Tag: New England Patriots (Page 16 of 72)

      Randy Moss: Heart and happiness in New England

      March 16, 2011 /
      Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss gives a hug to his former teammate, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady at the end of the game at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on October 31, 2010. The Patriots defeated the Vikings 28-18. UPI/Matthew Healey

      While appearing on KFAN 1130 in Minneapolis on Wednesday, free agent Randy Moss dropped a few loud hints that he would like to return to the Patriots next season.

      “If you ask me where my heart and where I’m happy is,” Moss said, “I love Tom Brady and I love playing for coach Belichick.”

      Really? Then why didn’t he do what Belichick asked him to last year and not complain about his contract situation to the media? Had he kept working hard, showed a little patience and let the situation play itself out, then maybe he never would have been traded. Instead, he reminded people at every turn that he didn’t have a contract and essentially got himself traded out of New England.

      But now he wants back in after a couple of miserably months in Minnesota (whom he also said he would “love” to play for again) and Tennessee. Interesting. If I were Belichick, I’d take Moss back in a heartbeat. Why, you ask? The great thing about Randy Moss is that he’s not very hard to figure out. When his team is winning or when he feels like he has something to prove, he plays with hunger and motivation. He gave up in Oakland because he didn’t have to prove himself and because the Raiders were losers. When he was dealt to New England, he once again wanted to show people how good he was and he preformed at a high level because he loved being a part of a winner. But that eventually wore off so he made money his main priority and then promptly fell off the face of the earth after he was traded.

      But now he’s motivated again and he would probably come real cheap after the way his season ended last year. If Belichick was interested, I’m willing to bet that Moss would jog to New England just to have one more chance to play for a winner.

      External Sports, NFL

      Patriots’ Meriweather accused of shooting two men

      March 10, 2011 /

      Patriots’ safety Brandon Meriweather is being accused of shooting two men outside a party on February 27 in Apopka, Florida.

      According to the victims’ attorney John Morgan, Meriweather’s friend beat up a woman and things escalated into a brawl when the woman’s brother arrived at the party. Meriweather is accused of pulling out a gun and shooting the brother and another man, although even Morgan casts doubts about whether or not the safety was the shooter.

      From the Boston Globe:

      “I have a lot of doubt about that,” Morgan said. “That’s what these fellas told me, but I don’t assume that to be true at all. I assume nothing to be true until we get an investigation completed. Their allegation to me is … one of the fellas was in a fight with someone else out there and their allegation is that Meriweather shot him. That bullet grazed that fellas head and hit the second client, went through the cheek and head… the cops have had this case for two weeks.”

      Greg Bedard and Ian Rapoport of the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, respectively, are both reporting that the accusations against Meriweather are untrue. Whether or not the safety was even at the party that night is unclear. What is clear, however, is that only two people are claiming Meriweather is the shooter and they’re the two victims.

      This isn’t the first time Meriweather has been involved in a shooting case. Back in 2006, he was involved in a shooting while at “The U” but no charges were filed because Meriweather owned the gun legally and it was determined that he fired in self defense after a teammate was shot. Unless more evidence is brought to light in this new case, it appears as though Meriweather doesn’t have anything to worry about now either.

      External Sports, NFL

      Should Aaron Rodgers be the 2010 NFL MVP?

      February 1, 2011 /
      Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers talks to the media during media day for Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, February 1, 2011. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Towards the end of the season, the NFL MVP race was seemingly down to two players: Tom Brady and Michael Vick. The Associated Press votes after the regular season and before the playoffs, so postseason play is not taken into account when determining the winner of this award.

      But what really matters at the end of the day? Would you rather have your team go 14-2 and earn a #1-seed only lose at home in the Divisional round of the playoffs or make the playoffs as a spunky #6-seed and win three games on the road to earn a berth in the Super Bowl?

      When the 2010 season is discussed, will this be the year of Tom Brady or Michael Vick? Or will it be the year of Aaron Rodgers?

      Let’s take a look at each player’s year from a statistical point of view:

      Clearly, Rodgers’ numbers are comparable with those of the other two quarterbacks in the MVP discussion. He didn’t have as many passing TDs as Brady, but counting his rushing scores he only accounted for five fewer TDs than Brady, and let’s remember he missed a game and a half due to a concussion that he suffered against the Lions. He also accounted for more total yards (by a wide margin) than either player.

      More importantly, he helped guide the injury-depleted Packers to the playoffs despite losing both Jermichael Finley and Ryan Grant. And most importantly, he has averaged 263 yards and 2.0 TDs in three playoff road wins, resulting in a 109.2 QB rating in the postseason.

      I’d be shocked if Tom Brady doesn’t win this award since it’s currently a regular season award. But it will have the same feel as Dirk Nowitzki’s 2007 MVP ceremony which came on the heels of his Mavericks being upset in the first round of the playoffs by Baron Davis and the Golden State Warriors.

      Since the postseason is what matters the most, shouldn’t it be taken into account when deciding a season-defining award like the AP MVP? Sure, if the Packers go on to win the Super Bowl on Sunday, he’ll almost certainly win Super Bowl MVP, even if he has a mediocre game. But if voters knew that he could win the season-long MVP, they might be more inclined to give the Super Bowl MVP to a receiver or a defensive player who had a huge impact on the game, especially if Rodgers doesn’t have a terrific day.

      This is not so much an indictment of Brady or Vick as it is an examination of how and when the MVP award is decided. If the Packers go on to win the Super Bowl, this will be the year of Aaron Rodgers. And if Rodgers plays well in a Packer loss, one could still argue that he was “The Man” this season. Shouldn’t our awards reflect that?

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL, Super Bowl

      Wes Welker’s comments about his contract refreshing

      January 26, 2011 /
      f of the New England Patriots 23-20 overtime win at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA, 17 October 2010. EPA/CJ GUNTHER fotoglif761453

      I think I can count on zero fingers how many times athletes that are heading into the final year of their contract say that they’re not deserving of a new deal based on their performance from the previous season.

      Wes Welker couldn’t have made his agent too happy with his latest comments regarding his contract situation (he becomes a free agent in 2012), but they’re refreshing to say the least.

      From the Boston Herald:

      “I think everybody wants a new deal, but I wouldn’t say anything I did this past year would warrant one or anything like that,” Welker told the Herald Monday.

      If this is some reverse psychology ploy by Welker, then it’s genius. But something tells me he truly means what he says in that he didn’t do anything last year to warrant a new deal.

      But this is a player who shredded his ACL and MCL last season, only to bounce back and catch 86 passes for 848 yards and seven touchdowns. His reception and yard totals are the lowest since he arrived in New England, but the touchdown number is the second highest since 2008 and he also made the Pro Bowl.

      Keep in mind that some people believed he would never be the same player he was before he suffered the knee injury in ’09. So for him to produce the numbers he did was rather remarkable given the circumstances. Usually it takes players at least one season to fully recover from the type of knee injury that Welker suffered and yet he was productive right away.

      The Patriots make a habit of allowing a player’s contract to run out before they decide whether or not to renegotiate with them. That’s why Randy Moss wound up in Minnesota. He wouldn’t stop complaining that the team hadn’t offered him a new deal when he was in a contract year. Thus, it stands to reason that Welker will have to play out the final year of his current deal before he has the opportunity to negotiate another one.

      But if he can get back to another 100-catch, 1,000-yard season, then I don’t see why the Patriots wouldn’t offer him a new contract. He may have pissed off Bill Belichick with his foot comments about Rex Ryan before the Divisional Round game against the Jets, but there’s no denying that Welker fits the Patriot mold.

      External Sports, NFL

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