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Five Things from the Patriots Locker Room 11.08.10 at 8:11 pm ET
By Christopher Price
Patriots Football

Deion Branch said that on Sunday there were too many instances when players were “running around, making up plays, making up routes.” (AP)

Five things we got from the Patriots locker room on a relatively slow Monday afternoon:

1. Running better routes. There were several occasions on Sunday where the New England offense looked out of sync, and on many of those occasions, it appeared quarterback Tom Brady and one of the younger receivers — Brandon Tate, Danny Woodhead, Aaron Hernandez — were not on the same page. (There was one instance where Woodhead came back to the huddle with a puzzled look on his face and his palms up as if to say, “What happened?”)

That’s why it was interesting to hear two veteran pass catchers, speaking independently of one another on Monday afternoon, saying the receivers and tight ends in the Patriots offense can’t be doing too much freelancing. Deion Branch mentioned that Sunday there were too many instances when players were “running around, making up plays, making up routes.”

“We didn’t execute our plays,” Branch said. “It takes all 11 guys to do one job. If we’re running the ball to the right, we have to set up and do everything [correctly]. We have to block right. If we’re trying to throw the ball, the receivers have to be at the right depth when Tom [Brady] is ready to throw the ball. Tom has to make the throws and we have to make the catches.”

Tight end Alge Crumpler echoed the point.

“For us, it’s important for us to go out there and do our job, run our route the way we’re coached to run our route, and catch the football when it’s thrown to us,” said the veteran tight end.

2. Branch makes a promise. The receiver, who was one of three guys (a group that included Crumpler and cornerback Kyle Arrington) to talk at length with the media on Monday afternoon, said he promised a “totally different team” on Sunday against the Steelers than the one that struggled in an ugly 34-14 loss to the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday.

“It’s going to be a different team, I’m going to tell you that right now,” Branch said on Monday afternoon. “I’ll promise you all that. It started today. We’re expecting a totally different team.”

In the wake of Sunday’s loss, both Brady and defensive lineman Vince Wilfork blamed a bad week of practice. It was a point echoed by Branch on Monday afternoon.

“It showed up,” Branch said of how the bad week of practice extended to the field on Sunday. “Whatever you do in practice is going to show up in the game [and] it showed up in the game. We didn’t practice good on Wednesday, Thursday had an OK practice, and then Friday. … How do you expect to play a great game on Sunday?”

3. Rob Gronkowski. After playing so well for the first seven games of the season as a rookie, he finally looked like … well, a rookie against the Browns. He dropped multiple passes that certainly appeared catchable, he looked to be the one at fault in the blown kick return in the first quarter that resulted in a turnover and he fumbled away a ball when the Patriots were in the Cleveland red zone driving for a touchdown before the end of the half.

To his credit, he spoke with the media after the game on Sunday, taking responsibility for what happened. He left the locker room as media availability began on Monday afternoon, but Crumpler — who has served as mentor both on and off the field to rookie tight ends Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez — was quick to come to the defense of the rookie tight end out of Arizona.

“I’ve already talked to Rob,” Crumpler said. “I’m not worried about Rob.”

4. No new kickers. Patriots coach Bill Belichick was noncommittal when asked about the status of kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who suffered an injury in Sunday’s game against the Browns, but added that signing a new kicker remains a “possibility.” Multiple reports indicated that Gostkowski could miss two weeks because of the injury, which would force Belichick to rely on a kicker other than Adam Vinatieri or Gostkowski for the first time in his career as head coach of the Patriots.

Veterans Shayne Graham, Shaun Suisham and Matt Stover were all possible candidates to replace Gostkowski, at least on a short-term basis. (Suisham and Graham worked out for the Patriots earlier this season.) However, sources indicate that Suisham is on his way to Detroit to work out for the Lions on Tuesday. (Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network reported that kicker Dave Raymer is also going to work out for Detroit.) And Stover, who has a relationship with Belichick dating back to their days together in Cleveland in the early 1990s, hasn’t received a call from the Patriots about a potential workout as of Monday afternoon, according to another league source.

That would leave Graham, who will reportedly work out for the Patriots later this week. Graham is a 32-year-old who has kicked for Buffalo, Carolina, Cincinnati, Baltimore and the New York Giants. He was 23-for-28 with the Bengals in 2009, and was most recently in New York, spending two days with the Giants when kicker Lawrence Tynes had an ankle injury.

5. Terrence Wheatley. The Patriots released the cornerback on Saturday to make room for offensive lineman Logan Mankins on the active roster, but when reporters were allowed in for availability on Monday afternoon, Wheatley’s locker was fully stocked with his equipment, right down to his shoulder pads on the top shelf and the nameplate above the locker.

So when Belichick said during his Monday afternoon press conference that Wheatley still had practice squad eligibility remaining, the whole thing appeared to make sense — Patriots cut Wheatley, wait for him to get through waivers and then pick him up and put him on the practice squad.

But a report from Shalise Manza Young from the Boston Globe later Monday indicated that Wheatley was going to sign a two-year deal with the Jaguars. And when Wheatley tweeted later Monday, “Leavin on a jet plane…”, it seemed fairly evident that Wheatley’s New England career had really come to a close.

Wheatley, who was a second-round pick of the Patriots in 2008, began his career with New England with great promise, working his way into a starting role midway through his rookie season. But the Colorado product was dogged by injuries over the last two seasons, and had yet to see the field this year because of a foot injury.

Read More: Alge Crumpler, Bill Belichick, Deion Branch, Logan Mankins Print  |  Bark It Up!  |  Digg It
  • http://www.comcast.net Ken H.

    Guess cutting Wheatley means that GM-BB will be forced to draft another 5′-8″ defensive back in the first round, ignoring players like Clay Matthews, Jr. who OBVIOUSLY doesn’t fit in the Pats scheme.

  • Deebo

    True, Ken. Clay is doing well in GB’s 3-4, but he definately wouldn’t make it here rushing the passer from Bill’s 3-4. Yeah, role would be completely different.

  • Devin

    so Mccourty is a wasted pick?

  • Deebo

    @ Devin, no McCourty seems like he will be a solid, if not spectacular corner. We were referring to ’09′s draft, wherein BB traded the 26′th pick to Baltimore, whom selected Michael Oher, and then Green Bay acquired the ravens 26′th pick, through NE, and selected said Clay Matthews,Jr. But, that plan seemed to pan out.Chung is a solid player, I just feel Clay was a bigger need at the time.

  • Mumfordnson

    Not a wasted pick but matthews would look real good in a Pats uniform

  • Deebo

    Guys, Matthews was selected in the ’09 draft, not ’10.

  • James

    It seemd to me that, on the short kick-off, everyone should have been waived away from the ball by Tate. Gronkowski called for the fair catch yeah, but when he backed off and the ball hit the ground, Sammy Morris should have gotten out of the way as well. Not try to jump on it. It looked like they would have had the ball near the twenty if no Patriot touched it.

  • Deebo

    When you call for a fair catch and the ball lies in-bounds, it’s live for any team to recover. If you call for a fair catch and let it go, it had best go out of bounds.

  • GFB

    Wheatley has been hurt… drafted in 2008, he has had 2 seasons and 7 games to play, but only has 11 career games in the NFL. This year hasn’t seen the field because of a foot injury. Things change, players when they get hurt, it doesn’t matter where someone is drafted after a year or two, you have to assess the current situation and move forward.

    It’s not just the Patriots, I mean check draft histories of Giants, Colts, Ravens and Pittsburgh. Teams that have been solid year in and year out and they make mistakes.

    Let’s use 2008 Champions and some argue the best team in football today, Pittsburgh Steelers.

    Pittsburgh 2008 2nd round #53 pick WR Limas Sweed from Univ of Texas. His NFL career so far, 8 catches in 7 games played over 2008 & 2009. Zero games played in 2010. Were they above admitting they made a mistake? Nope, as check the following year’s draft in 2009.

    Steelers 2009 3rd round (no 2nd round picks), #84 pick Mike Wallace WR Mississippi. 53 catches in 23 games, including starting all 7 games this year. Limas Sweed again, hasn’t played a game this year.

    Steelers 2009 3rd round #79 overall (picked 5 players before Mike Wallace), Tackle Kraig Urbik of Wisconsin. How many games did he play for Pittsburgh in his career? 0. And now he is a member of the 0-7 Buffalo Bills, playing in only 5 games this year with 0 starts. He didn’t make it beyond his rookie season, the Steelers moved on.

    Finally, Pittsburgh 2009 1st round, pick #32 overall, DE Ziggy Hood from Missouri. In 2 seasons, has played all 23 games, however has started just 1 game and has an career stat line of 8 tackles, 4 assists and 1 sack – again, not a single game, but his entire NFL career over 23 games. So, do you think the Steelers will give a damn in this year’s draft if they go after another DE in the 1st round?

    Nope and as Pats fans we need to pull our head of the sand and realize the draft is an educated guess. I mean Clay Matthews went where 26th overall… so what maybe 2 or 3 players with greater impact? So if the Pats screwed up, then the other 23-24 organizations didn’t? Please…

  • GFB

    Wheatley has been hurt… drafted in 2008, he has had 2 seasons and 7 games to play, but only has 11 career games in the NFL. This year hasn’t seen the field because of a foot injury. Things change, players when they get hurt, it doesn’t matter where someone is drafted after a year or two, you have to assess the current situation and move forward.

    It’s not just the Patriots, I mean check draft histories of Giants, Colts, Ravens and Pittsburgh. Teams that have been solid year in and year out and they make mistakes.

    Let’s use 2008 Champions and some argue the best team in football today, Pittsburgh Steelers.

    Pittsburgh 2008 2nd round #53 pick WR Limas Sweed from Univ of Texas. His NFL career so far, 8 catches in 7 games played over 2008 & 2009. Zero games played in 2010. Were they above admitting they made a mistake? Nope, as check the following year’s draft in 2009.

    Steelers 2009 3rd round (no 2nd round picks), #84 pick Mike Wallace WR Mississippi. 53 catches in 23 games, including starting all 7 games this year. Limas Sweed again, hasn’t played a game this year.

    Steelers 2009 3rd round #79 overall (picked 5 players before Mike Wallace), Tackle Kraig Urbik of Wisconsin. How many games did he play for Pittsburgh in his career? 0. And now he is a member of the 0-7 Buffalo Bills, playing in only 5 games this year with 0 starts. He didn’t make it beyond his rookie season, the Steelers moved on.

    Finally, Pittsburgh 2009 1st round, pick #32 overall, DE Ziggy Hood from Missouri. In 2 seasons, has played all 23 games, however has started just 1 game and has an career stat line of 8 tackles, 4 assists and 1 sack – again, not a single game, but his entire NFL career over 23 games. So, do you think the Steelers will give a damn in this year’s draft if they go after another DE in the 1st round?

    Nope and as Pats fans we need to pull our head of the sand and realize the draft is an educated guess. I mean Clay Matthews went where 26th overall… so what maybe 2 or 3 players with greater impact? So if the Pats screwed up, then the other 23-24 organizations didn’t? Please…

  • Mike

    Branch stepping up to say that it will be a different team on Sunday..I would hope so..
    if it isn’t, the Pats will get crushed!
    Branch is already hurt, hamstring again..so what’s he gonna do?
    Defense blows..what are they gonna do?
    Why they don’t go out and get an End that can rush the damn QB and actually get to him? what the hell they waiting for..

  • Mike

    Every team no matter how good or how bad, has had all damn day to throw the ball this year!
    Why they didn’t grab or want to pay for Peppers makes no sense…anyone agree?
    No they continue to pay for mediocre players..but not someone like that??
    Defense continues to worry me, has been for years..and now it’s really showing..
    Can’t depend on Offense to rescue the team every game..if the defense letting everyone go down field and kill the clock..
    C’mon Pats..

  • Deebo

    Oh Christ,GFB. Put the kool aid down for a minute. Yes, I agree with your long winded response, but the Pats BADLY needed a pass rusher, and haven’t adressed the shortcoming the past two years. I am very encouraged by the ’10 draft class so far. Lets hope next draft brings the final pieces. And, FWIW, the Steelers ease their players into play time. Very rarely do they play a rookie or second year player a lot unless injuries deem it necessary.

  • hovis

    need to clear up a point brought up earlier…

    kickoffs are free for either team to recover once they travel ten yards. That’s why they have this thing called “onside kicks”…

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