John Morgan's Archive:

Today in New England Patriots’ franchise history we celebrate the birthdays of Stephen Belichick, Glenn Gronkowski, Niko Koutouvides, Luther Henson and Willie Porter.

Today’s installment of the history of the New Patriot franchise includes seven birthdays. Most notable among this group for their play on the field are defensive lineman Richard Bishop and running back Sammy Morris. First though we begin with an original Boston Patriot who lived long enough to see the Pats win a Superbowl.

It is a long slow off-season so let us commemorate the history of the Patriots’ franchise with birthday salutes. Today’s entries dig deep into the archives. Kudos if you remember the majority of these players.

New England natives have strong opinions on Dont’a Hightower, with crucial plays from Super Bowls 49 and 51 etched in their memory. As the linebacker makes his free agency tour, how do writers and fans view the potential of seeing Hightower wearing black and gold at Heinz Field?

With the start of the 2017 National Football League year just days away, below is a list of key dates for NFL and Patriot fans. Even though training camp is four months away, crucial decisions in the upcoming free agency and next month’s draft will have a critical impact on next season’s success for all 32 teams.

Sunday’s American Football Conference Championship Game pits the two teams that have ruled the AFC this millennium. Including next month’s game in Houston, either the Steelers or Patriots will have represented the AFC in the Super Bowl ten times since 2001.

The Patriots will methodically do what they need to do to win, while also minimizing opportunities for Houston to come away with an upset victory. Houston has had issues this season with their special teams coverage. That could set the Patriots up with a short field and a quick score. Once the Pats take a lead this Texan team is in trouble. Their offense does not have the talent to keep up with the Patriots.

Former New England Patriot corner Ty Law has been named as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The New England Patriots are the number one seed in the playoffs. The Pats finished the NFL 2016 regular season with a 14-2 record. Despite the best efforts of Roger Goodell on behalf of certain despicable owners such as Jim Irsay, Woody Jones, John Mara, Jerry Jones, no other team finished with a better record than the Patriots.

With three touchdown passes Brady added some very impressive milestones to his already legendary resume. The quarterback set an all-time NFL record for the best touchdown to interception ratio (14:1) in a single season with his 28th TD against just two picks. Brady also set an NFL record with 254 pass attempts on the road without an interception.

Pittsburgh and Houston are locked in as the number three and four seeds respectively. That leaves three games to determine the conference playoff seeding. The three AFC games that actually matter today are Miami at New England, Kansas City at San Diego and Oakland at Denver. There are a total of eight possible combined outcomes to those games.

The Buccaneers deserve their own category simply because their playoff scenario is stranger than Rex Ryan’s proclivity for hidden cameras in an orthopedic surgeon’s office. Not only do the Bucs need a game to end in a tie, they also need two meaningless non-conference games to end in their favor. Oh, and for the Niners to beat Seattle too.

Brady completed 17 of 27 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns in just three quarters before Jimmy Garoppolo got some needed live reps. The game was never in doubt, with the Patriots up 27-0 at halftime. In SOJ fashion Bryce Petty injured his shoulder attempting to make a tackle after a Jet fumble.

The bad news is that Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts will again be calling the Pats game. If you have surround sound set up as part of your entertainment system just mute (or unplug) the front center speaker. Voila! No more insane commentary from the Bird and the Beard.

On the other hand the mood in Denver is somber, as would be expected. As is the norm in every city, fans and writers focus blame on the home team for losing while neglecting to credit the opponent for a job well done. Here are a few reactions from both Denver and some national media sites in the aftermath of the Patriot defense shutting down Denver en route to their 12th win of the season.