Latest news with #PatriotsHallofFame
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Patriots training camp, Day 3: Back at it
Safety Jabrill Peppers, who wears No. 5, joked, 'I keep telling him to take that No. 5 off. But he told me to go check in on the Patriots Hall of Fame. There's nothing I can say to come back from that.' Fair enough! Here's what to know for Friday. Friday's training camp schedule Friday's practice is open to fans, with access beginning at 9:15 a.m. If you'll be one of the many in attendance at Gillette, here are some tips: ▪ Pick a low vantage point for individual drills, a high one for team drills. Advertisement ▪ Memorize the roster and jersey numbers cold. ▪ Take note of the pairings and combinations. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up ▪ Grade the one-on-one battles, and be descriptive. ▪ Take note of the game situations. ▪ Listen to what the coaches are telling the players. At 9:45 a.m., head coach Mike Vrabel will talk to the media. Practice begins at 10 a.m., and a handful of players will speak to reporters after. What to know about the Patriots ▪ The Patriots' offensive line doesn't want to talk about last season. 'It's a new year,' right guard Michael Onwenu said. 'We're excited about this year.' As Yang notes: 'The offensive line, unable to effectively pass protect or run block consistently, has been a pain point for the Patriots amid their rebuild. Last season, Advertisement 'Those statistics mean that Patriots offensive linemen were among the worst in the NFL in both sustaining their blocks for longer than 2.5 seconds on passing plays and creating open lanes on designed running plays. They also ceded the highest pressure rate on dropbacks (40.7 percent), according to NFL Next Gen Stats.' Ouch. ▪ Christian Barmore spent much of Thursday working out on his own. The defensive tackle was out much of last season with blood clot issues. Barmore, who is listed at 315 pounds, said he played between 315 and 325 the last two years. He's aiming to be between 300 and 305 by the start of the season, working with director of sports performance Frank Piraino. 'I feel lighter, and I feel way quicker,' Barmore explained. 'And feel like I move way better. It's the best I've felt moving since I've been in the league. So, I feel really well.' ▪ Former Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich was a special guest at Thursday's practice. ▪ No practice again for Ja'Lynn Polk, who remains sidelined for undisclosed reasons. The sooner Polk can return to the field, the better his chances of making the 53-man roster. He's competing for a spot alongside Javon Baker, Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, and undrafted rookie Efton Chism. ▪ Cornerback Carlton Davis also was not spotted during Thursday's practice. Davis opened training camp on NFI but practiced Wednesday. His availability is worth monitoring, as the 28-year-old has never played a complete NFL season. Advertisement ▪ Tight end Austin Hooper, wide receiver Mack Hollins, and tackle Vederian Lowe also remained sidelined for the second straight day while on PUP. Undrafted rookie defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie was a new absence. Katie McInerney can be reached at
Boston Globe
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Mike Vrabel is going to make the Patriots better, but it's up to the players to make this team truly successful
But Vrabel, of all people, as a former player, knows a coach can only drive success so far. It's still about the players, their ability, their improvement, and their execution. That's the engine of NFL success. So, Vrabel Vibes alone aren't going to transform the Patriots into a 10- or 11-win team. Sorry. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Vrabel the Coach will undoubtedly make this team better. But the Patriots would benefit even more from guys that emerge like Vrabel the Player, circa 2001, if they're going to escape the gravitational pull of resetting and rebuilding to soar. Advertisement Vrabel can point the way, but the players have to walk the path. 'Yeah, for sure, at the end of the day, it always comes down to us,' said All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez. 'We're the ones out there playing. We're the ones out there having to win and make plays. So, it all comes down to us. They can coach us. They can teach us all the techniques, all the tools, all the coverages, but we've got to go out there and execute. So, we've got to be better.' Advertisement The unbridled optimism generated by Vrabel's presence is understandable. He's a proven winner as a player and a coach. He's a familiar face whose visage adorns the outside of the Patriots Hall of Fame and whose playing career put him inside it. He sports ties to and embodied the Patriot Way, even if he once joked as coach of the Tennessee Titans, 'Isn't that the street the movie theater is on?' in response to this scribe. There's no question that Vrabel, the team's third head coach in three seasons, is a significant upgrade over his predecessor, neophyte Jerod Mayo. One and done, Mayo contributed to his demise with But the primary culprit in his undoing was a wholly inadequate roster that was the worst in the NFL, surrounding a rookie quarterback in Drake Maye. Through free agency and the draft, the Patriots and holdover executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf The draft brought left tackle (we think) Will Campbell, a dynamic home run threat in running back TreVeyon Henderson, and a promising pass catcher in Kyle Williams. Free agent shopping provided proven reinforcements in Stefon Diggs, Milton Williams, Harold Landry, Robert Spillane, Carlton Davis, Morgan Moses, and Garrett Bradbury. Related : If most of those additions pan out and Maye — the real Human Vessel of Hope — takes the expected leap forward under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, then Vrabel boasts much more moldable clay to shape a winner than the desiccated detritus of 2024. Advertisement The players have fully embraced Vrabel, his personality, and his messaging. That's a win. But to win more in 2025, the players have the most vital part to play. 'I think it falls back to that old saying of, 'Players play and coaches coach,' ' said special teams maven/safety Brenden Schooler. ' … The coaches can only do so much, but as long as the leaders who are supposed to be leaders on the team are your best players on the field, then those guys are going to raise the standard and raise the bar.' A coach trying to inspire a turnaround is part preacher, part teacher, and part parent. Vrabel must get his players to believe to coax them past their limits and limitations. As such, he's not going to confess that his impact as a coach is muted by how talented the players are. 'My job, my biggest job and one of my most important jobs, is to try to get the individual to be able to maximize their earning potential within what we're trying to do as a football team, right?' But he did address it this offseason Ultimately, the job of any coach is to squeeze the most out of the talent they're handed. Vrabel has a proven track record. You don't go to an AFC Championship game in 2019 and win 2021 AP Coach of the Year without the services of a premium quarterback (no offense, Ryan Tannehill) without being able to do so. Advertisement With his cutting wit, Vrabel cuts the figure of a kinder, gentler, modern version of Bill Parcells. Vrabel has zero problem dressing down a player or a media member in the name of accountability. 'I think Coach Vrabel brings a different vibe … He brings a different vibe from the years previous where it's not, you're not scared, but you know like he's not messing around,' said Schooler. 'If you're not on your P's and Q's, and you're not doing exactly what you're asked to do, how you're asked to do it, then I don't think guys are going to be sticking around long … But there's also the excitement that he brings, and the energy that he brings because being a former player he knows the difficulties that we have to go through. So, to have him at the helm, I think it's going to be beneficial for us.' Beneficial, yes. Completely determinative of the team's success in 2025. Unlikely. Folks should've been disabused of the erroneous notion of the coach as organizational centerpiece during Belichick's four seasons post-Brady. So, be excited, be hopeful, be optimistic. But if the uptick in player ability doesn't match the upgrade in coaching, then Vrabel's record will be closer to Belichick's and Mayo's than fulsome forecasts of nine, 10, or 11 wins. Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
USA Today
01-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Julian Edelman reveals father's initial reaction to retirement news
Julian Edelman already revealed the moment he knew he would be walking away from football for good. However, he also talked about his father's reaction to his decision to call it a career when appearing on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. Edelman went down early in the 2020 season with a knee injury, and he knew the road to recovery would have been too long as an aging wide receiver. After three Super Bowl titles and a Super Bowl MVP, he finally made the decision to retire from the sport. "I remember when I told my dad I was retiring. He told me, 'You finally smartened up,'" said Edelman. "And he said that because he said, 'It's kind of like a fighter pilot. You have to be willing to die doing your job. You have to be on that edge of reckless to go out and do what you have to do. And the day where you have to think about going to the reckless is the day you're done.'" Edelman has been selected as the next inductee into the Patriots Hall of Fame. He was one of the greatest postseason performers in NFL history, trailing on Jerry Rice and Travis Kelce in receptions (118) and receiving yards (1,442). Over a span of 12 seasons, he recorded 620 receptions for 6,822 receiving yards and 36 touchdowns with the Patriots. Edelman had a career that saw him get hit numerous times, and he sacrificed his body to make incredible catches. He ended up becoming one of the Patriots' greatest receivers in franchise history, as well as a favorite target of legendary quarterback Tom Brady over the years. Perhaps even more admirably, he knew when it was time to hang up the cleats. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
USA Today
12-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Patriots announce Tom Brady statue to be unveiled in August
Patriots announce Tom Brady statue to be unveiled in August Show Caption Hide Caption Is it time for Patrick Mahomes to pass Tom Brady as the GOAT? Pending a possible history making three-peat, Lorenzo Reyes and Tyler Dragon talk Patrick Mahomes being considered the "greatest of all time." Sports Seriously Mark your calendars, New England Patriots fans. On Thursday, the Patriots announced the date for unveiling a bronze statue of quarterback Tom Brady outside Gillette Stadium: August 8. Team owner Robert Kraft initially revealed the plans to build the statue exactly one year ago Thursday during the ceremony to enshrine Brady into the Patriots Hall of Fame. "Last year we commissioned a local sculptor to create a larger-than-life, bronze statue to perpetuate the legendary legacy of this once-in-a-lifetime player," Kraft said. The statue, which is the first the team has built for any player, will be 12 feet tall, Kraft said at the time. TOM BRADY: Seven-time Super Bowl champ texts Shedeur Sanders about NFL draft slide Though the team initially planned to unveil the statue during the 2024 season, those plans were eventually pushed back to 2025. So the new date, just under two months away, will instead coincide with the Patriots' first preseason game against the Washington Commanders. Brady spent the first 20 years of his 23-season career with New England, winning six Super Bowls, four Super Bowl MVPs and three NFL MVP awards over that span. He played the final three seasons of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won one more Super Bowl and another Super Bowl MVP award before retiring after the 2022 season. Brady began his television broadcasting career with Fox during the 2024 season, serving as the color commentator for the network's lead broadcast team alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. He made his Super Bowl broadcasting debut earlier this year during the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl 59 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Brady will become eligible for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2028.
USA Today
10-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
New York Giants legend Bill Parcells to be inducted into Patriots Hall of Fame
New York Giants legend Bill Parcells to be inducted into Patriots Hall of Fame Legendary New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells will soon add to the long list of honors that currently line his resume. In addition to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Giants Ring of Honor, Parcells will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Saturday, September 20 at 4:00 p.m. ET on the Patriot Place Plaza. Parcells served as head coach of the Patriots from 1993 to 1996, helping restore credibility and competitive success to a struggling franchise. Inheriting a team that had gone 14-50 over the previous four seasons, including an NFL worst 2-14 season in 1992 and 1-15 season in 1990, Parcells made an immediate impact. In 1994, he led the Patriots on a season-ending seven-game win streak to secure their first playoff berth in eight years. The performance earned Parcells NFL Coach of the Year honors. After finishing 6-10 in 1995, the Patriots rebounded with an 11-win season in 1996, tying the then franchise record for wins and earning their first division title in a decade. After a convincing, 28-3, victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional playoff game in foggy Foxborough, the Patriots hosted their first AFC Championship game and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-6, to reach Super Bowl XXXI, marking just the second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Parcells was a Patriots Hall of Fame finalist five times (2011, 2012, 2014, 2020 and 2023) before his 2025 induction. A Pro Football Hall of Famer (Class of 2013), Parcells is the only head coach in NFL history to lead four different teams to the playoffs and three different teams to a conference championship game. He is also a member of the Patriots 1990s All-Decade Team. Although Parcells' career success transcends what he did with the Giants, he is most well-known for his time as linebackers coach (1981-1982), defensive coordinator (1979, 1981-1982), and head coach (1983-1991) of Big Blue. During his time with the Giants, Parcells led the team to two Super Bowl championships, including their first ever (1986). He was also named Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year, The Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year, and AP NFL Coach of the Year that season. Parcells will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame alongside wide receiver Julian Edelman.
