FOXBOROUGH — With a month left in the season, 3-10 patriots they have nothing to play for in the standings.
By Jerod Mayo The team has already been mathematically eliminated from postseason play and is guaranteed its third straight losing season. In his ninth year in the NFL, Austin Hooper has seen all kinds of December play out. Regardless of the classification, the veteran tight end believes everyone on New England’s roster has a tough question to answer in the final month of the season.
“In every game, you are not only guarded by this team. You are watched by all the teams. So what do you want to put out there? Do you want to kick your teammates’ ass or do you want to prepare for the offseason?” Hooper said Monday morning in the locker room at Gillette Stadium. “I’ve been in that situation a couple of times with different teams. It just comes down to to a personal choice. Do you want to go on vacation or do you want to be a professional and run your business? So that’s a decision we all have to make individually.”
- BETTING: Check out our MA Sports Betting Guidewhere you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read the odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.
Hooper was then asked how he responds to naysayers who don’t think the final month of the season has any meaning.
“Everyone has the right to their opinion. That’s the beauty of the First Amendment. But I mean, at the end of the day, it’s an individual choice. what do you want to do Do you want to keep kicking ass for your guys or do you want to wait for the offseason?” Hooper reiterated. “It’s an individual choice that we all have to make. I think we have a good amount of leaders in that locker room that got the message across. Like, “Okay guys, this is our chance. We’ve been pushing and pushing in areas despite what our record might indicate. So it’s just an opportunity to keep this team young. We just have to keep pushing it.” right way.”
“So again, individual choice of what you want to do. How you want to handle it. If you want to be a pro or if you want to be a young player. So at the end of the day, they’re all legally adults. So it depends of you how you carry yourself as a professional”.