Bruschi proves he's a key piece
By Ron Borges | October 31, 2005

FOXBOROUGH -- Tedy Bruschi survived. So did his team. Fixate on that and forget about the rest if you can.

The Patriots won last night, beating the stumbling Buffalo Bills, 21-16, on a late score with 5:32 to play. Tell yourself the rest doesn't matter. They won the game.

They didn't win by much and they didn't show any significant defensive improvement except inside the red zone but they won the game and for now that is all you've got to hold on to. For now it is enough.

For two weeks the return of Bruschi after an eight-month layoff following a stunning stroke several days after he returned from the Pro Bowl in February was all Patriot fans could think about. The very soul of their defense was coming back. Now things would be different. The problems that had been plaguing their injury-riddled defense for six inconsistent weeks soon would be solved. He was back.

Bruschi heard the first cheer at 4:47 p.m. as he walked alone from the parking lot toward the front door of Razor Blade Field. For an instant he looked to his left, a slight smile passing across his face but just as quickly as it appeared it faded and he was again fixated on only one thing. Getting to work.

Not many people look forward to working on Sunday, but Bruschi had been waiting eight months for this day. Eight months of struggle and worry and, yes, a touch of fear. Eight months to get back out on the piece of real estate he loves most in New England.

Just under four hours later, Bruschi became the first known person to come back from a stroke to again ply his trade in the National Football League and he wasted no time making obvious why he was there. He made the third tackle of the game, needing only 62 seconds to slam his body into Buffalo running back Willis McGahee and wrestle him to the ground. When his name was announced the crowd went berserk. Bruschi did not, acting like he had done this many times before. Which he had.

Earlier, when the defensive starters were announced, Bruschi's name was called last and it received a thunderous ovation. For a moment he acknowleged the crowd, waving his arms as he walked down the sideline. Then he stood on the 40-yard line, bouncing up and down until it was time for the captains to go out for the coin toss. He was the first New England captain to hit midfield and when he got there he received a bear hug from his former teammate, Buffalo's Lawyer Milloy.

Minutes later, just before the opening kickoff, Bruschi's wife, Heidi, stood waving to him from the stands. Her smile was radiant, nearly as broad as Bruschi's but his held only for a moment. Then it was back to the job at hand, which was trying to corral McGahee and the Bills. As things turned out, that was nothing to smile about.

Bruschi had returned to much bombast, many of the faithful convinced his mere presence would solve all the ills of their battered and porous defense. It did not. The Patriots won because the Bills are a flawed team with too many weaknesses, a team led by a career backup quarterback who could never make a play for his team when they needed one the way Brady did when he hit Deion Branch with a 37-yard pass immediately after Buffalo took a 16-7lead to set up a touchdown and then hit Branch for a 22-yard gain immediately after Holcomb had fumbled the ball back to New England less than a minute later to set up the winning touchdown.

That was the difference between these teams even on a subpar night for Brady. The quarterback was the difference. The defense, however, was not.

The Bills entered with the 30th-ranked offense in the NFL, a team that was next to last in passing offense and 26th in points scored. The one thing they could do, the one thing everyone who plays them knows they will try to do is, run. Last night they tried it again. Last night they succeeded, rolling up 394 yards in total offense, including 136 rushing yards by McGahee, who ran through the Bruschi-infused defense with the same success the Broncos, Chargers, and Panthers had. In fact, with the same success most everyone else they've played this year had. Bruschi was back last night but is presence did little to change that.

Buffalo was averaging 353.3 yards per game. Last night they racked up 394. It was averaging 125.3 rushing. Last night it ran for 147. The difference between this game and its six predecessors was that with Bruschi on the field, the red zone defense stiffened, not allowing the Bills a touchdown the three times it penetrated the 20. Going into last night's victory the defense had given up 15 touchdowns on 19 opportunities, and the other four times those opponents had come away with field goals. This night, with Bruschi in the middle, that's all the Bills could muster inside the 20. Three field goals. Points, but not enough.

He played far more than he expected, missing only one series the entire night. He did not play as well as he had hoped but, like the rest of the defense, he played well enough to win, which is well enough period.

Not perfect, to be sure. Not The Answer, as some had hoped, but perhaps part of the answer, at least to the red zone problems

''It feels good back to doing what I love," Bruschi said. ''Getting this game under my belt meant a lot to me. [It was a] relief. There was so much going into this. I didn't just jump into this. I physically prepared myself the best I could knowing playing a lot was a possibility. I been training for this for a long time. But I feel I can get a lot better."

He will need to do that because for as many plays as he played, which was nearly all of them, and as many hits as he dealt out and absorbed, which was plenty, there is still much to worry about with this defense. Much work to do.

When you allow your opponent to control the ball for 39 minutes and 20 seconds, it is a problem. When you get shredded for 147 rushing yards, it is a weakness. When you allow one man, McGahee, to rush for 136 yards, things need to be tightened. But the difference between this game and the six before them was the two turnovers they forced and the stinginess in the red zone for the first time all season and the fact that in the midst of their defense was Bruschi, a guy who last night called himself ''a football player by trade."

''I saw Rosevelt Colvin make a play to win the game," Bruschi said. ''That's the way it's been in the past. You don't know who's going to do it or when it's going to come to pass. Rosey was the guy tonight."

He was, forcing Holcomb to cough up the ball with just under seven minutes to play at theBills 23. It came only seconds after Corey Dillon's 1-yard plunge had cut the Bills' lead to 16-14.

Two plays later, the Patriots had the lead and five minutes after that the defense stopped the Bills on fourth down and that was it. It was over. Bruschi had survived the first step and his team had survived the night.

For now that is enough.

Bruschi proves he's a key piece - The Boston Globe

BRUSCHI'S RETURN A BIT UNSETTLING
The Daily Herald


There are tough guys, and then there are tough guys.

No one doubts Tedy Bruschi is one tough guy.

He's also a great story, something ESPN's fawning announcers never let you forget for a moment the other night even as he and the other 21 players on the field in Foxborough, Mass.

, tried to play a game.

At one point, Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire seemed so overwhelmed by the emotions of the whole thing that you expected them to share a group hug and maybe shed a tear or two.

But, hey, we're talking about a guy who just eight months ago could hardly see, much less walk. This is a guy who then underwent surgery after that to repair a hole in his heart that doctors believed triggered the stroke.

This is also a guy who seems almost embarrassed that people are making such a big deal out of the whole thing.

They did Sunday night because most had never seen anything like this. Bruschi had no business being on a football field this season, but here he was in the seventh game of the season flying around the field like he didn't have a care in the world.

Many of the 68,756 on hand weren't so sure. They cheered wildly every time Bruschi's name was announced. But they also held their breath every time he collided with an offensive lineman 100 pounds bigger.

In the stands, Rick Stimets wore a blue No. 54 Bruschi jersey that wasn't big enough to cover his conflicted feelings.

"It's bittersweet. It's great for the team, but I don't think he's making the right decision," Stimets said. "As much as I like to see him out there, I'd like to see him healthy."

Bruschi, of course, insists he's healthy. He says every doctor he has seen has cleared him, confident that it was the heart problem that caused the stroke.

He's a football player, probably underpaid at $850,000 a year, but that's what he does. A guy's got to make a living and, besides, NFL careers are notoriously short anyhow.

"Sometimes you just got to pick yourself up off the ground and get back to living your life, and that is all I am trying to do," he said.

Unfortunately, doctors aren't always right. They tend to guess a lot about things like this and, even if the guesses are educated, there are no guarantees.

Joe Mesi would be back earning a living just like Bruschi if he and some of his doctors had their way. Thankfully, they haven't gotten it.

Mesi, you might remember, was on the verge of fighting for the heavyweight title a few years ago. But he had bleeding on the brain after nearly being knocked silly in a fight with Vassiliy Jirov, and Nevada boxing authorities have refused to allow him back in the ring.

Like Bruschi, Mesi came armed with a doctor's note saying everything was OK. He got three neurosurgeons to testify he was no more at risk for further injury than someone who hadn't had a subdural hematoma.

Other doctors disagreed and Nevada stood firm. For once, the system actually worked in boxing.

New England sports fans know better than most that doctors aren't always right.

They remember Reggie Lewis, who was an all-star with the Celtics when he collapsed in the first period of a 1993 playoff game with Charlotte.

A medical "Dream Team" assembled to treat Lewis diagnosed him with a potentially fatal heart problem, and the Celtics said he would probably never play basketball again. Just hours later, though, he transferred to a different hospital where a doctor said he had a minor neurological condition and a normal athlete's heart.

Two months later, Lewis collapsed and died while shooting baskets at Brandeis University. An autopsy revealed his heart was abnormal, enlarged and extensively scarred.

Bruschi's doctors issued a statement a few weeks ago saying he is "exceptionally healthy" and that there's nothing more to worry about than what a 32-year-old linebacker in the violent world of the NFL always has to worry about.

The doctors are all experts in their field and they certainly wouldn't knowingly do anything to put him at risk. Then again, there isn't a large pool of football players who try to come back after suffering a stroke to learn from.

Bruschi himself is convinced he's OK, and, for one night at least, he played like it.

"I gathered all the information and made sure I was safe playing football again," Bruschi said after the game. "And so, once I did that, there was a question of what are you going to do. And I felt like I wanted to get back to living my life and playing football."

So Bruschi is back, doing what he loves and making a living the only way he knows how.

BRUSCHI'S RETURN A BIT UNSETTLING :: The Daily Herald, Provo Utah

An ace in the soul -- Patriots rally around Tedy’s return
By John Tomase
Monday, October 31, 2005 - Updated: 05:18 PM EST

FOXBORO – A figure in black slouched past Willie McGinest’s locker looking defiant yet drained.

“Look at my man with his head hanging,” McGinest said. “He looks like he needs a respirator.”

Tedy Bruschi cracked a smile with what little energy remained. He had just been on the field for 76 snaps in his first game since last February’s Pro Bowl and the action had taken its toll.

But Bruschi did not break in his return from a mild stroke. And when it was over, the same could be said for his team.

Taking a cue from their leader, the Patriots persevered against the Buffalo Bills last night. Trailing for most of the game and manhandled for the first three quarters, the Patriots sprung to life in the final 10 minutes and turned what could have been one of the most demoralizing defeats of the Bill Belichick era into a 21-16 victory that gave them life heading into next week’s showdown with the unbeaten Indianapolis Colts.

“With Bruschi out there we played with a different intensity and it was good,” safety Eugene Wilson said. “As soon as he came back to practice, you could see the difference in the players.”

Bruschi’s teammates warned all week the linebacker couldn’t fix the Patriots’ problems by himself. Bruschi needed help, and it came chiefly in the form of fellow linebacker Rosevelt Colvin’s blindside blitz and fumble recovery at the Buffalo 23 that set up Corey Dillon’s go-ahead 1-yard touchdown run with 5:38 remaining.

“We’re in the huddle saying somebody do something,” Bruschi said. “We needed someone to make a play, and he was the guy tonight.”

Offensively, Dillon shook off a sprained left ankle to sub for the injured Patrick Pass and rush for 72 yards on 18 carries, all but 10 of those yards in the second half. He scored on a pair of 1-yard runs in the fourth quarter.

“For him to do what he did and suck it up and play the way he did, it just shows you what kind of team guy he is,” said center Dan Koppen. “It shows what he’s willing to do to help his team win.”

Colvin, Dillon and Bruschi saved the Pats on a night when they looked very little like the two-time defending Super Bowl champs.

They took stupid penalties, mismanaged the clock, and treated momentum like a radioactive isotope. They struggled mightily to beat the same Bills who were blasted by the Oakland Raiders, 38-17, just a week earlier.

The Bills dominated time of possession 39:20 to 20:40, controlled both lines of scrimmage, and capitalized on two Patriots turnovers. The Pats missed a field goal after taking a delay-of-game penalty despite owning timeouts at the end of the first half. They allowed a series of third-and-long conversions in the second half when just one stop could have changed the game.

They were flagged for a performing-an-unnatural-act penalty in the first quarter, an infraction that summed up most of the evening.

But like they have so many times before, the Patriots delivered when it mattered. First Deion Branch made a spectacular diving catch for 37 yards to the Buffalo 24 with 10:02 left in the fourth quarter. The play set up Dillon’s first 1-yard run. Then Colvin made his play, Tim Dwight took a Tom Brady pass to the 1, and the Pats were saved despite looking flat for much of the game.

Lacking motivation seemed like an impossibility when Bruschi took the field to a deafening ovation. He wasted no time making his presence felt, helping stop running back Willis McGahee (31 carries, 136 yards) on Buffalo’s first play from scrimmage.

“His play-making ability, it’s just good to have him back,” cornerback Asante Samuel said. “. . . He’s a Massachusetts favorite and he gave us momentum tonight.”
 

BostonHerald.com - Patriots & NFL: An ace in the soul -- Patriots rally around Tedy’s return

Bruschi Is AFC Defensive Player of Week
Tedy Bruschi, Returning Eight Months After a Stroke, Is AFC's Defensive Player of the Week
The Associated Press

NEW YORK - New England's Tedy Bruschi, returning to the lineup eight months after a stroke, is the AFC's defensive player of the week.

Bruschi had 10 tackles Sunday in the Patriots' 21-16 win over Buffalo. He played nearly full-time in his first game since the Super Bowl.

Other AFC players honored were Denver quarterback Jake Plummer (offense) and Houston's Jerome Mathis (special teams).

The NFC players of the week were Tiki Barber of the New York Giants (offense); Charles Tillman of Chicago (defense) and Joe Nedney of San Francisco (special teams).
 

ABC News: Bruschi Is AFC Defensive Player of Week

Bruschi's back and in fine fettle
New England defense happy to have its standout LB heading into game vs. Colts
By Phillip B. Wilson
November 6, 2005


Tedy Bruschi wants to instill in his three sons the life's wisdom that they must get busy living or get busy dying. The boys only need to look at their father's football career to see that type of assertive perspective.

Eight months after he suffered a stroke and underwent heart surgery, the New England Patriots' veteran linebacker returned to the lineup last Sunday. After getting the doctors' OK, he said it was simply a matter of doing what he loves to do.

Then it was the same, old energetic Bruschi. He was moving fast and hitting anything that moved.

"I don't know how it has affected other people out there," Bruschi said about his setback and comeback in a news release provided by the Patriots, "but mental toughness is something I pride myself on.

"And if you have support from friends and family and teammates," added Bruschi, who said he wants his sons to learn from his attitude, "it is possible to overcome any obstacle."

Unbeaten Indianapolis (7-0) will knock heads with Bruschi once again when the Colts visit Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Monday night. The Colts have lost to this guy and the two-time defending Super Bowl champions four times in two seasons, including the past two playoffs. Respect is not an issue.

"He might not be the best stat guy as far as 40s and benches, but he always makes plays," Colts receiver Brandon Stokley said of Bruschi. "He's a football player."

Bruschi, last week's AFC Defensive Player of the Week after the Patriots' 21-16 victory over Buffalo, personifies the no-nonsense mentality set forth by coach Bill Belichick.

Bruschi could be considered an overachiever. The 10th-year pro didn't make his first Pro Bowl until last season. And the third-round pick didn't become a full-time starter until midway through his third year.

"He goes out there and plays the game the way it's supposed to be played," said Colts defensive tackle Corey Simon. "He plays it hard and he plays it aggressive.

"When you play it that way, when you're playing 100 miles per hour all the time, good things are going to happen for you.

Backup Colts running back Dominic Rhodes is still wondering how Bruschi wrestled the football away for a drive-killing turnover in January's 20-3 Patriots victory in the playoffs. It was a signature play -- New England always seems to seize the moment against the Colts.

"He was there as soon as I turned around," Rhodes said. "Somehow, the ball just shifted right to him. It was a great play on his part. That's how he plays every play, hard and smart. Guys like that, who study and know this game inside out, they make plays like that because they know where to be."

But the Patriots (4-3) aren't the same on defense this time around. They desperately needed Bruschi to bolster a unit that is 26th in points and yards allowed.

Bruschi's ailments coupled with the retirement of linebacker Ted Johnson had the Patriots turning to free agents Chad Brown and Monty Beisel to fill the voids. Brown and Beisel are now backups.

Bruschi's return allows the Patriots to move Mike Vrabel inside with him and slot Willie McGinest and Rosevelt Colvin at outside linebacker spots. Buffalo's 16 points were the fewest allowed this season by the reshuffled Patriots, who still must make up for safety Rodney Harrison suffering a season-ending knee injury and defensive end Richard Seymour being hampered by a sore knee.

"Tedy is a good player and it was good to have him back," Belichick said on a conference call last week. "(But) in the end, he's like anybody else -- he can only play one position and do his job.

"It's up to everybody else to do theirs."

Bruschi's advice to teammates probably would be the same as that to his sons: Regardless of the situation, there comes a time when you have to take action.

"What he has done is amazing," said Colts linebackers coach Mike Murphy. "There's not a whole bunch of guys who would be physically capable of coming back from that. I hope he has a good season and a lot of success, except for one game."

Bruschi's back and in fine fettle

Colts must keep vigilant eye on Patriots' Bruschi

BY REGGIE HAYES
Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel

FOXBORO, Mass. - In order for the Indianapolis Colts to beat their nemesis New England on Monday night, they'll have to neutralize Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

And they have to do it on two levels:

1. Prevent him from making game-altering plays.

2. Muffle his motivational voice.

There's a danger that Bruschi's return to the Patriots' defense not only improves their chances to stop Edgerrin James and harass Peyton Manning, but also gives them a psychological lift. With Bruschi on the field, the Patriots believe they have a better defense than they do, and those around him elevate their games.

One big play by Bruschi will be one too many for the Colts.

"Any time a team gets back a player that's been around a long time and has made a lot of plays, it's a boost for their team," Manning said.

Bruschi's return from a possible career-ending stroke lifted the Patriots' spirits in a win last week against Buffalo. His presence, as a link to all those Patriots defenses that bullied the Colts in the past, can't be overstated.

The Colts (7-0) need to take Bruschi out of the picture, or at least shove him to the side, when they play the Patriots (4-3) at 9 tonight in Gillette Stadium. The offensive line must neutralize him when James makes his trademark lateral moves down the line. Tight end Dallas Clark and receiver Brandon Stokley must avoid Bruschi in the across-the-middle passing game.

It also wouldn't hurt for the Colts to listen to their defensive tackle, Corey Simon, who's new to the rivalry but attuned to the necessary psyche.

Bruschi's energy and passion drives New England's defense.

The trick for the Colts is to generate their fervor, counteracting Bruschi's edge.

"We can't worry about who they have playing or who they don't have playing or where they're getting their emotional lift," Simon said. "This is Monday Night Football. This is a huge game where everybody is watching. If you can't come out with the intensity you need to play, you don't have a pulse."

One key for the Colts' offense, both in overall approach and dealing with Bruschi, is patience. Indianapolis' willingness to stick to a game plan, even when it faces a deficit, has served the Colts well in their 7-0 start. Granted, that's easier to do against the Rams, but it should apply to the Patriots, too.

A year ago in the playoffs at New England, the Colts seemed tentative on offense and allowed New England to dictate tempo.

This year, James leads the league in rushing and shows the moves and toughness of his first couple pro seasons. If the Colts can grind out a couple long drives, they'll reduce the Patriots' energy level and lessen Bruschi's contagious enthusiasm.

Both teams will conjure extra adrenalin in the first quarter simply because of the rivalry. It's how the teams play when the game turns into a fatigue-fighting grind in the second half that will make the difference.

"I think we've surprised some teams with our patience this year," Manning said. "In the past, we've been a throw the ball down the field offense because that's what defenses have allowed us to do. ...That's the nice thing about this offense and (coordinator) Tom (Moore) and his play calling. We usually call what's working. Games are shorter now. We're having longer drives."

The Patriots' knack for frustrating Manning and the Colts' offense is well-documented. New England held the Colts to a single field goal in the playoff loss last season and picked Manning off four times in the AFC Championship game two years ago. Manning's 0-7 record in Foxboro remains the biggest blotch on his NFL career.

However, names from Manning's frustrating past in New England are gone now, including defensive backs Ty Law, Tyrone Poole and Rodney Harrison and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. The Patriots defense has been far from stellar, surrendering 41 points to San Diego and 28 apiece to Atlanta and Denver.

Still, there's a sense that New England coach Bill Belichick and his assistants remain one step ahead of Manning and the Colts in game-day adjustments.

Every time the Colts win, praise comes with a caveat: They haven't yet proved they can beat the Patriots.

"The only way we can end that is to win some of these games," Colts coach Tony Dungy said.

Step One for the Colts tonight will be to defuse Bruschi and the Patriots' defense. It's an imposing step, but an essential one. Because if the lasting image after tonight is Bruschi celebrating and exhorting the crowd's frenzy, it'll be a sad and familiar soundtrack on the Colts' flight home.
 

Colts must keep vigilant eye on Patriots' Bruschi

 Here's a Bruschi For Tedy
By: AUSTIN DANFORTH
Issue date: 11/15/05 Section: Sports

Pronounced "Brew-ski", Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi is in the running for greatest pro athlete names of all time, and probably already is for the college students who toast to him during games. But Mr. Bruschi is also on the short list of the world's toughest athletes. See, about 8 months ago, just 10 days after helping the Patriots win their second consecutive Super Bowl, Tedy Bruschi suffered a stroke at the age of 31.

Days after he suffered the stroke doctors made a discovery: Tedy Bruschi had been playing football for his whole life with a hole in his heart. Known as a fiery competitor, and a leader, the thing that set him apart from his peers, his heart was failing him.

Eight months removed from a stroke, most people would still be in the process of recovering. Tedy Bruschi, however, took the field in the Patriots' Week 8 game against the Buffalo Bills. His story isn't merely a comeback story, it's a medical miracle.

In his first game action since the stroke, Bruschi didn't disappoint. He played nearly every snap on defense and special teams, racking up nine tackles and numerous hits in the Pats 21-16 win.

After the superb play of the last few seasons, fans were lost during the first half of this season without Bruschi to anchor the defense. The team wasn't the same without him and the game watching experience wasn't either. I know Patriots games were not the same without the familiar "Bruschi" cheer and subsequent toast after a tackle, sighting, or even mention of his name.

Last Sunday night it seemed as if he was the only person not concerned about his own well-being on the football field. Patriots fans in the stadium as well as in their own living rooms held their collective breath each time Bruschi was in on a play. Even the announcers couldn't get over the fact that he was out there doing the job he was doing. The only thing fans could do was cheer him on as best they could, making the stadium as loud as ever and turning dorm rooms throughout Patriot Nation into a never-ending toast to his health and his performance.

And so it was a relief and a release to see No. 54 on the field at last. As the Patriots bound down the homestretch this year toward the playoffs they won't be without the services of Bruschi and company, as the Patriots will welcome back several other players from the injured list.

Tedy, here's to you! Bruschi!!!

Here's a Bruschi For Tedy - Sports

Bruschi inspiring on, off field with stroke of courage
By Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports Weekly
FOXBORO, Mass. — "Dear Tedy, I went to Arizona State, and I've always hated you. But I admire you for what you've overcome." That's how one e-mail began. Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, a University of Arizona graduate, has received thousands of them since his unprecedented comeback to professional football eight months after suffering a stroke.

Thumbs up: The Patriots are 2-1 since Tedy Bruschi's return.
By Steven Senne, AP

Then there are the letters. Next to Bruschi's locker is a deep plastic bin stacked with 200-plus letters from stroke survivors, many of them children. It is the fourth such bin delivered to the Pro Bowler. Executive director of media relations Stacey James delivered the thick-as-a-brick stack of e-mails, including the one from the Arizona State alum, since Bruschi suffered a stroke Feb. 16 and announced Oct. 16 he would play this season.

"Another was from a 12-year-old girl who suffered a stroke who included a picture of herself and also drew a picture of herself for Tedy," James says.

Bruschi's eyes go wide with pride when he points to the overwhelming emotional response his comeback has elicited.

"All these letters right here, a lot of them are from stroke survivors," Bruschi says. "That lets me know I've been an inspiration.

"I don't think America knows very much about strokes — that you can get back to your life after you have a stroke. There can be a full recovery, if possible.

"People associate strokes with the senior citizens of the world, the older generation. But I get letters from 5-, 12-, 16-, 25- and 30-year-olds who've had the condition similar to mine.

"They've given me their story and talked about how I've given them hope to get their lives back. That's an honor to me, every time I get one of these letters."

In March, doctors repaired the small hole in his heart that was the cause of his minor stroke. Only a return to play football for the Super Bowl-champion Patriots could patch the hole in Bruschi's soul.

Atop his locker is a snapshot of the linebacker surrounded by his quintessential support group: wife Heidi and their three young sons, Tedy Jr., Rex and Dante. Five smiles shine like the summer sun that lighted the backyard moment.

There is another indelible image for the family photo album:

Bruschi in gray sweats, Tedy Jr. and Rex, wearing oversized No. 54 "Bruschi" jerseys, romping on Jacksonville's Alltel Stadium grass. They tumbled around together like clothes in a dryer as the linebacker took the edge off his pregame nerves before Super Bowl XXXIX.

What some can't understand is how Bruschi could risk coming back for the three boys who need him. Turns out, Bruschi came back precisely because of the need to teach his sons about always digging deep and never quitting.

How could Bruschi teach them "Make a difference," if he didn't make the biggest difference of all?

"Getting back to playing football was a big part of why I wanted to come back, but how am I supposed to tell my sons later in life that any obstacle can be overcome, that you can achieve anything in life, if I don't live my life that way?" Bruschi says. "I want to draw off my experiences on how I lived my life and be able to teach them from what I've experienced. For me to be able to teach them about life and overcoming any challenge they're presented with, I have to live my life that way."

The fan favorite nicknamed "Full Tilt" and "Tedy Ballgame" has made a living rising above. Bruschi's uplifting return has energized a 31st-ranked defense sorely lacking in big plays, and his heady calls have helped stabilize the vulnerable interior. The 10th-year linebacker has 21 tackles in three games and his diving deflection of an end-zone pass intended for receiver Wes Welker prevented a touchdown and helped preserve New England's 23-16 win against Miami on Sunday.

The Northern California native grew up on some of San Francisco's roughest streets. His parents divorced when Bruschi was 3. He didn't start playing organized football until 14, yet the whirlwind defensive end rang up 52 career sacks for Dick Tomey's "Desert Swarm" defense at Arizona.

Scouts deemed him too small at 6-1, 247 pounds to make it as an NFL defensive end. But then-Patriots coach Bill Parcells and defensive assistants Bill Belichick, Al Groh and Romeo Crennel glimpsed something special in New England's 1996 third-round choice. Bruschi's uncanny nose for the ball, unquenchable thirst for excellence and unteachable instincts coalesced in last season's Pro Bowl berth, his first.

Now Bruschi relishes a far more profound legacy than three-time Super Bowl champion.

"What I'm doing, no one's ever done before," Bruschi says. "These are uncharted waters I've stepped into.

"If your normal life after a stroke is just getting back to work, maybe your normal life is playing professional football. That was my normal life. That's what I wanted to get back to. I was fortunate enough that I was able to rehabilitate myself 100% and get back to playing football again.

"Sometimes people fear the unknown. I wasn't going to let the unknown scare me off."

Money couldn't buy the happiness he experienced playing again with his teammates in an Oct. 30 win against Buffalo, when he received AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his seven tackles.

Remember, this is the selfless defensive captain who left at least another $6 million on the table, forsaking free agency when he signed a four-year, $8.3 million extension he negotiated himself last summer in order to finish his career as a Patriot.

As recently as September, Bruschi vowed to sit out this season. But then he felt completely normal.

He meticulously researched his return, consulting with four of the country's foremost stroke neurologists and cardiologists. Their opinions were trebled by other experts.

"It was a combination of gathering multiple opinions, my rehabilitation going well and me getting my strength and conditioning back. Once I got to that point, Heidi and I sat down and said, 'Why wait when the only difference from this year to next is that I'm going to be 33 next year?'

"I drew all my strength from my family. Heidi was there for every appointment. Don't get me wrong. She laid down the law. She said, 'OK, Tedy, you have to do this, this and this if you want to play again.' "

He was cleared Oct. 16 by David Greer, a renowned specialist in stroke neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

He's bounced right up after every tackle so Heidi won't have cause to fret.

It was nine months ago when Heidi called 911. Her husband complained of numbness in his left arm and leg, blurred vision and a headache three days after playing in the Pro Bowl. The event was 10 days after his fourth-quarter interception of Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb in the Super Bowl assured New England's place among football dynasties.

Bruschi says he could have died if the clot that traveled from his legs and into his brain through a previously undetected hole in his heart had settled a couple of millimeters in a different direction.

It's why a guy who could barely see 5-year-old Tedy Jr. enter the bedroom that morning now sees the biggest possible picture. Bruschi does public service announcements for the American Stroke Association and the Spaulding Rehabilitation Institute.

Bruschi's story is Mike Doyle's story. But until Bruschi put a brave and public face on stroke survival, Doyle was reluctant to talk about the minor strokes he suffered three years ago also caused by an undetected hole in his heart.

A Boston-area native and lifelong Patriots fan, Doyle, 47, bought former Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks' season tickets when Fairbanks left to coach at a college. A former player at Tufts University, Doyle is back playing hockey twice weekly in a local sunrise league. Growing up in North Andover, Mass., he dreamed of being "discovered" by the Boston Bruins who lived in the area and drove by the backyard rink he skated on.

Like Bruschi, Doyle has a wife, Brenda, and three kids. He desperately wanted his quality of life back. The doctors at Massachusetts General performed the same procedure on Doyle as on Bruschi, implanting a mesh device shaped like a clamshell to seal the hole in their hearts.

What has Bruschi meant to Doyle and others like him?

"I don't know if I'd have given you this interview a year ago because I felt the stigma associated with a stroke," Doyle says. "But Tedy Bruschi stood up to the whole thing and proved he can live a normal life again.

"He's a hero, not only for what he's done on the field, but for what he's done off it — for having the courage to do what he's doing."

The defect involves the improper sealing of the walls between the heart's left and right atrium at birth. The small opening never fully closes in an estimated 10% to 25% of the population and can be the source of stroke under rare circumstances.

Doctors gave Doyle two options after what was later diagnosed by a CT scan as two minor strokes suffered while skiing with his family in Sunny River, Maine: He could close the hole in his heart, known as a patent foramen ovale (PFO), through a surgical procedure. Or he could take medicine, which would mean no more hockey.

Like Bruschi, Doyle chose the surgery.

"There's another way to live your life with this, and that is you could just go on blood thinners and just live a very docile life and be very fine," Doyle says. "But you're not going to live a normal life. Tedy's chosen to live, for him, a normal life."

Doyle returned to play hockey eight months after suffering his stroke, the same rehabilitation time as Bruschi.

"I'm sure it was the same with Tedy's wife as it was with my wife," Doyle says. "Brenda knows I would be miserable to live with if I couldn't play hockey and couldn't ski and live an active life. I'd rather have quality of life and take some risk than not.

"People were so afraid about Tedy coming back. As long as he waited six months for the scar tissue to heal around his heart, I was not afraid at all."

Colts center Jeff Saturday went out of his way to seek out Bruschi after banging bodies with him during the Colts' 40-21 win Nov. 7.

"It's an unbelievable feat to come back from what Tedy has come back from, and I told him after the game it was great to see him and I'm glad he's healthy," Saturday says. "He's a great competitor, man. He brings a lot of life to their defense and really is a great leader for them and the NFL."

Bruschi amazed teammates when he began working out with them in April.

"He was always at the meetings, and I saw him working out all the time," says tight end Christian Fauria, one of Bruschi's closest friends. "When we (did strength and conditioning testing) before we broke for the summer in June, Tedy still tested through the roof.

"It wasn't like he blew out his knee, where it was obvious you're out 6-8 months with a torn ACL. It was a heart condition that caused a stroke. Nobody knew how to treat it.

"All of us inside this room would be miserable without football because it's been such a big part of our lives for so long.

"I figured he'd tell us when he was ready to return. That's exactly what Tedy did."

It was odd to hear Patriots receiver Troy Brown questioning the passion of his 5-4 team not far from a player who took passionate commitment to his teammates to the ultimate level. What Brown really questioned was the play of several newcomers, especially in a sieve of a secondary that has a dynasty coming undone at the corners.

According to the American Stroke Association, about 700,000 Americans will have a stroke this year.

There's a reason the word "stroke" is so feared. It's our nation's No. 3 killer and a leading cause of severe long-term disability. Much depends on how quickly a victim receives emergency treatment. It is believed 5% of all strokes are related to a PFO in the heart.

Though physicians say many victims are at increased risk for a second stroke, that's not the case with Bruschi and Doyle, who had the cause of their strokes addressed.

"If one closes the hole in the heart as Tedy and Mike did, you are at no significant risk of stroke recurrence," says David Systrom, a pulmonary/critical care physician at Massachusetts General, whose intervention on that ski trip saved Doyle's life. "As a Patriots fan, a Tedy Bruschi fan and a Mike Doyle fan, those two guys have my utmost respect for what they've done. Both were incredibly courageous in the face of life-threatening illness. They wanted to fix what was fixable and get back to a normal lifestyle."

"Heidi and I talked about what type of ramifications my comeback can have, how it can inspire people and how some people would look at it and question it," Bruschi says.

"I've done some things for the American Stroke Association and the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, where I rehabbed to the point where I could rejoin the team. Hopefully, I can form partnerships with both those organizations that will last probably the rest of my life."

Bruschi will never forget the seemingly impossible road traveled since his wife's 911 call likely saved his life, never mind his career.

"A lot came with my comeback," Bruschi says. "But we're happy and honored that a lot of stroke survivors and a lot of people in America have been inspired."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/patriots/2005-11-16-bruschi-return_x.htm

Tedy shares emotions
By John Tomase
Tuesday, November 15, 2005

It’s a credit to Tedy Bruschi the football player that it’s been so easy to forget what Tedy Bruschi the man has endured in the past month.

Bruschi returned from a stroke three weeks ago against Buffalo and won the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week award. On Sunday in Miami, he was his old, playmaking self, diving to deflect a sure touchdown pass and twice cartwheeling into the backfield to pressure Dolphins quarterback Gus Frerotte in the Patriots’ 23-16 victory.

The sight of Bruschi instinctively making plays is a familiar one, but don’t mistake it for a return to normalcy. The enormity of what the All-Pro linebacker has accomplished is not lost on him, as he admitted in some unusually candid comments following the game.

“Whenever you do something in this game, you like to gauge it by something else,” Bruschi said. “You compare yourself maybe to this guy or that guy who did it before, and I can’t do that because no one has ever been able to come back from a stroke to play pro football before.”

Bruschi has been able to keep his emotions in check, at least publicly, during his return to action. He has expressed abundant thanks to those who supported him during his convalescence, a time during which it appeared his career might be finished. He has lauded his wife, Heidi, and his teammates.

He has shied away, however, from describing the intensity of his own feelings.

“I can’t relate to you just how emotional the two weeks before the first Buffalo game were,” Bruschi said. “We had a bye week leading up to it. There was a lot of time to sit there and think about it.

“The emotions of that game, I can’t equate to any other I’ve played before or since. It was all the aspects of it – me coming back, the stroke, everything. I’m always going to hold that game separately because the way I felt in the third and fourth quarter, I don’t think I’ve ever felt that emotional.

“At the end of that game, everything I had been through just hit me,” Bruschi added. “All the people who said I shouldn’t play, all the calls from my family and friends, all the support I had, my wife being in the stands, the reception I got from the fans. It was indescribable the way I felt through that game. I had so much adrenaline going. By the time it was over, I was run down, spent, exhausted.”

The past two games, thankfully, have packed nowhere near the emotional wallop. On game day, Bruschi only feels the typical pregame jitters, but his accomplishment never strays far from his mind.

“That Buffalo game was so emotional in my life, you can’t compare it to the Colts game or this game,” Bruschi said. “I was very happy to get the Buffalo game done and under my belt. Now, I’m just focusing on winning. I’ve got to worry about playing linebacker and getting better every week, doing whatever I can for this team.”

If that means making a little bit of history every time he takes the field, so be it.

“No one has done this before, and with that comes the unknown,” Bruschi said. “A lot of people fear the unknown. I just had to push through it and realize, ‘Hey someone has to do this first, and it’s going to be me.’ ”

 
BostonHerald.com - Patriots & NFL: Tedy shares emotions

This Week's Notes and Quotes:

And, of course, there was Tedy Bruschi. How could you miss him? The high-flying, ought-to-be-wearing-a-cape stroke victim seemed to be all over the field.

''I'm just playing the way I know how to play," Bruschi said. ''Third game back, I keep getting better myself. That's the goal I have individually: improve from week to week."

Bruschi laughed when asked about his aerial work, which included a leap over running back Sammy Morris on a blitz on Miami's third offensive play. Think that wasn't a signal to his teammates that he was going to get after it all day?

Bruschi says he fed off his teammates' energy. Perhaps it was the other way around.

''Maybe my wife cringed when she saw that a couple of times, but I'm out there playing, I'm out there playing football," Bruschi said. ''I'm not going to hold back. It's my third game now, and I haven't had any preseason or anything like that, but it's time to go for it. It's time to play football.

''I know I'm doing well, I feel great."

Defense stoked fire in Patriots - The Boston Globe

Gritty Pats looking for a big finish
By Glen Farley, Enterprise staff writer

FOXBORO — Last season, the New England Patriots extended a winning streak, which dated back more than a year, to 21.

This season, they're giving thanks for two in a row.

"It's been challenging for this team," quarterback Tom Brady admitted.

How challenging?

Ten games into the 2005 season, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions boast their first winning streak of the year.

"We came off a big win at Miami," linebacker Rosevelt Colvin said, "and we backed it up with our play."

Backing a 23-16 win at Dolphins Stadium on Nov. 13 with a 24-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints at Gillette on Sunday, the Patriots carved themselves a two-game lead in the weak AFC East, a division where their 6-4 mark is the only winning record.

This is the state of the AFC East today: Remove the Patriots from the equation on Sunday and the division got swept, going 0-3 and losing by a cumulative points total of 97-10.

The rest of the division looks like General Custer's troops at Little Big Horn.

The Patriots?

"We're fighting," said their field general, Brady.

Consistent with any battle, the Patriots have been taken on casualties — heavy casualties, in fact.

"Oh, man. Never, never have I seen injuries that have really decimated a team like ours," Brady said during his weekly appearance on Boston radio station WEEI Monday morning. "Really, the defense (got hit) early and then the defense got healthier and the offense has really been fighting it.

"It's been challenging for everybody, but I think the good part is we're 6-4, we're ahead in our division by a couple of games, and we've got some games here we really need to play well in. If we do that, we'll be sitting in a good position at the end of the year.

"Hopefully, we'll start getting healthy from some of those injuries," said Brady. "It's really going to add to the depth and quality of our team. That's what I'm excited about. I'm excited for what we can accomplish here in the next six weeks."

For now, though, there is an audible, an adjustment in the team's thinking.

These "ain't" your father's Patriots — and they sure "ain't" the 2003 or 2004 Pats.

In the words of linebacker Tedy Bruschi, "you have to temper your expectations.

"It would be easy to get frustrated and say, 'Last year, this. Last year, that,'" said Bruschi. "We separate the years here. We separate the weeks and the days here.

"You can't think because we won 21 in a row we should win 31 in a row. You have to have the ability to adapt to the situation. When you're winning a game and losing a game, winning a game and losing a game, you just have to think about winning the game (at hand). Don't get too far ahead of yourself."

And so it is.

Back-to-back Super Bowl championships prompted parades following the 2003 and 2004 campaigns.

In 2005, back-to-back wins might be reason to strike up the band and book Boston's City Hall Plaza.

"I don't see us blowing anybody out," Bruschi said following a game that began with the Patriots forging a 14-point in 16-1/2 minutes and ended with Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks flinging potential game-tying passes into the end zone, "so get used to this."

Owner Robert Kraft has been named the winner of this year's NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award.

Kraft will receive the award, given to former NCAA athletes for career achievement, during the annual NCAA convention in Indianapolis in January.

Kraft earned a varsity football letter at Columbia College as a member of the 1960 varsity lightweight football team. He graduated in 1963.

The Enterprise at SouthofBoston.com

Bittersweet win
By John Tomase / Boston Herald
Monday, November 21, 2005

FOXBORO -- The scene is etched in Tedy Bruschi's memory.

The Patriots had just beaten the Philadelphia Eagles in last year's Super Bowl. Bill Belichick embraced his father, Steve, a man of few words who bequeathed far more than coaching acumen to his only child.

Gatorade bucket in hand, Bruschi paused.

"I thought, 'Oh, what a sweet moment,' " said Bruschi, a devilish grin creasing his face. " 'I'll get 'em both.' "

It became one of the iconic images of the Pats' third Super Bowl championship in four years: the 85-year-old coach dripping alongside his more famous son.

Bruschi's smile flickered as he told the story yesterday, but it quickly faded. He and his teammates had just discovered what their coach found out the night before: Steve Belichick died peacefully in his Annapolis, Md., home while watching college football Saturday night at age 86.

That didn't stop Bill Belichick from doing what gave his father immense pride. He coached the Patriots to a 24-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints yesterday, then immediately left for Maryland to grieve.

"It's tough to lose your dad at any age," Patriots tight end Christian Fauria said. "Then you throw in someone who's a head coach in the middle of a crazy football season and all the pressure that goes with it, it would break the average man."

Belichick held it together well enough for the Patriots to win two straight games for the first time this season. Coupled with Buffalo's loss at San Diego, the Pats opened a two-game lead in the AFC East.

Though they made things interesting in the fourth quarter -- the game ended with Eugene Wilson intercepting the potential game-tying touchdown in the end zone -- the Pats basically outclassed the vagabond Saints.

"It's the first time this year we've won two in a row," running back Patrick Pass said. "We've been teeter-tottering back and forth. Now we need to keep it going."

The Patriots submitted one of their most balanced offensive efforts of the season. With starting tailback Corey Dillon inactive, fullback Heath Evans (16 carries, 74 yards) and Pass (13 rushes, 53 yards) opened the skies for play-action passes.

Quarterback Tom Brady lofted six sideline bombs toward Andre' Davis downfield. The duo only batted .167, but their lone hit was a home run: Davis outraced Dwight Smith for a 60-yard touchdown that gave the Pats a 21-7 lead with 4:19 left in the third.

"The Saints had a very aggressive defense," Davis said. "The safeties were playing up a lot to stop the run and that gave us an opportunity to take advantage of their aggressiveness and hit them over the top."

Defensively, the Patriots limited the Saints starting backfield of Antowain Smith and Aaron Stecker to 57 yards on 18 carries (3.2 average). Quarterback Aaron Brooks, pressured throughout, finished with 343 passing yards but 125 of them came in the fourth quarter.

Yet, when it was over, the game was the last thing on anyone's mind.

"Life is precious," defensive end Richard Seymour said. "The team could really feel what coach Belichick was going through. You could hear it in his postgame speech that he had a heavy heart. Our thoughts and emotions and feelings are with him and his family."

Players recalled the elder Belichick's frequent sideline appearances and the softening effect they often had on their demanding coach. In a statement, Belichick noted his dad spent his final moments watching Navy beat Temple in the afternoon before taking in more college football at night.

"His heart just stopped beating," Belichick said. "I'm sure that's the way he would have wanted it to end. He went peacefully, which is unusual for him."

Assistant coach Dante Scarnecchia will run things for the next day or two. Players like Bruschi, meanwhile, are left with memories of a man whose influence on their coach can't be overstated.

"Put it this way -- I didn't want to get too much water on him," Bruschi said. "I got some ice on him and he survived that, so I knew he was a tough guy. He was a lot like Bill. He will be missed."

Roosevelt Colvin celebrates Eugene Wilson's interception on the last play of the Patriots 24-17 win over New Orleans. (Winslow Townson photo)

MetroWest Daily News - Sports Coverage

My Sportsman Choice: Tedy Bruschi
Posted: Wednesday November 23, 2005

By Lisa Altobelli

As Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi ran out of the tunnel at Gillette Stadium on Halloween, he was greeted by more than 68,000 euphoric members of Patriot Nation embracing his much-needed return. But as he lined up for his first play since his stroke eight months earlier, the nation -- Patriot and otherwise -- collectively held its breath. The Bills handed the ball to running back Willis McGahee and Bruschi lunged and fell to the ground next to McGahee. And then, as he had promised his wife, Heidi, he got up quickly. Everyone exhaled.

Playing 64 of 77 defensive downs in that game, the 6-2, 247-pound resilient leader of the Patriots defense made it seem like business as usual. But, of course, it wasn't. Three days after having played in the Pro Bowl last February, Bruschi woke up and couldn't walk so well or see his three sons so clearly. He later learned that a blood clot had passed through a hole in his heart, medically known as a patent foramen ovale, and caused a stroke.

The good doctors at Massachusetts General implanted a plug in the aforementioned hole and in October they unanimously decided that Bruschi could play football again. Patriots owner Bob Kraft was so confident in the diagnosis that he didn't even make Bruschi sign a medical liability waiver. But the real deciding factor in Tedy's comeback had come when little Tedy Jr. looked up and said, "Dad, the team needs you."

Not one to disappoint his four-year-old, Bruschi decided to return, even though no one has ever played professional football with a plug in their heart -- a sport that Curt Marsh once told SI was like getting in 70 traffic accidents a game.

Everyone had an opinion regarding his decision, but the one thing that no one could deny was that Bruschi, 32, is just an all-around good guy. A guy who former Arizona coach Dick Tomey praised for outworking everyone on the team as a mere freshman. A guy who when drafted by the Patriots four years later, said he would do everything he could to end his career in New England. A guy who regularly sends flowers to his wife and gets up early to help with his sons. A guy who emcees hospital charity events, plays alto sax with middle school kids. A guy who calls up his biggest fan, Randy Pierce, who his blind, to ask for permission to use Pierce's slogan for him, "Full Tilt Full Time", to put on T-shirts to benefit tsunami victims.

When Bruschi rejoined a team that desperately needed him, he immediately became an inspiration to other stroke victims, many who no doubt said that if he can make a full recovery, I can too, because it's possible.

Bruschi has graced SI's cover twice -- the first time more than a decade ago, accompanied by the heading "Rock Solid," and again last January, behind the tag "Defense Rules the Playoffs." Both appearances were fitting, but after the year he's had, this hero deserves one more headline -- 2005 Sportsman of the Year.

SI.com - 2005 Sportsman of the Year - My Sportsman Choice: Tedy Bruschi - Wednesday November 23, 2005 1:47PM

Spirit of day alive in Bruschi
By Jerome Solomon, Globe Staff | November 24, 2005

FOXBOROUGH -- Today certainly is not the first Thanksgiving for Tedy Bruschi, 32.

It is not the first Thanksgiving for Tedy Bruschi, Heidi's husband, or Tedy Bruschi, father of Tedy Jr., Rex, and Dante.

Nor is it the first Thanksgiving for Tedy Bruschi, 10-year veteran linebacker of the New England Patriots.

But today is the first Thanksgiving for Tedy Bruschi, stroke survivor.

''First and foremost, I'm thankful to be alive," Bruschi said yesterday, at times fighting his emotions as he stood in front of his locker at Gillette Stadium pondering the significance of today's holiday. ''From what I went through to where I am now, to have gotten my life back, to be able to see my kids every day . . . [I'm thankful for] every single thing.

''It's something to where I just feel fortunate. I feel fortunate that I can play this game that I love. I loved playing football before, but the feeling that I have out there now, it's magnified even more . . . Every day I wake up and thank God for the day that I'm alive."

And almost every day, he is reminded how much his return to football, less than nine months after suffering a stroke, means to his growing legion of fans. Stroke survivors and their family members have reached out to Bruschi in large numbers.

''When I read a letter or get an e-mail from a stroke survivor telling me that I'm an inspiration, it's a honor," Bruschi said. ''Because I've done a lot of things in my life, but one of the things I'm most proud of is when people write me and call me a stroke survivor.

''I realize I'll be looked at like that for the rest of my life, and I accept that. It's an honor to me that I can be some type of inspiration. The reception that I've gotten on the street or when people see me out in public is very flattering."

It carries over to the field, too, where Bruschi has played well since rejoining the team four games ago. Opponents have gone out of their way to welcome Bruschi back to the NFL or to tell him he is in their prayers. Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy sought out Bruschi after the game Nov. 7 to wish him well.

''I think every player in the league has rehabbed from maybe a knee or shoulder injury or something like that, so I think they understand what I went through a little bit," Bruschi said. ''For them, in the heat of the battle, helping me up saying, 'Nice to have you back Tedy,' . . ."

Of course, Bruschi notes the pats on the back do not come during play, which leads to his message to friendly foes.

''I appreciate you helping me up, and yes it's good to be back, but try and not hit me in the back next time," he said, laughing.

Emotions aside, Bruschi is yet to be the football player he was, and expects to be again.

After suffering vision and motor-skill problems after the stroke, Bruschi slowly recovered to full strength. His weightlifting and running regimen helped prepare him to return, but nothing could prepare one for the rigors of the NFL, except playing in games.

Bruschi admits he played his first game back against Buffalo on ''pure adrenaline."

''The emotions in that game, I can't equate that to any other game I've had before," Bruschi said. ''I don't think I ever felt emotionally that way on the field. That game was so emotional to my life . . . I was very happy to get that game done."

Bruschi felt ''fortunate" that his next outing was a Monday night game, providing an extra day of recovery time. He had nine tackles against the Colts, but they were mostly meaningless, as the Patriots were drilled, 40-21.

Using his progress against Miami and New Orleans the last two weeks as a barometer, Bruschi said he can feel himself headed toward starting to play as he did last season, when he earned his first Pro Bowl nod.

''This is the first time I've done this, jumping into the season in the seventh week, so it's been a little bit of a process and a little bit of a learning curve to see where I have to improve in areas of my game," he said. ''I'm feeling comfortable now, and it's time to really start making plays."

Though he doesn't have any interceptions or fumble recoveries, Bruschi's presence has been felt. He was aggressive against the Dolphins Nov. 13, flying over blockers to chase (though not catch) quarterback Gus Frerotte on several occasions, and he had a touchdown-saving pass breakup. He posted 10 tackles against the Saints last Sunday, as the Patriots put in one of their best efforts against the run this season.

More importantly, the Patriots won both games, starting their first winning streak of the season.

Bruschi is all about winning -- on the field and in life. Through the hardships of this year, he has found new victories.

Today is not the first day Tedy Bruschi has been thankful for the joys and blessings in his life. But it is the first Thanksgiving Day for which Tedy Bruschi, stroke survivor, will give thanks.

''Don't get me wrong when I say this, I want to win every time I go out there," Bruschi said. ''Every single snap, I want to have a tackle for a loss, get a sack, score a touchdown. I want to win every single game that I play. But in the back of my mind after every game, when I'm walking off the field, I realize that it's a victory for all the stroke survivors out there. Win or lose, it's a victory for stroke survivors. I realize the magnitude of what I'm doing.

''We'd have to sit down and talk about all I'm thankful for. I'd have to go through every single minute of my day. I'm thankful for every one of them, every single moment. Especially my children, my wife . . . if there's anyone in the locker room that realizes you need to be thankful for what you have, I think it's me."

Spirit of day alive in Bruschi - The Boston Globe

Bruschi gives thanks: Wins, losses not so vital
By Karen Guregian
Thursday, November 24, 2005 - Updated: 08:21 AM EST

FOXBORO – Tedy Bruschi sat at his locker, with his face pressed against a white towel. When he finally took the towel away, he apologized for getting so emotional.

There was really no need. With yesterday being Thanksgiving eve, Bruschi had been asked what the holiday meant to him in light of the stroke he suffered in February.

What ensued, with Bruschi nearly reaching the point of tears as the line of questioning continued to focus on his recovery and stunning return to football, was nothing to apologize for. It all seemed pretty natural given the circumstances.

The fact that Bruschi has been back playing linebacker for four games, and has been in on 35 tackles in those games, hasn’t made the ordeal old hat to him, or any less meaningful in his life.

If you let him, he’d sit back and talk for hours about all he’s thankful for. Remember, nine months ago, this man was unsteady on his feet, unsure of his future, and unable to see clearly when he opened his eyes. Nine months ago, Trent Green, Larry Johnson, Tony Gonzalez and the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t on his radar screen.

“First and foremost, I’m thankful to be alive. From what I went through, to where I am now, to have gotten my life back, to be able to see my kids every day, (I’m thankful) for every single thing,” Bruschi told the media horde gathered around his locker. “I just feel fortunate I can still play this game I love. I loved playing football before, but the feeling I have out there now, it’s magnified even more. I could go on and on. Every day I wake up and thank God for the day I’m alive.”

Bruschi has come to so many different realizations about football and his place in the game since he’s returned to the field. His perspective about winning and losing has changed.

“Don’t get me wrong when I say this. I want to win every time I go out there. Every single snap, I want to tackle someone for a loss, get a sack, score a touchdown. I want to win every single game that I play,” he said. “But, in the back of my mind after every game I play, when I’m walking off the field, I realize it’s a victory. It’s a victory for all the stroke survivors out there. Win or lose, it’s a victory for stroke survivors.

“When we lost that Colt game, I was very upset,” he added. “But (at the same time) I realize the magnitude of what I’m doing.”

While several others have attempted to return to their respective sports following a stroke, he is the only one known to have done so in football. He is the pioneer. He is the test pilot on this flight, and he won’t take the job, or the responsibility, lightly.

“When I read a letter, or get an e-mail from a stroke survivor telling me that I’m an inspiration to them, or something like that, it’s an honor for me,” Bruschi said. “I’ve done a lot of things in my life, but one of the things I’m most proud of is when people write me, and call me a fellow stroke survivor. I realize I’ll be looked at like that for the rest of my life. And I accept that. It’s an honor I can provide some kind of inspiration. The reception I’ve gotten on the street, or when I’m out in public, is very flattering.”

The same can be said for what’s happened on the field. Opposing players and rival coaches have gone out of their way to shake his hand, or in some cases, help him up after plays. Those displays of kindness and signs of respect from his peers and colleagues has meant a lot.

But more than anything, when every day ends, when Bruschi leaves the field and goes home, he knows the score. He knows what he has, and almost lost.

“Every time I walk in the door and see my kids, they ask me what I’m thankful for,” Bruschi said. “I go through every single minute of my day. Every single moment. My children, my wife. . . . If there’s anyone in this locker room who realizes to be thankful for what you have, it’s me.”

BostonHerald.com - Patriots & NFL: Bruschi gives thanks: Wins, losses not so vital

Patriots beat: Bruschi serves up inspiration, thanks
By Albert Breer/ Daily News Staff
Thursday, November 24, 2005

FOXBORO -- Tomorrow, he'll come to practice. Saturday, he'll get on a plane headed for the heartland. Sunday, he'll strap it on and line up on the inside of Bill Belichick's 3-4 defense against Kansas City.

There's a certain normalcy to all of that for Tedy Bruschi.

He's a professional football player, and that's what he does.

But he's also a father, and a person with a life outside the game. So instead of one of those next three days being the most important, now -- after all he's been through -- today will be.

The day he gets to sit with his family, his wife and three young sons, and appreciate them for all they mean to him. More than anything, on this Thanksgiving, he's thankful they're there and that he will be, too.

"It's every time I walk in the door and see my kids," Bruschi said yesterday. "You ask me what I'm thankful for, we'd have to sit down and talk about every single minute of my day, and I am thankful for every moment. Especially my children, my wife."

Bruschi says he's a father and husband, first and foremost. The thing is, he's become so much more than that, so much more than the 35 tackles he's made through four games, so much more than the stabilizing force he's provided the middle of the defense.

He's now a symbol of courage, a symbol of conviction. To football fans, yes. But moreso to everyone who knows just how he felt on that February day a little more than eight months ago.

Because when he made it through his stroke, he wasn't alone. He had his family. He also had a sort of fraternity of those who'd survived similar episodes by his side.

A fraternity he became all the more aware of as he returned on the night of Oct. 30.

"When I read a letter, or I get an e-mail from a stroke survivor telling me that I'm an inspiration to them, it's an honor, it really is," Bruschi explained. "Because I've done a lot of things in my life, and I think the thing I'm most proud of is when people write me and call me a 'fellow stroke survivor.'

"I realize I'll be looked at as that for probably the rest of my life. And I accept that. It's an honor I can provide some type of inspiration."

He provides that not just to other survivors, but also to other elite athletes.

At this level, there are few that haven't been through some kind of major rehab. Heck, he has. So they all have a sort of baseline understanding of what he's done to get back on the field.

They also understand what he went through, as scary a time as can be imagined, was just different.

"In the Buffalo game, the Miami game, Tony Dungy coming up to me after the Colts game, things like that," said Bruschi. "Players just letting me know how they felt about it, and how they were praying for me, it's very flattering to see a colleague of yours, because every player in the league has rehabbed from a knee injury or a shoulder or something like that.

"So they see my story, and I think they understand what I went through a little bit. For them to, in the heat of battle, help me up and give me a nice pat on the back, it's very flattering."

And when he leaves the field, win or lose, he knows there's a little something others can take from what he did.

Doesn't matter if he has two tackles or 10, his mere presence means something. No matter how hard a loss can sting, or how much he can get caught up in a big win, Bruschi makes a point not to forget that, now and forever.

"When we lost that Colt game, I felt very, very upset," he said. "But in the back of my mind, I realized the magnitude of what I'm doing. As the season goes along, maybe it'll hit me a little bit more. I'm so focused right now, so when the season ends, and I have time to look back, I think it'll really sink in."

For now, he'll just say that he's thinking a little differently than everyone else in the locker room. He's seen the end, and come back from it. He's humbled by his experiences over the last nine months, and at the same time, empowered by them.

"If there's anyone in this locker room that realizes to be thankful for what you have," he said, "I think it's me."

It will be tomorrow, when he's out in the cold on the Gillette Stadium practice fields, that he'll give thanks. And on Saturday, when he has time to think on the plane. And Sunday, when he leaves the locker room for the field at Arrowhead.

But no more, never more, than it will be in moments like the ones he'll have this afternoon.

MetroWest Daily News - Sports Columnists

PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK
This time, Bruschi had some downtime
By Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff | November 29, 2005

FOXBOROUGH -- Four weeks ago, it was a victory just to see stroke survivor Tedy Bruschi on the football field. He played nearly every down in his return against the Bills, going almost purely on adrenaline. But in his fifth game back, against the Chiefs Sunday, the second half found him on the sideline for a few plays.

After Bruschi missed a few tackles -- most notably on Larry Johnson -- in the first half, Monty Beisel and Chad Brown got to see increased time at inside linebacker alongside Mike Vrabel. Beisel and Brown estimated they spent five to six plays at the position, more than they had in the past few weeks. Brown said his time mostly came on third downs.

''We've got good players," Bruschi said. ''Monty played a little more, Chad played a little more, and that's just the way it went."

Despite that, Bruschi led the Patriots in tackles for the first time since returning to the lineup, piling up nine total (eight solo). Beisel had two in his limited time on the field. Brown did not record a stop.

''There's nothing personally going on with Tedy," said coach Bill Belichick. ''That's the way the situation came up in the game. That's the way the rotation was set up. Got to spread it out."
 

This time, Bruschi had some downtime - The Boston Globe

Bruschi already ahead of game
By Tony Massarotti
Friday, December 2, 2005 - Updated: 03:05 AM EST

We forget sometimes that they are people; that beneath the pads, helmets and facemasks, they are real men with real lives. We forget that there are sizable gaps between the Sundays, that their time on the field is just a fraction of who they are.

Tedy Bruschi is a father and husband, and he is man coming off a stroke. There is just no way around that. Bruschi now has played five games since making a miraculous return to the Patriots, and his play has been, in a word, decent. Bruschi is getting better week by week, according to the player and his coach, but it might still be some time before we see the Bruschi of old.

At some point, beyond the hype and drama of Bruschi’s incredible story, that is the understandable end result.

He needs time.

“He’s getting better every week,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said yesterday. “When you go through training camp, you usually have in the neighborhood of 40 practices, not counting walk-throughs and stuff like that. . . . During the season, it’s really 2 1/2 (a week). It’s Wednesday and Thursday.

“You take a guy in the regular season, let’s say he plays for five weeks, like Bruschi has. That’s 10, 13, 14 practices. That’s a third of training camp. It’s just not the same. You have some games in there, too, and that’s good experience, but it’s just not the same as having 30, 35 training camp practices. When you allocate that kind of time during the regular season, it just takes longer.

“It’s just not the same,” Belichick added. “I don’t know any player that could do that.”

Will Bruschi ever be the same player? That is the real question here. There is just no way to know for sure.

Last summer, after undergoing major offseason surgery on his right ankle, Red Sox ace Curt Schilling acknowledged he might never be the same pitcher. Schilling pitched fairly well at times, poorly at others. He remains a relative uncertainty as the Red Sox prepare for Opening Day 2006, at which point Schilling will be roughly 18 months removed from the trauma on his ankle.

Schilling had ankle surgery.

Bruschi had a stroke.

During the summer, here is what else Schilling said: As much as the surgery rebuilt his ankle, it similarly derailed his training program. He was behind from the start, and he never caught up, which is part of what is happening with Bruschi now.

And like the Red Sox, who had an inept pitching staff, the banged-up Patriots defense is forced to ask more of Bruschi than they probably should.

“This is something I’ve never done before — jumping back in the seventh week,” Bruschi said. “It’s just a process. I think it’s gotten better as it’s gone along. To tell the truth, right now I think I’m close. I can’t say I’m all the way back where I was because I believe in the process.”

Last week at Kansas City, Bruschi had perhaps his worst game since returning to the field. He had those games before his stroke, too. The events of last February were not career-altering experience as much as they were life-altering, and it is easy to discount the latter when we tune in once a week and watch a man disguised in shoulder pads and a helmet.

And Bruschi, perhaps more than anyone else, has to temper his expectations, too.

“What I have to do,” he said, “is not put pressure on myself to do too much.”

Is he kidding?

Under the circumstances, he has accomplished far too much already.

BostonHerald.com - N.E. Patriots: Bruschi already ahead of game

Looks don't count much if it's a win
By Ron Borges | December 5, 2005

FOXBOROUGH -- This time a year ago, they were 11-1 and the talk was all about home-field advantage. Yesterday, the focus was simpler for the New England Patriots.

''Win ugly, win pretty, this time of year it doesn't matter," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said after his team came away from a frigid day at Razor Blade Field with a 16-3 win over the sad-sack New York Jets that was, shall we say, not exactly surgical. But that is the beauty of the situation the Patriots are in. It doesn't matter. No one is concerned about style points any more.

''Get the 'W' however we can," Bruschi said. ''That's all I'm looking at. I haven't compared our situation to last year because when you compare, that's when you start to get in trouble. But 3 points feels good. I can tell you that. A 'W' and 3 points. That's a good combination."

After you've allowed your opponents to roll up more than 400 yards of offense in seven of the last eight games and seen the past three quarterbacks you've faced throw for more than 300 yards, holding even as poor an excuse for an NFL team as the Jets to 41 yards rushing, 123 net passing yards, a total offensive output of 164 yards, and an average gain per play of a measly 3 yards was the kind of combination the Patriots needed for their mental health as much as for their place in the standings.

This morning New England stands at 7-5, holders of a two-game edge over the Miami Dolphins in the AFC East with a road game in Buffalo Sunday that could, if the Patriots win, nearly sew up the division title. Not completely, but it would be so close that it would take a complete collapse to deny them a return to the postseason.

But we get ahead of ourselves, which is something the Patriots are not prone to do. Instead, they looked at what they did yesterday as no more and no less than what it was. It was a much needed ''W." It was good enough.

It was, of course, more than that, too. It was a dismantling of the Jets' offense by a suddenly more aggressive defense that sent linebackers after the quarterback for the first time in weeks and attacked the line of scrimmage with Richard Seymour & Co. so effectively Curtis Martin averaged only 1.9 yards a carry on 15 runs.

Offensively, the running game improved, amassing 146 yards, but the return of Corey Dillon (65 yards) and Kevin Faulk (35 yards) hardly returned the Patriots to their glory days. But they weren't worried about that, either. They were worried only about winning a game and they won it the old-fashioned Patriot way. They won it by controlling the clock, holding the ball for 38 minutes 10 seconds, and they won by being stingy on defense.

Tom Brady did what he's done four times after a four-interception day, too, coming back with a sterling 93.4 passer rating by completing 27 of 37 throws for 271 yards. There were no touchdown passes, but seven players had at least two receptions and five had at least one catch of 13 yards or more. When it came to distributing the ball, Brady was The Cooz in knickers and a helmet.

They were not perfect defensively, and offensively they were far from overwhelming but they were good enough and if they can duplicate that three or four more times in the next month, they'll be good enough to get into the playoffs, and then we'll see.

Bruschi, Brady, coach Bill Belichick, and the rest of the Patriots have grown to understand that no matter what problems they may face, if they can just get into the postseason, the slate is clean. And so they looked at yesterday's 16-3 win over the 2-10 Jets as what it was and didn't worry that they should have won by more or that they didn't play as cleanly and consistently as they would have liked.

All they focused on was a brief sense of relief that, after a difficult season of injury and somewhat regular beatings from the league's elite teams, they are still alive with a month to go. Not alive and well but alive and getting well, which is an improvement.

''We have to worry about us," Seymour said. ''Obviously, what we were doing wasn't working. We couldn't sit there and keep doing the same thing if we wanted things to change."

So they urged defensive coordinator Eric Mangini to let them loose defensively. They asked to be set free to attack the Jets. To, as Seymour put it, ''take the fight to them rather than sit back and read and react."

Defensively, that paid a big dividend as the Patriots sacked Brooks Bollinger twice, intercepted one pass, and forced the Jets to punt on six of their first seven possessions before stopping them on downs on the ninth.

Offensively, after a slow start, they scored on four straight possessions between early in the second quarter and early in the fourth to ice the game. Nothing about it was perfect but when you hold the ball for 10 minutes 54 seconds of a 15-minute quarter, as New England did in the third, there's not a whole lot more you can do.

Was it pretty? Not when compared to the recent past. Was it dominating? Not when compared to the recent past. Was it good enough? Sure, when compared to the recent past.

''When you have a game like we had last week [a trampling in Kansas City], you just want to come back and have a positive game," Bruschi said.

In the end, that's what they had. They had a positive game. For the moment, that'll do just fine.

''We're going to have to make this a copycat effort," nose tackle Vince Wilfork said. ''We want to win. We don't care how. I think today a lot of people felt this game would make or break us. We proved to ourselves that we're capable of doing what we want to do when we put our minds to it. We can't go backwards from here now."

All they can do now is concentrate on one letter: Concentrate on the ''W's." Focus on that and the rest of their worries will take care of themselves.

Looks don't count much if it's a win - The Boston Globe

(CBS4) This is no game for Tedy Bruschi -- coming face to face with stroke survivors brings it all back.

“It reminds me where I came from and how hard it was to get back on the field.”

But he did in one of the great moments of sports -- just ten months after suffering a stroke.

“I wasn't able to walk I wasn't able to see, so I can truly relate to how difficult it can be at times.

Bruschi's recovery has become a source of inspiration for these stroke survivors. Unlike days ago, Steve Fontaine can now stand for a picture with the linebacker.

He shares his experience, and was grateful to hear the Brady family share theirs, how they knew the signs in 42-year-old David because of Bruschi.

Bruschi's departure from the hospital was the first step in a long comeback journey. Here he leaves souvenirs, but something more -- a message.

“If you put the time in, you can get back to where you were,” says stroke survivor Tom Cannarozzo. “You can be as strong and fit as you used to be.”

http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_339225513.html

BRUSCHI CREATES TOUCHDOWNS
Tedy Bruschi tipped a ball into the air in the fourth quarter that was intercepted by James Sanders and returned for a touchdown to give the Patriots a 35-0 lead. Bruschi’s nose for the ball has now created seven defensive touchdowns since the 2002 season. He scored four touchdowns himself on interception returns (two each in 2002 and 2003), and forced two fumbles that were picked up and returned for scores (10/03/04 at Buffalo and 11/28/04 vs. Baltimore). Bruschi has had a part in defensive touchdowns in each of the Patriots’ last two trips to Ralph Wilson Stadium. Last season, he sacked Drew Bledsoe and forced a fumble that was picked up by Richard Seymour and returned for a touchdown in a 31-17 victory on Oct. 3, 2004.

Official Website of the New England Patriots

All aboard for Pats bandwagon

By Tom King
The Telegraph

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The bandwagon officially started Sunday and it’ll be slowly chugging by your house soon. It’s running pretty well, too, since it’s been in the garage all fall.