At first glance, it was just a small change to the daily injury report. A closer look at the upgrade of guard Joe Andruzzi from out to doubtful for this weekend's game against San Diego speaks volumes about the toughness and attitude of the veteran.
When the Patriots released their injury list Wednesday, Andruzzi was out for this Sunday. Head Coach Bill Belichick said earlier this week he expected to be without the guard for the next 2-3 weeks. There is still little chance of Andruzzi suiting up, but he's doing all he can to be out there.
"I'm just going to try and see how it feels," said Andruzzi, who was not dressed for practice but was planning to work on the side. "I think every offensive lineman thinks like that. If I can run and get stuff done, then I will push myself. I'll do the best I can. I'm just feeling my way right now and taking things day by day."
The fact that Belichick even mentioned the possibility of Andruzzi playing says a lot about the toughness of Andruzzi. While others on the team have had lingering injuries keep them sidelined, Andruzzi has shown extreme desire to strap on the pads.
"Joe is a pretty tough guy," Belichick said. "Really when he came off the field in Miami I think there was a feeling that that might be it for the year, but it turned out really to be not as bad as it appeared at the game. It still looked pretty bad on Monday.
"He is feeling better and it is looking better. Like I said it is pretty surprising to me that we are even talking about it. We have some other guys that have lingered along. Each person is different, and each injury is different. Two guys can have the same knee injury and one guy can be out two weeks and another guy can be out two months. I don't know, everybody is a little different on that. Like I said I don't expect him to play, but at this point I don't think I can rule it out."
Since Belichick took the team over, New England has yet to go more than three games with the same five guys starting on the offensive line. Last week against Miami was the third straight game together for the line of Matt Light, Mike Compton, Damien Woody, Andruzzi and Greg Robinson-Randall.
If Andruzzi can't go, Grey Ruegamer and Kenyatta Jones are the candidates to replace him. Ruegamer played the majority of the game after Andruzzi went out in the first half. Jones was the first to go in, but Ruegamer performed better and is more likely to get the nod. Klemm, who worked at guard last season, is not in the mix, but Belichick did say Klemm was closer to earning a spot on the 45-man game day roster.
"Obviously if Joe had been out for a longer time then that would have put more pressure on the guard position," Belichick said. "It doesn't look like it is going to be eight weeks or 12 weeks or that kind of thing. We will just hang in there with what we have got like we did in the Miami game until he gets back.
Glenn a possibility for Sunday
Wide receiver Terry Glenn had a solid return to the practice field Wednesday. Though Belichick has not decided to make him active yet, there is a distinct chance Glenn will be on the field against the Chargers.
Belichick said Glenn did have a couple problems, but nothing major. The receiver was fine physically as far as keeping up in practice. Now it is a matter of maintaining the workload throughout the week.
"I thought Terry did some good things yesterday," Belichick said. "It wasn't perfect. I think that we will see how the second and third day go, what kind of soreness or conditioning effects take place from yesterday's practice, but I thought that he did some good things.
"I think really it is too early to really be able to predict where that is going to be in Sunday. I think we will probably need a couple more days to see that, we will keep going."
Glenn would not speak with the general media, but he was smiling and interacting with several of his teammates. Belichick has until 4 p.m. this Saturday to make Glenn a part of the active 53-man roster. If Glenn practices the rest of the week as he did Wednesday, does Belichick think he could play?
"Yes," Belichick said. "I think it is a possibility, I do."
Bledsoe could start activity soon
Quarterback Drew Bledsoe is still at least a couple weeks away from being cleared to play. Belichick was able to give a possible timetable for Bledsoe's return.
"It will probably be another week and a half before he can do any type of substantial activity and then we will just have to take it from there," Belichick said. "I don't have any predictions on what is going to happen or how it is going to go, but that is kind of the timeframe that we are looking at now. It will be somewhere in that vicinity, another week and a half before he can start doing some light physical work."
