Fred welcomed back Andy to the show following his absence from Tuesday’s show, due to his gastric ‘issues’, before talking about googling PFW in Progress and how he was astonished at the reach of the show. The guys then talked about the speculation about Bill O’Brien becoming the Patriots Offensive Coordinator before talking about Tom Brady’s appearance on Toronto radio station FAN590. Erik explained the reasons behind the somewhat odd choice of show for Brady to mark his first interview since his injury before ‘Tugee’ played a clip of Brady talking about his rehab.

Al in Georgia called in to express his disgust that the Cardinals, who the Patriots beat by 40 points, are going to the Superbowl. Fred chimed in with the thought that if the Cardinals win the SuperBowl, Patriots fans can sleep better in the knowledge that they are better than them. Al also touched upon the 50th anniversary of the AFL, bringing up some memories of the Patriots playing in Fenway Park, and asked what merchandise the Patriots would be bringing out to commemorate the anniversary. Andy thought it would be cool if the original tri-corner logo would be used and how it would increase the merchandise sales because, as Paul said, “Nostalgia is big”. John in LA called in with “a series of quick questions” which led to the point that the Patriots will be a more improved outfit in 09 than in 08 and a discussion about the improvements Josh McDaniels made during his time in New England.

Following a break, Andy brought up the movement that is calling to ban Britney Spears’ contentious new single ‘If You Seek Amy’ before, the star of the previous show, Michael from Puerto Rico called in to talk about the maturity and eloquence of Josh McDaniels and woundered whether anything could have been done to keep him in New England. This led to a discussion about the Head Coach in waiting idea that happens a lot in college and was seen in Indianapolis and Seattle this year. An email from Jaxobin started a discussion about O’Connell starting the 09 season if Cassel is traded and Brady isn’t fit enough to start week one. The guys dismissed the idea and thought that the Patriots would need a veteran presence with Paul naming Jeff Garcia as the ideal candidate.

Anthony in Naples called in to say that Tuesday’s show was the worst one he has heard in five years of listening which led to a dig at Tugender for not cutting the callers off early enough. Anthony also re-ignited Tuesday’s discussion of the possibility of Julius Peppers joining the Patriots as a free agent. Tugee played the previously mentioned Britney Spears song which all the guys thought shouldn’t be on the radio. The guys then discussed the NFL’s decision to play the Pro Bowl the week before the Super Bowl in the same location, moving it away from Hawaii, a decision that the guys all disagreed with. Paul talked about watching the Northeastern Huskies “big win” over their basketball rivals George Mason before another emailer criticised Tuesday’s show. Three emails from listeners in the UK followed before the guys discussed an email from Bob which enquired about the Patriots interest in Phil Savage who served as Director of Player Personnel for the Baltimore Ravens and what positions the guys thought the Patriots would draft.

Following a break, the guys talked about the good drafts the Patriots have made and how Kevin Colbert, the Director of Football Operations of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is one of the most underrated people in sports. The guys then talked about how well the Steelers have drafted since Colbert has been there. All this Steelers talk led Fred to mention a jacket, that Paul had for Christmas, that had an inside like Mike Tomlin’s “poofy” jacket which the guys put a Steelers logo on it as a prank. Fred got the (in)famous Ken Flanders on the phone to talk merchandise and he said that they wouldn’t be bringing out any merchandise with the tri-corner logo on it.

Paul brought up some draft eligibility questions before a vitriolic email from Pat said that the fluky 08 NFL season all occurred because Tom Brady, “the best player on the planet”  went down in week one and the other teams thought they no longer had to “keep up with the greatness anymore”. Stephen from Oregon called in to take a shot at Erik, give praise to Erik, talk about the weather and refer to himself in the third person. All done with his usual joviality and his regular plug to the Patriots.mobi website.

Fred read an email from Chris with a tian which discussed Brady’s radio appearance and the Super Bowl matchup of the Steelers and Cardinals, declaring that he’d be rooting for the Cards as he hates the Steelers (no reason Paul). Andy brought up the news that Miller would be airing a one-second advert during Super Bowl XLIII which led to an discussion about advertising with Andy saying that he thinks Coke should stop advertising.

[mp3]http://library.kraftsportsgroup.com/20090122_neplor.mp3[/mp3]

Today’s team: Fred Kirsch, Paul Perillo, Andy Hart, Erik Scalavino

Lunch provided by: Dan Tugender

Callers in: Al in Dayton, John in LA, Michael in Puerto Rico, Anthony in Naples, Stephen from Oregon

Special guests: Ken Flanders

Urban dictionary word of the day: Pepperipples

Andy Hart Caller: Al in Georgia Caller: Anthony in Naples Caller: John in LA Caller: Michael in Puerto Rico Caller: Stephen from Oregon Erik Scalavino Fred Kirsch Paul Perillo Special guest: Ken Flanders