New England Patriots

When assessing the Patriots’ recent run of success in the seventh round of the draft, it’s clear they employed a similar approach last month with defensive end Michael Buchanan, who has the tools to be another success story.Buchanan had as high as a third-round grade, but his baggage from a couple incidents at Illinois caused his fall. That’s similar to cornerback Alfonzo Dennard in 2012 and defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick in 2010. The Pats also nabbed quarterback-convert Julian Edelman in 2009, eyeing a talented athlete with an impending learning curve.

When Patriots quarterback Tom Brady signed a contract extension this offseason, there was a belief that he did it in order to help the team re-sign Wes Welker because Brady’s deal opened an additional $15 million in cap space over the next two seasons. Yet, the Patriots and Welker never really got close before the receiver darted to Denver.Brady made sure to clear up any perceptions about that philosophy when he spoke to WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan yesterday.

As much as Tom Brady likes Wes Welker as a friend and teammate, he did not ask the Patriots to retain the receiver around as part of the contract renegotiation and extension the quarterback signed in February.

Defensive end Chandler Jones is heading into his second season with the New England Patriots and he is expecting big things. He recently gave an interview with Patriots Football Weekly and talked about his added weight. He played at 260 pounds his rookie season, and this offseason he has added 10 pounds, making him 270 pounds, and he said it is to make him stronger: “I had a great offseason. I put on a lot of weight, a lot of muscle actually, my biggest thing wasn’t just putting on weight. Some guys will put on weight and they’ll run slower. I feel like I really haven’t missed a step with the 10 pounds added. The weight was good. It’s muscle mass.” Adding strength wasn’t the only thing he focused on this offseason, it was also having a better knowledge of the playbook: “Being more familiar with the calls. For a call to be called and me to know it like the back of my hand so, if I was to hear a call, boom I’d be like the back of my hand, so, if I was to hear a call, boom I’d be right there — be ready. Not just on the field, but off the field. Just having the film study and things of that nature.” Jones believe the work he has put in this offseason will jump his production up to the likes of J.J. Watt: “I feel like a lot of that production comes from guys being more familiar with the game, you go into your rookie year, and your rookie year you get those pregame jitters. Now, I’m going into sophomore, you’re more fluid and more comfortable even communicating with guys next to you. Less thinking and more just green light — going. So, I’m excited to attack this Year 2.” When asked if fans can expect 19 sacks from him this season he replied “Every Pats fan should accept that.”

Written by Rich Arleo Edited by Marc Caviglia To help better prepare you for your upcoming 2013 fantasy football drafts we have has decided to take a close look at each team’s depth and predict how each players role will play out during the 2013 NFL season. These fantasy football depth charts will cover every position, however the main focus will be on the running back and wide receiver positions, since fantasy football owners have the toughest time projecting these positions. Keep in mind our NFL Depth Charts are fantasy football specific. ::UPDATED: MAY 23, 2013 Denver Broncos Depth Chart QB1: Peyton Manning | QB2: Brock Osweiler | QB3: Zac Dysert RB1: Montee Ball | RB2: Willis McGahee | RB3: Knowshon Moreno | RB4: Ronnie Hillman | RB5: Lance Ball WR1: Demaryius Thomas | WR2: Wes Welker | WR3: Eric Decker | WR4: Tavarres King TE1: Joel Dreesen | TE2: Jacob Tamme K: Matt Prater 2012 In Review The Denver Broncos brought in Peyton Manning with the hope he could overcome his neck issues and revert back to Hall of Fame form, and that’s exactly what he did. Manning threw for a whopping 4,658 yards, good for sixth best in the league, to go along with 37 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions (105.8 quarterback rating). Manning gained an instant rapport with receivers Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. Thomas became a top-flight WR1 with 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns while Decker was also a top 20 receiver with 1,064 yards and 13 touchdowns. Veteran Brandon Stokley also made some plays with 544 yards and five touchdowns. Manning also found his tight ends Jacob Tamme and Joel Dreessen. Tamme led the duo with 544 yards and two touchdowns while Dreesen scored five times with 356 yards. The run game also flourished with Manning under center. Willis McGahee was on his way to a big year before his season ended with yet another knee injury. After McGahee went down, Knowshon Moreno filled in well as both a receiver and runner. Rookie Ronnie Hillman showed some talent in limited time but he may not be able to cut it as a workhorse back, while Lance Ball fell out of favor and was limited to 42 carries all season. At kicker, Matt Prater had another very solid season and has established himself as one of the beck kickers in the NFL. What to Expect in 2013 Denver will look to build on a great season as much of the group returns…along with one big addition. Wes Welker left the New England Patriots and joins Thomas and Decker to form quite simply the best wide receiver corps in the league and in fantasy football as well. All three should be starting fantasy football receivers; the only issue may be with Decker as he could lose some targets to Welker. Thomas should remain unaffected, but all three will put up very good numbers. Manning owners can expect more of the same as long as the neck issues don’t flare up. He should be drafted as a top 5 fantasy football quarterback in re-draft formats and repeat with about 4,500 yards and 35-plus touchdowns. With Welker basically replacing Stokley, he could be even better. The backfield situation heading into 2013 is not as clear as the passing game. Montee Ball was taken in Round 2 of the NFL Draft and immediately has the most upside out of anyone in the backfield. McGahee and Moreno both are recovering from knee issues and the Broncos could look to pair him with Hillman while letting go of either (or both) of the veterans. Hillman should be able to see consistent carries this year along with Ball. McGahee and Moreno are only worth late-round picks at this point, and either could be jobless before the season starts. Tight ends Tamme and Dreessen return and will likely see a pretty even split of targets for a second straight year. They are tough to trust as anything other than bye week replacements. It’s rather random which back produces each week, so starting either one of them will always be a risk. Prater is one of the best fantasy football ki

It has been so many seasons now, I sometimes forget how much I loved the 'old' Patriots... the gritty, hard nosed, blue collar team of the early 00s, the team that relentlessly ground its opponents into dust and physically beat up the best teams in football. I loved watching that Defense go to work, watching Offenses flail away futilely, whether it was Manning's Colts or Martz's Rams, or when it was a slugfest between two like minded teams, such as when the Ravens and Patriots went smashmouth football in a mudbowl back when Gillette still had natural grass. I remember how clearly I saw the changes coming, when they traded for Moss and signed Stallworth. A part of me dreaded what I watched in the draft and FA moves in '06 and '07, the Defense was all but ignored in favor of building up a glitzy, point-a-minute Offense. Soon the shut-down Corner was gone, soon the Linebacker corps every NFL team had learned to respect, if not fear, was nothing but a memory, and the D-line was a shadow of its former self. I forgot what it was like to watch a hard nosed group ride guile, balance, guts and toughness all the way to three Super Bowl victories in four years. Spikes is such a player, personality wise, he falls somewhere between a Brian Cox and Dick Butkus, though perhaps not as skilled as either... still, Spikes started 14 games last season, the most of his three year career with the Patriots. He was second on the D with a career-high 129 tackles while forcing five fumbles Remove Spikes from the middle, for any reason, and there is really no depth at the position, unless they move Mayo back, or Dont'a Hightower could move inside, or perhaps even Steve Beauharnais. Certianly Dane Fletcher is in the mix at the position, but I think we all like him as a sub and change of pace option, rather than the every game starter going into the season. Instead of Spikes' absence from OTAs being a sign of troubles ahead, I'd like to think that this fiery player is focused on preparing himself for the upcoming season like he has never prepared for a football season before. Spikes' attitude and on-field aggression is contagious, even veteran players like Mayo respond to it, play with more intensity because of it. The Defense needs more of that type of spark, not less. I read that Spikes stopped using Twitter this past February, something he has used to his own detriment at times, for years now. His last tweet was on February 28, and it stated simply enough: "TRANSFORMATION" At the end of the day, the Patriots have all the speed, size, athleticism, players that they need... what they are missing on that Defense is that tenacity, that determination, that devotion and unity that comes with a group of players committed to one another, and to beating down whoever comes their way, until they give way. No one on the Defense embodies that mentality more than Spikes. That is really what football is all about, and that is why despite all the great fantasy football stats, and record breaking performances the Offense has put up the last half dozen years, they have no Lombardi Trophy to show for all their efforts. High powered Offenses, even the greatest of all time, do not win championships. The team that knows how to shut down such Offenses, does. It has been so many seasons now, I sometimes forget how much I loved the 'old' Patriots... the gritty, hard nosed, blue collar team of the early 00s, the team that relentlessly ground its opponents into dust and physically beat up the best teams in football. I loved watching that Defense go to work, watching Offenses flail away futilely, whether it was Manning's Colts or Martz's Rams, or when it was a slugfest between two like minded teams, such as when the Ravens and Patriots went smashmouth football in a mudbowl back when Gillette still had natural grass. I remember how clearly I saw the changes coming, when they traded for Moss and signed Stallworth. A part of me dreaded what I watched in the draf

NFL rosters are expanded to 90 players during this portion of the offseason, making it far from uncommon to see multiple players from one school trying to make the same team at the professional level. The Patriots have a trio of players from Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois and Florida too, but those totals are largely overlooked because the team currently employs eight -- yes eight -- players from Rutgers. The connection to Rutgers is apparent for head coach Bill Belichick, as his son Steve (now a Patriots assistant coach) was on the football team there and Belichick has grown close to former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, now the Buccaneers head coach.

There's no doubt that some of Brian Urlacher's belongings will wind up in the Hall of Fame, including, of course, his bust. But he might also have a pair of cleats that have found a home in the trash.

As someone who mails it in at work on a regular basis, the NFL offseason is tough for me. The amount of reading material available to me is slim, and to be honest there are only so many YouTube searches for the words "fail," "fart," and "prank" that a man can do before he wants something a little more meaningful. And so I was pleasantly surprised recently when I went to ESPN.com, one of the many stops on the Alec Shane Office Slackoff Tour, and discovered that a panel of experts will be counting down the 20 greatest NFL coaches of all time. The countdown officially began today, with Tony Dungy kicking things off at the 20 spot. Now while this list should be fun to talk about, will possibly ignite some discussion/debate, and should give us all something interesting to read over the coming weeks, I'm very aware that it's ultimately pretty much just filler, a cheap trick by uncreative journalists to fool their audience into thinking that they have more actual insight than they really do. Most of us see through ruses like this, but we don't say anything because we're just grateful to read something football-related. It's actually pretty shameful, to be honest; I mean seriously, who does that? And since there isn't much else NFL to talk about at the moment, I may as well buy in. While I'm going to hold off on commenting on whether or not Dungy belongs on this list, especially considering some of his competition, I did find myself wondering: Where will Bill Belichick land on this list? Obviously, as a card-carrying, out-and-proud Patriots homer and unflinching Belichick apologist, I have to say it's the one spot or bust. Bill Belichick is the GOAT and that's just the way it is. Now to those that think I'm out of my mind, I guess I could take a step back and be willing to consider him for the Top 3. Sure, there are some coaches on the ballot who have had better records than Belichick, and some have won more championships. And yes, some may possibly have had a more profound impact on the game as a whole. But how many have done what Bill Belichick has done in this day and age? How many have found such consistent success in the Free Agency Era without the benefit of being able to slowly assemble a winning team that stays cohesive across multiple seasons? And how many have the winning percentage combined with multiple championships (not to mention even more championship appearances)? None, that's who. Objectively, I guess I could see Belichick falling as low as 7, but anything lower than that will be a crime. I'll definitely be curious to see how this list ends up - whether they decide to make it an actual representation of the greatest coaches of all time, or if they decide to go the NFL Network route and throw a few curve balls in there to rile up the fans and get a bunch of angry comments on the message boards. What do you think? Where will Bill Belichick ultimately end up on the All-Time Greatest List? Poll Where do you think Bill Belichick will end up on ESPN's 20 Greatest Coaches in NFL History? Top 5 Top 3 Number 1 All-Time Outside the Top 5 18 votes | Results

On Wednesday, longtime Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher announced he would be retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons. It capped off what was a sensational career, as Urlacher made eight Pro Bowls and provided outstanding leadership and play for the Bears, helping to lead them to a Super Bowl XLI appearance. Not long after his retirement announcement, Urlacher appeared on the "Dan Patrick Show" to discuss his decision and recall some of his most memorable plays from his career.