Patriots list LBs Alexander, Burgess, Woods among final cuts

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09/04/2010 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Linebackers Eric Alexander, Derrick Burgess and Pierre Woods, all of whom had a role with the Patriots in past years, were released as part of New England's "cut-down-day" roster maneuvers on Saturday.

Alexander was a special teams ace who appeared in 45 games with New England over the past six seasons (2004-09), including a career-high-tying 14 appearances for the LSU product last season.

The former two-time Pro Bowler Burgess appeared in all 16 games with the Patriots last season, recording five sacks, and looked to have a good chance to make the team after being re-signed in May.

Woods appeared in 52 games with New England over the past four seasons (2006-09), including five starts at linebacker a year ago.

Also released were wide receiver Sam Aiken, safety Sergio Brown, offensive lineman George Bussey, tight end Carson Butler, running back Thomas Clayton, wide receiver Buddy Farnham, wide receiver Darnell Jenkins, offensive lineman Ted Larsen, tight end Rob Myers, offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger, wide receiver Rod Owens, quarterback Zac Robinson, running back Chris Taylor, defensive back Ross Ventrone, offensive lineman Thomas Welch, linebacker Thomas Williams and cornerback DeAngelo Willingham.

In other news, the team placed safety Brandon McGowan, an 11-game starter in 2009, on season-ending injured reserve with a chest injury.

Also on Saturday, the Patriots acquired veteran linebacker Tracy White from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for an undisclosed 2012 draft choice, as well as obtaining safety Jarrad Page from the Chiefs for a conditional choice.

White is a seven-year NFL veteran with previous experience as a member of the Eagles (2008-09), Packers (2006-08), Jaguars (2005) and Seahawks (2003-04).

Page, who was involved in a contract dispute with the Chiefs and did not report to the team in training camp, started 39 games with Kansas City from 2006 through 2009.

On Friday, New England released offensive lineman Eric Ghiaciuc and defensive lineman Damione Lewis.

The Patriots will begin their regular season next Sunday, when they welcome the Cincinnati Bengals to Gillette Stadium.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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