Tag Archives: Patriots

Is Belichick Shopping Rob Gronkowski?

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Bill Belichick Trading Away Gronkowski?

Via CNN

Let’s face it: Bill Belichick isn’t afraid of trading anybody. From Richard Seymour to Logan Mankins, Belichick won’t hesitate to trade veteran starters. With Rob Gronkowski working out a new contract, it’s come out today teams are looking at Gronkowski as trade bait. Training camp is about three weeks away. The Patriots probably want a new contract done at least before the start of the season.

Brady Would Be Livid

Jan 16, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) reacts before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional round playoff game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal has done some digging. He asked executives around the league about how teams are looking at the Gronkowski contract situation in New England. Bedard was told by an AFC executive, “Where’s the restructure of his contract? Until that’s done, I think he’s still available. I wouldn’t be surprised if Belichick is going to test Gronk’s buy-in with the contract.” It would be stunning if Belichick traded Gronkowski because they couldn’t agree on terms of a contract. I know of one player who would be livid if that happened: Tom Brady.

Gronkowski Is Here as Long as Brady Is

Brady is already out his number one target for in Julian Edelman for the first month of the season. He doesn’t have Danny Amendola anymore. All he has is Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell who’s returning from injury, and new Patriot Cordarrelle Paterson. There is no way Brady would want or let Gronkowski be traded. Gronkowski is a huge asset to the offense and losing him would be hard to replace. The Patriots selected Ryan Izzo, a tight end in this year’s NFL Draft. But there’s no way he’ll start unless Gronkowski does get traded. If they want to get rid of a tight end it should be Dwayne Allen. Allen was awful last season for the Patriots.

At the end of the day, I don’t think Gronkowski will get traded because Tom Brady would have nobody to throw to at the beginning of the season. He should’ve just retired at the end of last season if he knew Belichick was going to trade away the whole team so Josh McDaniels can start with a fresh new team in 2019. But Gronkowski will be here as long as Tom Brady is on the team. Two more years.

Julian Edelman’s Suspension Upheld

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Fireworks Out Of Foxborough

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Tom Brady’s number one target, Julian Edelman, had his suspension upheld late last night. He will be out for the first four games of the season. All offseason, Tom Brady has been working one-on-one with Edelman in Chestnut Hill and in the practice field house at Gillette Stadium.

Edelman’s Suspension Is A Blow To The Offense

The night before the Fourth of July and Fireworks were coming out of Foxborough, it seemed like fireworks have been going off all off season with this team. The latest news on Edelman is another firework, but not the friendly kind. Tom Brady will have to rely on other targets like Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan. The loss of Danny Amendola to free agency is a considerable blow to the offense.

This is really not a good sign for Edelman, as he missed all of last season and was looking forward to getting back on the field in September. It looks like that will have to wait until October, when the Patriots play the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday Night Football.

For the first four games, the Patriots open with the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, and Miami Dolphins. They will likely finish these games with better than a 2-2 record. As long as Hogan and Gronkowski stay healthy, they should be fine.

What Did Edelman Test Positive For?

(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

It’s worth noting that league won’t release what Edelman tested positive for. Richard Sherman got his suspension reduced for a PED that was accidental so why didn’t Edelman? It doesn’t make sense why the league wouldn’t release what Edelman tested positive for. We already have the Patriots conspiracies floating around that Bill Belichick had something to do with it, which is downright ridicoulous.

We are about three weeks away from Patriots training camp. At that moment, we will see Brady and how he builds chemistry with his new young teammates. Unfortunately, he’ll have to find a new favorite target to replace Edelman for the month of September.

Patriots Training Camp Preview: Tight Ends

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There are many different players on this Patriots team compared to last year. New England acquired four guys from trade, fifteen from free agency, and nine from the NFL Draft. They also lost nine players from trade and free agency and had three players retire.

In this new series, I will be looking at every player from each position leading up to training camp. For this installment I will talk about the tight ends. The tight end position has been very valuable for the Patriots since Belichick took over. They became the first team to use three tight end packages and move tight ends to wide receiver slot. This past year they gained two tight ends from free agency and added one through the draft.

Rob Gronkowski #87 (2010-Present):

Gronk is considered the best tight end in the NFL, and has been for most of his NFL career. He is entering his ninth season for the Patriots after being drafted in the second round. Rob has proven to be great, but has also had some major injuries along the way. He has not played in 16 regular season games since the sophomore season. There were murmurs of Gronk retiring after New England’s loss in the Super Bowl against Philadelphia. It escalated all the way to the Patriots exploring trades for Rob. However, Gronk will be a Patriot for the upcoming season.

Rob has shown on the field why he is so good. In Gronkowski’s rookie season he had ten touchdowns. He then followed up with an outstanding second year showing with 18 TDs, 90 receptions, and 1,327 yards. He broke the single season touchdown record by a tight end in NFL history en route to becoming a first team All-Pro. 2012 and 2013 was where Gronk missed a lot of time, participating in 18 games over the two-season span. He then came back in 2014 and 2015 with 1000+ yard seasons and 23 combined touchdowns. In 2016 he missed a lot of time again due to injury and only played in eight games. Gronkowski last season had a healthy year with him seeing the field for 14 games. He hauled in 69 receptions, 1084 yards, and eight scores.

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/945006630113984512

Gronkowski will need to be a major piece for the Patriots offense if they want to win another Super Bowl next year. Gronk needs to stay healthy for the season, especially with Edelman’s pending PED suspension. Rob will make it to the Patriots roster, no doubt.

Dwayne Allen #83 (2017-Present):

Dwayne Allen is entering his seventh season in the NFL and his second with the Patriots. The Pats acquired Allen via trade in the 2017 offseason to help with the loss of Martellus Bennett. The Pats have a history of bringing in veteran backup tight ends to fit their offense, and that is what Allen was supposed to be.

Allen started his career in Indianapolis as the Colts’ third-round pick in 2012. His rookie year he had 45 receptions, 521 yards, and three TDs. The next year he missed almost entirely due to a knee injury. He came back in 2014 where he had 395 yards and eight scores. In his last season with the Colts he played all 16 games and had 406 yards and six scores. The Patriots traded a fourth-round pick to Indy for Allen and expected him to be the solid backup tight end that Gronk has always had. Allen’s season was ultimately a disappointment with him catching only ten passes for 86 yards and a TD.

https://twitter.com/CaseyBake16/status/929906514898407424

Dwayne is coming off an awful season for the Pats and will need to show something off big in training camp, or else he might not make the roster.

Troy Niklas #86 (2018-Present):

Troy Niklas was signed by the Patriots in the 2018 offseason. He signed a one year deal worth $940 thousand. Niklas has been primarily a blocking tight end in his career, which is why the Pats brought him in. He will be entering his fifth season in the NFL and his first for the Patriots.

Niklas’ first full NFL season came in 2015 where he played in 16 games and had four catches, 33 yards, and two TDs. He missed 13 games in 2016 due to injury. Troy had 11 catches for 132 yards and one score in his last season for Arizona.

Even though Niklas’ stats don’t look appealing, he has been on an NFL roster for his whole career due to the fact he has been a successful blocker. Troy will still have to fight in training camp to make the roster, but he has a good chance to make it.

Jacob Hollister #47 (2017-Present):

Hollister is entering his second season in the NFL and the Patriots. He was an undrafted free agent signing out of Wyoming after the 2017 NFL Draft. He played a larger role than a lot of people expected out of him last year.

Jacob played in 15 games last year for the Patriots. He had four catches and 42 yards last year. He also showed how good he was at catching the ball in preseason where he had 12 catches for 146 yards and a TD. Hollister only played one playoff game and he had one catch for a yard.

https://twitter.com/FilthyHits/status/895853246752804864

Jacob Hollister exceeded expectations last year when he played in 15 games. He definitely has a good chance of making the roster for the upcoming season as long as he does well in training camp.

Will Tye #82 (2017-Present):

Will Tye will be entering his first full season for the Pats and his fourth in the NFL. He was acquired by the Patriots in October of 2017 after being cut by the New York Jets. He did not play for the Patriots in 2017 and was placed on the practice squad for the remainder of the year.

Tye had his most success for the New York Giants. In his two-year stint with the Giants he had 90 receptions, 859 yards, and four TDs. He then was claimed by the Jets, where he only played three games and had four catches for 38 yards.

https://twitter.com/NFLonLive/status/676595952933838848

Will has been an extremely good blocker and has played a lot of fullback because of it. If Tye can return to his form from his Giants days, he will have a shot at making the roster.

Ryan Izzo (Rookie):

Izzo was the Patriots 250th overall draft pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was a four-year player at Florida State University.

Ryan was more of a blocker than a pass catcher in his college career, with him not having more than 320 yards once in a season. His senior season consisted of 20 receptions, 317 yards, and three TDs. In total, he left college with 54 receptions, 761 yards, six scores, and 29 games under his belt.

Izzo will have a very unlikely chance to make it to the active roster next year. His only hope will be making the practice squad.

Shane Wimann (Rookie):

Shane Wimann was picked up by the Patriots as an undrafted rookie out of Northern Illinois. He had a solid career for NIU where he played 31 games.

Wimann is also a dominant blocker like many of the tight ends the Patriots have. He hasn’t been to special in the pass game with only 65 receptions, 635 yards, and 17 TDs. Shane is a big man though coming in at 6’4″ and 260 pounds.

Shane will have to show something in training camp if he wants to make the practice squad over guys like Izzo.

The Patriots have a lot of new faces at tight end this year which will make it hard to narrow it down for the 53 man roster.

Ten Patriots That Need to Have the Eye of the Tiger: Part 1

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Who’s got the eye of the tiger?

The thrill of the fight…

 

Heading into the 2018 training camp for the New England Patriots, there are 90 hungry men vying for 53 roster spots. Who wants it? Who has what it takes? Training camp is the place for answers to these questions. The Patriots’ quest for a sixth championship begins with the start of the regular season.

In the first part of this series we take a pre-training camp look at which Patriots have the most to prove. We’ll take go deep into each position’s depth, contract details, and likelihood of making the roster. We’ll apply my scientific Shakeup Factor to let you know how critical it is for them to make the roster. 

10. Jeremy Hill, RB

The veteran running back signed with New England late in free agency. If he wants to make the team, he will have to show that fire that he possessed in 2014. As a rookie he rushed for over 1100 yards. However, Hill is recovering from an ankle injury that ended his 2017 season and has very little money guaranteed.

Shakeup Factor: 1.5

This is all gravy! If he returns to form and produces well. There is no downside here if he doesn’t make the team.

9. Jordan Richards, DB

This was one of Belichick’s more head-scratching picks. When he selected the Stanford Cardinal in the second round, nearly everyone else had the player as a day three pick. Richards’ ups and downs have been numerous. And the moments have been trending towards more downs.

Shakeup Factor: 1.8

It would be disappointing to see another premium draft pick not pan out. However, the CB/DB position is one of the deepest on the team. He does face some stiff competition. Will he rise to the challenge?

8. Ryan Allen, P

We are witnessing the very rare and mysterious left-footed punter competition. Allen needs to fend off the young Corey Bojorquez in order to secure his place on the team. Can Allen take his game to the next level and solidify his spot? Don’t forget he took the job from the Zoltan in an epic puntoff.

Shakeup Factor: 2.5

This is punting we talkin’ about. While Allen has been solid, reliable, and accurate he hasn’t established himself as a top guy. And let’s not forget that there was a grand total of one punt in the Super Bowl, and it wasn’t from the Pats’ guy.

7. Eric Lee, DE

Sometimes the Patriots treat the rest of the AFC East like it’s their minor league farm system. It seemed like a minor move when they grabbed the practice squad player from the Bills in November. And after his first two games with the Patriots, it looked like armed robbery had taken place. Over two sacks and an interception will make you sit up and notice. His production tailed off down the stretch and suffered some miscues. Lee needs to make these corrections and claw his way up the depth chart in order to make the squad next season.

Shakeup Factor: 3.4

Starting to get into temblor territory here. Pass rush is at a premium and he displayed some ability in that area. The defensive front is always in flux with the Patriots and the best guys will play more. Lee aims to be that guy.

6. Cyrus Jones, CB / PR

Fumbles will kill your career on the Patriots faster than Super Bowl confetti falls. Faster than Tom Brady’s anger when you run the wrong route. Faster than… You get the picture. In ten games during his rookie season he dropped five and recovered two. Ask Stevan Ridley for directions to BB’s doghouse. Still, when he wasn’t coughing up the ball to opponents, he showed a flash on returns and looked pretty good on defense. Then he suffered a knee injury in the 2017 preseason. Classic make or break season for the young guy.

Shakeup Factor: 3.9

The potential is there. He just needs to put it all together and stay healthy. There is lots of competition in the DB room that will make it difficult. Needs a standout camp and preseason and for good reasons.

Look for Part II coming soon…

All photos courtesy of Getty images unless noted otherwise.

Be sure to check out other great articles for all your favorite Boston sports teams on Bostonsportsextra.com

Follow me on Twitter @ALykins32

The parity of NFL quarterbacks

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   The NFL released their top 100 players of the year list, with Brady coming in first. Aaron Rodgers came in tenth despite missing time with an injury. It got me thinking about the parity of NFL quarterbacks, and other than the big three of the past 18 years, you can play quarterback roulette to predict a season.

The Big Three

The Big three quarterbacks of the past 18 years are Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Peyton Manning. They all had some down years or years they were injured, but you can always count on them to dominate the NFL. For MVP’s, Brady has won three, Manning has won five, and Rodgers has won two. If you are not good at math, that is ten out of 18 years, or 55% of the time since 2000, one of the big three has won an MVP. For Super Bowls, Brady has won five, Manning has two and Rodgers has one. That is eight out of 18 years, or 44% of the time since 2000, one of the big three has won a super bowl.

 

Via hubwav

 

The Others

Other than the big three, there has been a lot of parity among NFL quarterbacks. Since 2000, there have been no two-time winners of MVP outside of the big three. A player gets hyped up after one outlier season and is never the same player after. The greatest show on turf only lasted for three years, and the Rams have not been back to the Super Bowl since. Rich Gannon won the MVP in 2002 and has not been heard from since.

Steve McNair won the award in 2003, and Shaun Alexander won it in 2005. McNair’s team, the Titans, have not been very relevant afterward. Alexander’s team, the Seahawks, were not relevant until 2013. Adrian Peterson won the award in 2013, and his career fell off after that. Cam Newton won it in 2015 and has been mediocre ever since. Matt Ryan won the award in 2016, but Steve Sarkisian did not do him any favors last year.

 

Other than the big three, the only repeat Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks since 2000 are Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger. For Manning, he has not been good outside of those years. Roethlisberger has not been good enough to reach the promised land. Brad Johnson was the winning quarterback in super bowl 37, not to be heard from again. Drew Brees won Super Bowl 44 and has not been good enough to get back. Joe Flacco turned into Jesus for a year and won Super Bowl 47. Then, he got a huge contract and has been awful since then. Russell Wilson won Super Bowl 48, and the Seahawks have gradually fallen off every year since then.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 11: Everson Griffen #97 of the Minnesota Vikings sacks quarterback Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints in the third quarter of the game on September 11, 2017, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

It’s fun

There is a lot of parity in the NFL, and I really enjoy it. Not knowing who the elite quarterbacks are going to be for a given year is fun. You have no idea who is going to win awards, go deep into the playoffs and fall off or make a name for themselves. In the NBA, you know who is going deep in the playoffs and who will contend for awards which is quite boring.

It’s Quiet Around New England

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Quiet Around Foxborough

There is a different vibe to this Patriots offseason. Tom Brady hasn’t participated in the offseason workout program with the team and is getting ready for the season is own way. Last week, Brady and Julian Edelman practiced in Chestnut Hill with trainer Alex Guerrero. Throughout the offseason, Brady has taken heat for missing OTAs with his team. With Edelman facing a four-game suspension at the start of the season, Brady wants to go to his number-one target in September.

Training Camp Begins Soon

(Foxboro, MA, 08/07/17) New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his nutritionist Alex Guerrero during Patriots Training Camp Joint Practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium on Monday, August 07, 2017. Staff photo by Matt Stone

Training camp begins in a month, and it’s been quiet for the last couple of weeks around the Patriots. Bill Belichick has enjoyed his trip overseas and will probably head over to Nantucket. The Patriots have been faced with a lot of distractions lately surrounding the team. So this might be a much needed month off from all the football drama surrounding the team. The only news around the Patriots right now is Edelman appealing his suspension. He had a hearing the other day at the league office and a decision hasn’t been made yet about it.

Tom Brady will probably head to Costa Rica for a family vacation. Then, he will go to Montana to practice with Edelman and other receivers. It’s pretty much a new receiving group, so it will be interesting to see how Brady connects with his newer wide receivers. Chris Hogan is going to have to step up and maybe take the lead if Edelman loses his appeal. Tight end Rob Gronkowski will still be a dominant force of the offense too. They will be missing Danny Amendola though.

The quiet around New England might be nice right now, but once we head into training camp, things will start heating up. We’ll see how Danny Etling connects with Tom Brady and if Brady does anything different from previous training camps.

Patriots Training Camp Preview: Quarterback

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With Patriots training camp approaching on July 26th, there are many different players on this team from last year. The Pats acquired four guys from trade, fifteen from free agency, and nine from the NFL Draft. They also lost nine players from trade and free agency and had three players retire.

In this new series, I will be looking at every player from each position leading up to training camp. For this part of the series I will talk about the most important position on the field: Quarterback. Quarterback has been the most consistent position for the Patriots since 2001. Ever since Tom Brady got his first start in 2001, the Patriots had only had four Quarterbacks start for them (Bledsoe, Cassel, Garoppolo, Brissett). The Patriots are bringing in three QB’s to training camp this year.

Tom Brady #12 (2000-Present):

Tom Brady is entering his 19th season for the Patriots where he has had a very successful career. He is a 5-time Super Bowl Winner, 3-time NFL MVP, 4-time Super Bowl MVP, and 13-time Pro-Bowler. Brady for his entire career has had 66,159 pass yards, 488 TD, 160 INT, and a record of 196-55-0. One of Tom’s MVP’s seasons came last year where he amassed 4,577 pass yards, 32 TD, and 8 INT.

He led the Patriots all the way to the Super Bowl where the ultimately came up short to the Eagles. Tom has been one of the main reasons as to why the Patriots are consistently in the Super Bowl.

Brady, who will be 41 at the start of the season, has shown no signs of slowing down yet. Expectations for him are still very high. Every year, it is expected that the Patriots will win a Super Bowl and it is expected that Brady will lead them there.

The verdict is that Tom Brady will 100% be on the Patriots 2018 roster.

Brian Hoyer #2 (2009-2011, 2017-Present)

Brian Hoyer was the Patriots backup QB for the last half of the 2017-2018 season. He began his season in San Francisco where he started six games. Hoyer went 0-6 in those six games and had a stat line of 1,287 pass yards, 5 total touchdowns, and 4 INTs. He ended up getting released by the 49ers after San Francisco traded for former Pat’s QB Jimmy Garappolo.

After getting released by the 49ers, the Patriots signed him for the rest of the season due to only having one QB on the roster. This would be the second stint in New England after being drafted by the team in 2009. Hoyer was part of the 2011 Patriots that went on to win the AFC Championship. Brian has only appeared in eighteen games in his four years with New England with him, and a stat line of 328 pass yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 INT.

Once he left the Pats in 2011, he had a very solid few seasons in Cleveland. In his first year for the Browns, he started three games and went 3-0 with 615 pass yards, 5 TD, and 3 INT. He then started 13 games for Cleveland where he had a record of 7-6 and 3,326 pass yards 12 TD, and 13 INT. His next season would come in Houston under his former offensive coordinator, Bill O’Brien. He had his best statistical season where he had a record of 5-4, 2,606 pass yards, 19 pass TD, and 7 INT. This would be his last season in Houston though. He then had an uneventful season in Chicago and then went to San Francisco.

Brian Hoyer is a very solid option as a backup quarterback to Tom Brady. He has been in the league for a long time and has some quality experience as a starter. Overall, Hoyer will most likely be the backup to Tom Brady for the upcoming season.

Danny Etling (Rookie):

With the 219th pick in the NFL Draft, the New England Patriots select Danny Etling, QB, LSU. With all the rumors going around about the Patriots selecting a quarterback early to be the predecessor to Brady, they waited all the way until the seventh round. Etling was kind of a surprise pick with him not being rated higher than a lot of undrafted QBs.

Etling started his college career at Purdue where he appeared in thirteen games over the span of two seasons. In those thirteen games, he had 2,490 pass yards, 16 pass TD, and 12 INT. He would then transfer to LSU where he played two seasons. Over those two seasons, he played 24 games and had 4,586 pass yards, 27 pass TD, and 7 INT. His senior season at LSU was his best season in college. He appeared in thirteen games and threw for 2,463 pass yards 16 pass TD, and 2 INT.

Danny Etling, 23, will most likely be a project for the Patriots. He will not be a quality backup right away, but he has potential. I believe the Patriots will keep Etling on the practice squad on the upcoming season to learn from Brady and Hoyer.

The position of quarterback for the Patriots has always been the most consistent since Brady took over, and not much looks to change this year.

 

Tom Brady Hints He’s Playing Until 45

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Tom Brady Spreading Rumors

Social media has a funny way of breaking news sometimes. Once again that was the case today when Tom Brady commented the number forty-five in Spanish on Instagram. It was a response to an ESPN post talking about how Brady told Oprah he was retiring sooner rather than later. Now if he does play until he’s 45, it contradicts my prediction that Brady will retire after the 2019 NFL season. What if he doesn’t get a contract and Brady wants to keep playing, but not for the Patriots? What happens then, and will it ever reach that point?

In my opinion, Brady will retire a Patriot, and no team will spend a lot on a 43-year-old quarterback. Brady has said he wants to play until he’s 45 when Jimmy Garoppolo was on the team. Now with Garoppolo off the team, he’s talking about spending more time with his kids and retirement could be sooner rather than later. After this Instagram comment, he’s sending mixed signals on what he’s doing. Sort of like a girl sending a guy mixed signals if she likes him or not.

Brady Messing With People’s Heads

Maybe Brady is just fooling us and will retire at the end of his contract in 2019. Nobody really knows except Tom and his wife. Tom knows when he’s going to hang up the cleats for the final time, and maybe Robert Kraft knows too. Brady’s loyalty is all to Robert Kraft and Kraft would never trade Tom Brady. The Instagram comment has everyone around social media hopping on it to figure out what it means.

With Brady being the greatest of all time he can say and do whatever he wants. He’s earned that right he could say he’s playing until 45 to mess with our heads and get people talking. However, he could be really hanging up his jersey at the end of the 2019 season. Nobody really knows.

Tom Brady Knows The End Is Near

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Brady Planning For Life After Football

Tom Brady has been distant this offseason and doing training at TB12. Tom Brady revealed to Oprah that the end is sooner rather than later. He realizes since he got his way with Garoppolo being traded and has won five Super Bowls, it’s time to focus on his family. Oprah misread what Tom Brady meant when he said at the end of his documentary Tom vs. Time. He had said, “Why are we doing this, what are we doing this for.” It had nothing to do with him spiritually as much as it did that Garoppolo was no longer a Patriot and Brady’s job wasn’t in jeopardy.

Tom Brady Wants To Play For Josh McDaniels As Head Coach

Tom wants one year with Josh McDaniels as head coach. Then he’ll ride off into the sunset with his head held high and five or six Super Bowl rings.  Tom Brady has accomplished so much in his almost 20 years in New England. Some fans might be upset because he went back on what he said. Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t on the team anymore. It’s fine if he wants to retire, but he shouldn’t put that he wants to play until he’s 45 when Garoppolo is here and then talks about family and spending more time with them when Jimmy’s gone.

Some Patriot fans don’t want to see the reality and think that Tom Brady can do no wrong. All this skipping out on voluntary workouts was very unusual for Tom Brady. He always talked about how the OTAs were so important in preparation. The end is near, and Brady will play out his contract and then retire. Brady has a year left with Bill Belichick and a year with Josh McDaniels. Then, Danny Etling will be at quarterback with McDaniels as head coach in 2020. Enjoy the short break the Patriots have now. Once training camp starts, things will be heating up.

No, Days Off!

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Since Bill Belichick has been with the Patriots, he has stressed having no days off and doing your job. That has been Belichick’s motto for a long time. Now, with Belichick nearing retirement and Brady not participating in the offseason workouts, the Patriots took the final two days off of OTAs this week. You won’t see them on a practice field until training camp. The No Days Off Patriots are now the No, Days Off! Patriots. Bill Belichick went to Viva La France to get away from diva La Brady. I’m joking, but it’s clear Belichick wasn’t getting anything out of Hoyer and Etling. So since Brady wasn’t there, what’s the point of having the final two days of practice. Just wait until everyone is together when training camp starts. This way, there are no dropped passes, and Brady knows what he is doing.

Having Fun Doesn’t Win Championships

The Patriots went to Fenway Park on Monday for a team bonding exercise. On Tuesday, Bill Belichick had a history lesson on football. One of Bill Belichick’s famous quotes is “There are no shortcuts to building a team each season. You build the foundation brick by brick.” That’s from the combine all the way until the start of the season. Everything is important. Julian Edelman is about to be suspended four games of the season, and there are some rookies on this team who could use the reps. However, when the starting quarterback isn’t there, it might be best to wait until camp to start when everyone is together.

There’s been a lot of gossip and drama going on in New England to the point now that it might be sickening. From the Malcolm Butler benching all the way to Brady, it’s been something every day with this team. Robert Kraft spoke last week. He called the reports that the Patriots were going to trade Rob Gronkowski last Friday hogwash. However, they were looking to trading Gronkowski three days before the NFL Draft. That was when Gronkowski was complaining about not getting enough money. Enjoy the next month of hopefully no Patriots drama. When training camp starts, it will be strictly focused on football.