(SportsNetwork.com) - Sometimes regal lineage isnt so easy to prognosticate. With the 24th pick of Round 2 of the 1998 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots chose Rod Rutledge, a 6-foot-5, 262-pound tight end from Alabama - making him the fourth selection in a three-round haul breathlessly labeled by the New York Times as great, pretty impressive and a talent stockpile. The Patriots had the best draft of any team this year, according to five general managers, read an April 20 draft recap penned by Times sportswriter Mike Freeman, under a headline that suggested the team had drafted superbly. One general manager said that the Patriots draft may have been the best in the last three or four years. Needless to say, Freemans next-day assessment of Rutledge and fellow early- rounders Robert Edwards, Tebucky Jones, Tony Simmons, Chris Floyd and Greg Spires inspires little beyond an ironic chuckle these days, as a then-moribund franchise preps for its sixth subsequent Super Bowl participation. Only Jones, a lanky defensive back, started more than two seasons worth of games for the Patriots. And only he and the 6-foot-1 Spires, an undersized pass-rushing defensive end, managed a career whose duration exceeded the six-man groups collective averages of five-plus seasons and 38 games started. Spires, though, made just three of those starts with New England before finding a niche in Tampa Bay, where he started 87 games across six years and won a Super Bowl ring under Jon Gruden. At any rate, though, when kickoff comes on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz., its the long-since anonymous Rutledge wholl have the most direct link to this years dynastic personnel. Though hes not appeared in an NFL game since 2002 and not caught a pass since 2001, the now 39-year-old was on the receiving end of the first completion thrown by the now-veteran quarterback wholl arguably enter University of Phoenix Stadium within 60 minutes of billing as the games all-time best. These days, everyone knows that quarterback as Tom Brady. The guy ex-NFLer Heath Evans places atop the historic list, regardless of this weekends score. You look at the collection of talent that was consistently around Joe (Montana) - and this is no knock on Joe, its just the era he played in,? Evans said. And then now, the constant mixing and matching. Tommys done it with a defense and without a defense. Hes done it with a running game and without running games. Hes done it without Pro Bowl wide receivers and with Pro Bowl wide receivers. Whether he is or isnt better than Montana is undoubtedly a hot sports radio topic now. But back then, in the midst of mop-up duty that wrapped up New Englands 34-9 Thanksgiving Day 2000 loss at Detroit, he was just another late-round wannabe (Round 6, 199th overall) trying to impress a coach (Bill Belichick) whose first season on the job was careening toward a 5-11 disappointment. Belichicks starter that day, Drew Bledsoe, completed 17 throws for 148 yards before an errant toss to Bryant Westbrook with less than five minutes left yielded a 101-yard pick-6 for the Lions cornerback - and a late-game opening for the Michigan rookie, who, at the time, nobody mistook for a king. In reality, Brady hadnt so much as taken a snap through the seasons initial 11 games while sitting behind the likes of Bledsoe, John Friesz and Michael Bishop, and to say his arrival in Week 13 was instantly interpreted as a sign of Belichicks genius would be an overstatement of mythical proportions. Not even Brady - whose Canton inclusion is now certain - was convinced his ascension was imminent. I wasnt prepared to play my first year. Thats all that would have happened, I wouldve gone out and get beat and lost a ton of confidence in what I was doing, he said. I was lucky to really have a chance that whole first year to be in a situation where I wasnt forced to play and lose a bunch of confidence. While the six-yard toss to Rutledge - Bradys lone completion in three tries - got him on the official stat sheet for posterity, it was only worthy of a space-filler mention in Nick Cafardos Friday morning post-mortem in the Boston Globe, and a one-line inclusion in the Patriots notebook piece the same day. Then came the Westbrook interception, on a pass intended for Glenn, Cafardo wrote. Bledsoe gallantly fought to make the tackle but had no chance to catch Westbrook, who danced into the end zone. Bledsoe got a handshake from Bill Belichick and was told Tom Brady was taking over. Brady wound up making no more appearances for the duration of the 2000 season, and his lingering presence on the roster the following fall -- with former No. 1 overall pick Bledsoe still firmly entrenched as starter - generated literally no mention when it came time for James Alder, an occasional blog Times blog contributor and football consultant for BBC Radio, to issue his 2001 season forecast. Instead, when it came to the AFC East, Alder and others dismissed the whole team entirely. (The East) will be a three-team race this season, and one of those teams will not be the New England Patriots, he wrote in an Aug. 10 preseason preview. They still have Drew Bledsoe running the offense, but this team has a shortage of impact players on offense and defense. If they manage to put together a decent running game, they may win as many as six games this year. Needless to say, by the time Alder prepped the next years follow-up, the horizon had changed. The frequently-recited version of the Brady legend began in Week 2 of 2001, when Bledsoe was splattered along the sidelines by New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. The Patriots wound up losing to Vinny Testaverdes Jets and fell to 0-2 as Brady went 5-for-10 for a pedestrian 46 yards, but 11 wins in 14 regular- season starts followed -- as did a Super Bowl win against St. Louis that made Rutledge a trivia footnote, Bledsoe an offseason castoff and Brady a superstar. Its fun to watch him. Hes poetry in motion, Washington coach Jay Gruden said. Obviously a Hall of Famer and the best of all time. Cyber Monday Yeezy . A steady downpour and low temperatures were predicted for much of the night. No makeup date was immediately announced, although it was determined that the game will not be part of a doubleheader on Wednesday. Cheap Yeezy . 31-Feb. 2. While organizers havent decided if itll be red or green clay, they feel their choice of surface will give the Americans an advantage over Britain, which is expected to be led by defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray. https://www.fakeyeezywholesaleonline.com/. TSN 1290s game day coverage begins on Monday, June 9 at 5:30pm ct as the Blue Bombers take on the Toronto Argonauts in pre-season action. Bombers game day broadcasts on TSN 1290 are hosted by Winnipeg Blue Bomber Hall of Famers Troy Westwood and new addition Chris Walby, alongside beat reporter Darrin Bauming, who delivers regular reports on the team for TSN 1290 all-season long. Clearance Yeezy ." The tournament was set to be held Sept. 15-21 and would have been the first ATP tournament held in Israel since 1996. But amid Israels military campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, ATP President Chris Kermode said "we do not feel we can proceed as planned given the situation in the region. Yeezy Outlet . Louis Cardinals placed outfielder Allen Craig on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee contusion on Sunday.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Denver defensive co-ordinator Jack Del Rio calls Omar Bolden the Broncos Swiss Army knife.The third-year defensive back from Arizona State adds a dose of versatility to a defence packed with Pro Bowlers and gives Del Rio the ability to sprinkle in some exotic formations.We play him everywhere. He knows the nickel, the corner, the safety, the joker, the dime. He can play a lot of different spots for us, Del Rio said. When you learn safety, youre forced to learn all those different positions and you have a great feel for how it all ties together. I see his confidence growing.Not just on defence, either. Bolden has emerged as a special teams standout.He led the team with a dozen special teams tackles and has emerged as the primary kickoff returner heading into the playoffs. His bursts of 77 and 76 yards the last two weeks boosted his season average to nearly 30 yards per return.The way hes playing on special teams right now is outstanding, Del Rio said. The way hes preparing each week to play with great energy and being able to do different roles is very valuable for us.Youd think Bolden would be, well, emboldened by such high praise. No. He insists hes not even at full strength yet following knee surgery that scuttled his senior season.When his teammates were patting him on the back and the crowd was going crazy after he returned the second-half kickoff to the Oakland 30-yard line last week, Bolden was ...Ticked, he said. Im in front, thats supposed to be six.After weaving his way past the first wave of tacklers thanks to a block by rookie Cody Latimer, Bolden was sprinting up the Raiders sideline when Sebastian Janikowski got a hand on him. That allowed Chance Casey to catch up and knock him out of bounds.Two plays later, C.J. Anderson scored.Dont get me wrong, Im excited that I made a big play, Bolden said, but Im just disappointed that it wasnt as big as I would have liked.Bolden figures to have an impact in the playoffs either on speciall teams or from scrimmage, especially if safeties T.ddddddddddddJ. Ward (neck) and David Bruton Jr. (head) are still limited.I can remember being in a team meeting about midseason and were separating the DB room, safeties and corners, and I hear Omar, Which room am I in this time? coach John Fox said. Hes just a guy whos a good football player. ... And hes always been a really good fourth-down player, and the return thing, we were juggling until we found the right combination and hes slipped into that role very well, too.Fox said Bolden laid the foundation for Pro Bowl consideration as a special teams ace next season.For such a fast guy, Bolden sure has been patient.His rookie year he had a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the preseason. But six weeks later, the Broncos grabbed Trindon Holliday off waivers and Bolden began biding his time again.Hes missed just one game in his NFL career and has carved out niches in the secondary and on special teams.And hes thrilled to be the teams kick returner now. He first fell in love with the game as a youngster zipping past other kids with the ball in his hands and a head of steam, never one to let fear of injury slow him down.I feel like Im running too fast that guys dont want to tackle me, Bolden said. Thats how Id look at it. Because when I see somebody running fast, Im like, Oh, thats going to hurt. Im moving too fast; most guys dont want that kind of collision, you know?The Broncos took a chance on Bolden in 2012, drafting him in the third round even though he missed all of 2011.The film we saw of him when he was healthy, he was very good, Fox said. Coming off a knee injury and getting used to the NFL season took him a minute and now hes starting to flourish.Bolden figures he has one more step to make, though.Pre-surgery, I wouldnt have been caught, he said. Its getting there, though. Its about like 98, 97 per cent. Were close.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '