{"id":39244,"date":"2022-01-02T05:00:35","date_gmt":"2022-01-02T10:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=39244"},"modified":"2022-01-01T15:30:30","modified_gmt":"2022-01-01T20:30:30","slug":"patriots-news-01-02-patriots-look-to-get-back-on-track-afc-east-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2022\/01\/02\/patriots-news-01-02-patriots-look-to-get-back-on-track-afc-east-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots News 01-02, Patriots Look to Get Back on Track, AFC East Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning and Happy New Year, here are your <\/span>Sunday Patriots news 01-02<\/b> and AFC East notes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sad news this week with the passing of John Madden and former coach Dan Reeves. Madden was an icon in the league who was beloved by those who knew him and even those who hadn\u2019t ever met him. He had the type of personality when on television to make the viewer feel like they were old friends. More about him is below.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reeves, 77, was a tough running back for the Cowboys for eight seasons who went on to be the head coach of the Broncos, Giants, and Falcons. He was involved in nine Super Bowls as a player and coach.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With COVID-19 decimating the Jaguars roster, they may be missing many of their players. There was talk of possibly moving the game, which would have shortened the Patriots\u2019 week before their season-ending trip to Miami which will probably have large playoff implications. But the league has decided to play on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a huge game for the Patriots, regardless of the Jaguars 2-13 record. With a win against Jacksonville and a loss by the Dolphins against Tennessee or by the Raiders against the Colts will secure the Patriots a playoff berth and give them their 10th victory of the year, which will tie them with Dallas for the most all-time with 27.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is also important to get back on track especially on defense after two poor showings in a row. Regardless of the opponent, the team has to start quickly and get back to playing solid, complementary football for 60 minutes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you checked out our<\/span> PatsFans.com sortable stats<\/span><\/a> for the Patriots? It is a great resource for all of the players on the roster.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Quick Hitters For the Pats, and the NFL:<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Bill Belichick: <\/b>It was intriguing to hear Belichick who always mispronounces all of the social media platforms (accidentally on purpose) admit that he played (and lost) Madden with his kids. \u201cYeah, I haven\u2019t played in quite a while,\u201d he said. \u201cI know when my kids were growing up, they would play it and I\u2019d watch them and they\u2019d beat me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Also interesting, at least to me, is that because Belichick isn\u2019t a member of the Coaches Association, he\u2019s the only coach who isn\u2019t shown in the game\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Nelson Agholor: <\/b>The Patriots\u2019 wide receiver was ruled out of the game today as he is still on the concussion protocol. He was injured during the Colts game and missed the Buffalo game and now will miss this week as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brandon Bolden: <\/b>The Patriots running back who plays a key special teams role as well as the 3rd down back in the offense has revealed that he was treated for cancer during the offseason of 2018. He underwent surgery and for a time lost partial use of the right side of his face. But he made a complete recovery and thankfully hasn\u2019t seen a recurrence of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bolden has a career-high 540 yards from scrimmage this year (36 carries for 176 yards, 4.9-yard avg, 37 receptions for 364 yards, with 1 TD), as he\u2019s been tasked with replacing James White who was placed on IR earlier this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Richard Seymour: <\/b>The Patriots team Hall of Fame defensive lineman has been named as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the fourth straight season. Drafted by the Patriots in the 1st round (#6 overall) in the 2001 NFL Draft, Seymour played a huge role in the Patriots winning three Super Bowls early in his career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Seymour was named to five straight Pro Bowls (8 overall) and three straight NFL 1st Team All-Pro teams. Seymour was also a member of the NFL\u2019s All-Decade Team for the 2000s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRichard was a tremendous player. He had a tremendous skill set. He had great length. Explosive. Very quick for his size. He could do everything,\u201d Bill Belichick said of Seymour on his enshrinement to the Patriots team HOF.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a tough matchup for the interior linemen. He could win with speed, and against some of the quicker guys, he could win with power. Smart player. Richard was very smart and had good awareness. He was a good situational player and certainly helped our linebackers a lot because he was either able to get penetration or able to draw blockers and tie up blockers that couldn\u2019t get to the second level on some of our off-the-ball players. He was a very disruptive force.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe the 4th time is a charm \u2026we\u2019ll see.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trent Brown: <\/b>The big offensive lineman was asked about the penalty flag thrown against him during the Buffalo game. On the play, Bills LB\/DE Jerry Hughes chased Mac Jones to the sideline, hit him well out of bounds, and then pulled him down in a horse-collar tackle.\u00a0 The officials threw a penalty flag on Hughes for unnecessary roughness but then decided to pick it up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brown complained a bit too loudly for the officials who then flagged him for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty. The 30-yard swing took the Patriots out of scoring range at the end of the half. Brown didn\u2019t mince any words about the call.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was bulls**t to pick up the flag. He was clearly in the white,\u201d Brown said. We agree with that assessment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Here’s the Mac Jones\/Jerry Hughes play. Will effort an explanation from the refs via pool report. #Patriots<\/a> #Bills<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/bcXmOSH9Is<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) December 26, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n