Monday Patriots Notebook 5/6: News and Notes
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Some Patriots news and notes on this Monday:
Sunday night’s Netflix special The Roast of Tom Brady included some insane moments, which were documented in this entry from earlier.
However, for anyone who missed it, it certainly started off in amusing fashion.
The show opened up with Bill Belichick standing in front of Drew Bledsoe, with the coach speaking to his former quarterback.
“It’s great seeing you again,” said Belichick. “This is a big night. The fans want you. Everyone wants you. But it’s not your night. Sorry, Drew.”
Belichick then turned to Brady. “Brady,” yelled Belichick.
“Yeah, coach?” he replied as he stepped into the frame.
“You’re in,” said Belichick. “Let’s go.”
The two then walked off, leaving Bledsoe standing there by himself.
“Are you f*****g kidding me?” said Bledsoe. “Again?”
There were some crazy moments, with Belichick and Brady lobbing some unbelievable barbs at each other, including some surprising comments about Brady’s former trainer, Alex Guerrero.
Bledsoe more or less stole the show to kick things off, with the former QB also hitting his former coach with a little jab.
“There was a rumor that coach Belichick was going to be here tonight. Turns out he has some time on his hands. Hey, look, at least when I got fired, someone else wanted me,” joked Bledsoe, referring to Belichick. Bledsoe then turned around to look behind him. “I was worried he was behind me,” he said, smiling.
Belichick used Sunday night to throw out a barb of his portrayal on the Apple TV series.
“I’m so honored to be here for the roast of Tom Brady on Netflix,” said Belichick. “That’s not to be confused with the roast of Bill Belichick on the ten-part Apple TV series.”
For anyone who didn’t see it, there’s far more from Sunday night in this entry.
Mike Reiss had an interesting note on third-round selection Caedan Wallace in his Sunday notes, while also speaking with Penn State offensive line coach, Phil Trautwein.
Trautwein noted that while Wallace played all but six snaps at right tackle, the rookie did see time on the left side during practice.
“He hasn’t taken any game reps, but he’s taken many practice reps because I always make sure they’re developing on both. I don’t want them to just be a ‘right tackle’ because I want them to have a long career and get on the field as fast as possible,” he told Reiss.
“His career kind of was just different, but I would have no hesitation to put him on the left side.”
However, one difference that came to light was something Reiss noted in his column. He pointed out Wallace’s hand size, which comes in among the top of the draft class at 10 3/4″. However, what’s interesting is the fact that ESPN writer Rich Cimini, who covers the Jets, wrote in his own column yesterday that there’s some concern over Wallace’s former teammate, Olu Fashanu, who comes in with “unusually small hands at just 8 1/2” which was “easily among the smallest among 70 offensive linemen at the combine.”
To put that in perspective, that comes in just 1/4″ bigger than Tyqaun Thornton’s, with the former Baylor receiver having received a fair amount of criticism for his own hand size since being drafted.
He’s currently heading into 2024 with one final shot of finally breaking through after being taken in the second round back in 2022.
For now, the hope is that Wallace can take the next step, and he comes into the NFL with plenty of momentum and confidence.
“It’s all starting to click,” said Trautwein of Wallace. “You’re getting a kid that is playing his best ball with his best ball still ahead of him.”
The Patriots made a roster move on Monday, waiving CFL standout Nathan Rourke. Rourke was potentially expected to compete for the #3 spot with Bailey Zappe, but it looks like the club instead opted to part with him. That’s disappointing since Rourke has been working hard this offseason, hoping to establish himself after being claimed by the club last December. Instead, it may be good news for Zappe, who was rumored to be a potential trade candidate ahead of training camp. … Jerod Mayo said last week on the Rich Eisen show that he likes what he’s seen from Ja’Lynn Polk. “Yeah, first and foremost with him, he’s a dirty work player,” said Mayo. “He doesn’t shy away from blocking safeties and blocking even linebackers. And that’s what really got me hooked on Polk. This guy, he’ll do all the dirty work, and at the same time, he’s a tremendous receiver. So we want that attitude in the room and on this team.” … He also had positive words about rookie Javon Baker. “Once again, there’s a lot of competition in that wide receiver room, and he’s one of those guys who has a tremendous ability to really run after the catch,” said Mayo. “And if you watch him on film, he’s one of those guys that he won’t run out of bounds. He’s looking for contact, looking to get those extra yards, and that’s valuable in this game.” … Mayo also mentioned an interesting bit about how the club is adapting how they do things, taking in some notes from the new coaches on their staff who coached elsewhere. “I think it’s a combination of schemes, also a combination of how the days are structured. Even with Springer, under [Sean] McVay, those days were structured a lot differently than what we’ve done here traditionally,” said Mayo. “Same thing with [Ben] McAdoo and AVP [Alex Van Pelt] and all these coaches. I’m still learning. Look, I’m not ignorant to the fact that I’m green. I’m green at this point. I haven’t coached a game as a head in the NFL, so I’m trying to pick up little bits and pieces, not only from the people inside of this building, but also outside the building.”
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