Tom Brady misses Patriots practice (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJLalkaelP-JCXSYXwYHA4tkDIC1lllzmzTPgRXWiYW0Z9jdSt-JadAQMHhsLOErazEvVC7sRwmg718BGRmC3tf9vPOo-1I2poefQv4vksKqbrB_IXUWj-GSZX8k8kxESyZZWER_hDEo/s1600/espnapi_dm_140115_nfl_pierce_brunell_brady_manning_wmain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJLalkaelP-JCXSYXwYHA4tkDIC1lllzmzTPgRXWiYW0Z9jdSt-JadAQMHhsLOErazEvVC7sRwmg718BGRmC3tf9vPOo-1I2poefQv4vksKqbrB_IXUWj-GSZX8k8kxESyZZWER_hDEo/s1600/espnapi_dm_140115_nfl_pierce_brunell_brady_manning_wmain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ne/new-england-patriots" style="color: #2e538f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">New England Patriots</a> quarterback <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2330/tom-brady" style="color: #2e538f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Tom Brady</a> missed Wednesday's practice because of an illness.</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">A source, however, told ESPNBoston.com that Brady is "good and will be ready for Sunday," when the Patriots play <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/1428/peyton-manning" style="color: #2e538f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Peyton Manning</a> and the <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/den/denver-broncos" style="color: #2e538f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Denver Broncos</a> in the AFC Championship Game.<a class="e_espn_morevideo_link" href="http://espn.go.com/video/sportscenter" style="color: #2e538f; display: inline !important; height: 25px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: -10px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9999px; top: 0px; white-space: nowrap; width: 218px;" title="SportCenter ">sc</a></div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;"></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Brady said last week he was fighting a cold but did not miss a practice and played every snap of Saturday's divisional playoff victory over the </span><a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ind/indianapolis-colts" style="background-color: white; color: #2e538f; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Indianapolis Colts</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">.</span><br /><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;"></div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">The Patriots also listed Brady as having a shoulder injury, a designation that has been relatively typical for the star quarterback.</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">Wednesday's session was the first of three practices the Patriots will hold this week. In Brady's absence, backup <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14037/ryan-mallett" style="color: #2e538f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Ryan Mallett</a> handled the roles of both first-team and scout-team quarterback, essentially filling both Brady's and Manning's shoes.</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">"It was fun," Mallett said of taking first-team reps. "It was a lot of fun. I like getting to play in our offense."</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">Mallett, who said he found out Brady would be absent early Wednesday, would not discuss why the two-time Super Bowl MVP wasn't present.</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">"You'd have to ask Coach," he said of Brady's absence. "I'm just doing what I'm told, doing my job."</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">Asked about Brady in his news conference, Bill Belichick would only say the team would release its first injury report later Wednesday.</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">In a lighthearted moment, Belichick, asked when the last time Brady surprised him was, replied, "This morning."</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">What was it that surprised him?</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">"We'll keep that between Tom and I," Belichick said.</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">Long snapper <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14581/danny-aiken" style="color: #2e538f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Danny Aiken</a> was also missing from practice with an illness. The Patriots, who canceled Brady's scheduled news conference Wednesday, had additional hand-sanitizing stations set up in the locker room.</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">Meanwhile, the Patriots did have punter <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/16382/ryan-allen" style="color: #2e538f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Ryan Allen</a>, who left Saturday's game with a shoulder injury, on the practice field. Allen suffered an AC sprain, according to sources, and the team is hopeful he can rehab the injury this week to a point that he is good to go on Sunday.</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">Wide receiver <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/15834/aaron-dobson" style="color: #2e538f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Aaron Dobson</a>, who was injured in Week 17 and had not practiced since then, returned to practice as he continues to work through a foot injury.</div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss and Field Yates contributed to this report.</em></div></div>

Tom Brady misses Patriots practice (BLOG)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. --  New England Patriots  quarterback  Tom Brady  missed Wednesday's practice because of an illness. A source, however...

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