Tag: Patrick Chung

Former Patriots Super Bowl champ gives interesting answer on future coaching role

Former three-time Super Bowl champ comments on a future coaching role in New England

Could a former member of the New England Patriots defense be joining the coaching staff soon? Former safety Patrick Chung may have given an indirect hint in a recent interview.

Chung was a staple on the team’s defense for many years. He played for New England from 2009-2012 and then again from 2014-2019. During his 10-year run in New England, he played in 141 games and started in 112 of them.

He tallied 719 combined tackles, 4.5 sacks, 54 pass deflections and 11 interceptions with the Patriots.

It’s safe to say Chung knows the ins and outs of the Patriots’ organization. Kay Adams asked him on the “Up & Adams Show” if he would return to Gillette Stadium in a coaching role.

Although he didn’t exactly answer the question, he didn’t seem to rule out the possibility, either.

“I plead the fifth,” Chung said with a smile. “…I’m saying I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”

Chung, a three-time Super Bowl champion, would certainly provide tremendous knowledge on the defensive side of the ball.

The Patriots already have a former player in Dont’a Hightower serving as their inside linebackers coach. Adding Chung would give the team another longtime veteran to look to for improvement.

Time will tell what happens with Chung’s future with the Patriots. It doesn’t sound like it’s completely out of the question for him to end up with a role on the staff.

Ranking the 8 greatest prodigal son returns for Patriots

Who were the top former player returns for the Patriots in the Bill Belichick era?

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick likes what he knows.

He isn’t the kind of guy always aiming to reinvent the wheel or create a massive shake-up. If something has worked for him in the past, there’s a good chance he’ll give it another try down the line.

That’s the basic philosophy behind the Patriots’ tendency to bring back past players in a pinch.

New England is a revolving door of past Patriots that have sought opportunities elsewhere, only to return to the same place where they made a name for themselves. In many ways, New England is a place where names are born, leave and come back to be recognized all over again.

Here are the top eight prodigal son returns for the Patriots in the Belichick era.

Former Patriots look back on ridiculously stacked 2014 defense

Defensive lineups don’t get much scarier than this

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It’s easy to forget how ridiculously stacked the New England Patriots were defensively in their 2014 Super Bowl-winning season.

A Twitter post looking back on the unit got a retweet from multiple former Patriots players that were on the roster at that time, including Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, Patrick Chung and James White.

Other standouts included Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis, Vince Wilfork, Chandler Jones, Jerod Mayo, Devin McCourty, Logan Ryan, Brandon Browner and Rob Ninkovich.

It’s one of the most imposing defensive lineups on paper in franchise history. Some of the greatest players that have ever suited up in a Patriots uniform were on the roster.

It’s an incredible stroll down memory lane that former Patriots players decided to chime in on.

The Patriots went on to defeat the Seattle Seahawks at Super Bowl XLIX that season.

After Tom Brady and the offense engineered another one of their improbable comebacks, Malcolm Butler, who was an undrafted rookie cornerback at the time, secured a goal line interception on Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson to help the defense seal the victory.

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Another former Patriot rejects ex-teammate’s Rob Gronkowski story

Another former Patriots player joins Julian Edelman in calling out ex-teammate’s Rob Gronkowski story

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Former New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung is joining Julian Edelman to call out an ex-teammate’s drunken Rob Gronkowski story as fake.

Jake Bequette, a former defensive end for the Patriots, appeared on “Primetime with Alex Stein” and talked up tales of the legendary tight end getting wasted on the eve of football games, being dropped off at the Patriots’ facilities and crashing on the training tables.

According to Bequette, the trainers would then come in the next morning and stick an IV in Gronkowski’s arm to get him going for game day.

“They would go over there, they wouldn’t wake him up, they would roll up one of his sleeves and, you know, stick an IV in his arm,” said Bequette, via Fox News. After a couple hours, he would just wake up like Frankenstein revived and go out there and just kick ass.”

Edelman called out the story as fake over the weekend, and Chung retweeted that response on Twitter, while also sharing some thoughts of his own.

“Exactly. People just want their time of fame. Willing to do anything to get it,” Chung posted.

There have been multiple drunken Gronkowski stories over the years that it’s sometimes hard to separate fact from fiction for outsiders.

However, there’s no accomplishing anything close to what Gronkowski did over the course of his illustrious career without incredible discipline and work ethic. The difference between the working and party ratio couldn’t have been close.

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Bill Belichick says this key defender is one of Patriots’ best players

“And he almost always does the right thing.”

The New England Patriots brought in a sneaky good player with safety Adrian Phillips last season — but, it was hard for him to get recognition due to the lackluster team he was on.

Phillips, 29, played in all 16 games and finished the year with 109 tackles, along with five pass deflections and two interceptions. He’s picked up his game even more this season, as he has the third-most tackles on the team (52) and he has the second-most interceptions (4).

On Monday morning, Bill Belichick took some time out to discuss Phillips and his impact on the team.

“This is one of our best players and one of our most versatile players,” Belichick said, transcribed by NESN’s Zack Cox. “And he almost always does the right thing. When something comes up, maybe you haven’t covered it, maybe you haven’t exactly gone through that situation or that particular way of blocking — crack block or something has unfolded — he almost always does the right thing.”

Stuff happens, and he’s got a decision to make, it’s maybe a little gray, and he just does the right thing. He does what you would want him to do without really telling him exactly what to do in that situation. So all that’s impressive.”

Phillips’ best game this season came at the absolute right time. Against his former team in the Los Angeles Chargers, Phillips secured two interceptions — one returned for a touchdown. The Patriots won the game 27-24 and it was a huge turning point for a team that began 2-4 and couldn’t win close games.

“Adrian was very good around the line of scrimmage for the Chargers,” Belichick said. “In San Diego, he played in the box, he played on the edge of the defense. They played that style of defense where the safeties really played as linebackers in Coach (Gus) Bradley’s defense, and you could see his instinctiveness. But you go all the way to him at Texas and talking to his coaches back there; it was pretty much the same thing in college as it was in the NFL. Very instinctive, very high IQ, plays faster and bigger than whatever his dimensions and times are. He’s got a real high level of instinctiveness and anticipation.”

When it comes to his hands, he may be the second-best ballhawk behind J.C. Jackson in the secondary.

“He’s got excellent hands,” Belichick said. “You look at some of the interceptions he’s made for us in his career, those are really good catches that a lot of defensive players might not be able to make that turnover play. So all those things are positive, and then when he gets the opportunity to do it, he’s a good tackler. He’s got good ball awareness to cause fumbles and that kind of thing and intercept passes.”

Phillips, Kyle Dugger and Devin McCourty are key components of the secondary — Phillips just doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.

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Report: Patrick Chung charged with assault and battery, vandalizing property

Patrick Chung has been arrested and charged.

Former New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung was arrested and charged on Monday with assault and battery on a family member and vandalizing property, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe. He will be arraigned in Quincy, Mass. on Tuesday.

Chung previously faced charges for cocaine possession, but those charges were conditionally dismissed on Jan. 2020. Those conditions included that he not commit any other felony or misdemeanor crimes. If he did, New Hampshire could reinstate the charges and prosecute him.

Chung played for the Patriots from 2009 to 2012 and 2014 to 2020 when he retired from the NFL. He recorded 773 yards, 4.5 sacks and 56 pass breakups during his career. He also won two Super Bowls.

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Devin McCourty explains the ‘different atmosphere’ surrounding Patriots

Devin McCourty’s working with a much different Patriots team this offseason.

Things have changed in a major way over the past two seasons for the New England Patriots.

Tom Brady, Julian Edelman and Patrick Chung are just some of the longtime members that moved on to the next part of their careers/lives. Some of the tenured players left on the roster include Devin McCourty, Dont’a Hightower,  David Andrews and James White. Whether it’s from additions in free agency or the NFL draft — the Patriots’ roster looks much different.

For McCourty, it was difficult to lose key players in Edelman and Chung along with his brother Jason McCourty this offseason. The 33-year-old safety has a younger group in the secondary and he’s still acclimating to the new faces.

“Obviously it’s different. I will say the different thing about this year, too, is guys like Chung and Jules; I’ve played with those guys for so long — obviously, J’s my twin brother and the last three years have been awesome — but it’s getting used to just that aspect of some of the guys that you don’t think twice about that you’re talking the field with. Jules had a few injuries through the years, and Chung not really,” McCourty said, via Pats Pulpit.

“So, it’s like almost every time you’re at practice or a game, you just get used to seeing those guys. I think it shows age, when you’re still playing football. Things obviously change in this league, but I would say all those guys, kind of grouping them together has created a different atmosphere.”

McCourty’s spent his 11 NFL seasons with the Patriots and he’ll likely retire with the team. Father Time isn’t far behind him, but it’s now time to become a mentor and prepare this young team for a deep playoff run without Brady in the mix.

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Former Patriots safety Patrick Chung has new goals in retirement

Former Patriots safety Patrick Chung talked about his new role in retirement.

Former New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung retired from football earlier this offseason. Now, he is adjusting to life after the game.

Retiring at age 33, Chung played seasons in an 11-year career with New England. Recording 778 tackles in his career, he was also part of three Super Bowl teams for the Patriots.

Speaking to WBZ at the A.J. Quetta Golf Invitational last week, the former safety opened up about how he is feeling about retirement. In particular, he is excited to begin another chapter of his life, as he takes on the duties of fatherhood.

“I do miss it. I miss football. I miss the locker room the most, being with coaches and teammates, having that brotherhood and the camaraderie,” he said.

“I miss football, but now it’s time to be a daddy. I’m OK with that job too.”

In addition, he was asked about his thoughts on the 2021 Patriots team. He indicated that he feels confident that they will be ready to go.

“Last year is last year. This year, on paper, we have a good team,” Chung said. “But we’ll see when the Pats come on and go from there. Bill will always be the greatest coach, so he’ll have them ready.”

As the Patriots welcome in a new crop of players who are ready to get started, New England has a bunch of players at the safety position who will be tasked with filling the void left by Chung’s departure.

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Patrick Chung gives a Twitter shoutout to Kyle Dugger after number change

Dugger is taking Chung’s former number.

Retired New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung gave a Twitter shoutout to former teammate Kyle Dugger.

Dugger is taking Chung’s former jersey number, 23, in 2021. New England announced number changes for their veterans in a tweet on Monday. Dugger was among them, going from 35 to 23. Clearly, Chung saw the change, and was excited to see Dugger continue the legacy of the number.

“Wear it well young savage @kingdugg_3,” Chung wrote Tuesday.

Chung, a second-round pick out of Oregon, had a 12-year career, with 11 years in New England, where he won three Super Bowls. He was listed on the Patriots’ all-decade team for the 2010s.

Dugger is entering his second year with the Patriots after they drafted him in the second round in 2020.

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Here’s how Patrick Chung is making an impact on young, ascending Patriots

Patrick Chung is still making his impact on the Patriots from retirement.

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One of the most pivotal pieces in the New England Patriots’ franchise over the past decade has been Patrick Chung.

The 33-year-old announced his retirement this offseason after opting-out of the 2020 season. He was drafted by the Patriots and spent 10 years on the roster — recording 11 interceptions, 54 passes deflected,  719 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Chung has three Super Bowl victories with the team and has plenty of knowledge to pass down the younger Patriots players.

Second-year defensive players Kyle Dugger and Josh Uche spoke with reporters on Tuesday and they both shared the knowledge they’re still receiving from Chung.

“There’s just so much more to learn,” Uche said. “I was talking to Patrick Chung the other day and he said something that stuck with me, which was, ‘Learn till you die.’ The moment that you think you know everything is the moment that you’ve lost. So I’m just trying to learn every day and just get better every day.”

Before Chung announced his retirement, Uche continued to gain from the Patriots great.

“So I got the honor to actually talk to him briefly and ask him some words of advice and words of wisdom,” Uche added. “That was one of the main things he said was you have to continue to learn. You don’t know it all. You should never go in thinking you already have all the answers. So that’s where it came out, that’s where he said, ‘Learn till you die.’ It’s stuck with me ever since.”

Dugger will likely take Chung’s role as the versatile safety who can cover ground on all levels of the defense.

“Grasp things. Take hold of them. Trust yourself. Trust what you learn, what you’ve been taught my first year. And really trust yourself to be able to … be able to use everything and be able to play faster and allow yourself to be in your own rhythm,” Dugger said.

Dugger began watching clips of Chung and is using him as a model of how to fit into the Patriots’ defense. While speaking with reporters, he also detailed his confidence level in general heading into next season.

“I haven’t been able to watch as many game clips as I’ve like, but I’ve definitely watched a lot of practice clips which is just as useful,” Dugger said. “I have been able to watch every other day at least, just from coaches showing me exactly what, the correct way to do things. I definitely would like to model my game after him, the roles he’s played, the versatility he has, physicality, everything he brought to the defense.”

Chung is one of many former Patriots who are willing to pass their knowledge down to younger generations, while keeping the legendary dynasty alive.

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