Category: New England Patirots
Joel was certainly right earlier when he said our new photo feed is awesome. We’ll now have a lot more new (to us at least) photos to use on a daily basis.
I hope Wednesday was good to you. Use this post for your open thread this evening.
It’s Monday and we’ve had plenty of news to tide us over already this week. The NFL Combine starts on Thursday and of course free agency is on the horizon.
This is your open thread for the night. Use it to talk about whatever you’d like.
Fred Dryer. Fred Astaire. Fred Gwynne. Fred Rogers. That’s right … I’ve done it at last. The very first ever (you might want to be sitting down for this) … Open Fred!
Mike Reiss reports draft analyst Todd McShay shared his insight as to some of the “value” areas that could be there for the Patriots in the late first round.
Receiver: “Michael Floyd [of Notre Dame] would be a good fit, a guy who can get down the field and has some size. Kendall Wright [of Baylor] I think also could be a good fit; he’s undersized like some of their other guys, but he has explosive, explosive speed. He can get down the field and provide that big play, vertically, that they’ve been missing. He also can help in the return game should they choose and he’s great after the catch.”
Cornerback: “It will be interesting to see if any of these corners drop. By any of them, I mean Dre Kirkpatrick from Alabama. Obviously Bill Belichick has a great relationship with Nick Saban and will have a great feel for Kirkpatrick and whether he fits what they want to do or not. He certainly looks like a corner who would fit what they like in terms of the versatility. He’s not an elite man-to-man cover corner, but very instinctive in zone. The knock on him, outside of the baggage, is that he gets there and bats down a lot of balls and is in position to make tackles after the catch, but doesn’t make a lot of big plays. Janoris Jenkins would be another guy, a Florida guy who was dismissed from the team and played at North Alabama this past season. I think he has very good man-to-man cover skills and certainly can play on the outside for them and I think would upgrade their corner situation.”
Safety: “Mark Barron from Alabama could drop a little bit [hernia]. He won’t be working out at the combine.” Pass rushers: “Chandler Jones, the Syracuse defensive end, I know I’m probably higher on him than most guys. But I do think he has a chance to be a really good player and I love his versatility. I think he would fit New England from that perspective. Andre Branch is another one, out of Clemson – 6-4, 260, could play defensive end but also could drop when they go back and forth in their four-man front and three-man front. There is some depth to this class. Ronnell Lewis is another one, from Oklahoma. They can find a pass rusher should they decide to draft one.”
TEAM TALK
- Michael Jurovaty writes Patriots RBs coach Ivan Fears recalls his journey from promising player to committed coach.
- 2012 NFL Scouting Combine – Feb. 22-28: A quick primer.
LOCAL LINKS
- Mike Reiss crafts a deal for Wes Welker that will work for both sides.
- Ian Rapoport looks at the backup QB situation and believes the Patriots will hold on to Brian Hoyer while Ryan Mallett continues to improve.
- CSNNE reports Sterling Moore is a professional football player, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t use Coinstar just like the rest of us.
- Christopher Price profiles free agent WR Brandon LLoyd as a possible fit for the Patriots.
- Mike Reiss shares what we learned about the 2012 NFL Draft from Todd McShay on a conference call yesterday.
- Tom E. Curran explains why Cris Carter misses the point on why wideouts aren’t valued.
- Luke Hughes reports Joe Flacco’s agent believes the QB deserves Tom Brady money.
- Mike Reiss offers the transcript of his weekly online chat.
- Mike Reiss serves up some additional leftovers from his weekly online chat.
- Ian Rapoport notes Danny Woodhead has been back home in Nebraska, reconnecting with family and friends and, of course, taking in a UFC bout.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Kevin Fishbain (Pro Football Weekly) Patriots look to change luck in drafting WRs.
- Nicholas Pike (NFL UK) International Series survey reveals Tom Brady is your favourite player.
- James Walker (ESPN) Top 40 players in the AFC East: Nos. 13-16 and Nos. 9-12.
- Chris Burke (SI) Free Agency Primer: AFC East.
- Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Let’s make a match: Finding the best free agent for your team.
- Cian Fahey (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Brandon Lloyd and 5 re-signings which will shape Free Agency before it starts.
- Report (NFL.com) Notable free agents in the 2012 class.
- Report (NFL.com) 2012 Scouting Combine news and info.
- Albert Breer (NFL.com) Questions abound heading into NFL Scouting Combine.
- Mike Mayock (NFLN) Pre-Combine position rankings for 2012 NFL Draft.
- Bucky Brooks (NFL.com) Ranking receivers, tight ends entering NFL Scouting Combine.
- Bucky Brooks (NFL.com) Offensive linemen pool appears deep heading to the Combine.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Condon’s comments hint that tampering will be rampant next week.
- Matt Bowen (Nat’l Football Post) Why the 40-yard dash is still the ultimate combine test.
- Wes Bunting (Nat’l Football Post) Breaking down which offensive prospects need a big week in Indy.
- Gregg Rosenthal (ProFootballTalk) Forecasting the franchise tags.
- Matt Bowen (Nat’l Football Post) NFL Draft: How to grade the CB position.
- Mike Freeman (CBS Sports) Late hits: Why do so many former NFL players go broke?
- Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Rex Ryan planning on getting a Super Bowl ring, quickly.
- Brad Biggs (Chicago Tribune) Increase in touchbacks led to decrease in concussions on kickoffs.
There has been a lot of talk recently about a Brandon Lloyd to N.E. connection and rightfully so. Lloyd has said that he’s tied to McDaniels because only Josh McD has been able to get production out of B. Lloyd. Brandon credits his success to Josh’s ability to utilize the shifty WR on all levels of the Offense and in a myriad of Offensive sets. This sounds like a match made in heaven but there’s another side to this story.
That other side is the fact that Tom Condon is B. Lloyd’s agent. Condon is one of the best agents in the NFL. He represents some big names and players love him because he’s damn good at his job. The Patriots hate him because he’s damn good at his job. Most of us know that the Pats have not dealt with Condon since the Ben Watson fallout of 2004, so one can imagine just how volatile the B. Lloyd contract negotiations could become.
To the agent’s credit he’s offered an olive branch of sorts by praising both the Patriots front-office and his own ruthless, wildly successful negotiating skills. He’s made it clear that he’s willing to let bygones be bygones and he’ll do whatever it takes to put his client in the best situation (though he expects that B. Lloyd will be a highly desired WR in the open market, go figure).
My question to all the Pats fans out there is how much is Brandon Lloyd worth? My take after the jump.
I’ve done a bit of research on this issue and I’ve got what I hope is good news. If you head over to rotoworld and start digging up some contracts of WR’s like Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, Roddy White and Greg Jennings, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see that even the elite WR’s don’t make more than ~million a year (on average, back-loaded contracts like Larry Fitz’s are obvious exceptions).Now, I don’t think anyone will claim that Brandon Lloyd is anywhere near as good as either Johnson so it doesn’t make much sense for Lloyd to demand anywhere near million a year ( with ~%80 of the gross value of the contract guaranteed like the contract Andre Johnson has earned himself).
To me, a 30 year old WR who had zero success for 7 years in the NFL until your (the Pats) current O-Coordinator got a hold of him, that guy is probably worth -6million per year for 3-4 years with ~%60-%70 of the gross value of the contract guaranteed. It would be wise for the Patriots to offer some incentive based bonuses and some roster/workout bonuses later in the deal to ensure B. Lloyd’s commitment to success. This allows the Pats to offer a bigger deal that won’t offend B. Lloyd but also offers them the latitude to move on from the 30+ year old WR should he not perform up to his contract’s value.
What do you guys (and ladies) think?
The Patriots ran into the Giants yesterday, who had the perfect gameplan to beat them. The Giants were ball hogs and it made things very hard on the Patriots yesterday. Tom Brady completed 27 of 41 passes (65.9%) from the floor last night, good for 276 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT. BenJarvus Green-Ellis came alive in the second half as he finished up with 44 yards rushing on 10 carries (4.4 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg). Danny Woodhead pitched in with 18 yards rushing on 7 carries (2.6 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 42 yards (10.5 avg) with 1 TD grab. TE Aaron Hernandez (8 rec, 67 yards, TD) and WR Wes Welker (7 receptions for 60 yards and 2 carries for 21 yards) led the way for the Patriots in the passing game, but they each dropped key passes on the Patriots’ final drive. WR Deion Branch (3 rec, 45 yards) and TE Rob Gronkowski (2 rec, 26 yards) also pitched in for the Patriots in this game. The Patriots finished up with 83 yards rushing on 19 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 41 passes (65.9%) for 266 yards as they had possession of the ball for 22:55.
The defense didn’t play too well for the Patriots in this game. LBs Jerod Mayo and Brandon Spikes led the way for the Patriots with 11 tackles apiece last night. Safeties Devin McCourty (7 tackles) and Patrick Chung (6 tackles and 1 pass defensed) also pitched in for the Patriots in this game. The Giants finished up with 114 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 40 passes (75%) for 282 yards in this game. The Patriots are now 0-2 in the Super Bowl against the New York Giants, who seem to have their number lately. The Patriots’ season ends with a huge thud!
It’s Thursday night. I know many of you have or will make this Thursday night one of your weekly drinking/going out nights. I’m here on our very comfortable couch at the moment, perfectly content to doze off into a deep sleep.
This is your open thread for Thursday February 9th. What are you up to this evening?
The Patriots have re-signed 25-year old safety Ross Ventrone to a futures/reserve deal. Ventrone played in 8 games for the Patriots last year and he had 2 tackles. Ventrone was like a yo-yo for the Patriots last year as they kept signing him and waiving him. He spent half of the year on the practice squad in 2011, but he will lose eligibility for that when he plays in one more game for the Patriots. It will be interesting to see if Ventrone steps up and snatches a full time job with the Patriots in 2012.
I don’t really know what I’m supposed to say here.
The Giants‘ pass rush was nonexistant. There were points to be had on almost every drive. New York put the ball on the ground three times. The defense played as well as you could have possibly asked for. The running game was good enough to keep the defense honest. There were players open. The Patriots had chance after chance to put the game away. But they couldn’t get it done. And once again, the Giants came through in the clutch and scored the game winner late after a ridiculous circus catch. That’s pretty much all there is to it.
I don’t have it in me to say much more than that. Fan Notes after the jump.
- Tell me that Tommy B didn’t look pissed off when they came out. It was probably because of the hat hair in the starting lineup announcements.
- The only ten minutes that lasted longer than the period in between the National Anthem and opening kickoff was the last time I hopped on a treadmill in 2005. 10 minutes and half a mile later, that was the end of my stint with exercise.
- I don’t know about any of you – but I took a great deal of comfort in that grey hoodie.
- How much money was won and lost worldwide on the opening coin toss? 10 million? 20?
- Where do you think Tiquan Underwood watched this game? Poor guy.
- Antuan Molden on Hakeem Nicks and Sterling Moore on Victor Cruz…eek.
- That said, though, Cruz was a relative nonfactor all game, other than his TD catch.
- 3rd and 13 on the Pats 42 in 1st quarter. Mark Anderson comes up with a huge sack for a loss to force a punt. That set the tone and the Giants were relatively ineffective on 3rd down overall.
- Steve Weatherford is the best punter in the NFL, hands down. I know that is the equivalent of being the smartest kid on the short bus, but still…
- 1st New England play from scrimmage results in a safety. I had absolutely no idea what was going on with that play and I still don’t.
- Is it me, or did every member of the Giants offense have like 8 inches on the entire Patriots secondary?
- Jerod Mayo was in PERFECT position to intercept the quick slant to Cruz that put the Giants ahead 9-0. He just forgot to turn around, look for the ball, and be aware of what was going on. He just kind of jumped and threw his hands up. Not a great look, Jerod.
- Very sad to see Kevin Faulk inactive yesterday. Knowing that he had to watch what is likely his last game as a Patriot from the sidelines isn’t a fitting end for his career.
- I wonder how the unstoppable force that is Jason Pierre-Paul feels this morning after spending an entire game getting absolutely owned by one man that most people probably haven’t even heard of. Helluva game, Brian Waters.
- Seriously, we heard Waters’ name once, when he was called for a holding penalty. Other than that, whoever he was up against was like me at speed dating five years ago: nothing.
- She’s not naked, GoDaddy.com. You aren’t going to fool me. Not again.
- Not gonna lie; I was kind of hoping this game would be 35-0 after the first quarter. Not exactly the start I was looking for.
- They are making movies out of board games now? BATTLESHIP? Really?
- I was a fan of the “Missing Cat” Doritos commercial, though. Anything that promotes the disappearance of cats is something I can fully get behind.
- Do you think people will ever stop drinking Coke? Do they really need to advertise so heavily?
- Also – Coke is NOT what people reach for after their favorite team loses. Trust me.
- I’ll tell you when I just kind of knew the Patriots were in trouble – when Tommy B’s second straight pass was batted down in the middle of the 2nd quarter. The camera cut to a closeup of his eyes, and he just had a look like, “Huh. Not really sure what’s going on here.”
- The Giants ran a lot of the quick out plays I originally expected from the Patriots, with a tremendous amount of success. Those short plays set up those deeper in-routes beautifully. It was exactly the opposite of what I was expecting – which is probably one of the reasons it worked so well.
- DANNY WOODHEAD!! Who said he’d be a Patriots Unsung Hero this past week? I don’t remember, but whoever he is, he’s a genius.
- Tommy B – longest drive in SB history. 16 completions in a row. Yawn. More records for Brady.
- Whatever happened to the Bud Bowl? Now THAT was a halftime show – not some afroed guy in a toga repeatedly ruining any chance he may have of reproducing by playing crotch trampoline on a tightrope.
- I honestly don’t think that Madonna sang one lick until “Like A Prayer” came on. It must be nice to get paid insane amounts of money to basically just stand there.
- I never noticed how much Cee-Lo Green looks like Vince Wilfork.
- Madonna said she was going to “bring the gay” to her halftime performance. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I’d put the gay factor of that show at about a 4.
- HALF. TIME. ADJUSTMENTS. BOO YA.
- Aaron Hernandez’s touchdown dance really is awesome. He doesn’t just make it rain; he goes to the safe, opens it, takes out the money, and THEN makes it rain. Sometimes it’s a turn-knob combination. Sometimes it’s digital. And sometimes it’s a thumb print. The only thing that never changes is that there is always money in there. Lots of it.
- PAT CHUNG! How you like dem apples, Nicks??? WOOOO! I think Nicks was spitting blood after that hit.
- That Chung hit is the kind of thing you just put on replay over and over again when you’re especially mad at the city of New York – which, for me, is all the time. Especially now.
- Gronk would have come up with the ball on that Tommy B pick if he was healthy. I don’t want to make excuses, so I won’t speak to his injury any more.
- Who was that guy they cut to in the middle of the third quarter right after Tynes’s field goal? Did you see that guy’s forehead? Good lord! He has to be a Manning.
- Latest sign that I’m a horrible human being: I was cheering like a blonde at a Texas high school football game when Jake Ballard went down.
- It became obvious very early in this one that the game was going to come down to whoever has the ball last. And for the most part, that was true.
- At least 8 games this season took years off my life. Yesterday must have taken another ten off. For all intents and purposes, I should be dead before July.
- I’d love to see a study on the counteractive effects adrenalin has on alcohol. I must have had 15 beers throughout the course of the game and I was sober as a nun the entire time. What a waste.
- How does Tommy B’s block taste, Osi? That can’t feel good.
- Of all the times for Wes Welker to drop the ball…
- The Pats were just up-and-down offensively all game. They mixed long, sustained drives with 3-and-outs and other longer drives that ended in no points at all. The Giants deserve all the credit in the world for not allowing any offensive rhythm.
- Also, penalties absolutely killed us. They almost always allowed a drive to continue, negated turnovers, or resulted in points.
- All I could think on that amazing Manningham catch was, “Please, no. This can’t be happening again. I can’t live through this again. Please, God, No.”
- And yet, it happened again. I now have to make room in my own personal hell for that Welker drop next to that Asante Samuel drop in 2008. That drop didn’t cost us the game – but if Welker makes that catch, I’m feeling a lot less awful today, I do know that much.
- How many ridiculous catches is this team going to pull down against us? Must this happen every single time? The only solace I can take from that Mario Manningham catch is that it was just a spectacular grab, and one he could definitely make again if he had the chance. It wasn’t some million-to-one freakshow like it was four years ago.
I watched this game at my friend’s house uptown. I ended up walking home, all the way back to Brooklyn from 87th Street. That’s about 9 miles, and it took me over three and a half hours. As I walked, the city of New York its usual mix of drunken revelers celebrating in the background and people who hadn’t even watched the game passing me on the sidewalk, I went through the whole gamut of emotions. Sadness, depression, rage, and eventually, just numbness. I even longed, for a brief moment, for those days of the mid-90s when this team was absolutely terrible and I was absolutely ecstatic with a regular season win over the Bills. This isn’t healthy. The amount of sleep I’m going to lose over this one is completely disproportionate to what kind of impact this game had on the world in general. Millions upon millions of people didn’t care about this game in the slightest and went to bed afterwards without any problems whatsoever. The world will continue to turn, and in the grand scheme of things this Super Bowl will be long, long forgotten.
There are also Patriots fans out there who are happy when the Pats win, but when they lose it isn’t the end of the world to them. They are upset for a while, but after a few days of sulking they are back to normal again and are looking forward to all of the other amazing things that life has to offer. Watching football is still fun for them. It still has its rightful place on priorities lists and allows them to spend Sundays outside or with family instead of alone in a dark room screaming at the television, pouring my soul into a team that doesn’t even know I exist. You have no idea how much I envy those people – I would love to make the life change necessary to allow Patriots football to be fun for me again, but I simply don’t know how.
I’m going to try and have have more on the game later in the week. But I just don’t have the energy or the willpower to deal with this right now. I feel nauseous and it’s all I can do not to start crying at my desk.
Congratulations to the Giants. Once again, the better team prevailed. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find a noose.
We don’t do a lot of giveaways or things like that around here but this one fits in nicely with what I truly enjoy: Chipotle Burritos.
Yes, I’m a huge Chipotle fan and eat there regularly so I was very pleased when the folks at Chipotle offered up 10 free burritos to one of our readers. Their angle for the big game is they’ll just give out some free burritos instead of spending tons of money on an ad. So, on gameday, if you pick up one of their burritos in a box, half your order of six or more is free.
But the more pressing issue is that I have 10 free burritos to give away to one of you.
Here’s how we’ll do this: Give us your greatest Chiefs memory in the comments. The person with the most recs (recommended) by 7:00 p.m. (Arrowhead Time) tonight wins the burritos. And you should also be available via email for me to reach you.
(Note: To “rec” something…if you’re a registered user, click “actions” and then “rec”.)