Patriots Blog: Madden: Brady MVP, Patriots In Super Bowl
FOXBORO (CBS) – Former coach and broadcaster John Madden thinks Tom Brady is the 2010 Most Valuable Player and the Patriots are the favorites to win the Super Bowl.
"They look right now… that they're playing the best football," Madden told me in a satellite interview Friday.
Watch the John Madden interview
MCCOURTY AND GRONKOWSKI
No doubt the Pats rookies have made a difference to the team this year. They are noticed locally and nationally they are getting some praise.
On the list of the top 10 rookies of the 2010-2011 season, Devin McCourty is listed as 4th and Rob Gronkowski is listed as 5th.
The voters said McCourty "greatly exceeded expectations in his rookie season and is already among the better corners in this league."
As for Gronk, the voters said he "is on the verge of becoming one of the very best two-way tight ends in the mold of Jason Witten and Heath Miller-- but he has more upside than either veteran."
That's big news right there. Here are the voters top ten rookie list:
1. Sam Bradford
2. Ndamukong Suh
3. Mike Williams
4. Devin McCourty
5. Mike Williams
6. Joe Haden
7. Tony Moeaki
8. LeGarrette Blount
9. Maurkice Pouncey
10. Eric Berry
WILFORK: WE GOT BETTER
The Pats are using this time to do some self scouting and right now everything seems to be working. Vince Wilfork said on Thursday, the practices have been hard and eye opening.
"I think we got some good work done yesterday. I really think we got better as a football team yesterday and we need to continue that today," Wilfork said before the Patriots hit the field for another full-pads session.
"I'm looking forward to another good practice today and hopefully that will be enough with the guys that are banged up. At this point in the year, you have a lot of guys with all types of injuries and bumps and bruises so we need to make sure that we can get those taken care of."
The Pats are off for a long weekend and they will be back at Gillette on Tuesday.
WHO'S 53?
That mysterious number 53 on the Patriots practice field Wednesday was indeed Marques Murrell.
The Pats linebacker was with them during training camp and he was on the field in the season opener. He lost his job after that and didn't have a single workout opportunity.
"I watched a lot of guys, I watched the wire a lot, and I saw guys getting worked out left and right, it was kind of frustrating after a while," Murrell said Thursday in the team's locker room.
"Me and my agent, we talk often, and he said 'Just be ready, be professional about it.' That's all I could do. I tried not to let it bring me down."
So one can imagine Murrell's surprise when the Patriots called this week and told him they were interested in bringing him back. It was a reward for his discipline of staying in shape, as he woke up each morning and trained as if he was on a team, which included watching film and going over plays. The 25-year-old is now making the most of this wonderful chance.
WELKER PRO BOWL
Patriot wide receiver Wes Welker is a Pro Bowler for a third straight year. This is amazing if you consider the injury he had to come back from, just to get on the field this year.
He told reporters he got the news after practice on Wednesday.
"It feels good. Obviously, I don't think it's been my greatest year, or anything like that," Welker said. "At the same time, I'm definitely happy about being added on to the Pro Bowl squad."
Wes was able to get some rest even before the playoff bye week started. Coach Belichick made him inactive for Sunday game against the Dolphins. Welker said he was able to stay off his legs.
"I definitely felt a lot better physically, and everything like that," Welker said.
"So, it was nice - it was a little strange having that night off, that day off, but at the same time it was relaxing. My body felt great."
