Devin McCourty

Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty made his weekly appearance on the Dennis & Callahan show Friday morning, as the Patriots prepare for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys. To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.

After facing Miami’s Brandon Marshall and San Diego’s Vincent Jackson this season, McCourty is expected to be matched up with another talented receiver Sunday in Dez Bryant.

“He’s a very explosive player, similar to those guys in size and strength,” McCourty said. “I don’t know if he’s more explosive, but he’s definitely a guy that’s an explosive player. He does punt returns at times, kickoff returns at times. It just shows how versatile and explosive he is. You have to really be aware of him all over the field — screen passes, short passes, deep passes. He kind of does a lot in their offense.”

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has come under fire for his fourth-quarter collapses this season, but McCourty said the Patriots are paying more attention to the success Romo has had, calling him a “great quarterback.”

“When you play this game, you make mistakes, guys make plays. But I think with Romo, sometimes it’s overlooked how many plays he does make,” McCourty said. “That’s what we’re focusing on for this game, all the plays he’s made throughout the season. We can’t focus on the bad plays. There’s a chance he could come here and not make any bad plays.”

Dez Bryant (AP)

So, how close did the Patriots come to drafting Dez Bryant? I asked both coach Bill Belichick and director of player personnel Nick Caserio Tuesday afternoon about their pre-draft interaction with the occasionally controversial wide receiver, who was the focus of several character questions in the months leading up to the 2010 draft.

New England had Bryant in for a meeting before the draft that year, but ultimately ended up passing on the receiver, who ended up going to the Cowboys … who are set to visit Gillette Stadium this week for their first regular-season to Foxboro since 2003.

“We definitely did our work on Bryant,” Belichick said. “I think the things that we see: he’s a big receiver, a strong guy, hard to match up on outside, hard guy to tackle after the catch. He’s got, like a lot of these receivers, it seems like we see one every week that have outstanding size or they’re very strong, they have great reach and even if you have them covered, you really don’t have them covered because of their length and their ability to either body-up the defender or just out-jump them or out-reach them for the ball. He’s definitely in that category and a hard guy to tackle when he gets the ball in his hands.”

“There’s no question he was an explosive player — similar to what he’s done so far with Dallas,” recalled Caserio. “He makes a bunch of big plays. He had a bunch of big plays early against the Jets and a number of big players early against – I think it was a Washington game – had a couple touchdowns early. He’s a talented player [and] somebody that we will certainly have to figure how to defend come Sunday.”

Bryant was available at No. 24, but the Patriots ended up trading the pick to Dallas instead and selecting cornerback Devin McCourty at No. 27. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound Bryant has 55 catches in just 15 career games with the Cowboys, including 10 through three games this season, while McCourty was a Pro Bowler in his rookie season in New England.

“I think where you pick in that particular situation, there’s a handful of players that you think about picking in some capacity. Trades if they happen, they happen,” Caserio said. “In the end, we make a decision that we feel is the best for our team. I’m sure Dallas is happy with the pick they made and I would say we’re thrilled with the player we have in our program, so I think it’s worked out for both teams.”

Chris Mortensen

ESPN insider Chris Mortensen joined the Dennis & Callahan show early Tuesday morning to discuss everything football just before the start of training camp. Mort talked about Dez Bryant‘s controversy with the Cowboys, the favorites in the AFC East, the Logan Mankins contract discussions and Tom Brady‘s private ruminations about his unfavorable contract.

“Why would we expect Tom to be happy making $6.5 million? It’s not like they’re going out there and signing a bunch of free agents to truly make this team better,” Mortensen said.

When asked about the AFC East in 2010, Mortensen replied: “If I were rating this division right now, I would be rating it: 1. Jets, 2. Dolphins, 3. Patriots, with all three having a chance to go to the playoffs and filling up all the playoff spots.”

Below are highlights. To listen to the full interview, click on the Dennis & Callahan Show audio on demand page.

On Dez Bryant’s early issues with the Cowboys:

It’s an interesting story because it’s only [about] carrying [Roy Williams’] shoulder pads. We kind of classify it as hazing, but I don’t think that’s hazing. It’s a rite of passage, I’ve heard people say. On the other hand, I can tell you from [the Cowboys’] offseason, I think that there was a feeling that everyone had a good offseason workout. [They] worked their tails off, except for one player, and the problem is the one player asking him to carry his shoulder pads is Roy Williams. So, I’m not sure that there are coaches and veteran players in the locker room that are all that upset with Dez Bryant, because I think they’re more upset with Roy Williams.

On if the Cowboys are siding with Bryant because of Williams’ lack of effort:

Well there’s no question I think you’re right. … Whether it’s coaches or players or ownership, executives in terms of thoughts about Roy. Are there 53 guys all rolling in the same direction or are there 52? I’ve heard that, with Roy being the exception. There’s no question from what they’ve seen, [the Cowboys believe] that Dez will be a star. It doesn’t matter if you’re going to be a star or not, generally, if a vet says, “Go carry my shoulder pads,” the rookie does it. It was just interesting that Dez decided not to do it. The other thing, let’s not forget this, it was the only training camp open and it’s the Cowboys and it’s the media. I’ll have to throw ESPN out there because whenever we do something, it becomes bigger. So, it’s probably a little bit bigger deal than it is in actuality in the locker room or amongst the organization.

On the three QBs in the last year of their contracts — Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees:

Well, Peyton is going to make $15.7 million this year. The “Bank of Manning” didn’t have to take any stimulus packages, as I like to refer to them. My feeling is the most urgent [contract] is Tom Brady’s, but if you’re Tom, do you go ahead? Do the Patriots go ahead and get something done? I don’t think anything is imminent. I know he’s the consummate pro, he can’t be happy. He’s at most risk because his salary is so low. Read the rest of this entry »

Cornerback Devin McCourty catches a football during minicamp on Friday. (AP)

FOXBORO — A few thoughts at the end of two days of Patriots rookie minicamp:

• It’s always hard to take anything of any real substance from these practices. They are run at half speed in shells and helmets, and it’s always important to remember that these are players making their professional debuts: Consequently, you always have to guard against making sweeping generalizations about a player.

At the same time, it was hard not to be impressed by the play of linebacker Brandon Spikes. Lined up inside in seven-on-seven drills, he clearly was the most important cog on the defense. From a distance, he clearly was in charge among the players, and many times, he appeared a step ahead of his counterparts. He wasn’t perfect and it’s a small sample size, but by all accounts, it was an impressive start to his career in a Patriots uniform.

• The tight end position will be a fascinating mix this year. Like Spikes, Aaron Hernandez was impressive throughout, looking polished and lining up at a variety of spots. Rob Gronkowski did not look as smooth in his routes and is not as fast as Hernandez, but he has undeniable size. (The image of the 6-foot-6, 265-pound Gronkowski bearing down on defensive backs this year will be worth watching.) Gronkowski lumped in with Alge Crumpler will be an interesting mix this fall.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Patriots have moved down again, trading the 24th pick to the Cowboys in a deal that will give New England the 27th and 90th pick and the Dallas Dez Bryant and No. 119.

The Patriots had two cracks at Bryant tonight but have traded the pick in both cases. Bryant was suspended last season for lying to the NCAA about his relationship with Deion Sanders. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Bryant is the top receiving talent in the draft and had 19 touchdowns in 2008.

Analysis: Great trade for both teams. The Patriots obviously had no intentions of taking Bryant so picking up a third-rounder while only moving down five slots from their assigned selection of No. 22 is very smart.

The results are in. Patriots nation would like the Pats to select Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant. Bryant came away the winner after WEEI polled its readers this past week on who they thought the Patriots should take with their first-round pick by opening a bracket with 16 names that could be available when the Patriots are on the clock with the 22nd overall selection.  CLICK HERE to launch the bracket and see how the champion was crowned.

NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

This past week, we have been polling our readers on who they thought the Patriots should take with their first-round pick by opening a bracket with 16 names that could be available when the Patriots are on the clock with the 22nd overall selection.

Well, we are down to the final two players. CLICK HERE to launch the bracket to see who advanced to the finals and vote on the champion.

We’ll announce the winner right before the draft starts on Thursday, April 22nd at 7:30 p.m.