Did David Tyree make a deal with the devil? After making “The Catch” in Super Bowl XLII — and thereby helping shatter every Patriots fans dreams of a perfect 19-0 season – he hasn’t been back on the football field for the New York Giants. And his chances of being there in time for training camp have been dealt another blow.

According to a CBS Sportsline feature over the weekend, Tyree has suffered yet another setback in his attempt to come back from a season-ending knee surgery and subsequent hamstring injury he suffered last off-season. Tyree admitted in the story that he the process has been “frustrating” for him, as he watches other Giants receivers get valuable reps in his place.

So, yeah, he will go down in Super Bowl history for his still-can’t-believe-it play against New England, but he seems to have been paying the price ever since.

According to a report on the Dallas Morning News’ blog, veteran defensive end/outside linebacker Greg Ellis turned down an offer from the Patriots before signing with the Raiders.

Ellis got a reported three-year, $10-million deal with the Raiders. He’s set to earn $5 million in guarantees in the first two years of the deal.

Supposedly, the Patriots offered Ellis a one-year, $1.5-million deal to come to New England.

For the record, as the Dallas blog entry clearly emphasizes, Ellis has never won a playoff game in his NFL career. And after landing in Oakland his chances of changing that aren’t overly strong.

The 109th U.S. Open kicked off this morning at Bethpage State Park (Black Course) in Farmingdale, N.Y.

While that’s big news in many circles, you’re probably wondering why it’s worth a post on a Patriots-related blog.

Why? Because Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork is in New York for the big golf event this weekend. Wilfork, who got into the golf mood at the Patriots Charitable Foundation Golf Tournament last weekend, apparently got the trip as a Father’s Day gift from his kids. He sent out a tweet about it from his Twitter account on Tuesday.

“wow… what a fathers day gift…. a week at the US Open…. can’t wait to see Tiger….. thanks babes,” Wilfork wrote from his Wilfork75 Twitter account.

Wondering if he’s like the rest of the world and will be following Tiger Woods’ each and every move? I bet Wilfork is more cerebral than that!

As for me, I couldn’t root against Tiger any more. Can’t stand him. Too bad I’m sure he’ll be in the mix on Sunday on this longer-than-long course. Boo, Tiger! Boo! I hope Vince takes a picture of you right in the middle of your backswing. Bet you won’t be man enough to glare at him like you do most fans and photogs. Probably won’t even send your caddy to chastise him!

The Patriots anounced the signing of the first of the team’s dozen draft picks from April, inking Penn State G/C Rich Ohrnberger to a deal on Tuesday.

The fourth-round pick (123rd overall) was a two-time All-Big Ten for Joe Pa’s squad. At 6-2, 291 pounds he’s an undersized interior lineman who makes up for his lack of bulk with hard work and a great knowledge of the game and the offense in which he works.

“He’s a very hard worker,” said Ohrnberger’s college position coach, long-time Penn State assistant Dick Anderson. ”He’ll do just about anything to make himself better. He has a good mentality for the game. He plays it hard and plays it tough. He has a good understanding of the game. He will do all the right things. I think he understands what coaches want from him relative to succeeding in the program relative to other players and what he needs to get done on the field and off the field.”

Ohrnberger was also known by his State teammates as quite a comedian with the ability to keep things loose on the field and in the locker room.

Prior to anouncing the signing of Ohrnberger, New England released rookie free agent linebacker Antonio Appleby. Appleby had signed with the Patriots April 30 after his collegiate career playing for Al Groh with the Cavaliers.

Edgerly joins scouting department

According to the Asbury Park Press the Patriots have hired former Red Bank Catholic High School football coach Frank Edgerly as a pro personnel scout. New England has not officially announced the move.

Edgerly apparently met Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick at training camp last summer and the two remained in touch via email over the last year. Around the time of this year’s NFL draft Belichick contacted Edgerly about a possible opening in the team’s scouting department.

Last week Edgerly, a former Rutgers quarterback who’s spent the last decade running the program at his high school alma mater, was offered and accepted a job in New England.

“For me, this was a dream come true,” said Edgerly, who reportedly has done some scouting for the Dallas Cowboys and worked for NBC’s Sunday night football in the past year. “Anyone that knows me knows I’ve been banging on this door for longer than I care to admit. The NFL has always been my passion.”

Some leftover pieces from the Pats recently completed mini-camp …

The biggest story of these offseason camps has obviously been the status of Tom Brady, and with No. 12 present and accounted and looking like his old self, the attention at quarterback has been drawn to the race to back him up. Kevin O’Connell is the incumbent while Matt Gutierrez remains in the mix to secede him. Rookie free agent Brian Hoyer rounds out the depth chart.

O’Connell and Gutierrez have received plenty of action behind Brady this spring. On Day 2 of mini-camp, Gutierrez seemed to see his workload increase a bit as he took some reps in front of O’Connell during some early drills. By the end of practice, O’Connell was back behind Brady as the offense worked in some hurry-up, late-game situations trying to get into field goal range.

The two walked off the field together after practice, but not before getting some extra work in as well as a little friendly competition. Both stood at the 30-yard line and tossed balls in the direction of the goal posts trying to hit the crossbar. Gutierrez went first and connected, raising both arms over his head in triumph. O’Connell followed and wasn’t as fortunate.

“Just a little game we like to play,” O’Connell said with a sheepish grin. “I’ll get him back next time.”

“You watched it,” Gutierrez quickly replied when asked who won the game. “I think you already know the answer to that question.”

And with that, Gutierrez joined O’Connell and they shared a laugh back as they made their way back to the locker room. It’s clear these two are enjoying a friendly competition and both are relishing their opportunities when they come.

“That’s what makes these camps so important for us,” O’Connell said. “With Tom around, obviously there aren’t a lot of chances but I get a lot of reps out here on the practice field and I have to be ready. We all saw what happened last year and Matt [Cassel] was obviously ready to take advantage. That’s what these camps are for – to prepare us for everything.”

Gutierrez, who was released before the start of the 2008 season only to be re-signed following Brady’s injury, agreed with O’Connell.

“Practice time is extremely important,” he said. “This offense is not an easy one for quarterbacks. There’s a lot of learning to be done and a lot of that takes place out here on the practice field. When the time comes, we need to be ready.”

Both players have enjoyed their moments during the camps. Gutierrez displays perhaps the strongest arm of all the quarterbacks on the roster – Brady included – but he appears to be still working on his accuracy and touch. O’Connell possesses a strong arm as well and is quite accurate when throwing the ball downfield but strangely seems to struggle a bit on screens and other short stuff.

It will be interesting to watch these guys once the pads are on at training camp and during the preseason to better assess their development, but judging off mini-camp both appear more comfortable in their surroundings and, I feel, have alleviated the necessity of adding a veteran to back up Brady.