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Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey thinks Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is “not as great as people think he is” The New England Patriots under head coach Bill Belichick run the tightest ship in the NFL. Rarely ever does one of the team’s players talk negatively about an opponent or people outside of the organization. This approach has served the team quite well over the years – the Patriots are far and away the most successful team in the league since Belichick took over – but it is not one copied throughout the league.Enter the Jacksonville Jaguars and their star cornerback Jalen Ramsey. One of the most outspoken players in all of football www.authenticsnewenglandpatriots.com , Ramsey does not shy away from expressing his opinions. He recently made headlines when he shared his feelings on some of the league’s starting quarterbacks, and two weeks later is at it again: in a recent portrait by ESPN’s Mina Kimes the 23-year old spoke about multiple players.One of his favorite topics? The aforementioned Patriots, who eliminated Ramsey and the Jaguars from last year’s playoff tournament. The two teams’ meeting in the championship round was of course a thriller; one that saw New England erase a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to punch their eighth Super Bowl ticket. According to Ramsey, however, the Patriots’ comeback was not just due to the team playing its best in the clutch.“It was clear as day they wanted them to win,” the Jaguars’ defensive back said about the referees working the 2017 AFC Championship Game. While the officiating did not benefit Ramsey’s team, the notion that Jacksonville had to play against both the home team Patriots and the men in black and white is not one supported by how the rules were applied during the contest (correctly, that is).Still, the All-Pro cornerback likes to talk about the game and the players participating in it. Speaking to Kimes he mentioned three players in particular: quarterback Tom Brady, wide receiver Danny Amendola, and tight end Rob Gronkowski. While he praised Brady – a player he classified as “doesn’t suck” in his interview about passers around the league –, Ramsey does apparently not feel the same way about the other two.“He just got a brand-new contract and he is terrible,” Ramsey said about Amendola. The veteran wide receiver New England Patriots T-Shirt , who signed a two-year, $12.0 million deal with the Miami Dolphins this offseason, was arguably the second best offensive player on the field during the AFC’s title game last year: Amendola finished the game with 84 receiving yards on seven catches – among them the two touchdowns that gave New England the lead and victory.Despite being a first-hand witness of Amendola’s effort, however, Ramsey does apparently not think that he is a good player. “People think he’s so great,” the fourth overall selection of the 2016 NFL draft said about the two-time Super Bowl champion – who he mixed up with Julian Edelman at one point during the interview. “No, he’s not. Tom [Brady] made him look good. Tom could take me as a receiver and I’d be a first-team All-Pro.”Ramsey did not stop there. He also talked about the NFL’s best tight end, Gronkowski, and also called him overrated. “I don’t think Gronk’s good,” he said before backpedaling a bit. “Let me say – I don’t think Gronk is as great as people think he is.” As opposed to his assessment of Amendola, Ramsey offered why he does not think of Gronkowski the same way most people, coaches, and players inside and outside of the league do.“Any time Gronk has been matched up with a corner New England Patriots Hats , he’s had a very bad game – and that corner has had a very good game,” Ramsey argued. While Gronkowski has had comparatively quiet contests in the past when not going up solely against linebackers, he still usually did plenty of damage. Just take last year’s game against the Buffalo Bills, when standout rookie Tre’Davious White oftentimes played Gronkowski one-on-one.While the battle was a competitive one that saw White get under Gronkowski’s skin, the future Hall of Famer still registered a season-high nine catches for 147 yards. White is no Ramsey (yet), sure, but he is still a very talented cornerback that had to see Gronkowski make play after play despite providing very good and physical coverage at times. The veteran tight end simply found a way to still be productive.Whether the same will hold true on September 16, when the Patriots travel to Jacksonville, remains to be seen. But don’t be surprised if a) Gronkowski has another solid outing despite b) seeing plenty of Ramsey one-on-one. It’s just what he does – which is what makes him the NFL’s best player at his position, even though Jalen Ramsey does not think he is as good as others think he is.What Shaq Mason’s 5-year extension means for Tom Brady and the Patriots The New England Patriots locked up right guard Shaq Mason to a 5-year extension worth up to $50 million on Monday, locking up the team’s youngest starting lineman and solidifying the right side of the offensive line for what should be the remainder of quarterback Tom Brady’s career.Mason turns 25 years old tomorrow (what a great birthday gift- that Bill Belichick is so thoughtful) and is four months younger than left tackle Trent Brown, 9 months younger than left guard Joe Thuney, and nearly two years younger than center David Andrews. Mason is arguably the best offensive lineman on the Patriots and he’s still (theoretically) a couple years away from entering his prime.Mason joins Andrews (2021 UFA) and 30-year-old right tackle Marcus Cannon (2022 UFA) as the long-term projected starters New England Patriots Hoodie , while Thuney (2020 UFA) is still one year away from being eligible for an extension of his own. Brown is a free agent after this season, so the Patriots could decide whether to extend him or move forward with rookie first round pick Isaiah Wynn- who is going to spend his rookie season on the injured reserve.I have to wonder if Wynn’s season-ending injury played any role in Mason’s extension. While Wynn wasn’t necessarily in the running to replace Mason- Wynn had practiced at left guard and both tackle positions- his injury could have sparked an interest in Mason to get a deal done before the wear-and-tear of the regular season. And on the other hand, I wonder if Wynn’s injury took some of the leverage away from the team because they could no longer point to their first round pick as a potential replacement.When looking across offensive line positions, Mason is easily the most valuable of the offensive linemen and it’s great to see the team reward his upside with a big contract as Mason will now be the highest-paid of the Patriots offensive line. The deal is for “up to $50 million” so I’m curious to see the incentive structure. I would be shocked if Mason agreed to a deal that required him to make an All Pro team to get his money, but the Patriots have been signing players to “game-day incentive” deals so Mason would likely have to remain healthy for all 16 games to get the maximum amount. The reason I would be shocked if Mason needed to hit any incentive beyond game day activity is that even at the maximum $10 million per year Mason would be considered a bargain. The $10 million would tie him with the Steelers’ David DeCastro and and the Bears’ Kyle Long for the ninth-highest paid interior lineman in the league. Both DeCastro and Long signed their deals in 2016, which makes Mason’s deal an even greater relative bargain.Multiple interior linemen have signed for much greater amounts over the past two years, capped off with Cowboys guard Zack Martin signing a $14 million per year deal and Jaguars guard Andrew Norwell signing $13.3 million per year deal this offseason. So for Mason, who is in the tier below these All Pros, to sign for up to $10 million per year is a complete steal.Mason will join Andrews and Cannon in locking down the right side of the offensive line for the remainder of Brady’s career and their combined ability to be stellar run blockers and pass protectors will grant the aging quarterback some peace of mind in the pocket.