here's a pats thread for everyone to talk about patritos shit because nobody else cares

but hey if my afc team is going down this road at least i can root for my other....

http://thehill.com/homenews/news/314733-r#dskins-owner-attends-exclusive-trump-inaugural-celebration

https://media.giphy.com/media/XccaUYZ2EHAhG/giphy.gif

https://twitter.com/BenVolin/status/822265112094527493

only a Trump presidency could get me to root for the Steelers and here we are

i will not let trump take the sports from me too

goodell slinking away while kraft referenced the last 2 years, trophy in hand, was everything i hoped it could be

the wall of booos and then Kraft's masterpiece of passive aggression were beautiful

https://vimeo.com/202405729

nice

i like to imagine they kept the only original of that in a zip drive and at half time it was in the microwave ready to be destroyed. the shame if they lost and it leaked

goodell slinking away while kraft referenced the last 2 years, trophy in hand, was everything i hoped it could be

― Roberto Spiralli, Sunday, February 5, 2017 10:51 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol when goodell first approached brady on the field to shake his hand he tried to exist asap and brady didnt let go

please enjoy this clip of the entire stadium booing goodell as he hands them the lombardi

http://streamable.com/7n7v9

OK. It's Monday. I am so done with this now.

https://twitter.com/janovember3/status/828997667351097345/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Matt Patricia stepping up his shade game:

https://twitter.com/LeadingNFL/status/828748921904074752/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

new england patriots: hate roger goodell, love donald trump, ok, got it.

thank you devin mccourty and martellus bennett for joining the resistance.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C4FHP5mWYAQ3KaS.jpg

xp

I'm fine with criticizing the Trump love, it's pretty WTF. Don't really get why anyone would want to defend Goodell on a Pats thread though...

don't think anyone is defending goodell. i'm not. i am questioning where these adults are choosing to focus -- and not focus -- their resistance energy in 2017.

gonna go out on a limb and call that the stupidest thing i've ever seen posted on ilx, congrats

nah, this was definitely stupider. me on tim tebow, aug. 31, 2013:

i find all the talk about how his nfl career is clearly over to be way premature. he's a competitor, he's got incredible desire, character of course, and some very obvious football skills unrelated to throwing a ball to a human target. he ain't done.

enjoy the parade. keep hatin'.

fair

here's my own overlong response:

I'm all for team members expressing their opposition to Trump, but I'd hardly expect the whole team to be on the same page about this or for there to be some grand political statement from the Patriots regarding Trump, either pro or con. I suspect there's a significant portion of the team that is either uninterested in politics or uncomfortable with making public political gestures. There's also likely to be plenty of team members (and people in pro sports in general) with disgusting political views that they hopefully won't feel compelled to share with the rest of the world.

OTOH, I'd be willing to bet that the entire Patriots organization has very specific feelings about Roger Goodell, and that they are very unified in their opinions. This is a topic that surely hits close to home for all of them. However, if someone in the Patriot's org is outspoken about Goodell or has strong feelings about that situation, that in no way implies that they do or do not have thoughts about US politics, or that they are pro or anti Trump.

It makes sense to applaud political engagement when it happens, but I don't know what the point is of complaining that someone from the Pats' org shouldn't have strong feelings on a topic that has direct impact on them, but instead should focus on something that they may or may not be interested in.

basically, Spiralli otm

football is bad and fascist if you are going to like football you might as well root for the villains imo, luv the pats f the h8rs

i certainly don't expect all of my favorite teams and athletes to always share my political views. i don't expect all of them to even have political views. i get that. of course. and i think roger goodell is a buffoon. i also think the season is over, the game has been won, and if you're going to be out on the streets of america in 2017 protesting those who you think have done you wrong, even just with a silly t-shirt, it would be wise to maintain a sense of perspective and consider who in america is really being wronged right now, and what they stand to suffer vs. what you stand to suffer.

i think mccourty and bennett have shown true character -- more character than anyone showed on the field on sunday -- and i salute them.

and i'm sure i sound like the masshole that i am. another kind of masshole, maybe. but still a masshole.

not trying to rain on anybody's parade. seriously.

“Who’s getting wild tonight?” Gronk asked before handing off the mic. Teammate Devin McCourty could be heard saying something about “69,” which made Gronk chuckle.

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--1Ln5Nhfd--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/qldsuddhqktgtntqbdpl.jpg

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--eMTFfn3Y--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/qinphilsqhzrmn91wrio.jpg

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--GlxSunRi--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/ywwmsxg4sbgjr4ej5uxa.jpg

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--zY3kEnlv--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/yfodlnmhjup1ljzlqflp.jpg

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--k8veLwiD--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/tf7gixrf6lnbblpezzos.jpg

gronk 4 life

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C4GHLvUWcAIK1_X.jpg

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/aaron-hernandezs-double-murder-trial-what-you-need-to-know-234629668.html

BOSTON — Five months removed from catching a Tom Brady touchdown pass in the Super Bowl, and less than six weeks from finalizing a $40 million contract extension with the New England Patriots, Aaron Hernandez and his friend Alexander Bradley stood in a garage in Manchester, Conn.

It was about 10 p.m. on Sunday, July 15, 2012, and Hernandez wanted to go up to Boston and hit a nightclub. The hour and a half-plus drive meant nothing. Boston was where Hernandez was a star, the big city where they could get ushered into VIP sections and have patrons, particularly women, fawn over him.

Hernandez popped the hood of a Toyota 4Runner a Rhode Island dealer loaned him for free. He slipped a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson into a secret cylinder installed near the engine block. It was a way to conceal a gun, particularly if pulled over by police. It was something out of “The Wire.” The purpose was unclear.

Hernandez had no criminal record, no gang ties and was involved in no outside criminal activities. Growing up in Bristol, Conn., he was raised in a two family home in a town with little to no significant gang activity or even violent crime.

He was, by 2012, a 22-year-old NFL star, headed into a lucrative third season with an again Super Bowl contender. He could have carried a legal weapon in the vehicle. Bradley was a convicted cocaine dealer but was nothing more than a ride along that night. The hidden gun cylinder felt mostly like a guy trying to live a life out of the movies.

This is the beginning of the story Suffolk County prosecutors in Boston will tell to a jury of 12 in the latest murder trial of Aaron Hernandez. It begins Wednesday morning in courtroom 906.

The prosecution’s story will continue like this:

Weapon secured, the hood was dropped and Hernandez and Bradley headed to Boston’s Theatre District. There, inside the Cure Nightclub, Hernandez bumped, literally, into a Cape Verdean immigrant named Daniel de Abreu. Some of Hernandez’s drink was spilled. Abreu, 29, had been a police officer in Cape Verde but was working as a janitor in Boston. He didn’t know Hernandez or much about football. He smiled but didn’t apologize. Hernandez grew enraged. He told Bradley he felt Abreu was “trying him.”

Later, after hitting a couple more clubs, Hernandez was still angry. He and Bradley headed to the Toyota as closing time neared and Hernandez retrieved the weapon from under the hood. They then got in the SUV and circled around the block, looking for Abreu and his party. The hunt was successful, Hernandez spotting them after they left Cure. He ran a nearby red light so he could catch them in pursuit.

The borrowed 2003 BMW Abreu was driving sat innocently at a stoplight down the street where, the prosecution’s story will continue, Hernandez pulled up alongside, lowered a window and began firing.

He hit Abreu, 29 in the chest, killing him. He hit passenger Safiro Furtado, 28, another Cape Verdean-born janitor, in the head, killing him as well. Three more shots went into the backseat, where three stunned and terrified passengers sat. Aquilino Freire was struck twice, in his arms, but survived. Two others barreled out the other door and fled on foot.

Hernandez, out of bullets, kept squeezing the trigger anyway. Soon he slipped onto the Mass Pike and headed back to Connecticut. Detectives in Boston arrived on a scene with few clues and no easy explanation. No one could figure out why the incident had occurred. The idea it might be the Patriots’ star tight end never entered anyone’s mind. Its randomness led to initial suspicions it was just another stupid gang killing, a too frequent occurrence in the city.

aaron hernandez killed two people and tried to kill three more, it's kind of crazy how he was a serial killer and a mass murderer at the same time

stephon gilmore contract is 5-year, $65m w/ $40m guaranteed. can't really imagine butler was asking for more than that so i guess they like gilmore more? no way butler can be expected to stick around on the 1 yr deal when this contract has been given out. struggle to give credence to the cooks swap but a trade likely on the cards.

meanwhile, branch back at 2yrs/$12m and harmon $5m/yr. supposedly reasonable chance hightower is back. defense seems like it will stay in reasonable shape.

bummed about losing ryan to tenn at reasonable money. now really unsure what their plan at cb is. probably draft a 5th round prospect with #32

trade 4 #KONY

lol. part of the fill for the situational rushers they let go i guess. not sure what the equivalent value of moving 8 spots in the draft is but can't be that much.

idk what the hard on for brandin cooks is all about but paying more than a 1st rounder for him seems p gross to me. hope i end up regretting this post but...

some trades today by ye olde patritos hehe

Joseph Hoyt‏ @JoeJHoyt 1h1 hour ago
In total: The #Patriots gave up the 32nd pick, No. 64 & No. 103 for Brandin Cooks, Kony Ealy & the 72nd pick. Bill Belichick is a wizard.

idk know enough abt football to tell if this is good, ppl on twitter seem to think it is tho

i think the hardon for cooks is:

espn: New Patriots WR Brandin Cooks is 1 of only 3 players to record at least 75 receptions, 1,000 receiving yards, and 8 receiving touchdowns in each of the last 2 seasons. The others are Odell Beckham Jr. and Antonio Brown.

he is really good and he fits their offense.

that sound pretty good to me!

nb i have no idea what bill's grand plan is but he sure does keep it interesting

hopefully cooks is the exception but a lot of dudes have put up big #s with brees throwing to them in the superdome and then looked subpar elsewhere. 1st rounder + is a big deal, especially when the next pick they have (currently) is in the 3rd.

lots of dudes have put up big numbers with brady throwing to them outdoors

based on all i have read we're not talking about like lance moore or robert meachem--he can play the slot, run different routes, and make plays after the catch

feel like the pats have never picked up any sort of big deal receiver before its either via draft or cast offs

the cooks and gilmore transactions are both really unusual ones for the pats

wonder if belichick feels like the market has shifted

maybe. seems like he isn't into this draft class very much.

it makes me uncomfortable. i'd feel so much better if they'd just convinced amendola to cut his salary to league minimum and went into the season with justin coleman and prince amukamara on a 1 yr 7m deal as starting cbs

one thing i heard on the radio that was an interesting point was that when the falcons focused on taking away edelman in the super bowl the pats didn't really have anyone who could make plays after the catch. they figured out how to get the ball to mitchell and hogan outside but both those guys are sort of catch and fall down types. i think a lot of the cooks move has to be about getting in front of an edelman decline.

well this is interesting. seems relevant...
https://www.mockdraftable.com/player/brandin-cooks