Monday's New England Patriots Links 10/24

Another quiet morning with the team still off thanks to the bye, but here are this morning's top stories:

BOSTON HERALD:

Patriots superlatives‎ - Ian Rapoport
With the players set to return tomorrow, Rapoport takes a lighthearted look at what's happened since the team started practice back on July 26th and now sits at 5-1 heading into Sunday's game against Pittsburgh.

BOSTON GLOBE:

Patriots' Spikes learns game on the fly‎ - Monique Walker
Walker has a good article on Brandon Spikes who admitted during the article that even though fans may see him celebrating at odd times, it's just because he's having fun playing the game he loves.

"I want to be exemplary, play hard and relentless,'' he said. "I want to be energetic and be electric. I think it's fun to watch. I guess people are noticing it, but I always played like this [at the University of Florida], and it's just contagious.

"You turn on the film and see guys flying around having fun, playing the game we've loved ever since we were young. I know they say it's a job now, but for me it's the same old job. I'm living the dream and having the time of my life.''

ESPN BOSTON:

Five key questions facing the Patriots‎ - Mike Reiss
Reiss takes a look at five key points facing the Patriots, including whether or not we'll see the offensive pass protection hold up in big games, along with whether or not we'll see a "breakthrough" performance from Albert Haynesworth as the season progresses.

Defense still a question for Patriots‎ - Chris Forsberg
Forsberg ponders some questions surrounding the defense, and wonders if they've reached their potential yet, as well as whether or not the players like Brandon Deaderick and Ron Brace will make an impact coming off of PUP.

Wilfork's increased workload‎ - Mike Reiss
Reiss takes a look at the increased number of snaps this season compared to the last couple of years for Patriots tackle Vince Wilfork.

Film vault: Deaderick's tricks‎ - Chris Forseberg
Forsberg has a great entry with a film breakdown of some highlights from defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick.

WEEI.COM:

Bye-Week Breakdown: Defensive line‎ - Christopher Price
Price has another installment of his position breakdowns, and takes an in-depth look at the defensive line. In this article he gives their "best" and "worst" moments, along with some interesting stats from their performance over the first six weeks.

NASHUA TELEGRAPH:

Pats ponder their 5-1 start - Dan Duggan
Duggan has a piece this morning syndicated in the telegraph that has some great quotes from Bill Belichick on how they handle certain teams based on the number of times they tend to run certain plays in different situations.

UNION LEADER:

NOTEBOOK: Pats on Schedule to reach goals - Dave D'Onofrio
D'Onofrio looks at this past weekend's games, and notes that yesterday's win over the Chargers by the Jets is actually a good thing for the Patriots.

MASSLIVE:

Revisiting Wes Welker's contract situation and some other things - Nick Underhill
Underhill ponders the risks involved giving Wes Welker a contract extension, along with some other thoughts in this entry.

NESN:

BiBi Jones Reveals Rob Gronkowski Jealous of Her Twitter Following - Erik Frenz
Frenz has an entry this morning with comments from porn star BiBi Jones, who posted a couple of scandalous photos of she and Rob Gronkowski on Twitter over the weekend. Jones told 98.5 The Sports Hub that nothing happened between the two, and that it was done in an effort to help Gronkowski gain more Twitter followers.

ENTERPRISE NEWS:

The only certainty is uncertainty for Patriots' end-of-the-roster guys‎ - Glen Farley
Farley has an article on just how unstable it is being a player at the end of the Patriots roster, especially considering how many of them have been "here today, only to be gone tomorrow."

THE GAZZETTE:

Patriots' Ferentz rejoins Hawkeyes for weekend - Mike Hlas
The Gazzette out of Iowa has a good article this morning on Patriots tight ends coach Brian Ferentz, who spent the weekend out in Iowa and was an honorary captain.