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New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Talks About Danny Amendola, Wide Receivers

May 24th, 2013 at 11:28 PM
By Andrew Goldberg

 

'Danny Amendola' photo (c) 2010, Jeffrey Beall - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

The New England Patriots have concluded their first full week of OTAs Thursday. As OTAs started one of the main focuses of the team and its fans is how they will replace Wes Welker and give Tom Brady more weapons to work with at the wide receiver position. As Patriots fans know, the Patriots signed former St. Louis Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola who is expected to replace Welker's role in the offense. 

The Patriots also drafted Marshall wide receiver Aaron Dobson and TCU wide receiver Josh Boyce in hopes of improving the position. Lastly, the Patriots also signed wideout Michael Jenkins who played the last two years with the Minnesota Vikings as well as former Buffalo wideout Donald Jones and ex-Tennessee Titans wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins to bring some experience to the group.

One man who many fans didn't really hear from this offseason about free agency was Tom Brady himself. That was until he broke the silence and talked on the Dennis & Callahan Morning Show on WEEI radio on Thursday Morning. In the interview Brady first talked about the wide receivers as a whole and then went into further detail about Danny Amendola. Specifically, he addressed the comparison between Amendola and Welker that many have been making. Andy Hart, a writer for Patriots Football Weekly, cites what Tom Brady had to say about the comparison.

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New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski Undergoes Fourth Operation on Forearm

May 20th, 2013 at 10:55 PM
By Andrew Goldberg

 

'IMG_0406' photo (c) 2012, Angie Six - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

 

Probably the most famous forearm in NFL history is in the news again as New England Patriots' TE Rob Gronkowski underwent his fourth operation on his forearm earlier today. The good news for both Gronkowski and the Patriots is that according to Pro Football Talk, doctors have stated that the infection is gone and that the surgery to install a plate into the tight end's forearm was also successful. 

The bad news however, is that Gronkowski may need back surgery in order to deal with the chronic back pain that seems to be troubling him as well. So while the forearm seems to have been fixed and should heal in time for training camp, the question now shifts from the forearm to the back.

If Gronkowski does in fact need surgery, hopefully he can undergo the procedure soon enough so that he can heal both the forearm and back at the same time. The longer he waits, the longer it will take him to get back to the practice field and get ready for the season. Fortunately, Bill Belichick and company insured themselves knowing Gronkowski's injury history and should be prepared in case Gronkowski cannot come back at full strength for the start of the season.

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Analyzing the New England Patriots 2013 Draft Class

May 8th, 2013 at 9:41 PM
By Andrew Goldberg

 

 

'NFL Draft' photo (c) 2011, Zennie Abraham - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

 

Now that the 2013 NFL draft is a little more than a week old, everyone has had time to digest their respective team's draft class and get excited to see what the rookies can do. Let’s take a look at the Patriots draft class and see how it improves the team.

Round 1 pick 29

The Patriots originally had the 29th pick in the first round but in typical Bill Belichick fashion the Patriots traded with the Minnesota Vikings. The Patriots received the 20th pick in the second round, the 21st pick in the third round, and a seventh round pick as well.

Round 2 pick 20 Jamie Collins, OLB, Southern Mississippi

Collins played two years as a linebacker and finished his career on the defensive line. Collins had 92 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and four forced fumbles and was rewarded with first team All-Conference USA honors. It may seem like a questionable pick with Jerod Mayo, Takeo Spikes, and Dont'a Hightower already in the fold, but Collins can act as an edge rusher or a down lineman in either a 4-3 or a 3-4 scheme. He can also drop back into coverage if need be. 

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Buffalo Bills’ Stevie Johnson Suggests North Korea Bomb Foxboro, New England Patriots

April 4th, 2013 at 10:17 AM
By Dan Benton

The United States has essentially been at war since September 11th, 2001, and with rising tensions between our military, our allies in South Korea and a dictatorial leader in North Korea, more war may be on the horizon. Needless to say, it's not something to joke about. Unfortunately, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson didn't get that memo and recently suggested that should North Korea begin dropping bombs, they do so in Foxboro, Massachusetts and on the New England Patriots.

Social media can be a tremendous asset to professional athletes if used properly, and extremely detrimental if used improperly. Knowing full well what he was saying/suggesting, Johnson took the latter route.

Yes, he was obviously joking and would never suggest the innocent slaughter of American citizens, but there's a theoretical line in the sand and he crossed it with his comments.

He did eventually apologize for his comments (kind of), but was it too little too late?

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Defense Should Be the Patriots Number One Offseason Priority

March 1st, 2013 at 12:32 AM
By Spencer Frenchman

 

“Anquan Boldin, Anquan Boldin, Anquan Boldin, that Ravens team won with a big receiver like Anquan Boldin, that’s what the New England Patriots need.”

 

I am not quite sure why this is not a moot point. But when I listen to people talk about the Patriots off-season agenda it feels like they must have had one of the NFL’s worst offenses. An offense that scores 34.8 points per game does not seem like it needs to change much. When you score the third most points in NFL history without ever playing with a receiving corps or offensive line at full strength, I do not think you need to change anything. There are going to be some great receivers on the free agent market, Dwayne Bowe, Mike Wallace, and Greg Jennings to name a few. However, it would be dumb, stupid, absolutely abhorrent for the Patriots to even consider signing one of these players, who will likely come at a price of at least half of the approximately $18 million the Patriots have in salary cap space (assuming Wes Welker is re-signed). They do not need a big wide receiver. It would be nice to have one but they should not sacrifice their ability to go after quality free agents on the defensive side of the ball in order to go out and get a receiver. 

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