{"id":15797,"date":"2018-02-18T05:00:34","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T10:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=15797"},"modified":"2018-02-18T08:10:49","modified_gmt":"2018-02-18T13:10:49","slug":"new-england-patriots-news-2-18-afc-east-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/02\/18\/new-england-patriots-news-2-18-afc-east-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Patriots News, 2-18, AFC East Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, here are your <\/span>Sunday\u2019s Patriots news 2-18, & AFC East Notes<\/b><\/p>\n

It has been a long couple of weeks here since the Super Bowl but the Malcolm Butler story just won\u2019t go away and while we may never have the complete story, fans continue to chime in on it. Was the Butler benching in SB LII \u201cBill Belichick\u2019s arrogance\u201d as some have repeatedly stated or was there something deeper there? Did Butler do or say something that would have caused him to sit? <\/span><\/p>\n

That is something the Patriots will never say, other than what Belichick said, which was it was a football decision, made in the best interests of the team. Which can mean many things. It is time to let it go. Regardless of the decision, it is water under the bridge and the Eagles made more plays two Sundays ago and it is on to NFL Combine and Draft. But for the sake of conspiracy theorists, I\u2019d be inclined to believe the latter more than the former…<\/span><\/p>\n

Happy Birthday to the Man Who Originated the \u201cGronk Spike\u201d:<\/b>
\n<\/b>If you ever wondered about where spiking the football originated from read on\u2026 Back in the 1960s, many players, including several stars, (Frank Gifford of the Giants and Paul Hornung of the Packers) would celebrate a touchdown by flinging the ball into the stands. The NFL cracked down on this in 1965 (even back then) by fining players $500 if they tossed the ball into the stands. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Giants signed a speedster in 1965, Homer Jones from Texas Southern. A 6\u20192, 220-pound track star to play wide receiver. Jones wanted a celebration of his own but didn\u2019t want to pay $500 bucks either. So after a touchdown, he started a trend of throwing the ball hard on the ground. Asked what it was, Jones called it \u201ca spike.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Back before the merger, the Patriots games in the AFL were carried on NBC. The Giants in the NFL were all carried here in New England on CBS. As a youngster, Jones was one of my favorite players to watch in 1967. And what a season he had. In the run-heavy era of the \u201860s, Jones had 49 catches for 1209 yards for an incredible 24.7 yards per catch and an NFL leading 13 touchdowns receiving. <\/span><\/p>\n

Giants quarterback Fran Tarkenton, said throwing to Jones was like hitting a man on a motorcycle with a butterfly net. <\/span><\/p>\n

Knee injuries curtailed what could have been an unbelievable NFL career in 1971, but Jones was electric in the open field. His career average of 22.3 yards per catch is the NFL\u2019s best for any player with 200 receptions or more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today is Jones\u2019 77th birthday, in an interview a few years ago, he said he regretted ever doing the spike. Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski would probably respectfully disagree. Happy Birthday to #45.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Colts Still Get Patriots Assistant Coach, Ray Ventrone To Head Colts STs:<\/b>
\n<\/b>After the Colts-Josh McDaniels fallout, Indianapolis hired Frank Reich as their new head coach. And one of Reich\u2019s first hires was to New England\u2019s assistant STs coach Ray Ventrone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBubba\u201d Ventrone was an 11-year player in the NFL and spent the past three seasons as the Patriots assistant STs coach. The Colts will be looking to improve their STs by grabbing a coach from NE who have one of the better STs units in the league. <\/span><\/p>\n

Who Will the Patriots Draft at QB This Season:<\/b>
\n<\/b>Benjamin Franklin once wrote, \u201cIn this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes\u2026\u201d well add to that Ben, the Patriots drafting a QB. The Patriots draft one every year, but this one better be a good one, someone that takes over for Tom Brady once #12\u2019s career winds down. <\/span><\/p>\n

The team traded Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers this season at the deadline and now with Brian Hoyer as the backup, they\u2019ll need to look to the future. But finding a capable backup to Brady isn\u2019t the option anymore. We all know Brady\u2019s age so this is must be someone they feel can lead them to continue to win once Brady decides to hang it up.<\/span><\/p>\n

So who is out there in the draft in 2018? Forget about the Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and Josh Allen call, they\u2019ll be gone in the top of Round 1, long before New England picks. A couple of names to keep an eye on are Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph, Washington State’s Luke Falk, Western Kentucky’s Mike White and Richmond’s Kyle Lauletta from a Patriots perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll look at them in the upcoming draft series after free agency but one guy who they pick with their top draft choice is Lauletta. Forget about all the lacrosse stuff, yes he and BB share that, but he has the look of a QB that would thrive in this system.<\/span><\/p>\n

Schuplinski A Key Coach to Watch, For the Next QB Taken: <\/b>
\n<\/b>Another overlooked part of the McDaniels remaining in New England is the retaining of assistant QB coach Jerry Schuplinski who was rumored to be heading to Indy along with McDaniels. Now, Schuplinski, a close friend of McDaniels is opting to remain too. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mike Reiss of ESPN <\/span>penned an interesting piece<\/span><\/a> about the role of Schuplinski mentoring both Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett and will likely mentor whoever the Patriots draft this season. <\/span><\/p>\n

No Mulligans, Now Belichick \u201cShould\u2019ve Drafted Garoppolo in Round 1: <\/b>
\n<\/b>My, my, my (Joe Kenda voice), how quickly the worm turns. The latest idea making the rounds over on social media was that Bill Belichick screwed up by not taking Jimmy Garoppolo in the first round of the draft back in 2014. The feeling is, if he had, then Garoppolo, being a first-round pick would\u2019ve been under the Patriots control for one more season. <\/span><\/p>\n

First of all, isn\u2019t it amazing how Belichick lasted this long as the Patriots coach because so many of his decisions have come under such scrutiny? How many times have we heard or read, \u201cGM Bill is hurting Coach Bill with bad decisions.\u201d Well, now we have this one. And it isn\u2019t recent, this particular story began circulating back in mid-August I believe.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as a reminder, when the Patriots drafted Garoppolo, the talk was that they \u201creached\u201d for him and that he\u2019d have been available later in the draft. But in actuality, even if you could peek into the crystal ball and look back and ahead, they would still be in a position where they\u2019d probably be doing just what they did. Brady, who led the league in passing in 2017 and threw for 505 yards in the Super Bowl, doesn\u2019t look like a guy getting ready to go over the cliff anytime soon. What was Bill thinking back then?<\/span><\/p>\n

Resetting the 2018 Season Priorities:<\/b>
\n<\/b>We\u2019ve been exploring the Patriots own free agents here on PatsFans.com but we\u2019ll be exploring some other issues that the team will have to address if they are to return to represent the AFC again in Super Bowl LIII. Some upcoming articles to look for are:<\/span><\/p>\n