Steve Balestrieri
September 8, 2019 at 5:00 am ET
Good morning, here is your Sunday Patriots news 09-08 and AFC East notes this week.
Game Day, Banner Day, the first Sunday of the 2019 NFL season and it is right on time. Watching the banner drop into place later tonight will hammer home the fact of how truly blessed we have been here. Looking back into my experience, watching the Patriots struggle year after year without a home in Fenway, Harvard, etc., the idea of one Super Bowl championship seemed like a pipe dream. Now we’re ready to drop #6. Enjoy it, folks.
However, we have to temper our glad tidings with thoughts for those people from the Bahamas to the Carolinas as the hurricane that moved along the East Coast wrought havoc to too many people’s lives in the past week or so.
Quick Hitters For the Pats and the NFL:
Elandon Roberts – my what a difference a week makes. Many [including here] had him on the roster bubble at the end of training camp. And now he’s voted a team captain. Congratulations. It speaks highly of how his coaches and peers, the men in the locker room regard him.
Mitch Trubisky – The QB from UNC didn’t throw a pass in the preseason, and boy it certainly seemed like it on Thursday night. Week 1 of the season is always full of overreactions and with the Thursday night game, there was nothing else to discuss, so the Bears and Trubisky were roasted on Friday morning. But there was no other way to dress that one up. It was ugly.
Stephon Gilmore – It seems the loss of the All-Pro CB is still a sore subject with some of the press in Upstate NY. A glance at the headline “Buffalo Bills fleece New England Patriots in OL trade”, was based on the fact that the Bills traded center Russell Bodine to New England in the wake of the David Andrews to IR scenario. Fleeced? NE sent a sixth-round draft pick for Bodine who was released this week. But, hey when you’re 3-28 against Tom Brady, then you have to claim small victories.
Jonathan Jones – was given a three-year contract extension on Saturday that will pay him an estimated $7 million a year. This will keep him in New England thru 2022. Once the Patriots cut ties with former 2nd round pick Duke Dawson, we’ve been clamoring for the Patriots to lock him up long-term. The former UDFA is an outstanding, underrated slot corner.
Nike – dropped the 6x Super Bowl Champion Air Force 1 shoes on the market on Saturday. You can pick these up at the Patriots Pro Shop.
Raiders Reward Bad Behavior, Pay for Brown to Go to New England:
The Oakland Raiders have been played by Antonio Brown …twice. And the second one will cost them, both in their checkbook and in the draft.
After Brown quit on the Steelers who were fighting for a playoff spot last year, he maneuvered his way out of Pittsburgh and into the Raiders building. Oakland gave him a big pay raise, which was just the tip of the iceberg for the fiasco.
From his feet, to the fiasco over his helmet, Brown was intent on making all of the headlines about him, all while the Steelers were enjoying a drama-free and football-centric training camp with no distractions. With each passing day, it seemed Pittsburgh made the right call in getting rid of the immensely talented but also the headache that Brown is.
GM Mike Mayock was at wit’s end and had to publicly ask if Brown was “all in or all out” which prompted the WR to show up for practice, but that wasn’t the end of it. He was fined by the Raiders for sitting out practices. Brown posted the letter on social media, like the petulant child that he is and then in a move that screams “dump me please”, unfollowed the Raiders and Derek Carr on social media.
Worse, he cussed out Mayock on the practice field and attempted to go after him in a physical altercation. He was held back by Vontaze Burfict of all people. When Burfict is the voice of reason, you’re way over the top.
The Raiders said that they were prepared to play on Monday without him, which could have cleared the way for them to cut their ties to Brown and not pay him a dime. Then, the deluge of Twitterati began with Brown playing his way right into New England.
And, the Raiders played right into Brown’s and Rosenhaus’ plans by releasing him. Truth be told, I believe that this was their intent all along with Brown going to New England and parlaying that into a big-money deal to a place of Brown’s choosing. They both knew that there was no way the Steelers front office was going to trade Brown to New England.
So in less time than it took for Brown to get to the locker room to the field in Oakland, he signs with New England. It isn’t a good look. According to NFL sources, Brown gets a one-year [read 4-month] deal for $15 million with $9 million tied to a signing bonus. So even if he flames out here with his diva show, he’ll still get his money.
But he can play the game and act the good teammate for four months and if the Patriots go deep into the postseason again, he’ll cash in…again in a big way during free agency next spring. There’s no doubt he can be a tremendous talent on the field. With Brady, Edelman, Josh Gordon, Demaryius Thomas and the big stable of running backs, the Patriots have an embarrassment of riches at WR. He’ll take some time to get up to speed but he’ll put the time in…he’s investing in himself, not so much the team.
The Steelers and the Patriots won this and the Raiders lost, sad as it is to say. Pittsburgh got rid of a huge talented headache. The Patriots got him off the street for nothing. The Raiders, in essence, paid Pittsburgh a 3rd and a 5th round draft pick for Brown to move to New England. You can’t make this stuff up. It is a crazy world but on the Patriots side of the house, it is never boring. I can’t imagine the league will be happy with the way this fiasco unfolded.
Belichick/McDaniels “Do Your Job” Was a Great Look:
The NFL and the NFL Network dropped “Do Your Job III” this week in time for the season opener and it was, just like the other videos in the past, must-watch television. Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels appeared together and they gave a compelling look at how the two managed to reinvent the team on the fly at the end of the season and won another Super Bowl.
At the beginning of the video Belichick is shown at the ring ceremony at Robert Kraft’s house in June. And he said, “Josh, I’m glad you didn’t go to Indianapolis. Let’s start with that.”
But the best line in the show came after the loss to the Steelers, the team had lost two in a row and the doubters were out in force. Belichick knew that the team needed to change its focus and do what they do best. He told McDaniels,
“ Belichick said, ‘If you keep holding on to what you’d rather be — no-huddle, spread formations, 34 points a game — then you’re probably going to end up regretting a lot of things at the end of the year.’ What are we really good at? What’s the most consistent part of our team offensively? And then you commit to it. We had been a pretty decent running football team. It was something that we felt like our personnel fit.”
That was great stuff, and the team harping on its doubters was a classic Belichick move. Us against the world, nobody believes in you. Edelman screaming at Brady during the AFC Championship Game, “You’re too old!” as he throws a deep TD to Dorsett. And then Belichick talks to the team in the locker room and repeats it all over again.
“Don’t believe all the other (expletive) out there about how bad we are and how bad we suck and all that, or how old we are. Just keep doing what we’re doing.”
McDaniels summed up his relationship with Belichick, the two have been together for all six Super Bowl wins when he talked about his mentor.
“It’s hard for me to imagine anybody being a better leader and a better role model for a young coach. He gives you responsibility, and then he lets you do your job.”
Josh Gordon Looking Only Forward From Here:
Josh Gordon hasn’t spoken to the media since his reinstatement by the league but he’s been at practice every day and is working with Tom Brady trying to get ready for the regular season without the benefit of any spring and nearly all of the summer workouts.
Gordon did release a statement where he states, he’s not looking at his past anymore and is only working towards his future.
“Before the 2019 season starts, I would like to address an issue that arose toward the end of last season. It’s been well documented that I have battled substance abuse for quite some time. Unfortunately, I did not take the time to focus on a solution to my problem until this past year. I am eternally grateful for the constant support from the NFL, NFLPA and the Patriots organization. I also want to thank my family, friends and all the fans who supported me while I addressed this issue. Going forward, I will not be discussing the details of my past. I plan to focus on the present and getting better every day. I hope people will judge me on what I do now and in the future. I look forward to being a member of the Patriots once again this season and doing my part by contributing on and off the field.”
This means that Gordon and the team have already laid the groundwork for the season and beyond. Any questions about his past will be met with a reference to his statement. Gordon will be expected to speak with the media after tonight’s game with Pittsburgh.
NFL Schedule Week 1, Who Are Your Winners:
How are you feeling about the games this week? We have a post on our PatsFans Forum where our readers can predict the slate of games for that week. I did it on our weekly Sunday column here and will post it up below.
Last Season: 165-89-2
Chicago over Green Bay – [hit it out of the park there] 0-1
Rams over Carolina – this one should be a good early game
Philly over Washington
Buffalo over the NY Jets
Minnesota over Atlanta
Cleveland over Tennessee
Kansas City over Jacksonville – Intriguing matchup with Foles in Jax
Baltimore over Miami
Seattle over Cincinnati
Chargers over Indy
Detroit over Arizona
Dallas over NY Giants
Tampa Bay over San Francisco
New England over Pittsburgh – [write up and details here:]
New Orleans over Houston
Denver over Oakland – Distraction Bowl
Early Thursday Pick Week 2, Carolina over Tampa Bay
Eastbound and Down AFC East Notes:
Bills Announce Captains for the 2019 Season:
The Buffalo Bills announced on Friday the names of their captains for the upcoming 2019 season. Buffalo has six players designated as a captain, Lorenzo Alexander, Josh Allen, Dion Dawkins, Tremaine Edmunds, Reid Ferguson, and Stephen Hauschka.
Alexander and Hauschka have already been captains but they have four new faces this year. The new captains replace Kyle Williams, who retired after last season; running back LeSean McCoy, who was released; special teamer Taiwan Jones, who was signed by the Houston Texans during free agency; and fullback Patrick DiMarco, who is still with the Bills.
One interesting tidbit before the Bills – Jets game today is the friendship between starting QBs Josh Allen and Sam Darnold. The two were invited to a youth football summit by QB Coach Jordan Palmer along with then Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham. The two hit it off and have remained friends and vow to continue that friendship despite being rivals in the AFC East. Palmer characterized it saying there was an absence of jealousy between the two players.
Dolphins Offensive Line Is a Big Question Mark Heading Into 2019:
The Miami Dolphins are trying to piece together an offensive line at the eleventh hour after trading left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Houston Texans last week. And right now, things are not looking up. Today’s game against the Ravens will tell the early tale.
Tunsil’s replacement, Julien Davenport who wasn’t even on the team during the last preseason game. He came over in the Tunsil trade and is already penciled in as the starter, trying to learn the Dolphins offense on the fly.
The rest of the offensive line consists of LG Michael Dieter, C Daniel Kilgore, RG Shaq Calhoun, and RT Jesse Davis. To lessen the effect on QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Dolphins and Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea will bring a Patriots-themed feel to the offense. They’ll try to get Fitzpatrick to get the ball out quickly to lessen the impact of the young offensive linemen on the team.
The reason Davenport was included in the trade? According to sources in Houston, he allowed 15 sacks and had 12 penalties in 2018. OL coach Dave DeGugliemo will have his hands full with this group.
Jets, Williams Going To Be Aggressive on Rushing the QB:
The New York Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has never been the shy, retiring type when it comes to playing defense. His teams have always been aggressive and the 2019 Jets will be no different.
Despite not landing an “elite” pass rusher and third-round pick Jachai Polite flaming out in training camp, Williams is confident that the Jets will be successful at getting after the QB this year. Actually, confidence may be an understatement.
“I think there’s a lot of people here that people are going to be shocked about by the time the season is over,” Williams said. “You haven’t heard me say one thing about needs in that area [edge rusher]. I’m not worried about it.”
The Jets’ strength is with their interior DL in their 3-4 base defense with NT Steve McClendon, Henry Anderson, Leonard Williams, and rookie Quinnen Williams. But on the edge they’ll need to get creative with Jordan Jenkins, Harvey Langi, and Tarell Basham. New ILB C.J. Mosley may be a big chess piece for the defense.
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“They really can’t beat us. We just can’t screw up now. If we’re honest, we know they don’t got anything.” – Bill Belichick just prior to Stephon Gilmore’s game-sealing interception during Super Bowl LIII
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“So, how was your week?”
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