Alfonzo Dennard out of the poke, Now must confront moves made by Patriots

Alfonzo Dennard was released from a Nebraska jail this afternoon, but when he looks at the moves the Patriots have made in free agency he's going to wonder if he just came out of a time capsule instead.

It's not as if the 3rd year cornerback didn't know what was going on with his employer while he was rubbing elbows with Bubba, but now he must confront the reality of life on the outside - and one of the first things he's going to want to do is to get hold of Bill Belichick and get a synopsis and a game plan for his future.

photo courtesy David Silverman/NEP

Friday eclipsed the predetermined "Good Behavior" date for Dennard's release from the Lancaster County Adult Detention Center, where he was serving a 60 day sentence for violating the terms of his probation stemming from a 2012 felony conviction for slugging a plain-clothed police officer in the face outside of a Lincoln nightclub.

Dennard received probation and community service for a transgression that could have cost him five years of his life in the Iron Bar Motel, something that didn't seem to settle well with the local police, as they diligently prosecuted Dennard last summer after he was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of Driving under the influence when he reportedly straddled a lane line...

"The New England Patriots have decided not to release cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, who was arrested by Lincoln, Nebraska police officers under suspicion of DUI last week - the same officers who would have loved to see him serve the maximum five year sentence for striking a police officer last April, yet saw him walk out of the county courthouse and right into the Patriots' defensive huddle.

It's a brand of justice that no one wants to be subjected to, but Dennard walked right into it, leaving a nightclub in downtown Lincoln, getting behind the wheel of a car - knowing that the cops had it out for him - and managing to straddle a lane line.

Whether he was intoxicated or not is a matter of much conjecture, as are the phantom breathalyzer tests and Dennard's refusal to submit to a blood test, and the Patriots' decision has to make one wonder if Dennard is guilty of anything but poor judgment." Foxborough Free Press, July 19, 2013

Regardless of motivation, the jail time is behind Dennard and his entire football career is ahead of him - all he has to do now is to stay out of Lincoln and return to Foxborough, where he is set to start the 2014 NFL season under the mentoring presence of Darrelle Revis, starting the season opposite the best corner in the business - barring some sort of punishment from the NFL for the DUI.

The Patriots have also signed press corner Brandon Browner, but Browner will serve a four-game suspension to start the season, giving Dennard the opportunity to showcase his wares in hopes that the job will still be his once Browner is eligible to play...

...but even if Browner steps into the spot across from Revis and renders the University of Nebraska product a nickle option, Dennard will know that being on the sidelines is the easiest stretch of time he's done lately.