Trouble brewing in Foxborough
The New England Patriots have stripped Tom Brady’s trainer of various team privileges, widening speculation of a rift between the trainer and coach Bill Belichick, according to a report in The Boston Globe.
The trainer, Alex Guerrero, is a close friend of Brady’s as well as a business partner who helped launch the TB12 Center
According to the Globe, Guerrero, who has an office near the Patriots’ locker room in Gillette Stadium, is no longer permitted to treat players other than Brady in the office. He also is reportedly banned from boarding Patriots jets and had his sideline access revoked. Brady spoke out in support of his trainer.
“I don’t have any comment on that other than to say Alex, it’s been well-documented, has been a huge part of what I do,” Brady said. “I’m so fortunate to have him not only as a friend but with everything that we’ve been able to do together. He has been a huge, huge reason why I’m still playing”.
Gronkowski keeping the team atop AFC
Rob Gronkowski, back after serving a league-imposed, one-game suspension, was back to his old self. Gronkowski caught nine of 13 targeted passes for 168 yards and also hauled in a two-point conversion.
Gronkowski also made a reception on fourth down that kept alive a drive that ended with the Patriots scoring a touchdown on their opening possession of the second half.
“Rob has a lot of those plays where for a tall, linear type of player like he is to go down and be able to get those balls is difficult,” Belichick said. “I think it’s even more impressive when he goes down and catches them below his knees and continues to pull the ball in and continues to run and keeps his balance. He doesn’t just dive on the ground and catch it and end the play right there.
Of Gronkowski’s nine receptions, eight went for 17-plus yards.
“His catch radius is outstanding. His hands and his catch radius are two of the things that make him so difficult to cover that even when a defender is on him and he can be draped all over him,” Belichick said. “There’s some place where the ball can be located that Rob can get it and the defender can’t. Tom [Brady] does a good job of putting it there and Rob does a good job of catching it.”
Four Patriots named to Pro Bowl
The New England Patriots have four players that were named to the Pro Bowl. Notable players include Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski Matthew Slater. New England long time fullback James Develin earned his first trip to the game.
Patriots safety Devin McCourty had this to said about Develin.
”He’s one of the old-school fullbacks. He does the stuff no one wants to talk about. I think it’s a great honor. He’s not one of those fullbacks who has great stats because he flexes out or they throw him the ball a lot,” McCourty said. “When they throw him the ball, he catches it. When he’s supposed to block, he blocks. For us, he’s been one of our most dependable players obviously in the running game, on offense, on special teams, whenever he’s called upon.”
