These days, it seems like New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman is everywhere. He’s recently been in the news for his t-shirt within a t-shirt off with TE Rob Gronkowski.
Now Edelman is making waves in something new.
He’s hosting his own YouTube talk show entitled “Burgertyme with Julian Edelman”. His first guest is teammate Chandler Jones.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced on Monday the signing of fourth-round draft pick OL Bryan Stork and sixth-round draft picks OL Jon Halapio and DB Jemea Thomas.
In addition, the Patriots signed rookie free agents CB Malcolm Butler (West Alabama), WR Derrick Johnson (Maine) and LB Taylor McCuller (West Texas A&M).
Terms of the contracts were not announced.
DRAFT CLASS SIGNINGS
Bryan Stork, 23, was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft with the 105th selection overall out of Florida State. It was the first of four fourth-round selections by the Patriots. The 6-foot-4, 300-pounder started in 41-of-51 contests that he appeared in, including each of his final 35 games at center. Stork won the Rimington Trophy in 2013, given to the nation’s top center.
Jon Halapio, 22, was selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft with the 179th overall selection out of Florida. It was the first of three sixth-round selections by the Patriots. The 6-foot-3, 320-pounder appeared in 51 games with 43 starts and was elected a captain twice by his teammates.
Jemea Thomas, 24, was selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft with the 206th selection overall out of Georgia Tech. It was the third of three 2014 sixth-round selections by the Patriots. The 5-foot-10, 195-pounder played 54 games, tying for the most in Georgia Tech history, and he played every position in the secondary. Thomas finished his career with 234 total tackles ad nine interceptions.
ROOKIE FREE AGENTS
Malcolm Butler, 24, began his college career at Hinds (Miss.) Community College in 2011 before transferring to West Alabama for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder was a first-team All-GSC selection as a junior and senior. Butler led the GSC with 18 passes defensed last season.
Derrick Johnson, 22, tied for the team lead with 60 receptions for 608 yards and two touchdowns in 2013 for Maine. The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder finished his college career with 116 receptions for 1,165 yards and four touchdowns.
Taylor McCuller, 24, played in 38 games with 30 starts and finished with 281 total tackles, four forced fumbles and recovered two fumbles. The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder was granted an extra year of eligibility after suffering an injury in 2009 after redshirting in 2008.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced today the signing of fourth-round draft choice, OL Cameron Fleming, seventh-round draft choice WR Jeremy Gallon, sixth-round draft choice, DL Zach Moore and fourth-round draft choice, RB James White. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.
In addition, the Patriots also signed second-year LB Darius Fleming and three rookie free agents – S Jeremy Deering (Rutgers), LB James Morris (Iowa) and LS Tyler Ott (Harvard).
Darius Fleming, 24, was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round (165th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. The 6-foot-2, 255-pounder, missed his first two NFL season due to injury. Over a four-year career at Notre Dame, he finished with 157 total tackles. He was released by San Francisco on May 12, 2014.
Cameron Fleming, 21, was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft with the 140th selection overall out of Stanford. It was the third of three 2014 fourth-round selections by the Patriots. The 6-foot-6, 318-pounder started all 39 games that he appeared in for Stanford and earned All-Pac 12 Conference second-team honors last season.
Jeremy Gallon, 24, was selected by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft with the 244th selection overall out of Michigan. The 5-foot-8, 184-pounder was a four-year letterman, who appeared in 51 games at wide receiver and as a punt and kick returner. Gallon holds the school record for receiving yards in a single season with 1,373 yards in 2013.
Zach Moore, 23, was selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft with the 198th selection overall out of Concordia-St. Paul. It was the third of three 2014 sixth-round selections by the Patriots. The 6-foot-6, 285-pounder played in 39 games at Concordia-St. Paul and set school records with 33 sacks and six forced fumbles.
James White, 22, was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft with a 130th selection overall out of Wisconsin. It was the second of three 2014 fourth-round selections. The 5-10, 195-pounder, played in 52 games with 12 starts and finished his career fourth all-time at Wisconsin with 4,015 rushing yards and third with 45 rushing touchdowns.
ROOKIE FREE AGENTS
Jeremy Deering, 23, began his career at Rutgers as a running back in 2010 before moving to wide receiver in 2011 and then to safety as a senior in 2013. The 6-foot-1, 209-pounder played in all 13 games with 10 starts at safety for Rutgers in 2013 and finished with 39 total tackles and one interception.
James Morris, 22, was just the sixth player in Iowa history to record 400 career tackles after finishing with 400 tackles, 10 1/2 sacks and six interceptions as a three-year starter. The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder was named a team captain in 2013 and started in all 13 games and finished second on the team with 107 total tackles, eight sacks and four interceptions.
Tyler Ott, was a tight end and a long snapper at Harvard. The 6-foot-3, 245-pounder, was invited to the senior Bowl following his senior season in 2013 after handling all longs napping duties and seeing action at tight end, finishing with 15 receptions for 188 yards and four touchdowns.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots signed nine rookie free agents on Monday, May 12. The nine rookie free agents are TE Tyler Beck, RB Roy Finch, S Shamiel Gary, LB Cameron Gordon, DB Travis Hawkins, RB Stephen Houston, TE Justin Jones, LB Deontae Skinner, and TE Asa Watson.
Tyler Beck, 23, appeared in 49 games during his four-year career at Bowling Green and caught 25 passes for 348 yards and three touchdowns. The 6-foot-2, 257-pounder caught 10 passes for 177 yards for a 17.7 yards per catch average as a senior in 2013.
Roy Finch, 22, played in 47 games with 10 starts for Oklahoma, finishing his career with 262 rushing attempts for 1,412 yards and eight touchdowns. The 5-foot-7, 167-pounder also added 58 receptions for 442 yards and two touchdowns and returned 47 kicks for 1,099 yards with one touchdown. Last season, he played in 13 games with two starts and finished with 59 rushing attempts for 347 yards and caught 12 passes for 91 yards.
Shamiel Gary, 23, played his first two college seasons at Wyoming (2009-10) before transferring to Oklahoma State and redshirting in 2011. The 6-foot, 210-pounder started every game in 2012 and 2013 at strong safety. Last season, he started all 10 regular season games in which he played and finished with 47 total tackles. As a freshman in 2009, he intercepted three passes in his first collegiate game.
Cameron Gordon, 22, was a four-year letter winner at Michigan, who appeared in 45 games with 15 starts at linebacker. The 6-foot-3, 237-pounder began his career as a wide receiver as a redshirt in 2009 before being moved to safety in 2010 and linebacker in 2011. Last season, he played in 12 games with two starts and finished with 38 total tackles, four sacks and one forced fumble.
Travis Hawkins, 23, transferred to Delaware after two seasons at Maryland. The 5-10, 195-pounder, had 66 total tackles, four interceptions and eight passes defensed last season and was named first-team all-conference in 2013.
Stephen Houston, 22, finished his college career at Indiana fourth on the school’s all-time list with 25 rushing touchdowns, sixth with 29 total touchdowns and ninth with 2,304 rushing yards. The 6-foot, 230-pounder was ninth in school history with nine 100-yard rushing games. Last season, he rushed for 753 yards on 112 attempts for 6.7-yard average and five touchdowns. He spent his first two college seasons at Independence (Kans.) Community College before transferring to Indiana in 2011.
Justin Jones, 22, was a three-year starter and finished his career with 52 receptions for 598 yards and 12 touchdowns. The 6-foot-8, 277-pounder was not eligible to play last season. As a junior in 2012, he played in 13 games with five starts and caught 25 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns.
Deontae Skinner, 23, was a three-year starter at Mississippi State. The 6-foot-2, 250-pounder first earned a starting position at linebacker as a sophomore in 2011. Last season, he played in 11 games and finished with 64 total tackles.
Asa Watson, 23, played in 36 games for North Carolina State and caught 29 passes for 351 yards with one touchdown. The 6-foot-3, 237-pounder is the brother of former Patriots TE Ben Watson.
In the final day of the 2014 NFL Draft the New England Patriots had seven picks to make with three selections in both the fourth and sixth rounds plus one in the seventh.
With pick 105 (4th Round) they selected C Bryan Stork of the National Champion Florida State Seminoles. A former tight end, Stork is 6’4″ 315 pounds and was a consensus All-American, an Outland Trophy finalist and winner of the Rimington Award as the nations best center.
With their second selection of the fourth round New England selected Wisconsin RB James White. White ran for 1440 yards as a senior and had nine 100-yard games in 2013. He is known for good ball control having only fumbled twice in his career and can catch the ball out of the backfield.
With their final fourth round pick (140) the Patriots added even more beef and some brains to the offensive line by selecting an Aeronautics and Astronautics major from Stanford G/T Cameron Fleming. A self described “science nerd”, he wanted to be an astronaut but at 6’5″ 330 pounds he was too big.
After no fifth round picks the Pats had three 6th round sections.
With the 179th pick they grabbed their third big offensive lineman G Jon Halapio out of Florida. At 6’3″ 323 pounds he is considered a forceful blocker but lacks agility. Started 43 games for the Gators.
With their second selection of the 6th round (198) New England drafted DE Zach Moore out if Division II Concordia. At Concordia he set school records in sacks (33) and forced fumbles (6). Moore is 6’5″ 269 pounds and can play the end in a 4-3 or linebacker in a 3-4 set.
The Patriots wrapped up their sixth round by selecting DB Jemea Thomas of Georgia Tech with the 206th pick. Thomas was a four year starter and had 3 INT’s his senior year. At 5’10” 195 pounds he is physical has good read/react instincts and can play safety or corner.
With their final pick in the seventh round (244) they selected Michigan WR Jeremy Gallon who is just 5’7″ and 185 pounds. Gallon who had 170 catches in his career for 2,677 yards and 17 TD’s is the Wolverines single season receiving yards leader (1,373) and holds the B10 record for single game receiving yards with 369. That single game total is second all-time in NCAA history. Gallon also has experience returning both punts and kickoffs.
photo credit: ian bethune – sox & dawgs
The New England Patriots traded their third round pick the 93rd selection to Jacksonville for the Jaguars picks in the 4th (105) and 6th (179) rounds.
With the 62nd pick of the 2014 NFL Draft the New England Patriots selected Eastern Illinois QB Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo, who is 6’3″ and 226 pounds, started 45 games and had a 23-22 overall record but finished his senior season with the team going 13-1.
In his career at EIU he completed 1,047 passes in 1,668 attempts good for 63%. He threw for 13,156 yards, 118 TD’s and 51 INT’s.
He is very mobile, has a quick release, compact release, strong accurate arm and makes all the throws. He loves to play uptempo, he’s tough, smart and doesn’t take bad sacks. The biggest knock is he has small hands and a high fumble percentage.
photo credit: ken trevarthan/journal gazette & times-courier
With the 29th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft the New England Patriots selected DT Dominique Easley out of the University of Florida.
Easley, 22, was a three year starter for the Gators. He played in 32 games in parts of four seasons totaling 72 tackles and 18 tackles for loss between 2010-13.
While at Florida, he tore both of his ACL’s one against FSU his sophomore year and another just three games into last season. Due to the injuries he had a redshirt year of eligibility remaining but he decided to forego it for the draft.
Easley can play defensive tackle or end, is a good pass rusher, has run stopping ability and excellent pursuit effort. He is also labeled as relentless, energetic and a hard worker.
photo credit: getty images
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that they have signed DE Will Smith. Terms of the contract were not announced.
Smith, 32, is a veteran of 10 NFL seasons with the New Orleans Saints (2004-13) after joining the team as a first round draft pick (18th overall) out of Ohio State in 2004. The 6-foot-3, 282-pounder was released by the Saints on Feb. 12, 2014.
Smith has played in 139 NFL games with 120 starts and has accumulated 457 total tackles, 67 1/2 sacks, 25 passes defensed, two interceptions, 20 forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries. He has started in eight postseason games and added 22 total tackles, one interception and one forced fumble. Smith was named to the Pro Bowl in 2006 after finishing with a career-high 10 ½ sacks.
Smith spent the entire 2013 season on injured reserve with a knee injury suffered during training camp.
photo credit: getty images
The NFL released the 2014 schedules for all 32 teams on Wednesday night and of course we have the New England Patriots 2014 Schedule for you.
Here’s the full press release from the Patriots:
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The National Football League announced the 2014 regular season schedule tonight and the New England Patriots and their fans learned that the team will host the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 4:25 p.m. and is scheduled to play in five nationally-televised games during the regular season, including two at Gillette Stadium. The first prime time home game will be October 5 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals on NBC (8:30 p.m.) followed by a Thursday night game 11 days later on October 16 against the New York Jets on NFL Network/CBS (8:25 p.m.).
The 2014 season will mark the third straight year that the Patriots will play against the Jets on Thursday Night Football. Last season, the Patriots beat the Jets, 13-10, in a Week 2 matchup on NFL Network. In 2012, the Patriots traveled to face the Jets in a Thursday game on Thanksgiving night at MetLife Stadium and earned a 49-19 victory. Including this year’s game, four of the last five Thursday games for the Patriots have been against the New York Jets.The Patriots are scheduled to be featured in four other prime time games, including three NBC Sunday Night Football contests and one ESPN Monday Night Football game. On Sept. 29, the Patriots will make their only appearance on ESPN’s Monday Night Football when they travel to face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. It will be New England’s first trip to Kansas City since 2005. The two teams last met in a Monday night matchup on Nov. 21, 2011 at Gillette Stadium with the Patriots claiming a 34-3 victory.
The Patriots will play in back-to-back primetime games when they follow the Kansas City game by hosting the AFC North Champion Cincinnati Bengals on NBC’s Sunday Night Football on Oct. 5. The Patriots traveled to Cincinnati last season with a 4-0 record before suffering their first loss of the year in a 13-6 decision at Paul Brown Stadium.
The Patriots will travel to face the AFC South Champion Indianapolis Colts in a rematch of the AFC Divisional Playoff game in a Sunday night contest on Nov. 16 at 8:30 p.m. The Patriots rolled to a 43-22 victory over the Colts in the postseason last year to advance to their third-straight AFC Championship Game. The Patriots and Colts will face off for the 12th consecutive year. The two teams have met at least once in the regular season or postseason since 2003, playing 14 games (10 regular season game and four postseason games) over that span. It is the longest active streak for two non-division opponents and tied for the second-longest of all-time with Cincinnati-Seattle (12) from 1984-1995. The AFC East and AFC South are scheduled to play again in 2015 and the streak will tie Minnesota-San Francisco (1983-1995) as the longest ever. The Patriots will also travel to San Diego to face the Chargers on Sunday Night on Dec. 7.
In addition to the five scheduled nationally-televised games, the Patriots will be the featured game of the week twice. New England will host the Denver Broncos in a rematch of the 2013 AFC Championship Game on Nov. 2 at 4:25 p.m. on CBS and play at Green Bay on Nov. 30 on CBS at 4:25 p.m.
The Patriots will play each of the other AFC East rivals twice and will play one game against each of the AFC West and NFC North teams. As the AFC East Champions, the Patriots will play the 2013 division winners of the AFC North (Cincinnati) and the AFC South (Indianapolis).
PATRIOTS 2014 SCHEDULE WEEK-BY-WEEK
The New England Patriots will open the 2014 season with four of their first six games on the road, including the first two games away from Gillette Stadium for the first time since 2003. The Patriots will be looking for their 11th straight opening day win to tie the Miami Dolphins for second-longest streak behind Dallas with 17 from 1965-81. The Patriots kick off the regular season when they travel to Miami to face the Dolphins on Sept. 7 at 1:00 p.m. The Patriots open the season against Miami for the eighth time in team history and first time since a 38-24 win at Miami in 2011. New England starts the season on the road for the fourth consecutive year, the longest such stretch since starting the season away from home six straight years from 1964-69.
New England stays on the road for a Week 2 clash at Minnesota against the Vikings on Sept. 14 at 1:00 p.m. (EST). The Patriots will face the Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium, the home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, while the Vikings new stadium is being constructed. New England last played in a college stadium in 2003, a 33-30 win over the Chicago Bears at the University of Illinois while Soldier Field was under construction.
The Patriots welcome the Oakland Raiders for their 2014 home opener on Sept. 21 at 1:00 p.m. The Raiders have visited Gillette Stadium only once before, a 30-20 Patriots win in the 2005 season opener. New England will be looking to improve on its 11-1 record in home openers at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots play their only Monday Night Football game of the season when they make their first trip to Arrowhead Stadium since 2005 to square off against the Chiefs on Sept. 29 at 8:30 p.m. (EST). New England has played in every other NFL city since then, with the exception of St. Louis. The Patriots return to prime time in Week 5 at Gillette Stadium for a matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 5 at 8:30 p.m. New England has not dropped a home contest to the Bengals since 1986.
New England hits the road again in Week 6 for its annual visit to AFC East foe Buffalo on Oct. 12 at 1 p.m. The Patriots then return to Foxborough for three straight home contests for the first time since 2007, starting with a Thursday night matchup against the New York Jets on Oct. 16 at 8:25 p.m., followed by a Week 8 visit from the Chicago Bears on Oct. 26 at 1:00 p.m. Chicago is winless in three trips to Foxborough. The Denver Broncos visit Foxborough on Nov. 2 at 4:25 p.m. in a game that features the 16th all-time matchup between
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Brady owns a 10-5 edge over Manning in the regular season and playoffs. After the Bye Week, the Patriots return to prime time with a matchup at Indianapolis against the Colts on Nov. 16 at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday Night Football.
The Detroit Lions make just their second trip to Foxborough in 20-plus years on Nov. 23 at 1:00 p.m., before the Patriots hit the road for two straight away games. The Patriots first travel to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 30 at 4:25 p.m., followed by a Week 14 matchup at the San Diego Chargers on Sunday Night Football on Dec. 7 at 8:30 p.m. (EST). This will be the Patriots first West Coast trip since 2012.
New England closes out the regular season with three straight games against AFC East opponents. The Miami Dolphins visit Foxborough on Dec. 14 at 1:00 p.m., followed by the final regular-season road trip against the New York Jets on Dec. 21 at 1:00 p.m. The Patriots close out the regular season schedule for the fifth consecutive year at home when they host the Buffalo Bills in the regular-season finale for the second straight season on Dec. 28 at 1:00 p.m. It will be the fifth time in team history (1971, 1975, 1981 and 1987) that the Patriots will close out the season against three division opponents.