The Patriot Way: New England Patriots News, 7/16
By Cyrus Geller
Hello, and welcome to another edition of ‘The Patriot Way’, your number one source to New England Patriots news and analysis from around the web.
Extension with Stephen Gostkowski a reminder Patriots got it right in ’06
"In the New England Patriots’ impressive 15-year run under head coach Bill Belichick, the team has had just two kickers: Adam Vinatieri and Stephen Gostkowski.Talk about getting it right.Wednesday’s news that the Patriots and Gostkowski had beaten the franchise-tag deadline to reach a four-year extension worth $17.2 million was hardly a surprise, as Gostkowski is coming off a Pro Bowl appearance and has proved to be one of the NFL’s best at the position. The news also served as a reminder of how the Patriots got it right with Gostkowski when they drafted him in the fourth round back in 2006."
DeflateGate: Brady Has Earned the Right to be Selfish
"According to more than a few of the talking heads, Roger Goodell is set to deliver his decision on Tom Brady’s appeal today. And as we’re all aware at this point, if Goodell doesn’t overturn the suspension completely, Brady is going to sue. He is going to take this nonsense all the way to court if he has to. We’re all hoping that won’t be the case, but in my opinion it’s a likelihood; for Goodell to completely overturn the suspension would make him look absolutely foolish, and in a league year that saw Ray Rice, Greg Hardy,Adrian Peterson, and a team down in Washington send the NFL into complete disarray, that Goodell couldn’t even get a simple decision involving the air pressure in footballs right will make him even more of a laughing stock than he already is."
Best of the Belichick Era: Number 13 — Wes Welker
"Wes Welker is one of two players in the Top 15 of this list that didn’t win a Super Bowl with the Patriots. He came excruciatingly close. You could say he had one right in his hands. But it didn’t happen for that 2011 Patriots team and — even though I’d have liked to wedge him in higher on this list — here he sits at 13.As I looked back on Welker’s six seasons here, I don’t think I ever really realized how much of a load the team put on his tiny body. Between targets, rushes and punt returns, Welker was the focal point of about 180 plays a year during his tenure. He’s 5-foot-9 (not really, but listed as such) and 190 pounds."