New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

AbusesToilets

Have to say, I was really happy for Amendola. He played as well as I've seen him play, made some great moves to score and pick up 1st downs.

Son Of A Vidic

Minitron has a new T-shirt....

NapoleonInRags

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Minitron has a new T-shirt....

Me want....

kryogen

I get these thoughts around Black Monday time and January each year, but what the **** is going to happen when BB and TB call it a day?!?

Hate thinking about it but it pops up every year, with the knowledge that its getting closer every year

Pudsy33

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Minitron has a new T-shirt....

If I wasn't a Ravens fan I'd be all over that. Edelman is by far my favorite Patriot. To think we were close to signing him and you guys getting Smith.

kryogen

Its practically impossible not to like Edelman

Hazys

I forgot how awesome this moment was, so Bro, so Gronk. Instant classic with so much Gronk in such a small timeframe from the family huddle after the phone call, bringing the helmet out on stage, man handing Deion to the family chanting "GRONK! GRONK! GRONK!" as he puts on the helmet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA0m2eWCLrA

Little did we know at that point that he would become one of the top players in the NFL and lovable bro who stole our hearts :P

j8wk2feszrnpao

Hazys wrote: »

Little did we know at that point that he would become one of the top players in the NFL and lovable bro who stole our hearts :P

A special thank you to every team that didn't pick him up.

j8wk2feszrnpao

kryogen wrote: »

I get these thoughts around Black Monday time and January each year, but what the **** is going to happen when BB and TB call it a day?!?

Hate thinking about it but it pops up every year, with the knowledge that its getting closer every year

Yeah, it's always on my mind this time of the year.
Bill & Tom will never be fully appreciated until they are gone, i.e. people like p that moron that asked Bill if a decision at QB needed to be made after the Chiefs game. Bill's chuckle and ignoring the guy was classic. "We're onto Cincinnati".
We'd need to be as fortunate as the Colts and draft a 'Luck' just to soften the blow.

Brady playing in his 9th AFC Championship in his 14 full seasons. Ridiculous stuff.

kryogen

This made the cornflakes shoot out the mouth this morning, brighten up a cold one!

Shedite27

munstermagic11 wrote: »

We'd need to be as fortunate as the Colts and draft a 'Luck' just to soften the blow.

Are we ever likely to be first overall pick before Brady retires/injures himself though?

We'll be very fotunate to either
(a) have a backup ready to step up like Brady himself did
(b) find a Wilson in the 3rd round (although with Bellicek about you never know.

Worst case scenario is that they both go the same time. Hopefully BB stays about for 2 years after TB to ensure a smooth changeover.

BKWDR

Are we not feeling Jimmy Garoppolo?

From what i've seen i think he has a spark about him. I think ryan mallett was just too long 'waiting for his shot' and was happy to play back up and make the money.

kryogen

I like Jimmy but its impossible to know about him right now obviously. He may need to move to fulfill his promise anyway, particularly if Tom goes for another 3 or more seasons as is his wish

j8wk2feszrnpao

Shedite27 wrote: »

Are we ever likely to be first overall pick before Brady retires/injures himself though?

1st round? We pick our elite QB's in the 6th round :P

j8wk2feszrnpao

kryogen wrote: »

I like Jimmy but its impossible to know about him right now obviously.

I like the guy too; he's shown flashes in his first season that Mallet never did in his time in NE.
But yeah, may have to move if Tom stays as good as he's been.

kryogen

Could get lucky and he could pull an A Rodgers situation and play back up for 3 years, then step in seamlessly, but its a pretty long odds shot I'd say

NapoleonInRags

kryogen wrote: »

Could get lucky and he could pull an A Rodgers situation and play back up for 3 years, then step in seamlessly, but its a pretty long odds shot I'd say

Guys, guys, the solution is staring us all in the face......

Step forward Incredelman!

TO.

According to Ray Lewis Brady is only famous for the Tuck rule. Sure Ray.

http://nesn.com/2015/01/ray-lewis-only-reason-tom-brady-is-known-is-because-of-tuck-rule/

Hazys

TO. wrote: »

According to Ray Lewis Brady is only famous for the Tuck rule. Sure Ray.

http://nesn.com/2015/01/ray-lewis-only-reason-tom-brady-is-known-is-because-of-tuck-rule/

Ray is only famous because he hid his white suit...otherwise he would have been locked up for his entire career and nobody would have cared about him.

Hazys

This is class from McCourty (watch the first 2 minutes at least): http://www.patriots.com/media-center/videos/Belichick_Breakdown_Key_Plays_against_Ravens/42df1ca8-4621-4457-81f0-91e7104c50cc?utm_content=bufferb7980&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Son Of A Vidic

That's only spam TO. because this is the same Ray Lewis who proclaimed Brady the GOAT.

Lewis heaped praise on Brady, calling him "the greatest of greats" and saying, "he was willing to go beyond the limits that people won't go to. You don't find too many people playing that's willing to sacrifice that much time to doing that. That's why Tom Brady will always be considered the greatest of all time."

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-07-06/ray-lewis-proclaims-tom-brady-greatest-of-all-time

That's the kind of thrash talk I expect from wife-beater Suggs, not Lewis himself. So I can only guess he has yet to recover from the trauma of last weekends loss.

bruschi

in fairness to him, as much as he is a twat and I'm not his biggest fan, I think what he really meant was that if it were not for the tuck rule, Brady wouldnt have got to that superbowl, won it, and be where he is now. That it was a glitch in the rules that spawned the career of the best quarterback ever, and that he is now famous as a result of the tuck rule helping him. Now thats an awful simplistic view to take, and a "butterfly effect" type scenario, but at the same time, who knows where Tom and the Patriots would be had that rule not been implemented? Nor do I agree with his sentiments either, just I dont think its as bad as it sounds.

Also, I'm really preparing myself this week, and potentially later on for the usual Belicheat/spygate/classless crap that gets thrown our way. Whilst its hard to ignore the trolls, at least on here its not bad, and I'd hope it stays that way. Don Shula has lowered himself even further in my estimation, if that was even possible as I think he is one of the biggest dicks in football. Not that he cares what some random loon on a message board in Ireland thinks, but he is a grade A twat.

Son Of A Vidic

kryogen wrote: »

I like Jimmy but its impossible to know about him right now obviously. He may need to move to fulfill his promise anyway, particularly if Tom goes for another 3 or more seasons as is his wish

I think Garoppolo has exceeded our expectations for a rookie. He impressively brushed Mallet aside during the preseason and won the No. 2 spot and he has looked comfortable and in command of the huddle when on the field. Like Brady, he has a very quick release and doesn't dilly dally around with the ball. He has looked calm and decisive on the field and has progressed through his options when the first one wasn't open. So I don't think we can ask for anything else from the kid. Bill, Josh & a lot of the Coaches have spoken about how intelligent & hungry he is. Once he arrived, without any prompting, he automatically took over a leadership roll with all the rookies and was even testing their knowledge of the playbook back in May....

“He’ll be walking around, and he’ll just walk up to me and shout me out a play and ask me to tell him what is that I’ve got, my responsibilities,” undrafted tight end Justin Jones said Thursday at Gillette Stadium. “And I think that’s one of the key components of being a great quarterback.”

http://nesn.com/2014/05/jimmy-garoppolo-already-taking-on-leadership-role-among-patriots-rookies/

Now of course, we don't know how it will all pan out, but I always find these kind of intangibles to be really important. You can't see or measure them at the Combine or read about them in a scouting report. But it's often the little things that can give you a real good insight into a player, their mindset and how they will conduct themselves when thrust into the limelight. He got some great experience playing against a very, very, tough Bills front 7 and pulled out a few Houdini like miracle escapes with his feet. While under heavy pressure, he still progressed through his reads and didn't panic. I can't remember what game it was, but I remember him diving into the pile after a fumble in one game. He ended up being one of the last out of the pile and the crowd in Gillette loved it. Now it's not what you want a potential franchise QB doing, but I liked the fearlessness and ballsiness of the play. So he's pretty tough, took some pretty hard knocks, got up and got on with it.

The issue will be the contract, his last year will also be Brady's last year. And when you look at some of the magical stuff Brady produced against the Ravens, you can't even rule him out playing beyond his current contract. So will Jimmy be willing to sit around until Brady retires? I hope so, because there's no better place to be than learning from the GOAT.

bruschi

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

I hope so, because there's no better place to be than learning from the GOAT.

I didnt want to start another Brady/Manning debate on the divisional/peytons last game threads, but it is mad how few of Mannings back ups amount to anything, yet a lot of Bradys understudys have moved on to starting roles, and done well for themselves. There must be something to that as well, it could be the coaching, but as much as anything, I think it is Bradys interaction and willingness to work with the players. Now, I havent the first clue what Peyton does with his backups, all I know is Brady, and I know I like what I see with how he deals with both his backups and a lot of the team.

Son Of A Vidic

bruschi wrote: »

I didnt want to start another Brady/Manning debate on the divisional/peytons last game threads

For me there is no debate. And Brady's magnificent performance against the Ravens sums up the reason why. Coming from 14 points down twice. Mentally erasing and overcoming a silly Int that was essentially a 10 point flip. And then driving his team to victory. His regular season career stats are mightily impressive, but what separates him from the rest, is what he does and the records he sets in the post season during big boy football time.

BaronVon

Rex Ryan taking over the Bills, you'd think he'd be sick of the punishment of coaching in the AFC East.:pac:

He's done well for himself, being fired from a 4-12 team, to taking over a 9-7 team, who just missed out on the playoffs.

I'm more interested on what effect Todd Bowles will have on the Jets. The 2014 AFC East was more competetive than other years, and it might continue to get more competetive in 2015.

bruschi

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

For me there is no debate. And Brady's magnificent performance against the Ravens sums up the reason why. Coming from 14 points down twice. Mentally erasing and overcoming a silly Int that was essentially a 10 point flip. And then driving his team to victory. His regular season career stats are mightily impressive, but what separates him from the rest, is what he does and the records he sets in the post season during big boy football time.

Oh I fully agree. I think last weekend should have cemented that debate too in the hugely differing roles both played in their respective games, but I wouldnt be arsed debating that with anyone right now when we have an AFC championship game coming up. Plenty of time to do the annual fighting in the off season!:pac:

kryogen

TO. wrote: »

According to Ray Lewis Brady is only famous for the Tuck rule. Sure Ray.

http://nesn.com/2015/01/ray-lewis-only-reason-tom-brady-is-known-is-because-of-tuck-rule/

Its like saying Ray Lewis is only famous for those murders.

j8wk2feszrnpao

infacteh wrote: »

Rex Ryan taking over the Bills, you'd think he'd be sick of the punishment of coaching in the AFC East.:pac:

He's done well for himself, being fired from a 4-12 team, to taking over a 9-7 team, who just missed out on the playoffs.

I'm more interested on what effect Todd Bowles will have on the Jets. The 2014 AFC East was more competetive than other years, and it might continue to get more competetive in 2015.

It's a good move for Rex, but still doesn't have a QB. Good for the Div that he's still about; his conference and statement about making the playoffs is all Rex.
NY still doesn't have a QB, but I'm interested to see what Bowles can bring to their style.
Fins should have gotten rid of Philbin. Another 8:8 season beckons.

TO.

Love it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXYdqE5vhPE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erElZvrb1cQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y4eRMEZHL0