New England Patriots

As someone who mails it in at work on a regular basis, the NFL offseason is tough for me. The amount of reading material available to me is slim, and to be honest there are only so many YouTube searches for the words "fail," "fart," and "prank" that a man can do before he wants something a little more meaningful. And so I was pleasantly surprised recently when I went to ESPN.com, one of the many stops on the Alec Shane Office Slackoff Tour, and discovered that a panel of experts will be counting down the 20 greatest NFL coaches of all time. The countdown officially began today, with Tony Dungy kicking things off at the 20 spot. Now while this list should be fun to talk about, will possibly ignite some discussion/debate, and should give us all something interesting to read over the coming weeks, I'm very aware that it's ultimately pretty much just filler, a cheap trick by uncreative journalists to fool their audience into thinking that they have more actual insight than they really do. Most of us see through ruses like this, but we don't say anything because we're just grateful to read something football-related. It's actually pretty shameful, to be honest; I mean seriously, who does that? And since there isn't much else NFL to talk about at the moment, I may as well buy in. While I'm going to hold off on commenting on whether or not Dungy belongs on this list, especially considering some of his competition, I did find myself wondering: Where will Bill Belichick land on this list? Obviously, as a card-carrying, out-and-proud Patriots homer and unflinching Belichick apologist, I have to say it's the one spot or bust. Bill Belichick is the GOAT and that's just the way it is. Now to those that think I'm out of my mind, I guess I could take a step back and be willing to consider him for the Top 3. Sure, there are some coaches on the ballot who have had better records than Belichick, and some have won more championships. And yes, some may possibly have had a more profound impact on the game as a whole. But how many have done what Bill Belichick has done in this day and age? How many have found such consistent success in the Free Agency Era without the benefit of being able to slowly assemble a winning team that stays cohesive across multiple seasons? And how many have the winning percentage combined with multiple championships (not to mention even more championship appearances)? None, that's who. Objectively, I guess I could see Belichick falling as low as 7, but anything lower than that will be a crime. I'll definitely be curious to see how this list ends up - whether they decide to make it an actual representation of the greatest coaches of all time, or if they decide to go the NFL Network route and throw a few curve balls in there to rile up the fans and get a bunch of angry comments on the message boards. What do you think? Where will Bill Belichick ultimately end up on the All-Time Greatest List? Poll Where do you think Bill Belichick will end up on ESPN's 20 Greatest Coaches in NFL History? Top 5 Top 3 Number 1 All-Time Outside the Top 5 18 votes | Results

Howdy Pat fans! I'm a Cardinals fan and AW is one of my all time favorite Cardinals. I was hoping you could give me some unbiased opinions you have of him and how you believe he will be used with the team. For us last season he was still a force in the box but was a liability in coverage. Do you see him playing significant snaps this year? I look forward to seeing him play, even if he isn't a Cardinal anymore. thanks! Howdy Pat fans! I'm a Cardinals fan and AW is one of my all time favorite Cardinals. I was hoping you could give me some unbiased opinions you have of him and how you believe he will be used with the team. For us last season he was still a force in the box but was a liability in coverage. Do you see him playing significant snaps this year? I look forward to seeing him play, even if he isn't a Cardinal anymore. thanks!

Every Thursday on ESPNBoston.com, there is a Patriots chat in the early afternoon. Today's chat kicked off at noon, can be recapped here, and included some of the following topics: 1. Outside wide receivers -- Michael Jenkins, Aaron Dobson and more. 2. Tight end Jake Ballard and how he looked at Tuesday's organized team activity. 3. Are organized team activities overblown? 4. Brandon Spikes staying away from voluntary organized team activities.

The Zoltan Mesko Foundation to host the Second Annual Celebrity Karaoke Fundraiser to benefit New England-area Children's Hospitals.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants may have to start looking for a fullback.Starter Henry Hynoski will have surgery Friday to repair his medial collateral ligament and a chip fracture in his left knee. The three-year veteran was hurt Wednesday on the second play from scrimmage during an 11-on-11 driil at an organized team activity."I am going to set my mind to being ready for the first game of the regular season," Hynoski said Thursday. "They said that is not an unrealistic goal, and I will do everything in my power to be ready for the start of the season."

The Patriots.com News Blitz gets you up to date with the latest news from local and national media.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Coach Tom Coughlin and the New York Giants knew Victor Cruz wouldn't show up for the organized team activity without a contract, so his absence was expected.Not so with fellow receiver Hakeem Nicks.Nicks surprised Coughlin Wednesday when he failed to show up for the team's first voluntary workout."I don't know," Coughlin said when asked about Nicks' status. "He should be here."Nicks' agent, Peter Schaffer, did not immediately return an email by The Associated Press seeking comment.

The New England Patriots recently signed an undrafted free agent offensive lineman R.J. Mattes, who was an All-Conference player with the North Carolina State Wolfpack last season. It looked like Mattes would fill out one of the last 90 slots on the roster as a depth offensive lineman in training camp, but the Patriots decided to replace him on the 90-man roster with a different offensive lineman in former Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, and, most recently, San Diego Chargers depth offensive tackle Kevin Haslam. Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports What jumps out at people reading about the signing of Haslam is that he is another Rutgers Scarlet Knights alumn, and the Patriots now have eight former Rutgers players on the 90-man roster. Haslam was released by the Chargers on Tuesday and is 26-year-old, former undrafted free agent from the 2010 class. Haslam actually started in three games due to Jared Gaither‘s desire to collect his check with no work (at least, that’s what Chargers fans tell me), and he simply wasn’t very good in any of those starts. There is only a very slim chance of Haslam making the Patriots 53-man roster, but he still does have a chance at capturing the last spot for a tackle on the roster. Mattes was released before he could prove himself to the Patriots, and it will be interesting to see where the rook lands next. You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Passing along some leftover soundbites from Tom Brady's interview with the "Dennis & Callahan Show" on WEEI sports radio in Boston on Thursday morning. * On how quickly he can see that a new wide receiver understands the system and the offense. "It's a process, there's no question. I think there are certain players that I've played with that get it right it way like Deion [Branch] as an example, like Wes [Welker] as an example, like Randy [Moss] as an example.

Brady will be 36 this season, in the last quarter century, only one player over the age of 36 has won the Super Bowl (John Elway), and only two others over that age have made Super Bowl appearances (Kurt Warner and Rich Gannon). After Elway, the next oldest QB to win a title is Brad Johnson, who was 34, and on a team with a dominant Defense. In fact, in the last ten years, no Super Bowl winning quarterback has been over the age of 31. In the last decade, the average age of the winning QB has been 27.5 years old. Brady will be 36 this season, in the last quarter century, only one player over the age of 36 has won the Super Bowl (John Elway), and only two others over that age have made Super Bowl appearances (Kurt Warner and Rich Gannon). After Elway, the next oldest QB to win a title is Brad Johnson, who was 34, and on a team with a dominant Defense. In fact, in the last ten years, no Super Bowl winning quarterback has been over the age of 31. In the last decade, the average age of the winning QB has been 27.5 years old. Poll Do you feel the Patriots and Tom Brady are in a 'now or never' season? Yes the Patriots must win it all this year. Brady still has a couple years left, but if not this year, then next Brady will still be going strong at 40, and still be capable of winning a SB It is already too late, Luck, Flacco, etc. will or already have passed him by 3 votes | Results