Today marked the deadline for former Patriots employee Matt Walsh to turn over any material to the NFL league office related to the Patriots' videotaping of opponents. The Boston Globe reports that a certification letter was sent to the league office that 8 tapes have been sent, but did not include a video tape of the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI as had been speculated by the media to be in Walsh's possession. *The **Boston Herald* and *The **Providence Journal* also offer similar reports.
The Boston Globe offers a feature story on Patriots linebacker Victor Hobson. Hobson, a former Jet signed as a free agent this offseason, offers his thoughts on being on the other side of a heated rivarly. and what he hopes to bring to his new team.
"From the outside looking in, everybody looks at the rivalry and says, 'How could you go there? The two teams hate each other," said Hobson. "But as players, with any rivalry - I can go back to college with Michigan and Ohio State - there is always respect for the other players and organization for what they're doing and able to accomplish. It was likewise with them and the Jets."
The Globe also offers a piece highlighting Patriots cornerback Fernando Bryant, who has quietly entered the offseason program in an effort to put himself in the best position to land the starting role vacated by Asante Samuel. The 5-foot-11-inch, 185-pound Bryant is a leading contender in what projects to be a fierce competition among the likes of returning starter Ellis Hobbs, free agent signees Lewis Sanders and Jason Webster, 2008 second-round pick Terrence Wheatley, 2008 fourth-round pick Jonathan Wilhite, and 2007 sixth-round pick Mike Richardson.
"I tell people all the time, in this league, you can't be afraid of competition," Bryant said. "About 250 draft picks come into the league [every year], so 250 players have to leave - that's the reality of the situation."
"You don't start 109 games out of 110 games from just being an OK player. I'll stand behind my work and the chips will fall where they may. The one thing I know about this program is that the best player is going to play. It has nothing to do with draft status, it has nothing to do with years. It's about winning here."
