Patriot Games
Easily the biggest splash in April’s 2007 NFL draft was made by the New England Patriots. Praised as one of the most intelligent franchises in all of sports, the Patriots always seem to come out of everything looking spotless. After dealing a second and seventh round pick for return man and wide receiver Wes Welker, they made an interesting first round pick, selecting Brandon Meriweather out of Miami. Meriweather was the Hurricanes’ captain and played a key role in the on- field brawl with Florida International this past season. On many other teams Meriweather would have been a “character concern,” but in New England such a thing seems not to exist. Meriweather can both hit and cover, making him quality first round talent at safety. The Pats made a total of nine picks over the weekend, all but Meriweather coming on day two.
Prior to the start of day two the team made the biggest news of the weekend picking up troubled wide receiver Randy Moss from Oakland for a fourth round pick, number 110 overall. The Raiders proceeded to use the pick on someone named John Bowie, a cornerback out of Cincinnati. Because Moss was confirmed to have run an astonishing 4.29 second 40 yard dash recently, this was a monstrous pickup and has the world of NFL handicapping as well as Super Bowl predictions in a frenzy. Moss’s career had been headed drastically downward in Oakland, making only 60 and 42 catches in his past two seasons. Moss’s career season came in 2003 with the Vikings, making 111 receptions for 1632 yards; an average of 102.0 ypg. If the Patriots can get this version of Randy Moss, Patriot fans and NFL sports betting ethusiats will be in for some exciting football.
Collecting Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, and Kelley Washington to go with Riche Caldwell, Jabar Gaffney and Chad Jackson as route runners makes Tom Brady’s arsenal one of the scariest in the NFL. Narrowly missing the Super Bowl last season, the Patriots seem to be on a mission and are not messing around. They also added Pro Bowl linebacker Adalius Thomas to an already solid defense. The only issue the new look Pats might have is the aforementioned character one. The character of Moss and Meriweather, though, is simply not a worry in Foxburough as it would be in other cities. Corey Dillon came over from Cincinnati with the same problem and illustrated the type of personality makeover that can be had while in a Pats’ uniform. With their mystical ability to make everything turn to gold, the Patriots will be a hugely popular NFL pick in the coming months to win their fourth title under Bill Belichick.
-AB
