Well, the Giants had their time in the sun, which is more than can be said about Media Day, according to this
However, amidst a media contingent nearly double that of the Giants, the Pats players didn't stray much from addressing the one-game season, albeit with some "humorous" back-and-forth throughout the course of the day.
Reports were that the stadium EMPTIED when the Pat's left, and the Giants took the field for media day. Disrespect. It's quickly becoming the new cliche term of the NFL.
On to the Patriots roster:
Eric Alexander: LSU
Willie Andrews: Baylor
Kyle Brady: Penn State
Tom Brady: Michigan
Wesley Britt: Alabama
Troy Brown: Marshall
Tedy Bruschi: Arizona
Matt Cassel: USC
Kyle Eckel: Navy
Heath Evans: Auburn
Kevin Faulk: LSU
Jabar Gaffney: Florida
Randall Gay Jr.: LSU
Stephen Gostkowski: Memphis
Jarvis Green: LSU
Matt Gutierrez: Idaho State
Chris Hanson: Marshall
Rodney Harrison: Western Illinois
Ellis Hobbs III: Iowa State
Russ Hochstein: Nebraska
Larry Izzo: Rice
Chad Jackson: Florida
Nick Kaczur: Toledo
Dan Koppen: Boston College
Matt Light: Purdue
Logan Mankins: Fresno State
Laurence Maroney: Minnesota
Brandon Meriweather: Miami (FL)
Mel Mitchell: Western Kentucky
Rashad Moore: Tennessee
Randy Moss: Marshall
Stephen Neal: California State-Bakersfield
Ryan O'Callaghan: California
Lonie Paxton: Sacramento State
Jason Rader: Marshall
Asante Samuel: Central Florida
James Sanders: Fresno State
Junior Seau: USC
Richard Seymour: Georgia
Le Kevin Smith: Nebraska
Stephen Spach: Fresno State
Antwain Spann: Louisiana
Donte Stallworth: Tennessee
Adalius Thomas: Southern Miss
Raymond Ventrone: Villanova
Mike Vrabel: Ohio State
Ty Warren: Texas A&M
Kelley Washington: Tennessee
Ben Watson: Georgia NE
Wes Welker: Texas Tech
Vince Wilfork: Miami (FL)
Eugene Wilson: Illinois
Pierre Woods: Michigan
Billy Yates: Texas A&M
There it is. Witness its glory. The 18-0 Patriots.
Conference Breakdown:
non-BCS: 20 players
SEC: 12 players
Big-10: 7 players
Big-12: 7 players
Pac-10: 4 players
ACC: 3 players
Big East: 1 player
What does this tell us? Well - for starters - it's very interesting to look at the players that are "stars" for the Patriots. You'll see mostly big-name schools like Michigan, Georgia, Ohio State, and (the notable exception) Marshall. It appears, on first glance, that despite their reputation for mining talent out of nobodies, the Patriots rely heavily on BCS conference players. A full 12 SEC players dot the field for the Patriots, followed by 7 each from the Big 10 and Big 12. Compare this to the Giants, who have 10 players from the ACC - the most from any conference. Again, this is mostly irrelevant due to the previous "if you're good enough you'll play in the NFL" finding. It just happens to be that the Patriots get more production out of players who were good enough at major football programs. Oh - and the Patriots are probably the best NFL team ever assembled. Whether this is a coincidence, I leave up to you, the now informed reader.
Most Smartest Player:
Not a single Ivy Leaguer in the bunch, as compared to 2 from the Giants. In a battle of wits, the Pat's don't hold a candle to the Giants. Fortunately for the Patriots, and us, football is about two things, according to Vince Lombardi: blocking and tackling. Notice debate, essay contests, and reading comprehension aren't included. So who's the smartest on the Patriots? The award goes to Kyle Eckel for his enrollment in the Naval Academy. Take it from us, the Navy does NOT mess around when it comes to educating, hazing, lining up, hazing, and educating this nation's best and brightest. Mr. Eckel went there to play football. Voluntarily. While this may not speak volumes about his common sense, it speaks volumes to the fact that he was smart enough, and had to have gotten a senatorial recommendation. I once got a Janitorial recommendation. So Kudos Mr. Eckel - you're the most smartest. Just don't talk to Mr. Brown across the field, unless you want to join his Shakespeare club.
Biggest Locker Room Rivalry:
The obvious choice here would be Vrabel vs. Brady. The QB vs. the LB. Ohio State vs. Michigan. Blah, blah, blah. That rivalry isn't over-rated, it's the best in the country, but it lends itself to very little humor. I prefer the pure, unadulterated tension that must exist every time Tom Brady talks to Matt Gutierrez. Matt - if you can remember - was slated to start for the Wolverines after John Navarre graduated. That is, until his job was usurped by a young Chad Henne, forcing Matt to transfer to Idaho State if he ever wanted to see the field. The Patriots, figuring they'd had success with one low-round Michigan quarterback, decided to draft Gutierrez for their vacant 3rd string QB position. Two quarterbacks. Same school. One a superstar who dates Gisele, the other a 3rd stringer who had his once bright future yanked from him by a Freshman Chad Henne. You can taste the bitterness.
Oh - and they're both from California, and went to rival high schools.
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