Here’s a look at today’s top stories.
Amendola Gives Insight on Being a Patriot – Danny Amendola has arguably been one of the most important secret weapons during each of New England’s two championship runs, having quietly established himself as one of the more underated assets during his tenure with the club.
During a recent interview with Keith Gordon of Maxim magazine, Amendola offered up an opportunity to let fans in on some of the reasons why the Patriots have continued to be so successful. One of the things that Amendola talked about is that he doesn’t believe the average fan has any real idea just how hard they work every day.
“I wish the average football fan knew how much we run every day—it’s miles and miles of sprinting against the top athletes in the world, Monday to Friday,” explained Amendola during the interview. “It seems all they want to talk about is fantasy football numbers and targets and catches. How about this: Go outside and try to keep up with the cars on the highway until you puke. And then do it again. And again. And again. Day after day. And then I’ll have your grade. I agree that they pay us well, but that’s why we do it and you don’t.”
Amendola also offered up his thoughts on what it’s like to play with someone like teammate and tight end Rob Gronkowski, who he enjoys watching embarrass opposing defenders when they’re on the field together.
“Gronk is one of the best teammates and best football players ever to walk the earth,” said Amendola. “He’s our heart and soul when he’s on the field, and he’s the hardest to defend. His football IQ is off the charts, and his athletic ability compares to that of LeBron or Messi. His ability to take over is comical to watch when he’s running by you on the field. He makes grown men quit.”
As for what it’s like to play for Belichick and whether or not the coach is all business all the time, Amendola admitted that there are times when Belichick lets himself enjoy the moment.
“Bill is always serious. Unless you’re at a winning Super Bowl after-party,” said Amendola. “Then he smiles.”
ESPN Predicts Patriots and Cowboys in Super Bowl 52 – While many here in New England believe the Patriots have a good shot at getting back to the Super Bowl, oddsmakers have apparently also made their opinion known about who will get there from the NFC.
According to ESPN.com, the oddsmakers at the Golden Nuggett are predicting that the Dallas Cowboys will join New England next February, establishing odds of 7-1. The other favorite along with Dallas is Green Bay, with 8-1 odds.
As far as a rematch is concerned, the Golden Nuggett also has the Falcons in the mix to meet the Patriots again, but at 10-1 odds.
When it comes to winning another championship, the Patriots are 3-1 odds as the favorite to win it all.
 Lewis faces some tough competition in training camp next month. (USA TODAY Images) |
Despite Competition, Lewis Enjoyed Minicamp – Patriots running back Dion Lewis finds himself in a crowded backfield heading into training camp this year, but the prospect of competition hasn’t dampened his enjoyment on the field so far this offseason.
Lewis, who has looked strong through minicamp, admitted that competition is just part of the game and it comes with the territory.
“Every year there’s turnover in the NFL,” Lewis told the Providence Journal. “Every year, you’re in training camp with eight running backs, so it doesn’t matter who the names are who they bring in. You’ve only got to worry about how well you compete. You’ve got to be ready to compete. That’s all that really matters. You can’t think about who they bring in and why did they bring them in. You’ve got to compete against those guys and do the best you can and try to get yourself a role on the team.”
Lewis is coming off of a year where he finished with 283 yards rushing on 64 carries (4.4 average), along with 17 receptions for 94 yards during the regular season. But he carried the football 25 times during the postseason for 79 yards along with a touchdown and also hauled in 5 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown out of the backfield.
As a result, Bill Belichick obviously knows what he’s capable of. Despite the fact he brought in Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead this offseason, he put this group together to build competition but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s hopeful Lewis can go out and perform well when the club opens training camp next month.
“I think Dion’s building on his last however many weeks of the regular season it was last year — six or seven or whatever it was — and the playoffs, so he’s had a good offseason,” Belichick said via the Providence Journal. “He’s built on that. I mean, he really worked hard to get back for the end of last year, and then this year, he’s been able to improve on that. Again, anxious to see him in training camp, but he’s done a good job out here.”
 Gronkowski has the perfect gift this father’s day. (USA TODAY Images) |
Gronkowski’s Offers Up A Special Father’s Day Gift – Rob Gronkowski took part in a humorous campaign in advance of this year’s father’s day, with a video showing what he believes might be the perfect gift for his father, Gordon.
Gronkowski recently starred in a video for Oberto beef jerky, where he revealed the “Jerky Tie”, which is a tie made out of the company’s beef jerky that Gronkowski believes will make him the favorite among his brothers this year.
See the video below:
https://twitter.com/ObertoBeefJerky/status/874341182817652737
Wondering how to make your own? Oberto posted instructions via their Facebook account to walk you through the process so you can be a hero with your own father.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
