Wednesday's New England Patriots Links 9/14

Ron Borges of the Boston Herald has this morning's report card for Monday night's win, and lists Devin McCourty at the "back of the pack" after his performance in this game.

Ian Rapoport of the Herald has an article on the fact that the Patriots were able to keep the heat on Miami the entire game, ultimately wearing them down and running away with this one.

Rapoport also has his "notebook" for this morning, which leads off with Bill O'Brien deflecting any credit for their 622 yard, 38 point offensive performance, with Belichick saying they still have a lot of things to fix.

Tedy Bruschi had some scathing words for wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, after the wide receiver Tweeted the fact he was in awe of the offense Monday night.

Ian Rapoport has an excerpt from yesterday's appearance by Brady on WEEI.com, where despite the slow start, he said the team is going to need "Ochocinco".

Jeff Howe has an article on the fact that the criticisms of New England's defense are overblown, along with 19 other thoughts.

Glen Farley of the Milford Daily News has an article with quotes from NFL Network analyst Marshall Faulk, who said that Tom Brady was 'just on' Monday night against Miami.

"That 99-yard touchdown to Wes Welker when he put that ball in between those two defenders (free safety Reshad Jones and Sapp), that's when the quarterback throws the ball so perfect that it handicaps the defensive back and he doesn't know should I hit the receiver or play the ball," said Faulk, the Hall of Fame back who once ran with the St. Louis Rams' 'Greatest Show on Turf.' "Both of those guys, they were within an arm's length away from Wes Welker and could not make the play because the ball was thrown so perfect."

Mark Farinella of the Attleboro Sun Chronicle has an article on Welker's achievement, along with comments from the receiver. Welker said that he had a feeling he might get the ball on that play.

"When I saw the coverage as we lined up in the set, I knew there was probably some possibility I could be getting the ball on this play, and I just wanted to make the most of the opportunity," he said after the game.

Gerry Callahan of the Boston Herald has a good column this morning on Brady's ability to 'never get old', as he's still at the top of his game even at 34-years old.

Tom King of the Nashua Telegraph writes that 'it's all about points' as far as Brady's concerned, saying there wasn't much to analyze after the Patriots impressive performance Monday night.

Christopher Price of WEEI.com has an article with comments from offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, who talked about the job the offense did at keeping up the tempo Monday night against the Dolphins.

Ladd Biro of the Boston Globe has week 1's "Heroes and Zeroes" for all the fantasy football players out there.

Shalise Manza Young has an article this morning on center Dan Koppen, who is expected to miss 6-10 weeks after suffering a broken ankle Monday night. According to the NFL Network he has a 'small crack, bad sprain', and isn't expected to be lost for the season.

Young also has an article on the fact that Belichick told the media yesterday that despite their big win, they still have a lot of mistakes to fix heading into Sunday's game against San Diego.

Zuri Berry has a video with tight end Rob Gronkowski, who talked to reporters yesterday in the locker room.

The Boston Globe has an article on the fact that many of the famed statues in Boston are being dressed with Belichick 'Hoodies' this morning in honor of Thursday night's airing of his documentary.

The New York Post has an entry on former Patriots coach Eric Mangini, who admitted on WEEI yesterday that he has a lot of regrets over how the whole "spygate" situation played out.

"It's one of those things where the end result wasn't the goal," Mangini, who was an assistant on Bill Belichick's staff with the Patriots before being hired by the Jets, told the radio station.
"I owe so much to Bill, I appreciate what he's done for me and my intention was never to hurt him or the [Patriots] organization, the Kraft family. Yeah, there's a lot of regrets. I didn't want to hurt him or the Patriots by any stretch."

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo.com has an article on the fact that retired NFL players are suing the NFLPA, along with Tom Brady and former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel - saying they had "no authority" to negotiate on their behalf during the lockout.

ESPN reported Monday night that the Patriots/Dolphins game scored a combined 34.0 rating in Boston, and 10.6 nationally - which was the fourth best cable program in 2011.

And finally, an interesting mention out of Idaho on Drew Bledsoe, who apparently got his $5,000 mountain bike back after having it stolen over Labor Day weekend. Bledsoe joins Jon Morris as the 2011 Hall of Fame inductees who will be honored in a ceremony outside The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17.

That's it for this morning, but we'll have a couple of entries in a bit, including this week's "Grogan's Grades" from Steve Grogan - so be sure and check the front page of PatsFans.com for updates for when it's available.