Wednesday Patriots Headlines: September 8th
Today is day two as fans wait to hear about whether or not a deal has finally been completed with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on a new contract. More details have come out, and we'll talk about that in a moment.
For the casual Patriots fan, during the season Wednesdays are usually the big day of the week in terms of news. That's the day that the major press conferences are held, along with the release of the team's injury reports (although usually here in New England they tend to be pretty vague). In addition to the press conferences here, there are also typically conference calls between both opposing team's coaches, so usually we get to hear a little more perspective from that side of things. Needless to say generally speaking this tends to be the biggest day of the week for news, so you can expect later today to be to be pretty interesting. So be sure and keep that in mind in the coming weeks.
Now, let's get on to today's headlines.
Ian Rapoport, Karen Guregian, and Ron Borges all contributed to an article in the Herald this morning with updated terms and details of Tom Brady's new deal, which is now said to be for four years and worth close to $80 million.
Albert Breer of the Boston Globe talks about the fact that by signing Brady, the Patriots send a powerful message to the fans and the league that winning remains the first and foremost priority here in New England.
Ron Borges writes that despite the ongoing negotiations Brady is focused on this week's football preparations against the Bengals on Sunday, but also has no problem keeping up with his personall business matters. Borges also points out that these negotiations will likely set the tone for the ones with Peyton Manning and Drew Brees - which are expected to follow Brady's once the deal is finalized. This is actually an interesting read - so you may want to check it out.
Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe has a column this morning where he feels that the distrust, arrogance, and secrecy of the club won't be as easy if they're unable to get back to their winning ways.
Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald notes that after Randy Moss' comments about "not feeling wanted", it will be interesting to see whether Moss digs in and underperforms, or since he's in the final year of his contract if he'll instead go out and break records like he did the last time he was in this situation.
Bill Reynolds of the Providence Journal has a column on Moss this morning, where he feels the veteran should "stop his whining" and go play football.
Jerry Thornton of WEEI.com has heard the whispers among fans and media regarding this year's Patriots team, and feels that the "Patriots have earned nautical miles of latitude, yet all he's hearing is attitude."
WEEI.com's Christopher Price takes a look back at the most memorable season openers under Belichick, and also has a poll asking fans to go ahead and vote for your favorite.
Michael Hurley of NESN.com takes a look at the verbal battle being waged on Twitter between Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco, and Patriots defensive backs Devin McCourty and Darius Butler.
Tom King of the Nashua Telegraph feels that the Patriots still have some unanswered questions on this roster, and takes a look position-by-position and gives his take on each group.
The Boston Globe takes a look at rookie linebacker Dane Fletcher, who is glad he managed to earn a role with the team and is thankful for each day he's been a part of this football team.
“I realized it right away right when I got here,’’ Fletcher said. “I got a couple of buddies that play in the NFL and they all told me, once you get there, you enjoy every day and appreciate every day but understand you can be gone the next day, and I took that to heart.
“And I feel like that’s one reason I may still be around because I keep grinding every day and learning every night. I come in early and leave late and I hope that’s how you stick around.’’
The Denver Post has an article on the three "Gronkowski's" poining out that this is the first family to have three brothers play in the NFL at the same time since the Baldingers (Brian, Gary, Rich) in 1992.
Jeff Howe has an article this morning on newly acquired safety Jarrad Page, who after coming to New England had an interesting comment on Tuesday where he likened the Patriots to the New York Yankees.
"The Patriots are a team that's kind of like the Yankees," Page said while metaphorically clawing his nails against a chalkboard. "You never like them, but when you get a chance to play for them, you're excited and you're really happy that you get to go to a team that is a perennial winner."
Glen Farley of the Patriot Ledger notes that New England finished up their practice squad roster yesterday by adding cornerbacks Tony Carter and Prince Miller, and also officially adding linebacker Tyrone McKenzie.
Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald has a good article on defensive lineman Kyle Love, who found out from friends and family that he had made the team, but is just going to "keep grinding" because he knows that in this league he could be gone tomorrow.
That's it for this morning. Hope all of you have a good day and we'll have updates later on throughout the day.
