Tue, 04/30/2013 - 6:12pm — Anonymous
Jamie Collins was a second-round pick of the Patriots. (AP)

Jamie Collins was a second-round pick of the Patriots. (AP)

After getting a chance to talk to Trent Hammond — who coached the Patriots’ second-round pick Jamie Collins at Franklin County High School in Mississippi — I learned five things:

Collins made the most of a rough childhood, and is a Mississippi kid through and through:

“One thong I can tell you is that he was one of the most dependable guys I’ve ever come across. He came from a tough background in Southwest Mississippi — he didn’t have a whole lot, and his parents passed away when he was younger. He basically had to take care of himself, but he succeeded. A lot of those kids, maybe some of them get lost, but he got his degree in 3 1/2 years. This is a kid who had offers from Auburn and some of the other SEC schools, and he chose to play at home and be with his family and get his degree. The fact that he’s already been planning for his beyond football, that tells you a lot about who he is.”

This picture of Collins is real and not photoshopped:

“That picture was from the New Orleans Bowl, and ESPN showed it two or three times that night. He took about two steps and got up there and blocked the kick. He actually blocked two or three of those over the course of his career. Just put him in the middle and have him get up there and try and knock it down. He has a vertical of 42 inches.” (For more of Collins showing off his physical skills, check out this video of him at the combine.)

His first displayed his freaky athletic skills as a high schooler:

“In high school, I had him at quarterback and safety. When the Auburn coaches came to visit and look at Jamie, it was the spring and he was on the track. They set the high jump bar at six feet, and he was jumping over the bar and catching footballs in the air. Just amazing.

“We thought he wore a cape — that’s why we called him Superman. We would go in at halftime and Jamie would go into the locker room, duck into a phone booth and come out as Superman. One year, we were a small 3A school playing a big 6A school, and we were down 19-0 at halftime because of some mistakes we made. We go into the locker room and Jamie comes up to me and says, ‘Give me the ball.’ He ran the ball 24 times in the second half and we won 21-19.”

The accusations of Collins dogging it have been around since high school, but there’s a good reason for it:

“I had these conversations with college coaches, and there was some belief that it looked like there was a lack of effort on his part. Simple fact was that he makes everything look easy. It looked like he wasn’t running all that fast, but did anyone ever catch him? No — nobody ever caught him. It didn’t look like was playing hard, but he was still getting off blocks and making the play. He does things … I hate to use the word graceful when it comes to football, but he looks really graceful at times out there when he makes the play. It looks like he’s not putting in an effort out there, but he’s going hard. Are there times where he could play harder? Yeah, but that’s on every kid. He’s still making the plays.”

He’s got a good chance to be the coverage linebacker the Patriots have been looking for the last few years:

“My 11-year-old son was totally discouraged when he went to the Patriots. But he really fits in with what Bill Belichick does. He has a way of taking guys and turning them into big names and getting them on a poster. He can do a lot of things with a guy like Jamie. Belichick may be a dry guy, but he knows how to get the most out of kid, and he understands how to push buttons, and he knows that sometimes kids might need a different sort of push when it comes to getting maximum effort.

“Jamie, with his ability to cover people — running backs and tight ends in the flat — and his ability to run with guys in the flat, I think Belichick will make him a household name. As for how he might project, I think he’ll be a guy who can fit into a lot of different roles. At the same time, just like when he went from a small high school to Southern Miss, he had to step his game up. What did he do? He went to college and started at four positions over four different years. He found whatever niche he needed to find to get on the field. In college, he played wherever they put him. He went from safety to linebacker to a ‘robber’ type to a hand down defensive end. Wherever they put him, he made plays.

“However, at the same time, that hurt him. If he went to college and played four years as a linebacker and hone his skills at one position, he’d be further along and the professional teams would have better senior tape because of it. You’re judging a kid as a defensive end who’s been there one year. I think he’ll lift his game up and progress the same way he was able to progress as a high schooler and in college.”

Tue, 04/30/2013 - 6:00pm — Christopher Price

The Patriots have officially terminated the contract of offensive lineman Brian Waters, according to the league’s official transaction wire.

The 36-year-old Waters, who was signed shortly before the start of the 2011 season, played at a high level for a New England team that reached the Super Bowl. However, he was placed on the reserve/did not report list prior to the 2012 regular season after not showing up for any of the OTAs last offseason, and was excused from the team’s mandatory minicamp. He did not play at all in 2012.

Tue, 04/30/2013 - 5:59pm — Anonymous

The Patriots have officially terminated the contract of offensive lineman Brian Waters, according to the league’s official transaction wire.

The 36-year-old Waters, who was signed shortly before the start of the 2011 season, played at a high level for a New England team that reached the Super Bowl. However, he was placed on the reserve/did not report list prior to the 2012 regular season after not showing up for any of the OTAs last offseason, and was excused from the team’s mandatory minicamp. He did not play at all in 2012.

For more Patriots news, check out weei.com/patriots.

Tue, 04/30/2013 - 1:24pm — Anonymous
Adrian Wilson meets the media. (WEEI.com photo)

Adrian Wilson meets the media. (WEEI.com photo)

FOXBORO — In his first extended sitdown with the New England media, it seems that safety Adrian Wilson still has some hard feeling about the way things ended in Arizona.

The 33-year-old is a 6-foot-3, 230-pounder out of North Carolina State who was released by the Cardinals in a cap-related move. He’s a five-time Pro Bowler who spent the all 12 seasons as a professional in Arizona.

“Last year was last year — obviously, things didn’t go my way as far as the way I wanted them to go,” he said during a break in workouts at Gillette Stadium. “Obviously, players slow down as they get older, but they also have experience. They’ve seen a lot of things as far as football. To say that a person is not good enough, that wouldn’t be the right verbiage to use as far as that is concerned. I feel that like I could help this team win. That’s pretty much what I’m here to do.”

As far as why he picked the Patriots, it was easy.

“Winning,” he said with a smile. “They win. Other than that, very disciplined team, a team that you’re going to have to beat ‘em. It’s like a champ – you have to decidedly beat the champ, you can’t just go out there and box a good 12 rounds, you have to actually knock ‘em out.”

The understated Wilson, who might be the biggest defensive back the Patriots have ever signed — he looks more like a linebacker that a safety — has spent much of his time since offseason workouts began imparting his wisdom on the New England defensive backs, a younger group who has impressed him to this point in the offseason.

“They’re very talented,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a young group. We all can continue to learn, and I think that’s probably the main thing that I try to tell those guys. We can all learn from each other and get better together.”

Some of that wisdom has come from his own experiences — Wilson said he’s gotten a lot smarter since he came into the league.

“I used to take ridiculous chances on the football field, just try to make a big play. Just try to make a splash play,” he said. “I think now, it’s different just because you know formations and you know tendencies. You go through all that type of stuff. You pay more attention to it. As opposed to a young player that just looks at the formation as tricks. You don’t really go through the things in your head before the play happens.”

This year will mark a new experience for Wilson, who had spent all 12 years of his career in the desert with the Cardinals. He said it’s a “scary” proposition starting all over with a new group of teammates, but right now, things are “moving in the right direction.”

“Obviously, you want to come in with the right mindset, and you just want to get along with the guys really, and you want to kind of make sure you hang around them, get to know each and every guy,” he said. “I think that’s probably really the biggest concern I have right now, is just trying to make sure I know all of the guys that I’m going to be playing with.”

Nope. Don’t think so. Keep moving. Patriots coach Bill Belichick needs to resist what must be a powerful impulse and make the decision not to sign Tim Tebow.



Mon, 04/29/2013 - 5:08pm — Anonymous

The Patriots announced Monday afternoon they have released wide receiver Jeremy Ebert, fullback Tony Fiammetta, tight end Brad Herman, defensive lineman Tracy Robertson and defensive back Malcolm Williams.

Here’s a portion of the press release that was issued by the team on the moves:

Ebert, 23, was originally selected by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Northwestern with the 235th selection overall. The six-foot, 195-pounder, was released by the Patriots on Aug. 31, 2012 and spent one week on the Philadelphia practice squad in early September before being re-signed to the New England practice squad on Nov. 28.

Fiammetta, 26, was signed by New England as a free agent on March 20, 2012 but spent the entire 2012 season on the Exempt/Reserve List. The 6-foot, 250-pounder, is a veteran of three NFL seasons with Carolina (2009-10) and Dallas (2011). He originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick (128th overall) by Carolina in 2009 out of Syracuse. After being waived by Carolina prior to the start of the 2011 season, he was claimed by off waivers and awarded to Dallas. Fiammetta has played in 34 NFL games with 17 starts and has 11 rushing attempts for 26 yards and eight receptions for 73 yards.

Herman, 23, originally joined New England as a rookie free agent on May 10, 2012 out of Iowa. The 6-foot-5, 255-pounder, spent the entire 2012 season on injured reserve with an Achilles injury.

Robertson, 23, was signed to the New England practice squad on Jan. 1, 2013. He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Houston out of Baylor in 2012. The 6-foot-4, 280-pounder was released by the Texans on July 29 and signed with the Detroit Lions on Aug. 1. He was released by the Lions at the end of training camp on Aug. 31 and was out of football until being signed to the New England practice squad.

Williams, 24, has rotated between the 53-man roster and the practice squad over the last two seasons after originally joining the team as a seventh-round draft pick (219th overall) out of Texas Christian in 2011. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder, has played in four regular season NFL games and three postseason games. Last season, Williams played in two games and compiled two special teams tackles.

Mon, 04/29/2013 - 1:52pm — Anonymous
Josh Boyce was taken in the fourth round by the Patriots. (AP)

Josh Boyce was taken in the fourth round by the Patriots. (AP)

FOXBORO — On a high school team that included future Heisman winner Robert Griffin III, it would have been easy to overlook someone like Josh Boyce. But Jack Welch, who coached both of them at Copperas Cove High School in Texas, said that it was easy to identify someone like Boyce as a potential star at an early age.

“Josh was strong when he was in junior high,” Welch said Saturday shortly after the Patriots took him in the fourth round.

“It’s hard to put into words. I coached RG3 and Charles Tillman as high schoolers. And I can tell you that Josh Boyce is a phenom. He’s a freak. An athletic freak. But when you put that personality in that body, along with that great attitude, you have a winner. He’s never missed a workout, as far as I know. Never.”

Welch said the 5-foot-11, 203-pound Boyce was ticketed for success at an early age because of a great work ethic and boundless physical skill. That physical prowess was on display this past February at the combine — despite the fact he was dealing with the fallout from a right foot injury, he was the only receiver to rank in the top four in the 40 (4.38) and bench press (22 reps). In addition, he finished in the top four among receivers in five out of the seven main categories (40, bench press, broad jump, 3-cone drill, and 60-yard shuffle).

“You never know if a kid is going to make it in the NFL, because there are so many good young players who don’t. It’s like a needle in a haystack. Going in, you have to have that ability and physical skill just to have a chance,” Welch said. “With Jeff, it was clear he had that ability as part of his athletic talent. You know he’s strong — he can bench press the world, but you don’t get strong overnight. You have to work at it, and he does.

“I’ve seen a lot of kids with great talent, but I’ve seen very few that had the talent, plus the attitude and personality of a servant — someone who is a hardworking leader that shows something special. That’s Josh.”

Welch isn’t the only one who believes that Boyce his special. In a 2011 interview, Griffin weighed in on his former high school teammate, saying: “I knew Josh was going to do big things. I believed in him.”

“You can’t measure leadership and character at the combine,” Welch said. “You’re looking at height and weight and jumping ability, but you can’t measure character and attitude and leadership, and he has those traits. The people of New England are getting a quality football player and a quality person.”

Boyce had slightly up-and-down numbers over the course of his college career — while his catches went up between 2011 and 2012 (61 to 66), his yardage (998 to 891) and touchdown totals dipped (nine TDs to seven). While Boyce was fortunate enough to play alongside future NFL QBs Griffin and Andy Dalton (while at TCU).

Welch believes Boyce was hurt by some inconsistent quarterbacking play his last year in college, and instead of building on the 2011 numbers, he took a bit of a step back. If the quarterbacking play were there, Boyce would have been a first-round talent.

“He would have been a first-round pick,” Welch said of Boyce. “As a result, New England got itself a steal.”

Regardless of the occasional dip in numbers or the explosive combine performance, Patriots coach Bill Belichick believes that Boyce showed enough consistency throughout his collegiate career to warrant a shot at becoming part of the New England passing game.

“Josh has been a productive player,” Belichick said shortly after the pick was made. “I think our grades were consistently, on all the scouts that saw him, pretty consistent. So I don’t think we saw him a lot differently from one scout to another, from one year to another or from one part of a year to another or at the combine or at the training camp or during the season or all those things. He’s been pretty consistent all the way through, more so than other guys we could use as examples. He had a strong combine but he’s been a good player in a good conference. He’s been productive. I think he does a lot of things well.”

Mon, 04/29/2013 - 11:12am — Anonymous

Tim Tebow was released by the Jets on Monday, just over a year after New York acquired him from the Broncos. There has been some speculation that the Patriots might have an interest in signing Tebow.

There are some obvious connections, as Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was coaching the Broncos when Denver drafted Tebow, and Bill Belichick is known to have a good relationship with Tebow’s former college coach at Florida, Urban Meyer. Aside from that, Tebow could give the Patriots offense another dynamic with his ability to run the wildcat.

Working against Tebow is the fact that his presence can be a distraction for a team, as was the case in New York. Plus, Tebow has indicated he wants to get regular snaps at quarterback rather than be a part-time contributor.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
Mon, 04/29/2013 - 9:44am — Anonymous
Mike Florio joined the program to discuss the Jets decision to release Tim Tebow, he said the situation is as disaster all around for the Jets and that the problems begins with owner Woody Johnson. Mike also said that he was disappointed with the Pats moving back in the first round.

[0:01:28] ... whole question of cool catch more passes from Mark Sanchez weak -- Santonio Holmes -- Darrelle Revis. That was going to be a fun one to track -- -- some kind of hold out hope for ...
[0:06:30] ... in January to keep an eye on. When Tebow is available the Chicago Bears because marked Pressman the head coach of the bears. Helped Tebow get ready for the draft three years ago raved about Tom ...
[0:07:16] ... able to understand all the nuances and and work well with. With Tom Brady well first of all that funny that instead of taking Cordero Paterson were picked 49. They they punted them and and they ...
[0:09:17] ... guy around and I look I haven't seen a major dip from Tom Brady bit I I. Sometimes with some of those passes are off the market -- wonder whether Tom Brady 89 years ago. Would be off the mark and and I think of all those Wes Welker drops. So many of those Wes Welker drops -- balls that were thrown off the mark and usually he -- those and make Brady makes Brady looked more accurate ...






Mon, 04/29/2013 - 8:53am — Anonymous

The Patriots have informed wide receiver Jeremy Ebert he will be released, according to ESPN. A seventh-round pick out of Northwestern last year, he spent time on New England’s practice squad in 2012. A 6-foot, 195-pounder, he put together impressive back-to-back seasons in 2010 and 2011 at Northwestern when he had a combined 137 catches — as a senior, he had 75 receptions, 1,060 yards and 11 touchdowns. For his college career, he had 156 catches and 20 career receiving touchdowns.