The Patriot Way – Tuesday, 2/4/2014
By Hal Bent
Jan 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno (27) is tackled by New England Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard (37) in the first half during the 2013 AFC championship playoff football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL off-season is officially kicking in with the Super Bowl over and teams and fans gearing up for free agency and the NFL Draft. The big news is again squarely in the Aaron Hernandez arena as yet another close associate of Hernandez ends up shot. This time it’s Alexander Bradley (who was in the news last summer as the one who was alleging he was shot in the face by Hernandez) who was shot eleven times outside of a Connecticut club. The Boston Globe has the story here.
Chase Goodbread at NFL.com has a piece on NBC analyst and former New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison on WEEI’s morning show stating that he believes Bill Belichick will bring in….well, a safety like Rodney. However, after investing second and third round draft picks in safeties that have not spent much time on the field over the past two seasons it hardly seems worth investing yet another pick in a safety to sit on the bench.
At Bleacher Report James Christensen is wasting no time and has a mock draft for the Patriots for the 2014 NFL Draft. I won’t give away the mock results, but I will say I do like the idea of trading up rather than trading down in the draft.
Mike Reiss at ESPNBoston.com has a look at the NFL waiver system and the Patriots place. As the Patriots work the waiver wire like mad for positions 47 to 53 on the end of the roster.
Staying on the roster looks, Kevin O’Connor at SB Nation has a look at the roster in review, this time focusing on running back Shane Vereen. Vereen had an interesting season as at times he looked like the most dynamic player on the field, other times he disappeared, and of course there were the injury issues.
Patriots.com has the Season in Review for the Patriots. As usual, the team release is chock full of stats, tidbits, awards, and news. The most interesting tidbit for me was that five of the seven 2013 draft picks by the Patriots started a game this season. That is surprising and yet at the same time strangely reassuring.
Finally, at MusketFire Cyrus Geller checked in with the Patriots cornerbacks on his end of the year “report card”. Check in to see if you agree with his grade for the group in 2013.