©  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