Tag Archives: #TomBrady

Lucien

Devin Lucien Is Primed To Make The Patriots 53-Man Roster

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Devin Lucien is yet again on the roster bubble for the New England Patriots this summer. It seems that in every offseason since 2016, the UCLA and Arizona State wide receiver is battling for a spot on the 53-man roster. This time around, there seems to be something different in the air. Lucien has more than a fighting chance to make the 2018-2019 team.

Third Time’s A Charm

Lucien was drafted 225th overall in the seventh round of the 2016 draft by the Patriots. This moment was arguably his most significant one in the NFL to date. Lucien struggled to find his footing with the Pats in training camp and was one of the final cuts that summer. He was subsequently signed to the practice squad after clearing waivers.

The Patriots would go on to win the Superbowl that season (28-3, need I say more?) and Lucien would never see the field. That Patriots team was stacked at wide receiver with the likes of Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, and fellow rookie Malcolm Mitchell. There simply wasn’t room for Lucien on the 53-man roster in the 2016-2017 season.

Lucien

Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

From there, things continued to spiral out of his control. On February 7th, 2017, he signed a futures contract with the Patriots but was subsequently placed on injured reserve on September 2nd with a bad foot. He was ultimately released with an injury settlement on September 6th.

The next four months must have been a blur for Lucien, as he suffered through short practice squad stints with the Colts, Chiefs, Texans, and Buccaneers. Finally, less than a month ago, Lucien signed yet again with the Patriots.

A Clean Slate

The new-look Patriots could be a much more favorable home for Lucien this season. The wide receiver corps is already in a precarious position. It looks quite different than it did during Lucien’s rookie tenure on the practice squad. Gone are the days of Amendola and Mitchell catching passes from Tom Brady. Hogan is still here, but he has never been a targets hoarder. Edelman is on the shelf for the first four games of the season.

While there’s plenty of space for Lucien to find his niche at wideout, he’s not entering the second week of the preseason without considerable competition. As of right now, the only locks for the roster are Hogan, Edelman, Matt Slater, and Cordarelle Patterson. Lucien will be battling amidst journeymen veterans (Eric Decker and Kenny Britt), rookie hopefuls (Braxton Berrios), practice squad mainstays (Riley McCarron), and players defined by unfulfilled potential (Phillip Dorsett and Paul Turner).

Wide Receivers

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

What Lucien has at his advantage is a few seasons working out with Brady and Co. Guys like Decker, Britt, Berrios, and Turner are experiencing their first summer this season in New England. We all know how daunting that can be. Lucien has been a preseason regular for the Pats over the past three seasons. He often showcased some burgeoning chemistry with Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Jacoby Brissett. Now, it’s time for Lucien to break his way through that circle of trust with Brian Hoyer and Danny Etling.

Opening Game Highlight Reel

Lucien looked well on his way to separating himself from the pack in the Patriots first preseason game last week. He notched four catches on six targets for 71 yards, including two crucial snags to lead the team down the field for three points right before halftime. He looked convincingly more prepared than many of his teammates and has been heralded as an under-the-radar standout in practice.

One Game At A Time

“I think that was one of the great things about coming back was having a fresh start,” Lucien said in an interview on Monday. “That was one of the things I really wanted to build upon when I got here. Not being known as a practice squad guy, but possibly being known as a guy who could make the team. I’m just trying to take it day by day. Whatever happens is going to happen. I’m just trying to be as happy as I can while I’m enjoying this.”

Time will tell if Lucien can make the final jump to the 53-man roster. Look for his number to be called early and often on Thursday night against the Eagles.

 

Tom Brady – The Ultimate Fighter

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Tom Brady is ready to embark on his next challenge this September. He will have to overcome many different obstacles along the way. This is nothing new to Brady though; he’s been fighting his way toward greatness his entire life and it won’t change in 2018.

FROM THE BEGINNING 

Courtesy of Sports Illustrated

His fight for football greatness began in high school, where Brady wasn’t good enough to be the starter on a winless team that had zero touchdowns. He eventually got the starting job as a junior and held it until he graduated. Brady wasn’t getting much attention from colleges during his senior year, so he made highlight tapes of himself to send to schools he wanted to attend. Tom’s tapes worked, as many different colleges around the country started showing interest. Tom decided on the University of Michigan, which again led Brady into another battle he would have to fight. Starting his college career, Tom was once again a backup for 2 years. It’s hard to believe now, but the GOAT was seventh on the Wolverines depth chart at one point. He continued his hard work, eventually moving up the depth chart-only to have to share time with Drew Henson.  Brady was still fighting for his position, leading his team to multiple comebacks, earning the nickname of the Comeback Kid along the way. He won the Orange Bowl in Tom Brady fashion, leading his team back from two 14 point deficits. Sound familiar, Patriot fans?

TOM TAKES HIS TALENTS TO THE PATS

Courtesy of the Boston Globe

After fighting his way through high school and college, Tom’s professional start would be more of the same. With his combine performance not going over well with scouts, he had to sit and wait while 198 other players were drafted ahead of him. His deeply ingrained work ethic helped him move up the Patriots depth chart from number four to Drew Bledsoe’s backup. After Mo Lewis knocked Bledsoe out, Brady’s hard work was about to pay off. He saw his opportunity and would fight harder than ever to not be a backup again. Five Super Bowls and three MVPs later, Tom Brady is now fighting against something that has never been defeated.

FATHER TIME

Brady has been beating Father Time for a few years now, winning SBs at ages 37 and 39. He was MVP of the league at 40 while breaking his own SB records. It seems to be pushing it, right? Well not for this guy. He’s always found a way to beat whatever was in front of him. Brady’s turning 41 in August. With no Julian Edelman for a month, a whole new cast of teammates, and nature doing its thing, this will be Tom’s biggest fight. I expect the same results from the man who can’t seem to lose. We have been and are watching the greatest QB and fighter the NFL has ever seen. Brady will not stop until he gets what he needs, and that’s the next ring. Brady’s on a mission for more SBs, and we get to watch history. Make no mistake about Tom Brady; he wasn’t handed anything. He’s earned it.

Brady

Top 5 Tuesday: Best Plays From the Patriots 2017-18 Season (@devansh0429)

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The Patriots fell short of their sixth Super Bowl this past season. However, the season did hold some fun and exciting moments.

Welcome to our first installment of Top 5 Tuesday. Today, I will be ranking the best plays from the Patriots 2017-18 season.

5. Brady to Amendola, vs. Jaguars AFC Championship

Magic. That’s honestly the only way to describe what Brady did in the playoffs. Down 20-10 in the fourth quarter, Brady rallied his team with two touchdown drives. The second touchdown was perhaps one of the greatest catches this year. Earlier in that drive, Brady had an amazing throw to Amendola, placing the ball in the perfect and only place he would be able to get it. The connection happened again with Amendola making a beautiful catch in the back of the end zone. To this day, I have no idea how he was able to get his feet in.

4. Harmon Game Winning INT, vs, Steelers Week 15

The Patriots/Steelers rivalry hasn’t been much of a rivalry at all. For the most part, New England has always come out on top. However, this season the Patriots found themselves down late in the fourth quarter. Thanks to Brady and Gronk, they were back on top again. All New England had to do was hold them out of the endzone. After a JuJu Smith-Shuster 69-yard catch-and-run, even that seemed unlikely. Time was running out. Instead of taking the field goal, the Steelers tried to run a fake spike and score a touchdown. It backfired as the ball ended up being tipped and intercepted at the hands of Duron Harmon.

3. Brady to Gronkowski, vs. Bills Week 16

This was honestly just a pure demonstration of skill and the chemistry between Brady and Gronk. The game was a blowout in itself, and this play is icing on the cake.

2. Gilmore’s Tipped Pass, vs. Jaguars AFC Championship

It wasn’t even the Amendola catch that won us this game and sent our Patriots to the Super Bowl. It was this play right here. It’s a fourth down situation and a stop seals the game. Bortles, under pressure, steps up in the pocket and throws it downfield. Gilmore, in perfect coverage, leaps up and smacks the ball out of the sky. Sixty-five million dollars well spent.

1. Brady to Cooks, vs. Texans Week 3

Could Deshaun Watson dethrone Brady and the Dark Empire? Not if the GOAT himself could do something about it. Perfect throw. Perfect catch. Touchdown.

 

Disagree with our list? Let us know in the comments with what plays you thought should be considered.

Follow me on Twitter @devansh0429

 

Rob Gronkowski Is Back for Another Season

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Rob Gronkowski will be back for another season with the Patriots. The speculation comes after his Super Bowl comments about weighing his options out. According to ESPN, though, Rob Gronkowski will be in a Patriots uniform this season. The rift between him and Belichick still remains, however.

The “Patriot Way” Is Getting Old

Gronkowski likes to be taken out of his shell. Meaning having the power to do and say what he wants. Belichick didn’t like that Gronk told Amendola to be free and happy in a Instagram post. With everything mostly held in-house at One Patriot Place, some players are starting to get sick of the “Patriot Way”.

Bill’s way of doing things has been the same for 18 seasons. He’s brought five Super Bowls to New England and drafted the greatest quarterback of all time. However, players want to have more fun. Gronk wants to win, so as long as Brady returns, he’ll follow in suit. He won’t return next season for Belichick; he’ll be back because of Brady.

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Kraft confirmed the other day that there is tension between him and Belichick. However, there was more tension when Kraft first became the owner of the team. Let me say this- there’s no way he  would ever leave Brady stranded. He’s already lost Amendola, Edelman is coming back from injury, and who knows how Brandon Cooks will do.

 

Rob Gronkowski Is Tired of Belichick’s Orders

Via Bleacher ReportGronkowski and other players have tension with Belichick, but that’s not stopping Bill from doing what he thinks is best for the team. Bill has made appearances at the majority of combines and NFL camps this off-season. Why is that? Yes, because he loves the game, but there could be even something bigger happening. Bigger than just Gronkowski coming back.

Gronkowski will be back for at least two more years, as long as Brady keeps playing.

It’s Not About Veterans

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Spaceballs

This weekend, the world watched millionaire players and billionaire owners protest the national anthem, speak out against the President, or hide in the locker room. Monday, we saw a decorated Army Ranger who felt compelled to apologize for standing to honor his nation. WTF is wrong with this country?

In the span of a week we have jumped at ludicrous speed from a few guys kneeling to protest social injustice to a full-blown culture war.  The internet flooded with videos of self-righteous fans burning their season tickets and team jerseys. Patriots’ fans booed their team at home – not like in the 70s and 80s when the team deserved it.  Last week, they booed before kickoff.

It’s not about Kaepernick

None of this is new. This didn’t start President Trump tweeting something stupid and divisive. It didn’t start with a bad second-string quarterback in San Francisco taking a knee last year. Anthem protests have been around of years.

Most readers are too young to remember when US Track and Field Olympians gave a Black Power salute during the anthem after receiving their medals in 1968. Some may recall the NBA suspending Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in 1996 for refusing to stand for the anthem.

Tommie Smith and John Carlo’s iconic protest came at the height of the civil rights movement and in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.  The difference between Rauf and Kaepernick is that Rauf was still a legitimate player in the NBA at the time. He was run out of Denver at the end of that season and was out of the NBA entirely shortly thereafter. Don’t forget – Kaepernick voided his own contract and chose to leave SF at the end of last season.

Is his activism a factor in why he’s still unemployed? Almost certainly. Is it the reason? In NFL terms, it’s less probable than not. Back-up QBs should be inexpensive and neither be seen nor heard. Everyone recognizes that that isn’t Kaepernick.

Enough with the fake outrage

I have attended hundreds of professional sporting events in more than 20 different cities. I have overpaid for nachos and beer in 16 different MLB parks alone.  Rarely have I been impressed with how fans honor America while the song plays.

Across the country, in all major sports, fans ignore the anthem as they buy beer, make their way to their seats, talk with friends, or update social media. They keep their hats on, video the singer, and take selfies. Other than the ballpark at Arlington, I can’t remember attending a sporting event that suspended concession sales during the anthem. God Bless Texas.

I graduated from that same little trade school on the Hudson as Steelers offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva. I served more than 23 years in the Army and deployed five times. I’ve had friends come home in caskets under the flag. It means something to me. I will always stand in silence for the anthem and will smack my kids if they so much as sneeze before it’s finished.

 

Symbols and Rights

This fake controversy isn’t about disrespecting Veterans. The soldiers and friends I and others lost in the service to this country represented diversity racially and ideologically as any NFL locker room. They didn’t die for the flag or the anthem. They served, sacrificed, and died for their fellow Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines.

The flag and the anthem are not totems to bow down to, but rather symbols of the ideals of this country. Those include the idea that all men are created equal, have the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and to free speech. These represent the very things for which people are protesting. You are not a good American if you claim to love our nation’s symbols but not the exercise of someone’s right’s because you disagree with their message.

I am offended by the jerk who keeps his hat on, usually backwards, and won’t shut up during the anthem. That’s disrespectful. Players using the opportunity to make a peaceful statement about social injustice – whether I agree with them or not – doesn’t bother me at all. For 241 years Veterans have fought for them to have that right, it would be hypocritical for us to ask them not to exercise it.

Easy Solution

Americans used to believe in the market place of ideas – that everyone could exercise their right to free speech, that good arguments would win and bad ones would lose. Now, as a nation, we seem to have lost the intellectual courage to tolerate diverse opinions.  We are so threatened by people who don’t believe exactly like us that we demand they be silenced. The left has done that on college campuses and the right is doing it now in NFL stadiums.

We have two simple solutions to our current national distraction. First, instead of attacking these players we could seek to emulate them. Every team in the NFL has players from every race, religion, and political ideology.  Yet, somehow, they’re not killing one another in the locker room.  Players like Devon McCourty, Duron Harmon, and others have protested during the nation anthem for more than a year.  Kraft, Belichick, and Brady all have relationships with President Trump.  And yet, somehow, these two different groups have good relationships with one another. How shockingly adult of them.

Second, we could just stop playing the national anthem at sporting events. Don’t pretend that it mattered to you before people started kneeling. It probably didn’t.

Patriots life

How the Patriots Look After Week Three

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We’ve learned a great deal about this Patriots team from week three where they matched up against a potential playoff team with one of the best defenses in the league. This team is starting to come together, but beneath the surface lies holes in several areas of the Patriots offensive line and defense. The good news? Tom Brady still has the reins to this team.

TB12

Let’s start with Twelve. Tom Brady continues his MVP run at age 40. Yes, it’s only been three weeks, but is it ever too early when we’re talking about Brady? He continued to make history this past Sunday. Earlier this season, he became the all-time leader for most games with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in a game. This Sunday? He set the record for most games with FOUR touchdowns and zero interceptions in a game, now with 22 such games. He seems to be getting better and better as he ages, rather than declining. Checking out this beautiful pass, 40-year-old Brady puts the ball in the only spot where the WR can catch it.

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/912002903665123328

To top it all off, he currently leads all quarterbacks in: total yards, yards per game, touchdowns, touchdown to interception ratio, and 40+ yard completions. The last one is the craziest to me. A 40-year-old QB leading the league in 40+ yard completions? This is unheard of. And he leads the league in all these stats despite a 267 yard, 0 touchdown week one performance. Not to mention Brady recording his 50th career fourth quarter/OT comeback.

The Archer

Speaking of comebacks, Brandin Cooks had himself a feast.  Cooks showed why he could be the biggest off-season move in the entire league. Brady and Cooks are still developing chemistry. Despite that fact, he recorded a game with 131 yards, 26.2 yards per catch, two touchdowns (one of which was the game winner), and a two-point conversion. Cooks looked unstoppable, and he was at exactly the right places at exactly the right time.

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/912050350932103168

Gronk Spike

Gronk is Gronk. He played even better than his solid numbers show. Making crucial conversions, pushing through multiple tackles in the game-winning drive, becoming the fastest TE (and third fastest player only behind Jerry Rice and Randy Moss) to get 70 career touchdowns, and his solid performance from week two proves that Gronk is back to his solid self.

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/912003339738419200

Gronk spikes are not a welcoming sight for the rest of the league, and it seems as though Gronk will be spiking all over teams on a weekly basis, once again.

The Bad News

However with all the great things that are happening for this Patriots team, there are some serious hiccups that will hopefully be addressed by players returning from injury. First of all, the offensive line needs some serious improvements. Brady needs to be protected, and this O-Line can’t do a great job vs serious teams. Houston’s Watt-Clowney-Mercilus combination is extremely deadly. The Patriots simply could not run the ball, Brady got hit far too many times, and they gave up a strip-sack for a touchdown. The Chiefs with Justin Houston and Chris Jones both in the top six in sacks, and the Raiders with Khalil Mack could pose serious threats as well.

The defense is also in dire need of improvement. Butler played every snap vs Houston and had a decent day, so he could be improving. That would provide some serious, necessary help in the Patriots secondary. Also, the return of both Hightower and McClellin is crucial. With their return and Butler’s improvement, this Patriots defense could pose a serious threat. Until then, Brady will just have to work his magic.

Roger That !! Goodell Scores a Five-Year Contract Extension

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Imagine this if you will.   Just visualize the insanity I speak of.  As the chairman of a large corporation, you have a great relationship with your board but a lousy one with all of your other employees. Probably not the recipe for a rather large contract extension you would not think? Only in the bizarro world that is the NFL would this craziness ever actually take place.

Despite all of the chaos that has occurred in the back offices, in court, and on the field, Roger Goodell has received a five year contract extension through the 2024 NFL season. Looks like money talks to the owners, really all they care about in NFL world. The extension starts at the end of his current contract, which runs out in 2019. Terms were not directly disclosed, but it is thought to be for around 40-42 million dollars annually (sorry that is not a misprint).

Goodell Still Has The Owner’s Support

Goodell took on probably the two most powerful owners in the NFL in Kraft and Jones.  But that does not seem to have cracked the foundation holding up that giant inflated head of Goodell. The owners appear to be solidly on Goodell’s side as long as the NFL machine continues to make money.

Both of Goodell’s run-ins with the Patriots (I won’t even say anything about, this I promise) and the Cowboys involved player suspensions. I personally thought that the owners would turn on Goodell like a pack of wolves with these suspensions. Brady’s four-game sentence came right out of the Dark Ages, requiring no proof if the Overlord (that’s Goodell by the way) wants things to happen a certain way. That’s enough of the old wound, Pats’ fans. The suspension that the NFL and mainly Goodell levied against Ezekiel Elliott seemed along the same lines, in my opinion. Elliott avoided a  criminal offence charge, but the NFL forged ahead with a six-game suspension. I am not saying that Elliott is a model citizen, but six games seems like a hefty suspension without the man even getting criminally charged. If the Overlord wants it to happen, then damn it make it happen, he says. Let’s not forget the  whole “Bountygate” fiasco where Goodell hung the entire Saints organization out to dry because he felt like he should.  Ridiculous.

Show Me The Money

The NFL has taken a hit in the ratings department recently, but that does not stop the cash from flowing into the NFL vault. The league makes bushels from TV rights, merchandise sales, multimedia rights, and ticket sales, the rationale for owners signing Goodell to the whopping extension. If the owners are making money and Goodell takes the flak for all of the stupid moves he makes, then they will welcome him with open arms.

Another reason that Goodell gets the owners’ blessings?  There will likely be labor unrest when the current CBA ends in 2021. Goodell and the owners previously locked out the players and hammered out a deal that has benefited the owners handsomely. The players got screwed in the current CBA and the owners made out like champs, and this is what the owners are hoping for again. I will bet you that the whole mess of guaranteed contracts will be the stickiest point for the two sides to deal with, That will be a nasty negotiation and may require a long work stoppage.

Can The Clown Negotiate A New TV Deal?

Goodell’s biggest challenge, outside of the new CBA, will be negotiating the new TV contracts for the NFL. The cable companies have crapped the bed and only the major networks will be carrying around any cash for the NFL. I do not see how they will be offering the enormous dollar figures that the league has become accustomed to. Let’s see how Goodell will spin that around to make it look like someone else’s fault.

To sum things up, you can be a gem of a person to your immediate superiors who are the NFL owners and you will receive a great new contract. It does not matter that you treat the actual employees of the company (the players) like a herd of cattle.  Goodell does not believe that the growing body of evidence that playing football causes head injuries has merit.  This fact alone makes Goodell a major idiot in my books. How can you deny something so obvious?   Simply ridiculous to believe otherwise. Oh yeah, because the owners want him to think that way. Goodell might be an ass, but he is a rich one that is way up the owners’ butts.

Patriots Projected Roster Shows Surprise Cuts Coming

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The Patriots are so full of talent; they look like Vince Wilfork trying to squeeze into Tom Brady’s skinny jeans. Where is the sympathy from the other 31 teams? You think those insensitive jerks care that the struggles of the Patriots having to release skilled players is real? Should Pats fans start a GoFundMe page so Patriots-Haters can purchase sensitivity classes so they understand the hardship of rooting for the G.O.A.T., quarterback, coach, and team?

Ha! Ha! Boy has Lady Karma kicked every Patriot-Hater where it hurts. (Not that there’s much to kick.) And you know what is a cringe worthy thought? She hasn’t skipped Leg-Day since February, and she’ll be Kung-Fu kicking ALLLLLLLLL year until the Patriots perfect season has been completed.

How does that saying go? You can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs? Well there’s a new saying up here in New England: you can’t go 19-0, without making some tough cuts. I have watched the first pre-season game against the Jaguars three times, focusing on coverages and line-of-scrimmage play. Here are my roster surprises.

Quarterback: 3

Tom Brady

Jimmy Garoppolo

Jacoby Brissett

No surprises here. Just the best back-up quarterback in the league, and oh, the greatest football player of all-time!

Running Back: 5

Dion Lewis

Mike Gillislee

Rex Burkhead

James White

James Develin

It’s time for Brandon Bolden to go. There is enough “leadership” and Special Teams specialist to cut bait. Bolden had one of the worst drops anyone had ever seen in the Patriots loss against the Bills last year (three drops for the season for a guy who hardly played offense.) He also accidently kicked TWO balls that were about to be downed inside the 10 yard line into the endzone, resulting in the other team starting at their 25 yard line. Yuck. Hopefully, D.J. Foster squeaks onto the practice squad.

Wide Receiver: 7

Julian Edelman

Brandon Cooks

Chris Hogan

Malcolm Mitchell

Danny Amendola

Austin Carr

Matthew Slater

Although the rest of the league is as useless as a tree stump solving a calculus equation, one of them at some point has to stop letting the Patriots stash talent on the practice squad. This actually started last year, when the Patriots lost two talented cornerbacks (Cre’Von LeBlanc and Darryl Roberts) I believe Austin Carr is going to have such a good preseason, that there is no shot of sneaking him onto the practice squad, thus forcing the Patriots hand to keep him on the roster. Hopefully, the up-and-comer deep threat, Devon Lucien, sneaks onto the P.S.

Tight End: 3

Rob Gronkowski

Dwayne Allen

Jacob Hollister

The same dilemma arises with Jacob Hollister as it does with Austin Carr. James O’Shaughnessy is a legit, slightly above average, NFL Tight End. Matt Lengel is a one trick pony who can only block. A case can be made that Hollister is also a one trick pony who can only catch passes. Gronk and Allen are considered elite blocking Tight Ends, plus they love using a Tackle as a third blocking TE, so the Pats can get away with one less blocking TE. Allen is overrated as a pass catcher, but isn’t going anywhere with three years left on his contract and Belichick just trading for him. Hollister provides a poor-man’s Dallas Clark-type ability, in case the dreaded happens once again that we will not speak of … you-know-who goes down.

Offensive Line: 8

Marcus Cannon

Nate Solder

Joe Thuney

David Andrews

Shaq Mason

Ted Karras

Tony Garcia

Cole Croston

Can someone break into Cam Flemmings house, crack his safe, and destroy the incriminating pictures he owns of Bill Belichick doing who-knows-what? How the hell, does this matador—red cape holder who does nothing but Ole! the charging pass rusher—continue to take up a roster spot on this championship organization? That finally catches up to him this month. Complete stiff. Waddle isn’t much better. Look for Karras to earn a starting spot at some point during the year at Guard or Center. He’s a complete bulldozer. Croston showed really well in the first preseason game, but the jury is still out on him. They will try to sneak Conor McDermott onto the Practice Squad.

Cornerback: 5

Malcolm Butler

Stephon Gilmore

Eric Rowe

Jonathan Jones

D.J. Killings

If Belichick has one weakness, it’s his ego. There have been times where he lets it get in the way of his decision-making. This will be the case if Cyrus Jones isn’t cut by next week. Yes it will make Belichick look bad that his first selection in the 2016 draft is released after one year, but MY GOD! Cyrus Jones is a walking Mark-Sanchez Butt-Fumble! All … he … does … is … screw … UP! Coleman is the tough cut here. He’s good with staying on his receiver’s hip, but has no instincts as to when he should look for the ball. So many passes are completed with the ball sailing right over his shoulder or helmet—no ball-hawking skills whatsoever. D.J. Killings was the most sought after cornerback not drafted. It’s why the Patriots offered him more money than your standard undrafted free agent. He looked good in the first pre-season game, like another potential Malcolm Butler.

Safety: 5

Devin McCourty

Patrick Chung

Duron Harmon

Nate Ebner

Brandon King

Sorry folks, have to call it like I see it, but, Belichick may be the WORST drafter of Safeties in the history of the NFL. Devin McCourty doesn’t count because Belichick took him as a cornerback, and once he found out Devin was incapable of playing the positions, he move him to safety, and luckily, it worked out. Duron Harmon is average, can’t be counted on to play man coverage with below average TE’s, and was projected by everyone to be drafted in the 6th or 7th round. Belichick took him in the 3rd. Tavon Wilson needs no explanation, and now we have Jordan Richards. Richards couldn’t cover a turtle on its back. See … you … LATER! Complete bum.

Linebacker: 5

Dont’a Hightower

David Harris

Elandon Roberts

Kyle Van Noy

Shayne McClellin

Get Jonathan Freeney’s ass out of here! He’s another one of those, “good locker room guys.” How about we rent a locker-room-guy bus, and ship Freeney, Bolden and Fleming to Cleveland? Talk about useless. Freeney might be the worst zone coverage linebacker in the history of football, and every tackle he makes during the regular season is 8 yards down field.

Defensive Line: 8

Trey Flowers

Alan Branch

Malcom Brown

Vincent Valentine

Deatrich Wise

Lawrence Guy

Derek Rivers

Adam Butler

Harvey Langi

Kony Ealy is the Pablo Sandoval of football. Showed up to camp after clearly not lifting a finger during the off-season, unless you count him pinky-scooping frosting, and stuffing his face. He looks overweight, slow, and disinterested. He will be out of the league REAL soon. Adam Butler has been a surprise in camp. Huge, strong and moves well. He didn’t flash much in the first pre-season game, but some of that had to do with the Jaguars double-teaming him often—maybe because he was a force during the inter-squad practices? Harvey Langi is the other surprise here. If there’s one concern about the Pats, it’s their pass rush. He’s a project, but could help on third down situations.

Special Teams: 3

Stephen Gostkowski

Ryan Allen

Joe Cardona

No surprises here. It would be nice to See Gostkowski get his crap together, but he’s still better than most kickers in the league.

Pats fans, please show me some love by retweeting this and follow me @StevenViner1 and I will follow you back!