Wednesday Patriots Notebook 4/29: Amendola Feels at Home, Pats like USC WR, More Notes
Amendola recently said he feels at home here in New England.
Tuesday marked the end of the speculation surrounding the Jets and their impending tampering charges after the league apparently agreed with the Patriots and finally hit them with a penalty in regards to cornerback Darrelle Revis.
According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, the Jets were nailed with a $100,000 fine as a result of the investigation, although they won't lose any draft picks. The penalty comes after owner Woody Johnson's comments during a December 29th press conference where he said he'd "love to have Darrelle back." He obviously got his wish after giving Revis a 5-year, $70 million deal this offseason, swiping him away just one month removed in helping New England win their fourth championship.
Mehta, who has been full of snarky comments throughout the league manifested "deflate-gate" investigation that the Patriots continue to deal with, fired back in his report as he called New England "eternal rule abiders" and isn't happy with the fact the league didn't punish Robert Kraft for his own remark after losing Revis where he said "the fan in me wishes he was still with us." He continues to ridicule the Patriots for filing the charges against their divison rival, saying their "pettiness in the wake of Johnson’s harmless statement prompted a league review that included at least two visits from NFL investigators to the Jets’ facility this offseason, according to league sources."
Unfortunately the league ruled otherwise and it ended up being New York, and not the Patriots, suffering a penalty.
Meanwhile the deflate-gate investigation is now in its 96th day, which as Mehta points out, is even longer than the Watergate investigation by the U.S. Senate that lead to the eventual resignation of then-president Richard Nixon, which lasted 42 days. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said during an interview with host Charlie Rose on CBS This Morning yesterday that he expects it to be over "soon".
For now, whether Mehta likes it or not, the league felt strongly enough that Johnson's comments crossed the line as it pertains to players under contract with another team and now the Jets' are a little lighter in the wallet as a result. The bigger question for those of us back here in New England is simply when the ridiculous investigation that actually has no merit will finally go away. Goodell might have said it will be over "soon", but "soon" certainly can't come soon enough.
AMENDOLA: 'THIS IS HOME TO ME':
It's been quite a road for wide receiver Danny Amendola, who came to New England with high expectations and has ended up battling through his fair share of ups and downs since signing with the Patriots.
Expected to be the team's top target after the loss of Wes Welker, Amendola instead slipped down the depth chart behind Julian Edelman, who has now emerged as the team's best receiver. Edelman's emergence left Amendola trying to find a role for himself on the team as the two share similar skillsets in the passing game and it ultimately led to a reduction in snaps and was a big part of the reason Amendola took a pay cut this offseason.
The good news for the veteran is the fact that this past season was a positive one as he established himself as a solid returner in the kicking game for the Patriots, and he also had a terrific postseason that included a key touchdown in New England's Super Bowl victory over the Seahawks.
Needless to say he's certainly got something to build on heading into next season and he told reporters on Tuesday that he loves it here and that he hopes to stay as long as he can.
"I love playing for this team, for these coaches, for this organization," Amendola said via ESPN Boston. "I have family out here. This is home to me. I love playing here. This is a great experience, and I'd like to prolong that for as long as I can. It's been fun."
Amendola admitted he still has plenty to prove, and he's just focused on getting ready for next season.
"I'm focused on the future. I have a lot of football to play," he said. "I have a chip on my shoulder still. I want to play good football for a long time."
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Peter King of MMQB.com filed his mailbag for this week and had some thoughts on what the Patriots might do this week in the upcoming NFL Draft. King writes on their 32nd overall pick, "I think the Patriots are in a great spot at 32. So many teams high in the second round want to move up, and the Patriots don’t have to take anyone here. If they could get the 2016 first-round pick of a current bad team, I’d do that deal in a second…" However, King believes the team is high on USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor, and believes they might take him. "New England likes USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor. If I were Bill Belichick, I wouldn’t be getting cute late in the first round, particularly with three picks between 96 and 101," writes King. "I’d take the guy I’d like. Even if I could get an attractive first-round picks next year for the 32nd pick, I’d still take a receiver Agholor now if I could. (But I do think he’ll be gone before 32.)
- A cute video is on Patriots.com featuring Jerod Mayo's daughter as the veteran linebacker had a shadow in the weight room last week after bringing his daughter to Gillette Stadium for "take your kid to work" day.
- Unfortunate news for Chandler Jones' brother, Jon Jones, who was recently arrested following a hit-and-run that police say left a pregnant woman with a broken arm. Jones, who had been the UFC light heavyweight title holder, has since been stripped of his title and made his first court appearance on Tuesday. According to the Associated Press, following the accident officers found a pipe with marijuana in the SUV as well as MMA and rental car documents in Jones' name, according to the police report. Prior to the incident Jones had been the youngest champion in UFC history.
- Newly signed Scott Chandler talked to reporters on Tuesday and he talked about what it's been like since changing teams from the Bills to the Patriots. "It just gives you a little more familiarity with the AFC East," said Chandler via the Sun Chronicle. "Other than that, it's a new team, things are different and you try to be a part of that. You want to do everything you can to just ingratiate yourself to your teammates. You see how hard guys work and you want to work hard with them. That's what it is to build a team." For now he's just excited to get started, and talked about Brady's work ethic as guys continue working to get ready for the upcoming season. "It's exciting to get to play with a guy that's has some success in the past," he said. "but past success does not determine future success. We're all working hard right now, and Tom's working harder than anybody."
