Tag Archives: New England Patriots
Patriots’ Josh McDaniels looks forward to WR competition
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has been back with the team for a few months now, but spoke with the media for the first time Friday, at the opening of rookie camp. The Patriots offense was largely a well-oiled machine in 2011, but it did lack a deep threat. Currently, New England has 12 receivers on the roster, which will lead to some competition during training camp. Every coach likes to have a little competition to keep his players on their toes and at their sharpest. And McDaniels is certainly no exception to that.
Tim Tebow isn’t the fastest QB in the AFC East but who is?
Often in the NFL a huge emphasis is placed on the 40 time of players. New York Jets quarterback Tim is one of the more mobile quarterbacks in the NFL yet his 40 time isn’t overly impressive. A fullback playing quarterback, Tebow does possess deceptive speed with the uncanny ability to beat defenders to the edge. Despite Tebow’s athletic prowess, believe it or not, he isn’t the fastest quarterback in the AFC East. So who is?
6. Tom Brady, New England Patriots: Brady is doing his best to prove that less can be more when it comes to the speed of an NFL quarterback. At his NFL combine, Brady ran an unimpressive 5.28, 40-yard dash. Many scouts and teams may have snickered but Brady and the Patriots are definitely getting the last laugh. Brady’s career record is 124-35 and he’s played in five Super Bowls. Not bad for a slow poke.
Junior Seau, goodbye “Buddy”
Today the world found out the tragic news that the beloved and respected man known as Junior Seau was found dead at the age of 43.
Uncharacteristic for a linebacker in the NFL, it seems like everyone enjoyed Seau and the way he played. Not only his teammates and opponents, but the fans also seemed to migrate towards him. Teammates in Miami, New England, and San Diego all remember him as a great player, leader, and friend.
Most importantly, he was a ground breaker for young men of Polynesian decent. He came from a home where he and his siblings literally slept on the floor of a one car garage, to becoming one of the most talented athletes to ever come out of the San Diego area. Seau’s accomplishments at Oceanside High School, California, in football, basketball, and track earned him a scholarship to play football for the prestigious University of Southern California. After a rough start to his career at USC due to academic inadequacies, he went on to don the number 55 jersey for the Trojans (a jersey that is worn by a player considered to be a future NFL star) and become a first round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers in 1990. Since his time at USC, there have been many great players of Polynesian descent to leave their mark at the university in the wake of Seau’s greatness. Names like Troy Polamalu, Rey Maualuga, and Lofa Tatupu to name a few have all gone on to vault the program to greatness en route to promising NFL careers.
Patriots break tradition, bolster defense to help Tom Brady
The New England Patriots moved up not once, but twice in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft in order to strengthen a defense that ranked 31st in the league in 2011. Traditionally, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has traded down in previous drafts in order to stockpile picks for future use, but after losing his second Super Bowl in the past four years at the end of the 2011 season, Belichick has had enough.
New England Patriots helmet concept design
Charles Sollers, a photographer from Missouri for Rivals.com has created a new concept design for the New England Patriots helmets.
By now you have probably seen some of Sollers work as he also has provided images of college team helmets and uniforms.
As Nike takes over the NFL uniforms there were little changes made, but could you imagine Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker wearing helmets looking like this?
Rob Gronkowski: Player profile
It’s sometimes said that certain people are born to do a certain job. That may never be more fitting than in the case of New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski was born in Amherst New York on May 14th 1989. He was 11 years old when Tom Brady and the Patriots won their first Super Bowl against the St Louis Rams. and Jermaine Wiggins was the Patriots’ TE back then.
2012 NFL draft: Possible selections for the New England Patriots
It’s hard to say that Tom Brady and the 2011 New England Patriots fell short of expectations. The AFC Champions took a questionable defense into the Super Bowl and many have said that their lack of wide receiver talent and more importantly a speed rusher on the edge hurt their chances of beating the Giants.
I think it’s fair to say that if you replayed the Super Bowl 10 times we may have a 50/50 split, but the Patriots are stacked with early draft picks once again and this year could be the year Bill Belichick chooses to use those picks.
Mel Kiper of ESPN.com has the Patriots selecting;
Vinny Curry, OLB, Marshall
Vinny Curry
Curry is a really good pass-rusher for a team that needs to find some help in that area. I’m not sure he’s the best candidate to play OLB in a 3-4, but Bill Belichick can scheme around his personnel as well as anybody, and if he loves a pass-rusher, he’ll find a way to make it work. Curry has violent hands and can really get a tackle off-balance. He can also swim to the inside. The Patriots need to add talent to the front seven, and Curry is a start.
We’ve seen the value of Vince Wilfork, and while Reyes isn’t the size of a city block, he certainly has some of the traits of a guy who can help a defense similarly. When he gets good leverage (which he usually does), Reyes is really strong and will get offensive linemen up off their feet as he pushes them into the backfield. He’s not going to shed blocks as a brilliant pass-rusher would, but Reyes can develop into the guy who makes everybody else a better pass-rusher because he demands so much blocking help.
Wes Bunting of the National Football Post has the Patriots selecting;
Fletcher Cox, Defensive Tackle, Mississippi State
Lamar Miller
“He’s a tall, long-armed defensive lineman with an explosive first step, can penetrate and possesses some scheme versatility. Seems like an ideal late first-round Patriots type pick,” Bunting writes.
Mark Barron, Safety, Alabama
“New England has had to piece together their secondary this year, but in terms of talent they could certainly use an upgrade at a number of spots,” Bunting writes. “Barron is a smart, instinctive safety with good ball skills, can play in the box and be effective bumping/running with tight ends underneath.”
The Penalty Flag’s Mike Presley has the following players selected for the Patriots in the first two rounds;
Round 1, Pick 27(via NO): Vinny Curry DE/OLB Marshall: Patriots defense was horrible last season, at least until they got some players back who were injured. The way the defense played when they got healthy shows what kind of defense they truly have. The Patriots improve their pass rush with Curry and add more youth to their defense.
- 2012 NFL Draft: Vinny Curry DE Marshall (college-sports-university.com)
Jared Crick
Round 1, Pick 31: Lamar Miller RB Miami: Make no mistake about it, one of these first round picks will be traded. Right now I don’t project trades even though my 32 team Mock will feature trades. Miller is too good to pass up here at 31, and gives them another weapon on offense to work with.
- 2012 NFL Draft: Lamar Miller RB Miami (college-sports-university.com)
Round 2, Pick 48: Harrison Smith SS Notre Dame: Patriots once again go defense. Things didn’t work out with Meriweather so they will need another safety. When Mike Mayock praises a player, it’s always a bonus. Smith has nice size(6’2) and has played great for Notre Dame the past two seasons which warrants him as a second round pick.
- 2012 NFL Draft: Harrison Smith SS Notre Dame (college-sports-university.com)
Round 2, Pick 63: Jared Crick DE Nebraska: 4 picks within the first two rounds, did the Patriots win a lottery or what. They should be able to improve their team with the early picks they got and again they go defense as Crick adds more talent to what was a weak defense for the most of 2011.
- 2012 NFL Draft: Jared Crick DE Nebraska (college-sports-university.com)
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Kim Kardashian
Cedric Benson: The next imperfect Patriot?
It’s often said that history repeats itself and if Cedric Benson joined the New England Patriots in 2012 the statement would again be true.
Possible Destinations For Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace has emerged as a rising star for the Pittsburgh Steelers ever since being drafted in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. It seems that he would be the new receiver for Ben Roethlisberger to grow with but things aren’t exactly going the way Pittsburgh wants it to. As if the playoff loss to the Denver Broncos seemed bad, it will only get worse in a couple weeks when there is a real possibility that Pittsburgh could lose Mike Wallace. The Steelers are $11 million over the cap currently and are working hard in trying to get under the cap for the 2012 Season. They do not have cap room to slap the Franchise Tag on Wallace while tendering him will leave him vulnerable to a team willing to give up their first round pick to take Mike Wallace away. Now who would be willing to part with their first round pick to take Mike Wallace away, here are some possible destinations for Mike Wallace.
New England Patriots: If there was any team wanting to give up a first round pick it would be a team with two first round picks at their disposal. The Patriots are one of the few teams who do have two picks in the first round. Wes Welker is a Free Agent and even if they put the Franchise Tag on him, it would only be a one year deal. Mike Wallace meanwhile is young and fast who can contribute to helping the Patriots get back to the Super Bowl.
San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers want to upgrade at receiver in free agency and the draft. Why not essentially use the 30th pick in the 2012 Draft on a proven Mike Wallace rather take a chance on a late round receiver. Not only would they have the pick to give up, but the money to give Wallace a long term deal, something the cap tight Steelers can not do. They are $35-40 million under the cap, plenty of room to not only re-sign Alex Smith but give Mike Wallace the money he would be looking for.
Houston Texans: The Texans desperately need to upgrade across from Andre Johnson. Why not use it on speedy Mike Wallace? The Texans offense would be even better than it has ever been with teams having to decide between double covering Andre or Wallace. They would instantly become Super Bowl favorites and once again be a top contender in the AFC.
Denver Broncos: If the Broncos ever want to take my advice on how to build around Tim Tebow, using their first round pick on Mike Wallace would be a good start. With the exception of Demaryius Thomas, the Broncos have nothing at receiver. Tim Tebow, whether you want to admit it or not, is improving as a quarterback and if he is to improve even more, he’ll need the receivers to do so. The Broncos know first hand what Wallace can do when they played the Steelers in the wild card round and would do wonders for Tebow.
Baltimore Ravens: In my AFC North mock, I gave the Ravens Rutgers Wide Receiver Mohamed Sanu with the 29th pick in the 2012 Draft. Like other receiver needy teams in this article, why not use a late round pick on a proven player. Baltimore is probably already enjoying the fact Pittsburgh is over the cap and they will have little room to improve on while Baltimore will have cap room to make improvements. So why not one up Pittsburgh by taking their young star receiver away from them. I know Ray Rice is a free agent but he is likely to be Franchised and Anquan Boldin is 32 and isn’t getting any younger. The combination of Torrey Smith and Mike Wallace would help Joe Flacco out tremendously and since they got over the hump of Pittsburgh last season, adding Mike Wallace may be the ingredient needed to get them over the most important hump and into the Super Bowl.
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Mike Presley is a NFL Featured Journalist for The Penalty Flag. He is a graduate of the Carolina School of Broadcasting and hosts a weekly NFL show on the schools radio station 89.3 The Storm entitled “The Front Seven.” Mike also writes for the racing website www.hardcoreracefans.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikepresley64.
Vincent Jackson: The perfect Patriot?
Vincent Jackson is a tremendous NFL talent. For the last four seasons he has been the big play receiver for the San Diego Chargers. Unfortunately for Jackson and the Chargers, his off the field antics have often overshadowed his receiving talents. Those very same issues are the likely reason Jackson hasn’t been able to ink a long-term deal with the Chargers making him a free agent as of March 13th. With options like DeSean Jackson, Wes Welker, and Reggie Wayne floating out there in free agency this year ,the Charges may decide it’s time to part ways with their star receiver. If this happens, wouldn’t Vincent Jackson be the perfect Patriot?
In an unorthodox move the New England Patriots released WR Randy Moss in the middle of the 2010 season. New England has been without a deep threat ever since and despite their record-setting offense in 2011, the inability to stretch the field with a legitimate deep threat hurt them during the AFC Championship and again in the Super Bowl. If Vincent Jackson is available via free agency the Patriots should do whatever it takes to sign him.
In 2011 Jackson caught 60 receptions for 1106 yards and 9 touchdowns while averaging an impressive 18 yards per reception. At 6-5, Jackson possesses the size to dominate smaller defensive backs and the speed to get deep in the blink of an eye. Together, Tom Brady Vincent Jackson, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez would form a lethal combination for years to come.
As for Jacksons’s disciplinary issues, the stringent rein held by Patriots coach Bill Belichick may be just what the Dr. ordered. Belichick has a history of bringing in troubled stars from other organizations and getting the most out of them –see Corey Dillon, Rodney Harrison, and the aforementioned Randy Moss.
If the Patriots want to get that elusive fourth Super Bowl win before the window of opportunity comes to a close with an aging Tom Brady, signing Vincent Jackson would be a huge step in the right direction. Let’s just hope he could learn the playbook.
You can follow Aaron on Facebook and Twitter @Da_Bear_Truth.
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2012 Mock Draft: AFC East edition
The 2011 NFL Season is officially over, and the 2012 NFL Season is under way. With Free Agency and the Draft coming up in the next couple months, it is going to be a very busy time for all teams as they look to keep their free agents, or sign away another player from another team. Now let’s skip Free Agency and head right into the Draft. The scouting combine is just weeks away and players will be doing their best to raise their stock and show teams they are worthy of being selected in the Draft.
So with that said, I’m going to do a Mock Draft for every team, by division. Once I get through all the divisions, I will reveal my first 32 team first round mock. For now, take a look at who I have the teams in the AFC East taking, and plenty will change between this and the 32 team mock. Stay tuned for the NFC East mock draft next week.
Miami Dolphins:
Round 1, Pick 8*: Michael Brockers DT LSU: The Dolphins are surprisingly moving to a 4-3 defense and will need players to fit that scheme. Jared Odrick can play one of the Defensive Tackle positions but they need someone else to play the other. Brockers is climbing up draft boards and may be a top 15 pick come April, so reaching for a great player here at 8 won’t be much for the Dolphins.
Round 2, Pick 42: Zebrie Sanders OT FSU: Marc Colombo can and should be upgraded, whether in Free Agency or in the draft. You know how bad he is, he gave up three of the nine sacks that the Eagles had in their game last season. Sanders, or well anyone can be an upgrade over Colombo and they should be focused on protecting Matt Flynn or whoever the Quarterback will be.
* = Pick Based on Coin Flip with Carolina Panthers
Buffalo Bills:
Round 1, Pick 10: Quinton Coples DE, UNC: The Bills are moving to the 4-3 and they need pass rushers. Coples could experience a draft night fall in April but some team will take him in the Top 10 and that will be the Bills. With Marcel Dareus and Kyle Williams manning the middle, they will need edge rushers and Coples can be good as long as he puts fourth the effort, which was a big issue.
Round 2, Pick 41: Zach Brown OLB, UNC: The Bills need as many 4-3 players as possible to help make their transition smooth. They continue to improve their front seven, and Brown is a steal here at 41 and the Bills defense continues to get better.
New York Jets:
Round 1, Pick 16: Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama: The Jets pass rush needs to be upgraded. If the Jets want to ever stop playing second fiddle to the Patriots, then maybe getting to Tom Brady will help. Upshaw had an absolute wonderful season and was named MVP of the National Title game and will provide Rex Ryan his New York version of Terrell Suggs.
Round 2, Pick 47: Nick Toon WR Wisconsin: The Jets are imploding right now, if it wasn’t for Santonio Holmes’ contract, they would probably dump him so why not draft another receiver in the meantime.
New England Patriots:
Round 1, Pick 27(via NO): Vinny Curry DE/OLB Marshall: Patriots defense was horrible last season, at least until they got some players back who were injured. The way the defense played when they got healthy shows what kind of defense they truly have. The Patriots improve their pass rush with Curry and add more youth to their defense.
Round 1, Pick 31: Lamar Miller RB Miami: Make no mistake about it, one of these first round picks will be traded. Right now I don’t project trades even though my 32 team Mock will feature trades. Miller is too good to pass up here at 31, and gives them another weapon on offense to work with.
Round 2, Pick 48: Harrison Smith SS Notre Dame: Patriots once again go defense. Things didn’t work out with Meriweather so they will need another safety. When Mike Mayock praises a player, it’s always a bonus. Smith has nice size(6’2) and has played great for Notre Dame the past two seasons which warrants him as a second round pick.
Round 2, Pick 63: Jared Crick DE Nebraska: 4 picks within the first two rounds, did the Patriots win a lottery or what. They should be able to improve their team with the early picks they got and again they go defense as Crick adds more talent to what was a weak defense for the most of 2011.
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Mike Presley is a NFL Featured Journalist for The Penalty Flag. He is a graduate of the Carolina School of Broadcasting and hosts a weekly NFL show on the schools radio station 89.3 The Storm entitled “The Front Seven.” Mike also writes for the racing website www.hardcoreracefans.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikepresley64.
Is there a market for Wes Welker outside New England?
Looking at Wes Welker’s numbers, you would expect him to receive a big payday this offseason. Welker has been the New England Patriots’ most productive receiver over the past five years but there are a couple of factors that may determine if he receives that big payday or not.
Welker has caught at least 100 catches or more in four of the five years he has played in New England but how much of that production comes from playing in the Patriots system? The way he is utilized and of course having Tom Brady as your quarterback helps a lot in amassing impressive numbers like Welker’s.
It also doesn’t hurt having all of the other talented receivers around like Deion Branch, Randy Moss, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez over the years. Welker usually lines up off the line which helps him avoid getting jammed at the line of scrimmage allowing him to get into his routes seamlessly.
Why is it so important to keep him off the line? Well that’s another one of those factors that teams will look at when deciding how much to pay him. Welker is only 5’9”. While being that short has never been a detriment for the Carolina Panthers’ Steve Smith, most would agree that Smith is a freak of nature possessing insane strength and speed in such a compact body.
Speed and strength are two things that are not usually associated with Welker though. Welker was overlooked by teams in the 2004 draft because of his height and his 4.61 speed. He wasn’t even invited to the draft combine that year.
History is also not on Welker’s side. Wide receivers have not been as productive playing for other teams after leaving the Patriots’ system. Another historical factor is how the Patriots have dealt with some of their free agents. When it came time for Richard Seymour, Deion Branch and Randy Moss to cash in, the Patriots traded them.
If the Patriots don’t think they can afford Welker then he may be gone but there is always the possibility that Welker may sign for something the Patriots feel is more reasonable. Especially if Welker tests the market and no team is willing to bite on his asking price.
Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Featured Journalist for The Penalty Flag and NBA Featured Journalist for Shatter The Backboard. He can be contacted at RHall@ThePenaltyFlagBlog.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist.
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