{"id":25632,"date":"2019-10-20T05:00:09","date_gmt":"2019-10-20T09:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=25632"},"modified":"2019-10-19T21:56:12","modified_gmt":"2019-10-20T01:56:12","slug":"new-england-patriots-news-10-28-afc-east-notes-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2019\/10\/20\/new-england-patriots-news-10-28-afc-east-notes-2\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Patriots News 10-28, AFC East Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Good morning, here is your <\/span><b>Sunday Patriots news 10-20 and AFC East notes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Game Day, but not for the Patriots who play the Jets on Monday Night Football tomorrow night.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>\u00a0<\/b><b>Quick Hitters For the Pats and the NFL:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Patrick Mahomes &#8211; <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">it seems dodged a serious injury on Thursday night in Denver. And that is a good thing not just for Mahomes and the Chiefs but for the league as a whole. Mahomes\u2019 star is rising and he\u2019s quickly becoming one of the new faces of the league. No one wants to see any player, let alone a star suffer a serious injury. Anyone who would do so, needs to seriously reevaluate the lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, what the heck is wrong with some media types who before Mahomes is even off the deck, turn his injury into some kind of an anti-Patriots diatribe. It was a disgusting lack of empathy. We know you can\u2019t help the slant against the Patriots but for cryin\u2019 out loud, have a little humanity.\u00a0 His injury at the time had zero to do with NE, a horrible lack of timing there, but it has become par for the course in some places.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Andy Reid &#8211;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> He knows he dodged a bullet with Mahomes\u2019 injury and he\u2019ll return at some point this season. Hopefully, he won\u2019t rush his QB back too soon and risk further injury. Despite the game on Thursday, they have a woeful defense, but they still have plenty enough playmakers on offense to remain competitive in Mahomes\u2019 absence. They\u2019ll still be in a position to carry their division with Matt Moore. They\u2019ll get their QB back for the stretch run and go from there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Eric Tomlinson &#8211; <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">had a crazy week. According to NESN, the Patriots new tight end signed and practiced with the team on Tuesday, and then jetted off to Texas for the birth of his son who was delivered by Caesarian section on Wednesday morning. He\u2019s back in Foxboro and preparing for his former team the Jets and may see reps at both tight end and fullback.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Two-Point for Tua? Seemed So- <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Miami Dolphins scored a late touchdown last week against the Washington Redskins in the closing moments of the game and trailed 17-16.\u00a0 Rather than attempt an extra point to tie the game and send it into overtime, Miami, winless like the Redskins, decided to go for the win. But their attempt seemed like they were determined to fail rather than succeed. The Redskins snuffed it out in the backfield and came away with a victory in the debut of interim coach Bill Callahan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Trent Brown &#8211;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In case anyone was wondering is a member of the Oakland Raiders. In fact, Oakland signed Brown to the highest contract for an offensive lineman in NFL history this spring. But once Brown was charged with domestic assault, Brown wasn\u2019t a Raider at all. Several media outlets including those here in Boston led off with \u201cFormer Patriots OL Trent Brown\u2026\u201d Funny thing is when all of the sexual assault allegations came against Antonio Brown, I didn\u2019t see a single headline stating \u201cFormer Pittsburgh Steeler Antonio Brown\u2026\u201d and yet every allegation against him occurred when he was a member of the Steelers. Coincidence? You be the judge.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Brady Rightfully Pi$$ed At Supposed Kraft Dig:<\/h3>\n<p>Tom Brady is livid that people who saw a clip of a new Paul Rudd Netflix film, took it to mean that it was a dig against Robert Kraft. And unless everything we&#8217;ve ever believed about Brady and his relationship with Kraft is wrong, then yes, people jumped to conclusions before bothering to research the clip and the meaning.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s not what that was about,&#8221; Brady said. &#8220;I think that was taken out of context, just like you&#8217;re taking it out of context and trying to make it a story for yourself, which has a negative connotation to it, which I don&#8217;t appreciate. It was meant to be something different than that. The fact it&#8217;s a distraction or you&#8217;re bringing it up is not something I want to be talking about.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was shot on a green screen,&#8221; he said, remarking it was not filmed at a strip mall. &#8220;It was agreed to a year ago. It was written four years ago. Again, it&#8217;s unfortunate that people would choose to think I would ever do something like that about Mr. Kraft. I think that&#8217;s a very bad assessment of my relationship with him. I would never do that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Timothy Greenberg, a fan of the New York Jets, said that he wrote the scene as a \u201csubtle dig\u201d at Brady, who at the time was coming off his \u201cDeflategate\u201d suspension. Brady, while exiting the spa is supposed to be a clone of himself, not receiving a &#8220;happy ending&#8221; at a massage parlor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was this implication that maybe he\u2019s a clone and he\u2019s cheating,\u201d Greenberg said in an interview. \u201cWhen I wrote it, he was 37 and had won four Super Bowls. And then by the time I actually make the thing, he\u2019s now 41 and he\u2019s just coming off his sixth Super Bowl win. So he became even more perfect. He was our number one choice for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The media ran with the clip without bothering to do due diligence in an attempt to get it out there first and tried to paint it as Brady slamming his boss when the fact of the matter is that it had nothing to do with Kraft or his situation. I&#8217;d say we&#8217;re shocked, but no&#8230;we&#8217;re not here. He&#8217;s been raked over the coals for nothing for the past several years and one has to wonder when he&#8217;ll decide it isn&#8217;t worth it anymore.<\/p>\n<p>The filmmakers knew what they were doing, they filmed Brady on a green screen and then after the Kraft situation, superimposed the strip mall to make it look like the Florida spa. They did him dirty, but no worse than all of the sites who ran with the false narrative. The total a$$-covering by the rest is&#8230; not surprising.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Will Michael Bennett\u2019s Situation Play Out? Probably Not Well:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the Patriots suspended DL Michael Bennett for \u201cconduct detrimental to the team\u201d,\u00a0 it naturally opened up conversations if Bennett is on his way out of Foxboro. It certainly would appear so, his snaps have been steadily decreasing and last Thursday he played in only a handful of snaps against the Giants, most of which at garbage time. That led to what Bennett described as a \u201cphilosophical disagreement\u201d with positional coach Bret Bielema.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bennett was brought in to help replace Trey Flowers after he bolted in free agency. Bennett thrives in a 4-3 system as a defensive end, which is what the Patriots played in 2018. But the defense morphed into more of a 3-4 defense this season and that hasn\u2019t played into Bennett\u2019s strengths. Because the down linemen in the Patriots 3-4 still have the same two-gap responsibility that they\u2019ve always had.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bennett has always been an attacking 4-3 end and a 3-4 defensive end is more of an interior lineman. It hasn\u2019t been a great fit, scheme-wise. When he\u2019s able to pin his ears back and rush the QB, he\u2019s been pretty successful. But with the depth and the production of the linebackers, he\u2019s been relegated to a subpackage interior pass rusher. So, now the question arises, where do they go from here?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trade market would be very limited, given Bennett\u2019s age and the state of the league. Few of the teams still in the hunt for a playoff spot would be willing to take on or need a player with his strengths. The Lions or the Raiders would possibly make sense or maybe the Rams who are looking for a spark defensively. If the Patriots were to trade Bennett it would free up about $2 million in salary-cap space where they\u2019re right up against the cap.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Releasing Bennett is, of course, an option, if those philosophical disagreements get any worse or continue for that matter. That would free up the cap space and possibly rid the team of any distractions in the locker room. But then you run the risk of another rival picking him up for nothing and adding him to the mix against you down the road in the postseason. And if the team suffered an injury on the defensive front, it would leave the team thinner with their depth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or they could choose to ride things out and hope that they can get Bennett to buy-in for the duration of the season. With several tougher games on the slate, a player like Bennett, especially in the postseason has the experience and pedigree to give the team some outstanding production in those game-changing moments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Bennett is a proud player and in reality, not a great fit for what the Patriots are running defensively right now. And I will be surprised if he\u2019s still with the team by the end of the season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Demaryius Thomas\u2019 Tenure With NE as \u201cA Waste of Time\u201d :<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Patriots traded WR Demaryius Thomas to the Jets in the fallout of the signing of Antonio Brown and hindsight being 20\/20 it shows that now it was a mistake. Both in trading Thomas and of course signing Brown.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thomas on Wednesday didn\u2019t mince any words over how things played out and characterized the Patriots and Bill Belichick\u2019s actions as \u201cdisrespectful\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cLike, you know, you could trust me and I could trust you,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cYou told me when you cut me at the [final] cut, sit around you\u2019ll bring me back. And I stayed. I could have easily become a Jet once I got cut.\u2026 I could have been here the next day after I got released. But I chose to stay.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBill Belichick came up to me and was like, \u2018Uh, we got too many guys. We can\u2019t get the ball around enough and we\u2019re going to trade you to the Jets,\u2019\u201d Thomas added. \u201cAnd that was that\u2026. Ain\u2019t no reason to yell. They\u2019ve won championships without me. I was only trying to be a part of something that was going to be good when I was there\u2026 They\u2019re doing a hell of a job.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thomas\u2019 frustration is certainly understandable but he must remember that he told the media that the Patriots were the only team who contacted him after his Achilles injury with the Texans. They worked with him all spring and summer, and in retrospect should have stuck with him. But from a pure football standpoint, the decision between Thomas at this point in his career and Brown is truly a no-brainer.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>NFL Schedule Week 7, Who Are Your Winners:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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. Here is the link if you\u2019d care to pick your own: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/new-england-patriots\/messageboard\/picks\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/new-england-patriots\/messageboard\/picks\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last Week: 7-7<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Season: 54-37-1<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TNF <\/span><b>Kansas City <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over Denver 1-0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Buffalo<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Miami<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Jacksonville<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Cincinnati<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Minnesota<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Detroit<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Green Bay<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Oakland<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>LA Rams<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Atlanta<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Indy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Houston<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>49ers <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over Washington<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>NY Giants<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Arizona<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Tennessee<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over LA Chargers<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Saints<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Bears<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Seahawks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Ravens<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>SNF Philadelphia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Dallas<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>MNF Patriots <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over NY Jets<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bye Week &#8211; Panthers, Browns, Steelers, Bucs<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early Thursday Night Football pick <\/span><b>Minnesota <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over Washington<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Eastbound and Down AFC East Notes:<\/b><\/h3>\n<h3><b>Bills Looking to Be Buyers at the Trade Deadline:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Buffalo Bills currently have the second-best record in the AFC behind the Patriots and will almost certainly improve that today with a home tilt against the Dolphins. With the trade deadline approaching in less than 10 days, the Bills aren\u2019t looking to unload talent, but bring some in to help for a postseason push where they are still very much alive in the AFC East.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buffalo\u2019s defense is stacked although if they were to add a piece there, they may want a defensive end who can get after the QB. The Bills have plenty of depth there but not a ton of production. But overall, their defense is solid and the strength of the team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If they can use some help, it would probably be at wide receiver. A.J. Green has been mentioned as a possible Buffalo target (including here), he\u2019d give the Bills a big, physical target who has had plenty of production in his career but has had issues with staying healthy and on the field.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other names that have been supposedly tied to Buffalo include the Falcons wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, Giants wideout Golden Tate, and TE O.J. Howard. Sanu has played mainly in the slot for the Falcons but can slide inside or outside and has made an average of 64 catches for over 700 yards in his time in Atlanta.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tate is a talented receiver but the Giants, who aren\u2019t going anywhere this season have two young talented WRs in Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard and may decide to dangle Tate as a search for draft capital.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Howard is a very talented tight end who is not being utilized in the Tampa Bay offense. Coupled with the young and talented Dawson Knox, he could give the Bills a huge and athletic target in the passing game. He\u2019s also an excellent blocker.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Dolphins Drake on the Trading Block:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Miami Dolphins in the midst of an awful rebuilding program where the fans are either on the \u201cTanking for Tua\u201d or \u201cBailing for Burrow\u201d storylines won\u2019t be surprised to see that several teams are contacting the Dolphins about the availability of running back Kenyan Drake for a possible deadline trade.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The former 3rd-round draft pick has always somewhat under-utilized in Miami\u2019s system under both Adam Gase and now Brian Flores. With the bad offensive line play, Drake is on par for his worst statistical season of his career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drake is in the final year of his rookie deal and would be a really nice pickup for any playoff teams looking for a reliable, versatile player.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Jets\/Docs Dispute Extent of G Kelechi Osemele&#8217;s Shoulder Injury:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The New York Jets are facing some backlash over the shoulder injury suffered by guard Kelechi Osemele. He\u2019s been out for four weeks with his injury and the Jets team doctor and an independent doctor have cleared him for play. And if he doesn\u2019t return to practice by Saturday, Osemele is subject to fines and\/or suspension for \u201cconduct detrimental to the team.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rub is Osemele is saying he needs surgery to repair his shoulder. The Jets counter that the injury is a pre-existing one that can wait until the season is over.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;It&#8217;s been killing me,&#8221; Osemele said to the media on Friday. &#8220;I&#8217;m just trying to get this done. I&#8217;ve done everything I can. I&#8217;ve been at work every day, waking up at 5 in the morning, doing all the rehab and the treatments and stuff like that. I&#8217;m like the last dude out of here at night. I&#8217;m doing everything I can.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;I&#8217;m working with my agent. We&#8217;re communicating with the team. There&#8217;s just no communication between the team and my doctor and my agent. It&#8217;s just been butting heads for whatever reason. Hopefully, it gets resolved soon.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a source who reported to the Jets media that Osemele wasn&#8217;t cleared by the two doctors and that surgery was recommended, due to a torn labrum. The same source also said Osemele was told to take the painkiller Toradol, prescribed by the Jets&#8217; doctor, so he could play. He did and aggravated it against the Patriots a month ago. He\u2019s making $11.7 million dollars this season (non-guaranteed) but if he\u2019s injured, the Jets can\u2019t cut him loose without forking over the rest of his money.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">________________<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDemaryius is a great kid. I have a ton of respect for him. He\u2019s very professional and did everything we asked him to do. Our circumstances changed a couple times in that period leading up to when he was traded, and so I felt like I was always truthful with him, but things changed, and therefore what I said was not the same as what it was \u2013 what I had said previously. So, it is what it is..\u201d \u2013 <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bill Belichick being asked about the comments by Demaryius Thomas on the \u201cinsulting and disrespectful\u201d trade by the Patriots with the Jets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">________________<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSo, how was your week?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/patspub.patsfans.com\/stevebpatsfans@gmail.com\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Listen to our<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.blogtalkradio.com\/patriotsfourthandtwo\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patriots 4th and 2<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> podcasts on blog talk radio as Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and myself from<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PatsFans.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Good morning, here is your Sunday Patriots news 10-20 and AFC East notes this week.\u00a0 Game Day, but not for the Patriots who play the Jets on Monday Night Football tomorrow night.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Quick Hitters For the Pats and the NFL: Patrick Mahomes &#8211; it seems dodged a serious injury on Thursday night in Denver. And [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":9130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2120,1198,1519,11,10],"tags":[2103,877,34,1787,46,147,276,45,1227,47,70,13],"class_list":["post-25632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2019-patriots-regular-season","category-nfl-commentary","category-nfl-news","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-2019-new-england-patriots","tag-adam-gase","tag-bill-belichick","tag-brian-flores","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-demaryius-thomas","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-michael-bennett","tag-new-york-jets","tag-nfl","tag-tom-brady"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New England Patriots News 10-28, AFC East Notes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cDemaryius is a great kid. I have a ton of respect for him. He\u2019s very professional and did everything we asked him to do. Our circumstances changed...&quot;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2019\/10\/20\/new-england-patriots-news-10-28-afc-east-notes-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New England Patriots News 10-28, AFC East Notes | PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cDemaryius is a great kid. I have a ton of respect for him. He\u2019s very professional and did everything we asked him to do. 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