NESN – Bill Belichick apparently believes he can unlock Cordarrelle Patterson’s full potential. Patterson, who was traded from the Oakland Raiders to the New England Patriots last month, has been a special teams star during his five-year NFL career but only a sporadic offensive contributor, able to break long gains with his speed and athleticism but lacking consistent production as a receiver or ball-carrier. Belichick hopes to change that. During an appearance Wednesday on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football,” Patterson recalled the first conversation he had with the Patriots coach after the trade was completed. “He was just telling me, ‘I don’t know what you’ve been through in the past, but we get the job done here,’ ” Patterson said. “‘We’re going to make you the player that you should be.’ ” …“I got a call from my agent, and he was like, ‘You’re getting traded to the Patriots,’ ” Patterson said on “Good Morning Football.” “I was like, ‘Stop lying.’ He was like, ‘No, I’m serious.’ So I was like, ‘OK, let’s go.’ I was excited. They make it to the Super Bowl almost every year … so it was an exciting feeling to me.”
I was having a chat with Joey B yesterday about the Patriots receiving corp for the 2018 season and he expressed some concern about the team’s lack of a deep threat after the trade of Brandin Cooks. Now we do in fact have Cordarrelle Patterson (4.4 second 40 time) and Philip Dorsett (4.3 second 40 time) on the roster so those are your de facto flag route guys.
But, I honestly don’t think the Pats need a pure deep threat and I think thats something they forgot last year as they tried to force balls to Cook down the field. Tom Brady was forced to stand in the pocket longer so those deep routes had time to develop, which resulted in Brady taking more than twice as many sacks (35) than he did the previous year (15). So thats more hits on Brady than you’d like to see your 40-year-old QB take. Plus with their longtime left tackle gone thats an issue you want to mitigate even further so TB12 isn’t susceptible to unnecessary shots. Plus the Patriots have never needed or relied on a prototypical deep threat as part of a Super Bowl winning offense. Its always been about the short routes, working the slot, timing, quick in and out routes, and Gronk when he’s been healthy.
With all of that being said, how can you not love Belichick? He knows all of this, but he’s so cocky in his ability to put players in a position to succeed he straight up tells the guy all your other coaches have been garbage, but we get the job done here. We tell you to Do Your Job and if you worry about that and only that you’ll have the opportunity to maximize your talents. Just look at guys he’s done this with in the past: Julian Edelman, Danny Woodhead, Troy Brown, Deion Lewis, Wes Welker, Chris Hogan etc. The hoodie knows how to take advantage of a player’s very particular set of skills:
Not to mention these guys are often the same guys that have fallen out of favor with their old teams, which is why their stock is so low to begin with. So its a great marriage of opportunity and timing.
This is sort of an addendum to Dougie’s blog but here we are. As we all know by now Brandin Cooks, the first true, blue, lights out receiver the Pats have had since Randy Moss was traded yesterday for, by and large, a first round pick. I’ve seen a few folks on the interwebs (namely the good people at Walter Football) mention that Cooks clearly sucked in terms of his locker room presence, hence why despite his talent he’s been discarded by two teams in two years at age 24, and I get that. That’s a good point. I’ve also heard the normal “crafty Belichick” explanations that come about after big subtractions like this one. In this case, Belichick saw how #1 WRs are getting paid and realized he, in hindsight, was never going to be able to resign Cooks so he got something for him. That also makes sense.
However sometimes with Belichick and the Pats one just needs to see the forest through the trees. Sometimes things are pretty simple, as I honestly believe they are here.
Last year, I think the Pats honestly gave themselves a “let’s load the fuck up and win one” year. They got Cooks. They got Gilmore and kept an unhappy Butler anyway. They really did on paper have a top tier starting line up on both sides, save for the offensive line which of course became one of the teams huge Achilles fucking heels. Then Edelman got hurt, then Hightower. Things sort of went sideways. Yes, we went to the Super Bowl, but there were a lot of shaky, sloppy games in there, not to mention the fact that our road to Minnesota was paved by a particularly weak AFC East, the rest of which pick somewhere in the top 12 this April. When it all added up, I think Pats Nation knew that there were probably a few teams that could beat us come the big one, and that’s why, despite none of us ever admitting it, we weren’t as shocked or as crushed as the last two Super Bowl losses when one of them did.
So the Pats’ one year, mercenary laden, quest is over. Now Belichick will go back to trying to win, and mostly succeeding, with the David Patten’s and Otis Smith’s of the world while jettisoning anyone that doesn’t fall in line and care about nothing but championships; the “Patriot Way”.
And ya, I think this time that includes Gronk. #87 is sick of Belichick being such a buzz kill and of his overbearing nature as it pertains to his training and Belichick is sick of Gronk being sick of it. There has been how many stories about this this offseason? Where there is smoke there is fire. So let’s start checking in daily to see when Belichick makes his cruelest move yet and casts off one of the most beloved Pats of all time and the greatest to ever play the Tight End position YES THERE I FUCKING SAID IT.
Patriots are trading WR Brandin Cooks and a fourth-round pick to LA Rams for the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and a sixth-round pick, league sources told ESPN.
As per usual, I have no idea what the Patriots are planning here. On one hand, it really is great, great value to get the No. 23 overall pick for a guy with one year left on his contract. On the other hand, great value aside… Tom Brady might blow a goddamn gasket when he hears about this. First Danny Amendola walked, now Cooks is out, Gronk is still hemming and hawing about playing next year, and Julian Edelman is coming back from a shredded knee. Not exactly confidence inspiring for a QB in his 40s.
The real question here though is; what do the Patriots have up their sleeve? The Pats rarely trade up into the first round so I FULLY expect them to trade down again for five 4th round picks so they can fill out the team with more Rutgers and Navy guys. But, if we want to have a little fun for a minute; what could the Pats realistically do with this pick?
Well they could turn around and give it to New York in a trade for Odell Beckham Jr. It was rumored that it would take a 1st rounder to pry ODB from the Giants and the Rams were the team most commonly mentioned in those rumors. Now with their first round pick in hand, the Patriots could effectively trade Brandin Cooks for ODB straight up. That would be fine with me, but of course that would open up Pandora’s Box of yet another guy bitching about his contract in the locker room.
Or are the Patriots potentially looking to package No. 23 and their own No. 31 pick to move up in the draft and take say…a quarterback?
New England is now armed with double 1’s, double 2’s, and in prime position to move up in draft and select a QB if it so chooses.
I’m still driving the Johnny Manziel hype train, but I was just listening to Felger and Mazz and they took a quick peak at the NFL Draft Value chart and according to them these two picks would, in theory, be enough ammo to move up to No. 9 overall in the Draft. Now that…that is interesting. Are the Pats looking to trade up and grab my boy Baker Mayfield?
Probably not, but Bill Belichick is nothing if not a sneaky and devious SOB so I fully expect this newly acquired draft capital to go to good use. So it sucks to see another one of Brady’s weapons, who I expected to improve in Year 2, leave the team but I’ll reserve judgement until we see what Bill does with the pick.
For what its worth Zolak seems to be thinking the same thing and I’d say and he’s *kind of* tapped into the team.
Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.
A lot of my friends are still pretty pissed off at Bill Belichick for decisions made that may or may not have lost the Patriots a Super Bowl (i.e. benching Malcolm Butler). With all the negative publicity surrounding the Patriots recently fans are seemingly wavering in their confidence. There are a ton of dominoes that will need to fall one way or another before next season, which is what Patriots fans fear most.
Rob Gronkowski could be jumping ship to go hit people with steel chairs.
That would have sounded insane just a couple of months ago, but the longer we go the larger the possibility is that Gronk will walk away from the NFL to join the WWE and chase Hollywood. On the outside looking in that is preposterous because he’s arguably the greatest TE to ever play the game, only 28 years old, playing for an elite team with an elite QB, and coming off one of his healthiest seasons. But he’s also already made tens of millions of dollars and despite his relative health this season, another concussion notwithstanding, Gronk may be starting to think about his mortality. Is it worth it to play a few more years and possibly blow out my knee again, break my arm again, break my back again? People forget just how banged up this guy has been. With the recent run of NFL players retiring young these days it wouldn’t surprise me. It would borderline tragic as a Patriots fan to see Gronk step away, but I wouldn’t fault him.
The Patriots leading rusher Dion Lewis could be gone
Lewis sounded like a guy reserved to a fate of playing in Indianapolis or Tampa Bay next year in a recent podcast with Adam Schefter.
“I love it here…Hopefully it will work out, but at the same time, you can’t really think that way. You have to take care of yourself and your family…At the same time, I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket,” he said. “I know how the team likes to handle their business, and as a running back, you have to make the most of your opportunity…My main thing is just making sure I’m valued. That’s my biggest thing — to make sure I’m valued the way I value myself.”
Similar to many players that excel with the Patriots, Lewis bounced around the league for years before putting it all together and breaking out in New England. It would be a shame to see him leave as the Patriots are nearly undefeated with a healthy Dion Lewis on the field. Thats the key word there though; healthy. While another team may be willing to roll the dice on Lewis’ knees and pay big bucks to sign the RB, I don’t see Belichick doing the same.
Malcolm Butler is gone.
This one’s not even a question. I think Belichick could have burned Butler’s house down and we’d have a better shot at him coming back than we do after Bill benching Malcolm for the entire goddamn Super Bowl. Butler resigning with the Patriots would shock me more than him not playing in the Super Bowl.
Nate Solder is a free agent
He could return to protect Brady’s blind side, which might be the single most important job in all of New England, but he’s also dealing with some very serious real life issues as his young son continues to battle cancer. At some point the commitment it takes to play in the NFL may be more than Solder is willing to sacrifice at this point. I wouldn’t blame him if he walks away to spend more time with his family.
Danny Amendola is a free agent
After taking pay cuts each of the last 3 years, Amendola’s original 5-year contract is up. So while Amendola has clearly demonstrated he is a company man, does he want to play for less than market value yet again? He has carved out a folk hero-esque role here and seems to be BFFs with Tom Brady, so maybe he does, but if someone knocks down his door with a big money offer does that make him think twice?
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Okay, thoroughly depressed now? Time for some SILVER LININGS!
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Tom Brady is the reigning MVP
Whether you believe Alex Guerrero is the next coming of Christ or if you think the TB12 Method is a total crock of shit, you can’t deny whatever Brady’s doing is working. He’s the goddamn MVP at 40 years old and just threw for 500 fucking yards in the Super Bowl. As always with an older player, I fear the end of the road, but Brady has been so damn good its hard to know if thats coming next year or if he’ll be collecting Social Security checks while under center. Either way, life is good.
Julian Edelman will be back
He has been posting workout videos almost daily and while I cringe watching him sprint, jump, and cut on his surgically repaired ACL, I gotta say he looks great. All that while not even rocking a shirt, impressive stuff.
Dont’a Hightower will be back
The Patriots missed him in a bad, bad way this past season. Relying on the likes of 40-year old James Harrison and signing guys like David Harris (who just retired) to fill in for the likes of All-Pros like Kyle Van Noy. So Hightower will be back next year. Until he gets hurt again. But he will be back!
Brandin Cooks will have a full offseason to work with Tom Brady
Who knows, he may even get invited out to the TB12 Neverland Ranch in Montana to work out with the rest of the receiving corp! A lot of the Boston media was pretty down on Cooks, which I just do not get. Was he 2007 Randy Moss? Of course not, but he was one of the most immediately successful wide receivers Belichick has ever picked up behind only Moss and Wes Welker. Usually these receivers come into Foxborough and are a disaster because they just don’t have it anymore, they can’t figure out the system, or they fall out of Brady’s circle of trust. Joey Galloway, Ocho Cinco, and Brandon Lloyd. In his lone season playing with Brady, Cooks had 65 catches for 1,082 yards and 7 TDs. Not too shabby, now give him 6 months to study the playbook and work with Brady and Belichick.
Fear not, young padawan. The city of Boston is not falling into a sinkhole. The Patriots are still elite and while there are some holes to fill and some air needs to be cleared, they will still be one of the favorites to win Super Bowl LIII. That’ll do, pig.
NESN – Dexter Manley won a pair of Super Bowls in his day, and when asked a question about the best quarterback he ever played against (mind you his playing career stretched from 1981-1991), he used it as an opportunity to really rip into the New England Patriots quarterback. “People give Tom Brady too much credit,” Manley said, via WEEI.com. “It is a team effort. No. 1, he gets the ball out of his hand quick. He has good mechanics, but he’s no Joe Montana. My daughter could out-run Tom Brady. Joe Montana is the best of all-time. He’s the best passer — him and Dan Marino. That guy don’t fit in those categories. I don’t care what they say.”
So former Washington R-Words defensive end Dexter Manley was on TV discussing who he thinks is the greatest QB of all time.
Dexter scoffed at the idea that Tom Brady is the best to ever do it. Why? He gets the ball out quick, he has good mechanics, he has 5 Super Bowl rings, but he can’t run fast so I gotta give the nod to Joe Montana here.
Ya know what Tom Brady doesn’t have?
Oh and Dan Marino is better too? The guy with as many Super Bowl rings as me. Makes sense, Dexter.
Sure Brady has had great players around him too. Take for instance Randy Moss, who he played with for parts of 3 seasons (not including the year Brady missed to a knee injury) and never won a SB with. He also has Gronk of course, who is a first ballot HOFer no doubt, but Brady has won 4 Super Bowls without him. Brady’s had 5-star recruits and household names like the 7th round QB out of Kent State he turned into one of the best receivers in the NFL in Julian Edelman. Or the time the undrafted WR out of Texas Tech came out of nowhere and Brady molded him into the most reliable hands on the Patriots. TWICE. Danny Amendola and Wes Welker of course. I could go on and on.
Meanwhile Joe Montana had by all accounts the greatest receiver to ever play the game IN HIS PRIME. The NFL’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns played with Joe Montana for 6 seasons, winning 3 Super Bowls together.
All that and Tom Brady still has him beat by the numbers. Tom Brady has a better career Completion Percentage, TD Percentage, INT Percentage, Passer Rating, more 4th Quarter Comebacks, more Game Winning Drives, and Brady has over 26,000 more career passing yards, and over 200 more Touchdowns than Dexter Manley’s lord and savior Joe Montana.
What about the fact that Brady “gets the ball out quickly” and just dumps it off as Dexter Manley put it? Well Tom Brady and Joe Montana actually have the same exact average Yards per Attempt at 7.5.
Oh and Tom Brady also has more Pro Bowls, wins, division titles, Conference Championships, Super Bowl rings, Super Bowl MVPs, and NFL League MVP awards.
The Patriots cruised to a blowout win over the Saints yesterday so its all popsicles and sunshine around here. Kind of. Not to throw cold water on a great victory, but we saw some key players exit the game or clearly playing at less than 100% with various injuries. I’m not yet in panic mode, but this shit has me straight up concerned.
Julian Edelman (IR)
Malcolm Mitchell (IR)
Matthew Slater (OUT – hammy)
Danny Amendola (OUT – concussion/knee)
Philip Dorsett (came out of the game)
Chris Hogan (was in and out of game, severely limping)
“It really, really sucks that Edelman is done for the year, but if there was ever a year to have an injury at receiver, its this year.” I said those words after Edelman went down because we still had Hogan, Amendola, Mitchell, and of course the newly acquired Brandin Cooks. Now? Frighteningly thin. Sure, Brady went out there and had one of his best games ever with fucking fullbacks lining up out wide, but that game had an eerily-2006 feel to it when Brady was basically throwing to trashcans in the AFC championship game.
Dont’a Hightower (OUT – knee)
Reports are still pegging this at 2-3 week “minor” injury, but the fact that it happened in Week 1 after the Pats and other teams in Free Agency were concerned with Hightower’s health is not a great sign. If he misses a lengthy period of time, then this Pats defense is cooked against the better teams in this league.
Rob Gronkowski (left the game with a groin injury)
Here’s my real-time reaction to Gronk making a reception and taking a hit before gingerly getting up and taking himself out of the game.
I literally cannot watch Gronkowski take a hit anymore. #Patriots
And its true, I legit can’t bear to watch the guy take hits anymore because you never know which one is gonna be the one that ends his season this time. But in the sick paradox that is football, its the only way for Gronk to be effective. If he’s not out there being a physical monster, then he’s just not making an impact. It seems like this is a groin injury and not too serious; Gronk said he was “fine” after the game. Thankfully its not the back as Tony Romo pointed out multiple times on the broadcast. Romo’s career was effectively ended by back injuries so this guy knows what he’s talking about, which is scary. Hopefully its just a tweak and Gronk’s back out there next week.
Eric Rowe (left the game with a groin injury)
Role players for the Pats (except both started against the Saints) so to see these guys exit the game with injuries is concerning as well. Rowe is the 2nd or 3rd corner depending on what day it is, so to lose that guy for any period of time is a huge hit for the D.
Rex Burkhead (left the game with a rib injury)
Burkhead looked like yet another wrinkle in the Pats offense that McDaniels could have some fun with before leaving the game with a rib injury. Its unclear how serious that injury is, but he didn’t return to the game. Sure the Pats have a stable of RBs, but their effectiveness is in the combined efficiency of their diversity, ya know kind of like the Captain Planet Planeteers. So the more of them that are healthy the better off the Pats will be.
So long story short, injuries are starting to pile up for the Patriots and its not even October yet, which has me concerned. Combine the recent injuries with preseason losses like top draft pick Derek Rivers (ACL) and Rob Ninkovich (delicious Bud Lights in retirement and arguing with Felger on TV) and the Pats are getting thinner each week on both sides of the ball. They looked awesome against the Saints, but hopefully some of these injuries clear up or Tom Brady will literally have to carry this team on his back like the old 2006 squad.
In a game that had the fans frothing at the mouth, ready to pounce on the Chiefs, their fans and most of all Roger Goodell, the Patriots couldn’t get the job done and dropped their season opener 42-27. Second year Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill was an absolute monster as was rookie RB Kareem Hunt who had his way with the Pats defense. The Patriots looked excelling out of the gate, scoring less than 3 minutes into the game. But an failed 4th down conversion on their next drive swung momentum, followed by an overturned Gronk touchdown, some key injuries to the Patriots, and then huge plays down the stretch by the KC skill players and all of that was enough to wipe out the 19-0 dream before I even had my first Shipyard pumpkin beer of the season. On to the highlights, the lowlights, and all the rest.
Highlights
Obviously dropping the 5th Super Bowl champs banner at Gillette was a glorious thing to see, albeit awkwardly brief and to the soundtrack of House of Pain, but despite a shitty loss ya can’t take that banner away.
Brandin Cooks looks to come as advertised, fast as all hell and he is going to be a problem for defenses all year. This guy is going to get legitimately 100 hundred PI calls this season.
Robert Kraft unveiling and rocking his own damn shoe, the RKK Air Force 1.
Alex Smith is only the second QB to EVER throw for 300+ yards and 4 TDs on a Belichick defense with the only other being Drew Brees in 2009. That game was also an absolute beatdown in New Orleans that I remember clear as day watching from my college newspaper editors meeting.
The Danny Amendola head injury was devastating because Malcolm Mitchell was put on IR just hours before the game so the Pats were down to just 3 wide receivers in their first game; Brandon Cooks, Chris Hogan, and Philip Dorsett. Amendola is nails, but he needs to be managed because he does get hurt a lot. So naturally the Patriots ran him into the ground, return punts, and take absolute buddy passes over the middle from Brady. Huge loss as he put up a sneaky line of 6 catches for 100 yards before exiting the game. Hopefully he’s not out long because this team needs him right now.
The Dont’a Hightower injury could legitimately wreck the season for a team already dangerously thing in the front seven. Hightower got rolled up on by a lineman in the 3rd quarter and missed the rest of the game. He went into the medical tent and could later be seen riding the stationary bike with a hot pack on his knee, which I don’t know what to make of, but certainly looked like an MCL injury. If he is out for an extended period of time then the defense is really in trouble. Update: PFT is reporting its just a “minor” MCL sprain.
The Pats newest addition to the defense Cassius Marsh got a crash course in how to not cover a runningback out of the backfield as he got smoked for a 74-yard TD reception by Kareem Hunt. To be fair, Marsh was more of a defensive end than a coverage linebacker during his time in Seattle, but still not a great look. Especially not when you have your whole face painted like a goddamn juggalo.
The one thing that does concern me is with Julian Edelman out for the season and a brand new shiny toy in burner Brandon Cooks is that I hope Brady doesn’t try and force too many deep balls each game. Thats exactly what the Patriots were doing in the 4th quarter last night. Obviously they needed two scores to win the game at that point, but just forcing seam routes is never a great option. Gave me cold sweats as it was reminiscent of the end of Super Bowl XLII when Brady was just hucking 40 yard bombs in vain to Randy Moss.
Marcus Cannon getting smoked by Justin Houston was like seeing an old high school friend after years. Not exactly a great thing to see, but its exactly how you remember it.
Rob Gronkowski was getting flanked by one of the best safeties in the league last night in Eric Berry (who may have unfortunately torn his achilles), but as the best TE in the league you gotta make something happen. I thought he did just that on his would be TD catch, but the refs disagreed and overturned the call saying it touched the turf. Huge break for the Chiefs that helped turn the momentum of the game.
Kicking a FG on 4th and inches. Especially after going for it on 4th and 1 earlier (and failing). It was very un-Patriots like, but maybe Bill just knew he wasn’t going to get through that D-line last night as they later got stuffed on another 4th down conversion attempt.
Kareem Hunt setting the goddamn record for most yards from scrimmage for a rookie in his first game. After fumbling on his first career carry, the Spencer Ware backup exploded for 148 yards rushing and 1 TD on the ground with 5 catches for 98 yards and another 2 TDs. Savvy fantasy owners everywhere rejoice.
How about Marky Mark being unable to not promote something for 5 fucking minutes? Wahlberg was wearing some branded t-shirt that just seemed so cheesy. My man, just throw on a TB12 jersey for me one time.
Mike Gillislee looked great, rushing for 3 touchdowns, but it was definitely disappointing to see him get stuffed on 4th and short on two separate occasions. For our goal line guy, you gotta have those.
It looked like the Patriots weren’t exactly dying to have Tom Brady smash his head into a wall in Week 1 as they decided against the QB sneak on 4th and inches. Instead electing to go with Gillislee again, who got stuffed. Very odd to see because Brady is essentially automatic from that spot.
The Pats special teams unit frustratingly (and hilariously) refusing to not absolutely smoke the Chiefs punter. Thankfully it was a long 4th down conversion as the Pats ran into the kicker on two consecutive plays to earn a 5 yard penalty each time. Almost seemed intentional, maybe they just don’t like the guy.
Now I gotta listen to shit like this all over again.
No, no he’s not. Lets give him more than one game with a new offensive scheme and see how things go. Brady was far from great last night going 16/36 for 267 yards with 0 TD’s, but if anything I’m putting this L on the defense.
So whats the silver lining?
Its one bad game. This same exact thing happened two years ago against the same exact team and everyone was more than happy to dance on the Patriots graves.
Then what happened? The Pats came back and anihilated the Bengals and then went on to win the Super Bowl. So lets all pump the breaks. Bad games aren’t concerning. Trends are concerning. So if they get trounced next week by the Saints, then we can talk.
LETS GOOO. LETS GOOO. Your Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots are back tonight after 7 months without football. Tonight they’re gonna light the biggest fire the north has ever seen.
The last time we saw this team they were lifting the Lombardi Trophy after completing the greatest comeback in NFL history and giving Roger Goodell and the league a gigantic middle finger. As Robert Kraft once said, this one is unequivocally the sweetest.
The Pats had to literally redesign the goddamn stadium to make room for Super Bowl Champs banner No. 5. That is preposterous and tonight we get to see Tom Brady and the boys drop another banner on the rest of the NFL.
It sucks that we lost Julian Edelman for the year with a knee injury, but this team is still stacked. We’ve got Gronk back, added Brandon Cooks, and brought in Rex Burkhead and Mike Gillislee. Another year in the system for Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell. Dion Lewis, Danny Amendola, Dont’a Hightower, Malcolm Butler, Devin McCourty, Stephon Gilmore, GET OFF THE TRACKS BECAUSE THE TRAIN IS LEAVING THE STATION.
As was suspected Friday night when Julian Edelman left the Patriots’ third preseason game with an injury, Edelman tore his ACL and will miss the entire 2017 season.
A lot of fans on social media were quick to decry the NFL preseason but the truth is that this injury could have happened at any time. Tom Brady didn’t play at all in the 2008 preseason and suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 of the regular season. Wes Welker tore his left ACL and MCL in Week 17 in 2009. Rob Gronkowski has suffered a wide range of injuries during his seven year career, including a broken arm while playing on field goal protection (!) against the Colts in Week 11 in 2012.
Time and again, the Patriots have shown the ability to adapt and not only survive, but excel. The Patriots won the Super Bowl last season despite not having Gronkowski for the last five games of the regular season or the playoffs. They won the Super Bowl in 2003 after cutting Lawyer Milloy four days before the start of the regular season. And they won 11 games in 2008 without Brady, becoming the first 11-win team to miss the playoffs in more than two decades.
This season will be no different. It’s always disappointing to see a star player go down, but Bill Belichick never lets emotions affect his team’s play. The Patriots still have a very talented wide receiver corps that includes Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan and Danny Amendola. Future hall of famer Rob Gronkowski is apparently healthy and ready to go, and the Patriots should still be able to cobble together a pretty good running game (to the chagrin of fantasy football players). With the AFC East still consisting of the Jets, Bills and Dolphins, it’s hard to bet against this team making it back to at least the AFC Championship game in January.
If you’re still down about Edelman, though, rest assured. He will be back, and it will be a hell of story in the updated afterword to his memoir in a few years.
Yankees rookie Aaron Judge put on a goddamn show last night to win the Home Run Derby and it’s time for Red Sox fans to start being afraid. It’s hard to have missed what Judge has been doing this season unless you’re literally refusing to watch baseball until the leaves turn. The Yankees rookie hit 30 home runs in the first half, which already broke Joe DiMaggio’s rookie team record. And he’s well on his way to besting Mark McGwire’s MLB record of 49 home runs as a rookie.
Mac was obviously on the juice for a long time, but Judge is a genetic freak. The guy is bigger than Gronk for christ’s sake. He’s 6/7″ 282 lbs so its not like he’s just peeling the skin off his chicken. He’s built to smash things.
But its hard to really get the fear of god in you just by reading boxscores. Its only when you see that goddamn horse hitting 519 ft home runs do you realize that as a Red Sox fan we are fucked. This guy is going to be hitting moonshots onto the Pike for the next decade. So settle in guys, this guy is going to be the next great Red Sox killer. And the worst part is, Judge hasn’t really done anything yet to earn my ire. As much as I want to, I don’t hate him. Yet. He’s gonna need to legitimately kill a Red Sox fan sitting on the Monster for me to get some hate flowing.
The 300s 