AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Jets, Patriots

Dolphins

• Per Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post, Dolphins CB Xavien Howard doesn’t believe his knee injury is serious but he will undergo further tests to make sure. 
• Howard mentioned the same knee has been bothering him for some time and he’s had previous procedures on it. 

Jets

Jets S Jamal Adams posted the following on his Twitter account in response to the team listening to offers for him. 

At the end of the week last week, I sat down with the GM and Coach Gase and told them I want to be here in New York. I was told yesterday by my agent that the GM then went behind my back and shopped me around to teams, even after I asked him to keep me here! Crazy business.

— Jamal Adams (@TheAdamsEra) October 29, 2019

• According to The Athletic’s Connor Hughes, the Jets initially were asking for a second-round pick for DL Leonard Williams but settled after not receiving much of a market. 
• ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Jets were asking for a second-round pick for WR Robby Anderson.
• However, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports the best offer New York received was a fourth-round pick. 
• Jets HC Adam Gase acknowledged he had to do a little bit of damage control for players like Anderson who were widely speculated to be dealt but will end up playing the rest of the year in New York: “A lot of guys are different… Robby was obviously the one that was getting floated out there. I had a couple conversations with Robby.” (Manish Mehta)
• Gase said the rumor of the Jets holding negotiations for S Jamal Adams were news to him: “No one came knocking on my door to give me a heads up… I don’t know how real that was.” (Mehta)
• Gase told reporters that the deal the Giants offered for Williams was too good to pass up given his standing with the team: “That’s just kind of one of the decisions that was made. An opportunity came up for good picks. … He did a great job here. Prepared every week. This is kind of just part of the business.” (Ralph Vacchiano)
• Jets GM Joe Douglas told reporters that they got a lot of interest in DL Leonard Wiliams: “We received a lot of calls on Leonard.” (Manish Mehta)
• Douglas added: “We felt, the picks we received for (Leonard Williams), really gave us flexibility for the future.” (Connor Hughes)
• Douglas clarified that they were not shopping either RB Le’Veon Bell or S Jamal Adams: “Those weren’t players we were shopping. But what I was taught, when a team calls you you should always listen to what they had to say.” (Ralph Vacchiano)
• According to Douglas, he spoke to WR Robby Anderson and Bell after the deadline, but has yet to talk to Adams. (Brian Costello)
• In the end, Douglas decided to keep their players because they weren’t getting the kind of value they wanted: “There was no firesale, there was no garage sale going on with these players. We value these players a lot. The value that was offered didn’t equal the value that we have for them in the organization.” (Ralph Vacchiano)
• When asked if Adams is still part of the team’s future, Douglas said: “Absolutely. Again, I just want to reiterate, we were not shopping any of those players we were talking about today. He wears the ‘C’ patch for a reason. He’s an absolute warrior. He’s the heartbeat of the defense.” (Ralph Vacchiano)

Patriots

Following the Patriots’ appearance on Monday Night Football last week, a renewed wave of speculation about QB Tom Brady and his future beyond this season hit the NFL news cycle. Professional dot-connectors focused on Brady’s expiring contract following the season and the fact both he and his trainer had their homes up for sale. Brady, though, says the speculation has no foundation in anything that’s come out of his mouth. 

“None of it is brought on by the things that I have said,” Brady said via NBC Sports’s Justin Leger. “Again, I said last week nothing has changed with my status of my team and my standing. I have really been focused on my job. A lot of the hype, a lot of the media speculation is just that. It is probably that time of year where you don’t need to focus on so much on the wins and losses, you staring to focus on a lot of other things. I think the media has the right to do that. I certainly don’t. I am focused on what I need to do this year and we’re off to a good start. I want to capitalize here in the second half of the year and that is where I am at personally.”

Patriots OL coach Dante Scarnecchia is revered around the league for the consistent high-quality work he does coaching his position. This year, however, the Patriots offensive line is arguably the team’s weakest unit, as it’s been unable to get the New England rushing attack off the ground. 

“People have a right to criticize. We’re not doing things very well,” Scarnecchia said via Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald. “We’re not running the ball very effectively, and it always starts up front. If that’s where the blame is going to go, put a target on my chest first. That’s how I feel about it. I’m responsible for those guys. Let’s start there.”

Patriots RB coach Ivan Fears says some of the responsibility falls on his unit as well, particularly RB Sony Michel. Michel is averaging only 3.3 yards per carry this year and has turned 140 carries into 464 yards. 

“We gotta stop going backwards,” Fears said via NBC Sports’ Tom Curran. “And that’s with Sony and some of his decisions. He can’t take a chance and say, ‘I’m gonna bounce this thing. go East and West all day.’ He’s gotta friggin get downhill. Nothing there, get downhill.”