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player ready...A stroke in February at 32 followed by surgery in March to repair a small hole in his heart were not reason enough for New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi to give up football.
Cleared to play by doctors, Bruschi confirmed Monday he will return to practice Wednesday.
“I want to help this team any way I can,” he said. “They tell me I can play, I know I can play, so, shoot, let’s just play.”
Bruschi didn’t say when he planned to play in a game. The Patriots have an open date this week and return to action Oct. 30 at home against Buffalo.
Bruschi has been on the physically unable to perform list all season, meaning he can practice with the Patriots after the sixth week of the regular season, which ends Monday night.
NFL rules give him three more weeks to start practicing, and then the team would have three weeks to decide whether to place him on the active roster. Had he been placed on injured reserve, he would not have been able to return this season.
Bruschi, an integral part of three Super Bowl teams, had said as recently as last month he would not play this season. But he said Monday he has no qualms about coming back and that he has unanimous support from doctors and his family.
The Patriots are 3-3, and after losing Bruschi and later safety Rodney Harrison, their defense is yielding 27.3 points per game, most in the AFC.
Bruschi reviewed the experience of suffering a stroke two days after playing in the Pro Bowl.
“One day you wake up and you can’t see your sons very clearly anymore because you’ve had a stroke,” he said. “You can’t walk right. Two days before you’re playing in a football game; now you can barely go down the steps. Two days before you’re making tackles in the Pro Bowl and then all of a sudden your vision on your left side, you can’t see your hand right here. It was a traumatic experience.
“It’s been a long road back. I’m not going to jump into something without being absolutely 100 percent positive, and I am.”
Bruschi said he hopes he is educating people about strokes.
“I feel like I’m the face of stroke. I’m working now with the American Stroke Association, helping them get the word out about stroke and the warning signs of stroke,” he said.
Vikings security
The Minnesota Vikings hired a former FBI agent as their new security director after NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue told the team to tighten its discipline following accounts of a wild boat party attended by some players.
Retired agent Dag Sohlberg has been the team’s liaison with NFL security for five years but was not a full-time employee.
Vikings owner Zygi Wilf had asked to see Tagliabue, and they met Sunday at a private airfield near Chicago before the team’s 28-3 loss to the Bears. Tagliabue flew back to New York after the meeting.
“The commissioner emphasized to me that I inherited an organization that was inadequately structured and staffed,” Wilf said, “and that we must correct that to ensure the highest standards of team operations, including discipline, accountability, strong oversight and internal communications.”
San Antonio Saints?
San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger reiterated his resolve to bring the Saints to San Antonio permanently, saying he wanted to close the deal before next season begins.
Hardberger attended Sunday’s sellout game between the Saints and Atlanta Falcons in the Alamodome and told the San Antonio Express-News: “I think [Saints owner] Tom Benson would like to stay here permanently and I as mayor of San Antonio would like to have the team stay here permanently.”
The Saints are under contract to play at the Louisiana Superdome through 2010, but certain provisions allow them to opt out before a Nov. 29 deadline. Damage to the Superdome by Hurricane Katrina prompted the Saints to practice in San Antonio and play three games there. Four other games, including their Nov. 6 game against the Bears, were moved to Baton Rouge, La., where ticket sales have been sluggish.
Nice trade
The late John Butler, former general manager of the San Diego Chargers, traded the first pick in the 2001 draft to the Atlanta Falcons for the fifth pick, a third-round pick, a second-round pick in 2002 and kick returner Tim Dwight.
The Falcons drafted quarterback Michael Vick and are not disappointed. The Chargers are ecstatic after drafting running back LaDainian Tomlinson and cornerback Tay Cody (no longer on the team) in 2001 and receiver Reche Caldwell in 2002. In 2001, they also spent their second-round pick on quarterback Drew Brees.
The Chargers are 33-38 and the Falcons are 36-33-1 since the trade.
Tale of the tape
Middle linebackers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher will face off for the second time Sunday when the Ravens visit Soldier Field.
After five games, here are their stats: Lewis–59 total tackles, 42 solo, 17 assists, 1 sack, 1 interception; Urlacher–49 total tackles, 32 solo, 17 assists, 6 sacks, 0 interceptions.
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No contest
According to the Troy Aikman ratings through Sunday’s games, the Bears have the No. 1 defense and the Vikings have the No. 32 offense.
The Aikman ratings use a formula combining points, turnovers, red-zone efficiency, yards per play, and first-down achievement. NFL stats include only yardage gained and yielded.
Proehl again
Ricky Proehl, the Panthers’ 37-year-old receiver who spent the 1997 season with the Bears, beat the Lions with a touchdown catch Sunday.
Former Panthers quarterback Steve Beuerlein remembered when the two of them played for ex-Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan with the Arizona Cardinals.
“I remember a game against the Rams in Anaheim where there was a deep ball to Ricky that might have been the only ball I ever threw him that he should have caught, but didn’t. He dropped it,” Beuerlein said. “Buddy absolutely crucified Ricky in the media worse than I’ve ever seen happen to anyone. But Ricky then is just like Ricky now. He’s a total pro and he just kept working. Buddy Ryan tried to bury both Ricky and I while we were there. He was pretty good at that kind of stuff and he ruined some careers. I survived it and Ricky’s still surviving it.”
Ravens’ frustration
ESPN commentator Tom Jackson weighed in on the frustrations of the Ravens’ defense before their 16-3 victory against Cleveland.
“What they’ve done is neglected the most important position on the field, the quarterback position, the guy who takes every snap,” he said. “Trent Dilfer won that game (Super Bowl after the 2000 season, 34-7), then he’s let go so that we can have Elvis Grbac, Chris Redman, Anthony Wright, Kyle Boller, Jeff Blake and Randall Cunningham. You’re still searching for a fix for that position because you didn’t like the way you actually won the Super Bowl.”
Two running backs
The Ravens will come to Soldier Field with running back Chester Taylor pushing former star Jamal Lewis.
Lewis has been limited to 292 yards rushing on 98 carries this season, an average of 3 yards per attempt. He gained only 59 yards in 24 tries Sunday against Cleveland. Taylor had 92 yards in eight carries.
“Jamal’s had some tough sledding,” Ravens coach Brian Billick said Monday.
Baltimore lost three players to injury against the Browns, all with ankle sprains, and it appears All-Pro safety Ed Reed will miss this week’s game.
Thin Detroit ice
Beleaguered Lions quarterback Joey Harrington was booed again by fans in their 21-20 loss to Carolina.
“I’d like him to be better. I told him that. He knows that,” coach Steve Mariucci said. “He feels the same way that I do. He feels the same way that we all do. He would like to be more productive. Some things have to come from him. Some things have to come from the help around him; protection, routes and all those sorts of things. We’ve had this conversation before, haven’t we?”
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