New England Patriots News 4-26 and Notes Around the AFC East
 President Obama welcomed the New England Patriots to the White House on Thursday to celebrate the Super Bowl victory in February. (USA Today, Image) |
Good morning, here are Sunday’s Patriots news notes and what’s happening around the division:
White House Visit, President Obama Hosts SB Champs: On Thursday the Patriots visited Washington D.C. and were hosted at the White House on the South Lawn by President Obama to celebrate the Pats 2015 Super Bowl Championship.
The President spoke glowing about the leadership of Robert Kraft and the Patriots organization on not only the football field, but in the community as well, visiting hospitals, schools and the NFL’s Play 60 initiative.
The President said, "There’s 'the Patriot Way' -- a group that values teamwork and hard work above all else, which is why these guys are able to shine even if the spotlight is not on them."
Kraft presented the President with a Super Bowl jersey with number 44 on it, a football from the game and a helmet autographed from every member of the team, “we wanted you to be properly attired,” Kraft said.
The President then jokingly made a reference to “Deflate-Gate” stating, "I usually tell a bunch of jokes at these events," Obama said, "but with the Patriots in town, I was worried that 11 out of 12 of them would fall flat."
The President then added that the entire story was blown out of proportion.
What followed off-camera was prime Bill Belichick. When President Obama made his joke, he glanced over at Belichick grinning obviously looking for a reaction. The Hoodie, never one to back down to anything, laughed and gave the President a double thumbs down.
 Head Coach Bill Belichick gives the President a smiling thumbs down after Obama's Deflate-Gate joke. (USA Today, Image) |
And he did it with the bling of three Super Bowl rings on his hands. The fourth will be presented this summer, probably sometime in June at Robert Kraft’s home. Good for Bill. The players roared with laughter and good naturedly razzed the Prez on that one.
D.C. Visit Also Brings A Reality Check: Prior to the White House visit, Mr. Kraft, Belichick and a handful of players flew down to D.C. on Kraft’s private jet early to visit the wounded warriors of our nation at Walter Reed Hospital.
Split into two groups, the players, coaches and the owner wanted to spend as much time with each wounded soldier as possible. They got to meet with plenty of Pats fans in the hospital wards but perhaps the best story of the day was the football they gave to a Seahawks fan.
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe told a nice story of a Seahawks fan who watched the Super Bowl with his buddy, Army medic John Dawson from Whitinsville, Mass. Dawson was recently killed in action and his funeral was attended by many of the top politicians in the state. But his best buddy is in the hospital and asked for a football to give to Dawson’s family. The Patriots gave him one signed by all the members of the team.
Julian Edelman was touched by the sacrifice of some many of our young Patriots, " Definitely puts life in perspective," Edelman said.
“Those are the real heroes today and every day for us, that protect our freedom,” Bill Belichick said. “Those guys are out there fighting and dying for our country and protecting our freedom,” Belichick said. “They make what we do possible. There’s no way to express the gratitude that I feel for what they do for our families and our country.”
Great move on the part of Mr. Kraft, Belichick and the Patriots players. As a veteran, they get a tip of the beret for that visit and the work they do for all vets.
NFL Draft 2015, What Do the Patriots Do At #32: With the draft just a few days away, the speculation on what the Patriots plan on doing with their picks is reaching a fever pitch.
Do they trade up, trade down or stand pat? No one seems to know and in reality, they probably don’t either. But if a player they covet can slide down to the #19 – 20 range, then it could very easily happen.
They rarely move up more than 10-12 spots and with 75 players already on the roster and nine picks in hand, with five in the top 101, the Patriots have the chips to play. With that in mind the next question becomes, “Who Do They Pick?” Most people have them taking either a big interior offensive or defensive lineman or a cornerback.
Any of those three selections would fill an obvious need for the team. But a recent mock draft by our friend Oliver Thomas formerly of NEPatsDraft.com now of 24/7 Sports had the Patriots taking OLB/S/RB Shaq Thompson from Washington.
Thompson can do it all, although undersized for a linebacker; he is extremely effective off the edge and would be a perfect fit for that hybrid LB/S role that Bill Belichick has been trying to fill since the Tank Williams experiment.
Great pick there if he’s available…and a typical Belichick selection. Everyone has him going big lineman or corner and he goes for a safety.
Eastbound and Down…..News from around the AFC East:
Bills At #50,Target Offensive Line or Bryce Petty?: The Bills defense is already looking in very good shape but the offensive line needs some additions and Buffalo still has a need for a franchise quarterback.
So the Bills will be watching the draft board and hoping one of the big guards in this season’s draft, Laken Tomlinson or A.J. Cann fall down to them in the second round. Like New England, speculation is moving in different directions and many have the Bills targeting QB Bryce Petty from Baylor.
GM Doug Whaley was on the local radio in Buffalo and stated his admiration for Petty and said he believes he could come in and compete for the starting job right away. The team still has E.J. Manuel and Matt Cassel on the roster, so the competition will be fierce in camp for starting reps.
Dolphins Sign WR Greg Jennings: The Miami Dolphins announced the signing of free agent WR Greg Jennings on Thursday to a two-year deal worth $8 million.
Jenning’s deal re-unites him and Head Coach Joe Philbin as the two worked together in Green Bay for six seasons when Philbin was the Packers offensive coordinator. After visiting the Dolphins, Jennings took visits with the Saints, Panthers and Jaguars but kept Miami on his mind.
Jennings has 552 career catches in nine seasons and will probably be a breath of fresh air for Philbin and QB Ryan Tannehill who had to put up with constant nagging with WR Mike Wallace on how he was being used in the Dolphins offense.
A.J. Francis, Dolphins Defensive Tackle/Uber Driver: In what had to be one of the stranger tweets of the week, Dolphins DT A.J. Francis went on the social media giant to proclaim, "Just applied to be an @Uber driver… I hope my background check goes well."
Francis signed with Miami in 2013 but spent all of last season on injured reserve. He’s been a big fan and consistent user of the Uber shared taxi service and may soon be shuttling people around the South Beach area.
Francis tweeted again a few minutes after his initial post, “People ask me why would you want to be an Uber driver if you play in the NFL... You know what's better than NFL money? More money.”
One look at the 6’5, 330 pound heavily tattooed Francis and you get the impression that shared passengers won’t become very unruly in his vehicle.
Jets Considering Trading Up, Fueling Mariota Speculation: ESPN is reporting that the Jets GM Mike Maccagnan is going to be contacting the five teams that pick before the Jets do at #6 and try to move up in the draft.
That confirms rumors that the Jets want to land Oregon QB Marcus Mariota but will have to decide if the cost is worth it. Most of the draft pundits have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking QB Jamesis Winston with the top pick on Thursday.
That would put the Tennessee Titans in the driver’s seat at #2 to either make a selection or move back. Rumors are swirling that San Diego will trade QB Philip Rivers to the Titans for the #2 pick.
That would lead the Jets out in the cold but Maccagnan was quick to point out that he favors quantity over quality and wouldn’t mortgage the future over a single selection. With only six picks in this draft, the Jets don’t have a lot of wiggle room.
"Philosophically, I'm not opposed to moving up in the draft to get a player if you feel it's a player that's going to be an extremely good player, but I would, personally, like to get more picks," Maccagnan said. "It would be more opportunities to acquire more talent."
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