Patriots Links for Tuesday, 1/8

ESPN.com has a page devoted to the Patriots VS Jaguars divisional playoff game.  There, you can see that the "Accuscore" projection software ESPN employs gives the Patriots an 81% chance of winning the game, with the average score being 30-18.

This page also links to an opinion piece by Jeffri Chadiha, who has "3 Questions" that he answers about each of the AFC Divisional Playoff games.

With the Globe, Mike Reiss has a mailbag column focusing on the Jags game.  He also has several game-related updates to his blog.

Another article claims that the Jaguars will likely try to pick on Ellis Hobbs. Karen Guregian with the Herald has a similar article, while the Herald also has some simple statistics that suggest Hobbs is not a weak link.

Steve Buckley writes on Wes Welker's preparation for his first appearance in the playoffs.

Speaking of preparation, Jeff Horrigan reports that the Patriots are publicly saying that the comments made by Paul Spicer last September will not be used as a motivational tool for this game.

John Tomase writes on the tough, physical nature of this Jaguars team the Patriots face.

Buckley also writes that Adalius Thomas was quick to point out how well the Jags have played on the road this season, including a playoff victory already away from Jacksonville.

Jaguars LB Mike Peterson, who has missed the last 7 games with the Jags because of a broken hand, expects to play against the Patriots, though head coach Jack Del Rio is not as optimistic.

The other big news today is that the lone MVP voter who cast his ballot for Brett Favre publicly explained his reasoning for it, and I think he makes a pretty good case.

The Globe also takes an early look at next year's salary cap situation for New England.