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New England Patriots News 5-1, AFC East Notes

Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri on Twitter
May 1, 2016 at 5:00 am ET

New England Patriots News 5-1, AFC East Notes(PHOTO: Steve Balestrieri - PatsFans.com)

🕑 Read Time: 4 minutes

Good morning, here are Sunday’s Patriots news 5-1 notes and what’s happening around the AFC East.

NFL Draft Day 1 ‘Blackout’ A Success:
The ratings in the Boston area for Thursday night’s Day 1 of the NFL Draft were the lowest in the country. Boston was, in fact, the 56th rated city out of 56 Neilsen markets.

Boston drew a 1.7 share which was far below what the league drew last year (3.4), and about a quarter of what the national share was (5.6).

The funny thing was that many of the area’s major media outlets chalked it up to fans watching the Red Sox or the Celtics when in fact, it was a deliberate attempt by the fans to hit the NFL where it hurt…in their pocketbook. And it was effective.

So with all due respect to Clay Buchholz, I’d rather watch a two-hour compilation of Peyton Manning’s commercials than watch him pitch against the worst team in MLB.

Fans across New England voted with their feet and their remotes and tuned out.

QB’s in the draft and value:
With the selection of Jacoby Brissett in this season’s draft, this will mark the third QB taken by the Patriots in the last five drafts. Those three quarterbacks have cost the Patriots one second round pick and two third rounders. Number of starts by those QBs: Zero

For a team that places value on their draft selections like the Patriots do, this is one area that doesn’t match up with their drafting. That number may change however in 2016 if Tom Brady is forced to sit out the four game suspension reinstated by the court with the last Deflategate ruling.

Goodell Changes His Tune …Again:
After the recent court ruling reinstating Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for Deflategate, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been in a giddy, victory lap kind of mode. He was on the Mike and Mike Show Friday morning and after calling the Wells Report “as independent as they get”, going back on what has to be the third of his statements on that fiasco, he had others.

On settling with Brady, he had this to say: “I’ve said all along, this is not about Tom Brady. This is about the integrity of the game and about our rules. … You want to play with the same rules as every player. We don’t have one set of rules for the MVPs and one set of rules for the guys who play on the 53rd spot on the roster. It affects everybody. It affects the integrity of our game.”

On the court’s decision: “The district court got it wrong. The appeals court made that very clear. It was a very strong decision. It was a strong decision about our rights in the collective bargaining agreement and frankly those underlying facts about this case that there was a clear violation. The facts were, I think the words were exactly ‘compelling if not overwhelming’ and the destruction of the evidence was a factor that should be taken into account. All of that is a clear violation. The bottom line is we want to protect the rights in our CBA but more importantly we want to protect the integrity of the game.

There’s that dreaded “integrity of the game” bit again…After the countless changing of the story by the NFL one truly has to wonder if they know what it means.

Former Patriot Brace Died of an Apparent Heart Attack:
Ron Brace the former Patriots 2nd round draft pick who died last Saturday, passed away at his parent’s home of an apparent heart attack.

Brace, 29, was born in Springfield, went to high school at Burncoat in Worcester and later Boston College before joining the Patriots as a defensive lineman. He appeared with the team in Super Bowl XLVII, but is perhaps best known by his efforts to help his hometown of Springfield after the area suffered a damaging tornado during the summer of 2011.

Patriots Miss Out on Reynolds, who is Drafted by Baltimore:
Navy QB Keenan Reynolds who was thought to be a Patriots draft target, was instead nabbed by the Baltimore Ravens with the 182nd pick in the draft.

Reynolds is expected to play wide receiver, specifically in the slot for Baltimore but has a service commitment to fulfill first. His five-year hitch will begin once he’s commissioned on May 27th as an information warfare officer. Reynolds was the only QB to go undefeated 4-0 in games against Army. And he was 7-1 in all service academy contests.

He’s the first Midshipmen Quarterback taken in the NFL Draft since Roger Staubach.

Gronk Tweets to his Brother on Joining the Bills:
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski congratulated his younger brother Glen on being signed by the Buffalo Bills as a UDFA and then gave him some big brother advice.
“Congrats lil bro @ggronko signing with our hometown Buffalo Bills. It’s all about getting an opportunity and capitalizing. Go pats!”

East Bound and Down…AFC East Notes:

Dolphins Hit on First Four Picks:
Miami had OT Laremy Tunsil fall into their lap with the 13th overall pick in the draft due to off-field concerns but he should immediately prove to be a big upgrade for their OL.

The team drafted CB Xavien Howard in the 2nd round, Alabama RB Kenyan Drake in the 3rd and Rutgers WR Leonte Carroo in the 4th Round. Overall it was a very solid weekend for the Fins.

Jets Solidify Defense, draft their QB of the Future:
The New York Jets had a solid draft weekend, hitting on their first pick with Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee brings the element of speed to the Jets linebacker core and should immediately make an impact on the field.

Still looking for their QB of the future, the team drafted Christian Hackenburg and plan on grooming him for the future by letting him sit and learn in 2016. They also got a late round steal on Clemson WR Charone Peake. He’s a 6’2 WR who runs a sub-4.4 in the 40 and broke out with a big 2015, with 50 catches, a 14.9-yard average and five touchdowns last season.

Bills Have Solid Draft Filling Need, Depth:
The Buffalo Bills had a very solid draft hitting on their first two picks in the 1st round with edge rusher Shaq Lawson and their 2nd with ILB Reggie Ragland. They added DT Adolphus Washington in the third round and QB Cardale Jones in the 4th.

Overall it was a big weekend for the Bills as they filled their major areas of need, got some good value picks and most definitely improved their team.

Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]

Listen to our Patriots 4th and 2 podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from PatsFans.com discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.

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Patriots 2016 Draft Picks – Recapping Every Selection

About Steve Balestrieri

A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)


Posted Under: Patriots News
Tags: 2016 NFL Combine 2016 NFL Draft 2016 Patriots Draft 2016 Patriots Roster 53 Man Roster Projection Bill Belichick Buffalo Bills Danny Amendola DeflateGate Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets NFL Patriots Patriots edge rushers Rob Gronkowski Tom Brady

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