Patriots enjoy 5-time champion: not their quarterback Brady, but Kobe
Manning stops by at Broncos practice
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots were thrilled to have a five-time champion with them at practice this week.
Not Tom Brady. Kobe Bryant. With their quarterback skipping organized team activities along with tight end Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots returned to Gillette Stadium for offseason workouts this week. After Bryant visited the team on Wednesday, several New England players noted the similarities between him and Brady.
“They’re both highly competitive guys,” defensive back Devin McCourty said Thursday. “I think everybody sees that.”
Although the Patriots wouldn’t elaborate on what Bryant said to them, McCourty came away impressed with his attention to detail with everything involved in basketball — not just shooting, but practice and working out and his relationship with his teammates.
Several Patriots posted pictures of themselves with Bryant on social media on Wednesday. Belichick said he has a lot of respect for the 2008 NBA MVP and thought his team could learn from meeting him.
“It was a cool experience,” running back James White said. “It’s an honor to meet a guy who’s one of the greatest athletes of all time.”
Brady has reportedly been working out with his personal trainer instead of with his teammates. A three-time NFL MVP who will turn 41 in August, Brady is said to be upset with coach Bill Belichick over his attempts to speed up the succession plan at quarterback and move Jimmy Garoppolo into the starting job before Brady was
ready to give it up.
Garoppolo was traded to the San Francisco 49ers midseason, reportedly on a mandate from owner Robert Kraft.
“(No.) 12 is a big part of this team, and he means a lot to us in the locker room. But as far as the culture goes, it’s always been ‘next man up,’” linebacker Dont’a Hightower said.
BRONCOS: A day after teeing it up with Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning stopped by the team’s on-field workout in Englewood, Colo., to check things out. By the end, the five-time NFL MVP quarterback probably had the new playbook deciphered.
The schemes have been simplified by offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and his staff. He wants QB Case Keenum and the rest of the players to be reacting, not thinking about terminology.
“We don’t want long-worded plays in the huddle,” Musgrave said Thursday as the coordinators met with the media. “We’d love for guys to know it like the back of their hand and then they can cut it loose and play.”
MORE BRONCOS: The daughter of owner Pat Bowlen announced her desire to take over the leadership role of the
team and was informed she hasn’t met the criteria.
The Pat Bowlen Trust issued a statement Thursday saying Beth Bowlen Wallace “is not capable or qualified at this time.”
The team was placed in a trust when Pat Bowlen stepped down in 2014 because of Alzheimer’s. The trust is overseen by three people, including team president and CEO Joe Ellis, who has final say on day-to-day operations until one of Bowlen’s seven children can succeed him as controlling owner.
RAVENS: Quarterback Joe Flacco was f linging the ball far downfield Thursday during a voluntary offseason training practice, targeting an array of receivers that includes newcomers Michael Crabtree, John Brown and Willie Snead.
“Someone kind of joked that we completed more deep balls in practice today when we did the whole offseason last year,” coach John Harbaugh said.
The Ravens’ top priority this season was to vastly improve a passing attack that last season ranked 29th in total yardage and was dead last with 5.7 yards per attempt.