Monday Patriots Notebook 2/2: Fans Provided Quite the Send Off
Patriots Rally Fuels Playoff Run; Terrell Williams Cancer-Free; Broncos Eye Stadium Roof Changes
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The Patriots held a send-off rally for fans at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, and the team certainly got quite the turnout, given the incredible number of fans who were in attendance.
Despite the frigid temperatures, it didn’t stop fans from showing up for Sunday’s event. Those with tickets were able to fill the lower bowl on the field in front of a stage that was assembled for the players and head coach Mike Vrabel to speak ahead of their departure to California.
Fans packed the field and filled a good portion of the lower level of seats, with Mack Hollins, Drake Maye, Rhamondre Stevenson, Christian Gonzalez, and others among players who took the stage on Sunday.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his son Jonathan also spoke at the rally on Sunday, with Robert praising Vrabel for the job he did in guiding the team. He also said the hope now is that they’ll potentially add to their current trophy total.
“Coach Mike Vrabel and the culture he created, this is truly a team-first,” said Robert Kraft in the video posted by the team. “They’re unbelievable. We hope to bring a seventh treasure back to all of you.”
“I’m only going to change it up this one time,” added Jonathan. “You all are what we got, and it’s absolutely all we need.”
Vrabel also praised the crowd for showing up in a big way in the postseason, which included making their presence known against a Texans team that absolutely seemed to be affected by the noise in that game.
“Every week we played here, it got better, and better, and better,” said Vrabel, who as a former player obviously knows what it’s like to play at Gillette Stadium. “And that last game that we played against the Texans, unreal.”
The crowd noise against Houston was definitely a difference maker. It caused quite a bit of trouble for a Texans’ offense that ended up with five turnovers and multiple false starts as New England walked away from that one 28-16 winners as they advanced to the AFC Championship game out in Denver.
“First off, thank you guys, you guys have been great all season,” said Maye. “We wouldn’t be here without you guys. What a journey, and we’ve just got one left to do. Go Pats, Baby!”
During the ceremony, the Patriots had their offensive line as the “Keeper of the Light” up in the lighthouse, with the group ringing the bell and firing up the crowd.
They later boarded the buses as fans cheered them as they drove away, capping off quite an afternoon.
One of the best bits of information this weekend came from Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald, who caught up with Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams and had a terrific article with some great news.
Williams has reportedly received a clean bill of health after his battle with prostate cancer, which Callahan revealed was certainly more dire than many fans might have been aware.
The cancer had reportedly been an aggressive form that had spread through Williams’ body, into his collarbone, hips, groin, and through his legs. The 51-year-old called it “super aggressive” to the point he didn’t know what his future held.
“Everything was going through my head,” Williams told Callahan. “But the number one thing for me was my health.”
Fortunately, after meeting with doctors at Mass General and putting together a plan of attack, things seemed to have gone well. Williams underwent treatment plans that included chemotherapy, going back to mid-October, culminating in another group of treatments in January. After all that, Williams ultimately ended up seemingly coming out on the right side of what for him has certainly been a long battle.
He’s joined the team out in California and has definitely been one of the more inspiring stories behind the scenes this season.
Teams always tend to be on the side of playing in the elements and the advantage of being at home, usually talking about how they’re the tougher team and how difficult it makes things for opponents.
Until, of course, it doesn’t work out in their favor.
That seems to be the case out in Denver. According to ProFootballTalk.com, the team is reportedly evaluating the options for a retractable roof for its stadium plans. Plans for a retractable roof were apparently in the original plans, but now that decision appears to be even more of a definite. That motivatation appears to be spurred by the outcome two weeks ago when a snowstorm crept in during the second half and made the 3-point lead New England managed to get against the Broncos insurmountable.
Greg Penner, the Broncos owner and CEO, said that given the temperature and the forecast that afternoon, they likely would have closed the roof against New England.
“We’re evaluating retractable roof options,” Penner said via PFT. “In this case, you all saw the weather this year, it was fantastic until the last game. The NFL does have guidelines or rules around the home teams selecting or choosing what they’re going to do with their roof, and when they can open or close it, so, we’d obviously comply with that. In this case, we would’ve likely closed it ahead of time, given both the temperature and the potential precipitation.”
This comes after there have already been discussions about the NFL potentially moving the championship games to neutral sites in future years, with the hope of removing weather as a factor in these contests. It just seems like the NFL wasn’t pleased that it was New England, and not Denver, that benefited from the conditions that Sunday.
Nevermind how well the Patriots’ defense played in the second half, or the fact that the offense put together a nine-minute drive in the third quarter to give Denver little time with the football as the conditions shifted. From there, they wore the Broncos down and spent the final quarter with a horrific wind in their faces, while Denver had the wind at their backs yet still couldn’t put any drives together.
The game ended on an ill-advised throw by Jarrett Stidham that had nothing to do with the weather. Stidham was under pressure by the Patriots’ defense and simply threw a pass off his back foot, which was picked off by Christian Gonzalez to seal the victory.
“The wind was a factor,” said Vrabel after that game during his interview on WEEI. “Then it was kind of like a wet snow, similar to out here. The field was actually… It kind of started to freeze on top. You could see Rhamondre [Stevenson] slip there. So the footing was interesting. And again, those are just things that you have to be ready for and try to plan for and adjust accordingly.”
Denver outgained New England in that final quarter 24-19 yardage-wise, but it was the more physical performance by their ground game and the fact their defense stepped up and kept the Broncos from doing anything on offense down the stretch that ultimately ended up being the difference.
For now, it sounds like that game might have altered the future in Denver, with fans potentially sitting indoors should their team wind up back in this position. The team announced the decision on a site for the new facility back in September, with the opening date for that building potentially being in 2031.
The Patriots will hold their first practice on Monday at Stanford, with Mike Vrabel set to hold his first press conference on Tuesday. … While the Malcolm Butler interception will go down in history as one of the most critical in a Super Bowl, Ernie Adams believes that the tackle linebacker Dont’a Hightower made against Marshawn Lynch the play before is one of the best tackles he’s ever seen. “On the end zone film of that run, I mean, there is nothing in front of him,” Adams said via the Boston Globe. “Obviously, Malcolm made the interception in the end, but I think Hightower’s tackle the play before, you’re never going to see a better play by a linebacker.” That play was then followed by Seahawks QB Russell Wilson making that ill-advised throw that Butler picked off to seal the victory. … Butler was asked recently about that moment, and said it was definitely life-changing. “Going to the Grammys, being on the news, going to Disneyland, riding a jet for the first time, it was just, it was outstanding, man,” Butler said via Ben Volin of the Globe. “Man, I had new cousins, new friends, a lot of Instagram followers, a little bit more money in my bank account, people leaving flowers at my door. Couldn’t even go to Stop n’ Shop and get lunch meat. It was just a whole lot of good things — blessings and appreciation.” … The Chevy Colorado that Tom Brady was given after earning MVP was gifted by the QB to his young cornerback. Butler said that it barely has any miles on it (15,000) because to him, “That’s a trophy – that ain’t no truck.” … Vrabel was asked last week if he’ll look at the Rams match-up against the Seahawks, where Los Angeles had some success making some big plays against that defense. “I think we’ll try to look at every single thing that we can that could potentially help us,” said Vrabel. “But that’ll be critical, our ability to create some of those X plays that maybe we haven’t had as many of, and we’ve had in previous games. So that’s something, whether we hand it off, we’re going to need to gain some chunks, and if we throw it, we’re going to need to do the same.”
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