Friday Patriots Notebook 4/12: News and Notes
(PHOTO: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 6 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots News
(PHOTO: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 6 minutes
New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
(PHOTO: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports) Some Patriots news and notes on this Friday:
Former Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich appeared on The Greg Hill Show on WEEI on Thursday and talked about who he’d like to see New England take at #3 overall from a defensive player’s perspective.
Ninkovich believes that the New England Patriots would be better served to target someone who would be more of a threat to the defense, preferably someone who can get outside the pocket and make plays.
“For me, as an outside linebacker, this is where it gets tricky,” said Ninkovich. “I don’t want a traditional statue quarterback. I don’t want a traditional statue pocket guy. I don’t want somebody where you can dial up the blitz where he’ll be on the ‘X’ and when you get to the ‘X’, the play’s over. I’ve played against guys like that. I know how hard it is to get to a quarterback that can move. The RPO, and the ‘Check with me’s’ and all those things now that are so hard to defend, that’s what you want under center and in the gun. You want a guy who, when things break down, can cause fits, make something happen.”
Ninkovich then went on to talk about Daniels, who he likes as a player and likes the things he’s able to do when things break down. However, at the same time, Ninkovich is also worried about Daniels’ durability, given his size.
“Now, Daniels, and I was just down in New Orleans, I asked every single person I was around that’s a big LSU fan, ‘Do the Patriots take Daniels at 3? They said, ‘Yes, take that guy at 3,'” said Ninkovich. “Now, Drake Maye isn’t a statue. So I’m not saying that Drake Maye’s a statue. He’s got a strong arm. He’s got the intangibles that are similar to a Josh Allen body type. My only concern is Daniels, being what, 210? So some guys that are built around that weight, it only takes a guy, they’ve got all these rules in place, ‘don’t drop weight [on the quarterback]’, well, sometimes you get the weight dropped on you. So the durability factor of can he go out there for 17 games, take those hits, take those shots – because it is a lot faster and it’s more physical when you take that step up – if you look at those two guys, what style of offense do you want?”
At the end of the day, that’s the biggest question that he believes the Patriots need to answer before they make their pick just under two weeks from now.
“That’s what you have to ask yourself,” said Ninkovich. “What style do you want to see? Do you want to see a pocket-style quarterback with all the check-with-me’s and then commanding the offense and making all those decisions? I personally, as a defensive end, outside linebacker who had to go against the Cam Newtons, the guys that were mobile, Mike Vick, going into my rookie year, those guys, you can’t just pin your ears back. Because guess what? They’re up and out. They’re out of the pocket and running for 20, 50 … until they hit their head on the goalpost.”
“So what style of offense do you want? I like a style where the defense has to account for the quarterback every single play. Because then, it’s 11-on-11. It’s not 10-on-11.”
On the latest The Patriots Report with Price & Hogan, former Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan provided some insight into what it’s like from a player’s standpoint with a new head coach.
Hogan talked about what it was like for him during his time in Buffalo in Rex Ryan’s first year. He said that Ryan came in with a silly premise, albeit he admitted that he turned out to be a coach the players clearly rallied around.
“Yeah, the same old bulls**t,” said Hogan. “Like, let’s put up a picture of the Lombardi Trophy and it’s like every other team that I’ve been on, like, ‘This is the goal.’ Of course it’s the goal. We know that this is what we’re here for.”
“Rex was cool, man. To Rex’s credit, we had one of the best years we had with him and one of the best defenses that Buffalo’s had in a long time. But, he was funny, man. He had this energy about him where it was like, ‘Dude, I don’t care about what anyone thinks of me, I’m going to coach you the way that I’m going to coach you. He was very player-friendly. He was a player’s coach, but he would cuss you out if he needed to.”
Hogan also talked about what it was like from a player’s standpoint when it came to making a first impression with a new coaching staff. Hogan said he immediately got to work when the season ended, and he opened some eyes both with Ryan and his coaching staff when he came back into the building that April.
“So, starting in April, I was doing everything I needed to, and meeting with all the coaches, doing all the stuff that I needed to because, at the end of the day, I knew they were trying to get my ass out,” said Hogan. ” I worked my way up in Buffalo, but even when Rex came on, Rex didn’t know who I was. I was just the white kid that tried hard. I knew that going into it. So I came back into April, I was in the best shape in my life.”
“I knew that because the second the season ended, I was right back to training so that the first run test, when I’m blowing everybody out of the water, he came up to me like, ‘What have you been doing?’ And I was like, ‘Well, I’m trying to make this damn team. You’ll find out here when we put pads on, too. I mean business.'”
Hogan then went on to say that while Mayo may have some familiarity with these guys, it’s going to be important for players to prove to new offensive coordinator, Alex Van Pelt, that they’re ready to put in the work and do what’s needed to familiarize themselves with this new offense.
“The first impression is a real thing. Jerod’s been around, he knows these guys, so it’s a little different,” said Hogan. “But for [Alex] Van Pelt, this is the first time he’s ever been around these guys offensively. So your first impression is going to go a long way. If you’re a guy that is just kind of walking through workouts or just kind of going through your stuff and you’re not taking notes in the meeting room, that would be a huge no-no to me. Dude, this is all new stuff that you’re trying to digest. Be that guy. Be the guy that has questions. Be the guy that’s always there taking notes. Be that guy who shows that you want to be there.”
“I think that’s all part of this first phase. This is a get-to-know-each-other phase because soon, we’re going to be doing football.”
Tom Brady shook things up on Thursday after a quote of his came out from an appearance on a recent episode of the “Deep Cut” podcast. Brady was asked by host, Vic Blends, if he’d pick up the phone late in the year if a team called him after losing their QB due to injury. “I’m not opposed to it,” Brady said via Mike Reiss. “I don’t know if they are going to let me if I become an owner of an NFL team. I’m always going to be in good shape. I’ll always be able to throw the ball. So, to come in for a little bit, like MJ [Michael Jordan] coming back, I don’t know if they would let me. But I wouldn’t be opposed to it.” … Another bit from Hogan: He was asked if there was ever a player he was afraid of, and he admitted that former Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who joined the Patriots late during the 2017 campaign, made him nervous. “I’ve rarely ever been scared of people, but when James Harrison was on our team, I have to tell you, I didn’t even want to cross this guy in the hallway,” said Hogan. “I mean, he was the angriest person I’ve ever been around. But to be honest with you, he was actually a nice guy if you actually sat down and talked to him. But his overall persona in the weight room at like four o’clock in the morning in his oversized sweatpants and sweatshirts, it was like, ‘Dude, this guy wants to kill somebody.’ He was a pretty scary player to meet and to play against as well.” … Hogan also said that former Patriots defensive back Aqib Talib was another guy who was quite the competitor. “I never got a chance to play with Talib when he was in New England but when you played against him, he would verbally go after you,” said Hogan. “He said things I will not repeat on this podcast. As a competitor, it was part of his game. He’d be talking smack. … He’d go after your family, he’d be like, ‘I’m going to … ‘ No, I’m going to keep it at that. He would go after it, man. He was a competitor, though, and that was part of his game. He would try and get in guy’s heads. You saw it. Over the course of his career, he riled people up, man, and that’s how he played the game.” … Tom Curran and Phil Perry gave ‘Pros and cons on NBC Sports Boston, referencing the various QBs including J.J. McCarthy. Curran believes that McCarthy is ‘as accurate as anybody you’ll find in the draft,’ but Perry believes McCarthy’s ability to make plays ‘off-platform, off-balance,’ with the fact that he needs to work on throwing more of a ‘layered’ ball as things that remain key concerns. People continue talking about McCarthy’s leadership ability, but the argument continues to be whether or not he’s worthy to be taking among the top group of quarterbacks.
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