Monday's New England Patriots Links 12/30 - Patriots A Dangerous Team Heading into the Postseason
Here are this morning's top stories:
BOSTON GLOBE:
Schedule for 2014 NFL postseason - Matt Pepin - Pepin lays out the schedule for the upcoming playoff games.
Brady makes nice Plan B for Patriots - Obnoxious Boston Fan - In this piece he leads off with saying that anything that says "this isn't easy" can apply to the 2013 Patriots.
No matter the challenge, Patriots have experience, resilience on on their side - Erik Frenz - Frenz writes that while the end result was the same, the means to the end have been different.
Who's the preferred divisional round opponent for Patriots? - Adam Kaufman - Kaufman ponders who the Patriots may play next week.
5 takeaways from the Patriots' second game against the Bills - Zuri Berry - Berry has his five takeaways from yesterday, including his thoughts on the health of some players and the toughness going along with it.
The real season begins now for the Patriots - Christopher Gasper - Gasper writes that now, the real season begins, and the story of the 2013 Patriots will be written.
Julian Edelman reflects, a bit, on breakthrough year - Anthony Gulizia - Gulizia writes that Edelman's road has been a long, winding one and he's had quite a season.
Bills can't weather Blount force - Michael Whitmer - Whitmer writes that of all the versatile playmakers the Patriots have on offense, LeGarrette Blount might have been well down the list of candidates expected to shatter the team’s single-game all-purpose yardage record.
Rain falls, but so do records for Stephen Gostkowski - Michael Whitmer - Whitmer files his notebook this morning, and writes that setting two franchise records wasn't on the mind of Gostkowski during Sunday's game.
Patriots stock report: LeGarrette Blount has a milestone day - Erik Frenz - Frenz has his weekly "stock report", with Blount having had quite a performance Sunday.
BOSTON HERALD:
Pats a dangerous team in wide-open AFC - Karen Guregian - Guregian writes that the Patriots took care of business by beating Buffalo, and she feels they might just surprise us in the postseason.
Julian Edelman joins Pats' century club - Dan Ventura - Ventura has an article on Edelman, who hit the 100-catch mark against Buffalo yesterday.
Tom Brady: 'Never been part of a year like this' - Jeff Howe - Howe has comments from Brady, who feels the Patriots are fortunate to be in this position.
Borges: To be perfectly Blount - Ron Borges - Borges writes that the Patriots played like road graders, and the man driving that bone-crushing machine was LeGarrette Blount.
Buckley: Death, taxes and 12 wins - Steve Buckley - Buckley has his column for this morning and gives his thoughts on this team for this season.
Tom Brady proud of his team and the accomplishment thus far - Karen Guregian - Guregian has comments from Brady, who is proud of what his football team has been able to do this season.
ESPN BOSTON:
Snaps: Season-high 33 for Blount - Mike Reiss - Reiss has this morning's snap counts, which saw Blount play the most he has all season Sunday.
Snaps: Siliga & Jones take lead role at DT - Mike Reiss - Reiss has the defensive snap totals from yesterday, which saw Silga step up during Sunday's win.
Stat check: Patriots 2013 season - Mike Reiss - Reiss has the final rankings for the Patriots in different categories, including third down defense, turnover differential, and more.
Sources: McDaniels a Browns candidate - The rumors are beginning that Josh McDaniels could be a possibility to be the next head coach of the Browns.
Tom Brady recaps his punt, playoffs - Field Yates - Yates has comments from Brady from this morning's appearance on WEEI, who called his punt during yesterday's game "crappy".
Patriots have to like chances in playoffs - Mike Reiss - Reiss writes that while it has seldom come easy for the Patriots, this group of players is feeling good about their chances in the postseason.
Julian Edelman gave Patriots critical boost - Field Yates - Yates writes that Edelman finished with career highs in catches, yards, and touchdowns, and has been an important part of New England's offense.
WEEI:
Brady on D&C: Pats 'fought through adversity' - WEEI has comments from Brady's interview on Monday in his weekly radio appearance.
What we learned: Tampa Two helped change fortunes of 2013 Patriots - Christopher Price - Price has his weekly "What We Learned" piece, which talks about how Aqib Talib and LeGarrette Blount have impacted this team.
ENTERPRISE NEWS:
PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK: Blount carried team, Bills defenders on back - Glen Farley - Farley files his notebook this morning, which leads off with Blount's performance while also touching on Edelman and Gostkowski's milestones.
WORCESTER TELEGRAM:
LeGarrette Blount helps Patriots clinch bye - Jennifer Toland - Toland looks at the performance by Blount, who got an endorsement from teammate Aqib Talib when the Patriots initially inquired about trading for him prior to his arrival in New England.
