Hernandez Rolling Stone Article

[GoColts8818]

I didn't see anything posted on this Article but if I missed it please merge, if not check this out.

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/feature/the-gangster-in-the-huddle

 

If you haven't read that yet you should.  It's just an amazing read. 

 

Pats fans this is not meant to be any kind of negative about your team just passing along what is very fascinating article. 

[MAC]

Interesting read - thanks.

[coltsfanmilyman]

A senseless tragedy and seemingly a trail of destruction, pain and drugs has followed this kid.  

 

In the words of Robert DeNiro in A Bronx Tale.  "Wasted potential"

[OffensivelyPC]

The dude is so toast.  At bare minimum, he's an accomplice to murder.

[amfootball]

It is what it is. The more we find out, the worse it is with Hernandez.

[jvan1973]

who the hell still does pcp? the league probably doesn't even test for that anymore.

[ViriLudant]

Ron Borges contributed to that article.

That's enough of what I need to know about that piece of "journalism."

[coltsfanmilyman]

Ron Borges contributed to that article.

That's enough of what I need to know about that piece of "journalism."

i'm assuming IMO he's a hack?

[GoPats]

I thought it was interesting that the article had a strong focus on the way his defense team is going to handle this, and how there are legal loopholes in a lot of the circumstantial evidence. If he gets off that would be OJ territory.

 

With this type of journalism (no sources, or anonymous ones), you always have to be careful. I have no reason to believe or disbelieve most of it... it's a feature piece, not a straight up "news" article. I thought it was an engaging read, and if most of it is true, then Hernandez's arrest was at least a year in the making. 

 

Also interesting that Belichick told him he was one misstep away from being cut or traded. 

 

And I agree with Viri about Ron Borges. Plagiarists carry little weight with me.

[GoPats]

i'm assuming IMO he's a hack?

 

Notorious for bashing the Patriots and basically having a contrarian type of shtick. He also was fired from the Boston Globe in 2007 for plagiarism. 

[amfootball]

I thought it was interesting that the article had a strong focus on the way his defense team is going to handle this, and how there are legal loopholes in a lot of the circumstantial evidence. If he gets off that would be OJ territory.

 

With this type of journalism (no sources, or anonymous ones), you always have to be careful. I have no reason to believe or disbelieve most of it... it's a feature piece, not a straight up "news" article. I thought it was an engaging read, and if most of it is true, then Hernandez's arrest was at least a year in the making. 

 

Also interesting that Belichick told him he was one misstep away from being cut or traded. 

 

And I agree with Viri about Ron Borges. Plagiarists carry little weight with me.

To the bolded - I don't believe this for a second. There is no way the Pats pay him that type of contract if they had any inkling that he would be missing practices, etc. This might be Borgess at play.

[Hans Moleman]

I don't doubt that Belichick said that to Hernandez, but he certainly didn't mean it. That's just coach speak to try and put the fear of God into a player and shouldn't be taken too literally.

[Hans Moleman]

who the heck still does pcp? the league probably doesn't even test for that anymore.

 

He's just going retro. 

[GoPats]

To the bolded - I don't believe this for a second. There is no way the Pats pay him that type of contract if they had any inkling that he would be missing practices, etc. This might be Borgess at play.

 

I don't know, wouldn't that statement reflect WELL on the Patriots? As in, to some extent, they saw Hernandez in a downward spiral and basically told him that he had zero chances left?

 

I can't believe Belichick would tolerate a guy missing workouts and whatnot, even if they backed up the Brinks truck for him.

[amfootball]

I don't know, wouldn't that statement reflect WELL on the Patriots? As in, to some extent, they saw Hernandez in a downward spiral and basically told him that he had zero chances left?

 

I can't believe Belichick would tolerate a guy missing workouts and whatnot, even if they backed up the Brinks truck for him.

No, it doesn't reflect well because Kraft said the Pats were "duped" remember? And Belichick concurred. So, if it is true that they saw issues with AH beforehand then they are lying.

[GoPats]

No, it doesn't reflect well because Kraft said the Pats were "duped" remember? And Belichick concurred. So, if it is true that they saw issues with AH beforehand then they are lying.

 

Well, cutting a guy for blowing off team activities and having a hunch that he was about to kill a person are pretty different things!

 

I don't know, like I said before, with this kind of journalism you have to assume that liberties are taken and half-truths are presented inaccurately.

[amfootball]

Well, cutting a guy for blowing off team activities and having a hunch that he was about to kill a person are pretty different things!

 

I don't know, like I said before, with this kind of journalism you have to assume that liberties are taken and half-truths are presented inaccurately.

True. I mean Rolling Stone did just do a feature story on the Boston Marathon Bomber with him in a full Bob Dylan style pose on the cover. Very sad. I don't really put much stock in them at all. Haven't for years.

[Imped]

Definitely an interesting article but I'd sure like to see some of those claims validated. 

[TAPLOOK]

I wouldn't presume anything in the article to be credible. As ViriLundant stated Borges is a proven hack. Rolling Stone? Say no more. If you believe the Stone and Borges cracked Patriots secrets that eluded the guys that hang around daily then I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.

Right off the bat there is zero chance of smoking three blunts on the 15 minute ride from the stadium to Attleboro:)

[Malakai432]

He will be fine, nothing a little Angel Dust can't fix.......er hmmmmmm....

[amfootball]

I don't know, wouldn't that statement reflect WELL on the Patriots? As in, to some extent, they saw Hernandez in a downward spiral and basically told him that he had zero chances left?

 

I can't believe Belichick would tolerate a guy missing workouts and whatnot, even if they backed up the Brinks truck for him.

Jonathan Kraft came out and said the report had many inaccuracies. Chief was the fact that Bill had issues with AH to the point he would release him given they had just given him that big contract. This was the point I was making yesterday about that part of the article making the Pats look bad. I like the fact that Jonathan came out and spoke against it. Nothing was sourced. Big surprise.

 

The report also said Belichick had threatened to cut Hernandez if the former tight end committed one more misstep, less than a year after he signed a lucrative contract extension.

"If we had known what people seem to think we know about Aaron Hernandez, we would not have done that deal," Kraft told the radio station. "And Bill would never threaten a player with being cut 12 months down the road; it makes no sense, both in terms of how you're interacting with the player and in terms of the cap.

"Here's the bottom line on the contract and everything else: In our history of owning this team, we have only signed two players who were drafted players after two years of playing. So giving them an extension, a new deal, an extension beyond their rookie deal, effectively their first free-agent contract because we do not sign players early like that. One was Rob Gronkowski and one was Aaron Hernandez, and we commit a lot of money before we had to.

"Our family doesn't like to do that if we feel like we're not making a good decision, and I can tell you that Bill Belichick doesn't like doing that, either. Those cap dollars are precious."

 

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/9613621/new-england-patriots-president-jonathan-kraft-disputes-aaron-hernandez-report-rolling-stone

[GoPats]

Jonathan Kraft came out and said the report had many inaccuracies. Chief was the fact that Bill had issues with AH to the point he would release him given they had just given him that big contract. This was the point I was making yesterday about that part of the article making the Pats look bad. I like the fact that Jonathan came out and spoke against it. Nothing was sourced. Big surprise.

 

 

 

I made sure to catch the Kraft interview in pre-game. He refuted quite a bit of it. Assuming you believe him, that calls the accuracy of the rest of the article into question. Unfortunately we'll probably never know for sure.

[coltsfanmilyman]

Notorious for bashing the Patriots and basically having a contrarian type of shtick. He also was fired from the Boston Globe in 2007 for plagiarism. 

ohh. . . .so the colts version of Mike Wells.  I gotcha.  Wow plagiarism is bad, but when your a journalist, thats even worse. . . .

 

I will now take the article with a grain of salt

 

Thanks man

[ruksak]

He will be fine, nothing a little Angel Dust can't fix.......er hmmmmmm....

I remember this one time, at band camp, I did a whole pile of it. Just then, you're never going to believe this but it's super true....a werewolf start like all beating on my door trying to get in. 

 

So I whipped the door open and shot him in the heart. He was all like"AHHH WHY" and I said "You ain't werewolfin nobody today, buddy".

 

He had this stupid look on his face and was all surprised and stuff.

 

I mean...it was the middle of the day and he hadn't changed yet, but I know their tricks. He even had a UPS delivery guy outfit on. HA! Yeah right, good try, werewolf. Strange thing is, he had this box of my grandma's cookies. Never did solve that mystery. 

[Malakai432]

I remember this one time, at band camp, I did a whole pile of it. Just then, you're never going to believe this but it's super true....a werewolf start like all beating on my door trying to get in.

So I whipped the door open and shot him in the heart. He was all like"AHHH WHY" and I said "You ain't werewolfin nobody today, buddy".

He had this stupid look on his face and was all surprised and stuff.

I mean...it was the middle of the day and he hadn't changed yet, but I know their tricks. He even had a UPS delivery guy outfit on. HA! Yeah right, good try, werewolf. Strange thing is, he had this box of my grandma's cookies. Never did solve that mystery.

Hahaha!!!!!!!! That's great.

The only time I did it, I had an exotic encounter with a unicorn trying to pose as a Fed Ex employee. Sneaky Unicorns!!!!

[GoColts8818]

I've been thinking about this since it was written.  I doubt everything in this is the gospel truth but the Rolling Stone is a creditable news source, even if they aren't the US Today. What I mean by that is that they aren't some blogger just throwing stuff out there to see if it sticks.  Now with that said I can see and I would agree with Pats fans who say this is written in a bit of anti-Pats point of view.  However, I wouldn't just dismiss what's here based on that. Notice no one is coming out and saying what is in this article isn't true other than fans who don't want it to be true.  Also for the record I don't blame Pats fans for not wanting it to be true.  We as fans are often the last ones to admit something is true that we don't want to be true.  See Colts fans with the release of Peyton Manning for an example of this.  Even though everyone not attached to the situation saw the release of Peyton Manning coming before hand Colts fans didn't want to admit it because we didn't want it to be true. 

 

I will go even as far as to say I don't blame BB for the way he's reported as to have acted.  Namely, I don't blame him for him Hernandez's actions.  This is professional football.  As long as he's not causing him issues that impact what goes on on the football field it's not his job to hold Hernandez's hand in his personal life.  Think about where you work.  If you are having issues in your personal life does your boss hold your hand through it and more importantly is he held accountable for your actions as a result of it?  No, they expect you to handle your business at work and if it becomes an issue at work then they will deal with it but they will deal with it in away that fixes the issue at work. 

 

However, I don't buy for a second that the Pats were duped on Hernandez.  There is no way with the amount of research that goes into NFL players today before they were drafted that the Pats didn't have a clue about the red flags that were around him.  Does that mean that they knew he was a murderer?  Probably not.  However, they also probably knew he wasn't Tom Brady in terms of behavior either.  I think BB looked at his track record of handling other players that had "issues" like Dillon and Moss (although both were more attitude issues) and figured he would be able to get Hernandez to behave for him as well. 

 

Honestly if I am going to blame any coach for what happened with Hernandez I put more blame on Urban Meyer.  He clearly just looked the other way when it came to questionable behavior not just with Hernandez but other players as well if he thought it would help him win games and tried to ignore off the field issues.  Sorry I expect more out of college coaches when it comes to that.  They are supposed to do more hand holding than pro coaches because it's not pro-ball.  Had Urban Meyer cracked the whip on Hernandez it might have been too late to save him but it might have saved Odin Lloyd's life. 

[amfootball]

I've been thinking about this since it was written.  I doubt everything in this is the gospel truth but the Rolling Stone is a creditable news source, even if they aren't the US Today. What I mean by that is that they aren't some blogger just throwing stuff out there to see if it sticks.  Now with that said I can see and I would agree with Pats fans who say this is written in a bit of anti-Pats point of view.  However, I wouldn't just dismiss what's here based on that. Notice no one is coming out and saying what is in this article isn't true other than fans who don't want it to be true.  Also for the record I don't blame Pats fans for not wanting it to be true.  We as fans are often the last ones to admit something is true that we don't want to be true.  See Colts fans with the release of Peyton Manning for an example of this.  Even though everyone not attached to the situation saw the release of Peyton Manning coming before hand Colts fans didn't want to admit it because we didn't want it to be true. 

 

I will go even as far as to say I don't blame BB for the way he's reported as to have acted.  Namely, I don't blame him for him Hernandez's actions.  This is professional football.  As long as he's not causing him issues that impact what goes on on the football field it's not his job to hold Hernandez's hand in his personal life.  Think about where you work.  If you are having issues in your personal life does your boss hold your hand through it and more importantly is he held accountable for your actions as a result of it?  No, they expect you to handle your business at work and if it becomes an issue at work then they will deal with it but they will deal with it in away that fixes the issue at work. 

 

However, I don't buy for a second that the Pats were duped on Hernandez.  There is no way with the amount of research that goes into NFL players today before they were drafted that the Pats didn't have a clue about the red flags that were around him.  Does that mean that they knew he was a murderer?  Probably not.  However, they also probably knew he wasn't Tom Brady in terms of behavior either.  I think BB looked at his track record of handling other players that had "issues" like Dillon and Moss (although both were more attitude issues) and figured he would be able to get Hernandez to behave for him as well. 

 

Honestly if I am going to blame any coach for what happened with Hernandez I put more blame on Urban Meyer.  He clearly just looked the other way when it came to questionable behavior not just with Hernandez but other players as well if he thought it would help him win games and tried to ignore off the field issues.  Sorry I expect more out of college coaches when it comes to that.  They are supposed to do more hand holding than pro coaches because it's not pro-ball.  Had Urban Meyer cracked the whip on Hernandez it might have been too late to save him but it might have saved Odin Lloyd's life. 

I get where you are coming from but honestly Rolling Stone lost credibility years ago when they decided covering serial murderers was more important than music. Did you read their story on the Boston Marathon bomber or look at the cover that had him in the Bob Dylan style pose? The issue was banned by just about every magazine carrying store in Boston. It was sickening and a terrible journalistic decision to grab sales.

 

Jonathan Kraft, president of the Pats, has come out and criticized the article for its many inaccuracies, http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/08/jonathan_kraft_disputes_rolling_stones_aaron_hernandez_story

 

There were no sources in the article which was the first red flag and Ron Borges who is a notorious Belichick hater and plagiarist contributed to it. So, really no reason to put any stock into it at all IMO.

[GoColts8818]

I get where you are coming from but honestly Rolling Stone lost credibility years ago when they decided covering serial murderers was more important than music. Did you read their story on the Boston Marathon bomber or look at the cover that had him in the Bob Dylan style pose? The issue was banned by just about every magazine carrying store in Boston. It was sickening and a terrible journalistic decision to grab sales.

 

Jonathan Kraft, president of the Pats, has come out and criticized the article for its many inaccuracies, http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/08/jonathan_kraft_disputes_rolling_stones_aaron_hernandez_story

 

There were no sources in the article which was the first red flag and Ron Borges who is a notorious Belichick hater and plagiarist contributed to it. So, really no reason to put any stock into it at all IMO.

Which is why I said they aren't US Today and this isn't the gospel truth.  I'd agree you should take this with a little bit of a grain of salt.  However, I wouldn't just discount it completely.  I also think if it was just flat out lies someone would be calling them on it to this point they aren't which tells me it's probably more true than all lies.  Without question there are parts of it that you can tell are written as just pure dislike of BB. 

[amfootball]

Which is why I said they aren't US Today and this isn't the gospel truth.  I'd agree you should take this with a little bit of a grain of salt.  However, I wouldn't just discount it completely.  I also think if it was just flat out lies someone would be calling them on it to this point they aren't which tells me it's probably more true than all lies.  Without question there are parts of it that you can tell are written as just pure dislike of BB. 

No one is saying it is 100 percent lies but I think there are some big red flags to question whether it should be considered even half truth:

 

1) No one within the Pats org talked to them for this article which is probably why Borges contributed to it so he could fill in the blanks.

 

2) As Kraft noted, to believe Bill was going to release AH right after they signed him to the big deal for missing a couple of practices is ridiculous. The Pats in their history have never given that type of contract to second year players. Gronk and AH were the first. If they had any inkling of issues on or off the field with AH there is no way they sign him to that deal.

 

3) No sources. And really this is the crux of it. To be considered legit, you have to source your info. I really think RS needed to fill in the blanks to complete this profile story and when they could not get anyone from the Pats to speak to them, they made some things up.

[PrincetonTiger]

I haven't had a chance to read the article but from what I have seen and read elsewhere AH has spiraling out of control for a while.

[GoColts8818]

No one is saying it is 100 percent lies but I think there are some big red flags to question whether it should be considered even half truth:

 

1) No one within the Pats org talked to them for this article which is probably why Borges contributed to it so he could fill in the blanks.

 

2) As Kraft noted, to believe Bill was going to release AH right after they signed him to the big deal for missing a couple of practices is ridiculous. The Pats in their history have never given that type of contract to second year players. Gronk and AH were the first. If they had any inkling of issues on or off the field with AH there is no way they sign him to that deal.

 

3) No sources. And really this is the crux of it. To be considered legit, you have to source your info. I really think RS needed to fill in the blanks to complete this profile story and when they could not get anyone from the Pats to speak to them, they made some things up.

You can keep harping on the sources part but at the sametime no one from the Pats is saying these things aren't true either.  That tells me that rather they listed sources or not there is probably something to what they are saying.  They also aren't just some internet blogger you just ignore if what they are saying if it's not true, I think if these things were completely not true the Pats would come out and say that.  I am sure not everything happened the way it was said in this article but I think it's more true than not true. 

 

With that said like I was trying to say earlier in this article the parts that got to me had less to do with the Pats stuff because frankly I can excuse a lot of their actions or lack there of based on it's not their job to interfere in professional football players personal lives unless it's impacting what's happening on the field which till this year it was not from what we at least saw in public which tells me New England did have it handled.  The only thing I haven't bought from the Pats is what I said earlier when Kraft tried to say they were duped by Hernandez if they were then they have a beyond dumb front office and we all know that's the not the case.  Again, they might not have known he was a murder but there is no way they didn't know about the red flags around him.  I think BB figured he could get Hernandez to behave for him so he was worth the red flags and based on BB's past you can't blame him for thinking that way.  At the end of the day though Hernandez couldn't escape a very sad life style that started long before he ever got to New England. 

 

I put more blame on the people on the people that crossed paths with Hernandez before he ever got to New England and of course I put most of the blame on Hernandez himself.  Maybe it's because I simply don't like Urban Meyer and my own bias is showing threw but it really bothers me how he let all this stuff go on at Florida (more than just Hernandez) because they helped him win games and that was more important to him than them as people.  Again, I view college coaches differently than pro coaches because their players aren't professionals and they are supposed to help make these guys good young men as well as good football players.  In fairness to Meyer though Hernandez's issues sound like they started before he even got to Florida. 

[amfootball]

You can keep harping on the sources part but at the sametime no one from the Pats is saying these things aren't true either.  That tells me that rather they listed sources or not there is probably something to what they are saying.  They also aren't just some internet blogger you just ignore if what they are saying if it's not true, I think if these things were completely not true the Pats would come out and say that.  I am sure not everything happened the way it was said in this article but I think it's more true than not true. 

 

With that said like I was trying to say earlier in this article the parts that got to me had less to do with the Pats stuff because frankly I can excuse a lot of their actions or lack there of based on it's not their job to interfere in professional football players personal lives unless it's impacting what's happening on the field which till this year it was not from what we at least saw in public which tells me New England did have it handled.  The only thing I haven't bought from the Pats is what I said earlier when Kraft tried to say they were duped by Hernandez if they were then they have a beyond dumb front office and we all know that's the not the case.  Again, they might not have known he was a murder but there is no way they didn't know about the red flags around him.  I think BB figured he could get Hernandez to behave for him so he was worth the red flags and based on BB's past you can't blame him for thinking that way.  At the end of the day though Hernandez couldn't escape a very sad life style that started long before he ever got to New England. 

 

I put more blame on the people on the people that crossed paths with Hernandez before he ever got to New England and of course I put most of the blame on Hernandez himself.  Maybe it's because I simply don't like Urban Meyer and my own bias is showing threw but it really bothers me how he let all this stuff go on at Florida (more than just Hernandez) because they helped him win games and that was more important to him than them as people.  Again, I view college coaches differently than pro coaches because their players aren't professionals and they are supposed to help make these guys good young men as well as good football players.  In fairness to Meyer though Hernandez's issues sound like they started before he even got to Florida. 

Maybe my previous link did not come through. Jonathan Kraft, prez of the Pats, has spoken out against it and all of its inaccuracies which are many according to him, http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/9613621/new-england-patriots-president-jonathan-kraft-disputes-aaron-hernandez-report-rolling-stone

[GoColts8818]

Maybe my previous link did not come through. Jonathan Kraft, prez of the Pats, has spoken out against it and all of its inaccuracies which are many according to him, http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/9613621/new-england-patriots-president-jonathan-kraft-disputes-aaron-hernandez-report-rolling-stone

Then he said she said, just because the Pats say it's not true doesn't make it that way.  By the same token just because the Rolling Stone peace says it is true doesn't mean it's true either.  The real truth is probably some place in the middle. 

 

Again the parts that I found just amazing wasn't the New England stuff it's the other stuff.  Again, I really put less blame on the Pats for this situation than anyone else.  My only issue with them is that I am not buying they were duped on the situation.  They took a chance on a guy and it ended up burning them in the end.  With that said credit to the Pats for just flat out releasing him once he was arrested. 

[amfootball]

Then he said she said, just because the Pats say it's not true doesn't make it that way.  By the same token just because the Rolling Stone peace says it is true doesn't mean it's true either.  The real truth is probably some place in the middle. 

 

Again the parts that I found just amazing wasn't the New England stuff it's the other stuff.  Again, I really put less blame on the Pats for this situation than anyone else.  My only issue with them is that I am not buying they were duped on the situation.  They took a chance on a guy and it ended up burning them in the end.  With that said credit to the Pats for just flat out releasing him once he was arrested. 

But wasn't the crux of your argument to put stock in this article is the fact that no one from the Pats org had come out to say it was false?

 

I do not believe the Pats had any inkling whatsoever that AH was a murderer. From everything that has been reported thus far, AH was aloof as a teammate and able to separate his work life from his personal life. Missing a few practices or workouts would hardly be reason to suspect him of anything other then being lazy or questioning his lack of commitment to the team.

 

In terms of them being duped, his rap sheet coming out of college was weed and bar fights. Again, nothing to indicate he was a murderer. It was a chance drafting him I suppose in terms of him violating the league substance abuse policy which he never did. And really that is why I do believe Kraft. In three years, we never heard a peep out of AH. He was never suspended, never had an altercation with one of his teammates or an opposing player, heck, even Brady never even yelled at him once for running a wrong route. But I think the biggest indicator that the Pats believed in the guy was the huge contract they gave him last year after only two years in the league. They have never done that before in their history. AH and Gronk were the only two players to have ever gotten those deals after two seasons and the Pats were lauded by the media and fans for doing it at the time.

 

In terms of Rolling Stone, I think you said it best when you said they are not US Today or in other words, a media outlet worth taking seriously. I have mentioned before on this forum that I worked in PR for 12 years. This profile piece is terrible from top to bottom because none of it is sourced which is rule #1 if you want to be taken seriously. Not to mention they went to a reporter for the Pats in Ron Borges who has absolutely no credibility as a journalist because he is a known plagiarist who has had issues with Kraft and Belichick for years. And lastly, their penchant for wanting to cover sensational stories, in particular serial murderers, when they are a music magazine casts serious doubt on their ability to get the story right.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

Seems to toss ESPN's pristine notions of a "Patriots' Way" out the window. But of course Colts fans have known that from day 1.

Couldn't happen to a phonier organization.

-grin-

[HarassedOffTheSite]

I wonder when Kraft grows tired of the results of Belichick's* decisions (cheating, poor draft picks, lame FA signings etc, etc).

[GoColts8818]

But wasn't the crux of your argument to put stock in this article is the fact that no one from the Pats org had come out to say it was false?

 

I do not believe the Pats had any inkling whatsoever that AH was a murderer. From everything that has been reported thus far, AH was aloof as a teammate and able to separate his work life from his personal life. Missing a few practices or workouts would hardly be reason to suspect him of anything other then being lazy or questioning his lack of commitment to the team.

 

In terms of them being duped, his rap sheet coming out of college was weed and bar fights. Again, nothing to indicate he was a murderer. It was a chance drafting him I suppose in terms of him violating the league substance abuse policy which he never did. And really that is why I do believe Kraft. In three years, we never heard a peep out of AH. He was never suspended, never had an altercation with one of his teammates or an opposing player, heck, even Brady never even yelled at him once for running a wrong route. But I think the biggest indicator that the Pats believed in the guy was the huge contract they gave him last year after only two years in the league. They have never done that before in their history. AH and Gronk were the only two players to have ever gotten those deals after two seasons and the Pats were lauded by the media and fans for doing it at the time.

 

In terms of Rolling Stone, I think you said it best when you said they are not US Today or in other words, a media outlet worth taking seriously. I have mentioned before on this forum that I worked in PR for 12 years. This profile piece is terrible from top to bottom because none of it is sourced which is rule #1 if you want to be taken seriously. Not to mention they went to a reporter for the Pats in Ron Borges who has absolutely no credibility as a journalist because he is a known plagiarist who has had issues with Kraft and Belichick for years. And lastly, their penchant for wanting to cover sensational stories, in particular serial murderers, when they are a music magazine casts serious doubt on their ability to get the story right.

Not really, honestly the Pats stuff is very small from what I took away from this article.  Like I said I pretty much dismissed any blame for the Pats based on the fact it's professional football and it's not their job to hold a football players hand off the field.  The only thing I took issue with the Pats was Kraft saying they were duped.  That didn't really have anything to do with the article.  There were all kinds of red flags around Hernandez going into the draft which is what caused him to drop so much in the first place long before this article was ever written.  So the only way they were duped is if they were just flat out dumb and we all know the Pats aren't dumb.  Did they know he was murder?  Probably not.  Did they know there was a risk in drafting him?  They had too.  With that said, I am guessing they felt comfortable taking that risk based on BB's success in the past dealing with troubled players and he figured he could make Hernandez behave for him. 

 

Like I keep saying the two big things I took away from this article was the stuff Hernandez went threw growing up and it made me hate Urban Meyer even more because unlike pro-football he is supposed to be invested in his players off the field and he wasn't.  He only cared about winning and was willing to look the other way as long as those guys could have won him games.  In fairness to Meyer Hernandez was already heading down a bad road before he ever got to Meyer so I doubt Meyer could have "saved" him by cracking the whip on him but he might have saved a couple of the people Hernandez killed lives by not letting Hernandez feel he was already more untouchable than he already felt like. 

 

Again, I am just saying don't discount this article because you don't happen to like the publication and the fact it is harsh on your team.  Like I said before do I think it's the Gospel truth?  No.  Do I think it's just straight news like the US Today?  No.  Do I think parts of it are probably true, yes.  I can tell by the way it's written in parts that parts of it is written to do nothing but take shots at BB.  With that said, I don't think the whole thing is false.  If it was completely false the Pats or BB will sue them for Libel over it or at least they should.  I also think the Pats aren't above bending the truth or spinning things to favor them as well.  Kraft has already tried to do that in this story by saying they were duped over Hernandez so I don't just think what the Pats are saying is 100% the truth too.  Like I said before the honest truth probably lies some place in the middle so I wouldn't just discount the whole thing. 

 

Again, and I can't be more clear about this, at the end of the day the stuff I took away from this had much less to do with the Pats and more to do with the life Hernandez grew up in.  He was headed down a dark road long before he ever ended up in New England. 

[amfootball]

Not really, honestly the Pats stuff is very small from what I took away from this article.  Like I said I pretty much dismissed any blame for the Pats based on the fact it's professional football and it's not their job to hold a football players hand off the field.  The only thing I took issue with the Pats was Kraft saying they were duped.  That didn't really have anything to do with the article.  There were all kinds of red flags around Hernandez going into the draft which is what caused him to drop so much in the first place long before this article was ever written.  So the only way they were duped is if they were just flat out dumb and we all know the Pats aren't dumb.  Did they know he was murder?  Probably not.  Did they know there was a risk in drafting him?  They had too.  With that said, I am guessing they felt comfortable taking that risk based on BB's success in the past dealing with troubled players and he figured he could make Hernandez behave for him. 

 

Like I keep saying the two big things I took away from this article was the stuff Hernandez went threw growing up and it made me hate Urban Meyer even more because unlike pro-football he is supposed to be invested in his players off the field and he wasn't.  He only cared about winning and was willing to look the other way as long as those guys could have won him games.  In fairness to Meyer Hernandez was already heading down a bad road before he ever got to Meyer so I doubt Meyer could have "saved" him by cracking the whip on him but he might have saved a couple of the people Hernandez killed lives by not letting Hernandez feel he was already more untouchable than he already felt like. 

 

Again, I am just saying don't discount this article because you don't happen to like the publication and the fact it is harsh on your team.  Like I said before do I think it's the Gospel truth?  No.  Do I think it's just straight news like the US Today?  No.  Do I think parts of it are probably true, yes.  I can tell by the way it's written in parts that parts of it is written to do nothing but take shots at BB.  With that said, I don't think the whole thing is false.  If it was completely false the Pats or BB will sue them for Libel over it or at least they should.  I also think the Pats aren't above bending the truth or spinning things to favor them as well.  Kraft has already tried to do that in this story by saying they were duped over Hernandez so I don't just think what the Pats are saying is 100% the truth too.  Like I said before the honest truth probably lies some place in the middle so I wouldn't just discount the whole thing. 

 

Again, and I can't be more clear about this, at the end of the day the stuff I took away from this had much less to do with the Pats and more to do with the life Hernandez grew up in.  He was headed down a dark road long before he ever ended up in New England. 

I get where you are coming from. When Robert Kraft said he was "duped" he was specifically talking about AH being arrested for murder. No one from the Pats org has denied that the team was taking a risk on a player with a spotty college history. Belichick even said during his press conference addressing AH that the Pats are re-evaluating their drafting process and will tweak it based on what happened with AH. So it is not like they are saying they had no idea he was a bad apple but all indications from college were that he was a pot head with a bad temper who got into bar fights. Pretty much the description of many draft picks over the years. I think what separated AH from the rest was his amazing talent which was first round talent but his behavior dropped him. This truly is a case of hindsight being 20/20.

 

I really don't see where Meyer deserves a ton of blame. Like I said, bad guys come through college football programs all the time and the admin has to deal with it. In th end, AH was responsible for himself.

 

In terms of Rolling Stone, Kraft threatened a law suit for defamation against the Boston Herald when they falsely reported that the Pats had taped the Rams walkthough prior to SB 36 prompting the Herald to print a full page apology on its cover, http://bostonherald.com/sports/patriots_nfl/new_england_patriots/2008/05/apology. He could do it again here if he feels strong enough but I would think he will let go because he does not want to breath anymore fire into the AH saga which is still chugging along with his trial looming and all.

 

In the end, you can believe anything you want. I have not put any stock into Rolling Stone for years. I think they have become a shotty publication that has tried to stay afloat in an ever dwindling print media market by covering sensational news in a contorversial manner.

[TAPLOOK]

I wonder when Kraft grows tired of the results of Belichick's* decisions (cheating, poor draft picks, lame FA signings etc, etc).

Maybe when they stop winning more games than everyone else?

[TAPLOOK]

Seems to toss ESPN's pristine notions of a "Patriots' Way" out the window. But of course Colts fans have known that from day 1.

Couldn't happen to a phonier organization.

-grin-

I think you should speak for yourself and let other Colts fans voice there own opinion.