Daily Notebook: Wednesday Patriots News and Notes 4/12

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6 years ago at 7:00 am ET

Robert Deutsch - USA TODAY Sports

Here’s a look at this morning’s top stories:

Dolphins Landry Trash Talking Already – Miami’s trip to the postseason last year, despite their embarrassing loss, seems to have left their players feeling cocky heading into 2017 and one player has already dropped some bulletin board material for the Patriots locker room.

Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry told MMQB’s Peter King that he expects Miami to sweep New England this season, which is certainly a bold statement for a team that has yet to put a consistent performance together against them.

“If you’re a competitor, that’s the way you should feel, and I don’t mind saying it,” Landry told King via MMQB.com. “It’s time for a change. I have all the respect in the world for the Patriots, and I respect Tom Brady tremendously. But they’re not our big brother anymore.”

Should Miami pull off such a feat, it would be the first time the Dolphins swept New England since all the way back in 2000. They also swept the Patriots in 1999, but since Tom Brady took over, Miami has had a tough run against them. New England has swept the series six times, having done so in 2003, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2016. The Patriots also put together quite a winning streak against them, going 7-0 at one point from 10/4/2010 – 10/27/2013.

Needless to say, Landry and the Dolphins might have their work cut out for them.

No Interest in Lynch? – The Patriots still appear one running back short in their backfield heading into 2017, but for anyone out there hoping Marshawn Lynch might be on New England’s radar, it doesn’t sound like that’s the case.

According to CSNNE’s Mike GIardi, the Patriots haven’t even considered making a play for Lynch. In the event Seattle lets him leave should he unretire, Lynch appears to be favoring an opportunity to play for his hometown Oakland Raiders. That may be his better option since it’s unlikely New England would want to trade for him and take on the $9 million he was due to earn in 2017.

Told the Patriots haven't considered Marshawn Lynch, and more to the point, Lynch still wants Oakland, then Oakland, then Oakland some more.

— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) April 11, 2017

While the Patriots may be a team that Lynch has expressed interest in playing for, that interest would need to be mutual and Giardi’s report certainly leads you to believe that he’s a longshot to land here.

The veteran running back is still the property of the Seahawks, who control his rights. The bigger question will probably be exactly what the Seahawks will want to let him out of Seattle and the likely scenario would be Oakland making a move to add a player who could put them over the top after last year’s terrific campaign.

That dog likely won’t hunt here in New England, so the expectation would seem to favor the Raiders having the best chance of anyone to acquire his services.

As a result, barring a surprising turn of events, it’s probably safe to cross him off the list as a realistic option.

He may have a lot of haters,
but apparently he’s got more fans than any other player.

Everybody Loves a Winner – The world might be full of haters, but apparently the number of people who love Tom Brady enough to want to wear his jersey outnumbers the amount of people willing to buy someone else’s.

According to the Sporting News, Brady had the best-selling jersey among all NFL players in 2016 for the second-straight season, ahead of Dallas Cowboys players Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott, respectively.

It’s remarkable that a player who has been in the league since 2001 seems to be hitting the peak of popularity this late in his career, but it’s not exactly surprising. Given the way Brady carries himself off the field, he’s a role model and certainly worthy of dropping the cost of what the NFL charges for his jersey. But it’s certainly a testament of the how many fans really do support him and it’s also a nice surprise when you consider the amount of fans from outside this market who claim to hate him.

Brady wasn’t the only Patriots player on this list, with Rob Gronkowski coming in 5th in the rankings. No real surprise there, since Gronkowski is such a likable guy that you don’t necessarily need to be a fan of the Patriots to appreciate him.

Here’s how they rank as posted by Sports Business Daily, via the Sporting News:

1. Tom Brady, Patriots QB
2. Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys RB
3. Dak Prescott, Cowboys QB
4. Odell Beckham Jr., Giants WR
5. Rob Gronkowski, Patriots TE
6. Carson Wentz, Eagles QB
7. Derek Carr, Raiders QB
8. Antonio Brown, Steelers WR
9. Dez Bryant, Cowboys WR
10. Jason Witten, Cowboys TE

It’s also worth noting that the Cowboys still have a pretty strong fan base, with Dallas accounting for four of the top 10 players in this list. That’s good news for owner Jerry Jones, who needs the popularity of his team to continue considering the $1.2 Billion that went into Dallas’ new stadium.

Slater Still Can’t Believe Super Bowl Outcome – In what will probably go down as the biggest nail-biter he’s ever played in, special teams captain Matthew Slater still gets nervous when he watches February’s incredible comeback win over Atlanta.

Slater, who won his second championship that night, still can’t believe that down by 25 points that they came back and won, but he said that while it was going on, the determination on his teammates’ faces is something he’ll never forget.

“I’m sitting there, almost as a fan, like, ‘What are they doing?’ It’s just unbelievable to think we were down 25 points,’’ Slater told the Boston Globe. “The one thing I won’t forget is the way we looked at one another. I’ve been on teams that were down 3 points, 10 points and the confidence level just wasn’t there on that day for whatever reason. But that Super Bowl Sunday we had it.’’

Looking back on the win, Slater admitted that it was a valuable lesson and it was a reminder of just how important it is to never give up.

“I haven’t really had the time to think about the impact of what that game will be on football or other sports. But it certainly will be one that none of us will soon forget,” said Slater. “There’s a great lesson to be learned in not quitting on your teammates, playing for one another, maintaining belief, and trying to finish what you started.’’