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.

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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.

Mon, 04/29/2013 - 8:39am — Christopher Price

The Tim Tebow era is over in New York, as the Jets announced Monday that the quarterback has been waived.

“We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said in a statement issued by the team Monday morning. “Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped. Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason. We wish him the best moving forward.”

Mon, 04/29/2013 - 8:38am — Anonymous
Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow

The Tim Tebow era is over in New York, as the Jets announced Monday that the quarterback has been waived.

“We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said in a statement issued by the team Monday morning. “Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped. Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason. We wish him the best moving forward.”

The 6-foot-3, 236-pound Tebow, who spent one season in New York (and cost the Jets a fourth- and sixth-round pick as part of a trade with the Broncos), never saw serious playing time as a signal-caller, mixing in occasionally on special teams and other areas on the offensive side of the ball. In 2012, he played in 12 games (starting two) and was 6-for-8 for 39 yards. He also had 32 carries for 102 yards.

Sun, 04/28/2013 - 9:25pm — Anonymous

Between Jamie Collins and Josh Boyce, the Patriots landed two of the biggest stars of the 2013 combine. Boyce crushed most of the events — despite the fact he was dealing with the fallout from a 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).

As for Collins, well … he almost jumped out of the building. Take a look for yourself at his 11-foot-7 broad jump, a combine best:

Sun, 04/28/2013 - 9:17pm — Anonymous

Christopher Price’s Post-Draft Pats Chat

Sun, 04/28/2013 - 5:35pm — Anonymous
Jamie Collins went in the second round to the Patriots. (AP)

Jamie Collins went in the second round to the Patriots. (AP)

We wrote a piece a week ago that detailed six fundamental beliefs of the Patriots when it comes to their overall draft approach. As a way of following up — now that the draft is in the rearview mirror — here’s a look at how they did when it comes to sticking to what we’ve come to know as their traditional beliefs:

LOOKING FOR PATTERNS IN PRE-DRAFT CONTACT IS A FUTILE EXERCISE

In year’s past, the Patriots were able to do a pretty good job disguising their intentions toward one draft pick or another. (In 2011, Nate Solder’s pre-draft visit was canceled at the last minute, but he ended up going in the first round to New England.) This year, the Patriots had at least some sort of pre-draft connection with each one of their picks this spring. Linebacker Jamie Collins and defensive end/linebacker Michael Buchanan had private pre-draft workouts with Bill Belichick, while wide receiver Aaron Dobson came to Foxboro on a pre-draft visit. Defensive back Logan Ryan had a pre-draft workout with New England, while wide receiver Josh Boyce visited Foxboro but didn’t work out.

WHEN — NOT IF — THE PATRIOTS MAKE A TRADE, CHANCES ARE GOOD IT’LL BE WITH OAKLAND … AND NOT THE AFC EAST

The Patriots made two draft weekend deals, one with the Vikings and one with the Bucs. The deal with Minnesota was a bit of a surprise in that they are not a usual trade partner with Belichick and the Patriots — it marked just the second time New England and the Vikings were involved in a draft weekend deal. (The only other time came back in 2001 when the Patriots dealt their third-round pick to Minnesota for the Vikings’ third- and fourth-round picks.)

The other deal involving the swap of unwanted running backs (Jeff Demps-for-LeGarrette Blount) was hardly a shocker. Belichck is tight with Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano, and in Schiano’s brief career with the Bucs, the two collaborated on the deal that brought cornerback Aqib Talib to New England. (They also exchanged Kellen Winslow early last season.)

As expected, this marked the 13th consecutive year that the Patriots didn’t make a draft weekend deal with an AFC East foe. (The last one came in 2002 when New England shipped Drew Bledsoe to the Bills for a first-round pick in 2003.)

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A COLLEGE CAPTAIN, BUT IT CERTAINLY HELPS

Heading into the 2013 draft, 15 of the last 28 players the Patriots selected in the draft were college captains, including 10 of the last 16 players drafted. This time around, of the eight players they took, four of them have experience as captains, including Dobson and Rutgers linebacker Steve Beauharnais. Rutgers defensive back Duron Harmon was a game captain for the Scarlet Knights this past season, while Boyce also filled the same role with the Horned Frogs.

THE PATRIOTS TREASURE AGILITY IN THEIR DEFENSIVE BACKS AND WIDE RECEIVERS

As has been the case the last several years, the Patriots went after defensive backs and wide receivers who showed great agility and footwork. That’s not to say they don’t treasure great straight-line speed as well, but the ability to fluidly change direction is perhaps an even greater asset in the eyes of the New England braintrust.

To that point — and understanding that anything under 6.9 is considered exceptional — several players the Patriots have targeted over the last few years have starred in the 3-cone drill as collegians, including Julian Edelman (6.62 seconds). Jeremy Ebert (a seventh-round pick in 2012) had a 6.7 before being taken by the Patriots last spring. Deion Branch was 6.71 (at the 2002 combine), Chad Jackson was 6.74 (at the 2006 combine) and Wes Welker was 7.06. That also translates to the defensive side of the football, as Nate Ebner had a 6.59 time in the 3-cone as a collegian, and Devin McCourty’s 6.7 in the 3-cone drill at the 2010 combine put him second among all corners.

With that in mind, it wasn’t a surprise to see the Patriots select three of the Top 10 finishers in the 3-cone drill at the combine this season, with Mizzou wide receiver T.J. Moe (second overall at 6.53) going as an undrafted free agent and Boyce (fifth at 6.68) being taken in the fourth round and Ryan (seventh at 6.69) selected in the third round.

THEIR TEAM-BUILDING PROCESS DOESN’T STOP AFTER MR. IRRELEVANT COMES OFF THE BOARD

Prior to the draft, the Patriots had 29 undrafted players on their roster, including several key pieces on both sides of the ball: cornerback Kyle Arrington, defensive lineman Kyle Love, offensive lineman Dan Connolly, linebacker Dane Fletcher and running back Brandon Bolden. This time around, the Patriots have apparently signed 15 undrafted free agents to compete for a spot on the roster. (For more on them, check out the blog posts here and here.)

At first glance, four of the more intriguing pickups are Moe, Missouri offensive lineman Elvis Fisher, Penn State offensive lineman Matt Stankiewitch and Nevada tight end Zach Sudfeld.

•Moe is a 5-foot-11, 204-pounder who is an undersized slot receiver in the Welker mold, who had 40 catches for 399 yards and one touchdown as a senior at Mizzou. Like Boyce, he certainly helped himself with a fantastic combine performance: he had the top 3-cone time among the receivers, and also had the best time in the 20-yard shuttle (3.96). He added a 10.87 in the 60-yard shuttle, which also was the top time, and had maybe the sweetest catch of the weekend.

•Stankiewitch: The second Penn Stater that signed with New England — and given the Belichick-Bill O’Brien connection, hardly a surprise — he’s a 6-foot-3, 302-pounder who started the last two years for the Nittany Lions. He wasn’t a stud right out of the gate, but had a steady rate of improvement over the course of his college career. In 2011, he started all 13 games and led the team in snaps played with 966. In 2012 spring practices, Stankiewitch was named the offense’s Most Improved Player, and as a senior, he started all 12 games for Penn State. He was named to the Coaches All-Big Ten first-team.

•Sudfeld: The Nevada product is massive — 6-foot-7, 255 pounds — and started all 13 games this season for the Wolfpack, catching 45 passes for 598 yards to go along with nine touchdowns. He’s also gained some measure of notoriety for his blocking skills, and given the medical uncertainty surrounding Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez this spring, could certainly get his chance to impress the coaching staff prior to the start of training camp.

•Fisher: Already one of the best Twitter feeds on the roster, Fisher is an offensive lineman who excelled at the collegiate level with Mizzou, but has been hampered by injury. Fisher was an All-Big XII honorable mention at left tackle in 2009 and 2010, but struggled with injury over the last two seasons: first, he missed the 2011 season with a ruptured patella tendon. He was hurt again in 2012, suffering an MCL strain that forced him to be carted off the field. (Also, did we mention his Twitter feed? If there’s a rookie who could challenge Brandon Spikes for the role of most interesting Tweeter, Fisher could be the one.)

ALWAYS GET A QUARTERBACK

Since Tom Brady took over as the starter in 2001, the Patriots have drafted six quarterbacks: Rohan Davey, Kliff Kingsbury, Matt Cassel, Kevin O’Connell, Zac Robinson and Ryan Mallett. In addition, they’ve signed undrafted free agents Brian Hoyer and Matt Gutierrez. But for the first time in several years, the Patriots didn’t pursue a quarterback in the draft or as an undrafted free agent. This could bode well for current backups Ryan Mallett and Mike Kafka.

Sun, 04/28/2013 - 9:58am — Anonymous
Steve Beauharnais (42) was in the middle of the action as a linebacker at Rutgers. (AP)

Steve Beauharnais (42) was in the middle of the action as a linebacker at Rutgers. (AP)

FOXBORO — Maybe he got it from being around Bill Belichick‘s son all the time. Maybe he is just that conscientious about his studies. Or maybe he just didn’t want to sit in front of a TV all day hoping his name would be called.

Whatever the reason, when Steve Beauharnais was drafted by the Patriots on Saturday with the team’s second and final seventh round pick, he wasn’t paying attention to the draft.

“I’m actually doing class work, I’m still inschool so I’m doing class work right now,” Beauharnais said in a conference call with reporters after being selected.

So he wasn’t watching the draft?

“No, I wasn’t watching but I had it on the speaker in the other room,” he said. “I was aware of everything that was going on.”

His initial reaction?

“I was excited, but I had work to do and I always focus on the task at hand,” Beauharnais said. “I was excited though.”

Certainly, Belichick was more than aware fo Beauharnais’ work habits before Saturday. Steve Belichick now works for his dad on the coaching staff. Before the Patriots, the younger Belichick played with the run-stopping Beauharnais at Rutgers on special teams as the long snapper.

“I knew him very well,” Beauharnais said of Belichick’s son Steve. “We were actually good friends. His locker was right next to mine, with the ‘B’ letter of our last names.”

Beauharnais became the third Rutgers product to be selected in the draft, joining defensive backs Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon. Of course, the Patriots roster is already decorated with Scarlet Knights in Devin McCourty and Justin Francis.

Here is the rest of Saturday’s conference call with reporters.

Q: Did you Rutgers guys all get together and have a huge party?

SB: No, but it is a great opportunity to be drafted by the Patriots.

Q: Have you had a chance to talk to Logan Ryan or Duron Harmon yet?

SB: No, I have not.

Q: Did you go to St. Joseph’s High School at the same time as the McCourty twins?

SB: No, I didn’t. I was at Saddle Brook for three years and transferred over to St. Joe’s for one year in 2008, but they were long gone by then.

Q: Do you know Justin Francis and talk to him at all?

SB: I know Justin Francis. I played with him for three years, three good years and I haven’t spoken to him yet.

Q: What do you think has made you Rutgers teammates so appealing to the Patriots?

SB: I don’t know. You’d have to ask the Patriots for that reason but obviously there’s something they see in us that they do like.

Q: Give us a capsule feel for what your game is like.

SB: I’m a great run stopper. I always have a good presence in the middle and that’s the way I like to play – hard-nosed football.

Q: I’ve seen some different things out there. What’s your height and weight?

SB: I think they were pretty accurate on TV: 6-1, 240.

Q: What’s your background on special teams?

SB: My background on special teams? Well, I do punt, punt block, kickoff, kickoff return. I touch base on every special team there is.

Q: I got the impression that you’re kind of a student of the game. Would you agree with that?

SB: Yes, I do.

Q: How are you with film study? Is it take charge on the field? How would you describe that aspect?

SB: Well, it’s film study. I put a lot of hard work and dedication into my craft and just by being a sponge around everybody and putting extra time in, I became pretty [good] at that.

Q: What is it like seeing so many of your teammates go ahead of you in the draft?

SB: It was a great feeling. When Duron Harmon got picked, it was great, when Logan Ryan got picked. Kasheem Greene got picked earlier today. It was great. They all deserve it. They’re hard working players.

Q: Were you concerned at all that your name wasn’t going to be called?

SB: At first, yeah I was. But I knew whenever I’m going to go that I’m going to do my best and I know I’m going to be presented an opportunity and every time I’m going to take advantage of it. That’s how I got this far in this process, so it’s the reason I went where I went.

Q: Did you get any indication that the Patriots were going to select you?

SB: I really honestly didn’t know; I didn’t know if they were. I knew they have very good linebackers up there, so it was I guess a decision they wanted to make. I’m not sure.