Pats Pulpit - All Posts

Patriots Claim OT Kevin Haslam; Waive R.J. Mattes

2013-05-22T21:59:06Z

The Patriots have continued their pursuit of former Rutgers players, as they have claimed offensive lineman Kevin Haslam off waivers from the Chargers. Haslam, who last played for the Scarlet Knights in 2010, was waived by San Diego on Tuesday.

Haslam brings NFL experience to New England, as he has appeared in 10 career games over his two year career. He got his most valuable experience with the Chargers last season, where he started three games at left tackle. Many believe that Haslam was a likely candidate to take over at the position full time in 2013.

With Haslam coming aboard, the Patriots now have seven players from Rutgers on their roster. It's evident, if it wasn't already, that Belichick really likes what he sees from players who were primarily coached by Greg Schiano at Rutgers. Certainly don't rule out another Rutgers signing before training camp begins.

As a corresponding move, the team has released offensive lineman R.J. Mattes. Mattes was signed by the team last week as an undrafted rookie free agent out of North Carolina State. As a student at State, can't say I'm happy to see Mattes go, but it doesn't seem to sting as much since it's a Rutgers player taking his spot. Those guys are what Bill Belichick really needs more of.

Patriots Spend League High $140K In Guaranteed Money For UDFAs

2013-05-22T13:34:48Z

The Patriots have been notorious for striking gold in the mine of undrafted rookie free agents every year. But in order to do that, they sometimes need to outbid other teams for players they think will amount to something. They've done just that this offseason.

According to Brian McIntyre of Yahoo! Sports, Bill Belichick and co. spent roughly $140,000 in guaranteed money for this year's UDFA crop. That is the most guaranteed money given out to UDFAs this season, in the entire NFL. The Cowboys ($104,500), Rams ($103,100), Buccaneers ($94,670), and Saints ($88,500) round out the top five.

McIntyre pointed out that NFL teams are allowed to spend roughly $78,000 total in signing bonuses for undrafted rookies, but there is no limit of total guaranteed money teams can dish out to these players. Henceforth, the Patriots are in the right in spending around $40,000 more in guaranteed money than the second-place Cowboys did.

The undrafted rookie that was given out the most guaranteed money by New England was, to no surprise, T.J. Moe, who received around an $8,000 signing bonus with additional $22,000 in guaranteed money. Moe was considered by many as a priority undrafted rookie, which meant that the Patriots had to outbid other teams for his services. Moe has one of the better shots to crack the 53-man roster than any of the other undrafted rookie on the roster.

The other "top-dollar" undrafted rookies that signed with New England and were listed by McIntyre was Zach Sudfeld ($17,000 total guaranteed), Elvis Fisher ($15,000), Josh Kline ($14,000), Ben Bartholomew ($10,000) and Kanorris Davis ($10,000).

New England Patriots Links 5/22/13 - Talib: OTAs About 'Getting Down the Basics'

2013-05-22T13:15:42Z

TEAM TALK

Andy Hart shares his notes from the Pats second OTA yesterday, and the first with the media in attendance.
Erik Scalavino catches up with Danny Amendola, who concedes he sometimes feels like the new kid in class.
Andy Hart reports that Aqib Talib is glad to be back for a second season in New England, after a brief trip to free agency.
Andy Hart calls Kyle Love's parting shot at the Patriots interesting, coming from a former undrafted player who developed into a starter and received a contract extension from New England just last summer.
Paul Perillo tackles this week's Ask PFW Mailbag: Fine tuning ahead.
Conference Call Transcript: Tedy Bruschi.
Player Interviews: Vince Wilfork (2.31 min.), Danny Amendola (3.12 min.) and Aqib Talib (3.27 min.)
Patriots Today - First look at OTAs. (1.15 min. video)
Patriots Today - OTAs news and notes. (2.59 min. video)
Patriots Today - Amendola in New England. (2.36 min. video)
Patriots Today - Rookies visit The Hall. (1.56 min. video)
Patriots Today - Robert Kraft chats at owners meetings. (12.25 min. video)
Locker Room Uncut - Checking in with the defense. (1.22 min. video)
PFW In Progress - A break down of the first day of media access at OTAs and much more. (2 hour program)

LOCAL LINKS

Mike Reiss gives us a rundown of the players who are either not expected to participate in the voluntary workouts or whose status is unclear.
Field Yates passes along a handful of observations from the 90 minute OTA session Tuesday.
Christopher Price shares his OTA notebook: Tom Brady spends quality time with Danny Amendola and Mike Jenkins.
Karen Guregian reports the Brady-Amendola duo looked pretty good - no miscues, and Amendola was catching the balls thrown to him.
Jeff Howe details Tuesday's practice, noting the return of Aqib Talib is significant in having the top of the depth chart nearly locked in.
Field Yates tells us Aqib Talib is one of the few players who favor this time of year. "This is what you work for. You put in all the work, see what you get out of it during the season."
Mike Petraglia notes Aqib Talib's only concern right now is with getting in shape and getting the basics of the defense down.
Field Yates notes Danny Amendola is more concerned with studying the playbook and working with Brady, than with any comparisons to Wes Welker.
Tom E. Curran says Brandon Spikes' absence is a "screw you" to the program; suggests Love release a chemistry issue.
Jeff Howe reports LB Dane Fletcher was on the field for team drills, which is a good sign for the 3-year veteran coming off a torn ACL.
Nick Underhill says Bill Belichick may not understand 'MyFace' and 'Yearbook,' but he may need to learn how to use a tablet.
Nick Underhill sees Vince Wilfork approaching OTAs with the same passion he's always had.
Karen Guregian notes Vince Wilfork chalks up the loss of Love and Deaderick to "business".
Shalise Manza Young and Zuri Berry give an overview after the second day of OTAs. (3 min. video)
ESPN Boston posts a few photos from Tuesday's Patriots OTAs.
Boston.com posts some photos of yesterday's workout.
Mike Reiss called into SportsCenter yesterday to discuss where we go from here after Rob Gronkowski's surgery. (1.41 min. video)
Mike Rodak notes Robert Kraft was told Rob Gronkowski's surgery "was as good as a report that we could have hoped for."
Tedy Bruschi spoke to reporters on a conference call to share his reaction on being elected to the Patriots Hall of Fame.
Jim Donaldson writes Tedy Bruschi has long had the popular vote. Few players in team history have been adored more by the fan base.
Mark Farinella has a nice piece on Tedy Bruschi, the face of the Patriots Super Bowl defenses.
Mike Reiss answers his weekly reader mailbag: Questions heading into OTAs.
Ron Borges explains why hosting a Super bowl in Boston is a longshot.
Jeff Howe Patriots Notebook: Robert Kraft says he was told Gronkowski's surgery was a success with the hope that he'll play a full season; Tedy Bruschi will be enshrined into the Patriots Hall of Fame; OTA attendance for Tuesday.
Erik Frenz counts down the top 25 players in the AFC East: No. 11 Jets LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

NATIONAL NEWS

Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Jake Ballard taking part in OTAs for Patriots.
Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Goodell says league wants to make process of cutting players more "humane".
Don Banks (SI) Teams not buying 'Easter Bunny' excuse for moving NFL Draft to May.
Peter King (SI) MMQB Tuesday Edition - There's no good reason to move back draft; Mail.
Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Goodell: Keeping draft in April would require looking for other venues.
Jason Cole (Yahoo! Sports) NFL noncommittal with announcing dates of two new Super Bowls, other events.
Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) NFL considers making the Pro Bowl "more like a game show".
Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Power Rankings. Pats 4th.

The Potential Importance Of Jake Ballard

2013-05-21T22:28:43Z

Over the past three years in New England, we've all been treated to a new and innovative passing that has been described as game changing. This approach, as worked up by the Patriots coaching staff, revolves around the use of two different types of tight ends.

Since breaking into the league in 2010, both Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have taken the league by storm when being used in this new offensive approach.

Gronkowski has the ability to stretch the field and use his physicality and strength to become the NFL's most dangerous redzone threat. Hernandez, meanwhile has also made his mark on the position, bringing and quickness and wide receiver like prowess that has allowed him to become a mismatch for NFL linebackers.

As some scouts have put it, this two tight end attack has revolutionized the game and some NFL teams are starting to take notice. Recently, the Cincinnati Bengals have said that they are looking to emulate what the Patriots are doing by planning to heavily featuring both Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert in their offense this coming season.

When both Gronkowski and Hernandez are on the field together, they're almost unstoppable. But when one of them isn't, flaws emerge in the approach. When both aren't out there, the offense becomes dangerously vulnerable to opposing defenses.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, they only had both tight ends on the field for five games last season. As talented as they are, Gronkowski and Hernandez haven't been able to stay on the field recently. At least, stay on the field together.

Then emerges Jake Ballard, the tight end that Bill Belichick so cleverly plucked off waivers and away from the Giants when they were trying to sneak him onto injured reserve. Ballard was unable to contribute to his new team last season due to injury, but it certainly ready to make an impact in 2013.

For the Patriots, the timing of getting Ballard on the field couldn't have come at a better time.

On Monday, Gronkowski underwent surgery on his left forearm for the fourth time in his career. He will be out for an estimated two and a half months and is expected to be ready for training camp. He's also contemplating another surgery, this time on his sore back that has bothered him throughout his college days. But again, reports indicate that he'll still be ready for training camp, back surgery or no back surgery.

All and all, both Gronkowski and Hernandez should be healthy enough to attend training camp and hopefully play the 2013 season at the elite and unstoppable manner we all know they are capable of doing.

Gronkowski has now had issues with his ankle, back and forearm and he's only 24 years old. This has caused concern for many, and has raised the question of whether or not he'll ever be able to play a season in the NFL without sustaining a new injury, or re-aggravating an old one. Never mind the fact that he's yet to be 100% healthy during a team playoff run.

The answer that some of you have tossed around has been to simply stick Hernandez in his place and simply double his targets. The problem with that is that that isn't Hernandez's game. He's the tight end who acts as a third or fourth wide receiver and uses his quickness to make plays, not his build and power to plow through opposing defenses.

This is where Ballard comes into play. At 6-foot-6 and 256 pounds, Ballard's build is the exact same as Gronkowski, who is also 6-foot-6 and 256. There's no question that Gronk is the better of the two, but Ballard is more than an adequate fill-in if Gronkowski were to go down with another injury.

After redshirting his rookie season, Ballard saw significant playing time with the Super Bowl champion Giants in 2011, where he caught 38 passes for 604 yards and four touchdowns. He emerged as the No. 1 tight end on the roster and became Eli Manning's favorite target in the redzone. Ballard, as you see in the picture above, played a big factor in the Giants' regular season win over the Patriots. Catching the game-winning touchdown pass near the end of regulation.

While I understand that he's not Gronk 2.0, he possess the same type of skillset that the Patriots would want at the "Y-Tight End" position that Gronk plays. He's big, physical and has an established redzone presence. Ballard is also a solid run blocker, a very underrated part of Gronk's game. Plus, he's only 25 and playing in an offense that relies heavily on the tight ends, like the Patriots', could help take his game to another level.

With Gronkowski's health certainly in question, the presence of a guy like Ballard should provide valuable insurance going forward. In my opinion, he's the most talented, backup tight end the Patriots have had on their roster since the New England "TE" Party came about, and the guy I feel most comfortable starting in Gronk's place in a regular season or playoff game.

Best case scenario, both Gronkowski and Hernandez recover fully and have a tremendous 2013 season and carry the Patriots all the way to the end and help them bring the Lombardi Trophy back to New England. That's what I think we all want as Patriots fans.

But if something were to happen to Gronk next season, it makes this Ballard waiver claim look even better, and can allow Tom Brady and company to not change their offensive approach under any circumstances. It's a roster move that could go down as one of Bill Belichick's best ever.

Four Missing From Second Day Of Patriots OTAs

2013-05-21T19:25:19Z

The Patriots were without Rob Gronkowski, Brandon Spikes, Brandon Bolden and Julian Edelman for the second day of organized team activities. Tuesday marked the second consecutive day of OTAs and the first day of media access.

You can argue that all of those that were absent were expected to be absent. Gronkowski is a given, as he underwent surgery on his left forearm yesterday afternoon. Both Bolden and Edelman are dealing with foot issues while Spikes is reportedly skipping OTAs to work out on his own.

Among those players who were limited included Aaron Hernandez (shoulder), Josh Boyce (foot), Sebastian Vollmer (back) and Devin McCourty (shoulder). Hernandez and McCourty reportedly participated in light drills while Vollmer and Boyce worked primarily on the stationary bikes.

As for those players who fully participated, here's a few notable observations I've seen the beat writers corral:

Tom Brady is starting to develop a chemistry with some of his new targets, specifically with Danny Amendola. The two were working very closely together, along with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Another player that Brady targeted often was Michael Jenkins, who hauled in some nice passes from Brady today. Both Jenkins and Amendola are looking to build chemistry with Brady.
Aaron Dobson, Brady's other likely starting receiver, had a pretty solid day. He made some nice catches in traffic and showed off that athleticism and strength we all know he has. He did however have some trouble hanging on to some passes from Brady, but that kind of thing is certainly expected from a rookie.
With Danny Woodhead now in San Diego, Stevan Ridley has taken charge as the leader of the running backs. He received the majority of the reps with Shane Vereen falling in right behind him. Smooth sailing on this front.
Tight end Jake Ballard, who spent all of 2012 on IR with a torn ACL, participated in most of the drills today. Ballard got reps with the ones today and even got some one-on-one time with Brady.
Marcus Cannon is seeing time on the inside now. After spending pretty much all of 2012 as the Patriots' backup tackle, Cannon got a lot of reps at right guard today, and could ultimately make the switch from tackle to guard in 2013, as speculated on this site.
Leon Washington, who was signed by the team this offseason, was on the field as the primary kickoff returner on special teams drills. The Patriots signed Washington in hopes that he will be an upgrade over Matthew Slater and Devin McCourty on kickoff returns. New England was without their primary punt returner though, with Julian Edelman still recovering from his foot injury.

Pats Pulpit Off-Season Caption Contest #20

2013-05-21T16:39:55Z

Results from last time:

via cdn0.sbnation.com

Winner with 5 Rec's:

Marima - Ben: Okay, next time I get to be Brady and you have to be Manning.

Second Place with 4 Rec's:

ISN - "Yeah, but you were starting at SC. Some of us had to take what we could get."

Third Place with 3 Rec's:

satsunada - R-berger: Could be worse.. you could be with the Raiders

The rules are simple:

1) Write a funny caption for the picture. If you can't think of one, then you can still play (keep reading).

2) If you like any of the captions, Recommend them. Even if you wrote one of your own. It is better to give than receive.

3) We'll give a shout out to the top three most Rec'd captions in the next contest, along with a new picture.

4) Please, please, please, remember this is just for fun and don't create other screen names just to recommend yourself. If you're that funny, you'll be recognized.

The Top 20 Most Memorable Patriots Moments of 2012: Number 8

2013-05-21T15:00:07Z

OTAs have started, Gronk looks like he's going to pull through, it's a beautiful morning, and summer is just around the corner - life is good. And so it's time to continue my countdown of the Top 20 Most Memorable Patriots Moments of 2012. We're well into the Top 10 now, and here is the list so far:

#20. The Patriots surprise everyone, sign Jeff Demps.
#19. The Patriots move up in the draft, select Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower in the first round.
#18. Jerod Mayo comes up with a huge 3rd down sack on Ryan Tannehill, holding the Dolphins to a field goal.
#17. Devin McCourty picks off Ryan Fitzpatrick in the end zone to seal the game vs. the Buffalo Bills.
#16. A diving catch in the end zone shows off Brandon Lloyd's athleticism as well as his pearly whites.
#15. Brandon Spikes’ forced fumble of Willis McGahee to seal the game against the Broncos
#14. New England engineers an 7-plus minute drive to close out the Dolphins and clinch the AFC East.
#13. Baltimore Beats New England 31-30 in a disastrous weekend of replacement reffing.
#12. Julian Edelman's electric punt return TD against the Indianapolis Colts.
#11. New England's 28 point comeback against the San Francisco 49ers.
#10. Rob Ninkovich forces a Mark Sanchez fumble to seal the game against the Jets in overtime.
#9. Dual 100 yard days for Ridley and Bolden, dual 100 yard days for Welker and Gronk against the Buffalo Bills.

Moving on now to number 8:

8. Tom Brady's playaction pass to Brandon Lloyd against the Texans, the rout is on.

There was a lot of hype coming into the Week 14 Monday Night matchup between the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans; both teams were riding six game winning streaks, both sat atop their respective divisions, and both were considered frontrunners to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Houston, sitting at 11-1, was widely considered the better team, as they had shown both the ability to score a lot of points and the resiliency to pull out a few tough overtime victories. The 9-3 Patriots, coming off two huge AFC East victories against the Jets and Dolphins, were about to get their biggest test of the season. J.J. Watt was playing like a man possessed, Arian Foster was breaking ankles left and right, and the Houston defense was everything that the Patriots defense used to be and more. Everyone seemed primed for an AFC changing of the guard - especially the Texans, who confidently marched into Foxboro wearing matching Varsity jackets with the air of a team that wasn't going to let the Patriots stand in the way of their Season of Destiny. The Texans had officially bought into their own hype and weren't about to lose to the washed-up Pats.

But in the words of Herm Edwards, that's why you play the game.

This game was pretty much over from the opening whistle. Houston, on their first drive, was only able to gain 14 yards on 4 plays before being forced to punt. The Patriots then proceeded to effortlessly march 60 yards in just over three minutes, capped off by a 7 yard touchdown catch by Aaron Hernandez. That touchdown drive saw the Patriots with only one third down, and while a goal line fumble by Stevan Ridley almost spelled disaster, Hernandez was able to recover and was rewarded for his efforts by adding another TD to his stat line. New England jumped to a quick 7-0 lead and the game had the feel of an absolute offensive shootout.

On the ensuing Houston possession, Matt Schaub settled down and began methodically picking the Patriots defense apart with short passes to Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels. The dink and dunk offense lulled New England into complacency, which allowed Shaub to then go deep to Lestar Jean for a huge 25 yard play that brought Houston down to the Patriots 23 yard line. Fortunately, that's where the Texans offensive firepower stopped, as Schaub was intercepted in the end zone by Devin McCourty a mere two plays later to give the Patriots the ball back with the chance to go up by two scores.

Starting from their own 18, a few passes to Lloyd, Woodhead. and Hernandez quickly brought New England out of their own end zone and into Texans territory. Everything seemed to be clicking on offense.

Then, on 1st and 10 from the Houston 37, the Patriots came out in a single back, 3 TE set that saw Michael Hoomanawanui alone on Brady's weak side and Daniel Fells and Aaron Hernandez together on the strong side. Houston, anticipating the run, moved their linebackers closer to the line and cheated free safety Glover Quin into the box. As soon as Tommy B snapped the ball, the entire line shifted right, setting up blocks for an off-tackle stretch run. Reacting to the line's movement, all three linebackers shot into the gaps and Quinn completely committed to the rush. Brady, one of the better playaction quarterbacks in the league, hard-sold the handoff before bringing it back into his chest and lining up to pass. Hoomanawanui, rushing right to further sell the stretch run, had allowed Connor Barwin to run free at the quarterback, but Ryan Wendell peeled off his block perfectly to circle back around and short-circuit Barwin's pass rush in order to give Tommy B the time he needed to throw. Lloyd, the only receiver on the field, ran a simple post pattern to the area of the field that Quinn had vacated when he bit on the fake. Brady hit Lloyd perfectly in stride for what was probably the easiest deep touchdown throw and catch since Tommy B and Randy Moss faked Anthony Smith out of his shorts in 2007. The Patriots went up 14-0 and didn't look back. They would go on to win the game 42-14, and one of those Houston scores didn't come until late in the 4th quarter after the Patriots had pulled all of their starters.

I have this play at number 8 on my list for three reasons. One, it was just a great play, one of those plays where everything goes exactly the way it's supposed to, the stars align, and New England comes away with a sweet touchdown. Two, it was the second big play of that series, if you include McCourty's interception, and it was the exact moment where you could see the entire Texans team deflate as they realized that they were in way over their heads. And three, it was the key play in what was an absolute statement game; the Texans were supposed to come into Foxboro, Varsity jackets and all, and prove to the NFL world that there was a new powerhouse in the AFC. Instead, they got their asses handed to them on national television and were forced to slink home to lick their wounds and try to figure out what the hell just happened to their team. You could make the case that getting blown out by the Patriots was a key factor in their late-season collapse and allowed New England to sneak in and steal the 2 seed from them during Week 17.

If McCourty hadn't made that pick and the Texans had scored, it might have been a different game. Or if the Patriots hadn't come right off that interception and made the Houston defense look foolish with that throw, it might also have been a different game. But the Patriots were able to get it done, re-assert their dominance, and gain some real momentum heading into the home stretch of the 2012 season. That play, as much as any other last season, made me realize that the Patriots can compete with any team in the NFL, and as long as Tommy B is under center, New England will always be Super Bowl contenders.

You can relive the play here.

New England Patriots Links 5/21/13 - Watching for Early Signs of Brady-Amendola Synergy at OTAs

2013-05-21T14:23:36Z

TEAM TALK

The New England Patriots announced that Tedy Bruschi has been voted by fans as the 19th player and 21st member to enter the Patriots Hall of Fame.
Patriots sign rookie free agents WR Mark Harrison (Rutgers) and K David Ruffer (Notre Dame).
2013 Patriots Hall of Fame inductee: Tedy Bruschi. (2.26 min. video)
Patriots Today - Newtown football fun. (3.26 min. video)
Patriots roster report - Weekly guide to get you caught up on all the latest transactions. (15.08 min.program)

LOCAL LINKS

Mike Reiss points out some areas he's most interested to watch at Tuesday's OTAs. First is for early signs of Brady-Amendola synergy.
Luke Hughes gives us the five biggest storylines to keep an eye on over the next few weeks: 1. Tom Brady's chemistry with Danny Amendola and other new WRs.
Christopher Price thumbnails eight things he's going to be looking for at Pats' OTAs. The rookies: specifically, Jamie Collins and Josh Boyce.
Field Yates gives us an insider's view of what teams work to accomplish during organized team activities.
Jeff Howe reports Brandon Spikes has chosen to work out on his own, instead of attending OTAs, but he will be in Foxboro for the start of minicamp.
Karen Guregian and Ron Borges report good news for Rob Gronkowski - his infection is gone and a new plate was successfully installed in his forearm.
Adam Kaufman is more concerned with a healthy Gronkowski at playoff time, than in making sure he's back on the field in Week 1.
ESPN Boston follows up on Rob Gronkowski's Monday surgery. The infection is gone and his recovery timetable is around 10 weeks.
Christopher Price tells us most of the Patriots' new receivers are considerably bigger than the guys they replaced.
Christopher Price explains why a WR with Mark Harrison's numbers was available to the Patriots as a rookie free agent.
Mike Reiss talks about the Patriots' signing two rookie free agents to fill their final two spots on the 90-man roster.
Mike Reiss details the contracts signed by Patriots draft picks Jamie Collins, Logan Ryan and Seve Beauharnais.
Karen Guregian reports Steve Gregory and his wife are mentoring a team of Randolph High School students as part of the Youth Venture program.
Doug Kyed and Luke Hughes attempt a super-early Patriots 53-man roster prediction.
Erik Frenz counts down the top 25 players in the AFC East: No. 13 Patriots LB Jerod Mayo and No. 12 Jets C Nick Mangold.
Field Yates takes a look at some of the Patriots lesser known 2013 opponents: Ravens.

NATIONAL NEWS

Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk) Brandon Spikes elects to work out on his own.
Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Pats continue to tap into the Rutgers pipeline.
Report (NFL.com) New England Patriots visit Newtown, Conn., for kids event.
Pat Kirwan (CBS Sports) Position breakdown: Numbers say TE production explosion only growing.
Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Offseason overhaul close to happening.
Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) 2014 draft would start May 15.
Jason Cole (Yahoo! Sports) NFL teams implementing medical records system for protection from undisclosed injuries.
Ryan O'Halloran (Florida Times-Union) Former Patriot happy for shot with Jaguars despite diabetes diagnosis.