FOXBOROUGH
Kendarius Webster Jersey NFL Jersey , Mass. (AP) — New England Patriots center David Andrews has gone to the playoffs every year he’s been in the NFL,
reaching the AFC title game in his first three tries and making the Super Bowl
twice.Something he’s never done: played on wild-card weekend.“I don’t know what
it’s like doing it any other way,” Andrews said after the Patriots clinched
their ninth straight first-round bye. “I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of
this organization and these great locker rooms. We’re very fortunate and just
got to make the most of this week, get some rest, focus, take a step back to
look at yourself and what you can do better.”After early-season struggles that
once again raised doubts whether the New England dynasty was coming to an end,
the Patriots are back in their usual spot after a 38-3 victory over the New York
Jets on Sunday. They will have the week off before finding out which of the
wild-card winners — it could be the Texans, Ravens or Chargers — will be their
opponent in Foxborough on Jan. 13.Coach Bill Belichick said on a conference call
with reporters Monday that the Patriots will occupy their time with a
combination of rest, film work, practice, fundamentals, scheme plays, and
situational practice.“The bye is huge,” said tight end Rob Gronkowski, who had
two catches for 24 yards against the Jets, but also had a big gain wiped out by
a penalty. “That was basically a playoff win right there. … It basically won us
a game for next week. So we got a bye, rest up
Kendarius Webster Jersey NFL Draft , get the mental part and physical part.”The Patriots (11-5) earned their 10th straight AFC East title and their
15th in 16 seasons; the only exception was the 2008 season Tom Brady missed with
a torn ACL. They have not played in the wild-card weekend since 2009, when they
lost to the Baltimore Ravens in Foxborough.The victories in the last two games
also guaranteed the Patriots of at least one home playoff game — and the chance
for two if something should happen to the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s important,
because New England has not won a road playoff game since 2006 (although,
because of their regular-season prowess, they’ve only played three since beating
the Chargers in San Diego in the divisional round that year).New England also
went undefeated at home in the regular season and just 3-5 on the road. They
were the only team in the league with a perfect home record but the only one in
the AFC that was under .500 on the road.“It’s tough to win in this league
regardless of where you are,” said receiver Chris Hogan, who caught six passes
for 64 yards on Sunday. “But obviously any time you get a chance to play at home
— using the crowd and the familiarity; you get to keep your same schedule and
same routine. I think that helps a lot.” FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Super Bowl
champion New England Patriots are back at work, and things are already a lot
quieter.Rob Gronkowski has retired, and the locker room is a more serious place
without the fun-loving tight end who once declared himself the life of the party
— in garbled Spanish, no less.“There’s only one Gronk,” running back James White
said on Wednesday, when the Patriots reported for training camp. “You can’t
replace that personality. He’s a great football player, but you’ve got to play
with who’s out here.”A four-time All-Pro who was too fast for linebackers to
cover and too big for defensive backs to bring down, the 6-foot-6, 265-pound
Gronkowski caught 521 passes for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns in an
injury-plagued nine-year career. He helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl
five times
Kendarius Webster Jersey Buffalo Bills Jersey , winning three rings.But he was also a larger-than-life personality known for emphatically spiking the ball
after a touchdown catch; he once tried to do the same with an opponent,
explaining after drawing a penalty “I took him and threw him out of the
club.”Gronk’s offseason partying — thrice starting with the Super Bowl
championship parade — was a staple of social media, and he once announced in the
locker room after a win: “Yo soy Fiesta!”“Rob was one-of-a-kind, obviously, on
the field, with what he’s able to do as a player. We see that each and every
week over the last nine years,” special teams captain Matthew Slater said.“His
fun-loving spirit and personality, and his child-like joy that he brought each
and every day to the workplace. His humility — just a genuine human being —
certainly, those things are hard to come by in today’s time, so we’ll miss
that.”But Gronkowski last played a full, 16-game season in 2011, with injuries
to his back, knee, ankle and arm limiting his ability to stay on the field. He
hinted at retirement after the 2017 season, and then made it official this March
— a few months shy of his 30th birthday — saying on Instagram “it’s time to move
forward and move forward with a big smile.”“That’s the thing in football — the
one thing that’s consistent is change,” defensive back Devin McCourty said. “He
looks like he’s having an awesome time on Instagram. I’m really happy for him
being able to have a great career and leave the game on your own terms. We’ll
see how it works out for us.”A second-round draft pick in 2010, Gronkowski
caught just 47 passes for 682 yards and three touchdowns last season. (He added
six catches for 87 yards in the 13-3 Super Bowl victory over the Rams
Color Rush Kendarius Webster Jersey , including two receptions on New England’s only touchdown drive.)His 12 career playoff touchdown receptions and
81 postseason catches are the most by a tight end in NFL history. His 79 career
TD catches are third most for a tight end.Without him, the Patriots have brought
in Matt LaCosse from the Denver Broncos as well as Benjamin Watson, who started
his career in New England in 2004 before bouncing around the league. (Watson
will miss the first four games of the season for violating the league’s policy
on performance-enhancing drugs.)On Wednesday, the Patriots also signed free
agent Lance Kendricks, who has spent eight seasons with the Rams and Packers. He
has played in 125 games, catching 241 passes for 2,505 yards and 19
touchdowns.But there’s also a lingering doubt that Gronkowski is gone for
good.“He’ll do what’s best for him, but anybody that comes in this locker room
is always welcomed with open arms,” McCourty said, throwing in a dig at his twin
brother, Jason. “We accept all guys. We took my brother in last year. He
struggled for nine years in the NFL, so you talk about a guy like Gronk coming
back, I think that’ll be a lot easier.”Devin McCourty had also gone into the
offseason unsure if he would return.“I’m still here, huh,” he said on Wednesday.
“The fun hasn’t stopped so I won’t stop either.”
