#julian-edelman

#julian-edelman

Patriots "We run the same play, but we just flip two guys and now it looks like a completely different defense."FOXBORO - Mac Jones and the Patriots' offense had a rough afternoon on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.During multiple 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, New England's starters on offense struggled to orchestrate sustained drives down the gridiron.

Tyquan Thornton impressed in his second regular season game.Could he put together the best season we've seen out of a Patriots rookie WR under Bill Belichick?In his second career regular season game, Tyquan Thornton began to show some of the promise Patriots fans expected to see when he was drafted in the second round out of Baylor.

Free agency officially began just last week, and the Patriots have already made several moves that appear, at least on paper, to improve the team.However, Bill Belichick's decision not to re-sign fan favorite and beloved teammate Jakobi Meyers has not sat well with those in New England.Even Meyers himself seemed bothered upon seeing the contract JuJu Smith-Schuster received from his old team, a deal very similar to the one he got from the Raiders.

Entering the offseason, the New England Patriots must determine which positions they can revamp with new personnel as well as which free agents to re-sign.The NFL league year kicks off on March 15, and the Patriots are already making savvy moves in anticipation of the increased cap space.The Patriots couldn't afford to cut tight end Jonnu Smith, but they did manage to offload him to the Atlanta Falcons for a seventh-round pick.

The miraculous Marcus Jones punt return wasn't a miracle play for the rookie return specialist: Jones has been making these kinds of plays for years.In 2020, the Patriots drafted Lenoir-Rhyne cornerback Kyle Duggar with the No. 37 overall pick, the highest pick spent on a Division II player in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Jakobi Meyers is the recipient of the New England Patriots ' 2022 Ed Block Courage Award, the team announced on Thursday.The award is given out annually to players who "best exemplify the principles of courage and sportsmanship while also serving as a source of inspiration."Meyers is certainly deserving of the honor, which is named after the Baltimore Colts' long-time athletic trainer.

Commentary  A few scattered thoughts on what's happening with the Patriots, where they stand, and where they're headed.Like the delightful Marcus Jones, who has fast become the best thing about this Patriots season, we'll be all over the place with this one ...
· Maybe I'm in the minority on this, but I've found myself being cautiously optimistic about the near future - meaning next season rather than this Sunday or next.

Patriots Adrian Phillips, Jalen Mills, Jack Jones and Marcus Jones were absent from practice on Thursday.As the Patriots prepare to face the Dolphins on Sunday in a pivotal late-season matchup with serious playoff implications, a new question has emerged alongside the existing woes on the offensive side of the ball.

The New England Patriots last met with the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 15 back in 2019.The Patriots won this game with a final score of 34-13.Patriots Changes
The following nine players were on New England's 53-man roster in 2019 who are still on the active roster in 2022.RB Damien Harris, WR Jakobi Meyers, DE Deatrich Wise Jr., DL Lawrence Guy Sr., LB Ja'Whaun Bentley, CB Jonathan Jones, S Devin McCourty, LS Joe Cardona, ST Matthew Slater

Offense: The Patriots offense is pretty much completely different coming into this game as no starters from that 2019 game remain.

It's time for Minnesota Vikings fans to band together and name "another Minneapolis Miracle" - and the second-worst Matt Ryan meltdown of all time.On Saturday, the Minnesota Vikings made NFL history with the biggest comeback in the league's history: a roaring 33-point return to glory that allowed the Vikings to take it to overtime and win it 39-36.

The New England Patriots last faced off with the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 2, 2018.The game was played at Gillette Stadium and saw the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots come away with a 24-10 victory.Let's see what has changed since then.Patriots Changes
The following nine players, who are still on the active roster in 2022, were on New England's 53-man roster in 2018:

OT Trent Brown, C David Andrews, G James Ferentz, DE Deatrich Wise Jr., DL Lawrence Guy, CB Jonathan Jones, S Devin McCourty, LS Joe Cardona, ST Matthew Slater

Offense: Almost the entire offense has changed since the 2018 matchup as Mac Jones is now the starting quarterback.

Morning Sports Update "I took a visit to the New York Giants, and they offered me a contract."Tonight, the Bruins face the Panthers in Florida at 7 p.m.The Celtics host the Mavericks at 7:30 p.m.
On Thursday, the Patriots face the Vikings at 8:20 p.m.And on Friday (2 p.m. ET), the United States men's soccer team faces England in the second game of the World Cup group stage.

Morning Sports Update The Red Sox and Yankees could end up competing to sign Senga along with a few other teams.The Bruins defeated the Lightning 5-3 on Monday, taking the team's record to 17-2-0 on the season.Boston will face the Panthers in Florida on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Also on Monday, the Celtics saw a nine-game winning streak end in a 121-107 defeat to the Bulls.

Patriots "We did have fun," Chris Long said, contrasting with comments a former Eagles teammate of his made.Former Patriots defensive end Chris Long was put in an uncomfortable spot in the days after his Eagles team defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl LII.Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson said at the time that "'The Patriot Way' is a fear-based organization" and the players "act like [expletive] robots."