New England Patriots

We've all been there.

You're in your car, running late to work and trying to come up with an excuse to avoid the scorn of your boss. Did you have a family emergency? Alarm didn't work? Maybe you just turn around the car, fake sick and play hooky for the day?

In the case of former New England Patriots offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger, he decided to take it a step further: He crashed his car on purpose.

Ohrnberger revealed the wild story Thursday on his San Diego XTRA 1360 radio show, saying he woke up late one morning for practice and panicked because he feared he'd be cut by Bill Belichick for tardiness.

"I see a church van in front of me that's all dinged up, and it's got the black smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe, and I'm just like, 'I'm gonna hit this car,'" Ohrnberger said.

Ohrnberger then proceeded to run his Chevy Tahoe into the church van, which was being driven by an elderly man.

No one was injured, and Ohrnberger told the story as amusing evidence of Belichick's strict nature.

However, this is a story that could have had a far worse outcome if the other driver would have been hurt.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick stated the obvious Thursday when he was asked about fantasy football during training camp.

"Fantasy football doesn't mean anything to me," Belichick said.

Here's his full response:

Belichick has caused fantasy managers a lot of headaches over the years because his game plans are highly variable from week to week, especially his backfield usage, which creates wild scoring swings.

Perhaps the most famous example came in 2014.

Running back Jonas Gray came out of nowhere to produce a monster performance in a Week 11 game against the Indianapolis Colts: 37 carries for 201 yards and four touchdowns.

One week later, after fantasy managers rushed to the waiver wire to grab the Notre Dame product, he didn't play a single snap against the Detroit Lions.

The decision came after Gray's phone died during the middle of the night, causing him to miss practice Friday before the Lions matchup since his alarm didn't go off.

"We do what we think's best, and that's what we did today," Belichick told reporters after the game.

Gray scored just one touchdown the rest of the season, and the Patriots released him before the 2015 campaign.

Belichick will always prioritize the team and its culture over individual numbers. That makes Patriots players tough to handle in fantasy, especially since the departure of quarterback Tom Brady, who at least provided consistency in the passing game.

If fantasy managers expected that to change for whatever reason in 2022, the future Hall of Fame coach's comments Thursday ensure it'll be business as usual in New England.

Those who draft running backs Damien Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson or rookie Pierre Strong Jr. shouldn't prepare for a high-volume workload every week, though all three could have standout games throughout the year.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn't have much to say Wednesday when asked about the Miami Dolphins getting punished by the NFL on Tuesday for tampering.

When reporters asked Belichick about the situation, he responded: "I'm focused on training camp. That's all in the past."

Per ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques, the NFL announced Tuesday that it had stripped the Dolphins of their 2023 first-round pick and 2024 third-round pick, in addition to suspending owner Stephen Ross through Oct. 17 and fining him $1.5 million.

The punishment was the result of an investigation that found the Dolphins tampered with then-Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and then-New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton while they were still under contract with other teams.

As part of the investigation, it was determined that the Dolphins illegally made contact with Brady and Payton's agent at various times from 2019 to 2022.

Ross and Dolphins vice chairman Bruce Beal were found to have had impermissible conversations with Brady and agent Don Yee, who represented both Brady and Payton.

The talks with Brady began while he was still with the Patriots and focused on him potentially signing with the Dolphins as a free agent prior to the 2020 season.

Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers instead and led them to a Super Bowl win in his first campaign with the team, but the Dolphins didn't stop there. They reportedly contacted him after the 2021 season to see if he would be interested in becoming a limited partner or executive, although the possibility of him playing for the team was discussed as well.

While Brady retired for about a month this offseason, he was still under contract with the Bucs when the talks occurred, and he ultimately decided to return to play for them in 2022.

The contact with Yee regarding Payton reportedly occurred in January while Payton was still under contract with the Saints. Payton would retire later that month, but Miami's attempts to see if he would be interested in coaching the Dolphins came when he was still a member of the Saints organization.

Brady, who is a seven-time Super Bowl champion and arguably the greatest quarterback and player regardless of position in NFL history, experienced great success against Miami during his time in New England.

He dominated the AFC East as a whole throughout his Patriots tenure and owns a career record of 24-12 against the Dolphins.

Even at 45 years of age, Brady makes the Buccaneers a strong Super Bowl contender with his mere presence.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins are committed to Tua Tagovailoa as their starting quarterback again this season, while Belichick and the Patriots have moved on to 2021 No. 15 overall draft pick Mac Jones under center.

After missing the playoffs in their first season without Brady, the Pats returned to postseason play in 2021, but they are chasing the Buffalo Bills, who have won back-to-back AFC East titles.

Miami is chasing Buffalo as well, and it is possible that it has closed the gap this offseason thanks to its many notable additions, including former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones doesn't let outside criticism get to him.

"I'll reference coach [Nick] Saban here, but if I ever listened to the internet, I would've stopped playing a long time ago," Jones told Peter King of NBC Sports. "You're always gonna get people who say that you're not good enough to do something."

Jones played for Nick Saban at Alabama, beginning his college career as an unheralded recruit far down the depth chart and ending as a national-title winning quarterback who finished third in Heisman Trophy voting.

After being selected 15th overall in the 2021 draft—the fifth quarterback selected—Jones earned a Pro Bowl selection in his first year and finished second to Ja'Marr Chase in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.

The 23-year-old believes he has more to accomplish heading into his second season:

I still have so much to prove. I'm always trying to be better than I was yesterday and be better than myself, really. I just try to compete against myself. I know when it's a good day. I know when it's a bad day. It's more about the routine. What did I do before practice to put myself in position? Can I keep it consistent? Can I do it every day? [I] persevere and work each day. That's all you can do.

The Patriots went 10-7 in Jones' first season and added more weapons this offseason in DeVante Parker and rookie second-round pick Tyquan Thornton. All of that has led to high expectations for the squad heading into 2022.

The Dallas Cowboys remain the most valuable team in the NFL, with Sportico listing the franchise at $7.64 billion.

"America's Team" is also the most valuable franchise in all of North American sports, topping the New York Yankees by $630 million, as ESPN's Todd Archer observed.

The Los Angeles Rams—fresh of their Super Bowl title—have moved into second place among NFL teams with a $5.91 billion valuation. The New England Patriots dropped from second to third, while the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers round out the top five.

Top NFL Valuations

1. Dallas Cowboys ($7.64 billion)

2. Los Angeles Rams ($5.91 billion)

3. New England Patriots ($5.88 billion)

4. New York Giants ($5.73 billion)

5. San Francisco 49ers ($5.18 billion)

6. Chicago Bears ($5 billion)

7. New York Jets ($4.8 billion)

8. Washington Commanders ($4.78 billion)

9. Philadelphia Eagles ($4.7 billion)

10. Denver Broncos ($4.65 billion)

The Denver Broncos were the most recent NFL team to be sold, with the Walton-Penner family ownership group paying $4.65 billion—a record for North American sports.

This likely helped increase values league-wide, with the $4.1 billion average team value representing an 18 percent hike from last year. The Cowboys jumped 10 percent themselves, while the Rams are up 26 percent from 2021.

It's also clear recent on-field success isn't the only factor that determines value.

The Cowboys might have five Super Bowl titles, but they haven't reached the conference title game since after the 1995 season.

The Cincinnati Bengals reached the Super Bowl this past year, although they are the lowest-valued team in the NFL at $2.84 billion.

The NFL's dominance is still apparent in the valuations, with all 32 teams ranked among the top 50 franchises in North America, per Sportico. The Bengals are worth more than all but seven NBA teams and five MLB teams.

The New England Patriots won't hold their first official training camp practice until Wednesday, but head coach Bill Belichick already likes what he has seen from second-year quarterback Mac Jones.

According to ESPN's Mike Reiss, Belichick had nothing but positive things to say about Jones when asked about his progress Tuesday:

"He's made tremendous strides. He did a great job last year, but he's starting from a much, much higher point this year from where he started last year. His offseason work has been significant, and I think everyone recognizes how well he prepares and how much further along he was than a year ago."

The No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft helped lead the Pats to the playoffs as a rookie, and he will look to repeat that feat during his second NFL campaign in 2022.

While Jones was bolstered by a strong defense and running game, he still managed to put up solid numbers during his debut season en route to a Pro Bowl selection.

The former Alabama star completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, and he nearly led New England to an AFC East title before the Buffalo Bills came storming back late in the season.

Jones' rookie year ended on something of a sour note. He threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns in the AFC Wild Card Round, but he was also picked off twice in a 47-17 trouncing at the hands of Buffalo.

Belichick largely employed a conservative approach when it came to Jones last season, but it sounds like he may be ready to get more aggressive in 2022 now that Jones has greater familiarity with the offense:

"We're just a lot further ahead in the conversation [offensively]. The plays that we talk about, or concepts we talk about, Mac has already done it before. It's easy for him to say, 'Are we going to do this on that? Are we going to do this on something else? What do you think about splitting them a little bit wider? Splitting them a little bit tighter.' Suggestions like that.

"And we have a much better feel for what he can do, what his strengths are, and how to try to play into those. He's self-aware, too. He knows what he does well. We want to try to feature those."

Additionally, Jones seems to have more self-confidence entering the 2022 season after working on his body during the offseason.

Jones recently talked about changing his diet and how transforming his body has him feeling "comfortable, healthier and better."

That could go a long way toward making Jones a more dangerous player during the upcoming season since he wasn't viewed as a particularly dynamic quarterback as a rookie.

Jones is tall, but he isn't fleet of foot and doesn't possess a rocket arm, which may have led to some limitations.

Now, Jones seems to believe he is better positioned to thrive in his second season, and Belichick's comments appear to echo that sentiment.

Jones' first opportunity to put himself to the test will be on Aug. 11 when the Pats face the New York Giants in their preseason opener. One month later on Sept. 11, the Patriots will open the regular season on the road against the Miami Dolphins.

Wide receiver Danny Amendola, who helped lead the New England Patriots to two Super Bowl titles during his career, is hanging up his cleats.

Amendola retired Monday, per ESPN's Adam Schefter:

The Texas Tech product entered the league as an undrafted free agent and leaves as a 13-year veteran who became a household name with his ability to come through in the clutch.

He played for the St. Louis Rams from 2009 through 2012, the Miami Dolphins in 2018, the Detroit Lions in 2019 and 2020, and the Houston Texans in 2021. However, he is best known for his tenure with the Patriots from 2013 through 2017. While he never put up head-turning stats during the regular season, he had a tendency to come up with critical plays in the postseason for New England.

Amendola finishes his regular-season career with 6,212 receiving yards and 24 touchdown catches, never topping 689 yards or four touchdowns through the air during a single campaign.

However, he had a touchdown reception in the Patriots' Super Bowl XLIX victory over the Seattle Seahawks and three touchdowns in three playoff games that season. He also caught a touchdown as the Patriots overcame a 28-3 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

Amendola also bailed out New England with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in January 2018 and then tallied eight catches for 152 yards in the ensuing Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Michele Steele of ESPN reflected on Amendola's propensity for coming through in the most important moments:

The possibility of retirement came up for the receiver before the 2017 campaign, but he seemed intent on playing for the foreseeable future when speaking to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com:

I want to play football for some more time. I'm not done yet. Wherever that may be, whatever it is, wherever it is. I want to play football at a high level. This is where it's going to be, so I love it here. I'm going to try to make this team and try to fulfill my role, whatever that may be. Try to expand my role, whatever that may be. Try to be here for my teammates and try to win games. That's why I am here.

While he didn't stay with the Patriots, he apparently wasn't ready to walk away until he got his fill between three teams in his final four seasons.

There was not much left to accomplish at the NFL level for Amendola, especially considering he came into the league without much hype. He leaves the game as a Patriots playoff legend.

South Dakota State's John Stiegelmeier, the former head coach of New England Patriots running back Pierre Strong Jr., believes the rookie fourth-round selection could fit in nicely for James White as the team's pass-catching option out of the backfield.

"I've had a number of people who follow the Patriots say Pierre is a perfect fit for their philosophy in terms of using running backs," he told ESPN's Mike Reiss.

For fantasy football players, that makes Strong a player worth monitoring, with White currently on the physically unable to perform list as he continues to recover from a hip injury suffered last September and a subsequent surgery.

The Patriots have historically utilized a committee situation at the position under Bill Belichick, with Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson the top options as the between-the-tackles runners and players like White, J.J. Taylor and Ty Montgomery as potential fits for the scatback role.

The speedy Strong was used as a feature back for South Dakota State, running for 4,669 yards and 40 touchdowns, so his impact on the passing game wasn't as pronounced (62 receptions for 581 yards and three touchdowns across three seasons). But Stiegelmeier believes he'll be a natural in New England's pass-catching role.

"He's phenomenal," Stiegelmeier said of Strong as a receiver. "That's his greatest strength. He has unbelievable hands—very soft. We would like to isolate him on a linebacker and say, 'Advantage Pierre.'"

Even if he does end up winning that particular job, Patriots running backs are traditionally tough to trust on a weekly basis given the committee situation. Strong would be looking at a low-end flex designation.

But for now, until there's more clarity on White's status going forward, Strong is still absolutely a player who should be on your radar.