When Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement on March 24th, I felt at the time that he was done. I never thought he would play again. The injuries had taken their toll and at the age of 29, Gronkowski decided to walk away while he can. Since Gronkowski announced his retirement however, there has been growing speculation that he would return to the Patriots at some point this season. Despite losing…
Boston College: Eagles getting a commitment from Ozzy Trapilo is huge! Literally and figuratively
Boston College got a big commitment last week, literally and figuratively when Boston College High School defensive end, tight end and offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo committed to the Eagles. At 6-8 280, Trapilo is long and athletic. He is explosive off the ball defensively and can create separation with his get off and length. Trapilo has the physical tools to be a three defensive lineman who can play outside as…
Patriots: Chris Simms lists Tom Brady as the ninth best quarterback in the NFL going into 2019.
Image courtesy of @CSimmsQB Former quarterback and current NFL analyst Chris Simms ranked Tom Brady as the ninth best quarterback in the NFL last week in his 2019 top 40 quarterback rankings. Simms cited age and playing in a quarterback friendly system as the primary reasons he ranked Brady ninth on his list. Simms is the son of former NFL quarterback and Super Bowl winner Phil Simms. He played in…
Patriots: The Nick Caserio to the Texans saga officially ends
The Patriots filed tampering charges against the Houston Texans on Wednesday claiming that former Patriots team development coach Jack Easterby attempted to recruit Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio to the Texans to become their general manager. The Patriots claim in the tampering charges filed that they have video evidence of Easterby openly recruiting Caserio at the team’s ring ceremony last week. The Texans general manager job opened earlier…
The New England Football Notebook for the week of June 3rd to the 9th
Image courtesy of the New England Patriots and Josten’s. It is our first installment of the New England football notebook. Each week we will touch upon stories that pertain to the Patriots, local colleges and high school football. Here are some of this week’s top stories. 1. Patriots mini camp has wrapped up and there were several winners and losers last week in Foxboro. 2. The Patriots got their rings…
Patriots: Previewing Mini Camp
The Patriots open mandatory mini camp today. Here are five things I’ll be looking for as the Patriots unofficially kick off the 2019 season. 1. The new coaching staff: The Patriots underwent a staff shake up this off-season with several assistants taking positions on Brian Flores staff in Miami. As a result, Bill Belichick had to fill several vacancies. He elevated three quality control assistants to on field roles and…
Patriots: Scheme versatility is the reason the Patriots signed Jaime Collins
The Patriots signing of Jaime Collins is interesting. On paper, they have plenty of depth at linebacker. The Patriots don’t need him. What is on paper however means nothing to Bill Belichick. In Belichick’s mind, bringing back Collins makes perfect sense. Collins is a three down linebacker who can play all three linebacker spots in the Patriots defense and can fill a variety of roles. It is too early to…
High School: Interview with Nobles TE/DE Cam Large
Nobles tight end, defensive end Cam Large is one of the top recruits in the class of 2020 in the state of Massachusetts. The junior out of Ponfret, Connecticut has been turning heads for the past two years and has 30 division one offers currently. Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dane and most recently, Iowa have all extended offers to the talented two way star. We talked to Cam about the…
Patriots: The Patriots are going big at receiver this off-season and here is why.
The Patriots signed veteran wide receiver Dontrelle Inman to a one year contract last week. Inman’s signing continues a trend this off-season for the Patriots. Bill Belichick has made it a priority to go bigger at receiver. Is it a shift in philosophy? Are the Patriots going away from the smaller, slot type receivers we are accustomed to seeing? Perhaps. The more likely reason however is that Belichick is just…
Patriots: Patriots add veteran depth signing offensive tackle Jared Veldheer and tight end Benjamin Watson
The Patriots added depth along the offensive line and at tight end this week signing veteran offensive tackle Jared Veldheer to a one year, $6.5 million dollar deal and former 2004 first round pick Benjamin Watson to a one year deal. Watson ended his brief retirement to return to New England. Veldheer has mostly played left tackle in his career after being selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third…