing with it and I am pretty connected to them and I am just really devastated. I don’t mean to be a downer but I know that there are so many people out there who are fans of Spielman, the way he played and the kind of person he is. We all should say a prayer for their family.

Stephanie Spielman was her name. 11 years ago I went to their house. Chris had retired to go be Mr. Mom to their two kids, they now have four kids, but to go be Mr. Mom to the two kids and what was incredible was that as snarling and angry as Chris Spielman was on the football field, he had about 50 crisis a day where one kid says “where is my book, where is my pencil set.” You don’t realize sitting at home that you have 50 crisis a day. In football there is maybe only one or two.

It was an interesting game on Sunday night, if you didn’t have a dog in the fight it was a wildly entertaining game.

Tremendous football game. That is one thing that we shouldn’t forget in haranguing in whatever side of this that you are on. That is why we love football. About three weeks ago I sat down and watched film with Mike Shanahan about Peyton Manning and at one point we are finished watching and we are talking about what he [Shanahan] is doing this fall and he’s got six games on simultaneously he is watching, one thing I realized is why so many people love this game. Because it is so exciting and it is so fun to watch and I was thinking of those words Sunday night watching this one because it was beyond an instant classic. It is clearly the game of the year so far and is one of the best football games I have ever seen.

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Sammy Speaks 11.20.09 at 2:29 pm ET
By Mike Petraglia   |  No Comments

FOXBORO  –  After practicing with the team on Friday, running back Sammy Morris said he will know on Sunday whether he is strong enough to return for the first time since injuring his knee in the snow on Oct. 18 against the Titans.

“I feel good,” Morris said. “Sore, but I feel good.” Asked if that means he could be back after missing the last three games, Morris said, ”I don’t know. We’ll see Sunday. We’re kind of playing it day-by-day.”

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Adam Schefter on D&C, 11/20 11.20.09 at 1:06 pm ET
By Ally Mielnicki   |  No Comments

ESPN’s Adam Schefter made his weekly appearance on Dennis & Callahan Friday morning to talk about Bill Belichick’s fourth-and-2 decision against the ColtsBrett Favre’s impact on Brad Childress’ extension, the possibility of Mike Shanahan coaching the Bills, and JaMarcus Russell’s future as a quarterback for the Raiders.

Click here to listen to the full audio. Read below for the highlights.

My sources tell me you kind of like the idea [of going for it on fourth-and-2]?

No, not kind of, I absolutely like the idea. Growing up I saw the ball punted or kicked backed to Roger Staubach on too many occasions to count and I seriously do not remember, maybe it’s just my youth, Roger Staubach ever failing in those moments. Every time he got the ball in the final two minutes, he seemed to always lead his team to a game-winning touchdown. Fast forward, me in Denver, 15 years of watching John Elway. He got the ball back in the last two minutes, I don’t remember him ever failing in that spot, in that moment. It just didn’t happen. Then, we fast forward to Peyton Manning. If, you kick the ball to Peyton Manning, I don’t care if he’s going to go 28 yards or 68 yards. He’s got four downs to do it. Four. You’re telling me at home, Peyton Manning, clock’s running, sirens are blowing, horns are sounding, game’s on the line, he’s not going to come through? I don’t believe that for a second.

Well,  Adam, he did throw two interceptions …

I don’t care.

It wasn’t like he was infallible that night, Adam.

I’m not saying he was. I’ve seen games when the same happened with Roger Staubach, when the same happened with John Elway; they were terrible. I remember one stretch of time where John Elway and the Broncos hadn’t scored a single touchdown in 11 straight quarters and then scored two in the final minute and 56 seconds to beat the Chiefs.

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