The New England Patriots are set to play the San Diego Chargers on Sunday night, as the news and rumors ramp up.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Brady Trusts LaFell
Wide receiver Brandon LaFell has earned Tom Brady’s trust, becoming one of his best targets.
LaFell has 53 receptions for 712 yards, both of which are third on the team.
And that’s after he had zero catches after two games.
“Learn this playbook, because that’s been the toughest challenge,” LaFell told the Boston Globe when asked how he avoided becoming a poor free agent signing.
“My coach has been telling me, the guys that [were] here, they couldn’t learn the playbook. And being on the same page with Tom, just seeing things out of his eyes, meeting with him, talking to him: ‘Hey, man, where do you want me to be on this?’ or ‘What did you see from the defense that I really didn’t see, that you want me to do?,’ stuff like that.”
He said that he'll ask to stay on the field to repeat plays until they’re right.
He also said Aaron Dobson helped him learn the playbook.
Brady has targeted LaFell 86 times so far this season.
Pats Need Hightower
The Patriots could really use Dont'a Hightower against the Chargers, Mass Live noted.
“Hightower, who injured his right shoulder versus Green Bay, has been limited in practice all week. When he went through stretching and warmup jogging (the only portion of practice the media can watch), it was obvious that Hightower wasn’t moving his right shoulder much at all,” it said.
“It was also obvious that he wasn’t doing any drills that absolutely required full range of motion from that shoulder. So it’s tough to tell.”
“Against the pass-heavy offenses they’ve recently faced, the Patriots have often played a 4-2-5 set with Collins and Hightower as the linebackers,” it added.
“If Hightower is out, Collins would likely take over as the quarterback of the defense, making playcalls and adjustments. Candidates for more snaps at the other linebacker spot include Jonathan Casillas, who has been with the team for five weeks; Darius Fleming, promoted from the practice squad a week ago; and possibly Akeem Ayers.”
Gronkowski on ‘Bieber Curse’
Rob Gronkowski was asked about the so-called “Bieber Curse,” after the Patriots lost to the after Gronkowski and other teammates hung out with Justin Bieber at a Los Angeles Clippers game.
“We’re just on to San Diego,” Gronkowski told reporters.
“We’re just worried about the Chargers, man.”
He declined to say anything else about the subject.
Meanwhile, the Chargers Antonio Gates offered some advice to Gronkowski.
“I’m a firm believer in being physical. But then there are unnecessary hits you don’t have to take. Some people think you can’t be physical and not have aggression. We talk about having aggression, but still staying fundamentally sound. What that means is you go out, play hard, and be physical, but still play smart at the same time,” he told reporters in a conference call, reported CSN.
“I think that’s what maybe [Gronkowski] has added to his repertoire this year. Or that’s something that maybe the majority of young guys need to understand. It’s a very physical game. It’s not like college. These guys are getting paid millions of dollars to come out and play and you have to take care of yourself. You have to take care of yourself.”
Gronkowski said it would be cool to talk to Gates and learn from him.
Belichick Says Chargers ‘Have a Lot of Weapons’
New England coach Bill Belichick says his Patriots have a lot to get ready for with the streaking San Diego Chargers coming up this weekend.
“They have a lot of weapons; they do a lot of things well,” Belichick said Friday as the Patriots neared the end of their week in San Diego.
Slowing Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is among the focal points.
“He’s a great quarterback,” said defensive end Rob Ninkovich, who leads the Patriots with six sacks. “He can make every throw so we just have to do a good job of being on top of all the targets and making sure that we make him uncomfortable.”
That wasn’t the case with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers last Sunday. Rodgers was sacked once as he threw for two touchdowns and 348 yards in the 26-21 win over the Patriots.
“Last week is a completely different story,” Ninkovich said. “That guy can get out of the pocket and he’s more of a scrambling quarterback, and he makes a lot more plays with his feet. (We’re) moving on from last week. Last week was a different game plan, and this week is something different, so we just have to go out there and execute.”
New England (9-3) practiced this week at the University of San Diego, having traveled to Southern California after losing to the Packers.
“We’ve had great cooperation from all people that we’ve worked with,” Belichick said. “It’s been really good.”
The Patriots will likely be without linebacker Chris White (ankle) on Sunday. He didn’t practice on Friday and is listed as doubtful, the only Patriots player expected to miss the game.
The Chargers (8-4) were encouraged by the return of right tackle D.J. Fluker and center Chris Watt; both are questionable.
Fluker didn’t practice Thursday with a concussion. Watt was absent since exiting Sunday’s win over the Baltimore Ravens with a calf injury.
Nose tackle Ryan Carrethers (elbow) is out and will miss his third consecutive game.
Hernandez Doesn’t Want Jury to Hear of ‘Bad Acts’
Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez asked a judge Friday to bar prosecutors from telling a jury at his upcoming murder trial about evidence of his other alleged crimes, including the fatal shootings of two Boston men in 2012.
In a motion filed Friday, Hernandez’s lawyers argued that any evidence of so-called “bad acts” are not relevant to the murder charge against him in the 2013 killing of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd. Hernandez’s trial in that case is scheduled to begin next month in Fall River Superior Court.
Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in all three killings.
Hernandez’s lawyers said evidence about the double slaying in Boston in 2012 and other alleged crimes would risk “undue prejudice” against Hernandez in the Lloyd trial.
Prosecutors filed a notice in October listing 30 subjects of “potential other prior bad act evidence,” including other shootings, gun trafficking, firearms possession, drug use and a drunken driving arrest, Hernandez’s lawyers said in their filing.
“If permitted to use all, or even much, of this evidence, the commonwealth will have succeeded in transforming a murder trial into a wide-ranging, collateral attack on the defendant’s personal history, character, lifestyle and propensities,” Hernandez’s lawyers wrote.
They argue that if evidence of the double slaying is presented at the Lloyd trial, it would “grossly undermine” Hernandez’s right to a fair trial.
“It will be difficult enough for Hernandez to get a fair trial in this case without having to defend against two completely separate murder allegations (different time, different place, different weapon, different evidence) before the same jury simultaneously!” his lawyers wrote.
Hernandez’s lawyers also want the judge to bar evidence about an incident outside a Providence nightclub in May 2013. Hernandez’s lawyers said Hernandez was visiting the club with friends when they were “confronted, threatened and/or attacked by a larger, belligerent group.”
As Hernandez and his friends went to their car, someone threw a handgun under a parked car. Hernandez’s lawyers say the handgun was not the murder weapon in the Lloyd case and Hernandez was not the person who threw it.
“There is absolutely no factual connection between this incident and Odin Lloyd and his shooting death,” his lawyers wrote.
Hernandez’s defense team said they also object to prosecutors introducing any evidence of the shooting of Hernandez’s friend, Alexander Bradley, in Florida in February 2013.
Bradley told police in Florida that he did not know who shot him in the face. Hernandez has not been charged, but Bradley later filed a federal lawsuit against Hernandez seeking monetary damages.
“Undoubtedly, the commonwealth would like to suggest to the jury that Hernandez has a propensity for shooting his friends for one reason or another. Under this theory, if the jury finds that it was Hernandez who shot Bradley, the jury could then jump to the conclusion that it was Hernandez who shot Lloyd as well,” Hernandez’s lawyers wrote.
“This is precisely the kind of outlandish, flawed reasoning which our criminal justice system prohibits.”
A spokesman for Bristol County prosecutors declined to comment.
Prosecutors suggested earlier that the encounters in Boston, Providence and Florida show a “common pattern” of violence by Hernandez following disputes at nightclubs.
Lloyd had been at a Boston nightclub with Hernandez and others days before his body was found about a mile from Hernandez’s North Attleborough home.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
