New England Patriots Rundown: Tom Brady and Brian Hartline

1. Robert Kraft handled a question about the future of wide receiver Wes Welker with the New England Patriots by talking about how he wants Welker but fears Welker’s agent will “mess up” a chance at a deal. We saw the tactics of Welk’s agent last offseason, and Kraft wisely hung his agent out to dry this time around. I’m sure that will play into creating an agreement for both sides, because it is apparent that Kraft and the Patriots want Welker back. Why wouldn’t they? Without Welker, this wide receiver corps would be quite poor even if they do draft Tavon Austin or sign a free agent. Let’s be real here, is there a free agent out there who fits the Pats as well as Welker? Or is as talented as Welker? Maybe Mike Wallace, but the guys who are more talented will probably play elsewhere or stick around.

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2. In any case, Kraft was also asked about Tom Brady, and he basically tiptoed around giving a directed answer. Smart, right? Well, what else would we expect from Kraft? I bet he was a little bit annoyed by the question, but here is what Kraft said via CSNNE, “But once again, everything is a dual decision. But I think, somehow I feel he’ll know when it’s not right for him and I believe he loves being a Patriot and we sure love having him be part of our organization.”

Yeah so, any idiots want to start speculating about Brady’s future? Why don’t we pipe it down a little bit and focus on the real questions surrounding the team. And yes, whether or not Welker stays is a very real question.

3. In an interesting piece that was published a couple of days ago on Pats Pulpit, Adam Fox talks about the chances of the Pats signing Brian Hartline this offseason. Fox views Hartline as a consolation prize in case the Patriots cannot get a deal done with Welker. His breakdown of Hartline is excellent and extremely accurate, so I urge you to click on the piece and give it a read if you haven’t done so already.

4. Bill Parcells turned around the New England Patriots in the mid 90s and is a Hall of Fame coach, and his comments on “spoiled” Patriots fans was actually accurate. Some sites out there have been blowing his quote out of proportion and turning it the wrong way to make Pats fans look bad (or Parcells look bad), but most Pats fans agree with what he is saying. He’s not making Pats fans look bad or anything, he’s just telling it like it is. Well, like he always does…that’s Parcells for you.

5. If you aren’t a regular reader of NE Patriots Draft during draft season, then you better start becoming one. They have a wealth of scouting reports, analysis pieces, and rankings that are as good as any mainstream draft coverage site out there. Their latest? A scouting report on excellent Washington Huskies draft-bound cornerback Desmond Trufant. This is most likely the best scouting report you will read on Trufant, so I also implore you to check out this piece.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.