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Patriots captain Jerod Mayo has led a series of voluntary player workouts in Massachusetts for his teammates, according to a source, ensuring the Pats won’t be as susceptible to injury when training camp eventually opens.

The workouts are completely permissible because they’re being run by players, and the Patriots’ staff has not been involved.

Safety Patrick Chung, quarterback Brian Hoyer and safety Bret Lockett have been among the players in attendance, although a few others have also been present, according to the source. It is believed that every Patriots player has been invited to attend the workouts.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-captain-jerod-mayo-has-led-a-series-of/

An imaginary breakfast interview with Bill Belichick

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The Boston media was clamoring this morning when Patriots coach Bill Belichick was the only NFL head coach to blow off the breakfast interview circuit. Yes, Belichick did speak with the media yesterday, touching on topics like the proposed change to kickoffs, and other gems as recounted by Mike Reiss below:

The importance of draft picks as a commodity compared to other years when there was free agency before the draft. “I think they’re an important part of your team-building process, but they always are. I don’t think that changes.” 

Do those picks increase in value? “I don’t know. I think they are important.” 

On the team’s No. 28 overall draft pick being available in a trade. “I don’t know. We’ve traded them before. We haven’t traded them.” 

His philosophy on trading draft picks. “My philosophy is to try to do what’s best for the football team. Plain and simple.” 

On being reluctant to trade up. “We’ve traded up before.” 

So in an effort to appease those like Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe who tweeted…

Belichick should have talked today because Patriots fans deserve to hear about the team. He didn’t talk at combine. There’s a lockout.

We’ve put put together an imaginary breakfast interview with the coach to illustrate why “In Bill We Trust” hoodie heads like myself don’t really give a shit that he didn’t talk today…

Q: Rex Ryan said today he took the benching of Wes Welker as a sign of respect, could you comment on that?

What they want to hear: Obviously having Wes go and make personal comments about another team’s coach is not what we’re looking for so I sat his ass down to let him think about what a moron he was. Obviously that ended up basically costing us the game, right fellas?

What they would here: I was just trying to make decisions that are in the best interest for the team.

Q: Now that you’ve had some time to go back and look at the film exactly what went wrong in that loss to the Jets?

What they want to hear: Well TFB played like shit, Patrick Chung dropped the ball, literally. Our defense didn’t get a turnover for the first time in forever. Jets played just about flawlessly. We were outcoached and outplayed, but not outclassed and that’s all that matters!

What they would hear: Just didn’t do enough to win.

Q: There’s a lockout going on right now, how does that effect your offseason?

What they want to hear: Well obviously we have a huge list of free agents like Steve Smith, Chad Ochocinco, Antonio Cromartie, Eric Smith, Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes that we’d like to pursue, so that’s all on hold. Basically any Free Agent who played for the Jets because they are awesome. Or over-priced, over- aged wide receivers with no experience in our system. We want a bunch of those too.

What they would hear: We’re just getting ready for the draft, when they tell us Free Agency is starting we’ll get into that too.

Q: There are rumors that you’d like to trade the 28th pick, is that accurate?

What they want to hear: Absolutely. Ideally we’d like to get into the top ten to get Robert Quinn since our pass rush is obviously the one and only thing we’ll try to address in this draft. But if he’s not there then maybe we look at Aldon Smith a little later. I’d just trade all our picks to get to that number one overall slot. Then we can pick the can’t miss player of our choice.

Either way I just want to make it clear to the other 31 teams what our intentions are and what players we like so they can have every advantage in making sure that it doesn’t happen for us.

What they would hear: We’ll do what we think is best for the team.

Q: Tom Brady was last seen dancing in Brazil, can you comment on his recovery from foot surgery.

What they want to hear: I was really impressed with TFB’s dance moves, for a white guy he sure dances like a white guy. Maybe we can get Braylon Edwards to teach him how to Dougie.

As for his foot he fractured the third bone in his right foot during the sixth offensive pay against the Ravens. The bad news is that if anyone or anything lands directly on it next season it will snap in half like a chicken bone in Rexy jowels. So let’s make sure that all the defenders we have to play against are well aware of that and know not to hit him too hard, especially on his foot.

What they would hear: I’m sure Tom’s doing whatever he needs to do to prepare for next season. We expect he’ll be ready to go.

Q: Randy Moss expressed great admiration and respect for you and the Patriots. Any chance you bring him back?

What they want to hear: Are you kidding me? Did you miss the fact that he can only run one route now, and when he’s not running that one route he’s getting loco crazy at press conferences? Have you been paying attention? Does that seem like the kind of guy we want back here? Wake up.

What they would hear: Randy’s a great player and we have all the respect in the world for him. We’ll evaluate our options this offseason as it develops.

Q: Reports are that you’ve worked really hard to bring back Logan Mankins, but that Robert Kraft has balked at paying him what you want to pay him. Could you comment?

What they want to hear: Logan is a badass mauler and exactly the kind of player that we try to bring in here. We value trench players on both sides of the ball very highly and if Mr Kraft would just open up the purse strings a little bit we could lock him up long term no problem. If you’re going to cook the dinner you’d at least hope they’d let you buy the groceries.

What they would hear: We can’t have any discussions about contracts until the lock out is resolved. Logan is a great player and we’d love to have him back.

Q: The Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since beating the Chargers in the 2007 AFC Championship games, including two first round exits the last two seasons. Is the magic gone?

What they want to hear: Oh yeah, clearly we just don’t have the players any more to compete in the post season. Sure, we had the best record in the NFL for the regular season, but when you have players who are not named Bruschi, Harrison, Vrabel or Seymour it’s impossible to win a game in the playoffs. We’d renounce the right to play in a playoff game if the NFL would let us because what’s the point really? If we can trade for one of those old Pats, or get some of them like Bru or Hot Rod to come out of retirement, we might actually have a shot again.

What the would hear: Are you a f’ing idiot?

Patriots not ready to flip the Page

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The Pats extended a tender offer on Jarrad Page today. Mike Reiss explains:

Page’s tender is a sign that the Patriots are interested working with him. Page enters his sixth NFL season and prior to last season, the team had traded a 2012 seventh-round draft choice to Kansas City to acquire him, and paid him a one-year salary of $1.7 million. 

Page’s 2010 season in New England was limited by a calf injury, as he appeared in 10 games (1 start). In all, he played 17 percent of the team’s defensive snaps while also contributing on special teams. In 2011, he would join a deep safety mix that includes Brandon Meriweather, Patrick Chung, James Sanders, Josh Barrett and Sergio Brown atop the depth chart, although it’s imporant to note that under a new collective bargaining agreement, he could qualify for unrestricted free agency. 

Page peaked in playing time near the end of the season, playing 43% of the snaps against the Jets (45-3) then 64% Bears, 11% Packers, 64% Bills. He’s a physical in the box safety type. Looks like Brandon McGowan has been replaced.

Top 5 Patriots who will take big steps in 2011

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One factor that is often discounted when projecting needs for your team next year is the development of younger players. For those who just finished their rookie season they are just now, for the first time since the offseason before their last year of college, getting a chance to slow down and catch their breath.

Here’s my list of five players I expect to see take big steps forward in 2011.

Taylor Price

Price had a couple things going against him in his rookie year. First, he was coming from a run first, basic college offense, and second, he got a later start than most because he couldn’t report until his after his college’s late graduation. 

So he was already behind the learning curve, but couldn’t even get into rookie mini-camp with everyone else and get a jump. Price had essentially a red shirt year in 2011, but his two hallmarks, size and speed, are what the Patriots definitely need more of. We should hope to see something out of him in camp and preseason.

Taylor Price Patriots

Jermaine Cunningham

Few positions provide a great transitional challenge that college defensive end to NFL outside linebacker but Cunningham showed enough potential to be considered a possible three down linebacker for the Pats. His progress is tough to totally grade due to the nagging calf injury he had late in the year, but when healthy he was used in a variety of ways and made a couple big plays along the way, most notably just getting enough pressure to force Peyton Manning into a game-sealing interception.

Brandon Spikes

Spikes was really making great progress when he was suspended the final four games of the regular season for taking an ADHD medicine that was banned. Spikes provided the instant “Mike” inside linebacker presence that we thought he would. He comes down hill hard and is excellent at timing his run blitzes. I look forward to watching him continue to blast offensive lineman backwards. The biggest thing for Spikes is quickly identifying play fakes, something he was really picking up as evidenced by his interception of Mark Sanchez in the 45-3 game. The year of experience, both on and off the field, should really pay huge dividends for Spikes.

Brandon Tate

No one really cuts Brandon Tate much slack for some reason, but coming off a 24-catch season that was essentially his first full year in three seasons, it’s actually a pretty good start. Compared to how much we saw Chad Jackson on the field during his first year, it looks like the coaching staff does see potential in Tate. Consider what Tory Holt had to say about Tate after the seasons:

Brandon Tate, I think he is a speed guy. We all saw that he can stretch the field. More playing experience will help him in terms of slowing down and understanding the game and knowing where to be, being that much more reliable for Tom. I think that will come. 

So while people like Mike Lombardi are saying the Pats do need to add another vertical threat this off-season, let’s not fall asleep on Tate developing into a more all around receiving threat that defenses will have to respect.

Patrick Chung

I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who will continue to hate my boy Patchung! for the botched playoff fake punt. But the truth is that Chung will likely be the number one safety in 2011 for the Pats. He’s a versatile player, who was a victim of that versatility when he was forced to play as a slot cornerback for much of the second half of the season. If he’s allowed to move back into more of a Rodney Harrison-type role he should really excel, especially given how much experience he gained in 2011.


Notes on the New England Patriots Pro Bowlers

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Six Patriots made the Pro Bowl, and for most of them it was a well-deserved honor. Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork are clearly deserving as they’ve been playing at a top level all season.

Many knocked the first round selection of “mainly special teamer” Devin McCourty, but now we see that McCourty is the next great NFL shutdown corner, and a playmaker who deserved to go to the Pro Bowl as a rookie.

Jerod Mayo leads the NFL in tackles and is living up to the promise he showed as a rookie in 2008. Mayo had possibly his best game of the season against the Bills last weekend, and looks to be in top form as the playoffs approach.

Now we get to the two most interesting Pro Bowl Pats.

Logan Mankins has been a beast since returning from his hold out. Its been a love fest from every Patriot coach and player when asked about Mankins. It is even clearer now how much he means to the Patriots offense, and every effort must be made to mend any burnt bridges and re-sign him to a long term deal.

Last, and certainly least, is Brandon Meriweather, one of those Pro Bowl anomalies. Meriweather started the season as the 3rd safety because of “freelancing” in practice. He regained his starting spot but was again benched against the Bears for what Mike Reiss believed was for being late to a team meeting.

Meriweather has now made back to back Pro Bowls as he enters the last year of his contract. He’s a solid player but with Patrick Chung, James Sanders and the emerging Jarrad Page, he’s far from an indispensible piece of the puzzle, especially with his continuing issues. The Pats use a healthy safety rotation, but Meriweather really has not lived up to expectations despite these honors.
Its possible Meriweather could see these Pro Bowl selections as an indication he deserves an extension from the Pats, and hold out from camp this summer if he doesnt get one. If he does that I wish him luck.

At the very least Meriweather’s perceived self value will certainly be higher than how the Patriots value him after next season. It’s likely that these Pro Bowl selections will seal Meriweather’s fate with the Patriots after 2011, if not sooner.

Patriots Defensive Observations

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Some notes and such on the Patriots defense following the re-watch of the Bears game.

– Jarrad Page was out there a lot, over Brandon Meriweather in some cases. Once Devin McCourty was lost half way through the second quarter there was some juggling so it’s hard to say exactly what the depth chart situation is. But it’s clear that the coaches like Page and he’s getting more and more play time every week. He did have a blown coverage and missed tackle in the second half, but pretty much any defender who played a lot in those conditions did as well. 

– Maybe Meriweather just doesn’t play well in the cold? Sounds stupid but his reduction in playing time was definitely notable as he had re-emerged as an every down player as of late. 

– Patrick Chung had more time in the slot but seemed to do a better job than he had in the last few games. He was reacting quick and getting to the ball. He should be back to 100% by the playoffs.

– There were times when the Patriots had 4 safeties on the field. Clearly they need to get healthy at cornerback.

– Early reports via Gresh and Zo were that Devin McCourty wouldn’t miss a game with his rib injury. It looked like the injury happened on the play where he forced the fumble. Didn’t look like a major collision or anything. If it’s anything serious I’d be pretty surprised, would have to be a freak thing in that case, and it sounds like McCourty isn’t the kind of player who suffers freak injuries.

– Ron Brace saw time at nose tackle for the first time this season and looked fast and strong off the ball. He also got some time as an interior rusher next to Vince Wilfork. With Myron Pryor and Mike Wright out Brace got a chance to do some pass rushing, in the past it had been Kyle Love and Gerard Warren doing it so it’s a positive sign that Brace is improving. You can never have too many big strong defensive lineman, and with Brace playing well it really bodes well for the future.

– Kyle Arrington had a very solid game against the Bears, might come down to him or Dan Connolly for the 12th man award.

– As I kind of expected the lack of Brandon Spikes didn’t really mean much for Dane Fletcher. Fletcher has been primarily a passing down linebacker, and it looks like Eric Moore showed enough in his first week to get some looks as the designated pass rusher opposite Tully Banta-Cain in nickel and dime packages. Moore made some good plays, so I expect we’ll see more of him. If he can bring some consistent pass rush it would be a great addition.

– The Patriots lost their top sack player (Mike Wright) and haven’t lost a game. Pretty impressive considering how much people bag on our pass rush. When he/Pryor get back it should give the defense even more of a boost, especially because their legs should be fresh.

– Great day for Gary Guyton. If had been since the opener versus the Bengals when he last made a big play and in this game he made two. Hopefully he can continue to ascend. Given it’s his third year he really should be starting to hit his stride.

Notes on a White Wash: Patriots Snow Blast Bears

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The fact that I was never really worried about the Bears this week concerned me slightly. If you look at history the Patriots traditionally own the NFC lately, and despite the short week, snow and wind I still felt pretty sure the Patriots would win the game.

And they did. In a convincing matter. These 2010 Patriots are certainly playing their best football of the year just as the game start to matter most. If you’ve been a Patriots fan for longer than three years you might find yourself having a lower level of enthusiasm about regular season wins. That’s what happens when you go 16-0 yet lose the last game.

This was a huge win, especially when coupled with the Jets loss. The Patriots are now within striking distance of the number one overall seed in the AFC. With the way they’ve been playing lately they’re as close to unstoppable as any football team I’ve seen in a while.

The ‘07 Pats peaked too soon, but this group seems to be hitting their stride exactly at the right time. But there is still much football to be played, and improvement to be made, that will hopefully culminate in early February. That’s still more than two months away.

So for now just some quick hit thoughts…

– Biggest concern is absolutely the status of Devin McCourty. He’s really been the spark in the secondary, and his loss would be a tough one to overcome. Luckily there is time for him to get healthy. Well, maybe an extra week considering Aaron Rodgers will likely be out next weekend.

– Who would’ve thought we’d see new pickup Moore making some noise with his pass rush? Can’t wait to see what they’ll do with him in normal conditions. From Mike Reiss:

The five-year veteran played in his first game as a Patriot and recorded four tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. 

“I’m excited and thankful that God gave me the opportunity to go out there and play, and thankful to Coach Belichick for bringing me in,” Moore said in an upbeat Patriots locker room. “It’s great, with all the guys embracing me and helping me out, learning this defense." 

– Whe McCourty went out it was Patrick Chung who was moved to outside corner. Now more than ever the Patriots will need Jonathan Wilhite back.

– Remember when people we’re convinced the Pats were dead in the water without a Julius Peppers-type acquisition?

– Give it up for Shayne Graham, Zoltan Mesko and the long snapper. Just one missed XP? I’ll take it.

– I saw the Jets losing the to Dolphins from a mile away.

– In the AFC contender/pretender game today Jacksonville proved they were better than the Raiders.

– Tom Brady is playing at a level that hasn’t been seen since mid-season 2007.

– Who’d have thought Branch and Welker would be this deadly together? 

– I think they’re just keeping Fred Taylor fresh in case he has to go. Benny’s getting the bulk of the carries from here on out. We won’t see much out of Fred unless we have to.

– Funny, we’re not hearing much about how horrible Bill O’Brien is anymore, are we? Remember when it was all on "play calling”? 

– The defensive stat numbers should continue a positive trend this week. Everyone was writing the Patriots off before they killed the Jets because of their pass defense, but they’ve really come together in the last two weeks. This must continue. If they’re going to regress in a game better to get it out of the way in the next three weeks and not in the playoffs.

– Playoffs. We all want the bye, but let’s just take a moment and appreciate what we’ve seen this year. A young defense come of age and a quarterback playing absolutely out of his mind. Let’s not  forget an epic coaching job by Bill Belichick and staff.