In March 2011, police in his native Texas issued a felony warrant for Talib – he allegedly pistol-whipped and shot at his sister’s boyfriend, Shannon Billings, and was wanted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was released on $25,000 bond and was indicted on the charge two months later. But earlier this year, the charges were dropped because of insufficient evidence and character concerns about Billings – at the time, Billings was in jail as a repeat sex offender.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj1E9eyfVzA
Bruschi and Woody comment on the Patriots Trade For Aqib Talib (by ESPN)
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
New England Patriots trade for Buccaneers’ Aqib Talib
The good old Pats are at it again, zigging when everyone thought they’d zag by actually making a trade at the deadline for cornerback Aqub Talib. Talib is currently suspended for Adderall but is eligible to return next week.
There’s no question he could be useful in the Patriots secondary, especially if they’d like to keep Devin McCourty at safety. Talib does have a history off the field, and with his contract expiring at the end of the year this could just be a half season rental for the Pats.
Though if Talib is smart he’d get his act together and try to lock down a job with the best run organization in the NFL. You don’t get these kinds of chances many times in life, and the need for a quality physical corner is definitely there in New England. We’ll see if he takes advantage of it and goes the route of Randy Moss or Corey Dillon, or squanders it like Albert Haynesworth.
Bruschi sees secondary as ‘error repeaters’ – ESPN Boston
Bruschi sees secondary as ‘error repeaters’ – ESPN Boston
Per me and Frenz’s discussion on the podcast yesterday…
“But let me tell you what drives coach Belichick crazy. What drives him crazy is when you are an error repeater. When you make one mistake, and then you go into a week of practice and you try to fix things, and then you go out there the next week and you do the exact same thing. And that’s what happened. “Compare the deep ball that cost them the game in Seattle and the deep ball early in the game vs. the St. Louis Rams. Did you see any similarities to that play? It was pretty much the exact same play. The safety made the same technical error and the result was the same for another big play against the Patriots.
Scar: Center decision as tough as any – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston
Scar: Center decision as tough as any – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston
During this past training camp, Koppen was a part of a competition at the center spot that was eventually won by Ryan Wendell, who has played every offensive snap through eight games this season. Wendell’s performance drew the praise of his position coach, Dante Scarnecchia, who was asked if Wendell has done an excellent job of stepping in to replace Koppen. “I think he has. Clearly the obvious is that he replaced a very, very good football player and a very popular football player,” Scarnecchia said. “That’s as tough of a decision as we’ve ever had around here for those reasons.
On Thursday, Patriots Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker and Donald Thomas will participate in the first ever Sportsnation “Halo 4” Bowl. It will be, dubiously named, Team Gronk versus Team Cruz (New York Giants Victor Cruz, Ramses Barden, and Terrell Thomas). The show will air at 5 p.m. EDT on ESPN2.
Does Cunningham finding his niche as an interior sub-rusher make Pryor redundant? — @heisthejuan
Good question from Twitter that I wanted to take the time to answer here because obviously it deals with my favorite pass rush topic – generating more interior rush.
The window on Pryor could be closing quickly. If you’re on the PUP list you have to sit out the first six weeks, then you have three weeks to be activated. We’re closing on three weeks right now as this Sunday will be week 9. I’m not sure of the exact day, but the Pats are certainly waiting until the last minute on him.
As for Cunningham I like that the Pats have inserted him on the inside and he’s been the closest thing to an answer for replacing Mike Wright that they’ve had. However if Pryor can return I think you could use both of them.
Pryor is really more of a traditional interior pass rusher. He’s around 300 pounds but gets up the field like a mad mad. At least he did the last time we saw him healthy which was against the Dolphins in the 2011 opener.
All of this could be moot by next week if the Pats don’t activate Pryor, and then no one will have to read any more of my rantings on him again this year, but I think a combination of Cunningham and Pryor in an all out pass rush package could really elevate the Pats pass defense.