He is outnumbered again, staring down a menacing double team. If it's fair to say a man's work is never done, then right here -- at the backdoor to his house, after several hours of trading blows and barbs with his New England Patriots teammates -- Tedy Bruschi's long day isn't over yet. When the two young boys lunge at him, chirping with delight, Bruschi sees himself in their tiny faces and hears his own father's words: Get the ball, Tedy. Go get the ball. Those words, which were sometimes said in derision, have motivated Bruschi since he was a child.

The Bruschi boys set upon their dad again and jog him from his reverie, throwing themselves at him over and over. Later, as he is recounting this scene, Bruschi couldn't be happier. "My boys are just like me: really physical," Bruschi says of Tedy Jr., 4, and Rex, 2. "Every day it's a big tackle-athon. I love it. They never quit. They play just like their dad -- and just like their dad's team."

While the Pittsburgh Steelers (15-1) are the AFC's nouveau power and the Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) are the class of the NFC, the NFL playoffs remain the domain of the defending champion New England Patriots (14-2). Winners of 29 of their last 31 games (including the postseason), the Pats have a first-round bye before beginning their quest for a third Super Bowl win in four seasons with a divisional-round game on the weekend of Jan. 15-16. New England is the league's model franchise because each player, no matter his position or cap figure, embraces coach Bill Belichick's team-first philosophy. "I know one thing," says Bruschi, 31, a New England linebacker for nine years. "I was meant to play with these 52 guys, for this coach, in this system."

Indeed, Bruschi seems the picture-perfect Patriot. Hard-nosed and a vocal leader, Bruschi (pronounced BREW-ski, to the joy of beer-swilling, pigskin-loving New Englanders) is admired for his toughness and loyalty to an organization that risked a third-round draft choice on him in 1996, when he was an undersized defensive end out of Arizona. And long before Pats defensive tackles lined up as fullbacks and wideout Troy Brown intercepted three passes as a part-time cornerback, Bruschi's versatility was celebrated. Too small, at 6'1" and 245 pounds, to play end in the NFL, he learned three linebacker positions in two schemes under three coaches. Though unheralded in a conference that features the Baltimore Ravens' Ray Lewis and the Miami Dolphins' Zach Thomas, he has become an All-Pro-caliber inside linebacker and routinely makes game-breaking plays.

But to understand a player so humble that he wonders aloud who would ever read an article about him, ask Bruschi what he considers to be his most important contribution each week. "Punt team," he says, not missing a beat. "The punt's the most important play in a game. So many things can happen: a turnover, a score, a big change in field position. My college coach, Dick Tomey, told me he didn't care who I was -- he needed me on punt team. So I covered punts, and still do. I love covering punts."

Says New England linebacker Mike Vrabel, "Everybody needs a Tedy Bruschi, but good luck finding one. It's impossible to put value on everything the guy does. When he walks into a meeting or a huddle, he brings instant credibility. He's been productive for so long, even though he's had to switch positions. He's everything for this team."

This year Bruschi finished with 122 tackles, second best on the team, and 3 1/2 sacks for the NFL's ninth-ranked defense. But for all his fundamental strengths, it's his knack for making the big play that sets him apart. "Their defense isn't the same without him," says New York Jets center Kevin Mawae. "He plays 100 miles an hour. He makes plays that are unbelievable."

In pass coverage Bruschi reads the quarterback as well as any other linebacker, and that anticipation enables him to jump underneath passing routes. His soft hands allow him to catch many of those throws, and his speed makes him a threat to return interceptions for big gains and points. "When we drafted him [as a linebacker], everybody knew that he could rush the passer, play the run, that he was tough as hell," says Belichick. "But his anticipation, his ball skills, after never dropping into coverage in his life.... He's just tremendous." Indeed, over a span covering parts of the 2002 and '03 seasons, Bruschi set an NFL record by returning four consecutive interceptions for touchdowns.

Ask the Patriots which of Bruschi's plays is the most memorable, and the vote is unanimous. On Dec. 7, 2003, with New England holding a 3-0 fourth-quarter lead over Miami and the Dolphins taking over at their four-yard line, Jay Fiedler threw a dart into the flat that Bruschi, standing just a few yards away, stabbed out of the air. His waltz into the end zone followed by a slide on his knees set off a celebration during which Patriots fans tossed snow and turned Gillette Stadium into a winter wonderland as they celebrated the franchise's clinching of the AFC East. "Any other linebacker in the league knocks that ball down," says New England special teams ace Larry Izzo. "But Tedy caught the damn thing and then scored. Impossible."

"When he made that play," adds linebacker Roman Phifer, "we all got a sense that maybe we were something special." They were, indeed: The 12-0 victory was the ninth straight in a winning streak that stretched to an NFL-record 21 games before a 34-20 loss in Pittsburgh on Oct. 31.

"Everyone can make a big play," says Bruschi. "It's all about that moment, that split second, when you decide what you are going to do: Are you going to just knock the pass down, or will you catch it? Are you going to sack the quarterback, or will you force the fumble? You need time [in the NFL] to build to a level where you know what you can do with your talent. It took me years just to get comfortable."

Raised in San Francisco and Roseville, Calif., by his mother, Juanita, after his parents divorced when he was three (Juanita remarried two years later), Bruschi was initially steered toward music and the arts; he still plays alto sax at recitals with students from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass. His relationship with his father, Tony, was strained. "I saw him on weekends," Tedy says, "so we could only do so much." Tedy started playing football as a freshman at Roseville High, and unsure where to go when the team split into position groups at the first practice, he was told by a coach to join the defensive linemen. He was devastated after Tony told his son that he was too small to play on the line. "We'd have huge fights on the phone," Tedy recalls. "It wasn't pretty." Nevertheless, as a senior Tedy earned all-Northern California honors as a defensive tackle.

When Bruschi arrived at Arizona in 1991, the questions kept coming from the media about his lack of size. But by his redshirt sophomore year he'd emerged as one of the leaders of Arizona's Desert Swarm defense, and he finished his college career with 52 sacks, tying Alabama's Derrick Thomas (later of the Kansas City Chiefs) for the NCAA record. All the while Tedy's father kept telling him to move to linebacker. "He could say what he wanted, but I was doing it," Bruschi says. "I could put my numbers up against anyone in the history of college football. That made me feel good about myself."

So did meeting Heidi Bomberger, a volleyball and softball player at Arizona, in the fall of '93. She was someone Tedy could turn to after angry conversations with his dad. "Having his father doubt him hurt Tedy much more than I think he'll ever admit," says Heidi, who married Tedy in the summer after his rookie season. "Those conversations would always affect him. But he just used the negativity as motivation."

Though Bruschi lacked a natural position, Patriots linebackers coach Al Groh (now the coach at Virginia) wanted him. When Bruschi got the phone call at his apartment on draft day, he was stunned. "I hear, 'Tedy, this is Bill Parcells. We're going to try you at linebacker. Here's Al Groh,'" Bruschi says. "And that was that. I was terrified."

He walked out of the living room, Heidi recalls, and announced, "New England just took me. I'm going to do everything I can to stay there for the rest of my career."

During his rookie season Bruschi was tried at all three linebacker positions in Parcells's 4-3, and of course, he made himself useful on special teams. "It took me almost two years not to laugh when I called myself a linebacker," says Bruschi, who played primarily in passing situations during his first year. "But I was scared. Learning the position was the hardest thing I'd ever done. I'd never played a down without my hand [in a three-point stance]. I was dropping into pass coverage on handoffs. I didn't know what I was seeing. I didn't know how to study film -- and I was making [some of the] defensive calls. I was just hanging on."

When Pete Carroll replaced Parcells after Bruschi's rookie season -- which ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Green Bay Packers -- Bruschistarted to relax and finally felt comfortable while playing inside; in 1999 he was second on the team with 138 tackles. Belichick, who had served as New England's secondary coach in '96, returned as coach in 2000, and Bruschi became a force. "Bill wanted us to be physical, always physical," Bruschi says. "For me, that meant attacking the roaming guards. I'd never done that, but I just went for it. Most places, they ask you to run around guys to the ball. Here, we go through guys."

For all his ferocity on the field, what fans don't see -- and what teammates appreciate -- is his sense of humor and his kindness. He's also a doting husband and father, in part because he finally came to feel like a loving, and beloved, son. In April 2000, after years of disagreements, Tony persuaded Tedy and Heidi to visit him in his hometown of Pontestrambo, Italy, to which he had returned in the late '90s. "It was a self-exploratory experience Tedy needed," says Heidi. "And they both got closure. They fixed the relationship."

While in Italy, Heidi learned she was pregnant with Tedy Jr. The following December, Tony returned to the U.S. to see his newborn grandson, but it was the last time he would be together with Tedy and his family. Shortly thereafter Tony died from prostate cancer. "I'm just happy he got to see my son," says Tedy, his voice catching.

"I have no doubt that Tedy's the dad to his kids that he wished he'd always had," Heidi says. "He's available, he's interested in them. He realizes that his kids want their daddy's attention." At team functions Bruschi shoots video of all the players' children and delivers DVDs of the events to amazed teammates the next day. He no longer watches game tape at home; instead he stays late at the club's practice facility. "I'm all theirs when I'm home," he says of his time with the boys. "If I'm thinking of work at home, I'm cheating my family."

He credits Heidi with his transformation from Tucson party boy to North Attleboro family man. "She makes me want to be better," he says. "I can't imagine a better partner." To the chagrin of teammates, he sets the doting-hubby bar awfully high. He sends flowers with such frequency that his calls to the Foxboro Flower Garden are met with, "What's Heidi getting this week?" Usually, it's her favorite, stargazer lilies, even though their aroma is so pungent that it gives him headaches. "Or on the morning after a game," says Heidi, who on Monday was expected to deliver the couple's third child, "after moaning and tossing and turning all night from the pain from Sunday's game, he'll sneak out of bed at 6:30 and let me sleep in because it's the one morning he can [assist with the kids]. It's small, but it's so loving. He wants to help."

Now, when Bruschi thinks of his father, he recalls bits and pieces of Tony's wisdom and appreciates "how much raising my dad actually did," he says. "I hear him all the time now. It's funny, but he was the first one who told me I'd play middle linebacker in the pros. Guess I should've listened to him."

Bruschi is sitting in Luciano's, an Italian restaurant a few miles south of Gillette Stadium. He takes a last sip of cranberry juice and excuses himself, exchanges greetings with a few admiring patrons and slips out a side door. There are little Bruschis waiting for him at home, small and ferocious, and always coming back for more.

Weather: Pats like it outside
By Karen Guregian
Friday, January 7, 2005

FOXBORO - Football is meant to be played outdoors. Without a roof overhead. In the elements. In places like New England.

Then, there is the brand that is played indoors. Dome football. On a carpet. In a pristine, climate-controlled environment. Where playoff teams such as the Indianapolis Colts, St. Louis Rams, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings play their home games.

Not every football player agrees with that assessment. Some really don't care about the type of venue. Football is football. It's as basic and fundamental as that.

Others, however, aren't as fond of the indoor version, and you can almost guess some of the names of the players in the Patriots [stats, news] locker room who support the original premise.

``I love the fact I play here. I don't want to play in a dome. I love the fact we're grass, you can look at the field right now and it's ugly,'' linebacker Tedy Bruschi [news] said Wednesday, as the snow fell on Gillette Stadium. ``That's the only place I want to play, on an ugly, muddy football field. That's football.

``Growing up in San Francisco, I used to play on the streets, running into cars in the parking lot. So I want it ugly.''

You might say there's something about a carpet that rubs Bruschi the wrong way. He'll debate you all day long about the merits of grass vs. carpet.

``It just feels different. It's not the same,'' Bruschi said. ``I should have spikes coming out of my shoes. I should have grass stains on my uniform. That's the way I feel it should be. I shouldn't come out of a game with turf burns on my elbows.''

Many purists have long agreed. Football isn't supposed to be a clean game. Dirty uniforms are part of the charm. So are games played in inclement weather. And this time of year, that means games in freezing rain, sleet and snow.

Some of the most memorable Patriots games in the recent past involve foul weather. Who can forget the final game played at Foxboro Stadium, otherwise known as the Snow Bowl vs. Oakland? That 2001 playoff victory over the Raiders on a frozen field blanketed with white powder was magical.

Or how about last year's regular-season game with the Miami Dolphins [stats, news], when fans celebrated touchdowns with their version of snow fireworks, tossing up the white stuff in unison all over the stadium with every score.

Given the way it is, without similar facilities, the truly great teams should be able to win in any environment, on any kind of field or surface.

The Colts, a potential foe for the Pats next Sunday, haven't been as dominant playing without a roof overhead. Of their four losses this season, three have come outdoors (New England, Kansas City, Denver). Peyton Manning also hasn't had quite the same success playing in less than ideal conditions.

During last year's AFC Championship in Foxboro - in the snow - Manning had a miserable time, throwing four interceptions.

The good news is the Patriots will play all of their remaining games outdoors, including the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, should they get that far.

``I think when you get to a playoff game, you don't care what (the weather) is. You don't let it affect you. It's a game you've been waiting for your whole career,'' Bruschi said, ``but snowy, cold and windy . . . that's perfect conditions for me.''

While others kick off, Patriots will kick back

FOXBOROUGH -- Some of them watched playoff football yesterday afternoon and again last night. Some will be back on the sofa or Barcalounger today when the Colts take on the Broncos at 1 p.m.

Of course, not all of the Patriot players are as football-crazed as their fans. Four playoff games in two days is a lot of TV time, and the Lawless Patriots don't want square eyes when they reconvene at the stadium tomorrow for their first practice in five days. NFL players don't get much family time on weekends during football season.

Routines vary for those enjoying a bye weekend while eight other worthy teams slug it out.

Bill Belichick will watch today's Colts-Broncos game in his Gillette Stadium office (you thought he'd be at the Opera House for "The Lion King"?). He's already junked his Chargers file. The Patriots' opponent next Sunday is going to be either the Jets or the Colts if they win today. Another file will be tossed sometime around 4 p.m. this afternoon.

The coach and his staff will be at the stadium. The players will be scattered throughout the region, some watching football, others merely waiting for someone to tell them whom they're playing next weekend.

"I'll definitely be watching," said Tom Brady. "I'm still trying to figure out what the other teams are doing and what's going on. It's not the same as watching when you are a fan. When I watched USC and Oklahoma, I was very much a fan. But in these games, I'm trying to study what they're doing. It's definitely different. It's not as much fun."

Think of it this way. Most of us enjoy movies and books. But the enjoyment is tempered if you are assigned to write a movie review or book critique after you've finished. It'll be a similar experience for Brady and the rest of the Patriots who watch the Colts on TV today.

"As much as I do enjoy watching the football part, it's still tempered by the fact that we're trying to get ready to play a football game," said the quarterback. "When the offense is on the field, I'm more of a fan. When the defense is on the field I'll say, `Oh, that play wasn't that good,' or `We won't let that happen.' "

Veteran linebacker Willie McGinest said, "We'll watch the games and get some information from them. We're looking for certain things, certain keys. But you don't play everybody the same, so some of these teams will play us different than what we'll see on TV."

Christian Fauria, Tedy Bruschi, and Joe Andruzzi each have three children. Their TV game days are different from those of their bachelor teammates. Even during the playoffs

"My kids get fired up when we watch football,' he said. "We're all wrestling in bed and during timeouts we'll be tackling each other.

"I think it's important to watch the games. To see what wins and loses playoff football. This is a quest for a Super Bowl championship and you need to see what's done right and what's done wrong. Whether you're a young player or an older player, you look at it and learn from it."

"I don't make any plans to watch the games," said Fauria. "I really don't want to watch it. I don't want to be motivated either way, until we know who we're playing. Sunday I'll be outside doing something with the kids. I haven't set up in front of the TV with the popcorn since I was in high school. If I tried to do that now, my kids would start throwing things at me."

Andruzzi added, "This is time with my family. If we're home, it will be on, but if we're not home, we're doing something else. I'm not planning my day around it. I'm a football fan and everything, but we haven't had time off for a while so I'll spend this time with the kids."

Then there's Adam Vinatieri, who plans to watch every down on his 90-inch home-theater TV screen.

"The more familiar we are to what they are doing, the more advantage it gives us," said the kicker. "I'll have a little bowl of popcorn or something like that and I'll be watching it pretty closely to see special team stuff, what I'm going to be facing. Obviously we get film that is a little more detailed, but I can still see things."

"I'm a big fan of the National Football League," said the thoughtful lineman. "I enjoy watching football. Just to sit back and not being the one getting pounded on or trying to pound someone. I like to watch it on the high-def where you can see the sweat rolling off them.

"It's always good just to watch it from a fan's perspective. Last year when we had our bye, the Cowboys played the Panthers in Charlotte and that's only 50 miles away from my home so I went to the playoff game and got to see it from a different angle, a different perspective. I've never been in that type of environment. I've always been the one out there playing it."

Today Seymour and his teammates will be in the same environment as Patriot fans. They'll be with their families, eating food, camped in front of big screens, plasmas, and home theaters. They'll be watching Peyton Manning perform surgery on the Broncos. Just like you.

And just like you, they think they'll be playing the Colts next Sunday. They're just not alllowed to talk about it until after the Colts beat the Broncos.

EX-WILDCATS IN NFL PLAYOFFS: For Bruschi, time off the field is painful

Patriots linebacker is not into resting, even though team has clinched first-round bye in playoffs.

JOHN MOREDICH
Tucson Citizen

Days off for New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi are as bad as a missed tackle.

The former University of Arizona All-American did not even want to take a few snaps off, as the rest of his teammates did in the regular-season finale against San Francisco last week.

It's football season. Bruschi's stance has been that there is always time to relax later.

But the Patriots were given four days off this week after earning a first-round bye for the AFC playoffs, along with Pittsburgh.

Other ex-Wildcats in the NFL playoffs this weekend are Green Bay receiver Andrae Thurman and tackle Kevin Barry and Indianapolis Colts tackle Makoa Freitas.

Bruschi and former Wildcats All-American punter Josh Miller will sit out this weekend with the Patriots, awaiting the outcome of the game and their opponent in the AFC semifinals.

It is just another postseason for Bruschi, who has been part of two Super Bowls with the Patriots, including last year's victory over Carolina.

"We've got a lot of experience, and that helps," Bruschi told The Middletown Press. "I think it helps because, as you can see, when we got the bye and clinched the division, we weren't running around popping champagne."

The time for celebrating will come later, but Bruschi has something to cherish with the AFC naming him the defensive player of the week after his play against San Francisco on Sunday. The game was meaningless in terms of the playoffs but important to the nine-year NFL linebacker.

Bruschi made 15 tackles, five within one yard of the line of scrimmage or for a loss.

"I told (New England coach Bill Belichick) that the only way I want to finish a football season is to play the whole game," Bruschi told the Concord Monitor.

Bruschi's been playing for the Patriots since leaving the Wildcats in 1995. He switched from defensive tackle to linebacker, and the move paid off for somebody who has played in 12 postseason games.

Joining Bruschi on the Patriots is Miller. If all goes as predicted, Miller may eventually face his old team, the Steelers, with a Super Bowl berth on the line.

Miller, who signed a five-year deal with New England in March, spent the first eight years of his NFL career in Pittsburgh before being cut after the 2003 season.

Miller is averaging 43 yards per punt this year, with 19 of his 56 attempts downed inside the 20. None of his 628 career punts has been blocked.

Megliola: Bruschi pumped up for Bowl run
By Lenny Megliola
Monday, January 10, 2005

FOXBORO -- Tedy Bruschi, standing in front of his locker, was smiling. The questions, some new, mostly old questions, were coming at him from the left, from the right and straight on. He smiled a lot through the familiar drill a famous football player learns to live with.

But not many of them smile as often as Bruschi. There's a built-in mechanism that makes it appear Bruschi's always smiling, even on the football field, even in the mean-street trenches where the 31-year-old linebacker of the Patriots goes to work on Sundays. Maybe it's the corners of his mouth ever ready to curb upward. If he's not completely smiling on the field, clearly he's delighted to be there.

On a day last week, as the questions are tossed Bruschi's way, his smile exists for a special reason and it has nothing to do with the team's bye week and upcoming playoff home game. Nope, Bruschi is still feeling the adrenaline rush of the birth two days earlier of a son. It's the third boy for Tedy and Heidi Bruschi. Tedy Jr. was followed by Rex. Now they have little Dante to add wonderment to their lives.

He watched his former New England coach, Pete Carroll, smile the night away as his Southern California Trojans won the national championship in the Orange Bowl, squeezing the life out of Oklahoma. "I was in bed watching the game with T.J. and Rex," says Bruschi. "Out of the blue, (four-year-old) T.J. shouted 'Defense!' Looks like he's going to be tackling people when he grows up." The thought brings out Bruschi's best Pepsodent smile, wide as the end zone.

But let's not get the wrong impression here. Bruschi has a game face. His line of work demands it, forces him to consider the scabbed forearms, banged-up knees and bloody noses as all in a day's work. Still, he plays with an animated zest, his eyes widening as he sizes up the opponent's offensive set. He's almost salivating, waiting to react to the play, run or pass. My way or the other way. Coverage or just go nail the guy with the ball.

He likes a dirty game. No, not like that. "An ugly, muddy field," says Bruschi. "I want it ugly. You can look at the (Gillette) field right now and it's ugly. That's the only place I want to play. On a muddy, ugly field. That's football." That's the hard knocks game he grew up with in San Francisco. Sort of. "We used to play on the streets and run into cars in the parking lot." So running into an 320-pound offensive lineman or tackling a bearlike tight end is no big deal.

The Patriots play at home Sunday. The weather might be nasty. Rain, snow, fog, sleet, bitter cold. Bruschi can only hope. At least they're not playing in a dome. Football indoors, or any place with fake laboratory grass, now that's something that'll wipe the smile off Bruschi's kisser. "I shouldn't come out of a game with turf burns on my elbows," he says. Grass stains, mud mixed with some blood. Now you're talking.

There can't be many players who get pumped like Bruschi. His father, Anthony, was like that. "He always got fired-up. That's the Italian side of me. I'm half him."

Bruschi has two Super Bowl rings but it's like he has none, such is the hunger to get to Jacksonville Feb. 6 in quest of another one. A third Super Bowl win. "I want it even more," he says. Two is not enough. "I'm confident," says Bruschi. "There's a lot of experience in this locker room, and that helps."

The bye week gives Bruschi some days off, nicely timed given the arrival of Dante. Some of his teammates could use the break too. "A lot of the guys have bangs and bruises." Anyone who's still standing this late in the year has some body part not right. But at least they're still playing.

Bruschi started all 16 regular-season games, even played on punt coverage. More chance for injury, you're thinking? Naa, Bruschi keeps playing even when you think he's down-and-out hurt, like the Buffalo game November 14 when he writhed in pain and limped off as the Gillette Stadium crowd went silent. His teammates call him Gumby and The Contortionist because he seems so flexible. Bruschi just shakes off something that might put another player out of commission.

By the coaching staff calculations, Bruschi was in on 129 tackles, 85 solos. He had three picks, 3 1/2 sacks and two forced fumbles. His teammates and talk radio callers backed him for Pro Bowl selection. Didn't happen. Bruschi took it well. He extolled the play of the Ravens' Ray Lewis, who was picked.

When Bruschi mentioned he watched USC-Oklahoma, the questions turned to Pete Carroll. What happened when he coached here? Why did he fail? "I don't know. It was just a downward spiral. He just couldn't get it done. Then he was out the door. You've got to win." Carroll was 27-21 with the Pats, 1-2 in the playoffs. Awful weak compared to what's happened since. "I still think he can be a good NFL coach," says Bruschi.

These days life's just grand at the Bruschi domicile. "My wife's good, my sons are healthy, let's go win some football games," says Tedy Bruschi. Lots to smile about.

"You wish they were there, but if they’re not you trust the next guy that’s coming in," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said before the Patriots’ four-day break began last Thursday.

Inside linebacker — Tedy Bruschi, Patriots. Nobody blends intelligence and aggressiveness quite like Bruschi. He plays the game the way it's supposed to be played.

Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, a California native and a University of Arizona alum, says: "Snow, cold. That's perfect to me."Since 1993, it has been nearly perfect for the Patriots. Home or away, they are 20-2 in games in which the temperature at kickoff has been 35 degrees or colder. They are 10-0 in that stretch when it's been 30 and below.

FOXBORO - Take it from an insider - literally. Tedy Bruschi, who plays inside linebacker for the New England Patriots, was raving yesterday about the play of the guys who ‘‘set the edge'' for his unit - outside 'backers Mike Vrabel and Willie McGinest.

‘‘They battle tight ends all game long,'' Bruschi said, ‘‘and they're athletic enough that when there's a (Brandon) Stokley in front of them or a (Marvin) Harrison in front of them, they can get their hands on them to sort of re-route them.''

Well, then, McGinest for one can be downright disruptive. In a game-ending, victory-clinching sort of way.

Perhaps the best comment about the so-called assault upon the Patriots' honor came from linebacker Tedy Bruschi on Monday, before the controversy had picked up much steam.

``You're asking me to comment on what a kicker said?'' he asked, a hint of an annoyed smirk on his face. ``It doesn't really concern me, OK?''

No doubt, the Patriots might have taken sharper notice of such commentary if someone with the stature of Manning had taken time out from his busy schedule of cheering on butchers and slapping high-fives with his favorite accountants to cast aspersions upon their honor.

More likely, Manning is probably chanting, ``Cut that crap! Cut that crap!'' to his loose-lipped kicker today.

Patriots inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi said the Colts won't change their game plan if the Gillette Stadium field is wet and muddy. "They are going to still try to do the same things," he said. "They had some success versus us outdoors in the first game." The Patriots edged the visiting Colts 27-24 in the season opener. "They will have confidence (from) that game because they were able to get some deep passes down the middle," Bruschi said. "They still are explosive, even outdoors."

"What's different now than what we've dealt with the past 10 weeks?" asked inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi. "Guys go down. Guys step up. That's just the way football has to be because it is a physical, violent game. "We have some guys who have played now for a while and they have some experience," said Bruschi. "This is a big game for a lot of guys who haven't played in a lot of big, playoff games, but we're confident they'll be ready."

By RUSS CHARPENTIER
STAFF WRITER
FOXBORO - Willie McGinest stands at his corner locker in the spacious Gillette Stadium locker room.

A mob of media spills over from his locker to Tedy Bruschi's not far away. A reporter could walk the short distance to catch both interviews, but he'd hear pretty much the same thing from both. This is the Patriots, after all, and the team's focus has become the thing of legend. No one strays from the party line.

It wasn't always that way with McGinest, in his 11th season in the NFL, all with the Patriots. After the 7-6 playoff loss at Pittsburgh in January 1998, he reportedly went off in the locker room, screaming and throwing things as his frustration overflowed.

By 2001, injuries and a hefty salary seemed to indicate his exit from New England would be sooner rather than later. But his health returned, he came on in the playoffs and Super Bowl that year, renegotiated his contract a couple of times, and it appears he'll be a lifetime Patriot.

"People talk about our defense and they talk about it being physical," Bruschi said. "A couple of guys emphasize that fact - Willie and Rodney (Harrison). They lead the way in terms of being physical. They hit everything that moves.

"The last couple of years, Willie has played outstanding football. I think as you get older in this locker room (Bruschi's in his ninth season) and start to tail off a little, you see Willie and Rodney and Roman (Phifer, 14th season)."

If they're doing it, Bruschi says, then he and others had better keep doing it as well.

"It's our nature," Patriots inside linebacker Roman Phifer said Wednesday. "We live up here. We play in it. We practice in it. So obviously it's something that we're used to."

Snow isn't in the forecast for Sunday afternoon's AFC divisional playoff game at Gillette Stadium, but don't let today's balmy (by January's standards) conditions fool you: 20-degree temperatures are.

That could be a rather cold, hard slap in the face for an Indianapolis Colts team accustomed to playing in the 72-degree comforts of the RCA Dome.

"Being on that carpet in that dome is something special," Patriots inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi said, reflecting upon the Colts' 49-24 romp over the Denver Broncos in last Sunday's AFC wild-card game in Indy. "Those receivers were able to get off the defensive backs' jams and were running down the field. You get those guys flying down the field and Peyton's able to put a lot of yards and points on the board."

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is well aware of the storm he will be forced to weather this Sunday in Foxboro, where he is oh-for-forever (0-6 lifetime).

"One thing about New England and playing at their place, they always play well," Manning said during a conference call with the New England media yesterday. "They're extremely tough to beat and haven't lost there in a long time."

Now 23-3 all-time in regular-season and postseason games at Gillette, the Patriots haven't lost at home since the New York Jets dealt them a 30-17 setback on Dec. 22, 2002, ultimately crushing their playoff hopes that year. Since then, the Pats have won 19 straight regular-season and postseason games at home, a streak that includes a 17-14 win over the Tennessee Titans in an AFC divisional playoff matchup last January that was played with the temperature at kickoff all of four degrees.

"We like to think it does (help)," Phifer said of the cold, "but it's not something we're going to hang our hats on."

While the Patriots won't hang their hats on that, the grounds crew at Gillette hasn't covered the stadium's playing surface all week, exposing it to yesterday's snow and rain — a ploy, perhaps, to slow the field down with Indy's race-horse offense coming to town?

"You've got to ask the groundskeepers about that, man," Patriots inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi answered when asked why the field was left uncovered. "I wouldn't know."

"I don't pull weeds," was Belichick's answer to the same question. "I don't rake the grass."

Regardless of the elements Sunday, Patriots placekicker Adam Vinatieri said his pregame ritual will remain the same.

"Get out there early, figure out what the conditions are, and then make sure you've got the right shoes," said Vinatieri. "From there, you just rely on what you've done."

Neither Bruschi nor strong safety Rodney Harrison felt the cold would alter the game plan of a high-powered Colts offense that rode Manning's NFL-record 49 touchdown passes to 522 points during the regular season and another four TD throws by their two-time MVP to another 49 points against the Broncos last Sunday.

"It doesn't change," said Bruschi. "They're going to try to do the same things. They had some success versus us outdoors in the first game (446 yards in total offense in a 27-24 loss to the Patriots in the teams' Sept. 9 regular-season opener at Gillette). I think they'll have confidence looking back here because they were able to get some passes down the middle of the field against us. They're pretty much still an explosive Indianapolis offense."

"They've beaten teams in cold weather. They've beaten teams in warm (weather)," said Harrison. "Those guys are going to be ready. They're going to catch touchdowns. They're going to run the ball. It doesn't matter what surface they're playing on. They could be playing on hot coals. They're going to do what they do."

While the Patriots worked out at the indoor practice facility yesterday, they vow to be ready to play outdoors Sunday.

"We're not going to let the weather be an excuse or a factor for us," said Phifer. "We're not going to depend on the weather. We have to go out and execute, pretty much have a flawless game to have a chance to win."

Bruschi has battled on, off field

LB tackled alcohol, QBs

NORTH ATTLEBORO -- He is two men. At game time, New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi is the lunatic who prowls the football field and hunts down anyone who dares to advance the football. One hour later, he is the doting father who takes newborn son Dante in his arms and serenades him with gentle strokes and sweet whispers.

Bruschi's journey to separate one man from the other has been challenging, heart-wrenching, and immensely satisfying.

It has meant learning how to keep all of his football energy confined to the field.

''All the wives say the same thing," Heidi Bruschi noted. ''They all say, 'Tedy is so shy. He is so soft-spoken. But he is so crazy on the field.' "

''I was crazy on the field, and I was crazy off it," he said. ''Everyone has their own speed. Mine was very high."

There was no one particular moment that led to one of the most significant decisions of his life. It was a gradual realization that he was losing control at all the wrong times.

"I got to a point where I realized whenever there was a problem in my life, whether I was getting into trouble or having trouble in my marriage, alcohol was involved," Bruschi said. "It was an accumulation of events. I was about 24 or 25 years old. Heidi and I were having one of our arguments, because I had taken it too far one more time. "I looked at it and I said, `I'm tired of this.' So I quit drinking."

At the time, Bruschi was married with a young son. Nearly six years later, he has three boys and two Super Bowl rings. His team continues its quest for a third championship today against the Indianapolis Colts with Bruschi as the undisputed leader of a shorthanded defense that will be facing its most significant challenge in three years.

The aggression has roiled inside him for as long as he can remember. Bruschi can't say for sure why. Maybe it's from growing up in a part of San Francisco where the tourists never go, a place where the streets, as Bruschi recalls, "were not so favorable." Maybe it's because his parents divorced when he was young. It certainly intensified when the family moved to Roseville, just outside of Sacramento, and began measuring themselves against nearby Oakmont. Nobody at Oakmont wore hand-me-down clothes. They drove new cars. They had more, but they were not content with that. The Oakmont kids liked to rub it in. They liked to remind the Roseville guys of what they didn't have -- of what they would never have. They liked to watch the Roseville kids burn.

"I'll never forget one of our high school practices," said Bruschi's former teammate, John Drinkwater. "We had this kid that had transferred over from Oakmont named Eric Tennison. We're doing a walk-through on punt returns. Eric had the ball. Tedy absolutely drilled the kid, then stood over him shouting, `That's sticking it to you, Oakmont!' We had to pull him away and say, `Hey, Tedy, back off, man. It's just a walk- through.' "

No. There were no walk-throughs in Tedy Bruschi's life. It was full speed ahead, all the time, whether it was on the field, in class, at home, or in best friend Josh Tindall's 1979 Corolla. Bruschi couldn't turn off the intensity as if it were some kind of switch. It coursed through him. It defined him.

Bruschi is ready. He always has been. His drinking, he insists, never affected his play, only his off-field decision-making.

"I still go out with the guys from the team, but I haven't had a drink in a long, long time," Bruschi said. "The guys know. Sometimes when we're in the tent [for the postgame celebration] after the game, Jen Vrabel will bring me an O'Doul's."

Tindall, who grew up with Bruschi and played football at Roseville with him, said he would never characterize Bruschi's drinking as a problem, but added, "That's typical Tedy. If something is getting in the way of his life, he's going to trim the fat."

Yet Bruschi does not minimize what became a potentially explosive issue for him and his family.

"I think the reason anyone quits drinking is because they have a problem," Bruschi said. "You better man up to it. When I drank, I couldn't stop. It had to be all out, just like on the football field. One beer wasn't enough.

"I'm not ashamed of myself. I'm not afraid to stand here and say I made a mistake."

On Larry Cunha's first day at Roseville High as a new football coach and a World Studies teacher, he took roll call.

"No, coach, that's Tedy Brew-ski," answered the young student. "As in, have another."

"He was only a sophomore at the time," Cunha said. "But he was already a leader."

Everyone in Roseville knew Tedy. He was bright, humble, and loyal. He was also a superb athlete who starred in football, track and field, and wrestling. When he and Tindall went to watch the Roseville-Oakmont basketball games, they'd hold up signs with disparaging remarks about the Oakmont football team. When the Oakmont cheerleaders took center court for their halftime routine, they would have to compete with Bruschi, who was under the basket leaping into the air and doing toe touches.

Did you ever see the movie `The Outsiders'? " Bruschi asked. "Well, the Oakmont kids were the Socs. We were the greasers."

He rattled around town with Tindall in his beat-up Toyota, which they nicknamed the Batmobile, and confided in each other about their fears, their wishes. In Bruschi's case, he wished his brothers paid more attention to him. He wished his father wasn't so tough on him. He wished his mother's life wasn't so hard.

"I had a chip on my shoulder the size of a boulder," Bruschi said. "I suppose it comes from growing up hard. I can't fully explain it. All I know is it seemed like I was angry a lot when I played football."

Bruschi quickly developed a reputation as a hard-hitting two-way player who spared no one from his fury -- not even teammates.

"According to our punt coverage, Tedy would be responsible for the third guy over," said Tindall. "We'd start counting off in practice. We'd get to three, see our tight end Jeff Johnson, then say, `Aw, old Jeff is going to get it.' Then we'd sit back and watch Tedy loop around and just level the poor guy.

"It got so bad that midway through Tedy's junior season, the coach called it off. We couldn't practice it anymore. Too many of our own guys were taking a beating."

Roseville wrestling coach Casey Griffin drooled over Bruschi's aggression, athleticism, and instincts, and began badgering him to join the team. Bruschi finally agreed in his junior season. The biggest match, naturally, was against Oakmont. An anticipated close contest quickly became one-sided as Roseville enjoyed a couple of lucky breaks in the lower weight classes. By the time they got to the heavyweight class, the match had been decided. Even so, Oakmont's top wrestler, state qualifier Bodie Loutzenheiser, decided to forfeit his match in the 190-pound weight class and go up one class to face the novice Bruschi.

"They start the match, and Bodie takes Tedy down," Griffin said. "You should have seen Tedy's face. It was like someone had placed his hands on a hot iron. His eyes got to be the size of silver dollars. He jumped up off that mat, drove Bodie backward, and pinned him. The place just went crazy."

"The head of the Oakmont wrestling team was a football coach," Bruschi said. "Bodie was a football player. I think he moved the kid up so he could say he got Bruschi. Well, I wasn't going to allow that to happen."

Bruschi protected his friends with the same fervor with which he protected his reputation. He didn't walk away from much. One night he was home from college and out with the boys celebrating Drinkwater's 21st birthday at a local spot called Bobby McGee's, where another group of guys began harassing a waitress. Bruschi's friend told them to stop. The haranguing continued. Bruschi smoldered as he watched. The Oakmont kids -- "the fancies" as Cunha called them -- got under Bruschi's skin.

"That was always a mistake with Tedy, to get on someone less fortunate than you," Tindall explained. "It's wrong to gloat. It's wrong to enjoy someone else's misfortune. He just hated that."

When Bruschi and his friends left the bar, the other group was waiting for them in the parking lot. One of them started trading insults with Bruschi's brother.

"They wanted to fight us," Tindall said. "Tedy told them to take off. He told them very calmly. He told them more times than I would have. Then he turned to me and said, `JT, open the door.'

"The other guys were driving a Mustang convertible," Drinkwater said. "Out of nowhere, here comes Tedy. He levels this guy, who is about 6-4, 240 pounds. He just flattens him right into the back of the convertible."

There were more nights like Bobby McGee's. Too many of them. By then, Bruschi had met Heidi, who was a softball player at Arizona. He was taken with her. The only time they were at odds was when he went out with the boys and lost track of the time, the beers, and the promises to come home.

"There comes a time in every person's life when you have to take a good look at yourself," Bruschi said. "I wanted to be a good husband. I wanted to be a good father. I decided I couldn't act the same way that I acted on the football field anymore."

He did not make a grand pronouncement about his lifestyle change. He simply trusted his friends, teammates, and family to quietly note the difference.

"The last time I saw him take a drink was his second year in the league," Tindall said. "They played Green Bay on `Monday Night Football' and I went out to Foxborough for the game. Tedy had the next night off. We went out and got pretty liquored up. He was crying because I was leaving the next day. He kept saying, `JT, man, you gotta stay.' He was in one of his happy moods. Sometimes when we drank, we weren't always so happy."

There are no more nights like that. Bruschi has trimmed the fat. He has pared down his life to his family and his game.

"He's matured," offered Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "I think we have a lot of players who are very aggressive on the field, but have a very different personal life off the field. Maybe football is the way they release their aggression."

Funny how that aggression no longer roils inside of Bruschi. He is successful and well-respected. He was fourth in the All-Pro voting at inside linebacker. He is recognized as one of the more charitable athletes in New England. He is immensely popular with his coaches, his teammates, and the fans.

"As my career has gotten longer and longer, the chip on my shoulder has gotten smaller," Bruschi said. "My motivation has changed. I'm no longer motivated to prove something to somebody. My motivation now is to go out and make my family proud."

There are times when the intensity flares and his emotions overtake him, although those incidents have become rare. In fact, when it was first discovered that Bruschi had drawn an unsportsmanlike penalty in the Baltimore game in November, more than one observer in the press box wondered whether there had been a mistake.

"No, it was me," Bruschi said. "They got Matt Chatham for a facemask penalty and I got so mad I kicked the flag. They got 30 yards and 3 points on that. The only points of the game. That's on me."

On the day of New England's victory over the Ravens, both Tindall and Drinkwater watched their friend, as they do each Sunday, from their Roseville homes. JT is a police officer now. Drinkwater is a businessman and a part-time coach for their old high school team. They live vicariously through their friend, through the lunatic on their television screen who is still leveling everyone in his path.

"You've got to channel intensity like that," Tindall said. "You've got to surgically pinpoint when to use it. If you don't apply it the right way, it's wasted."

The two men who make up Tedy Bruschi understand that. The linebacker and the father approach their jobs with a clear-headed resolve. There is room in Bruschi's life for both of them. His journey has led each of them to their own separate peace.

Bruschi rips Colts: Fires parting shots in war of words
By Dan Ventura
Monday, January 17, 2005

FOXBORO - Tedy Bruschi [news] heard the whining of Bill Polian, the crying of Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning, as well as the boasting of Mike Vanderjagt.

Shortly after the Patriots [stats, news] advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the third time in four years with a 20-3 dismantling of the Colts yesterday at Gillette Stadium, the linebacker had a few choice words of his own for the visitors.

``I'm just trying to think of what excuses they'll be saying in the locker room right now,'' said Bruschi, who was superb with eight tackles and two fumble recoveries. ``I wonder what rules they want to change now. Maybe it will be we can't play a game in the snow. I don't know, but they will think of something.

``I was just tired of it. I was tired of hearing this and that, them talking about the last game (a 27-24 Patriots victory in the season-opener) and how we didn't win the game, that they lost the game by giving the ball away.

The veteran linebacker made his presence felt in the second quarter. After being held in check, the Colts put together their most sustained drive, moving the ball inside the Patriots' 40-yard line. On a second-and-17 from the Pats' 39, running back Dominic Rhodes caught a screen pass from Manning.

Rhodes was immediately met by Bruschi, who attacked the ball and successfully stripped it away to end the scoring threat. The way Bruschi described the play, it was a classic mano-a-mano battle, one he had no intention of losing.

``What that is is somebody wanting it more than the other guy,'' Bruschi said. ``It was me and him, and the ball was right there. That was a take-away. Hopefully, (the Colts) won't be calling that a giveaway because that was a takeaway.''

Bruschi was the happy recipient of a second fumble recovery midway through the fourth quarter. Harrison was stripped of the ball by the combination of Roman Phifer and Rodney Harrison [news], and Bruschi was there to pounce.

``That was (Phifer) and Rodney,'' Bruschi said. ``Phifer caught him from one side, ripped his right arm out. Rodney came and took his left arm out. And once again, we took the ball away.''

The win gives the Pats a chance at redeeming one of their two losses of the season when they travel to Pittsburgh for Sunday's AFC Championship Game. Bruschi wasn't about to pull a Vanderjagt and claim the Steelers are ripe for the taking.

``They proved they were the best team in the league at 15-1,'' Bruschi said. ``I'm sure they weren't satisfied with their performance against the Jets (a 20-17 overtime victory Saturday), but they find a way to win.''

BLAST FROM PATS

New England advances by keeping ball from Indy

By RANDY COVITZ The Kansas City Star

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi drank so much Gatorade on the sidelines, his stomach was aching.

January 17, 2005 -- FOXBORO — The play looked rather routine. Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi tackled running back Dominic Rhodes, who had just caught a second-quarter Peyton Manning screen pass.

Big-play 'backer: Ball-hawking Bruschi comes up large
By Mike Reiss / News Sports Writer
Monday, January 17, 2005

No-frills Pats whip Manning, Colts
By Steve Krause
Monday, January 17, 2005

Guregian: Bruschi -- So instinctive
By Karen Guregian
Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Bruschi in the middle of things again
By Associated Press
Tuesday, January 18, 2005

FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots forced three fumbles in Sunday’s playoff win against the Colts, and it should come as no surprise that Tedy Bruschi was involved in all of them.

Bruschi, a ninth-year linebacker, has been one of the most consistent players during the Bill Belichick era, and he’s earned a reputation for being a top-notch performer in big games. On Sunday, he forced a fumble and recovered two as the Patriots became the first team to hold Indianapolis without a touchdown all season.

FOXBORO, Mass. -- There's a certain way of doing things in New England, and players fall in line or they don't stay long.

PITTSBURGH -- The Lamar Hunt Trophy, emblematic of the AFC championship, was escorted off the field last night by New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

Bruschi, of course, had a full feeling, as in having his hands full of silverware.

FOXBORO, Mass. – He is one of six Patriots left from the team that went to the 1997 Super Bowl. Troy Brown, Willie McGinest, Ted Johnson, Ty Law and Adam Vinatieri are the others.

Asked about being increasingly regarded as the public face of the Patriots, Bruschi, 31, called it “a tremendous compliment. It’s not like I got here (as a third-round draft choice out of Arizona in 1996) and learned to be this (ultra-competitive) way. I’ve always been this way. … When the going gets tough, grit your teeth and don’t run away from your problems.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The strength of the New England Patriots lies in those three words: New England Patriots. They are every inch a team. Individuals need not apply.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 1 -- When Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb looks across the line Sunday afternoon at the New England defense, much of his attention will focus on the Patriots' four starting linebackers, a versatile unit of football-smart, big-game savvy veterans who represent the team-first spirit of the defending Super Bowl champions.

Asked earlier this week what concerned him the most about the Patriots' defense going into Super Bowl XXXIX, McNabb said: "Just how they play together and their chemistry out there. Those guys play so well together, and you can see the flow. They have each other's back. One guy might be out of position, but he has the confidence that the other guy can at least get back in position or help him out to make a play. They just seem to step up when the time is there to step up."

The linebackers -- Tedy Bruschi and Ted Johnson on the inside and Willie McGinest and Mike Vrabel on the outside -- have played on the Patriots' past four Super Bowl teams. None was voted by players, coaches and fans to go to the Pro Bowl this year, but teammates and New England coaches know that without them, the Patriots would not be playing for their third Super Bowl title in four years.

Bruschi, a defensive lineman at Arizona, has become the embodiment of the Patriots' philosophy as a player who doesn't have an agent and renegotiated his contract extension in the offseason -- including a $3.5 million signing bonus and salaries totaling $3.9 million through the 2007 season. He almost certainly spurned a big free agent payday to stay with the team that first drafted him in the third round in 1996 when Coach Bill Belichick was the team's defensive coordinator.

"I'm not looking for any spotlight or any individual accolades," Bruschi said. "I'm just worrying about how to win a football game.

"If I wasn't the guy I was, I could easily be somewhere else. But I just said no because I don't want to play anywhere else. To me, [being in the Super Bowl] is what you want to do, this is what you want to be a part of, being here in this game and playing for another championship."

Belichick recently recalled that the Patriots' coaching staff at the time wasn't exactly sure how it would use Bruschi once New England selected him in the draft.

"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'll figure out something,' " Belichick said. "He's the type of guy you want in every situation. He's just a football player."

Johnson arrived in New England a year before Bruschi in the second round from Colorado. Injuries in recent years have curtailed his playing time, but he started 15 games this past regular season and finished third on the team in total tackles. Probably the best run-stopper among the linebackers, he had eight tackles in the Patriots' 41-27 victory over the Steelers in the AFC title game. He's also a firm believer in Belichick's team concept.

"A lot of our success is based on continuity," he said. "We all possess vastly different skills, and we all realize that and we accept our role. I can't do what Tedy does, or what Willie does, but they can't do some of the things I can do. It's just a unique group of talented players with a high level of character."

McGinest was the most heralded of the Patriots' current linebackers coming out of college, the fourth overall player taken from the Southern Cal in 1994. A defensive end for the Trojans, he's developed a well-earned reputation for making big plays in recent years, often in the biggest games. In a season-opening victory over the Indianapolis Colts, it was McGinest who helped seal the victory with a 12-yard sack of Peyton Manning, forcing a 48-yard field goal miss by Mike Vanderjagt.

"I consider myself a big-time player," McGinest said. "I don't do a lot of talking about it. We have a lot of big-time players on this team. If you consider yourself a player who can make an impact, then you have to make the big plays in the big games when it counts and when people need you. When it's either win or go home, the game on the line, if you can't depend on certain guys, then it's really no use."

Vrabel also has made a huge impact in New England as the only starting linebacker not originally drafted by the Patriots. He started his career in Pittsburgh, had some difficulty adjusting to the Steelers' system, then departed via free agency after the 2000 season. He signed with the Patriots and is at his best covering receivers out of the backfield or rushing the passer. He's also been used as a goal line tight end, catching two touchdowns this season, with a touchdown reception last year against Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

He's proud of his versatility and extremely proud to have finished his college degree in biochemistry at Ohio State this past offseason.

"I was in the classroom, in there with a bunch of nursing students," he said. "It was like 12 girls and me, which wasn't bad. I didn't have to take a whole lot of notes. The teacher kind of figured it out. I walked in, and it was kind of like, 'Why are you taking this class?' and it was like, 'Well, it's the last one I need to graduate.' It was cool. They watch [the games], and I get letters from everybody from the class, so it was cool."

4 Patriots, 4 Roles, Only 1 Goal (washingtonpost.com)

Patriots' Bruschi a paragon for versatility

By HANK GOLA

New York Daily News

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The New England Patriots think of themselves as a team, but if there is one individual who personifies that team, it is middle linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

Bruschi never has been to a Pro Bowl in nine seasons in New England, but this is his fourth Super Bowl and third season as defensive captain.

He is one of those many Patriots who does everything and does everything well. And he is one subject that Bill Belichick has no problem talking about.

"It's huge," he said of Bruschi's presence in the middle of the defense. "Bruschi is a fun player to coach. He's got great versatility, a very high level of energy and enthusiasm that he brings to the team. He's a smart player. He instinctively seems to do everything right in the right situation.

"He's a guy you want on your special teams and he's involved in a lot of situations defensively from sub defense to goal line and all the things in between."

Bruschi never comes up in a discussion of great middle linebackers. He's no Ray Lewis. But Bruschi fits Belichick's blueprint for versatility. The coach recalled times when Bruschi was put in unfamiliar situations.

"You can't go over everything that happens. You might be standing there, saying, `We've never gone over this with Tedy.' Well, he almost always does the right thing. He just knows how to play. He knows how to play with power, he knows when to try to squish people in the pass rush, he knows when to tackle a guy low and when to try to go for the big hit. He just has a great sense of how to play football."

"Obviously, Tedy is that focus point for us," LB Mike Vrabel said. "He's the defensive captain, he calls the signals and makes lot of huge plays. Every week, it's a pick, a fumble . . . he's going to do something. You just don't know what play it's going to be."

Bruschi is not one of the four Patriots heading on to the Pro Bowl after Sunday (two are special teamers), along with 10 Eagles. But when asked if he cared yesterday, he said, "Look at me. Do I look like I care?

"Our identity," he said, "is the word team."

But when Bruschi was told he is the personification of that team, he blushed.

"I think that's the highest compliment you can give me," he said. "Because I'm just being who I am and who I was raised to be, a team player. I'm not looking for the spotlight, just looking for how to win.

"We sort of look for guys who can do more than just one thing. Mike Vrabel was a defensive end in college, so was Willie McGinest. To play on this team, you've got to be multi-dimensional because when we're playing out there on Sunday, everything is in our repertoire."

Bruschi was an undersized defensive tackle at Arizona, where he tied Derrick Thomas' career sack record with 52. He was a two-time finalist for the Lombardi Award.

"You look at him and you can't even picture him as a defensive tackle, yet he was one of the best in the country," Belichick said.

But after starting his career on the line (he picked up two sacks in Super Bowl XXXI) he worked his way into a part-time linebacker spot the next season. By the end of `98, he was a fixture. Now, he's a symbol.

KRT Wire | 02/02/2005 | Patriots' Bruschi a paragon for versatility

Serving Bruschi's on the Beach in Hawaii
By Jon Scott Patriots Insider
Date: Feb 2, 2005
New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi was finally named to the Pro Bowl for his first career trip to the all-pro game. Bruschi, had deflected questions all week about the Patriots players not getting enough credit. He is just the fifth Patriot to go to the Probowl this year. The Philadelphia Eagles have ten players going.

It seems now that Bruschi's teammates will get a little satisfaction that one of their best players is getting his just reward.

Patriots Report: Bruschi Makes the Pro Bowl, Finally
by Jon Scott, Patriots Insider

New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi was invited to go to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career. Bruschi, a nine-year veteran, has been a staple of the Patriots unheralded linebacker group since he joined the team in 96. A unit which has been overshadowed by louder, more animated players in the league. Bruschi will take the place of injured Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.

Why Bruschi? It's simple, he's the best linebacker in the league who was next in line for the invitation. Just ask head coach Bill Belichick about the type of impact Bruschi has on the game. "It's huge. Bruschi is a fun player to coach. He's got great versatility, a very high level of energy and enthusiasm that he brings to the team. He's a smart player. He instinctively seems to do everything right in the right situation.

"He's a guy you want on your special teams and he's involved in a lot of situations defensively from sub defense to goal line and all the things in between."

Bruschi becomes the fifth Patriots player to be invited to Hawaii, joining Tom Brady, Larry Izzo, Richard Seymour and Adam Vinatieri for Pro Bowl honors. Izzo, also a linebacker, was selected for his abilities as a special teams ace.

Fellow teammates adore what Bruschi brings to the team as a leader and as the defensive captain.

"Obviously, Tedy is that focus point for us," linebacker Mike Vrabel said. "He's the defensive captain, he calls the signals and makes lot of huge plays. Every week, it's a pick, a fumble . . . he's going to do something. You just don't know what play it's going to be."

Patriots veteran safety Rodney Harrision thinks Bruschi belongs in the same breath as other teams Superstars. "Every one of us that lines up on the field is a superstar. He said. "You look at guys like Willie McGinest and Tedy Bruschi, who also dominate there positions. There are guys that stand out because they master their positions."

Obviously Bruschi has become a major factor in the Patriots defense, but what makes him tick? Bruschi had a chance to leave for greener pastures during contract negotiations, but he opted instead to stay with this team. When asked why he would make such a choice Bruschi replied:

"I was really trying to show people that there are players out there who don't care about certain things I care more about being with this team than going out and being a free agent and trying to (make more money). I wanted to let fans know that when I was a kid growing up, it really bothered me when I saw players going from team to team. I wanted to be a guy that maybe stuck with a team for an entire career."

It looks like Bruschi is finally getting his just rewards. After nine seasons with the same team, the former 3rd round draft pick out of Arizona will have more than just another Superbowl ring to show off if they Patriots win this weekend, he'll have his tickets to Hawaii as well.

Notable Bruschi moments this season:

Week 1: Intercepted Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning to snuff out a scoring drive at the Patriots 1 yard line in the first quarter of a 27-24 Patriots win.

Week 4: Sacked and forced a fumble by Buffalo Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe, resulting in a Richard Seymour recovery and romp to the end-zone to end a Bills comeback threat and effectively seal the victory.

Week 10: Intercepted Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe in Patriots territory returning the ball to the Bills 29. The return set up a score 4 plays later from Brady to Fauria, putting the Patriots up 20-0 in the second quarter and blowing the game wide open.

Week 11: Kansas City Chiefs 3rd and 1 on the New England 4 yard line, were driving for the tying score down 10-17 in the second quarter. Bruschi fills the hole stuffing Chiefs running back D Blaylock for a 1 yard loss forcing the Chiefs to settle for a field goal. The Chiefs were never in a position to tie or win the game again after that drive.

Week 12: Fourth period, 2nd and 10 Baltimore Ravens ball on their own 20, down 17-6. Bruschi beats his man to sack Boller at the 8, forcing a fumble. Bruschi tries for the recovery at the 2 and fellow Patriot defensive lineman Jarvis Green recovers the ball in the endzone, building the Patriots lead 24-3 with about 14 minutes left.

Week 14: Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Bruschi sees extensive playing time on the special teams unit. He ended the day by leading the team with 10 tackles and 4 assists. It was Bruschi's key stop of Bengals Fullback Jeremi Johnson on a 3rd and 1 at the New England 40, which ended up preventing the Bengals from tying the game at 7 in the first period. The teams alternated scores from that point on with the Patriots holding on to the victory 35-28 at the final buzzer.

Week 16: First period, New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington orchestrates a drive to midfield, and fired a pass downfield for Santana Moss. Bruschi stepped up to snag the interception and rumbled 36 yards back into Jets territory. Bruschi's play set the tone for the Patriots defense which appeared to be focused on stopping the Jets who were trying to throw the ball downfield against the Patriots linebackers.

Week 17: Bruschi leads the team in tackles with 9 solo and 6 assists. The Patriots had their scoring first streak stopped, and looked to be losing focus in this game. Bruschi's hard hitting and leadership helped the defense to regroup, stiffen up, and slow down the momentum San Francisco has established to take the early lead.

Division Playoffs: Indianapolis Colts behind 0-6 with just over 3 minutes in the 2nd quarter were moving into scoring range at the Patriots 29-yard line. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning throws to Dominic Rhodes who gets stood up 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage, but instead of tackling Rhodes, Bruschi rips the ball out of Rhodes arms for the tackle, forced fumble and fumble recovery. The teams went to the half, Patriots leading 6-3.

Same game, third quarter kickoff, Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt kicks the ball short to the up man, Bruschi. He grabs the ball and rumbles ahead for 15 yards to about midfield. Bruschi ended the day tied for second in team tackles at 8, with 1 forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries.

AFC Championship: First quarter, 3rd and 5, Pittsburgh Steelers ball at the Patriots 43 with the Patriots leading 3-0. Running back Verron Hayes slants off tackle close to the first down, Ty Warren hits him low and Bruschi wraps him up, pushing Haynes back preventing the first down. The next play the Steelers go for it on 4th and inches, Jerome Bettis fumbles, and the Patriots recover. The Patriots went on to take advantage of their success stopping the run with their linebackers, and secured the victory to advance to the Superbowl.

PatriotsInsider.com: Serving Bruschi's on the Beach in Hawaii

Blue-collar work ethic has paid off for Bruschi
Patriots

By Vito Stellino
Morris News Service

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - To understand what makes the New England Patriots tick, just take a look at linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

He fits the Patriots' profile. He's not the biggest or the fastest player.

He doesn't go to Pro Bowls.

But he knows how to play football. That might seem obvious because he's a football player, but sometimes there's a difference between an athlete and a football player.

Football players who aren't great athletes sometimes get overlooked by the scouts, who like to play it safe and rate players by the 40-yard dash time or their measurements.

That is why the 6-foot-1, 247-pound Bruschi lasted until the third round in the 1996 draft, even though he tied Derrick Thomas' all-time NCAA Division 1-A record with 52 career quarterback sacks.

Because he obviously wasn't going to be an NFL defensive lineman and the scouts weren't sure he'd make the transition to linebacker, his stock dropped in the draft.

As it turns out, he does the same thing for the Patriots that he did in college. He makes plays. He has a natural instinct to play the game. He had 128 total tackles this year with three sacks, three interceptions and three forced fumbles.

"He's a very instinctive player," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "You can't go over every single thing that happens. So when something comes up, he almost always does the right thing. He just knows how to play."

Before the AFC title game, Steelers coach Bill Cowher was asked about former Steeler Mike Vrabel, and he brought up Bruschi.

"They remind you of the same type of guys: They're football players. If you put them on the track, and you get them in the weight room, they're not going to measure up to some of the other people in their positions. You put them on the football field and you give them time to prepare. They understand the game," Cowher said.

Bruschi is flattered by the suggestion he is what the Patriots are all about.

"That's a tremendous compliment," he said. "It's probably the biggest compliment that anyone can give me because I'm just really being who I am and who I was raised to be. I'm just being unselfish and trying to be a team player."

On top of that, Bruschi understands what it is important in life, and it's not always money.

He could make a credit card commercial: "Playing for the Patriots: Priceless."

Without an agent, he negotiated a four-year, $8.1 million deal this year even though the top 10 linebackers average $4 million a year.

In training camp, he told the Boston Herald: "How much is enough? How much do you need? I live in North Attelboro. I don't live glamorously. I live in a nice home, and we're happy where we are. You really have to look yourself in the eye and say, 'Do you want to go out there and chase every single dime? Do you want to stay somewhere and establish something.'"

He's not second-guessing himself because he's now going for his third Super Bowl ring.

"Some things are just more important for me. It's been said that if I was a free agent, I could have gone out there and made more money, but that's just not important to me. What's important to me is the friendships."

OnlineAthens: Sports: Blue-collar work ethic has paid off for Bruschi 02/02/05

Bruschi Pro Bowl-bound after all
By Michael Felger/ Patriots Notebook
Wednesday, February 2, 2005

JACKSONVILLE - The route came through the back door, but Tedy Bruschi [news] is still headed where he's belonged for years.

The Patriots [stats, news]' blood-and-guts middle linebacker was named as a Pro Bowl-injury replacement for Ray Lewis yesterday. He will be making his first trip to Hawaii following the Super Bowl next week (with a possible stop back in Boston for a championship parade).

Bruschi, who was voted as an alternate in both 2003 and 2004, was second on the Pats with 128 tackles. He also had three sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions.

Earlier in the day, reporters marveled at the fact that Bruschi accepted a below-market deal to remain in New England.

``I was really trying to show people that there are players out there who don't care about certain things,'' Bruschi said. ``I care more about being with this team than going out and being a free agent and trying to (make more money). I wanted to let fans know that when I was a kid growing up, it really bothered me when I saw players going from team to team. I wanted to be a guy that maybe stuck with a team for an entire career.''

BostonHerald.com - Patriots: Bruschi Pro Bowl-bound after all

Super Bowl athletes face off before hitting the gridiron

Before Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles and Tedy Bruschi of the New England Patriots put on their game faces for Super Bowl XXXIV, they will suit up for the eight annual pre-game Milk Mustache ad, debuting for the first and only time in the Friday, February 4, 2005 issue of USA TODAY.

Past Super Bowl Milk Celebs have included stars like Marshall Faulk, Brett Favre, John Elway and Tom Brady. The ad reads, "This Sunday, we'll see who wants it more. It's winner take all on game day, and only the strong survive. That's why milk's 9 essential nutrients are part of every competitor's game plan."

Bruschi pumped to earn Pro Bowl spot
By Mike Reiss/ Online Exclusive
Thursday, February 3, 2005

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Patriots [stats, news] inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi [news] was eating dinner at the team's hotel Tuesday night when his cell phone rang. Bill Belichick [news] was on the other line.

Whenever the coach calls, you best listen carefully. And these were some of the sweetest words Bruschi has heard: Congratulations Tedy, you're going to the Pro Bowl.

"I was very excited," recalled Bruschi, who was added to the AFC squad in place of injured Baltimore Raven Ray Lewis.

When the 31-year-old Bruschi hung up the phone, he quickly turned from football player to travel agent.

"I called my wife (Heidi) first of all to let her know. We wondered how we were going to get all three of our boys down there (to Hawaii)," he said.

The 6-foot-1, 247-pound Bruschi has started every game over the last two seasons, making 137 tackles in 2003 and 128 this season. He added 3.5 sacks and three interceptions in 2004, although when the initial Pro Bowl voting was released, the nine-year veteran was behind Lewis and Pittsburgh's James Farrior. But with Lewis out due to a wrist injury, Bruschi got the nod.

Yesterday, he reflected on his career progression in New England, where he arrived in 1996 as a third-round draft choice who played defensive line.

"I took it in stages from 1996 to a couple years ago," he said. "My mindset was to do well on special teams and rush the passer and learn how to play linebacker. As I learned how to play linebacker, you say, 'I know what to do when I see this.' You start to learn the defenses and you become a better tackler. It was simple steps like that. It was like 'OK, you know what you are doing, you know how to play linebacker now. It's time to make big plays that can change games.'"

Bruschi said it wasn't until his fourth or fifth year that he truly felt comfortable at the position. Now, he's one of the AFC's best players, joining teammates Tom Brady [news] (quarterback), Larry Izzo (special teams), Richard Seymour [news] (defensive end) and Adam Vinatieri [news] (kicker) in the Pro Bowl.

The game, which features the best players from the AFC and NFC, takes place Sunday, Feb. 13 in Hawaii.

"It's something that I am proud of," Bruschi said. "That was my goal at least the last few years and say you know what you are doing now and it's time to take your game to the next level."

Pro Bowl for Bruschi

By RICH CIMINI
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Tedy Bruschi was eating dinner alone Tuesday night at the Patriots' hotel when his cell phone rang. It was Bill Belichick.

The coach isn't a small-talk kind of guy, so Bruschi figured this was serious. Was he in trouble? Did he miss a meeting? Did he say something out of school? No, it was nothing like that.

"Actually, it was one of the better phone calls I've received," Bruschi said yesterday, beaming.

Belichick contacted Bruschi to let him know he had been picked for the Pro Bowl as a replacement for the Ravens' Ray Lewis, who pulled out of the all-star game. After nine seasons, the last four as one of the top big-play inside linebackers in the NFL, Bruschi is going to his first Pro Bowl.

It has been an unusual journey, one that included a bout with alcohol.

Bruschi, perhaps the most respected player on the Patriots' defense, discussed his drinking problem yesterday during an interview session at Super Bowl XXXIX.

"Everyone has struggles in their life," he said. "There comes a time when you look at yourself and say, 'I've got to grow up.' It's a decision I made five, six years ago, when I wanted to become the best father and best husband I could possibly become."

Bruschi, who grew up in a tough neighborhood in San Francisco, was a party animal during his college career at Arizona. He racked up a remarkable number of sacks (he tied an NCAA record with 52) and he drank plenty of beers. Once, he was arrested for fighting in a billiards hall.

After being drafted by the Bill Parcells-coached Patriots in 1996, Bruschi continued his lifestyle. By then, he had a wife, Heidi, a former Arizona softball player, and a young son. He knew he was on a destructive path, but continued down that road.

"When I drank, I couldn't stop," said Bruschi, who revealed his drinking problem last month in an interview with the Boston Globe. "It had to be all out, just like on the football field. One beer wasn't enough."

Bruschi said his drinking never affected his performance on the field, but it started to affect his home life. It has been a "long, long time" since his last drink, and things are better with his family, which now includes three sons.

"Where it helped me was at home, just getting my life straight," Bruschi said. "It helped me be a better man to my family."

Bruschi's public image is that of a clean-cut, try-hard player who embodies the Patriots' way. But sometimes there are demons behind the facade of the heroic gladiator.

"You see the helmet and you see the pads, you see us perform incredible feats of athletic ability and you forget we're just regular guys," he said.

A regular guy looking for his third Super Bowl ring Sunday against the Eagles. Not bad for a player who, after thriving as an outside pass rusher in college, was converted to middle linebacker. It took him three or four years to get comfortable in the new position, but Bruschi has established himself as one of the best.

"Thank God Tedy got into the Pro Bowl," fellow linebacker Mike Vrabel said. "It's a crime that he didn't get voted in. It took a Ray Lewis injury for him to get in - a crime."

Bruschi isn't a "me" guy, but he admitted the Pro Bowl nod was satisfying.

"I came into this league not knowing what I was doing," he said. "I developed myself into a player that can be recognized as one of the best in the league. It's something that I'm proud of."

Now he can be the toast of the town, clear-headed and famous.

Originally published on February 3, 2005

New York Daily News - Sports - Pro Bowl for Bruschi

Knack for knowing drives Bruschi

Pats LB earns 1st Pro Bowl

Andrew Bagnato
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 3, 2005 12:00 AM

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Tedy Bruschi was sitting alone in the New England Patriots' team dining room Tuesday night when his cellphone went off.

The caller was head coach Bill Belichick.

"I was hoping it wasn't bad news," Bruschi said. "I hoped I didn't miss a meeting."

Belichick was calling to tell Bruschi he had made the Pro Bowl. The former University of Arizona star was a late replacement for injured Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis on the AFC roster.

"I'm not going to downplay it," Bruschi said, his dark eyes sparkling as he recounted the incident for reporters Wednesday. "I came in here not knowing what I was doing. I developed myself into a player that can be recognized as one of the best in the league."

It will be Bruschi's first trip to the Pro Bowl - a fact that seems absurd in light of Bruschi's contribution to the nascent New England dynasty. Bruschi personifies the Patriots' team-first ethic. Perhaps that's why he's often been overlooked since the Patriots selected him in the third round of the 1996 draft.

But there may be another reason.

"I'm not the biggest guy," said Bruschi, who is listed at 6 foot 1, 247 pounds.

Nor is he the fastest or the strongest. Arizona Wildcats fans remember that Dick Tomey was the only coach to offer Bruschi, a San Francisco Bay area product, a Division I-A scholarship.

Bruschi repaid Tomey by becoming a foundation of the fabled "Desert Swarm" defense. New England's unit doesn't have a catchy nickname, but Bruschi is every bit as important to the Patriots' success.

"He just seems to know where the ball is going to be and he gets there," New England guard Stephen Neal said. "He's hard to block. I'm really glad I don't have to go up against him on Sundays."

The 31-year-old Bruschi's maturity into one of the NFL's top defensive players matches his growth off the field.

Early in his career, Bruschi's reputation as a wild man wasn't limited to the gridiron. But in a Jan. 16 interview with Boston Globe columnist Jackie MacMullan, Bruschi said he decided six years ago that alcohol had become a problem for him.

"I got to a point where I realized whenever there was a problem in my life, whether I was getting into trouble or having trouble in my marriage, alcohol was involved," Bruschi told MacMullan. "It was an accumulation of events. I was about 24 or 25 years old. Heidi (Bruschi's wife) and I were having one of our arguments, because I had taken it too far one more time. I looked at it and I said, 'I'm tired of this.' So I quit drinking."

After practice on Thursday, Bruschi went into further detail with reporters.

"That is the decision that I made," Bruschi said. "About five, six years ago, I decided that I wanted to become the best father that I could possibly become."

Knack for knowing drives Bruschi

Bruschi gets to Hawaii the old-fashioned way - with hard work

By Bill Burt
Staff Writer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — You want some recent insight into what Tedy Bruschi is all about on the football field?

Forget about the picturesque cover shot of him in Sports Illustrated last week. Forget about the forced fumble he literally ripped out of running back Dominic Rhodes' hands against Indianapolis three Sundays ago. Forget about the way he clogged the hole with Mike Vrabel on the game-turning fourth-and-1 stop in the AFC championship game in Pittsburgh two Sundays ago.

Instead, go back to the final regular-season game against the San Francisco 49ers — a game that didn't have any bearing on the playoffs or home-field advantage, the game the Patriots starters were supposed to take off.

Bruschi made 14 tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage on a screen pass and a third-down run. The Patriots won the "meaningless" game, 21-7.

"I don't understand how anyone can say it is a meaningless game," said Bruschi before the game. "The 49ers are on the schedule and are coming (to Foxboro) to play a football game. That sounds important enough for me."

The NFL apparently agreed with Bruschi's pregame analysis and awarded him the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

It's among the many honors and accolades Bruschi has won in the last few weeks. But the one he received Tuesday night have been the most special: He's going to the Pro Bowl.

"Bill (Belichick) called me in my room," said Bruschi. "I was alone. At first, I'm thinking maybe I missed a meeting. But he told me I was going (to the Pro Bowl). I was pretty shocked."

Many who have watched Bruschi were shocked it hadn't happened the old-fashioned way, by a vote of players and coaches. On a team loaded with consistent performers, nobody — especially on defense — has been there every game like Bruschi has. In fact, you could argue that nobody on any defensive unit in the NFL has played as well as Bruschi has in 2004.

However, it took a wrist injury to Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis for Bruschi to get the nod — finally.

Man in the middle

While the Patriots have been winning a record number of games and a pair of Super Bowls since the start of the 2001 season, Bruschi has led the team with 403 tackles. So his incredible season in 2004 (see graphic) should not be a surprise.

The fact that his teammates named him a defensive captain for each of the last three seasons shows the respect they have for his game and his leadership. They know how hard he's worked to reach the top.

At the start of the 2001 season, Bruschi was a backup middle linebacker, used primarily on passing situations. When Bryan Cox went down with a knee injury, Bruschi was thrust into a new position, middle linebacker.

"It was as much out of necessity than anything else," said Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. "He had the skills to play inside. He was also very smart. But we didn't know what to expect.

"But every game he was there, he started to play better. We pretty much realized he could play inside. He always seemed to be around the ball and making plays."

Bruschi says it's never been as easy as people might think. He arrived in New England as a third-round draft choice from the University of Arizona as a pass rushing defensive end on the famed "Desert Storm" defense.

He graduated (as a communications major) with 52 sacks, tying him with Derrick Thomas for an NCAA Division 1-A record.

"My thing was to get the quarterback," said Bruschi. "Put me on the outside, on the edge, and let me go. That's what I did ... better than anyone in the history of college football."

When he got to the Patriots in 1996, he was tabbed as a linebacker rather than an end because of his minute size (6-1, 247 pounds). Talk about a humbling experience.

"I remember (former Pats defensive coordinator) Al Groh telling me one day at practice to see the pass and do a drop hook," said Bruschi. "I said, 'What's that?' I knew nothing about the pass."

Sadness amid the smiles

Smiling on the football field has never been a problem for Bruschi. It didn't matter who was coaching — he had a ball on Sundays.

Many times during the Pete Carroll era, a beaming Bruschi would hug his coach after a big play. The problem, he said, was the other six days, especially when he left the football field. Smiling, he said, was more the exception than the rule.

"I had a problem with alcohol," said Bruschi. "I can talk about it now. It was about five or six years ago. I had had enough."

The reasons?

He didn't take well to his parents' divorce when he was in elementary school. The things that went with it, like living in lower-class neighborhoods, didn't help matters.

Being angry about your home life is understandable when you're young. But years later, when you have a wife and child at home, such a response is unacceptable.

"I was wild," said Bruschi, referring to his early days with the Patriots. "I wasn't a good father or husband. And at one point, that was it. I stopped drinking."

Bruschi says he isn't quite sure if his football career blossomed when the drinking stopped, but one teammate says the correlation is loud and clear.

"Tedy always could play," said linebacker Ted Johnson. "But he had some personal changes in his life. All I know is that now he is more at peace with himself. He knows who he is as a person. When you take care of your personal life, I believe you can transfer that to other things. And I believe Tedy did that. He has always been good. But now he's a great player."

From steady to super

Bruschi has arguably been a Pro Bowl-caliber player for the past three seasons. How he has blossomed from a steady and productive role player into a budding superstar after his 30th birthday (he'll turn 32 in June) is anybody's guess.

"I think it's his knowledge of the game," said Johnson. "He played defensive line in college. He knows what blocking schemes are in front of him. And then you add the fact that Tedy takes chances. He takes risks. He really has come into his own."

Crennel believes Bruschi's best asset is his head. Since he became a starter in the middle in 2001, Bruschi has always made the fewest mental errors, a category Belichick obsesses over.

"You look at him out on the field and he has become the leader on the defense, like a quarterback," said Crennel. "That's the responsibility of a middle linebacker. You have to have the ability to see things on offense and know what adjustments there are to be made. Tedy does that as well as anyone."

Bruschi isn't quite sure when he started to understand his new position, but he remembers some early plays when he would break one way or another when the ball was snapped.

"It seemed like I guessed right most of the time," said Bruschi. "I realized that I was starting to understand this position a little better every time out."

Now, finally, the rest of the football world understands it as well.

He and Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb were chosen to do the "milk mustache" magazine ads. He was late to yesterday's media session because Fox wanted him for a TV interview. He's headed to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl next week. At last, Tedy Bruschi is a full-fledged star.

The first person he called after finding out the news on Tuesday night was his wife, Heidi.

"Now the problem is we have to find a way to get my three boys (to Hawaii)," said Bruschi. It's a nice problem ... finally.

With Pats' Bruschi, it's all team, all the time

By Jim Salisbury

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The strength of the New England Patriots lies in those three words: New England Patriots. They are every inch a team. Individuals need not apply.

No Patriot exemplifies this spirit more than veteran linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

With two Super Bowl rings in his sa

Every Team Needs a Bruschi

Make that Tedy Bruschi, and New England has the only one. The big-play linebacker and unsung leader of the defense gives the Pats a shot at their third title in four years

While others kick off, Patriots will kick back

Bruschi has battled on, off field

LB tackled alcohol, QBs

BLAST FROM PATS

Bruschi's timing perfect for Patriots

NFL: Trying to define Manning's year

DEFENSE: LB TEDY BRUSCHI, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

New England's X-factor

Pats' LB Bruschi continues to shine in critical games.

By Jimmy Golen | Associated Press
Published on Wednesday, January 19, 2005
URL: http://www.examiner.com/article/index.cfm/i/011905sp_bruschi

Bruschi's play is inspired

The veteran linebacker says his family provides him with motivation.

Bruschi has feel for football

It's a fantastic fourth

Super Bowl never gets old to veterans

Dynasty? He won't hear of it

Bruschi among New England’s 6-pack of ‘four-timers’

Super Bowl: Bruschi is a New England patriarch

Patriots Defense: Still Craving Respect

Prisco's diary

With Pats' Bruschi, it's all team, all the time

4 Patriots, 4 Roles, Only 1 Goal

Veteran Linebackers Typify Reigning Champions' Team-First Approach

Patriots' Bruschi a paragon for versatility

With Pats' Bruschi, it's all team, all the time

Every Team Needs a Bruschi

Make that Tedy Bruschi, and New England has the only one. The big-play linebacker and unsung leader of the defense gives the Pats a shot at their third title in four years

While others kick off, Patriots will kick back

Bruschi has battled on, off field

LB tackled alcohol, QBs

BLAST FROM PATS

Bruschi's timing perfect for Patriots

NFL: Trying to define Manning's year

DEFENSE: LB TEDY BRUSCHI, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

New England's X-factor

Pats' LB Bruschi continues to shine in critical games.

By Jimmy Golen | Associated Press Published on Wednesday, January 19, 2005 URL: http://www.examiner.com/article/index.cfm/i/011905sp_bruschi

Bruschi's play is inspired

The veteran linebacker says his family provides him with motivation.

Bruschi has feel for football

It's a fantastic fourth

Super Bowl never gets old to veterans

Dynasty? He won't hear of it

Bruschi among New England’s 6-pack of ‘four-timers’

Super Bowl: Bruschi is a New England patriarch

Patriots Defense: Still Craving Respect

Prisco's diary

With Pats' Bruschi, it's all team, all the time

4 Patriots, 4 Roles, Only 1 Goal

Veteran Linebackers Typify Reigning Champions' Team-First Approach

Patriots' Bruschi a paragon for versatility

With Pats' Bruschi, it's all team, all the time

By Jimmy Golen | Associated Press
Published on Wednesday, January 19, 2005
URL: http://www.examiner.com/article/index.cfm/i/011905sp_bruschi