Akeem Ayers finds himself in a much different situation with the Patriots than he with his previous team, the Titans. The former second-round pick apparently fell out of favor with Ken Whisenhunt and his coaching staff, but the 25-year-old is happy for a chance to contribute in New England. Via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald…
“I’m pretty much just happy to be here. Obviously, I wasn’t playing there, and I just happened to get in a good situation here,” Ayers said. “As I’m learning the playbook, I’m trying to simplify things as much as I can and the coaches are helping me out with that. We’re trying to keep things simple and try to learn to the best I can to play as fast as I can when I’m on the field.”
Let’s check out some more notes from the AFC East…
- ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss believes Tom Brady will finish his career with the Patriots. However, based on the team’s previous handling of franchise players, Reiss warns that it isn’t a guarantee.
- While Bill Belichick has received some criticism for releasing veteran Tommy Kelly, Reiss points out that the veteran didn’t put forth much effort in the team’s preseason opener. The writer opines that Kelly wanted out and forced Belichick’s hand.
- Following an eight-win season in 2013, the Jets should have done a better job of addressing some of their weaknesses in free agency, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Entering the season with the league’s second-highest salary-cap surplus is an “embarrassing truth,” the writer opines.
- Among the Jets disappointments this season has been first-rounder Calvin Pryor. Coach Rex Ryan attributed the rookie’s struggles to a missed interception earlier in the season. “Probably started with the first game when he dropped that pick-six. But, he hasn’t had the impact necessarily that I think all of us had expected, but quite honestly, our defense has been played a little differently than maybe we had anticipated,” Ryan said (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com). “So, I think we’ve had to make some of those adjustments along the way. It hasn’t gone according to plan so to speak.”