©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The Boston Red Sox made a small trade, sending left-handed pitcher Roenis Elias to Seattle. Boston will either get a player to be named later or cash. Elias has been with Boston since 2016. The Red Sox traded with Seattle for Elias on December 7, 2015. Boston was hoping he would add depth to the pitching staff. Elias had an unimpressive record with the Mariners of 15-20. His ERA was 3.97. The part of his game the Red Sox liked was his ability to strike batters out with 240. Elias took some chances with his pitching location walking 108 with the Mariners not enough to scare Boston away. Unfortunately, the trade didn’t work out with Boston. Elias spent most of his time in the Boston Red Sox’s Minor League system. He pitched in 4 games and started 1 for the Red Sox. His record was 0-1 with a 12.38 ERA. Elias had 4 strikeouts and 6 walks. The Red Sox had no choice but to trade him. Elias wasn’t playing at the level they need

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The New England Patriots are preparing for the NFL Draft. The first-round is Thursday. The Patriots will select 23rd and 31st assuming they don’t move up or out of the first-round. The Patriots have plenty of options of who they could select at 23rd and 31st. They will pick the best available player. New England should really look at an offensive lineman. The line didn’t protect Brady well with 42 sacks allowed. They lost one of their top tackles Nate Solder, who decided to sign with the New York Giants. Kolton Miller could be available. He played his college football at UCLA. He would fit on the team. Miller is 6 foot 8 inches and 310 pounds, a big offensive lineman whose strength would help protect Brady to throw the football . The Patriots may also look at a quarterback during the first-round. Lamar Jackson’s name has been linked to the Patriots.   Jackson would be the quarterback of the future.   He spent his college

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude   The New England Patriots made a surprising move, this time trading wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the L.A. Rams as well as a 4 th -round pick. The Patriots received the Rams 1 st -round pick which will be 23 rd overall as well as a 6 th -round draft pick. This makes the New England Patriots wide receiver core weaker for Tom Brady. Cooks spent 1 year in New England which was last season. Cooks was a target Brady could trust. In the regular season, he had 1,082 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. His yards per catch was an impressive 16.6 yards. According to ESPN, Cooks played in 92.7 percent of the offensive snaps in the regular season. Every player wants to perform in the playoffs. Cooks wasn’t any different. He had 155 yards in 3 playoff games with an average yards per catch of 15.5. Those helped the New England Patriots make it all the way to the Super Bowl. He didn’t play much in the Super B

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude   The New England Patriots are considering trading tight end Rob Gronkowski.  He is their top tight end and dealing him isn’t out of the question.  Head Coach Bill Belichick is frustrated with him.  According to sportingnews.com, the reason is the “longer Gronkowski goes without saying he’s all in, the chances of him being traded increases.” Gronkowski is a big target for Tom Brady.  Brady feeds him the ball because Gronkowski is a mismatch for opponents’ defenses.  Teams try to cover him in so many ways.  They try putting linebackers on him but he is too fast for them to cover.  Safeties and cornerbacks cover him but Gronkowski uses his size at 6 foot 6 inches to catch the football. In his career Gronkowski has 474 catches for 7,179 yards and 76 touchdowns and his average yards per catch is an impressive 15.1.  Gronkowski holds onto the football while running downfield.  He has fumbled only 3 times losing 2 of them. The Pa

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The New England Patriots lost wide receiver Danny Amendola to free agency.  Amendola signed with the Miami Dolphins.  With that the New England Patriots now need a slot receiver. Quarterback Tom Brady counted on Amendol whose quickness at the line of scrimmage often made him an open man.  And, he rarely dropped the football. Amendola spent the last 5 years in New England and totaled 2,383 yards receiving with 12 touchdowns.  His average yards per catch was an impressive 10.4.  It seemed that every time he touched the football, there'd be a first down or greater advance.  Defenses had a tough time bringing him down. Now that Amendola is a Dolphins, the Patriots are searching for a slot receiver.  There is one player on the roster they could consider for that role - Riley McCarron.  McCarron was an un-drafted free agent after playing 3 years at Iowa.  He had 584 yards receiving with 5 touchdowns in college. Last year was

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The New England Patriots haven’t made a lot of noise in free agency so far. They are going to keep one of their top safeties, Patrick Chung, agreeing to a contract extension that will pay him $11.5 million over the next three seasons.  That keeps Chung in New England until 2020. Chung has been one of their defensive leaders and has spent 8 of his 9 NFL seasons with the Patriots.  In that time Chung has helped the defense.  When a receiver or a running back is running with the football, Chung rarely misses tackling them in the open field.  He can cover on passing plays as well.  Last season he had 84 tackles, 9 pass breakups, and 1 interception.   In his career Chung has 424 total tackles.  Quarterbacks must be careful throwing to his part of the field because he has the ability to bat passes away and pick them off, with 10 interceptions.  Chung also comes on safety blitzes with 4 sacks. The Patriots know how im

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The New England Patriots are into the offseason and will start to sign free agents.  Their biggest question is Tom Brady.  He could retire or play a 19th NFL season, but it is time for him to ride off into the sunset now? Brady won’t make the decision by himself.  According to ESPN, Tom Brady said, “I have a wife [Gisele Bundchen] that aspires to be a lot of things, and she travels a lot.  My oldest son lives here in New York, three kids, and you’re just always trying to juggle and you want to be there for them, and you want to be there for the hockey games and the soccer games.  But you also realize the level of commitment it takes to give as much as you can to the team that needs you.” Brady has already accomplished so much in his NFL career.  He owns a 196-55 record in the regular season.  His total wins with playoffs stands at 223, the most in NFL history.  Brady has tossed for 66,159 yards ranking him 4th.  He also

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude Free agency in the NFL starts on March 14th at 2 PM Mountain Time.  The New England Patriots, like any other team, have work to do in free agency, especially on offense, in order to make another run at the Super Bowl. The first order of business for the Patriots is to re-sign offensive tackle Nate Solder.  He is a free agent and plenty of teams will be calling for his services.  Solder blocks on Tom Brady’s blindside and has been one of the reasons for Brady’s success during the last 7 years. If the Patriots decide to let him go in free agency, the market isn’t the best for left tackles.  Chris Clark and Greg Robinson are two top ones.   They would help the Patriots, but they may not protect Tom Brady as well as Solder did.  Of course they could also draft one if they don’t like what they see on the open market. The Patriots also are going to look for a running back.  The only two under contract are James Whit

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The New England Patriots are attending  to the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, which starts today.  The event gives coaches a chance to evaluate talent in this year’s NFL draft.  The Patriots, like every other team, have needs to fill. The Patriots should be looking for a running back.  Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead are free agents and that will leave James White and Mike Gillislee in the backfield.  Of course they could draft a player, in particular Sony Michel out of the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Michel spent 4 years with the Bulldogs rushing for 3,613 yards with an average of 6.1 yards per rush.  He was able to score 33 touchdowns on the ground.  He is not only a rusher but a pass catcher as well.  Michel would be a threat to catch the football in the open field.  He had 621 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns.  He fits in with the Patriots. A defensive end is one position they must d

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The New England Patriots lost Super Bowl LII to the Philadelphia Eagles 41-33.  The turning point of the game was a strip sack of Tom Brady.  The Patriots, down by 5, were facing 2nd and 2 with 2:16 left in the game.  Eagles’ defensive end Brandon Graham knocked the ball out of Brady's throwing hand and the Eagles recovered.  A field goal put the Eagles up by 8 with 1:05 left. That, however, was not the biggest decision of the game.  The most significant decision came before the Patriots' first defensive drive of the game.  One of New England’s top corner backs, Malcolm Butler, was not on the field and didn’t play a snap on defense.  He was in on special teams instead.  According to ESPN, Butler said,"It was a coach's decision. ... I don't know what it was.  I guess I wasn't playing good. They didn't feel comfortable.  I could have changed that game, though." And that might have been t

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude Super Bowl LII will be played this Sunday.  The Philadelphia Eagles take on the New England Patriots.  The Patriots are looking to add a 6th Super Bowl victory.  Here are the keys for a New England triumph. It all starts with quarterback Tom Brady.  Brady is one of the best quarterbacks in the game and is able to find his receivers.  The offensive line needs to give him time to throw.  If Brady is hit, it disrupts his timing.  The New England offensive line has performed well in the playoffs allowing only 3 sacks.  The problem is they are letting Brady get smacked with 11 quarterback hits.  If Brady starts to feel the rush, he throws more quickly than he wants to, increasing the likelihood of overthrows and interceptions that change field position. New England must protect the football and not turn it over.  The Patriots are protecting the football well.  They have only one turnover so far in the playoffs - a fumbl

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude Super Bowl LII is this Sunday with the Philadelphia Eagles taking on the New England Patriots.  The simplest bet is to pick the winner and the point spread. But according to boston.com , there are nearly 1,000 different prop bets available.  Here are just a few. The National Anthem singer will be Pink.  Every year there is a prop wager on how long  the song will take.  The bet is over 2 minutes and under 2 minutes.  And you can also  bet on what color hair will the singer will come out with.  The choices are blonde, pink, blue, brown, and green.  The odds onto pink hair are 2 to 1 . Black has 7 to 1 odds.  During her concerts, Pink likes to be airborne and with that the bet is whether she will be airborne during the singing of the National Anthem?  No carries 1 to 5 odds while yes carries 3 to 1.  My gut tells me she will be standing for the anthem. Patriots coach Bill Belichick seems to enjoy wearing

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The New England Patriots are preparing to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII next Sunday.  The Patriots are looking to become the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since they did it in 2004 and 2005.  One player they must be cautious with is tight end Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski. was knocked out of the AFC Championship game with a concussion after an incompletion with 1:23 left in the first half.  He didn’t return to the game.  On the play it looked like Barry Church, Jaguars’ safety, went to lean in with his shoulder but Gronkowski was falling down to the ground which led Church to hit him in the head, helmet-to- helmet.  Gronkowski needed help leaving the field and didn’t return.  According to bostonherald.com, Dr. Lee E. Goldstein, neurologist and associate professor at the Boston University School of Medicine said, “Here’s the deal: If you have had one of these injuries, you are at great

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The New England Patriots secured home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a 26-6 victory over the New York Jets.  They will have a bye for the first-round and face the highest remaining seed in the divisional round. The Patriots are the team to beat in the AFC. The New England Patriots are a tough team to face.  It starts with the offense.  The Patriots are able to run and throw the football.  The running game will be important in the playoffs.  Brady can throw the football but the running game keeps teams off-balance.  The Patriots should be able to score at will.  The Patriots can strike early and often.  That won’t take a lot of time off the clock. The only downside with the offense is if teams pressure Brady with 4 or 5 defenders.  That will force him to hold onto the football or throw into double coverage.  When that happens, there could be sacks and interceptions that might impact field position allo

© 2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude! The New England Patriots are preparing to take on the New York Jets this Sunday in the season finale.  They've already clinched a first-round bye but with a victory over the Jets, they would secure home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.   The team made a move to make them an even larger threat in the playoffs, signing linebacker James Harrison. Harrison was available after the Pittsburgh Steelers released him  December 23rd.  He  suited up for 5 games this year.  And he wasn’t an effective player, notching only 3 tackles and a single sack. The Patriots are hoping that Harrison can be the player this post-season that he was last season for Pittsburgh when he ran up 5 sacks and 53 tackles.  In his 15-year career in the regular season, Harrison has 82.5 sacks and 570 tackles. The Patriots didn’t bring him in because of his regular season stats but because of what he can do in the playoffs.  Harrison has ap

© 2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude!   The New England Patriots are preparing to take on the Buffalo Bills this Sunday.   The Patriots were worried that running back Rex Burkhead might have sustained a serious knee injury in the game against the Steelers last week.  The injury occurred during the 3rd quarter and Burkhead did not return.  An MRI revealed that there was no tear, only a knee sprain.  The Patriots are optimistic that Burkhead will be back for the playoffs, but his status for the rest of the year is unknown. Burkhead is a large part of the New England Patriots' offense.  He can run the football, with 264 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns so far this season.  His average yards per rush is an impressive 4.1.  When Burkhead runs the football, his size at 5 foot 10 inches makes it difficult for a single defender to wrap him up.  Two or three are needed to take him to the ground.  Burkhead’s yards make 2nd and 3rd downs easier for the Patriot

© 2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude!   The New England Patriots are preparing to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday.  They have signed another weapon for quarterback Tom Brady: wide receiver Kenny Britt.  Terms of the contract were not announced. Britt was available after the Cleveland Browns cut him December 8th.  He went unclaimed on the waver wire.  Britt was having a sub-par season for the Browns with 233 yards receiving and only 2 touchdowns.  His average yards per catch, though, was an impressive 12.9. In his 9-year NFL career, Britt racked up 5,114 yards receiving and 32 touchdowns.  He will be a large target for Brady.  His size at 6-foot 3-inches will allow him to out-jump defensive backs to catch the football in the back of the end zone.  In the field of play, if Brady can throw to him in stride, those catches are going to be for first downs or touchdowns.  And he has the speed to break away from the cornerbacks. Britt’s downside

©  2107 Jordan Long   Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude!   The New England Patriots are preparing to take on the Miami Dolphins  next week on Monday Night  Football.    They will be without tight end Rob Gronkowski.    He has been suspended for hitting Tre’Davious White after White intercepted a pass from Tom Brady with  4:39  left in the game.    Gronkowski was penalized, but not ejected, even though he should have been.    That was the right call for the NFL.    The hit came after the whistle.   The play was over.    According to ESPN, Vice Precedent of Football Operation Jon Runyan wrote to Gronkowski saying, "Your actions were not incidental, could have been avoided and placed the opposing player at risk of serious injury. The Competition Committee has clearly expressed its goal of 'eliminating flagrant hits that have no place in our game.'     Those hits include the play you were involved in yesterday," The NFL had to send a message to Gro

©  2107  Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude! The New England Patriots are preparing to take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.    One player has had his contract extended through the 2018 season, Eric Lee.    Lee signed with the Patriots last week after being on the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad.    His original deal was going to last through this year but he will be a Patriot next season.    His base salary will be $555,000 for 2018. Lee played only 25 snaps last week against the Miami Dolphins at defensive end.    Even though it wasn’t a lot of action, he made his presence known with 4 tackles and 1 sack.    This week against the Bills he should see more action.    According to  ESPN.com , Head Coach Bill Belichick said, “First of all, I think Eric worked hard this week to try and catch up in a lot of areas. Defensively, there were a number of things -- first down, second down, third down -- it's not all the same. He made a play at the end of the game.

©  2107  Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude! The New England Patriots are preparing to take on the Oakland Raiders this Sunday in Mexico City, Mexico.  New England is looking to improve on its record of 7-2.  The reason they have such an impressive record is quarterback Tom Brady.  He is having one of the best seasons in recent memory at age 40.  Not many quarterbacks have played at this high of a level at that age. In 2009, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre was with the Minnesota Vikings at the same age.  He led the Minnesota Vikings to a 12-4 record.  During that season Favre threw for 4,202 yards and 33 touchdowns.  He was able to hold onto the football with 7 interceptions thrown.  His team couldn’t protect him, allowing 34 sacks.  Unfortunately the Vikings didn’t move onto the Super Bowl, losing to the New Orleans Saints 31-28 in the NFC Championship game. In 1996, another Hall of Famer, Warren Moon, played the NFL game at age 40.  He was in a Mi

© 2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude! The New England Patriots are down to their third quarterback on the depth chart. Because of his suspension, Tom Brady isn’t coming back until week five when the Patriots face the Cleveland Browns . Jimmy Garoppolo, starting in place of Brady, suffered a sprain in the AC joint on Sunday. It occurred when Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso landed on his right throwing shoulder with 4 minutes and 20 seconds left in the second quarter. The Patriots were forced to play the rest of the game with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback. According to cbssports.com, Garoppolo could miss up to six weeks. Brissett will be the starting quarterback for the next two weeks if Garoppolo can’t suit up. Who is Jacoby Brissett? Brissett was a third-round pick of the New England Patriots in this years’ NFL Draft.   He played his college football at the University of Florida and N.C. State. Brissett started his college career in Florida. 2011 and 2012