If this backfires, don't blame team

To protect themselves as best they could, the team issued a carefully crafted and oddly timed press release midway through Sunday's debacle in Denver stating that ''Tedy Bruschi and his family will make the final decision as to whether he returns." It went on to put considerable distance between that decision and the Patriots, who have never asked Bruschi to return to the playing field.

The release stated (with italics added):

''The New England Patriots have been advised that Tedy Bruschi has received unanimous medical clearance from outside specialists in the field of stroke neurology. He has also passed multiple physical examinations by team doctors and has been cleared to resume practicing as early as this week . . . With the necessary unanimous medical clearances to return, Tedy Bruschi and his family will make the final decision as to whether he returns to the field and begins practicing once again with the team. The Kraft family and the entire Patriots organization want only what is best for Tedy Bruschi and his family and will continue to support his decision.

About the only thing it didn't say was, ''It wasn't our idea." Other than that, Kraft and his legal team did what had to be done. They used that statement, and the carefully chosen words of the past, to make it clear this was the decision of Bruschi and his family. That doesn't mean Kraft and the Patriots don't understand that if something terrible happens, they won't end up in court having to defend themselves for having done nothing but provide him with as much medical information and support as possible.

''They understand how these things can go," a source close to Kraft said. ''But there's only so much they can do."

Although the statement was handed out by the public relations department, it was written by a team of lawyers to protect Kraft and the organization from the kind of problems the Celtics faced after the death of Reggie Lewis and the Minnesota Vikings endured after the death of Korey Stringer.