[Note by Skin Patrol, 05/23/08 8:55 AM EDT ] Promoting this story for a couple reasons. First, it's an interesting story from Ross Tucker, who is a former Redskin. Second, CptChaosSidekick is going to be helping me with content on the site in the coming weeks; this is just the beginning. Edited slightly.

I've listened to former Redskin O-Linemen Ross Tucker a lot on Sirius satellite radio, and everytime he's on, the man spits truth. Link:

Last Friday, in an article published on SI.com, Tucker wrote that: "I had heard the Patriots did this before I signed with them in 2005 and I saw it firsthand during my time there. I asked veteran receiver Troy Brown about it one time and he responded, 'Every team in the league does that.' I quickly let him know none of the three teams I played for previously had done so.

It's my personal belef that the Pats do go out of their way to get a competitive advantage on other teams, but do they all pratice this? Apparently not, he thinks:

Basically, the Patriots would put a player on IR, knowing it meant he couldn't play in a game or practice with the team for the remainder of the season. By skirting the rules and practicing him anyway, it allowed them to develop his skills during the year. A side benefit is that they were also able to give some of the older players less repetitions and, therefore, additional rest."

Wow, I had never thought that. I heard about this before but never thought far enough to see the possible advantages it could have for a team. Leave it to a former Redskin to let the Pats know that they need to lock it up and stop acting the fool.