Some Patriots news and notes on this Tuesday:
Wolf on Aaron Rodgers: Looking Forward to ‘Kicking His Ass’
For a guy who is currently sitting around while the Patriots explore potential GM options, de-facto GM Eliot Wolf certainly seems at ease in his role.
The Patriots have continued to bring in potential candidates, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting that both former Carolina VP of Football Administration Samir Suleiman and Eagles Director of Scouting Brandon Hunt are interviewing for the position.
At this point, it feels like the club is more of an information gathering exercise where they’re trying to get a sense of other team’s philosophies with the idea of likely trying to garner any little things that can help them moving forward. By all accounts, they seem happy with the job Wolf did both in free agency and the draft, and reports seem to indicate that he’ll be elevated into the top role by the time this is over.
Meanwhile, despite all this going on, Wolf certainly doesn’t appear concerned. He joined Schefter on the Adam Schefter podcast on Monday, talking about a variety of topics, including giving a little bit of insight into the selection of Aaron Rodgers out in Green Bay.
Back then, Wolf was working as a scout for the Packers, with Ted Thompson being the one in charge of making that pick back in 2005. He told Schefter leading up to the draft that based on how things were playing out, he felt like the former standout from the University of California was definitely on their radar.
“So what I remember about that selection is more the week leading up to it,” said Wolf. “There were some rumors, it was Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers, and one of them was going to go #1 to San Francisco, and then we started to hear rumors the week of that, well, none of the teams in between need a quarterback. Whoever it is might slide. And, of course, everyone expected the 49ers were going to pick Alex Smith, which they did.”
“So I just remember going in the draft room, and I think this was when the draft was still Saturday and Sunday, it was either Thursday or Friday, and Ted Thompson was in there watching every game of Cal’s offense. He was in there by himself. And I would pop in to do whatever I needed to do in there work-wise, and I would kind of look up at the screen, and you could tell he wanted to be alone, and you knew who he was watching. And he kind of came out of there, a little Ted Thompson half-smile on his face, and I kind of figured that we might be picking Aaron Rodgers if he was there. The slide he did is well-documented, and it really worked out for the Green Bay Packers, and for him.”
Heading into 2024, with Rodgers now healthy coming off his Achilles injury that sidelined him, Wolf feels confident in his football team when the two sides eventually meet later this season.
“I have a good relationship with Aaron, even though he’s a Divisional enemy now,” said Wolf. “His first year was my second year in the NFL, so we kind of came up together. He was a backup for 3 or 4 years, wanting to get on the field. That’s kind of how I felt as a scout, wanting to do more. He’s obviously taken the most of his opportunities, and he’s certainly a Hall of Famer as well, and we look forward to kicking his ass this year.”
Let’s hope his football team can back up those words this fall.
Schedule Date is Set
The NFL announced yesterday that the schedule release date is set, with the league planning on making the announcement next Thursday night.
Last year, the NFL released it on the second Thursday of the month, which would have potentially set things up for us to find out on 5/8 (tomorrow). Instead, it looks like we’ll have to wait another week.
The opponents for this season are already set, with the AFC South as the division who the Patriots will face in its entirety, along with some other tough games mixed in. As it currently stands, New England will have one of the most difficult schedules in the league again this season, which should certainly be a challenge.
The club has home games set for division opponents Miami, Buffalo, and the Jets, along with the Colts, Texans, Chargers, Seahawks and Rams.
For away games, they’ll be traveling to their respective AFC East opponents, as well as Arizona, Jacksonville, Chicago, Tennessee, Cincinnati, and San Francisco. They’re also expected to play a game in London this season, which, given their affiliation over there, would potentially be against Jacksonville. Mike Reiss of ESPN recently reported that in addition to the Jaguars, the Bears are also a possibility.
For anyone who would like to get a little hyped up, the league released this video yesterday.
Odds and Ends
Former Patriots QB and CFL standout Nathan Rourke never made it through waivers on Tuesday, with the New York Giants putting in a claim on him after New England parted ways with him. He’ll now be in a position where he has a better shot at carving out a role for himself, with the Giants having passed on taking a quarterback last month while instead opting to move forward with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, and Tommy DeVito. … One other interesting little nugget was the fact Wolf revealed during his interview with Schefter is that linebacker Ray Lewis was a player that the Green Bay Packers were apparently set to draft back in 1996, but Baltimore, who was picking one spot ahead of them at #26, took him. “There was some disappointment,” said Wolf on the reaction at the time. “Because they actually had Ray on the phone, and Baltimore was still on the clock.” Instead, the Packers ended up with USC offensive lineman John Michels, who ultimately suffered an injury to his right knee, which saw him play just four seasons before his career came to an abrupt end. … ESPN’s Jeff Darlington talked about the battle at quarterback on Tuesday. “Well, I can tell you, we’re talking full competition here. That is the expectation between Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett, something that Brissett has already made clear himself,” said Darlington. “This is an organization that has said they expect Brissett to be somewhat of a mentor but also compete for that job. Drake Maye, by all means, still needs plenty of development, but they believe Brissett is the type of guy who can win them games even if he is obviously not perceived as the long-term answer as the franchise quarterback. They feel like they have a little bit of a buffer in there if Maye doesn’t take the reigns right away. But by all means, this will be a competition, and the best person will be the starter in Week 1.” … Demario Douglas told reporters on Tuesday that he plans on hopefully reaching the end zone in 2024, which is something he wasn’t able to do his rookie season. “I feel like I can always improve in every aspect. But get a touchdown this year,” said Douglas via Matt Geagan of WBZ. “Well, more than one. So touchdowns this year.” Douglas finished last year with 49 receptions on 78 targets for 561 yards while averaging 11.4 yards per reception, which was the second-highest on the team. He also led the team in third-down receptions with 13 catches for 172 yards, moving the chains on 7 of those receptions.
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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.
