gillettenation – Field2Court | Sports Media

Interview With Former Patriot RB Tony Collins

gillettenation — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 17:31:05 +0000

Tony Collins, one of the key pieces of the magical 1985 run, has been outspoken on social media within the Patriots Instagram world and Patriots Alumni market. Interacting with fans and players alike is not uncommon for the former Patriot RB. So when I was looking for some interesting subjects for an interview, Collins immediately shot up to the top of the list. Now, this was certainly an interesting interview. But here is how it all went down.

New England Patriots running back Tony Collins carries the ball and looks for room to run during the Patriots 26-14 victory over the New York Jets in the 1985 AFC Wild Card Playoff Game on December 28, 1985 at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Vernon Biever/Getty Images)

GilletteNation: “You were drafted in 1981 by New England. Ho was the experience and what were your first immediate reactions?”

Now, I was expecting a cliche response like “oh yeah, it was an awesome day and I was happy to be part of the Patriots blah blah blah blah blah..” But no. Tony’s response went as follows.

Tony Collins: “Dream come true,”

Now yes, the comma was included. I wasn’t sure if it meant to be a period or not, but I did some in-depth research. The comma button is located next to the period, so we can safely assume it was unintentional. But like most players who get drafted into the league, it is a dream come true. Now came the second question.

GilletteNation: “What’s one thing you find in the differences between the Super Bowls in the 80s and the Super Bowls being played today?”

Now this question was purposefully left to be open for whatever Tony thought of. Maybe it was the atmosphere. Maybe it was the overall buildup to the game. Maybe just the entire interest level of the nation.

Tony Collins: “A lot more media today”

Yes, this is true. The media HAS exploded in the 30+ years since Super Bowl 20 back in ’85.

And that was it! Tony Collins, the original #33 for the Patriots, helped me get an in-depth look on his experience in the NFL and boy, was it fascinating!

There you have it. 2 question interviews might be my new thing. This did bring a smile to my face as I talked to Tony and as I write this. Anyway, Go Pats!

What Could Have Been: The 2019 Patriot Receivers

gillettenation — Wed, 27 May 2020 15:21:04 +0000

If you told me or anyone else who watches football back in 2014 that Josh Gordon, Antonio Brown, Demaryius Thomas, and Julian Edelman would be catching passes from Tom Brady 5 years from now, I would have personally walked you into the nearest mental hospital. But this was the case during September of 2019. This is the story of the meteoric rise and fall of the Patriots WR corps.

Julian Edelman, one of the greatest Patriot WRs of all time, has been a mainstay since his drafting in 2009. Coming off of his Super Bowl LIII MVP performance for the ages, he came into the campaign as the WR1 until the offseason’s biggest circus show came to a close out in Oakland and arrived in Foxboro, MA.

Antonio Brown. The wild ride he went on since the end of Super Bowl 53 went from trash talking his teammates, getting traded, arguments about everything and nothing and then being signed by the defending champs. Brown’s presence on the field was probably the biggest threat Brady’s has had since Randy Moss (2007-2010). In his 1 game as a Patriot, he caught a couple of balls, including a TD over former Patriot Jomal Wiltz and was cut after 11 days after accusations of sexual assault.

Josh Gordon, the freak athlete who has had his fair share of off the field issues was finally reinstated before the season and looking promising after catching the first New England score of the year against Pittsburgh. After an injury on Thursday Night against the New York football Giants, he was cut, never to play in New England again.

Last but not least, we have the Super Bowl winning wideout Demaryius Thomas. After being signed last offseason, he broke out for a 2 score game in the final preseason matchup against the NY Giants. After his release and re-signing, he was eventually traded to the Jets, ending his time with Tom Brady and Co.

All in all, the Patriots had a lethal group of pass catchers to start off the 100th season of the NFL and only Julian Edelman lasted more than half the year. And just for fun, here are all of their combined stats from the 2014 season.

546 Targets, 356 Catches, 4,592 Yards, 28 Touchdowns. That’s a lot of firepower.

Written by Ethan Hurwitz of @gillettenation on Instagram and @gillettenation_ on Twitter.