IrishCentral NFL - b5cc3275d518416eacb61d676e8d84d1

The Chinatown Yellow-Faces consider name change in light of Redskins debate (IrishCentral)

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:03:27 PDT

World Series champion San Francisco based team consider new name options less wildly racist than ‘Chinatown Yellow-Faces’ as country continues to be divided by Redskins debate Other equally racist-named teams also considering change Redskins lids and logos - not racist? Sure, as long as you are OK with teams called 'The Yellow-Faces' or 'The Black-Faces'A D READ MORE

Rex Ryan and Jets add defensive weapons in first round of NFL draft (IrishCentral)

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:39:36 PDT

By: MATT KEOUGH

The newly John Idzik managed Jets focus for the 2013 draft is on top talent available after first round selections of cornerback Dee Milliner and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. The Jets had the 9th and 13th overall picks and chose not to select offensive players to combat last years bottom three finish in passing yards.

New England Patriots NFL Draft: DeAndre Hopkins Scouting Report (IrishCentral)

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:03:01 PDT

After looking at Desmond Trufant and Justin Hunter, today's prospect in The Sports Central NFL Draft Series is Clemson's DeAndre Hopkins Hopkins is one of the most exciting prospects in the draft and some consider him to be the safest selection alsoEven with the re-signing of Julian Edelman and the continuing saga surrounding Emmanuel Sanders, the Patriots will still be in the market for an additional wide receiver presence on the outside So there is no need to change approach at this point READ MORE

New England Patriots Draft: Justin Hunter Scouting Report (IrishCentral)

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:47:56 PDT

With the NFL draft just a matter of weeks away, coverage of the prospects and franchises is starting to crank up Just like any of the other 31 franchises in the NFL, the New England Patriots' shortlist of targets will be coming into focus right about nowEven though they made an offer to restricted free agent Emmanuel Sanders today, wide receivers should densely populate that list One of the best fits for the Patriots is also a player they can realistically target with their first pick, Tennessee's Justin Hunter READ MORE

New England Patriots Draft: Desmond Trufant Scouting Report (IrishCentral)

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:32:58 PDT

For the first time in some time, the New England Patriots enter the NFL draft with a notably limited number of draft picks Because of the Albert Haynesworth and Chad Johnson trades, the Patriots only have five choices this year in what is considered to be a relatively deep draft classThat said, the Patriots, as they seem to always be, are in a strong position to trade up in the draft as part of an overall aggressive philosophy for the next two seasons Picking at 29th overall in the first round should allow them to grab a talented player who can help them immediately, but if they fall for a specific talent they could look to move up or trade future picks to add a choice this year READ MORE

New England Patriots Perspective: The Miami Dolphins (IrishCentral)

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:32:48 PDT

Although Miami and Boston are some distance apart, the New England Patriots are suffering a bit with noisy neighbors this off-seasonJust as Stephen Ross arrived to take him to the gallows, Jeff Ireland made one final grasp to try and pry away the lock that had kept his franchise from success during his tenure While his attempts were made out of desperation, and they will likely hurt the franchise in the long-term, they have undoubtedly improved the Dolphins at this point in the off-seasonThe only question remaining is just how much they have improved READ MORE

Sports Central NFL Mock Draft 2013 (IrishCentral)

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:17:47 PDT

One would think that April would be a quiet month for a league that runs from September through February, but that is what makes the NFL so special these days The NFL has become a year round commitment and arguably the most exciting event on it's calendar is the NFL draftUnlike the Super Bowl, an event that only includes the top two teams in the league directly, every single fan has a reason to be hopeful when it comes to the draft1 Kansas City Chiefs-Luke Joeckel, OT READ MORE

New England Patriots: An All-22 Analysis of Adrian Wilson's New Role (IrishCentral)

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:02:41 PDT

After Anquan Boldin led the Baltimore Ravens to a relatively easy victory in Foxboro to vault his team into the Super Bowl, it was clear that the New England Patriots had at least one fatal flaw on their defense Not only was the Patriots' secondary lacking talent and depth, but most notably it had no toughnessWithout Aqib Talib, Boldin was able to overpower Devin McCourty, Alfonzo Dennard and Kyle Arrington in any kind of tight coverage, while Steve Gregory, McCourty or Tavon Austin lacked the physicality to intimidate him as he worked over the middle of the field Patrick Chung had that physicality, but lacked the coverage ability or intelligence to be trusted in coverage READ MORE

New England Patriots Draft Plans Rise To Prominence (IrishCentral)

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 06:02:40 PDT

The New England Patriots wrapped up a deal for former Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings' wide receiver Michael Jenkins just in time to conclude their business in March Jenkins won't excite fans, even though he has that speed the Patriots' offense craves on the edges, but he is most likely one of the final moves to be made by the franchise ahead of the draftFree agency allowed the Patriots to re-sign their starting right tackle, Sebastian Vollmer, replace Wes Welker with Danny Amendola, add a swing tackle in Will Svitek, get a tough veteran presence in their secondary with Adrian Wilson and retain both Kyle Arrington and Aqib Talib at the cornerback positionIn no small part because of Tom Brady's contract extension, the Patriots were able to address most of their primary needs READ MORE

Boston Celtics' injuries are catching up on them (IrishCentral)

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:02:36 PDT

Boston Celtic's Kevin Garnett The Boston Celtics' season has been one of ups and downsThe ups have almost exclusively come from Avery Bradley, winning streaks and Doc Rivers The downs have been constant injury issuesRight now the Celtics are failing to endure arguably their most significant injury of the whole season READ MORE

Manti Te’o gets a second chance at Notre Dame NFL scouting Pro Day - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 06:27:55 PDT

By: MATT KEOUGH

Perhaps Notre Dame senior Manti Te’o can finally take a breath after countering the growing number of question marks around him with a successful Pro Day.

Fordham kicker Patrick Murray says GAA past put him a position on a major NFL team (IrishCentral)

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 05:34:55 PDT

By: MATT KEOUGH

First generation Irish American Patrick Murray improved his NFL stock as the lone representative from the Patriot League to receive one of the 58 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships for the Fall. Murray earned the scholarship of $7500 as a standout placekicker and punter for the Fordham College football team as well as his strong character off the field.

New England Patriots re-sign free agent Sebastian Vollmer (IrishCentral)

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 11:17:28 PDT

New England Patriots' Sebastian Vollmer As first reported by Field Yates of ESPN Boston, the New England Patriots and Sebastian Vollmer have agreed to a new contract Vollmer, along with Andre Smith, had been one of the last two remaining elite free agent offensive tacklesWhile terms of the contract remain unclear, other reports have suggested that the contract is for four yearsThe 28-year-old has been the Patriots' starting right tackle for the past three seasons, despite missing 11 games through injury during that time READ MORE

New England Patriots Still Have Work To Do In Free Agency (IrishCentral)

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 04:32:23 PDT

After over a week of free agent signings coming and going across the league, the New England Patriots have already addressed a number of needs Danny Amendola has arrived to replace the departed Wes Welker Adrian Wilson was signed to provide some strength and experience at strong safety Aqib Talib returned after testing the open market READ MORE

New England Patriots Set For More Aggressive Offense in 2013 (IrishCentral)

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:32:22 PDT

Without Wes Welker, Danny Woodhead and Brandon Lloyd on offense, the New England Patriots' offense will have a very different identity next season Woodhead and Welker have already been replaced by more explosive entities in the forms of Shane Vereen and Danny Amendola, while Brandon Lloyd's replacement could be Lloyd himself on a cheaper contract, restricted free agent Emmanuel Sanders or a dynamic draft pickAlthough it appears that the Patriots are simply replacing like with like, their resilience to re-sign Julian Edelman so far still sticks out Of course, Edelman could just be a low-priority target, but the fact that he and Welker are not currently on the roster after two seasons when the Patriots short-passing attack fell short of a Super Bowl, indicates that the team could be about to move to a more aggressive approach READ MORE

Analyzing the New England Patriots' Signing of Will Svitek (IrishCentral)

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 02:32:18 PDT

The New England Patriots added a free agent to their roster today, but it wasn't wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders Instead, they added former Atlanta Falcons' offensive tackle Will Svitek Svitek missed all of last season because of injury, but started 10 games at left tackle for Sam Baker the previous yearAlthough his healthy is a question mark, and this is not the signing Patriots' fans were expecting, this appears on the onset to be an astute move from the franchise READ MORE

Aqib Talib Signs Perfect Contract For New England Patriots (IrishCentral)

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:32:20 PDT

After finding a market ravaged of any quality offers for any players at his position, cornerback Aqib Talib accepted a one year contract to return to the New England Patriots this season Talib only arrived in New England during last year's regular season, after a trade between the franchise and the Tampa Bay BuccaneersAlthough he had his issues in New England also, exclusively with injuries, Talib did enough to win over a fanbase and franchise that was(and still is) desperate for an improved secondaryTalib returned to the Patriots within 24 hours of Adrian Wilson arriving READ MORE

Explaining What Pittsburgh Steelers' Emmanuel Sanders Will Bring to New England Patriots (IrishCentral)

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 03:47:17 PDT

Back in the off-season of 2006, the New England Patriots were in pursuit of a little-known restricted free agent from the Miami Dolphins In the end, the Patriots traded for that receiver instead of signing him to an offer-sheet Of course, that receiver turned into Wes Welker During the same off-season that Welker's Patriots' career has come to a close, the Patriots are targeting another restricted free agent wide receiver READ MORE

Free Agents Dwight Freeney, John Abraham and Adrian Wilson Visit New England Patriots (IrishCentral)

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 07:32:13 PDT

With Wes Welker leaving Tom Brady for Peyton Manning, the New England Patriots appear to be trying to rectify Brady's loss by bringing in one of Manning's long-time teammates from his days with the Indianapolis Colts For a long time, while Peyton Manning was leading the Colts' offense, Dwight Freeney was the superstar on the defensive side of the ball in IndianapolisFreeney is one of three players visiting Foxboro todayNot only does the veteran defensive end have a track record that fits an important need for the Patriots' defense, but he also will likely come at a cost affordable price considering his age READ MORE

Patriots fan and writer outrage at loss of Wes Welker is misguided (IrishCentral)

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:32:14 PDT

Fans and writers wailing about loss of Welker to the Broncos seem to have forgotten how the Patriots deal with high priced free agentsWes Welker - not the first Patriot to depart in the free agency processThe departure of Wes Welker from New England to the Broncos via free agency has predictably been the catalyst for the usual over the top dramatic hyperbole from some of Boston’s finest sporting media entities I was amused to read one prominent scribe describe the loss of the wide receiver as such; ‘’Patriots drop ball in Welker, Amendola swap’’ On his page there is a link to his Twitter feed and his top Tweet was this cracker; ‘’Hey, Ryan Mallett is younger than Brady, let's go with hom (sic) at QB, too;]’’ READ MORE