Last modified: Saturday, February 2, 2008 12:13 AM EST Hall of Famer Brown gives Patriots a pep talk BY MARK FARINELLA / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF PHOENIX - Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown was a welcome guest Friday at the Patriots' final practice at Sun Devil Stadium for Super Bowl XLII. The former Cleveland standout and one-time career rushing leader for the NFL spoke to the Patriots at Belichick's request, according to the AFC pool report released by Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune. The topic of Brown's talk was not disclosed. Brown and Belichick struck up a friendship when the latter was head coach of the Browns from 1991-95. Brown has repeatedly expressed respect and admiration for Belichick for his community involvement while coach of the Browns, and his ability to bridge societal and racial gaps. The final workout at Sun Devil was conducted with the players wearing shorts and soft "shell" shoulder pads. It lasted one hour and 20 minutes, Pompei wrote. Both quarterback Tom Brady (with his non-existent shoulder and ankle injuries) and wide receiver Jabar Gaffney (shoulder) participated fully in practice, making it apparent that they will enter Sunday's game against the New York Giants (6:18 p.m.; Ch. 25, 64) totally healthy. "We're ready to roll," Belichick said after the practice. "We're ready as we're going to be." The team will not have a walk-through Saturday at University of Phoenix Stadium, but will instead gather there for a team photo. Warm feelings Given his 12-year tenure on the Giants' staff, Belichick naturally has some residual warm feelings for the franchise. But when asked what message he might have for Giants' fans prior to the big game, Belichick reminded them where his first priority must be. "When I was with the Giants, the Giants' fans were great," Belichick said. "They were very supportive and they still are. They're great fans. I have all the respect in the world for the Giants' fans, Giants' organization and their football team. "I'm on the other side of the field this week, so there's no way I'm pulling for them," he added, "but those were 12 great years there and I appreciate everything that happened during those 12 years with the Giants, from the organization to the players through the team through the support of the fans and the community. "That being said, I've moved on," he said. "I know they still love their team and they should. I love our fans and the support we've received in New England and I'm proud to be a New England Patriot. We're going to go out there and do our best against the Giants on Sunday." Say that again? Giants' coach Tom Coughlin, a proud member of the Bill Parcells Coaching Tree, was asked Friday what bothered him most about dealing with the media during the week of hype for the Super Bowl. "That's a very good question," he said. "What I've tried to do is be a little bit more patient this year than I've been in the past. Redundancy does bother me, I'll admit that, and wasting time is a big problem for me." No cloning For the 10th straight year, the NFL will use synthetic DNA ink to tag the footballs used in the Super Bowl, to verify their authenticity in later applications. It's expected that more than 120 footballs will carry the DNA labeling that can be viewed only when illuminated by a specific laser frequency. "The DNA ink has an astronomical 1-in-33 trillion chance of being accurately reproduced by potential counterfeiters," said Joe Orlando, president of PSA/DNA Authentication Services of Newport Beach, Calif., a firm that specializing in authenticating sports memorabilia.