02:20 PM EDT on Thursday, April 21, 2005

Frank the moderator: Hey all welcome to the NFL Draft chat with Tom Curran and Patrick Little. The two media mavens will log on today at 1 p.m. See you then.

Frank the moderator: Note -- If anyone has problems posting a question or comment, email it to fcarneva@projo.com and I'll post it for you.

airheart: What are the latest reports on Tedy Bruschi? Will the Pats be looking to draft to back up his position, or turn to someone else on the team?
Patrick Little: Based on the signings of 2 free agent veteran linebackers the last two weeks it looks like the Patriots are preparing for not having Tedy Bruschi back on the field next season. That is pure speculation on my part. Ted Johnson, Mike Vrabel and Rosevelt Colvin aren't getting any younger either so you may see Bill add some depth at the position this weekend. As far as Tedy's condition goes well we really don't know anything new. Tom might though... It was great to see him at Red Sox opening day. He is walking with a slight limp and has lost a good amount of weight but seems to be getting better every day.
Tom Curran: Hey Airheart, The latest reports on Bruschi is that there are no reports. He had surgery a few weeks back to repair the hole in his heart. Whether that was the cause of his stroke is not known. Definitely, they are looking at addressing the ILB position and not just because Bruschi's in doubt but also because Roman Phifer's been released. Look for a first-day pick at this spot most likely a second-rounder.

Frank the moderator: Tom, Patrick -- Playing for a three-time Super Bowl champ seems like no-brainer, but do you think there are players in the draft that would hate to play in a system like Belichick's and would they admit that?
Patrick Little: There was a time when nobody wanted to play for the Patriots because they were so awful and really had no direction but that is certainly not the case now... Having grown up in New England it's hard to believe that now free agent players actually chose to want to play here! As far as rookies not wanting to play for Bill Belichick or his "style" of football I donlt think you would find too many players out there that would admit to that. Certain players may not "fit in" to the type of offense or defense the team uses but the 400 or so kids that are hoping to get picked this weekend would be more than happy to adjust to the Pats style if they were chosen by New England...That style has wokred prety well for the last 4 years!
Tom Curran: Frank, I think guys that resist playign within a strict framework with very specific marching orders both on the field and off would bristle at it. And some players, let's face it, enjoy the limelight. The Pats don't let guys into that.

Frank the moderator: From Pats276
Hello Tom Pat..Not sure if you got this. Who might some of the sleepers be that the Pats may take later in the draft?? Any of note?? Thanks. Pats726
Patrick Little: Pats 276... We can try and guess what Bill Belichick and his staff are going to do this weekend but just when you think you have this guy figured out the exact opposite happens... Tough to forcast what kind of needs Bill thinks this team has but defense is always an area that he likes to stockpile at... 2 names that I have come across quite a bit lately are ILB Barrett Ruud out of Nebraska...had about a thousand tackles in his career...not a big guy but a ball hawk...kind of reminds me of Bruschi in a way...football player is the best way to descibe him. Also at Corner Domonique Foxworth out of Maryland...runs a 4.3 40 and is solid at 5-11 and 190...ESPN has him as someone whose stock is rising right now so we'll see what happens.
Tom Curran: Hey Pats, With this draft being so stocked with middling but competent players, it really becomes a question of what flavor a team likes. Going by what a team like the Pats likes from its players -- smarts, toughness, willingness to play with some pain, coachable -- I look for guys further down the rankings to be in their sights. A guy I mention in tomorrow's RB story is Noah Herron from Northwestern. Very productive, plays with a chip on his shoulder. Another is J.J. Arrington. Led the nation in rushing yet nobody's talking about him.

BBaptiste: Hey TC, what's the chance of BB drafting Florida's Channing Crowder on Saturday? And do you see us trading either Givens, Green or Rohan to move up?
Tom Curran: The Pats have done a ton of research on Crowder, an athletic and explosive player coming out after his sophomore season (his HS class is three years out). But he's got some alleged character issues and definite knee issues although acclaimed Dr. James Andrews cleared him with those. Bottom line, good players with less risk will be avaliable at that position in the second round and someone will likely leap at Crowder before then. Green and Givens won't be dealt...Davey could be another story.

BBaptiste: Which QB are we most likely to draft, David Greene, Ryan Fitzpatrick or someone else? What round would they take a QB in?
Patrick Little: My guess is if they go after a QB it will be via the undrafted free agent route just so they can have someone else to throw passes at camp... Who knows they may want to trade Rohan Davey if they can get something in return for him... They should be set at QB though because remeber they signed former Ravens starter Chris Redman to a deal during the season.
Tom Curran: I think Greene would be the most likely. He's tied the record for all-time wins by a starting QB (42) and has great work ethic and character. He looks like an early-third round guy. Fitzpatrick I like. Obviously smart coming out of Harvard and played in a pro style. Adrian McPherson too shouldn't be overlooked. He's got concrete experience in the Arena League and while he's made some missteps (bad checks) they are more easily overlooked than a violent crime.

Frank the moderator: An email from StanJ:
Who do you think they will take as an ILB?? Will they wait till a later round for a Fincher or Morrison?? Or take a Ruud or Crowder in 1st??? StanJ
Tom Curran: Stan, The way I see it, a kid named Adam Seward -- a 3-4 linebacker at UNLV -- is a guy they may take. Crowder and Georgia's Odell Thurman are the most talented, Ruud is the most skilled and smooth but Seward is likely to be around as late as the third round but he has skills the Pats value.

PATS726: Will the Pats keep all picks?? Or trade some for next year or later in draft? How many players will they draft??
Patrick Little: Pats 276.. On the first day I would be shocked if they moved any of the picks. They cannot trade the compensatory selection in the 3rd round. Bill said on Tuesday that he didnt forsee any kind of trading on day one and that there is a better chance that something could happen in the later rounds as far as trading picks goes. If they keep them all the Patriots will make 9 selections
Tom Curran: They'll likely keep all the Day 1 picks -- Belichick said as much earlier this week. Day 2 becomes a crapshoot because you just dont' know who's on the board and what other teams could be enticed by.

PATS726: WHo will the Pat take at 32??? Or will they trade down??
Tom Curran: They'll stay where they are at 32. A prediction in a very hard to predict draft? Corey Webster from LSU...cornerback.

CoachK: Hi Guys, Tom I agree with yout column this morning that the PATs won't pick an OL in Round 1. However there is a wealth of very good linemen who will be available in the late second to mid-third round (Spencer, Colmer, Mankins, Mathis, Kemoutou). What do you think of the chances of the PATs using one of the 2nd day picks to move up in the later part of day 1 to nab a stud OL??
Tom Curran: Almost a guarantee. Mathis, a versatile guy from ALabama, is someone I like. Also, David Baas from Michigan -- a guard/center -- will be on the board after round 1 most likely.

PATS726: Matt Jones..is he a player that would help this team????
Patrick Little: Sounds like a project but its tough to find 6'6" wide recievers... Based on everything I've read he has some attitude and attention to detail issues that are going to make it hard for him especially since he will be making the transition from QB to WR. Pats should be set at WR...Branch, Givens, Terrell, Dwight, B. Johnson, and maybe Troy Brown will be back as well.
Tom Curran: Belichick says they like to be able to project what a player will do in their system. Jones, a college QB at Arkansas who has ridiculous athletic ability -- is looking like an NFL wideout or H-Back. It's hard to project him, however, and the Pats wouldn't likely jump at someone like that early in the draft. Other teams likely would do so earlier.

Frank the moderator: About the "Event" itself: Do you think the ESPN tv "event" is a bit overblown?
and are either of you going down to New York City to cover the draft?
Patrick Little: Personally I will not be going to the draft and we will not be sending a crew to NY but we will be in Foxboro at the stadium all weekend. It is definately an exciting weekend for hardcore football fans but if you are having a draft party you probably have too much free time on your hands...or maybe I am just jealous that you have all that extra time!!

Frank the moderator: Talk a little about what the AFC East division (Buffalo, Miami, The Jets) are going for in this draft?
Patrick Little: Buffalo needs a lot of big strong men to protect their rookie QB Losman or his career might be a short one. The Bills need O line help whick will also help McGahee... They also have some age on the defensive side of the ball they need to address.. Miami needs just about eveything... The Jets just traded for a tight end yesterday...they could use some size at WR and Curtis Martinis going to start acting his age one of these days so they will need to find a back-up for him now that Lamont Jordan is gone

hoosickkid: Can't the Pats move Jarvis Green to inside linebacker?
Patrick Little: Jarvis is 290 and thats in the media guide so he is probably a little bit bigger than that so I doubt he would be a candidate for the ILB position.

Frank the moderator: Thanks to Tom Curran and Patrick Little for stopping in for a bit this afternnon. Lots of good information here (be sure to read the transcript). And keep up with Tom Curran in The Journal and on projo.com. Look for Patrick on Eyewitness News on channels 12 and 64.
We hope to be doing this again to break down the Patriots moves.
Thanks guys.