Are you ready for Tebow Time, Take Two?
You better be, because this Saturday night, the NFL's most polarizing player makes his first visit to Foxborough (well, aside from his highly-publicized pre-draft dinner soiree with Bill Belichick in 2010) for an AFC Divisional Round Playoff Game.
The schedule couldn't have been any more favorable for the Patirots, who had the weekend off, while Denver QB Tim Tebow and his Broncos are less than a day removed from an emotional overtime win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. New England not only has the home-field advantage, it also has the preparation time advantage. Denver will have a short turnaround to begin their work, then have to fly east later this week.
Here at Gillette, the parking lot is full and the coaching staff (including Josh McDaniels) is already toiling away. We'll hear from some of them (but not OC Bill O'Brien, unfortunately) during a conference call slate around noontime. De facto defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will take O'Brien's place, with Belichick and personnel boss Nick Caserio on the agenda, as usual.
Some players are probably here already, too, but all of them will surely be back on Tueday for meetings, treatment, and practice. It looks like a normal work week, just moved up a day. You'll have a new Ask PFW column on patriots.com tomorrow, in addition to our weekly radio programming slate, headed by "PFW in Progress" from noon to 2 p.m. Eastern (available for download later, and continuing on Wednesday and Thursday).
Practice access and player media interviews will take place Tuesday through Thursday (check for updates here on the blog and on patriots.com), and Bill hosts press briefings on Tuesday and Thursday. As always, tune in to PFW TV Thursday night at 7:30 on Comcast SportsNet New England. Friday is a walkthrough, with no media access.
Saturday evening, beginning at 5:45, Andy and Paul will get you prepped for the game on the Pre-Game Social. Visit the Patriots Facebook page to listen and contribute to the show with your e-mails, phone calls, and pictures from your tailgating parties.
Kickoff is 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS. In the meantime, so many storylines … from the Tebow-Brady rematch to the return of McDaniels, who drafted Tebow and Demaryius Thomas in Denver … and we'll cover them all for you over the next few days.
