Bruschi evolved over the next four years, going from pass-rushing end to weak-side linebacker to middle linebacker. Now Bruschi is one of the top players at his position in the NFL. But remember, it took him four or five years before he became truly comfortable (and productive) playing on his feet. And it took him a few more years after that to take his game to the next level.
 

     Klecko said Bruschi has given him plenty of pointers along the way.
 

     ``I really consider him one of the great middle linebackers,'' Klecko said. ``So for him to come up to me and say, `I went through that exact same thing,' that really helps.''

    BostonHerald.com - Patriots: To stay on field, Klecko takes it inside

Extra conditioning works for defense

Lots of 'gassers' now mean strength and energy later

By Michael Smith, Globe Staff  |  August 12, 2004

FOXBOROUGH -- Among the nearly 85,000 fans who have attended Patriots training camp, some probably have noticed defensive players running -- voluntarily -- back and forth across the adjacent practice field during the team segment of the workouts. They aren't doing so as punishment, but rather punishing their bodies in preparation for those key moments during the season when they need to dig deep for something extra.

"It's conditioning," said Rodney Harrison, who, along with Tedy Bruschi, Roman Phifer, and the originator of the idea, Ty Law, ran 10 to 12 "gassers" between plays yesterday. In Harrison's 10th year last season, he never seemed to run out of gas. Not only was he fueled by what he thought was mistreatment from the San Diego Chargers, he says he was stronger because of the "gassers."

"Ty Law got me started doing it and it really helped me out last year," Harrison said. "Eighth week of the season, fourth quarter, I felt like I had more endurance, I felt like I was stronger. I probably was running better than I'd ever run. During the fourth quarter, you feel like you have more energy."

More players are adopting the routine and Bruschi has added crunches to it. "It's contagious," Harrison said. "Everybody's doing it now. It's just working hard, paying the price. You figure everyone else is standing around doing nothing, you can get in a little extra stretching, a few sit-ups, some push-ups."

Harrison is also taking steps to make sure his teammates who play on the other side of the ball are as prepared as possible; in practice, at the end of a run or completion, he catches up with the ballcarrier and attempts to poke the ball out from behind. He did it at least twice yesterday, the first time forcing Corey Dillon to fumble. Harrison says he does so to make certain it doesn't happen in a game.

"It irritates them to death when I come up there and do it, but what it does is -- like I tell Corey, because I think he was getting a little agitated, but he's laughing about it now -- I do it to make sure our runners secure the ball," Harrison said. "And it works on me going to get the ball out. So now every time those guys catch the ball and they're running, they're aware. Because that's a turnover. I do it all day. I don't care if the play is 40 yards away, I run all the way to the ball and try to poke it out."

This week's Notes and Quotes: 8/15/04

Bruschi hungry to start hitting: Pats rev it up after Cincy loss
Tedy Bruschi (Staff photo by Ted Fitzgerald)
By Michael Felger / Boston Herald
Wednesday, August 25, 2004

FOXBORO -- Whenever Tedy Bruschi hears coach Bill Belichick talking about getting back to "basics" and "fundamentals," he knows that means only one thing.
 

     "We're going to hit," Bruschi said.
 

     And so it was yesterday, as Bruschi and his teammates geared up for a full-pad, full-contact practice at Gillette Stadium. The players donned their equipment knowing Belichick would turn up the heat after an embarrassing 31-3 preseason loss in Cincinnati last Saturday.
 

     In fact, that performance has led to a somewhat unusual atmosphere in Foxboro for this time of year. It's not often a defending Super Bowl champion feels urgency in August, but the Pats are certainly in that neighborhood.
 

     "I feel I want to get back out there right away, to get back out there after a game like that," Bruschi said. "Because it's obvious. You watch the film and there are some points where we've got to get better. So let's suit up and go get better."
 

     One of those points was the run defense, as the Pats allowed the Bengals to rush for 155 yards. That came a week after the Pats gave up 104 yards on 21 carries to the Eagles in the preseason opener. Overall, the Pats have allowed 4.5 yards a carry in the preseason. Not good.
 

     That has led to some obvious questions on the defensive line, where newcomers such as Keith Traylor and rookies Vince Wilfork and Marquise Hill have been adjusting to the Pats' 3-4 scheme. The free agent loss of nose tackle Ted Washington has already become a talking point, but overlooked in the discussion has been the departure of veteran defensive end Bobby Hamilton (who followed Washington to Oakland).
 

     Hamilton was an underrated and consistent run stuffer for the Pats for four years. He wasn't flashy, but the players around him could rely on him holding his point and funneling the run in a certain direction. Former nose tackle Chad Eaton once said the reason he was able to have such a strong year in 2000 and earn a big free agent contract was because he played next to Hamilton.
 

     The Pats let Hamilton go, in part, because they wanted 2003 first-round pick Ty Warren to emerge as the starting left end. But while the Pats may have gotten younger with the move, it remains to be seen if they are better.
 

     Bruschi admitted the linebackers have had to adjust to the new personnel in front of them.
 

     "A little bit," he said. "Ty Warren and Truck (Traylor) are different players than Ted Washington and Bobby Hamilton. As you know, from year to year you're going to get change. So we've had two games and now we've got two more to get used to each other before (the season-opener vs.) Indy."
 

     Belichick's defense is predicated on gap control, which means it's imperative that the linebackers "fit" behind the defensive linemen. Bruschi and fellow inside linebacker Roman Phifer had grown accustomed to where Hamilton and Washington were going to be on every play. Now they have to find the same symmetry with the newcomers. So far, it's been slow going.
 

     "We got work to do. That's the bottom line," Bruschi said. "The (Bengals) were able to run for over 150 yards on us, and we haven't let that happen in a while. So what do we do? We're in pads. We're going to be working on our run drills, working on our fits. Have a physical week and try to fix the problem.
 

     "Basically, that's what fundamentals mean to me," Bruschi added. "Getting back to two-gapping and pressing guards and playing direct runs, which is what we have to work on."

MetroWest Daily News - Sports Coverage

Bruschi takes loss to heart

Linebacker Tedy Bruschi was itching to get back to work following Saturday's embarrassing loss in Cincinnati. (Staff photo by Keith Nordstrom)

The Sun Chronicle Newspaper

"It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s something we’re looking forward to," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "We weren’t happy with the way we played last week. We practiced hard this week and worked to improve the things that needed to be improved. This is a big test for us and we’ll be ready to respond."
 

This week's Notes and Quotes: 09/05/04

Some have even mentioned the Patriots as a team ready to put together a dominating stretch of seasons because of the presence of Belichick and Brady, plus a sound fiscal strategy.  "You'd rather have people say good things about you than bad," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said, "so it's nice that they're saying good things rather than bad.  "But we realize in order to live up to those compliments, we have to do more. We still have to win a lot more games, and that's what we are trying to do."  The problem, though, is that life in the NFL is confusing - to say the least - changing so fast simply because so little separates the champion from the contenders or even the pretenders.

 Patriots still have right idea

On Klecko:

He tries to pick up tips wherever he can.   "He's really eager. He comes and asks me a lot of questions, sometimes too many," Bruschi said with a laugh. "Sometimes I just wish he'd leave me alone." But Bruschi went through the same learning process himself.  "I can relate to it," he said. "I know how difficult it is, but give him a year or two under his belt and he can be a quality player."

APP.COM - Klecko shows progress in switch to ILB

From Belichick's 9/7 press conference:

Roseville's Bruschi glad he opted not to toe line

By Jim Jenkins -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, September 6, 2004

FOXBORO, Mass. - Tedy Bruschi is reasonably sure he wouldn't be entering his ninth NFL season had he remained a defensive end.

When the New England Patriots selected the former Roseville High School star in the third round of the 1996 NFL draft, Bruschi was coming off an All-America season at Arizona. There, he had been the focus of the Wildcats' "Desert Swarm" defense and tied an NCAA record with 52 career sacks.

The Patriots were impressed, but they could see something else. Unless Bruschi grew considerably, he wasn't going to fare well butting heads with the mammoth offensive linemen in the NFL.

"I realized that to stick around in this league, it would have to be as a linebacker," Bruschi said. "Once I learned how to play the position, I decided I was going to take it to the next level."

Rob Ryan, who spent four seasons as the Patriots' linebackers coach until becoming the Raiders' defensive coordinator this year, said it's easy to see why the change has suited Bruschi's strengths.

"Tedy isn't the biggest guy (6-foot-1, 247 pounds) or the fastest," Ryan said, "but he's always been a fierce, smart competitor, one of the toughest players I've coached. You never hear him complain, even though I knew that some of the time, he was playing with a sore back. He's just the kind of guy you want in the middle of your defense."

Bruschi's ball-hawking instincts have resulted in two touchdowns on interception returns in each of the last two seasons, and annually, he's at or near the top of the tackles list for one of the league's best defenses.

Bruschi has a contract for four more years and intends to complete it.

"I've been around with guys like (Patriots inside linebacker) Roman Phifer, who has been in the league 14 years, so he's a good example of someone playing this game for a long time," Bruschi said. "I've had a good career, but I don't want to pat myself on the back just yet. Hopefully, I can help this team win another Super Bowl. The talent is here."

And after Bruschi's playing career is finished? The father of two children, he's unsure where he will reside. His parents and other relatives still live in California, but he spends the offseason on the East Coast. He does know what line of work he wants to enter, however.

"I want to stay in football, be a coach somewhere," Bruschi said. "It's what I'm good at and something I enjoy. Why not stay in it as long as I can?"

Indy offense may live on the Edge: Bruschi, Pats won't forget James
By Michael Felger
Wednesday, September 8, 2004

FOXBORO - Edgerrin James is something of a forgotten man when it comes to the Colts, especially in New England, where everyone talks about Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Bill Belichick [news]'s success against both. Tedy Bruschi [news] said the condition exists because most people focus on the ``glamour.''
 

     But you can be sure that James is not forgotten inside the Pats' locker room.
 

     In particular, the Pats remember the first drive of the third quarter in last season's AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Leading comfortably, 15-0, the Pats watched as the Colts came out of the tunnel and ran down their throats. James carried seven times on the drive, gaining 32 yards. Dominic Rhodes also gained 11 yards on a single carry, and when James scored from the 2-yard line, the Pats' cozy lead had evaporated.

     Mysteriously, and perhaps luckily for the Pats, the Colts abandoned the run after that drive. They gave the ball to James on the first play of their next possession (a 1-yard gain) and then called all passes the rest of the quarter, resulting in two incompletions, a sack and an interception.
 

     Indianapolis never made the Pats prove they could stop James. Perhaps that will happen tomorrow night when the Colts and Pats renew acquaintances at Gillette.
 

     ``In the second half they just came out and gave it to Edge,'' Bruschi said. ``All of a sudden we were back at the 20-yard line saying, `We've got to worry about Edge now.' And that opened it up for them a little bit. So it's possible - maybe they'll come out wanting to establish Edgerrin James and the running game. It's something we've got to be ready for and we're going to focus on that a little more than we have been.''
 

     That drive notwithstanding, the Pats have had their share of success against James in recent years. In five games against the Pats since Belichick took over in 2000, James has broken the 100-yard barrier only once. He's scored only two rushing touchdowns. His rushing totals - 105 carries, 420 yards, 4-yard average - are good, but certainly not great.
 

     Still, you can make the argument that James is the key to Indianapolis' success against the Pats, even if the fans, not to mention the Colts, don't realize it.
 

     ``They want the glamour. Marcus Pollard, and Harrison and Peyton, everyone wants to see them throw it,'' Bruschi said. ``But Edgerrin sets it all up for them. Because if that threat is not there in the backfield, as a defense you can really focus on other things.''
 

     Of course, what makes the Colts so dangerous is Manning's ability to play-action fake to James and then hit Harrison down the hash marks. It's a staple play of the Colts' offense, one that helped them put up 34 points in a November loss to the Pats at the RCA Dome.
 

     ``You can't tell the guys who are supposed to stop the run to play play-action or the (Colts) will run the ball right over you,'' Belichick said. ``And you can't tell the guys that have to (watch out for) the play-action to play run, because then they'll throw it past you. They do a great job of creating a run-pass conflict for the linebackers and for the guys in the secondary. We have to read our keys and be disciplined and see it.
 

     ``At the same time, the (Colts) do a good job on the running play itself, and they hurt us with that in the third quarter last year. We have to do a better job of defending it. Those two plays tie together, and I'm sure they're sitting there saying, `If you stop one, you can't stop the other.' You just can't stop them both, and that's why they run them together and they run them together very well. That's a big challenge for us defensively.''

It's a super way to start the season

Solid backing

Fans worship Bruschi for his unselfish, all-out style -- and he appreciates them, too

By Michael Smith, Globe Staff  |  September 9, 2004

FOXBOROUGH -- Even before he arrived here, Tedy Bruschi decided that, if left up to him, he would stay.

A native Californian, Bruschi declared New England his new home the day the Patriots made him the 86th overall selection of the 1996 draft. After eight seasons, and having recently signed an extension through 2007, there's a good chance that Bruschi, provided he continues to play at or near his current level, will achieve what has become rare in professional sports --spend a career with one organization.

"That means a lot to me," Bruschi said after a training camp workout and post-practice autograph session. "I remember vividly the day I got drafted. The first thing I said to my girlfriend, Heidi -- who's now my wife -- I said, `I'm going to play out this contract with the Patriots and keep signing back with them. They're the ones I want to finish with because they're the ones I'm going to start with.' And that's before I knew anything about New England, the area, the fans. It was just a bond, a loyalty I had."

Bruschi, who played almost everywhere along the front seven earlier in his career before settling in as an inside linebacker three years ago, has become one of the more popular players on, depending on the day, the region's most popular team. He is Mr. Patriot, Mr. "Full Tilt, Full Time" because of his whatever-it-takes style of play. He comes across as someone who sincerely appreciates the privilege of playing pro football.

He has a special connection with the fans here because, he says, he relates to them. "I think I'm just one of them out there playing football," he said. "They're just normal people out there, and I consider myself a normal guy.

"I'm so normal," said Bruschi, a saxophonist who enjoys a night at a jazz club or an evening at a fancy restaurant. He's also as devoted to his family as he is his team. "My big project this year was blowing back my backyard. I brought in some people, took out some trees, took out rocks, leveled the backyard. I wanted a yard for my kids [Tedy Jr. and Rex]. Better the lives for my kids, that's what I do when I'm not around here."

Those times when he is, Bruschi approaches every practice and every meeting with the same enthusiasm he brings into a Dolphins game in December. He is a leader and a team captain who understands how important it is for a leader to also know how to follow. Young players following his example should have few problems in their careers.

"He loves football. He loves the game," said linebackers coach Dean Pees. "He brings that kind of passion to the game when he plays it but he brings a passion to the classroom, too. Passion doesn't always necessarily mean I'm jumping up and down, I'm screaming, I'm yelling, but it means you take it very seriously, you understand it, you really try to do everything you can do to prepare yourself and make yourself a better football player. And I think that's the passion he brings to the game."  

 Rodney Harrison said Bruschi reminds him of another contemporary linebacker who personifies passion.

"His consistency, his professionalism, his heart, his commitment to the game, not once have you ever heard Tedy complain about anything or say anything bad," Harrison said. "He's like a Junior Seau. Always working, always doing the little things. Junior is Junior, and Junior's going to be in the Hall of Fame. But [Bruschi] is the same type of guy. That's what I see in him. I see Junior Seau all day when I watch Tedy Bruschi. He's very unselfish. Committed. Willing to sacrifice." If it means playing weak-side, strong-side, and middle linebacker, so be it. Special teams? Coaches don't have to ask Bruschi twice. He's the type, if a coach says, "Jump," he will reply, "How high?"

He just punches in, does his job, and punches out; one could imagine him wearing a hard hat to work if he weren't wearing a helmet. On the field Bruschi is able to wear so many hats well, Pees says, because he not only understands his responsibilities as the team's "Mike" (middle) linebacker, but those of the other 10 positions.

"I've worked with a lot of linebackers who were very intelligent at their position, but I don't know if I've worked with anybody that's as intelligent about the whole defense," Pees said. "He knows what everybody's doing, and that makes him special. I haven't seen or been around someone who took it to quite his level."

"Everything I try to do is just based on winning football games," Bruschi said. "That's all. Whatever sacrifice I need to make, whatever I need to do, I will do to help the team win. Coming in playing special teams -- where do I line up? Third down -- what do you want me to do? You want me to play Mike, Wil [weak-side], Sam [strong-side], whatever it is. That's the attitude I have. I've never gone up to a coach and said this is where I want to play. They've always put me where they felt was best and I've always accepted it as, I trust them and that's where I need to be and I need to do my best to help the team win."

Compared to what he may have commanded as an unrestricted free agent following another strong season (he was an alternate for the Pro Bowl last year after posting 137 tackles, three forced fumbles, and returning two of three interceptions for touchdowns), Bruschi, who represents himself in negotiations, didn't appear to come out on top in June when he signed a four-year, $8.1 million deal that included a $3.5 million signing bonus. But he did, because there are things more valuable to him than money.

Like loyalty. He is making good on his promises to remain faithful to the franchise that, in his words, took a chance on a 6-foot-1-inch defensive end out of Arizona (it didn't hurt that he tied the NCAA Division 1-A career sack record with 52). Since becoming an unrestricted free agent for the first (and, to this point, only) time in February 2000, Bruschi shook hands on a deal three more times with the Patriots.

"To go to another team and have all those fans who bought that No. 54 jersey with my name on the back, which to me is the biggest compliment they could give me, for me to look up and see someone wearing the 54, for me to know that they'd have to see me wearing a 54 with another team's colors, I wouldn't like that," he said. "That would be painful to me and I wouldn't want to do that to any of them." 

Boston.com / Sports / Football / Patriots / Solid backing

Patriots win 16th straight
FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) - New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi figures the streaking Super Bowl champs were starting from scratch in the NFL season opener.

''No one cares about last year,'' Bruschi said.
''The question is, 'Can you do it again?'''

On Thursday night in New England's 27-24 victory over Indianapolis, Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest did, and Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt didn't.

One play after McGinest sacked Peyton Manning for a 13-yard loss, Vanderjagt's field-goal streak ended at 42 when he missed a 48-yarder with 19 seconds left, giving New England its 16th straight victory - two shy of the NFL record.

''I was going to swipe at the ball and try to get the fumble out, but I figured he'd dropped back far enough,'' said McGinest, who stopped Edgerrin James on a fourth-and-1 play with 14 seconds left last season in Indianapolis in the Patriots' 38-34 victory.

Brady's numbers

Two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady completed 26 of 38 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns, but threw his first interception at home since 2002.

In the rematch of New England's 24-14 victory in the AFC championship game, Indianapolis gained 446 yards, more than the Patriots gave up in any game last season.

James rushed for 142 yards, but the Colts turned the ball over twice at the Patriots' 1 on Bruschi's interception on their first series and James' fumble on their next to last possession.

The 1-yard line proved to be a tough obstacle for the Colts again.

''This year's a different year, different teams,'' Manning said. ''You're supposed to score when you have chances down there.''

Manning threw two scoring passes to Marvin Harrison and Brandon Stokley. But the star quarterback is 2-9 against the Patriots and 0-6 in Foxboro, where he's thrown nine touchdown passes and 16 interceptions. Brady is 5-0 against the Colts and 41-12 as an NFL starter, including the playoffs.

''There's lots of room for improvement because you just don't want to let it come down to such close plays at the end of the game,'' Brady said.

Looking ahead

That helps keep the Patriots from looking ahead to Oct. 10 when they play Miami in what could be their record 19th straight win in the streak that includes the playoffs. Miami is one of five NFL teams that share the mark.

''You can't win all those games in one week,'' Brady said.

The Colts' chance to win Thursday ended when Vanderjagt, whose 32-yarder tied it at 3 early in the second quarter, sent his final attempt wide right.

''We had a lot of bad football going on before that kick,'' Colts coach Tony Dungy said. ''It was probably a fitting end to the game.''

Vanderjagt said ''I didn't choke'' but took the blame for his first miss since a 44-yarder in the 14th game of the 2002 season.

''When you crash, you crash and burn,'' he said. ''I blame it on no one but myself.''

Before the opening kickoff, the NFL staged an hour-long entertainment show at Gillette Stadium. It was telecast with a 10-second delay to give the league and ABC a chance to pull the plug on anything too racy such as Janet Jackson's breast-baring at the Super Bowl halftime show.

Elton John headlined the show that included the unveiling of the Patriots' second Super Bowl banner. But McGinest said, ''I think our show was a little more exciting than the pregame show.''
 

Waynesboro Record Herald: Patriots win 16th straight

This week's Notes and Quotes: 09/10/04

On the Colts’ first series, Tedy Bruschi intercepted Peyton Manning’s pass at the New England 1. On their next to last series, Eugene Wilson forced James to fumble at the 1 and rookie Vince Wilfork recovered.

And on Indianapolis’ final possession, Willie McGinest sacked Manning for a 12-yard loss that made the kick by Vanderjagt, who had made 42 consecutive field goal attempts, much tougher.

“You look back and you see you’re running out of room and you see something’s got to be done,” Bruschi said. “First and foremost, you want to stop them with zero points, get a turnover and get out of there. After that, you want to force them to a field goal, but you really just don’t want to let them in the end zone.”

MSNBC - Pats not exactly super, but open just fine

Oh, what a near-miss win

"They’re good," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "They are a good team. You try to focus on Peyton and his receivers, and you forget about Edgerrin and he’s getting 140 on us. They have so many weapons and you can’t just focus on one. When you do that, they hit you with the other."

The Patriots buckled down in the third quarter and allowed James to rush for only 36 yards on nine carries. The offense took advantage and scored 17 unanswered points to erase the halftime deficit and give New England a 27-17 lead. Most of the production came with Ted Johnson playing interior linebacker and Jarvis Green manning a defensive end position, though Belichick didn’t feel it was a personnel issue.

"I thought defensively we played a little better in the third quarter, but it is team defense," he said. "I don’t think it was, ‘This guy was in there, everything was great and somebody else was in there and everything was bad.’ I didn’t see it that way. We had trouble with guys going to the middle of the field. We had trouble with the running game. All of those things were problems at one point or another, and they are all things that we need to do better."

Whatever adjustments were made at the half, the Patriots need to do more of the same next weekend in Arizona, or else we’ll see a repeat of that forgettable 2002 season.

"We have to look to where they got us and fix those areas," Bruschi said. "It’s still early, so we’ve got time."

The Herald News

FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi figures the streaking Super Bowl champs were starting from scratch in the NFL season opener.``No one cares about last year,'' Bruschi said. ``The question is, `Can you do it again?'''On Thursday night in New England's 27-24 victory over Indianapolis, Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest did, and Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt didn't.

CBS 4 Denver: Sports National

On the Arizona Game Tribute to Pat Tillman

The New England helmets hanging from the locker of each player had already been affixed with the "40" decals on Wednesday. Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi plans to wear the decal honoring Tillman the rest of the season.

"It's something I'm proud to do," Bruschi said. "It's on my helmet right now. I'm proud to wear that number on my helmet, not just for this week but I'll wear it for the whole year for the sacrifice that Tillman made and the hero that he showed he is. We're not talking about political views or anything like that. We're talking about a hero. A hero that really sacrificed his life to really show the spirit of America and make all of us here appreciate what we have and be thankful of what we have because of people like him."
Official Website of the New England Patriots - 9/15/04 5:35:11 PM

The plan is for the Cardinals to wear the No. 40 decal for the remainder of the season. Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi also intends to do so. He does not concede the emotional lift solely to the Cardinals in Arizona's home-opener.

"I'm sure having a week dedicated to Pat Tillman is going to have (the Cardinals) a little bit more emotionally charged," said Bruschi. "But I'm a little bit more emotionally charged too, because of who he is and what he did."

Lowell Sun Online - Sports

Other nominees for AFC Defensive Player of Week 1 were:

NFL.com - NFL News

The Sun Chronicle Newspaper

The Patriots might not feel the effects as much because they’re used to rotating a number of players in and out of the lineup at all positions, thereby insuring they’ll have a fresh set of legs on the field at all times. Add that to the fact they’ll hold a walkthrough Friday in 103-degree weather and it’s a safe bet they’ll be prepared for the heat by Sunday.

Still, not all the players are wild about leaving on Thursday, including linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

"Saturday would’ve been OK with me," Bruschi said.

Fellow linebacker Rosevelt Colvin added that the "downside is you don’t get to see your family for the extra day."

The Middletown Press

Bruschi hits all the right notes

No denying, Bruschi's a classic

By Glen Farley, Enterprise staff writer

FOXBORO — He is the New England Patriots' "Music Man."

"I'm not a football player," Patriots inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi says. "I play football, but there's a lot more to me than that."

Perhaps, but there's no denying that since his selection in the third round of the 1996 NFL draft, Bruschi's play has helped the Patriots strike the winning chord that has produced three trips to the Super Bowl and two Vince Lombardi Trophies.

With 12 tackles and a goal-line interception of a Peyton Manning pass in the first quarter, Bruschi was at it again last Thursday night, helping the Patriots play a winning tune in their 27-24 season-opening victory over the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium.

Blue-collar tough and blessed with Erik Estrada good looks, Bruschi could be described as the quintessential football hero.

On the contrary, though, in a league filled with trash-talkin', rappin' and squawkin', Bruschi is unique.

Here is that rare NFL star who prefers Pavarotti to Puff Daddy.

"Seeing Luciano in Vegas was the coolest thing I did in the offseason," said Bruschi. "My dad (Anthony Sr.) used to call me in the room and say, 'Hey, Tedy. Sit down and listen to this.' To see (Pavarotti) live with my brother during the offseason in Las Vegas was a real treat for me."

To put that in perspective, Bruschi is a fan of a man who has been singing opera for longer than he has been alive.

"Prior to (seeing Pavarotti at Caesars Palace), I'd just listened to his CDs, listened to his music," said Bruschi. "I love it. That's my father's influence coming into me.

"I like the modern music, the top 20 stuff," said Bruschi, "but I've got as much of (Andrea) Bocelli and Pavarotti as anything else."

As the number of 54 jerseys worn by the female segment of your typical Foxboro crowd suggests, Bruschi exudes sex appeal.

But, to quote the man himself, there's a lot more to him than that.

Bruschi also has sax appeal.

"I was in fourth grade when I knew (the saxophone) was my instrument," said Bruschi. "I absolutely fell in love with it."

Twenty-two years later, he's still at it.

"I played it (last Wednesday, the day before the season opener)," said Bruschi. "Playing my sax, golf (are relaxing). Bad practice, I need to get my mind off it because I don't want to take it home to my wife (Heidi, whom he met at the University of Arizona) and kids (3-year-old Tedy Jr. and 2-year-old Rex). That helps free my mind a little bit."

The problem is trying to find the free time to play it.

If an NFL player's in-season schedule isn't busy enough, Bruschi has the added challenge of having two little ones around the house.

"You've got to keep it low a little bit at times because they're either napping or when they're awake and you're playing, they want to push the buttons," said Bruschi. "It's, like, 'OK. Just push the buttons.' And they're saying, 'Can I blow, Daddy?' They're chipping the reeds and everything like that, but it's fun. It's good to have the kids well rounded."

As a student-athlete at California's Roseville High, Bruschi was well rounded to the point where he paid the price, arriving at school at 6-6:30 a.m. to practice with the marching band, then staying late to practice with the football team.

Yes, Bruschi is one football player who truly marches to the beat of a different drummer.

Developing into an all-conference, all-metro and all-northern California defensive tackle at Roseville, Bruschi was ultimately forced to chose between game plans and sheet music. Graduating from junior varsity to varsity football as a junior, Bruschi opted for sacks over the sax, but he has never forgotten his roots, which date back to the age of seven when he sang in a choir, moving to the clarinet at age eight and then the saxophone at nine.

This past June 21, Bruschi was among those honored at a fundraiser that raised more than $100,000 for the scholarship and outreach programs of the Longy School of Music, a premier center for musical education located in Harvard Square that is one of only eight independent music conservatories in the United States.

Bruschi was one of a select group of junior and senior saxophone ensembles (he was a junior) that played Roger Buckland's "Watch Your Step" at Boston's Symphony Hall.

Nerves?

Just as he did before strapping on his helmet to bang heads with Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison in front of 68,756 fans and a national television audience last Thursday night, Bruschi experienced them prior to carrying his alto saxophone on stage to join 10 students from the Longy Junior and Senior Ensembles.

"Like a game, after the first play, the first hit, in a concert after the first note you're alright," said Bruschi. "It's the same in that way for me."

Just as he relies on the likes of Richard Seymour, Roman Phifer and Rodney Harrison on game day, Bruschi relied on his musical teammates come show time.

"Toward the end, you think about the notes you missed," said Bruschi. "There were a couple of notes I missed, but, just like a game where you might miss a couple of assignments, you can get covered up. I was playing with 10 other junior saxophonists, so your tenor sax next to you might cover up just like in a game where you might mess up a play and a teammate might cover up for you. So it works both ways."

The Enterprise at SouthofBoston.com

Here's a great article that was the Sunday Herald (but wasn't online...) 

Too small to read but here's a picture of the full spread:

I was able to Smart Capture it from my online subscription however it was too big to get full pages large enough to read so I needed to do it in chunks... Toggle between thumbnailed pictures  to read.

Always a step ahead

Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 16, 2004 12:00 AM

Pats honor true patriot
By Brian Gomez
Monday, September 20, 2004

TEMPE, Ariz. - Hunched over near his locker inside Sun Devil Stadium, Patriots  linebacker Tedy Bruschi  paused for a moment to wipe some sweat from his brow, and then to gather his thoughts about Pat Tillman.

``He's an American hero in my mind, for what he did and for the sacrifices that he made,'' Bruschi said of Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals safety who was killed in Afghanistan five months ago.
 

     On Sunday, Tillman, the first NFL player killed in combat since the Vietnam War, was honored across the NFL, as all players wore No. 40 decals on the back of their helmets. The Cardinals paid tribute to their former player at halftime of the 23-12 loss to the Patriots, including the presentation of a framed jersey with Tillman's name and No. 40 to his widow, Marie.
 

     ``He represented the United States, and he fought for us,'' said Pats punter Josh Miller, who, like Bruschi, attended the University of Arizona. ``We were able to take our hat off to him and his family.

ke Bruschi and Miller, Pats linebacker Willie McGinest acknowledged Tillman's sacrifices.
 

     ``He was a good player, and he stood for a lot of things,'' McGinest said. ``Not a lot of guys would have done what he did.''
 

     As he jogged out of the tunnel before the second half, Tom Brady  caught the tail end of the tribute, where fans unveiled a banner of Tillman's jersey that covered about 40 rows. The gesture made the Pats quarterback put things in perspective.
 

     ``What he gave to this country and the sacrifices that he made gives everybody a great example of what a hero he is,'' Brady said. ``He is the type of person you should look up to. What we do by playing football doesn't hold a candle to what he did in his life, and the actions he chose.''
 

     Bruschi understood the importance of Tillman's contributions well before the halftime ceremony.
 

     ``Without the tribute, I know what kind of sacrifice he made,'' Bruschi said. ``I was proud to wear the 40 on my helmet. I respect Pat Tillman, and I'm glad they did something for him.''

BostonHerald.com - Patriots: Pats honor true patriot

Bruschi Still Patriotic

This week's Notes and Quotes: 09/19/04

On Emmitt Smith

`Once you get into your 15th year, I'm sure I can pop in some film from his sixth, seventh or eighth year, and see things he's not able to do now,'' Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said of Smith. ``Back then, he was doing such amazing things. But still, what he does now, is still darn good.    ``I saw him in preseason, and last week, where he ran for that touchdown, and I said to myself, `Man, he's still got it.' He can still do things when his number is called upon.''

BostonHerald.com - Patriots: The lead runner: Old pro Smith can still show the youngsters a step or two

We anticipated them getting the ball early and they had some success early, especially in the early drive," said Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, alluding to Smith gaining 8 yards on each of his first two carries. "But we made a few sideline adjustments and we realize [Smith] is still a threat and we respect that." 

Boston.com / Sports / Football / Patriots / Stop signs align for defense

Report Card:  Linebackers: A-

 Tedy Bruschi, Ted Johnson and Roman Phifer, the rotation at inside linebacker, combined for only four tackles because they were able to shut down Smith early, take him out of the equation and force Arizona to go with the passing game.

BostonHerald.com - Patriots:Report Card

Shula backs Belichick: Downplaying streak is perfect approach
By Michael Felger/ Patriots Insider
Wednesday, September 22, 2004

FOXBORO - At some point the Patriots are going to have to admit they've won 17 straight games - and counting. They're going to have to acknowledge their place in the NFL history books. They can't deny it forever, can they?
 

     Of course, Bill Belichick [news] would like his players to do just that. As Tedy Bruschi  likes to say, the Pats have merely won one game 17 times. That's the company line, and it permeates the locker room, where every player is told not to believe the hype.
 

     According to one former coach who knows a thing or two about streaks, that's the only approach to take.

Rest of article here: BostonHerald.com - Patriots:

On Facing High Expectations:

"I think what you have to do is acknowledge [expectations] first and foremost, because it's on TV, it's in the newspapers, it's in the locker room when the media comes in and you're asked about it," Tedy Bruschi said. "So you have to talk about it. I think you just acknowledge it, respect it, and realize that it's there. You try not to focus on things you did last year. You move on and realize that we've won two games this year and try to make it three."

This system of dismissing expectations and dealing with the task at hand through preparation and strict focus appears firmly in place for the Patriots. This team has discovered a formula of doing things it's own way. Ironically, it's the exact winning success that this system has produced that leads to the expectations the team must now deal with.

"We've been in such a mode for so long," Bruschi said. "Just going, and I think [coach] Belichick does such a great job of just continuing to harp on it. In the team meetings and practices he's just harping on what we have to do to win that week, and I think he's done a good job of that."

Official Website of the New England Patriots - 9/24/04 5:11:01 PM

Patriots awe rookie receiver

Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 24, 2004 12:00 AZ

Receiver Larry Fitzgerald is only 21 and has experienced two NFL games. But he can't imagine a team defending him better than New England did last week.Fitzgerald caught five passes for 36 yards against the Patriots, but most of them were harmless short slants.  "It just showed me how much harder I have to work to get on that level one day," he said. "I've never played against a cornerback the caliber of Ty Law. You come out of the huddle and you see (linebackers) Willie McGinest and Tedy Bruschi. They have so many guys that are Pro Bowl-caliber players."

Patriots awe rookie receiver

September 23, 2004 06:32 PM

NFL Players ''Drafted'' by United Way

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 2004--The National Football League and United Way team has added nine new players to the roster for the 2004 public service advertising campaign kicking off the 30th season of these popular ads which focus on community involvement. The new campaign debuts this month with the start of the 2004 NFL season on ABC, CBS, FOX and ESPN to an audience of more than 100 million people weekly. After three decades, the series has featured nearly 1,000 spots and it is the longest-running charitable collaboration of its kind.

"United Way Draft," the creative concept behind the new ad series, is a spin-off of the NFL Draft. But rather than drafting players into professional football, United Way is drafting featured players and millions of volunteers into civic engagement by encouraging them to get involved in their local communities around the country.

"For more than 30 years, the NFL has helped United Way show millions of Americans what can be accomplished when people work together in their community and truly make a difference," said United Way of America president and CEO, BRIAN GALLAGHER. "With this latest campaign, we hope to inspire even more Americans to get involved in the things they care about most and help improve people's lives."

This year's United Way "Draftees" include: TEDY BRUSCHI of the New England Patriots, KEVIN CARTER of the Tennessee Titans, BRIAN DAWKINS of the Philadelphia Eagles, MARSHALL FAULK of the St. Louis Rams, EDWIN MULITALO of the Baltimore Ravens, CHAD PENNINGTON of the New York Jets, ANTWAAN RANDLE EL of the Pittsburgh Steelers, MIKE RUCKER of the Carolina Panthers and BRIAN URLACHER of the Chicago Bears.

NFL Players ''Drafted'' by United Way;

A man of many talents

Tedy Bruschi has established himself as one of the most productive and popular New England Patriots. The 31-year-old linebacker and team captain contributes on both defense and special teams. A third-round draft choice out of Arizona, the California native has spent his entire nine-year career with the team. There is more to No.54 than football, however. He serves as his own agent and also plays the alto saxophone, twice performing alongside others at Symphony Hall in Boston as part of the Longy School of Music's annual gala. Tedy and his wife Heidi have two sons, Tedy, Jr., and Rex, with a third on the way.

Q: How did you first become involved in football?

A: Football was an accident for me, really. I had moved up to Roseville, California from San Francisco. I moved up there for the second half of my eighth-grade year, met some friends and then going into high school orientation, I saw a few of those friends. They waved me over. Down by their feet, they had some cleats and a cooler. I asked them what they were for, and then said, 'We're going to go and try out for the football team, and you should come.' So I said sounds like fun, and I went.

Q: You play the saxophone and have even performed in public. How did your interest in music develop?

A: It was suggested to me by my mother (laughter). She initially wanted my brother Tony to sing in a boys choir, and my brother didn't want to do it. I said I'd do it. Of course, I was so young, around 7 years old. My brother was close to 10. ... We both ended up doing it. That's how I initially got into music. I ventured into playing the clarinet, which was my first instrument, then moved to the alto saxophone.

Q: Those are two time-consuming activities. At what point did they conflict?

A: They clashed around my junior year in high school. My freshman and sophomore years I played my freshmen or junior varsity football game, then I would change and play at halftime of the varsity game. I would change uniforms and go out there and play (the sax). When I was a junior I was on the varsity football team, and I couldn't do both. I couldn't change my uniform at halftime and go out there and perform. (laughter). I had to make a choice, and I liked football a little bit more.

Q: You still play quite a bit, practicing frequently in the off-season and even some during the season. What does it do for you?

A: It's like going to the golf course. It just takes my mind off things. I always think about football. I try to leave it here (at Gillette Stadium), but I think about football at home. I think about plays, I think about games, I think about opponents. When I play my instrument or I'm out there hitting some golf balls, it really just clears my mind, and I just get in such a relaxed mood where I find myself a lot more enjoyable to be around.

Q: So it's challenging but not competitive?

A: My whole life is based on competition when I'm here. I welcome my music when I don't have to compete with anyone, except with myself in terms of trying to get better.

Q: There must be some pressure when you play in front of people?

A: Yeah, there is. That's when I say to myself there's a lot of people out there, and I get into my game mode, go out there and do what you do. After the first note, you feel better, just like after the first play in football.

Q: You talk about your Mom getting you involved in music, but your Dad influenced you as well. Can you talk about the memorable concert you went to this off-season?

A: Luciano Pavarotti, that was probably the highlight of my off-season. My father would motion me into the room (when I was kid) and say, 'Hey Ted, listen to this song.' It would be Luciano on his record player, he would sit there, have a glass of wine and listen to Luciano Pavarotti's music. I would sit there and listen, too. I sort of learned from my father as I sat there and listened.

Q: Now you say you're not competitive in golf, but I heard you are competitive if you are playing your brother Tony.

A: That's true, that's true. My brother doesn't play football, so we have our little games out there. Not too many words were said when we were playing. It got to the point where we said, 'OK, we're not competing this time, let's just play and have fun.'

Q: Your wife was a high school volleyball coach for a while and a talented athlete as well. Is she as competitive as you?

A: She was a Division I softball player and volleyball player at Arizona. She has a lot of athletics in her background, and she is just as competitive as me. When I would watch her coach, it was more of the same.

Q: You serve as your own agent, pretty unusual in a sport with complicated contracts as well as a salary cap. Did you feel uneasy about that at first?

A: It was a scary a little bit, but I trusted the information that was given me through the players' union and the information I got from other players. I was real confident that I was smart enough to handle it and confident enough that a good deal could be hammered out no matter who I dealt with. To do that, I also knew I wasn't going to have another voice telling me that possibly I'd have to switch teams (to make more money).

Q: You've said before you're more interested in security and continuity than chasing a few extra bucks.

A: When I was a kid growing up, I felt players moving and coaches moving, it really took away from being a fan of the NFL. I like football, I like watching it, but I really couldn't follow a team because it seemed like a team was totally different the next year. I made it one of my goals to try my best to stick with the same team before I got drafted. I've tried to do everything I could to make that happen.

Q: What was like when you realized you became pretty popular, when people starting recognizing you and looking up to you?

A: Every time I see a "54" jersey I'm still surprised. I see someone in the stands with my jersey and name on the back, I sort of shake my head and can't believe someone is wearing my jersey.

Q: Does that popularity add any pressure, any sense that you are a role model? Do you start to think hey, people are watching me?

A: I do think of that. I want to be a role model for kids and show them the right things to do, but I don't want to put too much pressure on myself to do that because I want to be a role model for my family, for my two sons, for my third son that is on the way. If I just focus being the best man, the best father and husband I can be, I think that's all I should really focus on.

Q: You've been in the league for a while now. Are you a guy who wants to play football as long as you absolutely can, or do you think you might be someone who reaches a point where you figure you have accomplished enough and you want to try some different things?

A: I think I'm a guy who is smart enough to know when it's time to move on in my life. I'm in my ninth year now. After every year, I take an inventory, talk to my family about how I'm feeling and how our life is at that particular point, and that's when I make the decision about whether it's time to keep playing or stop.

A man of many talents

Nearing a decade of service in NFL, Bruschi loyal to Patriots

This week's Notes and Quotes: 09/27/04

On Drew Bledsoe:
The Pats have noticed on film that Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe is making a concerted effort at unloading the ball quicker. ``I've seen him hit a number of check-downs already in the last couple of weeks,'' said linebacker Tedy Bruschi [news]. ``He'll look downfield and immediately come back to a tight end or back in the flat. I think he's getting better at that, yeah.'' . . .

BostonHerald.com - Patriots: Wilfork eager to see ex-mate McGahee

Quarterback Drew Bledsoe facing his former team? It's an old storyline, said Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi.    "I think we're used to seeing him as our opponent now," Bruschi said. Bledsoe agreed that "it's not the same as it was a couple of years ago" but acknowledged "it is still definitely a date on the calendar that I am very aware of."

Daily News Transcript - Sports Coverage

To be sure, the Patriots will go after Bledsoe, as the Bills’ offensive line has struggled for over a year trying to protect him.  “You realize you’re going to have a chance to get there, but you’re going to have to beat the protection schemes,” Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. “I’ve seen a number of checkdowns the last few weeks, seen him look downfield and then come back to a back or a tight end. I think he’s getting better at that.”

The Telegraph Online

On Travis Henry:

Buffalo (0-2) has struggled on offense the first two games, averaging only 242.5 yards per game. The Bills, though, do have a rugged runner in Travis Henry who seems to have earned the genuine respect of the Patriots (2-0). The biggest knock on Henry has been that he fumbles too much. "I think he is one of the hardest runners in the NFL," New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "You really need to wrap up on him and tackle this guy because he's established you can't arm tackle because of his strength."

Run defense must face another test

FOXBORO - Streak? What streak?

    That, predictably, is the approach the Patriots [stats, news] are taking toward their quest to match the NFL's unofficial record of 18 straight victories on Sunday in Buffalo.  The players say it all means nothing to them and, with their history, you just might be able to believe them.  ``When you win 16 or 17 in a row, there's a reason why we've gotten here and that's taking it one game at a time,'' said linebacker Tedy Bruschi [news], spouting the cliche they've proven true over and over again. ``We've always looked at it as one game and all of sudden, here we are and you've racked up a bunch in a row and people want to ask you about it. But we're still going to approach it the same way, focusing on the opponent you have that week.''

BostonHerald.com - Patriots: Mum's the word on streak

KRT Wire | 09/29/2004 | In New England, Patriots win titles, but Red Sox are heart and soul

On Matt Chatham:

Many of his teammates, while kidding him about the article, were also surprised to find Chatham had another talent.      ``On the field, and in the locker room, guys put on a certain persona. Like a lot of people didn't know I played the saxophone,'' said Tedy Bruschi [news]. ``Chatham's the same way. It's like, `What, he really did something for the magazine? He can actually write?' So I was really surprised by it.''

BostonHerald.com - Patriots: Take this job and love it: Matt Chatham, Jarvis Green moonlight with eye on the future

This week's Notes and Quotes: 10/05/04

Pats still a bit streaky
By Kevin Mannix/ Report Card
Tuesday, October 5, 2004

Linebackers: A

     Tedy Bruschi should have been voted to the Pro Bowl last year, a slight that won't be repeated this year. He's been dominant, making big plays when the game is on the line. His forced fumble against Bledsoe was the play of the game, just as his interception turned the Colts game in the Pats' direction. He finished with seven tackles (tied for the team high) with two sacks and a forced fumble.

BostonHerald.com - Patriots: Pats still a bit streaky

Belichick on Bruschi

Belichick lauded linebacker Tedy Bruschi for his playmaking ability. Bruschi, of course, stripped Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe in the fourth quarter to set up Richard Seymour's game-sealing touchdown return.

     "I think that there are certain players that sometimes you can't even find the right word or the right identification, but you just know that they are playmakers. They just have a knack for making plays. They have an instinct for the ball or an instinct for the situation. They just seem to make the right decision at the right time and not always do the same thing. They could have the same situation come up a couple of times, one time do one thing, one time do something else, but it's the right thing. Tedy is one of those players.

     "He's very instinctive. He's been a high producer at every level of football he's ever played, regardless of what position it's been at, line, linebacker, special teams. Whatever he's asked to do, he's a good football player. He's the type of guy you want on the field in every situation."
 

MetroWest Daily News - Sports Coverage

Pete Prisco on Bruschi:

Give me 22 Tedy Bruschi's and I'll beat you every Sunday. That guy is a football player, pure and simple. He had seven tackles and two sacks against the Bills. Bruschi is worth every penny the Patriots pay him. If every player in the league played with the passion of Bruschi, we would have better football. I love that guy.

CBS.SportsLine.com - NFL Week 4 Review: Few certainties in parity-driven NFL

 Defensive Player of the Week... Week 4

Patriots win a different way

DAVE GOLDBERG, AP Football Writer

Saturday, October 9, 2004

Just look at some of the plays that have extended the streak:

* Tedy Bruschi's strip of Drew Bledsoe as Buffalo threatened to tie last Sunday's game. Richard Seymour returned it 68 yards for the clinching touchdown. McGinest and Bruschi seem to be the biggest big play men: Bruschi's interception return last season was the only TD in a 12-0 win over Miami.

Patriots win a different way

Game Preview: Miami at New England

Oct 9, 2004
by The Insiders

Patriots:

• LB Tedy Bruschi has been a full-time starter since 1999, his fourth year in the league. Since then, he's developed a reputation as a big-time playmaker with nine interceptions, 38 pass breakups, nine forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and four defensive touchdowns. Of course, that touchdown total doesn't include the one Richard Seymour scored last week when he picked up a fumble forced by Bruschi and ran 68 yards for a touchdown. In three games this season, Bruschi has intercepted Peyton Manning at the goal line, forced that aforementioned fumble in Buffalo and notched a pair of sacks. "I think with some players you can't even find the right word or the right identification, but you just know they are playmakers," head coach Bill Belichick said. "They have an instinct for the ball or an instinct for the situation. They just seem to make the right decision at the right time. Tedy is one of those players.

PatriotsInsider.com: Game Preview: Miami at New England

He's in position to succeed

Versatile Bruschi still a driving force

By Michael Vega, Globe Staff  |  October 6, 2004

FOXBOROUGH -- In his ninth year with the Patriots, Tedy Bruschi has continued to defy description. Is he a defensive lineman in a linebacker's body? Or is he a linebacker with a defensive lineman's demeanor?

"I think there's certain players that sometimes you can't even find the right word or right identification," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick in trying to define Bruschi as a player. "But you just know they're playmakers."

Ah, now there's a word that seems to best suit Bruschi -- playmaker.

"Tedy's one of those players," Belichick said.

Bruschi proved that much in Sunday's 31-17 victory over the Bills, registering two of New England's seven sacks against Buffalo quarterback Drew Bledsoe, marking Bruschi's third multiple-sack game of his career.

"I came in as a defensive lineman and I had to learn how to play linebacker," said Bruschi, who has consistently re-invented himself since he was drafted in the third round of the 1996 draft as a standout defensive end from the University of Arizona. "I tried to take my game to the next level every year -- not just in terms of statistics, but in terms of improving every year as a player.

"You get to a certain point where you can make tackles, you can make sacks and you can make interceptions, but can you take it to the next level and help your team score and get the ball in the end zone or do something that affects someone to help them get the ball in the end zone?"

Bruschi's first takedown of Bledsoe proved pivotal, resulting in a forced fumble as Bledsoe tried a play-action bootleg on a fourth-and-3 attempt from the New England 17 with 2:59 left and the Bills trailing, 24-17. It produced the game's biggest play when Richard Seymour scooped up the loose ball and returned it 68 yards for a clinching touchdown.

Bruschi, though, instinctively sniffed out the play-action well before the ball was snapped to Bledsoe. "I sort of had a feeling the way it looked; the demeanor of the offensive line, and the running back [Travis Henry], and the way Drew had more of a drop-back action," he said, describing what he saw before Buffalo's ill-fated fourth-down attempt. "I felt it was a pass, so I just went for the quarterback instead of the running back."

The ball had no sooner been snapped when Bruschi found himself in Bledsoe's face, poking the ball loose.

"Well, the ball was close when it first came loose and it was either me or Drew," Bruschi said. "One thing I wanted to do was not let Drew get it, so I tried to sort of pick him up a little bit and separate him from the ball. I knew he had better position on it than I did, and I had to hope for the next best thing, which was to hope that one of my teammates would come and get it." 

Seymour pounced, but he never would have scored his first TD as a pro were it not for Bruschi's heads-up play.

"That's Tedy," said safety Rodney Harrison. "Tedy's always around the ball. He's constantly coming up with the big play and he's always delivering for us."

Just as he did the last time Miami visited Foxborough.

Playing before a Gillette Stadium crowd of 68,436 that braved a snowstorm last December, Bruschi helped the Patriots clinch the AFC East Division title with a 12-0 shutout of the Dolphins.

Bruschi helped break open a 3-0 game by scoring the game's only touchdown on a 5-yard interception return of a Jay Fiedler pass, triggering a memorable reaction from the crowd, which celebrated the play by tossing snow into the air in perfect synchronization with Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll, Part 2."

"I don't think it'll be snowing Sunday," Bruschi said with a laugh, referring to the Patriots' AFC East showdown against the winless Dolphins at 1 p.m. at Gillette Stadium. "Maybe it will, you never know. But, yeah, that was a memorable moment from last year and how the fans reacted, you usually can't have a reaction like that because you don't usually have a storm during the game, that close to the game.

"It was something people will talk about, it was last year, but it was something I'll remember. That's one of the greatest crowd reactions I've ever been around, to see the snow go up in the air like that. It was something that you don't forget."

It only served to underscore Bruschi's uncanny play-making ability.

"He's very instinctive and he's been a high producer at every level of football he's ever played, regardless of what position it's been at -- line, linebacker, special teams," Belichick said. "Whatever he's asked to do, he's just a good football player. He's the type of guy you want in every situation. [Special teams coach] Brad [Seely] would love to have him on every special teams. You'd love to have him on every play, defensively.

"He's the type of player you have a lot of confidence in and he's a very productive player. He finds a way to get it done -- not always the most conventional way of doing it, because he's got his own unique playing style."

And that's precisely what drew the Patriots to draft Bruschi.

"I remember when we sat in the draft room and took him, the conversation was, `Look, we're taking him, we're taking a good football player, we don't know what we're going to do with him exactly, but we figure we'll find something,' " Belichick said. "He was a third-round pick. It was a significant pick. It wasn't like he was a throwaway guy in the ninth round or something."

The Patriots converted Bruschi into a linebacker, working him on the outside of their 3-4 defense. He moved from outside to inside linebacker where "he became a third-down, sub-rusher for us," Belichick said.

"It was clear pretty quickly that not only was he going to make our football team, but he was going to help our football team -- and he did in his rookie year in 1996," Belichick said.

"And he was a lot of fun to be around. A high-energy guy, a great guy to coach."

Belichick then offered the perfect description of Bruschi when he said of his playmaker, "He's just a football player." . . .

Boston.com / Sports / Football / Patriots / He's in position to succeed

Bruschi comes up big again
By Steve Conroy
Tuesday, October 5, 2004

FOXBORO - Patriots  coach Bill Belichick  clearly recalled yesterday the discussion he had regarding Tedy Bruschi [news] in 1996 when the Patriots were thinking of drafting him.
 

     At 6-foot-1, Bruschi didn't fit the mold of an NFL defensive lineman, the position he played at Arizona. His level of achievement, however, in the Wildcats' ``Desert Swarm'' defense was hard to ignore. He had 52 career sacks, tying him with the late Derrick Thomas for the Division 1 record, he was a two-time finalist for the Lombardi Award and he was his team's MVP.
 

     ``The conversation was, `We're taking him, we're taking a good football player. We don't know what we're going to do with him exactly, but we'll find something,' '' said Belichick, an assistant on Bill Parcells' staff at the time.
 

     Bruschi established his position on the team as a rookie and has displayed an uncanny penchant for making game-breaking plays ever since.
 

     He did it again Sunday in Buffalo when, on fourth-and-3 at the Patriots' 17-yard line with the Bills driving for what could have been a tying score late in the fourth quarter, he broke through the line of scrimmage. Before quarterback Drew Bledsoe knew what to do, Bruschi was on top of him, knocking the ball out of his hands so Richard Seymour  could scoop it up and run it back for a touchdown.
 

     ``There are certain players that sometimes you can't even find the right word or right identification for, but they just have a knack for making plays,'' Belichick said. ``They have an instinct for the ball or the situation and they just seem to make the right decision at the right time. And he might not do the same thing in the same situation . . . but it's the right thing, and Tedy's one of those players.
 

     ``He's very instinctive. He's been a high producer at every level of football he's ever played, regardless of what position it's been - line, linebacker, special teams. He's just a good football player. He's the type of guy you want on the field in every situation. . . . He finds a way to get it done.''
 

     His play Sunday was just the latest in a long line of big plays made during the team's run to two Super Bowl wins.
 

     ``That's what I feel that not only I can do, but also other guys,'' Bruschi said. ``Willie (McGinest) has taken interceptions to the house, (Mike) Vrabel's made big plays, Ty Law  and our DBs score also. I think a lot of us are capable of not only getting a turnover, but turning turnovers into points.''
 

     He's the only player in NFL history to return four consecutive interceptions for TDs, the most recent of which was his 5-yard return against the Dolphins last season that clinched the AFC East title and set off the memorable snow-tossing celebration at Gillette Stadium.
 

     ``It's not something that's happened by accident,'' he said. ``Ever since I came in the league - I came in as a defensive lineman and I had to learn how to play linebacker - I've tried to take my game to the next level every year.''

BostonHerald.com - Patriots: Bruschi comes up big again

Patriots' Bruschi continues to stop at nothing to come out on top

The veteran linebacker will do anything to get past his blocker and get to the ballcarrier. "If you can't go left or right," he says, "you have to go over him."

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, October 5, 2004

BY KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- As some of his teammates grooved to music, chatted on cell phones or participated in the daily game of cutthroat dominoes, Tedy Bruschi slowly dragged his tired body across the New England Patriots' locker room yesterday morning. As he settled into his locker, someone asked the 31-year old veteran if he was sore.

"Did you see the game?" Bruschi said. "It was real physical out there yesterday."

It's easy to see why Mondays aren't Bruschi's favorite day of the week. On Sunday, Bruschi was one of the stars in the Patriots' 31-17 win over the Buffalo Bills, a game where he threw his body all over Ralph Wilson Stadium just like he has in virtually all 123 games of his career.

"I like going airborne," Bruschi said of his aggressive play. "If you can't go left or right, you have to go over him."

It's a style that's led to a host of big plays, the type of plays that decide football games. Bruschi played a central part in the game's biggest play on Sunday when he blitzed Drew Bledsoe late in the fourth quarter, stripped the ball from the Buffalo quarterback and watched lineman Richard Seymour scoop up the loose ball and ramble 68 yards for a game-breaking touchdown.

Despite an advanced age for an NFL linebacker, Bruschi, 31, seems to possess that special knack for always being around the football. In his nine seasons, Bruschi has 9 interceptions, 22.5 sacks and 4 touchdowns off turnovers.

"That's what I feel I can do," Bruschi said about his playmaking skills. "Not only me, but Willie (McGinest) has taken interceptions to the house, (Mike) Vrabel's made big plays. Ty Law, of course, we feel our (defensive backs) can score also. There's a bunch of us out there on defense who can make a play and get a turnover, but also turn a turnover into points."

Bruschi's heroics, especially late in a game, are so routine they seldom surprise either his teammates or coach Bill Belichick.

"Some things you can't teach," said safety Rodney Harrison. "He has that awareness you can't teach. He's always around the ball and will make the big play."

Belichick was asked yesterday just what it is that makes Bruschi such a difference maker.

"There are certain players where sometimes you can't find the right word or the right identification. You just know they're playmakers," the coach said. "They have a knack for making plays, an instinct for the ball or an instinct for the situation. They just seem to make the right decision at the right time. Tedy's one of those players. He's been a high producer at every level of football he's played, regardless of the position he's been at. Line, linebacker, special teams, whatever he's asked to do, he's just a good football player. He's the type of guy you want on the field in every situation."

Coming out of the University of Arizona as a star pass rusher, some scouts weren't sure if Bruschi could make it in the NFL. At 6-1 and 247 pounds, he was labeled too small for defensive end and maybe too slow for linebacker. The Pats, however, saw a productive player who tied the NCAA record with 52 quarterback sacks. Former coach and general manager Bill Parcells grabbed him with a third-round pick in the 1996 draft.

"I remember when we sat in the draft room the conversation was 'We're taking him. We're taking a good football player and we don't know what we'll do with him exactly,"' said Belichick. "Once he got here, it was clear pretty quickly that not only was he going to make our football team but that he was going to help our football team. That was in 1996. He's a fun guy to coach. He's a football player."

When you string together the type of career Bruschi has, fans and coaches start looking for cracks in the armor. When will Bruschi's body start to break down. When will the injuries take their toll? When will his legs slow to the point where he's no longer effective?

Bruschi says he thinks about such things now but he's faced challenges before. He's helped the Patriots to two Super Bowl victories in three appearances and remains a key to the team's fortunes.

"Ever since I came into the league, I had to learn how to play linebacker and I had to take my game to the next level every year. I had to keep improving as a player," he said. "You get to the point where you can make tackles and make sacks and make interceptions, but can you take it to the next level and help your team score and do something that helps the team win? That's what we're after."

projo.com | Providence, R.I. | Patriots

Bruschi Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week
By: Ian Logue/PatsFans.com
October 06, 2004

Chasing history: Pats close in on NFL legends, dating to Halas Era
By Kevin Mannix
Sunday, October 10, 2004

FOXBORO -- Should the Patriots [stats, news] do the expected and beat the Dolphins today to extend their winning streak to 19 games, they WON'T set an NFL record. The league doesn't recognize postseason games in its official book of records.

     As far as the league anals are concerned, the record for consecutive victories is 17 straight, set by the 1933-34 Bears of the George ``Papa Bear'' Halas Era -- Bronko Nagurski, Red Grange and the rest of the Monsters of the Midway. Using that league mandated criterion, the Patriots have won 15 straight and won't get a chance to share the record until next week against the Seahawks with a shot to break it the following week against the J-E-T-S.

     Record or not, what this team has accomplished over the past calendar year is extraordinary. Should they win today, they will have surpassed the 18 consecutive victory totals compiled by some dominant, Hall of Fame-laden teams.

     There were those early Bears of Halas, Nagurski and Grange. There were the 1941-42 Bears, who in the middle of a 33-2-1 run, had 18 consecutive victories, each by at least 10 points, and featured Sid Luckman and Bulldog Turner. There were the 1972-73 Dolphins who won back-to-back titles and had six Hall of Famers, including former Patriot Nick Buoniconti. Then there were the 1989-90 49ers with Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott, and the 1997-98 Broncos of John Elway, Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe.

     Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers never managed that. Neither did Chuck Noll's Steelers or Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys.

     And here are the Patriots, YOUR New England Patriots, on the verge of history, still following the lead of their head coach, still shrugging off their accomplishments.

     Pretty good stuff there, huh, Rodney Harrison [news]. Deep down, you guys have to feel satisfied with what you've done and are about to do.

     ``It doesn't mean anything,'' the Pro Bowl safety asserted. ``Nothing at all. The only thing that matters is where you are at the end of the season. We're only 3-0 right now. We haven't done anything. We haven't qualified for the playoffs. We've won three games. That's it.

     ``When guys start feeling good about their accomplishments, they're setting themselves up for a fall and to be assassinated by their next opponent. We know that. We also know that the time to enjoy the fruits of our labor is at the end of the year, after the Super Bowl. Just like we did last year. But during the season you have to stay humble and hungry.''

     Kicker Adam Vinatieri [news] shares Harrison's broad overview of the need to look ahead, not behind. But he does admit to an appreciation of what the team has done. Briefly, anyway.

     ``It's definitely a big accomplishment but I guess the way we look at it is we're more concerned about this year and definitely this week,'' Vinatieri said. ``There are a handful of guys on this team who weren't even with us when we won the first 15 (last year).

     ``If we're able to set records, the time to look back will be when we're old and gray. We'll be able to say, `It was pretty damn good to set that record.' It will be the same when we look back on the championship years. This isn't the time for that.''

     Linebacker Tedy Bruschi [news], the catalyst in so many of these victories, simply chuckled when asked about the team's ability to avoid the dangers of enjoying successes under Bill Belichick [news]'s watch.

     ``As soon as we come in after a game, Bill goes over what he saw -- good and bad -- and he's talking about our next opponent,'' Bruschi said. ``I guess we might enjoy what we've just done on the field on the way back to the locker room after the game but that's about as far as it goes.

     ``And it's not just one guy. It's this whole team. We all believe in moving on and focusing.''

     And, in the spirit of teamwork, that leaves the rest of us to focus on the mundane minutiae of in-season records.

BostonHerald.com - Patriots: Chasing history: Pats close in on NFL legends, dating to Halas Era

Bruschi's brain gives him edge
By ALAN GREENBERG, The Hartford Courant

FOXBORO -- There's an old Southern football saying about competing and winning: It isn't the size of the dog in the fight that matters, it's the size of the fight in the dog.

And when the "dog" with the most fight is also one of the smartest, adept at anticipating his opponent's next move, able to overcome his lack of size and speed with an unorthodox but successful style, then you have, in Patriots Coach Bill Belichick's understated term, "a football player."

But isn't every helmeted person in the NFL "a football player?" Only technically. They may all play football, but to a coach's way of thinking, there are only some whose essence makes them worthy of the compliment, "He's a football player."

Tedy Bruschi is one.

Last Sunday in Buffalo against the Bills, the Patriots linebacker, who is generously listed at 6 feet 1, 247 pounds, made another of those big plays that have come to define his career. With 2:59 left and the Patriots clinging to a 24-17 lead, the Bills, having driven 64 yards to the New England 17, eschewed a field goal attempt and went for it on fourth-and-3.

Although an unblocked Bruschi surged through a center-guard gap and sacked quarterback Drew Bledsoe, what made the play special was that before he attempted to tackle Bledsoe, Bruschi had the presence of mind to first try to knock the ball out of Bledsoe's hands.

Bruschi could have done the conventional safe thing. He could have sacked Bledsoe and the Patriots would have taken over on downs. Maybe Bledsoe would have fumbled when Bruschi tackled him, but probably not. Either way, Bruschi would have been acclaimed, not blamed. Assuming that Tom Brady and Co. could then make a first down, the Patriots would have run out the clock to seal the victory.

But by first knocking the ball out of Bledsoe's hands, which allowed defensive end Richard Seymour to grab the fumble and run 68 yards for the game-clinching touchdown, Bruschi made a huge play that, in essence, ended the game.

"In that situation, I don't just want the tackle," said Bruschi, who was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week and leads the defense today as the unbeaten Patriots play host to the Dolphins, going for an NFL record 19th consecutive victory.

"I don't just want the sack. I want the big play. I want the score. That's how our defense thinks. I slapped at the football instead of going for the big hit. Then big Richard got it and took off. That's how we want to play. Somebody do something. Somebody make a play."

Bruschi's way of thinking is pervasive on the Patriots defense, and it's a key reason why they're so successful. Patriots defenders make lots of big plays, but not because they gamble. They're more like card-counters who double down at the blackjack table when they know the percentages are clearly in their favor.

 
Unless they're desperate, which, being ahead, they rarely are, the Patriots defenders won't go for the glory play if they don't have backup, if missing it probably means a big gain or touchdown for the opponent.

 
The Bledsoe strip-sack was Bruschi's second huge play of the young season. In the opener, the Colts, trailing 3-0 in the first quarter, had second-and-goal at the New England 6 when Peyton Manning tried to rifle a throw over the middle to tight end Dallas Clark, who was standing just over the goal line. The ball never got there, because Bruschi, seeing that the play wasn't a run, slipped back into a passing lane and intercepted.

"I think that there are certain players ... they just have a knack for making plays," Belichick said. "They have an instinct for the ball or an instinct for the situation. They just seem to make the right decision at the right time and not always do the same thing. They could have the same situation come up a couple of times, one time do one thing, one time do something else, but it's the right thing. Tedy is one of those players. He's very instinctive."

Bruschi last season became the first player in NFL history to return four consecutive interceptions for touchdowns. The last one, a 5-yard TD return of a fourth quarter Jay Fiedler pass Dec. 7 at Gillette, was the game's only touchdown and sealed the Patriots' 12-0 victory over the Dolphins, clinching the AFC East title.

That's fairly amazing considering Bruschi was a defensive lineman and sack monster (52, tying the NCAA record at the time) at the University of Arizona who played his entire career hunched over in a three-point stance before joining the Patriots.

 
Little wonder that when you ask Bruschi which personal trait he is proudest of when he looks back at his eight-plus Patriots seasons, he doesn't hesitate.

"My intelligence," he says. "That I'm able to learn multiple positions. Every year, I had to reinvent myself and do something different."

Belichick was a Patriots defensive assistant under Bill Parcells in 1996 when the Patriots picked Bruschi in the third round.

"I remember when we sat in the draft room and took him," Belichick said. "The conversation was, 'Look, we're taking him. We're taking a good football player. We don't know what we're going to do with him exactly, but we figure we'll find something.'

"We made him a linebacker. He worked some outside, which is where your pass rushers traditionally play in the 3-4 defense. ... Then we moved him inside. Then he really became more of a rusher in obvious passing situations for us. His role was (to do that) and play in the kicking game. Playing in the kicking game was a little bit new for him. He hadn't done a lot of that his last couple of years in college, so that was an area of growth for him. But it was clear pretty quickly that, not only was he going to make our football team, but he was going to help our football team. He's a lot of fun to be around. He's a high energy guy. He's a great guy to coach."

Bruschi's brain gives him edge: 10/ 10/ 2004

Karen's Note:  Guess I know how to pick em... here's an article on my favorite Patriots Player and my favorite Red Sox Player!

Catalysts for success: Sox’ Damon, Pats’ Bruschi
By IAN M. CLARK and KEVIN GRAY
Union Leader Sports

New Look Sox

Many players have made an impact, but Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon and Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi are emotional catalysts for their teams' success. (AP)

The Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News - 11-Oct-04 - Catalysts for success: Sox’ Damon, Pats’ Bruschi