Patriots: Judon ready to roll in his second season with New England

June 8, 2022

Prior to positional drills starting on Wednesday morning during Day 2 of mandatory mini-camp, linebacker Matthew Judon was belting out the words to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” grabbing teammates by the shoulder pads, trying to get them to join in. Judon wasn’t around for the voluntary OTA’s, but over the last two days he’s brought the energy early and often. Now in his second year with the Patriots,…

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Patriots: Sights, sounds and thoughts from Day 2 of mandatory mini-camp

June 8, 2022

FOXBOROUGH – So much for the full day of rain. It turned out to be a beautiful day at Gillette for the second of three mandatory mini-camp sessions and once again, there was some positive signs in all three phases. Here’s what stood out throughout another lengthy two-hour practice on Wednesday… -Coach Belichick met with the media before practice donning a green Celtics hat and opened with a message: “Start…

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Patriots: Sights, sounds & thoughts from the first day of mandatory mini-camp

June 7, 2022

There was a slight first day of school vibe on the lower practice field behind Gillette Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. Mandatory mini-camp began and aside from a few excused absences, just about everyone was in the house for the first of three straight practice days. There was definitely a bit more tempo to the near two-hour session compared to the optional OTA’s and we even got a small skirmish at…

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Patriots: Keeping an eye on three things heading into mandatory mini-camp Tuesday

June 6, 2022

After two open practices where almost everyone – but not everyone – was in attendance, the Patriots are set to begin three days of mandatory offseason mini-camp on Tuesday. For the first time, we should get at least a small taste of what the 2022 Patriots are going to look like. The entire defensive unit, the offensive line, quarterback Mac Jones, the receivers and the new staff should all benefit…

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Patriots: Are the Pats legitimate Super Bowl contenders? Here’s three reasons why the answer is yes and three reasons why the answer is no

December 9, 2021

Okay, so none of us thought the Patriots would be in this position back in August, right? Sure, once Mac beat out Cam for the starting job and it was clear he was going to be the guy moving forward, a lot of people believed he’d have what it takes to help lead this team to something better than the 7-9 finish a year ago. But, no one could have…

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Patriots: Is this season turning into a Bill Belichick masterpiece?

November 8, 2021

PHOTO: Bob Donnan – USA Today Sports Don’t look now, but the season that seemed destined for failure just a few weeks ago is suddenly looking more and more like one of Bill Belichick’s career masterpieces in the making. I believe 2001, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2018 will stand as his best work given different circumstances in each of those seasons, but with a third straight win on Sunday,…

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Patriots: Offense continues to improve in win over Houston

October 11, 2021

PHOTO: JUSTIN REX/AP It wasn’t very pretty, but 2-3 looks and sounds a hell of a lot better than 1-4. Mac Jones continued to show is toughness behind a patchwork offensive line who did its job admirably on Sunday and Nick Folk buried a 21-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to give New England a 25-22 win. The defense continued to struggle as Texans rookie quarterback Davis Mills threw…

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Patriots: Defense shows glimpses of what could be, but it wasn’t good enough in opening loss to Miami

Photo: Musketfire.com
September 13, 2021

All preseason long, we’ve seen what type of chaos this defense could create. We saw it again at times on Sunday, but when the unit needed a stop the most in a 17-16 loss to the Dolphins, Miami was able to do whatever they wanted. Matthew Judon and Josh Uche were as advertised, making big boy plays that made your jaw drop. On the flip side of that, the secondary…

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Patriots: Sloppy mistakes ruin Mac’s stellar debut

September 13, 2021

It’s tough to figure out how Patriots fans should feel after the 17-16 opening day loss to Miami on Sunday afternoon. One on hand, rookie quarterback Mac Jones put on one hell of a show with fans filling every seat in Gillette Stadium for the first time in two years, proving he’s more than ready for the challenge of being the next guy in New England. We’ve also learned in…

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Patriots: Matthew Judon proving he was worth big contract before the regular season even begins

August 29, 2021

It’s rare that a player signs with a team in the offseason and has an immediate impact before a meaningful down is played, but it’s happened with Matthew Judon. In his short time here, Judon has brought an attitude and swagger that has rubbed off on the defense and younger players. Judon has looked like an elite player well worth his big free agent contract and has already earned the…

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