As Matt Cassel returned to practice Thursday, teammates like Mike Vrabel and Heath Evans offered words of encouragement and sympathy for their QB, whose father passed away this week.
"I just wanted to wrap my arms around him this morning and tell him that I love him," said Evans. "At this time, that's about the only thing that you can know how to do."
Meanwhile, some surprising results are in, as fans have finshed casting their ballots for this year's Pro Bowl. Several Patriots wound up in the top ten at their positions, but others who probably should have, did not. The final results will be announced in the next few days.
At least one national writer is not a huge fan of the way fans voted this year. If he had his way, it seems several other Patriots would make the team.
And rookie Jerod Mayo and coach Bill Belichick are cited in a *USA TODAY *story about the so-called "rookie wall."
As for the game on Sunday between the Pats and Raiders, *The San Francisco Chronicle *offers a piece on the return of Randy Moss to Oakland. *The Sacramento Bee *also has a feature on Moss today.
