The shooting occurred on February 28 outside a bar in front of the safety for the New England Patriots hometown. The shooting that happened left two men injured. One of the men was shot directly in the face while the other was just grazed by a bullet. Witness reports have discussed a possible altercation that occurred right before the two men were injured.

This past Wednesday police and detectives interviewed one of the men who was shot in have just released a statement expressing interest in interviewing Brandon Meriwether. Phone calls that were made to an attorney who is representing Brandon Meriwether were not immediately returned and there has been no statement regarding the recent allegations that Brandon Meriwether may have been involved in a violent altercation that involve the shooting.

The New England Patriots released a brief statement that is located on the team website. The statement briefly stated that the team is aware of the reported allegations that they had no further additional information at the time.

Brandon Meriwether has a long history of on-field fighting and off field shooting. In 2006 or playing college football he was involved with a huge on-field fight with several other players. Three months prior to the on-field fight, Meriwether was involved with the shooting of an assailant who was planning on robbing a house and attacking Meriwether and another teammate. No criminal charges were brought against Meriwether in either incident as the gun was used legally and the on-field fight with handled internally.

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If the early part of the season, the New England Patriots struggled on offense. Their defense, filled with talented but inexperience rookies, were allowing far too many teams into the end zone and seems like far too much of a work in progress to sustain a winning season.

After losses to the New York Jets, and the Cleveland Browns, the Patriots did something teams don’t do. They got rid of their hall of fame wide receiver Randy Moss. For any other coach in the league it’s a bold move and one that would have the rest of the league shaking their head, but for Belichick it’s just another day at the office. Belichick has won three Super Bowls based on his ability to stay within a system, he felt it was time to get back to that system.

The Patriots entered the playoffs on an eight game winning streak. Tom Brady, a reason for Belichick’s long standing success as much as anyone, had an MVP like year and regained his place as one of the top quarterbacks in the game.

Belichick, with all his success, is now being talked about as maybe the best all time coach. With success abundant for Belichick, and plenty of work to be done this offseason, it’s unlikely that he will be tooting his own horn to anyone. The truth is that he’s gotten into the conversation by coaching well, and he’s not going to stop now.

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Is it possible for a team to lose it’s most talented skill position player and a first ballot hall of famer, and to do it voluntarily, and yet somehow get better? The New England Patriots know the answer to that question, and the answer is yes.

There has been a story line in sports played out a thousand times. A team loses one of its star players and the rest of the team rallies around each other and though they are undermanned they go out and give the performance of a lifetime. In the case of the New England Patriots they gave up their hall of fame wide out in Randy Moss and they have only done better because of it. In most normal sports scenarios this would cripple a team. Moss has the ability to stretch the field and demand double coverage. Yet, when he was running wild this season the Pats were floundering.

At one point, knowing Moss was unhappy with the status of his contract, decided to trade him back to his former team the Minnesota Vikings. For Moss it was a homecoming. For New England it was a relief. Without their security blanket the Pats had to start getting creative. They would have to spread the ball around and they would have to use their running game to keep the secondary honest.

This move, while bold, is certainly not uncommon for Bill Belechik and company. New England runs a system. They plug guys in and plug guys out. When someone wants to go against the grain and what they have going there, they let them go. Moss wanted to focus on money and not winning. Now toils away elsewhere while the Pats enjoy ultimate success. Who knew giving up a great player would make you great?

• The New England Patriots receive the first compensatory pick (the 33rd in the 3rd round) for losing cornerback Asante Samuel to the Philadelphia Eagles.
• The New York Giants received the 36th pick in the third round for losing safety Gibril Wilson, linebacker Kawika Mitchell and linebacker/defensive lineman Reggie Torbor.
• The Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans each received four picks (the maximum allowed) after losing six players each.

The full list of compensatory picks can be found on the NFL’s website here.

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Peppers was disgruntled and asked to be traded after being franchised by the team, and it appears he will get his wish.  The Patriots need a contingency plan for defensive ends Richard Seymour and Ty Warren who both become free agents after this season.  Peppers will likely be listed as an outside linebacker but will have his hand on the ground quite often in the Patriots hybrid 3-4 system.

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