So, you're Bill Belichick, and you've given your entire team the week off prior to their bye weekend.
And where might you find the New England Patriots head coach? At his home on Nantucket, perhaps?
"Those scallops would be good," he conceded, in a story in today's Boston Globe, as he sat in his Gillette Stadium office last week watching film of his next opponent, the Buffalo Bills.
"But maybe I'll be in Annapolis having some crabs," he added, hinting that he might go visit his mother in Maryland.
In this rare look inside Belichick's world, the reporter asks if Belichick is a workaholic.
"I enjoy what I do," he responded. "I've got a couple of days that I've got to get caught up on some things. Still getting caught up on some stuff from Indy and Buffalo. Try to get a few things done early in the week and back off here at the end a little bit."
The Boston Herald, meantime, caught up with New England owner Robert Kraft. He talked about the team's turbulent start to the season, when Belichick was punished by the NFL for improper videotaping procedures.
"From the owner to the front office to coaches to the players,it helped bring everyone together even more," Kraft told the Herald in today's piece.
We're winning because this is a team with a tremendous work ethic, a team that's proven itself. I'm proud to know that they are conducting themselves the right way."
And as the 2007 season rounds the corner of the final stretch, one local reporter gives out his mid-season awards to several Patriots. Here's a sample:
MOST IRREPLACEABLE PATRIOT NOT NAMED BRADY: All due respect to Matt Cassel and Matt Gutierrez, but the Pats won't be adding any more Lombardi Trophies if Tom Brady goes down ... the one guy the defense can't do without is nose tackle Vince Wilfork. His 42 tackles rank just fifth on the team, but that's because he's usually tying up two or three blockers on his own to allow everyone else in the front seven to make plays ... playing without the big man in the middle is something the Patriots definitely don't want to contemplate.
BEST RETURN ON AN INVESTMENT: Wideout Wes Welker has made almost as big an impact (as Randy Moss) since coming over from Miami in the offseason for second- and seventh-round picks. Welker leads the team with 61 catches, good for 651 yards and seven TDs. He's also been a game-changer on special teams, often winning the field-position war almost singlehandedly with 232 yards on 20 punt returns (11.6-yard average) and 157 yards on six kick returns (26.2 average).
QUICK HITS
A look at the chances of New England running the table in today's Boston Herald. Plus, you get to vote on which team will be the Pats' biggest challenge down the stretch.
A feature on Randy Moss in The Boston Globe.
The Patriots are taking steps to "go green" with Renewable Energy Credits.
