So the Patriots traded Brandin Cooks for a 1st round pick yesterday. Why? Will they trade up for a QB in the draft? Flip the pick for Odell Beckham Jr? Or are they just gonna trade down and draft more Rutgers and Navy players?
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.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 3, 2018
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.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 3, 2018
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?
https://giphy.com/embed/RveDcLXAWGizK
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.
They’re either getting OBJ or love QB
— Scott Zolak (@scottzolak) April 3, 2018
Theres been a lot of smoke around the Manziel Patriots connection lately so I am on the Johnny Football Hype Train full steam ahead!
Boston Herald – The Patriots were in attendance at Texas A&M’s pro day today at the team’s indoor practice facility. They were there with 31 other teams to watch 14 Aggies players auditioning for next month’s draft. But there was also someone else there of note: Johnny Manziel. Manziel threw to receivers and running backs including Texas A & M’s star receiver Christian Kirk, who has drawn a lot of interest. According to a source, the Patriots spoke with Manziel both before the workout, as well as after the session..The Patriots certainly appear to be taking notes. It’s not out of the realm for them to be thinking about having him come to camp as a third quarterback. At the very least, it would be an interesting curve ball by Bill Belichick.
Karen Guregian reported on Tuesday that the Patriots met with Johnny Manziel both before AND after his workout at the Texas A&M Pro Day. Couple that with the Patriots taking Johnny Manziel aside to officially weigh him after he threw at the USD Pro Day last week and I think its safe to say that I am EXCITED. For a guy that has thoroughly enjoyed Johnny Football’s rise and subsequently agonized over his fall, I am pretty god damn jacked up about him potentially joining my favorite team.
If it was just one meeting its pretty easy to write off, especially with so many other team scouts at the various Pro Days to watch other guys with a Manziel workout included as a bonus. BUT, with the Pats going to not one, but two of Johnny Football’s workouts has my antenna’s up. Like way up. Erect almost.
First things first, the Patriots could sign Colin Kaepernick tomorrow and make a damn donation to the Fidel Castro Fund and Bill Belichick would kill the story within a fortnight. This is not a team thats afraid of a distraction, not if theres a player out there that can help them win games. They signed our lord and savior Tim Tebow for christ’s sake (sorry Tim).
So I wouldn’t worry about the Pats signing or not signing a guy for any reason other than Bill thinks he can help the Pats win a game.
Now, is Manziel worth it? Well would you rather 32-year-old Brian Hoyer? I like Hoyer as much as the rest of you in New England, but lets be real, the man is a career backup QB. Brian Hoyer is not the future of this team. The Patriots traded away their young, cheap, handsome, franchise QB in Jimmy G. Don’t get me wrong, Tom Brady is a freak of nature who won the Most Valuable Player award at 40 years old so I don’t blame the Patriots for doing what they did. Hell, I wouldn’t be able to dump Tom Brady even if he’s 65 and eating at the Early Bird Special after practice, but thats why I’m not a GM.
With that being said, the Patriots have a soon to be 41-year-old QB and a 32-year-old backup QB, so the opportunity is right there for a young developmental QB. We don’t need a guy to come in and start winning games in September obviously. Manziel is only 25-years-old. Or the Pats could draft a QB, but for a team that is so depleted on the defensive end and so clearly in Win Now mode, I wouldn’t be surprised if they restocked the cupboards with young defensive players and looked elsewhere for QB insurance.
On to my final point. Who in this league is better at rebuilding players careers and buying low than the New England Patriots? No one. It would be the ultimate Patriot move to sign a young, publicly chided, humbled, former Heisman Trophy winning Johnny Manziel (who has volunteered to play for free) as the new backup QB on the cheap. It makes perfect sense. If he sucks or he starts frequenting the Foxy Lady then you cut him. But, if he’s legit and he really wants to work his balls off and get back into the league then you get a former 1st round pick and former Heisman winner for peanuts. That my friends is what they call a win-win. And before you all start giving me shit, I know winning the Heisman doesn’t mean anything in regards to NFL success; Troy Smith won the Heisman. BUT Troy was a goddamn savage for my Madden team running the 5-wide spread offense and thats all that really matters isn’t it?
ESPN – New York Giants co-owner John Mara is not ruling out the possibility of trading receiver Odell Beckham Jr., or withholding a contract extension, in the wake of a viral social media video that was posted earlier this month. Mara, speaking Sunday to reporters at the NFL owners meeting, said there is a “possibility” that the Giants will let Beckham play in 2018 on the final year of his rookie contract. Asked if it was possible that Beckham could be on another team’s roster when the season begins, Mara said: “I can’t answer that one way or the other. We’re certainly not shopping him. Again, when you’re coming off a season when you’re 3-13 and played as poorly as we played, I wouldn’t say that anyone is untouchable.”
Hilarious. After years of enabling, coddling, and placating Odell Beckham the Giants have finally had enough of his shit.
“I think too often he allows himself to be put in bad situations and needs to use better judgment,” Mara said in a stern public rebuke.”As I’ve said before,” Mara said, “I’m tired of answering questions about Odell’s behavior and what the latest incident is. I think he knows what we expect of him, and now it’s up to him.”
The pretending to be a dog pissing on the field:
The infamous boat picture:
Add in the most recent incident; a video of ODB and friends lining up “powdery white substances” and John Mara has finally snapped like the principal in Billy Madison.
ODB is a nutcase, he’s immature, he’s volatile, and he’s downright unpredictable. And I will take him on my team TOMORROW.
Absolute game changer of a talent. Despite his off field issues, its not like he’s ever done anything *that* bad. Just some excessive partying, maybe a little (alleged) recreational drug use, and some histrionics on the sidelines. I’ll accept that if it gets me ODB. Granted this dude probably has a shelf life similar to the one Randy Moss seemingly had everywhere he went. No matter how talented the guy was, after a few years every team eventually had had enough of him.
I finally got around to watching the last episode of Tom vs Time last night and like most of the Boston media has said about the finale; it didn’t make me feel great. Theres a lot of talk from Brady questioning his own motivation and commitment and the trade off between football and being a father. Questions that quite honestly weren’t being asked so loudly by our 40-year-old QB even just a few weeks ago.
Whether its a leverage play or a money play or whatever it ultimately is, it reminds me and every Patriots fan in New England that this thing is just about over. The bar is closing. The bouncers may not be escorting you out the front door just yet, but the lights are on, and the last song of the night is playing. As we all come out of our stupor of having drank 8 Bud Lights (Super Bowls) over the past several hours (2001-2018) the question becomes abundantly clear. Where are we going next?
And with that long drunken analogy laid out, my point is the Patriots have painted themselves into a corner where they are unabashedly in Win Now mode. By trading your backup and potential franchise QB this is exactly what you signed off on. Now is not the time to carefully plan for the next 10 years. Now is the time to maximize your HOF quarterback and get any piece you can to help win that 6th Super Bowl. Bring me anyone and everyone that can help Tom Brady get a ring for his incredibly lonely left hand. Quite simply, no more half measures.
I wanted Aqib Talib. I did not get him. I wanted Richard Sherman. I did not get him. I wanted the Honey Badger. I did not get him. What I want does not matter because I don’t run the Patriots, but the Patriots are going to have to pull off a couple of big moves if they want to solidify themselves as the team to beat for one or two more runs at this thing.
Bringing in ODB would be exactly that kind of move.
I have always lusted after Johnny Manziel; the dude just balls out. Plus I’m 5’8″ so any short mobile QB a la Doug Flutie will always get the first crack at my heart. I was actually kinda pissed the year Manziel won the Heisman because I was kind of hoping he might slip to the Patriots, but his huge year at A&M ended any hopes of that. Now as Joey B wrote about earlier today, Manziel was throwing at the USD Pro Day. To which we all said, ah thats good for him to maybe start taking some steps to get back on track, get in front of some scouts etc. But then…then… I saw this tweet.
I’m told there were 12 NFL teams in attendance for USD’s Pro Day where Johnny Manziel was throwing for receivers. The Patriots brought Manziel inside to get an official weight for him. (He’s back up to 199 lbs.)
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) March 22, 2018
Are the Patriots….in on Johnny Manziel?
The Patriots just happen to be in the market for a young, developmental QB after trading away Jimmy G. Who better to take the Johnny Football comeback bid and make it a reality than Bill Belichick? The Pats love to kick the tires on undervalued assets so this would be a good fit. Hell, Manziel even said he would play for free in a recent interview.
Johnny Manziel still needs to knock more rust off and get his timing down, but George Whitfield who has been training him over the last three weeks told me the juice in the QB’s arm is actually better than it was when he was coming out of A&M. https://t.co/3q0UEud0eT
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) March 22, 2018
Manziel is 25 so he’s young, it would seem like he’s back in football shape, and the guy has been eating humble pie for the better part of the last 2 years. Not to mention he’s playing in the Spring Developmental League and potentially the CFL just to get another shot in the NFL so he’ll have no problem holding Tom Brady’s clipboard.
MAKE IT HAPPEN BILL. BRING ME JOHNNY FOOTBALL.
NFL – “Tom Brady is getting a new toy to enjoy in his offense. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported the New England Patriots acquired speedy wideout Cordarrelle Patterson from the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, pending a physical. Per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, the Patriots will swap their fifth-round pick for a Raiders sixth-round pick in order to make the move.”
Not an earth shattering move nor is it as sexy as the last time the Patriots traded for a Raiders receiver…
but Cordarrelle Patterson can be an exciting player with the ball in his hands. Patterson has always been a player that has never been able to necessarily put it all together, but if he could be put in the right positions he could take any play to the house. Putting players in a position to succeed is what Bill Belichick does better than anyone else in the NFL. Whether its returning kicks or a package of screens and slants, I’m confident Bill has a very specific role in mind for this guy. This is a player that the Patriots can line up in the slot, go deep, run screens, reverses or take handoffs. He has a career average yards per reception and yards per rushing attempt of 10+ yards. That type of versatility has me drooling to see what Bill and Josh McDaniels have in store for Patterson.
Although, I would be lying if I didn’t say I am a bit concerned with the recent stockpiling of wide receivers that have made a habit of disappointing coaches and fantasy owners alike in Phillip Dorsett, Kenny Britt, and now Patterson.
If nothing else Patterson can FLY and while I don’t think relying on deep ball go routes from our 41-year-old QB is a great option, he should make an immediate impact in the return game. Belichick may be looking to replace some of the sheer athleticism his team has lost with the recent departures of guys like Dion Lewis. But hey, the guy was on Sports Science so how can this be viewed as anything other than a raging success?
It would appear that the stars are aligning for Richard Sherman to join the New England Patriots. The Seahawks informed Sherman that they planned to release him on Friday, per Adam Schefter. It hasn’t happened yet, but Schefty’s word is God as far as NFL circles are concerned so its coming. Sherman will now enter Free Agency with a certain team just south of Boston in the market for a cornerback. Why does the fit make sense? A few reasons:
“Cause ppl talking to me like I’m slowin’ down. Opinions over statistics, of course” pic.twitter.com/nonbj7rQDA
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) March 9, 2018
So it seems like it would be a great fit, assuming Sherman’s achilles is up to snuff, I don’t see a way this doesn’t happen. A team like the Jets or the Browns could blow him away with big money, but I can’t see a competitive freak like Sherman, after years playing on arguably the best defense in football, suddenly playing for the Jets just because of a bigger paycheck.
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.
AP – Coming off a career-worst batting average and sizeable drop in production, Red Sox DH Hanley Ramirez turned to a new offseason workout routine — he’s following Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady’s TB12 method.
The 34-year-old Ramirez felt like entering the later stages of his career that it was time to make a change. For him, who better to follow than a 40-year-old QB that just captured his third MVP award.
“I went on the Tom Brady side,” said Ramirez, who reported on Friday, a few days before full-squad workouts begin. “I think it’s 100 percent everything he says in the book, the work he does, makes sense.”
I’m on record as saying that I will never read The TB12 Method. I’m more of a Bartolo Colon Big Sexy Cookbook kind of guy. I love my nightshades. But if the TB12 Method works for Hanley Ramirez, I will gladly pour out my Pepsi bottles, dispose of my Frosted Flakes and move to “the Tom Brady side.” If the TB12 Method can work for Hanley Ramirez, that’s enough proof for me that it can work for anyone.
For the sake of this Red Sox season I hope that the TB12 Method does work for Hanley. Do I believe that he has read every word of the The TB12 Method, cover to cover? No. At least he’s saying the right things at the start of spring training, though. It shows that he is focused and that he is motivated. With or without J.D. Martinez the Red Sox need production out of Hanley to compete for a title this year. If Hanley’s 2018 looks anything like his 2017, the Red Sox would be lucky to win even one game in the playoffs.
It also happens to be a contract year for Hanley Ramirez, which might explain his focus this spring. If he makes 497 plate appearances this season his $22 million option for 2019 will kick in. Only three times in 12 years has Hanley failed to make at least 497 plate appearances. All the more reason for the Red Sox to sign J.D. Martinez and keep Hanley’s workload in check. Five years at $25 million a year for J.D. Martinez sounds a lot better if it also allows you to move on from Hanley Ramirez sooner.
Even if Hanley doesn’t make 497 plate appearances a strong 2018 will still allow him to maximize his earning ability as a 35-year-old free agent a year form now. If he’s adhering to the TB12 Method, even if his big-money days are behind him, maybe it’s a sign he would still like to play for a few more years and make some decent dough at the end of his career.
Baseball-Reference is projecting 539 plate appearances, a .255 batting average, 24 home runs and 73 RBIs for Hanley this year. If the Sox don’t add J.D. Martinez, I bet Hanley does make the necessary amount of plate appearances to come back for $22 million in 2019.
While his time in Boston as a whole has been disappointing, Hanley was a 30 HR / 100 RBI guy in 2016. He had offseason surgery on his left shoulder and said he was “hitting with one arm last year” when he hit 23 home runs and still made 553 plate appearances. I wouldn’t be surprised if a healthy, motivated and focused Hanley Ramirez puts up numbers more like 2016 (than 2017 or 2015) this season.
If Hanley has 20 HRs and 65 RBIs by the all-star break, I will head down to Patriot Place and buy The TB12 Method book, the TB12 weighted vest, medicine ball, looped band kit, and all the salt water electrolytes I can get my hands on.
The 300s 