New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

Itssoeasy

I see Greg Hardys suspension has been reduced to 4 games from 10. If Brady doesn't get his reduced or scrapped then patriots fans will go mental.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Itssoeasy wrote: »

I see Greg Hardys suspension has been reduced to 4 games from 10. If Brady doesn't get his reduced or scrapped then patriots fans will go mental.

Not really. The whole thing has been handled horribly from the start. Even if the suspension is lifted entirely, this is close to the biggest waste of time/coverage/money that the NFL has been involved.
Would anyone be surprised if Rodger decided to increase the suspension to 6 games? I wouldn't given the way this farce has been overseen by the NFL.

6 months. That how long this has been going on, and it's still not finalised. And this was the off-season, with plenty of time to get it done and dusted. Crazy stuff. It's being dragged out at every opportunity and has become boring at this stage.

Vandango

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Jamie Collins just having some fun and not many guys of his size, or in the wider NFL could do this....

https://instagram.com/p/47MNSRgGFs/

That's crazy. Collins is just an athletic freak.

JCTO

Single game tickets available today on ticketmaster

Hazys

JCTO wrote: »

Single game tickets available today on ticketmaster

Got mine for the Jags and Bills games.

me89

Gostkowski signs 4 year deal worth $17.2 million

Langdon Alger

An excerpt from Gronks book about his back injury that kept him out of his junior year in Arizona.

http://mmqb.si.com/2015/07/15/rob-gronkowski-book-excerpt-arizona-injury/

Son Of A Vidic

me89 wrote: »

Gostkowski signs 4 year deal worth $17.2 million

He's the best kicker in the league imo and I'm glad to see the new contract sorted out.

Son Of A Vidic

We kinda knew it was coming but now it's official, Dan Connolly has retired.

"It's important to me to leave the game healthy," Connolly said. "I'm able to be here for my kids and walk away on my own terms. I feel like I got everything I could out of football in playing 10 years, winning a Super Bowl, and playing alongside some truly great players."...

...."With my football career coming to a close I am grateful for the opportunity given to me by the Kraft family and Coach [Bill] Belichick. It is an honor to have been part of such a great organization for the past eight seasons."

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/13265711/veteran-ol-dan-connolly-new-england-patriots-retires

His career epitomised everything about the Patriots. A guy everybody overlooked, became an indispensable starter on the OL. Thanks for everything Dan and you've left us with something very, very special.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAOK43zgi7w

Best.Return.Ever.:D

AbusesToilets

Love that

Shedite27

One of my favourite Pats - always wondered how far back you'd have to go to find his Irish heritage

Son Of A Vidic

With Revis, Browner, Dennard and Arrington gone and predictions that the Pats secondary will return to its previous bad habits. You wonder who our starters will be in 2015. I'm a big Butler fan since he was catching the eye in preseason last year and I think he will secure his own starting slot. Despite some negative performances last season, some think Logan Ryan will start alongside him. But I'm not so sure about that unless he has a very good camp.

One player I am very interested though is our 7th round pick Darryl Roberts. Could this guy surprise everyone and be the next Butler to get on the roster? He has the length, athleticism and physical attributes of a top CB and his weaknesses seem to be easily coach-able. He's my dark horse for camp and maybe the reason Bill was happy to lose our 4 top DB's, was because he is confident he's got the talent to get the job done in 2015 and surprise everyone.

http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20150717/SPORTS/150719320

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/darryl-roberts?id=2553353

j8wk2feszrnpao

I fear for our secondary.

I don't think that Devin is worth the money given to him, but was more down to the lack of alternatives on the market or in the draft. He will need to make a lot of plays this year to justify the deal given to him.

Butler I like. But I'd still prefer if he had another year to learn and improve before becoming a starter. He made one of the most amazing SB plays, but eliminating that, he looked like a decent rookie. Hope he can make the step up.

Ryan as a starter worries me a lot. His regression last year was alarming. And this year, with Revis/Browner/Dennard/Arrington gone, I don't see his play getting better.

I think we could see a lot of games like the 2011 season, where we give up 20-25pts a game, but score 25-30pts a game. We'll be contenders, but the secondary is a play way from losing us the game.

Son Of A Vidic

Ya we did overpay for McCourty, I thought he get something like $40 - $42 million, but he ended up with $47.5 million. Way overpriced but unfortunately he was the best Safety in the market, other teams were after him and we had to overpay to keep him.

What excites me most about Butler is his ability to stamp out mistakes. The story we heard after the SB was the perfect example. We practiced his game winning play on the Thursday before the Superbowl and he gave up the TD. Belichick said to him afterwards ‘Malcolm, you've gotta be on that.'”. Butler learned his lesson and made one of the SB plays of all time the following Sunday. His ability to improve and not repeat his mistake is something a lot of our DB's don't seem to have. 2015 will show us what he can do, but I am confident in the kid.

But let's look at the worse case scenario. If we go back to having a secondary that gives up big plays on 3rd & long. Then in a way it will be business as usual where it will be Tom carrying the team and covering up for our defensive shortcomings. But I don't think it will come to that, because I think the talent and increasing aggression from the D line will help offset some of the weaknesses in the backfield.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

We practiced his game winning play on the Thursday before the Superbowl and he gave up the TD. Belichick said to him afterwards ‘Malcolm, you've gotta be on that.'”. Butler learned his lesson and made one of the SB plays of all time the following Sunday.

I have watched that play close to 100 times, I'm not kidding.
His reading and speedy anticipation of the play is part of what makes it such a great individual play by Butler. It's why I do have a lot of time for the kid.

For me it's the play of 2014 (and I love that OJB catch), given the game, the attention of the World, the time on the clock and a rookie with zero expectations; reading/making that play.
Yeah, I'm off to watch it again a few times.

Son Of A Vidic

munstermagic11 wrote: »

I have watched that play close to 100 times, I'm not kidding.
His reading and speedy anticipation of the play is part of what makes it such a great individual play by Butler. It's why I do have a lot of time for the kid.

For me it's the play of 2014 (and I love that OJB catch), given the game, the attention of the World, the time on the clock and a rookie with zero expectations; reading/making that play.
Yeah, I'm off to watch it again a few times.

The odds are always very heavily stacked against a defense, when teams goes for that last play the Seahawks went for. And the more you look at it, the more amazing Butler's play gets. He had no right to make it and yet there he was.

The OJB was catch was amazing but nothing depended on it, there was no pressure, it was just a randomly spectacular catch. Butler had to make a spectacular play to stop a TD, on the biggest stage, with all the pressure, in the biggest game of a player's life. And like yourself, that also makes it my play of 2014.

AbusesToilets

That play embodied total commitment from Butler. He didn't just intercept the ball, he blasted Lockette out of it, absolutely smashed him and still managed to hold onto the ball at the same time. Utter class.

AbusesToilets

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Ya we did overpay for McCourty, I thought he get something like $40 - $42 million, but he ended up with $47.5 million. Way overpriced but unfortunately he was the best Safety in the market, other teams were after him and we had to overpay to keep him.

What excites me most about Butler is his ability to stamp out mistakes. The story we heard after the SB was the perfect example. We practiced his game winning play on the Thursday before the Superbowl and he gave up the TD. Belichick said to him afterwards ‘Malcolm, you've gotta be on that.'”. Butler learned his lesson and made one of the SB plays of all time the following Sunday. His ability to improve and not repeat his mistake is something a lot of our DB's don't seem to have. 2015 will show us what he can do, but I am confident in the kid.

But let's look at the worse case scenario. If we go back to having a secondary that gives up big plays on 3rd & long. Then in a way it will be business as usual where it will be Tom carrying the team and covering up for our defensive shortcomings. But I don't think it will come to that, because I think the talent and increasing aggression from the D line will help offset some of the weaknesses in the backfield.

I'm really interested to see what shape the pass rush will take this season, seems like that is the direction the Defense will lean towards, probably to compensate for the weaker secondary.

paulie21

CB Tarrel Brown signed to one year deal

me89

Brady's suspension upheld, looks like it's going to court.

j8wk2feszrnpao

me89 wrote: »

Brady's suspension upheld, looks like it's going to court.

As I previously stated, I'm not surprised.
The NFL under Goodell; what they think Brady did = what Hardy did

Son Of A Vidic

For anyone who thought Kraft knew what he was doing, that there was some gentleman's agreement with Gooddell, that he wouldn't have backed down otherwise. Well they got their answer today.

AbusesToilets

I just hope that the report gets the legal tear down it deserves. I'm interested to see the angle they take in their appeal. Will it be against the report itself, as a utterly specious document, or will it go after the non co-operation angle.

BizzyC

Very strong language in the statement from the Patriots.

"We are extremely disappointed in today’s ruling by Commissioner Goodell. We cannot comprehend the league’s position in this matter. Most would agree that the penalties levied originally were excessive and unprecedented, especially in light of the fact that the league has no hard evidence of wrongdoing. We continue to unequivocally believe in and support Tom Brady. We also believe that the laws of science continue to underscore the folly of this entire ordeal. Given all of this, it is incomprehensible as to why the league is attempting to destroy the reputation of one of its greatest players and representatives."

Realalemadrid

Gas how Goodell knew Brady destroyed his mobile phone yet missed Ray Rice beating up his wife as he watched a cc tv of the two of them in a lift.

This is the strangest off season story ever.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Realalemadrid wrote: »

yet missed Ray Rice beating up his wife as he watched a cc tv of the two of them in a lift.

#nflintegrity

bruschi

"I was wrong to put my faith in the league" - Bob Kraft.

He was divisive on here, but he spoke very well there.

bruschi

Bill in his best media mode right now.

"We're going to continue to get ready for the 2015 season"

eagle eye

I won't be booing Kraft in Gillette after reading that statement.

Son Of A Vidic

Those words from Mr.Kraft were just what a lot of us angry fans needed to hear. Very classy for him to apologise to us fans and to Brady himself. It's now abundantly clear to me that Bob loves & respects Brady so much, he was willing to take an unjust punishment if it meant the NFL would do the right thing for Brady. So I really appreciate those words from Mr. Kraft earlier and he has won back my respect completely.:) #GoPats #GoBob