Harrison37 Iraq deployment support thread

[Hemi_1]

I just noticed you were signed in Harrison37. How are you man?

 

[Harrison37]

I have my good days and bad days, but at least I have my health.

We've just been crazy busy and haven't had the opportunity to check out much here or post.

My boss had two press conferences last week on back-to-back days, so I was highly engaged. Plus- going out and about on my standard missions to document what the brigade up to.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I have my good days and bad days, but at least I have my health.

We've just been crazy busy and haven't had the opportunity to check out much here or post.

My boss had two press conferences last week on back-to-back days, so I was highly engaged. Plus- going out and about on my standard missions to document what the brigade up to.

Heh, quite rubbing that health stuff in!

Reiss...

May 31, 2007
Passing camp

FOXBOROUGH -- Some quick hits from the Patriots' passing camp today:

The two-hour practice was held on the grass fields behind Gillette Stadium.

The passing camp is voluntary. In addition to the team's three NFL Europa players, the following players weren't present on the practice field: WR Chad Jackson, WR Donte' Stallworth, CB Randall Gay, CB Asante Samuel, S Mel Mitchell, S James Sanders, S Brandon Meriweather, RB Laurence Maroney, LB Eric Alexander, TE David Thomas, DL Richard Seymour, DL Jarvis Green. CB Eddie Jackson and CB Antwain Spann were present for stretching before leaving the field.

Players wore shorts, shirts, shells (light shoulder pads), and helmets.

WR Randy Moss wore No. 6 -- a temporary number. Moss caught a high-arcing touchdown pass from Tom Brady in an 11-on-11 drill toward the end of practice, beating the one-on-one coverage of CB Tory James along the left sideline.

RB Sammy Morris wore a red non-contact jersey.

QB Vinny Testaverde, who remains a free agent, was present and took part in the practice.

We'll have more in a bit.

May 31, 2007
5 from camp

Five final observations from today's passing camp at Gillette Stadium:

1) Adalius Thomas on the move. The Patriots' big free-agent signing has been advertised as a versatile player who can line up at various positions. This was evident in one of the team's final sets of drills in 11 on 11 work, as Thomas moved from inside linebacker, to playing with his hand on the ground as a down lineman/rusher, to backpedaling in pass coverage. Thomas spent much of the practice lining up at inside linebacker.

2) Tom Brady in command. As one would expect, when Brady is running a drill, there is no question as to who is in charge. While it's the offseason, players weren't in pads, and it was only a small snapshot of a much larger picture, Brady looks as sharp as ever.

3) Randy Moss in focus. It was interesting to watch Moss developing a rapport with Tom Brady and Co. in the passing game. Moss worked as an outside receiver, and showed a part of his competitive side when slipping on the wet field during drills in which there was no defense. He pounded the ground in frustration and shouted. In 11 on 11 drills, Moss caught one touchdown pass down the left sideline from Tom Brady (Tory James in one-on-one coverage) but shortly before that play, he couldn't corral a long pass down the right sideline from Matt Cassel (cornerback Mike Richardson in coverage, with help from safety Rashad Baker). On the latter play, Moss was knocked to the ground by accident as Baker closed in and couldn't pull up in time.

4) Interceptions. Second-year defensive back Willie Andrews and 11-year veteran defensive back Chad Scott both intercepted Matt Cassel in 11 on 11 drills near the end of practice. Andrews, playing safety, showed solid instincts to gather in the interception after the ball was tipped on a throw behind Kelley Washington.

5) Media interest. For perspective on the interest the Patriots are generating among the media, consider that 50 members of the media were granted credentials for this passing camp. A crew from ESPN and the NFL Network were among the crowd.

Breer...

May 31st, 2007
Practice wrap
Posted by Albert Breer at 12:50 pm

Here’s what we saw at practice this morning …

– All eyes were on Randy Moss. As he says — “my microscope is big.” At the outset, he was sidled up to Tom Brady, playing catch and messing around with the quarterback on the sideline. During passing lines, he slipped and fell, shouting his frustration. But he recovered to make a nice catch in skeleton drills, on a corner route from Brady over his outside shoulder. But he did have a drop there, and on a fade route in 2-minute drills, when he went down the sideline and safety Rashad Baker came over to knock him off his feet. The ball came tumbling out as he hit the ground. A couple plays later, he caught a bomb on a fade from Brady, over Tory James. As promised, Moss worked at both the X and Z, and out of the slot. Most commonly, he was lined up as the Z, with Jabar Gaffney at the X and Wes Welker and Kelley Washington manning the slot.

– Probably more significant was the use of Adalius Thomas. While Mike Vrabel seemed to be attached to playing on the edge, Thomas got most of his snaps at the “Mike” (weakside inside) alongside Tedy Bruschi. He worked some opposite Vrabel, with Junior Seau coming in and Rosevelt Colvin coming off. Thomas also saw reps as a 3-technique tackle in the 2-minute defense. Seau still has a soft cast covering his right arm.

– None of the receivers were particularly impressive, which is normal for this time of year. Typically, the defense is ahead of the offense at this juncture, and that was certainly the case here. Washington, had a drop over the middle that became one of Matt Cassel’s two picks (Willie Andrews caught the deflection) during the 2-minute work.

– Rodney Harrison, in sub packages, is working some as a nickel linebacker. That’s not unusual, as the team has used James Sanders in that role in the past. When the defense was running its passing skeleton, LB Larry Izzo played quarterback.

– TE/FB Garrett Mills flashed the quick feet that got him here in the first place. He moves very well, and seems to be ticketed for an H-back type role.

– Some of the absences: Chad Jackson, Donte’ Stallworth, Randall Gay, Asante Samuel, Mel Mitchell, Sanders, Laurence Maroney, Eric Alexander, Brian Barthelmes, David Thomas, Richard Seymour and Jarvis Green. Also, Sammy Morris was wearing a red non-contact jersey. Gay, Alexander and Green are already in New Orleans for Marquise Hill’s service.

– Vinny Testaverde was there, too. He did take part in drills, throwing extensively during skeleton work.

We’ll have more after Seymour, Kevin Faulk and Ty Warren take the podium.

May 31st, 2007
Final thoughts
Posted by Albert Breer at 6:17 pm

The Patriots will travel tomorrow to Louisiana as a team, calling off their final days of OTAs to be with the family of Marquise Hill this weekend. Most will return next week for Monday’s golf tournament and the mandatory minicamp in the three days to follow, though players have been given permission to stay in Louisiana past the team’s scheduled return on Saturday.

So going into minicamp, here are a few things to chew on:

– I’ve gotten a couple emails on calling the weak-side linebacker the “Mike.” So let me explain. First of all, the origins of these names come in the first letter of the position each is playing. In a 4-3 defense, it’s relatively easy. The middle linebacker is the “Mike”, the strongside linebacker is the “Sam” and the weakside backer is the “Will.” In a 3-4, the terminology is a bit more convoluted. In some systems, the “Mike” is the weakside inside linebacker with the “Ted” (standing for tight-end side) being the strongside. In others, the weakside inside is the “Jack” while the “Mike” is on the strongside. So in one terminology set, the weakside inside ‘backer would be the “Mike”, and in another the “Jack.” Basically, that’s where Adalius Thomas was seeing a lot of reps, with Tedy Bruschi playing the “Mike” or the “Ted”, depending on what terminology you use. These two positions can switch presnap, so there is a distinction, whereas the “Will” and “Sam”, being on-the-line positions, can’t switch before the snap, so those players generally need the ability to play both the open and closed sides to deal with flipped formations and motion.

– One of the more interesting things to see was Tom Brady’s command of the offense. More and more, he seems like a coach on the field, getting players in position and helping receivers learn routes and adjustments. Last year, Brady was pretty fiery early on in prodding his targets. This time, he seemed more measured and patient in helping his teammates out. Either way, it’s clear that when one of the guys on the offense has a question, Brady’s the first non-coach he’ll go to.

– This is very important in reading all observations of this camp: It is, indeed, normal for a defense to be ahead of an offense early on. If this was, say, a college spring game, the defense would’ve beaten the offense out there soundly. There are a lot of new pieces on offense, and it’ll take a while for them to come together, as was the case last year. And so problems offensively, and there were plenty this morning, should provoke no sounding of the alarm quite yet.

– That said, what should be an ultracompetitive race for roster spots at receiver got off to a rocky start. Randy Moss‘ two drops will be magnified, but the truth is that Kelley Washington and Garrett Mills had some similar problems. The timing just isn’t there yet, and at times, the group looked lost. Which, like we said, is to be expected.

– There is a big difference, at least at this point, between Deion Branch holding out last year and what looms with Asante Samuel this year. In 2006, Branch was under contract and could incur fines for every day he missed. By the time he was traded to Seattle, he’d incurred over a half-million dollars in fines. Samuel, on the other hand, can’t be fined, since he’s not under contract.

– Finally, a word on the players who spoke today on Hill. My feeling was that — and this isn’t any surprise — one quote from Richard Seymour carried the most weight. Here it is: “I talked to a few of my teammates and I think from that point you go back and you look at in life; we always go through a lot of things, how insignificant they are, maybe have a word or two with my wife or the kids. Ultimately, it’s opportunities and times like this when you look back and reflect and say, hey I’ll take that all day. Spending that time with my family, now for me having four kids, I’m just really trying to spend all the time that I can with them. Like I said, we never know when our last moment is.”

I think that, pretty much, says what we can all take from a tragedy like this.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Manza-Young...

Passing camp look

Hey all --

The Patriots' passing camp session is wrapping up, and it has been an interesting morning here behind Gillette.

Most everyone on the roster is here on the field; among the missing are Laurence Maroney, first-round draft pick Brandon Meriweather and Donte Stallworth.

Jarvis Green and Randall Gay are absent, in Louisiana with the family of Marquise Hill.

Not surprisingly, Asante Samuel is not here either.

As for who is on the field, Randy Moss has had an uneven day, slipping on one route because of the wet grass in drills and dropping a couple of others. He had his hands on a ball in the back of the end zone in double-coverage but couldn't pull it in; to be fair, Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney didn't make the catch on the same route. Moss did make the catch from Tom Brady on a deep route with Eugene Wilson defending. As he did last week, Moss is wearing number 6, though that is not his official number.

Kyle Brady is a large man. Just an observation.

Though he is not signed to a contract, Vinny Testaverde is here and was one of four quarterbacks out there with Brady, Matt Cassel and undrafted rookie Matt Gutierrez.

We're headed to the media workroom now, where Ty Warren, Richard Seymour and Kevin Faulk will share memories of Marquise Hill.

 

[Harrison37]

Here are some updates on our brigade, provided in JD Johannes' blog. JD is a documentary filmmaker producing a series for the History Channel airing this summer.

Enjoy!

Box- Shawnie's company is the one who nabbed the FAT GUY, although I think his platoon was elsewhere at the time. Great stuff, though.

http://www.outsidethewire.com/blog/outside-the-wire/dora-and-west-rasheed-districts.html
This provides a broad perspective on our area of operations and what is at stake

http://www.outsidethewire.com/blog/outside-the-wire/fat-guy-and-the-three-home-dudes.html
Details the successful capture of a Shia assassination cell team leader and how "the fortunes of war" intervened to get this guy in the process of committing a murder. Unbelievable stuff when you think about it.

http://www.outsidethewire.com/blog/outside-the-wire/cellular-battlespace.html
Discusses the use of cell phones in the war- how they shape our successes in terms of dealing with the locals, and how they can ultimately also be used to lead us to the doorsteps of our foes.

http://www.outsidethewire.com/blog/outside-the-wire/not-my-time-to-go.html
Gives you a look at the media presence and we (although I don't get a nod by name- which is OK) are mentioned prominently (the references to Falcon, Maya Alleruzzo, Jeff Emanuel and BBC reporters all happened when he was with us).

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Time for an update Kirk, are you ready for woolen undies yet? Do you need anything? Fans, batteries, deet, afterbite, warm massage oil? I've found a camping fan that not only is Shawn approved, but I had to ship some more fans out for his buddies too.

 

[Uncle Vic]

GOD BLESS ALL THE TROOPS IN IRAQ

God Bless all the troops in Iraq!!!!! God Bless their Mission and God Bless their commander in Chief. May you all return home safe after your mission is completed in VICTORY.

Lets all get behind our boys, support the troops and their great cause. Lets throw the bums out of office that are saying the war is lost etc, while our fighting men and women our in harms way.


If you really support the troops,dont vote the guys back in that are openly working against the war effort. Do I have to mention the names of these people??? Heck a lot of them are right from Mass....Kennedy, Kerry etc etc

I can here some saying...this is not the place for it....what better place then right here where we are wishing one of our boys well in Iraq.

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED DONT BE 2 FACED. TEll your friend you support him but not his mission...tell him now....you think he is fighting the war on terror in Afghanistan but not in Iraq...Thats what Kerry and Kennedy and every single dam democrat in mass and washington believe.

Tell your friend that you are wishing him well but intend to openly vote these same guys back in office that have blood on their hands for saying the war is lost etc.

GOD BLESS THE TROOPS AND GOD BLESS THEIR MISSION AND GOD BLESS AMERICA.

Support the troops by voting for the politicians that support them and their cause, despite their party.

 

[Harrison37]

Time for an update Kirk, are you ready for woolen undies yet? Do you need anything? Fans, batteries, deet, afterbite, warm massage oil? I've found a camping fan that not only is Shawn approved, but I had to ship some more fans out for his buddies too.

We're making it through...day by day.

I'm starting to lay out the concept for Shawn's battalion's "Hooah" video for when they re-deploy. It will be about 10 minutes in length and will have all the video and still images we can put together, plus a montage of music for the mood.

It will be a video history of their time in Iraq.

We're very busy- I hardly have any time to surf the net these days.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

We're making it through...day by day.

I'm starting to lay out the concept for Shawn's battalion's "Hooah" video for when they re-deploy. It will be about 10 minutes in length and will have all the video and still images we can put together, plus a montage of music for the mood.

It will be a video history of their time in Iraq.

We're very busy- I hardly have any time to surf the net these days.

We'll be updating here soon enough as the Pats start signing rookies and prepping for Training Camp. Do you need anything?

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Re: GOD BLESS ALL THE TROOPS IN IRAQ

Originally posted by Uncle Vic on 07-02-2007 at 10:09 AM I can here some saying...this is not the place for it....what better place then right here where we are wishing one of our boys well in Iraq.

This thread is for supporting Harrison37. Your points are best made in the Political forum, I'd appreciate you abiding by that convention.

Before you get too bent over my request, the Shawn Kirk and I are discussing is my nephew serving in one of the community stations within one of the rougher areas of Baghdad. His big brother just got back from Afghanistan and his Daddy will be deploying to Iraq sometime in the next year. I'm retired and serving as a training aid for Veteran's Administration medical personnel myownself.

Thank you for your support.

 

[Baron Samedi]

Didn't get a chance to yesterday, but I want to wish Harrison37 and all the men and women over there a Happy Independance Day!

I don't envy you boys and girls in the July Iraqi heat.

God Bless you all.

 

[Harrison37]

Thanks, Baron. Much appreciated.

125 degrees Farenheit in the shade today.

Man- gotta love that Baghdad heat!

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I'm glad the weather remains mild...I can get you a nice little battery operated fan that's been field tested successfully by some troopers of A Co. 1/18 Inf. Just drop me a PM with your address and I'll toss in some geedunk and a spare toothbrush at no extra charge.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

And so it starts...
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2007/07/troys_return.html

July 10, 2007
Troy's return
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff

Wide receiver Troy Brown and the Patriots have agreed to financial terms on a one-year contract, according to a league source. The final step to officially finalize the contract will be working out language within the deal.

Brown, who has been recovering from offseason knee surgery, had been working out at Gillette Stadium over the offseason.

A fan favorite who enters his 15th season with the Patriots, Brown joins a receiver mix that includes 13 players.

The list:

Troy Brown
Reche Caldwell
Bam Childress
Chris Dunlap
Jabar Gaffney
Chad Jackson
C.J. Jones
Kelvin Kight
Randy Moss
Jonathan Smith
Donte' Stallworth
Kelley Washington
Wes Welker

 

[jetophile]

Thanks, Baron. Much appreciated.

125 degrees Farenheit in the shade today.

Man- gotta love that Baghdad heat!

Yah, and here I am some wuss in my A.C. in upstate NY. Godspeed, and thank you for your service. Stay safe, and God Bless America.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

First Rookie's aboard
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2007/07/richardson_in_f.html

July 11, 2007
Richardson in fold
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff

The Patriots have finalized a four-year contract agreement with cornerback Mike Richardson, one of their sixth-round draft choices.

"I know he's excited," said Eugene Lee, Richardson's agent and president of New York-based ETL Associates. "Mike is going to continue to work hard. Our feeling is that the Patriots got a skilled football player who fits their system, on and off the field."

The 5-foot-11, 188-pound Richardson played 49 games over four seasons at Notre Dame.

 

[Baron Samedi]

The deadline for Assante Samuel to sign the tender offer has passed. he did not sign, so it's officially a holdout at this point, I guess.

Just wanted to stop in and say "hello" and wish you well.

Stay cool and keep up the good work.

I wonder why we always send our boys and girls in the service to all the hottest damn places on earth? I'll have to look into that. Surely, we can find a more temperate, cooler place for the next difference of opinion....

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I wonder why we always send our boys and girls in the service to all the hottest damn places on earth? I'll have to look into that. Surely, we can find a more temperate, cooler place for the next difference of opinion....

H'mm, I recall once being told I lost a distant cousin to the cold in Korea, froze to death on the front lines. Hot, cold, or temperate, the job gets done because there's folks who believe in the overall mission: to protect the U.S. of A.

Heh, Kirk! I've fallen behind on my updates, by now you've probably seen the Rookie thread stickeyed up top anyway - and you've probably heard Joey Harrington's new gig in Hotlanta is looking like a starter's job. Hopefully you'll soon find more time to read more football news and not just the stuff your correspondents are putting out in their papers. Stay Safe!

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Per Reiss

Chad Brown has been signed, CB Antwain Spann, TE Jake Nordin, and WR/PR "Fast Freddy" Smith have been cut.

Spann missed mini-camp, presumably on the rehab list, he also yo-yo-ed well on and off the Practice Squad; I'm not coloring him "gone" just yet. The reserve CB battle should be interesting.

Nordin and Smith are cut from the two deepest pools on the roster, TE and WR. I 'm reading this as one probable rehab cut and two deep pool cuts. I expect Smith was chosen to give him a chance to catch on elsewhere. I'm hoping Nordin gets a chance for some camp time if any injury openings pop up.

 

[patsfanroach]

Hey Harrison37. Thanks for everything you are doing and for your sacrifice for your country. Keep up the good work. I am a noob here so I am not familiar with your posts or opinions but anyone who is over there fighting evil/terrorism has my support. Good luck and stay safe.