Jordon Hudson fiasco validates Bob Kraft's biggest insult to Bill Belichick, insider says
Over the past few months, Bill Belichick's behavior has had many looking at the former New England Patriots coach in a different light. That's especially true whenever Jordon Hudson is in the picture.
For journalist Pablo Torre, who's been prolific in reporting on the Belichick-Hudson relationship, says the whole boondoggle has reshaped the narrative around Belichick.
Advertisement
Yes, the North Carolina coach is a football genius. But Torre says the whole ordeal with Hudson made him think of a quote from Patriots chairman Robert Kraft in a 2021 book by Seth Wickersham.
Kraft was quoted as saying Belichick was 'an idiot savant.' In an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast. Torre says he's starting to see it.
'I believe that there is a great deal of this man being a genius and also a fool,' Torre said.
The host of the 'Pablo Finds Out' podcast said the the more he learned about Belichick outside of football, the more he questions the coach's off-field decision-making. Torre suggested Belichick had questionable judgment when it comes to the people who he surrounds himself with.
Advertisement
'The people around him are afraid to deal with him, even as they are literally in the same room watching Jordon Hudson, rolling their eyes, some of the coaches on staff,' Torre said.
Torre's criticism wasn't limited to just Belichick. He also went after Hudson, who has described herself as the COO or 'Belichick Productions,' which is not an actual LLC.
Torre said that Hudson's approach to public relations and handling Belichick's media gigs hahase been a complete disaster.
'Everywhere she goes, there's a trail of wreckage that suggests that the man who is basically undefeated against the median press conferences – he's not only losing the public relations war, he has self-destructed, and he hasn't coached the game," Torre said.
Advertisement
Torre was at the forefront of the reporting on the Belichick-Hudson relationship. In recent weeks, he has driven the conversation about the sudden change in Belichick's behavior in recent years.
Torre's focus on the story started a minor beef with Simmons, who said Torre was 'pretending to be a journalist.' Torre appeared on Simmons' podcast to help squad the settle the cross-media feud.
More Patriots Content
Read the original article on MassLive.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Patriots Quarterback Drake Maye marries his middle school sweetheart
Patriots Quarterback, Drake Maye, married his middle school sweetheart on Saturday. Maye, 22 tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Ann Michael Hudson in front of all their friends and family. 'What a night,' Maye wrote on his Instagram. 'Cheers forever. I love you!' Maye and Hudson met in middle school, continued their relationship at the University of North Carolina, and got engaged in January. Advertisement Maye was drafted third overall by the Patriots in 2024. The young QB was a bright spot in a depressing football season in New England. Maye completed 66.6% of his passes for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, and also added 421 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. The Patriots also posted photos of the wedding to their social media pages saying 'Congratulations to the Mayes.' This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Drake Maye married his longtime girlfriend over the weekend
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye picked up his first ring over the weekend. The 22-year-old married his longtime sweetheart, Ann Michael Hudson, whom he started dating when the two were just 12 years old. Maye and Hudson were married Saturday night, and shared photos from their special day on Instagram on Sunday. "What a night," wrote Maye. "Cheers forever. I love you!" The Patriots also celebrated the special occasion with a post on the team's X account. "Congratulations to the Mayes," wrote the Patriots. Congratulations to the Mayes ❤️💙 — New England Patriots (@Patriots) June 22, 2025 Maye and Michael started dating in 2015 and both attended the University of North Carolina after graduating high school. Maye was drafted third overall by the Patriots out of UNC in 2024, and got engaged to Michael in January. Maye actually missed out on Mike Vrabel's introductory press conference in New England as he and Michael were vacationing in Mexico, where the quarterback proposed to his now-wife. Patriots fans are hoping this is the first of many rings Maye acquires while with New England. The Patriots are his team now as he heads into his first full season as the franchise's starting quarterback, with some some big expectations following Maye into his second NFL season. Maye went 3-9 in his 12 starts for for the Patriots in 2024 as a rookie. He completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, and also ran for 421 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Can Keion White take the next step for the Patriots after a turbulent year?
Editor's note: This is the third story in a 10-part series looking at the most intriguing New England Patriots players ahead of training camp. Previously: Efton Chism, TreVeyon Henderson A couple of weeks into last season, Keion White of the Patriots looked like the franchise's new stud pass rusher, ready to take over the role created by the departure of Matthew Judon. He had, at that time, the second-most sacks in the league, already taking down the quarterback four times, trailing only Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions. Ja'Lynn Polk reels in his first NFL score while Keion White stays hot up front.@MikeDussault19's key points from yesterday's game: — New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 16, 2024 But White's falloff was swift and steep. He had only one sack over the final 15 games. His pressure rate plummeted as did, eventually, his playing time. And, it seemed, so did his trust in the coaching staff. White was one of the team's most outspoken players at the end of last season, openly calling for change. 'If changes aren't made, then what are we doing?' he said at the time. Advertisement Now, change has come. Mike Vrabel is in charge. White has a proven pass-rush coach to work with in the form of Mike Smith. His defensive coordinator specializes in D-line play. His head coach came up on the defensive side. Given all of that, the ante feels upped for White this season. Will he put it all together and show off the promise he's teased since Bill Belichick made him a second-round pick? Or will he play like he did down the stretch last season, opening the door for him to be the latest player from the previous regime to be jettisoned by Vrabel? Those questions make White one of the Patriots' most intriguing players entering training camp. White came to the Patriots as Belichick tried to bolster his defense in 2023, landing with New England in the second round, one round after the team landed Christian Gonzalez. He was an older prospect (24 when he was drafted) but quickly made an impact. Through training camp and the preseason, White was consistently making standout plays with a violence in movement that the Patriots lacked on the edge. But his playing time as a rookie was limited behind Judon and Joshua Uche, and he notched just one sack in 2023. Expectations were higher last season, particularly after Judon was traded. White had a coach in Jerod Mayo who brought a carryover in defensive style. He got more playing time. And early on, he had success: 2 1/2 sacks in the opener, plus 1 1/2 more in Week 2. But the drop-off in White's play was drastic. In the first eight weeks of last season, White ranked 26th in the league in pressure rate (14.3) among players with more than 100 pass rush snaps, just behind Chris Jones and Khalil Mack. In the final nine weeks of the season, he ranked 93rd (9.9). His playing time fell off, too, and he began to criticise the franchise's direction. He went from playing more than 80 percent of the defensive snaps in each of the first three games to less than 65 percent in the final three games. Advertisement The Patriots made some additions at edge rusher, an indication that White, now 26, isn't guaranteed to be a starter who gets loads of playing time. The message from Vrabel seems to be that White has to earn it. Vrabel brought in Harold Landry and K'Lavon Chaisson, training camp competition for White. But it has seemed to help White. He spent many spring sessions going over pass-rush moves with Landry before the start of practice and praised the veteran for that time in comments that later went viral. 'Now I feel like I have a coach,' White said when asked how helpful Landry has been. Keion White on a big difference this season: 'Now, I feel like I have a coach' — Savage (@SavageSports_) June 11, 2025 Even if those comments were made about Landry and not the lack of coaching he got a year ago, they're strong remarks about the franchise looking ahead to this fall. How much will White improve against the run? As a rookie, he shined there, ranking 58th among 197 edge rushers in that area, as graded by Pro Football Focus. But last season, he dropped to 147th among 211 edge rushers, per PFF. That kind of drop-off suggests an attitude change. He clearly can stop the run — he just didn't get overly involved in that area a year ago. Now there are no more excuses. It was somewhat understandable to be frustrated by last season. But there's a new regime in charge. So White needs to show up to camp ready to set the edge, even if that's not as glamorous as getting after the passer, because it's unlikely Vrabel will just let that slide. The talent with White is obvious. He kept the company of two of the best pass rushers in the league in the first half of last season (Jones and Mack). He was great against the run as a rookie. He has plenty of speed with long arms and tons of strength. Advertisement So the optimistic view is that he was struggling with the coaching he received a year ago and the direction the franchise was headed. With those issues resolved, White should be headed for the leap we initially saw last season and should become a top-30 edge rusher in the NFL. Players as good as White can't simply get wiped out of 15 games in a row. It doesn't matter if you're mad at the coaching staff. So the concern is his lack of consistency. We've all seen the highlights of violent hits and great sacks. He can do that. But it's never consistent enough, and the fear is that simply changing the coach won't fix it. Two things: The first is White's level of engagement. That might be a small ask in training camp, but it's a big part of his story given the events of the last eight months. Is he hustling on every play, chasing down ball carriers even when the rush goes the other way? Is he staying late to get extra work on his pass-rush moves? The second is his playing time. Landry is probably a starter on one end, and White is probably a starter on the other. But Chaisson was impressive this spring and could eat into White's playing time if White doesn't have a good camp.
