Christopher Price offers ten quotes that attempt to define the legacy of the 2010 Patriots. Here are a few:
"I really didn’t expect to lead off the season scoring a touchdown on the first drive. ... It was definitely a special deal." —Wes Welker, 9/12/10"I don’t want it to be in a negative light. I just want everybody to understand, you can print it. I don’t care how you put it on your ink, I want to be here as a Patriot. I love being here. But I just think from a business standpoint, this probably will be my last year here as a Patriot. And I’m not retiring. I’m still going to play some football. I just want to get that off my chest and let you all understand that this is a business. Now I’ll open it up for questions." —Randy Moss, 9/12/10
"It's just 'relax'. Don't get too hyped. Just relax. Woo-sa." --Patrick Chung, 10/04/10
"I love football and I wanted to be out there playing, but we had some other things going on. But now, I’m back and ready to go." —Logan Mankins, 11/2/10
"They did everything better than we did. In every single aspect, they clearly were the better team. We have a lot of work to do." —Bill Belichick, 11/7/10
"He was like Gale Sayers out there — a much bigger version." —Tully Banta-Cain on Dan Connolly’s 71-yard kickoff return, 12/19/10
"I’m not going anywhere any time soon. Coach Belichick, what he allows us to do as a team and the coaching that he gives us, is the best. There’s no one better. When you have the best coach and the best owner, you’re set up to be successful year after year playing for the Patriots. As long as we have a group of guys that are tough and resilient and work hard, that love the game of football like the guys we have this year, we’re always going to win games." —Brady, 1/17/11
TEAM TALK
- Ask PFW: Mailbag questions about the looming and too-early offseason, the Jets game and the draft.
- New England Patriots have signed seven players to future contracts: TE Carson Butler, QB Jonathan Crompton, WR Buddy Farnham, DL Marlon Favorite, WR Darnell Jenkins, CB Thad Turner and DB Ross Ventrone.
- Patriots Today - Analyzing Pats-Jets and more. (5.24 min. video)
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NFL Network: The QB Whisperer: Despite an early playoff exit, Tom Brady's working relationship with Tom Martinez, shows why football season never truly ends for the Patriots' QB. (6.38 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Greg A. Bedard reports Robert Kraft was at a meeting of NFL owners yesterday trying to make sure there will be a season to be played in the fall.
- Ian Rapoport writes about the uncertainty of the NFL for 2011
- Bob Ryan tells us all is not lost for New England fans, as the Celtics and Bruins are still in play and may motivate us to wear something besides black.
- Dan Duggan reports Deion Branch is hurt by the loss to the Jets, but looking forward to a full season of preparation with Tom Brady and the Patriots.
- Mark Farinella tells fans Sunday's loss will hurt quite a bit for a while, but there's still lots to appreciate about the 2010 Patriots team.
- Ron Borges asserts it was talent, not coaching, that doomed the Patriots.
- Ron Jaworski reviews the Patriots-Jets game for WEEI and says Brady 'began to see ghosts' on the field.
- Mike Reiss notes that on NFL Live, Tedy Bruschi shared his opinion that the Patriots need a playoff mentality.
- Jerry Thornton describes the five stages of Boston sports grief.
- Karen Guregian offers a positional breakdown of the offense and an early look at how things may shake out going forward.
- Mike Reiss notes the Patriots are slotted at pick No. 28 after losing in the divisional round of the playoffs.
- Mike Reiss answers his weekly reader mailbag. Fans want to know what happened versus the Jets and what the offseason holds.
- Erin Ailworth reports the local businesses are feeling the pinch of the Patriots loss.
- Ian Rapoport Patriots Notebook: It's still unclear whether Bill Belichick will hire coordinators for 2011; There's optimism surrounding this young defense; Gerard Warren is eying a return to the Patriots next season and Jarrad Page would like to come back too; Shayne Graham feels he did well enough to earn a job next season; Kyle Arrington is an exclusive rights free agent not yet signed; Patriots secured seven players who will be added to the roster when it expands to 80.
- Michael Hurley notes WEEI's John Dennis & Gerry Callahan were told by two serarate sources that Tom Brady may have suffered a fractured foot before or during the Jets game.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Mark Kreidler (ESPN) Patriots might've lost more than a game Sunday, they might've lost their dominance.
- Clay Travis (NFL Fanhouse) The Tom Brady and Peyton Manning quarterback era is over.
- Brad Cohen (Sports Grid) C'mon man: Tom Jackson says he picked a Patriots blowout to motivate Bart Scott, Jets.
- Michael Hiestand (USA Today) ESPN analyst Tom Jackson fails with psychology test.
- Peter King (SI) MMQB Tuesday Edition - Mailbag; Revealing 2010 NFL awards ballot and All-Pro team.
- Alex Marvez (Fox Sports) Goodell may clamp down on trash talk.
- Joe Posnanski (SI) The payoff of playoffs.