Seeing off the Saints

Dan with Saints RB Pierre Thomas

Wednesday's practice is over, and with it ends the 2 day joint practices with the New Orleans Saints. Now, I know there is certainly a benefit for the visiting team to be nice to fans on the road, makes the team look good. But I have to say this - when it came to autographs/fan interaction, the Saints absolutely put the Patriots to shame. The Pats should be embarrassed that the other team was THAT MUCH better than them. I thought day one was great for Saints autographs, but today was ridiculous. After practice, as all but about 6 of the Pats players walked off the field without a glance to the stands, literally 80% of the Saints guys headed out to sign. There were so many I couldn't even keep up! I definitely needed an assistant for these 3 joint practices to colelct autographs. Unfortunately for the Banner, I couldn't completely capitalize on all the Saints players because the VIP area was absolutely SWAMPED...I just missed Reggie Bush! But I stood my ground and was still able to get a couple of pictures to finish off the Saints-Pats Joint Practices Adventure. And as you can see, they're not the best pics as there's random people in both of them, couldn't quite get them out of the way of the shot. Today brought a couple of good ones too with RB Pierre Thomas (who added a nice New Orleans style 'Who Dat??' to the back of the banner) and C Matt Tennant, a former BC boy so I had to get a pic. All in all, it was a great couple of days with the Saints in town and I hope in the future the Pats invite teams in for more joint practices, it was awesome to see another team! And who knows, maybe some summer I can take Dan the Banner on a little road trip to some other training camps.

Dan with Saints C (and BC boy) Matt Tennant

Dan the Banner meets a Super Bowl Champ

Dan with Saints HC Sean Payton

Big day this morning as the Patriots kicked off the first of 3 joint practices with the Saints. Watching the teams go head-to-head was fun, though it would have been more so if the Pats defense wasn't getting absolutely manhandled by the Saints offense. Then again, that is what happened during the regular season last season, so maybe it wasn't a surprise...it's just disappointing the Pats defense hasn't stepped it up at all since that debacle. But of course, it is only practice, so I'm not gonna get too far ahead of myself.
On to more important things, the post practice autograph session. Well first I'll say this, the Saints were a MUCH better autograph team than the Pats, with more guys hitting up the stands to sign for a longer period of time, and with more big names doing so. It was also certainly a lot more crowded where I was in the VIP section, which made it a little difficult for me to get a good position with the banner. For me, I didn't have a ton of success quantity-wise with the banner (JUST missed Reggie Bush who signed for awhile but was running to get to meetings by the time he even got close to me), but I did get one picture, and a great one at that with Saints Head Coach Sean Payton! He was a really nice guy, the last guy to leave the field after signing autographs for anyone who wanted to stay to get one. He signed for a good 10 minutes after the last player had left the field. I happened to be the absolute last person staying for a pic and autograph, but it was well worth it from the reigning Super Bowl champ.

Headed back in a little bit to the afternoon session, hoping for a little bit more success quantity wise from the Saints, I think there's a great opportunity to get a lot of pics.

Oh, and on a sidenote, Jon Bon Jovi was out watching this morning's practice, but I wasn't able to get close enough to even try to ask for a pic, again WAY more people than usual in the VIP section. Hopefully he'll be at the afternoon session and I can try again, and hopefully there will be less spectators at the afternoon session cramping my style.

Dan meets Pats WR Rod Owens

Little bit of a slow day today at practice, but after either needing to miss practices or practices not being held for about 4 days, it was nice just to be able to get back out to Gillette and see the guys practice. Plus this was the first day Dan the Banner made an appearance at practice as a Captain.
Slow day, but did get one picture with newly signed wideout Rod Owens. Probably a long shot to make the team, but it's always nice to get pics with Dan, and Rod was a really nice guy - he was the last guy to go in and signed for a lot of fans who had to that point been shutout (myself included). And of course, Rod now has the impressive distinction of being the first person to take a picture with Dan the Banner as a Captain. I'll have to look at his signature again a little closer, but at first glance it looks like he added an "S.O.S" after his name...is it possible Coach Bill is running them too hard at practice and he's reaching out to Dan for help?? Dan the Banner to the rescue!

Dan with Pats WR Rod Owens

 Really excited for the next couple days as the Pats are holding joint practices with the World Champion Saints...been looking forward to these practices all training camp, can't wait to see what kind of damage I can do with the Banner!!

Training Camp 2010 Kicks Off!

Well if it isn't my favorite two weeks of the summer as Pats training camp kicked off yesterday morning. I always love getting back to the stadium to see the guys hit the practice field, nothing feels more like summer than that. And of course, training camp is where Dan the Banner does his most damage. Opening Day at Gillette yesterday was a bit uneventful, rain dampened the morning practice a bit and scared off some of the crowd but it was still nice to see.
Team looks good so far, going through the motions at practice. Good news is everyone is there, even if a couple are confined to conditioning drills. Still crazy to see Welker out at practice running through conditioning drills and looking like anything but a guy who tore his ACL 8 months ago. It's looking more and more like he'll be dressed ready to go come opening day - which is insane considering when he got injured. So much for coming back before Thanksgiving being a stretch. 
As far as Dan the Banner stuff goes, I have thus far through 3 practices (2 yesterday and 1 this morning) been shut out, but that is a tad misleading. Through the first couple practices the only people who have come by signing autographs are players I already have pics with, so no sense in trying to get them again. And it generally takes me a couple of days/practices to get warmed up to where I try calling guys over, but I think that will happen soon enough. So on the one hand, gotten a couple good autos after practice - Faulk, Gostkowski, Banta-Cain, Moss - but no one new on the Banner front. Nothing to report as of yet, but I have confidence in the next couple of days that I'll have something to add to the site.

Sidenote - received word that the Super Bowl Champion Saints may be joining the Pats practice for a couple of days around the time of their preseason game. Haven't had a joint practice in a long long time, so I'm really hoping the rumors are true, especially if it's the Saints. And how nice would a picture of Dan the Banner with say Drew Brees or Reggie Bush be??
Wish me and Dan the Banner luck over the next couple of days, feeling confident about the remainder of camp.

And So It Ends...

Well, given a day to recover, the Patriots loss is still just as devastating. And so ends the 2009 season, and while of course it would have been nice to see the Pats go all the way to and thru the Super Bowl, in a way I'm relieved this season is over and in the past. Let's not kid ourselves, the team never really hit its stride, or anything close. The offense was a huge disappointment, the defense couldn't make stops when it most needed to, Red Zone offense & defense (but especially offense) was horrible, leadership was missing, and the young guys starting who had little or no experience in big situations played like - well, young guys who had little or no situation in big situations. There's no other way to put it - yesterday's playoff game was atrocious. But the 2009 season is over, dead, and buried, and I think everyone is better off for it. They've got some big things to deal with in the offseason, it's certainly going to be a busy one.
But, since I like to think of myself as an optimistic person, I'm going to find the (smallest, tiniest, teeniest snippet of) silver lining...only 10 months til Training Camp! And that is when Dan the Banner shines! I have a good feeling for 2010, Dan the Banner is going to have a fantastic run, I can tell, and I can't wait to get it started!

Til the next entry about Tom Brady's best 2D friend, adieu my friends, hope 2010 is off to a wonderful start for you all.

Another One Bites the Dust....

Well, the Patriots cut Joey Galloway yesterday. While yes, it was not really a shock to anybody, it adds yet another to the list of Patriots who took pictures with Danny that are no longer on the team.

In a startling display of 24 hours or so it appeared that list would grow even larger when the Patriots cut Tully Banta-Cain and Eric Alexander. Fortunately though, the latter two were re-signed (I think, there's talk out there Alexander was never actually cut). Nevertheless, both remain on the team, so it's just Galloway joining a long list with David Thomas, Greg Lewis, Kevin O'Connell, Russ Hochstein, Ray Ventrone and others. Yikes, Dan the Banner may be bad luck. I think Tom and Randy are safe from being cut and/or traded, but maybe I shouldn't underestimate the power of the Banner...for the sake of the team and New England fans, I'll stay positive the banner tones it down a bit.
So adieu Mr. Galloway, we hardly knew ye. Hopefully he lands somewhere else and resurrects a thus far lost 2009 season.

Too early to panic?

I don't have any banner updates. But, because I've been silent for a week I thought I would check in with some other random thoughts, mainly on the Patriots.
Now personally, I'm a glass-half-full kind of person, so I'm going to take the optimistic view of the Patriots 16-9 loss to the Jets on Sunday and say that maybe it's good to get a loss out of the way early in the season, after we all know how the undefeated regular season did nothing to secure a Super Bowl championship. In 2007, the Pats started out on fire and faded a bit towards the end. Hopefully, they are on a reverse track this year, and will hit their stride to finish the season rather than start. Besides, a loss gives the coach a lot to dissect and correct.
Even being an optimist however, there were far too many red flags on Sunday - in my opinion - to be completely comfortable with the team right now. I know they need time to gel, I get that, especially after losing 5 starters from their defense of last year, and another to injury. So I'm ok with the occasional lapse in play/communication/execution. I have a massive problem with their defense however, starting with the secondary. I'm no football expert, but it seems to me that a defense should either be able to pressure the quarterback or cover the receivers...I mean seriously, if the quarterback can sit in the pocket all day and the receivers are wide open all day, what exactly are the 11 guys on defense doing??? The secondary isn't good enough to pull off a zone defense as often as they try to play it, especially if no one is getting to the QB. I can be patient maybe another week, but there defense really needs to start coming together.
My second issue, obviously, is with the offense. Hey, Tom Brady is coming off major knee injury/surgery, he's a bit rusty, understandably so. It's not really fair to expect him to be spot on right from the get go. But receivers - come on! Is it me or do they seem to be dropping too many passes? Which brings me to #13. Is it too early to call the Joey Galloway signing a failure? Well, yes, it is. I mean, it's only week 2. Given the first two games of the season, I am even more confused by the cutting of Greg Lewis before the season started. I went to Training Camp, and I read all the news and notes, and all you seemed to hear/read/see was Brady and Galloway (when he was on the field) not being on the same page. If this was week 1 or 2 of training camp, I'd be more patient. But they've been practicing together for what, 8 weeks now at least? And they don't seem to be getting any more in synch. Galloway was horrible yesterday. Where they all perfect throws from Brady? No. But a 15 year vet shouldn't look worse than a rookie. Again, I'm not calling his signing a failure just yet, but unless he starts looking much improved really soon, it's going to start looking that way.
The Jets are a good team with a very strong defense, and they outplayed the Pats yesterday and deserved to win. The Pats aren't as bad as they looked yesterday, so I'm not too concerned about the loss. But the defense better pull themselves together, and quick, or else hometown hero Matt Ryan is going to tear them apart next week in Foxboro.

Danny's day almost here

The countdown to Danny's story going public to the Foxboro area is on...4 days! Tonight is the big NFL 2009 season kickoff, I'm actually watching the Titans-Steelers game now and - being an avid Steeler hater - am pretty pumped about Hines Ward blowing the win for the moment and sending the game into overtime. Don't you just love football season??? What a wonderful time of year, great to have it back.
In more home-related news, I received an e-mail a couple days ago with the pdf file of Danny's story for the Patriots Game Day program and it looks great! I'm really excited for the game in general of course - Tom Brady returns, TO set to dismantle yet another team, opening night, Monday Night Football - but being in the program for that night is going to be even more excited. I'll probably post the story on here in a few days, but anyone going to the game make sure to pick up the program and check out pg 74-75!

Dan's getting published!

Watch out New England, Dan the Banner is getting published. I pretty much knew this was going to happen, but know that all the chats and details have taken place, it is official...there will be a story on Danny, the banner, me and my daily trips to training camp in the Pats Gameday Program opening night against the Bills! Pretty awesome if I do say so myself. I spoke with a media employee with the Pats today - who had approached me about the story one day at training camp - I gave him all the details he wanted about Danny and the banner, and now we just have to sit back and wait for that first game when Danny is the "Fan Story" for that day's program. As if opening night, vs. the Bills, Monday Night Football, T.O in town, and the return of Tom Brady wasn't enough to look forward to for opening night, here's one more thing!
Very excited about this... always willing to expand the Dan story to anyone and everyone!

-The Banner Keeper

Training Camp 2009

Always a sad day in the summer, yesterday marked the last day of training camp over at Gillette Stadium. The double session proved a slow day for Danny, as I was only able to get one Patriot - starting center (and BC alum) Dan Koppen - to pose with the banner for a pic. I did however get my first ever picture refusal with Danny, I guess LG Logan Mankins isn't a fan of the 7 ft likeness. Oh well, he was nice enough to sign the banner. Despite the slow last couple days, all in all camp was a wild success for Danny and myself. Final Count for Patriots pictures in 2009 was 20, plus 1 with Pat Patriot and another with former Pats Fred Smerlas and Steve DeOssie.

Here's the full list, for all of you dying to know:
- C Dan Koppen
- RB Kevin Faulk
- CB Terrence Wheatley
- K Stephen Gostkowski
- Def. Coord. Dean Pees
- NT Vince Wilfork
- WR Randy Moss
- QB Tom Brady
- QB Andrew Walter
- OL Russ Hochstein
- RB Sammy Morris
- QB Kevin O'Connell
- WR Joey Galloway
- WR Greg Lewis
- TE David Thomas
- DL Mike Wright
- LB Tully Banta-Cain
- S Ray Ventrone

To check out pictures and some stories, head to danthebanner.com

It was a great 2.5 weeks of camp - always my favorite place to bring Danny - and I can't wait to head back next July for more fun in the sun. In the meantime I guess I'll have to settle for watching the 2009 season unfold for the Pats :).
I'll be on the lookout for opportunities and places to bring Danny, so be sure to keep checking back for updates on his latest travels!

- The Banner Keeper