Posted by James in Wales on May 6, 2009 in
PFW in Progress Latest Show 
Fred opened the show thanking William Roeder for buying lunch for the guys from Skipjacks before Andy gave the news that the Patriots had signed eight free agents including veterans and rookie free agents.The guys then talked about the recent rookie mini camp including the news that the Patriots third round draft pick Tyrone McKenzie picked up an injury.
The guys then discussed the rumoured signing of the former Bears safety Brandon McGowan before discussing Patriots draft pick Julian Edelman and the potential third QB battle going into camp. Fred brought up the trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for tight end Alex Smith and the news that the Steelers released starting inside linebacker Larry Foote and asked the guys whether he would fit in the Patriots system. Fred noted that he recently saw Ellis Hobbs at Gillette Stadium as he apparently has to continue an internship with Kraft Productions for his studies.
Fred brought up the recent visit from the Dalai Lama to Gillette Stadium, where he was spotted wearing a Patriots cap, and the continuing success of the Patriots Twitter account @realpatriots. Andy asked Fred about the reports that Dolphins Stadium is to be renamed Land Shark Stadium. Fred profoundly commented that “a shark isn’t a dolphin” which Andy noted as “classic Fred Kirsch”.
The guys then discussed the tragic news that the Dallas Cowboys scouting assistant Rich Behm, who was paralyzed from the waist down when the team’s indoor practice facility collapsed during a thunderstorm before Mike in Puerto Rico took over from John in LA as the first caller. Mike asked the guys about Tyrone McKenzie’s injury, Patriots All Access before asking about free agent LB Travis LaBoy.
Fred brought up the announcement that the four Patriots AFL legacy games would be 9/14 against the Bills, 10/11 at the Broncos, 10/18 against the Titans and 12/6 at the Dolphins. Fred spoke briefly about the latest episode of Patriots All Access which contained footage inside the Patriots war room on draft day.
The guys discussed recent emails concerning their disappointment of the Patriots’ recent draft classes before Al in Georgia called in to discuss the throwback uniforms. Fred read a few emails that brought up discussions about the reports that Tom Brady’s new wife Giselle was pregnant, which rookie would make the biggest impact and if the three defensive tackles that the Patriots draft picks signalled the end of Vince Wilfork.
Folowing a break Fred announced that Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio would be discussing the team’s Draft with Patriots fans on May 13th at The Hall at Patriot Place (presented by Raytheon). An email from Chris (formerly) from the Bronx initiated a discussion about the rookie tryouts who were present at rookie mini camp. An email enquired about Fred Taylor’s wrist injury before Stephen in Oregon called in to a question from Fred about Bill Belichick’s pronunciation of Oregon before asking the guys their thoughts on rookie mini camp.
An email from Tommy in Berlin brought up a question from Fred whether the Patriots could exploit the international market further following the drafting of SebastianVollmer (Germany), Jake Ingram (Hawaii) and Patrick Chung (China/Jamaica). The guys then discussed the similarities between the Patriots and Cowboys practise bubbles.
An email from Rajeev brought up the budding relationship between Jon Gruden and Bill Belichick and whether the guys thought that Belichick was looking at Gruden as being a potential offensive coordinator. An email from Matt in Oregon offered to beat up Kimani on behalf of Erik which led to another ErikModelPhoto-gate discussion.
The guys talked about why the Patriots get the benefit of the doubt over the Raiders regarding the unknown players the teams drafted. Fred announced that the Massachusetts High School Football combine will be held at Gillette Stadium on May 13, 2009 before an email suggested that Rodney Harrison had been replaced due to the drafting of Patrick Chung and the signing of Brandon McGowan.
Jim in Texas called in to offer his services in any listener-on-listener fighting, discuss the signing of Alex Smith and asked Erik about the Gostowski/Scalavino kicking challenge.
The show closed following a few emails and a hung up phone call from Matt in Oregon.
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Today’s team: Fred Kirsch, Paul Perillo, Andy Hart, Erik Scalavino
Lunch provided by: William Roeder
Callers in: Michael in Puerto Rico, Al in Georgia, Stephen from Oregon, Jim in Texas
Tags: Andy Hart, Caller: Al in Georgia, Caller: Jim in Texas, Caller: Michael in Puerto Rico, Caller: Stephen from Oregon, Erik Scalavino, Fred Kirsch, Lunch: William Roeder, Paul Perillo
Posted by James in Wales on May 2, 2009 in
PFW in Progress Latest Show 
Fred opened the first PFW in Progress following the 2009 NFL draft with news that Adam Schefter and Patriots draft pick would be call-in guests. The guys then talked in depth about the draft and their thoughts on the Patriots picks.
Fred then introduced “NFL Insider” Adam Schefter who talked about the draft and how he liked what the Bengal, Jets and Eagles did. He also talked about the Patriots draft and how he liked their philosophy in moving up and down. Following a question from Andy, Schefter told the guys his thoughts about the Raiders draft before talking about the trade of Ellis Hobbs to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Schefter then went onto talk about the Patriots not picking a pass rusher before saying that New England would be a serious option for Jason Taylor but thought that Julius Peppers would be staying in Carolina. He also talked about the possibility of the Patriots going after recent free agent LB Leroy Hill, Matt Cassel’s contract with Kansas City and Vince Wilfork’s contract situation.
Following a break Fred brought up Sebastian Vollmer and his East-West Shrine Game appearance, Patrick Chung’s poor tackling and return game. The guys then talked about Brandon Tate with Paul saying how he thought the third round pick was a steal because of his return ability and was a “good” receiver. They also talked about how many of the Patriots draft picks have return experience which was made more relevant following the trade of Ellis Hobbs to Philadelphia.
They then talked about Darius Butler and how he will most likely be given time to become a starter due to the Patriots dealings in free agency at the Cornerback position. Fred brought up DT Ron Brace before the guys then dismissed the possibility of LB Leroy Hill becoming a Patriot before digressing into political talk following Sen. Arlen Specter’s party switching.
Paul brought up a conversation he had with “someone” who told him that OG Roch Ohrnberger would be the most surprising before Al in Georgia called in to talk about the draft and how he’s already looking forward to next year’s. Al brought up the fact that the Patriots didn’t address their pass rushing needs by drafting an Outside Linebacker to which the guys discussed the prospects that the Patriots could have drafted. The guys talked in depth about a point that Al made that the Patriots’ Linebackers have been better players when they been drafted rather than picked up in free agency.
Following a break, the guys discussed a question from lunch buyer John in South Carolina who asked about a possible trade of Richard Seymour with Carolina Panthers for Julius Peppers. This brought about a discussion about the franchise and transition tags and how the Patriots could cover their bases next year by tagging Richard Seymour, Logan Mankins and Vince Wilfork.
Fred welcomed the second special guest caller in Tyrone McKenzie who answered the guys’ questions on his position in the Patriots scheme, being drafted by a “successful” team and playing for three programs during his college career. They talked about the comments Bill Belichick made about him, his personal issues, draft day experience before talking about the importance of watching tape. Andy asked McKenzie the final question which was about his workout with the Patriots and his pre-draft visit.
Fred spoke briefly about a Comcast customer offer before Paul praised Erik and Andy for their combine report on McKenzie. Jamie in Houston called in to offer his thought, and jokes, about the Patriots draft and whether not drafting in the first round and trading Ellis Hobbs meant the Patriots were saving cap space for Jason Taylor.
The guys then talked about which of the draft prospects had the potential of making the active roster and which ones could start before talking about Texas Tech coach Mike Leach’s claims that Cleveland Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini leaked reports of Wide Receiver Michael Crabtree acting like a diva during his meeting with the Browns. They also talked about how the forthcoming post-draft issue of Patriots Football Weekly before Fred read a couple of emails applauded the guy’s draft coverage.
John in Dallas called in with the statement that Julian Edelman will make the roster and asked the guys their thoughts on the Patriots’ undrafted rookie free agents. The guys then compared Edelman to Patriots 2008 pick Matthew Slater before an email from TG in NJ brought up the speculation surrounding a possible three day NFL Draft with a primetime first round. Fred said he’d be happy with the change and can see why the NFL would do it. The guys didn’t necessarily agree with Fred but thought that Bill Belichick would agree to it because it would give him more time to research in between each pick.
The guys then talked briefly about mock drafts and how even the experts couldn’t predict this year’s draft before talking about the reports that Vikings coach Brad Childress who believed that the Patriots would have selected Percy Harvin at No. 23 if Minnesota hadn’t scooped him up first.
The show then came to a close after Andy brought up a report about Twitter which led to a tirade about his least favourite web tool and an explanation from Fred about why the Patriots are embracing it.
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Today’s team: Fred Kirsch, Paul Perillo, Andy Hart, Erik Scalavino
Lunch provided by: John in South Carolina
Callers in: Al in Georgia, Jamie in Houston, John in Dallas
Special guests: Adam Schefter, Tyrone McKenzie
Tags: Andy Hart, Caller: Al in Georgia, Caller: Jamie in Houston, Caller: John in Dallas, Erik Scalavino, Fred Kirsch, Lunch: John in South Carolina, Paul Perillo, Special guest: Adam Schefter, Special guest: Tyrone McKenzie
Posted by James in Wales on Mar 24, 2009 in
PFW in Progress Latest Show 
Fred opened the show alluding to some off-air banter about Toyota Tacomas, welcomed back Paul Perillo from vacation and Andy informed the listeners that Erik is doing Tully Banta-Cain and Kevin Faulk. Fred announced that the Patriots’ signing of OL Damane Duckett and the three compensatory picks the Patriots were awarded.
The guys then talked about the first of the many ‘Top 10′ lists that will feature on Patriots.com over the course of the Patriots 50th anniversary year before discussing the news that the Patriots will open the 2009 season with a home game against the Buffalo Bills. This swiftly followed into a debate on whether the TO move would be a major disruption or a no-brainer.
The guys then moved on to the player safety rules proposals that the NFL passed today at its annual meeting, including the ‘Tom Brady’ rule and the ‘Ryan Clark’ rule. After some chat about microphone issues Al from Georgia called in to talk further about the player safety rule changes and how overtime wasn’t discussed at the owner’s meeting. The guys, and Al, then talked in depth about overtime and how they thought they should do it in the NFL.
Following a break Erik, who joined the show, talked about his chat with Kevin Faulk before Paul gave the shocking news that he didn’t get into one altercation during his vacation. After a few emails, that mocked Andy and Erik, discussed the Patriots’ potential draft picks, John in LA’s weekly column and the Jay Cutler situation in Denver, Nate in Florida called in to talk about the forthcoming draft. He asked the guys their opinions on prospects including Virginia OLB Clint Sintim, Florida WR Percy Harvin and Alabama safety Rashad Johnson.
Fred read a few emails that took shots at Andy before Jamie in Houston called in to take a shot and to talk about Rey Maualuga which led to a mini Peppers/Taylor debate. The guys then discussed the ‘Brady rule’ further before Fred read a few emails including one from Craig Bunse, the first since Paul’s return.
An email from Russell in New Zealand asked a question about the Patriots draft choices and offered his own suggestions including Illinois CB Vontae Smith, Wake Forest CB Alphonso Smith and PFW target late round pick South Carolina ILB Jasper Brickley. The show ended with an email from Chris Ferreira with a reason for why the show wasn’t streaming live and an email from Paul in London offering the guys lunch from Papa Gino’s.
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Today’s team: Fred Kirsch, Paul Perillo, Andy Hart, Erik Scalavino
Lunch provided by: Iggy from Madrid
Callers in: Al in Dayton, Nate in Florida, Jamie in Houston
Special guests:
Urban dictionary word of the day:
Tags: Andy Hart, Caller: Al in Georgia, Caller: Jamie in Houston, Caller: Nate in Florida, Erik Scalavino, Fred Kirsch, Lunch: Iggy from Madrid, Paul Perillo
Posted by James in Wales on Mar 5, 2009 in
PFW in Progress Latest Show 
Following the ‘Top Gun’ opening Fred began the show asking whether I am still updating PFWinProgress.com because there hasn’t been any activity for the last few weeks. Coincidentally today’s show marks the first time I’ve been able to update live due to a busy period in my job. Anyway, enough about me, back to the show. The guys talked about the reports that the Cowboys had released TO which brought up a debate whether he was over-rated and who was the better receiver TO or Moss.
The guys then talked about a post that Erik made on the PFW blog about Rihanna and how he shouldn’t be talking about non-football related issues which in turn turned into a debate about fans enjoying “the nonsense” again. Andrew from the Ukraine called in, from the US, to talk about the potential signing of free agent Julius Peppers. He likened it to the signing of Adalius Thomas before asking a draft related question about how the tie breaker works.
Paul then brought up a few recent articles that he didn’t agree with before regular caller John in LA called in. Fred then announced the news that John in LA will be penning a weekly column on Patriots.com. Congratulations John, that’s great news. John then ignited a discussion about the Cassel/Vrabel trade and how, after thinking about it, he believes it to be a good value trade.
Fred then talked about some exciting new features that will appear on Patriots.com which Paul will be in charge of, something which Mr Perillo thought was too much for one person.
Following a break the guys talked about the free agents that have visited the Patriots in the last few years with the news that veteran WR Joey Galloway visited Gilette Stadium. All the guys agreed that the Patriots had to sign a WR to fill the void left by Jabar Gaffney whether he was a ‘jag’ or not.
The guys then brought up Erik’s post, which Erik offered to delete, before Paul told the guys he’s starting his vacation with a trip to Richmond, VA to watch his beloved North Eastern. This obviously brought upon some ribbing from the guys. Following an email the guys talked about the Cassel/Vrabel trade and whether Vrabel would have been cut if he wasn’t trading.
Andy expressed worry about one of the Patriots wide receivers, Welker and Moss, picking up an injurydue to them being the cornerstone of the Patriots offense and how they have virtually played every snap since joining two years ago. Al in Dayton called in to continue the Kansas City trade talk and how trade value was difficult to work out and the value of the Cassel/Vrabel trade can only be evaluated by what the Patriots do with the cap space.
Al expressed his delight at the trade for Fred Taylor which the guys all agreed with before he took pleasure in the Broncos problems with their QB Jay Cutler. The guys played Mikey Vandalism’s latest mp3 offering which, following a diss to Jason in Chiba, asked the guys about what round the Patriots will draft a wide receiver.
The guys then played James Pettigrew’s mp3 also dissed Jason in Chiba with a Stephen Hawking-esque voice and told Jason to tell his wife to come to Cambridge and he’d show her his big bang theory. The guys then talked about the upcoming visit by the Dalai Lama to Gillette Stadium, read a couple of emails before Andy gave his Urban Dictionary Word of the Day.
Lunch-buyer Chris with a tian emailed in to express his hate for T.O. and how he doesn’t want him to be a Patriot before the guys talked about the potential places that T.O. could go and the Cowboys. Anthony in Naples called in to join the T.O. discussion saying how Owens would be a cancer in the locker room.
The show came to a close following some emails including one from Matt in Connecticut slammed Andy for his paragraph usage in the latest Ask PFW.
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Today’s team: Fred Kirsch, Paul Perillo, Andy Hart, Erik Scalavino
Lunch provided by: Chris with a tian
Callers in: Andrew from the Ukraine, John in LA, Al in Dayton, Anthony in Naples
Special guests:
Urban dictionary word of the day: Rihanna’d
Tags: Andy Hart, Caller: Al in Georgia, Caller: Andrew from the Ukraine, Caller: Anthony in Naples, Caller: John in LA, Erik Scalavino, Fred Kirsch, Lunch: Chris with a tian, Paul Perillo
Posted by James in Wales on Jan 22, 2009 in
PFW in Progress Latest Show 
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.
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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
Tags: 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
Posted by James in Wales on Dec 2, 2008 in
PFW in Progress Latest Show 
Fred opened today’s show with the fantastic announcement that the Patriots will play in London next season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium before touching on Sunday’s loss to the Steelers. Paul and Andy joined the show and were surprisingly upbeat about the London trip saying that it was the same distance to the West Coast as the UK but they get to see another country. I’m sure Mr Kraft wished some of the players felt the same way following some of their comments which Andy mentioned. The guys then broke down the loss to the Steelers and how it unravelled so quickly following the half, the turnovers were obviously brought up and how Slater’s muffed return was probably the only self inflicted error the others were caused.
They mentioned how the Patriots’ injuries are beginning to affect them with Welker and Woods going down and how the Patriots are 0-3 without Warren. Kevin Faulk was given some serious props by the guys, mostly by Andy who admitted his mistake in saying pre-season that his skills were diminishing and nominated Faulk Team MVP with four weeks left. Andy brought up Richard Seymour’s apparent dismay in not playing on third downs during his appearance on Patriots Monday on WEEI and how Mike Reiss pointed out how some experienced guys ‘ran for the hills’ after the game but Matthew Slater hung about and took it on the chin.
Fred began a discussion about the Patriots current playoff chances and how we are chasing the Ravens for a wildcard spot and the Jets for the AFC East top spot. The most important point was that the Patriots need to win all their games to have a chance. Al in Dayton called in to express his disgust at the Steelers game saying ho he turned off the game to play some XBOX prompting Fred to talk about Call of Duty and how his son is getting the new game for Christmas. The guys talked about the late hit on Welker and how Paul thought it was being blown out of proportion in likening it to Jack tatum’s hit on Darryl Stingley but all agreed it was an illegal hit and shouldn’t have happened.
Following a break, the guys spoke about the theoretical possibility of Brady not coming back next year and the annoying Pittsburgh press crew that were at the game Sunday. They touched upon the Plaxico Burress shooting incident before an email from Neil in Nottingham brought up the seemingly unfair schedule that the Patriots face due to the three game stretch where the Patriots’ opposition come off a Thursday night game. Joel in Merrimack called in and brought up an interesting point that even if the Patriots make the playoffs do they have enough to beat a playoff team? Sergeant Rob from Westpoint, NY brought up next years London game, and even coined a slogan for the game ‘Pats and points’, which Fred proposed a live studio audience version of PFW in Progress while in London. Following an argument about HD/non-HD camcorders the guys had another argument about Giselle’s Brazillian heritage (or is it German Fred?).
The show ended with John Rook joining the show and disclosing the fact that he had been on the London Eye. Thanks John!
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Today’s team: Fred Kirsch, Paul Perillo, Andy Hart
Lunch provided by: John in South Carolina
Callers in: Al in Dayton, Stephen from Oregon, Jamie in Houston, Joel in Merrimack
Special guests:
Urban dictionary word of the day: English toothbrush
Tags: Andy Hart, Caller: Al in Georgia, Caller: Jamie in Houston, Caller: Joel in Merrimack, Caller: Stephen from Oregon, Fred Kirsch, Lunch: John in South Carolina, Paul Perillo
