ThePatriots have announced the release of TE Marcus Pollard. Additionally, the team has signed TE Tyson Devree. The Boston Globe has more on the topic.
During Sunday's game against the Buccaneers, analysts Marshall Faulk and Sterling Sharpe, seemed to have nothing positive to say about QB Matt Cassel'splay. Although Cassel who finished 6 of 10 for 57 yards 0 TD's and 0 INT's, which was an improvent from his 1 for 4 night against the Ravens which also included an interception, the two former NFL stars gave Cassel Minimal credit.
When the *Boston Globe *asked Matt Cassel about the criticism he said "There are a lot of things going on, and as the leader of the offense, you want to go out and you want to perform, statistics are not always the tale of the tape. You go and you watch the tape and you see what you did right and you see what you did wrong. They don't always tell the story."
Cassel, who has not watched the broadcast featuring Faulk and Sharpe, did tell the *Boston Herald *that “We go out there and we work to put 100 percent effort out there,” he said. "And we go to put a great performance out there every week. So that's just how it goes and some people are going to be like that."
The *Boston Herald *also caught up with Sterling Sharpe and asked why he was so hard on Cassel.
“I didn’t mean anything negatively, or maliciously, but from my point of view, here’s a guy who’s been in the system four years, and he’s in a quarterback battle,” said Sharpe during a phone interview. "You just thought things would look a little differently. I think that performance said something. I don't know if my criticism was that harsh, except I just expected him to play better, especially when you've been around as long as he has and you're in a battle for your job."
Lastly, Coach Bill Belichickis not known for incorporating young linebackers into his complicated defensive system, but this year seems to be a different story. While adding first round pick Jerod Mayo, third round pick Shawn Crableand undrafted free agent Vince Reddhave also been added. With the play of both Redd and Crable steadily improving throughout the preseason, Coach Belichick explains just why both linebackers fit his system.
"Shawn played down a lot at Michigan and rushed a lot sometimes as a defensive end, sometimes as an outside linebacker," Belichick told the Boston Globe. "Vince played at the University of Virginia and looks like an outside linebacker in a 3-4 system, kind of a cross between a defensive end and a pure outside linebacker,"
