New England Patriots News 7-19 and Notes Around the AFC East
Good morning, here are Sunday’s Patriots news notes and what’s happening around the division:
Brady “Ticked Off, Motivated For 2015: One of the prevailing themes for the entire Tom Brady Deflate-gate fiasco coming out of New England this week is that Brady is using this suspension on the heels of a Super Bowl victory for added “Us against the World” fodder for 2015.
Interviews with former teammate Rodney Harrison and wide receiver Julian Edelman both state that Brady is mad, motivated and looking to prove doubters wrong this season. Brady has long used his QB battles at Michigan and his 199th overall selection in the 2000 NFL Draft as ammunition to motivate himself to reach new heights.
Anyone who has ever watched Brady at practice, even at training camp or mini-camps can attest that the QB is driven, competitive and meticulous in his preparation and won’t tolerate anything less in his teammates.
So instead of being satisfied with a fourth Super Bowl victory and a Hall of Fame career, he finds himself playing the role of the underdog again and is anxious to prove those who say the Patriots cheated wrong.
Edelman at a football camp in Reading, MA recently told ESPN, "He's fired up -- we'll say that. You don't want a mad Tom Brady, and he's a little ticked off," Edelman said.
Former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison had even more pointed comments, telling MMQB’s Jenny Vrentas, “You’ve got way over $100 million in the bank. You’ve got a beautiful wife. You’ve got a beautiful family. The natural tendency would be to say, ‘I can lie in my silk sheets and just enjoy life now. I don’t need football.’ But I’m telling you: This is the best thing that could have happened to Tom Brady. This will rejuvenate him. The rest of the league better look out. This year, he’s going to make everybody pay for what’s happened.”
The last time Brady played with this kind of anger was 2007 and he ended up passing for 50 touchdowns enroute to a 16-0 regular season. Of course that season ended up as a 18-1 “disappointment” after the SB loss to the Giants. But the prevailing point is, there will be no satisfaction with a championship and he’ll be driven to make it two in a row. That’s a very good thing if you’re a Patriots fan.
Dan Connolly Retires a Champion: Citing family reasons and concussion worries, former Patriots offensive lineman Dan Connolly has retired from the NFL. Connolly played ten seasons in the NFL, the past seven with the Patriots and was an offensive captain in 2014.
Connolly and his wife have three young daughters, all under the age of six; and spending time with them was one of his primary reasons to call it a career.Connolly got some offers to keep playing, but uprooting his family for one, possibly two seasons or living away from them was not in the cards for the 10 year veteran.
But perhaps the biggest reason to retire was a medical one; Connolly has suffered four diagnosed concussions in the NFL and had a fifth back in high school. "It's important to me to leave the game healthy," Connolly said to ESPN.
"I'm able to be here for my kids and walk away on my own terms. I feel like I got everything I could out of football in playing 10 years, winning a Super Bowl, and playing alongside some truly great players."
Connolly played in 89 regular season games with 71 starts and played in two Super Bowls for New England. But perhaps his greatest moment came in a Sunday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers. Connolly fielded a bouncing kickoff and rumbled down the left sideline for a 71-yard return, a record for a kickoff return by an offensive lineman.
He was renowned for his athleticism and dependability and played left guard, center and right guard for the Patriots. He took over a leadership role when Logan Mankins was traded to the Bucs.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick released the following statement on Connolly’s retirement Friday on Patriots.com.
"Dan Connolly exemplified everything our program requires of players. He was tough and dependable, smart and team oriented and his work ethic ensured he improved on an annual basis to reach his potential. From where his career began as a developmental player to where it finished as a team leader and champion, Dan Connolly was a player I was proud to coach."
Gostkowski Signs Four-Year Extension: Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski signed a new four-year deal that will pay the veteran $17 million according to Patriots.com.
The Pats placed the franchise tag on Gostkowski in March which will pay him $4.1 million in 2015. They had until July 15 to reach a long-term deal and his new contract was announced earlier that day.
Gostkowski has played his entire nine-year career with New England and has a very good 86.8 percentage on his field goals for his career. His 2014 season was perhaps his best, connecting on 35 of 37 field goals for a 94.6 percentage.
The Patriots are now set at the position for the foreseeable future as Gostkowski, 31, shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Deflate-Gate Football Auctioned Off: In more Deflate-gate news, the football handed by Patriots WR Brandon LaFell to a fan during the AFC Championship Game has been auctioned off by Lelands.com for $43,740.
The owner of the football, Laura Anthony was handed the ball by LaFell after a LaGarrette Blount touchdown. She had put up the football for auction with a starting bid of $25,00 and originally it was said that the ball would fetch over six figures. But while the winning bid fell far short of that, it was far more than other footballs have fetched on the auction block.
It wasn’t reported if Anthony ever measured the PSI of the football after bringing it home…
Eastbound and Down…..News from around the AFC East:
Rex Ryan Tandem Jumps With Army Golden Knights: Bills coach Rex Ryan left the ground behind and joined the fraternity of those of us who have hurtled from an airplane while in flight.
Ryan donning a custom Army Golden Knights jumpsuit, jumped tandem with an Army paratrooper from 12,500 feet and landed safely at the “Thunder of Niagara” Airshow in Buffalo, New York.
Upon landing Ryan remarked that “it was awesome, I’m ready to do it again.”
Here is the video courtesy of SN Canada
Good for Rex…but beware…jumping out of aircraft is very addictive and you just might get hooked on it…
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