Patriots Starting Right Offensive Tackle And Guard Out For Giants Game

This is the unknown blow. And it comes on the heels of the best pass-rush in the NFL.

Kaczur can't tackle practice
He's among three who miss workout

Email|Print| Text size – + By Christopher L. Gasper
Globe Staff / December 28, 2007
FOXBOROUGH - The Patriots may have to face the New York Giants, the NFL leaders in sacks with 52, without starting right tackle Nick Kaczur.

The team released its injury report yesterday and Kaczur (foot) was among three players not participating in practice. The others were tight end Kyle Brady, who missed last Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins with an ankle injury, and fullback Kyle Eckel, who injured his stomach on kickoff coverage during the second quarter of the Patriots' 28-7 win over the Dolphins.

The Patriots have played the last three games, and seven games this season, without right guard Stephen Neal, who has been troubled by a shoulder injury and had limited participation in practice yesterday. But Kaczur has started all 15 games at right tackle.

The options to replace the third-year tackle are second-year tackles Wesley Britt and Ryan O'Callaghan. Britt made his only career start last season, against the Cincinnati Bengals, and O'Callaghan started six of the first seven games last season before ceding to Kaczur, who was recovering from a shoulder injury.

O'Callaghan replaced Kaczur for a series during the Patriots' 48-27 win over the Dallas Cowboys Oct. 14. Kaczur had moved to left tackle to spell an ailing Matt Light. O'Callaghan surrendered a sack to Cowboys Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware.

Even with Kaczur in the lineup, the Patriots, who have surrendered 20 sacks, the fifth fewest in the league, are in for a challenge against the Giants, who boast defensive linemen Osi Umenyiora (13 sacks), Justin Tuck (10 sacks), and Michael Strahan (nine sacks). The Giants tied the NFL record for sacks in a game (12) earlier this season against Philadelphia. Umenyiora had six in that game.

The Perfect Bowl - NFL Lets NBC and CBS Show Game For Free - Profootballtalk.com

Leave it to Mike Florio to get the scoop on the deal allowing the Pats / Giants game to be shown on NBC and CBS

NBC, CBS GOT PATS-GIANTS FOR FREE

Well, we've done some sleuthing regarding the NFL's decision to simulcast the Pats-Giants game on Saturday night. And a source with knowledge of the situation tells us that NBC and CBS are paying a whopping . . . nothing . . . for the rights to the game.

Plus, the networks get to sell their own commercials.

Wow.

"NBC is the exclusive carrier of prime time 'over the air' NFL football," the source said, "which means if the game was moving to an 'over the air' station it had to be NBC."

But since NBC already has a game for the week (Tennessee at Indianapolis), the Pats-Giants game was partially owned by CBS as well, since CBS would have aired the game on Sunday afternoon, given that the AFC team in the interconference contest is the visitor.

Said the source: "Both parties had to agree to a simulcast or agree not to do it."

Another source tells us that ESPN, which pays the NFL $1.1 billion per year for the rights to Monday Night Football, wasn't even included in the discussions -- which officially confirms the four-letter network's status as the NFL's biatch.