New England Patriots Links 1/12/12 - O-Line Stronger, More Confident After Working Through Injuries

Matt Light is asked about working through a makeshift offensive line, and if it helps that they're capable of having players who can fill in when players go down.

I think it speaks a lot to the guys that we have and obviously the job that Dante [Scarnecchia] does. Any chance that they have to get out there and prove it during the regular season, I think it will help us in the postseason. You want to have a little bit of confidence going into those situations where you have guys that do go down. The younger guys have stepped up all season and made big plays for us and shuffled from one position to another, from one side of the line to the other. It's not an easy thing to do, but they get it done in practice. They get it done when they go out there and for whatever reason, it's worked out really well for us.

Matthew Slater expresses the need for improvement in the return game.

We're definitely not satisfied with our production; it's been too inconsistent. But we can learn from that. In the postseason, we feel like we still believe in the guys back there, we still believe in our scheme and we feel like we have a chance to make some plays to help this team down the stretch. We can't get frustrated; we just have to stay at it and keep practicing. Obviously, we're not satisfied with the standard that we've set here in the past with what we've done this year. But here's a chance for us to get better in the postseason.

Brian Waters talks a bit about Dante Scarnecchia and the Patriots O-line.

He's definitely not shy. He loves to work. He's very animated about being on the details. As an offensive lineman, he's definitely not going to give you a break, but you respect it because you understand he's not doing it just to hear his own voice; he's doing it because he really believes in the things that he's teaching and the techniques that he's teaching and that they work. It's evident by the play of not only this line this year, but over the course of the years that the Patriots have always had very good offensive lines over the years. It definitely works.

TEAM TALK

• Patriots-Broncos Wednesday Injury Report.
• Erik Scalavino tells us what happened Wednesday at Gillette.
• Andy Hart presents the tale of the tape: Tom vs. Tim.
• Press Conferences: Brian Waters (10.16 min. video), Matt Light (10.39 min. video), and Matthew Slater (7.10 min. video)
• Patriots Today - Solidifying the secondary. (2.50 min. video)
• Patriots Today - First playoff experiences. (2.06 min. video)
• Patriots Today - Tebow and the deep ball. (3.09 min. video)
• Locker Room Uncut - Hernandez, Arrington chime in. (2.28 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

• Chris Forsberg states the Patriots' O-line has battled through injuries all season.
• Mark Farinella says adversity has strengthened the Patriots O-line.
• Dan Duggan says it speaks to Brian Waters' professionalism and character that he's taken the time to help young players while getting acclimated to a new situation himself.
• Bill Reynolds writes a terrific piece on how Tom Brady was always more than met the eye.
• Mike Reiss serves up some quick hits from the media-access period in the Patriots' locker room. Kenny Mayne was there filming another skit.
• Mike Reiss highlights Phil Simms' insight on Pats-Broncos.
• Kirk Minihane speculates on which player will be the X-factor for the Patriots.
• Mike Petraglia notes Belichick downplayed the deep pass this week, but the secondary is well aware Tim Tebow can throw deep.
• Michael Whitmer focuses on how Tim Tebow gives defenses a unique challenge.
• Dan Duggan reports Aaron Hernandez is feeling great, unlike 2010 when he was hampered by a hip injury against the Jets.
• Christopher Price expects Brandon Spikes and Patrick Chung to provide a boost to the defense this time around.
• Jeff Howe sees Bill Belichick's consistency as a major asset for the players.
• Paul Kenyon sees the veteran Patriots determined to end their playoff skid.
• Jackie MacMullan says it's good to be Gronk, the Pats All-Pro who's having the time of his life.
• Michael Vega notes the new Patriots are sticking to the "it's just another game" mantra.
• Mike Reiss shows us Mel Kiper's re-graded '11 draft with the Patriots kept at C+. Only the Bears, Chiefs, Colts, Eagles, Giants, Vikings and Jaguars were lower.
• Jeff Howe details how good Tim Tebow was on those big passing plays against the Steelers Sunday.
• Ian Rapoport notes the Patriots defense knows it can't repeat the bad start it had against the Broncos the first time.
• The Herald staff offers a by-the-numbers look at the first quarter of the Broncos game in December.
• John Zaremba sees Tom Brady vs. Tim Tebow as a clash of biblical proportions - at least from the ratings perspective.
• Mike Reiss shares some midweek thoughts about the Patriots and around the NFL.
• Steve Buckley finally finds a player, Matt Light, who remembers the playoff losses.
• Ian Rapoport Patriots Notebook: Patriots OL is looking healthier, and rookie Nate Solder has impressed Brian Waters; Patriots director of personnel Jason Licht, is interviewing for the Bears GM position; Respect for Tim Tebow resonates throughout the locker room; Brady practiced fully; Waters and Deion Branch were taken off the injury report.
• Steve Buckley questions if New England fans are overconfident heading into game time.
• Andrew Mooney and Ben Blat offer a statistical breakdown of the speaking patterns of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady when addressing the media: the battle of who can say less.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Jason Cole (Yahoo! Sports) Playoffs put Brady in cranky, intense mood.
• Mark Kriegel (Fox Sports) All eyes on Tebow, but Denver D on spot.
• Pat Kirwan (NFL.com) Expect a tight divisional battle between Broncos, Patriots.
• Kevin Fishbain (Pro Football Weekly) Patriots-Broncos matchup of the day: Broncos defense vs. TEs Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
• James Walker (ESPN) Pats-Broncos II: Denver fans respond.
• Prim Siripipat (ESPN) AccuScore picks Patriots over Broncos.
• Jonathan Lee (Yahoo! Sports) AccuScore: How Tebow, Broncos can beat Patriots.
• Don Banks (SI) Ranking the potential Super Bowl XLVI matchups.
• Video (Sporting News) 2011: Best of Rob Gronkowski. (2.53 min. clip)
• Brian Baldinger (NFL.com) Anatomy of a play: Patriots' super freak. Why Rob Gronkowski is so difficult to defend. (2.44 min. video)
• Scott Kacsmar (Cold Hard Football Facts) Turnover triumph a double-edged sword.
• Chris Burke (SI) Ranking the top offensive talent left in NFL's playoff field.
• Richard Deitsch (SI) NFL's most indispensable broadcasting talents.

VIEW FROM DENVER

• Jeff Legwold (Denver Post) Brady spark that ignites Patriots' explosive offense.
• Woody Paige (Denver Post) Can Broncos beat the Patriots? Sure, here's the gameplan.
• Kenny Legan (DenverBroncos.com) Tebow gets ready for round two.
• Jeff Legwold (Denver Post) Broncos LB Woodyard likely to get more playing time to counter Patriots' dangerous tight ends.
• Kenny Legan (DenverBroncos.com) Balance fuels Broncos offense.
• Tom Kensler (Denver Post) Look for Denver Broncos' WR Matthew Willis to have a ball Saturday night.
• Lindsay H. Jones (Denver Post) Tough choice for Denver Broncos: "Pick their poison".
• Jeff Legwold (Denver Post) Robert Ayers at end a good start for Broncos pass rush.
• Lindsay H. Jones (Denver Post) New England DL Gerard Warren part of Denver Broncos history.
• Kenny Legan (DenverBroncos.com) Game-winner drawn up at halftime.