Wednesday Patriots Notebook 4/3: News and Notes
(PHOTO: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 4 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots News
(PHOTO: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 4 minutes
New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
(PHOTO: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports) Some news and note on this Wednesday:
Former Patriots staffer Ernie Adams appeared on Games with Names with Julian Edelman recently, giving some terrific insight on some past Patriots moments during his interview.
Adams brought up some unique memories, where he often made observations of opponents ahead of various match-ups.
One of those happened to come against the Titans during the Patriots 2009 season, which resulted in a 59-0 blowout win at the snow at Gillette Stadium
Adams said before the game even started that he could tell Tennessee was in trouble, just based on seeing what cleats they were wearing.
As a result, Adams took that advantage and put it to good use. He went and had a talk with then grounds keeper, John Bengston, which set the stage on what turned out to be a big afternoon for his football team.
“What you want to wear on a snowy turf field is seven stud grass cleats, and in pregame, I can see that the Titans, they’re going to try to play the game in their molded soles, I knew they were in trouble,” said Adams. “So I went and found John Bengtson, the grounds guy, I said, ‘John, [be] really slow getting the snow off, just take your time.’ I think they had one guy at halftime with a shovel out cleaning off the goal line. We wanted as much snow [as possible.]”
“You could see their linebackers before the play, they’re trying to kick the snow off their cleats. They had no chance.”
Tom Brady certainly had a big game that day, missing just five passes as he completed 29-of-34 for 380 yards and six touchdowns, with the club scoring a franchise-record 35 points in the second quarter.
Brady also set a record at the time by becoming the first quarterback to throw five touchdowns in a quarter.
Ah … memories.
Adams also hit on some other key moments, including that he felt the Patriots likely wouldn’t have won that first Super Bowl had they not played the Rams once previously during that same season, along with some more great intel during what was an over two hour interview with Edelman.
For more, here’s the full podcast:
N’Keal Harry certainly had an ugly tenure here in New England, and his former college coach, Herm Edwards, tried to deflect some of the blame in a recent interview with Tyler Dunne of “Go Long.”
In the interview, Edwards explained the reason he believes Harry failed in the NFL, which was a little puzzling.
“He had too many followers, man. That’s what killed him. That poor kid,” Edwards told Dunne via the Boston Globe. “He had hanger-on’ers. And it was like, ‘C’mon, N’Keal.’ Because talent-wise? He’s got enough talent. He’s a big, strong physical receiver to catch the ball. And then he went to New England. That was the worst place for him to go because it just didn’t fit. That didn’t fit him.”
What he means by that is unclear, but the reason Harry failed went beyond his arrival in New England, especially given the support he was reportedly given by Bill Belichick.
Harry had some frustrating moments that certainly felt like they were of his own making. From being one of the last players off the snap, along with having to have a rookie quarterback tell him where to line-up (in Harry’s third season no less), there were a variety of factors that seemed to be more of a Harry issue than a team issue.
His eventual trade to Chicago didn’t seem to go any better. But overall, not having him emerge as the player many here in New England hoped he’d be, his first-round flop feels like it even likely played a key role in Tom Brady’s departure.
Had Harry turned out to be the next J’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson, maybe Brady gets reinvigerated and decides to finish his career in New England.
Instead, in 2019, after Antonio Brown was let go due to off-field issues after one game, the Patriots were undermanned by the time January rolled around, and they were ousted from the postseason in what would be Brady’s last game.
If ever there was a time the Patriots needed to hit on a wideout in round one, 2019 was definitely it. Instead, they whiffed, and it feels like it certainly altered the trajectory of a club that had been just one season removed from a Super Bowl title.
For now, Harry is currently in Minnesota having signed a reserve/future contract back in January.
One interesting bit of news out of Buffalo on Wednesday was the fact the Bills shipped off wide receiver Stefon Diggs to Houston in a trade with the Texans.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it certainly sounds like Houston made out well in this deal. They shipped off a second-round pick in 2025 in exchange for Diggs, a 2024 sixth-round pick, and a 2025 fifth-round pick.
Diggs’ arrival provides a solid weapon for second-year QB C.J. Stroud, who now has a pretty formidable receiving corps in Niko Collins and Tank Dell, along with tight end Dalton Schultz.
It’s a pretty good transaction for former Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio, who has done a solid job rebuilding the Texans since his arrival there. Coming off their 10-7 finish, they’re now a team on the rise and a significant factor in the AFC South.
Even more importantly, now that he seems to have a competent player under center, Houston suddenly seems like it could end up being a big factor in the AFC in 2024.
As for Buffalo, moving on from Diggs certainly has some upside. The Bills shed his contract, but they also move a player who has spent a lot of time creating strife on the sidelines. Diggs was often spotted expressing frustration for how often he’s gotten the ball, only to have some moments where he also didn’t come through when the Bills needed him to.
It was eerily similar to what we saw here during Randy Moss’ final year during that 2010 Patriots season when Moss was both unhappy with his contract, and frustrated by his lack of targets.
That ultimately saw him get traded. Things came to a head after Moss saw his 51-game streak with a reception as a member of the Patriots snapped during the club’s Monday night game in Miami.
Moss finished that game with just one target but without a catch as the Patriots blew out the Dolphins in Miami 41-14.
He reportedly showed up on the next day ‘unhappy’, with he and Bill Belichick reportedly having ‘had words’ ahead of his eventual trade to Minnesota.
For now, the Bills will have to figure out how to replace Diggs production. He finished 2023 with 107 catches for 1183 yards and 8 touchdowns for Buffalo, who is now a little more vulnerable with New England and the Jets both expected to be much-improved heading into 2024.
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