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Today In Patriots History June 26, 2013: Aaron Hernandez charged with murder, cut

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Today in Patriots History
Aaron Hernandez arrested for murder
Immediately cut by Patriots



June 26, 2013:
Aaron Hernandez is arrested and charged with first degree murder.
He is released by the Patriots about an hour later.




















 
Just one day earlier there was this:




June 26 articles:

According to multiple reports Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has finally been taken into custody by police as part of the investigation into the murder of 27-year old Odin Lloyd.

Officers reportedly entered Hernandez' home at approximately 8:45am this morning, five days after reports began swirling on Friday that he would be arrested. Hernandez, who was wearing a white t-shirt red shorts and sneakers, was escorted out of his home in handcuffs.

This comes after a week of police searches into the tight end's North Attleboro home, which is located about a mile away from where Lloyd's body was found. At least three search warrants have been issued in connection with the investigation, and the news comes on the heels of yesterday's statement from Hernandez' attorney who claimed his client was the subject of "Misinformation and False Reports".

Massachusetts state police Tweeted a few minutes ago, "Aaron Hernandez being booked at N. Attleboro Police Station. Will be brought to Attleboro District Ct for arraignment."

It is not yet known if he has been charged with any role in Lloyd's death, although they also Tweeted that the charges, "will be revealed at his arraignment in Attleboro District Court later today."



Now you have Hernandez, a player with a troubled past whom the Patriots took a flyer on in 2010. He was very good and at times brilliant during his brief Patriot career, showing great versatility and providing matchup problems for defenses because of his hybrid makeup. Hernandez is now in jail in Attleborough, charged with Lloyd's murder and whose image in Patriot Nation has now been forever changed.

The Patriots are high on propaganda and have been since Kraft bought the Patriots in 1994, and even more so when Belichick was brought in in 2000. It's a good thing that the Patriots continue to win on the field, because all this other ancillary stuff has grown old. From the CBS Place to all this holier-than-Thou malarkey about their players and coaches, it's time that all this fluff stops. The Patriots are a beloved commodity in the area without all this extraneous junk. They are a proven winner and a fan magnet. They have become the preeminent team in the area, and given the long history of the Red Sox, that is really saying something.

Hernandez has pretty much ended the Patriot Way as we once knew it. The Patriots should now be about winning, just like the other 31 NFL teams, and less about being like a Ken Burns baseball tale. The Patriots certainly can win, and do it quite well. But the Patriots are not on their own pedestal like they would like you to believe that they are. They are just like everyone else. Police the players internally, let Belichick do his thing, and just keep winning.

The accused Hernandez must now hope his lawyers do their thing, but if he is guilty, then he must bear full responsibility. If it proven that Hernandez killed Lloyd, he must pay for his crime. Lloyd's family deserves no less.

Whatever becomes of the Patriots because of this matters nothing at all. The Patriots will move on, already having released Hernandez.

But in moving on, they are just another team. And let us never hear about the Patriot Way ever again.



After the recent news that tight end Rob Gronkowski will reportedly start the preseason on the physically unable to perform list, Wednesday's release of Aaron Hernandez and subsequent murder charge put an end to what had been an incredibly potent tight end duo for New England.

If Gronkowski isn't ready in time for the start of the regular season, with Hernandez now permanently out of the mix Tom Brady now finds himself facing the task of trying to break in an entirely new group of players in the passing game to start the year.

Offensively the tough part about losing Hernandez is the fact he was such a versatile and explosive player and he had another productive year last season despite only appearing in 10 games. As we know he was moved around quite a bit and was targeted frequently on short passing routes, with 32 of his 51 receptions last season having come between 1-10 yards.

On short throws to the right side he and Wes Welker were the ones who dominated Brady's attention attacking that side of the field. Overall Brady completed 106 passes to that area, with Welker catching 33 passes for 315 yards, while Hernandez had 22 for 196 yards. That accounts for 52% of those completions by Brady and when you factor in the next closest player, who was Brandon Lloyd with 14 grabs and 144 yards, followed by Danny Woodhead (10 catches for 146 yards), that percentage rises even higher to 75%. That's a significant amount of production that will need to be replaced this season.

Hernandez was also the team's third leading receiver in receptions last season on third down with 12 catches for 126 yards, along with 10 first downs including a touchdown.

Inside the red zone he also finished the year with four touchdowns, 3rd best on the team.

That's a tough player to replace, especially in an offense that has so many moving parts and relies so heavily on knowing how to adjust to what the defense is giving them. There's no substitute for experience and his loss is definitely going to present yet another challenge for a group that now has only Julian Edelman left as someone who fits that description in the passing game.

The move to pick up Jake Ballard by Bill Belichick last season now looms large as he's now their #2 tight end, with guys like Zach Sudfeld, Daniel Fells and Michael Hoomanawanui also suddenly finding themselves having moved up the depth chart.



We don't know whether he's innocent or guilty from a legal standpoint. The evidence against him doesn't seem promising, but then again we've seen enough over the years to know that anything is possible.

What we do know is that he's guilty of even putting himself in this position. Had he not gone out that night and just stayed home with his family, all this could have been avoided.

"I'm engaged now, and I have a baby. So, it's just gonna make me think of life a lot differently and doing things the right way," Hernandez said last year after signing his extension. "Now, another one is looking up to me. I can't just be young and reckless Aaron no more. I'm gonna try to do the right things, become a good father and [her] be raised like I was raised."

Unfortunately he didn't live up to his own words and it's just a sad story with an ending that shouldn't even have been written. Before it happened he was just over a month away from training camp and looking to build on all the promise that put him in position to make the most of everything he had done up to that point.

Now instead he'll just be a cautionary tale of a player who will forever be remembered in Patriots history for all the wrong reasons.





As would be expected, the forum was incredibly active on this date 13 years ago.

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35-comments thread:


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Podcast:
 
Today in Patriots History
20th Century June 26 News


June 26, 1971:
Patriots sign eighth round draft pick CB Daryl Johnson, and re-sign CB Larry Carwell

Daryl Johnson was a starting corner for each of his first three years with the Pats. He had five interceptions, two fumble recoveries, one touchdown and one safety. However, he missed the entire 1971 season on injured reserve due to a severely broken ankle, and was never quite the same after that. Although his playing time in New England was short, it was impactful enough that Johnson is a member of the Patriots All-Decade Team of the 1960s, in a defensive backfield with CB Chuck Shonta and safeties Ron Hall and Don Webb.

Daryl was an esteemed member of the Boston Patriots (AFL) from 1968-1969 and the New England Patriots (NFL) from 1970-1972. He ended his professional playing career in the World Football League on the Houston Texans and Shreveport Steamer teams (1974-1975).​

Beyond the football field, Daryl also held many professional careers. He was a co-host on the Radio Show “Your Sports IQ” (alongside his friend and fellow New England Patriot, the late Jim Nance); a District Manager for the Chrysler Corporation; a Stockbroker for Bache, Halsey, Stuart, Inc.; a Claims Adjuster for Kemper Insurance; a Human Resource Consultant, Small Business Liaison Officer, Purchasing Agent, and Senior Buyer for Textron Defense Systems; and a Probation Officer in the Stoughton District Court. Additionally, Daryl co-owned a clothing store located in Belmont, MA, and eventually created two businesses of his own — one as a General Contractor and the other as a Sports Consultant advising athletes across the professional, collegiate, and high school levels.​



Larry Carwell was a four-year starter for the Patriots at left corner, from '69-'72, in a period of time when there was not much support from either the pass rush or from the offense. Carwell had ten interceptions (with one touchdown) for the Pats, and also contributed on special teams with 13 punt returns and two kickoff returns.







June 26, 1976
Patriots sign eighth round draft pick Stu Betts and twelfth round pick Todd Anderson

Betts was a RB from Northern Michigan, and Anderson was a center from Stanford; neither one ever played in the NFL.







June 26, 1991:
Patriots trade their 1992 twelfth round draft pick to Dallas for Rich Gicewicz

Invited to walk-on to Michigan State University's soon to be national championship hockey team, Gicewicz instead, made a career decision to walk-on to their football team. After earning a full scholarship and becoming a three year starter and four year letter winner with the Spartans, Gicewicz was one of the starting tight ends for the 1987 Big Ten Champion and 1988 Rose Bowl winning Spartans who beat USC and finished the season with an impressive #8 National ranking. After playing in the Cherry Bowl, All American Bowl and Gator Bowl, Gicewicz spent parts of the next four years in the NFL as a free agent Tight End and had stints with the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots.​





June 26, 1995:
Patriots sign fourth round draft pick Dave Wohlabaugh
Patriots sign seventh round draft pick Carlos Yancy


Wohlabaugh was selected in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL Draft (112th overall) by the New England Patriots. He was named to the Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie team in 1995. He started every game over four years with the Patriots (1995-98), and was a member of the Pats’ AFC Championship in 1997 and appeared in Super Bowl XXXI. Wohlabaugh was selected as the center for the New England Patriots All-1990’s team​










Carlos Yancy was selected in the 7th round of the same draft that produced Ty Law, Ted Johnson, Curtis Martin, Jimmy Hitchcock and Dave Wohlabaugh. Yancy appeared in four games for the Pats in '95, after spending most of the season on the practice squad. The defensive back was traded to Green Bay soon after the start of training camp the following year, and also played for the Barcelona Dragons of the WLAF in 1997.

Professional sports is part of Carlos Yancy's family history; his father Hugh was an infielder for the Chicago White Sox in the seventies.

Since 2003 Carlos has been giving back to society, working at the Goodwill in his hometown of Sarasota Florida, where he assists people with some roadblocks to finding jobs and careers.
 
Today in Patriots History
June 26 News and Threads
from the Aughts



June 26, 2002:
Patriots trade LB Kole Ayi to the St Louis Rams for a 2004 7th round draft pick


A two-time first team all-American, Kole Ayi set the standard by which all UMass linebackers are judged. To this day, he remains as UMass' all-time leader in solo tackles with 330 and ranks third in career total tackles with 478.​

In addition to his all-America honors, Ayi was a two-time finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is given to the top defensive player in FCS football, and he was honored with the George "Bulger" Lowe Award as the top defensive player in New England from the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston in 2000.​

Ayi, a native of Nashua, New Hampshire, will always be remembered for his standout performance in the 1998 NCAA National Championship Game, where he recorded a game-high 16 tackles, had three fumble recoveries and forced two fumbles. He even scored a touchdown by returning a fumble recovery leading the Minutemen to their first-ever national title.​

Beginning his career at UMass as a walk-on, Ayi finished his time in Amherst as one of the best players in the program's history. He was an All-Atlantic 10 First Team pick in 1999 and 2000 and was a second-team selection in 1998. He led UMass in tackles as a sophomore, junior and senior. Ayi's 116 tackles during the 1998 campaign still stand as the school record for single-season tackles.​

Following his time at UMass, Ayi signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Rams. He was a member of the New England Patriots during the 2002 Super Bowl Championship season as well.​




June 26, 2006:




June 26, 2007:




June 26, 2007:
Pats change Randy Moss' jersey number from 6 to 81

Moss had initially been issued No. 6. But receivers must have numbers from 80-89 or from 10-19.​

No. 81 became available when receiver Jonathan Smith was waived last week.​

Moss previously wore 84 in Minnesota and 18 in Oakland. He had actually warmed to the idea of wearing No. 6 — the amount of points awarded for a touchdown — but was required to make the switch.​








June 26, 2008:




June 26, 2009:




June 26, 2009:
Bob Soltis passes away at the age of 73

An original Boston Patriot, Bob Soltis' pro football career was cut short due to a serious back injury early in the 1961 season. The defensive back played in 17 games for the Patriots with two interceptions. Soltis spent much of his post-football career as a sales executive and manager in the computer industry.



1960 Boston Patriots. Front row standing, fourth from left: 24-year old Bob Soltis, #42
 
Today in Patriots History
The Early 2010s



June 26, 2010:
Jeff Howe of NESN.com looks at the Patriots lack of commitment to a running game, and wonders if that will be an area that they'll put more of an effort into this season.

Mike Reiss has an interesting interview with former Patriot Doug Flutie, who is a huge Red Sox fan, but doesn't actively follow the team he started and finished his career with. He told Reiss that these days he "loosely follows the Patriots".

"I live for the Red Sox. I thoroughly enjoy them. For whatever reason, baseball has been a lot more fun for me in recent years. I loosely follow the Patriots and I root for them. I loosely follow the Celtics and then it gets to playoff time and I don't miss a game. Same with the Bruins. I'm not the diehard fan anymore. I'm a diehard fan when it comes to going to the high school games and watching my nephews play."

To us the release of runningback Pat Paschall was just another guy who we knew nothing about being sent on his way. Locally where he played college football, there's a quick link that also has more of an explanation as to why he was let go relating to some "issue" the Patriots apparently saw in the spring that may have influenced their decision.

Patriots.com has an article on "Debate Friday" where Paul Perillo and Erik Scalavino talk about whether or not Tom Brady will retire as a New England Patriot. They're not talking about him playing a few more years, potentially going to another team, and then coming back. They're talking about him only ever playing in a Patriots uniform. Count me in as one who believes he'll be staying in Foxboro until he decides it's time to hang it up.

Cam Martin of ESPN's Page 2 looks at the some of the best Sports cities, and ranks Boston against other cities such as San Francisco, Detroit, Denver, and more.


Many were shocked when New England released Chris Baker after losing Ben Watson to free agency. This left the position to be filled only by free-agent pick up and aging veteran, Alge Crumpler, who is most notable as a blocker. It's obvious New England was dissatisfied with the production at tight end and they looked to fill the need in the draft.

Rookies, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, figure to help the Patriots improve both at the position and within the 20. Fourth round pick, Aaron Hernandez, was one of the most prolific tight ends in college football last season: winning the Mackey award and hauling in 68 footballs for 850 yards. Daniel Jeremiah, respected ex-NFL scout and writer of Move the Sticks, has Hernandez picked as the steal of the 2010 draft.

The young tight end has been a stand out in practices thus far. "Everything is going good", said the rookie. "I'm going out every practice and working as hard as I can, trying to make some plays." Hernandez has shown some versatility (he can be found on the line, in motion, or split out wide) which is likely to get him more playing time. As noted before, Crumpler excels as a blocker on the line. Hernandez's pass catching skills compliment him nicely and is likely the reason the two are taking so many reps together.

Hernandez has even impressed Brady. ESPNBoston's Mike Reiss writes, "..as Brady was watching a 7-on-7 drill led by backup quarterback Brian Hoyer, the quarterback took note of a sharp route run by Hernandez in the red zone. After Hernandez caught the pass for a touchdown, Brady's voice boomed out to congratulate him.

Rob Gronkowski, one of the top ranked tight ends in the draft, is more of a pure tight end. As a result, he figures to get less playing time than Hernandez this year - as he'll be playing directly behind Alge Crumpler. However, he should not be overlooked.







June 26, 2011:





June 26, 2012:





June 26, 2013:







June 26, 2014:

UNDERRATED SUPER BOWL PLAY: J.R.REDMOND MAKES THE LIST:

Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports Shutdown corner published a list of "Overrated and Underrated Super Bowl plays, and one name that made the cut was former Patriots running back J.R. Redmond, who helped Tom Brad quite a bit on the fateful drive that set-up the winning field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Writes Schwab:
Brady hit Redmond, a little-used running back, for five yards on first down, narrowly escaping a sack to do so, and then went back to Redmond for eight more yards on second for a first down. Brady then clocked the ball with 41 seconds left. Bill Belichick had used the Patriots' final timeout two possessions earlier when it was clear his defense was absolutely gassed.

The Patriots faced a 2nd and 10 from their own 30. They still had 35-40 yards to go to get into field goal range. Their offense had been pretty stale, gaining 27 yards on the previous three possessions.
Brady dropped back to pass and looked in the middle of the field. He wanted either Troy Brown or Jermaine Wiggins, it appeared. But Brady instead swung a pass to Redmond in the flat, and he made a very gutsy move, going inside of Rams corner Dre Bly, who was protecting against Redmond going out of bounds. Instead, Redmond had enough juice to break Bly's tackle to the inside, drag Tommy Polley four yards, beat Kim Herring to the sticks and get out of bounds to stop the clock.

Schwab points out that it wasn't a bad game for a player that had one touch in the game prior to that drive and didn't surpass 1,200 yards from scrimmage in what he felt was a "nondescript career".


#5. An Improved Defense Takes Pressure Off: The Patriots made some changes in personnel in 2014 but none of them were bigger than the free agent signings of CBs Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. With the signing of top corner Aqib Talib by the Denver Broncos, the Patriots not only addressed their need once, but twice, upgrading the roster in a big way.

The addition of those two allows Bill Belichick to play much freer and aggressive with the defense. That and the return to health of Jerod Mayo, Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly, as well as free agent addition Will Smith and 1st round draft pick Dominique Easley, will make the New England defense much more effective.

At the end of the season linebacker Jamie Collins was thrust in a starting role and has generated a lot of excitement, being able to cover or blitz off the edge. Much more is expected from him 2014, and from the defense as a whole.

With an improved secondary and interior of the defensive line, the defense should be on the field much less in 2014, taking much of the pressure off of Brady and the offense.


WEEI.com:
Deconstructing Patriots Roster By Age, 2014 Edition - Chris Price breaks down the Pats roster by position and comes up with an average age and compares them to 2013 and years past.

With Spring Workouts Done, 2014 Patriots Roster Begins To Take Shape - Chris Price does his own 53 man roster projection and sees where the cuts may take place.

Bleacher Report:
Projecting the Ceiling, Floor for New England Patriots in 2014 - James Christiansen of B/R and NE Patriots Draft takes a look at what the ceiling and floor could be for the 2014 New England Patriots.

CSSNE:
Surprise twist to the search for the original Patriots fan- Rich Levine digs into who was one of the original Patriots' fans. Nice piece with a surprise ending

Yahoo Sports:
Which running back committees are most interesting, effective?-Yahoo's Eric Edholm takes a look at the running back by committee groupings in the NFL and has a Top 10 list of the most intriguing. And see where the Patriots group lands.
 
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Patriots Rookie Lomu Reveals “Weird” First Days at Right Tackle
Vrabel’s Goal For Christian Barmore in 2026: “Being able to finish”
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TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel Press Conference 6/11
MORSE: Day 2 of Patriots Mini-Camp
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