Wednesday Patriots Notebook 3/25: Edelman Rule Passes, Vollmer Recovers From Surgery, More Notes
 The Jets are apparently trying to turn the tables on Patriots owner Robert Kraft. (USA TODAY Images) |
One thing you can say about the Patriots offseason so far as we finish out the final week of March, it certainly hasn't been boring.
With the Jets currently under investigation by the NFL following accusations from the Patriots of tampering with cornerback Darrelle Revis, New York tried to turn the tables Tuesday after filing charges of their own against New England stemming from comments made by Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Kraft mentioned Revis briefly Tuesday as the NFL owners meetings continued, saying that he's obviously disappointed the veteran is no longer a member of his football team.
"I speak as a fan of the New England Patriots," said Kraft via CSNNE.com. "We wanted to keep him, we wanted him in our system. We have certain disciplines and we had hoped it would work out. It didn’t. We just don’t think about the short-term decisions. For example, next year we have three very good young defensive players coming up (for contracts) and we have to factor that we just don’t look at this year, we look out at the next few years. We’ve done okay doing that.
"[The Jets] are the team that drafted him. I think he feels a great commitment there, so we understand his going back and we’re sorry he didn’t stay with us."
Those comments were apparently enough to make the Jets believe they could try and make a case for the league to potentially find them similar to the ones owner Woody Johnson said back in December when he said, "Darrelle is a great player and if I thought I could have gotten Darrelle for that, I probably would've taken him. And it was our best judgment to do what we did. Darrelle's a great player — I'd love for Darrelle to come back."
Needless to say, Rex Ryan may be in Buffalo, but the rivalry between these two teams rolls on.
Johnson was asked about the tampering charges by his football team but didn't have much to say.
"It's just something the league is looking at," Johnson said via ESPN New York. "So, I'm not worried about anything. I'm worried about getting better."
And now he's trying to get back whatever draft pick they might eventually lose once the NFL ultimately makes their ruling. It's a curious move on their part given the difference between the two comments and the context, but given what we've seen since the deflate-gate investigation by the NFL, it's impossible to predict the outcome since the league's history of how it's handled these situations all season has been questionable at best.
It's obvious that these two situations are fundamentally different and this is just the Jets' way of trying to show how they feel about the charges against them, which clearly they disagree with. Unfortunately, it's obvious that Johnson made poor a judgement in his comments and despite this attempt, unlike what Kraft said Tuesday, it's not the same thing.
The good news for the Patriots is, they're probably going to cost the Jets a draft choice by the time this is over.
RYAN FIRES A SHOT AT THE PATRIOTS:
Apparently the battle between the Patriots and Rex Ryan's former team has the Buffalo head coach feeling a little left out, and on Tuesday he made some comments to stir the pot and grab a headline for himself.
Ryan said via Boston.com during the AFC coaches breakfast on Tuesday, "They're clearly the team to beat and we're coming after them,"
Buffalo has added some talent to their offense this offseason after adding running back LeSean McCoy and receiver Percy Harvin, along with quarterback Matt Cassel. It's a group that should be better than the one he inherited, and it's obvious that he plans on trying to unseat New England's dominance in the AFC East.
Ryan talked recently about the fact the team "lost some good players" but the Patriots still have the majority of their talent on the offensive side of the football and remain the favorites in the Diviison heading into 2015. There's still a long way to go given where we are at this point in the offseason, and Ryan will have to wait a while before this can be settled on the football field. But much like how it was while he was coaching the Jets, it appears the battles against the Bills in the coming years will likely be anything but boring.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Lost in the shuffle at the running back position is Tyler Gaffney, whose name hasn't been mentioned often but Belichick gave him some praise Tuesday, telling reporters that he's been working hard after spending 2014 on injured reserve. “(Gaffney was at Gillette Stadium) every day,” Belichick said via the Boston Herald. “He works hard. No question, he works hard. No issue with that.” Gaffney's an interesting prospect given how he was acquired. He was a sixth round pick last season and Carolina attempted to pass him through waivers to put him on injured reserve, but the Patriots managed to claim him. Now he's a player who could potentially have the opportunity to make an impact this season and Belichick appears positive on his outlook. “Good athlete, has good hands,” Belichick said. “I don’t think catching is an issue. He ran for a lot of yards. He really only had one year of production out there because of baseball.”
- Julian Edelman's hit in the Super Bowl has led to a rule change this offseason, with the NFL passing a rule Tuesday that had been discussed during the owners meetings to improve player safety. Edelman took a shot in the fourth quarter back in January while picking up a first down against the Seahawks and appeared dazed but stayed in the game, and now the officials will have an independent spotter above the field who can stop the game if he believeles the on-field officials haven't noticed a player who may require a concussion test. Belichick didn't have much to say about the situation, telling reporters via the Charlotte Observer, “You’d have to talk to the medical people. I was coaching the game.”
- One of the rule changes proposed by Belichick was the addition of cameras down on the goal line to get a better view of touchdown plays. That one didn't pass, and there have been comments from a couple of different owners pertaining to cost and the fact the configuration of each stadium varies, which would make them difficult to install. Belichick sounded surprised by the news. “It’s disappointing to hear that we can’t afford that as a league,” Belichick said via the Boston Herald. “They brought that up as a concern. It’s kind of surprising to hear that.”
- Another proposal suggested by Belichick was the ability for coaches to be able to challenge any play, which also didn't pass. The Herald reported that Belichick did have some support from Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie. “I supported Belichick’s plan,” Lurie said via the newspaper. “I didn’t think we should increase the number of challenges, but he’s right. You should be able to challenge anything. I understand it would cause some problems, but I supported the idea. Too bad it didn’t pass.”
- According to ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss, right tackle Sebastian Vollmer recently underwent offseason shoulder surgery following their Super Bowl victory last month, which has left him being forced to spend his offseason rehabilitating his injury after he reportedly had the procedure to repair his labrum. It's an injury that he reportedly played through last season. He's reportedly been spending time at Gillette Stadium recently as he continues the process of getting healthy for next season.
- Kraft had some encouraging things to say about Eagles coach Chip Kelly Tuesday and appears to like what he's seen in Philadelphia. "If I were an Eagle fan, I would be excited," Kraft said via Philly.com. "He did an outstanding job in college. I know my head coach [Bill Belichick] has great respect for him. He's trying to put his stamp on what's going on there. This is a tough league, so there will be some challenges. But he's an exciting guy to be around."
- According to Christopher Price of WEEI.com Tom Brady and Devin McCourty were among players back at work at Gillette Stadium Monday, which also included safety Duron Harmon. Players aren't required to be at the team's facility at this point in the offseason, but these two appear focused on trying to set an example for the other players as they look to try and repeat another championship run in 2015.
