O’Brien feature offers glimpse into Patriots practices

Love when we get insider tidbits like this:

One nugget from the piece told how O’Brien handles his scout team, which he calls the Dirty Show: [W]hat’s with the name? O’Brien borrowed it from his former employer, the New England Patriots, where linebackers coach Pepper Johnson is “without a doubt, the best scout team coach ever,” O’Brien told the staff. “Every day, they had a different chant,” O’Brien said. “They would intercept [Tom] Brady and spike it in his face. Pepper called it the Dirty Show. We’ll call both sides of the ball the Dirty Show.” The staff comes up with 33 players to take a role in the Dirty Show. Some players will swing between the “twos” – the backups – and the Dirty Show. To O’Brien, that also will lessen the blow. “Make it a fun deal,” O’Brien said, “not, ‘You guys stink and you’re going to the scout team.’ We’ve still got to get more reps and you guys are going to help us get more reps.’”