Patriots inactive report out: Aaron Dobson in, Rob Nincovich long snapping in place of concussed Danny Aiken

by Dakota Antelman

The Patriots released their official inactive list to the media Sunday ahead of their game with Green Bay. The report assuredly stirred up some controversy and questions regarding the names it features.

Among those listed were predicted inactives: Cameron Fleming, Chandler Jones, Malcom Butler, James White and others. It also surprised Patriots fans by listing long snapper, Danny Aiken, as being out with a concussion.

Aiken suffered a concussion late in last week’s game with Detroit when he was hit on the top of the head on a punt play.

Rob Nincovich who was warming up as a long snapper during pregame will be filling Aiken’s role on punts and kicks vs the Packers.

Nincovich will likely not lose the game for the Patriots from the long snapping position. He actually spent time as a long snapper for the New Orleans Saints early in his career and as recently as this past preseason has occasionally sent snaps back to Patriots punters and kickers.

Needless to say though, the situation is somewhat unexpected as the Patriots only recently released long snapper Charley Hughlett. Hughlett was brought in midweek when Aiken’s concussion seemed like it would keep him out of Sunday’s game. He was then dropped Friday with coaches and management citing that Aiken would likely be well enough to participate.

Of course, that is will not be happening. This recent actions are begging the question of how and why either Hughlett was prematurely released or Aiken was falsely diagnosed.

Beyond the long snapping situation, Sunday’s roster has wide receiver Aaron Dobson playing in his first game since Week Six in Buffalo. This move comes after Dobson was named practice player of the week for the Patriots.

The Patriots take the field at 4:25 and will be looking to put aside any pregame controversy. They have their minds set on winning their eighth straight game.

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Brady, Edelman do it again as Patriots defeat Broncos 43-21

November 3rd, 2014
by Dakota Antelman

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are two of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. But after Brady’s Patriots rolled out a 43-21 demolition of Manning’s Broncos, the debate was at least temporarily settled; even Manning acknowledged that much.

On a cold afternoon in Foxboro, Brady threw for four touchdowns and 333 yards while Manning’s proneness to weather initiated mistakes was highlighted by 23 incompletions and a pair of interceptions.

“I don’t normally stink but I stunk today.” Manning said glumly after the game.

The Patriots shut down Manning from kickoff on. Bill Bilichick started the attack by sending Manning throwing into the wind.

As the game went on, the Patriots continued to break the backs of the Broncos. Most notably, a huge hit by Devin McCourty on Wes Welker resulted in one of Manning’s passes being deflected up in the air by Welker and eventually intercepted by Patriot linebacker, Rob Nincovich. With multiple similar turnovers limiting Denver’s time on the field, the Patriots churned out a 24 point second quarter and thus effectively ended the game.

"The quarterback stinks, usually you're not going to win many games," he said.

Beyond Manning’s blunders though, the Patriots offence was once again rolling. Rob Gronkowski caught nine passes for 105 receiving yards and a touchdown grab. Behind him, Julian Edelman put up an 89 yard receiving day. He also scored a touchdown during the second quarter offensive explosion.

His most impressive play though came roughly three minutes after the touchdown catch when he ran a Denver punt 84 yards into the endzone. Edelman was the beneficiary of strong blocking by the Patriots kick return unit but also contributed to his own cause with a mid-field cut back rout that threw him into a vast wealth of open space.

"Minitron can do so many things, he's so quick," Brady said of Edelman. "What he did on the punt return was incredible."

New England has now scored 94 total points in the past two games with Tom Brady throwing for 9 touchdowns. The team is rolling and has long since distanced themselves from their worrisome 2-2 start to the season.

Needless to say though, this win carries a whole new kind of momentum boost. Knocking off the Broncos to take over control of the number one seed in the AFC east has the Patriots riding high going into their bye week.

"[Brady’s] playing unbelievable right now, and so is the team," Gronkowski said after the game. "Everyone, we’re just coming together. We’ve got team chemistry all over and we’re all playing well…”

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