Mr. Blackwell Wouldn’t Compliment Belichick

Bill Belichick may be one of the smartest coaches in Super Bowl history, but he is also perhaps the worst-dressed, his sideline attire ranging from ugly gray sweatshirts to ugly gray hooded sweatshirts.

“I didn’t realize it was a big deal,” he said Monday, laughing.

Then he confessed, “Sometimes I walk on the field not really conscious about how everything fits together.”

Linebacker Ted Johnson admitted that the players notice.

“That’s him,” he said. “But I think he’s gotten better. His game attire is much better. Now, if he could just fix his golf attire.”

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The world according to New England cornerback Tyrone Poole....

When asked whether the Panthers were similar to the Patriots, he said, “All I know is that we both play with 11 men on defense and 11 men on offense. If you look at it from that point, then I guess we are similar.”

When asked about his reputation, he said, “I don’t know how long it takes other people to recognize when other people have success, but for me, every day I wake up and I am able to enjoy another day of successfulness.”

When asked about keeping coordinators Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis, he said, “I would want to see the continuity of the coaching staff stay together.”

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Mike Vrabel, a New England linebacker and native of Akron, Ohio, admits that he has some unfinished business with that nasty Cleveland Brown coach who once released his childhood hero, Bernie Kosar.

Yeah, Belichick.

“We haven’t had that conversation yet,” Vrabel said. “But when we’re done, I’ll ask him what happened. Growing up, that’s how I threw the ball. I threw it sidearm because of Bernie Kosar.”

Of course, Vrabel was quick to note that bygones have become bygones.

“That’s not the image I have of him now,” he said of Belichick.

-- Bill Plaschke

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Carolina linebacker Dan Morgan is one of the NFL’s tough guys. His dad made sure of that.

“I had just moved into a new neighborhood in Philadelphia,” Morgan explained. “And I had a couple of kids that wanted to show me the neighborhood, and they were picking on me, wanted to beat me up. My dad saw it and told me, ‘If I see that happen to you again and you don’t do anything about it, then you’re going to get beat up by me.’ ”

That seemed to do the trick.

“I went out there and took care of business and beat both of them up,” Morgan said.

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The Panther defense is bracing for New England’s spread offense in which Tom Brady empties the backfield and has multiple quick-pass options.

“That spread offense is quick,” safety Mike Minter said. “When you talk about dumping off three or four yards at a time, you really don’t get set up as a defense. You have to go quickly. That causes a lot of problems.

“The one thing you have to do is hit Tom Brady to get him out of that. You have to get him back to that conventional stuff. Then, you’ll be OK. That’s the key right there. Get to Tom Brady. The teams that did, they got out of it quick.”

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Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme is the comeback kid, and that even carries over into practice sessions.

“It usually takes Jake a couple of mistakes during the game, and then he’ll be really jacked up and you’ll really get the best out of him,” receiver Muhsin Muhammad said. “We always joke how he practices on Friday or Saturday. Usually, he has to throw an interception or make a mistake on Friday or Saturday for me to feel comfortable about him playing a game. Then we go into a game and he’s money. He’s hitting everything.”

-- Sam Farmer