March 2015 - New England Patriots Wiretap

Patriots Waive Chris Harper After Muffed Punt

Nov 30, 2015 7:33 PM

The New England Patriots have waived Chris Harper, who muffed a critical punt in the fourth quarter of their loss at the Denver Broncos.

Harper is an undrafted rookie out of Cal and will likely return to the practice squad if he clears waivers.

The Patriots are thin at receiver due to injuries to Julian Edelman (foot) and Danny Amendola (knee), as the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Harper served as the No. 3 option against the Broncos.

Mike Reiss/ESPN

Tags: New England Patriots, Free Agent Rumor, Misc Rumor, Waiver

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Rob Gronkowski Only Suffered Minor Knee Strain

Dec 1, 2015 12:12 PM

Rob Gronkowski escaped serious injury during Sunday's loss by the New England Patriots.

Gronkowski suffered a "minor knee strain" and the timeframe is "a week or two most likely."

Gronkowski's 2013 season ended with a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee.

Adam Schefter/ESPN

Tags: New England Patriots, Fantasy, Injury

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Patriots Optimistic Rob Gronkowski Escaped Serious Injury

Nov 30, 2015 11:04 AM

The New England Patriots are optimistic Rob Gronkowski may have escaped serious injury to his right knee.

Gronkowski was carted off the field and he was walking from the X-ray room with a slight limp.

"We think he is going to be OK," the source said.

Gronkowski's presence in the locker room immediately after the game was viewed by some players as an encouraging sign.

Gronkowski suffered the injury with 2:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, when Denver defensive back Darian Stewart hit him low on an incomplete pass.

Mike Reiss/ESPN

Tags: New England Patriots, Fantasy, Injury

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Aqib Talib: Triple-Team Needed To Stop Gronkowski

Nov 28, 2015 1:03 PM

Aqib Talib said you need to triple-team Rob Gronkowski in order to slow him down.

Talib and Gronkowski were teammates for the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

"Uh ... triple-team," Talib said, via the Denver Post. "It's his size and that speed. And that quarterback."

Ryan Wilson/CBS Sports

Tags: Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Injury

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Danny Amendola Out For Week 12 Against Broncos

Nov 29, 2015 2:42 PM

Danny Amendola won't travel with the New England Patriots for their game against the Denver Broncos.

Amendola will miss the game due to a knee injury.

The Patriots are left with receivers Brandon LaFell, Keshawn Martin, and Chris Harper. Martin is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury.

New England will likely feature more two tight end sets featuring Rob Gronkowski and Scott Chandler.

Kevin Patra/NFL.com

Tags: New England Patriots, Fantasy, Injury

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NFL's Tom Brady Appeal Hearing Set For March 3rd

Nov 23, 2015 4:04 PM

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has scheduled oral argument in the Tom Brady case for March 3.

The Brady case eventually could end in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Whoever loses before the Second Circuit will have appeal rights. However, the Supreme Court first must agree to accept an appeal before resolving it.

Mike Florio/Pro Football Talk

Tags: New England Patriots, Suspension

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Rob Gronkowski Won't Change Style Despite OPI Calls

Nov 19, 2015 5:49 PM

Rob Gronkowski has been penalized four times for offensive pass interference, but he's not prepared to change the way he plays the tight end position.

"I'm not doing anything wrong," Gronkowski said Thursday, when asked what he can do differently to prevent OPI calls. "I'm playing football. ... I'm not changing my style."

In 2014, Gronkowski was penalized for OPI twice over the course of the entire season.

As for his frustration level with the calls, he said, "We're playing well as an offense. It's not that frustrating when I get the penalty and someone else makes a play on third-and-long. That definitely helps out right there, but got to just keep playing the game."

 

Mike Reiss/ESPN

Tags: New England Patriots

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Julian Edelman Suffers Broken Foot

Nov 16, 2015 1:49 PM

Julian Edelman has suffered a broken foot and the remainder of his season is in danger.

The injury is to his fifth metatarsal and believed to be a true Jones fracture.

Edelman could possibly return at some point in the playoffs.

Mike Garafolo/FoxSports

Tags: New England Patriots, Fantasy, Injury

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Belichick Cares More About Receivers Blocking Than Their Fantasy Stats

Nov 14, 2015 6:42 PM

The New England Patriots heavily feature pick plays and their receivers are asked to block a lot in general.

“Technique is important, willingness is important," said Bill Belichick. "Again, there are a lot of things that go into blocking. No. 1 is doing the right thing, knowing who you have to block, a lot of times blocking secondary players, you have to make secondary players, you have to make decisions as to which player to block. We always want to block the most dangerous guy, the guy that can get there first, I would say most of the time, not all the time, but most of the time.

“Like on (Rob) Gronkowski's touchdown pass, block from the receiver helped spring him, vice versa. Rob's blocked well for them. I think that's really an under-appreciated part of their job, tight ends and the receivers. It's all about the stat sheet and fantasy catches or however that stuff works. Those guys go out there and compete every play and that helps a lot of other guys. That means a lot to our football team.”

Jared Dubin/CBS Sports

Tags: New England Patriots

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Tom Brady Believes 2007 Patriots Are NFL's Best Team Ever

Nov 12, 2015 12:18 PM

Tom Brady believes the 2007 New England Patriots are the best team in NFL history.

The Patriots lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl that season.

"We had such a great team. To me, the greatest team that ever played in the NFL," Brady told the New York Daily News's Gary Myers two years ago while Myers was working on a book about Brady and Eli Manning. "We won so many games against the toughest competition that year by big margins. Wes Welker and Randy Moss in the prime of their careers at the same time along with Jabar Gaffney. We had a good running game, a great offensive line. Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi, Asante Samuel -- we had incredible talent and our offense was so prolific. It was an incredible year. Then to lose -- we lost to a really good football team who played really well that particular day and it took some pretty great plays to beat us."

Ryan Wilson/CBS Sports

Tags: New England Patriots

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Dion Lewis Out For Season With Torn ACL
Dion Lewis had rushed 49 times for 234 yards and two touchdowns to go with 36 receptions for 388 receiving yards and another two touchdowns this season.

Jim McBride/Boston Globe

NFL Compares Deflategate To Black Sox In Appeal Briefs
The NFL filed a 59-page brief to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as part of its appeal of Richard Berman's decision to vacate the four-game suspension of Tom Brady.

Albert Breer/NFL.com